The Wall. You know which one.

大家好! Da Jia Hao!

(I just learned this – it means hello everybody. Also cool, “Da Jia” literally translates to “Big Family,” which I think it kind of sweet.)

Hello from me and my students!

As you know, it’s been hectic times in Hangzhou for Olivia. However, I’m now taking a break from all the craziness with a brief trip to Hong Kong! I’m currently sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight to stop getting delayed… and while I've been waiting, I started thinking about all the things I’ll be able to write about Hong Kong when I get back.

Then I realized, “Holy Crap!" I haven’t even finished writing about stuff I’ve already done… gah! So I figured I’d take this time to pump out a post or two about my previous travels. The first one that came to mind? That darn wall. You know, the “Great'” one, or whatever? Yeah, I totally went there, like, a month ago – and I haven’t even written about it. Embarrassing.

Also embarrassing: I totally ate a Snickers during my climb.
Keepin' it American, y'all. 

So let’s get to it!

Back in the beginning of May when I boogied up to Beijing (for mostly culinary adventure, it turns out), my main goal of the week was to see the wall – The Great Wall of China. I’ll admit it, my reasons for seeing the Wall were not the most pure or polite. The real motivating factor? I couldn’t stand the idea of coming back home and having the following conversation over, and over, and over:

Random Person: “Oh my gosh! You lived in China for two years?”

Me: “Yeah, it was really great!”

Random Person:“So did you see the Great Wall?!?”

Me: “Um, no… I didn’t.”

This leaves both of us feeling awkward – Random Person is desperately trying to think of what else he/she knows about China (probably not much, and that’s okay) – and me feeling like a total conversation killer. This is not something I was looking forward to. And the only way to combat it? See the Wall, of course! Because who lives in China for two years and doesn’t see its contribution to the world wonders?

I mean, look it at... it's hard to miss.

My expectations of the Wall were actually pretty low – I’ve heard so many stories of it being insanely crowded; covered in trash (and sometimes feces); and proving to be a serious tourist trap. This worked out in my favor though – it’s hard to disappoint someone with low expectations. However, for the Wall to insanely exceed my expectations? I was not expecting that. Here’s what happened:

I didn’t want to go out to the wall alone – it seemed rather complicated and, let’s face it, planning trips is not my favorite past time. So, I called up a bunch of Beijing hostels and asked each about their Great Wall packages (turns out, you don’t have to stay at most hostels in order to take advantage of their excursions) and compared prices, times and plans. I found one that claimed a trip to a “super secret” part of the wall – guaranteed fewer people! – and I was sold (if a little skeptic).

Dis my skeptic face.

On Tuesday morning, I rolled up to the hostel from Dave’s place at 7:00am (sleep? what’s that?). I joined a group of about 14 other foreigners, plus our Chinese guide, Wang (rhymes with “song,” FYI). We took a little shuttle bus out to the wall (which took about, oh, FOUR hours – not what they said on the phone). It was a holiday, though, so traffic was a crap-ton little heavier than usual. Best way to pass the time on the bus? Pass. Out. If China has taught me nothing else, it has taught me how to sleep anywhere.

Look at all the Lao Wai! (That means foreigners)
Our tour group

When we finally made it to the parking lot, we took a nice little hike up to the base of the wall where we’d be able to climb onto it. At this point in the day, the sun had risen and we had – wait for it – a blue sky! Do you know how rare that is in Beijing?!? Plus, all along the base of the wall grew hundreds of apricot trees in full blossom. It was gorgeous.

Move over cherry blossoms,
Apricot trees have stolen my heart.

Once we arrived to the base, Wang gave a brief introduction of the wall – the usual stuff: it was built to keep out the Mongolians; various Chinese dynasties contributed to its construction; there are probably thousands and thousands of skeletons buried within the wall. Real happy stuff.

Rock? No, no - that's human bone right there.

Then, it was time for the climb. This is where I had more than one “Oh my gosh” thoughts:

1. Wow. They didn’t lie – this is a secret part of the wall. There are literally 25 people here!

Practically Emp-Tee!

2. Thank God I’ve been exercising – these stairs are no joke. Seriously, guys – there is no flat part of that wall. You’re either climbing up or climbing down. And there is no standard stair size, either. And sometimes, not even stairs…

Yeah. I climbed that.
It's totally steeper than it looks, too.

