Beijing pt. 3: The Wall & Ming Dynasty Tombs

After staying up until 2:30am to watch my beloved 49ers stomp the Jets, I had to be up quite early to start our Great Wall day tour. At 6:30a our bus picked up Craig and myself and we were off to the wall. I was very excited to see the wall,  but I was quite anxious because we did not get a chance to have coffee or breakfast before leaving the hostel. I already am not the best of hikers (As my friends can tell you from our Julian hike!), so climbing the great wall without breakfast and about 4hrs of sleep had me a little nervous

One piece of history about the Great Wall of China that I didn't know that kind of about is that the touristy parts of the wall near Beijing have been reconstructed previously in the 1980s. Meaning most of the wall people see and walk on is not as old as you might think. However, the structure itself is amazing and well worth the trip. As they say in China, "You haven't seen China until you visit the wall."

After about an hour and a half ride, we arrived at the wall. We rode a rickety Chinese chair lift to the top, which had a great view of the mountains in the surrounding area. Once you reach the top, you can go to either the right or the left just about as long as you would like to walk it. We decided to go to the right for our journey. It was not the easiest climb to make on an empty stomach, but we had a great time taking pictures and taking in all the scenery. As we reached the limits of the tourist side of the wall, there was a sign that said "No tourists past this point." Naturally, my adventurous roommate took that as an opportunity to explore further. I cautiously followed my friend and the singing Chinese voice we could hear in the distance. This part of the wall was overgrown and definitely not part of the most recent reconstruction  After almost getting killed by a spider that looked like must have had a role in the newest Spider Man film, we finally made it to the decaying watch tower where we met singing Chinese stranger and his family. The family surprisingly spoke very good English and proceeded to tell us about their lives and offered me a wild flower bouquet his wife had just picked. In the end, was happy Craig dragged me past the tourist limit because we were able to see some cool views of the wall and meet some great people. We also found some original parts of the wall that we were able to take home.

Starting to remember my Julian hike here

Trying to give my cool Castro pose

Thanks flower lady!!

Beers for breakfast!!

The best part about the wall would have to be the way down. You have 2 choices. Either the boring, slow, old people chair lift OR the too fast, too furious, toboggan sled ride!! It is like a mini roller coaster/ go cart device on a track that you get to control the speed making for a great adrenaline rush down. I would by another ticket up just to go back down on it.

MaoBama. Hilarious ironic t-shirt at the wall I had to buy. "Says service to the people"

After a tasty Chinese lunch and a jade museum stop, our second half of the bus tour took us to the Ming Dynasty Tombs. Being the closed off American that I am, before coming here I had no idea this burial site even existed in China. The Ming Dynasty Tombs are 13 tombs spread with the principles of Feng Shui throughout the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain. There is only one available to go inside and see. For the most part, the inside of this tomb was kind of boring. There is nothing grand about it except that the marble is over 500 years old, but the inside is very plain. Also there were a few artifacts to see with money thrown at them (for good luck), but most of the burial pieces were destroyed or poorly maintained during the "cultural revolution" in the 1960s and 1970s under Moa Tse Tung. The outside was pretty cool, with some old marble staircases and monuments. You could also see some of the other tombs on higher points of the mountain off in the distance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty_Tombs

Treasure Boxes/ All the treasures are gone due to poor maintenance and excavation back in the day.

Burial Throne with money on it. Chinese throw money on for good luck

500 year old marble pillar.

Our long day of climbing mountains and walking down into tombs, the tour finished with a free foot massage! Somehow I ended up with some dude masseuse while Craig lucked out with the cute Chinese girl, but either way my feet felt like I was walking on clouds by the end of it. Definitely a nice treat to end the tour!

We finished the day with another adventurous evening in Sanlitun!

Beijing pt. 1: Beijing!

After being in China for 18 days, the holiday for the Mid-Autumn Festival had finally arrived! The festival is a popular festival an eight day event that is celebrated throughout China every end of September and early October  The celebration focuses a lot on Chinese traditions and reunion of families. Every year, when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the country and the world to meet their family and have dinner with them. I was very excited because I was finally going to have a substantial amount of time to explore the China I wanted to see. The first stop on my list....Beijing.

So because Chinese have this weird tradition of when a holiday week or three day weekend is approaching  they count Saturday as a working day. Instead of working a Mon Fri, I had to work 6 days in a row before having 8 days off. So after a long day of playing with stickers and dancing like a goofball , my work Saturday was finally finished. My roommate Craig and I were ready to set our sights on Beijing! Of course, both of us our terrible planners and thought to ourselves, "No problem getting a train ticket the night before 2nd biggest holiday in China." We arrive to the crowded train station in Tangshan that looked like an outdoor market in India or something. When we try to by our tickets, the only available time was 2am on the standing train. Keep in mind, standing trains in China are the most uncomfortable experiences one will ever face (I wouldn't know that until a few days later. . .  ) Rather than attempting that experience, we took a nearby taxi that was offering rides to Beijing for 150RMB ($23) each. The taxi ride was painless and quick and finally we had arrived in Beijing!!

