Wow, it's been about 10 months since I have posted on this blog. So why haven't I posted in a while and why am I back now?
I started this blog as a way to track my "adventure to the east" and keep friends and family informed incase I could never use facebook again (gasp!). I thought people would be interested in an adventure (that was adventive...I honestly forgot what that meant and had to look it up in a dictionary just now - it means not native or not fully established into) and the more accustomed I became to living in Baoding, China, the less interesting I thought others would find my life. Because, here's what happened...China no longer became a mysterious distant land of dragons and communism, China became my second home. After phase 1 of culture shock faded away, I started to feel like a normal Baodinger. I go to the bank to get money, I go to the post office to mail boxes home, and I go to the grocery store to buy food. Now don't get me wrong, I still find and will always find China mysterious in it's own way and I can never feel like I blend in here when kids ride by on their bikes yelling "HELLO!!!" to the tall, white man. I guess I just felt like I had less crazy stories to relate back to America, but that is wrong! Every day here is still it's own adventure and that's why I love living here.
So, why I am posting again? I think it's due to the fireworks I can hear outside my window every few minutes. It is almost the Spring Festival in China. It is better known as the Chinese New Year and February 3rd begins the year of the rabbit. That is MY animal! Therefore, I will wear red underwear and red socks to ring in the new year with some good luck. The Spring Festival means the beginning of a new year in China. Thinking of a new year always makes me think back to everything I did and everything that happened to me the preceeding year.
I met up with the MCLA Spring Break trip in Beijing and Shanghai. I accompanied Emily and her mom when Nancy visited Beijing and Baoding. I cheered on Emily and our other friends in a 10K in Beijing. I went home after being away for the longest time in my life. I can no longer brag that I have never thrown up due to alcohol (thanks to Mike's bachelor party!). I was the best man at my only brother's wedding. I traveled to Boston with my amazing friends. I went back to Boston with my amazing parents. I taught a 3rd semester of college classes. I saw the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. I spent a week in Korea eating delicious food.
I hope that last paragraph doesn't come off sounding like I am bragging about my year...
I try to believe each new year is better than the last. If this is the case, I can never worry about getting older because I just know my life will get better and better! And I believe that 2011, the year of the rabbit, will somehow be even better than 2010.
I already have something to look forward to. My parents are coming to China!!! The first week in April, I will be my parents' tour guide in Beijing and then get to show them my 2nd home in Baoding. I am thrilled to be able to go to the Great Wall of China with them (3 of the Wahls on the Great Wall!) but I am actually most excited to show them my apartment, my friends, my favorite restaurants, and my students! About a month after they leave, I will actually run in the 10K that I watched last year. Wish me luck...
I titled this post "Don't You Remember?" for an obvious reason but also because I am currently listening to Don't You Remember by Adele. It is on her new CD entitled 21. It's been on repeat for about a week.
So, enjoy the new year! If you are a rabbit (born in 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951) then don't forget your red socks and red underwear! Set off some fireworks! Eat some dumplings!
I hope you take this time to remember how amazing the past year of your life was and know it gets better ever year. Love you all! 新年快乐！
p.s. I just write and don't think about what I'm writing and don't proofread it so if there are any typos please don't be angry.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Thursday, April 22, 2010
MCLA/HeDa + HeDa/MCLA = Fun Times
Kim, Emily, and I graduated from MCLA then came to teach at He Da.
Greg, Cherry (known at MCLA as Lenora), and JingJing are three of seven students who study at He Da and studied abroad at MCLA.
When Greg, Cherry, and JingJing returned to Baoding after spending the fall semester at MCLA, I was eager to meet them. We all met for dinner on the New Campus during the beginning of this semester. Kim had taught Cherry the previous year, but otherwise we did not all know each other. However, as soon as we met for dinner, we felt as if we were all old friends! We walked two by two down North Street to the restaurant where Greg booked a room as we all chatted about MCLA gossip, North Adams, Baoding, and our lives. There is a small population that has lived both at MCLA and Hebei University and now I know three more people in Baoding so it makes me feel more at home to be with them!
Since then, we have all seen each other several times...we met up with JingJing in Beijing, Greg & Cherry came to Emily's birthday dinner, and Jing Jing & Cherry came to my birthday dinner. The other students that are spending a full year studying abroad at MCLA will be back at some point in May and I hope to meet all of them too!
Greg, Cherry (known at MCLA as Lenora), and JingJing are three of seven students who study at He Da and studied abroad at MCLA.
