Home.

Mixed feelings. Dad said those are the words of a true vagabond. He picked me up.

Border control did NOT say "welcome home"

It was weird/cool to see Obama's picture welcome me as opposed to Bush. Not because I hate Bush, but because it was the first time I've traveled abroad since he was inaugurated and it struck me.

I had the goal to stay up until 10. It's 10 and I am starting to crash.

I have unpacked and am already itching to move on.

I can't stay still for very long or in one place for very long.

Nomad.

Luckily I head to camp in 3 days.

Reflection/catch up entries to come. I promise.

Shit-now that I am home I really have to read these 4 books and write these 4 papers. Vacation over-back to work.

BECKI-WHERE ARE YOU!?

About to leave the Peninsula 7:12 a.m

Whenever I return to the States, I always love at customs when they stamp my passport and say 

"Welcome Home"

It always makes me get a little emotional. Is that weird?

I  really hope they say it today

I walked into the Peninsula sweaty and carrying my backpack.  I'm sure they thought I was kidding when I said my friend had already checked in and that I was here to meet her in my room.  They were nice anyway-they have to be for how much I am paying.

Our room is incredible. 2 bathrooms-one for the giant bath and two different sink areas and the other for the toilet.  I have been living in places where the bathroom/toilet/shower are one little room where there is a drain on the floor. The beds are luxurious and fluffy, the plasma tv is also in the bathtub, I cant wait to put the robe on.  I have to go early to the airport but I may not sleep.  I'm taking a train-but I have a choice of the Rolls Royce and the helicopter.  I wish.

They gave us a DVD library, free wifi, a fruit platter (which was eaten before I got here) these cool red chinese boxes to take home, and other fun things to play with.

Diana and I had dinner at around midnight. We had a bad taxi ride followed by a walk where I wanted Thai food and she craved dim sum. I told her dim sum was for the AM.  All of the sudden we found a dim sum diner kind of place where they had it till 3 am.  Wow. Dreams do come true. I had hargow and dumplings and soup dumplings until I was ready to burst.  I also had one last Tsing Tao beer for old time's sake. My last legal drink for a long time-and my last beer for a VERY long time.  

We picked up ice cream so I could eat in the bath. I'm on my way.

Will be home tomorrow.

WEIRD

Hana

Sitting in the Singapore airport

1. Free wireless
2. Massage and manicure place
3. Pool?!!

So cool. Not enough time.

I wish i Had a layover here instead of Kuala Lumpur
But in KL they have a chocolate cafe that I found last time where I met Mark- a helpful and cute Singaporeon with an Australian accent
who thought that I was Australian too. I wish I had that accent.

I will indulge
with the 2 hours I have
while getting stared at for being
1. white
2. a female
3. a female traveling alone
4. a female who is not wearing enough clothing for the taste of the Muslim men who watch me and judge me

An Asian woman in a cowgirl hat is staring at me. I am tempted to tell her I am from the land of cowboys and native americans. How P.C of me to say native americans and not indians. But now a real Indian man is next to me, so it would be unwise of me to say Indian.

Singapore is a mishmash of cultures.
I wish I had time for a manicure. My nails are a hot mess.

Last night Cherise (my 5 year old cousin) sat on my lap and told me my legs were too spiky and it hurt. I tried to explain that while travelign shaving my legs was a low priority. She didn't care-she was grossed out.

I have really let myself go on this trip. I should shave before I come home.

Mom-you may not recognize me at the airport. I'll be the hairy, significantly heavier than before, hunchbacked girl carrying a GIANT orange suitcase.

Hana

PS-my overweight charges were more than my airline ticket. You all better appreciate all the gits.
I threw out almost all my clothes and all but one pair of underwear. Only dresses and jeans remain.

In 2 days I will be home. 

I think I am going to experience (reverse?) culture shock.

I'm not ready to go yet

You would think after 43 days away I would be dying to return

But I've developed a love for this side of the world.

Like mother like daughter I guess.

Annie and I discussed Vietnam 2010. Let's see if I can get my parents on board for that.

Hong Kong

12:51 p.m. Malaysia/China time?
I am the world’s worst blogger. Shanghai and Hong Kong have sped by-both a great time on which I will later elaborate. Hong Kong has won my heart as favorite city in the world and I have a strong desire to come back as soon as possible to get to know it better. I also think have finally decided what I want to do-international schoolteacher. This means I will have to ditch Journalism-an idea I am becoming increasingly comfortable with. More on Hong Kong later.


I am currently somewhere above the clouds en route from Guangzhou (the worst place on Earth), China to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am only staying here for a few hours layover until I get to Singapore. I had a hell of a time getting here-I woke at 4:30 so I could leave my hostel at 5 a.m. I discovered my local subway stop was not yet open and was forced to take a cab to Kowloon where I caught the 45 min train to Shenzhen-where China starts. I ran into Dave, luckily, and we went through customs and filled out way too many forms. We then schlepped ourselves and are increasingly large backpacks onto a 1-hour train ride to Guangzhou, China. The train station is an hour ride from the airport and the bus would come in too late, so we were forced to take a cab to the airport. Cutting it close on time, we arrived and checked our bags to find we were both overweight (the limit was 15 kg) and had to pay extra. They didn’t take credit and we had barely any Yuan (after all we both had just come from HK using the dollar). Three was no ATM so we frantically pulled out al $HK and $US we had and were just able to afford the charge before rushing to the plane after going through more customs crap. Our plan was scheduled to leave at 10:20 a.m. but we saw a bunch of men in HAZMAT suits board and we didn’t; leave until about half an hour later. I’ve had to fill out 3 forms already on the flight even though I’ve stressed I am not even leaving the airport. My mom is a nervous wreck about me going into KL airport-she’s convinced that they will kill me on the spot if they see my Israeli passport stamp.
Oh! I just spotted land but have no idea where I am still. This is a no frills airline which means no fancy screen showing your location on a map. I look forward to flying Jet Blue home.

