Found this great translation in a museum.Monday, May 28, 2007
Shang Hai and Suzhou
This past weekend we traveled to Suzhou, and then to Shang Hai. Suzhou was really nice, we went to the "humble administrator's garden". This garden was the prettiest place I have ever seen. Everything was perfectly manicured. Every tree, every flower, every blade of grass was perfectly placed. They had a huge display of "bonsai" trees, which were pretty crazy. I put bonsai in quotations because that is the Japanese word for what the Chinese created. The Chinese were the people to come up with this art, but the Japanese are known for it. Go figure. Anyway, I don't know the word for it in Chinese.
We also took a tour of the old part of Suzhou on a small gondola. Suzhou is named the Venice of china. Originally, the commerce of the city was centered around its canals, but these days the canals are just used for washing clothes, dumping garbage, and amusing tourists. It was cool to see, but the water was really gross. Our guide was a sweet old woman, who was so kind to sing a couple of songs to us. She was really beautiful. Her voice was mysterious to me, deep, full of secrets, unpredictable, like the ocean.
After Suzhou we took a bus to Shang Hai. Shang Hai was all right. It really is just a gigantic city. We went to "the bund" which is a very famous road in Shang Hai. It looks like it is right out of Europe. All the buildings are completely different than other buildings in China. It is kind of a weird site, but that's what you get when the British come in. They gotta put there stamp on stuff, right? We didn't do much to speak of in Shang Hai. We mostly walked around and explored.
Our last trip is coming up in two weeks, then after that we'll be home! We will probably do a couple more posts, so be on the look out.
-a.
We also took a tour of the old part of Suzhou on a small gondola. Suzhou is named the Venice of china. Originally, the commerce of the city was centered around its canals, but these days the canals are just used for washing clothes, dumping garbage, and amusing tourists. It was cool to see, but the water was really gross. Our guide was a sweet old woman, who was so kind to sing a couple of songs to us. She was really beautiful. Her voice was mysterious to me, deep, full of secrets, unpredictable, like the ocean.
After Suzhou we took a bus to Shang Hai. Shang Hai was all right. It really is just a gigantic city. We went to "the bund" which is a very famous road in Shang Hai. It looks like it is right out of Europe. All the buildings are completely different than other buildings in China. It is kind of a weird site, but that's what you get when the British come in. They gotta put there stamp on stuff, right? We didn't do much to speak of in Shang Hai. We mostly walked around and explored.
Our last trip is coming up in two weeks, then after that we'll be home! We will probably do a couple more posts, so be on the look out.
-a.
Monday, May 21, 2007
the every day ruckus
I guess its time to show everyone what our day to day play looks like. So far we have mainly posted pictures of when we travel, but here is the normal stuff. Don't be fooled by the cute little faces you see, they are rowdy lil' people. You may notice Ted and I are wearing matching shirts, oh how cute. They have entire stores dedicated to "couples shirts". I guess it is a big deal to match with your significant other here. We thought they were a cool design, so we had to get them. The funny thing is that our students didn't realize we were married until we wore the shirts together. I guess kissing in front of them, or pointing out my wedding ring wasn't as obvious as a T-shirt. Now they follow us around saying, "teacha, look!", and of course what they want us to look at is their cute little pointer fingers making out with each other.
Yes, that is a picture of Ronald Mcdonald. And yes, that old man is coolly sitting next to him reading the paper, like everyone reads the paper with good ole' Ron. I thought it was a splendid moment and had to capture it. The saddest part of that picture is that we were inside eating there. Mcdonalds, once my sworn enemy, now one of my closest allies. I no longer have a stomach for what they feed us here at school, so I am living off of plain rice, PBJ's, oreos, apples, and the occasional trip to the Golden Arches. Please don't judge us, we are desperate. We would rather eat tasty American flavored mystery meat on a sesame bun than to actually be eating what could very well be a greasy vegetable rat medley.
The last picture is our favorite new toy. It is a LASER TOP! We found some people selling them on the streets one night, and they are really cool. It's a tiny personal laser show. It came with a stick with a rope attached to it, which is used to whip the top to keep it moving. Great good ole' fashioned fun.
We are going to Shang Hai in two days, this is our last trip before teaching is done. We only have two more weeks of teaching! Yeee haw. I have fun with the kids, but it will be nice not to have to worry about lesson plans, or any of that stuff any more. I can check teacher off my list, and know for sure that I definitely don't want to be a teacher. Too noisy. I sound like a crotchety old woman, but it is the truth. A classroom of screaming kids is not what I call fun. Plus, I respect my eardrums far too much.
Hope ya'll enjoy, keep a smile on your faces.
-a.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
trash can
This trash can said at the bottom, "Protect the environment". Bush bin....coincidence? I think not. I guess this is what China thinks of our president.-a
Sunday, May 6, 2007
too much is never quite too much
Cormorant fisherman
Ted and his faithful steed on our countryside ride.
Sideways smile, and rosie cheeks.
"Under the Tree" cafe, they had good pizza, but horrible burritos.
