Sunday, September 27, 2009
Going South..
Access to the internet has been brief and unreliable, which should explain the lack of posts. I don't even know if this post will make it up, but I thought I would try. We spent a few amazing days relaxing in the beach down of Danang, off a little road that led to a beach in a guesthouse with communal, "family" dinners. After adventures with storms, no electricity, and meeting a lot of people, we are on the road again. Now, we are continuing south and today are heading into Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), and then from there will go to the Mekong Delta and over to Cambodia. I will try and write more as the internet is available, but Vietnam is a country that is developing rapidly and so tropical and beautiful..It has been quite the trip so far!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Quick Post
Hey all...the internet is amazingly slow again this morning, one of the perks of traveling overseas, but I thought I would just post real quickly.
After walking around the city for nearly 5 hours yesterday, we have grown to really enjoy Hanoi with all of the scooters, horns, people selling stuff on the streets, lakes, and all that it has to offer. The city is a real 'hustle and bustle', and always on the move. It was nice to relax a bit last night and just sit back and watch the people and the city move around us.
Later today, we are heading southeast to a town called Ninh Binh (said, Ning Bing). It is supposed to be a lot smaller of a town, surrounded by rice paddies and limestone cliffs, so says my Lonely Planet guidebook. I will let you know what it is like once we are there! We plan to rent bicycles and just spend the day seeing and being in the town and interacting with locals and the area. I am very excited to see the smaller, country, side of Vietnam.
That's all from me now. Talk to you again soon.
After walking around the city for nearly 5 hours yesterday, we have grown to really enjoy Hanoi with all of the scooters, horns, people selling stuff on the streets, lakes, and all that it has to offer. The city is a real 'hustle and bustle', and always on the move. It was nice to relax a bit last night and just sit back and watch the people and the city move around us.
Later today, we are heading southeast to a town called Ninh Binh (said, Ning Bing). It is supposed to be a lot smaller of a town, surrounded by rice paddies and limestone cliffs, so says my Lonely Planet guidebook. I will let you know what it is like once we are there! We plan to rent bicycles and just spend the day seeing and being in the town and interacting with locals and the area. I am very excited to see the smaller, country, side of Vietnam.
That's all from me now. Talk to you again soon.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
And I thought China had a lot of scooters!
We made it to Hanoi...2 trains, 2 buses, and a few interesting moments later, we are here! It is definitely rainy season, misting most of the day which makes it nice and muggy, but we are here and are so excited to be here. We found a good place to stay last night, managed to barter this morning to keep staying here for $2 cheaper and now breakfast included! That means room and breakfast is totaling $10USD a night. Can't beat that.
We have spent most of last night and tonight just wandering around. The area we are staying in is the Old Quarter of Hanoi, so there are a lot of small streets, tons of toy stalls, and a million and a half scooters! I thought China had a lot of scooters, but I had never been to Hanoi!
We will be staying in Hanoi for the next two nights, and then maybe heading north to the villages of the Hmong people in Sapa or south, depends on our budget, we will see.
Hope you are all doing well, and we will definitely be enjoying Hanoi for you!
We have spent most of last night and tonight just wandering around. The area we are staying in is the Old Quarter of Hanoi, so there are a lot of small streets, tons of toy stalls, and a million and a half scooters! I thought China had a lot of scooters, but I had never been to Hanoi!
We will be staying in Hanoi for the next two nights, and then maybe heading north to the villages of the Hmong people in Sapa or south, depends on our budget, we will see.
Hope you are all doing well, and we will definitely be enjoying Hanoi for you!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
First Off:
Hey! I hope all of you are doing well and watching all of ASU’s college football games for me, as I am definitely missing it … for some strange reason the games aren’t broadcasted over here!
In case you didn’t know, most social networks are blocked in China, and therefore it is almost impossible to post a blog. So, I figured that I would send out a little newsletter of sorts to update you guys on what is new with me. However, it looks like I will be getting blog back sooner rather than later, so go ahead and check there for stories, pictures and updates.
The Old Plan:
Well, as most of you knew, I was supposed to be living in Shenzhen, China, for the next 10 months or so, teaching English to Chinese children.
