Zi ji what?!? you may be asking... Zi Jian is the word for "good bye" in Chinese. After two years, well, just two weeks shy of two years, it has come time to say good bye to China. Almost everyone who comes to China knows that this time will approach at some point, it is just a matter of when. Just over two years ago I was living a normal life in San Diego till I found that some friends from college were coming to China. Wanting to get out of the monotony of my office life, I jumped on the opportunity to live, teach, and travel in China (and Asia Pacific). Little did I know that I would end up switching to working at a British International School and staying for two years. Looking back at how nervous and anxious I was just 24 hours before I stepped on the plane two years, I realize that the anxiousness was a waste. Sure, two years ago I had no idea what life in China would be like, what opportunities would open up, the friends I would make, the amazing experiences I would have, the sights I would see, the amazing memories that would be created... and so now I feel foolish for having been nervous and anxious about coming to China for what might be the best two years of my life.
I am not going to deny that living in China has had its challenges and frustrations, but it is through these times of trials that I have grown to really appreciate China and my life here. There is plenty in China that I will NOT miss, but at the same time, it is also these things that I may grow to miss when I resume living back in San Diego. China is a crazy place and they are undergoing a lot of huge, positive changes, and I feel blessed to have been able to live here these past two years. I have drawn up lists before about things I like and things that drive me absolutely nuts about China, but this, seeing as I fly out in less than 48 hours, will be the last list.
Spitting... The truth is, the Chinese love to do it. They spit on the street, in elevators, subways, and anywhere and everywhere. I have seen kids do it as well as old ladies without any shame. Probably not gonna miss it, but it is definitely one of those things that constantly reminds me that yes, I am still in China.
Splitty pants... These are absolutely hilarious, till the parent/grandparent allows the child to pee on the street. But, what is funnier than having lots of little bottoms sticking out of kid's pants?
Meat on a stick (as well as street noodles)... Definitely going to miss the plethora of street food that abounds at all hours of the night. Thankfully I have not gotten sick from it, which is probably why I will miss it. Nothing beats ordering an unidentifiable meat cooked on the back of someone's bike at 2 am (is it lamb? beef? cat? dog?). I do have my two regular spots for getting the street food and I will honestly miss both of them.
Crazy street traffic and taxis and running... Sure the crazy drivers and over populated streets make running a bit difficult, but it also makes it fun at the same time. Running in the streets proposes many difficulties as drivers and bikers go down the wrong side of the road, construction sites are everywhere with road hazards at just about every step, but once again, makes life a bit more interesting and keeps me on my toes. I also will always be amazed at how drivers can sense when a car will pull out in front of them and cut them off, avoiding accidents.
Pollution... Not a fan, but really allows one to appreciate the days when the blue sky pokes it head through the usual brownish haze.
Holidays... The BEST part of living here. Teaching in China means lots of time off. Lots of time off means lots of time to travel. Nothing beats getting out of Shanghai to explore the country or other areas of Asia Pacific. Places I have been: Beijing, Xi'An, Yangshou, Hong Kong, all over Yunnan Province, Huang Shan, Hangzhou, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam...
Hashes... What?!? you may ask? The Hash is a running group that takes runs in the Shanghai countryside. Yes, there is a Hash in San Diego, but I love running in rural China through villages and farm land. It is interesting to see the contrast of the ever-growing Shanghai to the rural countryside.
Hmmm... what else? There really are lots of things I will miss about China and the list can go on and on, but I do feel that I have spent enough time here and that I am ready to go back home. Here are questions I have had...
Will I return to China? I have no idea. I really had no idea that I would spend two years here, so I cannot answer that questions. Who knows what life will deal me.
Will I get bored with life in the States? Once again, I have no idea. I have had a blast living abroad, but I also know that my roots are in San Diego and it is where I will always call home, no matter where I am. Sure, I am more open to what other parts of the world has to offer and open to living abroad again, but the reality is I miss San Diego and my friends and family and the beach and the normalcy of life there. Will I live there forever? I have no idea, but I do know it is where I am to be this next year.
