I haven’t posted in a while and it’s about high time that I do! Since my last entry, my purpose in China has completely flipped, as I’m now with my internship crew saving the world one panda at a time. There are only three of us left from the original group: Stephanie, Fei and myself. We were all sad to see everyone go, especially our teacher Dreux. The group dynamic on this venture is a somewhat off-center, but my last few dayz in Beijing were a barrel of monkeys.

We had mostly free time, which was awesome and great change from tour bus central and Old Tourguide River dragging our tired asses around old tourist sites. But before the swirling twirling abyss of tourism escaped our fate we made one last stop to Tiannamen Square and The Forbidden City. I was totally irked when I found out that you can visit in the early morning to see Mao’s preserved in wax at the base of Tiannamen Square. Sounds a bit cult-like…But when I expressed me surprise to our tour guide, she expressed her outrage that “Mao was a great leader! You would not know this though. You are too young.”………Just like a cult member.

I had the best ice cream on the planet in the forbidden city. The pictures tell the rest.

But later we had a few lectures, worked on some homework and went out to dinner for Kirsten’s birthday at a Peking Duck restaurant, which is a specialty in Beijing. IT was FANTASTIC! The plum sauce they give you is the equivalent of a liquid gold-silver hybrid. Later that night we hit up the town in celebration and went to some pretty awesome dance clubs. One was called Propaganda and it’s owned by a UW-Madison graduate! Weirdo with a beardo! Anyways all the girls got in free and half of us got cards that gave us half off all drinks. Sounds like Madison to me! It was awesome. I wish there were dance clubs like this in Madison: complete with people from all over the world. At one point Kirsten and I were trying to get this man off the stage. He was hogging it just so he could tap his foot back and forth! TOTES NOT WORTH THE STAGE GLORY. So I started hip-bumping him and Kirsten started slapping his butt too try and irritate him off the stage…next thing we know this man is wearing peep-toe heels…this man is no man at all! WE WERE  DANCE-MOLESTING A WOMAN! …oh dear… we left her alone soon after the epiphany. Overall this was one of my favorite nights …despite the fact that it ended with chicken mcnuggets….oops

One of the days a few of us went to Old Beijing to enjoy the scenery, old architecture and sit at a tea house to do homework. One of the streets we found was really lovely and quant, with nice shops and quiet cafes. I accidentally watched True Blood the entire time instead of doing homework…but that’s not my fault. Everyone on this trip got addicted to True Blood after I started watching a few episodes…What a trend setter…

The bar district in Old Beijing is beautiful at night! It’s along an entire lake and everything is lit up with Christmas and rope lights and people can paddleboat along the water. It’s really stinking pricey, so we hung out at a cool hookah bar and ate popcorn. Yummmmmcgeeeee!

We also got an opportunity to see the Peking Opera, which is a style of opera that is quite ancient but the most popular in Beijing. I don’t understand why because the girl’s sing at such an ear bleeding tone while the drums bang incessantly for hours and hours until you get a headache. It’s extremely relaxing. Anyways the opera we went to had screens on the side that translated things into English and foreigners were talking loudly and taking over 16,395,322,000,000 photos with flash at the time. Ive never been more embarrassed to be a tourist. But I think the Chinese like photos here. I grow a beard while they try to get the perfect angle, but it’s an art form to them.

I’ve also been running a lot. I found a great path and it’s fun to go at night. People always cheer me  on and point and clap. It’s like my own mini marathon!

But my last day was a sad day! I love everyone so much, that it’s hard to say goodbye to everyone. Fortunately I got to meet up with Phil from back home! I got horribly horribly lost though. I told him I was going to meet him at the east gate of our campus and for about 20 min I was standing at the west gate. Go figure. A nice old lady grandma informed me of this, before I roadrunnered my butt across campus and used my crowd weaving skills to channel through the masses to get to the west gate. When I got there…NO PHIL! I thought I saw him go down into the subway station to I hotstepped it down the stairs and up to the ticket booth and tackled a stranger….NO PHIL! So I dragged my feet back up the stairs while sad Charlie Brown music played in the background until POOF! PHIL! I found him as he was about to leave.

HIZZAH!

We got some yummy rice far far away at a shack in the wall and I saw his apartment. It was pretty cool to see a familiar face and travel to a new part of the city. Unfortunately on my way back they wouldn’t let me into campus and I had to sit in a military booth for about 15 min while they made phone callz. Eventually they barked at me and let me through….okay? And of course I got lost in the campus, but on my way I refound the Garden of Kitties! Praise Jesus! Those little fluffballz are just so darn cute.

But later we had a nice farewell banquet and went to sleep. I woke up to say goodbye to my friends and spend the next day traveling to Chengdu…where I am currently. Tomorrow I leave to board a train to get to Wolong Nature Reserve, where I will be camping and roughing it for the next 2.5 weeks. I will be interviewing villagers and trying to learn this history of ancient shrines and sites on the reserve so the NGO has a cohesive set of historical information to reference. Not particularly my field of interest but it will be an eye opening experience.

