Once again, I find myself writing just as I am about to leave another wonderful experience and realize that I have completely slacked off on keeping up with the blog.
I didn't write about visiting the post-adoption center, where I was able to play with babies who are about to go to the US, but aren't in foster families.
I didn't write about the adventures of street food in Korea, with their wonderful fruit smoothies, weird hotdogs covered in french fries, mandu, sundae, and tteokboki.
I didn't write about my research and what it's like to chase down organizations in the middle of summer when there are a million events going on and nobody really has time, but is kind enough to make time for you.
I didn't write about all of the friends I've made and how much I will miss them when I go back to the US, how I'm worried that the next time I come, they might not be here and how sad that makes me.
I didn't write about how I am excited to escort a child home, making a full loop of my experience.
I didn't write about being sad to leave Asia and my journeys behind, but happy to be back with family and friends, sharing what the (mis)adventures of the past five months.
Well...actually I think I did just write about those things...even in brief. Maybe I'll go back and write more about them later. Or maybe I will continue this blog with the (mis)adventures into which I always find myself stumbling. Or maybe this is the end of both my trips AND my foray into the blogging world...I'm kind of awful at updates, but I hope you were thoroughly amused anyway.
Here I go, back to the US in 1 day, back to the Incheon airport in 5 hours, back to Seoul in 27 minutes. It's been fun.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Too Many Adventures to Keep Up...
Once again, I've been ridiculously neglectful in documenting and sharing my experiences. This will be a summary catch up that will also be ridiculous, in the sense that I cannot be brief and the word "summary" really is just me mocking my inability to be concise. See? Look how long that last sentence was, and I'm not even talking about what I did yet!
1) "home"coming: I decided way back when I was just a youngin' that when I traveled to Korea the first time, I would most definitely go to my birthtown and get a better grip on my roots. Turns out that even though it only takes a few hours to travel Korea, ways aren't that direct and kind of suck if you don't drive and/or are a foreigner with no Korean language skills, spoken or written. Long story short (again, can I really be that short?), Miss Choi, the social worker/translator at Ilsan, took pity on me and my millions of questions on how Korean buses work. She decided to take me with her to Gimcheon since she was going there anyway and then have her family drive me to Pohang, about an hour away from there.
We left on Friday evening and took the train to Gimcheon from Ilsan (we had to transfer in Seoul.) Now, anyone who knows me well (which is probably everyone reading this blog because if you don't know me well, it's a little creepy you care to follow this raving lunatic anyway) knows that I am easily stressed and freak out at the smallest thing. Turns out that I end up falling asleep and forget the name of the place that we're supposed to get off. Not a worry this time because I'm traveling with a Korean, right? Well, not so right. We had to ride in separate cars because we couldn't get seats together. When we stopped at...I think Daegu?...I wake up, see everyone leaving the train, and start to panic. I ran up and down the train with my ridiculously full hiking backpack that I way overpacked for a weekend visit, and I tried to find Miss Choi by yelling, hoping my voice would carry 4 cars away where she was sitting. The conductor was a little freaked out when I started to hyperventilate because the train started to move, and I wasn't off of it since I didn't see Miss Choi. He asked me what was wrong in Korean, which only made me freak out more and explain that I only spoke English. Such a nice man, he told me to stay there and took off down the cars to find someone to interpret for me. I ended up following him anyway and found Miss Choi sitting in her seat with her mp3 player looking completely shocked and confused at me wandering at breakneck speed through the train. She laughed at me, I laughed at me, and then we sat in her car as the conductor came back with a girl who spoke English. I think Miss Choi explained I was a spazz because everyone laughed, and it was all okay after that.
When we got to Gimcheon, her mother met us at the station, and we bought a cake since it was her older brother's (oppa's) birthday. I met both of her parents and her dad spoke some English, as did her brother who I met the next morning.
I felt kind of bad because her brother took us to Pohang the next day, even though it was his birthday. We ate special type of seaweed soup for breakfast that Koreans eat on birthdays, which was very....seaweedy tasting...before heading out. We ended up going to Bogyeongsa Temple, where my birthparents met, and Homigot Beach, the farthest point east in South Korea. Unfortunately, it decided to rain, but we still had fun anyway and ate so many snacks. I still can't get over the amount of snacks that Koreans eat.
