Page 40 of sunketing Travel Blog Posts
October 16th 2008
I realize that's not saying much, but in reality it's a step. When you try to use your Chinese, and people either don't understand you, pretend to not understand you, or answer you in English, it's defeating. I have in the past week: ordered steamed bun on 2 occasions. Without meat. found a street food lady, asked her what the name of her food was ("Jian Bing" the stuff I had in Yangshou and am addicted to), and then went back the next day and ordered it got a lovely lunch for Y6 today of noodes. With no meat. But yes on the peppers. To the smiles of the guy making my food and the lady in line behind me. I feel like I've conquered Everest. I am no longer afraid to try. Which is good, ... read more
October 12th 2008
Last night I was supposed to go to a party. I thought my friend (ok, acquaintance) had said she was going to send me the info. Which never happened. So I looked at her page online and apparently there was a listing for the event. Which she had sent out invites for and then invited me after the fact. (No, I'm not offended.) But looking at the list of invitees, and who was attending, and taking into accout that I'd been up until 4 the night before doing the vacation blog.... yeah, I stayed in. And got bored after a while. But it was good to sleep at an early hour. Plus, the party, which had been made to sound like it was at her home, started at her place and then progressed to the bars. ... read more
October 10th 2008
...And we're back!! My hand still hurts a bit, but the (ridiculously) warm weather seems to help, so I'm thinking it's got to be muscular and nothing more serious. So that's good. I'm really not up for a trip to the Chinese doctor. So this will be somewhat brief. I"ll give you a brief update as to what I've done this week and a sampling of vacation highlights, including lots of photos. With more photos to come later. This week I've taught classes, explored my neighborhood with plans to explore more next monday (including the other bus routes), found Book City (the 5 story bookstore) and discovered their English section including Dr Seuss, The Wind in the Willows, and my childhood favorite, The Berenstain Bears. I bought my childhood favorite, The Berenstain Bears go to School. ... read more
October 4th 2008
That would be in reference to my dinner. I bought Cheetos tonight because I've had a craving. My options were chicken, red meat, and cheese. Sadly, I think I'll need to visit the western food store for proper Cheetos. But Cheetos and beer do make a lovely dinner when you're tired. So in short, I'm back. But I'm exhausted and really sore. So this is all for now... hope to get the trip to Yangshuo up and running soon, but even my wrists hurt. And my ribs (no worries, now, I got those from crawling in mud caves). And my legs (yep, lots and lots of biking and walking... and stairs). But I'll leave you with some pics of Yangshuo sunsets to tide you over. ... read more
September 27th 2008
1. My beer was not lost. 2. I hope to "get lost with a guide" in the next few days. 3. The world has lost a great one, Paul Newman. 1. Ok, so I thought it was really obvious that after figuring out it was a pull tab I got it open and "ahhhh" enjoyed it before finding an empty box to mail the can to The Smithsonian. Apparently there was something extra special in that can o' beer because I was the only one who thought this. I shall avoid pull-tab beer from now on. 2. I leave tomorrow. I meet my group at 6:30, eat as much as I can, and we head out. For a really long ride. On which I am supposed to supress my excitement on and sleep or something, but ... read more
September 26th 2008
Ahh, yes. Coming home after a long day of visiting the tailor, class, and eating, followed by bubble tea and people watching while being gawked at, there's nothing more refreshing sounding than a nice cold one. It is Friday night afterall. I have 2 days of work (yep, Sat and Sun are being treated like Mon and Tues so students don't fall behind) before I leave for a week's vacation. A week free of phones, email, traffic... Ahhhh... (Don't worry, you will survive without me to entertain you, my sole reader.) So I grab a Carlsberg out of the fridge, savoring its chilled green can in my hand, my anticipation building. I pull the tab, savoring that sweet release of carbonation sound. My beer doesn't open. I swear. I panic. No, no, no, no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, not ... read more
An earned unproductive afternoon...
