It’s not a bad thing, but it’s hard to believe I’ve only been here in China for about 48 hours, that’s all I’m saying. Seriously. I mean, do I feel like an outsider here? A bit. But a foreigner? Less so every time I leave the Hostel.
Let’s back up and bring this up to speed.
Starts off in the airport: Confusing and not too exciting. I hate going through security- I like things in my pockets, and I had to take out my computer every single time. That’s three times. Not fun. The first flight was delayed as well, which definitely stressed me out. The possibility of not arriving on time or with everyone was not exactly thrilling. But luckily, the skies cleared up and we got to head out! I found everyone eventually in San Francisco but didn’t talk too much to them… it’s the airport. It sort of sucks up all my energy.
But hey, on the flight from San Francisco to Korea, I watched about five movies including Iron Man 3, Safe Haven, Chicago, and a few more- not too bad a selection, surprisingly. They also gave us meals. I liked the carrot cake, ate most of the chicken and rice/noodles, but that was a bit limited. My favorite part of flying was getting into Beijing, where the employees tackled us with stickers to put on our arms that had our flight number into China, and then we were basically herded around the airport to where we needed to go. Kind of awesome in a funny way… Then onto Beijing, which got me more excited- finally close to my destination, and Katie was going to be there! I wouldn’t have done this without her and I didn’t like doing all of that without her so… yeah.
Anyways, I finally found my luggage, and eventually got all of my currency exchanged. [I’m rich, rich I tell you! I brought less than one thousand USD, but got about 4.5k RMB which is pretty cool.] And then I found KATIE! Such a relief!
We eventually loaded up onto the bus, and took to the back and started meeting people. Since I hadn’t slept much at all on those 16 hours of flying around, I was a bit… well, dazed, so Katie did most of the social work for us, and got the sleepy fun out of some before eventually reaching the hostel.
[Botai Hostel] Which turned out pretty nice! I was expecting a bit of a dump, but walking in, it looks nicer than the basic Best Western or whatever that I stay in. Then we got put on the “second level” which was just in the back and up a slight ramp. And the more “ghetto” part of the hotel.
It’s decently clean, it works. The beds take a little getting used to- not much when you’re exhausted. They’re like a bunch of springs right beneath a piece of cardboard. But I’m still sleeping, so that’s okay! For the shower, it’s basically just a corner of the bathroom, with nothing really sectioned off, which is sometimes a hassle. And we have to be careful about the tap water- not clean/safe enough to drink, and it usually smells like the sewer. Yay.
Anyways, so that was the first part of our arrival. So odd that I can’t actually read all the signs here. But it’s fun seeing the English they use- it doesn’t really make sense half the time. I love it!
Our first morning, we walked down like three buildings to get these crescent sweet roll thingies. It was pretty good. My stomach was still adjusting. Oh and promised, I was up very early with wide eyes because of the time change. But I toughed it out!
Tianenmen Square! We got onto a city bus. That was an adventure in itself! And rode over. Huge crowds, let me tell you, huge crowds that even our leaders weren’t prepared for. We took pictures with some of the friends we’ve been making- in a program like this, it’s not hard to find a conversation beginning, so you can talk to anyone easily anytime and make friends. So some pictures were taken, and some walking. However there wasn’t too much to do, except goof off and scold each other for loudly using the word ‘Asians’ around. My favorite part would probably have been when we were in the middle of the place, and Katie was reminding me of the massacre during the Cultural Revolution- being in that very spot made it so much more real, it was incredible. And sad.
Anyways, something was happening so they had guards/police clearing out the square. Those men were so efficient, it was cleared out so fast, it was crazy. But ridiculous because then the crowds were being pushed everywhere. Our group had considered going across the street to the National Museum… but with the crowds, it was an obvious no.
Though it did take about an hour to find everyone again from getting separated in the crowds. But Katie and I just chilled out in the shade, chatting it up with some friends and such. After that, we made our way to the nearby Forbidden City.
Beautiful architecture. Just beautiful, all the many, many, many buildings… very pretty. Very big. Very impressive. And super hot. We walked around a few places before stopping in the shade and hanging out with some guys. It was obvious I was sunburned by then, so that had a definite factor in our following adventures.