I’m a little nervous for Singapore-both Nikki and Kea will be out of the country ☹ and I am staying with family that I have never met. I couldn’t find anything worth bring a s gift so I am coming pretty much empty handed. I hope it’s not weird. Diana begged me to stay in HK but I couldn’t ditch my family so I had to leave though I would LOVE to have stayed. I’ll see here in 4 days where we spend my last night together at…wait for it…THE PENINSULA! We booked a room last night figuring it’s a once in a lifetime thing and we have been staying in low cost not so nice places for the rest of our stay. I walked in to make the reservation and was so intimidated by the hotel that we called instead. It’s GORGEOUS and famous-Google it now.

I’ll go back to Shanghai later but HK is fresh in my mind. I was supposed to stay with Dave and Chiai but Diana, Anne, and Grace convinced me at the last moment to stay with them. We all flew on the same flight alone with Joe and Tom who left for Puget and are having a great time. We got lost but a sweet man named Kenneth got us from Guangzhou to HK and we didn’t arrive until almost 1:30 am at our hostel. Sun Kong Hostel is in Causeway Bay-right in the middle of all the action. We stayed there 5 nights at $20 a night. Backpacking and hostelling is NOT as glamorous as it seems to be-you are often sweaty and smelly and tired and hungry…. but I loved every minute of it. We didn’t meet any Australian men as I hoped but we had great girl time. Grace Anne and I split a triple with our own bathroom and shower and Diana had a single upstairs. It wasn’t the Waldorf but it was clean, comfy, and quiet-I can sleep anywhere though so I was happy.

We crashed the first night and woke up and met Keith for Dim Sum in Kowloon. He was couch surfing for a few days before he left for the Philippines (where Anne and Grace will soon meet him. He asked me to come but I have to be back for camp on the 15 and I already am cutting it close with the 11th). Another nice man named Ken showed us a good dim sum place and I ate harrow until I couldn’t anymore. Hong Kong is HOT-I sweat most of the time and realized I was always underdressed. The differences between HK and the mainland are undeniable and obvious. I will talk about them later, but Dave described HK and “the child that got away and made something for itself.” The British and European influent is obvious in how modern it is in compassion with Mainland China.

Personally, I think HK is a city that others would model themselves after. To me, Hong Kong is well designed and it makes sense. More on that later too.

We went the HK Art Museum and the History Museum after finding out that Wednesday is free Museum day. The art museum had a Louis Vinton exhibit, and even as someone who doesn’t follow name brands, I found it really interesting and respect the brand much more than I previously did.
The History museum way FANTASTIC and really put HK in perspective. It has a really interesting history with all the different influences and helped me to see why it is so spates from China.

Keith left us and after some strolling we found a sushi restaurant where the sushi came around on a conveyor belt around the bar. We stuffed ourselves full of fish-I had and the interesting salmon mango roll that I am currently craving. I have also become slightly addicted to a drink called Coconut Sago-fresh coconut milk with something in it reminiscent of tiny tint tapioca balls. At $6 HK or less than a dollar US (exchange rate was about 7.8:1) I constantly got my fix.

Hong Kong city puts on a light show every night at 8 p.m. The skyline lights up different colors and music plays. Every night. I know. We watched from the Kowloon side. The cityscape is so massive and looks like a movie set. Right behind it are mountains and trees and you can also see beaches. The place is incredibly dynamic.

After finding out that the dessert buffet in the Hyatt was no longer around, we walked around Kowloon. Anne and I picked up a bottle of Proseco for later. We found a movie theatre near our hostel and went to see “Night at the Museum II”. It was really funny but I don’t know if the HK audience got it, as there were a lot of US History jokes and pop culture references.



The next day we met Keith at the ferry and the 5 of us went to Lantau Island to see the Giant Buddha. When people think of HK I don’t hank they think about the surrounding islands, which are tropical with beautiful beaches and nature. The ferry ride was gorgeous-we even had beers on the way while the ocean breeze made us feel like we were really on a tropical vacation. A bus ride up the mountain at Lantua took us the Giant Buddha. W walked up the stairs went into the museum, and bought meal tickets to eat the monastery’s vegetarian cafeteria. It was okay-but disappointing in compassion to what Vie read. Grace was happy, though, she didn’t have to worry about meat.
7-11 is all over Hong Kong, PS.

Keith went to catch his flight and Diana had to go back to the mainland, so Grace, Anne, and I stayed on the island and swam at a beach. Mountains surrounded the water and I was in paradise. I commented on how privileged we are to be able to be so young and feel like the world is so open that we have a hard time choosing where to travel next. We are so lucky. We met a lot of children of ex-pats (ex-pats are EVERYHWERE here) and then headed back to the city.

It was June 4th-the anniversary of Tiananmen Square, and there was a huge protest and vigil outside of our hostel. After stopping and the grocery store and making salami, cheese and mustard sandwiches to eat with our Proseco (so classy) we joined the people outside who were, from what I could understand, angry with the government for claiming it had killed no one that day. Grave went to the candlit vigil but it was ending when I got there. I meant to look if it was covered in the paper, but forgot.


I think I need more adjectives-I use the same ones over and over again in this blog. I really do have a more expansive vocabulary-I just have so much to say and I type so fast that I can’t get it all out as articulately as I would like.




More to come about HK later
Worst. blogger.ever.

Old Post from Shanghai

Ni hao everyone

I haven't had internet in awhile and my blog has been blocked by the government lately so I have been MIA basically.

I am currently in Shanghai-by far the most international city I have ever been to and has made my top cities list for sure. New York still and probably always will hold the special place as number one, but Shanghai is high up there-I am still struggling with if it beats Paris. I also clearly have strong loyalty to Philadelphia. I hope I have an easier time picking my favorite child than city.

