More Pictures from China

Trip to a Heifer International Village.

Now in Beijing!

We made it to Beijing, but for a while, I wasn’t sure we were going to make it at all. We flew from Shangri La to a bigger airport in Kunming for a 3-hour layover. No problem. Well we get on the plane headed for Beijing and wait and wait and wait for an hour sitting on the tarmac with no water and no air!!! It was incredibly hot and one member of our group started to pass out!!! They finally tell us Beijing has shut down due to the weather, so we get of the plane and wait. Then they get us back on the plane just to wait another hour and a half with no water and no air again!!!! We finally got to Beijing at 2am. When we get there our driver is a no show, so we rent taxi’s and get to the hotel about 3:30am!!

It was all worth it though when we went to one of the Heifer Int’l villages yesterday. Wow, is all I have to say. The village met us with drums and dancers and led the way announcing we had arrived as we marched into the village. When we got to the top, the entire village was there to greet us. They were ecstatic. They showed us their schools, their homes, their land, and truly opened their hearts to us. The school children were all lined up and singing for us when we arrived. I’m sure none of you are surprised that I cried a bit. I just can’t describe the overwhelming feeling of gratitude, humility, thankfulness, and awe that these people gave to me. They have so little while we have so much. It was truly a life changing experience and one that I want my family, students, and children to experience for themselves. Now I just have to figure out how to show all I have learned and experienced here back home. I’m still trying to grasp all of it myself.

Tomorrow we go to the Great Wall, Saturday we go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, and then Sunday we come home!!!!!

Good Morning from the Himalayas!

Good morning from the Himalayas. Yesterday we were in the foothills, today we are up in the Himalayas at Zhongdian, but it is also known as Shangri La from an old 60’s book/movie. It is definitely beautiful up here! The drive was incredible. It’s much colder here than I thought it would be, so I’m all bundled up!! I really wish I had a heavier jacket, but I’m not sure where I’d pack it. My suitcase is filled and starting to bulge over with souvenirs!

We visited one of China’s national parks while we were here in Shangri La. We saw horses, yak, and pigs all roaming free in the countryside. The Yak were very close to us just munching on some tasty grass. As we hiked through the hills, we saw some of the most beautiful scenery in the world…literally. It’s amazing to be able say that I’ve been in the Himalayas and even hiked there! Too cool! The altitude was not fun, however. By the time I finished my 3-mile hike I thought I might pass out. People were carrying cans of oxygen with them if that tells you anything!

There really aren’t many words to describe the beauty I’ve seen here. When we were in Lijiang, we climbed up a huge hill to see an incredible Camellia tree that is very special to the city. Then hiking in the Himalayas, well, it’s almost been a spiritual retreat in a way. Seeing all of God’s overwhelming beauty that is just boundless and endless has once again awed me. I can say I have felt all the prayers and the Lord’s presence while I’ve been traveling here. Thank you to all those who have been praying and please continue to do so.

Now of course no blog would be complete without a typical Melissa goof up, so here’s another one for you. While we were in Lijiang, I was dying for some Western food. I’m not a fan of Chinese food in the US, but I’ve been trying to at least try different types of food here. I have found a few things that I like here, but I sure do miss Mexican food. On the way home, I want rice with cheese dip and a taco!! I’m calling it in!! In my quest for Western food, I really goofed. Amy and I were eating dinner with a bunch of our group when we saw “Wild River Shrimp” and “Onion Rings” on the menu. We thought BINGO!!! Now I should mention that Lijiang is nowhere near the ocean…and river shrimp? What was I thinking?!? Well we each order a plate of shrimp and out comes the tiniest shrimp you’ve ever seen with eyes, shells, tails- the whole thing fried without batter!! They are just crispy little creatures that shrank when they were fried to a crisp. I did try one then immediately spit it out. Our guide was just laughing hysterically when she said “And you guys thought you were getting Long John Silver’s didn’t you!!” Oh well, the onion rings were all right, but not quite American!

