Duck & Dairy Queen!

I actually felt a bit better when I woke up this morning, although I wouldn’t have complained if I had to rest for another day! I had my typical morning routine and was out the door by 8:30.

I think I am going to cause multiple crashes on the road leading to school. Today when I was walking people literally slowed down their cars and turned their heads to watch me! I wanted to yell out “Look at the road!!!” because I swear I thought they were all going to kill someone! Luckily I made it to school without causing any accidents and was greeted by my happy man. This time, I saw one of his columns had either a number 1, 2 or 3! Ugh MORE things to think about!! I decided I would put number 2, although I have no idea what that really means.

When I entered the teachers’ lounge I got my new cell phone charger! Woohoo! I thanked the women a million times because it would have been a hassle to try and get it on my own. We plugged it in and started charging it baby!

Then the headmaster came in and started talking to Michael, which I knew would soon be translated to me. He asked about the copies I was going to make them and I was happy I stayed home yesterday because I had time to do it! So I gave her the copies of my “lesson plans”, which really are just some games I thought might be fun, and I also brought out some of the books and flashcards I had brought! She and Michael loved them and even more so when I explained they were a present and after I left they could keep them! The headmaster kept thanking me for volunteering etc. Then I went over some of my ideas with Michael, but the headmaster told me to wait.

Now I missed morning exercises today because, are you ready for this? I WAS LEADING A CONFERENCE! Ok well not really, but the headmaster decided to get all the English teachers together so I could explain my ideas and show them my books etc. So we all met in a classroom and they stood around me and asked questions as I “taught” them. I sort of had to laugh at the situation. Here I am, I’ve never taught before, I get thrown into random classes and am told to teach and now the headmaster is having ME show the other teachers what to do! Ugh! Haha! I explained the things we do in America and some of the ideas I had to make their vocabulary fun, etc. I was glad to get out of there! They are all SO appreciative but I always want to say, “Listen you guys are great teachers..I’m over here making this up as I go!”

We had to cut it short since class was starting. Since I missed Amy’s class yesterday I was back there today for two classes of 3rd grade! They were all excited that I brought books and flashcards, but we started off with reviewing body parts. I tried to play Simon says, but they didn’t understand the Simon says part, so it turned into “Touch your nose, your eyes, your leg, etc.” I still think they had fun because they were able to stand up and move around. Then we reviewed “items in your schoolbag” and I would have them hold up the items or things like that.

Then, the good stuff! Colors! I knew I had brought flashcards of colors so I decided to play a game that I made up as we went along! I broke the class into 6 teams (of 6 students each). I guess my next thought was to give them all some colors (I’m trying to remember since I was making it up as I went..) but I only had 11 regular colors so I had to throw “baby blue” in there, a little tricky! Each team got 2 flashcards with colors. Now I didn’t think this all the way through, because it became a BIT of a problem that there were 2 flashcards for teams of 6. But after I realized this I made sure everyone got a turn to hold the card, etc. We had already practiced the colors so then I would call out a color, for example“Red!” If your team was holding red, you all had to stand up and yell “Red!” (And if you didn’t yell loud enough I’d make you say it again!!!!) I think the students really liked it, but I have to say I liked it more! This was the first time I really laughed! They were so funny! Sometimes only one in the team would stand up and yell and then look embarrassed until their team remembered to stand up with them! Other times they would smack each other because someone didn’t know their color was being called. Sometimes if a team was confused the other students would yell at them something to the effect of “THAT’S YOU!” Oh man I just loved it they were SO excited and so into it! I think they loved the flashcards because I really don’t think they get “new” things or games or anything like that. We would play another round and I would switch up the colors so they would practice with different colors. I thought it went well because they had to listen and talk.

It sort of threw me for a loop when I got the cards back and they were FILTHY with dirt and grime. I sometimes forget this is the school for POOR children and while they do have clothing and some school supplies, they don’t have the luxuries that I took for granted growing up. I am very excited that when I leave they will be able to use these flashcards and books! After the color game I had them read the skit in pairs and we went over the alphabet and then it was time to go!

Lunch was pretty good! Rice, Chinese bread and my potato thing I have come to like! Ok SO I think the meat is chicken, not dog! Phew! At lunch Amy, Michael and I usually talk, sometimes about America sometimes about China.

So I am trying to learn SOME Chinese words..although even when I hear them I can’t get my mouth to make the same sound. BUT if you said the word for girl I would know what you are talking about and my new thing is learning the word (or words..) for “Hello Teacher!” I couldn’t tell you what it is but I know it starts with an L and sounds something like “La-sha-haw”. When I was leaving the school today I heard it and thought “Oh shoot someone is talking to me!” So I looked around until I found two school girls waving.

Again I almost caused a FRUIT accident! I was walking along the street to get the bus and a man riding his bicycle with fruit on the back turned his head to look at me and ran off the road! Luckily he was able to recover and didn’t hit anything and I had a good laugh!

When I got back to the hostel I ran into my friend Bronwen who asked if I wanted to go and get duck! To be honest, I still wasn’t feeling great and was looking forward to resting, but I decided I would go! I told her that the place across the street was suppose to be great (it was number 2 on trip advisor..and like my mother, I LOVE trip advisor) but she said she checked and it was VERY expensive. She had found a place in a magazine and wanted to go there! We knew it was down the road, but didn’t know how far, so decided to take a taxi there and then we could always walk back. Although it ended up being a good thing we DIDN’T walk there, as it was about 3 miles away. Luckily, she speaks a little Mandarin so managed to get us there! It was on the 4th floor of a hotel and it was beautiful! Very specious and we thought some of the bigger tables looked like they could be used for a wedding reception! We were the only ones there, but it was very early for dinner so I thought that was ok. We ordered half a duck! It came on a platter in the shape of a duck (cute) and then we got these pancakes (like VERY thin pita bread). We didn’t know how to eat it, but we put some of the onion, cucumber and sauce we were given as well as the duck in the pancake and rolled it up like a taco! I also put in my carrots but they were too long so I had to break them. We finally asked what to do and we were pretty much right, except no carrots (they were just for eating..it explains why I had to break them to fit in the taco thing). After my first bite I was trying to think what it reminded me of..but after Bronwen’s first bite she told me, PEANUT BUTTER! Strange I know..it must have been the sauce! All and all it was ok! I wouldn’t rush to go back, but I know I could eat it!

When the bill came we were surprised to see there was a 15% gratuity added (the first time I had ever seen this is China!) We left and knew we saw a subway so decided to walk to that and it’s a good thing we did because on the way I spotted a Dairy Queen (I can see those things from MILES away!) I must have said something to the effect of “YES! A DQ!” to which Bronwen responded, “What?” I told her it was ice cream and she read my mind when she said we had to stop! Apparently they don’t have DQ’s in South Africa! So I explained the concept of a “blizzard” and I got a brownie one and she got an M&M one! Delicious! We were able to find the subway and make it back to our hostel! All in all, it was a great night!

I got into my PJ’s and was ready to settle in for the night when I checked the weather for tomorrow and saw it might rain! I had been meaning to get an umbrella for a while because I forgot mine but just keep forgetting to go buy it! I knew the big store closed at 10 and it was 9:30 so I put it in high gear and went! I obviously didn’t know the word for umbrella, but my parents didn’t raise no fool..I used my flashcards! I KNEW there had to be an umbrella in my flash card pile and there was, so I brought it! I went to the info desk at the store (yes, I did feel a bit silly being 22 and carrying a flashcard) but she understood! She said floor 2, which I scoured with no luck and asked again! Floor 3! Finally, after asking a few more people (one woman who said, “Yes umbrella?” oops how are you suppose to know who speaks some English!!!) I found the umbrellas! Although I realized quickly I think they were the fancy umbrellas, not the “Oh shoot it’s raining” umbrella. I couldn’t really tell but decided it was better than nothing for now, until I saw the price tag, 380 ($55) I think NOT! I decided to ask in Starbucks and they thought the supermarket downstairs. So I went to where I bought my hairdryer and asked and found real umbrellas! Yay! I was so excited!


Kisses and hugs from Dairy Queen!

School Skipper

When I got back to the hostel after my dinner outing I was EXHAUSTED and not feeling well at all! I was freezing and stuffy and coughing, ugh! I tried to Skype my Mom (hey Dad, remember me!!!!) I’m only teasing because Skype doesn’t work on his computer at work..booo! Anyway I spent most of the conversation coughing and REALLY feeling awful. I passed out after..feeling crappy! I decided - in my head - I was going to skip school tomorrow. I still set my alarm but decided if I woke up and didn’t feel good I just wouldn’t go! This made it MUCH easier to fall asleep (I was having trouble, counting down the minutes until I had to wake up..)

I woke up this morning and decided I really wasn’t going to go to school. I felt awful about missing it, but the thought of getting myself on the subway was enough to make me feel worse, never mind trying to teach English to Chinese students! I wrote Melissa a quick email asking her to call the school and tell them (I realized I had no way of contacting them..) and went back to sleep! I didn’t get out of bed until 12:30 which was a little bit more than 13 hours of sleep! I probably won’t be able to sleep tonight but it felt so good to rest!

I am feeling ok today; I definitely think it was a good idea to stay home. I couldn’t say more than a sentence without coughing and I know how exhausted the school makes me when I am feeling fine!

I decided I was going to have a lazy American day! I did take a shower to wake up a bit and my day started with my pink American Eagle sweatpants and my Stonehill sweatshirt! I figured since people stare at me anyway, I might as well dress like an American dresses when they don’t feel good.

I gave myself full permission to do WHATEVER I wanted and not feel guilty about it. I did want to get out of the hostel though. I thought some fresh air (or as fresh as you can get in Beijing) would be nice and it would be nice to have a change of scenery.

I went to Costa Coffee to get my blueberry muffin and to blog about yesterday before I forgot. The blueberry muffin was a bit dry, but still delicious! I was starting to get antsy and felt like a hot chocolate from Starbucks, so I was off yet again to another coffee shop! Talk about a nice American day! Starbucks was VERY crowded but it was nice to answer emails and try to figure out which guide I want (it is QUITE a process!)

