As much as Jonathan may protest, I think another long post is coming up. Connie and Ken are at a golf tournament so I don't feel like a rude guest sitting on the computer when they're away.
It's been so amazing to eave hostel/hotel living and be back in a real house. I'll always think back on those two weeks of pure independence fondly but I'm a social butterfly and living with other people is always my first pick. Connie and Ken know my Dad through his work but they've also known me since I was basically a baby. With that in mind I am happy that they're not even close to treating me like a child and our evening discussions have revolved around Chinese culture and politics. It's also great to have their expertise at my disposal for the best recommendations on places to visit and what food to eat (especially since they lived in Sichuan, home to some of my favorite foods) So I bought them some flowers today to say thank you for everything.
More about Hong Kong!
* Throughout the city I was retracing my steps and finding all the places I used to love or frequent often. They included the US consulate and the Helena May library right across from the Peak tram. I spent many hours at that intersection going to my first ballet classes and having lunch at the women's club.
Hong Kong park was another well visited spot. I went back to the sandbox where I lost my precious doll "Girl" Nooo her name might not have been the most creative but I remember crying for so long when I lost her that my Dad went out in the middle of the night to see if there was any hope in getting her back... there wasn't. Ahhh the pains of childhood. I also walked through the aviary inside that houses more than 600 species of birds. They zoom around your head and sit on branches right next to you which is kind of scary when they're huge exotic birds that are big and grumpy. All of the animals were easy to see in the rain because they had puffed up their feathers to try to keep dry. Last on my Hong Kong park list was visiting the cool fountain you can get inside! The coolness of being there well outweighs the fact that you have to stand in an inch of water on slippery marble. It's just... so cool!
* The Star Ferry will forever be one of my favorite public modes of transportation. Ever. They're these two decker boats that take you from Hong KOng Island to most outlaying spots. it's just as much fun as a roller coaster because the water is choppy so you go up and down and up and down. ON rainy days (meaning most of the time) the city is misty behind you and the surf creates these massive waves. It's a real thrill... unless you get seasick I guess. Anyway I took three ferry rides.
1st: to Kowloon for my research. Not too notable except it was the first time I had been on a ferry for 12 years so I was taking pictures like crazy and getting some strange looks from the regular commuters
2nd: Star Ferry tour at night! They take you around the harbour to see all the notable buildings in HK and Kowloon while feeding you dessert and soda and THEN they park right in the middle at 8 when the city puts on this show they call a "symphony of lights" Key locations will pipe in music as the buildings on the waterfront will put on spectacular displays of lasers and light that is synchronized perfectly. Ultra touristy, sure but also amazingly impressive. especially since the image is doubled in the black water.
3rd: On my last day in Hong Kong, right before I went to the airport, I took the ferry all the way out to Lantau (an island decently far away from HK Island) just so I could see the scope of the city and the tiny fishing boats and huge freighters that put down anchor by the little green islands that no one has bothered to build up yet. It was a crystal clear day and a wonderful use of an hour even if I was disappointed that I didn't have time to explore Lantau itself, it looked small and quiet and lovely.
* Oh man... the show I saw was so crazy. First of all.. all in Cantonese, Nothing like Mandarin. But I was cool for that and totally ready. What was it about?? Good question. I dunno. Something about choosing between mothers and fathers. I dunno what the choice is about but it was at times very funny and at times very sad and people will be clutching onto chairs weeping. Then there was this male lead who had been/was in a relationship with a whiny singer and... something wasn't working out. I think he had trouble remembering her name... or something. They probably got together in the end. He sang an emotional song and she walked his bike around stage. May have been symbolic. The style was similar to a Chinese TV show so over the top and crazy.
I could have dealt with all of that except there was a constant threat of audience participation so I lived in unending fear. I was the only Westerner in the room and so if the guy was dumb enough to ask me a question it's his funeral but I would have been embarrassed. I don't know a word of Cantonese and if I did I would have pronounced it incorrectly. My plan was to imitate the classic "shy Asian girl" action and just giggle and shake my head, refusing to speak. Thankfully my brilliant scheme was never tested.
* On Thursday I met up with the Kents, old family friends from our apartment complex Bamboo Grove. Not only was it nice to have a quiet lunch, it was so wonderful to chat with someone who shares my childhood memories because I rarely get that chance! Nicholas jumped at the chance to talk about Postman Pat, the Adventures of t Bag (yes, it's real! Don't laugh), and playing on the Bamboo Grove jungle gym. After lunch we went to a record store for a while and then his mom drove out to their home in Stanely after stopping by the buildings we both remembered. PPA (my preschool) and our apartment building. it was surreal to see them again. I was dropped off at Stanley Market to see the beautifully serene beach and the crazy, narrow markets. I took a bus to the Primary school neighborhood but the ignorance of local taxi drivers foiled my efforts to actually find it though I did see kids in my old uniform in Stanely!
Now a little bit more about Taibei!
* I arrived here Friday evening and pretty much crashed, continuing my laziness up until Saturday afternoon. However on that day I made it to Taipei 101 (as previously described) and the City Hall Discovery Center which was the cool little museum about the history of the city. They showed the evolution of the City Walls under Japanese colonization and even outlined the theatrical evolution of the region (I saw scenes from Eat Drink Man Woman!) My mom would have loved it because they had one entire exhibit where they compared old pictures of roads to new ones and showed the process of modernization. That same day I went to two bookstores that were just incredibly useful as well as the Sun Yat Sen memorial hall (just to say I had been. There really isn't anything too noteworthy inside)
* That night Connie and Ken took me to a really delicious sichuan restaurant. You knew it was authentic because we were turning red and our eyes were watering from all the spice. Keshi women bu pa la, la bu pa, haiyou pa bu la as the hostess said. There was also an exotic mockingbird outside that was shrieking and trilling like crazy. Totally cool.
* Yesterday I went to CKS Memorial hall where there were guard and rifle teams rehearsing everywhere. I didn't know there was much of a marching band culture in Taiwan but I guess there is. I passed by the President's House on my way to the 2.28 memorials (also to say I've seen it because it is rather pretty) When I came home, Connie and I tried to hike Elephant mountain which was cool because that was one of my favorite things to look at up at Taipei 101. We got to the top band wanted to do the other "4 beasts" but it started pouring and we were afraid of thunder. Luckily we made it to an authentic local temple before it really slammed down but by the time we gave in and walked home we were soaked to the bone. It was really really fun though (especially to see all the lizards!) We had Mexican food for dinner (or as close as can be made with ingredients here) and I desperately want Chipotle now. Or guacamole. Mmmm.
* Oh MAN you guys. The museum today was beyond fantastic. have you noticed that fantastic is my new favorite word? it is. And it totally describes this place.
Got there at 9:50 for the 10:00 tour. Perfect. The guide had wonderful English and the hour tour gave a very good foundation to the museum and all of the special treasures.
I got a snack from the tea room overlooking the grounds. The one time I'm adventurous it backfires because I had no idea how to eat my food... I think it was kinda Japanese influenced. It was delicious but I don't think I followed culinary protocol and was probably laughed at.
I spent the next 3 hours or so making my way through Chinese art history chronologically. It's almost sad to think about how often Westerners ignore Chinese contributions when they've been perfecting these art forms for 8000 years. Before the Roman or Mayan civilizations even began forming. Yes, I bought into the propaganda okay? Hush. But generally I do believe that we like to ignore Eastern contributions and history and focus on ourselves. My favorite objects.
* An intricate ship carved out of an olive pit. There are 8 people on the boat with expressions you can see with a magnifying glass and the screen doors are artistically designed and can open and shut. All on a little vessel smaller than my thumb.
* I adore porcelain. All of it. it's colorful and cheerful and has stories I enjoy. Some of the pieces took 72 applications of different glazes to reach completion.
* The little pearl ball with 7 concentric balls on the inside that are just as thoroughly patterned and can be spun around.
* The little boxes the Emperor used to store miniature versions of his art collections so he could play with them and admire them without labor. They all have secret sequences to unlock them and compartments with screens that slide. Then there's the fact that all of these amazing artifacts have been shrunk down in the first place
As someone who has been to countless museums and who lives in a city of them I was very very impressed. Everything was accessible to English speakers too, which is always nice.
Well I'm behind on my paper journal so I'm off to see to that. Props to anyone who even tried to get through these posts. I... like detail just as much as the Chinese I guess.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Free from the Communist Grasp
Now that I am in Taiwan I can officially say that I am no longer in a Communist country. Though I pretty much felt that way in Hong Kong now I have really and truly escaped CCP grasp. I don't know how to celebrate this power... Throwing open the windows and yelling "FREE TIBET" seems extreme.
Yet again I'm pressed for time since I can't bear to sit inside on the computer rather than heading out to The National Palace Museum (one of the top 3 museums in the world)Of course none of it is about Taiwan, it's all Chinese artifacts the Nationalists literally stole from the Mainland.... so yeah.
Anyway I'll do some more fun bullet points about HK/ Taipei
* On one of my first days in Hong Kong I went to Man Mo temple on Hollywood Street. It was pouring rain so I was concentrating on not slipping down the hundreds of steps rather than finding my way but the instant I smelled the incense I was certain of my navigation skills. It's a fragrance that I don't think I've come across in the US but it's powerful and very beautiful. The reason it was so intense is that this temple is crammed to the brim with the stuff. There are the normal dozens up dozens sticks infront of the altars but hung from the (rather low) ceiling are layers of incense coils made of long long sticks twisted into cones. The entire temple is so smoky that it's difficult to see and everything has this solemn and mystical glow around it. I also saw someone offering an entire cooked pig which was... new and fun.