The next day, since we got back to late for me to take the train home, we lazed around a bit, went to buy a birthday present for the choir director's daughter, and then went to two parks and her old high school. Even though it is summer, there where people there studying on a Sunday. Although, I do have to admit that a few girls in a classroom were actually just playing with a music program.
Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I did feel lie it was important for me to go there and see it. I don't know if I'd go back again any time soon, but maybe if my family was with me I'd take them because it was so beautiful.
2) Korean wedding: I got the chance to go to a Korean wedding with Molly and volunteers from America who had come as a family on the Motherland tour. It was beautiful, there were hundreds of people, and instead of taking presents, it is customary to take an envelope filled with the amount of money that it would probably cost for the meal. Maybe that's more useful than twenty toasters?
3) War Memorial Museum and Seodamun Prison Museum: Wow. They were intense in their own ways.
4) Holt Motherland Camp!: So much fun, I'm really glad that I was able to take part in this, even though it meant not doing the internship I had originally planned. I met 10 people from 4 different countries not including our Korean staff. They took us so many places, and in Seoul we had Tae Kwon Do Class (taught by Kukkiwon Master, demo performers, and a Korean Tiger), cooking class at a culinary school, ettiquette class where we learned how to serve traditional tea ceremony, bow, and had a coming of age ceremony, art class, tour of World Cup Stadium, hiking in a park, Han River cruise, care center, Ilsan (again for me!) and way too many foods. We also took a trip to Busan, a beach city and 2nd largest city in Korea, and Gyeonju, considered a museum without walls.
I really liked the homestay visit we did as well. I went with Mija from Denmark, and we stayed with a family outside of Seoul in Gyeonggi-do Province. The father worked for Samsung Corportation, who must really want people to host homestays because they sent a camera and interviewer to record the first night of our stay. I thought it was really funny because we had to do things over and over again to keep recording it correctly. We made bulgogi, talked, showed photos, and had to pretend to go to bed. After we went to "bed," we played Monopoly with the girl who was 12 and really adorable, and went to see Haeundae, a Korean movie about a tidal wave (I know that's not the right word) in Busan, which made me a little hesitant about going to Busan, even though it was a fictional movie. The next morning we went to a Buddhist temple area (more, I know, right?) which was beautiful, before eating supper in Seoul and meeting back with the group to go see Nanta performance, which was fantastic.
We were able to review our records too and meet our foster parents. I was so excited and surprised to learn that I would meet my foster mother too since nobody had told me until 10 minutes before we left. It was incredible, and I will meet the rest of her family before I leave Korea.
4) G.O.A.L. Conference: I met some great people, listened to some interesting speeches, and had an overall good time. I really like conferences a lot. For real.
5) On my own: Now I'm in Seoul, living at the Holt Guesthouse, doing interviews, last meetings, and trying to do some more sightseeing. I still want to see the kimchi museum and the Olympic park.
Okay, this is way too long as predicted. Sorry.
1) "home"coming: I decided way back when I was just a youngin' that when I traveled to Korea the first time, I would most definitely go to my birthtown and get a better grip on my roots. Turns out that even though it only takes a few hours to travel Korea, ways aren't that direct and kind of suck if you don't drive and/or are a foreigner with no Korean language skills, spoken or written. Long story short (again, can I really be that short?), Miss Choi, the social worker/translator at Ilsan, took pity on me and my millions of questions on how Korean buses work. She decided to take me with her to Gimcheon since she was going there anyway and then have her family drive me to Pohang, about an hour away from there.
We left on Friday evening and took the train to Gimcheon from Ilsan (we had to transfer in Seoul.) Now, anyone who knows me well (which is probably everyone reading this blog because if you don't know me well, it's a little creepy you care to follow this raving lunatic anyway) knows that I am easily stressed and freak out at the smallest thing. Turns out that I end up falling asleep and forget the name of the place that we're supposed to get off. Not a worry this time because I'm traveling with a Korean, right? Well, not so right. We had to ride in separate cars because we couldn't get seats together. When we stopped at...I think Daegu?...I wake up, see everyone leaving the train, and start to panic. I ran up and down the train with my ridiculously full hiking backpack that I way overpacked for a weekend visit, and I tried to find Miss Choi by yelling, hoping my voice would carry 4 cars away where she was sitting. The conductor was a little freaked out when I started to hyperventilate because the train started to move, and I wasn't off of it since I didn't see Miss Choi. He asked me what was wrong in Korean, which only made me freak out more and explain that I only spoke English. Such a nice man, he told me to stay there and took off down the cars to find someone to interpret for me. I ended up following him anyway and found Miss Choi sitting in her seat with her mp3 player looking completely shocked and confused at me wandering at breakneck speed through the train. She laughed at me, I laughed at me, and then we sat in her car as the conductor came back with a girl who spoke English. I think Miss Choi explained I was a spazz because everyone laughed, and it was all okay after that.
