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.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Snapshots.
Here is the latest photo album:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2476917&id=10003281&l=2567e7af19
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2476917&id=10003281&l=2567e7af19
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Adventure..Changes..Peace Corps..
Earlier this week, a group of us went to the Expo Center in Shenyang. It is a large botanical garden that has many different gardens from different regions in China and different countries of the world. The gardens were cool, but that wasn't the best part! There was a large water park where there were many obstacles of how to get across the water - all with the intention of you falling in. 
There were rope swings, barrels, tires that sank as soon as you stepped on them, team ones where all four of us had to work together to avoid the water and many other different things. It's always fun to get out and play and be active for a day! In addition to the gardens and the water activities, there were rides. Oh, how I love rides. We went on the 'crazy train', where I was too small for the seatbelt and was tossed around in my seat the whole time. Bruises and all, Chinese rollercoasters are so fun! We were all exhausted and worn out by the end of the day, but it was definitely a really good day. A special thanks to the students who took us there and showed us around all day!Changes. It seems there have been so many changes lately, and so many more to come in the next few weeks.
I don't know how many of you I have told, but I got nominated to a position in the Peace Corps last week. The position is business advising in a French-speaking country in Africa leaving in June of 2010. After thinking about it a lot, praying about and it talking to many people...I am going to pursue going into the Peace Corps. This is my dream job, and something I have been hoping would happen for a few years now.
This means that I will not be coming back to China to teach for another year, and leaves me with 6 more weeks in Shenyang. Even though I am so excited about the opportunity to do economic development in Africa, it seems that my 'plan' for the next few years dramatically changed...Asia to Africa. There is so much more I want to do in China, and I know these last few weeks will be filled with many more adventures with those of us here.
(Jensen, in the middle, and the guys in Dalian.) Today is Jensen's last day in China. He is heading back to the US for his graduation from Brown and to go on to medical school there (smarty pants). It is weird to think that as a group, we are beginning to go our own ways and all we did here together is starting to end. We have definitely had a ton of fun together exploring China and hanging out in Shenyang, and will definitely miss Jensen's quirky and witty comments that make us all laugh. I am sure these next few weeks will be filled with many 'lasts' but I know all of us have enjoyed the time we have had together in Shenyang.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Philippines!
I was lucky enough to get to spend 8 nights in the Philippines and definitely enjoyed the sun, beach, and relaxing. We indulged on western culture; we are adapted to Asian culture and adding English was a huge bonus to us! It truly did feel like we were home...even though we were still in Asia!
We spent the first two nights in Manila, where we fully enjoyed western food chains for super cheap and watching a movie in the theater again! The second day, we ventured out to Splash Island, which is a water park about an hour outside of Manila. Because my Manadarin is still so limited, its hard to find out how to get to new places in China, so it was nice to be able to ask how to get to Splash Island. We had a good time riding down water slides and floating in innertubes on the lazy river!
(After laying out all day, before going out to dinner.)
Then, we headed to Cebu City...on a different island from Manila. We spent a night in the city and explored around there. There was definitely a different, smaller, feel than Manila, and it was cool to check it out. We layed out on the grass and watched a huge thunderstorm!
We then spent the next chunk of time in Moalboal and Panagsama Beach, which was about a 3 hour bus ride from Cebu City. We stayed right on the 'beach' (even though it was a very short beach and shorter than what we were used to in the US), layed out, read English magazines, drank mango shakes and relaxed. At night, the beach turned into tide pools at low tide, so we would go explore and look around at the starfish, fish and coral that was in the tide pools. It was pretty cool! During the day, I managed to get a pretty good sunburn too!
(On the river trek!)For the next two days, we decided to be adventurous. :) My favorite day for sure was when we went on a river trek! We took some random cargo truck (at least that's what I thought it was!) out to Kawasan falls, a very popular and tourist destination. We hiked past the falls for awhile and then hoped in the water. From here, we swam out in a canyon, under the jungle and climbed up waterfalls, cliff jumped, swam till the next fall, climbed some more, and repeated the process. It was amazing! So beautiful; clear water, tons of water falls, the jungle all around, and just a beautiful view everywhere you looked. When we finished the trek, there was a huge Philippino meal waiting for us - fish, chicken, pork, potatoes and rice all cooked over a fire with a traditional Philippino sauce. Delcious. We definitely had a blast this day!
The next day, we continued the adventure, haha, and went SCUBA diving! Neither of us had been SCUBA diving before, so we did discover diving. They taught us the essentials in the shallower water of the ocean and then headed out to dive for 45 miniutes or so. It was awesome, we were on this cliff of coral to one side and then the other was just blue ocean. We dove down till around 10m and saw tons of fish, all colors and all sizes, and very different sizes and colors of coral. It was really amazing.
(The view of the ocean and overlooking restaurants in Panagsama beach.)Then, we had to head back to Cebu to fly back. We enjoyed getting to see the new release of Wolverine and eat one last American meal: pizza! It was a very relaxing, fun and memorable vacation!
Now, back to school. It is fun to be back with everyone and I am looking for Lindsey and Chelsey getting back from their travels so we can all hang out and share stories and pictures!
Here are some pictures:
Pictures from the countryside and last month or so in Shenyang:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2472280&id=10003281&l=edadffbcff
The Philippines:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2472274&id=10003281&l=7bc5b23db6
Sunday, April 19, 2009
It's been awhile since I've last written a blog - - our internet is still flaky at home, and its hard to find a time to write, when the internet will let me post it!
(Students working together during the first lesson).
A few Saturday's ago, I was able to go into a small city in the countryside. The city was called Heishan, and it was about a 3 hour drive south of Shenyang. Shaun was asked to go teach, and I was asked to go as the photographer...in one day I took nearly 400 pictures!
(We saw many donkeys pulling carts all over the town, and when we were taking pictures, one passed in front of us).
It was a very fun and interesting day. We left really early in the morning, and since I never go outside of Shenyang unless by train, it was a cool drive to see the countryside and actually be on a highway. Shenyang is a HUGE city. When we got to Heishan, class started right away. The lesson that was prepared was way too hard for the students. We got to improvise and teach about time, making plans, what we do on the weekend, and other things like that. There were about 50 students in one classroom with rows of long desks and a chalkboard at the front. Overall, even though the students were shy, we think they enjoyed the day.
(Signing the notebooks for the students.)
