Just What We Needed!

This past weekend we went to Beijing! We are so lucky to be close enough to visit on a weekend trip! I decided to fly with Rachel for only $50 more than a train, and arrive fourteen hours sooner, without having to sleep on a nasty smelling cot haha. We were on a flight with all businessmen, and I read the paper and felt like I was on a business trip too. I forgot I was in China. It was a drastic change from how we usually travel! Where were the lugee-hawking 50-year-old woman and the smelly squatters? Ha! Rachel and I were picked up from the airport by her tour guide and went to the Marriot! It was so nice to sleep in a warm, clean, soft bed and shower in a normal shower with no stench in the water. Haha. We slept- in late, had a continental buffet, worked- out (I got to swim some laps in the pool next to some serious Chinese swimmers and trainers), and then met up with our other halves, (Lauren and Lauren) who rode the train. Then we went to the Silk Market, and dropped a lot of Yuan. After about 6 hours of shopping, and buying Coach, Uggs, vans, MAC, True Religion, pearls, jade, North Face, scarves…etc. you would think we would’ve spent a lot. We came out spending about $100. We saw the Forbidden City, an enormous portrait of Mao, T’enamen square, the Olympic sites, had delicious Peking duck, ate my first salad at Hard Rock, walked through a park with retired people playing poker and doing Tai chi, dancing and singing, and saw a 60-foot Buddha. It was phenomenal! Peking duck is prepared so that all the fat is removed, and what is left is perfectly crisped skin and dark meat. Then you dip it in sugar and some soy sauce, add some finely chopped cucumbers and radishes, and thin crepes to wrap it all up. OH! And the tour guide said there are ten Coldstones in Beijing. Of course we had to go! Rach found one for us, and it was heavenly! It tasted exactly like I remembered it! We loved seeing The Bird’s Nest and the Water cube. There was a montage of clips from the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics and it was so inspirational! The Chinese were so exact, it looked almost as if there were thousands of robots. I don’t know how it was possible for them to be so on cue. I remember watching that ceremony and not thinking that I would ever visit the place where it was performed! I felt like conquering the world after being there, seeing the incredible architecture, and watching clips of the athletes’ sweat and tears!
The trip boosted my growing appreciation and respect of China. Realizing I only have about 3.5 weeks left, I am starting to cherish more moments and take more pictures! I can’t believe I will be leaving a place that was once SO incredibly foreign, smelly, strange, and now is a place I can feel so much love for, and have had some of my most fondest memories. I love taking the Holts around and seeing their reactions to something that used to be so weird and is for Americans. Pooping babies on the street? That's not normal? Haha! It is great having them here! We are having a blast making memories in China!