3. I forgot to wear sunscreen. Great. I’m going to have a 3/4 length-sleeve tan all summer. (true story: you can still see it today)

4. I wonder how many skeletons I’m standing on right now?

5. This is amazing. I can’t believe I considered not coming here.

No joke, y’all. The Wall really is Great. Whichever direction you look, you see it winding through the hills – an endless river of brick and stone. I can’t even begin to fathom how much work (and how many slaves) it took to build and maintain this structure. Not to mention, it was one of the most authentic feeling places I’ve been since coming to China – it felt so real.

Don't I look like Mulan?

I climbed around the wall for about three hours, trying not to tumble to my death. For three hours, I enjoyed the blue sky, the fresh breeze and the amazing, crumbling structure beneath my feet. When it was finally time to go, I left exhausted, totally sun burnt, yet completely satisfied with my Great Wall experience. It was more than I ever dared to imagine.

Plus, I only had to take a few celebrity photos.

What did I learn from my trip to that wall? I learned that the Great Wall of China is just that: Great.

Pre-sunburn. 

Yes, I would totally go again. And so should you.

Happy Travels, everyone!

A Meaningful Letter

This week marks the last week I teach my classes at HNU. It has been full of hugs, gifts, smiling and pictures with all of my darling students. Today, I received an e-mail from one of my students, and while I was reading it, I actually teared up a little bit (and I am not a crier, so this is big, y'all!).

I wanted to share this letter with you because it is so sweet and so special. I am not posting this letter to toot my own horn or brag (okay, maybe a little...). But seriously, I just thought it was so nice and has completely summarized my second year teaching here (which, as a teacher, has been exponentially better than my first).

Snowy & I after class today

Here it is:

My Reflection of Oral English Class

 Snowy

    How time flies! Almost two years have pasted during English study in my college. Next semester, we will not have oral English classes any more, I’m so sad because this class is the most useful class I have ever taken, I really want to continue to learn it. In this letter, I want to express my thankfulness to you and wish you happy every day.

    Before we met you, our class was taught by              [I covered this name for privacy reasons] in freshmen year. At that time, the class is a little boring, we always keep silent and unwilling to put up our hands. So sometimes there is an awkward pause during the class. When it came to the final exam, everyone is familiar with the materials that he gave us. It seems that everyone is a good speaker, everybody can be very talkative. But the truth is what we are talking is so similar, the things that we are talking does not have any creative taste, the only things they know is just the information from the material or some common sense which we have already know. We even asked Baidu [a Chinese search engine, like Google] to answer              questions, because we thought Baidu can solve any problems we met. I guess               may not define our class as a vivid class, he will be anxious when we keep quiet.

    However, things got totally changed when you came to teach us in the sophomore year. Can you imagine how excited we were when we heard this good news?

I would like to say that I do really enjoy the lessons that you gave us. Your class is so lively and of course pretty active that everybody can practice their speaking ability.

    Besides, you are so kind to everyone. You can remember our names quickly because you really care about us, however so many students you are teaching at the same time, not like some of Chinese teachers, they sometimes can’t remember our names after teaching one semester, they just don’t care. In my eyes, remember ones name can shorten the distance between us and soon be friends.

    Every time I met you, we always greeting with each other happily, using the greeting words you have teach me. And every time when having your class, I’m very excited though after 7 classes [our class was at the end of the day]. You touch everyone in our class by your kindness, enthusiasm, energetic, smartness and so on.

    This semester, we have debate of the class. You gave us some issues which we don't have such exactly definition, give us something professional, something related to our society problems even something related to love or even sex. I do really appreciate it, because it made the issues be sensitive not always sensible. We will not ask Baidu any more since the issues are closely related to us and we are able to solve the problem though our brain storm and be brave to express own opinions in front of the class. We really benefit from it very much, which can not only improve oral English but also the quick thinking and the courage.

    When we were in the freshmen year, since there were many students in our class, when a student was answering the questions or did the presentation, the rest of students felt nothing and didn’t care about it. However, in your class, after the debate, you will ask some of us to gave the feedback. It was quite a good method, you made everyone be attentive in class.

    What’s more, your advice about teaching and interviewing is of great use in our future life. We are all English majors, we will finally use it in the job hunting. Do you know, I admire you very much for you always teach us something useful in advance, which will make us more confident to be a teacher.

    Maybe, I’m just a ordinary student to you, nothing special, but you are one of the best teachers I have ever met, I will cherish this kind of relationship forever. Next semester, I will miss you, miss your classes, miss every happy second in the class. If I become a teacher in the future, I promise to be a teacher like you, kind to everyone and teach them with all my heart. You are a special and impressive teacher and surely give me a great impress in my college life.

