Cangqian Food Fair!!

I'm sure many of you feel the same way:

I LOVE FOOD.

I think it is a great way for people to come together and meet--whether it is hanging out with your girlfriends over cocktails or your whole family coming together over a turkey on Thanksgiving. I think it is a great way to spend time together laughing and preparing food (even if I am awful at it). I think food can be beautiful, fun, and exciting. But mostly, I think food is one of the best ways to get to know a culture. 

Living in China, I have been exposed to a variety of different types of food from nice and safe things like handmade noodles and street food filled with meat on sticks, bread, niangao (ricey heaven), and veggies (bleck!) to the not so safe like cicadas (yes, I really ate those... don't believe me? Look at this!!) and stinky, nasty durian. I have found that different regions of China eat very different foods from one another (just like in the US, I suppose). Seafood galore up north in cities like Qingdao and Dalian is nowhere to be found in Hangzhou and Cangqian. You might try to be brave and eat scorpions and a Chinese person might look at you like you have gone insane. It's all so different and I just love it!! 

When I travel, I try to be a bit more daring with my culinary choices (except when it comes to cooked vegetables... Sorry, Adam). Would I eat a bug if I were in my little town of Tonawanda, New York? Eh... Probably not... But when in Rome, do at the Romans do, you know? Do I usually drink a lot of beer? Well, no... but when I was in Qingdao, I was going to get a beer in a bag! Would I usually eat donkey, or pig foot, or as many cooked vegetables as I have? Certainly not! But because I am in China and because I want to have the best and most well rounded experience possible, I am going to eat where the locals frequent and order exactly as they do. 

Food is very culture specific and the perfect way to get to know and assimilate during your time in a foreign country.

This past week, the campus I live at hosted what I like to call a Food Fair. One of the streets on the campus in Cangqian was suddenly filled with red tents and lights. There have been a few different types of things like this outside of the cafeteria (like student involvement fairs) but nothing of this size. The first day, I saw it as just an obstacle standing between me and my classroom but as I walked back to my apartment after class, I decided to go exploring and found that this was not an obstacle that I should feel bitterness towards but a beautiful gathering of culinary delights!!

Now you might be asking yourself, What kinds of yummy surprises were waiting for you at this Food Fair? And I will tell you: everything. 

Most of the food offered at the fair were from different regions of China, especially Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet. You could get different types of meat on sticks (just like street food--yay!!), stinky tofu (no me gusta), fruit, different Chinese spring roll/burrito concoctions, and shaved ice. But there were some things that were beautifully familiar from countries such as England, France, and the good old US of A. There was cotton candy, crepes, and even doughnuts. YES. DOUGHNUTS. They were even called Bapple Doughnuts (Get it? Big Apple Doughnuts? Bapple? Well... I got a kick out of it...). 

Being the lover of food that I am, I ended up going to this Food Fair twice while it was up and running. 

The first was with two of my students, Lyn and John, DH and (my) Adam. This was all our first time at this fair so were wandered from booth to booth eating almost everything. Yes, I got the doughnuts. My students got octopus ball thingys from Japan. And Adam got rabbit. Yes, rabbit.

Just don't think of Easter... Poor Peter Cottontail...

 Now I think I had rabbit once before but it was in a ravioli so I didn't really think of it. I watched as Adam walked up to the booth (complete with a sign with adorable bunny rabbits on it) and ordered a whole rabbit leg. Now when you eat ravioli with exotic or different meat inside, you don't really think about it because all you are seeing is the pasta. But this?! This was clearly the leg of a rabbit (the foot was probably chopped off to make a good luck charm for some kid to buy at the roller rink). Yes, I took this photo of Adam chomping down on his rabbit leg and I am pretty sure I had the classic look of horror on my face. So what does he do? He just smiles and offers me a bite, knowing full well that no matter what it is (except veggies), I'll probably cave and try it. And I did. And it really was delicious.

Day two of my Food Fair Frenzy was on Wednesday... the crummiest day of my week due to the fact that I have to get up at 5:30 in the morning to catch the bus that takes me about two hours over to the Xiasha campus on the other side of the city, teach two classes (one with only ten students), turn right back around at 11:30 for the two hour bus ride that takes me back to the Cangqian campus and by that time it is well after lunch time and I have to wait until dinner time to eat for the first time. So needless to say, I went to town when I visited the Food Fair.