However, as most things in life continually do, things changed. The job turned out to be an entirely different job to what I had committed to before hoping on the plane...and paired with a variety of other factors, it wasn’t the job or city for me. I will no longer be living in China, instead I will be going back to Portland to soak up some time with my parents, friends, and homely comforts, before joining the Peace Corps in June.
China really is an amazing place, and I will miss the culture and the people a lot. Genuinely, if you ever get the chance, do visit, and soak up and experience all that is the Chinese way and the Chinese culture.
The New Plan:
I am sure you have all heard the expression ‘When in Rome’, well, I would like to
replace Rome with Southeast Asia. I am sure at some point when I have talked to any of you, I have mentioned my love for Southeast Asia and my desires to backpack throughout this region. Well, it seems that the time has come! “When in Southeast Asia”! Since I am heading back to America, and then it seems, heading onto Africa, I am making one last trip!
On Monday, we will head out and take the train from Shenzhen to Hanoi, Vietnam. From there, we will spend the next 5 weeks backpacking south down the coast of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City and through the Mekong Delta and then head west to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and visit the Angkor Wat temples in Northern Cambodia, and then go to Bangkok to fly back to Shenzhen as cheaply as possible.
I am so excited for this trip...it has always been a dream of mine to trek from
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. And, after spending the last few weeks dreaming and researching, I couldn’t be more excited to go. For all the ‘parents’ out there...we will be careful, we will be smart, we will take pictures and we will have fun, so there is no need to worry!
The Blog:
I am really hoping that I will be able to post blog updates while we are out on the road. I have no doubts that I will be learning a ton about myself and the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples and cultures, and I would love to share that on the blog...I can’t make any promises about internet cafes though! Check there if you are interested, otherwise, I am sure you will be hearing from me when I get back home! :)
Hope you are all well...much love.
Hey! I hope all of you are doing well and watching all of ASU’s college football games for me, as I am definitely missing it … for some strange reason the games aren’t broadcasted over here!
In case you didn’t know, most social networks are blocked in China, and therefore it is almost impossible to post a blog. So, I figured that I would send out a little newsletter of sorts to update you guys on what is new with me. However, it looks like I will be getting blog back sooner rather than later, so go ahead and check there for stories, pictures and updates.
The Old Plan:
Well, as most of you knew, I was supposed to be living in Shenzhen, China, for the next 10 months or so, teaching English to Chinese children.
However, as most things in life continually do, things changed. The job turned out to be an entirely different job to what I had committed to before hoping on the plane...and paired with a variety of other factors, it wasn’t the job or city for me. I will no longer be living in China, instead I will be going back to Portland to soak up some time with my parents, friends, and homely comforts, before joining the Peace Corps in June.
China really is an amazing place, and I will miss the culture and the people a lot. Genuinely, if you ever get the chance, do visit, and soak up and experience all that is the Chinese way and the Chinese culture.
The New Plan:
I am sure you have all heard the expression ‘When in Rome’, well, I would like to
replace Rome with Southeast Asia. I am sure at some point when I have talked to any of you, I have mentioned my love for Southeast Asia and my desires to backpack throughout this region. Well, it seems that the time has come! “When in Southeast Asia”! Since I am heading back to America, and then it seems, heading onto Africa, I am making one last trip!
On Monday, we will head out and take the train from Shenzhen to Hanoi, Vietnam. From there, we will spend the next 5 weeks backpacking south down the coast of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City and through the Mekong Delta and then head west to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and visit the Angkor Wat temples in Northern Cambodia, and then go to Bangkok to fly back to Shenzhen as cheaply as possible.
I am so excited for this trip...it has always been a dream of mine to trek from
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. And, after spending the last few weeks dreaming and researching, I couldn’t be more excited to go. For all the ‘parents’ out there...we will be careful, we will be smart, we will take pictures and we will have fun, so there is no need to worry!
The Blog:
I am really hoping that I will be able to post blog updates while we are out on the road. I have no doubts that I will be learning a ton about myself and the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples and cultures, and I would love to share that on the blog...I can’t make any promises about internet cafes though! Check there if you are interested, otherwise, I am sure you will be hearing from me when I get back home! :)
Hope you are all well...much love.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Goodbye, China
China; the most populous country in the world, in which I lived in the 9th largest city, a nation with such a diverse and continuous history and landscape, and a group of people who are immense in number and endlessly entertaining. As said in Chinese, Zhongguo, China, is a country that I have had an amazing time living in and experiencing for these last six months.