Eventually we found everyone again and Katie bought a delicious peach popsicle for about 1 USD. After a short while of sorting things out with everyone, we began walking back with one group and stopped for lunch where Katie had the best fried noodles [aka chow mein] of her life. And it was delicious, but my appetite is still flaky, so I shouldn’t say anything about food just yet. But it was good! About 15 RM, so a little over 2 USD- and we shared that honker!
After returning to the hostel we chilled out for a little bit, and I took a much needed nap. Which was good, but apparently hard to break since Katie had to shake me awake in time for dinner.
And what a dinner it was! Definitely not something to miss out on! It was right next door and up a level. We got a lazy susan and the food was already ordered for us, which was really nice. They had a dish of mushy-like cucumber, I think it was- maybe zuchinni, actually- and so well flavored, the mushiness actually worked. It was crazy. Oh, and they have this sweet sauce covering eggs with tomato slices- very sweet, and pretty good!
After dinner, we headed off to the subway. Which I believe, was my first time ever on a real subway. Crazy, right? That’s what Katie said. This is how we finally got to the acrobatic show, which was a ton of fun. They have a lot of intriguing stunts, with a few English titles. “Straw Hats,” “High Chairs,” “Riding an Umbrella” “Ballet on the Shoulders,” and all of them were very impressive!
On our way back, we found this disco party!
Mostly all adults in the dark with a few bright neon lights, dancing Ballroom to slightly modern techno music. Most of them were pretty impressive- no lifts or anything, but very fluid. Katie was the bell of the ball once they realized she can followed a lead [oops, sorry, men!] but we all had such a great time learning a dance move or two, and even just watching most of the dancers moving about.
After that, we were pretty tired. And hot, because this humidity is killer. I’m used to San Diego, but this is a whole new story, I kid you not. So we stopped for these popsicles that were mostly sugar but had a banana tinge to them.
Oh, and we tried a chocolate ice cream bar before. Basic chocolate covering with vanilla inside. But in the center, it has these little chocolate ball things- but then it changes to toffee, and something else I think, plus closer at the bottom it kinda turns into Root Beer flavor, we kid you not. It sort of worked, though.
And after trying to wash off the smells- sewers and dead fish- we finally crashed and slept soundly till morning!
Yesterday our leaders had showed us this little street market on a back alley not too far from our hostel, and it’s pretty awesome. Mostly fruits and vegetables- which you definitely have to be careful about here! Peel or wash it very carefully. So for breakfast Katie and I wandered around, and tried out three different bread rolls [added up to six of them] for 6RMB meaning 1 USD. Quite a bargain, maybe?
Perfect timing on our return to the hostel, though- everyone was walking out and into the nearby office space for some Chinese language training. Which was tricky. We did basic manners, counting and such. And it’s all about the tones! Very interesting. Tones. There’s “4.5” we like to joke, since one of them doesn’t count too much. But hoping this will come in handy for the next four months- knowing a little would be handy, would it not?
Then, group lunch! Still perfectly delicious. They had this awesome green bean dish, slightly spicy but not too much. And mixed within it with the red peppers and such, it’s like this flower seeded dish thing, and no idea if we were realy supposed to eat them. Because they numb your tongue! Which was actually a good bit of fun for us all- but still.
After a short break, we all headed out to the Chinese Clothing Market. For some reason, no more Pearl Market but that’s okay- this one still had about 5 floors of all random stuff.
Some of the sellers are bit pushy- they will grab your arm and drag you over. They love Americans- most of them are willing to pay anything, after all. Which is silly. Katie drives a hard bargain! But she does find a way to get what she wants, and that’s just the thing. I got sunglasses, she got a fan and pearl earrings, and then we each bought a beautiful oil painting on canvas. We’re so excited for everything! But we’re not buying too much until we actually get to our city- we will have to take another plane to Guiyang and there’s only so much we can take!
After this market was free time! We chilled out for a bit and then started wandering around for some food. We walked all over the streets, barely survived traffic, and eventually just bought some ice cream. Because it’s delicious, cold, and super cheap. Yay!
Oh and we’re going through about 5 liters of water a day.
So, traffic here… it’s dangerous for everyone. Dangerous and quite ridiculous.
No comments:
Post a Comment