Goodbye China: My Last Day

Hey everyone! Well, I can't believe it but the day is here. It's my last day in China. These past 4 months went by surprisingly fast. Yes some days dragged by, but overall, it feels like just yesterday I was walking into the kindergarten for the first time. Now, it's all over. So I guess this post is just to talk about some things I've gained while in China.

Amanda, Marie, and Summer! They're so cute! 

I have to admit, I loved teaching the kids. Well, most of the time, ha ha. It was frustrating sometimes when the kids just wouldn't listen or I couldn't control my class. There were days when I wanted to pull my hair out and give up. But it was worth it when I saw those kids smiling or speaking more english to me and to others. I loved to hear them laugh and joke about silly things. One thing this experience has taught me was how to be with kids. You'd think I'd be used to being around kids, since I've had nieces and nephews since I was nine, but I was still a little awkward around kids. Now, I'm much more comfortable with children, and I have fun with them. I've also learned here that kids everywhere are the same, whether they live in China or Utah.

Living in China has helped me gain more confidence in myself. I learned to trust my own judgement and to not be afraid to take the first step. I learned how to handle a group of hyperactive six-year-olds and not go crazy. I learned how to interact with others despite cultural differences. And I learned that people here aren't so different from me, and I'm really going to miss the people that I've met.

Me and Bella, our coordinator. 

I think what struck me the most about living in China was how normal everything quickly became. Eating rice with practically every meal, flipping a switch to turn on hot water, teaching children and hearing Chinese everywhere became everyday things for me. It taught me how even in China, I can be myself and live my life. It's true that things are different in China, but maybe not as different as we're inclined to believe.

There are a lot of things I did and didn't expect in China. I expected to see large dirty cities and strange sights. I expected to see old vehicles and massive amounts of people. But I didn't expect a lot of things. I didn't expect BMWs, Porsches, and Ferraris. I didn't expect people dancing Zumba. I didn't expect farms and orchards within the city, and beautiful flowers right next to condemned buildings. I didn't expect to like rice and noodles so much. I also didn't expect to become such good friends with the girls in my group. I love you Emily, Marlo, Sheena, Christina, and Tiffany! China surprised me in some ways and not so in other ways.

The girls from Guzhen! 

Before I came to China, my vague idea of the place consisted of Buddhism, Kung Fu, and strange foods. But now China has come to mean so much more for me. When I think about China now, I see countless people, all living their own lives. I hear the constant honking and strangely expressive voices. I smell the pungent scent of incense, tea and earthy spices. I feel the hard beds and the thick humidity. I taste the strange flavors of various meats and plants. China became a part of me, and I've gained so much in just a short amount of time. These past four months will stay with me for a long time. Good bye China. I'll miss you!

Awesome Things about China

Hello everyone! Wow, we're down to seven days. It's just insane. Anyway, since I just did a list of things I miss about the U.S., I thought I'd do a list of things that I love about China. So here it goes!

Things I love about China:

Me in front of the Buddhist Tower at the Summer's Palace

1. The kids: I'm serious, Chinese babies are probably the most adorable things in the world. I love the kids I teach.
2. Everything is cheap: since the dollar to yuan exchange is really good (six yuan to one dollar) everything here is seriously so cheap.
3. The fact that I'm closer to average height: It's true I'm still on the short side here, but I'm definitely not as short here as I am in the U.S. And most of the clothes here fit me pretty well!
4. Blackcurrant soda: Seriously the best thing ever.
5. The different types of transportation: I've been on trains, buses, subways, taxis and rickshaws. It's awesome!
6. Coconut Cake Pies: Seriously the most delicious things in the world.
7. Dumplings: Also very delicious.
8. The bizarre foods: Where else can I say that I ate a scorpion? And a tarantula? And pigskin? And chicken feet? And, well you get the idea.
9. The crazy traffic and parking: I know it's weird that I love it, but I think I love it because it's so crazy. I've come out of the apartment and seen some of the strangest parking jobs where cars are practically on the sidewalk.
10. Dancing Chinese Zumba: This doesn't really need an explanation. It's just that awesome!
11. The awesome people I've met. Again, no explanation really needed here.

So yeah, I do love China and all its oddness, and even though I'm excited to go back home, I'm really going to miss this place.

Tigers, Clowns, and Mountains: My Weekend in Guangzhou

The view from White Cloud Mountain

Hey everybody! So this post is about my weekend. Me and a couple of the girls decided to spend it in Guangzhou, which is about thirty minutes away from Zhongshan by speed train. It's got a lot of cool places to go to.