I got home late last night from the club called Babyface. I-the girl who usually prefers to stay in sweatpants and read instead of going to parties-has found that she actually enjoys going out to clubs at times. This being said, I still like sweatpants and quiet more than loud parties. True to my "let's just stay in" self, I can only stay out for about an hour or two before the loud music and strobe lights get to me. I'm an old woman. The smoke here is killing me-people can smoke anywhere: clubs, restaurants, the train, the bathroom. I am wheezing often. People were exhausted last night so only this guy Joe and I went but made some old man Indian friends. The Chinese are awful dancers and I have tons of rhythm in comparison. Go ahead and laugh, but it's true.

I am also interning at a private Chinese kindergarten run by an awesome ex-pat. It's a whole school of 220 kids from ages 18 months to 7 years. I take 2 subways to work in the morning, teach English for 2 hours and enjoy every moment of it. International school teacher is looking a likely career for me.

Things are still crazily cheap, though MUCH more expensive than the rest of China. Today I am going to go get jeans custom made for me for 18 dollars. SInce I can never find jeans that fit right this seems reasonable. I can also get dresses made for the same price. My guy friends are all getting suits. We should have done a pre-prom trip.
Also they sell full DVD box series here for about 5 dollars and movies for less than 1. I got things that are in theatres and about 3 seasons of different shows. If I get caught I get a 10k fine. WIsh we luck.

Kyle called me and told me about Shawn English. Though I never spoke to him, Eric has been constantly in my thoughts. If anyone is going to the funeral PLEASE send my condolences. I sent an email as it's all I can do at the moment.

Hope all is well with you all!
ENJOY your summer, I will be back in a little over 2 weeks-tenatively.

Hana

Exhaustion is keeping me from updating anymore tonight.
To Be Continued in a few hours I hope.
Hana

Anhui-the Happiest Place on Earth

Someone on our bus just peed in their pants. Someone else peed into a bottle. We finally stopped at a rest stop. The whole back of the bus was chaotic as we all had to urinate and were trying to help the person who peed. I contributed shorts and tried to stifle laughter. I am a bad person.
For clarification this is a new bus ride, 3 days later on the way to Shanghai.

3 days earlier:
We pulled into our last destination after almost crashing into a lake. Our driver almost sent me into cardiac arrest on multiple occasions during our time together especially during our drive up the mountain.
The village we spent our time in was called Huizhou, outside of Anhui. I can say with certainty that is one of my favorite places in the world. It is a small town center with a few old looking buildings surrounded by rice paddys and farms. Chickens, WATER BUFFALO, ducks, and their babies roam free as do dogs whose owners are a mystery. Children also seem to roam free and love to play with Americans much to my delight. I picked my favorirtes and provided piggy back rides, stickers, and Enlgihs songs. Bascially I got to play with small Asian children in a beautiful setting-my dream.
Our ohusing was incredible. We stayed in a Western research center-a beautiful home with a twin in Salem, Mass (hence the sister cities). The biudling is set up in a manner where all rooms lead to the outside with courtyards connecting them. We all had our own room with antique looking beds that are remniscent of forts. My room was large with a desk, armoire, windows, and the bed which I fell in love with and never wanted to leave. The public showers and bathrooms were spa-like. The toilet was heated, something my mother would adore, and another thing I never wanted to leave. After weeks of squat toilets in my past and future, it was a welcome break. The showers were the sort that feel like you are being rained on, and there were heat lamps abve them. It was perfect except for the extreme hot and cold settings. The dining room served us all meals including these fresh cherry tomatoes which I ate like normal people eat grapes. Anyone who has eaten with me at school knows I always have a side of cherry tomatoes and these were the best I’ve ever had. The land around the village was green and lush (it rained every day we were there).
As much as I love the city I enjoy stepping away into a place that is simple and removed. Unlike Dazhai (or the aforementioned Mao-land) this place was not meant for profit and proved a real glimpse into simple rural life.

If I ever want to
a) write a book
b) enroll in the witness protection program
c) get over a divorce
d) leave my incredibly successful but stressful career
I will be hiding here.

I don’t know how to get here again, but it’s one of those places I feel the need to return. There is nothing to do in the town, so it may not sound tempting, but you have to be there to know.

The first day we were able to sleep in until around 8:30. Joe slept till 10:30 but I dragged him out of bed after calling him a bum. Rain ruined our plans to work in the tea/rice fields, so we had a very loose day. We mostly played with kids, met local officials, and then met with a minister in a nearby village. Apparently Chrisitianity has a home in China. I asked a question about the commercialization of Chrismas in China. We split into groups and had lunch with local families. Ours spoke no Enlgish. Jaye attempted translation. After 2 dogs and chickens wandered into the dining room from the open door, we asked how many pets they had. They said none. They did show us their 3 pigs and I’m fairly certain we ate the 4th for lunch that day. The family’s baby had the fattest cheeks I’ve ever seen and I spent ¾ of the meal swooning over it.
Grace tried to steal a puppy from a little boy and he cried and thereafter hated all females. We called him red pants. His friend was a little girl who had a lot of crazy clothes on and she ran around and laughed hysterically. We called her crazy lady. There was a little tom boy who was awesome and knew the “Obama terrorist fist bump”. I taught her “whats up” “whatever” “playa please” and “yo”. I called her my favorite. Keith and I want to adopt her, but she has parents and I’d probably get stopped at customs. Some of the guys found 12 packs of beer for 20 yuan (about 3 dollars) and we played Kings. I had never played before but it was really fun. I told Joe I didn’t need any help from a guy in a muscle tee. This only makes sense if you were there. The kids of the village wanted to hang out with us and one kept feeding Dave beer.
I went to bed by 10:30 as we had to wake up at 5 to go hiking up “Yellow Mountain”.
Some of us took the cable car up, but my theory is you only deserve the view if you hike. So the rest of us trekked up the most challenging moutain I have ever climbed. I had backsweat like no one’s business and may have used a few choice words on the way up referring to what I thought about the climb. Everytime I struggled a man carrying 50 pounds of food up the mountain would walk past me and make me feel like I had no reason to complain. They were not human.
The views were worth it. Except for Lake Louise and Rangers, it was one of the highest places I’d ever been and incredibly beautiful. My camera nor my words can capture what I saw. We hiked for a few hours once at the top to explore more sights and then a few of us grabbed a table at a reatuarant at the top to relax. Some grabbed beers while I took a cat nap. I was so tired I could barely stand.
The cable car ride dwon as slightly insane-over 40 people in one cable car oer a valley inspires fear into most hearts I believe. The views were again gorgous at a new angle.
The decision between food, shower, and sleep upon returning to the house was a difficult one. I chose food and then went for a walk with Tom, Josh, and Kristen to take pictures.
Showering was heavenly. I love those days when you can actually feel as if you derseve a shower and sleep. I did.
I was going to go to bed around 9 but found out fireworks were going to happen. I forced myself to stay awake. The town put on acual big fireworks and then gave us sparklers to play with. It was like my favorite holids-the 4th of July. I acted like I was 7 and was thrilled with the sparklers.
After that Dave and I layed in bed and talked. We had visitors float in and out and after everyone left I crashed until 6 a.m. We packed, put out stuff on the bus and then had a choice between visitng a tea factory and teaching at the local elementay school. Clearly I picked the school. Some of my favoite kids were in my class. We taught the Hokey Pokey, Old McDonald, and played a lot of games with stickers as rewarsds. I got trampled for stickers and was on the ground. It was scary.
We pulled out of the village and after a quick 40 minute stop in a nearby town where I got CHOCOLATE MILK!!! we were on the way to Shanghai.