It’s the last night in my apartment, and I am sitting up waiting for the last load of laundry to finish so I can head to bed. In twenty-four hours, I will be leaving China. As I think about all that has happened since I arrived in December, it seems impossible to sum up this experience in words.
I don’t think that there is one experience that would summarize all that I have learned or seen while I have been here. But, I think, walking away, I am always going to remember China by its people. A group of people that are so different than who I am, and so unique in who they are. On a typical day, I would see more people than I thought possible crowding onto a public bus, an old man walking around in pajamas for a late night run to the store, people, tons of people, out in the parks at night doing exercises, jump rope, dancing or any other activity, be invited to eat or drink with a stranger who happened to be at the restaurant I went to, or be overwhelmed by how loud the city is between people, car horns, advertisements and vendors. In the end, it is those moments and these people that I will remember most about the time I spent in China.
Although I am sad to leave the group of interns and life in Shenyang, I am excited for what lays ahead…8 days in Thailand, 2 weeks with my whole family in Portland, 10 days with amazing friends in Arizona, 10 months of home-cooked food, microwaves and dryers living with my parents in Oregon, and then another whole adventure somewhere in Africa for 27 months. The time I have spent here in Shenyang has been priceless in so many ways, and I do feel so fortunate to have come. I am sure in the next few months in Portland, I will realize all that I miss and love in Shenyang, and realize all that I have learned and the ways that I have changed after living here. It has definitely been an adventure of a lifetime.
Much love for the last time from China.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- - Frost
It’s the last night in my apartment, and I am sitting up waiting for the last load of laundry to finish so I can head to bed. In twenty-four hours, I will be leaving China. As I think about all that has happened since I arrived in December, it seems impossible to sum up this experience in words.
I don’t think that there is one experience that would summarize all that I have learned or seen while I have been here. But, I think, walking away, I am always going to remember China by its people. A group of people that are so different than who I am, and so unique in who they are. On a typical day, I would see more people than I thought possible crowding onto a public bus, an old man walking around in pajamas for a late night run to the store, people, tons of people, out in the parks at night doing exercises, jump rope, dancing or any other activity, be invited to eat or drink with a stranger who happened to be at the restaurant I went to, or be overwhelmed by how loud the city is between people, car horns, advertisements and vendors. In the end, it is those moments and these people that I will remember most about the time I spent in China.
Although I am sad to leave the group of interns and life in Shenyang, I am excited for what lays ahead…8 days in Thailand, 2 weeks with my whole family in Portland, 10 days with amazing friends in Arizona, 10 months of home-cooked food, microwaves and dryers living with my parents in Oregon, and then another whole adventure somewhere in Africa for 27 months. The time I have spent here in Shenyang has been priceless in so many ways, and I do feel so fortunate to have come. I am sure in the next few months in Portland, I will realize all that I miss and love in Shenyang, and realize all that I have learned and the ways that I have changed after living here. It has definitely been an adventure of a lifetime.
Much love for the last time from China.
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- - Frost
Thursday, June 18, 2009
An Update
I really should be sleeping because its past midnight and the beginning of a really busy next 2 weeks… but… I keep thinking in the back of my mind how much I need to blog. I haven’t written in seemingly forever, so I thought I would just check in and say hi.
These last few weeks have been filled with really busy but really fun days. We had a day off to go rafting as a group, which was cancelled due to pouring rain. Instead, we spent the day together as an intern group having a big American breakfast, going bowling, making pottery and going out to dinner. Another highlight was getting a massage and Chinese Ba Guan, which is the traditional cupping practice. The masseuse takes a glass cup, puts a flame inside for a second and then presses it on your back so that it suctions and pulls your skin up inside your back. Historically, it was used to pull all of the toxins out of your body, and the darker the marks are that are left, the more sick you are in that area. It was definitely an interesting sensation, and my back looks like it has light pink/purple polka dots. And, one other very fun night was going to the TV tower that overlooks Shenyang. The tower has awesome views of the city and a rotating restaurant. We sat and ate (mediocre) Chinese food while making a full rotation in the tower and seeing different parts of this massive city we have spent the last six months living in.
