Day 12- “I have a bad feeling about this..”

Joyce and I had a nerve-wracking start to our day. Our new tour guide had texted us to meet outside our hotel at 8. Our bus driver had texted us to meet outside our hotel at 7. We were waiting outside ready to go at 6:50.

Our bus never showed up. Joyce was calling and calling and the tour guide told us that they would pick us up at 8:30. Then, we got a call from the bus driver telling us that he didn’t see us and they were already on the road. We were instructed to get a greyhound bus and ask the driver to drop us off at the infamous jade shop we had spent an hour and half at just days before. The greyhound-like bus driver dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and I just felt my heart drop. I felt we were just being left. Luckily, over the horizon, we could see the tops of buses in a parking lot and dragged all of our stuff over to it where we met up with our bus driver and tour guide who both said it was our fault. Our fellow bus mates told us that they had seen us waiting outside, but the bus driver didn’t want to stop to pick us up! Then, they gave us badges and told us that we needed to go buy some jade. Yeah, right.

When we got back on the bus, the tour guide wouldn’t even let Joyce and I sit next to each other. He sat me right in the front and Joyce at the back of the bus. I was not thinking nice thoughts about the man.

We had a long eight-hour bus drive back to Kunming. Joyce had called the nice head tour agent and she met us at the bus. She forced the bus driver to pay us for the “greyhound” ticket out of his own pocket and she helped Joyce buy a plane ticket back to Beijing. We went back to her friend’s teashop and she paid for our take out dinner. It was a very generous way to end a rather ugly day.

We went back to our hotel and I was able to book a hostel in Shanghai and Joyce showed me pictures of her previous trip to the city.

This concludes my epic trip with Cindy and Joyce. I will be grateful to them always because they were able to help me to see parts of China I no way would have been able to see on my own. I am lucky to have friends like them.

Day 11- Oxygen

Day 11- Oxygen

We had another early morning wake up call. We got on our bus and were taken to a big shop where we were told to purchase oxygen, water, and snacks for our trip to the first nationally protected park in China. I was a bit skeptical, but we bought the stupid pump of oxygen which we didn’t use at all. It was raining quite heavily, but luckily the bus driver let us get our rain gear out from under the bus.

We had to walk through several buildings selling hiking gear (I felt like I was going to be hiking Everest) until we reached a set of buses that took us to the first “hiking” spot. In my mind, I had built this up the hardest hike of my entire life, but then we got there and the “hike” was a flat sidewalk around a lake! It cracked me up. We had a nice walk in a beautiful forested area, though, and Joyce put up with me telling her about my sixth grade level forest science education. At the end of the lake, we were transported to a scenic spot to take pictures. I was amazed to see so many different types of trees! It was beautiful. The bus took us to another site where we were able to walk for a bit before going back to meet the tour group. I was disappointed that we weren’t able to walk anymore, though.

I was really sad to leave Shangrila after spending less than 24 hours there. It’s a beautiful place full of gracious people. I hope I’ll be able to visit there again in the future.

We spent a long time on the bus back to Liquiang. I was able to finish one of the books that I had brought with me. Joyce and I ditched the normal dinner for going back to eat at the “Little Venice” of China instead and did some more shopping.

Day 10- Shangrilia!

Joyce and I met with a new group of bus mates on Monday. We were a smaller group, and a mix between people from our first leg of the journey and some others that were just going in Liquiang.

Our new tour guide is Tibetian. Shangrila is the closest one can get to Tibet without the crazy red tape so we were going to be learning a lot about Tibetian culture on her short adventure.

Shangrila means harmony in Mandarin. There is a famous story about two American pilots during World War II. The men had been injured and their little plane made an emergency landing in Shangrila, which had remained a peaceful city throughout war time. The men were cared for by the people of Shangrila and they were nursed back to health with Chinese medicine, food, and good company even though they couldn’t speak a word to their rescuers. They are were made famous by saying that Shangrila is the most harmonious place on Earth.

We took our time getting to the place of harmony, though! We stopped at the famous river that the Red Army crossed during the Long March. Then, we were given two hours to walk along the river on a pavement sidewalk. The river was gorgeous and it was great to just walk after a morning on the bus! We took a lot of pictures. We even had a decent lunch that day.

We were on the bus for about two and a half hours after lunch to get to Shangrila. The vista was just so gorgeous, I just stared out of my window the whole time and Joyce educated me about Tibet. Let’ s just saying that our high school social studies teachers told us very different stories about the infamous place.

Our first stop in the outskirts of Shangrila was a Buddhist home. Shangrila and Tibet are considered the most spiritual parts of China since the majority of people openly omit that they believe in a higher power and refuse to declare themselves Athesists. To be a member of the the Communist party in China, you must declare that you do not believe in any spiritual being or beings or the force or….

The Buddhist home was beautiful. Most of my bus mates got their palms read, but since I wasn’t able to speak with the Buddhist monks, I went out to tour the grounds. I found a big tent where Joyce explained to me that when a Buddhist member of the community dies, their body is taken to the tent and is left for the birds to devour. Then, their families bless the bones and grind them into a powder to return to the Earth!

Next, we were taken to our hotel and had exactly five minutes to freshen up before going to a Tibetian dinner. I was nervous about the dinner because Joyce told me that they would be roasting an entire cow and I was trying to prepare myself for that!
We were warmly greeted at the entrance by people dressed in full Tibetian clothing and they gave us white scarves, called “hadas” to wear around our necks like scarves. We were served shots of their alcohol before we went in and I accepted mine happily in anticipation of seeing a full roasting cow on barbeque!

We went into a great hall and were seated at tables close to the ground. We were told to drink a third of our tea, and then the waitresses dished flour and spices into our tea cups. We were told to mix everything up, and it turned into our grain for the evening. Then, the brought out roasted yaks and they pulled in apart by their hands. It was a little easier for me to take than a cow, though, I think. Everyone just couldn’t get enough of the yak meat! Joyce had asked the tour guide to ask the dinner people to cook me some vegetables, which they did and they were delicious. It was really nice of everyone to help me out with that!

Then, the show started. The MC embarrassed me because I was the only white person there out of the group of 500 people or so, even though that I understood it was friendly. It was easy to tell that this particular group of entertainers were excited to do what they do, which was a nice change from some of the other minority sites we had previously visited. We were presented with an awesome show of dancing and singing. It is customary for visitors to show that they are enjoying the performer by racing up and putting their hada around the performer’s neck. Joyce and one of the sweet bus ladies peer pressured me to put mine on a gorgeous singer. I started to walk up to him confidently, but then the crowd started screaming and hollering. I was pretty embarrassed and quickly placed the hada around his neck and ran back to my seat. The MC made many comments throughout the rest of the evening about my “moment of romance” as translated by Joyce. We ended the night dancing with the performers.

We got back on the bus a happy group of travelers.

Day 9- Liquiang

We were up early, but luckily, we didn’t have to pack up since were staying another night at the same hotel. We were taken to ranch where we were given the choice of going boating or going horse back riding. The horses to me looked really sad and not cared for well, so I joined the older members of our group on the boat and for a nice, leisurely walk around the ranch.

We then had another not so great meal for lunch and were taken to a place where we had to watch a demonstration on some amazing tea. Then, we were taken to a scenic spot where were able to take picture. I taught Joyce and Cindy how to take videos and on their cameras and we all became directors!

Then, we were taken back to the city where we could either continue with the tour guide or go find our own way around the city. Since it was Cindy’s last night with us, we decided to go out on our own. Also, the city of Liquiang is said to be the “Little Venice” of China, and we had to go explore that!

The “Little Venice” of Italy doesn’t really look too much of the pictures I have seen of Venice, but I could tell that the creatures were going for that look. The area had cobblestone roads and there was a human made little creek that wove throughout the stores, bars and restaurants. We shopped and took picture for a few hours. Every time Joyce got out her camera, people would approach me to ask to take a photo with me. It’ll go down as my one chance to feel like a celebrity! In that late afternoon and early evening, I was the only “Western” person I saw there, but later on in the evening, we began to see more foreigners.

We had a fantastic dinner of local food where I learned that Yunnan food is delicious! I actually felt full for the first time in days! We tried to find a bar to sit down and listen to some music and have a drink, but even beer was at 50 RMB that is pretty outrageous since even the most touristy places in Beijing the beer never goes above 20 RMB unless it is imported. We skipped the bars and got Gatorades instead and toasted Cindy.

We went back to the hotel so Cindy could get her bags and then Joyce and I took her to the train station. Joyce and I came back to the hotel sad that Cindy wasn’t with us.

Day 8- Dali

We were up again after less than four hours of sleep! I was feeling much better, though. We had to race to pack up everything again and make it down to the bus without getting any chance to eat breakfast.

Our first stop was taking a boat on a river in Dali. It was a beautiful morning and we took a lot of pictures. There had even been several Olympic events that had taken place on the river.

