Stepping Back: Nanjing

China is a country with a long and rich history. Through numerous emperors and dynasty’s it has changed and evolved and left pieces of its history for us to see. Most everyone knows about the famous city of Beijing (or North Capitol as its name means), but not as many people know about Nanjing: the southern capitol. Nanjing is known as one of the “four great ancient capitols” of China. It also is one of the only cities with a city wall that is still intact. Our little city of Changzhou is set halfway between Shanghai and Nanjing about a two-hour slow train ride from both. Being so close meant that we were able to go see the city on a normal weekend.

We left on a Friday afternoon after we were all finished teaching our classes. It was a pretty uneventful ride and it wasn’t long before we had arrived in the city. Now where I’m living the sun sets by about 5:30, so by the time we got to Nanjing it was already dark. At the train station we hopped on the metro and took it out towards our hostel. When we got out of the station however, we were very confused. We couldn’t find a bus stop anywhere to catch our ride to the hostel and we weren’t entirely positive which way to go. It didn’t help that creepy taxi guys kept surrounding us anytime we stopped for even a moment. We wandered up and down the road in front of the station for a little bit before finally spotting a passing bus that showed us where the bus stop was.

Luckily another group who had been there previously told us how to recognize our stop because the bus we got on didn’t have the customary intercom overhead announcing the names of the stops. Our hostel was inside of a gated business area. We got through the gate and then had no idea where to go. It was a sea of buildings and it was dark and the signs were all in Chinese and we simply had no idea how to get to the hostel. We wandered between the buildings for awhile and even went inside one of the hotels and asked if they knew where it was. They looked at us like we were crazy and then offered us a room in their place.

At one point Dayna pointed down a shady looking alley and said that she felt that we should go that way. It didn’t look promising but we didn’t have many options. As we rounded the corner at the other end of it we saw a bright sign with the name of our hostel on it and we all cheered and hugged Dayna. The first thing we noticed as we got closer was the noise. There was a party going on at the bar attached to our hostel and unbeknownst to us we had inadvertently come in the back entrance and so had to wend our way past the throngs of dancing people to go check in.

(Our Hostel)

By the time we got our rooms it was very late at night so we decided to turn in so we could be awake and ready to explore the town the next day. Before hitting the sack however, Ashley and I went over to the reception area to see if we could get directions to the things we wanted to see the next day. We ended up being introduced to this one Chinese guy who was excellent at English who told us all about which buses to take where, and what things we should see. He was a super cool guy and very helpful.

(Outside patio of our hostel)

The next morning we got ready nice and early and headed out onto the streets. It was a little rainy, but we weren’t going to let that get in our way. Just down the road from our hostel was our first stop: the Zhongua gate. Remember when I told you that Nanjing was one of the only cities with an intact city wall? Well Zhongua gate was the biggest and most famous gate in that wall.

The first thing you see as you approach from the inside is this huge expanse of wall reaching for what seems like forever to each side. Running along the base is a large canal. As we reached the base and entered the gate we had to pass through two huge brass studded doors.

Each door has 81 brass studs since 9 is considered a lucky number and so 9X9 is even luckier. After walking through a long corridor you find yourself in the first of three courtyards inside the gate. Here we saw some big metal statues of warriors and wise-men.

This was the courtyard with steps leading up onto the top of the gate and the city wall. At the top of the gate you could look out over the city of Nanjing, and in my mind I tried to imagine standing atop that gate, watching an army advancing towards me in the distance. It was a surreal feeling.

There were several large grottos in the wall where displays had been set up. There were a couple scale models of the wall, shrines honoring old generals, and paintings of famous battle scenes. They also had some of the original bricks on display that still had the visible engravings of the signatures of where they were made.

After exploring all around the gate we set out to walk along the wall. The first section we walked across was clearly restored, but a little ways down you were able to walk along some unrestored portions. It was unlike anything I had seen before.

After heading back to the gate we went back down into the first courtyard and then went to explore the other two. The second courtyard was home to a tree garden. Basically they looked like Bonsai trees, but that’s a Japanese term and I don’t know what they’re called here ha-ha.We got to watch one man working on the trees which was pretty sweet.

In the third courtyard we found a glorious sight: an archery field! It was 10 Yuan for six arrows and a few of us couldn’t resist the temptation. It had been awhile since I’d shot an arrow, but I think I did pretty good. I didn’t get a bulls-eye but hey, at least I hit the target!

We finished up with a stroll back through the three courtyards and out the gate. We caught a nearby bus that took us out of the city walls towards another section of the city. There we stopped to see the Nanjing Massacre Museum. For those of you who don’t know anything about this event, here’s a short history lesson:

“On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing (also referred to as Nanking). It is widely accepted that during the first six to eight weeks of their occupation, the Japanese army committed numerous atrocities, including rape, arson, and mass executions. There is, however, controversy over the scale of the massacre, especially in Japan where a minor group of negationists even go so far as to claim that the massacre never happened.