When we got to Gimcheon, her mother met us at the station, and we bought a cake since it was her older brother's (oppa's) birthday. I met both of her parents and her dad spoke some English, as did her brother who I met the next morning.
I felt kind of bad because her brother took us to Pohang the next day, even though it was his birthday. We ate special type of seaweed soup for breakfast that Koreans eat on birthdays, which was very....seaweedy tasting...before heading out. We ended up going to Bogyeongsa Temple, where my birthparents met, and Homigot Beach, the farthest point east in South Korea. Unfortunately, it decided to rain, but we still had fun anyway and ate so many snacks. I still can't get over the amount of snacks that Koreans eat.
The next day, since we got back to late for me to take the train home, we lazed around a bit, went to buy a birthday present for the choir director's daughter, and then went to two parks and her old high school. Even though it is summer, there where people there studying on a Sunday. Although, I do have to admit that a few girls in a classroom were actually just playing with a music program.
Overall, it was a lot of fun, and I did feel lie it was important for me to go there and see it. I don't know if I'd go back again any time soon, but maybe if my family was with me I'd take them because it was so beautiful.
2) Korean wedding: I got the chance to go to a Korean wedding with Molly and volunteers from America who had come as a family on the Motherland tour. It was beautiful, there were hundreds of people, and instead of taking presents, it is customary to take an envelope filled with the amount of money that it would probably cost for the meal. Maybe that's more useful than twenty toasters?
3) War Memorial Museum and Seodamun Prison Museum: Wow. They were intense in their own ways.
4) Holt Motherland Camp!: So much fun, I'm really glad that I was able to take part in this, even though it meant not doing the internship I had originally planned. I met 10 people from 4 different countries not including our Korean staff. They took us so many places, and in Seoul we had Tae Kwon Do Class (taught by Kukkiwon Master, demo performers, and a Korean Tiger), cooking class at a culinary school, ettiquette class where we learned how to serve traditional tea ceremony, bow, and had a coming of age ceremony, art class, tour of World Cup Stadium, hiking in a park, Han River cruise, care center, Ilsan (again for me!) and way too many foods. We also took a trip to Busan, a beach city and 2nd largest city in Korea, and Gyeonju, considered a museum without walls.
I really liked the homestay visit we did as well. I went with Mija from Denmark, and we stayed with a family outside of Seoul in Gyeonggi-do Province. The father worked for Samsung Corportation, who must really want people to host homestays because they sent a camera and interviewer to record the first night of our stay. I thought it was really funny because we had to do things over and over again to keep recording it correctly. We made bulgogi, talked, showed photos, and had to pretend to go to bed. After we went to "bed," we played Monopoly with the girl who was 12 and really adorable, and went to see Haeundae, a Korean movie about a tidal wave (I know that's not the right word) in Busan, which made me a little hesitant about going to Busan, even though it was a fictional movie. The next morning we went to a Buddhist temple area (more, I know, right?) which was beautiful, before eating supper in Seoul and meeting back with the group to go see Nanta performance, which was fantastic.
We were able to review our records too and meet our foster parents. I was so excited and surprised to learn that I would meet my foster mother too since nobody had told me until 10 minutes before we left. It was incredible, and I will meet the rest of her family before I leave Korea.
4) G.O.A.L. Conference: I met some great people, listened to some interesting speeches, and had an overall good time. I really like conferences a lot. For real.
5) On my own: Now I'm in Seoul, living at the Holt Guesthouse, doing interviews, last meetings, and trying to do some more sightseeing. I still want to see the kimchi museum and the Olympic park.
Okay, this is way too long as predicted. Sorry.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Found Out I Really Am Korean...