* On Saturday I went up Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building. First of all,I think it's a beautiful building which is good cause it towers over everything else in the area. It's supposed to resemble bamboo but you can think of the shape as boxes of Chinese take out containers stacked on top of eachother. To get to the 89th floor you take the world's fastest elevator (took 37 seconds to get to the top) and then you can see a huge gold damper suspended from cables that acts as a shock absorber for the building to keep it from swaying. Pretty amazing if you ask me. I did a free audio tour so I found out the identities of all the surrounding building including places I'd visit that day or in the upcoming week. I had such a good time. My uncle has trained me to be an engineering nerd but even if I wasn't I think I would have freaked out over how enormous and beautiful the place was.
* Yesterday one of the places I went was the 2.28 Peace Park and Museum that finally lifted the ban of silence surrounding the White Terror and allowed people to talk about this massacre. It was a very well done museum and sobering to see the bloody shirts and bullet-ridden shirts they had on display. Even though I was surprised and refreshed by the honesty (in stark contrast to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial "lah lah lah so happy! Want to see his cars? They're black and cool and no one hated Chiang Kai Shek lah lah lah") but the only people there were me and a young Taiwanese couple so maybe the honesty is being wasted.
* I just want to say that ever since Connie mentioned that the uber swanky apartment complex down the street houses Taiwanese celebrities I've had visions of me running into Ella from S.H.E! It's such a sad dream because I doubt it will happen (that complex is a ghost town....) but I can imagine!
Ok, time to go. I need to get the museum in time for the English tour. I'll try for another longer post in the future!
Yet again I'm pressed for time since I can't bear to sit inside on the computer rather than heading out to The National Palace Museum (one of the top 3 museums in the world)Of course none of it is about Taiwan, it's all Chinese artifacts the Nationalists literally stole from the Mainland.... so yeah.
Anyway I'll do some more fun bullet points about HK/ Taipei
* On one of my first days in Hong Kong I went to Man Mo temple on Hollywood Street. It was pouring rain so I was concentrating on not slipping down the hundreds of steps rather than finding my way but the instant I smelled the incense I was certain of my navigation skills. It's a fragrance that I don't think I've come across in the US but it's powerful and very beautiful. The reason it was so intense is that this temple is crammed to the brim with the stuff. There are the normal dozens up dozens sticks infront of the altars but hung from the (rather low) ceiling are layers of incense coils made of long long sticks twisted into cones. The entire temple is so smoky that it's difficult to see and everything has this solemn and mystical glow around it. I also saw someone offering an entire cooked pig which was... new and fun.
* On Saturday I went up Taipei 101, currently the world's tallest building. First of all,I think it's a beautiful building which is good cause it towers over everything else in the area. It's supposed to resemble bamboo but you can think of the shape as boxes of Chinese take out containers stacked on top of eachother. To get to the 89th floor you take the world's fastest elevator (took 37 seconds to get to the top) and then you can see a huge gold damper suspended from cables that acts as a shock absorber for the building to keep it from swaying. Pretty amazing if you ask me. I did a free audio tour so I found out the identities of all the surrounding building including places I'd visit that day or in the upcoming week. I had such a good time. My uncle has trained me to be an engineering nerd but even if I wasn't I think I would have freaked out over how enormous and beautiful the place was.
* Yesterday one of the places I went was the 2.28 Peace Park and Museum that finally lifted the ban of silence surrounding the White Terror and allowed people to talk about this massacre. It was a very well done museum and sobering to see the bloody shirts and bullet-ridden shirts they had on display. Even though I was surprised and refreshed by the honesty (in stark contrast to the Chiang Kai Shek memorial "lah lah lah so happy! Want to see his cars? They're black and cool and no one hated Chiang Kai Shek lah lah lah") but the only people there were me and a young Taiwanese couple so maybe the honesty is being wasted.
* I just want to say that ever since Connie mentioned that the uber swanky apartment complex down the street houses Taiwanese celebrities I've had visions of me running into Ella from S.H.E! It's such a sad dream because I doubt it will happen (that complex is a ghost town....) but I can imagine!
Ok, time to go. I need to get the museum in time for the English tour. I'll try for another longer post in the future!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Life in the Olympic co-host city (who knew?)
So I don't really know how to even begin to describe Hong Kong when I only have 10 minutes to do so. I think radom tidbits of awesome things will have to suffice until I get to Taipei and may update as I'd like.
* I love Hong Kong because you find authentic British pubs with people spilling out onto the stairs for a chat directly across from restaraunts specializing in seafood, displaying dried starfish in the window as a demonstration of deliciousness.
* It's a bit strange wandering around this island and operating with a mental picture of the city from 12 years ago. It's tripy to see everything so much smaller than I remembered and amusing to note that my favorite aspects of places (barnacles and life preservers at the star ferry, green chains at the aviary) are all close to the ground. It also means Imust stand on my own. I can't walk up to anybody and say "I'm looking for a fountain. it's either here or... in another park. it lights up and you may be able to go inside it? I know it's wet. Does that help?" Nu uh. Not an option. I must use my exporation powers and determination to find my way to what I remember as the mushroom tower, and by God I did.
* Most of the time I'm rather glad it's misty and rainy because I don't remember it being any other way. Hong Kong is an island with a big mountain reaching up into the clouds. The geography pretty much promises that it's going to be a wet place. I remembered being tickled pink when I was 7 about the fact that when I jiked the peak I was in the clouds so I was relieved that I had the same experience on Monday. it's solitary and you can feel and taste the air around you. Strange birds calls can be heard from either side of the 80 degree slope you're standing on and warnings about snakes are haphazardly hung on laminated slips of paper once and a while. It's beautiful and surreal and one of my favorite places in theworld.
* At 2:28 PM on Monday I was on Victoria Peak on a very secluded (even for the Peak) part of the Govenor's Walk. I had set my alarm to know when the Earthquake anniversary would be observed so I sat on a bench for 3 minutes of quiet. Cars, boats, and trains were told to honk their horns and as the moment of remembrance began I could hear wailing horns sounding from 360 degrees all around me. The entire island was making this muted howl. I couldn't see much because of the clouds so all I could hear was this gentle reminder of all the people below me who were joining together in this one moment. It was a beautiful way to remember. After 3 full minutes, the horns turned off one by one and life went on as usual.
* I am so so so glad that I go to a small university with a small campus that isn't on a frickin' hill! Ughhhh The Chinese University of Hong Kong may try to ingratiate itself with promises of wonderful research materials but I don't care. I will forever be resentful of the 3.5 hours I spent hiking up steep slopes in the rain only to be met with red tape after red tape. On the other hand I spent 4 hours at HKU yesterday in Chinese Shakespeare heaven so all is well with the world. Just goes to show you that HK Island always trumps Kowloon.
* In other news I have tickets to "Drama Fire Dot Dot Ma" tonight. They were about $10 US so although I'm nervous about sitting through 2 hours of Cantonese (which is so alien and odd sounding that it's almost funny to me), it'll be worth it to see "youth/street" theatre. Which is what it looks like. Whatever happens, it'll be an adventure to be sure.
Off to meet some family friends for lunch at one of my old haunts, the Helena May library!
* I love Hong Kong because you find authentic British pubs with people spilling out onto the stairs for a chat directly across from restaraunts specializing in seafood, displaying dried starfish in the window as a demonstration of deliciousness.
* It's a bit strange wandering around this island and operating with a mental picture of the city from 12 years ago. It's tripy to see everything so much smaller than I remembered and amusing to note that my favorite aspects of places (barnacles and life preservers at the star ferry, green chains at the aviary) are all close to the ground. It also means Imust stand on my own. I can't walk up to anybody and say "I'm looking for a fountain. it's either here or... in another park. it lights up and you may be able to go inside it? I know it's wet. Does that help?" Nu uh. Not an option. I must use my exporation powers and determination to find my way to what I remember as the mushroom tower, and by God I did.
* Most of the time I'm rather glad it's misty and rainy because I don't remember it being any other way. Hong Kong is an island with a big mountain reaching up into the clouds. The geography pretty much promises that it's going to be a wet place. I remembered being tickled pink when I was 7 about the fact that when I jiked the peak I was in the clouds so I was relieved that I had the same experience on Monday. it's solitary and you can feel and taste the air around you. Strange birds calls can be heard from either side of the 80 degree slope you're standing on and warnings about snakes are haphazardly hung on laminated slips of paper once and a while. It's beautiful and surreal and one of my favorite places in theworld.
* At 2:28 PM on Monday I was on Victoria Peak on a very secluded (even for the Peak) part of the Govenor's Walk. I had set my alarm to know when the Earthquake anniversary would be observed so I sat on a bench for 3 minutes of quiet. Cars, boats, and trains were told to honk their horns and as the moment of remembrance began I could hear wailing horns sounding from 360 degrees all around me. The entire island was making this muted howl. I couldn't see much because of the clouds so all I could hear was this gentle reminder of all the people below me who were joining together in this one moment. It was a beautiful way to remember. After 3 full minutes, the horns turned off one by one and life went on as usual.
* I am so so so glad that I go to a small university with a small campus that isn't on a frickin' hill! Ughhhh The Chinese University of Hong Kong may try to ingratiate itself with promises of wonderful research materials but I don't care. I will forever be resentful of the 3.5 hours I spent hiking up steep slopes in the rain only to be met with red tape after red tape. On the other hand I spent 4 hours at HKU yesterday in Chinese Shakespeare heaven so all is well with the world. Just goes to show you that HK Island always trumps Kowloon.