The Chinese government insists that an estimated 300,000 civilians and unarmed Chinese soldiers were brutally slaughtered. This estimate of "more than 300,000 dead" was made from burial records and eyewitness accounts. Corpses littered the streets and were seen afloat in rivers for weeks, and many structures in the city were burned down. Countless shops, stores, and residences were looted and sacked.^[1]

Japanese soldiers were also reported to have conducted killing competitions and bayonet practice using live Chinese prisoners.”

If you want to know more you can check out this website: www.nj1937.org/english/default.asp

As you approach the museum you are greeted by a giant statue of a woman holding a child limp in her arms.

The walkway to the entrance gate is lined with statues depicting excerpts from journals of people in the massacre. Walking through the exhibition hall, you are able to read countless accounts of the occurrences on Nanjing, videos of interviews, and displays depicting the city’s wreckage added to the atmosphere. It was one of the saddest things I’d ever seen. The exhibition hall took us a couple hours to get through; however there are also several outdoor exhibits that we only scratched the surface of. It was one of those places that really just make you wonder about humanity.

After the museum we took the bus back to the Zhongua gate and caught another bus up to the Purple Mountain Scenic Area. It’s a large park housing several monuments and museums to various important figures in Chinese history. The biggest draw to the mountain in the Mausoleum of Sun Yat-Sen. From where the bus dropped us off we had to first walk about 20 min to the bottom of the Mausoleum and from there climb the 300-and something stairs to the top.

There you could walk through the mausoleum where a large statue of the doctor himself sat. Some of the group headed out from there to go find a shopping plaza they had heard of while the rest of us stayed to explore the mountain some more. After climbing back down the stairs we took off down a small path the\at meandered through the trees for while, and we got to enjoy a small taste of nature. It eventually led to an area we recognized and since it was growing dark we decided to head back down to the bus stop. When we got there however everything seemed to be deserted, and by that time the sun was gone, despite the fact it was only about 5:30. Now we knew the mausoleum didn’t close until 6 so we were sure the buses couldn’t have stopped running. But as time ticked by with no sign of it we started getting worried, it didn’t help that the creepy van taxi people kept stopping to offer us rides.

Besides us there was a small group of people across the road grouped together by a couple cars and an old man sitting in a dimly lit store eating a coup of noodles. We went for the old man. We new he was the one least likely to speak English but we figured he was the least threatening. We used one of our phrasebooks to attempt to ask him about the bus. After a couple tries he started nodding his head and motioned for us to follow him over to the group of people. We were a little nervous but as we got closer we suddenly recognized one of the ladies. She had been on the bus we took up to the mountain! That’s when we realized that the group of people was gathered around a shack that we hadn’t realized was actually the bus stop. Just at that moment the bus came rolling around the corner and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Now that we were on the bus we had it all under control!

From there we took the bus to the Fuzi Miao. At first glance it looks like a mall of sorts with more expensive shopping. However, if you explore back behind all the fancier stores you find a whole ton of haggling shops and stalls littering a maze of back-alleys. We didn’t end up buying much, but it was super fun to wander about the winding streets. Some places it was a pretty tight squeeze down the itty-bitty walkways! As dinner time drew close we hopped on the subway and headed into downtown Nanjing. We walked down Hunan Rd which seemed to be theNanjing equivalent of Nanjing Rd in Shanghai. Turning off of that street we headed down another until we found the restaurant we had been told about. It was a pizza place that was supposed to be a pretty good deal. The price was decent but man the pizza was definitely worth it! Can I tell you how much I miss cheese!! I even got some mozzarella sticks! One of my favorite meals I must say.

After the long day was over we headed back to our good old hostel and crashed. The beds btw were some of the softest I’ve slept on since I’ve been here. Honestly though I actually really like our hard beds we have in our dorm.

The next morning we woke up nice and early and headed in to town to do the one thing I’ve missed the most since I’ve been here: GO TO CHURCH!! :D :D It was in a conference room in the basement of a fancy hotel and the signs showing you to the room had “Brigham Young University” as the listing. We were greeted by several very excited people who asked us all about our time in China. As church was about to start a group of students walked in and sat a few rows up from me. I was standing up in the aisle talking to someone when I realized that one of the girls was looking at me. As I looked back I was suddenly stunned, she was apparently too as she quickly exclaimed “Lorilei?!” I couldn’t believe my eyes. Sitting there in the middle of China was this girl named Morgan I had known in High School. I hadn’t seen her since graduation, and of all places I ran into her in China!! It was one of those moments that you can never quite get your head around. We took a few minutes and caught up before sacrament got started. I’ve never enjoyed church more than I did those three hours. It was a blessed gift to get to be there, and I’m so glad we were able to find that ward and go to it.