Yesterday we met in the U.S. Consulate and talked with Public Affairs people and the head of the Environment Science Technology Development division of the Department of State, which was really very interesting. Got me thinking about working for the government. Grandpa would be proud. I also got my hair cut! Fei and I went to a salon and accidentally ordered a 30 min hair washing and head massage session right before we got our locks cut, dried and styled. ALL FOR LESS THAN 2 AMERICAN DOLLARS! Best haircut experience I have ever had. I love the Chinese.

Anyways Internet will be hard to come by at the reserve, so this may be my last post for a while. Until then, I bid thee farewell! Enjoy the pictures J

Guess Who!! No, it’s not the gremlin version of Rosie O’Donnell hidden under your bed, it’s Sam and I am here to type yet another stream of consciousness for your enjoyment. While I am currently sitting in a tea house in Beijing, my last day in Xiamen was better than expected. We boarded our very uncomfortably cramped bus to Chongwu to see the villages for the day.

The Chinese are a fan of districts tailored to particular fetishes. For example, we drove through a district of stone sculptures, where almost every yard was filled with extravagant sculptures that would seem out of place for any home décor. One night, a few friends and I decided to explore the city and headed toward a very light up and seemingly fun block of shops…. BUT when we got there we realized it was an array of stores all selling LED lights and signs for businesses……..go figure

Anyways we went to a village right on the ocean, where we could climb on rocks protruding into the waves. One of them was carved into a giant turtle! I found a secluded spot and meditated for awhile until I saw my friend Fei on the beach flying a kite! HOLLA! My hair was already windblown into a rat-bird hybrid’s nest, so of course kite flying was numero uno on the priority list! We ran across the beach and flew kites higher and higher into the sky until Fei let her reel go as high as the Gods….and then she realized the cheap vendor never tied her line to the spool and soon her beloved kite flew into the heavens.

We searched the trees and made friends with some Chinese guys who tried to help BUT NO LUCK. So we abandoned our mission and decided to jump into the ocean fully clothed instead. Can you say sand in the pants?! Afterwards I found the crappiest carousel on the planet and forced this girl Sunni to go on it with me. GIRL CRAZY. It was so boring we jumped off. Best 1 dollar I’ve ever spent!

The next day was museum city. Hot. And snore city all packed into one! We went to a deserted and surprisingly dusty boat museum along with an extremely hot tomb that this girl Mary kept saying “was built for a stupid turtle”…it wasn’t. I think she was just very very tired.

We have found that every attraction we go to has a token souvenir. From wooden frogs that make chirp sounds to funny floofie hats to weird fake nose glasses that you can blow a kazoo from, everything is really crap-tastic. BUT STILL despite everything, people still stare at us. One group in particular was staring, taking pictures and pointing at us, but they were the ones wearing the STUPID HATS…(mary shouted this).

Anyways after the museums I went for a run, almost died and later got a traditional Chinese massage. It was … different. I went with two other girls and we were so confused. They brought in a single pair of silk, plaid/paisley shorts (but just one pair) and one of the girls, Kirsten, decided to put them on. BAD MOVE. Before we knew it, three dudes strolled in and started talking to us in Chinese. Bewildered, we slowly laid down on the beds and laughed while our full body massages commenced. All the while, Kirsten was laying in her fancy top and man pants while the men were pushing our legs behind our heads. WHAT?! Like I said, it was strange.

Before we left for Beijing the next day we went to a shopping district and I found the craziest coolest weirdest most abstract garment of clothing I have ever seen inside of a store. So naturally I bought it, despite the strange looks I got from some girls on the trip. Ill probably never wear it.

But our first day back in Beijing was pleasant. We had a morning lecture in the university and we walked through a garden called “The Garden of Kitties” IT WAS LITERALLY A GARDEN FULL OF KITTIES SLEEPING IN TREES AND MEANDERING THROUGH BUSHES. KITTIES EVERYWHERE. KITTIES LOUNGING. KITTIES. HEAVEN! Afterwards we went to the Summer Palace and that was right on the lake. The views are always so spectacular, but the smog is a real buzz kill.

I can also say that I experienced my first tourist scam and got ripped off 15 bucks! A story better told in person. THAT LITTLE STINKER!

Later I went for a run in Beijing. I found a great park and running/bike path that I am excited to go through on my way back. I stopped for a banana along the way completed the entire transaction in Chinese! Can you believe it. Girl proud to be a Chinese-American. That’s for sure! But I still coughed up a lungfull of smog afterwards…yummy in the tummy!

Today was by far the most intriguing, for we traveled to The Great Wall of China. Birthplace to Mulan, herself. It’s strange because just this year I was telling my roommate how someday I wanted to see The Great Wall and who would have thought that aspiration would have materialized into reality! Well it was indeed A Great Wall and more like a great climb than anything! Over 3000 miles long, we visited the part that was all stairs. Only me and three other girls made it to the peak, but the trek was worth it. Unfortunately picture opportunities were limited due to the smog, but the view was still impressive! I feel I got the most out of it as I could and hope to return to see more another day.

Later we visited the Ming Tombs and Temple of Heaven. Yes, I got to meet Jesus! At the Ming Tombs there is an archway that you are supposed to pass through in order to ensure an afterlife in paradise. I couldn’t just walk through such a prestigious passageway of wood, so I heel-clicked my way through paradise. Fingers crossed that it actually worked.

