Here Comes Peter Cottontail!!

This last week, I spent about half my class introducing my students to the holiday of Easter. Focusing less on the "He is risen" side and more on chocolate bunnies and Easter egg hunts (hey, I want to keep my job), it was just as fun bringing my students Easter as it was talking to them about Halloween and Christmas. We had a brief overview of Easter, a trivia game where the kids fought like crazy for the candy I brought in for the winners, and we watched parts of the movie "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" (which I had no clue actually existed prior to last week).

Easter is one of those holidays that really has no reason to come to a place like China... and it really hasn't. Religion aside, (at least where I am in Hangzhou) there is no endless winter and definite spring (it's been in the 70s for weeks now and it really only snowed a few days back in February), there is no love for super sweet candy or chocolate, and the Chinese don't really have a concept of doing things "for the fun of it" or "the beauty" behind things like Easter egg hunts or coloring Easter eggs. Eggs are made for eating... why on Earth are you coloring them? My students were slightly traumatized when I told them that colored eggs were more than safe to eat... I still don't think they fully trust me...

I finished my classes up on Thursday and had all day Friday to get into the Easter spirit.

Prior to meeting up with Adam for lunch, I biked down into our town to the grocery store and did some last minute shopping. My mom had brought me an Easter basket and had hidden it in my kitchen... It would just be wrong for me to have a basket and not Adam! I bought some of his favorite candies, cookies, and drink, and made him up an Easter basket (it was my very first time ever making up an Easter basket for anyone and I had so much fun doing it). I like to think that he enjoyed it ^_^

Friday night, Adam and I decided to stay in town instead of heading down town (we knew what we were getting into for the rest of the weekend and we wanted to have at least one night to relax). We joined forces with DH, I brought my egg coloring kit and he brought his cookie dough and we had a nice little Easter/Good Friday gathering. We colored probably 30 eggs (we're still finding glitter everywhere) and DH made his famous cake batter cookies. Combine that with some (not so) good wine, a movie, and good conversation and we had a nice, relaxing way to ring in the holiday weekend... The calm before the storm...

Saturday was the big day that we had been prepping our Chinese friends for--the big Easter camping trip! Many of our students have lived very sheltered lives and have barely even heard of camping (especially the ladies who are basically little precious China dolls). Sleeping outside, a fire, the cold, marshmallows... we filled their heads with everything that makes camping so great and so awful.

We met at James's apartment that usually seems so nice and spacious... but with easily 30 people filling the room, I quickly found my place in the back corner trying to get away from the crowd (Sadly, they don't have a library, a pet, or parents to sit with and talk to).

We ate dinner together and got them to color their own Easter eggs (the amount of "Oohs" and "Ahhs" coming from them when mine and Adam's eggs were unveiled made the glitter all worthwhile). The foreigners scurried around, trying to collect as many tents, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, and blankets as we could (Adam and I had our sleeping bags, pillows, and blanket packed deeply into my backpack where no one could find it... MWUAHAHA!!).

We piled on the backpacks, passed out sleeping bags and blankets, grabbed gallons of water and headed out the door, down the road, and up the hill to Laoheshan.

It was an interesting trek up the hill (I used to call them mountains but Nepal ruined that for me!!). It had stopped raining (for the time being) but it was already dark, the slope/steps were uneven and wet, we were all carrying a lot of supplies (I had two gallons of water in my bag... it was WAY heavier than what I carried through the Himalayas!), and I don't think our students are too active (most of them study, play video games, and watch Korean dramas... the most active they get is badminton or basketball) so about halfway up the hill, we were getting, "Can we take a break?" and "Can you slow down?" I was definitely kicking myself for not wearing a tank top... I was sweating when we took a break at the top! But Adam with his trusty headlamp on led the way through the dark and, eventually, we made it to the very top of the hill.

We quickly set to work setting up the tents so the girls could figure out who would be sleeping where. The Adams, DH, and I began putting up some of the tents before some of the girls came over, curious to learn how to pitch a tent. We quickly showed them what to do (since it's one of the easiest things to do) and they were excited to help. We got six tents up pretty quickly and I was proud to say that the top of Laoheshan quickly transformed into what looked like a hobo camp!