Candy Inn Hostel Alley

After settling into our quaint Chinese hostel "The Candy Inn", we were ready to party. We found out about this small area in Beijing called Sanlitun. The place is foreign central and one of the top places to be to drink and have a good time. The bars and clubs have no cover, no ID check, no last call, and real alcohol! Something I had been missing since arriving to China. I saw more foreigners in Sanlitun (and Beijing) more than I had ever seen since I had arrived in China. It was a weird, but refreshing feeling at the same time to blend back into society for a moment and not stand out because of your face. We all partied late into the night, finally getting to hear western music and drink proper drinks (Old Fashions!!).

 Heading to bed that night, I was incredibly happy (and drunk). I was about to experience the China I had expected when I first arrived two weeks ago. The China that I saw on TV, the China that was incredibly modern and that same time just as enriched in tradition. The China that never slept, The China that would give me the honeymoon phase that so quickly passed living in Tangshan. I was going to experience Beijing, China.

Sanlitun street food

Sanlitun! China's version of Pacific Beach

Drunk Huka!

Real Alcohol!

Old Fashions!!

Beijing pt. 2: Tiananmen Square and The forbidden City

After our wild night in Sanlitun, Craig and I decided to experience some tourist sites that afternoon in Beijing. Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden city was on the first days agenda.

Chicken Hangover Cures

We decided to brave the Chinese subway to get to Tiananmen Square and the forbidden City because we were tired of paying Beijing taxi prices. The taxis in Beijing love to bump up prices for foreigners or just flat out refuse to pick you up because you are foreign. We were glad we did take the subway because we found it incredibly easy and convenient. The Beijing subway is translated in both Chinese and English making it simple to decide what train and stop you need to be at. The Subway is also very clean and modern making it almost impossible to miss your stop unless you just were not paying attention. It is also incredibly cheap! Only 2 RMB (30 cents US) to travel anywhere you want in the city. The subway ended up being the best way to get around Beijing the rest of our trip.

Upon exiting the subway station, my excitement began to grow. There it was, the famous Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City!! It was such surreal feeling when we arrived. We kind of just stopped and stared for a few moments.

For those of you who do not know about Tiananmen Square here is a quick wiki excerpt:

"Tianamnen Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace) located to its North, separating it from the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square is the third largest city square in the world (440,000 m² - 880m by 500m or 109 acres - 960 by 550 yd). It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history."

Tiananmen Square is also infamously known for the Tianamnen square massacre. A pro-democracy rally in 1989 that led to martial law in Beijing and the massacre of several hundred civilians. However, with the Mid-Autumn Festival. A spirit of patriotism, not blood, was in the air here. Families with Chinese flags, communist  hats, and bags were all walking around the square. The Square was also decorated quite impressively for the festival with extra flowers and scenic wonders. It was an awesome feeling to be a part of such a grand event and celebration. Of course, my roommate and I had our "when in Rome" moment and also bought China flags and wore our communist hats with pride as we took numerous "pro-communist" photos.

The second stop on our tourist journey was across the street the Forbidden City. The famous imperial palace with Mao's portrait plastered on the front gate. Until the establishment of The People's Republic of China in 1949, the Forbidden City served as the home of emperors and their households during the dynasty eras. It was almost destroyed after the establishment on the PRC, but was decided to be protected and is now still used today as as a ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. 

From what I was able to see of the Forbidden City it was also quite impressive. We went up to the top of the front gate. The place where infamous communist party leaders and god-like emperors once overlooked the Chinese people. From the front gate you can see all of Tiananmen square. Inside the top of the gate, there is a small museum dedicated to the PRC government. It was really fascinating to see this because coming from the US you only get to here one side of the history. Here, I was able to see and view first hand how the Chinese people view the PRC and Moa Tse Tung. 

We walked around the outer part of the Forbidden City for a while, but we were not able to go into the inner section because it closed at 4:30p :( I will have to go another day to see the rest of it. 

After a long, but amazing afternoon, we finally headed home to meet up with our other friends for dinner. My first day of Chinese history and culture was spectacular. I was so excited to see Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City and it did not disappoint.  I was also glad I was able to see it during the festival. Being able to experience their history, with so much patriotism for their country, was a once in a life-time experience.

The always Intimidating Chinese Military

Flags & Flowers

Be good communists! ;p

Adjust, adjust, adjust...

Life in China so far is an interesting, fun, challenging, and a new experience, but no matter how much I prepared and researched, it was not what I expected. 