Hi everyone,
It's been way too long since I've lost made a post, and at this point in time, I don't think I'm going to go back and do many China posts. Sorry about that. Most of you have already been regaled by my great tales anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
I've been in Korea now for 2.5 weeks and am loving it. It really is SOOO different from any of the other places I've been, but that's also because I've been in a very different environment for a very different purpose (and minus 35 other Carls...probably a big part of it). For those of you out of the loop, I'm volunteering this summer for Holt Ilsan Center in Korea. It's a long term care facility that houses over 300 residents. My job consists of doing morning and afternoon activities with the residents who are usually most unable to get out of their rooms otherwise. Generally, we do things like go on walks, look at flowers, color, do puzzles, look at their photos/take new photos (they love the camera!), eat ice cream, etc. Lucky for me, they don't mind when I sing and some even like it. Right now, I'm the only volunteer since my partner in crime, Molly Ann, left me on Tuesday (probably a good thing since she reached the 90 day limit on her passport). I found out though that we are getting some more volunteers this week, so it won't be just me.
Since it had been Molly's last 2 weeks when I got here, it's been a lot of visiting places when we aren't working. And by visiting places, I mean shopping of course. hahaha. This weekend though I'm going to Daegu and Pohang; I'm really excited and nervous. I'll let you know how that goes when I get back.
Also...I don't like squid. Or sundae (sausage made of noodles, veggies, and intestine...yum? eww). Or dog (not that I tried it; not my cup of tea...or bowl of dog for that matter).
But I do love Korean barbecue, kimchi jeon, and the mysterious broth soup from the food cart.
More later. Promise.
It's been way too long since I've lost made a post, and at this point in time, I don't think I'm going to go back and do many China posts. Sorry about that. Most of you have already been regaled by my great tales anyway, so it doesn't really matter.
I've been in Korea now for 2.5 weeks and am loving it. It really is SOOO different from any of the other places I've been, but that's also because I've been in a very different environment for a very different purpose (and minus 35 other Carls...probably a big part of it). For those of you out of the loop, I'm volunteering this summer for Holt Ilsan Center in Korea. It's a long term care facility that houses over 300 residents. My job consists of doing morning and afternoon activities with the residents who are usually most unable to get out of their rooms otherwise. Generally, we do things like go on walks, look at flowers, color, do puzzles, look at their photos/take new photos (they love the camera!), eat ice cream, etc. Lucky for me, they don't mind when I sing and some even like it. Right now, I'm the only volunteer since my partner in crime, Molly Ann, left me on Tuesday (probably a good thing since she reached the 90 day limit on her passport). I found out though that we are getting some more volunteers this week, so it won't be just me.
Since it had been Molly's last 2 weeks when I got here, it's been a lot of visiting places when we aren't working. And by visiting places, I mean shopping of course. hahaha. This weekend though I'm going to Daegu and Pohang; I'm really excited and nervous. I'll let you know how that goes when I get back.
Also...I don't like squid. Or sundae (sausage made of noodles, veggies, and intestine...yum? eww). Or dog (not that I tried it; not my cup of tea...or bowl of dog for that matter).
But I do love Korean barbecue, kimchi jeon, and the mysterious broth soup from the food cart.
More later. Promise.
Monday, June 15, 2009
T-2.2
In 2.2 hours, I will be in flight to S. Korea where I will spend 2/3 of my summer. This time, I will be traveling alone and don't speak the language. I think it will really be the test of my adventurous skills, but I thank my crazy family and the people in the Political Economy in (anywhere but) Beijing program for getting me ready for this task. I just hope I'll have internet so I can keep you all updated!
Oh, and don't worry. I'll do my best to stay safe too :D
hugs,
Catie
Oh, and don't worry. I'll do my best to stay safe too :D
hugs,
Catie
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Coming to an End...But NOT of this Blog
As of this morning, we have one three credit course, 3/4 free day, and a ridiculously long flight back to the United States. Since spring break, I haven't been able to really write anything on this blog though because it has been blocked at the internet centers I had been going to in Beijing. Not sure if that's a restriction/not really working/etc, but the point is, I have a lot to say and haven't been able to do so. Even though it won't be happening as I write, I plan to go back through and fill in some adventures that occurred on my trip. In addition, this slightly "goofy" writing will continue throughout the summer as I schlep across Korea, finding my roots and trying to figure just exactly what I want to do with my life (a bit dramatic, but true).