* In other news I have tickets to "Drama Fire Dot Dot Ma" tonight. They were about $10 US so although I'm nervous about sitting through 2 hours of Cantonese (which is so alien and odd sounding that it's almost funny to me), it'll be worth it to see "youth/street" theatre. Which is what it looks like. Whatever happens, it'll be an adventure to be sure.
Off to meet some family friends for lunch at one of my old haunts, the Helena May library!
Monday, May 19, 2008
You just got Scam'd... or not
So Hong Kong is pricer than the Mainland and not only does it charge for the internet (GASP) it's money I would rather spend on delcious food in SOHO so I may be relatively out of touch but we'll see.
OUTLINE
Shanghai Day 2
* I made my way to the Shanghai Theatre Academy to access their collection of videos where I saw a bust of Shakespeare prominently displayed outside (see I told you they liked Shakespeare here!) and accessed a production of 12th Night where everyone was some sort of clown...
* That night I saw the aforementioned production of Romeo and ZhuYingtai which was beyond fabulous! Not only were there pop culture references I understood (Phantom of the Opera, Ain't no Hollerback girl, Dirty Dancing, Kung Fu Hostle, etc) It's turned out be be extremely valuable to my research. professor Huang is even asking me to send him details so I feel I chose well! Also.. I understood quite a bit of it so I feel exceedingly proud
Shanghai Day 3
* I tried to delay my departure for as long as I could because my plans involved me staying out late but there was only so much I could do before I was heading out the door witha bag of fresh cherries from a street vendor.
* When I got to The People's Square I was almost taken for a scam but I'm too smart for that! A sweet college student asked if I wanted to practice English/ Chinese and since I had heaps of time and a huge desire I said yes as long as she walked with me on the way to the museum. She agreed if I made a quick stop on the way so I thought... what could be the harm? Turns out it was the infamous "tea scam" but before they poured anything I absolutely refused to pay money so the sweet girl ducked out and walked me to the museum anyway. hey I don't mind! I'm proud of my street smarts and I got a full half hour of Chinese practice for free! Who got scam'd NOW hmmm?? The same thing happened a few hours later but I steered the conversation away from tea and towards S.H.E without budging from the spot. More Chinese. No paying. Victory for me!
* The Shanghai Museum is beyond beautiful and it's recently been opened to the public for free! I adored the halls of goregous jade sculptures and the display on the evolution of porcelin (though that sounds so boring when I type it out...) but I only glanced at the Chinese character exhibit. Sorry, no way am I spending hours looking at penmenship. Walking through the halls of this brand new building took quite a few hours but I was still reluctant to leave.
* After more jiaozi at a mall across the street I took the subway under the river to Pudong, the land of freaky buildings. It wasn't long before I had made my way to the top of one of the world's tallest buildings (the 4th? i'll see the 1st in a week) I timed my visit perfectly so I was there for daytime, sunset, and night all in an hour. It was breathtaking to see the city from above and watch the clouds turn purple and the lights of 19th century buildings flicker on the water.
Getting to Hong Kong was hell. I understand when the competitors on the AmazingRace have terrible days where nothing goes right... this was one of them
1. Wake up at 5 AM.... GROAN
2. After droping some extra Yuan into a donation box for the Earthquake ( a decision I don't regret at all) the woman at the hostel tells me the trains aren't running so I need to take a cab. Well NOW I don't have money...
3. I run to Bank of China and see the closed signs. DAMN. Fortunately ATM is open. Get money.
4. Catch cab. He takes me to the Wrong terminal. Need to catch bus. By this point I was pretty tired and stressed and high strung.
5/ Check in, wade past seas of Chinese tour groups. Stopped before security and told to check my small duffle. DAMN. Run back through Chinese tourists and breathlessly get back to security.
6. I have to stand behind a group of giggling preteens who have no IDEA what to do and want to go through the checkpoint together. It takes forever. When I get there the man goes through literally every inch of my backpack while I stand theri awkwardly as he looks through my flip flops. Finally finds my door alarm, shakes head, throws it away, pushes waht's left of my bag to me for me to repack.
7. Plane is nice. I read Austen and I was fed! HURRAY!
8. Get off plane, get to Central station by way of super fast train. Looking good. Unfortunately the rude lady behind the bus desk leaves out major details about how I am supposed to get on the bus which results in me dragging my heavy bags back and forth before I can sit down. Am already dying in Hong Kong humidity and heat and bus exhaust.
9. Bus #12 takes forever to arive. Already been 2 hours since my plane arrives. Driver almost drives away rather than wait for me to get luggage under control.
10. Driver decides that I have to pres the hidden button to stop at Robinson Road and my waving my arms at him is not a sufficent signal so he passes my stop and drops me way down at the bottom of a hill. I walk around Hong Kong for 45 minutes with heavy bags sweating and frustrated before I find the midlands escalators, check into Hotel, and lay down on my bed exhausted.
However a shower improved everything and my discovery of Cafe O and their heveanly pesto made the world perfect again. I adore everything about Hong Kong. As a certain Austen character would say " The Air is full of Spices" How true.
Off to dinner! Will find some time somewhere to tell you more about this delightful city and my adventures here. As a preview they involve rollercoaster hills, puffy birds, honking horns, incense coils, secret stairs, and magical fountains. Intrigued? I hope so cause... it's all I have to offer!
OUTLINE
Shanghai Day 2
* I made my way to the Shanghai Theatre Academy to access their collection of videos where I saw a bust of Shakespeare prominently displayed outside (see I told you they liked Shakespeare here!) and accessed a production of 12th Night where everyone was some sort of clown...
* That night I saw the aforementioned production of Romeo and ZhuYingtai which was beyond fabulous! Not only were there pop culture references I understood (Phantom of the Opera, Ain't no Hollerback girl, Dirty Dancing, Kung Fu Hostle, etc) It's turned out be be extremely valuable to my research. professor Huang is even asking me to send him details so I feel I chose well! Also.. I understood quite a bit of it so I feel exceedingly proud
Shanghai Day 3
* I tried to delay my departure for as long as I could because my plans involved me staying out late but there was only so much I could do before I was heading out the door witha bag of fresh cherries from a street vendor.
* When I got to The People's Square I was almost taken for a scam but I'm too smart for that! A sweet college student asked if I wanted to practice English/ Chinese and since I had heaps of time and a huge desire I said yes as long as she walked with me on the way to the museum. She agreed if I made a quick stop on the way so I thought... what could be the harm? Turns out it was the infamous "tea scam" but before they poured anything I absolutely refused to pay money so the sweet girl ducked out and walked me to the museum anyway. hey I don't mind! I'm proud of my street smarts and I got a full half hour of Chinese practice for free! Who got scam'd NOW hmmm?? The same thing happened a few hours later but I steered the conversation away from tea and towards S.H.E without budging from the spot. More Chinese. No paying. Victory for me!
* The Shanghai Museum is beyond beautiful and it's recently been opened to the public for free! I adored the halls of goregous jade sculptures and the display on the evolution of porcelin (though that sounds so boring when I type it out...) but I only glanced at the Chinese character exhibit. Sorry, no way am I spending hours looking at penmenship. Walking through the halls of this brand new building took quite a few hours but I was still reluctant to leave.
* After more jiaozi at a mall across the street I took the subway under the river to Pudong, the land of freaky buildings. It wasn't long before I had made my way to the top of one of the world's tallest buildings (the 4th? i'll see the 1st in a week) I timed my visit perfectly so I was there for daytime, sunset, and night all in an hour. It was breathtaking to see the city from above and watch the clouds turn purple and the lights of 19th century buildings flicker on the water.
Getting to Hong Kong was hell. I understand when the competitors on the AmazingRace have terrible days where nothing goes right... this was one of them
1. Wake up at 5 AM.... GROAN
2. After droping some extra Yuan into a donation box for the Earthquake ( a decision I don't regret at all) the woman at the hostel tells me the trains aren't running so I need to take a cab. Well NOW I don't have money...
3. I run to Bank of China and see the closed signs. DAMN. Fortunately ATM is open. Get money.
4. Catch cab. He takes me to the Wrong terminal. Need to catch bus. By this point I was pretty tired and stressed and high strung.
5/ Check in, wade past seas of Chinese tour groups. Stopped before security and told to check my small duffle. DAMN. Run back through Chinese tourists and breathlessly get back to security.
6. I have to stand behind a group of giggling preteens who have no IDEA what to do and want to go through the checkpoint together. It takes forever. When I get there the man goes through literally every inch of my backpack while I stand theri awkwardly as he looks through my flip flops. Finally finds my door alarm, shakes head, throws it away, pushes waht's left of my bag to me for me to repack.
7. Plane is nice. I read Austen and I was fed! HURRAY!
8. Get off plane, get to Central station by way of super fast train. Looking good. Unfortunately the rude lady behind the bus desk leaves out major details about how I am supposed to get on the bus which results in me dragging my heavy bags back and forth before I can sit down. Am already dying in Hong Kong humidity and heat and bus exhaust.
9. Bus #12 takes forever to arive. Already been 2 hours since my plane arrives. Driver almost drives away rather than wait for me to get luggage under control.
10. Driver decides that I have to pres the hidden button to stop at Robinson Road and my waving my arms at him is not a sufficent signal so he passes my stop and drops me way down at the bottom of a hill. I walk around Hong Kong for 45 minutes with heavy bags sweating and frustrated before I find the midlands escalators, check into Hotel, and lay down on my bed exhausted.