There is a student on campus who I was in touch with before coming over to China, thanks to my friend, Olivia--her name is Shamrock. Her English is really fantastic and she enjoys meeting with me once a week to just hang out and talk so she can continue to practice her English. This week she wanted to meet for dinner and we both agreed that we were sick and tired of the cafeteria food and headed back over to the tents and culinary delights of the Food Fair.

It's nice to go to these types of things with someone who knows what they are talking about. Shamrock knew what were good things to try and what were the things to avoid at all costs. She knew where most of the foods came from and she was able to explain what they were (which is a BIG help in China because you never really know what exactly it is that you are eating). She attempted to get me to try stinky tofu (and she failed miserably at that). In the end, we went with some niangao (totally Korean style), the octopus balls again, and some meat on a stick (I can never say no).

So much food. So much hunger.

I have to say, I love the food of China (Yes, there are times where it does not agree with me...).  Sometimes you get spicy, sometimes its sweet. Sometimes it is exactly what you thought you ordered and sometimes it is something completely different but then it becomes your favorite dish that you order all the time. The food, in and of itself, is such an adventure--sometimes it is an epic fail and sometimes it is an epic win!!

Hi, my name is Amanda and I have a problem. A wonderful problem... I love the food in China. Now I just need to figure out how these Chinese girls eat all this food and can still stay so skinny...

Until Next Time,
Amanda

Dalian and the Long Road Home

Continuing on in our journey through the National Holiday 2013 Tour:

Aside from Qingdao and Dandong, we spent several days in the lovely city of Dalian. It was very different from Qingdao... much more laid back and quaint. Our hostel was nestled in the hills surrounding the city where the actual residents of Dalian live along beautiful winding roads overlooking the ocean. We stayed at one of the nicer hostels that I've seen in China. That being said, we actually didn't sleep in the hostel--since it was National Holiday, there was no room for us in the actual hostel so instead we got to go out into the "garden" (brickyard) and set up camp... literally.

That brick ground was so soft...

On our last day in Dalian, we had hours--and I mean HOURS--to kill before our flight took off at midnight. We spent the morning wandering around the shore trying to find a way down to the ocean. Sadly, we failed miserably and all we could find was an over priced amusement park that kind of reminded me of a poor man's Six Flags if it had a love child with The Little Mermaid. From what we could see, there were rides, shows, and a very small beach but nothing worth the 200RMB price tag. So we continued to wander around to see what this part of town had to offer us. 

In the end, we found an old naval ship.

Now you would think, a gang of twenty-something year olds would be able to walk along the halls and deck of the historical ship like mature adults. That, however, was not the case. For 20RMB, this was one of the greatest playgrounds ever!! There were places to climb even if the signs technically said, "Danger! No climbing!" (How would I know? I'm just a stupid American who can't read Chinese...). There were hallways that led throughout the bottom of the ship (through what we think might actually be a hostel). There were even giant guns that you could rotate and move (needless to say we went to town gunning down our imaginary ships, planes, and enemies like we were five year olds). 

GAH!! For the Motherland!!

This bad boy actually spun around 360 degrees

While being on the ship, (my) Adam and I couldn't pass up the chance to reenact that oh-so famous scene from Titanic...

We do "cliche" like it is nobody's business

And of course, (Other) Adam could not be one-upped, so the bromance had their chance to shine as well.

After probably shaming ourselves in front of half the tourist population in Dalian, we walked off the naval ship and continued wandering until we found our way at the Dalian Zoo.

Let me make one thing clear: I LOVE ZOOS. There have been a few zoos that I have visited that, to this day, I am still madly in love with (Cleveland, anyone?). Now, I have heard stories about Chinese zoos where they try to pass off dogs as lions (no seriously, look at this!) but we read that the Dalian zoo is one of the best in China for the conditions of and for the animals as well as how well the animals are treated by the guests. Other than the awful habitat for the polar bear and the fact that zebras were in the pony pen, it was actually a pretty nice zoo! I got to see my very first panda ever, made friends with a chimpanzee (you know how I love me some primates), witnessed the politics of rhinos, and got to watch my boyfriend pick up a cat that could probably have torn out his throat if it wanted to.

As the sun set, we packed up our little makeshift campsite just big enough for the three of us and we headed out to the Dalian airport. We were told by a friend that there was a typhoon in the region of Hangzhou but I didn't really think anything of it since we had just had Typhoon Usagi during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Well that was a mistake on my part.

