Back in Shanghai...

Well I am officially back in Shanghai and back at work. I got back on Saturday night after a, thankfully, uneventful flight home. The flight is a lot longer than I thought it would be, with it taking a little over ten hours to get to Sydney from Shanghai. Qantas is a nice airline though... much more comfortable than many of the Chinese airlines so I barely felt like I spent eleven hours in a plane. Ronnie already updated his blog about my time there so if you read his entry you'll get a different perspective and some of the same, but here's what I have to say about it!

Overall, the trip was fabulous. I had a great time. I did not do as much of the traditional sightseeing as I might have had I just gone on a regular vacation there, but I saw a decent amount and I'm definitely happy with the trip. Ronnie and Tim picked me up from the airport at about 9 am on Wednesday morning (July 23rd) and I ran errands with them for the first half of the day. Later was the rehearsal at Curzon Hall (the place they had the wedding at) and a rehearsal dinner at Kingsleigh steakhouse in the city. The dinner was really freaking good. They served steak, which I never eat here in China because it's insanely expensive for not that great of quality, so it was a welcome treat! I also got to meet the bridesmaids and Kristi's and Ronnie's families and enjoy the company of some old friends, which is always great.

Thursday night we went to see My Fair Lady at the Sydney Opera House. The actual play was good but nothing spectacular. Just being in the opera house was awesome, though! The city views at night were amazing and I was glad for a chance to get into the city and see the skyline that Sydney is known for.

After arriving in Sydney and talking to a couple of people, I quickly realized that I did not have an appropriate dress for the wedding. The dress I brought for the wedding was a little casual... and purple, which I had failed to realize was the same color as the bridesmaid dresses. Guys may not understand that this is taboo, but it is. So, Friday morning Kristina was nice enough to take me to one of the local malls and help me pick out a dress. It was fun to see the differences (and lack thereof) in Australian shopping and American, and I did find a dress. I really like it, despite the fact that it gave me a heinous mark on the back of my neck from the halter straps and all the dancing...

I stayed with Ronnie and Kristina during my time in Sydney because they are freaking awesome and let me stay with them (which I'm extremely grateful for!!). They have a cute little place outside the city a bit, and Tim and I got to put their air mattresses to good use while taking up all the floor space in the living room. As a result of crashing on their floor, I got to tag along to some stuff I probably wouldn't have otherwise, such as going to get my nails and toes done with the bride and bridesmaids. It gave me a chance to get to know the girls a bit, which I probably wouldn't have had other wise, and I'm glad I did. They were really nice and pretty entertaining!

Saturday, of course, was the big day!!! Kristina spent Friday night at a hotel so as not to see Ronnie until the big moment... so the other groomsmen came over in the morning and I hung around while they got ready and tried to help where I could while getting ready myself. The boys looked great and it was fun to watch them get all dolled up! The actual wedding was just amazing. The weather had been quite cold and rainy up until this point, but on Saturday the sky was relatively clear and it was a decent temperature outside! This is important since the ceremony was held outside in the area beside Curzon Hall. Kristina looked beautiful in her dress, as did her bridesmaids in theirs. The ceremony was light and fun while being extremely touching. I did a reading, that I did not write or pick but liked a lot, and hope that I didn't mess it up. Everyone said I did fine, but really, who would tell me otherwise? There were lots of tears and some funny moments, like when Kristina almost said fuck while trying to hold herself together.

The reception was right beside where the ceremony took place, so all we had to do was walk inside. Kristina's Dad, Tim, Rebecca (a bridesmaid), Ronnie and Kristina all made speeches and they were all pretty awesome. It's always touching to see grown men and women get choked up at such events and there were plenty of teary eyes present. Then the dancing started. I got to learn the Nutbush... which apparently is a really popular Tina Turner song in Australia and has a dance that is vaguely reminiscent to the Electric Slide. I also got to dance to lots of oldies songs, which I love! It had been a long time since I last danced the Twist...

So... yes! The wedding was great. The ceremony was wonderful and the reception was a lot of fun. Those of you who missed it should be sorry! It was a good time and a great wedding. Our only complaint was that it ended too soon... we felt like we could have danced all night!!!!

In fact, since we felt that way... some of the people from the wedding went out to a bar close by for some drinks. I think the best part about our little venture out after the wedding was the trip there. Danni, Sophie, Tim and I all shared a cab over there, and after Tim safely saw Danni, Sophie and I into the backseat, he walked around the front and started to get in. Of course, after a few drinks he had forgotten that the driver's side is in fact on the opposite side of the car in Australia. The driver started sort of freaking out and was like "whoa man what the hell are you doing?!" and Tim just yells out "I'm an American!!" and throws up his hands. At that point the driver just started laughing (thankfully! I thought he was going to slug Tim) and told Tim he could drive if he wanted to. This just left us girls in hysterics and I am still laughing about it. Tim wasn't as entertained, but I think he still saw the humor in it...

There are still a few days left of my trip that I haven't talked about, but I think I will break this up into two parts and end this one for now. I also have a few interesting things that have already happened since I got back to write about. I have lots to say these days... maybe that's a good thing?