5 Weeks In...

It's never a good thing when I go 2 weeks without blogging. I then feel overwhelmed with all that has gone on since then. So now it is time to play a bit of catch up.

The week after our Beijing trip, we had a very low key weekend that included hanging out in our room a lot, running, going downtown to walk around, and holding our church meeting at our school. Friday night, the school took us out for a Chinese dinner and to a movie. The food was scary and included many unknowns, even some big chicken feet and dried fish! As you may have imagined, we dodged the chicken feet and fish. Then they took us to a movie, War Horse! We were excited because we hadn't seen it yet. The thing is, going to movies in China are a bit annoying. Remember the whole "Silence is Golden" or "Mute your cell phones" rules in the U.S.? Well in China, they don't feel the need for such suggestions so they all talk throughout the movie, rather LOUD, and answer any and all phone calls that come their way. We were happy that we didn't have to fork out the dough to cover the cost of the movie because it wasn't an awesome experience. One thing that I was EXCITED about was that instead of nasty movie theater butter popcorn, they sell kettle corn!! I LOVE kettle corn, so Joe and I indulged. So did our friend Mckenna :)

Yes, that is a Sprite in my hand. Dang China. I would never buy a soda back home in the States but here it's just comforting to have something that tastes like home - - and they didn't sell water.

Just outside of the Jackie Chan movie theater!

Church was the highlight of that weekend because it was our first time holding the meeting with just our group, sacrament and all. It was fast-Sunday so we had a 90 minute testimony meeting and Sunday school. It was awesome to see a more spiritual side of all of the ILP volunteers here. Our low key weekends, and weekday nights for that matter, include jaunts to the local street market. Our favorite thing to get there are these sandwiches, that are really not like sandwiches at all. They are these paper thin tortillas thrown on a super hot metal stone thing, that they fill with tofu, bean sprouts, cilantro, green onion, glass noodles, and some other unknown veggies, then another super thin tortilla pressed on top, then it's all rolled up. They are dee-lish! They are at least a weekly occurrence.



The next weekend, we were all invited to spend Saturday with a Chinese student and their family. I was not thrilled about getting to do this simply because of the fear I had of the foods they would want us to eat. So Saturday morning we met Selena and her mother (couldn't pronounce her name for the life of me so I just started calling her MaMa). MaMa seemed thrilled to have us with her. They took us to this park first thing in the morning, called Homei Park. The park was beautiful. It houses the largest Pagoda in all of China. It has been destroyed and rebuilt like 5 times or something crazy like that. The park also has cherry blossom trees galore that are just waiting for the warm weather to arrive so they can bloom.

 First, we went goldfish fishing! We each had our own little pole with fishing line hanging from it. They gave us this nasty goop to put on our hooks too. Joe and I were not particularly gifted at it but Selena, the chinese student, most definitely was! She caught 4 of them. Each time she would catch one, MaMa would grab hold of the fish, shimmy the hook out of it's lip and put it in her bucket. I was really struggling! I couldn't handle watching the fish be pulled up out of the water with a hook in it's mouth. This marked the first uncomfortable moment of the day, little did I know many more uneasy moments would follow in the day. Selena kindly offered us her 4 fish, which was funny because just the night before our friend Emma said she wished she had a goldfish for one of her lessons. So she was thrilled when we brought her home 4 of them :)

Selena, the master of goldfish fishing

Selena and MaMa kept asking us, "what is your favorite food?" We would always say pizza and ice cream so by 10am MaMa found us some ice cream while at the park. She bought us both a cone, then just a few minutes later asked us how we liked them (mind you, she does NOT speak ANY English so when I say she "asked" she really asked in Chinese while pointing at our cones) we kept saying thank you and that they were very good. Then she bolts the opposite direction to go get us 2 MORE CONES! We started cracking up, we kept yelling "No! No! No! it's okay, come back!" Seeing that she didn't understand a word we said, she came back with more ice cream. So what did we do? Well, we both ate another ice cream cone. During the ice cream fiasco, Selena had ran away to buy us some bubble guns after we showed interest in some that other kids had. I'd say the froggy bubble guns were my favorite gift of the day! Then it was Pizza Hut time. Pizza Hut is a super nice restaurant here! Giant menu's with everything from pizza and pasta to steak and all sorts of rice dishes. Ordering was a challenge. They did not understand the concept of "no meat" after saying it multiple times, because they LOVE meat and don't particularly care for veggies. At lunch, they started asking us "What is your favorite present?" Out of concern that they wanted to buy us more things, I said something small - - earrings and Joey said a scarf.



