National Day and haircut

Hi everyone!

Yesterday was Chinese National Day, the 60th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. We had the day off from school and went to a carnival and then to see the fireworks over the Hong Kong skyline - check out my pictures here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021816&id=1325940161&l=4216a89e62

Afterward we went out to Wan Chai District and found a really fun bar - there was a Philipino band playing ALL my favorite bands - Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Bob Marley, Radiohead, Kings of Leon, etc. I was the girl standing at the front of the stage singing along to the songs as if they were the real bands - definitely the life of the bar. I chatted with the guitarist and keyboardist between sets, and they actually dedicated a song to me by name ("This song is for our new friend Nicole") during the next set (It was Three Little Birds by Bob Marley). I was pretty excited, because I've never had a song dedicated to me by a band before. Then the keyboardist asked for my number "so we could share musicians we like." Yeah, ok. Guess I'm becoming a Hong Kong cover band groupie? The bar was so great, I ended up staying out until 5 am :-X Definitely going back next weekend!

In other news, I got my hair cut this week! I cut off about four inches, so for those of you who knew how long my hair was, it's a LOT shorter (a little past shoulder length). I also got bangs. I really like it! I love long hair, but it's hard to take care of (mine especially, it could be pretty wild). It's a relief to have hair short enough that it styles itself in the morning (not like I ever took the time to style my long hair). I'll put pictures up once I get some cute ones :) The haircuts here are great though - I paid $12 American for them to cut and style my hair to look just like the picture I brought in (a Victorias Secret model of course - my stylist laughed out loud) and they gave me a head massage too. Not to bad. I recommend getting your hair cut in Hong Kong if you are out here and are willing to take a risk with a stylist who doesnt speak English - luckily mine spoke a good amount, and understood some of the Mandarin I said to him as well. Definitely glad I brought a picture in though.

Tomorrow is the mid-autumn festival, which is a celebration of the full harvest moon. Everyone brings their lanterns to the park or the beach and eats mooncakes. Then Saturday and Sunday nights are the Fire Dragon Festival, which I'm going to, and Sunday is the Festival of the Monkey God. Pictures forthcoming!