Summer Saga: Guizhou, Part III

And so comes the conclusion to part one of my summer saga - the last of my days in Guizhou. To be perfectly honest, the last few days in Guizhou are sort of a blur. I have hazy memories of ridiculous national parks, numerous waterfalls and caves, and, of course, a crap-ton of food.

Waterfall #1

And I can't even remember how many boat rides we took!

Including the most delicious eggplant I've ever eaten...

And also one of the nastiest things I've ever eaten:
Spicy Noodles with Pig Intestine, Congealed Blood, Tofu and Pig Skin. YOLO?

I'm not joking when I say that Sharon, Michele and I spent our last four days in Guizhou province in probably five different national parks. It was ridiculous - and, sadly, a little redundant by the end. (Also, nothing could compare to our awesome rafting adventure... it kind of put everything else to shame). However, it also served as a great example for one of my favorite travel philosophies: Keep expectations low, and you'll rarely be disappointed!

China's largest waterfall in a cave, for example...

Waterfall #2

The best example of my philosophy was the day we visited HuangGuoShu - a huge national park complex which boasts China's largest waterfall. Sharon and Michele were all kinds of excited; this was to be the highlight of our trip! I, however, held a different mentality. As soon as I heard the words "China's largest," I knew we were in for massive crowds, super-elevated prices, and all the other typical parts of a tourist trap.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg, folks...

A rare opportunity for a photo without other people in it...

Because of my mentality, I ended up having a great time at HuangGuoShu - it was exactly what I thought it would be (touristy, duh), but because I had prepared for that, I was able to get past it and enjoy the waterfall (because it actually was pretty cool). Sharon and Michele, however, found themselves disappointed and disillusioned; what was supposed to be a beautiful, natural, wonderful scene ended up being full of pushy people, naughty children, and thousands of cameras.

It was still pretty impressive, though...

The other parks we visited had similar turnouts - but by the second or third one, we had learned to make the best of it. When everyone in the crowd took the path to the left, we went right; when we took a boat ride through huge caverns and twisting caves, and our boat driver somehow managed to run into every single wall and rock, we laughed! And when we had to wait in lines for hours and hours, we told stories, played games and sang songs.

We laughed when two men began slaughtering a cow
RIGHT BEHIND US
while we were eating...

I mimicked Lady Liberty using corn on the cob

We goofed off in giant caves!

We even tried some zip-lining to skip some of the crowds!

Our last day together ended up being my birthday (the big two-four heyy!) which we spent at one of the most depressing parks I've ever been to. Okay, that sounds really bad - it wasn't all depressing. We got to watch 80-year-olds dance to traditional Chinese music; we got to row around a gorgeous lake; and, of course, eat some tasty food. And those things were great!

Paddle Boating!

Sun-tanning (much to Sharon & Michele's horror)

But we also had to avoid being attacked by monkeys - monkeys that weren't afraid to jump on you and grab food out of your hands, probably even out of your mouth, if that's where you had it. We also had to walk through the saddest excuse for a zoo I've ever come across - the animals looked sickly and ragged, there was no grass in their cages - only cement - and the crowds wouldn't stop taunting them. I've never been an animal rights activist or anything, but I certainly could be after spending an hour in that terrible place. I'm happy to say that was my first and last zoo experience in China - and I plan to keep it that way.

This is as close as we got to the demon monkeys...

I know, it's depressing

Fortunately, the day ended on a good note. Sharon, Michele and I sat down for one last meal - birthday hot pot - where we reviewed and relived our awesome week together. Then, they walked me to the train station so I could catch the train to the next part of my adventure, and so we could say our final goodbyes. I wasn't lying when I thanked Michele and Sharon for one of the best weeks of my life, and by far some of my favorite memories in China. As excited as I was for the next part of my adventure, I couldn't help feeling a little bummed that this week had to end.

My bittersweet birthday dinner...

Summer Saga: Guizhou, Part II

Here it goes again!! Another tease... another false promise to be a better blogger... but also, another update about yours truly! You may be asking, "Olivia, why have you been gone from here for so long?" And to be perfectly honest, it's mostly because I just haven't felt like writing. So, why am I back now? Because now I DO feel like writing! Who knows how long this feeling will last... but let's take advantage of it while it does!

I left off near the beginning of my two-week summer saga through Western China - which remains one of my fondest memories of my two years there - and so I shall continue.

Quick Recap: I'm traveling around the poorest province in China, Guizhou, with two of my students, Michele and Sharon. We have no reservations, no itinerary, no real plan - instead, we have adventurous spirits, ravenous appetites (oh, how we ate...) and a bag full o' optimism.