Afterwards a group of them invited us to lunch. They showed us a cool sandwich shop which was super delicious. The shop also had one of my other dearly missed treats: Mint chocolate ice cream! It was five Yuan for an itty-bitty scoop but it was so worth it!
We walked around the city for a little while; we found a supermarket with a ton of imported American food which was cool and yummy. Then we headed to the train station, but we still had a little time until we left so we went and sat on the edge of the lake and enjoyed the closest thing to a sunset we can get over here.

While we sat enjoying the weather a group of Chinese student’s from southern China came over to talk to us. There were three girls and three guys and they were way cool and fun to talk to. They were all classmates at a University and were in Nanjing on vacation. Turns out they had taken a 12 hour train ride to get there and were heading back after just a day and a half. We chatted with them for a good while, but alas we had to go catch our train so we bud farewell. Before leaving them however, we found out that none of them had been given English names (which is surprising considering how good their English was) so we asked them if we could give them names. They were all more than happy (in fact they were thrilled!) to have a group of Americans give them English names. It was a cool experience and after trading QQ numbers we said our goodbyes and headed inside.

Nanjing was a cool place to get to see. It’s a place full of history. And culture, much like just about every place I’ve been. And like all my other travels, I would come back in a heartbeat. Who knows maybe I will, after all it’s only a short train ride from my dear Changzhou.

Oasis: HangZhou

Our last destination on our super amazing ten-day trip was the lake-side city of HangZhou. A group of our fellow teachers had gone there previously and told us all about how beautiful it was so we were very excited to go. The bus ride to HangZhou was easy and quick compared to the rides to and from HuangShan. It helped that they played a really awesome movie on the way. It was called “A World Without Thieves” and although it was in Chinese, they had English subtitles. It was a super sad movie, but I loved it!

Arriving in HangZhou was the most nerve-wracking moment of my life. I had forgotten to write down the bus numbers that we needed to take to our hostel, and I didn’t have the phone number, so all I could do was pray that we’d find wi-fi somewhere nearby that we could use. It didn’t help that as soon as we stepped out of the station we were bombarded by the mini-van fake taxi people trying to give us rides. We’d been approached by them before but never like it was in HangZhou. They pretty much surrounded us and were getting right up in our faces and we had to fight our way out. It definitely amped up the stress level even more. We found an information desk and there was wi-fi, but it was giving us problems and wouldn’t let us log on. However, right before I was about to have a panic-attack I remembered that my email app on my ipod will let me open old emails without needing wifi. Frantically I went searching through my inbox, hoping I hadn’t deleted the email from the hostel, and sighed in relief when I was able to pull up the directions they had sent me. I gotta say I’ve never loved my ipod more until that moment.

Because we came in to HangZhou through the north bus terminal it was a little over an hour to get to the hostel since we had to ride all the way around West Lake. I only had the name of the bus stop so I had to trust in my ability to recognize the name so that we knew when to get off. It was even more bothersome because we had to make a transfer onto another bus after about 45 minutes on the first one. Luckily, we ride buses a lot around here so I’m pretty good at being able to recognize which part of the muddle of Chinese words that come through the intercom is referring to the stop name. I’m also glad that I had my phrase book with me so that I could ask the driver how long it would take us to get to that stop so I knew when to start paying attention. The ride on the first bus was pretty uneventful. It was long but I found the stop ok and we got off without any trouble. It was trying to find the second bus that was the problem. When we looked at the sign we didn’t see the bus number that we were supposed to connect to! We waited to see if it would come anyways (sometimes buses will stop that aren’t listed), but it never did. Eventually we decided to grab some lunch first before trying again because we were all hungry, so we went to the KFC across the street. It was so nice to sit down and relax for a minute. Travelling just exhausts me, plus it gives me headaches, and travelling when you don’t understand the language is even more frustrating.

After lunch I re-checked my directions, and realized that while the bus number we were looking for apparently didn’t stop there, a bus they had listed on another set of directions (they have different direction depending on where you’re coming into town from) did stop there. So when the next one stopped I hopped on and asked the driver if it was the right bus and he confirmed my suspicions so we all joyously hopped on! Once on the bus, it took about 25 more minutes to get to our stop. The first thing we saw was the beautiful West Lake. Surrounded by trees, pathways, and pretty bridges, it was sure a sight to see.

We showed the address to a couple workers on the road who pointed us in the right direction and we began our trek to find our hostel. It was further down the road from the bus stop then we’d been expecting and we began to wonder if we had passed it when we spotted a different group of our teachers through a bakery window. It was the group Kareena had been travelling with and we were very excited to run into each other. They told us that our hostel was just a little further down the road and came along with us as we checked in and got our room. The hostel was so opposite from the one we’d been at in Suzhou but it was so beautiful too. InSuzhou you really got that rough slightly sketchy backpacking feel but in Hangzhou it was more of an oasis paradise, chill, pampered kind of feel. To get to the hostel you had to walk back into this sketchy alley with off-duty workers smoking and garbage lining the gutters, but as you walk into the reception of the hostel it’s like walking into a completely different world. Everything was in pristine condition, all wood paneling with potted plants bringing it to life. TO get to our room we walked through a courtyard where they had wooden tables and chairs and a rock wall with little waterfalls trickling down and fish swimming in the pond.