After a long day, I need to complete some H-work and get some rest. Junior and I are tired! (Our teacher/leader on this trip always says he can never understand what I am saying because of my strange abbreviations. Oh well, keeps life interesting)

More to come!

Buh-buh-da-da! Hi there. Face here! And before I go on any further, that was a nickelodeon reference. BUT Guess Who’s Back? SAM! It’s been a while since my last post, and as per usual a lot has transpired. But lucky for you, I have forgotten most of it. Right now I am sitting in my room in Xiamen (Sha-men) waiting to board the bus to Chongwu, and ancient town. But stories must be told!

My last few dayz in Guangzhou were HOT HOT HOT! The food was great there! Junior (my stomach) and I almost had a field day, but I believe we made up for the added calories through our many funtivities. The day after I got sick we traveled to White Cloud Mountain, a tourist mountain that is equiped with about 20,000,000,000,000 stairs and checkpoints where you have to pay to keep going up, up, up the stairs. It is literally so tall, that they have stations where people stop and the real adventurers can pay to keep going. So naturally I was one of the people who paid to reach the peak. Can you say sweat-city?! And for some reason, Asians don’t sweat. So not only is my group a white spectacle to many of the city dwellers here, but we also looked like stinky, soaking wet dogs gasping for dense, hot air while little Chinese grandma’s with walkers skipped on by. Every turn. More stairs. MORE STAIRS?!?! I asked some people if you would rather sweat all the time or pant like dogs…and after my friend yelped that her “DOGS ARE BARKING!” (which apparently means my feet hurt)…we chose the latter. But the view was worth it. We got to take cable cars down the mountain that brushed over the tree tops. It was so great. Despite the fact our teacher got us lost and made us go down about 20 min. worth of steps only to go back up to take a different path…overall the day was very fun

Later that night a few of us went to go see a movie at the theatre: FAST AND FURIOUS 5 BABY! IT was perhaps the most ridiculous movie I have ever seen in my life, but HEY the Rock fights Vin Diesel! …awesome. A Chinese man was sitting next to me reading the Chinese subtitles to himself the whole movie, BUT when the Rock screamed “SON OF A BITCH!!!” he silently mumbled “son of bitch..” Haha, he’s picking up Chinglish quick!

The malls are wild here. So many escalators and levels and the popcorn is not salty. All of the popcorn they serve is kettle or caramel corn. Which is still good, but as a popcorn fiend myself…not up to par.

But the next day we went to two museums. I don’t understand why we go there. They are all in Chinese, so I literally have no idea what I am looking at. Whatever. We walked through a windy-pathed park and giant square where different groups of people were practicing different dances, tai chi, water calligraphy, playing badminton and this hacky sack game that the elderly women are surprisingly good at. Later we went to a shopping district, which in many ways resembles a sketchy stalker factory. The sales people just follow you around the store and will change the price on the tag to make it more expensive if you are a foreigner. Uhhhh…girl don’t think so! I yelled at this guy to leave me alone and when he increased the price by 50 yuan, lawd knows this girl wasn’t havin’ it! But the kids are cute. They only know how to say hello and will follow you around like little puppies so I like to play pranks on them and chase them around, which is always fun.

But the next day we boarded another plane to Xiamen and spent the entire day in the Hakka Village. It was weird because they created this entire tourist centered village tailored to generate money. But the homes are cool. They are giant round houses that are hollow in the center, built for an entire family clan to live in. Full of cats and chickens, each house is incredibly traditional. We interviewed a few of the villagers for our project and they made us tea, so it was relaxing. BUT later in the evening was when things really went bonk-bonk.

It was the eve of this guy, Patrick’s, 21^st birthday and even though we were all pooped from traveling so early in the day we had to celebrate. In China they are HUGE fans of karaoke. Almost every corner has these Karaoke clubs called KTV, where you go and get a private fancy room for you and your friends and a big screen tv and karaoke as well as drinks…of course. When we got to one of the clubs and we unfortunately ran into the drunkest Chinese woman and two guys I have ever seen. They were waiting outside the KTV and insisted they show us to a room. The girl told us she was the owner’s daughter, so when she came into the room and ordered about 60 dollars worth of food and drinks we didn’t say anything and just drank/ate it. BUT OMG! They were tripping all over themselves and telling us stories in Chinese, so we had no idea what they were saying. They were screaming and screaming into the mic in Chinese and dancing up on us in the most awkward positions possible. The woman gave me her ID and contact information and practically laid on top on me on the couch. WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO!?! It was so strange. They kept changing our songs and putting on these really passionate Chinese ballots. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone get so into singing a song as these people…even though they sucked hard.