My lovely companions, Sharon & Michele

One of my favorite parts of traveling with Sharon and Michele is that we all agreed on allotting ourselves solid chunks of downtime throughout our trip; time spent lying on wooden planks beds, watching Chinese soap operas and game shows, and eating mystery snacks. This downtime gave us all the chance to rest up and recharge our energy and enthusiasm.

On our way to some serious downtime

In the past, spending hours like this would have left me feeling guilty and sullen - I would think about how I could have spent those four hours exploring the city; seeing the sights; seeking more adventure! But, really, how much fun is exploring on tired feet? How many sights can one see before they all start to look the same? And how many adventures can you go on before they stop feeling like adventures and start feeling like work? Leaving yourself some downtime during your travels eliminates (almost) all of these problems - and so I was glad to spend a day doing, well, nothing in preparation for the adventures to come.

Sometimes, the adventures came to us...

My favorite day of the whole trip in Guizhou had to be the third day, which we spent rafting down a river through gorgeous, green karst mountains. The three of us found a local rafting company that provided life-vests, two-person rafts, and large, sturdy sticks (for steering, of course... because who needs oars?). Then, after absolutely zero safety/rafting preparation, they pushed us off for a three-hour adventure down the Wuyang river.

Just before the rafting began...

My raft buddy - Sharon!

Sharon and I ended up rafting together, while Michele joined someone from another group. Sharon and I were fortunate enough to befriend one of the rafting "shifu's" (it means "master") - an adorable, middle-aged Chinese man who could not only navigate the river with absolutely no trouble, but he could do it standing up. We stuck with our shifu for most of the journey, and because of my excellent rafting/steering skills, ended up being the fastest boat in our group (okay, okay - it was more because every time we got stuck on a rock or rapid, we had shifu to help us out - whatever).

I wish my pictures could do these views justice...

Halfway through the journey, we stopped on the bank of the river to eat lunch with some of the "locals." We had such delicacies as rabbit leg, mystery-meatballs, and tiny fish-on-sticks. And, as weird as the food was, it was probably one of my favorite meals in China - the people we ate with were so friendly (and complimentary of my ability to handle their spicy food) that I couldn't help but smile the entire meal.

Look at all that goodness!

On the left is my favorite shifu!! What a guy...

Bamboo Rice. Aka: awesomeness.

After the three-hour journey down the river, navigating rapids, avoiding boulders, and falling out of the boat once or twice, I was exhilarated - yes, I was extremely sun-burnt; and, yes, I had some serious blisters on my hands; but if someone had asked me if I wanted to go for another three hours, I wouldn't have hesitated to say yes. Even now - months later - just thinking about that day makes me feel excited!

This picture only barely captures how I felt

One of my bad-ass blisters from the day. That's right. I killed it.

The end of the day - a sad time indeed.

Oh, China - remembering days like this one make me miss you so much...

Summer Saga: Guizhou, Part I

So, remember how I was going to try to blog more with all the free time I have? You know, because I'm unemployed and bored and have nothing to do? Well, it turns out I was wrong. Not only have I been busy with general life things, but I also got a JOB!! It's still in the baby stages, so I'm not going to write too much about it now - but I can say it is in Wilmington (at UNCW) and it is all thanks to my girl Elizabeth (Liz) - the very same one who helped me get the position at Hangzhou Normal!

Today was my first day back in Wilmington, filling out paperwork and orienting myself to the job. As a result, I am all kinds of hyped up, so I figured, what better way to release this energy than with a blog post?! And write a blog post I shall.

Because I recently uploaded some photos on Facebook, I figured I'd write a post to explain them a little more. Let's get started!

It all began in April when two of my students, Michele and Sharon, approached me after class to see if I was interested in traveling with them during summer vacation. Of course, my response was "heck yes!" - I didn't even consider where we'd be going.

Two months later, after giving and grading final exams, submitting all that d*** paperwork, and saying goodbye to all my beloved students (which was heartbreaking, by the way), I packed up and hit the road with Michele and Sharon to a little province out west called Guizhou.

See the red one? That's Guizhou. I guess it's not really that little after all...

Guizhou is not really known for much in China - in fact, it's pretty poor. It even has the lowest per capita GDP of all the Chinese provinces; it's the province that Peace Corps volunteers are sent to, to give you a better idea. However, what Guizhou lacks in economics, it certainly makes up for in culture, natural scenery and some of the friendliest people I've met in China!