Next it was onto the most important thing after shelter (or before, in my opinion): fire. I've heard so much talk of fires in China (Adam and I had a failed attempt in a bucket on his balcony) and finally after almost eight months of living in China, I have finally had my first fire!! It took awhile to get going since it had been raining all day. Other Adam and I scrounged around to try and find dry(ish) fire wood and he was able to find enough to last us the night... the fun part was trying to get it to actually start burning. Sadly, we didn't have too much paper (some tissue and post-it notes) so eventually I busted out my eight page Life List and had them use that to start the fire... Seems fitting somehow.

How many men does it take...?

 Once the fire was finally going, the crowd gathered (not sure how many of them have had a fire outside before). We sang songs (nothing tests your memory like someone starting to sing "I've been working on the railroad"), told stories, taught them out to make s'mores (those did not last long AT ALL!), and we just sat around the fire with our umbrellas, refusing to let the rain chase us away.

Campfires, songs, food, an Easter egg hunt, and huddling under umbrellas... We lasted for about 4 hours in the rain before people began to pass out. Sadly, all the tents were filled with lovely Chinese ladies so the gents and the Americans got to sleep out in the open under the pagoda looking out over Hangzhou (you know, through the pollution). The room in the main pagoda quickly filled up with the gentlemen so myself, the Adams, and the Hannahs made our way back down the path to another pagoda and made up our little hobo camp. It wasn't much, but for the night it was home.

It was a long, uncomfortable night. The minute I rolled on my side and was laying on my hip, painful memories of National Holiday came flying back. At one point the rain was coming into the pagoda so I slithered down into a ball, cowering under my sleeping bag and my three layers of shirts (thanks for the third one Adam!).

Around 3am we had the oh so charming and subtle men of Hangzhou come up the mountain and start shouting while they did their (freakishly early) morning exercises... I wish there was a way for me to describe the noise in print but I can't. You could hear it coming up the path, get softer as the dude walked further away, and get loud again as he walked by where we were sleeping. Uffda... it was in that moment when I thought, "I think I could find my way back to James's apartment by myself... I wonder if they would let me in?"

Luckily morning came with a wave of old Chinese people who seriously have nothing better to do than wander up this hill at 5am and stare at us while we are slowly waking up... Glad we could add a bit of entertainment to their usual, monotonous morning routines...

We gathered back at the top of the hill for some much needed coffee... so needed, I even had some.

Gathering all of our equipment, we all headed back down the mountain, the old people watching the parade of crazy foreigners and the exhausted Chinese students carrying blankets and sleeping bags.

After a stop at McDonald's (remember: no judging!), the Adams, DH, and I returned to the warmth and crowded chaos that was James's apartment for a great Easter brunch complete with hard boiled eggs, DH's cookies, cinnamon rolls made by Karin, french toast made by Other Adam, and the famous "egg bake" that I have heard so much about from the Midwesterners.

It was an exhausting weekend. We were home by 1:30pm and I spent the majority of the rest of my Easter unconscious in my bed (sadly, I am the only one in our little group to work on Mondays and it stinks!!) but I did enjoy myself... even if it didn't really feel like a holiday.

Easter is a tough holiday for me. I haven't really felt too connected with the holiday for a few years. It was fun when I brought my college roommate, Miaomiao, home with me one year but that was the last memorable Easter I had. Last year, I worked and it was awful with so many crowds and people actually asking for "an Easter miracle" (this is Easter, not Christmas, mister)... This year didn't really feel like Easter but I did enjoy myself.

I hope everyone back home had a nice, blessed Easter surrounded by friends and family. That is one thing that being over here for so many holidays has shown me--how nice it is to be able to celebrate with your family... this distance has shown me how lucky I am to be blessed with my amazing family back home. Whether you celebrate the true meaning behind Easter or whether you just enjoy the feeling of winter turning into spring and sharing happy memories with your family, I hope you had a wonderful Easter.