We got there on Friday and decided to do a little shopping. There was a street a few blocks down that had some shops and vendors. There I got the most delicious mango smoothie that I've ever had in my life. I'm not even kidding, it was so good. Anyway, we mostly chilled Friday evening. On Saturday,  we went to Chimelong Resort. It's this area that has a ton of attractions, such as a water park, amusement park, safari park, and a circus. They have a cool package deal where you can go to two of the attractions for a good price, so we went to the safari park and the circus.

Yep, I'm on an elephant. Be jealous. 

Let's talk about the safari park. The place was really nice. You know how some zoos have only one animal in the pen and it's pretty small. Here the pens were really large and they had more animals in them, so they could interact more. For example, they had a whole section dedicated to the tigers. I've never seen so many tigers; it was amazing. They also had a safari train that you could take and see animals in a more wilderness setting, which was pretty cool. So it was here that I fed a baby tiger, fed a giraffe, and rode an elephant. Yeah, that park was awesome. I got to feed this little snow tiger a bottle, which was absolutely adorable. And feeding the giraffe was pretty fun; the giraffe ate all the leaves off the branch I held out to it in one swipe, which surprised me a bit. As for riding an elephant, it's kind of hard. I felt like I was being thrown forward every time the elephant took a step. It was fun though, and the elephant had huge tusks! So overall, the safari park was really enjoyable and I got to do so many cool things there.

I love the presentation of this circus. It was incredible!

Now on to the circus. Holy cow, the circus was just incredible. I don't think I can describe it properly other than with the word spectacle. They had everything from clowns to tigers, to acrobats to motorcycle stunts man. Some of the feats those people pulled off were just mind-blowing. They also had these dancers in harnesses floating above and doing incredible moves. Plus the stage and set was just fantastic! Granted, I don't think I've actually been to a circus before so maybe I'm just awed because I'm a first-timer, but I still think it was pretty insane.

Sunday, we decided to go to White Cloud Mountain and do a bit of exploring and hiking. While the mountain itself isn't very high, the park is pretty big. We were there for about four hours, just walking around. I love all the different types of trees and plants on this mountain, especially since they're more of the tropical variety. I got some gorgeous pictures. It was so hot and humid that day, though. I don't think I've ever sweat that much before ever. It was crazy.

So there's my adventure in Guangzhou. I got to do some really cool things and I saw some incredible sights and performances. I'm definitely glad I went and had a bit of a last mini-vacation before I leave China. Well, that's it. Until later, folks!

What I Miss About the United States

Hey everyone! I thought since I took forever to post in this blog, I'd do a couple more than I usually do. Here just are some things about the U.S. that I really miss, and a few of them surprised me. So here you go!

You're jealous of my mad Kung Fu skills

Things I Miss About the U.S.

1. Being able to understand people. Granted, I'm trying to learn Chinese and I can talk a little bit to people, but it's very difficult and sometimes I wish I could communicate better.
2. Mattresses. I don't really mind my hard bed at all. In fact, I'm pretty much used to it, but I do miss the idea of a mattress.
3. Mexican food. This one is weird, but apparently China hasn't really discovered Mexican food yet. So I occasionally get insane cravings for tacos.
4. Driving. I don't miss this too much, but every now and then it would be nice to drive a car.
5. Sandwiches.  They're not nonexistent in China, just not as common. A turkey cranberry sandwich sounds pretty amazing.
6. Reading Books. It's impossible to read anything here in China, what with Chinese characters and all. We do have a few books that some of the girls brought, which helps, but sometimes I really miss having my books.
7. Pie. Weird, right? But I really miss pie. I guess it's an American thing.
8. Going to church. The closest place to go and watch a broadcast of sacrament meeting is about two hours away by bus. I go when I can but I really miss physically going to church.
9. An actual tub. We don't really have a tub or anything like that. Just a shower head. Never thought I'd miss having a tub.
10. Drinking from the tap. I obviously can't do it here, but I kind of miss not having to think about what type of water I should use.
11. Dr Pepper! They have Coke here, but it's just not the same. . .

And of course, I miss my friends and family! I love you guys! Most of these things mainly remind me that I'm pretty spoiled. But, while I've been enjoying my time here in China, I'm getting ready to go home too, which is in a couple of weeks! Well, that's it for now. Until later, folks!