A sideways glance of Moon Hill. (we climbed to the top!)
down at yang shou town
We have been on a great adventure this past week. The biggest adventure yet, and the hardest part was getting to where we were going. We left for Yang Shou last Saturday afternoon, only to find that our bus had already left us, along with our group. A cab driver stuck his head out of his window and into the rain and started shouting something to us in Chinese. Of course, my response was "wo bu dong" which means, " i don't get you man" (okay, that isn't an exact translation) We got out our plane tickets and pointed to "Nanjing", this is where our bus was supposed to take us to catch our plane. The cab driver's eyes got very wide, and he started pointing intermittently to some other location in the city and then to the backseat of his taxi. So like good little foreigners we hopped into his cab, and he sped away. He kept talking to himself and laughing nervously, which only made us more nervous. We were weaving in and out of traffic on a six lane road for about five minutes when our driver slammed on his brakes, rolled down his window, and stuck his head back out into the rain. He shouted over a cement divider and about four lanes at this bus. The bus stopped, and its driver stuck his head out into the rain and shouted back. The encounter was brief, and loud. Our driver then continued to drive, all the while muttering to himself. He flipped a u-turn at the next intersection, drove about two blocks and there was our bus waiting for us. We paid our driver, and hopped onto a bus that was pretty full. The bus manager kicked people out of their seats so that we could sit in the front, now that's what I call service. When we got to Nanjing we found out that the airport was about another 30 to 40 minutes away. So we hopped into another taxi, pointed to our plane tickets, and also pointed to the time that we were supposed to leave. Seeing that we were pressed for time our driver took off like a madman. We got to the airport just in time for boarding. We were really relieved, except for one thing, our group was not at the airport. We found out later that they took the original bus that was supposed to take us, and they arrived at the airport just as the plane was leaving. After all that, I think Ted and I are ready to be on the Amazing Race.
Yang Shou is absolutely gorgeous and is by far the highlight of our trip. This bustling little town is nestled in the middle of hundreds of karst mountains. Our hostel was tucked away in another obscure alleyway. Ted and I got a room on the top floor that was really cool. The skeleton of the roof was exposed along with the ceramic shingles. There wasn't much keeping the bugs out, and the only thing that kept the rain out was the plexi glass the lined the ceiling.
Our first day we took a boat tour up the Li River. It was a fun time. The scenery was breathtaking. A couple of times we had to dock our boats along the riverside and wait for the big bad government boats to pass. While we were parked we could get out and explore a little. Both places we stopped there were cormorant fisherman holding their birds on a bamboo stick balanced on their shoulders. For those of you who don't know, a cormorant is a bird that dives down into the water, sometimes for a very long time, and comes up with a fish. They are really cool birds, but really stinky.
The second day we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride out in the country. Ted got a pretty good bike, but I got a Giant from the underworld. It was a full suspension bike that seemed to have extra bounce in it. On top of that it didn't shift properly, basically it didn't shift at all. So, I rode an extra bouncy single speed bike all day. I was pretty sore and cranky by the end. It was really hot and humid that day, but the things we saw were really beautiful . I am glad I did it, even though my bum wasn't.
The third day was the best day! We went "rafting". We took an hour bus ride out through rice paddies, and orange orchards and up into a small steep canyon. Once we got to the rafting area, they shoved us into a smaller bus with a bunch of speedo clad Chinese men. We rode that little bus for about fifteen minutes up a really steep windy road. Ted and I looked over the edge of the road to see a highly manicured but quite swift river. I was excited and a little bit nervous. When we got to the top the suited us up with life jackets, helmets, elbow pads, and knee pads, but no paddles. We then followed a line of people down to the rivers edge. We got in a small two person raft and waited with probably about 100 other people. We were all corralled into this small area of the river that they had dammed up. It was a deep calm pool and every boat was touching. We were all squeezed in tightly. As soon as our boat got into the water a huge water fight broke out. I think it started with a small friendly splash in our direction, and by the end everyone had their helmets off filling them with water and pouring them onto the nearest victim. The water was violent with splashing and laughter. It was a really beautiful moment for me. I felt so close to all these strangers that I have never seen before and I am sure I will never see again. We couldn't understand each other's words, but we understood each other's laughter.
It took forever to finally get out of our holding area, but it was so worth the wait. At the front of the dam there is a small opening just big enough for a raft to go through, followed by a cement chute. The first drop was about a 15 ft drop, and in Ted's words "about a 70% slope". It was wild. They had about 5 or 6 of these chutes along the river. Most of the river was manipulated to make as many rapids as possible. They had a guard watching at every bend, and for every guard there was at least 3 people taking pictures of you along the way. Ted and I laughed like little kids down the whole river. It was so fun!
We spent our nights hanging out on West street by our hostel. There were a million things to see and buy. Bright lights and colors in every direction. Ted and I love shopping here in China, not only because it is cheap, but we get a thrill (especially Ted) out of bartering. The more mad they get, the better price you are getting. Once Ted got a little cocky and low balled someone just a bit too much and the guy slid his finger across his throat, which I think meant :" get out of here or I'll kill ya".