On the way home I decided I would stop at the more expensive grocery store because I thought some orange juice might help my cold. Now I had bought generic apple juice at the supermarket but it was SPICY! (Just like everything else in China!!!) Since I wasn’t feeling well I decided I would splurge and get AMERICAN OJ (I think it was Florida’s Natural or something like that..) I ended up spending about $12 on this OJ (sorry Mom & Dad when I have to ask to borrow more money soon!) BUT I think it was worth every penny because it was NOT spicy and tasted great! I left the supermarket and was probably quite a sight; pink sweatpants, a sweatshirt and drinking OJ out of a giant bottle!

On the way back I passed the hotel that my hostel is associated with..and there was a CRAZY show going on! This is why you can’t make plans because who knows when you’ll be walking home and want to stop to watch a show! There were about 6 women playing drums and then people dressed up in beautiful costumes. Some women were wearing an outfit that made them look like they were riding a horse! It really was crazy! I still have NO idea what it was for..but at one point there was a group of people that were being “led” through and all had red bags? So maybe it was for them, but it continued on after..so I really don’t know!

I really wanted to call it a night but knew I needed to have dinner..so I decided to go to the Turkish place because 1) it was right across the street and 2) I knew I would like the meal! I got the same table (apparently the table for one! Ha!) but had a woman this time! I decided I would get green tea and pasta with tomato sauce. However, she brought me iced tea (which I really don’t like) and pasta with cheese (it tasted sort of like mac n’ cheese). I even pointed at the things I wanted in case she didn’t understand! It was ok..it was fine for the night but I wouldn’t order either again! When I got the bill, it said I ordered the pasta with tomato sauce and the iced tea. So who knows how it all got messed up!

Hugs and kisses from my bed, where I have spent a majority of my day!

P.S. I have been getting some questions about pictures and mail! So here you go..

My goal was to include pictures with my blog! But obviously that won’t happen until I get to Vietnam and am able to access my blog! I also am looking for good sites (that I can access from China!) to download all my pictures..so that is a work in process and I will let you know when that happens!

I sent an email to find out how I could get mail and it sounds like the only place is in Thailand, which is where I will be from January 17th-February 11th! The address is below..

My address in Chang Mai, Thailand is ;

Prachit Kasemrat c/o Julie Wilson
Viengping Mansion & Condotel (Rm 1003)
52 M.5 Chiangmai - Lampang Rd.,
Rincome Square
T.Changpuak
Muang District
Chiangmai 50300

Mr. & Mrs. Monkey!?

I was SO tired when I woke up Tuesday (although that’s what happens when you wake up at 1:30am for an internet date and spend the next hour and a half waiting for the computer to connect to the internet yelling “I just want to talk to my boyfriend!”) I was out the door by 8:30 and on my way! I was supposed to be teaching 7th and 8th grade but when I arrived at the school Michael told me their schedule had changed so I was going to be with the 4th grade (this was all after I entered the school and couldn’t find my happy man so I kept walking until his friend grabbed his attention and he RAN over to get my sign in sheet! I still think I am doing it wrong but he always smiles and laughs and lets me in.) I was actually happy about 4th grade because Michael was going to be teaching and I was so tired and not feeling so hot. I might be getting a cold (which any one of the 290,348 people on line 10 could have given me). My throat is scratchy and sore and I am stuffy! So needless to say the thought of “sitting back and relaxing” didn’t sound too bad! I was bummed though that I didn’t bring any of my books or flashcards as a backup! So Michael showed me the book again and then asked for my ideas about how they teach in America. I wanted to say I had no clue, but before I knew it we were off to class! As class was starting he asked me if I had a lesson prepared and I sort of looked at him and almost said, “I just found out 2 minutes ago I was teaching this class!!!” But instead replied, “Well, no” He seemed upset, although I think it is a cultural thing because often I think they are upset and they aren’t. Anyway, I quickly recovered with, “But if you want me to go over these lessons I can!” He seemed happy with that response and off I went!

The headmaster, who ALWAYS speaks to me in Chinese, was “sitting in” on the class, which made me really nervous. But then I thought hey, what is she going to do, fire me? I think the class went well, I REALLY enjoy 4th grade. They are old enough to understand yet young enough to still laugh with and play games.

I went through the lessons they already knew to practice pronunciation and speaking. The part I am struggling with is thinking of things to do. They have really big classes, so when I try to do individual things, everyone has side conversations so that doesn’t seem to work. So I have decided group exercises work best (occasionally calling on students to make sure everyone gets it). But then, I really want THEM to be talking a lot, rather than responding to me talking.

For example, in 4th grade we learned about the classroom, schoolbag and friends. So for the classroom I would say a word and they would point to it or vice versa. With the school bag, I might ask them to hold up things or “put your notebook under your backpack” things like that. For my friends, they LOVE the game, “I have a friend. She is short, has long hair, etc” because they love guessing. I also use, “Stand up if..” because it’s a whole group exercise and gets them moving. So in both classes I would say something like, “Stand up if you have long hair..if you are tall, etc.” But then in the second class they must have moved faster because all of a sudden I was done with the lesson and still had 20 minutes left! So “Stand up if” became my lifesaver! I used all their vocabulary words AND moved on to “Stand up if you are wearing red AND have long hair, etc”. I like the game but it doesn’t really involve much talking (for them). I am thinking I will still do the game but add a talking component. All you teachers out there, I am VERY open to suggestions!!

Amy sat in on my second class and after she and Michael told me I did great! It is nice to hear, but I really would love feedback from them and I told them that. They asked me to teach like “Americans teach” but since I have no idea how, I just make something up. I guess they think ANYTHING is good. I think they are definitely under false pretenses (or I got tricked!) because I was NOT expecting to be thrown in front of 40 students and told to teach. If they thought I was an English teacher coming from America then I guess that would make sense, but somewhere along the line someone got confused because I don’t think I am what they think I am!

Michael said the headmaster was happy and wanted my notes! Ugh! I have started taking notes after class so I can remember what we did, what they need work on and what the next lesson is. Because I am ALWAYS thrown into a different class this is the only way I can come somewhat prepared! I tried to explain they weren’t notes on teaching, but now I am going to look for some ideas to give to her! Oh China!

I was happy it was lunch time and was looking forward to my new bowl! Amy and Michael told me to stay in the teachers’ lounge but then another teacher asked if I needed to get lunch! So I tried to explain I had a bowl and that Amy was going to get it but then she wanted me to follow her out! So I did, and ran into Amy who asked if I had a bowl. I explained how I left it after lunch on Friday and then she remembered and we went to get it! BUT as we were going to get lunch Michael was already coming back with two big plates for me! Steve, have you ever gotten me lunch before you ate yourself? Hmm..Michael: 1 Steve: 0. I thanked him and of course looked at the MOUND of food I needed to eat! But it wasn’t bad. Rice and Chinese bread and then the concoction of who knows what! My potatoes were in there (not the sauce I liked but it was good) as well as white broccoli and some meat! There were other spices and things in there but I couldn’t tell you what! Today I discovered I like dipping the Chinese bread in the soupy stuff, yum. The edge of the Chinese bread gets soggy, maybe from the rice? So I don’t like that part.

As much as I appreciate the fact they get me food (and always ask if I need more) and offer to clean up..I HATE it!! I hate being catered on and I hate feeling like they think I am better than them. I don’t know if they really think this, but they are always doing things for me like I am a princess (wait a second..I am!!!) All joking aside though, they are so accommodating and kind and sometimes seem to put me on a pedestal, when really I want to tell them I can’t do anything in their country because I don’t speak the language!

Anyway over lunch I could understand the teachers saying, “You are a monkey” to Michael. He explained that his family name, his last name, sounds just like the word for monkey in Chinese so I guess they were calling him a monkey. So THAT got me thinking..Julie Monkey? And then if you bring kids into the picture, won’t they get teased? Michael: 1 Steve: 1.

I ate a majority of the food but left the meat. I guess they didn’t get the memo that I am a Prime Rib and Filet kind of girl. I have watched the others eat the meet and it still has bones so they sort of eat around it..but it also looks really fatty. I always feel bad about leaving it because I am sure people like it. So today Amy told me she was full (and left her potatoes) so I said I was full and asked if she wanted the meat! She didn’t but another teacher did and then I heard her say something about dog. I asked her again and she said the meat was dog. I sort of looked at her and then at Michael. I thought maybe they thought it would be funny to play a joke on me. I asked again if it was really dog and they said yes. I don’t think they were lying but I am going to find out the real deal tomorrow. (Although..maybe that is why there are so many dogs there..tomorrows lunch!)

If it is dog I will have to try it tomorrow! When in China…! Actually the thought of eating dog doesn’t bother me. Now I don’t condone cruelty to animals, but I am also not an animal person. I eat cow and chicken, so what’s a dog! Details to follow after tomorrow..

Before I left I wanted to ask about my phone! I showed Amy my charger and then she gave it to Sophia. I tried to explain the situation and she tried a few times and then told me to wait a minute. She went upstairs and then returned with my charger but no battery. She explained it was broken (which I pretty much already knew..) and then handed it back to me. I asked where I could get another and she said the supermarket..I love that place! I then asked if I could have my battery. This is where it got complicated. I did not understand what she was saying about my battery. FINALLY I got it..she was charging it upstairs with her charger. She kept asking when I was going to leave and then it made sense because she was going to charge it for me (they are too nice!)

I explained I was actually leaving right now, so I could either take the battery with me or I could get it tomorrow. But THAT went nowhere and I was getting more confused by the minute.

Finally Amy came back into the room (which everyone was thankful for..we needed a new translator) and I tried to explain I was going to buy a new charger etc. Then another teacher (who doesn’t speak English) said she could pick one up and bring it in to me tomorrow! I was SO thankful (because I had NEVER seen chargers for sale) so I gave her some money and hopefully tomorrow I will be the proud owner of a new charger!

So I wasn’t sure what to do about my battery. I tried to explain to Amy that I could take it home with me and then charge it tomorrow, but then they kept asking where I lived! I tried explaining that I could also leave the battery at the school overnight. But then it got very confusing because they were saying how it gets cold at night. I think some people live at the school (my phone was charging in a bedroom) so I am not sure if they thought I wanted to sleepover with my battery? Or if I was going to bring the charger home and then someone was going to come and get it?