Eventually we couldn’t take it anymore so the only Chinese girl on the trip took care of business and got the owner involved…who informed us that he had no idea who this woman was. JIGGA WHAT?! They lied to us! So we got free food and what not and the real owner kicked them out. But before they left one of the guys gave this girl, Fei, his sim card out of his phone. Okay? Im sure those crazy cats had a rough morning the next day…

But for us we traveled back to Xiamen. The bus ride is gorgeous. We whipped through the mountain side and it reminded me of Hawaii. The farmers cut into the mountains and turn them into tea and crop fields. It was very pretty. I tried to take pictures, but they just didn’t do the sites justice. Xiamen is a very tropical city. Right on the ocean, there are palm trees everywhere and the highways weave out into the water. This is my favorite city. All of us want to study here, just to enjoy the scenery. We took a fairy to the tropical version of Mackinac Island called Guangpo Island. It is a very hilly place filled but allies and paths and buildings to weave through. After laying on the beach and getting attacked by the Chinese speedo paparazzi, we ran away and lost ourselves on the island. Me and two girls found a secluded swinging bench on the top of a mountain side overlooking the ocean, so we sat there for a few hours until it was time to return home.

It is safe to say this day was the best day of the trip because later we all decided to re-do Patrick’s birthday and take him out to the Xiamen bar district. And EVERYONE decided to come out with us! We found an Egyptian themed bar, a Jurassic Park themed bar and a “True Love Bar” — which is where we spent most of our night. IT WAS CRAZY AWESOME!

It’s a big thing for clubs to have performers singing different songs and different dancers on the stage…but the first bar we went to I felt like I was watching my high school talent show. The girls were wearing these dominatrix outfits and doing the most robotic, horrible, HORRIBLE dance moves to N’sync ever. Justin would not be proud. But the next club had the best performers on the entire planet on stage. Why do I know this? BECAUSE WE WERE THE ONES ON STAGE. The MC pulled me on the stage to dance first and then everyone else on the trip and some randos joined. Being American has it perks in this country. We got free rounds and danced to Asian techno all.night.long.! We got glow sticks and everything. And we all know any recipe with glow sticks involved is a recipe for success…am I right?!?!

Well the next day was very relaxing. We had a morning lecture and went to the beach all afternoon. I was the only one not to get burnt. SPF 70 baby! Later our teacher and about 8 of us went back to the island for dinner. We got horribly lost in the dark back alleyways and eventually found a seafood restaurant. The street food there is amazing though. I could eat it all day er’yday. I really like our teacher. He is very relaxed and puts himself at our level, but most importantly he never gets mad and is extremely sarcastic. The trip wouldn’t be as fun without such a laidback leader.

On our way home I thought we were going to die. At one point our cab driver was playing chicken in the wrong lane just to pass a bus! WTF? The driving is like a combo pack of drunk, acid addicted bipolar freaks behind every wheel in Chine-dog. My dad would explode. He would literally start the ignition and just explode into flames…and die. And for some reason we are all just laughing in the backseat….

But here I am, still alive and ready for more to come!

Im Baccccck! And once again…ill! UGH! I had to take a cab back to the hotel from the beautiful place we were at because I got sick. And of course the cab drivers here are on some nutso speed medicine, where you feel like you are in some fast and furious movie with the old balding Chinese man being Vin Deisel and me, of course, being the hot babe in the back seat.

Well as per usual much has happened since my last post. Yesterday we flew into a new city called Guangzhou (which is my favorite city so far). But the day after I got sick last time, we got to drive out to a village near Chengdu to interview farmers for our project. Our home-stay partners were our translators, so I got to meet my little Chinese friend. Her English name is Silvia and she is 16! Everyone got little presents from their partners, mainly a mini panda or something but Silvia gave me this giant stuffed animal/beanie babie panda the size of a pillow! What the fudge am I supposed to do with it. When we traveled through the airport I felt like I just came from a carnival…backpack, luggage, passport…stuffed animal panda. Anyways I noticed that these villages are super quiet, crossed with small dirt roads and dotted with butterflies. Very tranquil. For lunch we went to a hot pot and I tried duck’s blood for the first time. They concentrate it into this jello-cube and boil it. Tastes just like chicken!

Later we went to this AWESOME restaurant for dinner. It was classic Chengdu food, complete with fried cornbread. Can you say heaven alert?! But for some reason the food didn’t stop coming. We don’t often order our food here. A Chinese man named Wuang Lou Shi is following us throughout this whole trip and planning everything, so he orders our food for us. But I guess we all look like obese lumberjack grease infested pig-men,because our entire table was stacked with plates. This then drew in a homeless man who waited next to our table with a tapping foot and a pair of chopsticks. He sat down and dug in right after we left! Boi gettin’ it!

We got to go to a timesquare like place and shop for a few hours at night and had to find our way back. AND OF COURSE just after me and three other girls bought all of our stuff it started to sprinkle…then sprinkle harder. And HARDER! I told everyone to calm down, “ IT’s just a harsh sprinkle!” ………………

NEXT THING I KNOW we are standing in the middle of the busiest Chinese street on the planet in a dour pour, running through puddles trying to call a cab at 10 at night! I was soaked to the brim! We were screaming and pleading, but no luck. Some old Chinese woman tried to put an umbrella over me, but I was too tall. Go figure. After 20 min we decided to cross the street and OF COURSE the second we did, an empty cab drove up.

But the night was not over yet.

We decided to dry off and go out to some bars, which were so awesome. Right along the river. We tried this shot that was 3 layers tall. They light it on fire and told us to put our straws in when we were ready and drink as fast as we could before the straw melted! Ay yi yi! So fun…it’s all a blur after that.