However a shower improved everything and my discovery of Cafe O and their heveanly pesto made the world perfect again. I adore everything about Hong Kong. As a certain Austen character would say " The Air is full of Spices" How true.
Off to dinner! Will find some time somewhere to tell you more about this delightful city and my adventures here. As a preview they involve rollercoaster hills, puffy birds, honking horns, incense coils, secret stairs, and magical fountains. Intrigued? I hope so cause... it's all I have to offer!
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Megan: Explorer, Navigator, Scientist.
Hello! I have returned to my blog after a few days of exhausting travel. and I'll do my best to let you know what is going on in my whirlwind trip. It took me a 10 hour train ride to get caught up on my paper journal so if you think I'm being detailed here you should see that tour de force (I've used up half of it in only 8 or 9 days....)
So anyway! Monday night Kaitlyn arrived safe and sound (though with plenty of stories to tell about her trip from the airport) and after a delcious dinner from Rick and Rachel we headed of to see some Beijing Opera. Apparently booking through my hostel granted me delux service since Rick drove us to the theater in his red sports car, pushed through the crowds and ushered us directly to our seats. How about that for attention!
As we sat catching up, some performers carried around tea kettles with spouts about 3 feet long and poured tea in gravity defying displays (like backwards behind their heads) The theater we were at was geared toward tourists as indicated by the English subtitles and countinuing clicking of cameras but the pro was that they offered a selectyion of scenes to introduce the art form to people who didn't know too much about it. The first one featured an inn owner and a guest who fought in the dead of night because they were suspcious of eachother. The acrobatics were more important than the reason behind them. It was like watching a live action artistic kung fu movie. The second one was the story of a nymph who fell in love with the poet Li Bai and then had to fight off the army of the Gods. It featuredplenty of girl power as the leading lady juggled femon arrows with her feet, but I'm afraid I don't fully appreciate Chinese Opera singing. I either think of the old ladies in the park or mom tormenting the dogs with high pitch wailing.
The evening was spent socializing a bit more before I collapsed in bed.
Kaitlyn and I woke up super ealry (try 5:30 AM) to get a seat on the Great Wall tour. We got on a shuttle bus where they served us shady sandwhiches and water before we were relocated to a charter bus for the 3.5-4 hour drive. You may think that's ridiculous, but we were going to Jingshling and Simatait, sections of the wall that opened recently, haven't been fully restored, and therefore are solitary and free of crazy tourist crowds. kaitlyn and I took the chance to shop at a market to sample some local cuisine. The kekoukele Ling was standard fare and the "Francebread" was suprisingly delcious if devoid of many french bread characteristics but Kaitlyn;s cereal turned out to be oddly flavored crakcers. On the plus side my chocolate treats were dlicious.
I would like it to be noted that we did brave public restrooms. They could have been worse, but they were certainly an adventure within themselves.
Im struggling with how to describe the wall to you because I know that even my phots will not do a sufficent job in showing the beauty and the magnitude of what we experienced. From the moment I saw the towers and the winding shape of the wall across these terribly steep mountain ridges I was stunned and immediatly started taking piles and piles of photographs (maybe 200 total for the day) We saw all kinds of features and differences along our four hour hike (and you will see that hike is a light descirption of what we did) We began on a restored section where the brick was dark and the wall was wide and impressive. There were so few people there that I got pictures of myself standing alone. Other regions were so old that the rocks were crumbling and entire trees and bushes had overtaken what was built. While we started out flat, there were a few towers where the going was so steep that we had to crawl. Baisically, the US would never allow these safety standards ut that's why we're in China! My British, German, New Zealand, and other fellow climbers joked about this fact for the entirity of the trek.
From the minute Kaitlyn and I picked the tough \ hike up over the lame cable cars we agreed that we were not wimpy but rather strong adventurers. Our courage was tried by slipping rocks, dizzying heights, anda swinging rope bridge. Then, at the end there was the zip line. It was the kind of thing they make reality contestants do because it's entertaining when they cry and refuse and then do it and say they changed because of the fear. bBaiscially the people who had just let us slip over crumbling buildinghs hung a zipling from a top tower down to the ground over a river and wanted us to go down it. There were other options... but no! Danger must be tested. I tried to laugh off my nerves by asking the gizzled lady suiting me up if my gear made me look beautiful and telling the unnecessarily uniformed operator that I was nervous. It didn't work. The operator pushed on my shoulders to get me to sit down and then pushed me over the edge. My body reacted properly when it saw my feet dangling in mid air and my heart started racing! But quickly I realized wahat a joyous feeling it was to soar over the turquoise water and feel so free.
That night I was exhausted and I countered my manly deeds of the day by sawing the many holes in my purse shut and watching Tae Kwon Do matches on CCTV.
The train ride in the morning the next day went pretty well. it was not the exact 9 hours and 59 minutes that was promised nor was it harmonious as the name "Train of Harmony" siggests but it was close enough so I'll let it slide. My favorite moment of the trip came about 5 hours in when the whiny, bratty girl next to me saw me taking a picture and said "take. a . picture" in broken English. I smoothly replied "Oh, do you speak English" in Chinese and her jaw dropped After she knew I could understand her complaints and her efforts to read my book, she withdrew and the ride was much easier
I'll quickly summarize today.
* I navigated my way through this very confuising but beautiful city. Shanghai was a booming center a number of decades ago so it's a combination of turn of the century New York (I swear, I should be singing Seize the Day and doing Bell Kicks up and down the streets) and something out of the Jetsons.
* The Bund, or the promenade by the water has a goregous view but I preferred learning the histories of the dated buildings accross the street that started as mansions and were usually transformed into Communist headquarters.
* Shanghai has a book district! Totally nerded out about that experience for a number of minutes.
* I took a taxi to Yuyuan gardens which was lwess of a garden experience and more of a shopping center. It was goregous though and thanks to my tour book I found heavenly sticky buns that cured the loss of appetite I had been going through for the last few hours., I could have stayed there for hours
*Instead, I bought tickets for Romeo and ZhuYinTai tomorrow night! Wooo cultural experiences. From there I tried to find Mao's former residence that was mentioned on a map but I think it was actually a little too obscure to find oddly enough, THEN I managed to find my way back on Shanghais's very nice metro system (I guess I now have a killer senese of direction)
One last thing before I go.
An open letter to the Chinese People:
I like you. I think you're generally very kind, helpful and friendly people. I'll forgive you fo r being loud, cause hey I''m loud too!
However, one thing has to change. Please stop staring at me. I get it, I'm Western but thhere are many other Western people in the city and there will be even more in a few months! No matter how long you stare or how often you retrace your steps my eyes will not get any bigger, my skin will not get any paler, my curves will not get any curvier (unless I eat more sticky buns mmmm) and my hair will not get any more... similar to youer s in color. Mmmkay?
That's all for now! I love and miss you all!
So anyway! Monday night Kaitlyn arrived safe and sound (though with plenty of stories to tell about her trip from the airport) and after a delcious dinner from Rick and Rachel we headed of to see some Beijing Opera. Apparently booking through my hostel granted me delux service since Rick drove us to the theater in his red sports car, pushed through the crowds and ushered us directly to our seats. How about that for attention!
As we sat catching up, some performers carried around tea kettles with spouts about 3 feet long and poured tea in gravity defying displays (like backwards behind their heads) The theater we were at was geared toward tourists as indicated by the English subtitles and countinuing clicking of cameras but the pro was that they offered a selectyion of scenes to introduce the art form to people who didn't know too much about it. The first one featured an inn owner and a guest who fought in the dead of night because they were suspcious of eachother. The acrobatics were more important than the reason behind them. It was like watching a live action artistic kung fu movie. The second one was the story of a nymph who fell in love with the poet Li Bai and then had to fight off the army of the Gods. It featuredplenty of girl power as the leading lady juggled femon arrows with her feet, but I'm afraid I don't fully appreciate Chinese Opera singing. I either think of the old ladies in the park or mom tormenting the dogs with high pitch wailing.
The evening was spent socializing a bit more before I collapsed in bed.
Kaitlyn and I woke up super ealry (try 5:30 AM) to get a seat on the Great Wall tour. We got on a shuttle bus where they served us shady sandwhiches and water before we were relocated to a charter bus for the 3.5-4 hour drive. You may think that's ridiculous, but we were going to Jingshling and Simatait, sections of the wall that opened recently, haven't been fully restored, and therefore are solitary and free of crazy tourist crowds. kaitlyn and I took the chance to shop at a market to sample some local cuisine. The kekoukele Ling was standard fare and the "Francebread" was suprisingly delcious if devoid of many french bread characteristics but Kaitlyn;s cereal turned out to be oddly flavored crakcers. On the plus side my chocolate treats were dlicious.
I would like it to be noted that we did brave public restrooms. They could have been worse, but they were certainly an adventure within themselves.
Im struggling with how to describe the wall to you because I know that even my phots will not do a sufficent job in showing the beauty and the magnitude of what we experienced. From the moment I saw the towers and the winding shape of the wall across these terribly steep mountain ridges I was stunned and immediatly started taking piles and piles of photographs (maybe 200 total for the day) We saw all kinds of features and differences along our four hour hike (and you will see that hike is a light descirption of what we did) We began on a restored section where the brick was dark and the wall was wide and impressive. There were so few people there that I got pictures of myself standing alone. Other regions were so old that the rocks were crumbling and entire trees and bushes had overtaken what was built. While we started out flat, there were a few towers where the going was so steep that we had to crawl. Baisically, the US would never allow these safety standards ut that's why we're in China! My British, German, New Zealand, and other fellow climbers joked about this fact for the entirity of the trek.