I finally convinced Sophia to bring me to my battery (which is when I found out about this bedroom upstairs!) She kept explaining how it got cold and showed me the blanket and asked how to say it in English. I really think she either thought I wanted to stay there with my battery or she was offering. I spotted my battery plugged into the wall and quickly snagged it! She kept trying to hand me the charger as well, but I kept handing it back. I didn’t want to take it home with me, especially if they thought they had to come pick it up later! At last I was able to leave with my battery.

It still amazes me how EXHAUSTED I am when I am done! I am only there for about 3 hours but it feels like forever! Kudos to everyone who teaches a foreign language, it is tiring! Michael: 2 Steve: 2. I still want to spend an afternoon with the little kids, but need to rest up first! I also think the commute is tiring..an hour and a half each way really adds up! And since nobody really speaks English well (besides Michael) I feel like I spend most of the day trying to understand what the heck is going on!

While I LOVE the school, it is nice to be on my way back and able to rest and relax! It amazed me when I got on the bus (which was actually crowded) to find ALL eyes staring at me. It is definitely a different feeling.

When I made it back to the hostel I decided Starbucks was needed! My throat still wasn’t feeling good and the thought of a warm drink sounded great! I was at Starbucks in a comfy chair when a guy came up to me and asked if he could sit down across from me. He was actually kinda cute (NOT as cute as you Steve!) Anyway we got talking and he was really a great guy! He had asked me if I was staying in the hostel (and I couldn’t remember the name haha!) But I said I thought I was and he said he thought he had seen me coming in earlier in the day (once he said that I did remember seeing a group outside, but knew they weren’t speaking English..probably German!)

His name is Florian and is from Germany and has been here for 2 weeks with a foreign exchange type program (7 students and 2 chaperons). I think he is a freshman in college. We ended up talking for an hour, about everything! His family owns a restaurant in Germany and he has traveled all over Europe. He has never been to America but his older brother spent time in Newburyport, MA! Small world I know! We talked a lot about Beijing and traveling and school and languages! His native tongue is German, but we spoke in English (his English was very good!) and then he speaks Spanish and is learning Chinese and Russian! It REALLY amazes me when people know all these languages. I LOVED talking to him, mostly because he wasn’t creepy and I could tell he wasn’t hitting on me or trying to scam me, he was just interested in talking to someone in English! I was actually bummed to hear he was leaving later that night and had stopped by Starbucks for a coffee and a snack before he left! I guess he had been at the hostel before I got there and then was somewhere else for a week and his group came back tonight to head to the airport! It was getting later to when I was suppose to meet Ali for dinner, so I explained I was having dinner with a friend and needed to go!

We parted ways and I headed back to the hostel to get ready for dinner! I was leaving my room to go to the bathroom and who did I run into? Florian! I actually felt awful because I was afraid he would think I had been trying to escape him earlier (when I really liked talking to him!) We laughed and said, “Hey long time no see!” We were in the hall talking and this girl walked out who spoke English as well. I introduced myself and her name is Bronwyn. She then said she knew Ali and was going to join us for dinner! I felt better since Florian was there and heard how I really was going to dinner! The 3 of us spoke for a bit and then I left to finish getting ready! I met Ali, Bronwyn and Randi for dinner!

Bronwyn is from South Africa and I am still very confused as to why she is here! She was saying she is here to take exams and had been in London for the past year. So it sounds like she goes to a University and is able to travel while she takes exams!? She was saying she picked Beijing because it was cheaper than going home but I know tomorrow she has to study. Everyone else seemed to understand and I didn’t want to seem dumb on our first meeting so if ANYONE understands this please help!

Randi is Ali’s coworker at the magazine internship. She is older than us (40’s it seems) and is from New York. She told me she was a lawyer, so I asked if she had to leave her job to come here. She told me she got laid off (oops!) and said she has always wanted to come to Beijing but would never leave a full time job for it so this seemed like a good time! She wants to be a freelance travel writer which is what her internship is..or is suppose to be. It sounds like she isn’t happy with it because she’s not getting the help and/or exposure she was hoping to get!

So the four of us were off and it was great to have company and be able to talk in English! We decided on a Mexican Restaurant (and by we, I told myself I would eat at whatever the group decided!) It was actually a great place. Ali and Bronwyn know some Chinese, so it was fun to hear them order. It was Taco Tuesday, so we decided to get 6 beef tacos and 3 chicken tacos and split it between the 4 of us (so we could also get dessert..I like these people!) We had a really nice dinner AND crepes for dessert. Everyone is sweet and the conversation was nice as well!

When it came time to pay Bronwyn asked a worker walking by (in Chinese) for the bill. He looked at her and said, “Does my face look Chinese!?!” We all laughed (he looked like he was from South America..) He told us he was from Cuba so we spoke English with him and then he understood.

After dinner we walked around a little bit and ended up at the Bookstore! It’s really cute and I was able to get my ticket for the Murder Mystery thing on Friday night. We also found a magazine that said on Saturday night there were discounted tickets and a Halloween thing at an amusement park! I told Ali we should definitely go to this, so that’s the plan for Saturday night! I looked up Happy Valley Amusement Park online and it is legit! It’s like Disney World, the place is HUGE! My guess is it is going to be VERY crowded, but I am excited!

Hugs and kisses from a Mexican Restaurant with friends!

A seat on line 10!

I was able to “sleep-in” today, if you can call it that. While I am happy with where I am staying, it is very loud! There are always people yelling and there is always banging and hammering and doors slamming etc.


My original plan was to wake up around 10:00 and get my errands done. However, I realized this was the time all my friends were online, so it was a GREAT time to catch up with everyone. I figured I could do my errands in the evening, when everyone back home was sleeping! So I spent most of the morning lounging around and catching up with friends. It was much needed!



I wasn’t quite sure what time I needed to be at the school. Sabrina originally told me 1:20 was when the class started. But then I asked Amy and she said class at 2:00 but I should get there at 1:30? So my plan was to get there at 1:30. I took my iPod for the first time which was nice because my ears were hearing English! It also passed the time and meant that I now know the route and can do it without thinking!



My happy Chinese man greeted me again. He really is always so happy. I STILL didn’t know what to put in his mystery column but realized I needed to put the date in the next column! By the end of my trip I am going to know what he wants in every column!



I had no idea who I was going to be teaching with, but was quickly stopped by the headmaster (who continues to speak to me in Chinese even though it’s very clear I have NO clue what she is saying!)



She introduced me to someone (I didn’t even a chance to catch her name..) and she took me off to grade 2! I THINK it actually starts at 1:30 so I was RIGHT on time, but now that I know I will be early next time. Again, without any preparation, I was placed in front of the class and told to teach! They were learning sights around Beijing (The Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) which was somewhat exciting! But again, since they only know the vocabulary, I didn’t know what to do! I tried asking them, “Have you ever been to ___?” But they would just repeat my question until the teacher explained that they needed to answer the question. I was trying to think of interactive things, but they don’t know enough to have conversations with one another (I tried). So then I did, stand up if you’ve been to ­____. For my first class I also tried out my first book! We did colors (which they seemed to like) and it was SO helpful with the pictures. I also did, stand up if you are wearing ___ and then would ask them individually, “What color are you wearing?” I thought this was the best way to get them some practice individually. Then we went on to the second class, (still second grade) and I asked the teacher what she wanted to me to teach. She thought more of the sights in Beijing because they forget quickly. I didn’t mind doing that, but just didn’t know how to fill a class when their level of spoken English is so poor. I managed to get through the class again and was off!



While I was waiting at the bus stop I saw a man, his pregnant wife? and another woman looking at me. Finally the man came over and started talking to me. I felt awful because I couldn’t communicate with him. I told him I didn’t speak Mandarin and then tried to explain I was teaching English at the school. These are the times I REALLY wish I was able to speak their language. I would have loved to talk with him and learn about his life, but I wasn’t able to.



The trip back was mostly uneventful expect for MY SEAT ON LINE 10! Yay! I guess the key is to get on around 4ish and that seemed to be a down time. Also, sit in the last car! I was VERY excited to finally be able to enjoy line 10!



I am having a lot of trouble with my phone. After I was able to buy more minutes, I couldn’t get the phone to charge! I asked at the school today and they couldn’t figure it out. I asked at the hostel, they couldn’t figure it out. I went to the Holiday Inn which is right down the street. I had been in before to look at their map and the bellman was very nice, spoke some English and gave me a handheld map to have! I asked the woman at the front desk if she spoke English and she said a little so I tried to explain my problem. She looked at it and then the bellman (I THINK the same one) came over and tried it. I think he said it was broken, so I asked where I could buy a new one. I couldn’t quite understand what he was saying but next thing I knew he was taking me out to the street to a little kiosk! I think he asked the woman, but they didn’t have any! Have I mentioned how nice people are here?



I went to the bank and then decided I was going to try The Den for dinner! It was a pretty typical Bar and Restaurant and the wait staff spoke some English and I heard a lot of English. I got a tuna sandwich which was DELICIOUS and it was huge! A lot of people were smoking so I didn’t like that. I then went to the grocery store, the one down the street that’s a little bit further away but I think it’s cheaper. I bought new cereal (the kind I have now is very plain..), milk and laundry detergent! I had picked up a bottle (it took me a while to make sure I had detergent and not dishwasher soap or fabric softener) but a worker came over and said something and then pointed to something else. I had NO idea what she was saying (this happens a lot but people continue to talk to me in Chinese!) but then finally I THINK I understood. She was telling me I had picked up a bottle of “B” and she was giving me an “A”. I’m assuming it’s the grade of detergent? I then looked to see if it was a rip off because the A bottle was bigger but I think it was proportionally priced! My night ended with a shower and some sleep!



Hugs and kisses from a seat on line 10!

A little Sunday morning Tai Chi? Sounds good to me!