Until Next Time,
Amanda 

When Worlds Collide: Part 5

Going Home

It had been a wild and crazy ride with visits to Shanghai and the Bund, Beijing with the Great Wall and Tienanmen Square, and Hangzhou with the tea fields, West Lake, and dirty ol' Cangqian. Mama Woomer had gone to meet both my post graduates and my freshmen. She met the wild and crazy Dave up in Beijing. She had been able to meet all of the FoC peeps... people who have had such a big role in my time in China. She was able to spend time with Adam, getting to know the man who has made my time in China thus far so wonderful and memorable. We had sung at KTV, drank our fair share of Chinese beers, and eaten our weight in street food. Our time was running out and soon it was time to say goodbye...

April 1st

We spent Monday (March 31st) up in Beijing and traveled back down to Hangzhou, arriving after 9 o'clock at night. We were exhausted but happy to be "home." The next morning (after we attempted to sleep in), we worked on getting Mama Woomer packed before going back into Cangqian one last time. 

We wandered around the town, going into the local grocery store (Mama Woomer fell in love with my body wash and had to get some bottles for herself), wandering through the wet market one last time, and turning off the main road to walk along the canal.

  

Cangqian is a very small town where everyone knows the laowai (all three of us). It's about a 20 minute bus ride to the edge of the city and I like to think that up until last year, it was pretty far removed from the hubbub of city life. There are wide open spaces, farmers, fields, and not a lot of traffic. But now, the university has moved it's way out here and businesses are beginning to spring up everywhere. There is construction and cranes everywhere you look and this quaint little town along the canal will soon be engulfed by the oncoming economic boom expanding out to Cangqian (and I admit, it does make me a little sad). So for that, I was glad that Mama Woomer got to wander along the canal and see Cangqian before Hangzhou devours it. 

That evening, we met up with Adam one last time. We could have gone anywhere for dinner: Panchos, Tiba, Papa John's, a nice place downtown... but in the end we went with what Mama Woomer had loved the most. Street food.

We left nice and early to make sure that all the good stuff was still there--bread, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, chicken, beef, niangao. We loaded our plates up with everything that we loved, grabbed some beers, and sat out on the street on our little orange plastic chairs, watching the world pass us by and just talking one last time. We relived some funny memories, told stories, talked about the weekend, and just enjoyed one another's company.

Before we knew it, Mama Woomer's last day in China had come and gone and it was soon time to say goodbye.

April 2nd

Waking up early, Mama Woomer and I hopped into a taxi cab and headed to the airport. It was about an hour long journey and we sat in silence just looking at the mountains as they passed by us, almost as though they were waving goodbye too. 

We arrived at the airport, checked her in with no problem, and killed time at McDonald's. Yes, Mama Woomer's China adventure began with a cup of McDonald's coffee and it ended with a cup of McDonald's coffee. 

We stood at security, waiting for the right moment to say goodbye and go our separate ways. Of course tears were shed as we hugged each other goodbye. After she passed through security, I started to cry too... and for a moment, I wished that I wasn't alone again...

 At the beginning of this series of posts, I mentioned that I had gotten mixed reviews from people who have had family come to visit. Some people loved it and others hated it. While it was exhausting to get up and do something everyday and yes, I did get grumpy every so often (this apartment is SMALL to share with two people), I admit that I did love having Mama Woomer here. 

My worlds have been separated for seven months now, and that was the way I liked it. But it will be so nice to be able to go back to America some day and have someone who understands when I talk about the buses or the traffic or the spitting or the loud talking or the potties or the street food. I will not be alone when I return home because someone else has experienced the same things that I have. 

It was so wonderful getting to show Mama Woomer to this new world that I've created for myself. Things like chopsticks, street food, bus rides, crossing the street, West Lake--I could go on and on--all of these things have become dull and the monotonous everyday aspects of my life; nothing special. I've taken living in China for granted (and there are even some things that I have grown to hate about living here)... But having someone new to show China to, helped to show me the wonder and ridiculousness that is China and that is my life. I never want to get used to anything. I never want anything in my life to grow dull and boring. Having Mama Woomer come here and see things with a new kind of awe helped to rekindle the excitement I feel about living in another country. That, on top of all the amazing, hilarious memories we were able to make together and with Adam made these last two weeks so worth it.

And so there you have it--an epic adventure of two weeks in China that spanned all of Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing has come to an end. Mama Woomer got to experience sights, sounds, tastes, and smells that many people never even dream of having. And I got to experience a whole new China through her eyes.

Miss you mama!!