Like this baby who waved hello to everyone who passed by

Our trip began on June 30th. I met Michele and Sharon at the Hangzhou train station to catch our - wait for it - 24-hour train ride from Hangzhou to Kaili (a small-ish city in Guizhou). Fortunately, we were able to buy sleeper tickets (this means we had a "bed" instead of just a seat), so our ride wasn't too uncomfortable. We passed the time by chatting, playing cards, and eating snacks - lots of snacks.

Sharon, Michele, and our plethora of Chinese goodies

Traveling with Michele and Sharon allowed me a totally different experience than I'd ever had, mostly because they did all the planning. And their idea of planning was a lot different from mine. When I go on a trip, I book almost everything in advance - hostels, trains, planes, etc. I leave my days open and free for whatever activities may arise, but I always know where I'm staying and how I'm getting there. With Sharon and Michele, this was not the case.

For example, we arrived in Kaili with no definite plans - we just knew we wanted to visit one of the surrounding minority villages (Ethnic minorities in China are the non-Han Chinese population in the People's Republic of China - read more about them here). So, we wandered around Kaili until we found another young traveler also headed to a minority village (called XiJiang, a Miao minority village), and then all got a private car together to save some cash. And that was that.

This is Xijiang - it doesn't even look real!

Then, when we arrived in the small city of Xijiang, we had no place to stay. When I asked Michele about this, she simply said, "Don't worry about it - we'll walk around and find the best deal!" And that we did. We wandered through the adorable streets of Xijiang, occasionally snacking on street food and sweets, until we found a place with an open room for three. And it was so cheap! I couldn't believe it.

Michele, our fearless leader, on the hunt for a place to stay

After settling in our room, we spent the rest of the afternoon/evening wandering around the village, hiking through the rice paddies and eating some delicious food (who knew something called "Hot and Sour Fish Soup" would be so tasty?).

"A Strong Nanny," as Michele called them

At one point, this river was full of people bathing, washing clothes, and even fishing

So of course we had to play in the river too!

Hot and Sour Fish Soup - it literally blew my mind

This was also my first experience with Chinese "Glamour Shots," which consisted of throwing on a traditional minority costume and posing for about 20 different pictures. It was so, so cheesy, but so worth it!

One of these things is not like the other...

Obviously, my first day traveling with Michele and Sharon was a success. It was also a nice taste of the week we had ahead of us; however, I know if I write about all that now, this blog post will never end. And so I'm going to leave off here, until the next post and the next adventures.

Until then, ZaiJian everyone!

Fireworks

The other night I went to a baseball game with my lovely family. The game ended with a fireworks show over the field. (I'm guessing they were the leftover fireworks from the Fourth...) And while everyone watched the fireworks while ooh-ing and ahh-ing, I found myself reminded (again) of China.

In Durham

For those of you who don't know, China takes credit for inventing the firework (you know, to scare off demon dragons and whatnot) and therefore, China is full of fireworks. Probably the most memorable fireworks I experienced in China was during the 2011/12 Chinese New Year.

Me and Sherry gettin' crazy with sparklers

A Chinese family of four invited me to spend the week with them to help celebrate the coming year of the Dragon. On the eve of the new year, the four of us went out on their porch to watch Chocolate, the 18-year-old son of the family, set off his own fireworks show. To be honest, there wasn't much special about these fireworks - they were they same kind we set off on the Fourth of July in our cul-de-sacs and open fields. Except in China, they don't have cul-de-sacs or other large, open areas. No, they set off fireworks in 10-foot wide alleyways between people's houses and apartment buildings. And I'm not talking about those little firecrackers that never actually leave the ground - I'm talking about sky-high, gunshot-sounding, glitter-falling fireworks. In an alleyway. Between tall buildings. My first reaction was to panic - "Isn't something going to catch in fire?" "Did that ash just fall into that man's window?!?" "Shouldn't we be more concerned right now?!?" But once I realized that nobody else was worried and nothing was actually going wrong, I relaxed and enjoyed our personal firework extravaganza.

Chocolate - the only one brave enough to light off the fireworks

I'm not even entirely certain this is outside...

The other cool part of Chinese New Year fireworks was that EVERYONE was setting them off - every family, every temple, every community center - the fireworks were everywhere! You couldn't always see them (I mean, they were being set off between skyscrapers for goodness' sake), but you could certainly hear them. And they went on all night long. And all throughout the next day (I still can't understand why people set off fireworks in daylight - what's the point?). And also throughout the next night. It got to the point where I didn't even notice the pops, bangs and explosions anymore; they were just background noise. I've never experienced anything like it in America.

