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Published: July 19th 2007
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Hey Jude with William Hi! So, I was in a rush the last few weeks and didn't get a chance to write a blog about my trip to China... so here it is! Its all in retrospect, but I will try to keep it fun and brief! Its my top ten China experiences!!!
10. Overnight train to Xi'an
After a few days in the Beijing area we took an overnight train to Xian. It was awesome- like a hostel on wheels. Luckily I was only on the second bunk (not the third where you were nestled between the bed and the ceiling.) There was a dining car which was fun and we played cards and hung out. We met some students from Saskatchewan and a Chinese dude who had a friend who taught at the University of Guelph. I felt dirty and tired after it, but wouldn't have changed it for anything.
9. Summer Palace
This place was nuts! Designed for one person (Emperor) for one season! there is a HUGE lake that was apparently dug out by peasants at the command of the emperor. And also, an Empress decided that instead of putting money into the military, that she needed
to have a boat built out of marble. Makes total sense, right? Now a boat made out of marble cheese- that is something I would love to see!
8.Food
Being a veggie, I was nervous about lack of options (but slightly excited about the possibility of losing some weight.) but alas, there was lots to eat! The food was so good with so many options! We ate banquet style which meant heaps of dishes brought out and stacked on the lazy susan. (By the way, imagine being the susan who the lazy susan is named after? What a legacy!) It was so good. One night I went to a buddhist buffet, bu all the tofu was done up like fake meat soI was nervous to try any of it, but I was delighted once I did!
7. Night Life
We went out a few times and just had a blast! One night, I met up with some friends from Guelph who are living/working in Beijing and we went out in the Ho Hi district which is a bar area situated around a lake. Very fun with lots of options. I tried smoking the hookah and kind of liked
it- I don't think I will do it often, but the strawberry flavour was fun!
6. Terra Cotta Warriors
Unbelievable. It just blows my mind how much effort was put into ensuring a good afterlife. So many warriors- and all of them were different! Amazing. I was really blown away by this place. Funny though- the farmer who originally discovered the warriors was there sitting at a table. He would sign yourbook if you bought one, but you weren't allowed to take pictures. I thought that was weird... This guy discovered the warriors while trying to dig a well. They showed the spot where he dug for the well and if he had been a few feet off he would have totally missed it!
5. Our Accomodations
We stayed at a bunch of awesome places. When we first arrived we stayed at the "Teacher Sanitorium" which is apparently where they send good teachers who deserve to be rewarded. It was like a spa/hotel with cheap massages (got one of those!) and good food. For the two weeks we were in Beijing we stayed at a courtyard hotel right downtown (two subway stops from Tian'anmen Square) and it
was apparently used as a headquarters for the Communist party at some point. Across the street was a store that sold big beers for 2 yuan. (around 30 cents) so needless to say this place was frequented often. (Why do people always say stuff after saying 'needless to say?" I never got that. If its needless to say, why do you have to say it?)
4. Markets
The shopping was so much fun! I was intimidated at first with the whole bartering thing, but I quickly got a grasp on it and had a lot of fun! One woman started fake crying, but that only motivated me to get a lower price. It was weird because at the end of the day I was still getting really good deals (new Pumas for 13 bucks) but it was almost a game to see how good a price you could get. Some people went shopping CRAZY (60 kilos on the way back when our luggage max was 20) but I stayed under control and kept it in check. I think I am going to try and bring bartering back to Canada. Imagine being at the Gap and saying "I will give
you...FIVE dollars! Final offer!" One woman slapped me when I made an offer, but it turns out I was right on the mark and got it for that price. Its all about acting, which luckily I was good at. The key was to walk away because there was always a hundred other booths with the same stuff.
3.Tian'anmen Square
This place was awesome! I did a few projects on this place through school. (My mom actually did most of the work.) but my fascination with this place has endured. Its beautiful and enormous. You can visit Mao's frozen body, but it was shut down (a lot of places were under construction in preparation for the Olympics.). Apparently not a lot of Chinese people know about the massacre due to the strict control of the media. It exists kind of like a rumor or a legend as far as I could tell.
2. Great Wall
Within a day of arriving in China we were standing on the Great Wall. I couldn't believe it. First of all, it took aobut a 90 minute hike up to the wall itself (apparently some places have gondolas, I want to know where
THOSE places are.) We were sweaty and exhausted, but it was brilliant. I never thought I would visit China, and so it was very humbling to be standing on the great wall. I thought I would only ever read/hear about it, so each moment was special. Everythingn about it was amazing.
1. Teaching!
The reason I went! My class was hilarious and eager to learn how to speak English a bit better. The kids usually pick their own English names so often they come from sports, pop culture or thin air. How else do you explain "Yog" and "Ioo"? I suggested John and Ian as alternatives which they seemed to like. (It was weird 'renaming' kids but we were told to by the school if their names were totally unusual.) I had one student "Beyondi" who named himself after Beyonce. He was amazing. We had a party on the last day of class and he performed a dance. Some of the kids sang, and we played table tennis. I wasn't that bad! No Forrest Gump though.
So that is it! I had an amzing time. Its hard to put into words, but I fell in love with China!
The Olympics are going to be stellar (if they can fix the air, which was thick as porridge- seriously on most days visibility was only a few metres.)
Sorry it took so long for the post! My friend Naeem from home came to visit after I got back from China and I have a few stories from that! Will put that one up soon!
Lots of love
Adam
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Amanda
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Mmmm...cheese
Good call on the marble cheese boat! I also woul love it and would want to hang out with you in it...but we couldn't sail in it because I would nibble too much and then we would drown. Your china adventures look amazing! It all sounds fabulous and I hope that I can get there one day to experience it all! Miss you, love you, xoxo PS We TOTALLY need to bring bartering to Canada...although I tried a few places and they just seem to either laugh at you (thinking you are joking when OBVIOUSLY I am SERIOUS about shopping) or stare at you blankly and then just ignore you (that's when you do a little dance and really try to freak them out!)