When Greg, Cherry, and JingJing returned to Baoding after spending the fall semester at MCLA, I was eager to meet them. We all met for dinner on the New Campus during the beginning of this semester. Kim had taught Cherry the previous year, but otherwise we did not all know each other. However, as soon as we met for dinner, we felt as if we were all old friends! We walked two by two down North Street to the restaurant where Greg booked a room as we all chatted about MCLA gossip, North Adams, Baoding, and our lives. There is a small population that has lived both at MCLA and Hebei University and now I know three more people in Baoding so it makes me feel more at home to be with them!
Since then, we have all seen each other several times...we met up with JingJing in Beijing, Greg & Cherry came to Emily's birthday dinner, and Jing Jing & Cherry came to my birthday dinner. The other students that are spending a full year studying abroad at MCLA will be back at some point in May and I hope to meet all of them too!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Year of the Tiger
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Celebrating the Chinese New Year in China is INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had so much fun.
February 13th was New Years Eve. The school had a lunch provided for any foreign students and teachers who were around and wanted to attend. It ended up being three tables to Chinese staff and faculty and one table of foreigners. Me, Kim, and Emily were the only teachers; The school's president's daughter sat with us; three students from Mongolia, one student from Nigeria, and one student from Kyrgyzstan rounded out the table. We were provided with enough food and drinks for twenty people. During this lunch, Henry (the student from Nigeria) convinced me to try a fish eye. We each ate one and it surprisingly tasted like nothing. It was like a small little candy marble. During the lunch, some of the faculty sang songs, Kim sang a song, and Emily was forced to dance with a teacher.
(By the way, the olympics opening ceremony were on TV in the background! The Olympics, the Chinese New Year aka Spring Festival, and Valentine's Day all fell on the same weekend.)
After lunch, Kim went to a Chinese friend's parents house. Emily and I went grocery shopping then went to Chali's bar. Chali, his wife, two waiters, Emily and I ate dinner together. As is custom, we had dumplings! Emily ate 24 and I ate 30. I am still not sure how I ate so many. Another custom is to watch the New Years Gala on TV. It is either 2 or 3 hours long and showcases singers, dancers, and skits from all around China. After being shown live at night, it is then on repeat all day on New Years. We watched some of it with Chali but did not understand the skits. All over the city, people also started setting off fireworks. There have been some going off before the holiday and will be some every day. However, New Years Eve had the most fireworks. Fireworks are sold under tents on random street corners. Chali bought fireworks, sparklers, and poppers. Emily and I acted like kids lighting sparklers and throwing poppers all over the street. Then, Chali had me light one firework and we kept the rest until midnight. Eventually, more and more people showed up until it was super busy. We learned a new years song in Chinese and talked to everyone until midnight when we ran outside to see fireworks and set a bunch off. Setting off fireworks in the middle of the street is definitely NOT safe but it made for an exciting and amazing holiday.
After going to bed at 4am, I woke up at 1pm on New Years Day (February 14th, the first day of Spring Festival). My body needed to rest and relax before having another huge meal. Kim, Emily, and I were joined by our Chinese friend Charisse to go to our other friend Gina's house. Her mom cooked us a feast. Every animal possible was on a plate. I somehow ate more dumplings. It was an amazing meal with fun people. We left at night tired from the holiday festivities and I was happy with my first celebration of the Chinese New Year in China.
Celebrating the Chinese New Year in China is INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had so much fun.
February 13th was New Years Eve. The school had a lunch provided for any foreign students and teachers who were around and wanted to attend. It ended up being three tables to Chinese staff and faculty and one table of foreigners. Me, Kim, and Emily were the only teachers; The school's president's daughter sat with us; three students from Mongolia, one student from Nigeria, and one student from Kyrgyzstan rounded out the table. We were provided with enough food and drinks for twenty people. During this lunch, Henry (the student from Nigeria) convinced me to try a fish eye. We each ate one and it surprisingly tasted like nothing. It was like a small little candy marble. During the lunch, some of the faculty sang songs, Kim sang a song, and Emily was forced to dance with a teacher.
(By the way, the olympics opening ceremony were on TV in the background! The Olympics, the Chinese New Year aka Spring Festival, and Valentine's Day all fell on the same weekend.)