More Pictures from China

Lijiang, China. Those are the Himalayas in the background.

Panda Reserve outside of Chengdu.

Ni Haio from China

Ni Haio or Hello from China!

Well I was wrong about Lijiang, we do have internet. It’s been soo nice to be able to talk to Brett and email pictures home. I think I’ve said this with every blog, but so far Lijiang is my favorite. Lijiang is a much smaller town (around 70,000 – small for China) located in the foothills of the Himalayas. I woke up in Himalayas this morning….how cool is that!! Definitely, a dream come true. The altitude got to me the first day, and I had a horrendous headache!!! I’m feeling better now, but tomorrow we take a 5-hour bus ride to a smaller city higher in the mountains. We will be going an additional 7-8,000 feet to arrive at about 15,000 feet. For an Arkansas girl, this is tough. I don’t do altitude well, so say a prayer for me.

While we’ve been in Lijiang, we have gotten to see hundreds of people in their traditional Chinese dress. The majority of the people living in China are the Han people, everyday Chinese. However, there are also around 53-57 minority groups that are very distinct in their dress, customs, and religion. It has been fascinating to see at least 23 of the different minorities in this area. I’m very excited about going to the Tibetan region tomorrow and seeing their dress and traditions as well. We have mainly focused on the Na Xi (nashi) people while in Lijiang. Their food is by far the best I’ve had in China, and I have enjoyed every meal unbelievably!!! With that said, they say the food in our next town is not so great!! Lijiang is also known as a Chinese tourist area, and we have been shopping like crazy!! I have bought so much stuff it’s ridiculous!! Now I’m trying to figure out how to get all back home!!

I can’t even begin to describe the beauty of Lijiang. The mountains, the different minority groups in their traditional dress, the ornate buildings…when you think of China, this is what pops in mind. The pictures don’t do this place any justice whatsoever!! The tour guides say Zhongdian, our next town, is even more beautiful. Zhongdian is more commonly known as Shangri La. Apparently there was a popular book/movie made about this place in the 60’s. I had never heard of the place, so I bought the book to read. Several of the older group members were ecstatic when they found out we were going to Shangri La, so I guess that’s good.

On a different not the people here love me. I’ve had several people stop me in the streets to have their pictures made with me. An older woman kept patting her cheeks and just smiling, so these big ol’ cheeks of mine are making me a rock star. Another woman kept pointing to my curly hair – very unusual for this part of the world. Then another girl today kept making gestures to her eyes and then to my eyes and kept giving me thumbs up sign and smiling, so I’m pretty sure she liked my eyes. It’s been so funny. Then when I pass these people on the street again, they just think we’re old friends. We smile, wave, laugh, and move on! Too cute!! I’m a rock star! :0)

This time I really don’t think I’ll have email because where we are going is very remote and way up in the Himalayas, but I’ve been wrong before. On Tuesday, we fly to Beijing and then home on Sunday. The time has flown by, and yet it seems like we’ve been here forever. I know that’s an oxymoron, but it is the way I feel. This trip has truly been a dream come true. I never thought I would ever be able to see and visit these places in a million years. Brett and I are definitely coming back to Lijiang!!! More to come soon!

Update from China (last for a while)

Wow! What to say about these past few days?? On Monday and Tuesday, we went to visit the schools and it was amazing! (Forgive my grammar at the moment I don’t care!) The kids were sooo ecstatic. All they wanted to do was take their picture with us and hug us! They kept telling us how much they loved our eyes and how beautiful we were. We visited 4 schools in all. The schools were actually on holiday, but they came in just to visit us. I can’t think of many schools that would do that in the US. At the first school we visited, the kids had different stations set up to show us how to write Chinese characters, make origami, t-shirts, and many others. They gave us at least one of the crafts they made and several other beautiful gifts. The other schools gave us gifts as well and were equally as kind. I can’t even begin to describe the awe the schools have for us. Education is a priority in China and teachers are very respected. Since we were American teachers they treated us like rock stars!! It was nice to be so appreciated for what we do. We were soo tired after the school visits, it’s harder being a celebrity than I thought! :0)