Temple fireworks

But Chinese New Year wasn't the only time I saw/heard fireworks in China. No, fireworks turned out to be a weekly - sometimes daily - occurrence for me. Why? Well, it turns out my apartment building is just across the road from a firework factory. Lucky me. Now don't get me wrong, sometimes this was really cool. Like, when I'd be cookin' up some dinner one evening, and I'd look out my kitchen window to a full-on firework show - and I didn't even have to leave my apartment. Or when I'd be lying in bed, reading a book, and I'd hear the first pops and cracks of a firework symphony - all I had to do was open my curtain and I could enjoy the entire concert.

You rock, free firework shows!

But more often than not, that dang firework factory was a serious nuisance. Sometimes after a long week, maybe one of those weeks where I'd had to go into campus a few extra days, I'd be looking forward to sleeping the morning (and sometimes afternoon) away on Saturday. Friday night would roll around and I'd make full preparations - set my a/c to the perfect temperature, turn of all alarms, close all curtains and shades - ideal settings for a good sleep-in session. And then 8 o'clock Saturday morning would arrive, and some jerk at that stupid firework factory would decide, "Hey, we've got some leftover fireworks to test - this is the perfect time to do it, right guys?!?" "Yeah, who doesn't love Saturday morning fireworks?"

Newsflash: Nobody. Nobody loves fireworks on SATURDAY FREAKING MORNING.

Who does that?!?

Those jerks at that darn firework factory did. And I will forever resent them for it. Because do you know what I thought of at the baseball game with my family as we were watching fireworks? Not my amazing Chinese New Year experience; not the fireworks I once saw over West Lake with Rachel; and not the fun, impromptu firework shows I saw from my apartment window. No, I thought of the fireworks that went off between 7 and 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, and all the interrupted sleeps they caused.

A pretty accurate representation of how I looked on those Saturday mornings...

Darn you, firework factory on Yuhangtang road. And darn your early morning, weekend firework explosions. But I guess I should also thank you - thank you for giving me something I won't miss about my time in China.

Can I go back to Asia now?

For those of you who don't know, I've been back in the States for 5 days now.

Five days and I already miss the Middle Kingdom...

Don't get me wrong, I love being home. I love hanging out with my parents and sister; I love eating my mom's delicious home-cooked meals; I love snuggling with my adorable fat cat, Roxy; I love being able to finally see my two best friends in person. Being home is a great feeling.

But I miss China too.

Why wouldn't I miss all this?!?

So what brought this on? Well, today I stopped by a little nail salon for a simple manicure. The woman who did my nails was a middle-aged Vietnamese lady who, at first, had no time for talking. During the first 20 minutes of my manicure, we probably spoke about 10 words to each other total. I figured she wasn't feeling very social - no problem.

But then, somehow, it came up that I had just moved back to America from China, where I had spent the last two years. You would not believe how bright and animated my manicurist became - we talked nonstop for the rest of my manicure! She asked me all about my life in China; we compared Vietnamese and Chinese culture; she questioned why I didn't have a Chinese boyfriend after two years... the topics went on. I couldn't believe this was the same woman from 20 minutes prior. It was so much fun talking to her; her personality became so warm and inviting, which reminded me of some of my favorite Chinese people.

By the end of my manicure, I had received an invitation to travel to Vietnam with my manicurist in the winter (during the Chinese New Year, of course!) where I could "go to the beach every day, eat delicious and fresh food, and even meet a rich, Vietnamese husband!" I am not even joking people.

And even though there's a slim chance I'll be taking up her offer, the warmth and sincerity of her invitation really struck a chord in me. As I walked out of the nail salon, I found myself wondering "how soon 'til I can go back to Asia...?" And I can't believe I'm already thinking that.

However, I don't have any immediate plans to return to the Far East (as much as I think I might want to). Instead, I am currently enjoying my time with family and friends, and, starting next week, I'll be searching the East coast for jobs like a fat kid searches the cabinet for chocolate. And, although I'm back in the States, there is still so so so much I did not get the chance to write about on this blog that I have made it one of my personal summer projects to update this puppy with more and more of my crazy China stories. (Seriously, I have a huge list of topics/stories just waiting to be written. Get ready.)

Because I know you all want to know about this beauty...

Until then, I hope all of you are enjoying your summers and, more importantly, enjoying the people you're with; they're the best part of summertime anyway.

ZaiJian!