Chinese Living

China had an 8-day holiday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Communism. My whole ILP group decided to go to Guilin, a forty- hour train ride and a four- hour bus ride. We wondered if it would be worth it, but after looking up pictures and talking to my parents who went there, we decided all this would be the only time we would have enough days to dedicate to travel there and it would be worth every bit of it. If seemingly not worth it while going through it, we would thank ourselves once off the train. I mentally prepared myself to travel so I was ready. We pulled an all-nighter so we could sleep as much as we could on the bus. I slept the whole time, and then slept for about 13 hours on the train, haha. I read Jane Eyre, talked with my friends, and embraced the adventure by mimicking the Chinese mentality of squatting in repulsive squatters, sleeping on a three-story bunk bed and snuggling up to the worst smelling blankets I’ve ever smelt. Like with any trip, there were some funny things that can’t be explained to even come close to the actual story, but I will try my best to capture the essence of the trip.
We checked into our hostel and walked around town. We love night markets. We are becoming so savvy at bargaining prices down. If their first offer is, say, 100 Yuan, which is about $14, I will say, “50 Yuan” and they will say “Oh no! I can’t!” and I say, “Ok, well I can get that price down there…” and start walking away. Then they will say, “Ok! 60?” and we will bargain from there. I don’t have the heart to offer a price lower than half, because I have to keep my dignity and realize they have families to support and they are working so hard! Chinese lanterns were illuminating the sky and the background of a full moon, camel hump mountains, fireworks and the reflection on the lake. It was a gorgeous sight, and it will be one of my most treasured memories of Guilin.
We went to the incredible Reed Flute Caves. They were natural caves illuminated by neon lights. The stalagmites were so natural and beautiful! Then we floated the Li River. The mountains were beautiful! Everything was so green and tropical. I loved the humidity. Rachel and I took a picture with the background with the Danville Weekly and will submit it online, haha. The bamboo raft we sat on was actually PBC pipe, haha, but it was still so fun because we were so close to the water and it was refreshing to feel the water splashing up. We pulled off onto a little island and there were vendors and we bought some ice cream and there was a water buffalo. This man helped us up onto it and it was awkward because we were all in dresses, but it made for some great pictures! Another man was balancing crows on a stick on his shoulders and I snapped some shots of him. We rented scooters and plowed through the back alleys and dirt roads. They were not made for off-roading, but our guide led us through it regardless. No words can describe the Chinese way of driving in China. Stop signs and lights are more like yield signs. There is no “wrong side of the road.” If a car is going too slow, taxis will honk and pass them in the bike lane, or on the left side of the road. Honking is used every thirty seconds, sometimes for no reason at all. (A bus we took on the way home from Guilin honked seriously every ten seconds, even when there weren’t cars on the road. If it is a pride thing, or whatever the reason, it is annoying, especially when we are trying to sleep after a long ride back!) While scootering, cars were cutting us off and it was very scary and stressful for us to be riding on the same scooter, weaving here and there to avoid falling off. I was trying to be so careful. I went off the road for a second to let a car by and when I transitioned back from the dirt road, the lip of the pavement sent the bike out from under us. We slid across the gravel. Luckily there weren’t any cars then, and we were blessed to have left the scene with some road rash on our knees, feet and shoulders. We now have bruising, and every time I look at Rachel’s leg I feel so awful! It was a dumb idea, and we have realized we do not have to embrace every Chinese way of life first hand!
Guilin and Yangshuo has a fun European and hippie vibe. It was fun to escape the strictly Chinese custom, and to be singled out everywhere we go. We ate some delicious lasagna and smoothies! We met some boys from Washington in our hostel. It was nice to just be able to speak English and meet people who were going through the same transitions that we are.
The almost fifty hour trip back wasn’t too bad. I read Peter Pan and talked with the group, and got to know the other girls a little better than before. I am with some really diverse and fun people who also love to explore China and I am so lucky to be with such upbeat and positive people. It is hard to become too homesick when I am with good friends, and having a really great time learning about a completely different culture on the other side of the world.
Teaching is going great! I love my kids so much! I hope my own kids someday will be half as cool as these kids are! Haha! They run up to greet me, and I feel like the coolest person in the world. They scream, “Teacha, teacha!” They are eager to learn, and hearing them speak English and knowing how much of a difference I have made in their life is a bigger reward than I could ever want. We heard word from our head teacher that we will be getting more students, and will have to teach by ourselves. It will be a really hard transition, but I am excited to meet more kids and be able to have my own classroom and my own rules and such.

Beijing!

Anyone who has the slightest desire to visit Beijing, I am whole-heartedly supportive! This past weekend my friends Lauren, Lauren, Ali, Chantel, Ruth, Rachel and I went on the long 12 hour train ride to Beijing. We paid for beds, and it was a funny night sleep. Every ten minutes a chinese person would go into the squatters and hawk their lungs out. The chinese opera music came on over the speakers too. We slept surprisingly well!

Beijing was one of the best and craziest adventures I have ever had. We went to the Silk Market on Sat. It is to die for. They sell everything you can imagine in a six story indoor mall. The ladies are very intense, and will grab you and yell at you to buy what they are selling. They jack up the prices, and so you have to start betting at at least half, and act like you aren't interested. I bought some cashmere and burbery scarfs, converse shoes for like $12, a dress for like $15, while Rachel bought burbery perfume that is $80 in the states for $4, polo shirts for like $10, juicy sweat suits for like $10... and true religion jeans for $80.. and that was the first day. When we go back we will be able to bargain with more confidence, and buy things cheaper! They have uggs, vans, north face jackets, real pearls and jade... tiffany's jewelery.. does anyone have requests?