From the minute Kaitlyn and I picked the tough \ hike up over the lame cable cars we agreed that we were not wimpy but rather strong adventurers. Our courage was tried by slipping rocks, dizzying heights, anda swinging rope bridge. Then, at the end there was the zip line. It was the kind of thing they make reality contestants do because it's entertaining when they cry and refuse and then do it and say they changed because of the fear. bBaiscially the people who had just let us slip over crumbling buildinghs hung a zipling from a top tower down to the ground over a river and wanted us to go down it. There were other options... but no! Danger must be tested. I tried to laugh off my nerves by asking the gizzled lady suiting me up if my gear made me look beautiful and telling the unnecessarily uniformed operator that I was nervous. It didn't work. The operator pushed on my shoulders to get me to sit down and then pushed me over the edge. My body reacted properly when it saw my feet dangling in mid air and my heart started racing! But quickly I realized wahat a joyous feeling it was to soar over the turquoise water and feel so free.
That night I was exhausted and I countered my manly deeds of the day by sawing the many holes in my purse shut and watching Tae Kwon Do matches on CCTV.
The train ride in the morning the next day went pretty well. it was not the exact 9 hours and 59 minutes that was promised nor was it harmonious as the name "Train of Harmony" siggests but it was close enough so I'll let it slide. My favorite moment of the trip came about 5 hours in when the whiny, bratty girl next to me saw me taking a picture and said "take. a . picture" in broken English. I smoothly replied "Oh, do you speak English" in Chinese and her jaw dropped After she knew I could understand her complaints and her efforts to read my book, she withdrew and the ride was much easier
I'll quickly summarize today.
* I navigated my way through this very confuising but beautiful city. Shanghai was a booming center a number of decades ago so it's a combination of turn of the century New York (I swear, I should be singing Seize the Day and doing Bell Kicks up and down the streets) and something out of the Jetsons.
* The Bund, or the promenade by the water has a goregous view but I preferred learning the histories of the dated buildings accross the street that started as mansions and were usually transformed into Communist headquarters.
* Shanghai has a book district! Totally nerded out about that experience for a number of minutes.
* I took a taxi to Yuyuan gardens which was lwess of a garden experience and more of a shopping center. It was goregous though and thanks to my tour book I found heavenly sticky buns that cured the loss of appetite I had been going through for the last few hours., I could have stayed there for hours
*Instead, I bought tickets for Romeo and ZhuYinTai tomorrow night! Wooo cultural experiences. From there I tried to find Mao's former residence that was mentioned on a map but I think it was actually a little too obscure to find oddly enough, THEN I managed to find my way back on Shanghais's very nice metro system (I guess I now have a killer senese of direction)
One last thing before I go.
An open letter to the Chinese People:
I like you. I think you're generally very kind, helpful and friendly people. I'll forgive you fo r being loud, cause hey I''m loud too!
However, one thing has to change. Please stop staring at me. I get it, I'm Western but thhere are many other Western people in the city and there will be even more in a few months! No matter how long you stare or how often you retrace your steps my eyes will not get any bigger, my skin will not get any paler, my curves will not get any curvier (unless I eat more sticky buns mmmm) and my hair will not get any more... similar to youer s in color. Mmmkay?
That's all for now! I love and miss you all!
Monday, May 12, 2008
In Communist China the Libraries Check out YOU!
I am so sorry I have neglected the blog but it's a good thing that I've been so busy and happy that I've been unable to! So I'm going to give highlights of my days going backwards because I'm not going to remember any other way.
Today: Library Day
Sooo I took the bus into the outskirts of town today. Cost me about 10 cents which was pretty freakin' fantastic. I was a little worried because I am terrible at navigation and I'm all alone in this huge city with billions of people and getting lost looked easy. BUT not only did I sucessfully navigate the buses with ease and may I say grace I helped an old Pakistani couple who were totally lost. They relied on me! And they were very impressed by the fragments of Chinese I shouted at passersby.
I'm going to outline my trip to the library as if it were a challenge on Amazing Race cause that's what it felt like
ROADBLOCK: Only one person may complete this task. You need to check out a DVD of 12th Night from the Chinese Natioal Library. You have the ISBN written down but you must check the rest of your belongings with a sullen looking man out front.
What the racers don't know is that absolutley no one will speak English. At all. Ever. Also although they know they must get a Reader's Card just to look at materials no one will tell them the correct place to register for half an hour. Then they must run around all the Audio Visual rooms in the intimidating, large, dimly lit building until they find the correct one. The woman at that desk will tell them that unless two people are at the desk they cannot get DVDs and there won't be another staffer there until 1
Baisically it was tons of craziness but I am so proud of myself. I knew enough Chinese to get the government to give me a reader's card! I then navigated a confusing building and kept calm under pressure. When the woman told me to wait I got my bag back and walked to the nearby Black Bamboo park where I read Mansfield Park for a while. On the way I saw Ballroom dancers (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and when I sat down I was hit on by a very nice Chinese college student for half an hour. He was patient enough to let me speak Chinese (for which I am very grateful) but I will probably never see him again so the half an hour conversation was just for fun.
So after half an hour in the kind of chilly park I went back and they had the DVD for me waiting. When I finished the three women gathered around to ask me questions about where I learned Chinese and where I lived etc. They were suprised and excited and animiated which made me feel not so bad for sturggling to communicate earlier. They even took out my DVD registration card to show that I could write characters. It's actually a really common kind of interaction here. People are so pleased when you make the effort to speak to them, even overjoyed at times.
I took the empty bus back home to my hostel where I took a wonderful shower and am now waiting for Kaitlyn!
Yesterday!
This was my last day in the hotel with my father so I was a little sad and the weather matched, gloomy and rainy. We took a cab to Tian tan, the Temple of Heaven, and walked around the circular altars and 500 year old trees annoyed by the rain but grateful for the lack of crowds. The rain actually made everything seem cooler and more solemn. I loved it.
I brought a little disposable camera to China and my father was taking pictures of me wherever we went together so he could take it home to my mother for a mother's day gift. Tian tan was the most important site because one of my mom's favorite pictures is a photo of the two of us at Tian Tan when I was 2 weeks old. We recreated the picture almost 20 years later and it was really amazing to think about the significance of Beijing to my family at that moment.
Dad and I went back to the Jianguo because we were soaked and as we dried my pants with a hair dryer we finished packing and I watched Little Women. HBO Asia finally has some good movies. We took a cab to my hostel which is located behind the Forbidden City in a hutong (or traditional Chinese house) They're disappearing fast so to walk down the streets of an authentic neighborhood and to live in one is a wonderful priviledge!
We ate at an authentic little jiaozi place (total cost was maybe 2 American dollars) and walked down the art district before Dad ran out of time and had to put me in a taxi home. I'll be honest, I felt the same little twinges of nervousness and sadness as I did when he dropped me off for college. True, I've toured on my own but travelling like this carries the threat of being so lonely and to go place to place without a base or anyone to help you is frightening especially in a huge foregin city.
So I came back to my room and tried to cheer myself up with chocolate, Jane Austen, and a nap but it got worse when I went all the way downtown only to find out that the Chinese Opera theatre I was planning to go to was randomly closed for two days. Fail. My cabbie was..interesting. Very nice , but when he found out I spoke English he handed me a pad of scrawled characters and asked me to write down the English translations of "fasten your seatbelt"and "Let me take you to the Great Wall"
I got back to the hostel and was in a sullen mood but I convinced myself to leave my room, book a Beijing Opera outing with the guy at the front desk, and read with people around me. I was drawn into a conversation within 10 minutes and spent four hours chatting in a traditional Chinese courtyard...surreal. . I crawled into bed around midnight after a quick chat with my mom and felt none of the lonliness I had that morning. Also there is a puppy here that has decided to curl up by my feet. awwwwww
Saturday!
My dad stuck around for two more days so he could take me around Beijing. That meant two worry-free days for me!
We got in a cab (which always cost less than a DC Metro ticket beeteedubs) and passed a bunch of the strangest buildings I've ever seen in my life to reach the Olympic Stadium or the Bird's Nest. I have to say I really like it. At least it's striking and interesting. Although Beijing architecture has no overall theme over than ""OMG LOOK WHAT I CAN BUILD"" this one was very nice. The pool is weird though. A Rectangle of blue color-changing bubbles. I can't decide if it's pretty or very very strange.
Next we went to Beida, my parent's'alma mater and Muppy's school! It was a goregous day yet again; blue skies and a gentle breeze. I lucked out like crazy. We saw both of the dorms my parents lived in during their two semesters in Beijing as well as the tiny store that has expanded into an underground mall-ish thing. We walked around the huge pagoda that has made Beida famous and stolled along the lake. It was wonderful to hear my Dad talk about what had changed and what he remembered because he doesn't usually talk about things like that.
After a horrific traffic jam we made it to the Summer Palace which is yet another Imperial Garden. This spot is just beyond beautiful. There's no hope my pictures will do it justice. My favoirte spots
* The "garden-within-a garden"(is there a need?) where an older woman sang chinese opera
*Suzhou street which is an imitation of "the Venice of China" where all stores are on the water. We walked around the vibrant buildings and had a beyond delicious meal in a marble island in the middle of it all.
*The top of the "Hill of Tranquility" (Classic Name) where we could see the entire city and the women who hiked there in stilleto ribbon heels.