There was a common room where they provided free drinking water and with doors you could open to the air.
There was even a wrought-iron spiral staircase leading up to a roof-top garden with a pretty view.

It was rather incredible. After putting our stuff away we sat and chatted with the others for a little while as they told us all about what to do around the city. They had to head out to catch their train back to Changzhou, so we parted ways and went in search of some dinner.

There are a lot of options when it comes to eating in China. There are various small restaurants where the adventurous can go find a “mystery meal” by pointing at random Chinese characters on a menu and hoping for the best, or you can go to a noodle shop with pictures on the wall you can point at, there are numerous fast food joints, and then…..on rare occasions… there’s The Grandma’s. The Grandma’s is the best place to eat any of us have found here in China. The first one to be unearthed was by a group of our teachers who went Hangzhou on an earlier vacation. They told us all about it so our first night we decided to go see just what all the hubbub was about.

We got to the restaurant right at their peak hours so we’re obliged to wait in a line to print out a number and then wait for our number to be called. We had a couple hours to burn until our table was ready so we decided to explore the city for a while. We headed down a random street lined with various kinds of shops. It was fascinating to see how many couples were out and about on the streets. The other group sure wasn’t lying when they told us that Hangzhou was a romantic place.

We also crossed more street performers playing their guitars and singing. As we rounded the block we came across a fun little discovery, a 10 yuan shop. This was the first time (but definitely not the last) that we discovered one of these gems. Think of it as a Chinese style dollar store. They had everything from knick-knacks to headbands and jewelry to cheap watches and books. I ended up getting some sunglasses and a new journal. Next door some of the girls got drawn into a scarf shop and inevitably the insatiable pull caught me as well. I ended up getting a couple new scarves and we all skipped happily along as we headed back to Grandma’s.

We arrived just as our number was called and were given our table number and directed to an elevator. As we stepped out into the restaurant we were led to our table and given a book full of pictures, a paper with the lists of items and their prices, and a pencil. Basically it works like this: you look through the book and pick out what dishes you want and then mark them off on the paper, a waiter comes by and picks up your list and orders your food. You eat family style by serving yourself from the dishes as they are placed in the middle of the table. It was some of the best food I’ve eaten here. We got potatoes, broccoli, noodles, sweet pork, green beans, and basically everything yummy and delicious. I think in all we ordered maybe 9 dishes of food. It definitely lived up to all the hype. The best part? It only cost us about 25 yuan each.

After dinner we decided to head back to the hostel, since we were all exhausted and a couple people were getting sick. I sat outside in the courtyard for a little while writing and enjoying watching the various people about their business. A little later I grabbed a couple of the others and we went up one of the spiral staircases to the roof-top garden. As we sat enjoying the view and chatting we noticed to guys talking inside on of the common rooms off of the garden. The reason it caught our attention was that they were speaking French and Ashley and Rachelle are both studying it. It wasn’t hard to tell that the two in the room were native speakers which both fascinated and intimidated the two of them. I tried talking them into going in and introducing themselves, but they were too nervous so I eventually stood up walked in and did it for them. Luckily they spoke good English as well.

After I introduced myself the others scurried in after me, and I told them that Ashley and Rachelle knew some French. Intrigued the two men (who introduced themselves as Alex and Bruno) tried to talk to them. Ashley stepped up and did her best and Alex and Bruno cheered on her efforts. Rachelle (who actually knows a lot more French) was too nervous however, and wouldn’t speak any. As we chatted with them we found out that Alex and Bruno were actually film-makers who were out making a documentary on China’s street culture. They were working on the teaser and asked us if we could watch it and tell them if the English subtitles they put in sounded correct. It actually looked like a really good movie (plus they showed some break-dancing which is always a pull for me haha). They were a very…… interesting pair. None of us knew how old they were, I’d probably guess late 20’s early 30’s, they were drinking wine and smoking, and they swore mildly, but they were some of the funniest and nicest people I’ve ever met. They told us all about their travel’s through China and about their homes in France. We were up until around 12:30 and then said good-bye and headed to bed as the two left to go begin their night.