Then, we were taken to the “old town” version of Dali were minority people sold their art, food, jewelry and clothing. The tour guide gave us only forty minutes, but I could have easily stayed there for hours. We did manage to go from food cart to food cart on the hunt for breakfast and got to try some new snacks.

Then, we were back on the bus where we were driven to a huge silver outlet shop. I have never seen so many pieces of silver in my life! The tour guide had talked about how amazing it was and he told Cindy and Joyce that he expected me to buy a lot of things since I was a foreigner and must have a lot of money! Ha! This led me to not buying a single thing in any of the tour guide appointed shopping areas, except for maybe water or ice cream or fruit from the vendors outside of the places who made pretty good money off of the bored tourist groups.

We got back on the bus and the tour guide started yelling at us about how we didn’t buy enough. I learned that the tour guide gets commission. Lucky for me, I had no clue about what he was saying and was able to blissfully look out of the windows at the beautiful mountain vistas around me and sharing snacks with the funny three sisters sitting with me on the back bench of the bus.

Then, we were taken to some medicinal shop for another hour. I was getting antsy to actually explore, but waited it out with an ice cream cone.

We got back on the bus and were taken to a little hole in the wall place where the tour agency pays women to cook different bus groups’ lunch. The food was pretty bad… Think camp food…. bad camp food… and multiply the grossness by about 6! It was pretty nasty. Then, the tour guide screamed at us because most of the bus group was buying fruit outside of the lunch place to supplement our meals, but we were running late for a show.

We watched a show about Dali’s minority peoples dancing. I was just starting to enjoy it and it was already finished! So disappointing! Then, it was back to the bus with the mean tour guide man.

Next, we were driven to a mountain where we took cable cars up to the top. While waiting for the cable car for over an hour, I decided that I should take a few extra days at the end of my trip to visit Shanghai. I also spotted a man wearing a U of O track and field tee shirt. We spent the rest of the hour trying to talk to the man! At the top of the mountain, we walked through a cave that was the setting for a very popular kung fu television show. Everyone was so excited to be there and taking pictures, but I had no clue about what all the fuss was about.

Then, we slowly started to make six hour drive to Liquiang. The landscape around us was just spectacular. I just looked out of my window in awe most of the time drinking in all the greenness around me. It was absolutely lovely.

Then, we were forced to stop for an hour and a half at a jade shop. We spent maybe ten minutes looking at the jade and then we had more ice cream and fruit and water and talked with our fellow bored bus mates.

Our final stop of the day was to a historical campsite. We were led through a day in the life of how the minority group of the area traditionally lives. It seemed that the performers did this over and over again each day and looked really bored. I felt sorry for them. Plus, I had no clue about what was going on!

Then, we were back on the bus for the rest of the bus trip to Liquiang. I watched episodes of “Bones” on my laptop after it grew dark and I couldn’t see outside. (In one episode the team solved a murder on a flight to Shanghai, so I took that as a good sign for my own trip). A lot of the road wasn’t paved, so it was a pretty bumpy ride. I was thankful I wasn’t sick for that day!

We reached Liquiang around nine in the evening and parked right next to a gigantic statue of the Chairman. We were taken to a bad dinner and sent to our hotel room. It was quite the day!

Day 7- The Sickness

We woke up earlier today than the day before to get to the Chengdu Airport for our flight to Kunming in the Yunnan Province. I woke up stomach sick and Mr. Toilet was my friend that day. Ah, the romance of travel!

Our plane to Yunnan was delayed for three hours and they gave us a free breakfast of a hard boiled egg and some crackers that I couldn’t even look at. Meanwhile, next to me Joyce and Cindy were chowing down on a rabbit’s head. I think it’s awesome in China that people eat so much of the animal, but I was sick and behaving like an ugly American tourist and getting a bit grossed out between frequent trips to the bathroom.

We eventually made it safely to Kunming. We were picked up by one of our tour guide agency’s agents who were really nice. We sat in an office while they went through paper work with Cindy and Joyce and I just sat there and drank water while dreaming about just lying on the floor! Cindy had decided that she wanted to go home earlier from the trip, and we went around with one of the agents helping her get a train and plane ticket back to Beijing. The tour guide realized what a depressing state I was in and led me to one of her friend’s teashop. Her friend was super nice and made me tiny cup after tiny cup of tea while Joyce and Cindy went shopping.

We had dinner at a hole in the wall place. I had been feeling better, and attempted to have some of an eggs and tomatoes and rice dish, but I didn’t get eat much before I started to feel gross again. I had been taken some American stomach medicine, but Joyce went out and got me some Chinese medicine. Chinese food should be fought back with Chinese medicine, Cindy declared. The girls left me again at the tour guide’s headquarters so they could go shopping and I could just sit. I was feeling much better. The Chinese medicine really helped.

We got on our bus at 7:30 in the evening for a five-hour trip to Liqiang. I sat at the very back of the bus and comforted myself by listening to a Josh Groban over and over again on my iPod, drank a lot of water, and actually ate the breakfast crackers.

We reached Dali around 12:30 in the morning. Joyce’s friend arranged for us to stay in better hotels than the rest of the group along with a few other couples. We were dumped off in the middle of nowhere and were ushered over to our hotel. I took a shower and fell into bed. It had been a very long day. I feel sorry that Joyce and Cindy had to put up with me all day and I appreciate how kind they were to me.

Day 6- Lessons in Taoism

We woke up really, really, really early- well early for people who didn’t usually have to start for work until two in the afternoon on Wednesday in order to join a travel group on a bus around the Taoist temples in the Chengdu area. We were picked up by the bus at 6:10 and then spent the next hour picking up our fellow travelers around the city.

It rained throughout the morning. Our first stop was one of the tallest Taoist tours in the world. It was damaged in an earthquake in 2008 so people are not allowed go inside it anymore. Then, we had a little lesson in fueng suai, which is an important element in Taoism. It’s not so fun being the only person who can’t understand what the tour guide is saying. I was able to call back a little memory of the religion from studying world religions in college and reading The Tao of Poo and The Chi of Piglet. Cindy and Joyce would paraphrase a few key ideas for me, but I ended up missing a lot and wandered a bit on my own. I have been spoiled living in Beijing all year where most of the museums and tourist spots usually have English below the Mandarin.

Then, we were back on a bus to travel to the areas largest damn. Cindy and Joyce spent the time at the damn upset with the tour guide because she didn’t give us a chance to stop for a snack or go to the bathroom. The best part of the park was there are suspension bridges that you can walk across which were like a wild ride. I went across them a few times…. There was also a beautiful Taoist temple up on a hill that we were able to visit.

We stopped for lunch provided by the tour guide in a whole in the wall place. The food was not good and the place was not very clean. Little did I know that there would be a lot of meals like that in my future very soon! We then spent the afternoon in a forest that is the home to one of the oldest Taoist temples in all of China. It was such a joy to be in a beautiful forest. Cindy had never been in a forest like that before and it made me more grateful for the all the weeks I’ve lived in the forest in Oregon. I took in everything- the clean air, the beautiful trees and the sound of birds- something you rarely ever hear in Beijing unless you seek out a quiet place. The climb to the top was rough, but we were the only ones from our bus that made it to the top! I left the forest really sad to go. I also didn’t realize then all the beautiful places I would be seeing very shortly.

We went back to the hotel to make our next plans for our trip. We were planning on traveling more South, but the forecast called for lots of rain and some flooding in the area we were planning to travel to. Instead, we were able to book a travel tour group in Yunnan. Joyce got on the phone with another friend who was able to book us flights for the next morning. There was a huge debate over the name to put on my ticket. We tried to pack up as much as we could to prepare for another early morning!

Day 5: Arriving in Chengdu

The train to Chengdu felt much shorter than the train trip to Xiang Fan. I think most of it had to do with me being able to sleep soundly for 8 hours! I didn't wake up at all!

We arrived in Chengdu at about 1 in the afternoon. I had prepared myself for it to be much hotter than Beijing, but it was actually quite pleasant. We took a taxi to the hotel that we are staying in. It took the hotel almost 30 minutes to check us in since they were having a hard time reading my passport.

Our hotel room is really nice and I am able to get Internet on my computer. The girls napped this afternoon while I spent the time reading which was really nice.

We went out to a famous food and tourist shop street. We had spicy noodles and random other snacks as we walked around from booth to booth. It is a lot like like Beijing's Hou Hai area, but with more trees and water! It was beautiful. We also stopped for coffee at the most beautiful Starbucks I have ever been in.

We took a taxi back to a mall close to our hotel. The girls did some clothes shopping. It was fun to be with them, but I am excited to be able to come home and go shopping for clothes in the states soon.

Tomorrow morning, we are off to see the pandas!

Days 3 and 4: Exploring Xiang Fan

It was an early wake up call Sunday morning in the Chen household. We were all up at 7 and getting ready to go out for a local breakfast. Joyce's dad drove us to a sidewalk restaurant where we had the special Xiang Fan spicy noodles and vinegar wine for breakfast. It was definitely the most spicy, flavorful breakfast I've had this whole year, if not my entire lifetime! It was delicious, but not something I think I could eat every morning!