* The marble boat. Built with funds allocated from the navy. YAY corruption! It is goregous though and shady. I see why it was built it's just ridiculous.
* The Causeway. A stretch of islands you cross by way of intricate marble bridges, each one different and quite honsetly... treacherous. But we got away from the crowds and it was a wonderful walk.
When we got back to the hotel we ate at the "Jianguo club"" complementary bar and walked around Houhai which is a little district of restaraunts arpund a lake. We liked seeing the fishermen fishing infront of "no fishing"signs and the "Wild ducks'" who lived in a little man-made islands with duck houses.
Have to go! Having too much fun to write (though this was epic) I miss you guys!
Today: Library Day
Sooo I took the bus into the outskirts of town today. Cost me about 10 cents which was pretty freakin' fantastic. I was a little worried because I am terrible at navigation and I'm all alone in this huge city with billions of people and getting lost looked easy. BUT not only did I sucessfully navigate the buses with ease and may I say grace I helped an old Pakistani couple who were totally lost. They relied on me! And they were very impressed by the fragments of Chinese I shouted at passersby.
I'm going to outline my trip to the library as if it were a challenge on Amazing Race cause that's what it felt like
ROADBLOCK: Only one person may complete this task. You need to check out a DVD of 12th Night from the Chinese Natioal Library. You have the ISBN written down but you must check the rest of your belongings with a sullen looking man out front.
What the racers don't know is that absolutley no one will speak English. At all. Ever. Also although they know they must get a Reader's Card just to look at materials no one will tell them the correct place to register for half an hour. Then they must run around all the Audio Visual rooms in the intimidating, large, dimly lit building until they find the correct one. The woman at that desk will tell them that unless two people are at the desk they cannot get DVDs and there won't be another staffer there until 1
Baisically it was tons of craziness but I am so proud of myself. I knew enough Chinese to get the government to give me a reader's card! I then navigated a confusing building and kept calm under pressure. When the woman told me to wait I got my bag back and walked to the nearby Black Bamboo park where I read Mansfield Park for a while. On the way I saw Ballroom dancers (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and when I sat down I was hit on by a very nice Chinese college student for half an hour. He was patient enough to let me speak Chinese (for which I am very grateful) but I will probably never see him again so the half an hour conversation was just for fun.
So after half an hour in the kind of chilly park I went back and they had the DVD for me waiting. When I finished the three women gathered around to ask me questions about where I learned Chinese and where I lived etc. They were suprised and excited and animiated which made me feel not so bad for sturggling to communicate earlier. They even took out my DVD registration card to show that I could write characters. It's actually a really common kind of interaction here. People are so pleased when you make the effort to speak to them, even overjoyed at times.
I took the empty bus back home to my hostel where I took a wonderful shower and am now waiting for Kaitlyn!
Yesterday!
This was my last day in the hotel with my father so I was a little sad and the weather matched, gloomy and rainy. We took a cab to Tian tan, the Temple of Heaven, and walked around the circular altars and 500 year old trees annoyed by the rain but grateful for the lack of crowds. The rain actually made everything seem cooler and more solemn. I loved it.
I brought a little disposable camera to China and my father was taking pictures of me wherever we went together so he could take it home to my mother for a mother's day gift. Tian tan was the most important site because one of my mom's favorite pictures is a photo of the two of us at Tian Tan when I was 2 weeks old. We recreated the picture almost 20 years later and it was really amazing to think about the significance of Beijing to my family at that moment.
Dad and I went back to the Jianguo because we were soaked and as we dried my pants with a hair dryer we finished packing and I watched Little Women. HBO Asia finally has some good movies. We took a cab to my hostel which is located behind the Forbidden City in a hutong (or traditional Chinese house) They're disappearing fast so to walk down the streets of an authentic neighborhood and to live in one is a wonderful priviledge!
We ate at an authentic little jiaozi place (total cost was maybe 2 American dollars) and walked down the art district before Dad ran out of time and had to put me in a taxi home. I'll be honest, I felt the same little twinges of nervousness and sadness as I did when he dropped me off for college. True, I've toured on my own but travelling like this carries the threat of being so lonely and to go place to place without a base or anyone to help you is frightening especially in a huge foregin city.
So I came back to my room and tried to cheer myself up with chocolate, Jane Austen, and a nap but it got worse when I went all the way downtown only to find out that the Chinese Opera theatre I was planning to go to was randomly closed for two days. Fail. My cabbie was..interesting. Very nice , but when he found out I spoke English he handed me a pad of scrawled characters and asked me to write down the English translations of "fasten your seatbelt"and "Let me take you to the Great Wall"
I got back to the hostel and was in a sullen mood but I convinced myself to leave my room, book a Beijing Opera outing with the guy at the front desk, and read with people around me. I was drawn into a conversation within 10 minutes and spent four hours chatting in a traditional Chinese courtyard...surreal. . I crawled into bed around midnight after a quick chat with my mom and felt none of the lonliness I had that morning. Also there is a puppy here that has decided to curl up by my feet. awwwwww
Saturday!
My dad stuck around for two more days so he could take me around Beijing. That meant two worry-free days for me!
We got in a cab (which always cost less than a DC Metro ticket beeteedubs) and passed a bunch of the strangest buildings I've ever seen in my life to reach the Olympic Stadium or the Bird's Nest. I have to say I really like it. At least it's striking and interesting. Although Beijing architecture has no overall theme over than ""OMG LOOK WHAT I CAN BUILD"" this one was very nice. The pool is weird though. A Rectangle of blue color-changing bubbles. I can't decide if it's pretty or very very strange.
Next we went to Beida, my parent's'alma mater and Muppy's school! It was a goregous day yet again; blue skies and a gentle breeze. I lucked out like crazy. We saw both of the dorms my parents lived in during their two semesters in Beijing as well as the tiny store that has expanded into an underground mall-ish thing. We walked around the huge pagoda that has made Beida famous and stolled along the lake. It was wonderful to hear my Dad talk about what had changed and what he remembered because he doesn't usually talk about things like that.
After a horrific traffic jam we made it to the Summer Palace which is yet another Imperial Garden. This spot is just beyond beautiful. There's no hope my pictures will do it justice. My favoirte spots
* The "garden-within-a garden"(is there a need?) where an older woman sang chinese opera
*Suzhou street which is an imitation of "the Venice of China" where all stores are on the water. We walked around the vibrant buildings and had a beyond delicious meal in a marble island in the middle of it all.
*The top of the "Hill of Tranquility" (Classic Name) where we could see the entire city and the women who hiked there in stilleto ribbon heels.
* The marble boat. Built with funds allocated from the navy. YAY corruption! It is goregous though and shady. I see why it was built it's just ridiculous.
* The Causeway. A stretch of islands you cross by way of intricate marble bridges, each one different and quite honsetly... treacherous. But we got away from the crowds and it was a wonderful walk.
When we got back to the hotel we ate at the "Jianguo club"" complementary bar and walked around Houhai which is a little district of restaraunts arpund a lake. We liked seeing the fishermen fishing infront of "no fishing"signs and the "Wild ducks'" who lived in a little man-made islands with duck houses.
Have to go! Having too much fun to write (though this was epic) I miss you guys!
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A Forbidden Adventure
Oh man! If I had about two hours to spare and no danger of getting carpal tunnel, I would sit here and tell you about everything I did yesterday and gush to my heart's content... but alas I cannot.
Yesterday was my first full day in Beijing and my first day to adventure entirely independently and I certainly took advantage of that fact. i was exceedingly lucky in that yesterday the Gods smiled on me and decided to allow me one day of blue sky and sunshine on the day that it would be most advantageous. The city looked beautiful with light everywhere and the air feeling clean. Of course the one day I should have worn sunblock... I didn't and I got a little sunburned. Oh dear Anyway, I'll list the highlights.
* Took the packed subway to Tiananmen Xi, and I am not exaggerating when I say packed. There was no need to grab onto anything I was squeezed in so tight, but it was still cleaner than NYC and less sketchy overall.
*When I was standing infront of Tiananmen I had some of my first culture shock moments. A young woman grabbed me and asked to take a picture in broken English. Well the same thing had happened about 5 minutes before when a couple wearing matching shirts and hats had gotten me to take a picture of them with Mao and they returned the favor. I agreed but instead of handing me her camera, she linked arms with me and pulled me into the shot. Alex said it would happen but it was strange when it did. I tried to make it a reciprical relationship and asked for her name and a picture, but she was not enthusiastic. I was just another site to take a picture with "Photo with a Westerner"
* Well I went through the gate of Heavenly Peace (which was enormous) and almost passed on the chance to reach the top, but I decided it was worth the $3 American and submitted myself to checking my bag and getting frisked. It was one of my favorite moments of the day. The sky was blue and there was a wonderful breeze and I could see all of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City stretched out infront of me. It was a peaceful moment until I stepped inside and was slammed with video and audio of Mao making speeches, but I think that the prpoganda was important to keep in mind.
* Okay, I've been to palaces in Europe and tons of historic sites ( I practically live in Colonial Williamsburg) but this was by far one of the most impressive and beautiful sites I've ever visited. In my opinion the architecture was goregous: bright red walls, white stairs and bridges, rooves that are layered with golden-colored tiles and that are individually painted with colorful dragons underneath. The corners of all of the rooves and gates in the entire palace have little beasts perched on top to keep the tiles from falling and to designate the rank of the buildings. (Everything is about rank, the buildings you enter, the bridges you cross, and even the parts of pavillions you can walk across are all limited by rank) The city is symetrical but every courtyard is an individual experience.