After lunch, Kim went to a Chinese friend's parents house. Emily and I went grocery shopping then went to Chali's bar. Chali, his wife, two waiters, Emily and I ate dinner together. As is custom, we had dumplings! Emily ate 24 and I ate 30. I am still not sure how I ate so many. Another custom is to watch the New Years Gala on TV. It is either 2 or 3 hours long and showcases singers, dancers, and skits from all around China. After being shown live at night, it is then on repeat all day on New Years. We watched some of it with Chali but did not understand the skits. All over the city, people also started setting off fireworks. There have been some going off before the holiday and will be some every day. However, New Years Eve had the most fireworks. Fireworks are sold under tents on random street corners. Chali bought fireworks, sparklers, and poppers. Emily and I acted like kids lighting sparklers and throwing poppers all over the street. Then, Chali had me light one firework and we kept the rest until midnight. Eventually, more and more people showed up until it was super busy. We learned a new years song in Chinese and talked to everyone until midnight when we ran outside to see fireworks and set a bunch off. Setting off fireworks in the middle of the street is definitely NOT safe but it made for an exciting and amazing holiday.
After going to bed at 4am, I woke up at 1pm on New Years Day (February 14th, the first day of Spring Festival). My body needed to rest and relax before having another huge meal. Kim, Emily, and I were joined by our Chinese friend Charisse to go to our other friend Gina's house. Her mom cooked us a feast. Every animal possible was on a plate. I somehow ate more dumplings. It was an amazing meal with fun people. We left at night tired from the holiday festivities and I was happy with my first celebration of the Chinese New Year in China.
Kunming & Lijiang: Making Friends, Trying New Food, & Enjoying the Landscape of Yunnan Province
On January 30th, Emily, Cameron and I took an hour train ride from Baoding to Beijing. Cameron was on his way to the airport to meet up with other teachers in the south as they were going to travel to Guilin, Kunming, Lijiang, and Chengdu. Emily and I were on our way to the train station to travel to Kunming and Lijiang, possibly at the same time at the others. At 4:30pm, we started our 38+ hour train ride from Beijing to Kunming. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan Province in the southwest of China. Yunnan borders several provinces including Sichuan, the autonomous region of Tibet, and three countries: Vietnam, Laos, and Burma. Kunming is known as the Spring City for its consistently warm weather. The mountain scenery is famous for its beauty, especially in Lijiang because the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is huge and has a rocky top always covered with snow. Lijiang is 8 hours northwest from Kunming but still in Yunnan.
The train ride became surprisingly fun. We had the most expensive tickets: soft sleepers. This means our berth had a door that could be left open or closed with four beds. I had a bottom bed and Emily was above me. Across from me was a professor from Beijing and his 8 year old son who's mother was born in Baoding but moved to America (weird coincidences!). The girl in the top bed was born in Korea but moved to China when was 7 and is currently going to the Beijing Film Academy to be an actress. She can sing, dance, and act! All of us ate dinner and slept the first night and during our full day on the train we all played Uno. Playing cards, seeing the mountains out the window, reading, and eating made the day go by fast and we arrived in Kunming at 8:30am on February 1st.
Emily and I had left Baoding with a general plan in mind but only train tickets to Kunming and a hostel for one night. Therefore, a good portion of our first day was spent buying the train ticket to return to Baoding (this time stopping in Shijiazhuang first then coming back quicker than going all the way to Beijing) and deciding how many days to spend in each city. We decided to spend one night in Kunming, take a night bus to Lijiang, spend three nights in Lijiang, take a day bus to Kunming, and spend three nights in Kunming before taking a 36 hour train ride back home.
Our first day we also walked to the Flower & Bird market, and Fish & Bird market. They both sold animals, flowers, but of course a lot of trinkets and clothing. We made our way to these markets again when we returned from Lijiang. Our second day in Kunming we buses for two hours and made it to the Stone Forest. I have never seen anything like it! Limestone has created a so-called forest with skinny, tall rockets. We hired a local tour guide who is part of the Yi minority that lives in the village in the Stone Forest. We learned a lot about the land and got to see Yi traditional dances, and a tea ceremony (after trying four kinds of delicious tea we were pursuaded to buy two of them!). We also walked into an art exhibition. While looking at the paintings, an old artist painting two Chinese characters for Emily meaning "well-mannered woman" and because she is a foreign teacher he gave it to her for free. He then made one for me that means "reach your highest potentional" since my Chinese name means "high mountain." We also each bought paintings of fish that represent beginning a new year with fortune and happiness.
After seeing the World Hertiage Park (the Stone Forest), we made our way to the night bus. This was my least favorite part of the trip. I had a small, top bunk bed in the middle of the aisle. The driver and another worker seemed to yell at each other for two hours. The driver swerved all over the road. After getting to Lijiang at 6am, I was tired and ready for my room in the hostel. We stayed ride inside the Ancient Town (there are no cars or bikes allowed inside, no littering or smoking, quiet hours from around 1am-9am with ancient buildings squished together connected by cobble stoned streets and natural springs). It is a beautiful, beautiful city with a lot of tourists (most Chinese tourists). Shops are open everywhere selling everything from toys to tea to treats.