Fun (and Burning) in the Sun: My Vacation in Sanya

Beautiful Sanya beach!

Hey everyone! So we just got back from our last vacation, which was in Sanya. It's crazy to think that in a few weeks, I'll be back home. This whole experience has been incredible, but I'll talk more about that in a later post. For now, this post is all about Sanya, or otherwise known as the Hawaii of the East.

Sanya itself is rather interesting. You have to take a ferry to get there, and it's even more hot and muggy than it is in Zhongshan (which I didn't think was possible). Sanya is also home to a lot of Russians. Why? Well, apparently Scandinavia and Russia get really good deals to come to Sanya and people from there can go to Sanya for up to six months without a visa. As a result, there are a lot of Russian tourists and visitors. In fact, the locals in Sanya are more likely to know Russian than English. It was here that we got mistaken for Russians all the time. It makes sense, since we're white and they get a lot of Russian tourists.

Anyway, the first day of our vacation was spent sunbathing on the beach. The beaches are quite
beautiful and the ocean is a gorgeous blue. On the downside, there was some garbage in the ocean and on the beach. In general, though, the beach was quite nice. Unfortunately I underestimated the sun's strength and I got sunburned. Again. Despite the fact that I put a lot of sunscreen on and reapplied. I guess I was just out there too long. This time it wasn't so bad, I just got burned a little on my back and legs. I've only peeled a little (yay!), which hopefully means I'll have a nice tan.

Awesome beach pose! 

As a result of getting burned, we spent most of Sunday avoiding the sun. It worked since Sunday was ridiculously hot. We mainly spent time in a local mall and walked around various little stores and boutiques. We went to the beach once the sun went down and things cooled off. The beach was pretty crowded and it was fun to see all the people.

I also found out another fun fact about China. In China, the people wait until the sun goes down before they go swimming at the beach. I think they feel the opposite that we do. We want to be more tan so we sunbathe, Chinese people want to be more white, so they avoid the sun. It's kind of sad, actually. I guess we can't be happy the way we are. Ha, I'm no exception since I'm happy I got a nice tan. Oh, well.

Monday was also spent on the beach, but we did a bit of surfing. Marlo, one of the girls in my group, knew how to surf so we decided to rent a surfboard and have her teach us the basics. I'll tell you right now, it isn't easy. You have to not only focus on steering the surfboard, but also balancing yourself completely. You lean a little too much to the left or right and down you go! All the same, it was pretty fun. I actually got to the point where I could crouch, though standing up all the way proved to be difficult.

Tuesday was (surprise!) another day at the beach. We mainly just chilled and walked along the waves, finding cool shells and rocks. I did see a moon jellyfish, which was pretty cool. They basically look like giant blobs of clear jelly. We basically relaxed this whole vacation, which honestly was pretty nice. It's fun to have crazy vacations where you do a lot of stuff, but it's also fun to have ones where you don't do much. So we just bummed on the beach a lot.

Just me enjoying some ice cream on the beach

We left Tuesday, but let me tell you about our little fiasco. We booked train tickets to leave from Sanya to Guanzhou. We had to take a bus to the train station. We knew that the bus ride would take about 20 minutes, so we left for the train station with plenty of time, or so we thought. What happened was that the bus got stuck in traffic, and it took over an hour to get to the station. By the time we got there, we had probably two minutes before the our train left. Unfortunately, the platform had closed. So we missed our train. One of the guards led us over to another train and we ended up having to call our coordinator, who spoke Chinese, to talk with them. We then arranged to take the speed train to catch up with our train at one of the stops. So we rode a speed train to Haikou and then got on our train and rode to Guangzhou. It was crazy and pretty stressful, but we eventually made it back to Zhongshan. Anyway, the moral of the story is don't forget to take traffic into account when you figure out travel time.

Well, that's my Sanya vacation. Besides the train adventure, it was pretty relaxing and I'm glad we went. It was a great last vacation! Anyway I'll be posting a few more times before I head back to the States. They'll probably be about China in general and random things I've learned. Oh, here are some more pictures in Sanya. Until later, folks!

I just can't get over the blue sky and ocean! 

Me and the girls doing a yoga pose. I love those girls!

Beautiful sunset

Beijing Vacation!

Tianamen Square 

Hey everyone! Sorry this post is so late! Internet's been a pain to deal with and it took me a while to find the photos I wanted to use. So here's my story about my Beijing vacation. It was full of crazy moments, both good and bad, but overall, I'd have to say it was a success. 