But the next day we went to an ancient down called Huanglonxi. It was so awesome. Full of shops and streams that you could rock hop for hours…and of course I did. You could ride horses and boats, but we didn’t. For lunch, our Chinese tourguide man ordered us an entire live chicken to be slaughtered. . . Half of the group watched it get killed, but I couldn’t stomach it. Apparently they slit its throat and drain the blood in bowl, which I realized after they served it to us for lunch. Groossss…But I have never seen so many happy chinese men when they they were carrying the live bird to its death, with so many frightened American kids in the background.

But that night we went to sleep early because it was another early plane ride to where I am right now! Since we were all so beat from the trip it was a pretty chill day. Aside from the heat and the fact that our little tour guide girl fucked up and had us walking outside for about 20 min with all of our luggage in one direction, only to tell us to turn around and walk back (i have never seen so much hatred in people’s eyes toward a teeny  baby asain girl). We had a lecture at a university, smiled and nodded and went to our hotel. This city is super cool because it was home to many Europeans, so there are a lot of European style buildings amongst the Chinese style ones. And the highways are so awesome. They weave in and out of the city and are so tall that it feels like you are flying over the streets and buildings. They plant trees and flowers everywhere, and because the climate is super tropical it feels like you are in Hawaii. OOOOO BABY

Today was extremely fun though. We went to a military academy and apparently so did about 7 chinese elementary schools. There were like 150 little Chinese students running around and screaming their heads off. They went fucking psycho when they saw us, shouting “HELLO!!!!!!!!” and screaming and taking pictures as much as they could. So I had to take pics right back. Next thing I know Im in a picture war with this little Chinese boy. Im chasing him around the museum, popping out behind corners and jumping in front of him snapping photos. It was so fun!

Then we went to tour this very European style island, where models were being photographed and about 15 brides were getting wedding pictures. real original?? They had a starbucks that I went in to get a muffin and I saw the most curious thing: A VIP LOUNGE…people were pushing this button on these doors and a camera would look at them and then let them in. I saw comfy chairs and a back stair way through the doors but nothing more. WTF?!?! WHAT IS GOING ON IN THERE?! Probably some strange human-coffee experiments or something.

But afterwards I started feeling sick and am now missing shopping adventures along the river with everyone else. But it does give me an incentive to write more and more. Sorry these are so long, but I just love to write about my dayzzz here. Once again there will be more to come

Currently I am sitting on my death bad, after eating some strange spicy Sichuan food I got very sick and had to have my professor make all of these arrangements to set me up in a hotel. Now Im missing the home stay that I was supposed to experience tonight! I am so bummed…

But anyways, this is a good time for me to catch up on my blogging and boy is there much to tell! My last two days in Xi’an were amazing. We visited so many historical, archeological sites that grandpa would roll over in his grave. There are so many natives wearing communist bands around their sleeves and so many random posters of Mao Zedong on the walls that any American grandpa would flip a lid and yell, “chimney crickets, shut the front door!”

We biked the Xi’an city wall a few dayz ago and sang Mulan songs as we went. Turns out she was a real person!? I NEVER KNEW. That info makes my life worth living. Anyways the city wall is a total of 6.5 miles, and a bumpy thumpy ride. The Chinese have a thing about walls…But it was beautiful. Afterwards we tried some back alley street food for lunch and I had the best ice cream of my entire life. Ever since I have been trying to find it again…but I can’t. meow city

We went back to the markets for another round of bargaining and this time I knew my shit. Even the vendors complimented my cleverness. Bitch aint going to pay 35 yuan for a stinkin ring! How about 3! Well I made friends with a nice little old Chinese man. He was so cute. He was keeping a US quarter collecting and I gave him 2 quarters and some pennies. I have never seen someone so happy! He wrote my name in Chinese for me…and of course offered me best price on some lame umbrellas…I cordially declined.

The Chinese are so nice and hospitable. And while they may get some words jumbled, such as Treeports=tripods and soiled bean mud=potatoes, they are wonderful! Their toilets are a bit raunchy though. We went to a university for a lecture and I have never been more disgusted in my life. You think outhouses are bad. Try an outhouse squatter toilet with no door and poop on the floor. Then add yourself walking in on two Chinese girls pooping with one of them texting well taking care of B-ness. Jigga what?!?! I almost lost it! ?????????AH! good target practice i guess?

Anyways moving on. The next day we saw the infamous terracotta soldiers! The biggest site of excavation in the entire world and boy were they a site to see! Thousands of them. They were built because the first emperor of China was so afraid of death he ordered and enslaved hundreds of people to spend forty years constructing all unique clay soldiers to be put in his tomb for after-life protection. What a chump. Anyways they wont open his particular tomb yet because he is covered in mercury (it preserves the body) and they don’t want to expose him to oxygen without acquiring the proper technology.

Afterwards we traveled to the Hua Qing Hot Springs and ran up a mountain of stairs to see a lovely view of the city. I almost puked. Girl outta shape! Plus so many people were in the way. Everyone just bumps into each other with no care in the world. I guess it’s a thing here… Anyways I have never ever seen anything so beautiful. Looking up at the mountain sides with pomegranate trees all around us and hot springs is pure bliss!