We mainly stayed in the Ancient Town trying snacks, eating delicious food (Chinese and Western and local), shopping and meeting people. Our first night we sat in a bar watching traditional dances only to hear the host say in Chinese, "Let's say hello to our two foreign friends!" The whole place clapped for us. Our second night we went to a smilar bar and had at least 4 Chinese people join us at our table and spend time laughing and saying "cheers!!" Our third night we met a Chinese guy only one year older than us who also graduated college then started teaching in college. During the day, we went to two famous places. Black Dragon Pool Park has a huge lake and beautiful scenery with traditional buildings discussing the Naxi minority people that live in Lijiang. We made friends with Naxi kids in the park and with a Naxi man in the Old Town. We also went to the Looking at the Past Pavillion which is a 5 story building atop a mountain with a view of the Old Town. It was overall a relaxing time in a beautiful, ancient city. When I left Hong Kong, I thought "I must come back here sometime!" but when I left Lijiang I thought "I don't want to leave!"
During my stay in Yunnan, I ended up trying yak meat, goat cheese, and rice noodles. I did not like yak meat but loved goat cheese. Over-the-bridge-rice-noodles are famous for this province. You get a huge bowl of hot noodle soup and add vegetables and meat so they cook in the hot water then you stir it up and eat!
We did not want to take another night bus to return to Kunming so we took the 8 hour day bus which ended up being sooo much better. The seats were huge, we had great views of the mountains, and were provided with lunch at a bus stop. At 5pm, as we stepped off the bus into Kunming, I got a phone call from the American teachers from Hebei University. They also just made it to Kunming but were only staying one night and were taking a flight to Lijiang the next day. We met up with them at the hostel at night and talked about our travels so far. We also made Tim, who had gone back to America for two weeks to propose to his girlfriend, tell us his whole proposal story. It was strange and exciting to see each other in the south by coincidence when we all teach in the same city in the north.
Our last few days in Kunming were overall relaxing. We enjoyed getting sunburnt, eating delicous food (I finally had a real, good burger at the hostel!), and shopping. While at the mall, we talked to random workers and became friends with a Chinese guy who's English name is Owen. One night, he took us a famous club in Kunming. While there, we met two people who worked for the club - the boy is a b-boy and the girl dances on stage sometimes. They brought us onto the small stage twice, and I later went up for a third time with Owen. The workers also pulled us into a long conga line that slithered around the whole club. We heard people sing Chinese and English songs and danced to songs by Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and Ke$ha. I can't forget to mention there was a dance remix of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. It made me think of my dad's side of the family when I heard it played at the hostel in Lijiang and then when the remix was played in Kunming. This ended up being my favorite night of the vacation.
During our last full day in the city, we made our way to the Yunnan Nationalities Village. It has replicas of Chinese minority groups' villages. It is very commercial but the weather was great and we were surrounded by water and mountains. We saw the Yi people's village, the Naxi people's village, the Tibetan village, and a lot of more. In China there are 56 recognized minority groups and 25 are found in Yunnan province. Anywhere from 25-40% of the population of this province belongs to a Chinese minority group. After living in the heart of the Han majority Chinese people, it was great to learn about the minority groups in the south.
Our train ride back we had hard sleepers instead of soft sleepers. There is no door for a berth and there are two upper beds instead of just one. Emily and I ended up with two beds at the very top. In the middle were 20something business men, and the bottom beds were occupied by 13 year old swimmers. 24 swimming students from a school in Tianjin took a trip to Yunnan and were returning to the north like we were. The businessmen were part of 15 coworkers from near Hebei province who went for a conference on Solar Energy production. They were a lot of fun. I talked to three of the guys and played cards with them for most of the 36 hour trip. The first night I talked to two of them for an hour and a half. I went to go to bed but one of the swimmers had snuck on alcohol and was very drunk and loud. No one could sleep so I talked to those guys for another half hour. After the girl was asleep, I finally went to bed. The next day we ate, talked, played card games, and went to bed because we arrived in Shijiazhuang at 9am on February 11th. Emily and I got off and went immediately to buy train tickets right back to Baoding. It was very busy at the Spring Festival was very near (Spring Festival = Chinese New Year). Luckily, were on a fast train less than an hour later to Baoding. At 11:30am we were greeted by Kim at the train station and had returned home after a long, exhausting, amazing trip.