Today marked the beginning of our replacements arriving. Until Sunday, the new bunch of interns are will arrive. The next two weeks will be filled with wrapping things up in Shenyang, airport runs to pick up the newbies, training, showing them around the city, hanging out with students and saying goodbye to everyone here. It should be a really busy and chaotic, yet very fun and memorable last two weeks.
These last few weeks have been filled with really busy but really fun days. We had a day off to go rafting as a group, which was cancelled due to pouring rain. Instead, we spent the day together as an intern group having a big American breakfast, going bowling, making pottery and going out to dinner. Another highlight was getting a massage and Chinese Ba Guan, which is the traditional cupping practice. The masseuse takes a glass cup, puts a flame inside for a second and then presses it on your back so that it suctions and pulls your skin up inside your back. Historically, it was used to pull all of the toxins out of your body, and the darker the marks are that are left, the more sick you are in that area. It was definitely an interesting sensation, and my back looks like it has light pink/purple polka dots. And, one other very fun night was going to the TV tower that overlooks Shenyang. The tower has awesome views of the city and a rotating restaurant. We sat and ate (mediocre) Chinese food while making a full rotation in the tower and seeing different parts of this massive city we have spent the last six months living in.
Today marked the beginning of our replacements arriving. Until Sunday, the new bunch of interns are will arrive. The next two weeks will be filled with wrapping things up in Shenyang, airport runs to pick up the newbies, training, showing them around the city, hanging out with students and saying goodbye to everyone here. It should be a really busy and chaotic, yet very fun and memorable last two weeks.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
The Sum of All the Parts
[Blogger has officially been blocked in China, so, a good friend of mine is kindly posting these for me. So, these next few weeks may be slower to write than normal.]
I feel like there are so many parts, decisions, endings and beginnings happening simultaneously right now, that the mix of emotions and events seems to blend together to a neutral where you can just enjoy it all.
Endings. Five weeks from tomorrow I will be leaving China. I can’t believe how fast time has gone and how, at the same time, coming to China seems like a distant memory. The time here has truly been a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I have fallen in love with people, both Americans and Chinese, that I didn’t know before, the culture, Shenyang, and the crazy quirks that you only find in China. I know that the true ending will come in five more weeks, and it will be more than hard to say goodbye, but this season has been one that I will cherish for a long time to come.
Events. The to-do list of things to buy, see, and do, before I go seems to be growing everyday. The days lately have been filled with warm weather, celebrating lots of birthdays (the group picture is everyone celebrating Andrew’s 21st birthday), exploring different parts of the city, going on shopping trips for shorts or gifts to send home, and making American dinners to use up the seasoning packets that our parents have sent us. It has been really fun to ‘cross off’ things from the list with other friends. There are still many events to look forward to as well…this weekend we are going to the beach down of Dalian (where there is an amusement park!)! And then in June, we have an intern day trip set aside where we are planning on going rafting down a river and even more, a girls weekend trip to Benxi (said Ben-she) Water Caves and to see a different portion of the Great Wall in Dandong. Even though the time is winding down, there is lots to do and see!
Decisions. With five weeks to go, I am still looking forward to the future. Thanks to my Mom, I have gotten appointments set up to complete the Peace Corps paperwork that is waiting for me as soon as I get back to Portland. I find myself reading articles about Africa, and always just wondering, dreaming, and praying, about what that adventure and season of life will be like.
Beginnings. It seems odd that at the end of a chapter there would be a new beginning, but this wouldn’t be life if things didn’t end and begin at the same time. Since Saturday’s are by far the busiest day at Langston, and all of us interns work and finish around the same time, Josh started a new tradition of going to Daxi (said Da-she) night market to enjoy a warm night, beer and street food together. A pitcher of beer is less than $1, food on a stick is less than 20c, and all of us trying to learn a Chinese dice game is always entertaining. We had a really good time sitting out together for a few hours at the market, and am I sure this is a tradition that all of us will want to keep up until we go home.
The sum of all the parts is simply this; unforgettable and amazing.
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