After teaching, we went to lunch at a restaurant in the town and had a traditional northeastern Chinese meal. And then, we went into the countryside to teach a lesson at a school there. There were about 100 students in the second lesson, and Shaun taught simple phrases and greetings. The students were very eager to have us sign their papers...Wayne, the Chinese teacher that went with us, said it was the first time many of the students had ever seen a white person.
(A man walking in the countryside).
The students were very interested in why we came to China and if we like it or not, what our name is, and tried to ask us as much as they can with their English skills. They were all so cute, and I really enjoyed seeing the countryside, meeting the students and just getting to experience the whole day.
Since then, we have all been enjoying life in Shenyang and hanging out together. The weather is starting to get nicer and its been pretty warm on certain days. Josh, the newest intern, came about a month ago now, and he fits right in with all of us. We have been making a lot of American dinners as a group...tacos, grilled cheese and tomato soup, Shaun and Josh made us hamburgers and french fries...it's been fun to hang out, cook, play cards, and watch movies at night.
Last week we had an intern breakfast at Eli and Mollie's apartment. Because they live in the same complex as us, our apartment was bragging that we got to sleep in the latest because we only had to walk ten steps to get to their apartment...So, the night before, we had an impromptu "sleep over" at our apartment. Shaun, Jensen and Josh decided to watch a movie and sleep over so that they too could just walk ten steps to get to Mollie and Eli's. It was fun, all 5 of us slept on the big rug and watched a movie..it felt like we were in the 5th grade all over again! Breakfast was really fun, it's always fun when the whole group is together...After breakfast we got to play a makeshift game of ultimate frisbee. It's been a busy but good week!
Hope everyone is doing well at home. Emily - Happy Birthday! I wish I was there to celebrate with you today! Much love.
(Students working together during the first lesson). A few Saturday's ago, I was able to go into a small city in the countryside. The city was called Heishan, and it was about a 3 hour drive south of Shenyang. Shaun was asked to go teach, and I was asked to go as the photographer...in one day I took nearly 400 pictures!
(We saw many donkeys pulling carts all over the town, and when we were taking pictures, one passed in front of us).It was a very fun and interesting day. We left really early in the morning, and since I never go outside of Shenyang unless by train, it was a cool drive to see the countryside and actually be on a highway. Shenyang is a HUGE city. When we got to Heishan, class started right away. The lesson that was prepared was way too hard for the students. We got to improvise and teach about time, making plans, what we do on the weekend, and other things like that. There were about 50 students in one classroom with rows of long desks and a chalkboard at the front. Overall, even though the students were shy, we think they enjoyed the day.
(Signing the notebooks for the students.)After teaching, we went to lunch at a restaurant in the town and had a traditional northeastern Chinese meal. And then, we went into the countryside to teach a lesson at a school there. There were about 100 students in the second lesson, and Shaun taught simple phrases and greetings. The students were very eager to have us sign their papers...Wayne, the Chinese teacher that went with us, said it was the first time many of the students had ever seen a white person.
(A man walking in the countryside).The students were very interested in why we came to China and if we like it or not, what our name is, and tried to ask us as much as they can with their English skills. They were all so cute, and I really enjoyed seeing the countryside, meeting the students and just getting to experience the whole day.
Since then, we have all been enjoying life in Shenyang and hanging out together. The weather is starting to get nicer and its been pretty warm on certain days. Josh, the newest intern, came about a month ago now, and he fits right in with all of us. We have been making a lot of American dinners as a group...tacos, grilled cheese and tomato soup, Shaun and Josh made us hamburgers and french fries...it's been fun to hang out, cook, play cards, and watch movies at night.
Last week we had an intern breakfast at Eli and Mollie's apartment. Because they live in the same complex as us, our apartment was bragging that we got to sleep in the latest because we only had to walk ten steps to get to their apartment...So, the night before, we had an impromptu "sleep over" at our apartment. Shaun, Jensen and Josh decided to watch a movie and sleep over so that they too could just walk ten steps to get to Mollie and Eli's. It was fun, all 5 of us slept on the big rug and watched a movie..it felt like we were in the 5th grade all over again! Breakfast was really fun, it's always fun when the whole group is together...After breakfast we got to play a makeshift game of ultimate frisbee. It's been a busy but good week!Hope everyone is doing well at home. Emily - Happy Birthday! I wish I was there to celebrate with you today! Much love.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Starting Over and Halfway..
..Starting Over..
One huge perk of my internship with Langston is that part of our contract is to attend language classes to learn Mandarin. Because of a few different factors, we had to switch up Mandarin classes, and as of yesterday, I have one hour a day of private Mandarin lessons with Mr. Zhang (Zhang laoshi) who only speaks Chinese. I walked out of class feeling really overwhelmed, and kind of like I am starting over. The board was covered in Chinese characters and I am not too sure what my homework assignment was…but, in the end, starting over or not, I think this is a great opportunity for me. I can’t use English as a crutch for explanations, I am forced to speak in Chinese and use the (few) words I know. I am getting an hour of only Chinese lessons every day I go into work, and even though these next few weeks will kick my butt, it will help me get closer and closer to the long term goal of becoming fluent.
..Halfway..
Today is exactly halfway from when I arrived in Shenyang to when I leave. Crazy. I can’t believe that I have been here for three months and that there are only three more months to go. On one hand, I don’t want to go at all, but on another, I am getting really excited to sit on my parents’ deck just talking with the whole family since we will finally all be in Portland again. I don’t want to leave Shenyang, and the roommates and close friends I have here, or the students/staff at the school, but I know that each adventure in life is just for a season. But, even with not wanting to leave, I am really starting to miss friends and family, and just being able to spend time with them talking and doing nothing, I miss eating dinner with my parents, Portland and sunny weather of Tempe, and of course being able to dry my clothes in a dryer. :)
When I sat down to write this blog, I thought it’d be fun to share some highlights of the last few months, but, it seems that it is so hard to describe, because really, it’s the little things…
I love going to the market down the street from my apartment and fumbling through communicating to try and order vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat.
I love learning Chinese, and being able to speak to people or understand what people are saying to me.
I love the students. Ok, to be perfectly honest, I love most of the students!
I love the train rides to different cities and getting to explore different cities.
I love that for the last few weeks Lindsey and I have slept on each end of the couch every night because the beds in our rooms are far too hard.
I love that I ordered water for our water cooler and the person actually understood me.