Will I miss China? Parts yes, parts no. Will I regret having come here? Definitely not.
And so, in less that 48 hours I will step on the plane and saying "Zi jian Zhonguo" (Goodbye China). One thing is certain, it's been a great two years!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunsets...
I love sunsets. Sunsets are always a beautiful site. My favorite are over the ocean, but here is one in a village somewhere in Xishaungbanna. I am not sue the exact location as it was the second night of our trek and probably about 20 km from the Myanmar border.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Trekking in Xishuangbanna
Ryan, my cousin, and I took a three day trek to Xishuangbanna, which is at the border of China and Myanmar. We averaged just over 20 km a day in some pretty rural terrain. At night we slept in two villages. You can read more about the trek below, but here are some pictures.
One of the villages we walked through
We stopped at a monastery. Here are some of the monk boys.
These were our guide's nieces. We stayed at their house.
Inside the first place we stayed.How would you carry chickens?
If you had to carry chickens from Point A to Point B, how would you do it?
Hmmm... do you have an answer yet? Think a bit more about it if you need to...
The answer is simple, in a toothpaste box of course, oh, and on a bus. Not only would you do it this way, but so would the woman next to me on the bus.
Hmmm... do you have an answer yet? Think a bit more about it if you need to...
The answer is simple, in a toothpaste box of course, oh, and on a bus. Not only would you do it this way, but so would the woman next to me on the bus.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Ahhh.... the joys of China travel
The past two days have been super mellow. Actually, both Ryan and I are needing to do something active because we have done nothing the past few days. Anyways, not what I am menat to be writing about...
Since our trip is coming to an end (sad) we have to make it donw to Kunming for our flight. Our original plan was to take a four hour bus from Shangrila to Lijiang, stay the night, and then take another bus the next moring (about 3 hours) to Dali to break up the trip; however, plans changed. Since we are not the biggest fans of Lijiang, we decided it would be better just to take the long bus all the way to Dali, and so we did.
The trip was about 7 1/2 hours on a small bus. Neither Ryan nor I could fit our legs in the amounted leg room without having at least one leg in the aisle. I thought that we would never get out of Shangrila as our bus driver drove for about 30 min trying to pick up people to make sure every seat was filled. It was so frudtrating as I thought we got tickets for the Express Bus (meaning it would go faster). Also, sitting behing us was a girld who, for about an hour, slurped louder than anyone I have ever heard on some drink or soup thing while the other passengers talked excessively loud on their phones. This, cobined with our driver going extremely slow, made me almost want to some hoe switch buses, but that would just leave me stranded somewhere on the side of the road in China, which I though would be a bad idea.
So the first half the driver moved at a snails pace, then, out of no where, he picked up speed. Of course the section he decided to drive fast was on a windy mountain road with blind turns and a cliff on one side. I am convinced that the bus drivers have some special power to let them know when it is ok to pass someone on a blind turn. Oh well, this just makes travelling interesting I guess.
Anyways, the good news is we survived the bus ride and are now in Dali. We have two full days which will be spent biking and maybe hiking, then on the third day we are off to Kunming before having to fly back to Shanghai. When we return I will be sure to post man many many pictures. Some pictures are (just to leave you in suspense)
The toothpaste box full of chickens on the bus
A double rainbow with a monastary
Fileds of Yaks
The villages we stayed in
Since our trip is coming to an end (sad) we have to make it donw to Kunming for our flight. Our original plan was to take a four hour bus from Shangrila to Lijiang, stay the night, and then take another bus the next moring (about 3 hours) to Dali to break up the trip; however, plans changed. Since we are not the biggest fans of Lijiang, we decided it would be better just to take the long bus all the way to Dali, and so we did.