Our first mistake the next day was in not planning on when to leave to go out and see things. I figured we would keep to about the same schedule so I got up early and started getting ready. Alex and Bruno, who apparently had not slept yet, were in the common room chilling and I sat with Rachelle and talked with them for a bit as other people in our group woke up one by one. Rachelle and I left them to finish getting ready and went into the little co-ed shower area to use the mirrors. Hilariously drunk the two of them popped their heads in and noticed us straightening our hair. I’m not quite sure how it happened but somehow we ended up partially straightening Alex’s hair and scrunching up Bruno’s a bit before they stumbled out to actually go to bed. We got a kick out of it for sure. I was ready fairly quickly and then waited as the others dawdled around. We didn’t end up leaving until almost 10 and we hadn’t really planned our day very well. Now I’m decently easy-going and I don’t mind not having things perfectly planned out but I’ve discovered that when travelling with this specific six people we need to have our stuff planned out to the T or nothing gets done. We knew we wanted to go see some Buddha stone carvings so we hopped on a bus to take us there which lasted about 45 minutes. We arrived at a large beautiful green park near the Lingyin temple. Following some signs we found the area with the carvings and had to pay a small fee to get in. The first thing you see is a large rocky hill before you. As you get closer you can see, carved into the side of the mountain, large scenes of different Buddha’s. It was so impressive to see the detail and care put into those carvings. And there were so many of them! You could follow paths into caves where even more carvings were, and up around large piles of rocks and over streams as you admire the beautiful work.

There are hundreds of stone carvings throughout the park and I loved seeing them. I had a marvelous time and I was once again amazed at what I was able to see that had came forth from such a marvelous old and rich culture.

(This is the bus we caught from the park, pretty sweet huh? Even better, it was all wooden park benches on the inside. Definitely coolest bus we've found here.)

As we left the park we caught the same bus past the train station to pick up our tickets for the way home. Buying train tickets is always an adventure, and this trip wasn’t any different. It was a joyful hour of waiting in line and then trying to communicate with a very unhelpful and annoyed worker who seemed bent on making us pay for the most expensive ticket they could. Luckily by this point I was fairly used to the system and managed to somehow get us tickets home without having to sacrifice bodily parts or my first-born child.

By the time we got back to the lake-side everyone was super hungry and we were in search of a meal. This is where we made our second mistake. For some reason it seemed that everyone was under the impression that we all needed to eat at the same place, which didn’t make sense to me since some of us will eat anything and other’s are a little more choosy about their food. This led to some unnecessary arguing as people got onto little tiffs about what they wanted to eat. Needless to say way too much time was wasted wandering around being angry and when we finally stopped to eat there were at least a couple people highly dissatisfied. Being one of those people who will eat just about anything, I wish we had just said “hey everyone go get some grub and we’ll meet up at this place at this time”. I recommend that way of doing things to anyone travelling with a slightly bigger group of people.

After lunch a couple people wanted to find some salon place they’d been told about but didn’t want the rest of us to leave them in case they couldn’t find it so we ended up wandering around with them as they attempted to follow very bad directions to a place that seemed to be a myth. It was somewhat entertaining, but maybe not exactly what I would have chosen to do. Although, on the bright side, as we explored the city we came across a supermarket with quite the amazing imported food isle. There was hot chocolate, spaghetti, pudding, regular popcorn, and a bunch of different cereals. It was a blessed moment. Seeing that isle we all had an epiphany. There was a kitchen we were able to use in our hostel, and here was normal food waiting to be cooked, and out group was full of avid cooks who missed it very much….. it may have been one of the happiest moments of my trip :D We all went in on it together and bought noodles and spaghetti sauce and jam and eggs and bread and some fruit. Then we skipped merrily home and got ready for bed. Before we headed to sleep we all sat down and had a little chat about what had happened earlier that day. We were all feeling a little flustered so we made a plan together so we could make sure and get all the stuff done that we wanted to that next day.

The next morning proved to be one of my favorites throughout my whole vacation. We all woke up bright and early, got ready and headed into the kitchen. I can’t tell you how much I have missed cooking since I’ve been here. We have no facilities to work with here at the school (except a microwave) and I’ve really been aching to get my hands on a stove! Can you guess what we made that morning? French Toast! Complete with butter, jam, and fruit, and some scrambled eggs on the side it was so delicious! Especially considering how often none of us eat breakfast at all. We all took turns cooking our own food and then we sat down together and thoroughly enjoyed munching our delectable meal.

We made a quick dash for the door when we were done and began our hilarious last full day in that beautiful city. Our first order of business was to check out the local silk market. When we arrived we found a bustling street of white closely packed buildings bulging with both fine and cheap silk items. There was everything from shirts to scarves to ties to dresses. We were all interested in getting different things so we split up and planned to meet back later. I walked the whole length of the street before doubling back to check out a couple shops that had looked promising. I was looking for one of the traditional Chinese style dresses and a silk scarf. I looked at a few shops but the first ones didn’t have anything I liked. However, walking down a little side section of the street I found a small shop with a couple dresses hanging up that were exactly what I was looking for. Walking in I was immediately spotted by the shopkeeper who rushed to my “aide”, asking in broken English if she could help me with anything. I immediately spotted the dress I wanted and asked her if I could see it. She rustled through a stack of plastic wrapped dresses until she found the one I had requested and then began looking me up and down before pulling out one that proved to be just my size. It’s black brocade silk with red flowers embroidered on it. Super beautiful! It didn’t take me long to haggle her down to a reasonable price and then walk out triumphantly, dress in hand. With a big smile on my face I met up with the others and we went to get on our bus back to the lake.