Sincerely, Snowy

...and cue tears & tissue now.

'til next time, everyone!

Hiking Huangshan

**Okay, I just finished writing this. And I apologize in advance for another novel of a post. Sorry. 

(But I guess I'm not really all that sorry...)**

So, something China really loves to brag about are its mountains. This is interesting, because mountains are not the first thing most foreigners think of upon hearing "China." However, with a little experience and knowledge about China, one quickly discovers the vast presence of mountains in Chinese culture.

Case and Point: Chinese Art.
It's full of mountains.

One of China's most famous mountains (according to, well, everyone in China) is the beautiful, amazing, wonderful and majestic Huangshan - or, in English: Yellow Mountain. I think I can safely say that after nearly two years in China, I've had at least 30 different people tell me I need to visit Huangshan (and I think that may be an understatement). So, with only a month and a half left in this country, I decided it was finally time to take the trip to Anhui province and hike the infamous Yellow Mountain.

Huangshan, here I come!

While travelling alone has its numerous benefits, I decided I'd rather not venture Huangshan alone, so I invited one of my fellow foreign teachers/friends, Adam, to join me. Our journey started early on a Tuesday morning at one of the local bus stations.

Huangshan Crew 4LYF

**Side Story #1: We were actually a few minutes late for our bus (totally my fault), and about 5 minutes before it was scheduled to leave, I got a phone call. Turns out, it was the bus driver calling to make sure we were coming - I told him we'd be a few minutes late, and he said he'd wait for us! (This conversation was in broken Chinese, of course). I was so touched by his thoughtfulness; it's times like these I really love being in China.

The bus ride to Huangshan took about three and a half hours (Anhui province is just west of Zhejiang). Upon arriving, we had a quick lunch, took another shuttle bus to the base of the mountain, and then caught a cable car to assist in our ascent (ain't nobody got time to climb that whole mountain).

I swear they're 100% safe...
maybe.

**Side Story #2: Probably my favorite part of the whole day (aside from gorgeous views) had to be when we got on the shuttle bus headed for the base of the mountain; we stepped onto a bus full of middle-aged Koreans completely decked out in neon hiking gear. I kid you not, it was like we were smack in the middle of a Patagonia advertisement. I turn back to look at Adam who declares, "And I immediately feel completely under-prepared for this trip. Wow." This kept me laughing the entire 10-minute bus ride.

**Side Story #3: During the same bus ride, I sat next to a group of Chinese people (around my age), who pointed out that aside from the six of us (four Chinese, two Americans), everyone on the bus was Korean. They then asked me if this is what it feels like to be a foreigner... which was actually kind of sweet. Then, they asked some of the Koreans if they liked PSY, to which the Koreans (all above 50 years old, mind you) responded with an energetic round of "Gangnam Style" song and dance. Ah, the unforgettable moments in life...

Once at the top of the cable-car lift, Adam and I spent the rest of the afternoon hiking around the various trails of Huangshan. One of the best parts of hiking in China is that all the trails are paved; and all the slopes are complete with stairs. Also, one of the worst parts of hiking in China is that all the trails are paved; and all the slopes are complete with stairs. While the paved trails feel safe and secure (you don't have to worry so much about mis-stepping or tripping), it is a little rougher on the legs (no shock absorbency there). And while the stairs seem helpful and inviting, after about 10-minutes of nonstop climbing, your sweat-drenched, muscle-burning body tells you otherwise. I'm pretty sure I can blame China for my extreme resentment of stairs in the future (and if you don't understand how this is possible, just ask Rachel for further explanation. She knows).

Trails & Stairs.
All. Day.

Fortunately, the views from the mountaintops here make all those stairs mostly totally worth it. For one, the shape of the mountains is unlike any I've seen back home - when I look at the mountains here, it's like I can see the rock shooting out of the earth billions of years ago to form them.

I mean, just look at that...

Straight out of "Land Before Time"

Literally shooting into the sky!

Another unique trait of Chinese mountains is the constant flow of mist. Sometimes the mist is light and breezy; you can see it dancing along the wind. Other times it is so thick and opaque that you can't see anything beyond it. One of the coolest moments of the day happened when Adam and I had reached the top of one of the peaks - we looked down upon the valleys, cliffs and trees; it was a completely clear view. However, within two minutes. the mist had rolled in and when we looked over the precipice again, we could see literally nothing. It's amazing, but also totally eerie.