Out flight was delayed for about 40 minutes, sending us off at around 12:30 at night. Again, a little rain... I didn't think anything of it.

Once we were on the flight, I immediately fell asleep, having been up and moving all day and being thoroughly exhausted from the last week of nonstop traveling (that's how you know you done good). About thirty minutes from Hangzhou, the turbulence was so bad that I woke up and was suddenly painfully aware of how much the wind was taking us this way and that.

Now you might be thinking, Amanda, big deal! A little bit of turbulence is expected when flying! And I would turn around and tell you to shut up I would agree with you. But this was also not my first time flying, nor was it the first time I experienced a really rocky flight (I had a flight to Dusseldorf that was so bad, I hit my head on the window at one point because the plane was rocking so much). Not only did we rise and fall a lot but we also jerked from side to side more than I have ever felt before. 

I have never been afraid to fly. Nervous? Of course! But afraid? Never. I think this flight changed that.

At one point, I had my head down and found myself praying. For those of you who know me, I am not an overly religious person but you can be darn sure I was closing my eyes as tight as I could and muttering a few desperate prayers under my breath as the plane continued to be tossed through the air. There were some moments when the flight attendants were shouting or when the arm of the chair dug into my side as I rocked alongside the plane's movements that I actually found myself thinking that if I was to go--having just had an amazing trip through China, living the adventure of a lifetime with some of those who are dearest to me right now--well then, that was the perfect way for me to go and I would have had no qualms, no regrets. 

But wait! There's more...

In the midst of tears, prayers, and resignation, we spot Hangzhou beneath us. There! It's the ground! Sweet, safe ground! Sweet safe ground that is much too close for comfort... where is the runway?!? 

Just as we thought we had made it and it was safe to land, the engines rev back to life and we find ourselves ascending once more. I had no clue what was going on and thank God I was not traveling alone because I still feel like I might have bruised (my) Adam's arm with how tight I was clinging to him. 

Without knowing what was happening, we let the plane take us up and away from Hangzhou and after about an hour of flying, we found ourselves in Changsha in Henan Province.

This is the furthest west I have been!!

We arrived in Changsha at around 3:30 in the morning. After about twenty minutes of utter confusion where a handful of men felt the need to have a cock fight and speak (aka: shout) their mind and keep everyone waiting, we were on a bus headed into the city to a hotel for the night. We arrived at the hotel in Changsha a little after 4:00am. We were told to be back in the lobby by 6:00am for the bus to take us back to the airport. The was less than two hours of sleep. We fell on the bed, closed our eyes, woke back up, and ran downstairs only to learn that the bus was not there yet and that we could go back to bed. 

The guys still able to pose even after being awake for almost 24 hours

 Those extra two hours of sleep worked wonders on me. 

By 8:30am, a bus had come to pick us up and we found ourselves back at the airport. We waited at the gate for another two hours and when we thought we had made it--we finally got back on the plane--we found that we had to sit there, on the plane, with about 100 other people for more than three hours. To make matters worse--my mp3 player had died during our long journey so I was forced to sit back for those three hours and watch the people of the plane descend into madness... screaming at the flight attendants, yelling, and banging on the luggage compartments, screaming, "Let me out!" (Yes, in English). 

 Finally, we were able to take off and we landed in Hangzhou about an hour later to find that the typhoon hadn't really stopped just yet. 

A taxi that should have taken maybe an hour or an hour and a half, took us almost four hours to get through the city. There were times when the main road--Wenyi--became a river. As I sat in the taxi, I could feel the waves hitting the bottom of the boat car. This was rain and weather like I have never seen it before (Even now, there is still standing water in some areas of the city... just look at this bus)! 

Why am I reminded of Titanic all of a sudden?

That night, Adam and I braved the rain and wind to get to our favorite restaurant and found crayfish swimming in the road--that is how much it rained.

So that is the exciting conclusion to the National Holiday 2013 Tour... If I end up staying another year, who knows what to expect for next year's National Holiday. Only time will tell!!

Until Next Time,

Amanda

Visiting our Friends in the North

I'm sure everyone has those one or two dreams on their bucket lists that they would love to do but they know that those dreams will probably never come true. One of the things on my list (#31) is "Visit every country in the world." So far, I think I've done pretty good with 23 out of 194 countries and it is my hope to visit at least a few more while living over here in China. But if I force myself to really think things through (which pains me to do sometimes), there are a few countries that might be a bit difficult to be able to visit without fearing for my life.