I love getting packages and little reminders of home, which also serve as reminders that I am getting to experience a totally different life and culture here.
I’m sure the list could go on and on and on…but, it is truly the little things and relationships that I have that make this such a once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s all for now, and hey, I’ll see you in three months. Much love.
One huge perk of my internship with Langston is that part of our contract is to attend language classes to learn Mandarin. Because of a few different factors, we had to switch up Mandarin classes, and as of yesterday, I have one hour a day of private Mandarin lessons with Mr. Zhang (Zhang laoshi) who only speaks Chinese. I walked out of class feeling really overwhelmed, and kind of like I am starting over. The board was covered in Chinese characters and I am not too sure what my homework assignment was…but, in the end, starting over or not, I think this is a great opportunity for me. I can’t use English as a crutch for explanations, I am forced to speak in Chinese and use the (few) words I know. I am getting an hour of only Chinese lessons every day I go into work, and even though these next few weeks will kick my butt, it will help me get closer and closer to the long term goal of becoming fluent.
..Halfway..
Today is exactly halfway from when I arrived in Shenyang to when I leave. Crazy. I can’t believe that I have been here for three months and that there are only three more months to go. On one hand, I don’t want to go at all, but on another, I am getting really excited to sit on my parents’ deck just talking with the whole family since we will finally all be in Portland again. I don’t want to leave Shenyang, and the roommates and close friends I have here, or the students/staff at the school, but I know that each adventure in life is just for a season. But, even with not wanting to leave, I am really starting to miss friends and family, and just being able to spend time with them talking and doing nothing, I miss eating dinner with my parents, Portland and sunny weather of Tempe, and of course being able to dry my clothes in a dryer. :)
When I sat down to write this blog, I thought it’d be fun to share some highlights of the last few months, but, it seems that it is so hard to describe, because really, it’s the little things…
I love going to the market down the street from my apartment and fumbling through communicating to try and order vegetables, fruit, eggs and meat.
I love learning Chinese, and being able to speak to people or understand what people are saying to me.
I love the students. Ok, to be perfectly honest, I love most of the students!
I love the train rides to different cities and getting to explore different cities.
I love that for the last few weeks Lindsey and I have slept on each end of the couch every night because the beds in our rooms are far too hard.
I love that I ordered water for our water cooler and the person actually understood me.
I love getting packages and little reminders of home, which also serve as reminders that I am getting to experience a totally different life and culture here.
I’m sure the list could go on and on and on…but, it is truly the little things and relationships that I have that make this such a once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s all for now, and hey, I’ll see you in three months. Much love.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
YouTube
Yesterday, I did my CCF (culture class) on YouTube. The students and I had a good laugh watching random videos and learning about the monster of a website. At the end of class, we made a video and posted it on YouTube. I told them, "my parents and friends really want to see this video, so tell them something about China.." and here is what they said. I swear I didn't put them up to anything! :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHBvhrmLLmU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHBvhrmLLmU
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
A Few Feet From North Korea!
(The Yalu River between China, left, and North Korea, right.)
This last weekend, I was able to go to take the train for 4 hours to Dandong. Dandong is a smaller city (by China's scale) and is on the Yalu River, which separates China from North Korea. It was a really fun weekend, and by far, the closest I will ever get to go to Pyongyang or anywhere else in NK.
It was really fun to spend some time by water! After living so close to either Tempe Town Lake or the Willamette, I have missed being by water, and running by water. Not to say I went running on vacation this weekend though! :) But, we spent most of our time just walking along the river looking over to North Korea. In true Bates' family tradition, we made up many stories about who was on the other side and what the soldiers were doing.
(Shaun climbing up on the bridge next to one of the bullet holes.)The main highlights of the trip were...
*Taking a boat tour along the river. We found out the hard way that binoculars cost 10kuai a person, but, had a sweet pair of binoculars to see NK even more clearly! Mostly all you could see of NK was smoke stacks, small buildings, many many boats, and lots of soldiers walking around.
*There is a bridge that used to span from the China coast to the NK coast, but the Koreans dismantled their 1/4 of it. This is also the same bridge that the US Air Force bombed in 1950 in the Korean War. We got to walk across the bridge and get as close as we could to North Korea...and the bridge was sweet too! There are still bullet holes, or small pieces of the bridge missing from when the US bombed it.
*The next morning, we found a coffee shop owned by a Canadian man. We had an American breakfast and I very much enjoyed a caramel latte while reading Time magazines! It is the little things like that which make for such a relaxing weekend!
*Spending time walking in the sun and wind (it felt very much like the Oregon coast), and just doing nothing but talking and hanging out.
(Doing a handstand on the bridge between China and North Korea.)One of the great parts about traveling in different countries is traveling by train. I love it. I was able to see a huge part of the Czech Republic this last summer via the train, and it is such a different view traveling with other nationals from the country and getting a pretty sweet view of the countryside. The train ride both ways was during the day, it is always fun to just look out the window the whole way. The ride made me realize how diverse China really is. We passed through mountains and snow, and then ended up in a sunny city...We passed many small towns, where life is definitely a lot different than in Shenyang, saw people pulling carts through water by horses...I love getting a different picture of the country, one that you can't see in the big cities or on airplanes.
I am so glad that I got to go away this weekend, it was definitely a very fun and relaxing getaway and really cool to see a different part of China!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Pancakes, Field Trips, Pizza and T-shirts..
The internet is out at our house again…so this blog may be long due to the fact that I haven’t been able to post all week, so much to say! Sorry for the lack of emails lately…hopefully this blog will give a quick overview of what’s going on here.
Last Sunday, Shaun and I organized a pancake breakfast as a ‘get to know you better’ breakfast for the American and Chinese teaching staff. There are 9 American English teachers, and 10 Chinese teachers. We thought it would be fun to show a bit of America with a traditional pancake breakfast, pancakes, syrup, eggs, bacon and coffee. And, all the Americans were more than happy to get a taste of home. The maple syrup and coffee were hugely popular with the Americans, not so much with the Chinese…I guess there are some things that are uniquely American! It was really fun, everyone had a good time, and as always, it was an adventure to cook a big breakfast on hot plates!
Tuesday was a great day. During Chinese class, we were all a bit lazy and managed to convince our Chinese teacher, Veronica, to take us on a field trip. Oh, how I love field trips! She took us to the biggest bookstore in Shenyang. We all managed to pick up a few things; I found this sweet world map that has both the Chinese characters and English for all the major countries and cities. At the bookstore, there was Langston advertising…haha! We enjoyed taking pictures and posing next to the advertisement for where we already work!