But it was an early night. Had to be up to fly to Chengdu (home of the pandas) at 5 in the AM. Can you say barf-city?!

We got into Chengdu at about 930 am and went to the Panda breeding center for a lil visit. While it was definitely beautiful, the only pandas we saw were in cages. More like jail cells. Must of gotten arrested for some over the top kungfu fighting…know what I sayin’? But we did get to feed black swans and their little babies! They were so cute, but I must say we left the lake a little scarred. While Amy was feeding the babies, the mamma swan hobbled up and honked BLOODY MURDER in her face…I have never see so much terror in someone’s eyes. Needless to say we backed the fuck off.

The city is pretty. Every apartment building is so tall. It reminds me of wall-e. Accept they all have elaborate rooftop gardens. It’s my mission to climb to the top and do yoga in one of them. But don’t get me wrong half of the city is definitely a dump alert. In fact I saw tennis courts that were garbage pits. Just mounds and mounds of garbage. Noone seems to care though.

The way they eat here is so different too. They don’t just order one meal per person. Every restaurant is equipped with lazy susans and you order dishes that you get to share with everyone and try tastes of. I like it better that way. You get a lil taste of everything. At this particular dinner we got beers and these roudy hamboned Chinese men came to our table and bought us all beers and challenged us to jugging contests! Our little Chinese girl, Fei, almost drank these men under the table. But they were slammered! Anyways we turned the restaurant into an uproar! So fun.

Afterwards we went to Jinli Street. Which is an ancient street in Chengdu that is narrow, so cars cant drive down it. It is equipped with bars, restaurants and shops and is completely lit by lanterns and Christmas lights, surrounded by ponds and bridges and ancient Chinese architecture. Naturally we got drunk there! We don’t know what the hell the menus say since they are all in Chinese, so we just got the first 6 drinks and hoped for the best. There were also a surprising amount of babies on the streets at such a late hour. I mean I still took pictures of them, but just a baby pallooooza.

Well today was a big surprise present. We were told we were going to an irrigation project that was two hours away. Can you say snore fest? But turnes out it was gorgeous. So many waterfalls and cool crisp air. We were surrounded by mountains and found pathways leading to ancient pavilions tucked away between gardens and ponds. We ran across these long wobbly bridges and searched for ice cream at every turn! MEOW MEOW! Still no marbles…Then we climbed mountain stairs through a Daoist Temple. So serene. Every turn was filled with candles burning incents outside and gorgeous age-old temples and stairs. I could DIE there…I almost did. Must have been the buzz I got from the incents.

Anyways we traveled back and got lunch along the river rapids. IT was super confusing because random vendors came up and put food on our table that us ignoramus tourists just started eating happily. Turns out these peeps trick ya and put yummy snacks in front of you, BUT they aren’t waiters from the restaurant!! Then they ask for additional money and walk away. Those little GD sneaky tricksters! We were grabbing these fried corn bread specialities and cups of watermelon without a care in the world! Soon our waitress came up and started screaming and hitting them. I thought I was on an episode of Chinese Jerry Springer.

And that is where the story ends. After I took a few bites, I started to feel really sick and got shaky. And eventually had to ask everyone to go out of their way so I could puke and sleep, but after taking some Chinese herble meds I am feeling much better. SO DON’T WORRY MOM! Im sure you are the only one who read this far anyways. But enjoy the pictures and as always there is more to come!

Wuyue 23rd , 2011

HEllO again! Jintian shi Xingqiyi, Wuyue 23. (Today is Moday, May 23) And much much MUCH to tell!

Firstly, the train ride from Beijing to Xi’an did NOT disappoint. After I moved to the new/ safer compartment I fell asleep and was awoken at 3 am by some drunken Chinese man going from bed to bed waking people up asking for money. Everyone got so annoyed with him that other Chinese men beat him up and were screaming “FUCK YOUR MOTHER!” in chinese of course. One of the girls on the trip, Mary, said she woke up to use the bathroom (nasty little teeny squat toilet, in a very confined smelly space) and these two drunk chinese men were crawling over each other and fell into the bathroom door and on top of each other in the toilet….Can you say party train!?!?

We arrived in Xi’an and the train station was so third world. I blacked that whole 6 am run through millions of people pretty hardcore. But Im pretty sure it is safe to say that Xi’an is my favorite city so far. So incredibly beautiful and bustling with people. Everything is so grandiose here, it’s easy to get lost in all of the sensory intake.

We visited the Chinese History Museum with our tour guide, Grace. She is following us throughout our time in Xi’an. We have a tour bus and all of our meals are pre-made and comped when we arrive at restaurants. You start to feel like a celebrity. People have asked to take so many pictures with me and are always coming up saying “you are so beautiful” …I know I am.

We have toured many different historical homes of various important generals throughout Chinese history and learned a BUTTFULL of info. But that’s not what this blog is about…despite how interesting it may be.