One of those countries happened to be North Korea.

Now I admit, personally I don't know much about the country of North Korea (though I am obsessed with the pop culture of it's southern counterpart). All I really know goes back to my early years in high school, learning about the Korean War. I know that after World War II, Korea was split in half at the 38th Parallel--the north occupied by the Soviet Union and the south by the US (both with VERY different governments at this time). In 1950, North Korean forces passed over the 38th Parallel and entered South Korea, starting the Korean War. Eventually there was a cease-fire and armistice talks that set the borders to how they had been prior to the war, set at the 38th Parallel. Thank you APUSH.

Aside from that and knowing that my grandfather on my father's side fought in the Korea War, I don't know too much about the country. I know that Lisa Ling (my hero) from National Geographic went there once. I know Dennis Rodman likes to visit. I know from reading Escape from Camp 14 that there are still labor/death camps in the countryside. And I know recently a music group of idols were executed and one of the members was Kim Jong Un's ex-girlfriend.

Most of us in the West are afraid of North Korea and from what we see in the media and hear through the grapevine, I think it is pretty fair to feel that way.

However, being in Dalian, a mere four hour bus ride away from the border between China and North Korea, clearly The Adams and I decided that it was time to pay North Korea a visit!!

For 100RMB, we hopped on a charter bus and rode for four hours to the city of Dandong.

Snuggled in nice and close to North Korea

There is a very big military culture up in Dandong. The Korean War (or as the Chinese call it, "The War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea") has not been forgotten in this city and that is due to The Friendship Bridge.

The Friendship Bridge might be the #1 attraction in Dandong. It is actually made up of two bridges--one that still connects China to North Korea and another known as the Broken Bridge that was destroyed when the US bombed it in 1951 during the Korean War to stop troops from China entering into Korea. It is still broken today and for 27RMB (that's about $4) you can walk along the bridge out over the Yalu River.

The best part about visiting these bridges is just how close you get to North Korea. North Korea was one of those countries that I never imagined being able to see so when I arrived at the bridges and spotted the factory in the distance--the only real structure you could see--it was a sobering moment. I don't know anyone who has been anywhere near North Korea, and so, as we stood along the shore of the Yalu River, it was kind of hard to not feel like a total badass.

People are not allowed on the bridge that connects the two countries together. However, tourists flock to the Broken Bridge that goes a little more than halfway across the Yalu River. There are vendors selling Korean cigarettes and fake money. There are street performers, people selling balloons, and even places for ladies to dress up in a hanbok (the traditional Korean dress) for photoshoots. China knows that this is a tourist attraction and businesses, shops, and vendors have all set themselves up strategically along the shore of the river.

North Korea and China across the Yalu River

On the other side of the river, it is the complete opposite. It is empty, spooky, and desolate. There is a factory that towers over the trees along the North Korean shore of the river. Even spookier is the Ferris wheel that you can see in the distance just beyond the treeline. It never moves and no one is riding it but it is there, trying desperately to show the outside world an illusion of a happy country where families might spend an afternoon at an amusement park together. It is a facade that would freak anyone out. To accompany the spooky sight of the abandoned Ferris wheel, there is also a beach that you can see from the bridge and on that beach there are children playing in the water. You can't help but wonder what they are doing there. Are they happy? Are they forced to be there? Maybe they are being paid to put on a show for the tourists who are riding by on the high speed boats. Either way, it only further adds to the mystery that is North Korea.

Now people who know me might be aware of the fact that I might not be one of the most patriotic people on the planet. I do not hate my country--not by any means!--but if I had to list my relationship status with America on Facebook, it would have to say, "It's complicated." I think that we have some great things to offer... but I also believe that sometimes we think way too highly of ourselves and we have the tendency to always feel the need to play the hero. I hate politics with every fiber of my being so I don't want to start any kind of debate. Long story short: I'm not openly patriotic. 

That being said, I could not help but feel awesome walking along that bridge. The whole time along the bridge (and also at the nearby war museum focused on the "War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea") you are constantly bombarded with the story of the American aggressors and how they were so cruel to destroy this bridge that linked the two countries of Korea and China together. I did not notice it at first but Adam pointed out and asked me, "Did you notice all the dirty looks we've been getting?" I admit, I had been completely oblivious to them but as I looked around, I noticed (especially among the older people) we were getting a lot of nasty, dirty looks for being there. It's so interesting to witness a moment in history through the eyes of the opposite side.