For dinner we went to Hard Rock Cafe! The band was Phillipeano and they were super friendly and funny, asking every table where they were from. There were people from all over the world, Sweden, Scotland, USA, and so on. But of course, everyone was over 30, and male, so the band naturally preferred to get a rise out of 7 american girls. They dedicated, "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie" to us, and came over and had us sing, and then this Scottish man asked Rachel to dance. Classic. We ate some burgers and brownie sundaes. We were in heaven. We went back to our great hostel with softer beds than our school has. It only cost $10. Then we woke- up and went on a tour with a place the hotel recommended to the Great Wall. We had about a three hour drive and it started raining. We all bought ponchos, but I had brought some plastic that covered my refrigerator in my room from the school. We looked ridiculous. Or maybe just me. Haha. The Great Wall is GORGEOUS! SO green, and actually the cloudy sky made for great lighting and photos. The rain stopped. We were not ready for the strenuous hike, so we got kinda warm, and it was nice that the weather was cool. Of course, the one time in my life that I visit the Great Wall, my camera battery dies. And then, ironically after the hike when I checked again, it was completely full. There aren't many times in my life that I have been that angry, but I guess it is pretty comical now. Luckily my friends all took pics. We hiked for about 7 miles and it took about 4 hours. We met people from all over the world. It was such a cool experience. There were stairs that seemed like they were 90 degrees, haha. It was so fun! Then at the end, we zip-lined across this really pretty river.

We got back to the hostel, got our bags and had 2 hours to find a taxi and get to the train station... BUT! there is a national holiday on Oct 1 (60th anniversary of the communism) and the streets were closed, there were crowds of people and groups of marching people practicing for the celebration. We tried to talk to police men, wave down taxis for 1.5 hours, hauling our bags up and down the streets, and it started raining. I had a feeling we should take the subway but the line we needed was 2 and the only line there was 5 (but i still had a feeling). I prayed with all of my heart and we said a group prayer.. the police men couldn't even get taxis, we had 20 min to walk before our train left. We decided to start running to the station but that didn't last very long, because we all had heavy bags and we were tired from the 7 mile hike from earlier. On the walk back it started pouring and we decided to go back to the hostel and go to the train station in the morning. As we were walking back, I had this feeling to just check the subway station to see if there was a way to catch up with our train at a different station by taking a faster train. So some friends waited and said if it didn't work we needed to hurry and go make sure the hostel would be available for the night. So I ran down and tried to talk to people but no one spoke English. I was in a foreign place, I couldn't speak the language, and i was trying to communicate that we had missed our train and we had to get back by tomorrow to teach. Then my friends came over and met this guy who spoke English who worked at the station and I told him we missed our train, so he called the train station. When he got off the phone he told me to go to the train station. After bad communication, Rachel, Lauren and Lauren heard that there wasn't a way to get back, so they went back to get the hostel. The other girls and me went on the subway to the station and luckily were able to transfer because this lady spoke English (which is so rare to find), and she helped us. She then went and talked to the ticket lady, and we were able to find a train that was fast enough to catch up with our initial train, and was stopping at the same station our initial train was. She told us we would have to sit on the ground but we wanted to do it anyway. I called Lauren and told them, but they were trapped in their hostel because there was a practice for the holiday and the streets were full of people, and police were guarding everything. Insane! How can the police force people to stay inside, but can't even get a taxi? HA! So we loaded the train.. get this... crowded room, more smashed than you can imagine. For three hours we stood like that. I found this little closet type thing where the water heater is and I stood there, and every five minutes someone would walk up and want me to fill their canteen with boiling hot water. The train would shake, and people would bump me and it would splash and burn! So hot! Finally we met this man who spoke English, and he wrote his name down to get a seat in case any opened up. His name was called and he got a bed, and he told us to follow him. We had to haul our heavy bags through the isles to the last train (#17). He told us to hurry. He was so sweet and sincere and he was not a sketchy person, but we knew what he was doing wasn't allowed. He said we could sit on his bed with him cuz it is a bottom bed that 5 people can sit comfortably on. We finally walk to #17 and the worker ladies ask to see my ticket. I didn't have one. We get caught but as he tries to convice them to let us stay we got to finally sit on soft seats in a dark corridor. This guy worker came and yelled and told us to go back to the front. We hauled all our stuff back and stood for another hour and then found room to sit on the nasty ground for 30 min and then we met another man who spoke English, (again not easy to find) who bought us beds! He was impressed that we had come to China to teach English. The beds were expensive and I didn't think it was possible to even buy one but we got our own soft bed for 2 hours. The attendant woke us up at 6 a.m. and we got off and our first friend who tried to sneak us to his bed stayed with us while we waited for our train to weihai. we boarded that and found our head teacher and we slept for a good 6 hours and it was the best sleep I've ever had. Now i am in my room safe and sound, and ready to go back! The other girls found their way back too, and I am so proud of them! Haha! I still can't believe how it all worked out! I can't wait to explore more of China!