Some of my top spots (Probably not named correctly because they're all called the Hall of Heavenly Supreme grand happiness and Longevity or something to that effect)
* The concubine quarters (right next to the bridal chamber of the Emperor and Empress) with the exhibit on their lives and the famous dramatic stories
* The imperial Garden with a mountain constructed on strange rocks from all over China and a georgeous pavillion on top. There were Koi ponds and "poetic halls" for the emperors to write in.
* The three floor Chinese Opera stage painted bright turquoise.
* The jade statues about ten feet high that took three years to transport from the palace. The same room also had a constellation globe that was breathtaking (yay Astronomy!) The Nine dragon screen was my other favorite treasure
*The "Crystal palace" that was being constructed when Puyi was finally evicted from the Palace. The walls were supposed to be aquariams but now it stands as a white marble skeleton in the middle of a large courtyard. Eerie but lovely.
* The snack store that sold Fahrenheit crackers that said "Wo you wo de young: and where I located the sole Diet Coke in the place.
* The "Palace of Abstinence" that an emperor constructed because he was too lazy to go to Tian Tan and that was right next to concubine quarters. Hmmmmm
* The deserted alleys that had sprouted wildflowers and grass that were also growing on a few of the rooves
* The frescos painted in one of Cixi's many rooms but that still are incredibly intricate and beautiful
* The main Palaces and gates are too impressive and huge to descirbe in detail but they were beyond goregous.
*When I finally left I summoned the strength to climb all the way up to Jinshan park to overlook the hutong districts, the Forbidden City, and most of Beijing. It was stunning. I took a cab home and was furiously writing until Dad came home and said his coworker Greg was waiting in a van downstairs to take us to dinner.
* It's hard to describe the bond between ex-pat families who have gone on tours together, but this family has known me since I was a baby and they were more than happy to watch American Idol with us and serve us dinner even thoguh it's been years. We gossiped about old friends and I offered their daughter Jennifer a chance to visit W&M over some delicious Chinese food before we finally had to head out.
What a beyond perfect day, I wish I could say more about it but I should get started on my day today. Today I'll be researching but I'm psyched about that too. Wish me luck!
Yesterday was my first full day in Beijing and my first day to adventure entirely independently and I certainly took advantage of that fact. i was exceedingly lucky in that yesterday the Gods smiled on me and decided to allow me one day of blue sky and sunshine on the day that it would be most advantageous. The city looked beautiful with light everywhere and the air feeling clean. Of course the one day I should have worn sunblock... I didn't and I got a little sunburned. Oh dear Anyway, I'll list the highlights.
* Took the packed subway to Tiananmen Xi, and I am not exaggerating when I say packed. There was no need to grab onto anything I was squeezed in so tight, but it was still cleaner than NYC and less sketchy overall.
*When I was standing infront of Tiananmen I had some of my first culture shock moments. A young woman grabbed me and asked to take a picture in broken English. Well the same thing had happened about 5 minutes before when a couple wearing matching shirts and hats had gotten me to take a picture of them with Mao and they returned the favor. I agreed but instead of handing me her camera, she linked arms with me and pulled me into the shot. Alex said it would happen but it was strange when it did. I tried to make it a reciprical relationship and asked for her name and a picture, but she was not enthusiastic. I was just another site to take a picture with "Photo with a Westerner"
* Well I went through the gate of Heavenly Peace (which was enormous) and almost passed on the chance to reach the top, but I decided it was worth the $3 American and submitted myself to checking my bag and getting frisked. It was one of my favorite moments of the day. The sky was blue and there was a wonderful breeze and I could see all of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City stretched out infront of me. It was a peaceful moment until I stepped inside and was slammed with video and audio of Mao making speeches, but I think that the prpoganda was important to keep in mind.
* Okay, I've been to palaces in Europe and tons of historic sites ( I practically live in Colonial Williamsburg) but this was by far one of the most impressive and beautiful sites I've ever visited. In my opinion the architecture was goregous: bright red walls, white stairs and bridges, rooves that are layered with golden-colored tiles and that are individually painted with colorful dragons underneath. The corners of all of the rooves and gates in the entire palace have little beasts perched on top to keep the tiles from falling and to designate the rank of the buildings. (Everything is about rank, the buildings you enter, the bridges you cross, and even the parts of pavillions you can walk across are all limited by rank) The city is symetrical but every courtyard is an individual experience.
Some of my top spots (Probably not named correctly because they're all called the Hall of Heavenly Supreme grand happiness and Longevity or something to that effect)
* The concubine quarters (right next to the bridal chamber of the Emperor and Empress) with the exhibit on their lives and the famous dramatic stories
* The imperial Garden with a mountain constructed on strange rocks from all over China and a georgeous pavillion on top. There were Koi ponds and "poetic halls" for the emperors to write in.
* The three floor Chinese Opera stage painted bright turquoise.
* The jade statues about ten feet high that took three years to transport from the palace. The same room also had a constellation globe that was breathtaking (yay Astronomy!) The Nine dragon screen was my other favorite treasure
*The "Crystal palace" that was being constructed when Puyi was finally evicted from the Palace. The walls were supposed to be aquariams but now it stands as a white marble skeleton in the middle of a large courtyard. Eerie but lovely.
* The snack store that sold Fahrenheit crackers that said "Wo you wo de young: and where I located the sole Diet Coke in the place.
* The "Palace of Abstinence" that an emperor constructed because he was too lazy to go to Tian Tan and that was right next to concubine quarters. Hmmmmm
* The deserted alleys that had sprouted wildflowers and grass that were also growing on a few of the rooves
* The frescos painted in one of Cixi's many rooms but that still are incredibly intricate and beautiful
* The main Palaces and gates are too impressive and huge to descirbe in detail but they were beyond goregous.
*When I finally left I summoned the strength to climb all the way up to Jinshan park to overlook the hutong districts, the Forbidden City, and most of Beijing. It was stunning. I took a cab home and was furiously writing until Dad came home and said his coworker Greg was waiting in a van downstairs to take us to dinner.
* It's hard to describe the bond between ex-pat families who have gone on tours together, but this family has known me since I was a baby and they were more than happy to watch American Idol with us and serve us dinner even thoguh it's been years. We gossiped about old friends and I offered their daughter Jennifer a chance to visit W&M over some delicious Chinese food before we finally had to head out.
What a beyond perfect day, I wish I could say more about it but I should get started on my day today. Today I'll be researching but I'm psyched about that too. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
China at last!
Hello everyone! I am safe and sound in Beijing, which is more exciting thatn I could possibly describe.
Right now I am in the Jianguo Hotel waiting for my dad to come back from the gym so we can eat breakfast (since it's 7 AM here) The experience I'm having at this hotel is certainly different from the era my parents described when they scrimped and saved to eat Western burgers in 1982. When it opened, the Jianguo towered over the block at it's 5 stories but now it's dwarfed by the massive skyscrapers on the road. it's difficult to imagine the drastic changed this city has gone through.
Anyway, my flight was as easy as I could have hoped for. Highlights include
*Getting a window seat and being able to see the ice floats in the Hudson bay, mountains of snow over the North Pole, barren desserts and mountains in Mongolia, and the smoggy patchwork of fields outside of Beijing
* A few minutes after we passed the North Pole and were officially in the Eastern Hemisphere we were served Ramen for a snack and the announcements were emphasized with Chinese. Now, Ramen is not ideal airplane food because of the whole "stewardesses have to pour boiling water into the cup" deal, but I was amused by the concept.
* I saw 27 dresses! I really... don't need to say much more about that except to note that it happened.
* the middle aged lady next to me was so nice. I thought I had lost my camera for 5 minutes before she told me I had put it in my backpack and not my purse...whoops! We then had an hour long conversation about where I was travelling in China and her daughter my age who had taken a similar trip. She frightened me a bit with her strong warnings against travelling alone as a female but she said she was even scared to travel is San Fransico so I'm taking her advice but not going to be too scared to go anywhere.
The new Beijing airport is beautiful, bright, and clean. I found my dad from his flight from Hong Kong with no problems and we left for the hotel. On the way he was telling me about all the buildings and their history which was pretty exciting. The Jiangup itself needs thorough description especially the hostesses in the lobby but I'll save it for another time. You'll enjoy it, I promise.
After dropping off bas, my dad and I went for a walk around the city. We strolled around the diplomatic district (a place my dad knew well) on our way to Ritan park. We saw the compound we lived at when I was youg and my father pointed out the efforts that had been made to disguise the bullet holes from Tiananmen... interesting indeed. The only photogrpahs I've seen of these buildings have included tanks so they have interesting associations.
Anyway, Ritan park was a lovely relatively quiet spot in the city. We went to the Sun Alter, which was a huge circluar wall with a large series of steps in the middle. It was being used primarily for flying really intricate kites. The pagodas were stunning and although some parts looked a little run down I really enjoyed the quiet and the trees. it was a contrast from the Jade Alley market street we passed to get there which literally felt like running a gauntlet of aggressive sales people in red vests.
Next, we took a cab to Tiananmen. It was bigger and flatter than I expected. It's kind of huge and corwded with people and PLA soldiers. We took a customary picture with Mao's face looming in the background and made some snide comments about the communist party as we surveyed the great Hall of the People and the People's Monument and other buildings with similar names. it was really fun. Today, I'm going to the Forbidden City for the entire day! It's going to be fantastic.