We walked the length of the bridge which takes you out over the Yalu River. At the end is the jagged remains of the bridge that had been so cruelly destroyed by those nasty old Americans. As I stood at the end of the bridge, the sharp, twisted metal behind me and the country of North Korea before me, I could not help but feel ridiculously patriotic. Yes, America bombed this bridge. Yes, America broke that one highway between the two countries. Yes, America was cruel enough to use weapons against their enemy in a war. In that moment I was proud to be an American. With all those dirty looks being thrown my way, I was able to hold my head up high and look at that broken bridge with a bit of pride.

Now, did we actually go to North Korea? I am not entirely sure. I've read online several different things. I read that the moment you get onto the bridge, you are technically in North Korea. I also read that once you go beyond the halfway point across the river, you are technically in North Korean territory. And then I read that if you walk to the end of the bridge and stick your hand over the side, THAT is North Korea. I don't know which one is true (if any of them) so we made sure to do all of them--we got on the bridge, walked more than halfway, and went as far beyond the end of the bridge as we could. No matter what, I am going to count it because being able to say you visited North Korea is about as badass as you can get.

Taking that one last step!!

Overall, Dandong was a very interesting place to visit. It is always interesting to look at someone else's point of view especially when it comes to something like a war. And while I couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable whenever Americans were referred to as the aggressors in the Korean War and how one sided and skewed China's museum is on the war, I think it was a great experience. To be able to say that I not only saw North Korea (including that God-awful Ferris wheel), but also say that I might have technically stepped foot in the country is something that I never thought that I would do. It is one of those things that you always wonder about or ask yourself, "What if?" For 200RMB and eight hours on a bus, I am glad that I got to answer that question of "What if?" and got to see a country that has always fascinated and terrified me at the same time.

But our National Holiday Tour isn't over yet! Stay tuned for our time in Dalian and the oh-so exciting (aka terrifying) flight home to Hangzhou through a typhoon!

To be continued...

Until Next Time,
Amanda

Qingdao: China's Key West

One of the things I love the most about living in China is the amount of holidays and days off they throw your way. At the end of September, we celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival and in the beginning of October (literally a week later), we celebrated National Holiday (basically our 4th of July). I was lucky enough to not work on Fridays or Mondays so I did not have to make up any classes for this holiday. The meaning? I had an eleven day vacation. After a quick visit from a family friend (thanks, Chris!), I hopped on a plane with The Adams and we headed north to cold weather, clear blue skies, and beer--the city of Qingdao.

At one point the city was occupied by the Germans and the Japanese but it is most known for Tsingtao, its beer and brewing company.

If I had to choose an American city that closely matched the culture and style of Qingdao, I would probably go with Key West down in Florida. At first I thought maybe Las Vegas but the city is so much more laid back than the manic, wild Vegas strip. In Qingdao, there is a very specific culture and I would call it (with confidence) a beer culture. The city has the Tsingtao brewery and they have come to embrace that fully. With it's sea food, beautiful coast, and excessive amounts of beer, I have decided that Qingdao is China's Key West.

 

Beer kegs are tied to street signs and every restaurant is incomplete without at least four huge kegs of beer. The Tsingtao brewery towers over Beer Street (yes, there is a street called Beer Street) and beckons both lushes and tourists alike. I would recommend this tour to anyone who comes to Qingdao whether you are a fan of beer or not. It offers you a look at the history and culture of the city you are currently visiting. You look at the history, the methods of brewing beer, you can look in at the actual factory, they have the "Drunken House" that is similar to an illusion/fun house that is guaranteed to make you laugh out loud, and everyone gets a glass of their unfiltered Tsingtao beer. I admit that before I got to China, I didn't have much of a relationship with alcohol outside of rum punch, wine, and martinis but I thoroughly enjoyed the factory tour with The Adams and I've come to have a loving relationship with the beer in China (though I am still not an alcoholic... please believe me...).

Besides beer, one of Qingdao's specialties is sea food. Where Cangqian and Hangzhou have "chicken", veggies, and sausage, Qingdao has squid, fish, and crab. One of the foods I have wanted to try for years now is starfish. If you guys remember Samantha Brown from the Travel Channel TV show, "Passport to Europe," you might remember that she had a show about Beijing during the Olympics. One of the foods she ate while she was here in China was starfish and since then it has been on my (official) unofficial bucket list. Last time I was in China I searched for starfish and never found any... this was most likely due to the fact that I was here in the dead of winter in December. My broken heart of nine months was healed when I arrived in Qingdao. Starfish is EVERYWHERE. You can get it cooked on a stick and just wander around with it or you can order it at a fancy restaurant. And that is exactly what I did.