So we started out by going to Xian, hoping to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. Unfortunately our train ride ended up being 29 hours long instead of just 20 hours long. So that time that we planned to see the Warriors was spent on a train, and since we had a flight for Beijing the next morning, we couldn't go to the Warriors. We were bummed, but there wasn't much we could do. On the plus side, we made great friends with some people on the train and we got to see a little of Xian. 

We got to Beijing on Friday, and we spent the afternoon wandering around the area our hostel was in. We were close to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. There were these cool shopping areas that we walked around. We found a market area that was basically in these alleys  where you could get a bunch of souvenirs. That was pretty sweet, there was everything from necklaces to figurines to flutes to even these little gel heating packs. 

I was surprised by how clear it was in Beijing. I expected it to be seriously smoggy with gray skies the whole time. But when I was there, the sky was clear and sunny. Maybe it was because we were in a more tourist part of town, but it was nothing like I expected. I also expected the place to be absolutely packed, especially since it was a holiday. However, while there were a lot of people, it didn't feel overly crowded to me. It could be because I'm more used to crazy crowds, so I don't notice them as much, but I really didn't feel like it was too crowded, even at the tourist sites.  

The Lama Temple

Saturday, we hit a bunch of tourist sites. We went to Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Lama Temple,and the Temple of Heaven. The Forbidden City was really cool, but huge. It consists of the buildings where the old royalty used to live. There are some beautiful ornate buildings in there. The Lama Temple is a Buddhist temple, with monks and everything. There are buildings that have statues of Buddha that people go to worship. They burn incense outside the buildings too. It was interesting to see all the different statues of Budda. They have one for health, fortune, medicine, the Buddha of divine light, etc. One of the buildings had a huge statue of Buddha. I think it was over 70 feet and carved out of a single sandalwood tree.It was incredible to see. The Temple of Heaven was fun and had a bunch of buildings besides the actual temple. 

Me at the Great Wall

Sunday, we went to the Summer's Palace and the Pearl Market. The Summer's Palace is also where royalty used to live, though I'm not sure which era. It's huge! It even has a lake in the middle of the grounds. There were so many buildings for different purposes from worshiping to living to entertaining. The Pearl Market is a place where you can bargain with people and get things for pretty cheap. I bought a lot of stuff there, such as gifts for people, shoes, scarves, and headphones. They have everything from clothes to watches, to tea sets, and of course pearls. It's a building that has four levels of shopping, which I have to say is pretty awesome. It was seriously so fun to bargain with the people there. 

Monday was the Great Wall! We went with a tour since it was easier that way and we didn't have to worry about finding a way to get there. This tour took us to a more remote part of the wall that not many people go to. It's really cool because this part looks a bit older and it wasn't that crowded. It was crazy to see this wall and try to imagine all the history that went on. It's a little humbling. Oh and I spat off the wall, just because, well, I could. 

We also met some really awesome people from Australia that were also teaching English. They were working on getting their teaching degree. Actually, I met a lot of interesting people on this trip. I met an English guy who was traveling and writing a book, a German guy who was traveling all over China, and some people from North Carolina who were studying acupuncture. It was really fun to see all the different types of people and hear their stories. 

I wasn't kidding about the tarantula

And finally, the craziest part: I ate a scorpion and a tarantula on a stick! Yeah, there's this night market that sells all kinds of foods. Most of it's normal like dumplings and grilled meats, but they had some crazy stuff like scorpions, snakes, starfish, seahorse, and even bat. So I tried a scorpion and a tarantula. They didn't taste bad. The tarantula tasted like burnt french fries, and the scorpion legs tasted like burnt bacon. The body was gross though. Anyway, that was awesome! It was fun to see the reactions of people walking by when they saw me eating the tarantula. 

So overall, the vacation was an awesome one. I loved Beijing and I would love to go back there one day and hit more of the sights. Well that's it for this post. Until later, folks! 

Easter and More Random Things About China

My home group with their Easter eggs. So cute! 

Hey everyone! It's been a couple of weeks since we got back from vacation. Not much has happened, other than Easter, so I decided to talk about some interesting/random things I've noticed about China and my city.

Okay, let's talk about Easter. We celebrated Easter on Thursday with the kids. They colored pictures and got to decorate hard-boiled eggs. Then we played Easter games with them and had an Easter egg hunt. It was fun to see the kids go crazy over the eggs.