The trip was about 7 1/2 hours on a small bus. Neither Ryan nor I could fit our legs in the amounted leg room without having at least one leg in the aisle. I thought that we would never get out of Shangrila as our bus driver drove for about 30 min trying to pick up people to make sure every seat was filled. It was so frudtrating as I thought we got tickets for the Express Bus (meaning it would go faster). Also, sitting behing us was a girld who, for about an hour, slurped louder than anyone I have ever heard on some drink or soup thing while the other passengers talked excessively loud on their phones. This, cobined with our driver going extremely slow, made me almost want to some hoe switch buses, but that would just leave me stranded somewhere on the side of the road in China, which I though would be a bad idea.
So the first half the driver moved at a snails pace, then, out of no where, he picked up speed. Of course the section he decided to drive fast was on a windy mountain road with blind turns and a cliff on one side. I am convinced that the bus drivers have some special power to let them know when it is ok to pass someone on a blind turn. Oh well, this just makes travelling interesting I guess.
Anyways, the good news is we survived the bus ride and are now in Dali. We have two full days which will be spent biking and maybe hiking, then on the third day we are off to Kunming before having to fly back to Shanghai. When we return I will be sure to post man many many pictures. Some pictures are (just to leave you in suspense)
The toothpaste box full of chickens on the bus
A double rainbow with a monastary
Fileds of Yaks
The villages we stayed in
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Three Day Trek
Our trek through Xishuangbanna started in a town called Xiding and ended 4 km from the Myanmar border in Dalou. We averaged about 20 km a day and it definitely was a hard trek. Our guide's name was Ainipa and he is Bulang, which is one of the minority groups that live in the area.
The first night we stayed at his parents' house. The houses and lifestyles of the people are very primitive and they our basically self-sustaining. They grow all their own food and raise their own animals for meat. Cruising around their village were pigs, water buffaloes, chickens, ducks, etc. The chickens would even come into the house. The house was a wood structure that basically was one giant room. In the middle of the house was a fire area that they cooked their food at. There was a section that was blocked off by sheets for the sleeping area. In their house was his parents, his brother and sister in law, and their two kids. It was eye opening to see the simple lifestyle that they lived, but they seemed very happy and content with everything. The worse part was at night. The beds were mattresses put on the ground and the entire night you could here mice and rats scurrying around everywhere. I must say, I was not a fan.
The next day we trekked about 22 km to another village that we stayed in. That night was one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen in China. Once again, this village was very primitive in that each family grows its own food and the houses are a big one room layout blocked off by sheets for sleeping.
The third day was the longest. We trekked down to a rain forest area, but in total trekked probably 25-28 km of serious up and down hills. Having trekked already for two days I was ready to be done. My knees was hurting, the sights were all the same, and I was dirty and just wanted to be done. The last hour of the trek the heavens opened up and completely poured on us. Hiking downhill, in the mud, knee hurting was not my idea of fun, but we survived.
While I was so happy to be done with the trek, it was an amazing experience. The views of the tea covered hillsides and rain forest were breathtaking and to see the minority people's everyday lifestyle was eye-opening. The simplicity of it all was great and will definitely be a memory I will not forget. However, despite the simplicity of their lives it is apparent that their lifestyles are improving. Many houses had running water and some had solar heaters. The water is not drinkable, but then again you cannot drink the water in Shanghai either. Each of the houses we stayed in had electricity and TV's and even a phone. It was interesting though to see these modern conveniences but at the same time they still have to grow all their own crops and raise their own animals. While the older generation spoke only Bulang, the younger generation is learning Mandarin and are slowly being able to move out of the village life and into the cities to learn English. It was also apparent that there was an abundance of food, which twenty years ago in China was not always the case. So, while I looked at the lifestyle as being postmodern (to say the least) there were still huge positive changes happening within the the villages.