Friday night, my plan was to get pasta. I was craving pasta! So I went upstairs from Starbucks to an Italian restaurant, but it was 1) VERY expensive and 2) didn’t actually have anything I like. It was the very fancy Italian, not the pizza/pasta Italian. I was bummed because I wanted pasta so bad! I decided I would head back to the area of the hostel to try the restaurants across the street. I passed by a Parisian restaurant and a Turkish restaurant..neither sounded great. I then came to “The Power House”, I think it was called and decided it looked good (I saw pasta on the pictures!) However, when I walked in the place was dimly lit and I was literally the only person there. There wasn’t even music on or anything. Creepy! The man greeted me right away so I asked for a menu, then thanked him and walked out.

The Turkish restaurant had a picture of pasta too so I decided to try it and I was VERY impressed. I had a beautiful table and was brought bread with humus and butter (delicious). The pasta was AMAZING and a huge portion. The waiter even spoke some English which was helpful as well. It was great and I definitely will go back. I think they had a chicken dish and I did like kebabs when I tried them in Perugia, Italy. I know I know, I go to Beijing to eat at a Turkish restaurant! The thing is, I will try anything! But I really just don’t like a lot of things and after a while, a girl’s gotta eat a good meal! It was also nice to just sit down, relax and know I was going to enjoy the meal instead of wondering what I was eating and whether or not it would be exiting my body in an unpleasant fashion soon after (fingers CROSSED the Pepto-Bismol has done WONDERS and my tummy has been happy!)

I then went back to the hostel and was able to have TWO Skype dates with my aunt and Mom (Dad..you’re slacking..) It is so very nice to talk to people from home either through Skype or email so thank you all! I actually ended up staying up pretty late and decided I would sleep in on Saturday!

I woke up and had cereal and ran into Allie! I learned a little more..she is a senior at University of Minnesota and is doing photography for her magazine internship. She is also taking some online classes from her school. She has been here for about a month and a half and will be done in early December. She says she sometimes cooks for herself in the hostel or eats at a restaurant nearby. She also said she has done some touristy stuff and just explored! I think we are going to go to some murder mystery thing next Friday night (for Halloween!) at an English bookstore she really likes (I haven’t been to it yet)! So hopefully if that works out it will be fun!

After that I decided to explore Worker’s Stadium and Worker’s Gymnasium. Worker’s Stadium was first and it was sort of creepy. It seemed like there should have been stores all around the main floor but they all had signs “Coming soon!” I did find an Outback Steakhouse (which I actually don’t really like..) BUT I think it will be good if I am craving steak. I tried to sneak into the stadium (EVERYTHING was padlocked) but was quickly ushered out by people yelling at me in Chinese. I later found out it was because they were setting up for a concert! Wilber Pan! I looked him up and he seems like he does some pop and rap? Anyway he was actually born in the US!

Next was Worker’s Gymnasium and again I had a hard time even getting in! I finally did and everything was locked and it was like a ghost town as well, so I didn’t stay long! I did, however, find a bowling alley! It was HUGE (50 lanes I think) so hopefully when I see Allie again I will try and convince her to go sometime! I also found an “International” Food store..I was good I didn’t get anything, but it was fun to see all American brands! I feel like I walked a fair amount and was getting very tired!

I needed to buy more minutes for my cell phone, so I went to one of the kiosks and asked if she spoke English. I could tell she didn’t, so I dialed the number and handed her my phone so she could hear it say I didn’t have any money left. Then, an angel appeared (a women who knew a little English) and I was able to walk away with a number to call to add minutes! HOPEFULLY it will be in English or else I’ll have to find someone to help me!

I spent some of the evening trying to put together a list of everything I wanted to see and do. I think I might try and hire a guide for the big tourist stuff because it sounds like 1) it’s just crazy and a guide can help you find out what you really need to see and 2) you get HOUNDED by everyone (guide’s, vendors, etc.) if you go to these places by yourself (and more so if you are American, ding ding we have a winner!) Also, it is really tiring trying to navigate around everywhere by myself not knowing the language, so I think I would really just enjoy the sites more if I didn’t have to plan everything! Mom and Auntie Kathy, I COMPLETELY took for granted all the trips you planned for me and Scott when I just got to go along for the ride, so thank you!

I needed to find something to do on Sunday, so I decided to try and start crossing things off the “Things Julie can do by herself” list. I had read about the Temple of Heaven and how on Sunday mornings in particular, if you got there early enough, you could see all the local elderly people doing every form of light physical activity you can imagine. I definitely wanted to see this! I also read that you could do this without a guide and the Beijing Pearl Market was right next store which had, pearls, but also a lot of shopping and designer knockoffs! So I figured this sounded like a perfect way to spend my Sunday!

I set my alarm for 6:03am, ugh too early! I also could NOT fall asleep the night before (probably because I slept in on Saturday!) While I was not happy about the early wake up call, I was excited!

I found the BEST website that says about how long it takes to get from subway stop to subway stop, so I left around 6:40am for the 1/2 ride (it had 3 line changes so took a little bit longer), and got to the Temple of Heaven at about 7:30ish. I bought my admissions ticket (15RMB) and went in!

IT WAS HEAVEN! It was so cool! There were all these groups of elderly Chinese doing their workouts! I decided to look around a bit and while observing I learned that they bring a blanket to put all their bags on and each group brings a big (it looks like a karaoke machine) boom box to play their music (tape cassettes!) One group was using ski poles and I was so bummed because I had my ski poles out ready to be packed, but decided to ditch them at the last minute! Ugh! I decided I wanted to join a group! While there weren’t any non-Asians in the groups, it didn’t look like you had to pay and I figured if they kicked me out, oh well! I finally choose the group that didn’t have any props because I forgot to bring my ski poles, duster things, or swords, so I wouldn’t have been able to join the other groups. The group without props was also the biggest so I thought this was good so I could hide my identity in the back. Although that didn’t last long because the teacher pointed at me and said, “Hello!” Luckily only a few people turned around and nobody even seemed to care, or make fun of me! (Like the mean kids at school do!!!) We worked on legs, some balancing things and the man next to me tried to help me, I think my posture was bad! My legs were VERY tired and I knew I had a long day of walking, so I ventured on! I found (in a quieter part of the park) a group that was going more of Tai Chi and joined that group. They definitely had a routine they followed, or the tape told them what to do I wasn’t sure. But I was able to follow along. I knew it was time for me to go when they turned around so that I was no longer in the back, but in the front!

From there I bought another ticket (20RMB) and saw the Temple of Heaven! It was beautiful! The Temple of Heaven is the largest building for religious worship in China, which was originally used by the Ming and Qing emperors to pay homage to Heaven and to pray for a year of rich harvest. I found some American tourists (they were the ones with the MASSIVE name tags..that also included their bus number) to take my picture, although none of them are as good as my mom (Mom I missed you!)

I was on my way out when I spotted a man with a Red Sox hat! Oh Boston! I tried to take a picture of him but he kept moving and then I thought, I need a picture of me AND him! So I went up to him (he was with his wife and another couple) and asked if I could have my picture with him. He seemed a little confused/weirded out, but I explained I was from Portsmouth N.H. (which he responded, “Oh only an hour north!”) I think he said they were from Newton! After my Boston fix I left the park and found a little Café to get a pastry and a cappuccino (yes by 10:00am I was VERY tired!) On the way to the market I decided I really needed to use the restroom before this whole market experience. I saw a KFC so thought that was promising! Not so much..it was a bathroom, but with an eastern toilet. While I have had to use them before this was my first time in Asia. I got the job done without peeing on myself (at least I don’t think I did…)

I then was off to the market. I was SO nervous because I do not like bargaining. But then I got to thinking, why don’t I like it? It’s a little awkward and makes me uncomfortable..ok but why? Am I afraid they are going to judge me as being cheap? (wait a second..I AM!) I don’t want to spend a lot of money and I want to get the best deal. So after I thought about it I realized I was excited!

Now I knew when they saw me they were going to think JACKPOT. Young, blond, American. So I already knew I was going to get ripped off..the question was..how much! I got to thinking that even when I got ripped off, I was going to pay whatever I thought it was worth and whatever I was comfortable with, so who cares! All part of the game..and that’s what it was, a game!

My plan of attack was to first scour the premise. I mainly stuck to floors 1-3 (4 and 5 were just pearls). Now this was a time I wished NOBODY spoke English. I have NEVER had so many people talk to me..”Lady over here, Lady do you like this?” I was trying to be friendly and polite but it was exhausting. The handbag ladies were the WORST! They would literally grab on to your arms and pull you in. I managed to master the “arm fold” so that when they did grab (and yes, they continued to) I had enough force to escape! After my first look at the place I decided it was time to buy! Since I had read handbags were the hardest, I wanted to start easy. A Christmas ornament! I buy them everywhere I travel. Honestly at this point I forget what I paid for it! I had read you should start at 10% and not pay more than 50% so that’s what I did! I felt happy with the ornament and continued on. I went and got two dresses for the girls I babysit for..(the older one said that’s what she wanted and I figured I couldn’t get only ONE dress!) Now I knew I overpaid for (well EVERYTHING) but for the first dress especially when I was able to get the second one cheaper. The second dress was my first REAL bargain. We went back and forth and back and forth. Everyone offered me a “good deal” because I was American, a student, pretty, their first customer! I thought it was pretty cool that I was EVERYONE’s first customer..slow day I guess :P

So like I said, the dress was my first “this is a joke price, I have to feed my family, etc.” I did walk away a couple of times and then come back as she called me to lower the price. After the dress (and a couple more presents..) I decided I was ready for the bags! I had no idea what I wanted and was completely overwhelmed! I had read that a girl had gotten a bag for 40RMB, so that was my goal. I did the loop for about the 3rd time (and yes they notice) before I decided I wanted a purple bag (purple is my new color) So I figured the best way was to jump right in! After some purple bag searching at one stall I found the one I wanted, a Dolce and Gabbana. She said she normally charges 1,800 but because I was a student would charge me 1,500. I did my whole, “Oh that’s way too much” and then they hand you the calculator and ask what you will pay and I put 40. Basically that was WAY too low and we would go back and forth (I would try and see how much they would come down..) and then I would walk away, they would call me back, etc. I did this at a couple of stalls because they weren’t coming down enough and because once I realized they were coming down at all I wanted to see what the “going rate” for this bag was. It was hard because I had to figure out the conversions in my head, but I finally decided I wouldn’t pay more than 80 for a bag (which is $12). I then also found a Louis Vuitton bag I liked as well. So now I knew what I wanted! I went from stall to stall and since I knew what I wanted we would start going at it! Most of the time they would tell me I was crazy, too low, joking price, etc. So I would try the next one. I think they have you “talk” over the calculator so other people don’t know how much you bought it for. Finally I managed to get the purple bag for 75. Now that I had a bag everyone wanted to know how much I paid for it (I was still on the hunt for the Louis Vuitton bag) I told them 50, which they all laughed and still said I would not pay more than 80 for it. FINALLY a woman came down to 85, and I fought it once and then thought, what’s a US dollar! Hey Dad, can I borrow a dollar actually? So I got the second bag for 85 and after that was ready to hit the road!

