Ms Bee

While I was upset that I was unable to lock-down travel plans for the week-long National Holiday...staying in Guilin has given me the opportunity to learn a little bit more about the city and the culture - and a few other things as well. 1. They save the leftovers in dining halls and restaurants. Often times, you will see it scraped into a big bucket outside the door...a mildly nauseating sight. What I didn't know, is that they send it to farms to feed to the pigs. Pork is, after all, the prefered meat in China. 2. I discovered the location of a good salon that gives great manicures and pedicures. 3. On holidays, the guard at F.L.S. with the keys locks all of the buildings before 10:00pm, then he leaves...so if you do not want ... read more

I have fewer than 9 hours before my flight leaves for Shanghai and I begin my 24-hour journey homeward. I am hopped-up on caffeine and adrenaline. At 10:30 I took Meimei to my friend’s apartment for her summer-long slumber party. We sat and talked, and then were invited to Adam's. Adam lives in a palatial estate (by Guilin expat standards)...by most of China's standards for that matter. He has a big apartment over-looking the river. It has heated tile floors, an oven, a dishwasher, a laundry drier, ten computers and even a hot tub on the roof...all of which are luxuries we are not accustomed to here in Guilin. We sat around eating and watching pirated U.S. television programs until 2:30, when I decided to make the ride back to my apartment on e other side ... read more

We visited the little canal town of Zhouzhuang our second day together. The city had some beautiful things to see and delicious food, but the locals have definately learned to squeeze every cent out of the tourists. Every stall sells the same stuff, so we realized that nothing was truly an "original" as the vendors had insisted, and they originally asked for 200% more than they would sell for. All you had to do was say you didn't want to pay that much and keep walking and they would chase you down and offer their goods for substantially less. My favorite part of this town (besides the shopping and the cafe latte) was the Budhist Temple. I got a bit more artistic in this town with my photos, so bear with me.... read more

I want to extend a few apologies. First, in my past rushes to publish blog entries, I have failed to do some spell-checking and grammar checking. It's a bit embarrassing considering I am here imparting my knowledge of the English language to the budding minds of Chinese youth. Second, I am sorry for not immediately posting in full detail about my Spring holiday with my parents, I think it's best if I summarize from now on. I have began hosting Couch Surfers. I haven't been without a surfer for more than a week. I will blog a little more about this later as I have a surfer and we are getting ready to get dinner. I love you all. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Always, Clare ... read more

I left for Shanghai at 9pm on January 30th. Operating under advice from a friend, I left for the airport at 5:30pm expecting an hour-long commute. It only took me a half an hour because it was mid-afternoon on a weekend, and traffic is not as bad on weekends. I tried to budget time in the airport for confusion and language barriers, however everything went smoothly, and I was seated in my terminal 2 hours before my flight. Oops. I sat around, read and people watched until it was time to board. My flight was packed, and I sat smashed against the window. Thankfully the flight only took two and a half hours. I arrived in Shanghai a little before midnight, and found my way to the hotel-booking counter. The same friend estimated that I could ... read more