I have mixed feelings. I am excited to see Shanghai after hearing such great things about it but I am sad to leave here. Also this is our last stop and I’m not ready for this trip to be over though I have to admit hostility between certain people is growing. I am peaceful as usual and have no enemies. I am excited to continue traveling but wish I was going to the Pihllipiens and Vietman with some of my friends.
There are so many places on this side of the glbe that I have a desire to see. I wish I had more time.


Being in the village in Chian helps me see the urban rural divide in China firsthad. In the other village the conditions at the doctor were not so good. Grace, who is going to nursing school, said that the temperatures were taken wrongly and the supples were not up to par. The doctor stuck alhocol up my nose after I told her it was dry and it burned and worsensed the dryness. In the city I ahvent been to a hostpical luckily, but I heard they are moden and efficient. The education is different as well. More focus on Enlgihs is in the city for obious reason and the teching seems to be more enthusuatic and effienced in urban areas. There is a shortage of cerain teachers in the ruual areas.
I haven’t seen any sort of suburbia in China-is there? I’m not sure.
There is a growing middle class though.

I am exhausted though I have many more thougsh so I will hold off until later.

Hana

Last night I packed and played the game “Keep it or Leave it?” where I decided what I needed to keep and what could be thrown away. I left sweatpants and a few other small things. Went on a short walk with Edek and Dave and then came home, showered, and passed out.
5:15 a.m. wake up call. Boo.
We left for the airport around 6:30 a.m. Chaos as we all tried to check it. My bag was .1 kg over, but it was fine. We seemed to JUST make the plane. I sat next to Annie and Josh at the window. The ride was a quick 1.5 hours. I read China Daily with had some interesting op-eds and a hilarious page of weird headlines. I read that there was a synagogue bomb attempt in NY. We landed in Nanjing. There was a false alarm where I thought I saw a couple trying to join the mile high club. No go.
We got right onto a bus at by noon were at lunch. Mediocre as our new tour guide George bought us here. He talks too fast but is funny. I also broke up a verbal fight between Harper and Sepencer at lunch by rasing my voice for the first time and yelling “PEACE” and then singing “If you’re peaceful and you know it clap your hands.” Only Ma and Li Yan clapped with me. I use kindergarten negociation skills.
Sun Yet Zen’s (spelling?) moseluem was up a lot of stairs. Thankfully it was unlike Mao’s and his body wasn’t visible.
The Rape of Nanking memorial/musem really affected me. There was a room with darkness and candles and music that was just like the Holocaust museum in Israel. I was frozen for a few moments and then started crying. I was quiet for the rest of the time. I may be overly sensitive, but stories of hatred and war really affect me.
We are on a 6 hour bus ride to Anhui. It’s just getting dark but I can still make out the mountains around us wheich are beautiful.
Jenna, a beautiful blonde who went on the same dialogue two years ago, is joining us for Anhui and Shanghai. We are basically smuggling her in as she just got here today and China is still freaking out about swine flu. She set us sister cities with her hometown of Salem and is coming to make a presentation. She is very sweet and has spnet 3 summers in a row in China.
Anhui is apparently a small rural village. We get no dinner tonight is the rumor or we get cup of noodle at a rest stop.
It’s the point of the trip where we are all restless. REST STOP!
Hana

Today Annie and I woke up late but still managed to get to McDonald’s for breakfast.
Let me make two things clear:
I DO NOT eat fast food in the states
I DO NOT even like McDonalds
But fast food is the subject of my paper and I REALLY wanted pancakes. My hash brown was good and my pancakes weren’t bad. What was bad was slipping on the wet tile on the way back and getting wet and hurt.
The women’s museum we went to was interesting. The best part was the collection of bridalware. Lunch was “eh”. Noodles that I couldn’t differentite between.
Mosque afterwards. If I wake up at 4 am I can go to services. Probably not since we have a flight tomorrow at 8 ish.
I walked around alone for awhile. Tried avacodo ice cream from McDonalds. It was not good and I like avacado ice cream from Chinatown NYC.
Dinner was pizza after a long long relfelction meeting. Dave and I laughed a lot and as usual I had nothing intelligent to contrriubte. I feel so stupid here especially when Tom speaks.
Haagen Daz was expensive and not worth it.
I don’t want to leave Xi’an.

If I get a dog I want to name it Times New Roman.