Look out for more. You'll see me soon.
Last Love from the Asian Location,
Catie
Look out for more. You'll see me soon.
Last Love from the Asian Location,
Catie
Sunday, May 10, 2009
An SPF 50 Kind of Spring Break
Spring Break 2009: 5 days in Sunny Sanya, Hainan Province with 3 wonderful friends
Day 1: We left at 615 am to go to the airport, but ended up discussing where we needed to be with the taxi driver lady for quite some time before hopping in and praying for the best. Finally, we called Judy to double check that we were going to the right place and terminal and were on our way. After a 4 hour plane next to a ridiculous couple where the girl almost put her head on my lap, and I became pretty angry, we finally arrived where a driver from the hotel met us to take us to the hotel. We got there, unpacked, and headed off to the beach where we relaxed, burnt, and enjoyed crystal clear water and sand. That night, we walked back (about a 40 min walk) and stopped at Rainbow, an American bar/grill (it was tasty and don't hate on me too much for doing non-Chinese) where we met our waitress and soon to be friend Katie. That night, we went back and fell asleep I think.
Day 2: Sleeping in, then walking to the beach. We stopped at a coffee shop on the way to have overpriced food with mystery meat. Really though, another day of fun and sun and naps where I rediscovered music on my ipod and read more of my new book: microtrends (it's really really good). That night we ate a Chinese restaurant where I didn't have to use Chinese language since the woman spoke English. Walked around and found ice cream and a night market where I finally used Chinese to bargain for sparkly jewelry and befriending of the dress lady and her amazing wares. Lots of dvd watching and burn admiring followed.
Day 3: Sleeping in, bakery breakfast, and finding of an atm (not for me) and a taxi to Yalong Bay. Told driver Yalong and not Yalong Bay and ended up with expensive taxi ride. Yalong was 33 quai, so we used LonelyPlanet's advice to sneak onto a hotel's private beach. Much quieter than Dadonghai and more beautiful, but obviously less lively. Back to Rainbow where there was a Chinese movie being filmed that they wouldn't let us be in. Yummy food, tried to scare off the 30yr old Chinese men. More night market.
Day 4: Sleeping in and bakery breakfast. Walked around the city and found a bookstore with great cheap English classics. No beach day because of too much sun in the past, but lots of ac and movies. Got a hold of Katie and had dinner together before walking around the city and taking photos again. DVDs again at night.
Day 5: Last day with bakery breakfast, day at the beach after trying to convey that we wanted to leave our bags at the hotel. Wonderful last beach bathing, buying of an amazing jellyfish kite, trying to tell the 5 Chinese people who offerred me cigarretes that I don't smoke, and an awkward 5 kuai "shower" with a hose on the beach. Back to the hotel before the airport ride home with another annoying couple who played some kind of hitting/clapping game. Successful taxi home and lots of sleep.
Later updates with my Beijing portion of break.
Day
Day 1: We left at 615 am to go to the airport, but ended up discussing where we needed to be with the taxi driver lady for quite some time before hopping in and praying for the best. Finally, we called Judy to double check that we were going to the right place and terminal and were on our way. After a 4 hour plane next to a ridiculous couple where the girl almost put her head on my lap, and I became pretty angry, we finally arrived where a driver from the hotel met us to take us to the hotel. We got there, unpacked, and headed off to the beach where we relaxed, burnt, and enjoyed crystal clear water and sand. That night, we walked back (about a 40 min walk) and stopped at Rainbow, an American bar/grill (it was tasty and don't hate on me too much for doing non-Chinese) where we met our waitress and soon to be friend Katie. That night, we went back and fell asleep I think.
Day 2: Sleeping in, then walking to the beach. We stopped at a coffee shop on the way to have overpriced food with mystery meat. Really though, another day of fun and sun and naps where I rediscovered music on my ipod and read more of my new book: microtrends (it's really really good). That night we ate a Chinese restaurant where I didn't have to use Chinese language since the woman spoke English. Walked around and found ice cream and a night market where I finally used Chinese to bargain for sparkly jewelry and befriending of the dress lady and her amazing wares. Lots of dvd watching and burn admiring followed.