The firsts two weeks being here have been fun but also very challenging for me. I just have a lot of thoughts going through my head about being in China and away from my family and friends. I never thought I have this much homesickness. When I am out with people and experiencing China, I love it. I have met a lot of great people and experienced some unique things. It’s enormously refreshing and exhilarating to feel like you can be anyone you want to be and come into situations without the baggage of your past, but I also realize just how much of “me” wasn't based totally on my geographic location, but more the connections I have made back home more than anything else. During a lot of my down time I sit and wonder about life back home. I miss not being able to just hear friends and families voices everyday. I have only been here for couple weeks, and I am already nervous about losing friendships. I know my closest friends will always be my friends, but being so far away has giving me such a forgotten and alone feeling that I hate. The worry that I had of the first few days of making new friends, adjusting, and mastering Chinese has now been replaced with the repeated question of “What am I missing?” As I am settling into life here, time is passing and it has also brought up another question of "How long have I been gone?" I am realizing life back home is going on without me. In the next year, people will change, move, and become completely different people, and so will I. It is a scary feeling for me right now that has made me very emotional, especially the last couple days...

That being said, I am determined to grow here in China. I know these strong feelings are only temporary. To grow as person one must be stretched from the comfort zone they are familiar with. I want to evolve, to change, to put myself in an uncomfortable new situation that would force me to into a new phase of life.

I will be traveling to Beijing next weekend so I will shy away from the emo blogs next week! I look forward to writing about my experiences there!

This is a picture of the local market by my house called "The Friendship Market." The food is unique, tasty, strange and cheap. My favorite thing to get is the pizza bread and dumplings!

Kindergarten Cop

So I have survived my first week here at Stone Kindergarten. It has been a challenging, but good week at the school. For those who do not know, I am teaching 5-6 year old children English at a very rich kindergarten here in Tangshan, The school is very clean and would be just as nice if not better than any kindergarten back in the US.

I currently teach 6 different half hour classes each week and 3 one hour special classes four of the five days . I see each of the half hour classes 3 times a week and I teach them with this goofy interactive software called Kid Brown English. It basically is a half hour lesson of dancing around and getting the kids to participate. For the most part it is fairly simple, and the kids are like little parrots who will mimic everything you do or say. We also bribe them with stickers for participating and that always works. The special classes are 1 hour each and there is a loose lesson plan they give me that I must follow, but use our own teaching aids and games to get the kids involved. I do like the special class, but 3 in a day is a lot of work. I have two at the end of the day and 5:30p class is always just ready to go home, so it is very challenging to keep 5-6 year olds motivated for an hour. Also, thinking of new games every week I know is going to be a challenge, but we will see how it goes.

My first couple days of teaching was very challenging because I am completely new to this and my boss Amanda in a way expected me to be the best right away. Monday she followed me to each class critiquing every little thing, which was very nerve racking. By lunchtime, I had to have a beer. Luckily, my roommate Craig and my friend Eric kept me motivated and explained this happens to everyone starting out. My boss is nice, but unfortunately her English vocabulary is very limited and the Chinese are very blunt, so instead of "you did A, B, and C well, but you need to improve here." it was more "you forgot A, B, C, and do better." This was very frustrating. Hwoever, the end of the day Amanda and the principle took me and Craig out to a great dinner. It was very relieving and helped me get through the stress.

As the week went on, I started to be more comfortable with the kids. My lesson plans went well and my boss Amanda even gave me some great compliments! Working with kids every day is a lot of fun, but tiring. However, they always bring a smile to me. The kids are always happy to see me, which is a good feeling when going to a job. I also get to be myself and goofy while getting paid for it.

Here are some pictures of the park where my school is and some pictures of my office and lobby. It took them on a Saturday so the school looks empty, but it gives you an idea of the place.  I will be off to Beijing next Saturday with some friends, and I am very excited to experience the city. Until next time. Enjoy!

Hi everyone!

I am settling in great here in Tangshan, China. A lot of things are new and different, but I have some great friends I have met to share in my adventures. My first weekend off Craig and I went to Nanhu (South Lake), but before that we got lost trying to find it! However, getting lost sometimes allows you to have the best adventures. We found this abandoned park built during the cold war next to a nuclear power plant called the "Workers" park. It was beautiful and unnerving at the same time. This huge lake and mountain, next to a nuclear reactor right in the middle of the city. Anyways, the mountain did make for a cool view of the city. We finally got on track and made it to the right park. Nanhu is very pretty and a great weekend spot.  Nanhu was built only a couple years ago as a ecological project to beautify the city. From what we gathered from the pictures and writing, it used to be an old coal mine and trash dump. However, now it is this spectacular park! We enjoyed some PBR (the only american bar I can find in China of course is the hipster beer) and ice cream. We started taking pictures of the main courtyard and people started taking pictures of us! We were like mini celebrities at the park, which was a fun feeling since I love attention.The lake is frozen for ice skating in the winter and I definitely plan to go!

Here are some pictures of Nanhu, and the "Workers" park. I will post about my school and neighborhood later this week and pictures of course!

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g659916-d2220999-r117920469-Nanhu_Garden-Tangshan_Hebei.html