The train ride became surprisingly fun. We had the most expensive tickets: soft sleepers. This means our berth had a door that could be left open or closed with four beds. I had a bottom bed and Emily was above me. Across from me was a professor from Beijing and his 8 year old son who's mother was born in Baoding but moved to America (weird coincidences!). The girl in the top bed was born in Korea but moved to China when was 7 and is currently going to the Beijing Film Academy to be an actress. She can sing, dance, and act! All of us ate dinner and slept the first night and during our full day on the train we all played Uno. Playing cards, seeing the mountains out the window, reading, and eating made the day go by fast and we arrived in Kunming at 8:30am on February 1st.
Emily and I had left Baoding with a general plan in mind but only train tickets to Kunming and a hostel for one night. Therefore, a good portion of our first day was spent buying the train ticket to return to Baoding (this time stopping in Shijiazhuang first then coming back quicker than going all the way to Beijing) and deciding how many days to spend in each city. We decided to spend one night in Kunming, take a night bus to Lijiang, spend three nights in Lijiang, take a day bus to Kunming, and spend three nights in Kunming before taking a 36 hour train ride back home.
Our first day we also walked to the Flower & Bird market, and Fish & Bird market. They both sold animals, flowers, but of course a lot of trinkets and clothing. We made our way to these markets again when we returned from Lijiang. Our second day in Kunming we buses for two hours and made it to the Stone Forest. I have never seen anything like it! Limestone has created a so-called forest with skinny, tall rockets. We hired a local tour guide who is part of the Yi minority that lives in the village in the Stone Forest. We learned a lot about the land and got to see Yi traditional dances, and a tea ceremony (after trying four kinds of delicious tea we were pursuaded to buy two of them!). We also walked into an art exhibition. While looking at the paintings, an old artist painting two Chinese characters for Emily meaning "well-mannered woman" and because she is a foreign teacher he gave it to her for free. He then made one for me that means "reach your highest potentional" since my Chinese name means "high mountain." We also each bought paintings of fish that represent beginning a new year with fortune and happiness.
After seeing the World Hertiage Park (the Stone Forest), we made our way to the night bus. This was my least favorite part of the trip. I had a small, top bunk bed in the middle of the aisle. The driver and another worker seemed to yell at each other for two hours. The driver swerved all over the road. After getting to Lijiang at 6am, I was tired and ready for my room in the hostel. We stayed ride inside the Ancient Town (there are no cars or bikes allowed inside, no littering or smoking, quiet hours from around 1am-9am with ancient buildings squished together connected by cobble stoned streets and natural springs). It is a beautiful, beautiful city with a lot of tourists (most Chinese tourists). Shops are open everywhere selling everything from toys to tea to treats.
We mainly stayed in the Ancient Town trying snacks, eating delicious food (Chinese and Western and local), shopping and meeting people. Our first night we sat in a bar watching traditional dances only to hear the host say in Chinese, "Let's say hello to our two foreign friends!" The whole place clapped for us. Our second night we went to a smilar bar and had at least 4 Chinese people join us at our table and spend time laughing and saying "cheers!!" Our third night we met a Chinese guy only one year older than us who also graduated college then started teaching in college. During the day, we went to two famous places. Black Dragon Pool Park has a huge lake and beautiful scenery with traditional buildings discussing the Naxi minority people that live in Lijiang. We made friends with Naxi kids in the park and with a Naxi man in the Old Town. We also went to the Looking at the Past Pavillion which is a 5 story building atop a mountain with a view of the Old Town. It was overall a relaxing time in a beautiful, ancient city. When I left Hong Kong, I thought "I must come back here sometime!" but when I left Lijiang I thought "I don't want to leave!"
During my stay in Yunnan, I ended up trying yak meat, goat cheese, and rice noodles. I did not like yak meat but loved goat cheese. Over-the-bridge-rice-noodles are famous for this province. You get a huge bowl of hot noodle soup and add vegetables and meat so they cook in the hot water then you stir it up and eat!
We did not want to take another night bus to return to Kunming so we took the 8 hour day bus which ended up being sooo much better. The seats were huge, we had great views of the mountains, and were provided with lunch at a bus stop. At 5pm, as we stepped off the bus into Kunming, I got a phone call from the American teachers from Hebei University. They also just made it to Kunming but were only staying one night and were taking a flight to Lijiang the next day. We met up with them at the hostel at night and talked about our travels so far. We also made Tim, who had gone back to America for two weeks to propose to his girlfriend, tell us his whole proposal story. It was strange and exciting to see each other in the south by coincidence when we all teach in the same city in the north.
