Jen: First Adventure Has Come to A Close

Hello everyone!

I'll bet your surprised to see another entry so late in the game but I wanted to write one final post I suppose. I just got back from my missions trip in Japan and Korea last night and I think I beat jetlag already!

My trip in China was a dream come true! I met so many people and had so many experiences. Climbing The Great Wall and living in a university were just some of the highlights! There are so many things I forgot to write about in blog entries or those I didn't have time for but it was all so great! I'm definitely going back and hopefully sooner than later. It's cool knowing that I have friends from all over the world now. 

They say culture shock is worse coming back to your home country and I really think that's true. China, Japan and Korea are really smart countries. They have really great transportation, food, and housing systems that I wish were possible in Canada but we just don't have the population for it. I miss the food (even the things I didn't like). Guess I'll be making trips to our Asian Food stores now aha. I have to get use to certain items not being available at my leisure (like free packets of tissue handed out on the streets and onigiri) but someday I'll go back again!

My final thoughts are that I have a good idea as to what sort of life I will live once I am ready to Teach Abroad. By going to three major Asian countries this summer I got a taste of what living in each on is like. There are a lot of things I'm looking forward to (some that I'm not) but either way I'm excited for the future! I even have in mind a few schools that I might want to apply to someday! 

On that note, I'm gonna go apply for a summer job now. Over and out!

~ Jen Collins

Jen: The Great Big Wall of China

So. We did it! We did all 3 big tourist areas of China. The Tian'anmen Square, The Forbidden Palace and the Great Wall of China! The Tian'anmen Square was a little underwhelming. There was the Chairman Mao image that many people go to see everyday. His body is still there and China has part of their budget set to restore his body every year. The line takes about 3 hours so nope. Didn't do it. The Forbidden Palace was pretty crowded and a lot of the buildings look similar but the rooms that I did see were good. I can't imagine what the area would look like before all the tourism. I heard 18 Emperors lived there! I've also heard they film movies there! There are night walks you can do for ￥180. And also Peking Opera.... Which is tempting. 
Lastly was the Great Wall. I guess I was suppose to wait for Rebecca but Alex ran up ahead and I knew we would walk at a  more similar pace. So sorry not sorry Rebecca! Maybe we'll come back again someday! I climbed way too many stairs today. But it was worse going down.

-Jen

Jen: My Partners for SEPP

So we're in Beijing now! Leaving Hangzhou was actually one of the hardest things. I didn't really get to know my conversation partners til the very end but every moment counted! I had a bunch of partners but they're very involved on campus so they couldn't come to meetings a lot. They're like me. Busy all the time always. My girls were Alice and Yuki. They're roomates and they're adorable. I gave them little polar bear figures and in return I got an Opera themed bookmark and a little purse. And they sent me little note cards! I've been told that writing postcards is a big thing in China for students when they go travelling. As for the guys, there was: Damon，a really talented dancer; Jiaoqiao, a really good soccer player who sings KTV off-key but proudly; Jungle, a shy guy with the coolest name ever; Sun, a student council member who also likes Peking Opera! Last of all I met Eric who is into History, Japanese culture, Travelling and doesn't mind walking around and talking. He's like a Chinese male version of me! I'll miss all of the people I've met here. I hope I'll see some of them again. I may even go back to that University again. It was a nice place. The ones in the surrounding area were pretty similar to that one too. AKA the one that me and Rebecca got lost in trying to find our uni...

-Jen

Rebecca: Goodbye China!

It's the saddest day of the trip - I don't want to leave yet! I had so many adventures in China, from KTV to squat toilets to getting hopelessly lost in Beijing. I climbed the Great Wall (and my entire body still aches) and took a boat tour around a water town, I ate deep fried bananas (new favourite food!) and haggled at a night market. I guess I can't really stay in China, since I literally have enough money for today's meals and that's it, but I'm sure I'd figure something out. 

I'm trying to pick a highlight of the trip, but I really can't decide. The trip itself was probably one of the highlights of my life. And at the risk of sounding sappy, I'm so glad Jen was on the trip with me. Having good friends to joke around with the whole way made everything so much better (that includes you, Steven). It wouldn't have been the same without late-night card games and exchanging unflattering candid photos of each other.

Our plane leaves at 6pm tonight, so I'll be back in Toronto at 6:45pm after a 12 hour flight (wrap your head around that one). It is quite literally going to be the longest Monday of my life. After I land in Toronto I've got another two hour flight to get home, so I'm going to be exhausted. I might have to sleep for a week or so. 

Anyway, I better get out and enjoy the last I'm going to be seeing of China for a while. I need to get me some more street food! Hopefully that little stand is still outside our hostel... 

See you at home!

-Rebecca

Rebecca: Beijing Impressions

As if apologizing for the grey and rainy skies over the last few days, our last morning in Hangzhou was sunny and the sky was at least partly blue. We said our goodbyes to our conversation partners yesterday, then left early this morning. It was just a short flight from Hangzhou airport to Beijing, then another bus ride to our hostel.