That night, 4 students took us out to dinner at a pizza buffet place. It was almost like Izzy’s…for those Portlanders out there. It was really fun to hang out with them outside of school and get to talk, laugh and eat together. We had a lot of fun taking ridiculous pictures, and just hanging out together.
The rest of the week was spent planning a vacation! Part of our contract with Langston is that we each get a week of paid vacation. There is a 3 day Chinese holiday in May, so I am taking my vacation the last week in April, and in total, will get 11 days off. It is always so fun and exciting to plan a vacation.
Tonight, Rachel and Emily, two other interns, are hosting a Tacky T-shirt Party! We have seen many t-shirts in China where the English makes no sense, or there are hilarious typos, or the lack of copyright laws is made apparent….so tonight, everyone has to wear a tacky t-shirt that they found here. I can’t give away my t-shirt before the party, but I will say, it has something to do with a panda with a comical life-motto at the bottom. I will post pictures next week and let you take part in our tacky t-shirt party too!
As always, I still can’t believe how fast time is going. This week was 4 months until I am home and back in America, spending time with the parents, Emily and Giles! It will be fun, but again, it seems that there is still so much more to do and see here! I hope everyone is doing well…hopefully we’ll figure out the internet and I will be able to get back on Skype and email more regularly soon.
Last Sunday, Shaun and I organized a pancake breakfast as a ‘get to know you better’ breakfast for the American and Chinese teaching staff. There are 9 American English teachers, and 10 Chinese teachers. We thought it would be fun to show a bit of America with a traditional pancake breakfast, pancakes, syrup, eggs, bacon and coffee. And, all the Americans were more than happy to get a taste of home. The maple syrup and coffee were hugely popular with the Americans, not so much with the Chinese…I guess there are some things that are uniquely American! It was really fun, everyone had a good time, and as always, it was an adventure to cook a big breakfast on hot plates! 
Tuesday was a great day. During Chinese class, we were all a bit lazy and managed to convince our Chinese teacher, Veronica, to take us on a field trip. Oh, how I love field trips! She took us to the biggest bookstore in Shenyang. We all managed to pick up a few things; I found this sweet world map that has both the Chinese characters and English for all the major countries and cities. At the bookstore, there was Langston advertising…haha! We enjoyed taking pictures and posing next to the advertisement for where we already work! 
That night, 4 students took us out to dinner at a pizza buffet place. It was almost like Izzy’s…for those Portlanders out there. It was really fun to hang out with them outside of school and get to talk, laugh and eat together. We had a lot of fun taking ridiculous pictures, and just hanging out together.The rest of the week was spent planning a vacation! Part of our contract with Langston is that we each get a week of paid vacation. There is a 3 day Chinese holiday in May, so I am taking my vacation the last week in April, and in total, will get 11 days off. It is always so fun and exciting to plan a vacation.
Tonight, Rachel and Emily, two other interns, are hosting a Tacky T-shirt Party! We have seen many t-shirts in China where the English makes no sense, or there are hilarious typos, or the lack of copyright laws is made apparent….so tonight, everyone has to wear a tacky t-shirt that they found here. I can’t give away my t-shirt before the party, but I will say, it has something to do with a panda with a comical life-motto at the bottom. I will post pictures next week and let you take part in our tacky t-shirt party too!
As always, I still can’t believe how fast time is going. This week was 4 months until I am home and back in America, spending time with the parents, Emily and Giles! It will be fun, but again, it seems that there is still so much more to do and see here! I hope everyone is doing well…hopefully we’ll figure out the internet and I will be able to get back on Skype and email more regularly soon.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Always an adventure!
For dinner tonight, we though it would be a good change of pace to cook fish instead of chicken or beef. And, as most things are in China, it was an adventure!
To begin, It was a challenge to order the fish. Due to repetition, I have managed to learn how to order beef, ground beef, and chicken breast. But, tonight was a bit of a vocab challenge. We managed to get two small white fish of some kind...the kind is still to be determined.
If you know me well, you know I am a little hesitant to even cut raw chicken, so getting a live fish and watching it be caught and killed, (or walking out of the fish stand while it happened), having Shaun gut it at home, and then finding a way to bake it, was more than I was used to. Haha.
The Chinese are a lot more resourceful and eat all parts of the animal, so there were lots of 'extras' that we didn't need. Once we (by we, I mean Shaun, while Lindsey and I took pictures and watched and gawked) got it home, cleaned it all out and rinsed it...the fish kept moving! What the heck?! Even without a head, too!
After cooking it, the verdict is not too bad. I am not sure that it is necessarily something we will be doing all that often! These adventurous Tuesday nights will always make China memorable!
To begin, It was a challenge to order the fish. Due to repetition, I have managed to learn how to order beef, ground beef, and chicken breast. But, tonight was a bit of a vocab challenge. We managed to get two small white fish of some kind...the kind is still to be determined.If you know me well, you know I am a little hesitant to even cut raw chicken, so getting a live fish and watching it be caught and killed, (or walking out of the fish stand while it happened), having Shaun gut it at home, and then finding a way to bake it, was more than I was used to. Haha.
The Chinese are a lot more resourceful and eat all parts of the animal, so there were lots of 'extras' that we didn't need. Once we (by we, I mean Shaun, while Lindsey and I took pictures and watched and gawked) got it home, cleaned it all out and rinsed it...the fish kept moving! What the heck?! Even without a head, too!
After cooking it, the verdict is not too bad. I am not sure that it is necessarily something we will be doing all that often! These adventurous Tuesday nights will always make China memorable!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
..Peace Corps & Poverty..
Today is the 2 month mark from when I arrived in China. I can't believe how quickly it has gone, and at the same point, how it feels like we have been settled to a lifestyle here for awhile. I love it. I am so glad that I have gotten the opportunity to come to China and experience and take part in such a different, unique and enticing culture. I am 1/3 of the way through this adventure, and, it just seems like the rest of the time is going to go by far too quickly!
A few days before I left for China, I submitted my Peace Corps application. Earlier this week, I had a phone interview with a Peace Corps Rep, and it went really well. He said that we will start to discuss placement positions, positions which could start as early as October of this year to March of 2010...However, recently, I have been really considering and researching staying in China for another year after I finish this internship. It seems, that it would be useful to stay in China and continue to study the language and get to know the culture...rather than studying Chinese and living here for 6 months and then just leaving, and in a sense, leaving all I have learned behind. All that to be said, even though making decisions is hard, I am glad to have the opportunity and don't yet have to make a final decision or worry about that.