Our last day we went to a place called Moon cave. It is a cave you enter by boat. You go up a very small river into a hole in the rock. You have to duck down pretty low in the boat, so you don't bonk your head. Once we got in we hiked around and looked at the many interesting rock formations. Near the end of the tour you get to the mud pools, which is the main attraction for the caves. Everyone strips down to their bathing suits, and gets completely covered with mud. There is even a mud slide. Ted and Steve frolicked and laughed like little boys. I got muddy, but not quite as muddy as they did. Ted had mud all over his face, crusted in his beard, everywhere. Luckily, there is a big pool outside the cave, and we were able to clean off.
We had a really great time this past week, and if anyone ever wants to visit China I recommend visiting Yang Shou. We would love to take both our families here one day! Thanks for reading!
-a.
Yang Shou is absolutely gorgeous and is by far the highlight of our trip. This bustling little town is nestled in the middle of hundreds of karst mountains. Our hostel was tucked away in another obscure alleyway. Ted and I got a room on the top floor that was really cool. The skeleton of the roof was exposed along with the ceramic shingles. There wasn't much keeping the bugs out, and the only thing that kept the rain out was the plexi glass the lined the ceiling.
Our first day we took a boat tour up the Li River. It was a fun time. The scenery was breathtaking. A couple of times we had to dock our boats along the riverside and wait for the big bad government boats to pass. While we were parked we could get out and explore a little. Both places we stopped there were cormorant fisherman holding their birds on a bamboo stick balanced on their shoulders. For those of you who don't know, a cormorant is a bird that dives down into the water, sometimes for a very long time, and comes up with a fish. They are really cool birds, but really stinky.
The second day we decided to rent bikes and go for a ride out in the country. Ted got a pretty good bike, but I got a Giant from the underworld. It was a full suspension bike that seemed to have extra bounce in it. On top of that it didn't shift properly, basically it didn't shift at all. So, I rode an extra bouncy single speed bike all day. I was pretty sore and cranky by the end. It was really hot and humid that day, but the things we saw were really beautiful . I am glad I did it, even though my bum wasn't.
The third day was the best day! We went "rafting". We took an hour bus ride out through rice paddies, and orange orchards and up into a small steep canyon. Once we got to the rafting area, they shoved us into a smaller bus with a bunch of speedo clad Chinese men. We rode that little bus for about fifteen minutes up a really steep windy road. Ted and I looked over the edge of the road to see a highly manicured but quite swift river. I was excited and a little bit nervous. When we got to the top the suited us up with life jackets, helmets, elbow pads, and knee pads, but no paddles. We then followed a line of people down to the rivers edge. We got in a small two person raft and waited with probably about 100 other people. We were all corralled into this small area of the river that they had dammed up. It was a deep calm pool and every boat was touching. We were all squeezed in tightly. As soon as our boat got into the water a huge water fight broke out. I think it started with a small friendly splash in our direction, and by the end everyone had their helmets off filling them with water and pouring them onto the nearest victim. The water was violent with splashing and laughter. It was a really beautiful moment for me. I felt so close to all these strangers that I have never seen before and I am sure I will never see again. We couldn't understand each other's words, but we understood each other's laughter.
It took forever to finally get out of our holding area, but it was so worth the wait. At the front of the dam there is a small opening just big enough for a raft to go through, followed by a cement chute. The first drop was about a 15 ft drop, and in Ted's words "about a 70% slope". It was wild. They had about 5 or 6 of these chutes along the river. Most of the river was manipulated to make as many rapids as possible. They had a guard watching at every bend, and for every guard there was at least 3 people taking pictures of you along the way. Ted and I laughed like little kids down the whole river. It was so fun!
We spent our nights hanging out on West street by our hostel. There were a million things to see and buy. Bright lights and colors in every direction. Ted and I love shopping here in China, not only because it is cheap, but we get a thrill (especially Ted) out of bartering. The more mad they get, the better price you are getting. Once Ted got a little cocky and low balled someone just a bit too much and the guy slid his finger across his throat, which I think meant :" get out of here or I'll kill ya".
Our last day we went to a place called Moon cave. It is a cave you enter by boat. You go up a very small river into a hole in the rock. You have to duck down pretty low in the boat, so you don't bonk your head. Once we got in we hiked around and looked at the many interesting rock formations. Near the end of the tour you get to the mud pools, which is the main attraction for the caves. Everyone strips down to their bathing suits, and gets completely covered with mud. There is even a mud slide. Ted and Steve frolicked and laughed like little boys. I got muddy, but not quite as muddy as they did. Ted had mud all over his face, crusted in his beard, everywhere. Luckily, there is a big pool outside the cave, and we were able to clean off.
We had a really great time this past week, and if anyone ever wants to visit China I recommend visiting Yang Shou. We would love to take both our families here one day! Thanks for reading!
-a.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