As a final stop, we walked to Wangfujing, a pedestrian shopping mall and Dad patiently let me visit two book stores to begin my research. The first one we went into was a large, multistory, building that would have been like a B&N except for the ninja-like hostesses and the explosion of Beijing Olympic stuff. No billingual Shakespeare but I found Jane Austen, Lady Audeley's Secret (sound familiar Thea 328 people?) and a Giancoli Physics textbook! My Dad bought some learning materials from fawning salespeople who wanted him to speak more Chinese and I chose a small Chinese - English dictionary before we headed down the street. The second store was a Foregin Book Store with a fascinating "Learn English" section: "Crazy Englsih! Princess Diana" Anwyway, they had tons of Shakespeare in all different formats. I found the brand Professor Huang recommended as a S.H.E song started playing over the speakers.. talk about omens.
Once we got back to the Jianguo we tried to get dinner recommendations but the location we were told led us down back alleys of neighborhood cafeterias and late night vegetable markets. it was nice to see the neighborhood alive and authentic but I was hungry and exhausted. We tried the Jianguo Imperial restaraunt but apparently Imperial means "strange food that no one has ever heard of before and doesn't even seem Asian" so we went to the normal lobby hotel.
I experienced my first bit of censorship when CNN blacked out after the phrase "Free Tibet" was uttered but other than that the rest of the night was uneventful. Got a full 8 hours of sleep (take THAT jet lag) and now I'm off to eat and explore the city by myself.
Congratulations if you read that entire sprawling entry. Obviously, I'm having a wonderful time and I miss all of you!
Right now I am in the Jianguo Hotel waiting for my dad to come back from the gym so we can eat breakfast (since it's 7 AM here) The experience I'm having at this hotel is certainly different from the era my parents described when they scrimped and saved to eat Western burgers in 1982. When it opened, the Jianguo towered over the block at it's 5 stories but now it's dwarfed by the massive skyscrapers on the road. it's difficult to imagine the drastic changed this city has gone through.
Anyway, my flight was as easy as I could have hoped for. Highlights include
*Getting a window seat and being able to see the ice floats in the Hudson bay, mountains of snow over the North Pole, barren desserts and mountains in Mongolia, and the smoggy patchwork of fields outside of Beijing
* A few minutes after we passed the North Pole and were officially in the Eastern Hemisphere we were served Ramen for a snack and the announcements were emphasized with Chinese. Now, Ramen is not ideal airplane food because of the whole "stewardesses have to pour boiling water into the cup" deal, but I was amused by the concept.
* I saw 27 dresses! I really... don't need to say much more about that except to note that it happened.
* the middle aged lady next to me was so nice. I thought I had lost my camera for 5 minutes before she told me I had put it in my backpack and not my purse...whoops! We then had an hour long conversation about where I was travelling in China and her daughter my age who had taken a similar trip. She frightened me a bit with her strong warnings against travelling alone as a female but she said she was even scared to travel is San Fransico so I'm taking her advice but not going to be too scared to go anywhere.
The new Beijing airport is beautiful, bright, and clean. I found my dad from his flight from Hong Kong with no problems and we left for the hotel. On the way he was telling me about all the buildings and their history which was pretty exciting. The Jiangup itself needs thorough description especially the hostesses in the lobby but I'll save it for another time. You'll enjoy it, I promise.
After dropping off bas, my dad and I went for a walk around the city. We strolled around the diplomatic district (a place my dad knew well) on our way to Ritan park. We saw the compound we lived at when I was youg and my father pointed out the efforts that had been made to disguise the bullet holes from Tiananmen... interesting indeed. The only photogrpahs I've seen of these buildings have included tanks so they have interesting associations.
Anyway, Ritan park was a lovely relatively quiet spot in the city. We went to the Sun Alter, which was a huge circluar wall with a large series of steps in the middle. It was being used primarily for flying really intricate kites. The pagodas were stunning and although some parts looked a little run down I really enjoyed the quiet and the trees. it was a contrast from the Jade Alley market street we passed to get there which literally felt like running a gauntlet of aggressive sales people in red vests.
Next, we took a cab to Tiananmen. It was bigger and flatter than I expected. It's kind of huge and corwded with people and PLA soldiers. We took a customary picture with Mao's face looming in the background and made some snide comments about the communist party as we surveyed the great Hall of the People and the People's Monument and other buildings with similar names. it was really fun. Today, I'm going to the Forbidden City for the entire day! It's going to be fantastic.
As a final stop, we walked to Wangfujing, a pedestrian shopping mall and Dad patiently let me visit two book stores to begin my research. The first one we went into was a large, multistory, building that would have been like a B&N except for the ninja-like hostesses and the explosion of Beijing Olympic stuff. No billingual Shakespeare but I found Jane Austen, Lady Audeley's Secret (sound familiar Thea 328 people?) and a Giancoli Physics textbook! My Dad bought some learning materials from fawning salespeople who wanted him to speak more Chinese and I chose a small Chinese - English dictionary before we headed down the street. The second store was a Foregin Book Store with a fascinating "Learn English" section: "Crazy Englsih! Princess Diana" Anwyway, they had tons of Shakespeare in all different formats. I found the brand Professor Huang recommended as a S.H.E song started playing over the speakers.. talk about omens.
Once we got back to the Jianguo we tried to get dinner recommendations but the location we were told led us down back alleys of neighborhood cafeterias and late night vegetable markets. it was nice to see the neighborhood alive and authentic but I was hungry and exhausted. We tried the Jianguo Imperial restaraunt but apparently Imperial means "strange food that no one has ever heard of before and doesn't even seem Asian" so we went to the normal lobby hotel.
I experienced my first bit of censorship when CNN blacked out after the phrase "Free Tibet" was uttered but other than that the rest of the night was uneventful. Got a full 8 hours of sleep (take THAT jet lag) and now I'm off to eat and explore the city by myself.
Congratulations if you read that entire sprawling entry. Obviously, I'm having a wonderful time and I miss all of you!
Sunday, May 4, 2008
It's the Final Countdown
So I am home in NOVA for a few days before my flight leaves, The preparation I have completed so far (serious and not) follows.
* My goal for today is to do laundry and pack most of my luggage if not all of it. You guys would be proud! As a veteran over-packer I only plan to take a backpack and a tiny duffel bag. The mission is not to check my luggage... though who knows if that will actually occur because of the new standards about carrying on liquids.
* The hardest temptation to resist is the urge to pack all of the books in my house into my backpack and convince myself that I will read them all. I've settled for choosing thick classics that will take me at least a few days to get through and that I feel fine about leaving along the road. Maybe I'll finally get past chapter 27 of David Copperfield without going back to the beginning again.
* I have prepared myself with numerous securities against theft. There are secret compartments in all of my clothes and luggage (which will be locked) and I have copies of every vital document in at least two places. The icing on the cake is the alarm doorstop my mother insisted on ordering which will prevent anyone from coming into my hostel room at night.
* I am attempting to savor all the foods I will miss out on in China. For example, Luqs, Alex, Angela, and I went to Casa Maya on Friday to say goodbye to each other and to say my personal goodbye to burritos and quesidillas. Still on the list for me to relish are cheeseburgers, pasta, pancakes, and numerous other delicacies. This is not to say I am not ridiculously excited about Chinese cooking. Ever since I saw "Eat Drink Man Woman" a few weeks ago I have been craving authentic jiaozi.
* Last night the end of Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" happened to be on and I was so excited to remind myself that I will be in the Forbidden Palace in a little over 3 days! Of course it won't be swarming with ninjas, but the elation remains.
Tomorrow I will be finalizing my day by day itinerary which is a daunting task. I may get a haircut and go to the library to get some audio books that will serve as entertainment without weighing me down. Other than that, I am set to go. This will be the last time I post before I fly out on Tuesday so I hope everyone is having a happy finals week and that the summer treats everyone well!
* My goal for today is to do laundry and pack most of my luggage if not all of it. You guys would be proud! As a veteran over-packer I only plan to take a backpack and a tiny duffel bag. The mission is not to check my luggage... though who knows if that will actually occur because of the new standards about carrying on liquids.
* The hardest temptation to resist is the urge to pack all of the books in my house into my backpack and convince myself that I will read them all. I've settled for choosing thick classics that will take me at least a few days to get through and that I feel fine about leaving along the road. Maybe I'll finally get past chapter 27 of David Copperfield without going back to the beginning again.
* I have prepared myself with numerous securities against theft. There are secret compartments in all of my clothes and luggage (which will be locked) and I have copies of every vital document in at least two places. The icing on the cake is the alarm doorstop my mother insisted on ordering which will prevent anyone from coming into my hostel room at night.
* I am attempting to savor all the foods I will miss out on in China. For example, Luqs, Alex, Angela, and I went to Casa Maya on Friday to say goodbye to each other and to say my personal goodbye to burritos and quesidillas. Still on the list for me to relish are cheeseburgers, pasta, pancakes, and numerous other delicacies. This is not to say I am not ridiculously excited about Chinese cooking. Ever since I saw "Eat Drink Man Woman" a few weeks ago I have been craving authentic jiaozi.
* Last night the end of Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" happened to be on and I was so excited to remind myself that I will be in the Forbidden Palace in a little over 3 days! Of course it won't be swarming with ninjas, but the elation remains.
Tomorrow I will be finalizing my day by day itinerary which is a daunting task. I may get a haircut and go to the library to get some audio books that will serve as entertainment without weighing me down. Other than that, I am set to go. This will be the last time I post before I fly out on Tuesday so I hope everyone is having a happy finals week and that the summer treats everyone well!
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