Food
It's true that the Chinese eat rice for pretty much every meal. My coordinator even said that she didn't feel full unless she ate some rice with her meal, which I think is kind of funny. I think it's like how some people are with bread. Believe it or not, I'm not sick of rice yet. The Chinese also like to cook all of their vegetables, including lettuce and cucumbers. They basically consider uncooked vegetables to be goat food. It was weird to eat lettuce that way, but I've gotten used to it.

The whole chicken, including the head

As far as weird foods go, I've eaten pig skin, some weird organ thing that I think belonged to a pig or a chicken, squid, various mushrooms, lotus root, octopus, cow ears, corn juice, various forms of tofu, and meat cakes. So they're not incredibly strange things to eat (besides the pigskin and organs) but it's definitely different. I know that some girls in my group got to try duck blood, which is probably the weirdest thing we've come across so far. We do have to deal with a lot of bones, since most of the time when we eat chicken or fish we get the bones as well. I've also eaten sugar cane which is really good.


Crazy Stuff
So here are some crazy things I've seen: dead rats in the street, be they drowned, squashed, or a
week-old flattened roadkill. I've seen children peeing on the side of the road, and people driving what look like tractors down the middle of a busy highway. I've seen said tractors pulling huge loads of anything from bamboo to water jugs, piled so high that I thought they would fall over for sure. I've also seen cockroaches on the street and in my house (just one in the house thankfully). It's at the point now that if I see anything weird, I just shrug my shoulders and say "China."

Me with my adorable students! 

But hey, despite the strange quirks and differences, I don't mind living in China. It's definitely a different experience that took some getting used to, and I still have moments that throw me off. But now I generally go through my day with the same normalcy I'd have if I were back in the U.S. It's kind of cool to reach that point. I'm having an awesome experience and part of the experience is to be a part of the strangeness that is China. It's also worth it when the kids come up to you and give you big hugs, just saying. Well that's it for now. Until later, folks!

Yangshuo: The Beautiful Surprise in the Mountains

Hey everyone! So I just got back from my vacation in Yangshuo, and I have to say that it was pretty awesome. I saw gorgeous views, tasted some great food, bought awesome souvenirs and had some fun conversations with other travelers. All in all, a successful vacation.

Aren't these mountains just incredible? 

Yangshuo is where the Dr Suess Mountains are located. I thought that it would be like Zhangjiajie,
where you go to a national park and then you're in the mountains. But Yangshuo is practically in the middle of the mountains. You look around and you're surrounded by these mountains on every end, and there are even a couple of large hills within the town. It's really cool! The hostel that I was staying in had a roof that you could go on and look out over the city. It was really amazing to see it at night, with some lights and the mountains in the background made it look especially beautiful.

Yangshuo is kind of a tourist town. We did go there on a holiday, so there were a ton of people. We saw a lot more foreigners (meaning white people), which was a nice change. But we still got asked to be in pictures. It was fun to do a bunch of touristy things because when I'm in Zhongshan, I don't feel like a tourist, especially since I've been living there for almost two months. But when I'm on vacation, I'm totally a tourist and it's a blast to walk around and take pictures of everything.

Me eating a sweet potato cake thingy. So good! 

So, food. Yangshuo had a lot of Chinese restaurants of course, but there were a lot of other options as well. We saw a bunch of western style restaurants, some of them even being run by Americans. We even met a guy from Missouri who co-owned a restaurant with his Chinese friend. He comes out to China on the holidays and sells hotdogs. It's kind of a genius idea because it appeals to the westerners for something familiar and to the Asian tourists for something different. My favorite things to eat actually came from vendors. I ate this Taiwanese burrito that tasted fantastic. I also had this strange sweet potato cake thing on a stick from another vendor that was surprisingly good. My favorite restaurant was this Indian restaurant that had amazing curry.

On Friday, I drove around on a moped throughout town and through the mountains. I got to see the mountains and the outskirts of town, which was interesting. Riding the moped was both fun and terrifying since the thing was pretty big and a little hard to maneuver, but I got the hang of it after a while. I can now say that I've driven in Chinese traffic and survived.

Mud Caves!! 

Saturday, we went on a bamboo raft down part of the Yulong river. It was pretty fun and the guy let us have a turn at steering the raft, though it probably worked in his favor since he got a break. It was harder than you'd think, but we got pretty good at it. After the river, we went up to this cave that had some pretty cool rock formations. The cave was pretty old since a lot of the stalactites and stalagmites had reached each other into one big column. At the end of the cave there was this thing called a mud bath, where you could go and basically swim around in this giant mud puddle. It was the coolest thing! We got covered, especially when we got into a mud fight with this other group of Chinese people. After the mud bath, we rinsed off and went into these hot springs which felt wonderful.