Last night, Shaun and I did a poverty simulation for one of our culture classes. We divided up the students into different continent groups and gave them food (candy) and money (the Chinese equivalent to 10c pieces). The population, food, and money of each continent was representative to how it is in the world. The students could then trade food and money, but of course, at a cost. The purpose of the exercise was to show the reality of the world, that not everyone has enough food or money for basic necessities in some continents, where in others, there is a surplus of both...and to transfer those resources, there are costs for our inefficiencies. The exercise went a lot better than we had expected, and even though the students were less interested in the reality of the situation, they all participated in trying to get enough food for each person on their continent.
With all of the events this week, I am learning, and realizing again, how much I miss working towards fighting poverty. I didn't think I would say this quite this soon, but I miss those classroom discussions where we would talk about economic differences that help/harm poverty, I miss reading about it, talking about it, and most of all, I am realizing again how this is what I get really passionate and excited about.
A few days before I left for China, I submitted my Peace Corps application. Earlier this week, I had a phone interview with a Peace Corps Rep, and it went really well. He said that we will start to discuss placement positions, positions which could start as early as October of this year to March of 2010...However, recently, I have been really considering and researching staying in China for another year after I finish this internship. It seems, that it would be useful to stay in China and continue to study the language and get to know the culture...rather than studying Chinese and living here for 6 months and then just leaving, and in a sense, leaving all I have learned behind. All that to be said, even though making decisions is hard, I am glad to have the opportunity and don't yet have to make a final decision or worry about that.
Last night, Shaun and I did a poverty simulation for one of our culture classes. We divided up the students into different continent groups and gave them food (candy) and money (the Chinese equivalent to 10c pieces). The population, food, and money of each continent was representative to how it is in the world. The students could then trade food and money, but of course, at a cost. The purpose of the exercise was to show the reality of the world, that not everyone has enough food or money for basic necessities in some continents, where in others, there is a surplus of both...and to transfer those resources, there are costs for our inefficiencies. The exercise went a lot better than we had expected, and even though the students were less interested in the reality of the situation, they all participated in trying to get enough food for each person on their continent.
With all of the events this week, I am learning, and realizing again, how much I miss working towards fighting poverty. I didn't think I would say this quite this soon, but I miss those classroom discussions where we would talk about economic differences that help/harm poverty, I miss reading about it, talking about it, and most of all, I am realizing again how this is what I get really passionate and excited about.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
What to say?
A good friend of mine, Christine, told me last night that it was time to post another blog entry...I don't really have much to say though - but she said that it was time to post regardless.
This last weekend was really relaxing. Thanks to the parents for sending seasoning packets, on Friday night we had a big Mexican fiesta with all of the interns and a few friends. Mexican food is pretty much non-existent here, so it was really fun to make fajitas with everyone and just hang out. The rest of the weekend we just hung out, relaxed, watched The Office and spent time at home. One afternoon we did go explore Jong Jia (Middle Street), which is on a different part of the city, and is a pedestrian mall with lots of little shops, a big amusement park and is also where the Imperial Palace is. We didn't have enough time to go to the Palace, but it was nice to just walk around and look at things.
That's pretty much it from here. Hope you guys are all doing well.
M
This last weekend was really relaxing. Thanks to the parents for sending seasoning packets, on Friday night we had a big Mexican fiesta with all of the interns and a few friends. Mexican food is pretty much non-existent here, so it was really fun to make fajitas with everyone and just hang out. The rest of the weekend we just hung out, relaxed, watched The Office and spent time at home. One afternoon we did go explore Jong Jia (Middle Street), which is on a different part of the city, and is a pedestrian mall with lots of little shops, a big amusement park and is also where the Imperial Palace is. We didn't have enough time to go to the Palace, but it was nice to just walk around and look at things.
That's pretty much it from here. Hope you guys are all doing well.
M
Thursday, February 19, 2009
More pictures..
Here is a link to pictures I just posted on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2434801&l=7edc1&id=10003281
Will write more soon!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2434801&l=7edc1&id=10003281
Will write more soon!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Emotion...
I have stared at the computer screen for the last few minutes trying to figure out how to say what I want to say…and it’s proving to be difficult. The weekend was definitely fun, but I am tired. And, it seems, that regardless of how much sleep I get, I am still tired. I feel like the cold is starting to wear on me, I am more than ready for consistently above freezing temperatures. I am getting kind of tired of people yelling “HELLO” at the top of their lungs once they realize I am white. The dirt, black snow, and smog are becoming grossly normal. Chores, commuting to school, going to the market, the whole bit, far longer to complete here than at home due to language barriers, a city of seven million, and probably a variety of other reasons. But, this is China, and even though the daily grind of life here has been draining this last week, this is the life and culture that I am loving more and more.
I hesitated to write that I feel tired at parts of the culture and, mostly, just the cold weather. But, if I don’t share the emotion of this experience, then really, what good is this blog? I hope it doesn’t come across as upset, or depressing, or anything of that sort, rather just what gets processed through and filtered out before you find the originality, creativity and sheer beauty of a culture different than your own. I am loving it here, genuinely.
Even though this last week has been a bit tiring, we are transitioning from being tourists to living here, the newness of all of it has worn off, and it is now home.
This weekend my roommate, Lindsey, and I were able to spend an afternoon with a student, Tina, and her family. Her parents taught us how to make chuing bing. It is a traditional Chinese dish (my favorite here so far!) that is a crepe/tortilla like bread that you fill with a variety of dishes, most popularly pork and potatoes. Her mom taught us how to make the pancake, and then her dad taught us how to make the pork, among other things. Tina’s aunt and uncle came over for lunch, we found out later that it was the first time they had ever had foreigners over to their house! When we ate the table was full of homemade dishes to put in the chuing bing (the pancake thing). It was amazing, one of the best meals I have had in China. I am excited to know how to make this and to make it for my family in July! Her family was so gracious, the food was delicious, and it was just a really good afternoon.