Our last few days in Kunming were overall relaxing. We enjoyed getting sunburnt, eating delicous food (I finally had a real, good burger at the hostel!), and shopping. While at the mall, we talked to random workers and became friends with a Chinese guy who's English name is Owen. One night, he took us a famous club in Kunming. While there, we met two people who worked for the club - the boy is a b-boy and the girl dances on stage sometimes. They brought us onto the small stage twice, and I later went up for a third time with Owen. The workers also pulled us into a long conga line that slithered around the whole club. We heard people sing Chinese and English songs and danced to songs by Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, and Ke$ha. I can't forget to mention there was a dance remix of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. It made me think of my dad's side of the family when I heard it played at the hostel in Lijiang and then when the remix was played in Kunming. This ended up being my favorite night of the vacation.
During our last full day in the city, we made our way to the Yunnan Nationalities Village. It has replicas of Chinese minority groups' villages. It is very commercial but the weather was great and we were surrounded by water and mountains. We saw the Yi people's village, the Naxi people's village, the Tibetan village, and a lot of more. In China there are 56 recognized minority groups and 25 are found in Yunnan province. Anywhere from 25-40% of the population of this province belongs to a Chinese minority group. After living in the heart of the Han majority Chinese people, it was great to learn about the minority groups in the south.
Our train ride back we had hard sleepers instead of soft sleepers. There is no door for a berth and there are two upper beds instead of just one. Emily and I ended up with two beds at the very top. In the middle were 20something business men, and the bottom beds were occupied by 13 year old swimmers. 24 swimming students from a school in Tianjin took a trip to Yunnan and were returning to the north like we were. The businessmen were part of 15 coworkers from near Hebei province who went for a conference on Solar Energy production. They were a lot of fun. I talked to three of the guys and played cards with them for most of the 36 hour trip. The first night I talked to two of them for an hour and a half. I went to go to bed but one of the swimmers had snuck on alcohol and was very drunk and loud. No one could sleep so I talked to those guys for another half hour. After the girl was asleep, I finally went to bed. The next day we ate, talked, played card games, and went to bed because we arrived in Shijiazhuang at 9am on February 11th. Emily and I got off and went immediately to buy train tickets right back to Baoding. It was very busy at the Spring Festival was very near (Spring Festival = Chinese New Year). Luckily, were on a fast train less than an hour later to Baoding. At 11:30am we were greeted by Kim at the train station and had returned home after a long, exhausting, amazing trip.
Beijing again and again!
In January, I took two trips to Beijing, each for a day to buy train tickets and see the city. Emily and I decided we wanted to take a long train ride to the south of China in February but in order to do this we had to go to Beijing to buy the train tickets. We went ten days in advance but once in Beijing were told we had to wait 5 more days to get the tickets. Since we were already in the capital, we decided to explore. We tried to find the 4D movie at the planetarium but missed seeing it so we went across the street to the zoo. I can now say I have seen pandas in China! The noctural section of the zoo was awesome too - you go inside and it is dark so all the noctural animals are awake, like weird sloths, and other mammals you normally wouldn't see awake. However, the areas for the elephants, tigers, and lions did not seem adequate. They did not have enough room and the cages were not taken care of all that well. It was definitely different from American zoos like the one in Atlanta. I did not see the whole zoo though and would like to go back when it is warm to see more of the animals venture outside.
Our next trip we successfully bought train tickets to Kunming city in Yunnan province. Again we were in Beijing, this time with Kim as well, so we saw the 15 minute 4D movie about prehistoric water life. The reason it was 4D is because air blasted our faces when anything crazy happened. It was a short film but we had a ton of fun being scared by the air blasts. After, we still had plenty of time so we went to Tiananmen Square. Walking up to be able to see Mao Zedong's massive picture made me feel several emotions that are hard to describe. It is a place of history with different meanings for different people. We walked in a little but did not go to the Forbidden City this time. These day trips to Beijing were a lot of fun and Emily and I were now ready to take a huge trip to the south of China...
Our next trip we successfully bought train tickets to Kunming city in Yunnan province. Again we were in Beijing, this time with Kim as well, so we saw the 15 minute 4D movie about prehistoric water life. The reason it was 4D is because air blasted our faces when anything crazy happened. It was a short film but we had a ton of fun being scared by the air blasts. After, we still had plenty of time so we went to Tiananmen Square. Walking up to be able to see Mao Zedong's massive picture made me feel several emotions that are hard to describe. It is a place of history with different meanings for different people. We walked in a little but did not go to the Forbidden City this time. These day trips to Beijing were a lot of fun and Emily and I were now ready to take a huge trip to the south of China...
Hong Kong!