On Sunday, we went to Xin Ping, which is this little village about 45 minutes away from Yangshuo. It's by the Li River. Now this river is huge and even had a large island in the middle of it. We walked along the river and got some beautiful pictures. We got to see the mountains that are drawn on the 20 kwai bill, which was pretty cool.

Me out on Walking Street

Besides all of the sightseeing, another fun thing about Yangshuo is the shopping and the bargaining. They have an entire street called Walking Street that's full of vendors trying to get you to buy their stuff, and they have everything from clothes to jewelry to food to tea to little wire figurines. It's also very fun to bargain with people. Bargaining is very much a part of Chinese culture, so they kind of expect it, though they get surprised when Americans can bargain. There was this one point when I was eyeing this gorgeous little vase. The guy and I started bargaining, using what little English he knew and what little Chinese I knew. After a bit, more people started to gather around me as I'm working out a price with this guy. I think they were surprised that a foreign white girl knew how to bargain. It was pretty funny.

So yes, If you're ever in China, I do recommend going to Yangshuo. There's something there for everybody and I guarantee that you'll have a blast. I know I did. Well that's it for now. Until later, folks!

A Few Thoughts on China

Hey guys, this post is a bit short, since not too much has happened since our vacation. We've just been teaching the kids and developing our teaching more. We just had a visit from a higher-up from ILP, to check and see how we're doing. According to him and our principals, we're doing well in teaching, which is good to know. So now, I'm going to talk about some things I noticed about China.

Traffic in China is pretty crazy. No one really pays attention to traffic rules, and yet there aren't
many crashes or accidents. That's mainly because even though people don't really follow traffic rules, they're hyper aware of everything that's going on around them. So if a car suddenly pulls in front of truck, the truck can usually avoid a collision because the driver is aware of the car and has quick reflexes. Also pedestrians will just walk everywhere and anytime. I've become an expert jaywalker. It seems like the only traffic rule they follow are the traffic lights. But they don't have stop signs and people just honk whenever they're turning or if someone's in the way. It's crazy.

Biking! 

Last weekend, we went biking with some teachers in these gorgeous hills. The trails were really fun and it was great to spend some time with our fellow teachers. It was also full of people riding bikes. The Chinese ride bikes more or less like they drive: you stay aware of everyone around you, and you keep moving forward, which are about the only two rules. So yeah, pretty crazy. It was still a lot of fun and, of course, people wanted pictures with us.

Something that I've been thinking about is that despite the fact that I'm in a very different part of the world with a culture very different from my own, I can't help but notice the normalness of it. Even though these people do things differently from me, they're still people with their own likes, dislikes and quirks. I mean, I've had some hilarious conversations about boys and dating with some native teachers. Even though we come from completely different places, we can still bond and have fun.

Our little get-together for Women's Day back in March

I think that sometimes we get hung up on the whole "cultural differences" thing and we don't really appreciate the fact that we're not so different. We still laugh at funny situations, we get embarrassed, we feel awkward sometimes, and we go through our lives hoping that we can contribute something to this world. Forgive me for sounding sappy but I think if we remembered that more and focused less on the things that are different, we could solve a lot of potential problems. I'm not saying that we should be ignorant of cultural differences (it's good to know about them to avoid potential misunderstandings); I just think that's not the only thing we should focus on when living in a different country. We should be seeing how we are similar to people in different countries, and how we can relate to them.

Well, that's all I've got at the moment. We're leaving for vacation in Yangshuo this week, which should be really fun. Until later, folks!

Zhangjiajie!! My Crazy Adventures in the Avatar Mountains

Hey everyone! I finished my first vacation and what a vacation it was! We went to the Zhangjiajie Mountains, which are also called the Avatar Mountains. This place is absolutely gorgeous, but more about that later. Let's talk about how we got there.

So we had to take a train for 14 hours to get to Zhangjiajie, which was a bit miserable, but an interesting experience. We left Saturday night around 8:30 and got there at around 11am the next day. Let me tell you something about Chinese people: they can fall asleep in any position. The seats we sat in were these straight-backed uncomfortable seats. People could just sit up and fall asleep. As for me, I had to at least lean my head on one of my roommate's shoulders.