Day 3: Sleeping in, bakery breakfast, and finding of an atm (not for me) and a taxi to Yalong Bay. Told driver Yalong and not Yalong Bay and ended up with expensive taxi ride. Yalong was 33 quai, so we used LonelyPlanet's advice to sneak onto a hotel's private beach. Much quieter than Dadonghai and more beautiful, but obviously less lively. Back to Rainbow where there was a Chinese movie being filmed that they wouldn't let us be in. Yummy food, tried to scare off the 30yr old Chinese men. More night market.
Day 4: Sleeping in and bakery breakfast. Walked around the city and found a bookstore with great cheap English classics. No beach day because of too much sun in the past, but lots of ac and movies. Got a hold of Katie and had dinner together before walking around the city and taking photos again. DVDs again at night.
Day 5: Last day with bakery breakfast, day at the beach after trying to convey that we wanted to leave our bags at the hotel. Wonderful last beach bathing, buying of an amazing jellyfish kite, trying to tell the 5 Chinese people who offerred me cigarretes that I don't smoke, and an awkward 5 kuai "shower" with a hose on the beach. Back to the hotel before the airport ride home with another annoying couple who played some kind of hitting/clapping game. Successful taxi home and lots of sleep.
Later updates with my Beijing portion of break.
Day
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
I'd write something witty and clever here, but frankly my dear, I'm way too sunburnt to care
This past weekend/week/coming weekend ushered in our spring break (at long last since we left right after finals to begin our seminar in Thailand, Burma, and Vietnam, just in case I've been rambling for so long that you forgot). For spring break, after finishing a couple of handwritten midterms that took way too long since I've fogotten how to use the English language, I was ready to relax, get some sun, and be happy again.
My spring break plans were to go to Sanya, Hainan province, an island off the coast of Southern China, with Kelsey I, Alex B, and Whittney. As we said many times over during lounging on the beach and through the markets, best idea ever and best vacation ever.
But anyway, my break really began on Friday morning, so I'll start there instead of the Saturday flight to Sanya.
Actually, I'll start Thursday instead after we got our midterm per diem and handed in midterms, k? Even though I might have said this already the post before. Sorry if I repeat myself. I'm burnt.
So Thursday, after leaving class, I went to the National Art Museum with Orion and Wes. Unfortunately, I forgot my student id, so it ended up being 40 kuai instead of 10, but oh well. Let me preface with the fact that I know very little about art. Sure, I threw pots (in the making sense, not the making mess sense) in middle school and high school, but viewing paintings and most sculpture is purely done for my personal enjoyment since I know nothing about technique. What I do know is that I absolutely loved the 5th floor exhibition of a Chinese print maker named Chao Mei, as well as the Turner exhibition from the Tate gallery. You can check out both here: http://www.namoc.org/en/Exhibitions/Current_Exhibitions/index.html Quite excellent and a great way to unwind on approximately 3 hours of sleep.
Thursday evening, I went to dinner with 9 people to a restaurant out the West Gate (there are 2 gates we use at UIBE, the East Gate has been dubbed "Eat Street" with cheap food and the West Gate is more expensive but nicer). Zach, our program assistant who graduated last year from Carleton, decided that he wasn't speaking any Chinese since we all were heading off for break and needed to learn how to get food ourselves. Unfortunately, this meant that I was crowned menu queen and not only had to order food for 9 people, but also request 2 more chairs since 2 people were coming later (we went as a group of 7) and didn't now the word for chair. There was a lot of miming going on, but it got the job done. At the very least, I know I won't starve or not know where the bathroom is as long as people around me know Mandarin.