As we were waiting for our bus to get there however, Katie happened to look across the street and then suddenly yell out, “Go Max!!” It only took a moment for each of us to jump to our feet in excitement. We would have crossed the street right there but the road was blocked off. So we ran down to the intersection, across it, and then back down to the Go Max, where we startled a couple of unsuspecting workers with our cheers of joy. Soon enough we were skipping back to our bus stop, smiles on our faces and cups of pure frozen happiness in our hands. It certainly made the long ride back much more enjoyable, plus we now knew that it was possible to find more of these in other cities, and we had written down the email address so we could hunt them down in all the cities we visited.

As we arrived back in town we stopped by the hostel for some lunch. We made spaghetti, and enjoyed it along with some French bread we had come across. You find noodles a lot here in China, but good-old Italian pastas are a completely different matter.

Afterwards we went walking along the shore and happened upon one of the many bike rental areas littering the sidewalks. There amongst all the ordinary bikes was a magnificent sight…… a three…. person… bike. Oh it happened all right. We rented a couple of them and quickly walked them across the street into the more “pedestrian friendly” area. We looked at them quizzically for a moment, unsure of what exactly to do. This was going to be a first for all of us haha. We split up and hopped on to the bikes, me deciding to brave the front seat.

There we were, three American women, ready and poised to take off and ride down the beach side on a gloriously rusted and faded three person bike. As we first pushed off, I could already feel the wind in my hair and the rush of adrenaline….. as we promptly fell sideways to the ground. Laughter resounded across the cobblestones as we all simultaneously busted up from the comedy of it all. There may have been a few bystanders’ voices in the mix as well. But never fear!! We hopped right back on that bike and a few more mishaps later we were cruising down the boardwalk scattering pigeons and people alike.

We even got our pictures taken multiple times as we stumbled about. I think there were quite a few people getting a kick out of our hysterical laughter. At one point we went inward to town a few blocks before promptly turning back after nearly getting squished. I’ll tell you, after rolling the streets of China, and being in the middle of their traffic, driving back home is going to be so easy!

We sadly returned the bikes when our time was up and probably a good thing too, since any longer on those things and we may have really done some harm haha. It was a glorious hour and one I’ll never forget. After we finished with the bikes we decided to go walk around the lake for a little while. It being a Saturday, there were a lot of people out and about enjoying the beautiful weather.

(A water show out on the lake)

It was one of those nice almost clear days and it wasn’t too humid for once. In Huangshan we were able to see the rugged and wild mountains of China, in Suzhou we got a wonderful taste of its culture and history, but there in Hangzhou we got to feel serenity and relaxation for the first time. There were performers all along the way and people offering rides on the lakes in little dodgy looking boats. It was the first bit of pure relaxation we had had since we’ve been here.


There are a few islands dotting the waters of West Lake. We decided to buy tickets on a ferry to one of them. The ferry ride was short but very fun; I really loved getting to see the city from out on the lake. The best part though, was getting to the island. As you stepped off the boat you immediately step into a field of trees. You take a path cutting through them which circles the entire island. If you cut inward you can cross one of several bridges over the inland lakes.
At the center are numerous pagodas, buildings, and sculptures. Beautiful weeping willows rise out of the sea of green and cascade down to shield the old dwellings, and vibrant flowers. I could have spent an entire day just drinking in the atmosphere that permeated that beautiful place.

It was a short ride back to the mainland where we bustled our way over to The Grandma’s for one last hurrah before heading home the next day. It was a much shorter wait, and before long we were seated at our table ruffling through the pages of mouth-watering dishes. We picked a few of the same ones from our previous visit, and ordered a few new ones. The service was prompt and our food was oh so delicious. I don’t know if I’ll ever have the pleasure of going to that restaurant again but it will forever be my favorite one in all of China.

We stopped by the supermarket to buy more yummies to cook for our last breakfast of our vacation. Then we swing by the hostel to drop them off and scurried down to an old night market we’d heard about. It was a street lined with shops and shops of different wares, very similar to most night markets we’d found in other city’s. Essentially most of the markets will sell the same items no matter where you are, but you can always find a certain influence in some of the offerings that you don’t find other places. In Hangzhou I was surprised to find almost an Indian influence in a lot of what I saw. It was quite fascinating to see that blend of the two very different and yet seemingly compatible cultures.

It was a busy and exhausting day, and it didn’t take us long to crash that night. An early morning sunrise woke us for a good home-cooked meal. I opted out of scrambled eggs that morning and in addition to my French toast cooked up a buck-eye for myself. It was a well-needed taste of home. We caught a taxi back to the train station and before long we were on our way back home.