Then, we walked a bit around a beautiful lake before heading to a temple that housed an important Chinese officer during his holidays. The temple was beautiful. We even went through a maze that was meant to trick the opposing army, but it actually tricked us! It took us a long time to figure out how to get out.

We finally made it out of the maze and went out to lunch with some of Joyce's relatives who were all very nice to me, and I could tell they were all good storytellers even though I had no clue about what they were talking about!

The girls and I met up with Summer and walked around the lake. We had milk tea and rented a boat to take around the river which was a lot of fun. Xiang Fan if full of beautiful nature. There are lots more bugs and birds there compared with Beijing! Joyce's dad's boss and his work mates took us out to dinner. The food was great and there were lots of welcoming toasts!

Monday was a bit lazier. We spent the morning repacking and Joyce and Summer spent some time together. We went out to watch the movie Kung Fu Panda. I had already watched it last week in English with Stephanie and James, so I wasn't heartbroken when we got into the theater and it was only in Chinese with no subtitles. Then, Summer's mom had us all over for a late lunch. Cindy, Summer and I spent a restless two hours trying to buy my plane ticket home online using Summer's account. It is very, very complicated to buy anything online in China. Eventually, we were successful, but I still haven't received my e-ticket so I am not too happy about it yet.

We had dinner with Joyce's parents and then they drove us to the train station so we could make our way to visit Chengdu, home of the panda park!

Days 1 and 2: The Adventure Begins

Friday was a day of craziness. I got up early to clean and pack more of my things. I brought my big suitcase and my airplane carry on over to Cindy’s parents house where I will be staying after a few days before I leave for Portland. It took a bit of effort lugging my stuff up five flights of stairs!

Then, I raced back to my apartment and brought over a last set of household things for the new teacher at EF. At that point, I was starting to get a little sad. It was my last walk between my apartment and EF. I also was giving away a lot of stuff in the last few days.

I had about an hour to madly clean before my nice landlady came by. She was even surprised that I had cleaned. She told me that most people in China just expect that the renter move all of their stuff out. I was given back my deposit, which was a wonderful surprise.

I had one last look around my apartment and left with my landlord. I was sad to leave my little studio, but luckily I had to hurry back over to Cindy’s to meet up with her and Joyce.

We took a crazy cab ride over to the train station. The station was just pure madness. We were walking over people as we moved in line to get to the train. If you ever want to feel the scope of China’s population, get yourself to a train station!
We ended up in a sleeper car. We were going to have to share it with a grandfather, but luckily a woman offered to switch with the grandfather because it would be inappropriate for three young women to sleep in the same space as a grandfather.

We passed the evening playing cards with the woman and her husband. I learned how to play Chinese poker, which is way easier than the poker I have been taught to play. There isn’t any gambling involved, but a lot of smack talk!

It was mostly pretty fun to sleep on the train. I would wake up every time we got to a stop to let people off. I also had a weird dream where our train went all the way from Beijing to Chicago where we were invited to go on the now extinct “Oprah” show.

We arrived in Joyce’s hometown Xiang Fan around noon on Saturday. We were met by Joyce’s dad who drove us over to meet Joyce’s mom in a beautiful restaurant. Joyce has not been home for over a year, so it was a pretty big welcoming day! Her parents are truly lovely and have been spoiling me the whole time. In the afternoon, we went over to an ancient area to do some shopping and sight seeing. In the evening, we went out to KTV that night with Joyce’s oldest friend, Summer.

The ICBC Stare Down

I finally have access to my bank account after a long 16 days!

I waited about two hours this morning until my number was called. I had a great stare down with the ICBC teller for 40 minutes. He would stare at me, stare at my passport, enter something on the computer, and then just stare at me again! It was a frustrating process, and I was already upset with the whole ordeal, and stared right back at him. Eventually, he demanded I pay more money than the service fee I had already paid a week ago. I did not have any money on me, I had used the last bit Cindy had loaned me last week on noodles for dinner last night, so I told him no and just stared back. Eventually, he sighed and kept up the staring, passport, computer, staring process all over again! Finally, he handed over my bank card. It's very pretty. It has the backdrop of the Forbidden City on it!

Next, I was trying to find a way to book my plane ticket online using my China bank account. I had to go back to the bank and apply for an online account which took another two hours of my life! Long story short, I wasn't able to download a program I needed for my online account at Ef, and ICBC does not recognize Mac users, so hopefully I'll try again over at the Sun residence tomorrow.

Tomorrow, I'm off on a train with Cindy and Joyce to visit the South! I am way excited! I don't know how often I will be able to post on my blog, but I am going to try to write every night and then post it to here when I get the opportunity!

Write to you soon!

The Beiyuan Fortune

I found a Chinese fortune from a dinner I had with my Mom before I left for China last year today while going through my jewelry bag. It says, “You will make a change for the better within the year.” Truer words were never read out of a fortune cookie before.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the community that I have lived in this year. I am going to miss my Beiyuan suburbia. I am going to miss having mangled Mandarin small talk in the elevators. I am going to miss the funny security guards that sing to themselves. I am going to miss the women exercising out in the square and the old men playing card games and drinking beer on the street corners. I am going to miss running into EF families in the grocery stores and on the streets. I am going to miss my late evening walks home from the gym and the quietness of feeling that I am the only one up on my early Sunday morning walks to work. I am going to miss the security of having good friends living a few complexes away. I am going to miss buying fruit off the street and the sweet couple that run the store on the first floor.

I am going to miss my studio apartment. In the beginning, it felt like my only sanctuary from all the smoke and Mandarin. I had an instant feeling that this could be my new home when I first walked into it with Jason, the crazy EF relator guy. It wasn’t as nice as most of my friends’ apartments in the neighborhood, but they were just a little too posh for my style. I am glad I listened to that little voice when I was making my decision between where to live. Now, I recognize it as the place where I did lots of growing up, a quiet place where I could work on me. For that, it will always have a warm place in my heart. I am going to miss it, weird elephant pointing to the bathroom light and all.

Whenever I have met new people and the conversation turns to asking where do you live, everyone is surprised that a single girl like me new to Beijing would want to live in suburbia. Honestly, I can answer that I didn’t really know much about the layout of the city before I had to pick a place to live. My only real request was that I wanted to live within walking distance of my school. I was pretty naïve about neighborhoods and the “cool” places to live in Beijing.

I like to think that just like with most of the other parts of my adventure, it was just meant to be. I might not have lived in a trendy part of town, but I think it was the perfect neighborhood for me to grow in this year.

I can never explain how much character Beiyuan has, or describe the appreciation I have of this neighborhood in words. It’s just going to have to live in my soul, along with all the special moments I’ve had here.

Thank you for helping me make a change for the better, Beiyuan.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

It's Dragon Boat Festival weekend in China. Most people are on a long holiday until Wednesday.

I actually went out on a Saturday night last night! Madness! Usually my Saturday nights consist of going to the gym, making dinner, grading papers and failing to good to bed early enough for the next day of classes. I haven't really missed having a "real" weekend in Beijing since most of my friends here have about the same days off as I do.

I met up with my friend Vivian for steamed dumplings for dinner and then Cindy met us a little later. We walked over to a bar where one of Vivian's friends was playing in a band. The music was a mixture of pop and folk, but really fun. I haven't heard live music like that since before I left last year, so it was really awesome. Plus, they had dark beer on tap! Vivian introduced me to two of her friends, one who is a student from Seattle, and a student from Italy. They were visiting from Chendu- the panda place- and will be back there when Joyce, Cindy and I are visiting there. We exchanged phone numbers and we might be able to hang out with them while we are there. They told us about an awesome Buddhist Temple area up on a mountain near Chendu that we should visit. They also gave us a name of a good hostel place to stay at. It was just such good timing.

So far, the rest of this weekend, I've been putting all my stuff into piles. I have my Winter clothes all packed up in my suitcase. I have a pile of clothes to take to a donation center. I have another pile of things to give away to my friends if they want them. I have a pile of things that I need to take with me while traveling. I thought I had been living simply in Beijing, but when trying to put it all into two suitcases, it sure doesn't feel like it!

ICBC Banking Purgatory

One key piece of advice: If you ever live in China, don't use the ICBC Bank.

It's been a bit of a frustrating last few days, but I'll start from the beginning.

Tuesday I woke up with the feeling of freedom! I had no work to worry about and just needed to concentrate on getting my apartment cleaned and packed up, enjoying my time in Being and eventually dealing with my banking situation.

EF hosted a big get together in a bar in Sanliturn Tuesday night. There was free food and beer and it gave me a chance to say good-bye to the Beijing 2 teachers and other people that i have met along the way. I also just enjoyed hanging out with my friends. Laura brought along Amy, my mentor teacher, and it was wonderful catching up with her. It was a fun night.