I am not really sure how the whole system works because sometimes they would say “let me call my brother, my sister” to bring the bag I wanted over. And to be honest, I did feel a bit bad for the people working at the market (to a certain degree). They were in these tiny little stalls and had to be SO aggressive! Now unlike some Americans I ran into, I didn’t think I left with a good deal on anything, but I was happy with what I got and happy with the price I paid! All in all a good days work!

I was EXHAUSTED when I got on the subway! Normally I say shopping is hard work as a joke, but today, it WAS! It was SO hot in the building and I was tired and sweaty and tired of doing math in my head and bargaining with people! I could not wait to get back! And when I did I took a WELL needed shower!

I spent some more time making my list of what I want to see and do, as well as places to eat! Eating has become a chore for me. Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE to eat and it has never been a chore. But it is tiring looking for places, looking for places that I would have a full meal, trying to convey what I want (since most people’s spoken English isn’t great). But I was good and dragged myself out to the “mall” across the street. It has a lot of name brand stores and I found a place to get a good burger! I don’t even really like hamburgers but this one hit the spot!

Hugs and kisses from the Temple of Heaven!

Another long blog..you have been warned!

I have been getting some “comments” about how long my blog entries have been. Now I believe I have given everyone fair warning to grab a snack and get comfy..sheeesh!

I decided this morning to leave a bit later..830am. It was a typical morning except for the fact I experienced my first lock out. I was going to get milk for my cereal and realized when I tried to open my door that I had brought my subway/bus card, not my room card (easy mistake..not a blonde moment!) Ugh I was bummed, especially since I HATE soggy cereal! Luckily I was able to get my point across to the front desk and I was in my room in time to enjoy my cereal!

GREAT NEWS! I have BEATEN line 10! I forget how I came up with this idea, but today I got in the back car..it is a bit more of a walk but SO worth it! The back car has A LOT more room! Now I have yet to get a seat on line 10, but just to be able to not have to touch anyone was amazing! Oh I was so happy! When I made it to the bus I was a little nervous because I had no idea if it was going to take 20 minutes or an hour! Luckily, I was there in about 20! I was greeted by my friendly man and made up something to put in his column.

I then went to the teachers’ lounge, only to find a line of kids and a lot of doctors and nurses in the room! I did see Amy, so I went in and she brought me to put my bag in the headmaster’s office. She mentioned how I was early, so I just stood and watched the students for a bit! Then I heard the music, and knew what that mean..it was exercise time! I did even BETTER today! The boys didn’t laugh until the jumping jacks..but I’ll take it!

I hadn’t even seen Sophia yet, but after exercises Amy brought me to her. She handed me the book for 5th grade and we went to the classroom! She introduced me; they clapped and then sang me a song! I think Sophia said it was their National Anthem. As they were singing she was trying to explain what units they had done. And of course, I knew what was going to come next! She actually didn’t even say “teach!” She just sat down! So I was off! I used the book, although what is really hard is that I JUST saw it, literally as I got there, so I had no time to read it over to understand the level of English. Overall, it wasn’t as bad as day one!!! Since these students are older they know more so we were able to do more things. The class is SO big (I’d guess 40 students) which makes it hard to get everyone’s attention! (Teaching suggestions are HIGHLY welcomed!!!) I had them do some group things, repeating as a class, to try and gauge their English. I would call on them individually (I HATED this when I was a student..but it was my only way to know what they knew!) Sophia REALLY impressed me! I didn’t think her English was very good because at lunch she seemed to always struggle trying to talk to me! But I thought she was GREAT! She was able to translate for me when I wanted to change activities with the students. I’ve found that sometimes I want to ask them a question and have them answer, but instead they just repeat the question. But she was able to explain it to them. I am always AMAZED when people can take an idea from one language and get that same idea across in a different language.

For the next class we had 6th grade, who again knew more AND the class was smaller! Jackpot! I think this was the first class I really enjoyed. I was able to “talk” to them more and do more activities. They seemed to really like finding the pictures as I said the word. I was also trying to think of games we could play (I’m still learning the whole “teacher” thing) They were learning directions, so I had them all stand up and I would say, turn left, go straight, turn right. They really liked it and laughed a lot.

I was so excited to show everyone my new bowl and they seemed happy too! It worked GREAT except for that fact they still gave me a lot of food! (It never crossed my mind to get a TINY bowl!) I ate with Michael, Amy and Sophia. Sometimes they ask me questions about how to say things in English and I will ask them what exactly I am eating! Today was good! Rice, carrots and potatoes (I think!) and then some different thing I didn’t like as much! Michael has a hand held translator so he translated it for me and it said “starch” so who knows what it was!

It’s nice because I am able to talk to them (somewhat) and have conversations. Michael and I talked about the economy and I also learned that he learned English in primary school and continued through college. Now he is a guide for tour groups.

I was very confused about my phone, partly because it was in Chinese! I thought I was all out of minutes but since the message was in Chinese, who knew. I decided to ask them about buying more minutes etc. which became a little confusing (apparently we do it differently in the US) But Amy listened to the message and said I had no minutes left and then she was so sweet and said she would take me to get a phone card. So we walked down the street but I guess the places didn’t have them. I knew lunch was almost over so I thanked her and told her I could get one later!

I left after lunch and encountered my first “grab your friends and look at Julie!” I was walking to the bus stop and I saw this guy poke and yell at all his friends to look at me! I started laughing. Surprisingly that has never happened to me before!

Right before I usually get off the bus to get on the subway I had seen these HUGE buildings that said Outlets and a Decathlon sign! I decided that if next week I stayed later at the school, I should probably check out these places now!

In the first building, the first floor was a market! It was so overwhelming but I think I want to go back. I figured it was the place for bargaining (I HATE doing that) but I forgot what I should be aiming for and wasn’t in the mood so I checked out the rest of the building. It was just a MASSIVE store! Again, I want to go back because I think I could find some good stuff! I then crossed the street and hit fast food heaven! McD’s, KFC, Starbucks and PIZZA HUT! My first Pizza Hut! I WILL have you know I did not stop and eat, but I did get an ice cream at McD’s. The mall was HUGE and was a really nice mall! They had Decathlon and Sephora and a lot of stores you would see in America. They also had a Papa John’s and an ice skating rink! Crazy! It was very overwhelming but good to know I can find pretty much ANYTHING I might need.

I was ready to hit the road, but HAD to check out the supermarket and I am glad I did! There was a book section (the supermarket reminded me of a BJ’s) and I started looking and found ALL types of English flashcards and books! I must have bought at least 15 of them! I am SO excited to bring them into the school! They have a picture, the English word and the Chinese word, which I think will be really helpful! I am thinking I might use them for teaching, but more importantly, will be able to leave them with the kids when I leave! I hope they like them and will use them! I am a little nervous because I don’t want to come across as the “rich American girl” and I don’t want to offend them by bringing these things in, so I think on Monday I will bring in a few and see their reaction. I think they will be very helpful though!

I was VERY tired when I left (mainly because I could NOT find where to check out)! When I finally did it was a process. They love exact change here in Beijing and she was asking for something and I didn’t know what she wanted so I held out my money and she took what she needed! Then the printer wasn’t working so I think she was telling all this to me but I just smiled and waited and everything turned out fine!

I had just gotten on line 13 and all of a sudden this security guy came running through and opened the door to the next car, where I saw this guy laying on the ground. Another security lady kept hitting him but he didn’t wake up! Then the subway started! Geeze, I guess they didn’t want to get behind schedule! I was HOPING he wasn’t dead because that would really freak me out. The lady kept slapping him (not hard) and finally he opened his eyes and sat up! These are the times I REALLY wish I knew Chinese to find out what happened!

It felt so good to see the hostel but I didn’t have time to rest because I wanted to go to the bank! I figured it would be hard to bargain when I only had 100’s (high roller I know..the ATM only gives 100’s!) On my way out of the hostel I heard someone saying “Excuse me!” I turned around and it was a black man I had seen with two girls ALWAYS on their laptops! I actually did wonder what they were doing that they were always on their laptops! “T.K.” said he noticed I spoke English and wanted to know where I was from etc. He is from Zimbabwe and he and his two friends are looking for work! He said he got a 30 day visa but is trying to get it extended because the jobs he is applying for need him to have a longer visa. He wants to teach English. His friends were doing some translating but that ended so he said that’s why they are always on their computers, because they are looking for jobs! It was very interesting; to think they came from Africa to Beijing! I asked if he knew Chinese (he knows about as much as me!)

Now I am in Starbucks (I wanted to blog before I forgot everything) and I just met a man who is French and has been living here for 2.5 years. He said he is still learning Chinese too! My new goal is to just try and meet EVERYONE! I think sometimes I get a little shy although I have been trying to do better since getting here! Now, I am off to get dinner, I think at an Italian place :) Don’t judge!

Hugs and kisses from Starbucks!

Julie + Michael 4eva

I am in love with Michael. Phew I already feel much better now that everyone knows. Steve (and anyone else who may be hurt by my newfound feelings..I apologize) I’ll get back to that..but let’s see..last night I did nap! And it felt great! I am so tired! I think partly because of jet lag, I am still adjusting. But also because I feel like I always have to be on! Not to say I can never relax, but I am always trying to understand people, always trying to find my way around, make sure I didn’t miss a stop etc. So part of me felt bad about being lazy (yes, yes I did put on my PJ pants) but part of me knew I just needed to rest!