Published: September 25th 2008Asia » China » Guangdong » Shenzhen
September 25th 2008
See the picture? Need I say more? Oh. Okay. Just for you. So now I have my new visa. Usually as a tourist you get a single entry visa. You can enter the country only once. If you live here and work here, you may want to leave to go on vacation or something. So in order to get back on the mainland, you need a visa. Even to go to Hong Kong and return I need one. Hence the multiple entries. Today at lunch I was informed that I dont' have class in the afternoon. They're testing. And same goes for tomorrow. How badly did I want to run to HK? But I didn't. Only because I had no idea how to get there (well, the fastest way), I had no one to go with, ... read more
September 24th 2008
Hello! I am dry and safe. The storm was windy, kind of rainy, and loud. I slept horribly. But they did cancel classes today! The hallways (all outside, if you will recall) and stairs were all covered in water and flowers/leaves. It was like a cross between a waterfall and a wedding hit our school. I got paid, too. First paycheck in almost 2 months. I've now paid up for my trip next week. Less than 1000 Yuan ($140) will get you round-trip transportation and lodging for all nights! Nice! I'd like to see you try that in the US. And staying with friends is not allowed in this comparisson game. And I did get my multiple entry visa, too. Not everyone in our group is so lucky. So I get to travel while some may ... read more
September 23rd 2008
Perhaps you've heard, but if not, it's raining over here. Finally. That's right: Typhoon!! As in, classes might be cancelled. (But I have as much hope for this as a Minnesotan kid does of a a snow day.) I had to walk in the prelim rains tonight back from dinner across the street with Roy. Even after buying an umbrella we still got soaked. I nearly lost the umbrella in the winds. My new one matches my new clothes. It's green. Roy says he has 6. I'm up to 3 now. One striped one that I bought in AZ, one that my room had (ugly pastel purple), and the one I got tonight. It's turning into quite the glamorous collection! In other news, I had my best class yet today. See, the book the school gave ... read more
Tidbits and my mother's voice in my head
Published: September 22nd 2008Asia » China » Guangdong » ShenzhenSeptember 22nd 2008
So not much has happened in the past few days, so no entries. Saturday consisted of shopping at a sporting goods store next to IKEA where I was able to purchase REAL (vs knock off) sneakers. So I am now the proud owner of Asics, same colors as my New Balance shoes that some lucky United employee is sporting somewhere. And, AHA! I did get them on sale! Instead of 800 Yuan I paid 500. Then we went to IKEA for lunch and black forest cake. To offset the use of the free IKEA shuttle. A bunch of us went out for pizza Sat night. All the ex-pats in Shenzhen go to this place once a month for all you can eat and drink. Ladies pay 100 Yuan, and men pay 150 (under the notion that ... read more
After years of aimlessly plugging away 9 to 5, and having people continuously ask me what I really want to do with my life (while offering some good and not so good suggestions), I've taken a bold step in this adventure called life, and I'm teaching English in China. I started out in Shenzhen, China and have moved on to Guangzhou. I also travel around Asia and enjoy sharing those stories as well.
This is not an undertaking for just anyone, as my friends assure me. I documented the ups and downs of my preparations and now my actual experiences in China. I've be... full info
| Joined | June 4th 2008 | Trips | 13 |
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My Travels
Map Legend: 7%, 20 of 263 Territories
Where I've Lived 
Where I want to go soon 
Where I've Been 
Trips
Zhuhai
August 23rd 2008 -» September 7th 2008
Yangshuo
October 1st 2008 -» October 12th 2008
India!
January 16th 2009 -» February 6th 2009
Dragon Boats and Tourists
May 28th 2009 -» May 30th 2009
Yunnan and Sichuan
June 16th 2009 -» July 17th 2009
Guangzhou and Zhaoqing and Dinghu Mtn
October 2nd 2009 -» October 6th 2009
Hong Kong tourist... again
December 13th 2009 -» December 13th 2009
Hangzhou
January 22nd 2010 -» January 28th 2010
Thailand and Cambodia
February 3rd 2010 -» February 23rd 2010
Shanghai and the World Expo
June 19th 2010 -» June 27th 2010
Beijing
August 15th 2010 -» August 22nd 2010
Guilin and Yangshuo
October 3rd 2010 -» October 6th 2010
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia
January 11th 2011 -» February 17th 2011
August 23rd 2008 -» September 7th 2008
Yangshuo
October 1st 2008 -» October 12th 2008
India!
January 16th 2009 -» February 6th 2009
Dragon Boats and Tourists
May 28th 2009 -» May 30th 2009
Yunnan and Sichuan
June 16th 2009 -» July 17th 2009
Guangzhou and Zhaoqing and Dinghu Mtn
October 2nd 2009 -» October 6th 2009
Hong Kong tourist... again
December 13th 2009 -» December 13th 2009
Hangzhou
January 22nd 2010 -» January 28th 2010
Thailand and Cambodia
February 3rd 2010 -» February 23rd 2010
Shanghai and the World Expo
June 19th 2010 -» June 27th 2010
Beijing
August 15th 2010 -» August 22nd 2010
Guilin and Yangshuo
October 3rd 2010 -» October 6th 2010
Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia
January 11th 2011 -» February 17th 2011
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