Wednesday was suppose to be the day that I was to get my new visa back in my passport. I was waiting around the school waiting for the delivery, but it just wasn't showing up. I got in touch with the EF visa lady and she told me that she just didn't getting around to picking up the passports today,,,sorry! Ahhhh!

Yesterday, I went to the head EF office and was able to pick up my passport and new visa. They wanted me to pay for the new visa, which I didn't know I needed to do, but I told them that I couldn't pay for it until I got my bank account open. Luckily, they made me swear to pay it to the accounts manager at my school before I left.

I made my way back to my neighborhood and excitedly handed over my passport and a note in Chinese from my friend Sue who told them what I needed to do. The teller helped me open a new account. My heart dropped when I went to the ATM and the only money on it was the 10 quai I had to give them to open the account! I was able to go up to the school and Sue came down to help me. They told me that I would have to wait until June 9th to pick up my card which means a whole additional week without any access to my money and mouching off of my friends here which just sucks. I also learned that EF had only paid me for nine days from last month.

I went back upstairs to the school to talk to Laura about my payroll problem, and talked to some of the other teachers about my banking situation. Everyone said I should go back to the bank tomorrow and just cry and ask to speak to someone in English.

So, this morning, I went back to the bank, waited the obligatory hour to see the teller who just nodded her head at me and showed me the date when I should come back to pick up my card. I just sat there and said "I need to talk to someone in English." There was five banking people who came out of no where and were just talking over me. Eventually, I was escorted to a VIP room where they hooked up a phone and I was able to talk to someone in English who just told me I would have to wait.

I hated making a scene, but I had been told that other foreigners have been able to get their bank cards back earlier. Nick and Miles both didn't have to wait seven days when their wallets were stolen. I just didn't want to feel like I was taking advantaged of. It wasn't my proudest moment.

So now, I am kind of in banking purgatory. Cindy has loaned me some money so I can eat, but I can't really do too much else. I've been catching up on sleep, cleaning and packing, going to the gym and watching too many episodes of "Bones." My Internet has been shut off at my apartment, too, so I've been searching for wireless places, too.

I guess I really am being forced to slow down.

Boom: The Final "Good-Bye" Song

It's been a long, emotional and fun past 24 hours filled with lots of love.

Last night, both the academic and customer relations staffs were invited out for a dinner to welcome the new teachers and CRs and to say good-bye to Joyce, Marie, Cindy and I (and Nick in spirit since he's already off collecting data about water and plants in Tibet). We had a lovely dinner. We took up the entire second floor of a restaurant! The customer relations staff sang the "Good-Bye" song to us four girls and the "Hello" song to the new teachers and CRs which was really fun. Then, Laura made a sweet presentation to wish the four of us good-bye. The school gave me a picture frame, a small star certificate that they wrote on, and a luggage tag with Vic, the small star character that is most like me... She's a cuddly hedgehop that carries around a basket of flowers. It was really sweet.

Then, a few of us continued the night at a fun little imported microbrew bar in the nearby Hutong neighborhood. It was a rather warm night so we sat outside until the early hours of the morning. We laughed and giggled and cried at times and it was just perfect.

Today at work, James and Ryan helped me move all of my documents from my Word folder to the shared school drive so everyone will have access to my lesson plans. Then, I was able to place them on my own computer. I spent the rest of the afternoon finishing some last minute grading. I had an exit interview phone call to Shanghai. They were more interested in how I thought my hotel stay was then anything else!

I taught just one small star class this evening. it was with my hardest small star class that I've had all year, the violent one was there and all! I told the students that this was my very last EF class and that I wanted it to be happy. The happiness turned into a bit of craziness which turned into a bit of chaos, but it seemed like a fitting way to go out! The last good-bye song was extra sweet.

I spend the next hour while everyone was in class taking care of last minute things. I cleaned out my teaching supply box to get it ready for the new foreign teacher to use, cleaned out my cubby for Aminata and made a special cubby sign for her. I cleaned up my mug and dressed it up with stickers to bequeath it to James. Finally, at the last few minutes of class, I sat in the middle of the school where I could hear most of my friends singing their good-bye songs with the kids and dismissing the classes. I sat and watched as students were picked up, students screaming and running around, and the CRs and teachers talking to families and finishing up for the day. It is a moment I don't think I am going to forget anytime soon. Sometimes I just got so caught up in getting from one class to the next, from one task to the next, that I often forgot to just enjoy the madness a bit. I thought about my first afternoon and evening at the school observing Claire's class and worried that I would never find what I was searching for in China.

I went back to the office and chatted with the teachers about their last classes like normal, but it wasn't normal. We were all a bit stalling about saying our good-byes. I was able to give the few last letters I hadn't gotten out to my friends and made some tearful good-byes. I know my friendships will never be the same, but I like to think we're moving from one stage of our friendship to the next. One that can just be of friendship and the shared experience of working in the Enchanted Forest.

I helped Cindy clean out her cubby and she, Marie, King and I went to the Korean BBQ place for a late night snack. It was really nice to just decompress with them for a bit before I went home.

I feel really good about how I ended my time with EF. I didn't leave any of my unfinished business for anyone to have to work on. I am proud to hand over my classes to Aminata, save for the violent one's, and I know she will work hard for them to provide them with the English education that they deserve.

Most of all, I am so happy that I got to meet so many wonderful people who have taught me so much about being a good teacher, a more worldly citizen and a compassionate friend. I never imagined that I would be a part of such a community.

I am going to bed tonight sad that I am leaving my job, but my heart feels very very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very happy.

Gratitude

I have been busy writing good-bye letters the past few days to my friends that I work with. I just wanted to make sure that I was able to say everything I wanted to say to them even if I can't do it myself if I start crying.

I feel so lucky that I have been able to be on this journey with so many wonderful people who have taught me so much more about the world then I knew before. I know I will be coming back to the states a changed person and I am so lucky to have people in my life in Beijing that care about me and want what's best for me.

In a few of my letters, I just couldn't express how grateful I am to meet them and become their friend. Words just don't cut it sometime, but I had to try my best to say what I needed to say.

I only taught one class today. It was one of my High Flyer classes. We attempted to create a video on waste management. I brought out the dress up bins and the kids had way more fun playing dress up then actually doing their work. We barely got through the objectives I set for the class period, but part of me just wanted to have fun with them, which I did. Otherwise, I spent today trying to get all my administration work caught up. I don't want to leave anyone with any of my work.

I've been trying to take in all the little moments. My Mom told me when I was younger that when you really want to remember something you should close your eyes and tell yourself to remember the moment and that you usually remember it more clearly. I know that I have quite a few of those type of moments stored away because I followed her advice. I'm have been trying to do that this weekend as I take in the craziness of my crowded little school and staff room for one final weekend.

I only have two more days of work left. It sill hasn't hit me yet that this is really it. Maybe it will hit on Thursday when everyone else is at work and I'm on "vacation." Maybe it won't really hit until I go home.

All I really know is that I am one lucky girl

So Many Title Ideas...

It's been a whopper of a few days! Let's start at the beginning.

On Tuesday, I was suppose to meet a few of my friends for a day in Tianjin. Tianjin is a city about an hour and half bus or car ride from Beijing, but we were taking the bullet train which only takes 29 minutes! I made it early to our meeting spot, but then I realized I wasn't getting any texts back from my friends who are usually much more likely to be on time than I am! My phone has pretty much died, but everyone knows that I can hear when other people talk, but I can't talk back to them. Miles called and told me that they were beginning to worry that I wasn't there and he gave me directions on where to go in the railroad station. This began about 45 minutes of crazy panic. I kept getting calls from the other three telling me where I should meet them. The funny thing was that I was exactly where they asked me to be! Eventually, it all began to dawn on me, and later on I realized from them, that I was at the wrong train station. Miles called one last time with directions on how to get to the train station where they were at! I frantically made my way back on the subway to get to Joyce who had waited for me at the station. I felt so bad for wasting my friends' time! Joyce was so sweet and made me feel better about it all, and we got tickets to get on the train.

The bullet train was amazing. The inside was pristine and the time went by in a blink of an eye! A screen scrolled how fast we were going and that fastest our train reached was about 331 kilometers per hour or 205.65 miles per hour!

We reached Tianjin and met up with the boys. We took a rather spiritual taxi ride to a famous inside market and restaurant area. We had lunch and did a bit of window shopping. Then, we walked through a few neighborhoods until we discovered a cool outdoor market that had lots of beautiful statues. We passed a stamp engraver shop and Joyce and Miles told me that I really should get myself a stamp with both my English and Chinese name. We went in and Joyce helped write out my Chinese name and I wrote out my first name in my normal signature. The engraver told us to come back in an hour.

We continued to meander around until we found a bell tower. We were able to get up to the tower and we all took turns ringing the bell! It was pretty fun and we got to see a nice view of the city.

We walked back to collect my new stamp, which I hope I'll be able to use for a long time, and walked to the center of town. We first stopped in to a Disney English school to check out the competition. The people at the front desk were really nice and answered all of our questions.