My new goal is to try and meet some people. I did go into the downstairs of the hostel last night, but everyone there was on their laptop and honestly I was too tried to attempt a conversation. I think most of the people at the hostel are Chinese..I haven’t heard any English yet. I guess I am kind of bad at meeting people? Or just haven’t had the desire yet..I am VERY introverted, I know that about myself so when I come back I really do enjoy just relaxing and checking my email and writing everything down. Although I feel like soon (riiiight about now) it is going to start getting a bit lonely, only in the sense that I don’t have anyone to talk to. I am not much of a talker anyway, which I guess is a good thing, but it would be nice to talk to someone. Sabrina said I could call her about maybe shopping? I will probably do that. Again, she is so sweet, but it’s just a lot of effort to communicate with her.

So back to Michael *sigh* I was a bit nervous about going to the school today, but I honestly knew it couldn’t get ANY worse than yesterday, and after a wonderful talk with my mom and boyfriend (love you both) I was feeling a bit better already! I started out early again and dreaded line 10. It did not disappoint me. I was greeted with a thick wall of heavy, smelly air and a sea of people. But, I am thankful that it is the first leg to the school (so I can get it over with) and the last leg back from the school (which means I’m almost back!) For some crazy reason the bus didn’t take FOREVER on that road..so I was getting off my stop a little before 9:30! This bus better make up its mind because this was waaay too early! I decided to walk a bit past the school to see what was down the road. A lot of fruit stands and DOGS! Geeze Beijing has brides and dogs! I am not sure if these were stray dogs or if they belonged to people but there were a ton of them! The area I was walking through was definitely not a tourist destination because I got more stares than normal! I had only killed about 10 minutes but I figured it was an ok time to show up because I did want to talk to Michael about how I felt completely lost yesterday etc. I was greeted by the smiling man (and his two friends!) He makes me happy! I filled out his sheet again, but apparently did something wrong because they pointed to a column I didn’t fill in. I think I put some numbers there and he kind of laughed and waved me through.

I went to the teachers’ lounge (the map was STILL there) and Michael handed me the workbook we would be using for his two classes. He went through the whole unit with me and explained what they already knew. Then he went over what we would be doing in class today and we talked a bit about what we could do to make it fun (did I mention I love him?) I already felt MUCH better going into the class! We had morning exercises and yes I got laughed at even though I thought I kicked BUTT! I was really proud of myself! Then it was show time! The first class went great! Michael did a lot of the teaching because he would explain everything in Chinese to them and then I would ask them questions, quiz them, pronounce things for them, etc. These two classes knew A LOT more than yesterday’s classes, so we could actually do activities! It is still hard because I can’t just talk to them, but Michael’s English is good so he can translate for me. I felt like today I was helpful. I think these students are SO lucky to have Michael because he speaks English so well and I felt like I was beneficial to them today.

At the end of the first class, this music (to be honest it sounded more like cult music) came on and the students did these exercise type things. They closed their eyes and first rubbed their ears, then the music would stop and a woman would say something and then the music would start again and they would rub their eyes, sinuses, neck and head! I was ready to fall asleep! I don’t know how often they do it but I thought it was awesome! We went to the second class and again it went really well. The students know enough English that we could do the exercises and make it fun. They are also able to laugh..we were doing “How many people are in your family?” They would answer and I would ask “Who are they?” A few of them would get confused and say “you” instead of “me” and I think Michael was giving them a hard time saying, Oh I am in your family? Overall, it was just SO nice that he was able to speak English with Michael so we could communicate and also that he was able to communicate with the students when I couldn’t.

When I was leaving the second class this woman came over to me and said, “Julie? I am Melissa!” Melissa! I had no idea she was going to be at the school or even that I was going to meet her! Yes! I had a new person in Beijing! She was very sweet (still a bit hard to understand but definitely easier than Sabrina) and said how she had a baby in July so I guess that’s why she couldn’t pick me up at the airport? Anyway she was very nice and I felt much better that I was able to meet her! She told me that if two classes weren’t enough, I could stay and help the smaller kids in the afternoon. I didn’t tell her that I pass out every afternoon when I get back! I told her I would definitely be interested in doing more, but maybe I could start next week since I was still adjusting to the time, etc. I felt much better after meeting her and getting her phone number and email (since I feel like I already have about 29,348 questions..)

Then, lunch time. I felt bad because I think everyone brings their own bowls. I obviously didn’t have one, so Amy said she had an extra that I could use (have I mentioned how NICE they are!) I stood in line and Michael and Amy got me food. I kept saying “Just a little please!” Michael asked me if I wanted rice or Chinese bread, I forget what I said, but I thought I was in the clear from getting a LOT of food! Amy got me rice and Chinese bread and soup and carried it back for me. Even that was a lot of food and then Michael showed up with another massive plate! Oh not again! I couldn’t believe I ended up with all this food! And then of course, everyone offers me their food! They are so very nice to me but I feel so bad because I have so much food! So let’s see..Michael was eating and he said, “What do you call this..broccoli?” I looked at his food and it was white but then I looked at mine and it was broccoli! White broccoli! I had never had that before! He said in China they have green and white broccoli. Beside the broccoli there were these, potatoes I think, in like a warm applesauce sauce (ok well not that but that’s what it reminded me of) and it was SO GOOD! I loved them! So I ate that and then some rice and bread, and some soup, and some broccoli, and then they piled on more things! More noodles and I don’t even know what, something that was VERY spicy! Again, it wasn’t bad in the beginning but half way through it was getting tough. I KNEW I couldn’t finish it all and felt AWFUL again! Finally, Amy said, is it good? And I told her it was SO GOOD I was just so full and I was very sorry. She kept saying it was no problem and started clearing my dishes. I told her I could do it and she literally grabbed the bowls from me and told me it was her pleasure. They are just too nice to me! Almost to the point I am uncomfortable. I would have loved to clean up after myself and not to be waited on. I also knew that they take their lunch’s home with them and I think mine was thrown away. So today I went out and bought my own spoon and a tray type thing (with 3 compartments) so I am hoping tomorrow I can ask for small portions and clean my own bowl!

I left after lunch and was so tired on the ride home. BUT line 10 did disappoint me today! It was crowded (as always) but I got on with 2 men (late 20’s and 50’s) speaking English! So I asked them where they were from and said how it was nice to hear English. I thought they said Canada, but later they said something about how “We aren’t in Kansas anymore” and come to think of it they didn’t have Canadian accents so I am going to say they were from Kansas! They were in Beijing on business and the younger guy was leaving tomorrow while the older man still had a few days. It was nice to interact with people (on line 10 of all places!)

I was happy to be back at the hostel and take off my shoes and brush my teeth! I was in the bathroom when a girl with long blonde hair (promising, I thought) walked in and a woman walking out sort of bumped into her and she responded with “Oh no you’re fine.” JACKPOT! I forget what my pick up line was, it wasn’t very good, but her name is Allie, she is from Minnesota, still in college and in Beijing doing an internship for magazine. I wanted to keep her there all day and just talk to her and be her friend! But I played it cool and said, “hopefully I’ll see you around”. Honestly, it makes me feel better just to know there is an American in the same building as me! I really am hoping I will see her because it would be great to have a friend, but didn’t want to come across as a creep during our first encounter!

As much as I wanted to nap I ventured out! I went on the hunt for places to start eating dinner. I ended up at a NEW supermarket where I got my bowl for school and then went to another supermarket for my spoon! I also checked out some more dinner options and then went back to my favorite supermarket (the one closest to me) to get some water and juice! My like of supermarkets has turned into an obsession..I LOVE THEM! I could spend days just walking the aisles. It’s sick I know, I am going to work on it. I stopped at Costa Coffee to get my blueberry muffin (it was as good as I remembered) and on my walk back to the hostel I became a celebrity! This man stopped me and asked if he could do a short interview about facebook in China. My first instinct was to say no, but then I thought, well what else do I have to do? So I said yes! I think he said it would only be shown in New York? Keep an eye out for me! He just asked how I felt about not being able to get facebook, youtube, twitter etc. in China. I said I missed it and how it was a great way to keep in touch. I thought after how I will probably get dragged out of my hostel tonight and beaten for voicing my opinion :P

My goal was to be social and go downstairs in the hostel to blog tonight, but when I did the lights were off and nobody was there! So Starbucks it is! I have no idea what I will do this weekend! Although catching up on sleep is in the agenda (even China doesn’t change some things!)

Hugs and kisses from China!

WHAT? You want me to TEACH?

Last night after I got back from Starbucks I wanted to go right to bed, but I took a shower and washed my hair for the first time since Friday! Gross I know! So I was expecting an email from Sabrina letting me know what time I needed to be at the school, but I didn’t have internet! I have no idea why..it says it was connected but didn’t seem to be. I tried going downstairs because it seemed like other people were able to get on, but it still didn’t work. I then went back to Starbucks (this was probably around 8:30) only to find there was literally one person inside. Luckily there were some tables outside so I was able to connect and check my email, only to find, she hadn’t emailed me! Ugh! So on the way back I called her and she said the headmaster hadn’t gotten back to her yet. I tried to explain how I couldn’t get email and somehow we managed to decide she would call me when she found out. I could NOT keep my eyes open when I got back, so I think I was in bed by 9 which hasn’t happened since..hmm has that ever happened?

Sabrina called me before I fell asleep to let me know I should be at the school at 10:00am so she thought I should leave by 8:30am. She was trying to explain the schedule and the grades but I did not understand at all. Then she started talking about her job and I thought she was saying she got promoted, but soon realized she quit! GREAT! My one person in Beijing quit! I THINK what she was saying is a lot of people aren’t traveling/volunteering so a lot of time she doesn’t have any work and now she found a job that’s stable? Honestly I was too tired to ask questions. She did send me a VERY nice email and said,

“Though I quitted job, u are my friend, and this school is introduced by me, so if there's anything i can help u just tell me. I will try everthing to help u to make ur trip much happier and smooth”.