Last night we went to see the Sichuan Opera. It was great, but nothing like the traditional opera I expected. They had ornate costumes, fire breathers, Chinese shadow puppets, and music solos. All were amazing. As I mentioned earlier we are in Sichuan, and the food is SO hot. It’s not like the Mexican spicy we are used to back home it’s very different. It is so hot it numbs your tongue and burns your lips. I like spicy, but this is not even edible to me! We also experienced a hot pot for the first time today and it was….well, an experience. They actually put a pot in front of you and light a fire underneath it. Then in front of you a rotating table sends by all kinds of raw foods. You choose the food you want and boil it in your hot pot. Sounds good right? Well there was lettuce and shrimp (not bad), but the brains and guts were a bit too gross for my taste. I kid you not they had fresh brain, liver, guts, stomach lining, fish skin, etc. It was all I could do not to vomit!! As for dinner we had KFC. One of our tour guides told us “The kids [here] know the Colonel”! Last night we had Pizza Hut and the night before McDonald’s, so at least dinner is yummy. The Pizza Hut was out of control. They had pizza and pasta of course, but they also had steak, potatoes, all kinds of nice desserts, ostrich pizza, seafood pizza and other stuff you wouldn’t believe! The restaurants are soo nice too. The fast food restaurants are some of the nicer places I’ve eaten.

We’ve been to a lot of museums too and I am museumed out! I did a three story museum in 30 minutes if that tells you anything! BUT today….we saw the pandas!!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! IT WAS AMAZING. I have so many pictures I don’t know where to start. There were a ton of pandas and they were playing and wrestling, too cute! It has definitely been a highlight.

Tomorrow we fly out early!!! We have to have our bags downstairs at 6 and are leaving at 6:45!! We fly to Lijiang, which is a very remote part of China in the Yunan Province. We will be very close to Tibet and Burma. Then on Sunday, we take a 4-5 hour bus ride to Zhongdian, which is even more remote. The cities are only about 100 miles away, but the roads are apparently really bad. If it has rained recently the roads may have washed out and we may not even get to go. The area is heavily Tibetan, so I’m soo excited to see it! They said we will get to see a lot of authentic minority groups. The only downside is that we will not have internet or phone service. I won’t get to call Brett on our anniversary Monday or my daddy on Father’s Day.

I'll be able to update you all again when I get to Beijing next week probably sometime Tuesday.

Report from Chengdu, China (New Pictures Below)

Yesterday, Saturday, we went to see the life-size Terracotta warriors. They were AMAZING! I didn’t realize it was one of the eight wonders of the world, but that’s what the sign said. It’s really hard to put into words what it was like. After the terracotta soldiers, we went to a Muslim Mosque which was fascinating. Then we went to shop at the Muslim bazaar. Bargaining is the custom over here, and I have found I am quite the bargainer. I bought a couple of souvenirs for Brett, and the cutest outfit you have ever seen for my soon to be nephew!!! (I guess that ruins the surprise Kris, but it’s too cute!) We then went to a jade factory, and I bought myself a lovely pair of earrings. Finally, we had a dumpling banquet which consisted of eight appetizers, 18 types of dumplings, soup, and a cookie. I can honestly say it was the worst meal I’ve had since I’ve been here, but it is the tradition in Xi’an. I’m glad I got to do it, but the granola bar after was even better. The good news is I think I’m losing a little weight!!

Today we flew to Cheng Du in the Sichuan province. Of course, it’s another huge city with millions of people, but very different from the other cities we’ve visited. It is not really a tourist attraction and very little English is known or spoken by the locals. Tibetans also heavily influence Cheng Du and we’ve already seen several of them. Very cool!