We made it to the big market and had fun looking at the antiques. We made our way to a park that had some old military tanks and crossed a beautiful bridge. Tianjin has a lot more bridges and water compared to Beijing.

Joyce and I went back to the railroad station to get back to Beijing while the gentlemen continued their adventure. Joyce and I met up with Cindy and Stephanie for a hot pot dinner. We had so much fun giggling and catching up! Then, we went to Hou Hai to check out the rooftop bar that I thought would be perfect for our going away party. We got to Hou Hai and I just couldn't find it. The only time I had been there was with James and Miles during our stinky tofu adventure. The girls and I called up the boys who tried to help us get back to the bar, but we weren't able to figure it out. We ended up walking al the way back to the start of the area and wound our way back to bar! I was so excited to find it! The girls and I had a lots of laughs at the bar, but we decided that it wouldn't be a good place for the party. We each had a moijito that was not good and cost way, way more than normal ever for a bar. Plus, the owner of the bar told us that we were crazy for thinking the drink wasn't very good.

Yesterday, I spent the day with Marie and Sabrina. We went to the neighborhood that houses the university that Marie will attend next fall to study Chinese and acting. Sabrina was able to help Marie register. The campus is infamous for training the best Chinese actors. The halls are lined with portraits of the most famous Chinese theater, movie and television stars! We then went window shopping through the neighborhood. It was a really fun day.

Then, I said good-bye to the girls around six and went to Sanliturn. I wanted to pick up some movies to watch during my trip and then went to have dinner. After I paid for dinner, I remember putting my cute panda wallet back into my purse. However, as I was leaving the restaurant there was this big commotion at the front door involving two rather large Russian men. I thought it was a bit weird but I wasn't too concerned. I should have had my radar up way more! I followed one of the men down the escalator. However, at the end of the escalator, the man stopped right on the platform and I slammed into him because he was just too big to get around. I remember that his buddy was right behind me. I squeezed by and went to the bathroom. After I washed my hands, I went into my bad for some lip gloss and I realized my wallet was gone! I checked the toilet I had used, but it wasn't there. I went to the security place right outside of the bathroom and reported my wallet. Then, I went back to the restaurant and the wait staff totally took care of me. They searched the restaurant and talked to every single waiter and waitress on the floor. They even let me use their phone so I could call some of my friends to ask for help. Then, it began to dawn on me what had happened at the escalator and at the lobby of the restaurant. I had been had.

Luckily, they had only taken my cute panda wallet. I was able to take the subway home and still had my keys and ipod and everything else in my bag. I was able to get ahold of Stephanie on Skype and she was able to freeze my bank account! The creeps hadn't accessed any of my money! I was so thankful for that and all of Stephanie's help. She also was able to text Cindy and Joyce to let them know I was safe and ok at home.

The only way I can get a new bank card to access my money though is with my passport. However, my passport is at the visa office right now and there is no way for me to get it! Luckily, I had some spare money in my apartment and my friends have offered to loan me some money until everything works out.

I was upset last night, but I am feeling better about it right now. I feel really lucky that I wasn't hurt and that I have made such caring friends while I have been here. I could have been so much worse.

I like to think it's just one more interesting layer to my adventure.

Police Station Success!

I made it out of the police station this morning after 45 minutes of the police officer looking at me and talking in Chinese and me just looking back gesturing that I had no clue I understood what she was saying. I came in prepared with a note written by my friend Joyce in Chinese saying what I needed and how to get in touch with my landlady. At one point, "No hablo espanol" escaped my mouth! The police officer would just stare at me and my lease for awhile, then go help someone else, and then sigh when she saw me still there. I think she was hoping I would grow weary and leave, but I wasn't going anywhere, because that piece of paper is the last thing I need to see more of China! Now, it seems a bit hysterical, but when I was there in it, it wasn't too funny!

I taught a VIP student who will be going to the Princeton campus this summer for a special music and science camp. He had his own Visa meet this morning with the US Embassy. I asked him about the questions he was asked and he honestly told me that he didn't really remember because his interviewer was really pretty. Fair enough. He wasn't too into working on his writing or grammar today, so we close read a few Selena Gomez song lyrics, his favorite pop artist. Seriously!

I subbed in again for James's small star classes that he just inherited from Nick. In the middle of the summer, a bunch of parents decided that they didn't want me teaching their kids because they could get a male American teacher. I had to teach that special class tonight. The thing was though, the students were happy to see me and we had a really great class. It was really healing for me to have that moment with them before they left. I know I am a much better small star teacher than I was at the beginning, but it was nice to see it really was about the parents and not about my rapport with the students. It felt like a gift.

Oregon is to Avatar as...

I had a busy teaching weekend. I only actually taught two of my own classes. Aminata is starting to take my classes so I was able to sub for other teachers that are out. I taught a very low level elementary class and it was such hard work. This particular class was even more exhausting than most of small stars classes! I'm glad I didn't teach that level all year long. Many of the students couldn't even ask to go to the bathroom in English.

Today after my morning classes, I had to take a taxi across the city to Beijing 1 to sub for an older elementary class. The class was absolutely lovely and we had a lot of fun. I asked the students what they are doing this summer and seven out of eight of them are going on International adventures. I love how the kids get excited when they learn I'm from the states, but once they find out that I am not from California, Texas, Washington D.C., New York or Hawaii they quickly lose interest! I feel that I could be pretty good at promoting Oregon tourism... "It's somewhere between Los Angelos and Seattle, Washington...No, not where President Obama lives, the other Washington... No, it's not near the Mississippi River... Yes, we speak English in Oregon, too... No, there are not any wild elephants... No, my hometown is not as big as Beijing... No, I've never met a movie star... We do drive cars there....I have my own car... It's a 1995 Geo Prism...You're right, it is old and weird sounding... There are lots of forests and mountains and everything is really green... No, it doesn't look like Avatar... Ok... so not so much for the tourism, but the the line of questioning is pretty funny.

There was only one boy in the class and he was so excited because I was the first person he had ever met that has gone camping before. He is going for the first time in Canada this summer with his family. He's been doing his wilderness survival reading and probably knows a lot more than I do on how to survive getting attacked by bears. He was actually much more freaked out by the idea of skunks! So fun!

Two and Half Hour Lunch Breaks

EF is renewing my Visa and I am going to be able to travel in China during the month of June! I am getting so excited. Plans are still a little fuzzy, but right now I am hoping to take a train to Shanghai and spend a few days there, train trip to Chendu to visit the Panda Reservation and them meet up with Joyce and Cindy in Joyce's family's hometown in the South. Then, I'll come back to make a few last good-byes in Beijing and fly home to Oregon. Colleen's China Chronicle will be hitting the open road soon! I'm really excited!

Today, I had to go to the police office to get a new registration to renew my visa. My nice landlady sent me the address of the police station... the last time I was there I went there was in late June... so I took a taxi there. The taxi driver didn't have a clue about where he was going. He stopped and asked a grandma about how to get there and she and her grandson got in the taxi and directed him there! Gotta love Beijing! I first accidentally walked into the traffic ticket place and an older gentleman came up to me and said, "Ah, they got you, too!" Oddly, I didn't comprehend his English until I found a sign that said "Traffic" in English. I showed the man my residence registration and he pointed me to the correct building. I got to the building and found out I had just missed the residence people. They were out for their two and a half hour lunch break! Chinese siesta time, I guess!

Today at work was busy and fun. I am subbing a lot of James's classes this weekend because he is off to run the Great Wall Marathon. I taught an open door ceremony class for a class I used to teach but James officially took over as the only teacher right before the remodel. It was awesome to reconnect with the students and tell them and their parents good-bye. I even got some cute pictures.

Snow White

Yesterday, I had a fun day with my friend Wang Fei from Starfish. She invited me over to the new-to-her apartment that she is now living in before she leaves for school in Russia in the fall. We went to the market near her home and bought all the fixings for dumplings and made dumplings all morning! We bought pre-made dumpling dough though, and even though it looked a bit dry and old while we were cooking, they still tasted fabulous! Hopefully, I'll find some nifty International shop where I can buy pre-made dough in Portland.

Today was very busy at work. I'm trying to get everything sorted for my weekend classes. I'm mostly subbing for a teacher out on holiday while Aminata starts taking over some of my classes. I'm also going to be traveling to Beijing 1 on Sunday afternoon to teach a class there. Should be interesting.

In my last small star class of the evening, I learned that the students had learned that I was leaving. They weren't really asking about me going home, but they were really sweet to me. The girls kept saying I was a princess like Snow White! It was really cute.

"F" I'll give you a word for that, freedom... "D," I'll give you a word for that, dirty diapers.... "C" I'll give you a word for that, choking

Small Stars continue to amaze me.