  If I had to describe starfish I would say that it is very difficult to eat with not a lot of meat on the inside. The meat is green (like our beer!) and it had the same consistency as flaky crab meat with a hint of fishy seaweed. I liked it enough to eat the whole thing but I don't think I would go through the work of breaking it all open to try and get to the meat ever again. The rest of the group was very adventurous with their culinary choices as well--we shared the starfish along with sea urchin. Up north, apparently donkey is pretty popular and (my) Adam was determined to get us to try some. After searching for a while, the restaurant we ended up at did have donkey... intestines... served cold... Still not sure how I feel about that!

I had to try and not look at how intestine-like this looked... >_<

Devouring our seafood like champs. BOOM.

Another great thing besides the beer and the seafood in Qingdao is the fact that it is right on the coast, looking out over the Pacific Ocean. I imagine the shoreline of Qingdao is similar to those of the Pacific Northwest in the US--very rocky and jagged with small tide pools here and there. Of course, since we are in China, it was ridiculously crowded but that did not stop us from joining the hundreds of other people climbing over the rocks to get down to the (cold) water. Throwing off our adventure boots, we rolled our pants up (#skinnyjeanprobs) and splashed in the water for a bit. A great perk of being in a country that doesn't give a damn about littering? Sea glass was EVERYWHERE!!

 

When I travel, one of my favorite things to do is just sit and watch people and let me tell you: in China, it is always entertaining!! We walked along the ridiculously crowded beach (seriously--we didn't go anywhere near the water), I collected some sand for my dad, and we found a nice shady table and decided to set up camp for the rest of the day. Lost in translation a bit, we accidentally ordered three full pitchers of beer so we stayed where we were for a few hours. Putting aside the fact that we are convinced we saw someone die (sorry guys), it was such a nice time sitting, getting to know each other more, joking with each other, and watching the sun set. Eventually, the beach cleared out and we were some of the only ones left... I love it when you are in a strange place with new people and you completely lose track of the time--one minute it is lunch time and the sun is shining and it is hot outside and the next moment it is late at night, you missed dinner, and the sun is long gone. In my opinion: THAT is living.

Artsy shot to document the epic mistake we made... epically beautiful mistake...

Perhaps some of you have seen the show on Travel Channel (I am a fan of this channel if you couldn't deduce that on your own), "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern." For those of you who know me, I am obsessed with that show and I love Andrew Zimmern. Half of the things on My Life List are things that I have seen on that show. Now supposedly, there are only two things in the entire world that Andrew Zimmern attempted to eat on his show and could not swallow. Stinky tofu and durian. Lucky for me, BOTH of these delicious morsels can be found on the streets of China. Now I know that I cannot get stinky tofu anywhere near my face in order to actually eat it (if you smelled it, you would understand). HOWEVER, ever since I saw the episode with Andrew and the infamous slice of durian, I wanted to try it and it was thrown down onto My Life List. After a few failed attempts at actually finding the spiky green fruit, I bought two small slices and was determined to eat it. 

Clearly I was not a fan.

I've been told that the taste/smell (the smell will get you) is similar to a mixture of rotten onions and turpentine. Personally, I felt like it tasted like rotten eggs. I knew going into it that it would be bad--both The Adams warned me about it and refused to try it again with me. I kind of feel like trying durian is a sort of initiation the foreign teachers make each other go through when they first arrive in China. Well, I've tried it (though I don't foresee myself trying it again any time soon) and I can cross off #158 from My Life List!!

Now, I've been told that the best way to get rid of the taste of durian is beer. Okay, so that is a lie but we were in Qingdao, the capitol of beer in China, and there was one more aspect of the Qingdao culture that we had yet to take part in--beer in a bag. Yes, the people of Qingdao will take a pitcher of beer and pour it into a plastic bag for the lushes of the city to walk around Beer Street, sipping on their beer through a straw that is poked through the side of the bag. If that is not ridiculous, then I don't know what is. That being said, of course I got a beer in a bag and I loved every sip of it (somehow beer just tastes better coming out of a bag than the same old can or bottle)!!