Me on Tiamen Mountain. You can see the huge hole behind me. 

So when we got to Zhangjiajie and stopped at our hostel, we went over to Tiamen Mountain, which is this large mountain range with an enormous hole in it. It's where you can go to this attraction called the Stairway to Heaven, and walk up a bunch of stairs towards this hole. We actually didn't do that and instead rode a cable lift up to the top and hiked around Tiamen Mountain. Well, hiked in that we walked up and down a bunch of stairs. The Chinese people seem to prefer to put stairs in their trails. Anyway, the mountain was so cool. We walked this patch that skirted around the mountain and saw fun rock formations and sights. The cable lift ride was incredible as well since it takes you really high and over some smaller mountain ranges which are absolutely beautiful. Definitely worth the 155 kwai that I spent.

Me just chilling in the Avatar Mountains

Now on to the Zhangjiajie Mountains. I have one word to say: Incredible! I got to hike through these mountains that are famous and absolutely beautiful. I mean it all still felt pretty normal; I was just hiking a mountain. But every now and then, it would hit me that I was hiking some famous mountains in China! It really hit me when I got to the top. We could see all the different mountain peaks. Not to sound cliché, but I felt like I was in another world. That was easily the best moment so far in China.

There were also a bunch of monkeys at the Zhangjiajie Mountains. Apparently they're wild and they just live there. I found out from a sign that they're called Makaks. You can feed them but be careful, because they'll jump you if they see you with a package of food. I kept my distance since I'm not that fond of monkeys, but they were fun to watch and there were a couple of adorable baby ones.

The ride back to Zhongshan wasn't as bad, even though it was still fourteen hours. I guess I was actually tired enough to fall asleep. We had fun playing cards with this ten-year-old Chinese boy. He kicked our butts at Scum. Overall, the vacation was completely awesome and worth all of train hours and tired muscles (I was pretty sore the next day from all that hiking). I'm so glad I got to go there even for a few days. If you get the chance to go to Zhangjiajie, I highly recommend it. The mountains are incredible and it's so cool to be sitting at the top, looking over all these crazy formations and thinking, "Yeah, I'm really here. I really just did that."

Well that's it for me. Here are some more pictures from the vacation:

Tiamen Mountain! 

Do you see that railing hugging the mountain? Yeah I walked that. 

Gorgeous sunset I caught while on the cable lift. 

Zhangjiajie Mountains! 

The view from the top

Another view from the top. 

Me hopping on these pillars in the fountain by our hostel 

Monkeys! They were pretty cute, actually. 

Spas, Dancing, Hiking and More Teaching

Me with one of my students, Billy! 

Hey everyone, sorry the post is a little late, things have been fun and crazy over here! Teaching is actually going a lot better for me. This week, I'm doing arts and crafts for the kids, which has been so much; we've done paper dinosaurs, pom-pom mice, and paper jack-o-lanterns. I like being with the kids and they're so fun when they're actually paying attention.

We went to a spa where I got this awesome massage. It felt good, and at the same time it was kind of painful. It felt good because massages always feel good, but getting the knots and tense muscles worked out was painful. Overall, though it was a nice experience. I'll have to go to spas more often when I get back to the U.S. It's a little hard to do it here since I can't really communicate with the attendants.

I discovered the coolest thing last week. So every night, a large group of people gather in this park area and basically do Zumba. The music is more Chinese and Indian, as are the dances, so the dances are way fun and remind me of Bollywood. It's so cool and there are all types of people there: men and women, older and younger.  I plan on going there often.

Big Pagoda! 

So today all the teachers went hiking around these mountains by Zhongshan. We did it to celebrate the holiday Women's Day. So the teachers, including us foreign teachers, got to go hiking then out to eat at a restaurant. I got some gorgeous pictures of the mountains and of this really cool pagoda that's at the top. It was a great day filled with beautiful scenery, fun people, and good food. It's moments like these that make me really happy I came to China.

Anyway, tomorrow the ILP teachers in Zhongshan are gathering together for lunch and we're performing for each other. My group is singing and dancing to a mash-up of songs, which should be fun. Then we're leaving for our first vacation!! We're going to Zhangjiajie, the mountains that were used in the movie Avatar. I'm super excited, even though we're taking a fifteen-hour bus ride. Well, that's all I've got. Until later!

1st Week: Teaching, Strange Foods and More!