Terra Cotta Warrior Day

I am currently sitting outside at a Starbucks using their wireless and relaxing in a comfy chair. It is bustling outside. We just came from the Muslim Bazaar which was filled with street food and hawkers. I had to buy 4 pairs of underwear because I am out. Not a fun purchase.
Today we saw the Terra cotta warriors. I was overwhelmed by the massive amount and I saw less than 1/3 apparently. There are more wating to be unearthed. I highly recommend it. We stopped at a factory where they may models but I found somewhere to get it cheaper. Lunch was mediocre. The downside of having a tourguide for this leg of the trip is that he has deals with restaurants and we eat there even though they suck. I have seen way too many Westerners. I miss being a minority and look forward to going back to less known areas.
We went to a museum with thousands of ancient relics. It was small and I entertained myself by making up a game called “Guess What That Was Used For”. I would look at an artifact and guess what it was for before I looked at the sign.
Example :
Large gold bowl
My guess: Candy dish for rich people
Answer: Well, I don’t remember what it was but it wasn’t what I guessed

After that Annie and I hunted for wine but realized how overpriced everything is around where we are staying-one of the pitfalls of staying in the center of town.

Dinner was the best. It was a dumpling feast with courses and courses of dumplings with a soup at the end. Some dumplings were good, others were not. Example: Walnut dumpling that looked and tasted like walnuts.
We ordered rice wine and had drinks with Chris. An old Chinese man came over and poured us all pijou. (GROSSSSSSS Chinese liquor). We all did shots including Chris. I did a shot with my professor. Highlight. Our table had great conversation and Joe told inapproptiate stories about pooping in his pants to Chris. I haven’t laughed that hard in awhile. Actually, since Joe told me his last story.

Muslim bazaar after diner. I bought much needed underwear.
Now email and relaxing.

Love Asia.

Long Bus Rides=Grumpy Group

The rest of the bus ride was a shit show. People got hungry and tired and grumpy. Dujan called me a cunt out of nowhere and thankfully people jumped to my defense but it was awkward.
Hours of driving through nature was repetitive and driving through the small poor looking towns was depressing. Out of nowhere a city, Shan Xi (?) appreared. Again I am going to make the comparison to what I imagine Las Vegas is like. A city of lights appearing out of nowehere. The back of the bus was loudly voicing their craving for McDonalds and KFC. I tried to ignore them for my sanity.
After a mediocre dinner we ran through the train station to catch the overnight train to Xi’an. The train had bunks 3 rows high. Each little compartment had six bunks. I got the middle which ended up being perfect as the fan hit me and I didn’t have to climb as high. I slept better than I did for most of the trip and had a blast hanging out. It was like a slumber party. Dave slept under me, Connie above me, and Wensess across from me. We got in trouble for watching a movie and were told to go to bed by the guards on the train. I called them the fun/safety/curfew police.
I awoke at 5:30 a.m. to watch the sunrise over the Yellow River but I missed it. Back to bed after some loud conversation that pissed off the car next to us (our friends).
I had a nightmare about none of us being friends after China. I woke up to see Edek and Wensness and was relieved I was still here.
Joe and Erlinda were up all night. Apparently doctors in the dining cars bought them drinks. Of course Joe gets free drinks.
I tried to get cold nio ni (milk) this mornig but it ended up being hot yougurt. Ugh. All beverafges are hot here including organge juice.

At 8 a.m. we arrived in Xi’an. A Chinese man, Richard, greeted us waving an American flag. He is our tour guide and it very funny. We got to the hotel WHICH IS SO NICE! and had another mediocre breakfast. Anne and I are sharing a room. We got to shower which was thrilling. I washed my feet and realized that I lost my socks somewhere along my travels. We saw a Walmart down the street so I can get more. After showering we went for a bike ride on the city wall.
I thought it would be a short ride. It was 7.8 miles or about 13.2 km. I went through 3 bikes-the first one had a broken kickstand, the second one had first a chain that fell off and then a broken chain, and the third one also had a broken kickstand. I still had fun, though I think I am out of shape. THe wall had a lot of ruts and I am amazed I didn’t fall. I ekpt thinking how awful it would be to break a leg in China. I would have to go home-almost nothing is wheelchair accessible here.
Lunch sucked, so Annie and I left early and went to Carrefour. She was in search of American beer and I was in search for cheese.

I feel like the people here think I am always on the seach for cheese.

I ended up just getting Cheetos (which were awful) Oreos, Herhsey Kisses, and gum due to time constrants.
Afterward was a lecture by a woman who ran an NGO for women. It was fairly interesting but Diana asked so many questions that it wnet on for too long.

I tried to get internet and paid for it, but the connection was awful for me. I had 5 different people come, but it dindt work. Also, blogspot can’t be reached by any of us in Xi’an, so no updates for awhile. You’ll all get these at once.

Dinner and the night was on our own. Joe, Tom, Kristin, Diana, Anne, Grace, Keith and I went to a restaurant promising “steak beer pizza” as they were all sick of Chiense food. I’ll never get sick of it, but I just went along. I had okay pizza and a long island ice tea. We sat there for hours and talked about all sorts of things. Tom amazes me with his knowledge about politics-boht American and internatonal. They disucssesd China vs. US and the rest of the world and I just sat in awe with nothing intelligent to contribute.
It made me question a lot of thoughts I had/have about Chinese govt and the people and I realized I need to take a lot of classes so I can have a bigger understanding of what is happening. We discussed swine flu and how we are being banned from another school tomorrow. Lighter topics included surrogate mothers, adoption, tv shows, and random topics.

Afterward on the walk home we wlked into a club for about 10 minutes. It felt like the future. LOUD crazy music, flashing lights, waiters in weird uniforms. I felt like I was on Mars. We left.

I walked into McDonalds to take pictures for my paper. I also got another hot fudge sundae. Tomorrow are the terracotta warriors! So famous. Google them if you don’t know.


Xi’an is interesting. It’s crowded and crazy where we are staying which apprears to be the center of town. I’m not sure if its touristy yet but there are a lot of Westernsers here. I need to explore more, but it made a good first impression. Good enough for a second date.