Sunday morning I subbed in at Beijing 2 while a few other teachers at my school with empty time slots took over my own classes. My first small star class of the morning was lovely, but the second was awful! I had been warned that it was a rough class, but Laura told me later that they didn't give me the full details upfront so I wouldn't have the chance to say "no." Turns out, Beijing 2 has their own set(!) of violent ones! It was a rough class. One mother sat through the entire class just to make sure her own child didn't get hurt. It was awful. I couldn't keep any of the students engaged at all for more than a minute and a half.

Last night, I taught one of my small star classes that only has three students. One little boy really is not ready to be in the class and he looks like he is about to fall asleep, which I don't blame him for... a 7:15 start time for a class is late for a little five year old! There is one girl in the class that is just right on track, both socially and academically, and then there is Percy. Percy probably has a better vocabulary bank than I did at 10! I don't think he knows what the words mean in English or even Chinese, but he can spit them out! He got super mad in the first stage of the class for not letting him go first with an activity. He was upset through most of the class which quickly grew weary for everyone in the room, including Aminata who was observing me. Towards the end of most of small star classes I review the name and sound of the letters they have studied and show a flashcard that has a picture of something that starts with the letter in question. We were going through the letters and Percy kept on saying, "Letter," I'll give you a word for that... and it would be something pretty fantastic. While the other two children said "Pencil" Percy said "Pollution." While the children said "Mel (the EF bird friend of Roddy)" Percy said "Mind-Bending." It was so odd listening to the two different levels of English that I lost it and started giggling even though I didn't want to, which, of course, egged Percy on! Aminata was just stone faced through all of Percy's craziness!

Last night, after the Percy episode, we all went out to celebrate Nick's last week. His last day is Friday, but last night was the best night for everyone to stay out. We took over four tables at the Korean BBQ place and overwhelmed the nice staff with our order. We had fun sharing Nick stories and toasting Nick about his year at EF and with us. Half of us ended up going to KTV and singing out hearts out. It was a fun night out.

Lost in the In-Between

Transitions have always been hard for me. I would think that I would start getting better about them as I've gotten older and that I have spent a lot of my twenties transitioning from one place to another, from one job or school to another, but it's still hard.

I'm stuck in this in-between place right now.

At work, I'm training other teachers to take over my classes, which is great and odd at the same time. I feel lucky that I've gotten to meet the teacher who is replacing me and I can tell her about the history of the class and the strengths and weaknesses of the students. It's nice to know that it's not some random person, but an experienced teacher.

I still don't know what I'll be doing after I finish EF. I kind have been hoping to have some kind of job to come home to, but that's looking less and less like it will happen. I also have some travel ideas forming, but we'll see...

I know that everything is going to be okay, but I'm a sea of emotions, like when I go through all the feelings the little small stars can answer the question "How are you?" with!

I know with time that this, too, shall pass and I should just enjoy the ride.

Here's a few moments from this ride as of late!

-One of my higher level classes teaching my boss the importance of bringing her own set of chopsticks to a restaurant instead of using the disposable ones during her class's presentation today. So awesome!
-Non stop giggling over tea at a pizza hut with Cindy and Joyce Thursday night
-My favorite small star class giving me genuine hugs after they were told that I was going back to the U.S. Little Leo kept asking when would I be coming back...
-A crazy mother telling me that the computer was a better teacher than I was...
-Sending out my high flyer class into the school to ask English speaking adults about their favorite old school proverbs...Seriously... who wrote these text books! Listening to Nick and Ryan explain their choices for their favorite proverbs was pretty great... "I don't like getting up early and I don't want to be eaten." "I think it is important that you don't always stay with people just like you." Good sports.
-Waking up early to call employment opportunities at home and thinking about how they are just getting ready to go home yesterday!

And finally, drum roll please....

-An old dude smoking a cigarette in the gym!

Dumplings Anyone?

Marie and I took the long subway and bus journey to our friend's Sabrina's home this morning. It took us about an hour and 45 minutes to get to her place. i can't believe Sabrina has that commute every day to and from work!

Sabrina and her sister taught us how to make dumplings today! We made egg and leek dumplings. I learned how to make the dough and the filling and how to cook them and everything! It does take a few hours to get everything accomplished! Cindy arrived later in the afternoon for our late feast of a lunch. We had gotten some snacks and Marie's boyfriend had made a few dishes for us, too. We had a delicious meal and a good visit. Their apartment is pretty big, too, and they had a real kitchen table. It was really very kind of the girls to have us over and they were excellent teachers!

I can't wait to make dumplings at home!

Renmin University District

This evening I met up with my friend Stephanie in the Renmin University District. We ate dinner at a great restaurant that specialized in food from a Southern Province. It was so delicious. We had a few cold vegetable dishes and a big bowl of their famous noodles, tomatoes, peppers and onions dishes! So yummy! Of course, it was really lovely to catch up with Stephanie, too.

Then, we went out to walk around the shopping area, kind of like the Beijing equivalent of Eugene's 13th Avenue. We went exploring through the different shops and stands. It was a really warm night and a lot of students were out and about. I found it funny that their were a Subway, Dairy Queen and pizza places on the street just like in Eugene! Even in Beijing, college kids like what college kids like! I bought several sheets of stickers for my students and some trinkets to take home to my friends. it was a very fun evening!

Call in the Replacements

This past weekend wasn't quite as busy for me as it normally is. Two of small star classes were canceled due to the parents being nervous about their children being submitted to the "bad air" from the remodel. All of us teachers are blaming any mistake we are making on the "air."

We now have three out of the five replacement teachers for the five of us that are leaving at the end of this month and the beginning of June. A woman named Aminata is going to be taking over most of my classes along with Miles and Ryan taking one or two each. She is my age and from New York. She has been teaching special education for the past six years. She's lovely and my students are going to be lucky to have her as a teacher. She observed my two small star classes this evening. She actually made me feel better because she was able to pick out a few students who may have some learning/socialization behaviors that should may be checked out by a specialist. It was a bit of a relief to hear that news from someone. I have asked for help with this class and EF had not been able to give me much support. I had actually wished that the violent one was there today. I bet Aminata could provide a lot of insight into that special case. One of the little ones in that class that I can usually really count on to set a good example was acting very abnormal. He was touching the computer, hitting his classmates and not listening to my instructions at all. I kept him after the class for a bit to see what was wrong with the help of the TA translating for me. The little boy told us he just didn't want to be there today and that he was tired... It's good to be reminded that even the sweetest of little ones have their bad days, too.

I told my two highest level classes over the weekend that I will be leaving at the end of the month. Aminata is going to be either observing and co-teaching with me for the next three weekends so I wanted to be able to tell them on my own so they could be free to ask me questions. Both classes were sad to hear that I was leaving, which was really sweet, but also excited to learn about their new teacher. I had told my highest level students that I had big news to share with them and they were hoping I had found a Chinese boyfriend! They were highly disappointed! I am going to miss them a lot, but it's good to know they will be in capable hand.

I want to wish my Mom a happy mother's day! Wǒ ài nǐ!

Happy Mother's Day to all those women in my life: Joanna, my aunts and my mentors and friends, too, because it takes a village to raise a child (or a 28-year-old), and I'll take all the help I can get!

Boom!!!!! 1 Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A year ago today my Mom, Dad, Joanna, Crystal and Reilly dropped me off at the Portland airport to start my journey to Beijing.

It's amazing what a year can do...

I was thinking how crazy my first walk around the He Ping Le hotel was like. The smells were overwhelming, Mandarin sounded like one big yell, and I was just trying to not cry all the time. I was hungry and truly just exhausted from all of the good-byes and the mad rush of only really four days to move out of my apartment and pack!

There were so many moments where I wanted to get back on an airplane and turn back, but I am sure glad I didn't!

I had lots and lots of hopes going into this new adventure and many of them came true!

I am living in one of the most International cities in the world on a whole different continent.

I kept just one job for an entire year

I made lots of new friends and was enveloped by an amazing community.

I've had the opportunity to visit some of China's most treasured landmarks.

I was thinking today about how amazingly normal my day felt. I taught three great classes. I had a fun lunch with my friends. I went to the gym and picked up some groceries. I would have never imagined life feeling "normal" here in China a year ago!

I did do one thing that I have been scared to do previously tonight, though. There's an individual hot pot restaurant near my grocery store that I have always wanted to try, but was too nervous to because everything was in Chinese. I went in, picked out the tofu and vegetables that I wanted, actually understood how much it cost and could even ask where the chopsticks were! It was delicious! It was one of those small victories.

I think I lived a lot this year trying to go from one small victory to the next. I think that was maybe one of the many lessons I needed to learn while being here. I've learned to appreciate the small things much more and maybe have become a bit more patient and less anxious. Everything when I arrived was a small victory. I was reading a few of my first sets of blogs earlier this week when my friend Ryan suggested that I take a look back at the earlier me in Beijing. A year ago, those small victories were pretty huge,,,figuring out the subway... paying for electricity at the bank... learning how to cook for myself in a new country... crossing the street... Those are just a few examples...