The first night we stayed at his parents' house. The houses and lifestyles of the people are very primitive and they our basically self-sustaining. They grow all their own food and raise their own animals for meat. Cruising around their village were pigs, water buffaloes, chickens, ducks, etc. The chickens would even come into the house. The house was a wood structure that basically was one giant room. In the middle of the house was a fire area that they cooked their food at. There was a section that was blocked off by sheets for the sleeping area. In their house was his parents, his brother and sister in law, and their two kids. It was eye opening to see the simple lifestyle that they lived, but they seemed very happy and content with everything. The worse part was at night. The beds were mattresses put on the ground and the entire night you could here mice and rats scurrying around everywhere. I must say, I was not a fan.
The next day we trekked about 22 km to another village that we stayed in. That night was one of the most amazing sunsets I have seen in China. Once again, this village was very primitive in that each family grows its own food and the houses are a big one room layout blocked off by sheets for sleeping.
The third day was the longest. We trekked down to a rain forest area, but in total trekked probably 25-28 km of serious up and down hills. Having trekked already for two days I was ready to be done. My knees was hurting, the sights were all the same, and I was dirty and just wanted to be done. The last hour of the trek the heavens opened up and completely poured on us. Hiking downhill, in the mud, knee hurting was not my idea of fun, but we survived.
While I was so happy to be done with the trek, it was an amazing experience. The views of the tea covered hillsides and rain forest were breathtaking and to see the minority people's everyday lifestyle was eye-opening. The simplicity of it all was great and will definitely be a memory I will not forget. However, despite the simplicity of their lives it is apparent that their lifestyles are improving. Many houses had running water and some had solar heaters. The water is not drinkable, but then again you cannot drink the water in Shanghai either. Each of the houses we stayed in had electricity and TV's and even a phone. It was interesting though to see these modern conveniences but at the same time they still have to grow all their own crops and raise their own animals. While the older generation spoke only Bulang, the younger generation is learning Mandarin and are slowly being able to move out of the village life and into the cities to learn English. It was also apparent that there was an abundance of food, which twenty years ago in China was not always the case. So, while I looked at the lifestyle as being postmodern (to say the least) there were still huge positive changes happening within the the villages.
Biking in the Tropics
I never thought that I would say that I would be biking in the tropics in the rain forest in China, but there I was on a mountain bike in the tropics in China. Ryan, my cousin, and I spent a week in Xishuangbanna. For those of you who are not familiar with Chinese geography, Xishuangbanna is the most southwest region in China that borders Myanmar and Laos. For two days we rented bikes and explored the surrounding areas around Jinghong (the main city). The coolest day was when we found a dirt trail that took us through villages, rubber tree plantations, and tea plantations. For about four hours we cruised around the towns and finally up a dirt hill. To be surrounded by such beautiful scenery was so amazing and to see some of the local minority villages is indescribable. Coming from Shanghai, one of the biggest and fastest growing cities in the world to being in villages where the farming is done by hand and the grains are set out to dry on the roads and basketball courts is such a huge change. What I like most about China is how diverse it is. I have been so many places around China these past two years, but Jinghong felt different from any place that I have been. Since it borders Myanmar and Laos, it has more of an Asian Pacific feel compared to the typical China feel.
When we got back to Jinghong it was super mellow. We found a cafe called Mekong Cafe that served a great drink called the Mekong Bang Bang. Basically it was fresh pineapple juice and their moonshine (bai Jiao) and they only cost 10 RMB each (about $1.40). I also love Yunnan Province because they have good coffee, which beats the heck out of instant coffee. There was also a lot of good fresh fruit juices and shakes. I probably could have stayed longer but we booked a three day trek and so we were limited to only two days of biking.
When we got back to Jinghong it was super mellow. We found a cafe called Mekong Cafe that served a great drink called the Mekong Bang Bang. Basically it was fresh pineapple juice and their moonshine (bai Jiao) and they only cost 10 RMB each (about $1.40). I also love Yunnan Province because they have good coffee, which beats the heck out of instant coffee. There was also a lot of good fresh fruit juices and shakes. I probably could have stayed longer but we booked a three day trek and so we were limited to only two days of biking.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
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