Every city we've been to has been vastly different. Shanghai was really Westernized, with lots of bright lights and English speakers. Hangzhou was full of trees and super clean. Beijing is... dingier, I guess. The streets aren't as clean, the buildings aren't as colourful and the air is thick with smog. Maybe it's just the area we're in right now - our hostel is right downtown. It's a good location, though. There's a subway station literally right outside our door, and lots of little restaurants and things nearby. 

I don't have a lot to write about today, since we spent most of the day travelling. I realized China has changed my tastes quite a bit. I ate some noodles that were pretty spicy today, and I really liked them. China has cured me of my pickiness - I'm still not super adventurous with food, but I'll eat just about anything you put in front of me. (Yes, Mom, that means you can cook whatever you want and I'll probably eat it.)

Saying goodbye to the university was sad, but hopefully we'll have lots more adventures here in Beijing!

-Rebecca

Rebecca: We Learn From an Airbending Master and Become Pop Stars

Sorry again about the sporadic updates - everything seems to conspire against letting us access the blog. We're not trying to ignore it, really. I wrote this on Monday, but I couldn't post it until now.

I know my post titles can be pretty sensational, but today really was a great day. We had Tai Ji class in the morning, and our teacher was pretty cool. He didn't speak English, but he taught us through a translator. A lot of the moves looked like he was airbending (er... it's from a show? I don't really know how to explain it), so I was impressed. Doing Tai Ji makes me feel cool and actually slightly coordinated for once. 

We also heard a story about a corpse found on campus a couple years ago. It was kind of creepy - the campus does have some sketchy parking garages and underground areas, and walking through them can be scary. For the most part, though, it's very safe. There are gates and guards everywhere - it's a common thing in China. It's not that the country is dangerous, it's just a thing they do. 

And then we became pop sensations! That's a lie, we actually just sang karaoke. They call it KTV here, and it's a bit different from North American Karaoke. You go with a group (Jen and I went with some of our Chinese conversation partners) and you get a little room with couches and a karaoke machine all to yourself. We had so much fun! There were a lot of English songs, although most of them were either old (we sang some Beatles) or by super popular people, like Rihanna or Taylor Swift. Jen even sang some Mandarin songs (I have audio recordings, so there's proof)! Normally I don't like singing in front of people, but it was no problem here. Chinese people have a different sort of opinion about singing. Everyone sings, even if they're not that good. You hear people randomly singing on the streets all over, and KTV is hugely popular (and really cheap). No one minds if you go off-key a little or miss a line, so that makes KTV really awesome instead of nerve-wracking.

It's almost time for us to fly to Beijing for our final weekend before we go home. I keep half-joking that I might just hide in someone's dorm and stay here. Really the only thing stopping me is that I miss all you guys at home a lot (I haven't been home since Christmas; the school semester plus this trip makes it the longest I've ever been away), and I guess the fact that I've already committed to my job back home. But in two years, when I get my degree and my TESL certificate, I'm either coming back here, or maybe to Japan or Korea or Indonesia, and finding myself a job in this incredible, crazy, terrifying and wonderful part of the world.

Now if only the flight weren't so painfully long...

Jen: In Which I sing for a crowd of Chinese Students in a Costume

Today started out pretty slow because we didn't have class. Me and Rebecca had the most delicious breakfast ever! I can't believe I like greasy toast but you don't understand. It's sooooo goood dipped in soy milk.
I also had a soy beverage which I thought was yogurt but it was aight. China has cool fruit! Including this berry that costs 1￥ per berry. That's pretty expensive. But there better then any fruit I've ever had. The fruit is sweet here and not too acidic. Pineapple on a stick is a staple on campus! Mmm!
Alright enough salivating.

After breakfast I went to see some sports events at the stadium. There were tonnes of races. It seems to be perfectly okay if you fall over after your leg of the race. I hope the runners stay hydrated. The Chinese students with me cheered for their team so I joined in with a loud 加油!! All of the classes have their own cheers. I want to learn one. Heehee. Maybe next time. Even the professors get involved in relay races. One of the profs lost his shoe mid run. It was unfortunate but hilarious! Even an old teacher ran in the final leg. Really impressive.
After a short break of street food we headed back to the dorm to practice for tonight's performance. Performance you say?  I was asked to perform at an event to support a new mall. No no, not in Chinese. I sang two songs: September by Earth Wind and Fire and Payphone by Maroon 5. I had no idea what to expect. I legit learned one of the songs the day of.
It gets better. The introducer asked me if I would wear the costume of the Han Dynasty. Well they asked Rebecca first but she pointed to me. :stinkeye:
It was so exhillerating but scary. I'm use to the Chinese people staring at me but this was a whole new story. People were filming me everywhere. I'm legit on 50 people's phone right now. That's certainly not something I expected to do in this country. I love it here! So many experiences. :D