Yesterday, Monday, was the last day of the Spring Festival, and it was the lantern festival. A bunch of us walked around Bei Shi Chong (said, bay sure chong, and it means north market) where the guys live. There were tons of vendors selling balloons, cotton candy, sugar cane and countless other foods and objects. There were tons of people and it was cool to see everyone out for the festivities! We walked down to Government Park and people were letting off red lanterns into the sky. They were paper lanterns that have a small flame in the bottom and when it gets hot enough they rise up. It was cool to look up and see so many rising. Traditionally, people write a wish or a prayer on the lantern and then set it off. I am very glad that I have gotten to be here to experience first hand all that goes on for the biggest Chinese holiday…to me, it seems like I have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity.
I hesitated to write that I feel tired at parts of the culture and, mostly, just the cold weather. But, if I don’t share the emotion of this experience, then really, what good is this blog? I hope it doesn’t come across as upset, or depressing, or anything of that sort, rather just what gets processed through and filtered out before you find the originality, creativity and sheer beauty of a culture different than your own. I am loving it here, genuinely.
Even though this last week has been a bit tiring, we are transitioning from being tourists to living here, the newness of all of it has worn off, and it is now home.
This weekend my roommate, Lindsey, and I were able to spend an afternoon with a student, Tina, and her family. Her parents taught us how to make chuing bing. It is a traditional Chinese dish (my favorite here so far!) that is a crepe/tortilla like bread that you fill with a variety of dishes, most popularly pork and potatoes. Her mom taught us how to make the pancake, and then her dad taught us how to make the pork, among other things. Tina’s aunt and uncle came over for lunch, we found out later that it was the first time they had ever had foreigners over to their house! When we ate the table was full of homemade dishes to put in the chuing bing (the pancake thing). It was amazing, one of the best meals I have had in China. I am excited to know how to make this and to make it for my family in July! Her family was so gracious, the food was delicious, and it was just a really good afternoon.
Yesterday, Monday, was the last day of the Spring Festival, and it was the lantern festival. A bunch of us walked around Bei Shi Chong (said, bay sure chong, and it means north market) where the guys live. There were tons of vendors selling balloons, cotton candy, sugar cane and countless other foods and objects. There were tons of people and it was cool to see everyone out for the festivities! We walked down to Government Park and people were letting off red lanterns into the sky. They were paper lanterns that have a small flame in the bottom and when it gets hot enough they rise up. It was cool to look up and see so many rising. Traditionally, people write a wish or a prayer on the lantern and then set it off. I am very glad that I have gotten to be here to experience first hand all that goes on for the biggest Chinese holiday…to me, it seems like I have been given a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Spring Festival & Harbin
The Chinese New Year marks the start of the Chinese Spring Festival. It is a week long festival that welcomes the beginning of spring. We had 7 days off from school, and all of us interns traveled to Harbin. Harbin is a city NE of Shenyang, about 400km (250 miles) away. It was a bit colder, and we spent a lot more time outdoors...so most of us gained a lot of weight in layers...I was wearing 3 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of pants, 5 shirts, a fleece, ski coat, 2 pairs of gloves and 2 hats..haha, it was chilly, but worth it!
I kind of talked about it before, but the Chinese New Year was amazing. The guys' apartment has roof access on the 20th floor, so we were able to go up and watch all of the fireworks go off across the city. Seriously, everywhere you looked, fireworks were going off. I am so glad that we were able to be here for the New Year and watch all of the craziness happen.
A few days later, all 10 of the interns went to Harbin. It was an AMAZING trip. We left the morning of the 26th, and man, getting on the train was an adventure in it of itself! We were all standing on the platform, trying to get in the door of the train and there was just this mob of people trying to squish into the door. Well, next thing we knew, the train started moving and people were all yelling (in Chinese, of course) and we just all smashed in. Apparently, if you travel via the hard seat train cars, how the average Chinese person travels, you don't have to have a ticket to get on the train, you only need a ticket to have a seat. So, people will get on the train to stand and then just pay the fare to the train staff once they are on. So, after some how finding where we were supposed to sit and kicking people out of our seats, and 7 hours later, we made it to Harbin. We spent the first day just finding our hotel, finding an open restaurant and playing cards/games in the hotel room at night. Oh, and, Andrew and Shaun ordered DOG at the restaurant...I don't think I will need to order it again, but I am definitely glad I tried it...even if just to cross it off the to-do list!
The next day we spent the morning at the Buddhist and Confucius temples. I wasn't that impressed, and thought it was a little of a tourist-trap, but it was fun to get out. That night, we had planned on going to the famous ice and snow festival, but due to an out-dated guide book, ended up at a ice amusement park. SO FUN. There were 3-story-high ice slides, traditional Chinese outdoor activities, swings, roller coasters, bumper cars, Ferris wheel, and lots of ice sculptures. It was so fun, and it was very refreshing to be child-like and just play.
The next afternoon, we went to Sun Island Park. This is where the ice and snow festival actually is - the festival is the main reason Harbin is famous and why we went there. However, after walking across the frozen river to the entrance to Sun Island, we could only find the snow festival. Most of the group went to the snow festival, but Shaun and I were determined to find the ice festival - we had been talking about going while we were still in Portland. So, we kept walking down the street and found some other English speakers who told us it was just further down the road, and finally made it! WOO! It was AMAZING! There were tons of HUGE ice sculptures and it was so cool to see the detail that went into each of them during the day...there were also free sports! So, we got spun in 360s when we went inner-tubing down the hill, and rode quads for the first time! At night, all of the sculptures lit up and so it was like exploring the park all over again at night. Definitely glad we kept going to find it, I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of it.
That night we got the sleeper train back to Shenyang. It left Harbin at 840 at night and we didn't get back to Shenyang until 340 in the morning. It was cool though - there were rows up bunks that were 3 bunks high, and we all just chilled out, slept, and listened to music.
Here is a link to a Picasa album of pictures from Chinese New Year and Harbin:
Even though I was on vacation in China, it just felt like a normal vacation. China, and Shenyang, is feeling like home. And, friendships with other interns are starting to get stronger. I love spending time with my roommates, we get along great and it is a perfect fit. It is my home away from home and family away from family..I love it here. I am still looking forward to my language skills to get better, so that I can communicate more easily at markets, restaurants and just with people that you meet on the streets.
Alright, this is long enough, and even though these are all of the events and what we've done, I am sure that I will start to post more soon of the emotion, cultural differences and other aspects of living in a foreign country, less of the events. It has been a big adjustment...but I am glad that I get to spend the next 5 months here. Our Internet at our apartment is still very temperamental, so blogging, emails and Skype have been hard to access from home.