Kerry, Emily, and I, the new teachers at Hebei University, were sent to Hong Kong to change our visas to allow us to stay for the spring semester. Our trip had a bumpy beginning: our driver showed up over an hour late only to find out that it had snowed so much the freeway to Beijing was closed and we would have to take a train to the airport. We then found out the next train we could take would leave too late for us to make the flight. By this time, the freeway opened up again so we were driven to Beijing. We missed the flight at 1pm and changed our tickets to leave at 3pm the next day. The school bought us hotel rooms in Beijing so we could be there and get to the airport on time. However, after sleeping and then going to the airport, we found out our flight was cancelled. We were put onto a flight two and a half hours later. To add to this, because we left a day later and couldn't get to a computer, we lost our hostel reservations in Hong Kong. Luckily, when we made it to the famous Chungking Mansions we were able to get an okay room at a relatively good price at midnight our first night. We were left with only two full days in Hong Kong to experience cool weather (instead of Hong Kong's normally warm, sunny weather) which prevented us from seeing the large Buddha that sits on a mountain while we had paid to take a cable car around several mountains leading up to a magnificent view of the Buddha.
Even with all these problems, the three of us had a lot of fun. The cable car was still fun. We shopped at the Temple Street Night Market and we even ate seafood on that street. My dish was called an oyster omelette, but do not worry it did not have eggs with it. It was just fried oysters in a pancake shape. Speaking of food...we found a hamburger place to eat at. I had a mushroom burger which ended up being a huge mushroom in between bread and I LOVED it as I love mushrooms. Eating a real burger (McDonalds does not count!) in China would have to wait until mid-February. I do not know how I lasted that long! The other amazing meal we had in Hong Kong was dim sum. We had some with chicken, and some with pork, and of course some with mushrooms. Other than eating Peking Duck IN Beijing, the dim sum brunch in Hong Kong has been my favorite meal in China.
Other than the Night Market and the cable car, we also walked along the Avenue of the Stars. It is similar to the one on Hollywood but has stars for Asian actors. From this street, we watched the nightly city light show that many buildings on both the mainland and the island participate in. We also made sure to catch a ride on the star ferry after going up to Victoria Peak for a spectacular view of the city. I spent a short time in Hong Kong with traveling problems and unidealistic weather but still left thinking, "I have to come back here!" It could be my favorite city I have visited because it has so much to offer (breathtaking views, shopping, disneyland, a waterpark, amazing food...). I am glad I had to go to Hong Kong to change my visa! Thanks boss.
Even with all these problems, the three of us had a lot of fun. The cable car was still fun. We shopped at the Temple Street Night Market and we even ate seafood on that street. My dish was called an oyster omelette, but do not worry it did not have eggs with it. It was just fried oysters in a pancake shape. Speaking of food...we found a hamburger place to eat at. I had a mushroom burger which ended up being a huge mushroom in between bread and I LOVED it as I love mushrooms. Eating a real burger (McDonalds does not count!) in China would have to wait until mid-February. I do not know how I lasted that long! The other amazing meal we had in Hong Kong was dim sum. We had some with chicken, and some with pork, and of course some with mushrooms. Other than eating Peking Duck IN Beijing, the dim sum brunch in Hong Kong has been my favorite meal in China.
Other than the Night Market and the cable car, we also walked along the Avenue of the Stars. It is similar to the one on Hollywood but has stars for Asian actors. From this street, we watched the nightly city light show that many buildings on both the mainland and the island participate in. We also made sure to catch a ride on the star ferry after going up to Victoria Peak for a spectacular view of the city. I spent a short time in Hong Kong with traveling problems and unidealistic weather but still left thinking, "I have to come back here!" It could be my favorite city I have visited because it has so much to offer (breathtaking views, shopping, disneyland, a waterpark, amazing food...). I am glad I had to go to Hong Kong to change my visa! Thanks boss.
A Very Chinese Christmas
I thought I would be very homesick during Christmas time but I became SUPER busy and had fun non-stop.
A week before Christmas, I was one a few teachers to go to a children's english school's Christmas party at McDonalds. We introduced ourselves and mentioned some holiday traditions. Then the teachers from the children's school performed a skit, then taught the kids how to say tree, christmas, napkin, french fry, soda, and hamburger. Emily and I then put on santa "jackets" and went behind the counter at McDonalds. The kids came up one at a time to ask for french fries, a hamburger, and soda in english. We took their fake money and gave them their dinner. It was a bizarre experience but the kids were oh-so-cute. I can also now say I worked at McDonalds for an hour in my life.