The Adams with their (first) bag of beer

When in Qingdao, I suppose...

And so with bellies filled with seafood, sea glass in our pockets, a deeper knowledge of the German history and the beer culture of Qingdao, and our bags of beer, we packed up our backpacks and headed up north a little further to the city of Dalian...

To be continued...

Until Next Time,

Amanda

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!!

Before I came over to China, all I knew about the Mid-Autumn Festival was that there was no school and you get to eat mooncakes. It is the first holiday in a series this year with National Holiday starting up next week--that is an eleven day vacation for me!!

I tried talking to my classes and a few of the Chinese students about the holiday--what exactly were we celebrating when we ate those mooncakes? Well, with the help of Adam and Wikipedia, I finally learned the legend behind the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Chinese Moon Festival). There are a few different versions of the legend out there so I combined them to make the story what I wanted it to be:

Chang'e (the goddess of the moon) and her husband Houyi the Archer lived in heaven with the immortals, good people, and fairies. One day the ten sons of the Jade Emperor transformed into ten suns and the Earth began to burn. Houyi, being a great archer, shot arrows at nine of the suns, saving the Earth and leaving one sun to warm the planet. The Jade Emperor was angry--Houyi had just killed nine of his sons--and so he banished Houyi and Chang'e to live as mortals on Earth. 

Houyi saw that his wife, Chang'e, was miserable living her life as a mortal and so he went to the Queen Mother of the West to get an elixir that would make them immortal once again. The Queen gave him a pill that would grant both of them immortality--but the pill was so strong that it needed to be broken in half for each person. Houyi brought the pill home and warned his wife to stay away from it. Curiosity getting the better of her, Chang'e found the pill and ate the whole thing before Houyi could find her.

She began to float up to the moon where she remains to this day with an elixir making rabbit and a man named Wu Gang who continues to try and cut down the cassia tree--the giver of life. Houyi was not willing to shoot his wife with his arrow to stop her from floating to the moon and so he ascended to the sun and they now represent yin and yang. 

The end.

I did find other versions where Houyi was evil and Chang'e ate the pill to stop his greediness and another with Houyi's evil assistant who Chang'e stops by sacrificing herself. Both are pretty badass versions but since the Mid-Autumn Festival is a romantic holiday, I decided to go with the lovey dovey story instead.

So Wednesday was my last day of work. After a long bus ride back from the Xiasha campus filled with too many people and boxes and boxes of mooncakes, I made it back to Cangqian and my holiday began.

The school gives the the gift of mooncakes every year. I had heard tales of these cakes from the likes of Rachel and even got one for Christmas while I was in China last year so I was excited to get the giant box of mooncakes.

And here we see the mooncake box working its hardcore camouflage skills...

There are twelve mooncakes in each box and talk about Russian Roulette! Some are chocolate, green tea, and marzipan while others are egg and meat. The trick it to just make your choice and go with it. I have the God given talent of picking the absolute WORST cakes. My first one ever tasted like a roast beef sandwich back at Christmas time and this year, I did no better--two meat flavors and one that I have no clue what it was. I guess that you could say that was the fun in it all... if Adam hadn't kept getting all the good flavors... >_<

 

Not too sure about our life choices...

The Cangqian gang had a small trip planned for the Mid- Autumn Festival. Thursday (9/19) was the actual holiday of Mid-Autumn. It was quite the romantic holiday spent mostly on buses and wandering around Xiasha, lost. We (DH, Adam, and myself) set out across the city at around 3 o'clock in the afternoon and we finally arrived at Other Adam's apartment at around 7pm. That is a four hour trek just through the city of Hangzhou. We had a few crowded bus rides, we made the mistake of getting off the bus WAY too early, we fought long and hard trying to find a taxi (on a holiday, near a campus... good luck with that, future self!), we wandered around the city for probably an hour... but we laughed and joked along the way making it bearable and (dare I say) even fun? Well, I'm not sure if DH thought it was fun...

While we were walking around, the sun set and the moon started to rise. Luckily, the sky was relatively clear throughout the last week (aka: no pollution) so we've been able to watch the moon get fuller and fuller. Mid- Autumn is a celebration of the moon and it was a beautiful, bright moon that shone down on us on the night of the festival even as we wandered around Xiasha, lost.