Hey everyone! Whew, one week down, and it was a long and crazy one. This was my first week of teaching and while it was rough at first, I'm getting better and more confident. The little students are so adorable, it helps make up for any rough days that I have.

Nasty pond with nasty trash outside my apartment. 

So here are some things I've learned about my city Zhongshan: first of all, it's loud and dirty. Some places are pretty clean, like the main shopping areas, but other places have piles of trash everywhere. I know that around my apartment building, there are areas that are covered in trash. As for it being loud, people don't really follow much traffic rules and just honk when they want others to get out of their way. And with cars, a lot of people have super-nice cars like BMWs and Lexus and Porsche. There are also these super old rickshaws and so many people have motor scooters. It's an interesting combination of vehicles.

As far as food goes, it's very different from what I'm used to but my body seems to be adjusting to it fairly well. I haven't gotten sick yet, but we'll see in another week, ha ha. It's true that they eat rice with practically every meal. The breakfast we have usually consists of rice porridge or noodles, which is actually pretty good. Lunch and dinner is usually rice with some time of meat and cooked cabbage, with soup. We also had to get used to picking the bones out of meat, especially the fish. The most surprising thing that I've had that was really good was this snack called cow ears. Yes, they dry cow ears into these chips. I tried them and they're really good. Another thing I like about China's food is their bread. It's really different because it's really soft and often spongy, but it's quite good. There's this bakery we found that sells a lot of different types of bread that are amazing!

Barbecue!

I think my favorite thing I did this week was going to a barbecue. Saturday night we were invited by some of the teachers and the moms of students to a barbecue, and it was so cool. We separated into groups around these fire pits with a grill over them and we cooked our own meat and veggies over them. It was a lot of fun and we ate so much food! There were the usual meats like chicken, pork, and beef, and then there were some interesting things like squid, these kind of sprouts that looked like mushrooms, and these odd cheese-filled balls that were really delicious when cooked. It was fun to talk with some of the teachers and learn Chinese words for different foods. We also had a group of little kids there and it was a blast playing with them and teaching them songs. Definitely my favorite thing so far.

Me eating a squid leg. It actually wasn't bad.

I've decided that being in China gives you a bit of an ego boost and it's also very humbling. It's an ego boost because everyone is fascinated with you because you're the only white person around. People keep staring at you and asking for pictures and what not. And when you say hello, they get the biggest smiles on their faces. You seriously feel like a celebrity. But it's also humbling because you're in a country where you can't understand anything and something as simple as ordering food can turn into a hassle because you and the cashier can't communicate. So yeah, it's interesting. But so far I'm enjoying myself even though teaching is still nerve-wracking for me. Sometimes I sit back and think, "can I really do four months of this?" and then I think, "when those four months are over, will I want to go back?" It's too soon to tell but I'm just living day by day and trying to get used to this new world I put myself in. It's totally crazy and scary, but it's insanely fun at the same time, and that's just how I like it! Until later, folks!

Arrival!

I got to see a gorgeous sunrise in Korea! 

Hey everyone! So I've decided to keep a blog of the things that happen to me while I'm teaching English in China. I'll probably update it every week or every other week, depending on how much craziness happens.

So I flew out of Utah at 3 pm on Friday, February 13, and I arrived in Guangzhou at 12 pm on Saturday, February 15. We flew to LA, then to Korea, then Guangzhou. I then had a two hour bus ride to get to Zhongshan, which is where I'm teaching. The flight wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I slept most of the time on the really long one to Korea (13.5 hours!), and they had individual TV screens where you could watch whatever movie they had available.

It's really strange being in a place where you're one of the few white people around. A lot of people will just stare at me and the other volunteer teachers because we're white and we stick out. It's funny. They're super nice and will often say hello to us and smile.

Here's the bathroom

Anyway I'm in an apartment with five other girls. The apartments are small but functional. The bathrooms are a bit strange since the toilets are basically a hole in the floor (they call them squatters) and the shower is just a shower head that you use in the bathroom. If you want hot water for showering, you have to flip a switch on five minutes before you shower. Like I said, it's all very different but not bad really.

The city I'm in is called Zhongshan, but it's split up into different districts. I'm in the district Guzhen. It's very smoggy and overcast here. I haven't seen the sun since I got here, but that will probably change when it warms up a bit. It's a little chilly right now, especially since the humidity makes it a bit colder. Anyway that's all for now. I'll post again in a week or so. Until next time!

The view outside my apartment.