Mom, Dad and Em - Miss you all heaps, I will write you guys an email in the next few days and hopefully Skype soon. Love you lots.
Much love.
I kind of talked about it before, but the Chinese New Year was amazing. The guys' apartment has roof access on the 20th floor, so we were able to go up and watch all of the fireworks go off across the city. Seriously, everywhere you looked, fireworks were going off. I am so glad that we were able to be here for the New Year and watch all of the craziness happen.
A few days later, all 10 of the interns went to Harbin. It was an AMAZING trip. We left the morning of the 26th, and man, getting on the train was an adventure in it of itself! We were all standing on the platform, trying to get in the door of the train and there was just this mob of people trying to squish into the door. Well, next thing we knew, the train started moving and people were all yelling (in Chinese, of course) and we just all smashed in. Apparently, if you travel via the hard seat train cars, how the average Chinese person travels, you don't have to have a ticket to get on the train, you only need a ticket to have a seat. So, people will get on the train to stand and then just pay the fare to the train staff once they are on. So, after some how finding where we were supposed to sit and kicking people out of our seats, and 7 hours later, we made it to Harbin. We spent the first day just finding our hotel, finding an open restaurant and playing cards/games in the hotel room at night. Oh, and, Andrew and Shaun ordered DOG at the restaurant...I don't think I will need to order it again, but I am definitely glad I tried it...even if just to cross it off the to-do list!
The next day we spent the morning at the Buddhist and Confucius temples. I wasn't that impressed, and thought it was a little of a tourist-trap, but it was fun to get out. That night, we had planned on going to the famous ice and snow festival, but due to an out-dated guide book, ended up at a ice amusement park. SO FUN. There were 3-story-high ice slides, traditional Chinese outdoor activities, swings, roller coasters, bumper cars, Ferris wheel, and lots of ice sculptures. It was so fun, and it was very refreshing to be child-like and just play.
The next afternoon, we went to Sun Island Park. This is where the ice and snow festival actually is - the festival is the main reason Harbin is famous and why we went there. However, after walking across the frozen river to the entrance to Sun Island, we could only find the snow festival. Most of the group went to the snow festival, but Shaun and I were determined to find the ice festival - we had been talking about going while we were still in Portland. So, we kept walking down the street and found some other English speakers who told us it was just further down the road, and finally made it! WOO! It was AMAZING! There were tons of HUGE ice sculptures and it was so cool to see the detail that went into each of them during the day...there were also free sports! So, we got spun in 360s when we went inner-tubing down the hill, and rode quads for the first time! At night, all of the sculptures lit up and so it was like exploring the park all over again at night. Definitely glad we kept going to find it, I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of it.
That night we got the sleeper train back to Shenyang. It left Harbin at 840 at night and we didn't get back to Shenyang until 340 in the morning. It was cool though - there were rows up bunks that were 3 bunks high, and we all just chilled out, slept, and listened to music.
Here is a link to a Picasa album of pictures from Chinese New Year and Harbin:
 |
| Chinese New Year and Harbin |
Even though I was on vacation in China, it just felt like a normal vacation. China, and Shenyang, is feeling like home. And, friendships with other interns are starting to get stronger. I love spending time with my roommates, we get along great and it is a perfect fit. It is my home away from home and family away from family..I love it here. I am still looking forward to my language skills to get better, so that I can communicate more easily at markets, restaurants and just with people that you meet on the streets.
Alright, this is long enough, and even though these are all of the events and what we've done, I am sure that I will start to post more soon of the emotion, cultural differences and other aspects of living in a foreign country, less of the events. It has been a big adjustment...but I am glad that I get to spend the next 5 months here. Our Internet at our apartment is still very temperamental, so blogging, emails and Skype have been hard to access from home.
Mom, Dad and Em - Miss you all heaps, I will write you guys an email in the next few days and hopefully Skype soon. Love you lots.
Much love.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Chinese New Year
(The view from the roof.)Last night was Chinese New Year. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before. The fireworks were insane. At the guys' apartment, you can get onto the roof, which is on the 20th floor of their building, and we were able to see the fireworks going off all over the city. They would just set off the fireworks in between buildings, alleys, and you could seem them go off, literally, right in front of us.
(All of us on the roof watching the show!)
The pictures don't nearly do a justice, but here are a few regardless.
Tomorrow, all of us interns are headed up to Harbin. It is a 5-6 hours north, via train. We will get to spend a few days there and go to the famous ice and snow festival.
Sorry this is so short. I am sure there will be plenty of stories when I get back!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
For you non-Facebookers..
Here is a link to pictures that I posted on Facebook from the first month in China.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2421982&l=ff74d&id=10003281
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2421982&l=ff74d&id=10003281
Saturday, January 17, 2009
A day in the life..
I have officially finished my first 'real' week in Shenyang. It was good to establish a routine again and to feel more settled into life here and my schedule at the school.
(Emily, myself and Andrew hanging out in the English Immersion Room.)
This week was the first of many weeks here. Monday through Friday I have two hours of Mandarin class a day, and then teach anywhere from 2-5 hours of class. The way the school works is that the students register for classes based on their availability and then the teachers are scheduled to teach whatever the students sign up for. This means that each day the type of class and when you teach varies from day to day. Each intern has a different teaching schedule, and different days off, (my days off are Sundays and Mondays) but it is fun to get lunch together, find random restaurants to go to after we are all done teaching, and spend time laughing at how horrible our pronunciation of Chinese sounds are during class. :)
(Jensen teaching us how to Rumba during his culture class.)
There are a variety of classes that we teach at the school. Some are one hour, discussion classes, where there are anywhere from 4-8 students and a variety of topics. Others are more instruction-based classes that last for 2 hours and have fewer students. Another popular class is Elite Speaking, where it is either private or a small group of students who come for the main purpose to just practice speaking and improve their conversational skills. And then the final type of class that we teach is a culture class. These classes are free for the students and are aimed at immersing the students into western culture and using English in a casual setting. Earlier this week, Jensen, another intern, taught the Rumba to the students and it was a hit!
(One of my roommates, Chelsey, and I out to dinner with other interns.)
Even though we were all busy teaching and figuring out our schedules this week, we all definitely had a lot of fun! We found this awesome underground food court/market close to the school where we got lunch a few days. Another night, a group of us made dinner together one night after teaching. And, last night a bunch of us went out to dinner and made friends with the table behind us, and unfortunately, the stories don't do a justice, but it was one of the most entertaining dinners I have had in Shenyang!