Until Next Time,

Amanda

When Worlds Collide: Part 4

Beijing State of Mind

I think when people think of China, they either think of two things: the romantic, rolling hills covered in the mists straight out of Mulan OR cement buildings, crowds, traffic, and pollution. Both are very real... the more romantic version can be found in the south in places like Guilin and Yangshuo and the stark, kind of nasty version (if we're all being honest) version is in Beijing. It's true that Beijing is over crowded, dirty, and so polluted that it really can be hazardous to your health (my friend, Dave, just started using an inhaler due to the pollution) but there are also so many things to do and see in the city that it would be a sin to not stop by for at least a few days to visit.

March 28th

Saying, "Farewell!" to Adam, Mama Woomer and I packed our backpacks (that might have been a challenge for her!!) and headed downtown to the new Hangzhou train station for our six hour train ride to Beijing. Last time I went to Beijing, it was a 16 hour ride overnight on hard seats... Needless to say, I did not sleep at all and it could be one of the worst experiences I've had in China thus far (other than that awful flight from Dalian during National Holiday... read more here!). So when Mama Woomer was coming, I was more than willing to drop the 580元 on tickets for the fast train (one ticket, one way... ouch). 

We stopped off at McDonald's (remember: NO JUDGING!!) and killed about two hours by eating and wandering around the new train station (Seriously, it is too big to be a train station... but there is a Disney store, so I will let that go). Soon it was time to join the rabble in the clump that I'm sure was supposed to resemble a line but this is China and lines have not been invited yet. Following the herd, we found our train, found our seats (WINDOW!! Kind of...) and settled in with our water, cookies, and ramen. We talked nearly the whole time about lots of fun, exciting, different stuff (♥), watched the sun set, nibbled on some snacks, and read... and before we knew it, we had left Hangzhou way behind us and arrived in Beijing.

Mama Woomer's first bowl of ramen... EVER!!

We wandered around the train station, walking in circles a bit too long trying to find probably the only tall white guy in the whole place. Eventually found him--Dave--Mama Woomer got to meet him and I was finally reunited with my Disney twin. 

The moment Mama Woomer and Dave met, I knew it would be anatomic and energetic with some glitter thrown in just because. Mama Woomer is a whole lot of human. Dave is a whole lot of human. I liked pushing them together and just sitting back and listening (I admit, it was also nice to not have to be the only one entertaining anymore)! 

A taxi ride later, we were in Dave's beautiful apartment (I'm not bitter) and (despite the fact  that we had been traveling literally all day), we stayed up well past midnight just talking, laughing, and eating watermelon.

March 29th 

This was the day that any person who comes to China waits for--The Great Wall. Originally, I was thinking of taking Mama Woomer to Yangshuo to see the mountains but you cannot come to China and not see the Great Wall... So to Beijing it was. 

We went our separate ways from Dave for the day (he's as sick of the Great Wall as I am of West Lake) and, once again, I was in charge (oh no!!). I was confident in myself--the last time I went out to the Great Wall was super easy: Rachel, Dave, and I just hopped onto a bus, paid our 6元, and we went along on our merry way. Piece of cake!

Well apparently there is a difference between December and March... silly Amanda.

We found the bus that I had taken out to Badaling easily (too easy if you ask me now). We waited in an actual line (don't get to excited--there were metal barriers that forced people to wait in the line) for about 30 minutes, got on the bus and the driver asked us, "Where are you going?"

I wanted to say, "We're two white women... Where do you think we're going?!" but instead I replied, "The Great Wall."

"Wrong bus."

WHA?!? Excuse me? Cue a small rumble of panic in my stomach.

Mama Woomer and I pushed our way past the people still trying to get by us on the bus and began to wander around the bus stop (which is really just a glorified round about) searching for the right bus. We found another long line and someone who looked official kept saying, "Badaling," so I assumed we were in the right place... But there was no sign and no buses were coming. It had been almost an hour at this point. I left the line to wander around looking for a clue (I felt like I was on Scooby Doo) and eventually found one in the form of a sign that said 八达岭 ("Badaling"). Now, I can't read Chinese but I knew that the name of the part of the Wall that we were going to was Badaling and I know the Chinese character for "ba" so we left the second line we were in and got into the absolute longest line in the whole bus stop. 