Hana

My Lowest Low

This is the most horrific bathroom I’ve ever been in.
It smelled so bad that I simultaneously vomited and urinated.
It was hands down one of the worst moments of my life.
I also got very ill in a squat toilet later on in the day. You can use your imagination there.

Notes to self

Notes to self:
Stop drinking Chinese beer –you are gaining weight
Learn to squat better for toilets
Remember how to say “I don’t speak Chinese”
NEVER buy Chinese wine again.
Send art home

Paper

Paper topic :
Globalization of Fast Food in China.
I have been surprised by the amount of fast food, especially American chains, that I’ve seen in China. I would like to discuss restaurants like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC, Dominoes, and get a feel for the Chinese reaction to these chains. I have asked teenagers I’ve met about how they feel, but would like to get more a view. I also want to go into these places and look at the menus for comparison. Possibly talk to employees as well and see their views.

Notes:
Check out book about McDonals that Gilmartin discussed

Collect menus

Leaving Dazhai

I run around the village with stickers and approach all the children giving each a sticker. Someimes I can’t tell the really little ones apart and give them too mnay, but I have realized that the village kids are shy and usually run away.
Yesterday I took a shower at the boy’s house and feel like a new woman. I even shaved my armpits which was huge. Shaving my legs Iis a luxury that I have given up in China for the most part due to both lack of time and lack of space in the menial showers. The shower I used yesterday was a small room that was a toilet, shower, and sink all in one. There was a drain on the floor. Tres bizarre. I miss American sized showers and Western toilets. Again, I am so over squatting. The people here sit down and squat for hours while my legs are sore after a pee. I can’t understand how they do it.
Last night we heard a lecture by an older woan about Dazhai. Even Chris fell alsepp much to our amusement.
Joe, Keith, Erlinda, Grace, Harper, Kristen and Josh went for a night hike. We stargazed and pondered how long it would take to get to Mars. Grace says 9 months. I said that meant you could conceive a baby on Earth and have it on Mars. No one seemed to care.
We walkd home in the pitch black except for my headlamp and were scared by dogs. Joe was a gentleman and escorted Erlinda who is night blind.
I had another awful night’s sleep. My bed is hard, my back hurts, and my rice sack pillow is just not cutting it. I am considering starting a down pillow sales company in China. They don’t know what they are missing.

Today I had another bland breakfast. We taught at an elementary school in the morning. I taught with Joe Keith Edek and Dujan. We taught fourth graders animal names, “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” among other English words. They were incredibly well behaved. Then someone told us we would be joineing the children for morning exercise. We walked outside (OH! The walls are lined with famous ccommunists including Mao and Stalin..weird) and found that every child in the school was lined up in perfect lines doing a chorecographed routine to music. It was hilarious and tons of fun. I’ll try to upload a video. Then we tried to teach them the electric slide, but they didn’t seem to like it.
After lunch and packing time, I walked around the small village for the hundredth time. A bunch of people asked me to pose with them for pictures. I’m not even the cutest one on the tri, so I don’t know why they keep asking me.

Then I learned in Chinese to ask to go on a motorcycle ride (the most popular way to get around town. Even babies are put on bikes.) A man agreed and took me for a ride. Sorry, mom.



In the afternoon we taught again at a middle school. It was tougher to get them excited. They were super shy and extremely well behaved. China brainwashes kids. When we tried to get them to play outside they kept standing in straight lines. When we finally got the point across that we didn’t want lines they separated by sex. In the class they kept standing and we had to ask them to sit. We played “Seven Up”, sang “If you’re happy and you know it” and “Doe a Dear” (which they already knew!) played another animal game, and got a lot of blank stares. We also played Duck Duck Goose and Freeze Tag. Recess games have little language barrier.

In the discussion with one of the pronciplas we were pressured into saying only postivie things about the Englib skills of the students so that the teacher wouldn ‘t get fired. Corruption.

Now we are on a 3 hour bus ride to get the 10 hour overnight train to Xi’an. Apparently the train is 3 bunks high and the bthrooms are gross. Edek said its just a hole and you go right on the tracks.

I have my period, but I just got it so luckily I didn’t have it in the small village. TMI I know, but hey, this is my blog. The night train is either going to be AWESOME or AWFUL. We’ll see.

Xi’an = HOTEL ROOMS! I heard we each get our own which thrills me. I don’t mind sharing, but I just want a hotel and shower. My feet are stained black from dirt, my toenails are atrocious, my legs hair is braid-able, and my nose is still full of dried blood.
God I sound sexy.

H
PS Please send nasal spray and a nail clipper.

Dazhai

I am writing from a cave in the middle of a village in the middle of nowhere.
There is no internet here which is why this post is delayed.

The bus ride to get to this village, Dazhai, is a story in itself. The small bus couldn’t fit all of our luggage In the bottom storage, so we had to sqeeze suitcases and backpacks on seats. The 5 ½ bus ride was crowded. I sat next to Joe who always provides colorful commentary. Mao, who is omnipresent in China and especially in Dazhai, sat on the windshield and stared at me the entire ride. Jackie Chan movies and Chinese music videos played on the tv.
After making a stop in which Joe stepped in what appeared to be human feces, we arrived at a gate lit by neon lights. It was what I imagine the drive to Las Vegas to be-darkness for miles and all of the sudden bright lights and buildings.
I was assigned housing with Taylor, Li Yan, Constance, and Wensess. (Li Yan has since left due to our living conditions and Kristen has replaced her). We live in an arch shaped room that is built into the mountain-essentially a cave. If we walk out of our room there is a courtyard that connects a few other bedrooms, a kitchen, a store owned by the family, chicken coops, and the exit to the main road of the village. There is no shower and no bathroom. Public bathhouses are squat toilets that smell awful and have no electricity. (Thank goodness for my headlamp). A few homes have showers and Western toilets, but we seem to have it the worst. Most of us haven’t showered yet, and won’t for the 3 days we are here. We all smell great. I finally changed my underwear and clothes yesterday. Every room seems to have a poster of Moa peering at us and the whole town follows this pattern. I didn’t feel as if I was in communist China until I was here. The whole town is full of propoganda art, posters, and possibly music (not that I can understand it).