The next day, all the foreign teachers at Hebei University had a Christmas party. At Thanksgiving time we had chosen Secret Santa names so this time everyone showed up with their gifts. I bought a build-it-yourself wooden replica of the Temple of Heaven plus the movies Inglorious Basterds and The Usual Suspects for another American teacher named Tim. An Indonesian-French teacher named Mao bought me a fancy new wallet (which I have been using since then!). In total we had 20 gifts exchanged with people from China, America, New Zealand, France, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, and Korea. We all sang Christmas songs together and the highlight was when the Japanese teachers sing Jingle Bells in Japanese. Several teachers also sang a song in French. We had this party a week before Christmas becuause we knew we would all be busy that day.
Emily, Kim and I had hot pot for dinner with two of Emily's students, Joy and Vien, on Christmas Eve. After, we came back and watched the short How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon. Vien had presents for us all - hand puppets! Emily's lamb, Kim's cat, and my duck created a performance then later performed for Chali. At Chali's, that night, a Chinese santa gave out ornaments shaped like santa's sack of goods. I knew I was in China when the Chinese Santa Claus had a bag of gifts in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Emily and I joined Kim in her room for Christmas Eve. We woke up to our lit Christmas tree and waited for a Russian friend, Lina, to come over. The four of us made breakfast (omelettes!) and exchanged gifts. Lina gave me a green scarf, Kim bought me a Garfield humidifier, and Emily knitted me a black and white scarf. My parents also sent me several gifts - two very good books which I have read by now - but my favorite gift was the greeting card where they recorded their voices saying "Merry Christmas Dayne! We love you!" It almost made me cry on Christmas morning! After exchanging presents, we watched It's a Wonderful Life and took naps. Finally, we showered, got dressed, then met up for dinner. About 10 people ate together at Sandy's Italian restaurant for Christmas dinner. Several American teachers, one American student, one Russian student, one Chinese friend, and one Japanese teacher ate pizza and pasta and drank egg nog to celebrate the holiday together.
What could have been a sad-first-time-away-from-my-parents Christmas turned into an unforgettable holiday!
A week before Christmas, I was one a few teachers to go to a children's english school's Christmas party at McDonalds. We introduced ourselves and mentioned some holiday traditions. Then the teachers from the children's school performed a skit, then taught the kids how to say tree, christmas, napkin, french fry, soda, and hamburger. Emily and I then put on santa "jackets" and went behind the counter at McDonalds. The kids came up one at a time to ask for french fries, a hamburger, and soda in english. We took their fake money and gave them their dinner. It was a bizarre experience but the kids were oh-so-cute. I can also now say I worked at McDonalds for an hour in my life.
The next day, all the foreign teachers at Hebei University had a Christmas party. At Thanksgiving time we had chosen Secret Santa names so this time everyone showed up with their gifts. I bought a build-it-yourself wooden replica of the Temple of Heaven plus the movies Inglorious Basterds and The Usual Suspects for another American teacher named Tim. An Indonesian-French teacher named Mao bought me a fancy new wallet (which I have been using since then!). In total we had 20 gifts exchanged with people from China, America, New Zealand, France, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, and Korea. We all sang Christmas songs together and the highlight was when the Japanese teachers sing Jingle Bells in Japanese. Several teachers also sang a song in French. We had this party a week before Christmas becuause we knew we would all be busy that day.
Emily, Kim and I had hot pot for dinner with two of Emily's students, Joy and Vien, on Christmas Eve. After, we came back and watched the short How the Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon. Vien had presents for us all - hand puppets! Emily's lamb, Kim's cat, and my duck created a performance then later performed for Chali. At Chali's, that night, a Chinese santa gave out ornaments shaped like santa's sack of goods. I knew I was in China when the Chinese Santa Claus had a bag of gifts in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
Emily and I joined Kim in her room for Christmas Eve. We woke up to our lit Christmas tree and waited for a Russian friend, Lina, to come over. The four of us made breakfast (omelettes!) and exchanged gifts. Lina gave me a green scarf, Kim bought me a Garfield humidifier, and Emily knitted me a black and white scarf. My parents also sent me several gifts - two very good books which I have read by now - but my favorite gift was the greeting card where they recorded their voices saying "Merry Christmas Dayne! We love you!" It almost made me cry on Christmas morning! After exchanging presents, we watched It's a Wonderful Life and took naps. Finally, we showered, got dressed, then met up for dinner. About 10 people ate together at Sandy's Italian restaurant for Christmas dinner. Several American teachers, one American student, one Russian student, one Chinese friend, and one Japanese teacher ate pizza and pasta and drank egg nog to celebrate the holiday together.
What could have been a sad-first-time-away-from-my-parents Christmas turned into an unforgettable holiday!
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