Finally, we were able to snag a taxi cab and we piled in and arrived at Other Adam's apartment. How does this bizarre little group celebrate the Mid- Autumn Festival? Poker and street food! The guys were kind enough to try and teach me how to play poker properly (I played years ago in Girl Scouts but I'm sure eight year old girls didn't really follow the rules). I didn't do too terrible... if anything, I think I'm better at poker than I am at Settlers! Later in the night, we were hungry so we wandered around the city and found a mini-metropolis of street food vendors. Score! What was the best part? Vegetables wrapped in bacon (yes I only ate the bacon).

While wandering out and about, we also came upon a claw machine near Other Adam's apartment. Looking in at first, it just looks like a good old fashioned claw machine but upon further inspection:

Yes those are cigarettes in the children's claw machine. My brother is a champion claw machine winner and so after all the guys attempted to win, I gave it a go hoping that maybe some of my brother's skills were inherited and I had the talent as well. Lo and behold, I actually won something from a claw machine... I got me a pack of cigarettes!!

Friday morning, we headed out to the train station to catch a train to Shaoxing. I love riding on trains. I have never ridden one in the US--my first time on a train was in Sweden when I rode into Stockholm for the first time. But this was my first time on a high speed train. I think it is always nice to get away from your home--no matter where it is. You get so used to and comfortable with your home base that you become stagnant; it's little adventures outside your comfort zone that are always fun and the most memorable. It was nice to just sit on the train and watch the city of Hangzhou disappear behind us and mountains and fields come into view as we zoomed by.

So much green!! 

After a 20 minute train ride, we arrived in Shaoxing and met up with the rest of the FoC group in a huge apartment dubbed Zion--this place is bigger than my house back in America with three floors, four bedrooms, and two bathrooms. I think socializing with the rest of the group was just a pretense to get us to Shaoxing where "Big Pizza" is. "Big Pizza" is kind of like Cici's Pizza--it's a pizza buffet. I know I haven't even been over here for a month but damn that pizza was everything I had wanted over the last few weeks. Pizza, ice cream, chicken wings (but not really), french fries, spaghetti, and all you can drink beer (I told you--China is awesome). The Cangqian gents enjoy making fun of me and my inability to finish any of my meals (portions are huge!) but I am proud ot say that I had three plate-fulls of pizza that night.

No shame.

There was probably about 30 people in the house altogether. There were several married couples and so I suppose the hierarchy of life grants them access to the bedrooms so space filled up pretty quick. Couches were taken as well as beds and sleeping bags so both the Adams and I ended up sleeping outside on the balcony. It was ridiculous and so much fun... I have a feeling I won't soon forget about falling asleep out on a balcony during the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Though I will try to forget about being woken up by rain falling in through the window on me...

Just like camping!!

A trip involving getting lost on the streets of China for hours, sweaty bus rides, cigarettes from claw machines, and sleeping outside would be incomplete without a torrential downpour which we got on Saturday morning just as we were ready to set back out to Cangqian. There was no point fighting it--none of us had our umbrellas or any raincoat so we just ran through the rain, resigned to the fact that we were getting soaked.

Well at least we know one of us looks good in the rain... >_<

 As we tried to get into the Shaoxing train station, we came across an almost impassable obstacle in the history of ever--the Puddle of Doom. It nearly submerged the wheels on taxis and when they did drive through them, I was strangely reminded of Splash Mountain. I almost felt like this was the final level in a video game--you've gotten this far, you have just one more obstacle left in order to make it to your goal. By this point I was soaked to the bone, my shoes had squishy little puddles in them, and I had nothing to lose... I just ran right through the puddle (possibly laughing like a maniac). It was hilarious seeing everyone around us (including the Adams) taking their shoes off and trudging through the water, not thinking about what exactly said water was made up of (other than good old H2O). Either way, everyone was laughing at that point and I think that made everything fun once again (again, I didn't see DH laughing so I'm not sure what his stance is on that).

If this puddle is not terrifying, I don't know what is.

SPOILER ALERT: We made it through and got back to Cangqian in one piece even if we did look like sad little dogs that had been left out in the rain for far too long. It was a fun holiday made up of rain, poker, getting lost, street food, ridiculous claw machine prizes, rain, the full moon, camping out on a balcony, mooncakes, and more rain.

It was a great holiday even if I didn't do too much of what  the Mid-Autumn Festival is all about. I've got one full week of teaching and then it is on to National Holiday!

Until Next Time,
Amanda