Friday: Got up earlyish and went with James and Orion to what I've dubbed "The Temple of Hell." In actuality, it's the Dongyue Daoist Temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Dongyue_Temple
and it has a ridiculously large number of rooms that you walk by with these really great statues inside that describe the different departments and beliefs in daoism. We were a little bored, and I was a little dissapointed because everything looked so plain the first four or five rooms when all of a sudden, we go to the next room and there's a demon staring at us! From there on out, there were more demons in the rooms and some of the rooms got a little gruesome. It was so intriguing. Afterwards, we headed to the electronics market so the boys could play with their electronic game things. We found an arcade in the basement where they played Tekken, which I commented was like street fighter and got promptly criticized and lectured. Looked the same to me. Oh well. We also watched Orion draw a crowd playing DDR outside. James commented that if the white guy could do it, anyone could, which is probably why there was a line for people buying the game after we left. For lunch, we went to "explodes the stomach" where I pitched in my 10 kuai to watch them eat the most disgusting food I've ever seen before going to an actual restaurant and ordering the most delicious potatoes and beef I've ever eaten. For real. After packing for my trip, I went to dinner with another big group of people to a Japanese place where there was delicious delicious sushi and tempura and other stuff that I would have to point to since I can't pronounce the name. Went to bed after that to get up to catch a taxi at 615 for our flight.
Actually, that was pretty gosh darn long, so I'll write tomorrow or so about the rest of my break since I'll have time, and we're the only ones back anyway.
love love love and aloe vera :D
My spring break plans were to go to Sanya, Hainan province, an island off the coast of Southern China, with Kelsey I, Alex B, and Whittney. As we said many times over during lounging on the beach and through the markets, best idea ever and best vacation ever.
But anyway, my break really began on Friday morning, so I'll start there instead of the Saturday flight to Sanya.
Actually, I'll start Thursday instead after we got our midterm per diem and handed in midterms, k? Even though I might have said this already the post before. Sorry if I repeat myself. I'm burnt.
So Thursday, after leaving class, I went to the National Art Museum with Orion and Wes. Unfortunately, I forgot my student id, so it ended up being 40 kuai instead of 10, but oh well. Let me preface with the fact that I know very little about art. Sure, I threw pots (in the making sense, not the making mess sense) in middle school and high school, but viewing paintings and most sculpture is purely done for my personal enjoyment since I know nothing about technique. What I do know is that I absolutely loved the 5th floor exhibition of a Chinese print maker named Chao Mei, as well as the Turner exhibition from the Tate gallery. You can check out both here: http://www.namoc.org/en/Exhibitions/Current_Exhibitions/index.html Quite excellent and a great way to unwind on approximately 3 hours of sleep.
Thursday evening, I went to dinner with 9 people to a restaurant out the West Gate (there are 2 gates we use at UIBE, the East Gate has been dubbed "Eat Street" with cheap food and the West Gate is more expensive but nicer). Zach, our program assistant who graduated last year from Carleton, decided that he wasn't speaking any Chinese since we all were heading off for break and needed to learn how to get food ourselves. Unfortunately, this meant that I was crowned menu queen and not only had to order food for 9 people, but also request 2 more chairs since 2 people were coming later (we went as a group of 7) and didn't now the word for chair. There was a lot of miming going on, but it got the job done. At the very least, I know I won't starve or not know where the bathroom is as long as people around me know Mandarin.
Friday: Got up earlyish and went with James and Orion to what I've dubbed "The Temple of Hell." In actuality, it's the Dongyue Daoist Temple: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Dongyue_Temple
and it has a ridiculously large number of rooms that you walk by with these really great statues inside that describe the different departments and beliefs in daoism. We were a little bored, and I was a little dissapointed because everything looked so plain the first four or five rooms when all of a sudden, we go to the next room and there's a demon staring at us! From there on out, there were more demons in the rooms and some of the rooms got a little gruesome. It was so intriguing. Afterwards, we headed to the electronics market so the boys could play with their electronic game things. We found an arcade in the basement where they played Tekken, which I commented was like street fighter and got promptly criticized and lectured. Looked the same to me. Oh well. We also watched Orion draw a crowd playing DDR outside. James commented that if the white guy could do it, anyone could, which is probably why there was a line for people buying the game after we left. For lunch, we went to "explodes the stomach" where I pitched in my 10 kuai to watch them eat the most disgusting food I've ever seen before going to an actual restaurant and ordering the most delicious potatoes and beef I've ever eaten. For real. After packing for my trip, I went to dinner with another big group of people to a Japanese place where there was delicious delicious sushi and tempura and other stuff that I would have to point to since I can't pronounce the name. Went to bed after that to get up to catch a taxi at 615 for our flight.
Actually, that was pretty gosh darn long, so I'll write tomorrow or so about the rest of my break since I'll have time, and we're the only ones back anyway.
love love love and aloe vera :D
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