Those small victories led me to live in the present a bit more. My year can really be defined by the quiet moments. The moments were I felt accomplished or just scared. The moments that I decided to be brave and try new things. The moments where I decided to let go of trying to control how a situation would go in my mind and just watched it play out. The moments where I shared a piece of myself or my past to help build new friendships. The moments when I appreciated a student as just one individual child. The moments where the only way I could respond was with a smile and I received one back in return. Beijing gave me enough noise to create the soundtrack of my past year so I could concentrate on those quieter moments, whether shared or by myself.

Of course, those big things, the "booms" and the facebook status worthy moments, and the post card sending tourist spots were all wonderful and amazing and exciting, but I think I did most of my Beijing education came from those quiet moments.

I only have about three more weeks left in this city. I hope it will be filled with moments of grandeur and lots of shared quiet moments.

Thank you for letting me reflect on all of these types of moments, my blog readers. Some of my best quiet moments have been writing in my little studio apartment and smiling thinking about who might be reading this in the future (or you know, really the past because most of my readers are from the states).

I really am a lucky girl!

Boom!

Thunder and Lightening and Narnia

I woke up in the middle of the night to a huge clap of thunder that scared me! I got up and watched the show from my window until I got sleepy again. The weather yesterday was pretty humid and it looked like it was going to rain all day. I woke up today to a drizzly sky, but it grew into an absolutely beautiful Spring Beijing day.

Today was the first teaching day for me back at my school. I now really appreciate my seven minute walk to work and the extra two hours of my day that I had because I wasn't at Beijing 2!

The school is still pretty disheveled, and if it was an American school or day care, there would be no way the school would be open to students/children! There is still a lot that needs to be fixed and there are still pretty dangerous tools around. Today, workers were replacing light bulbs everywhere and we were all ducking around the school hoping to not get anything dropped on our heads! All of our basic materials have found homes, but a lot of our own personal resources have no place to go. Right now I am sharing a little cubby space with both Miles and Nick for all of our supplies.

Before the remodel, the classrooms where all named after cities that EF has schools in such as London, New York, Rome, Cambridge, Los Angelos, Boston, Beijing, etc... Now, they are all adjectives such as magic(al), fantastic, laugh, courage... We knew that the rooms were getting new names but James, Ryan and I had imagined all the rooms named after science fiction/fantasy planets and ships... Narnia, Hoth, Enterprise, Millennium Falcon, the Shire, Serenity, etc... We lost!

My two small star classes were fun and it felt like we hadn't been away for the last three weeks!

Last Day at Starfish

Today was my last day at Starfish. I decided that since I only have a few weeks left in Beijing, I need to use my Wednesdays for a few last minute adventures and take care of moving matters. It seems like it was the perfect day for me to say good-bye. One of the women in my intermediate class left a few weeks ago to live with her boyfriend in the South. My other intermediate student, Wang Fei, had been taking tests to prepare her to go to school in Russia. I was scheduled to tutor my beginner student today, but when i arrived, so was so exhausted she did not want a class. Luckily, Wang Fei was around and we had some time to catch up. I had written her a letter because I thought I wouldn't get the chance to talk to her in person, but luckily I was able to tell her what I wanted to tell her in person. We both talked about our big life transitions. Wang Fei is leaving Starfish after three years of living in the shelter and working for the company. Today was her last day at Starfish and she will be moving out of the shelter at the end of May. She will be starting school in Russia in August. I'm glad I got to have my last experience at Starfish just chatting with her. I hope that we will be able to stay friends over e-mail.

I talked to the director at Starfish for a bit and she asked me to share what I have learned about the women at Starfish and their spirit with my friends at home. She gave me a blue starfish necklace and helped me take pictures with the women that were there today. I left pretty teary.

Tutoring at Starfish gave the opportunity to learn a little more about China outside of the EF bubble that I normally found myself in. I will be always grateful to my fellow Quaker, Jennifer, for introducing me to the women at Starfish, and giving me a different lens to see Beijing in. The women that I have met at Starfish have taught me so much about making changes in your life with joy and a lot of hard work. They have inspired me.

Tonight, I came home to a prostitution advertisement hanging on my door handle like I do a few times every week. I'm glad that Starfish is around.

The Great Clean

We arrived back at our school at 10 this morning. The workers were still working away, but we had a lot of cleaning to do! However, we had absolutely zero supplies and they wanted us to just use dish soap to clean up the tables, chairs and desks! I was sent to the Lotus to fill up on cleaning supplies, including tons of cloths and sprays and cleaning gloves. I got back and worked with Joyce and Ryan to disinfect the teachers' office.

I left a bit after noon to go home to shower and eat lunch before taking the subway back to Beijing 2 to substitute for a teacher on holiday. The school was still looking pretty chaotic, but things were getting cleaned. I think it'll look really pretty on Thursday when I get back from my day off.

I taught a big, but fun young elementary class this evening at Beijing 2. The students were learning greetings and the difference between "a" and "an" today.

Cindy also had to substitute at Beijing 2 today so we went out for a sushi dinner and enjoyed that Wang Fu Jing neighborhood for our last day of working there. I'm glad I got the opportunity to get to now a different neighborhood well!

Ryan's Birthday Dinner

Tonight, a few of us from work gathered for dinner to celebrate Ryan's 30th birthday party. We had delicious food and talked about how the remodel is going at our school. We talked a little bit about the news about the death of Osama Bin Laden. A few people were saying how on Chinese news a few of the announcers were accidentally saying that President Obama was dead. Osama/Obama... one can understand the mix up. It's been a little surreal thinking about how this huge story that was breaking in the US this morning Beijing time actually happened in one of China's bordering countries.

After dinner, we walked over to the school were workers are, I'm sure, still working on some last minute details. The teaching staff is going in tomorrow to start moving resources, and then a few small star classes will resume on Wednesday evening if all goes as planned. The school is looking pretty shiny. Laura's office is now back in the teacher's office and is all glassed in so she is going to feel like a zoo animal! I feel bad about that! They put in long glass windows on the doors of both the male and female bathrooms which is going to be a bit unpleasant, especially for the gentlemen because everyone walks right past their bathroom! The paint is now pretty shades of blue and green and now every classroom has an interactive white board which is pretty exciting. Too bad they didn't do this earlier in the year so I could appreciate teaching in such a pretty school, but I'll just have to enjoy it for the month I have left. I hope to take some pictures to show you tomorrow!

Happy Chinese Labor Day!

Happy Chinese Labor Day, everyone! I guess I'll get to celebrate labor day twice this year. Classes were canceled today and all the teachers got the day off!

I went shopping at Tinuyi or the plastic market today with Sabrina and her sister. It was pretty crowded because of the holiday and the sales. I came out of the crazy shopping center with two treasures, a pair of earrings and a panda wallet! We even had dumplings for lunch! It was a good day.

While I was walking back to the subway, I realized I was walking behind a man wearing an Oregon sweatshirt. I wonder if he he has ever been to Oregon before?

I realized today that I have exactly one month left in Beijing! I hope to fill it with lots of fun adventures, making sure I tell the people here how much I care and appreciate them, and helping my students transition successfully to their new teachers. I have a lot to do!

Cover Letters and Seafood Dinners

Today was my last "official" day at Beijing 2. I practically didn't do any work and I didn't feel too guilty about it. I went to the staff meeting and then had a late lunch out with Cindy, Miles and Vivian. I did get a bit of work done before asking Cindy and Miles to help me with a cover letter that I have been working on. They were both super helpful and helped me make my writing more concise. A few of the Beijing 2 teachers called out ideas. It become quite the group effort!

After work, I went grab a cup of coffee and wait for Vivian to get off work. Today was her birthday and she had invited me out to a Seafood restaurant with a bunch of her friends. Cindy and Miles couldn't make it and I was proud of myself for going out without someone from my school. I had dinner with a very diverse interesting group of people and there were lots of different languages floating across the table. We were in a Hutong neighborhood and we sat outside, right across from a public bathroom! Not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

Love and Logic

Today was my the Spring Teacher's Conference for Beijing's Kids and Teens Schools at the newest school that has just recently opened. I was so happy to just find it on my own! Finding a place successfully in Beijing is always still sweet to me!

I got there a little bit early and had a chance to wander around the new school. It's absolutely beautiful! If our school looks a third of how nice Beijing 6 looks we will be in for a treat!

The conferences always fall on a day off for most teachers, but this time, EF really tried to show that they were appreciative of us attending. They set up a raffle system and made time for mingling socially with the other teachers. I went to a workshop on building rapport with students and was able to take away some new insights. Then, we were put into teams to do a pub quiz of sorts about random facts about EF and China. Did you know that China shares borders with 14 countries! I didn't. EF even paid for Subway sandwiches for lunch which is a big deal!

Then, it was time for my workshop on Love and Logic, which is a student management theory that I was taught to use at Outdoor School that emphasizes positive enforceable statements and guiding students to help them solve their own problems through examining choices and their potential consequences. I had some really nice people in my workshop which helped me be a little less nervous. All four local teachers from Beijing 2 attended my workshop, which was really special for me.