Hangzhou was an oasis, a little paradise where you can stroll along the lakeside, watch performers dancing and singing, admire the boats skimming the water, and feel the cool breeze ruffle your hair. It was the perfect place to end our 10-day trip. China has been one wild ride of an adventure. I’ll never regret my decision to come out here as it has been an invaluable experience. It’s amazing what a few months can do for you when you spend it so far from everything and everyone you know. Our vacation was a good break from our busy teaching schedules but it felt so good to get home to our school, and back to my beautiful children.

A Taste of Home With A Chinese Twist

In case you didn’t know before here is a little tidbit about me: I LOVE HALLOWEEN! It is honestly one of my favorite holidays. The thought of missing out on it was the most depressing part of being over here until I discovered that the school likes to celebrate the American holidays as a way of teaching the kids about our traditions. So, needless to say, I got a Halloween!! It was the most hilarious and just fun and exciting Halloween ever.

It started out with the school informing us that we wouldn’t be teaching that Monday and that we would be required to be in the school lobby at 7am sharp dressed up and ready to go.

We spent the first little bit running around helping to finish decorate the school. Then we were given Halloween make-up kits and went around to the classrooms and painted the kids faces. I had a small tube of fake blood and the kids loved it!! They were so adorable and so excited about the holiday. After we finished all the kids headed out to the track where they had a costume parade and I got to find a bunch of my students and we all danced around. At one point I got mobbed by a bunch of Kareena’s girls who I adore.

When we got back to the classroom we played games with the kids as they went around yelling “Trick-Or-Treat!” to every person they came across, even each other! It was so much fun. I played an intense game of musical chairs with one group of kids who were some feisty competition. I gotta say… I love those kids! After lunch they put on a Halloween fashion show which was super hilarious. I have never had a better Halloween in my life. Just being here and spending the whole day goofing off with my kids was the most perfect way to spend a holiday!

This is a couple of the Chinese teachers who are assigned to help us out. The one in red is Serena and the one in black is Phyl. They are both adorable and very sweet, although like any of the teachers we've met here, they can be super scary when they need to be. :)

Katelin is like my twin sister that I never had. I may just cry when she heads back to Missouri after the program.

This is my adorable boy Andy, he is a super sweetheart.

Kareena's girls whom I love and adore!!

Musical Chairs!!

A little sword fight I came across during game time.

Big Things Can Come In Small Packages: Suzhou (Part 2)

Our second day in Suzhou was as glorious as the first. It began with a beautiful semi-clear blue-sky. It was a good temperature outside and I was ready for an adventure. My wish was granted as I began to get ready for the day.

I’ve never had to use a co-ed bathroom before. I gotta say that walking in to use the restroom that morning and having to walk past two very attractive guys on the way was….. kind of awkward haha I gotta admit I almost couldn’t do it. But alas I am always ready for a challenge so I ventured forth and managed not to be completely embarrassed. After that experience I think I’m pretty capable of doing anything haha.

Once everyone was ready we headed out into the streets in search of on of the most important things: FOOD! It was breakfast time and we were hungry! Everywhere we travel there is one thing we can always turn to in times of need and that is our yummy street food.

Without fail we can always find it on a street corner or in a night market; delicious, fried, and most importantly cheap.

There weren’t many vendors out but we did find countless fruit stands with both the normal and the abnormal. I got to try a yummy red spiky fruit that was a little odd on the outside but super delicious.

We ended up stopping at a delicious bakery called Café 85. Some of the baked goods are a little odd, but most are delicious! They have donuts and muffins and brownies, some high-priced pb&j’s, sweet pizzas, garlic bread and numerous other yummy delights. You can find them pretty much everywhere in China, but this was my first time buying something.

After breakfast we hopped on a bus and rode up to the Suzhou Silk Museum. Suzhou and Hangzhou are famous for being the silk cities of China.

Going through the museum we got to seethe history of silk production in China as well as women using the old looms and live silk-worms being tended. It was a cool little museum and well worth the time to explore.

After we finished we walked down the road and explored various shops until reaching the Beisi Ta, an old temple pagoda. We walked around the outside and admired the beautiful architecture and the many people crowding around the food vendors. After grabbing a bite to eat we continued our trek and ended up inside a small fan shop.

We spotted it by accident as we were walking down the road. There was a man inside the window painting at a bench. As we got closer we realized that he was hand painting paper fans. The art was fantastic. There were Chinese characters on some, flowers on others, and even some with large landscapes. We couldn’t resist the pull of those pretty fans. After perusing the shop for what seemed like forever, almost every one of us had picked the ones we wanted. We could see the man’s wife armed and ready with her calculator in hand, prepared to try and get as much money out of us as she could.

She was a tough one though and didn’t want to budge much, however after some deliberations I got two beautiful fans as well as wooden stands for them for 65 yuan. A pretty decent deal. The best buy though was Dayna who managed to get one of the larger fans for 85 yuan. It is a gorgeous masterpiece and I gotta say… I’m a little jealous haha.