We got to visit another university here! Northwestern university. OMG when we arrived there, I was sooo pooped and thought that we were just going to meet some students and leave. But no no no…we walk into this room and about 35 Chinese students are sitting there and there is a whole panel set up with waters for each of us to sit at. They did this elaborate introduction and we all just stared…Then they divided us. One American to 2-3 Chinese students. And for an hour and half we just walked in circles around their campus! I had trouble thinking of things to talk about, but apparently they know more about American television and movies than I do! The new Transformers is highly anticipated. Shila BOOF, gotta love him. But they have weird little crap markets on their campus and A HUGE outdoor recreation complex complete with outdoor badmitton, tennis, soccor and even outdoor ping pong tables! FUN ALERT.

Also the Chinese students don’t really go out here. When I asked if they go out dancing or too bars, their only response was “we just study.” Sad.

But after I took two vicadin for my sour throat, I  passed out and woke up refreshed for THE BEST DAY EVER!!!

Ignoring the two hour morning lecture and visit to random historical homes and sites, we got to see the most beautiful areas of Xi’an. For Lunch we went to this Hot Pot restaurant where they put a bowl of water in front you on a mini coal burned and set up a lazy susan FULL of different foods and you get to make your own soup! AHHH!! So fun. We all kept getting burnt though. . .

We also visted an ancient teahouse site called the Gaojia Tea House. It reminded me so much of Mulan. Everything does here though. I just keep thinking in my head, “ I AM THE GREAT STONE DRAGON!”…oh Mushu. Anyways we got to explore and walk through this house, that took us through courtyards and bridges. We found rooms, where people painted and heard traditional Chinese music coming from god knows where. The we went to the center and had an authentic tea tasting! I’ve never felt more relaxed.

Afterwards we headed to the Muslim Quarter where it was BARGAIN CENTRAL. So many alleyways and markets. This is where I spent my life savings. OMG! It was nuts: Northface, Marc Jacobs, Prada, Addidas…everthing. You just had to barter barter barter!  They are super insistent and crazy. I saw these sun glasses and the second I touched them the old woman was at my side grabbing my arm. She said 200 yuan (30 bucks). PSH yeah right. So I tried to walk away and she grabbed my backpack and pulled me back screaming at me! “NO NO NO, 150…100…ok ok ok 80.” Still I left and she wouldn’t let me go. After I pryed her iron grip, I ran away…Later I walked past and she screamed “THIRTY!”…then I got her down to 10 yuan. Only 1.50 dollars! HA!

Sucker.

Today was the most interesting. We traveled to the Hu Xian Village which is just outside of Xi’an. It was so great to see a real village. Despite the fact that it was one of the richer villages in China, it was good to get a taste of what much of China is like. The Village was extremely peaceful and quiet, with random people biking down barely paved roads and little TINY KITTENS AND PUPPIES running loose everywhere. Ooooh my goddd! We saw so many kittens and all of the locals where so keen to pick them up and let us carry them! Im going to have an album just for kittens and cute babies. Anyways we met an internationally renowned Chinese painter, who is also a farmer in the village. He prepared a whole dancing ceremony, complete with a giant dragon that danced around the city circle. EVEN WE GOT TO CARRY THE DRAGON AROUND! Super cool.

Anyways he painted for us and I bought some awesome artwork. Totally cool to buy art when you have met the artist, it makes it much more meaningful.

We got to interview the locals too for our project, which was totally interesting. With help from our Chinese Student Friends, we sat down for two hours to discuss politics, healthcare and education.

I DON’T WANT TO LEAVE HERE. meow.

Anyways tonight was very fun. Everyone on the trip is extremely nice and outgoing and funny. One of the girls, Amy, says Cray-Cray instead of “crazy,” obviously we get along very well! And the word for thank you is Xie-Xie (Shia-Shia), but we keep saying SHAY SHAY…we sound and look like mega idiotas. Also…I keep saying Spanish to them. Me no know why.

There are two Koreans on the trip, girl and boy, and It is my goal to figure out if they are together, hooking up, crush…what the deal is?! I need to know! Also I want to fly a kite here. We are trying to go out every night to Karaoke bars, but its hard to find the bar district. Fei, the Chinese girl on the trip, says the next city we are going to has a great bar scene. So fingerzzz crossed! We walked along the streets and found great shops. They sell street clothes here, which are fun to sift through. But dear God, watch out for the fucking traffic. It real life frogger, with eminent death! The scariest part of the night was crossing the street. I screamed bloody murder the entire way. But I made it, and here I am. Ready for another adventure tomorrow.

More to Come.

Wuyue 20th (May 20th):

Right now I am on a train, sitting on the top bunk of my three level bunk bed heading to Xi’an. The ride is 15 hours long (longer than the  plane ride)! So we have a looooong time to go. So much has happened and I have only been here 3 dayzz!

When we first arrived to Beijing, we had to find our own cab ride to the hotel. The guy had NO idea what I was talking about and he didn’t know where to go. So getting around was pretty scary. But on our way we passed the bird’s nest, home to the 2008 Olympics! One of China’s proudest achievements, especially after its defeat in the 2004 bid. I didn’t know what it was at first, and I tried to describe it to someone on the trip as “a sort of dome shaped building that is wrapped in cement-like ribbons”…not even close.