Dazhai was once the model commune, but now is a collective community. The town gives students who go off to college money, donate to the elders of the town and help eachtoehr out, but there are definitely those who have more than others.

All of our meals are served by the family with which we live. Most of the food is tasteless. We all know I am NOT a picky eater so I eat it all, but a lot of it is pretty awful. We all keep talking about what food we would kill for. Mine is a hoagie.
Today Josh and I found a woman outside the school selling spicy kabobs. Best food yet in this town. I got tofu and califlour and quail eggs.

There is NOTHING to do in this town. So far we have gone for a “hike”, worked in the fields, went to a cement factory (as trhilling as it sounds), went to a sweater factory that wasn’t really a factory, played ping pong, TOOK NAPS!, talked about how much we need to shower, went a nonexistanet farmers market, eaten a lot of ice cream (the only food for sale in this village seems to be ice cream and alcohol), I got lost alone and tried to get a ride but failed, played with kids, got soaked and cold on our hike, and threw a cave party where the Chinese men invited our “men” to do shots of bijou (a STRONG Chinese alcohol that is remniscent of nail polish removier). Our “men” got very intoxicated and Josh even fell in front of Chris and needless to say did not join us this morning on our tours. We bonded a lot last night and I expect the lack of excitemnt in this town will force a cave party to happen again.
Tomorrow we are going to play with kids at the school! Tomorrow night we have an overnight train to Xian. From 9pm to 7am. It will be interesting-all of us crowded into a train car 3 bunk beds high, all unshowered and smelling awful.

My nose is really dry from the air and is bloody and gross. Grace made me put tampons up there to soak up blood and then the town doctor put alcohol up there andit burned.



People are really miserable here. I’m used to being gross and not showering from camp, but I will really enjoy going back to a city.
I can’t believe the time here is going so fast.

Bye Bye Beijing

Behind on posts as usual. We went to a middle school and played with kids. This is my favorite part. I brought Twister all the way across the world, and the kids really enjoyed playing. Keith and I read them a story and taught them some English. I met a woman at another lecture who is an international school teacher and she explained the process to me. I always seem to go back to the idea of teaching everytime I play with kids.



After dinner that night Josh Edek Krsten and I found a place outside the West Gate to hang out. They grabbed some beers and we had some AWESOME spicy kabobs. It was some of the best food I’ve had yet-street food of course. All the kabobs were soaking in a broth full of chili peppers. I had two different kind of noodles on sticks-a thick gelatinous noodle and a wheaty noodle. Noodles on sticks=good idea which should spread. I also had quail eggs which I’ve come to love. We saw a woman stomp on a mouse. On the way home we bought a bottle of wine called “China Wine”. This is like buying “American Beer”. Bad idea. GROSS wine-sorry Robin, I know I disappointed you.
Anne and I have been eating a lot of street food. We got noodles at a little booth with spicy sauce. We also drank a lot of bubble tea even though we can’t order the flavor we want. Less than a dollar means I’ll have any flavor they give me.

I already spoke about the best night ever that Anne and I had, but the same night our classmates went to the same club, though we never saw them, and got home really late and had a rough night. I was glad I got home early.

Anne and I took a Chelsea Reil recommendation and went to a Thai restaurant called “Serve the People”. It was in the Embassy district so we saw all kinds of people walking around. Elegantly dressed French people, a beautiful African woman in traditional garb, and Americans! Michael, a tour guide, recommended that I go to a place called Jenny Lou’s to get my cheese fix. It ended up being a great grocery store with every Western product imagineable. I got brie cheese, a baguette, a Hershey bar, and Oreos. Anne and I bought a bottle of Proseco which we split that night while eating the cheese and bread. It was excellent.

That afternoon we heard a lecture by Chris’s friend Carl who happened to be Michael’s brother. He was a white man who grew up in China and discussed doing business in China. His hoem was beautiful and I want to move in. He even found a cool cave which is now his wine cellar/basement.

That night was our “graduation ceremony” where we performed our Chinese skits and songs. The Chnese students bought us al presents. I wore a Chinese dress that I bought here. The dean offered us full scholarships for grad school if we learn Chinese. I wish.
Our group, the students, and our Chinese teachers all went to dinner. After we were all exhausted and hung out. I crashed early.

Our last class was in the monigng (I got a B+) and we went to the park. I joined a fitness class with old Chinese women.
Then we packed up and it was goodbye Beijing.

Sitting in a Hong Kong Hostel

I FINALLY have access to my blog after a month. Mainland China decided to block me. Maybe I offended them with all my Mao talk. Anyway, I am going to copy and paste the entries from the past month onto here.

Sorry I've left you all hanging.
Now you get a slew of entries in a row.
Skim and enjoy

A perfect evening

I have no idea where half of my group is as I just walked in and apparently they just walked out.

Annie and I had the best night ever.

Today I was in the elevator after dropping my laundry off, and a cute guy (John Paul) walks in. I asked if he was American and where he was from. (Harrisburg PA)

It turned out that he had already met a few girls from our trip. He's here to do some research for the summer-he spent a semester (year?) in China last year and is working on a project.  He told me about this "great" pizza place ( I was skeptical) and a club next door.

Our group said they were down to go.

Only Annie and I ended up going a few hours later. The pizza at the Krow's Nest was AWESOME and huge. Bigger than Cappy's slices for all you Boston folk.  pictures to follow. Annie finally got the beer she had been hankering and was thrilled thereafter.  We spoke for a few hours over pizza and beers. They even has mozzerella sticks-good to know if I spend more time in Beijing. The place is owned by a Pittsburgh man, according to John Paul.  