There are too many people in China...

Luckily the line moved quickly(ish), we had cute kids selling flags for 1元 (I still wish I had bought one), and an overly enthusiastic man selling corn on the cob (aka: the most monotone human being I have ever heard on this glorious planet).  After about an hour of waiting in that line, we made it onto the bus, we got seats, and we got seats together. Uffda!

 My goal was to get to the Great Wall by 12:00pm... Our bus didn't even leave the bus stop until 12:15pm. Throw in some bad traffic and we had about only two hours to climb up, see, explore, and come down from the Wall before the last bus left and rush hour traffic started.

But the Woomer Women are hearty stock and we marched our way past meandering tourists and hiked our way up the Wall, calling out 加油 (Jiāyóu... "You can do it!!") to all the out of shape Chinese tourists huffing and puffing, and found some perfect spots for photo ops!

  

I think I take living in China for granted a lot. I spend so much time with Adam and the other foreigners; we go from one person's apartment to another and from one Western restaurant to another. It's moments like riding your bike down Wen Yi in the middle of the night with no cars, drinking beers and eating your weight in niangao, having strangers come up and ask to take photos with you that remind you that you and Toto are not in Kansas anymore. The Great Wall does that for me too... It is this big, ancient, mysterious thing that has loomed in the imagination of my childhood; it is something that people only dream of seeing one day and there I was seeing it for a second time. It makes me love China and it makes me love my life.

Coming down was way more fun than going up. Badaling (and some of the other Great Wall locations) have fun little attractions to help you up and down and at Badaling, they have (what they call) the "Sliding Cars." It is basically a completely unsafe roller coaster on an uneven track with rusty cars that you sit in with a bar that kind of just sits across your lap, encouraging you to stay seated. I had done it when I first visited Badaling in 2012 and enjoyed it so much that Mama Woomer knew it was there and she wanted to do it too... Of course we got the sketchiest cars and it was just as awesome as I remember (though WAY warmer).

At the bottom of the track there is a great little market area selling photos, food, toys, kitschy merchandise, drinks, Tshirts... they even have bears (random)! We stopped and grabbed some food (Chinese hamburgers) and some sesame toffy that we watched them make. Hopping back on the bus we made it back to Beijing just in time for dinner.

Meeting back up with Dave and some of his other friends, we went to one of their favorite things--hot pot!! If you are thinking back to Mama Woomer's first night in China (You can read all about THAT, here) and the hot pot we went to then... THINK AGAIN!! This was a super nice, super delicious hot pot with your own personal pot with the flavor you want (spicy all the way), you order SO much food (meat, glorious meat), and you mix and make your own dipping sauce (I could drink that stuff). While there, we got Mama Woomer to try duck blood and baijiu (nasty disgusting alcohol that you could clean with). One she liked, one she did not like... You be the judge.

After dinner, the night was still young and it was time to introduce Mama Woomer to the magic that is KTV. For those of you who don't know, KTV is just like karaoke BUT instead of singing in the middle of a bar in front of strangers, you get a private room with just you and your friends; sometimes they're really nice and fancy with comfy couches, tables strong enough to dance on, and lights everywhere. She knows that I enjoy going out to KTV with Rachel, Becky, and some of my other friends from Oswego but she had never had the chance to experience it herself... and where else could be better than China?! ABBA, Queen, Backstreet Boys, Ke$ha, Lady Gaga... it was a night filled with white guys rapping, people banging on tambourines off beat, and a finale of "Hey Jude" that would have made Sir Paul proud... I think mom's first KTV experience was a hit! {PS: And absolutely NO alcohol was consumed during KTV... Impressive!!}

March 30th

With the Great Wall out of the way, Sunday was a day of epic sightseeing in Beijing. The day started perfectly with a breakfast that would make any expat miss America... Pancakes and eggs and bacon and hot chocolate... I felt as though I was at Denny's!! I've been pretty good with not missing America TOO much (why open that painful door if I know I can't get any decent American food [especially breakfast food] for another year?!), I've been able to survive on Papa John's and Burger King for the last seven months now... But those pancakes were a gift from above.

 Once again, the ladies split from Dave and we headed to the other place that every foreigner must visit if they are ever in Beijing. Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. 