But we got to our hotel, FINALLY. Had trouble paying and eventually hauled our luggage inside. The atmosphere is so vibrant! The streets are full of little motor-bikes zipping through the streets, pedestrians and bikers weaving in and out of cars and escaping their eminent death by mere inches! The cars are horn happy and the people love to spit! They hack lougies left and right and squat on their work breaks. Food vendors color the streets and the restaurant selection is anything but scarce. It’s surprising to see how many restaurants there are, and still McDonalds, KFC, Dairy Queens and Pizza Huts are on every other block. They are perhaps the most beautiful, clean and fancy establishments on the planet. Nothing compared to the U.S.

Anyways, my first day we walked through the city and went through Peking University, which is a graduate school equivalent to America’s Harvard. At first we saw an extremely dingy part of the school, but soon we walked through the most beautiful area. Filled with tranquil gardens and lakes that are visited most prominently by couples. I couldn’t imagine this was just a walk to class for students. It was so peaceful and pretty!

We didn’t do much our first day, and our second day was a free day in Beijing. I can only remember the food! We went to a Korean BBQ, where they cooked the meat right in front of us. Breakfast at the hotel is like continental style. They serve fried rice, vegetables, corn, steamed buns, friend bread, potstickers and sweet milk for breakfast. Nothing like at home, but still my favorite meal of the day! I walked the streets with a few people from the group and we found a BAKERY! Oh Em Gee! It is filled with cookies and treats. The cakes they were making…I’m drooling just writing about it. We also went to an authentic Thai restaurant that night. It was like a way classier Thai restaurant version of the rainforest café. We order like ten courses and spun them around on a spinning table. Before we got our food, a little band came to our table and we lied and told them it was one of guy’s birthdays so they made us stand up and dance around our table to Baby by J-Beibs (who the Chinese LOVE) and some Black Eyed Pea’s. Peeps got taste! And everything is so incredibly cheap. That entire meal was only like 7 bucks a person. For 10ish courses!!!

We all passed out afterwards. The jet lag is pretty bad. I am awake at three every day and am the only person in the entire group waiting in front of the breakfast room at 7 am before the doors open. Girl Hungry for some steamed buns! Know what I sayinnn?!?

Every night we come back to little cards slipped under our doors for “special” massages from Chinese girls that have a happy ending! If you know what Im saying. Best was a picture of a girl with a shirt saying  ‘I love naked’ Get’s the point across plain and simple. Don’t worry. Im bringing plenty of them home as souvenirs!

Anyways the next day we went to Old Beijing, to tour old homes of princes and see what is left of the traditional Beijing city. It is the only area left of Beijing that exemplifies what Beijing used to look like just 30ish years ago. Since then they have torn everything down and built skyscrapers to westernize the city. Development Schmeshmelopment (idk if that works…) We went to an awesome restaurant where you buy a snack tray and go to little booths and pick out as many snacks as you’re the money on your card. We tried all different kinds of meats and dishes! And as Tony the Tiger would say, It was all greeeaAAAATTT.

We saw women dancing some sort of dance with an instructor in the middle of a court yard and about 100 meters away a man was standing in the distance following a long for free! What a stinker! Then I saw the most wonderful thing I have ever seen…it was an island build for breeding ducks in the middle of a lake!!! It had little bridges and house and trees and everything…it was all mini and FOR DUCKS! To top it off, a little puppy followed us all through Old Beijing. I have seen so many cute cats and puppies and babies!

Everyone on the trip is so friendly and nice. We have a great group dynamic. Im trying to learn Chinese as much as possible and a few can speak a little bit, so they are helping me. One of the girls, Fei can speak it fluently so we have been relying on her for bars to hit up and ordering at restaurants. I had my first Chinese beer and taught half of our group how to play shoulders at a tea house one night. They all loved it, and had a really good time. People were staring at us…which seems to be an OK thing.  It’s strange to be on the other side of the curtain. People stare and point and very very obviously take pictures of us! One group of old ladies even freaked out and asked to pose with us. Can you say celebrities! I even caught myself staring at the one American family I saw on the streets, it’s just so uncommon to see western people around the city. It is not diverse at all.

But today we checked out of our hotel and ventured to the Summer Palace, which is a very grandiose landmark that was burned to the ground after the 1840 Opium war between the British and the Chinese. The war was fought because the Chinese no longer wanted to trade tea for Great Britian’s opium, since it was incredibly addictive and harmful to the Chinese people. China lost the first and second wars, and only the ruins remain. We have a guide that has arranged all of these lecturers from prestigious universities to come teach us. And despite the fact that the guide is very professional, still his ring tone is “Girlfriend” by Avril Lavign…we were all very confused. But noone else seemed to think this was weird. LOL.

Anyways, it is clear that we are indeed a spectacle in China. We met with some of the Peking University students and we learned that they indeed had the Beiber Fevor and that Chinese zombies hop and jump instead of walk (non-functional knees, you understand). But it was cool to see how they perceive the U.S. and how they aspire to travel there. Personally I don’t see the need. Just being in Beijing for 3 days, I have seen a culture that is so much more eccentric and active that anything in the U.S. So many little funny things have happened that I hope to capture down more in the future.

But this post is getting too long for me to even care and I need to go pee…well squat over a hole in the floor. Zai Jian!