A short walk down the street from the fan shop was one of our favorite things to see: a pedestrianized shopping street. They’re havens of haggling and hidden treasures. You can find all sorts of cool stuff for excellent prices if you have a good eye and you’re ready to bargain hard. We wandered through the stalls and shops in search of cool items to buy.

Halfway down the street I found a stand where a man was doing calligraphy. You could write down your name in English and they would write it in Chinese characters on a scroll along with the date and your name in English letters. Ya you guessed it… I got one! Haha it was a super cool find. I also got a couple as gifts for some unnamed recipients ;)

After stopping back at the hostel to drop stuff off, we went out to see one of the many gardens in the city. Along with its many canals, Suzhou is famous for being a city of gardens. The most famous is the Humble Administrator’s Garden. However, as a group we decided to go see one of the smaller gardens in the city: the Couple’s Retreat Garden.

To get back to the garden entrance we had to walk through many of the small tight streets where the locals live. We saw men playing card games on tables and women washing their clothes in the canal.

It was very…real. Every time I get glimpses of how a lot of these people still live, I’m just amazed.

Not only does it make me appreciate more fully all the things I've been blessed with (I’ll never take my washing machine and dryer for granted again) but I also gain so much respect for these people.

The garden was beautiful. It was definitely a maze, we got turned around more than once and almost went out the exit before we meant to. There was a pretty little lake in the middle, and unlike most gardens there was a small part where you could actually climb up one of the rockeries. It was a nice little oasis in the middle of the city. Up on top of some of the rocks there was a stone table and chairs where we sat and just took a moment to relax and enjoy the peace. I love walking in the gardens and just imagining what it must have been like back when it was first constructed.

Walking along the winding paths as a warm breeze blows swirling cherry blossoms…..yeah ok I’ll admit I’m a little dramatic, but hey I like it that way ;)

Finishing at the garden meant it was time to track down some dinner. Sadly, there were not a lot of street vendors to buy food from as it got later. We wandered up and down the streets for a little while hoping to find a hidden street market but unfortunately we had no such luck.. Eventually we ended up stopping back at Café 85 and eating some of their more dinner food they have. As night came so did the street performers once again. This time we came across a guy singing down by the docks where we had rented the boat the day before. Unfortunately before we got to listen to him for long a policeman on a bike came through and made him move. Honestly, that was probably the first time I’d ever seen a policeman doing anything since I’ve been here. Before heading home we stopped by our beloved GoMax one last time to say goodbye.

Our hostel is down a side alley off of the main road, and if you go a little further back into that alley you’ll find a music bar. I didn’t feel like going home quite yet so I convinced a couple girls to go check it out with me. So Rachelle, Kelli, and I went to explore. After peeking inside through the window, Rachelle decided she didn’t want to go in so she left. Kelli and I however, decided to go inside and see if we could find a place to sit and listen to the music. The girl on stage was singing English music which was super cool. Her voice was beautiful and she had a really good accent. We would have loved to listen to her more, but the bar was really crowded so we decided not to stay. We sat outside on some nearby tables for a bit, and then headed up the fire escape to our floor of the hostel.

When we got back I didn’t feel like getting ready for bed quite yet so I grabbed Kelli and the two of us went out onto the roof and up onto the taller landing where we clambered out around the fence and sat on the edge dangling our legs in the open air, enjoying the view of the city. We sat there for nearly an hour just talking. I didn’t know much about Kelli before that night, but we definitely had a bonding moment haha I told her how I had thought she was kind of stuck up when we first met at the airport to come out here, and she told me that she kind of thought I was a freak haha Oh how things can change.

The time came when we were done being eaten alive by mosquitoes so we headed back inside and got ready for bed so we could get some sleep before the crazy day to come. The next morning we rose bright and early to pack up all our stuff and check-out of our rooms.

We were all a little sad to go, but since Suzhou is so close to Changzhou we decided we’d definitely have to return another day. As we left the hostel I found a spot on the staircase walls to add my name and my own message alongside all the others. It felt so awesome to see that small little token showing me that I really am out here living my dreams of travelling.

We grabbed some breakfast from a street vendor, on the way to the bus stop. Mine consisted of a crepe-like shell cooked on an egg with salt and pepper. It was super yummy, probably my favorite of all the various egg things I’ve had (they really love their eggs out here). We took the bus up to the train station and then walked the sort distance to the coach bus station. Then it was just a short wait before we hopped on for our 3 hour ride to Hangzhou. We had a marvelous time in Suzhou and I really do love that city. It was small, but it had so many cool things to see. There may not have been a lot of touristy things to do, but just wandering the streets and seeing the people was the best experience I could have ever had. I love seeing all the cool things, but all my favorite memories of the places I’ve seen are the people I’ve met, and the things I’ve been able to experience with them. Being in Suzhou gave me a small glimpse into the real China and all its beauty.