I have to share a story about the flight to Cheng Du today! I was the first American/white person on the plane. Remember Cheng Du is not a tourist area so everyone was staring at me. None of my other group members had boarded yet. As I found my seat, it was next to two young Chinese men. As soon as I sat down everyone started snickering, turning around, and even taking pictures!!! Halfway into the flight one of the men started talking to me in Chinese, but of course I couldn’t understand him. A little later, I could hear them practicing very broken English. Then they handed me a paper that said “Do you speak Chinese? What country from? Welcome to China!!” I cracked up it was so cute! Then we tried to talk with very broken English. I did find out they were on vacation, but that was a hard word to translate. It took three rows of Chinese passengers to figure it out; by the end, they were all smiling and waving at me! I told them I was a teacher and they thought that was exciting. Finally they wrote me another note that said “Nice to see you have a nice trip!” Then we all took pictures together and waved goodbye. I loved that interaction and look forward to more. I seriously felt like a rockstar! Ha!

Tomorrow we start the school visits, but this is the time of the Dragonboat festival, a huge holiday in China. The kids are actually out of school, but would you believe... not only the admin and teachers are coming back, but also the students are going to go to school tomorrow just because we are visiting. They think it’s such an honor to meet Americans. I just can’t get over the concept we have of the Chinese in America, it is so different from what we are experiencing. They are by far the kindest people I have met.

More Pictures from China

This is called a Pagoda I think. It is part of the Muslim Mosque.

I got to see the Terracotta Warriors! It is pretty stinkin' amazing.

Terracotta Warriors.

Dinner. Those are noodles and they were not good...at all.

More Pictures from China

In front of the Shanghai Skyline

Getting Ice Cream

At a traditional Chinese Garden.

Now in Xianyang, China

We flew to Xianyang today. You know you've been in China a while when you say you're going to a smaller city and it still has 9 million people in it. The plane ride was a little bumpy with a lot of side-to-side and up and down jerks. I got pretty sick but I survived. However the nausea could have also come from the breakfast they served on the plane. Take a look at the menu.

Rice Soup - yeah...not so good

Watermelon - yummo

Pickled Something Yellow - gagged when I tried it

Bamboo Shoots - You're eating a tree...enough said

Something Green - Still not sure what it was, but not good

Preserved Pigeon Eggs - I must admit...I didn't try it but they felt like eyeballs and were blackish and purple

I had my first Chinese bathroom experience. Besides nearly vomiting from the smell of the bathrooms, I had to hold my skirt, backpack, passport, and undies while avoiding the urine wet floors without soaking myself. I was dry when I left, but it was an experience to say the least.

We went to the Xianyang museum and saw a lot of mini terracotta soldiers unearthed from the Qing Dynasty, but we get to see the really big, life size terracotta soldiers tomorrow from the Han Dynasty. I can't wait!! As we were waiting for the group tour to finish several of us started people watching. It was sooo funny because we were taking pictures of the Chinese, but they were taking pictures of us and staring at the same time! They thought we were something else.

Next we had ice cream from a local vendor with some of the locals. I guess ice cream and happiness are universal. We all just smiled and laughed at one another...VERY cool. It's amazing when all the stereotypes are removed how similar we all really are. After our ice cream treat we bought some local artwork and headed to the hotel.

The hotel is great but the water smells awful! You can't drink any tap water anywhere in China. Even the locals don't drink it. Amy and I had to wash some of our clothes so we took turns washing them in the bathtub. The problem is the water smells like poo! And I'm not talking about Winnie! We had to shower in it, but at least you don't stink like BO when you get out.

We all decided to walk around the city and have a look. We found a WALMART! So of course we took pictures and went inside. It's very different from stores in the US but it was a cool experience. Amy, Sharon, and I decided we didn't want to eat Chinese again tonight so we started looking for a Pizza Hutt which was rumored to be in the area. An hour and 45 minutes later we gave up and came back to the hotel. The hotel ended up having a western restaurant and it was yummy! I ordered minestrone soup and oh my goodness it never tasted soooo good. I also got bread and butter....divine is all I can say.

