We'd previously decided Monday would be a good day to visit the famous Mud/Water Caves of Yangshuo, as the larger amount of Chinese tourists would be headed home by that point (many of them travel for the first part of the week and then go home to be with family). Jimmy, Cali, Martin and I (I feel like this is a constant theme, we're almost always with J&C when I'm using the term 'we') met up in the lobby of our hotel once again and set off in search of coffee. After having enjoyed my blended coffee drink so much from the day before, we headed there and Cali ended up getting the same thing while Martin enjoyed a passionfruit blended drink that was equally delicious. We had made plans to meet up with Maury and ... read more

On Friday, October 2nd at 8am we rolled into the Yangshuo bus station tired and ready to be off that awful bus. I had booked Martin and I along with Cali & Jimmy two rooms at the West Lily Hotel, and it turned out 4 other people in our group of 20 were staying there as well...so the 8 of us took off with my directions in hand and were able to find it pretty easily. We settled into our rooms, showered, laid down for a few minutes and then met in the lobby again in search of food. Yangshuo is pretty small and easily walkable. The main street, West Street or Xi Jie (Foreigners Street) is mainly a pedestrian only walkway, except for the random motorcycle here and there. Our hotel was about a 5-6 ... read more

Well, we're back. Right now we're feeling pretty exhausted and a little sad about being back in Shenzhen, but also relieved to be home after a long bus ride. Try to be patient as we chronicle our last week of adventures on here...we have a lot to share! Unfortunately, our camera broke the day that we left for vacation, so we don't have our own pictures. Our friends took plenty with their basic digital cameras and we'll hopefully get pictures from them soon to share. Our hot plate also broke the day before we left...yay, China! Some quick notes about the trip? -Bus rides that took a year and a half -Veggie burgers -Sweet and sour eggplant -Amazing food in general -Staci falling off her bicycle -Mud caves -Swimming in the river Tomorrow it's back to ... read more

For the past two days the temperature has cooled slightly and it's been raining. It's glorious. Despite the fact that I still don't have a coat and the hallways here get ridiculously slippery after a little bit of rain...I'm loving it. I've even gotten cold at night and had to use the comforter! Today in class 10 I asked them what the weather was like. "Rainy!" "Windy!" "Terrible!" "Cold!" Teacher Staci: "I love this weather! It is so nice!" Class 10: "WHAT? WHY, TEACHER, WHY? IT IS NOT NICE!" My kids are fantastic. Some of them drive me crazy, but for the most part they're incredibly well-behaved. I gave a couple of my classes the last five minutes as 'free time' and they did their homework for other classes. Yeah, no running around and goofing off ... read more

I hate violence. I hate death. I hate sad things. (Who doesn't?) Inevitably after watching a sad movie or reading a book where someone dies, I cuddle up next to Martin and cry for awhile. It scares me so much. Someone I've known since I was 5 died today. Growing up, he was just my dorky older brother's best friend who made fun of me and sometimes really annoyed me. Death isn't fair. He fought in the war. He became blind from a war injury. He returned, got happily married, finished his bachelors degree and was starting to adjust to life in a completely different way. He had multiple surgeries. Then, in the early morning of September 24th, he passed away from unknown complications due to this last surgery. After all that?! Really? It makes me ... read more