So now I don’t feel like I am completely alone! I am going to try and get Melissa’s email (who was my coordinator in the first place) so if I have any questions etc. I can ask her! After that I set my alarm and passed out, until my wonderful mother called me! I don’t really remember talking to her, only that I think I said I was asleep! I woke up every hour on the half hour which was sorta weird. I think because I knew I had to wake up early and didn’t want to oversleep or anything!

Finally around 6:45am I just got up (now THAT’S never happened either!) By then I had internet so it was nice to be able to talk to some friends and check my email. I decided to leave around 8:15am which got me to the subway a little bit before 8:30am. I already HATE the blue line, line 10! It is beyond crowded..to the point you have to throw yourself into the subway car because people don’t have any room to let you in! It was hot and smelly and I was not a fan! I take that for about 5 or 6 stops and then switch over to the yellow line, line 13! I didn’t have any problems, I just had to double check the direction but I made it on and had a seat! Woo hoo! It was also cool which felt good! I take that for 3 stops and this is where the fun started! Now I had done all this with Sabrina, but after traveling for a day with little sleep I really wasn’t paying too close attention. I knew I needed to end up outside, but at every subway stop there are 4 exits in the 4 corners. Luckily I was able to find the right exit and I crossed the street to get my bus, 479! I had to wait a while and then my lovely mother called to wish me luck, but I wasn’t able to talk long because my bus came! I had to pay attention because I hadn’t done this part before. I needed to get off at the 4th stop. The first stop was in a very urban area, but then it quickly changed! I was back in that nightmare! Ok well it wasn’t a nightmare, but besides Cairo I have never seen anything like it! Again, dirt road, “stores” on either side, alleys that I think have markets maybe? The road seems big enough for one bus one way, but there are busses and cars and bikes and people going every which way! Again we were stopped for a while because of who knows what, but then came stop 4! Now if any of you saw what this was like you would probably tell me never to get off stop 4 again! I’ll send pictures soon! It is probably a 5 minute walk further down that street, with EVERYONE staring at me. There was not a single white person on the bus or ANYWHERE in sight, it is an interesting feeling. After 5 minutes I take a right onto the road the school is on and it’s only about a 3 minute walk to the school. When I got to the gate it was locked, but luckily there was an older man who smiled, held his hand up and ran away! I figured he was going to get someone to let me in? He came back with a clipboard that looked like a sign in sheet (at least that’s what I made it into!) and continued to talk to me in Chinese! Then a woman up ahead waved to me and I assumed she was the headmaster (who I was told to meet). She greeted me in Chinese and I said hello (in the hopes that we could continue this conversation in English). She brought me into her office as she continued to speak Chinese. I just looked at her, dumbfounded and then she wrote something down. She handed it to me like I was suppose to know what it said, but it was all in Chinese! She continued to speak to me in Chinese and finally ushered me out of the room since we obviously were not getting anywhere! I was then back in the classroom where I had first met Mr. John and Michael (yes, the strange map was STILL on the board!) And I was introduced to the teachers (all in Chinese). Finally Michael came to my rescue and explained (in pretty good English!) that I would be following Amy today, him tomorrow and Sophia on Friday! So there you have it, I was whisked away by Amy.

Amy is very tiny and laughs a lot! She told me we were going to do morning exercises! We were out on the courtyard when all the students came out (500 if I understood her correctly). They all seemed excited to see someone different and started yelling hello! Amy called a couple over and they would introduce themselves, “Hello, my name is ___.” I would say my name and say nice to meet you and they would reply “Nice to meet you too!”

So then, morning exercise. Now I tried to follow along and it really wasn’t THAT complicated, but somehow I became the laughing stock of, well pretty much the whole school it seemed, but at least about 8 boys that were near me. I didn’t think I was doing THAT bad but apparently my audience disagreed. I had to laugh with them because I couldn’t believe how much they enjoyed laughing at me! Tomorrow I am going to step up my game and show those boys! Morning exercises (and announcements) lasted about 10 minutes and then I was off with Amy to English class.

We were standing in the front of the room and she addressed the students (there were somewhere between 30-40, I think second graders) in Chinese and then said my name and they all clapped. Then she went and sat down. I stared at her wondering WHAT was going on, and she just smiled and said “Teach!” TEACH!? I just walked in and you what me to teach? I knew this was going to happen but my plan was to say “Oh can I just see what you do first?” but I really did not expect her to say Julie and then for me to teach! Uhhh..well the next bit of time I’d rather NOT talk about. I thought it was AWFUL. I had no idea WHAT was going on, I had no idea how much (if any) English they knew! Amy had given me a book so I sorta flipped through that but then she said they hadn’t learned those units yet. They definitely didn’t know as much English as I thought (or had hoped?) They knew the “greeting” down pat, but that was pretty much it. It was hard not to be able to talk to them..Amy translated a little but her English isn’t great so a lot of the time I just sort of stood there. Ugh I really just hate writing about this even now haha because I was like what the heck am I doing here? SOMEHOW I managed to get through the class. We did spend some time going over body parts (I tried doing “Head and shoulders knees and toes” but they seemed to know a different version so I was getting confused!) Oh man I couldn’t get out of there fast enough! They all clapped and were excited to say “goodbye”. Amy said we had another class but I asked her if I could get some water first. She said she thought I did great and I told her I had no idea what I was doing. She basically said to work on dialogue and the students like games. The problem with that class was I had no idea what they knew and wasn’t able to communicate with them at all. I felt like we couldn’t do introductions for the whole class without it getting boring, so I don’t know. The students are typical students. Some are very engaged, but most of the time it was never quiet and some of them were having their own conversations.

So anyway then we walked to the second English class, she introduced me and I asked if I could watch her. She didn’t seem happy, which I understood, I was there to teach English. But I had NO idea what I was doing! She had them do some greetings and work on a few vocabulary words. Then she called them up and worked on greetings with me in front of the class. This somehow turned into “Teach Julie Chinese”. Ugh, awful as well, but somehow better than ME teaching. This one girl in particular would just say things, and I would ATTEMPT to repeat it (while everyone laughed). I laughed too, I felt bad for butchering their language. We kind of did that for a while and then it turned into question time (with Amy translating). They wanted to know why foreigners had “white hair, white skin and were tall”. I laughed and told them I wasn’t quite sure. They all said they wanted to come to America too! Then, somehow, I was handed the book of vocabulary words and was told to teach! I don’t want to come across sounding as if this was the worst day of my life, it wasn’t! But I just feel like I have no idea what I am doing, basically because, I don’t! It’s hard to communicate with the kids because I have to go through Amy and sometimes she doesn’t understand either.

When that class was over we went back to the “teachers lounge”, which is the room with the map! They said it was lunch time, but I wasn’t sure if this is when I left, or when I whip out my granola bar? Michael asked if I liked Chinese food and I told him I hadn’t really ever had it! He asked how long I had been in Beijing and I said 3 days and then asked if I had eaten it in America. I just said, “Uh no not really”. So he said he would get me some! I gulped! I did want to try their food, but I didn’t think it was going to be with them all watching! I managed to sneak away to take a couple of Pepto-Bismols (precautionary) and then waited. Michael and Amy came back with a FEAST! My stomach was already churning. They had a soup (which looked good) some rice (I could do that) Chinese bread (I love bread) and something that looked, well looked like something I would never choose to eat. He said it was cabbage, pork and pumpkin. He said not pumpkin but something like that. Now it was A LOT of food. I don’t know if maybe they got a memo that I like to eat, but even if it was all pizza and chocolate I couldn’t have eaten it all (ok, that’s a lie). I prayed that I would be able to keep it all down at least until I left the school.

I tried the soup first, not bad! It had some spice that I didn’t really like, but it was doable! The rice was white rice, I could do that. The bread was in the shape of a roll and it was VERY white. It was pretty good though and I think I ate that the most, in hopes it would soak up anything my stomach didn’t like. Next came the, well whatever it was. I was handed chop sticks and then Michael asked if I knew how to use them. I said I didn’t but I’d love to learn. He told me to hold it like a pencil, but then gave me a spoon (it’s ok, other teachers were using spoons too!) Although at one point I looked over and saw Michael eating RICE with chop sticks, he is my new hero!

So, I tried the stuff and it honestly wasn’t AWFUL. Some of it was VERY spicy but I was able to get a few bites in. When Michael was trying to explain the food to me he did say it was spicy, but then seemed to be confused and asked what spicy meant. I told him I thought he was right because it meant hot. He then said something to the effect of “spicy girl”, not in the least bit creepy, but just to try to make sense of it I think? It made me laugh, because these are things I never really think about. I thought about telling him that spicy is really only used to describe food, but instead liked the way he used it..creative! (Steve, I won’t complain if you start calling me a spicy girl) Hopefully he doesn’t go around saying “Oh what a spicy day!” because then I will feel bad about not explaining it to him, but for now I think it’s good. Everyone was SO nice and kept offering me bites of their food. I got all of it down, which is an accomplishment for me. I felt AWFUL because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to finish the food. I kept telling Michael it was good but it was just a lot of food especially because everyone let me try some of theirs. I think he understood, but I still felt bad. After a few more bites everything just started tasting, not as good as it did in the beginning. I had at least tried everything and knew that even if I did like it I probably wouldn’t be able to finish everything, so I decided that was ok. I thanked them again and again in hopes they were not offended that I didn’t eat it all. I hope not.

Then both Michael and Amy brought over some books because they had questions. I panicked because while I can speak English, grammar isn’t my thing. Luckily it was mostly pronunciation! Then they showed me something I had never seen before, like a way to pronounce letters, but I just told them I didn’t know. At one point Amy said she thought I was sexy (which of course made me laugh). After that Amy said something that seemed like it was my cue to go, and I can’t say I complained! I was EXHAUSTED! I honestly felt like a celebrity, in the sense that I was always being watched and couldn’t really relax. She asked if I could get back ok and I said yes. They were all SO nice and welcoming, but it was a bit hard because really Michael is the only one that speaks English.