This is Adam being eaten by the mists.

It is pretty cool, though.

So after hiking for a few hours, dusk finally set in, so Adam and I (being the cheapskates that we are) started looking for a place to sleep. Yes, there are hotels at the top of the mountain, but they were way out of our price range. Adam (an experienced outdoors-man, thank goodness), suggested we save some cash and get rugged; that's right, we camped. Not only did we camp, but we went super hardcore and didn't even use a tent (mostly because neither of us felt like carrying one around all day). So, Adam found a nice, flat little area off one of the trails and set us up (we had a tarp, sleeping pads, and sleeping bags). And there we attempted to sleep. Needless to say, it was not my most restful (nor comfortable) night. But, I felt like a total B.A., so I think it was worth it.

We also packed our own meals,
Pot and propane courtesy of Adam!

**Side Story #4: At some point during the night, I woke up to Adam beating a metal pan against a tree. It turns out, he had heard something lurking around near our sleep-site and was attempting to scare it away. It wasn't until the next morning that we realized MONKEYS live on this mountain. And, let me tell you, monkeys are not animals to be messed around with. I'm not sure I would have been so willing to sleep outside had I known there'd be monkeys prowling around. Oh well - too late now! 

This monkey ain't no joke.

Bright and early on Wednesday morning (4:45am, baby!), we woke up in order to watch the famous Yellow Mountain sunrise. It was nice, but I think I would have preferred more sleep instead. We spent the rest of the morning hiking to some different peaks of the mountain. We had another run-in with some monkeys (on the trail this time - and totally freaky. One of them even hissed at me! What?!).

It's gorgeous!!
(Better if read in an Australian accent)

Then, we found another cable car station, headed back down the mountain and caught the bus back to Hangzhou. BOOM. Huangshan: Conquered in 24 hours by Adam and Olivia. Worth it? Absolutely. But maybe next time, I'll bring a tent...

Zai Jian, y'all!

5 Weeks Left in China

Oh my goodness, people - times are busy here in China!

Last day of class with my writing students!

Remember when I told you all about my hectic month of May? Well, it didn't end there - June has been keeping me just as busy, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop any time soon. In fact, I don't think I'm going to have another break until July 18... when I finally return to America! Yep, you read it - I'm coming back to the USA in just over one month.

Holy **insert expletive of choice here**

So what am I still looking forward to this month? Let me break it down for you:

1. Last days of class (which is probably the saddest part of this whole month).

See what I mean? Saying goodbye is the worst.

2. Submitting final grades. A hectic and tedious process as always. Due Date: June 21.

For instance, I'll be reading all of these papers in the near future...

3. Spending extra time with students. For example, I'm going to KTV & dinner with some of my writing students tomorrow, and going shopping with another of my students on Wednesday... you get the idea.

I mean,
why wouldn't students want to hang out with me?

4. Going to Hong Kong! (I'll write more about this later, obviously).

Just in case you wondered why I'd go to HK...

5. Travelling out west to Guizhou province with some of my students (I'm so excited!).

Guizhou is famous for this baby: China's largest waterfall.

6. Then heading (finally!!!) to JiuZhaiGou National Park for my birthday (hopefully with Dave!!).

And this will be my birthday present to myself.
I think you see why.

7. Frantic shopping, sightseeing, goodbye-saying and memory-making around Hangzhou.

8. Attempting to pack my life into two (eh... maybe three) suitcases, under 50 pounds each. Ha.

Yep, I am doing some hardcore cramming during these last 5 weeks here. And I may be completely worn out by the time I make it back home, but I'm certain it will all be worth it. I'll be leaving China with a bang, y'all.

Another one of my writing classes -
these girls are fabulous.

As for this week, we have a few days off for Dragon Boat Festival. This will be the one holiday I don't travel elsewhere this semester because I'm using these four days to catch up on work (I have been suffering from a severe case of "senioritis"; main symptom: procrastination). I'm also using these days to do some serious work on this puppy (this blog, I mean), so you can expect a number of posts in the near future. Finally, I'm using these days to sleep, because that hasn't been happening much lately.

But that's okay. I'd take this over sleep any day.
(Next post about my hike to Huangshan!)

So, this is your warning: expect more posts. Soon. I hope you read them. I hope you enjoy them. And I hope you comment on them (which you can do, even if you're not a member/blogspot user).

Until then, my friends!