Now I am not too familiar with Tienanmen Square (it happened before I was born and let's be honest--I might get arrested if I try to look up more information over here). Today, it's a huge wide open space with lots of government buildings, vendors, photographers, and the mausoleum of Chairman Mao. As we first set foot in the Square, Mama Woomer was definitely in awe. I love going to places that I've been before and seeing them anew through the eyes of my companions (I just felt like Doctor Who writing that). Sadly, the mausoleum with our good friend Chairman Mao was closed--I went inside in 2012 to see Mao and I would have gone in again but alas... Maybe next time!!

Directly across the dangerously busy street, is a huge image of Chairman Mao's face plastered right on the gate of the Forbidden City (I have a lot of feelings on that matter but I better not post them openly on the internet over here... if you know what I mean... *cough*Bigbrotheriswatchingyou*cough* 

The last time I visited the Forbidden City, it was cold (the coldest I have ever been and that is saying something having lived in Buffalo, studied in Oswego, and visited Quebec in February) and I was miserable because of the cold. So to go back when the sun was shining (yes the sky was blue and the sun was shining in Beijing while we were there... the jealousy you feel is natural and will soon pass...) and the fact that the weather did not force me to wear a scarf, earmuffs, and two pairs of gloves made me a happy little Amanda.

The Forbidden City is huge. 

There. That's it.

 

But seriously, they're not kidding when they call it a city. It just keeps going and going and going and all the buildings look the same (seriously, I've gone twice now and I will probably never go again). Yes the buildings a beautiful and yes the history is old and rich but 40元 to walk around a huge courtyard, look at 150 buildings that look identical, avoid pickpockets and crazy "tour guides", and trying to find the exit is just not worth it to me anymore.

That being said, I do love rubbing the knobs for good luck as you enter (I'm a total sucker for things that are supposed to bring you luck) (Yes, I am aware of just how awful "rubbing the knobs" sounds). I love that, because the Forbidden City is so big, the crowds don't seem to be too bad. And the Imperial Gardens are absolutely beautiful and my favorite part (plus how can you not love the name "Hill of Accumulated Elegance"?!?).

 Still having a little time left before we had to meet back up with Dave for dinner, we hopped back on the metro and headed to the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium. It really is beautiful (though there is literally nothing to do there). In 2012, when I went there for the first time, I went for Aunt Sue and this time in 2014, Mama Woomer also went for Aunt Sue (she's an Olympics fan if you can't tell)! We had just enough time to run up to it, snap some pictures, and turn back around to head back to Beijing Normal University.

Taking a cab for literally 12 seconds (don't ask), we picked up Dave and headed out to one of his favorite places to eat Guizhou cuisine. 

When you eat with Dave, you eat a lot--you are never short on food--and that night was a veritable feast. I still don't know what half of the things we ate were, but there is one thing that I am 100% sure of... You might want to skip the next paragraph in fear of hating me forever.

One thing that many people who come to live in China say that they want to try... is dog. It's a stereotype in America that people in Asia eat dog and stereotypes do come from somewhere. However, I can tell you that in Hangzhou, it is not very common (many of my students seemed traumatized when I told them that I had tried it), however it is available and many expats seek it out to be able to try it. So you might think that we are cruel and disgusting but, honestly, I don't think that we are the minority when it comes to trying dog... not one expat  that I have met has said that they did not want to try it and everyone that I have talked to who has tried it, liked it. It tasted like a very smoky venison. I'm still not sure of whether or not I liked it... but I did keep eating it. And I'm sure I'll have it again since Adam hasn't gotten to try it yet... Oh the things we do for love...

The jury is still out...

 We digested our dinner of dog and other Guizhou delicacies by walking around one of the lakes of Beijing (yes, apparently it has lakes... Though not THE West Lake) and spending a few hours on top of a rooftop cafe. 

A great end to a great time up in Beijing. I got to show Mama Woomer around some of the iconic places in China (and maybe even the world), I got to try some amazing new foods, I got to hang out with one of the funnest guys I've ever met (thanks again for letting us crash with you, Dave!), I got my KTV fix, and I think we ended Mama Woomer's China adventure on quite the high note... 

Only a few days remained in China...

Until Next Time,

Amanda 

Thanks, Dave!!