John Paul in truly interesting-he is going to school (Shippensburg)  for finance and something international.  He speaks Chinese much better than we do and even reads and writes!  He opened doors all night for Annie and I and was a very good guide.

Next door to dinner was Vic's-a club that I can only describe as "straight out of Entourage" .  It was the kind of place that I feel like celebrities go to so I couldn't take pictures because I would seem nerdy.  Ladies night=free entry and free drinks. We have a Chinese exam/skit in the morning so I had one Tequila Sunrise.  John Paul introduced us to his very cute female Chinese friend. We all danced with a couple of strangers. John Paul convinced me to dance on stage with him and then left me so I looked stupid alone. Whatever-I stayed up there for awhile.  

I don't know where anyone is. I just saw 3 people in the hall, everyone else is apparently out. Oh I just saw Grace and Diana wasted with some really unattractive kid who Diana keeps telling me is sexy. Oh dear, I left that situation fast. 

It was a lovely evening.  

If my life was a movie John Paul and I would be getting married one day and move to China.

But I leave Beijing Friday :( :( :( and probably won't see him again.

Except, tomorrow he is taking us to a club called Propaganda.  The irony of a club with that name in Communist China is more than I can handle.

H

Laziness=Short Update

Tuesday

We went to a migrant school for girls
Great speaker. Don't feel like elaborating.
British version of Wheels on the Bus>American version
Dumplings for dinner. Massage after already mentioned.

Farms and Rivers and Swine, Oh My

Sunday
We had to leave by 7 a.m.
It's weird that the weekdays when we wake up at 7:30 we consider it sleeping in.

We went for a 5K walk around a river. We saw where water used to be but is now dry. I didn't know there was such a water crisis. Li Yan told us that in 2 years Beijing may run out of water and that in as little as 10 years the capital may have to be moved because of that fact. That's crazy. I also found out that the Chinese River Dolphins I wrote a report on haven't been seen since 2007. So much for my grand plan to see them at the Yangtze. Connie and Dave chased sheep. Dujan complained about walking. We crossed a river of human waste.
We were promised bagels and as Jew who is used to a good bagel, I was very skeptical. We arrived at a farm and took a tour. The farm was organic. There was a giant pig named Rupert or Fe Fe (fatty in Chinese). I listened to my doctor and didn't pet him. Grace pet him. We told her she's going to get swine flu. (Swine flu has hit China and I'm sure we will now get banned from even more places.)

We walked into the alleged bagel place for lunch. All my skepticism melted. The bagel stand I had pictured in my head was a bright building where food had been laid out as if for royalty. We ate. And ate. And ate.
There were DELICIOUS bagels, pizza bagels, ham (presumably from the brothers and sisters of Rupert but it was so good I didn't feel bad), fresh salad, vegetables, INCREDIBLE mint tea, the best lemonade ever, THE BEST AND MOST FRESH glass of milk I've ever tasted, the sweetest strawberries ever, BROWNIES! (I am desperate for chocolate) and almond cookies with centers that are supposedly illegal in America. I'll get more details on this.

The woman who started the farm was raised in NY and married a Chinese man. She runs the organic farm. The bagels come from the fact that she couldn't find a good bagel in China.

We also heard a woman speak. She was an environmentalist who has published books that aren't allowed in the China.


Annie Grace and I went to the Olympic Park to see the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube. Both are must sees. I never imagined a year ago when I watched the Olympics on tv that I would soon be in China at the same spot.





After that was dinner and the aforementioned Rooster Incident. Scroll down and read that entry if you haven't


Sorry I'm so far behind!
H

Thoughts on Health and Homesickness

First off:
I am healthy
I am not homesick

Everyone else in my group seems to be ill. Tom had pneumonia and has stayed in for a few days, about three kids have gone to the doctor/hospital, people keep missing lectures, classes, and tours to sleep. Half the group seemed to be missing for today's lecture. No swine flu, thought it has made it to China, causing us to be banned from a few places we were supposed to visit.

The rapidness that this flu is spreading with is incredible. I am watching globalization occur in real time. Chris talked to us today about SARS a few years ago and how they didn't deal with it well, so they are taking precautions for swine. We heard announcements on a loud speaker today telling the students that China had been exposed. I have my mask (thanks mom).
I hope this doesn't affect my after China travel plans. If so, I can just stay in China and go hug pandas with some friends that are going, but because we came to China early enough, we can prove that we are not infected and all should be well, according to Chris.

We constantly share germs here-we always eat off lazy susans that stick our chopsticks in the same dish. My immune system is awesome, luckily, and the worst symptom I have is a dry nose and runny eyes due to the pollen. I don't want to have to visit a Chinese hospital while I am here unless it is for an educational tour. I need to sleep more-I am exhausted and exhaustion often leads to illness.
If you are a believer, feel free to send a a message up to the big man upstairs for my health. If like me you are not, just send me some tissues, nasal spray (which I can't get here!) and eye drops.




I am not homesick either. My dad was nice enough to let me see my house on video chat.

H

I <3 Exchange Rates

I just got an hour long massage for $9 US. 60 yuan for 60 minutes.
My masseuse was a blind woman and she was great. I was clenching my toes because I was in pain, but it felt fantastic.
She kept asking "Too much?"
I may have to get one more before I leave

We just saw the weirdest thing in a liquor store...

We were walking to dinner and Grace was reaching for something in the store WHICH ALSO HAD CHEESECAKE FLAVORED ICE CREAM POPS! She stepped over a bag when something inside the bag moved. Grace freaked. We peered in the bag and inside were two live roosters. We booked it, except for Joe who was intent on making his purchase. Apparently the owner's baby daughter started to cry and the owner asked Joe to watch her for a moment. Joe went behind the counter and saw a person sleeping in a crate underneath. Joe doesn't know if was a man or a woman, or a child. He said, and I quote, "All I saw was a hand a bowl cut. So I said 'fuck this' and left."

Only in China.