New Year and all that

Hey Everybody,
Sorry to let you wait for the update, I'll start where I left off: Hainan was really nice. Warm weather, yet not overly sunny. Although we were off season the island was pretty crowded, mostly with Chinese and Russian tourists. No major drawback, though - there's some nice places to be found if you just look a little ( or go to an upscale Yalong Bay hotel right away ). It makes for a nice beach vacation ( fresh coconuts, mangoes and seafood all over the place ), while being a bit meh on the culture side; I hear you can visit some Hainan native folks in a jungle and, of course, a more or less ancient temple. We opted for the Nantian hot springs instead, really enjoyable. All in all the vacation was really relaxing and nice; what followed not so much. Suffice it to say, I broke a heart and had mine broken -_-
New Year's ( i.e. 12.31.2011 ) wasn't a big thing here. Foreigners and Shanghainese alike flocked to the Bund in anticipation of fireworks. Well, they did have a countdown...   It took the Chinese about two weeks to realize what was missing, but then hell broke lose: Chinese ( i.e. the actual ) New Year, aka Spring Festival. It sounded like a war was going on outside, more or less all fifteen days long, and especially on days no. 1, 15 and, to please the god of wealth, the 5th. While this doesn't get as bright and shiny as it does in Germany, it does get noisy. They sure drove away the bad spirits this year. On the downside: Shanghai was pretty deserted for two weeks. Most of my friends here went home or on vacation, stores were closed, streets empty ( okay, still more people around than on any given sunday afternoon in Heidelberg ). ' Left me with enough time to finally clean my place ( my roommate Tony went back to Korea - someone new should be coming one of these days ), watch all of the fake DVDs I bought on the streets, and, of course, brush up on my vocab ( 中三, I'm coming ). While it was kind of boring and lonely ( think: spending Christimas & New Year's alone at home; well, maybe not that bad ) I did have some real time off, some time to reflect. Could've been worse.  Sure enough, people are starting to come back, and classes will be kicking in soon ( finals went smooth, btw. Nothing to be compared with 'real' [i.e. physics] exams, though ).
So, half-time summary: Shanghai's been good so far, some hitches notwithstanding. Plans for the second half include: Getting my Chinese to a level where I can have a meaningful conversation with a native speaker and completely understand Chinese television ( not that I ever really watch ). Also, cutting back a little on the whole 'expat/intern' lifestyle and do more things Chinese ( spending a sunday afternoon playing Majiang in a shady tea house/pool hall/internet bar: check! ).
So, that's my news. If we haven't been in touch for a while: Hit me up! Here, the Book, E-Mail. I'd love to hear how things are going in Germany, Europe, the Rest of the world!