I managed to get home ok as well! It takes about an hour and a half which is a lot longer than I expected! I THINK on Mondays I go at 1:20pm but other than that I need to be there at 10:00am. I am already a little nervous only because I have no idea what to do with them. Tomorrow I think I am with Michael, which is good, but it is different students so again I don’t know what they know until I get there. I am reminding myself to be present, to go with the flow and that I will just show up and take it from there!

When I got back I did some laundry! They have laundry in the hostel, but the dryer is broken booo! I am actually proud because it was in Chinese but apparently the buttons I pressed did the job! It is now sort of just hanging everywhere in my room in hopes that it will dry soon. I may take a nap..I hate doing that because I know I am still adjusting to the time schedule, but I am very tired!

Bridezilla

Day two! After I left Starbucks last night I went to the grocery store! I was able to get cereal, a bowl, a map, masking tape, scissors, some crackers and water. The plugs in my room don’t really hold well, so I’m thinking if I use the masking tape I can hold them in so things will charge! I didn’t really know the “rules” of the grocery store. I had a basket, but I thought, do I take my items out of the basket or do I leave them in and she takes them out? Luckily I was able to look at someone else and if you are ever in a grocery store in Beijing, leave your items in your basket. She will take them out. But what she won’t do, and yes I learned this the hard way, is give you a bag! Now I went with my backpack, but it was already filled with maps and medicine and my laptop! So as she is ringing my items through I’m trying to mentally figure out how everything is going to fit in my bag. Well, it wasn’t. I left the boxes of cereal, crackers and my bowl out. I stuffed everything else in my bag and carried the rest home. Hopefully nobody was laughing at my expense.

I didn’t sleep as well last night. People are up and loud so I woke up a lot! Oh well! So this morning I asked the hostel about a fitness center. I really wanted a place to exercise a bit and on their website it says, and I quote “Residents may use the heath center and other entertainment facilities at the four-star Zhaolong Hotel” (which is right next door). However, this does not seem to be the case. I asked her first if she spoke English and she said yes, but then seemed confused as to my question (even when I showed her my running motion!!!) So then I decided I would go to the hotel and ask. As I was walking, I passed the gate to the pool. I had passed the gate my first night here, but since I was still wearing my glasses from the flight, when I entered the pool they fogged up and I couldn’t see so I decided to leave! But this time I had my contacts in so I was ready! So I walked into the pool and decided to keep walking. They had a massive square filled with water (so you can clean your feet before entering the pool) but there was no other way around it! I impressed myself and did not have a blonde moment and made it around without getting soaked! So then I was in the “locker room” area, but realized I should maybe turn around when I heard voices! They caught me! The woman said something in Chinese and I replied with “do you speak English?” she said something again and then a man showed up and I asked him if he spoke English and then he brought me to another man and I explained I was staying at the hostel and was looking for a gym blah blah blah! They were all very confused as to how I got in there in the first place! He didn’t understand either (they were all very nice) and directed me to the lobby. I asked at the reception and she said they didn’t do that! What a process! I might ask Sabrina what the deal is, although it really isn’t a big deal and maybe is a sign I shouldn’t go to the gym for a bit!

After the gym ordeal, I called Sabrina because I need to buy a hairdryer. She is very sweet but I had a real hard time understanding her over the phone. She said something about buying it in a store. I was a little frustrated because I felt like I wasn’t having the best start to the day and I felt like Sabrina and I weren’t able to communicate. I knew I needed to buy it in a store, but where or what type of store. Anyway, I left to try and find a store and wasn’t feeling very confident. I found the big department store that I had been in before and looked around but it is SO big I had no idea. I went to the “info” area and asked if the woman spoke English and she said “little” so I asked about a hairdryer and did the motion of drying my hair! She said something in Chinese and did a motion that looked like she was getting a hair cut but I shook my head yes and said “Du-e” (Yes in Chinese) because I figured if I could get to a section with hair I was THAT much closer. She pointed down and said “downstairs”..I didn’t even know this place HAD a downstairs. So this was my next task, finding the downstairs. I knew where the main escalators were but knew there weren’t ones that went down, so I walked and walked and searched and FINALLY found the basement escalators. I descended into, HEAVEN! It was a grocery store! Oh the things that make me happy. This grocery store is MUCH closer than the store I went to last night which will be good when I have a lot of heavy things (that exceed the space in my backpack!) They also have a lot more American brands and more options for cereal. I bought myself a Fanta and a bathroom tote (I was struggling bring my toothpaste and tooth brush and face wash and contacts etc. to the bathroom!)

Then I walked into the household section of the store! I was able to find a hairdryer so I was very excited! I asked the lady if she spoke English (she didn’t) but again some pointing and handing her money seemed to do the trick! So like I said, I don’t have any space in my room (and being unorganized drives me CRAZY) so I was also able to buy some shelves! Yaaay! I was SO excited and again she didn’t speak English but we worked it out! Needless to say, I left the store in a MUCH better mood and was happier with Beijing.

I then went back to the hostel to drop everything off and to figure out the Chinese phone! It is such a weird way to charge it! You take the battery out and then stick these prong things into it and then plug that it. And, I FIGURED IT OUT! Yay! I realized I was doing it wrong before (hence the dead phone) but I was so excited I did it on my own! (I know charging a phone doesn’t seem that exciting but it was!)

Next on my agenda was to try to go to the Lufthansa shopping center. I didn’t really know what it was but it was on my map! I took the subway (with no problems) but was pretty disappointed. It was just like the big store that I bought my hairdryer and shelves at. I also walked to a nice hotel to go the bathroom (it was BEAUTIFUL) and on the way back through the store I decided I would check out their supermarket! (That’s my new thing, I am into supermarkets). Again, it was in the basement, so I went down the elevator! Now I could NOT tell you where I ended up, only that it was the wrong place! It was like a warehouse and it seemed like where they were getting shipments. I did see a sign that said supermarket and pointed to the right so I tried to pretend I knew where I was going and walked down this hall that had lockers on either side. I got to the end, and the hall kept going to the left but I decided to get outta there! It was the first time I have been a little scared since being here. I had a good laugh though on the elevator ride up! I decided to leave Lufthansa and head back to the hostel, I was pretty tired anyway (that mid afternoon jet lag!)

I got back to my subway stop and remembered that on the map I had seen this HUGE park, ChaoYang Park. It was on the other side of the main road and I had not explored that area, so I decided now was as good of a time as ever. Luckily, since I was still in the subway, I didn’t have to cross the CRAZY intersection, I could just go underneath the road! I knew I had to follow the main road, I just didn’t know how far (on the map it didn’t LOOK far!) so I walked and walked and I was getting tired so I pulled out my map -- but I knew I was on the right road! Finally I saw no more sky scrapers and what looked like a park! I was so excited but could not figure out how to get in! I thought about turning back (my legs were getting tired) but figured I had made it this far I should keep going. Ahead I saw bright shapes so I figured this was it! I had NO idea what to expect, but from reading the sign, it sounded like it was a HUGE park that had an amusement park and food and a water park..this place was CRAZY! So I went and bought a ticket (I wasn’t sure for what, but knew I wanted in!) I went inside the gate and it was beautiful! There was a boat launch and a big open patio (to host events, it said) and a big green field where people were able to lay out! So I kept walking and found an amusement park! Crazy! Where was I? It seemed mostly for little kids, a lot of smaller rides and there were some kids there but other than that it was a ghost town! Kind of creepy actually because a lot of the rides weren’t even open. I saw this very pretty white structure so I decided to check it out. It was very beautiful, but what I noticed more was all the people taking pictures, professional pictures! There were two couples (the men were wearing suits and the women were in beautiful gowns) and they were taking profession pictures. It gets better. So I walk up to the upper area, and it was like I was walking onto the set of “Say Yes to the Dress”! BRIDES EVERYWHERE! It was CRAZY! There were all these women in bridal gowns having their pictures taken. There would be the bride, the groom, the photographer and then some people to help with the lighting or props or things like that. I really was taken aback. I almost wondered if I shouldn’t be there..maybe this was some special shoot? I had no idea, but I kept walking only to find more brides! They had taken over this structure! Did they ALL get married today? Did every single woman in Beijing decide to get married today? Because that is exactly what it seemed like. Strange. I walked back through the amusement park but was starting to get a little creeped out with all the emptiness, so I ventured on. And what did I find? MORE BRIDES! I know this sounds weird but this really was the strangest thing I had ever seen.

After the amusement park I was in the “park” area and it was beautiful with lots of trails and rivers and BRIDES! Around every corner there was a bride and her posse taking some pictures. I wanted to check out the Wedding Pavilion (to see WHAT this was all about..don’t worry Steve I wasn’t ready to book a date!) and the site for where they played Beach Volleyball in the Olympics. So I walked, and walked and walked and walked! I was SO TIRED! I could not for the life of me find the Volleyball place. I felt like the signs were bringing me in circles. So I headed for the Wedding Pavilion but felt like it was MILES away! Finally I decided I needed to get OUT of this place before I collapsed! (I knew I still had a walk back to the hostel) I found a gate to exit, but knew it wasn’t the gate I came in but I was able to get myself back to the main road and then back to my hostel. I was exhausted. I looked up this part online to see what it was all about and it said it was a 1.2 mile walk one way so no wonder my legs were sore! That made me feel better! I rested for a bit and then for some reason got a second wind and set up my room a little bit! I put up some pictures I brought from home and set up the shelves. While it’s still a little cluttered I can find things a bit easier and it does seem homier which I like too. Then I decided I needed to find some dinner..but still didn’t feel like being adventurous. So I ended up at the pizza place across from Starbucks. It actually wasn’t even that good, but it was food!

So here I am again in Starbucks (my safe haven). It is VERY crowded and for some reason I think EVERYONE is speaking French! What’s up with that? As if I don’t feel bad enough not speaking Chinese, they all speak French too? When I have kids they are going to learn at LEAST 5 languages J I like coming here because it feels safe and comfy and reminds me of home. And, if I am lucky, I can hear some English. Well I am about to fall asleep, I guess that’s what you get when you sit in the big comfy chairs. Tomorrow is my first day of volunteering and I could not be more nervous! Wish me luck!