Then, we had a lesson plan share where we passed out some of best lesson plans for other teachers to borrow and adapt. Then, there was a raffle and my number was picked! I won a bottle of Chinese white wine! Then, it was off to one last workshop. I attended one on healthily releasing emotions. It was much different from all of the other workshops, but pretty awesome.

Then, we all gathered back together to learn who were the winners of the pub quiz. All the presenters were awarded with a certificate and an alcoholic beverage of some kind. I won six pack of beer! Then, the new head of Beijing took us out for dumplings and beer. It was pretty great!

My friend Sabrina had asked me where I buy movies, and I offered to take her to the movie store I go to. Stephanie decided she wanted to come along since we had a few hours to spare before meeting up with Marie and her family from Australia for a night of KTV. We successfully found some movies for Sabrina and headed back to Beiyuan to meet up with Ryan and Nina for dinner at the Korean BBQ restaurant.

Marie's family was running late at their own dinner, so we walked over to take a gander at the school. We have now started taking bets! It doesn't look like we will be able to start classes up on Monday! We'll just have to wait and see.

I had a lot of fun at KTV with Marie and her family. Her two siblings are pretty young, but are enjoying China. Her parents are truly lovely and I think they enjoyed meeting some of Marie's friends here. I was really tired, though. Tomorrow is my one day off this week and I am looking to chilling out a bit!

Miles and Ying's Wedding!

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I attended a wedding I'll never forget yesterday.

All of us teachers living in the Beiyuan area met up at the subway at 6:30 to take the subway to get to the bus that would take us to Tanshan to celebrate Miles and Ying's wedding. We were all happy to reconnect after a few weeks of being apart due to people on holidays and us all at different schools. We were signing "It's a Nice Day for a White Wedding" as we crammed into the subway train. Seriously, Beijing, why is everyone up so early on a Sunday?

We made it to the bus on time were we met up with a group of Ying's work friends who we shared the bus with to Tanshan. It was only suppose to be about a two hour or so ride to Ying's hometown, but we hit some traffic and it took us closer to three hours to get there. We had been scheduled to get there much earlier than the wedding party. However, as we rounded to the corner to the hotel where the wedding was taking place, we ended up following the wedding party's car that was covered in beautiful flowers. Our bus followed their car through the smoke of all the fireworks and and under the big flower wreath! Luckily, the wedding party thought it was pretty funny and Miles seemed happy we had gotten there on time, even though we enjoyed some of their deserved fanfare!

We got off the bus and were told to cheer loudly as the hotel staff unraveled a red carpet for the wedding party and the close family to walk down. We cheered as we were ushered into the hotel's big conference hall. We were at the table right behind the table of Miles's family hailing from Australia and New York. Ying's colleagues took up four tables adjacent to us. We just had enough time to make a bathroom run and take some pictures before the ceremony started at 11:28, the luckiest time of the day for yesterday.

We calculated that there were about 600 people at the wedding! Ying's family had seriously almost invited their whole community! Everyone was happy and in high spirits. The MC for the event pumped us up and the wedding began! There was tons of cheering through the whole wedding, but our table exploded the most when Miles successfully said his vows in Chinese wonderfully! Miles's sister and brother-in-law sat with Ying's parents on the stage. They looked happy and just were going with it! Cindy and Joyce helped translate most of the ceremony for me.

There was also a bubble making machine on the stage!

The ceremony last about 30 minutes. Ying's father, Miles's sister and Ying's head boss gave beautiful toasts. Then, it was time for the huge dinner! A crazy amount of food was served and it was all delicious. Our two big EF bosses showed up and started making trouble, which led to some of the boys getting drunk off of the Chinese wine, which made for a fun ride home!

Then, about 20 minutes into the meal, people just started to leave in this gigantic flood. It was just a sea of people getting out of the hotel as fast as they could! It was kind of crazy. We just stayed eating and drinking Tanshan beer. The only tables left 30 minutes into the meal were Ying's closest friends and family, her work friends, Miles's family and us! The bride changed into her traditional Chinese dress and the couple went around collecting their red envelopes. Poor Ying had to work the room. She had to either feed her guests a piece of candy or light their cigarette. Miles just had to have a drink with every table. He did get to share his nephew's first alcoholic drink with him!

Then, the bus driver made it quite clear that it was time for us to go! It took awhile, but we gathered everyone up and onto the bus. Ying's family shook our hands as we got on the bus, and Miles jumped on to say good-bye before he and Ying and their families waved us good-bye. It was a merry, and long ride back to Beijing! We got on the bus at 2 and didn't hit downtown Beijing until 6.

Then, most of us Beijing 3 teachers all went to a coffee bar and had some coffee and snacks and decompressed a bit. Eventually we all parted to different parts of the city. Cindy and I were off to a housewarming party for one of our new Beijing 2 friend, Vivian. We went to a Seven-Eleven! I hadn't been into one in Beijing yet, and they sell Chinese food kind of like how they do at the Safeway deli counter, which cracked me up! We bought snacks and dinner and went to Vivian's. Her and her boyfriend recently moved into an apartment building that is right behind where Jackie Chan's infamous son from his baby mama lives. It's quite a big deal in Beijing! The housewarming party was fun and Vivian's friends are pretty fantastic. It was a great way to end a magical Beijing/Tanshan day!

I was also just happy I didn't say anything truly horrible and offensive like I did during my first Chinese wedding experience.

Congratulations Miles and Ying!

Calling Holly Holiday

I've been enjoying playing the role of substitute at Beijing 2. Need a VIP teacher? Colleen! Need someone to take a class for someone whose Academic Hours are too high? Colleen! Need someone to cover your holiday leave? Colleen! Need someone to train the new teacher? Colleen

I think I'm being used.

I'm trying to have fun with it, though.

I've used Bruce Springsteen to talk about Of Mice and Men. I made a class of elementary students help me practice saying my numbers in Chinese. (They, of course, laughed hysterically at me). I had a 30 minute conversation with an upper elementary class about Earth Day and what we could do to help the planet. I even made them take an oath to be Earth Warriors, which totally cracked me up, but they were so sincere about it, it also made me so happy. Plus, I've gotten to pass on some of my good lesson plans with the new teacher, and she's working on making them work for her teaching style, and that's pretty awesome!

So, it hasn't been as easy as I thought it was going to be. The boss said I was just going to cover a class or two and get to do my own work...and I have a lot of that left to do... but it's refreshing to meet some new students and learn from other teachers.

Speaking of refreshing, we had a huge thunder and lightening and rain storm this afternoon! It was super cool! It's been pretty muggy the last few days, so it was a welcome weather activity! Beijing smells a little more spring-like to me now!

Happy Earth Day!

It's All Happening at the Zoo...

A lot of people told me not to go to the zoo. They said I would be pretty sad at the space most of the animals have. Then, Annie went to the zoo once while I was here and she reported that the animals were in small spaces, but looked like they were well tended to. I decided to give it a chance today. I wanted to see some Giant Pandas!

People were right about the size. It's really too small, and unlike the Oregon Zoo, the Beijing Zoo doesn't even try to replicate the atmosphere of the animals' home terrains. However, Annie was right in the fact that the animals do seem cared for even in such tight places. The zoo has a ton of birds of all different kinds, but not too much else! I saw two giraffes, a hanful of rhinos, some of China's own Golden monkeys, and a few monkeys from other countries, a bald eagle, and two pandas were on display while I was there. There are also lions, tigers and other bears (Oh My!) but they weren't on display while I was there this afternoon. You have to pay extra to see the penguins, which Annie had done and said there were maybe two around, so I decided to skip out on that even though I love penguins.

The Giant Pandas are the pride of the zoo, of course. I saw one that was just sleeping... I learned today that Giant Pandas have adapted to vegetarianism because of where they live. They spend 14 hours of their day finding and eat bamboo! The display also stated that in China, Pandas are classified as their on species, while in Western countries they are classified in the bear family. There was a lot of information about pandas being goodwill ambassadors to other countries which is pretty awesome! The other panda that was on display was putting on a show for some special guests that were with the zookeepers. They were feeding the panda bamboo and the panda was loving the attention. However, it was disappointing to me and the little ones around me who only got to see the backside of this show! The panda turned around once to look in our direction and we seriously gave a little cheer, but that lasted about five seconds. I was a little disappointed.

The biggest surprise for me was in the "reptile" area. There were tons of turtles on display behind glass. People were so fascinated with them and banging on the glass trying to get their attention! I found this a bit funny because I pass by turtles on their last stop before the dinner table all the time in most of the big grocery stores I have been into!

I'm glad that I have experienced the zoo here, but it's not something I would recommend unless you were going solely for the pandas.

Then, I took myself out to a movie. I saw "Rio" in 3D. I had gotten there just in time, and the only seats left were in the front room, so I had a real experience. I've only seen three movies on the big screen here, and they have all been kids' movies!