Tomorrow we visit the Terracotta Soldiers and a Muslim mosque. I'm very interested in that. I think it will be really cool, but it is going to be a long day. Sunday we fly to Chengdu to prepare for the school visits and the Dragon Festival. The Dragon Festival is a huge nationwide festival that is supposed to be awesome, so we're lucky to be here for that.

Another Day in Shanghai

Well everything is going fine here! It's early Thursday morning and we are going to a museum today and then to the 2010 World Expo. The World Expo will be very crowded....400,000 a day! I'm not sure how I will like this since I don't normally like large crowds. The 2010 World Expo is basically like the modern day world's fair, they said over 700 milliion will see it while it is here. I guess we are lucky we get to see it!

As I mentioned in the previous post yesterday was a lot of fun...and the most fun was shopping! We went shopping for silk and pearls!! I had a GREAT time shopping :0). At the silk factor we got to see the silk worms munching away on mulberry leaves. I have video of that and I'll try and post it when I get back. Uploading pictures from over here takes a long time so I'm sure it would take forever for the video. The food is definitely.....interesting. Breakfast is the best meal of the day which so far has included fried eggs and bacon. I'm not really a fan of lunch or dinner. It seems like it always has a certain smell to it that makes me lose my appetite. The rice noodles are good though. They have a garlicky taste.

A few things have really surprised me. One of the not so good surprises is the smell in the streets. But the people here are really nice. The kids learn English in school and whenever they see us they like to try and practice. It is so cute.

Friday morning we are flying out to Xian. We will get to see the Terracotta Soldiers which I'm really excited about. Also the smog ought to be better in Xian which will be a welcome change. My eyes are burning by the end of the day here in Shanghai. It always looks foggy but it is really just the smog. It has been raining which apparently helps with the smog, so I can't imagine how bad it would be otherwise. However everything is still beautiful here. It almost seems unreal and I have to keep saying "I'm in China, I"m in China" . It still seems all so surreal. Well, more to come soon!

Shanghai, China

I safely made it to China. The flight was long but I was able to sleep some and going over the arctic circle was cool. This picture was taken as we were flying over the arctic circle. Welcome to the top of the World!

We landed in Shanghai Monday afternoon. It has only been a day and a half but we've already done so much including: visit the Shanghai Riverfront, visited a Christian Church that was cool, went to a 500 year old traditional Chinese Garden, visited a jade Buddha temple and saw an actual Buddha ceremony, saw a Chinese acrobat show, and of course a little shopping. Next is a picture of a city market in Shanghai. You can see about 30 of the 20 million people that live in Shanghai!

Shanghai is a very large city. It was raining today so they say it didn't seem as crowded as it normally does and when you're down in the middle of it, it doesn't seem much different than being downtown in any other major city. There are some differences though. The smog is awful plus everyone here smokes. A lot of the streets smell like sewer too and makes you gag a little. That was only in certain parts and the experience is well worth it. There will be more pictures soon but below is a picture I took of the Shanghai skyline.

**Please note that Brett typed this for me so if there are any grammar or spelling errors they're his.

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Cooking Away

Today Brett told me he would just "scrounge around" for food these next three weeks!! Sheesh, he would be sick as a dog by the time I got home, so tonight I cooked and froze dinners for him. I made spaghetti, hamburger helper, taco soup, and tomorrow I'm making roast!

It's getting closer...I can faintly hear the Indiana Jones music playing in the background!!

Packing

Well, this is my first post! I will be leaving EARLY Monday morning to fly to Shanghai! I'm hoping I'll be able to post while I'm in China to keep everyone updated (not that my mom is worried or anything HA!) I'm getting excited, but a little nervous as well!