Basketball Accident

I was playing basketball with other foreign students during our team practice today. However, in one play, while I was bringing the ball downcourt, I was accidentally tripped by the defender. I tried to use my hand to prevent me from falling however the court was a bit slippery and so I slid to the floor and got a lot of bruises and cuts. I was really bleeding badly and so decided to head to the hospital to have a check. Mei Xing and Chris came with me. Mei Xing practically helped me in every way. He translated and paid for us since we didn't bring money. It was an agony. First, they cleaned my wounds then I decided to have a CT to be sure that my brain is okay. My bones were fined since I never felt anything wrong. Afterwards, I got 2 injections. I guess it was to check for infections or things like that. It was really a hassle. Going back home, the front desk lady gave me some medical stuff to help my recovery. What a day!! A big thanks to Chris and Mei!!

I took some pics of the wounds after taking a very hard-to-do bath.

Filipino Food Fest

We had dinner at the Nepali Kitchen of Shanghai and they had free classifieds so we got one and stumbled upon an ad of a Filipino Food Fest the next day. So we invited several friends to try out how Filipino Food tastes like. We meet a lot of Filipinos working in Shanghai including the ones who prepared the food. They were a couple. The wife has been in Shanghai for 3 years while the husband for 2. They served chicken and pork adobo, lechon kawali, lumpia, cheesesticks, meatballs and bihon. It was really home cooked and the atmosphere really brought some Filipino culture into the venue. We also got to walk around the Bund again and I was finally able to take some shots of the magnificent view. Click here to view the pics.

Shanghai Toy Expo

I went to the Shanghai Toy Expo last weekend. It was held at the International Expo Center near LongYang Road Station. I found out later that there were two other expos at the same venue namely, Music China and Prolight + Sound. It was fun to see a lot of interesting instruments as well as children's toys. I was fairly disappointed by the very few hobby stalls. Most were focused on toddler toys.

Here are some pics of the events. (just click the links)

Shanghai Toy Expo

Music China

Inner Mongolia

Oct. 1: We met up at the FSD lobby then headed to JiangWan Town Station by 10:30. We got to Shanghai South Railway by around 12 which was enough for us to eat lunch before boarding a train to Hohhot. We were pretty happy with how the hard sleeper accommodations were. We expected worse so it was definitely a relief. It was a 31 hour ride with stopovers in Beijing, SuZhou and other areas going north. We just ate and mingled with the other travellers.

Oct. 2: We arrived at Hohhot at around 8 PM. Our tour guide, Rocky, greeted us upon arrival and took us to our dinner place. It was a nice start to our tour. After the meal, we headed to our hotel. It was really nice. We then decided to walk for awhile and check the area. It was pretty cold outside probably below 15 degrees.

Oct. 3: We had our breakfast at the hotel then had a 2 hour drive to the grasslands where we will be staying for the night. The weather was pretty cold already. We had a very long and tiring horse ride which probably took around 4 hours including stopovers. It was really grass all over the place. It was like those grasslands in the movies with just horses and cows. The weather was pretty cold also. We were pretty much tired during the afternoon. The place also had a short horse race for the visitors. By night time, it was already freaking cold. That was probably between 5-10 degrees. I had to sleep with a sweater and thermal pants despite being already covered by a very thick blanket. We stayed in Mongolian Yurts which were circular rooms culturally similar to the Bahay Kubo of the Philippines.

Oct. 4: The guys woke up to eat breakfast while the girls were so tired from the horse ride and had problems with the food. It was getting colder. We went to Baotou to have our lunch. The girls were still very tired so it was the guys again who were eating. After lunch, we went straight to the desert! It was really really cold. I couldn't feel my nose dripping anymore. It wasn't funny anymore. The desert was amazing. We rode a cable car to get there then got a 1 hour camel ride. We stopped by to view some very nice sand sculptures. After withstanding the cold weather, we stayed for a short while in a house. The guys then decided to try the ATV. It was great! It was like Aga Muhlach in Dubai! Hahaha! Afterwards we tried the sandslide. Basically we rode a sled going down the sand slope. We finished at 5 then headed back to Hohhot.

Oct. 5: After our breakfast, we visited a Lamastery and had a look at Tibetan culture. We then visited a museum although I forgot the name. Then we went to a handicraft factory and had a short glimpse of how they make winter wear items as well as popular souvenirs. We then had our last lunch before heading to the train station. We arrived right on time for our train. It was a little different from the first one.

Oct.6: We arrived in Shanghai South Railway Station at around 7 PM. It was quite delayed since the scheduled arrival was 6:15. We got back to the dorm by 8:30.

Here are some pics of the whole trip.

One Big Fight!!!

This is a late post but the news is still good for a year. We are champions again at last! We watched game 2 through abscbnnow.com at Gandi's room! Sweet victory. I'm sure everyone is still celebrating back at Katipunan. What's even sweeter is that the grade school and high school Eagles also emerged champions in their respective tourney. A great year for Ateneo basketball indeed!

Shanghai Oriental Green Boat

Yesterday, we went to Shanghai Oriental Green Boat to practice for the dragon boat contest in Fudan. We went there at around 7:45 and arrived around 9. It was a nice place. We went into the man-made park and headed straight to the lake to practice. It was fun although we weren't that synchronized. After 40 mins. rowing, we were treated to a fairly good lunch and had the rest of the afternoon for us. Just click here to view the pics.

Finally, a picture of me!

Here's a pic of the boys during our recent trip to the city last Sunday to try the eat-all-you-can Japanese place that Vince recommend. From left to right, Jeff, Mike, Vince, Flo, Dexter, me, Anton and Chris. I stole the pic from Elaine. I promise to post more pictures of me from now on. Hahaha!