Teaching

We started teaching this week! The kids are incredibly cute! We teach for about 25 minutes and then the groups rotate and we get a different group of 5 kids. There are four rotations. My friend, Bri and I have 4 kids, and we were able to name them. We were tempted to think of funny names, but we didn't have the guts. However, someone in our group named one kid, Panda, and another, Happy. Haha! I know I am not supposed to have favorites, but Panda is a g! He always knows the answer, and he is eager to learn more. The kids are about 6- years- old. They know the alphabet, all the colors, various songs, and we wanted to see how far they could count. The kids continued to count past 70 and then Bri and I said that was sufficient, haha. At dinner, we teachers sit around and discuss the kids and all of the funny/clever/wity/ridiculous things they do and say! After we realized what we were doing we assumed we were doing what the stereotypical teachers do at recess and lunch in the teacher's lounge.

It has been a great week! We went to pizza hut and it was definitely not fast food. There were waitresses and elegant lighting and about a ten page menu! They had chocolate shakes, waffles fries, buffalo wings, pizza, pasta, desserts.. it was delicious! The desserts are not nearly sweet enough here, but it was still great. Then we walked along the ocean downtown and saw people doing Tai-chi to the accompaniment of the violin over the speakers.

I have learned quite a bit after walking around the campus. Last night, my group and I returned to the school at 10 p.m. As we were ascending up the millions of stairs to our rooms, we looked in on a building with the lights on. There were two whole floors filled with students in their desks, as a teacher was lecturing in front. We could not believe that the students were still on campus at 10 p.m.! The next day I asked Bobby why we never see him anymore. He said he is always studying. I asked what he does when he is not studying, he said he is in class. I am so envious of the brains and talents that the students at this school acquire, but I am not in the slightest bit jealous of what type of discipline and how long it takes to become they way they are. In the future, if I find myself getting frustrated with the children, I have to remember that they are only between four and seven years old, they live away from their families, they don't have a playground, they are in school all day, and they have high expectations weighing down on them.

We are going to Beijing tomorrow after class! We are taking the train straight there, and sleeping on "hard beds" which will be similar to the slab of wood we have at the school. We are going to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and do some shopping at the Silk Market. We are staying at a hostel for like $5 each. I can't wait!

I'm going to go to my mandarin class now. Zeijian! (Bye)

Way High!

Yay I have finally found a faster way to update my blog!! So I have only been here a week, but I have learned SO MUCH about Chinese culture, Chinese/American people, how people CAN adapt to pretty much any reasonable circumstance, and myself. So far they have spoiled us here... I started off with my own room, but then learned we had to have two to a room. So rachy moved in, which is even better!! We have a huge room, with fridge/freezer, washer, fan, bathroom, closet, gorgeous view of the town/kinda ocean, TV. My head teacher did this a couple years ago in another town and he said this is a palace compared to where he was. I keep hearing stories of how bad other schools have it. We are very fortunate and lucky to be here! We havent met the kids we teach yet, but we start tomorrow. My teaching partner, Bri, and I have been getting our classroom ready. Decorating has been a blast and a half! I cant wait to meet them! We have met some of the other kids from around the campus and they are ADORABLE. We walked in on a little girl playing the piano, around 5 -years- old with amazing talent!