It was definitely a very good week, but as I settle in more here, I am realizing how much I miss certain things and comforts of home...Not to mention the people! I am loving the emails, so keep them coming! :) Hope you guys are all doing well.
Much love.
(Emily, myself and Andrew hanging out in the English Immersion Room.)This week was the first of many weeks here. Monday through Friday I have two hours of Mandarin class a day, and then teach anywhere from 2-5 hours of class. The way the school works is that the students register for classes based on their availability and then the teachers are scheduled to teach whatever the students sign up for. This means that each day the type of class and when you teach varies from day to day. Each intern has a different teaching schedule, and different days off, (my days off are Sundays and Mondays) but it is fun to get lunch together, find random restaurants to go to after we are all done teaching, and spend time laughing at how horrible our pronunciation of Chinese sounds are during class. :)
(Jensen teaching us how to Rumba during his culture class.)
There are a variety of classes that we teach at the school. Some are one hour, discussion classes, where there are anywhere from 4-8 students and a variety of topics. Others are more instruction-based classes that last for 2 hours and have fewer students. Another popular class is Elite Speaking, where it is either private or a small group of students who come for the main purpose to just practice speaking and improve their conversational skills. And then the final type of class that we teach is a culture class. These classes are free for the students and are aimed at immersing the students into western culture and using English in a casual setting. Earlier this week, Jensen, another intern, taught the Rumba to the students and it was a hit!
(One of my roommates, Chelsey, and I out to dinner with other interns.)Even though we were all busy teaching and figuring out our schedules this week, we all definitely had a lot of fun! We found this awesome underground food court/market close to the school where we got lunch a few days. Another night, a group of us made dinner together one night after teaching. And, last night a bunch of us went out to dinner and made friends with the table behind us, and unfortunately, the stories don't do a justice, but it was one of the most entertaining dinners I have had in Shenyang!
It was definitely a very good week, but as I settle in more here, I am realizing how much I miss certain things and comforts of home...Not to mention the people! I am loving the emails, so keep them coming! :) Hope you guys are all doing well.
Much love.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Gan Bei!
Last night was Langston's annual banquet. It is equivalent to the company Christmas party, so to speak. It was a blast!
We were warned beforehand, that business culture in this region of China is different than, obviously, that of the US. Here, the school of thought is that you want to see whoever you are going to do business with drunk, because, if you seem them drunk, then you know who they really are. Clearly, it wouldn't be politically correct to get drunk with your boss at a work function in the US. The means to getting to see your 'real' business partner, is 'Gan Bei!', or "dry the cup". Essentially, this is the same as cheers! Someone would call Gan Bei and everyone would finish their cup of beer, or wine, (or orange Fanta if you still can't drink because you had mono..) and refill for the next Gan Bei. Now, all this to be said, no one was near belligerent! The cups are a larger shot glass that is shaped like a wine glass, and you would pound your cup on the glass lazy-Suzan on the table, call Gan Bei, finish your cup, and tilt it showing that you truly had dried your cup. It was the first time I had ever taken 'shots' of soda! :)
Besides experiencing the Gan Bei tradition, the food was amazing. Everything was served family-style, as most dishes are here. We had everything from broccoli, to Beijing duck, to candied sweet potatoes, a few different kinds of meat that tasted good but I have no idea what they were, to dumplings, to maybe it was seaweed we think, to a whole fish, to soup. There was so much food, endless drinks, and all of the Chinese staff to keep us entertained.I knew that I was experiencing an office party different than any I had been to before when money was being raffled off, and the president started off the first round of karaoke! After all of the set prizes were distributed to the respective winners, we were told that each person there would get 100 yuan, or close to $20! I was getting paid to get to experience this Chinese tradition and eat good traditional banquet food...I can do this!!
All of it put together, it was so fun. All of us enjoyed getting to experience the annual banquet, and are wondering how we can get invited to more!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Shameless Plug..
So, we had our first week of orientation. A few of us are a bit under the weather, so we have been doing ESL training, cultural training, gone on a few field trips around town, and spent a bit of time watching DVDs and sleeping trying to get over whatever bug we had. It's been a good week - definitely feeling more rested and adjusted which is good.
This weekend is Langston's annual meeting and banquet. All of the interns are going to the banquet, which we've been told will be a very cultural experience. I am definitely looking forward to that and am sure that I will have stories to share after wards! :)
I have my first English class tomorrow. And then next week we start Mandarin lessons and teaching for our regular schedule. I am excited to establish a lifestyle here and start teaching and interacting with students on a regular basis!
So, here is the shameless plug. Here is my mailing address. Feel free to send whatever, whenever. :)
Mollie Bates c/o Langston English
Dongyu Building 3rd floor, #2 Heping South Ave.
Shenyang, Liaoning Province 110001
China
That's all for now.
This weekend is Langston's annual meeting and banquet. All of the interns are going to the banquet, which we've been told will be a very cultural experience. I am definitely looking forward to that and am sure that I will have stories to share after wards! :)
I have my first English class tomorrow. And then next week we start Mandarin lessons and teaching for our regular schedule. I am excited to establish a lifestyle here and start teaching and interacting with students on a regular basis!
So, here is the shameless plug. Here is my mailing address. Feel free to send whatever, whenever. :)
Mollie Bates c/o Langston English
Dongyu Building 3rd floor, #2 Heping South Ave.
Shenyang, Liaoning Province 110001
China
That's all for now.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Home Sweet Home!
We’re here in Shenyang! The last few days we have just been getting settled into our respective apartments and cleaning, unpacking, and figuring out what need, etc. It’s been good too, to get to know the other interns and explore random parts of the city and restaurants with them. I have put up a few pictures of the apartment, and will post more when I either get internet at our apartment or from the school on Monday.
I am very excited to start training on Monday, start learning Mandarin and continue to get to know this awesome group of people that I am with over the next few weeks! Hope you guys had a good new year!
My room.
The living area.
The kitchen.
The view from my window...if you look closely, there are ice skaters!
I am very excited to start training on Monday, start learning Mandarin and continue to get to know this awesome group of people that I am with over the next few weeks! Hope you guys had a good new year!
My room.
The living area.
The kitchen.
The view from my window...if you look closely, there are ice skaters!
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