We had to go in groups of twos with the Chinese teachers here and meet with some of the students at their homes. The kids are cute and very smart! We corrected their English workbooks. They could write and speak English like it is no big thing! English is their second language and they speak just as well as those in America that only know English! The homes we saw are pretty nice, and the families are so proud of the students. We spent some time looking through photo albums and saw a little more of their culture! They are so happy to meet us.

My group has received a lot of attention around campus. If we go up to the students and say "nei hao," they instantly change their demeanor and become giddy and say "howdy or hello!" Some of them will ask to take pics with us on their camera phones and ask us to give them american names. The other day, this girl, Olano (she named herself an "american name" haha) made Rachel an entire tupperware of dumplings! They were delicious! It was really funny. The boys become jumpy and laugh when we acknowledge them, and the girls tell us how pretty we are and then they literally skip away and jump up and down! Hahah it's so funny. The cafeteria food is okay.. but we go into town and we find delicious noodles or pot stickers and veggies and stuff which are good! We've been to KFC twice already, hah.

The first day was hard! .. 16 hr plane ride.. found out one of my duffels didnt make it, ( I eventually took a cab and got it at the Weihai airport an hr away) 14 hr bus ride and then we stopped for dinner and they brought out the entire fish.. deep fried, the whole shrimp.. eyes and all, clams and what tasted like weeds and cabbage and haha. Nasty!! Besides that day, it has been a fun time. I am lucky to have such a good group. My group is very fun and adventurous! We take the bus into the city which is like 40 min away and the fare is only 1 yuan, which is like 7 cents haha. The market is there and we try new foods, see more of the culture, and buy cheap dvds for a dollar and it is so fun! The people just stop and stare at us.. haha. The other night, my friend Chantel, who is 6 foot and blonde, blue-eyed, got asked to take a picture with these two older men. Haha!! They love Americans... which I love, and is very flattering!

We met this 15-year-old boy, Bobby, who is our new best friend. He is so friendly and knows English very well, and teaches us Mandarin. He sits by us at lunch and tells us about his video games, and his obsession with the Chinese Opera, (which he doesn't admit to his friends). Haha. He told Rachel, as he was looking through her DVD case that his favorite movies are Titanic, 27 Dresses, and Bride Wars. HAH. He, this other teacher ( who we named Steve-O, and is here with another program), and various people in our group have brought us a lot of comic relief. Humor is something that has brought us closer together and kept us from being homesick. All in all, I have just been open minded and accepting and knowing that it is not going to be like the US. It has helped me thus far with culture shock and things that could potentially break my high spirits. I don’t know what I would do without my friends (especially Rachel)! We have “pillow talk” every night and there are 6 of us that are really close and we just talk and laugh, analyze chinese culture, and make up dances and perform them for the rest of the group. Hahah, so ridiculous.

P.s. You should see how crazy we go over dove chocolate/snickers/peanut butter/ice cream at the grocery store!

China Girl

So I finally caved into the blogging trend/obsession...I decided if I ever wanted to start blogging, this is the perfect time! These photos are the result of a search on google images for photos of Weihai (where I am going to be living in for the next four months).. I'm not sure how accurate they are, but I am hoping they are not too far off! Haha.. maybe a little too optimistic? LOL!

David Bowie has inspired me to find out what it is about the china girls that keeps him singing! So here I go! The China countdown has ended.. and I am off to explore a world I never thought I would have the opportunity to! I begin my day long traveling at 1:30 am! I fly from SFO to Taipei, Taiwan (13 hours) with some people from my group who I haven't met yet, and then meet up with Rachel Holt and the rest of my group and then fly to Beijing (3 hours) and that is not the end! From there we board a train and around 10 hours(?) later end up in Weihai, where my school is that I will be teaching at. As I rummage around in my suit case, stuffing the last minute items such as winter coats for the snow, school supplies for the children, and tortillas to satisfy my mexican food cravings, I look upon an empty house! Where have my parents gone? Where in the world are John and Diane? But who am I kidding... did I honestly expect them to stay around long enough to see off their baby daughter, as she makes her way to the other side of the world?? HA! With that said, I am really going to miss them and they will just HAVE to come visit me mid-trip, anyone wanna tag along?