We headed towards the Chinese version of the pearl market. A 4 story mall with little cubbies for shops. MaMa kept pointing at clothing asking if I liked them. I kept saying, No, No. Eventually we get to one that I did like a sweater. I pointed to it. This turned into something big! They pulled me into the cubby, put up a curtain over the front of it and started pointing at these black cargo pants for me to try on. I kept saying, No, No, NO! while Joey was just looking over the curtain laughing at me. It got to the point where they were taking off my belt! After fighting it for about 10 minutes or so, I finally stripped down and tried on the dang pants. I was SO uncomfortable with the situation. I just wanted it to be over! MaMa ended up buying me both the sweater and the cargo pants (that I did not even like!) and spending way too much on both. Then she was on the hunt for earrings. Knowing that she would not stop until she bought me some, I just picked out a pair. Then she was on to Joey! He quickly found a nice scarf which she graciously purchased. I was relieved that it was time to leave. But she marched right on over to a convenience store across the street and started filling a basket with all sorts of snacks and chocolates! All for Joe and I! We couldn't stop the lady! Then she went to a bakery and bought us 2 dozen cookies and cream puffs! We felt awful she was spending all of this money on us when we did not want her to at all!!! But such is the Chinese, they love to give gifts.

Post-Shopping

Next, we arrived at an amusement park.

On the opposite side he wrote "Teacher Joe Kelsey"

Went on a few rides, including a very slow moving one that elevated you really high into the sky. It offered us excellent views of Changzhou. 

So CUTE. She caught my eye and we just stared at each other. 

Prepping to be drenched on a rapids ride!

We definitely got soaked. 

For dinner, they took us to a "Hot Pot" restaurant where you boil all of your food right in front of you. The "no meat" battle begun once again. She ordered SO MUCH FOOD. It just kept coming and coming. Of course she ordered lamb, beef, some sort of gross ground up shrimp, quail eggs, and vegetables - - which we stuck too. But she would force the meat into each of our pots. By the time we left, both of our hot pots were filled with untouched meats. They finally took us back to the school by about 6 pm.

This is about a 1/4 of what they ordered. Check out how loaded my hot pot is (the bottom pot). 

It was an exhausting day. The amount of money she spent on us all day made us feel so uncomfortable. I didn't ever want to do it again. But, we are probably doing one more day like it in a month but calling it quits with the "Home Stays" after that. Other members of our group are doing them many more times though.

The next morning we all went to Suzhou for church. To sum up the craziness of the day it included, 1 mile walk, 50 minute bus ride, 1 hour train ride, 15 minute taxi ride. It was so stressful. We were rushing to make it on time since Joe and I and McKenna were speaking in Sacrament!

This weekend Joey and I headed back to Suzhou to stay with our "China Family". I hope they don't mind me calling them that. But they make us feel so at home. Knowing them is helping me through this experience. Even though I am liking being here and LOVING being with Joe all the time, it is so hard to be away and at times I find myself thinking about home and I just get discouraged. I feel like we will be here forever sometimes, when in all reality it is only 3 more months.

Anyways, we love being with the Lyman's. They are such an awesome family! They took us to some markets for us to stock up on some goods (like oats, peanut butter, nuts and raisins!)then we headed back to their house to whip up some granola. I originally brought a bag of homemade granola that my mom made us right before we left but after nearly 4 weeks we had ran out of it and I was bummed! So the Lyman's graciously helped us rebuild our supply! With one batch on Friday and another on Saturday, I think we will be stocked for at least the next month! :) Friday night we had Papa John's pizza. So good! It's just like in the U.S. The next morning, I set out on a 11 mile run around a lake and Joey rode brother Lyman's bike right next to me. It was awesome running through thick fog and some beautiful sceneries. Sister Lyman spoiled us with whole wheat waffles and berries when we returned. YUM! It was a fun day of luxuries that we don't get back at our school - - baking, eating ice cream, and watching movies. I can't thank the Lyman's enough for all they have done for us since we have been here. It just means so much to us. When we woke up this morning still at their home, Joe and I both said we weren't ready to come back to school, but sure enough here we are. We can't wait to go back to Suzhou.

Views from their back yard on a rainy Saturday.

This Thursday, we head to Shanghai for district conference (like stake conference), shopping, and good times! Then one more week of teaching before we get 10 days off that will include many awesome adventures far away from Changzhou, concluding with the arrival of my parents in Shanghai! We can't wait to see them!!!!!!!!

Here's to a good week of teaching and all you have going on in your own life!

Beijing - In FULL detail

WARNING: Picture and story overload! 

The great thing about being here with ILP (the organization we volunteered for) is that we are required to have a 4 day weekend once a month, Joe and I have every Friday off due to the classes we teach during the week, and we also get about 10 days off in the beginning of April ALL for exploring the country! Last weekend was our first 4 day weekend and we had to take advantage. There is a lot we want to see and do here in China and this country is HUGE so no time to waste! We decided to head to Beijing. It was pretty awesome. We finished up our Thursday classes and our whole group (there are 17 of us) boarded a train bound for Beijing. It was a 10 hour ride that left at 9:30 at night. It was perfect leaving at that time because it meant we could pretty much sleep the whole ride there and catch some z’s before our Beijing adventure truly began. 

Cozy huh?

We arrived and headed straight to our hostel where we would be sleeping the next 3 nights. I know I know, some people hear hostel and think of a homeless shelter (or maybe that was just my original thought!) with bunks lining an auditorium room. Thankfully I was wrong about that! 5 of us shared a room and and it only cost us $5 per night for each of us!!! While it would have been nice for Joe and I to have our own room, it was worth saving the extra dough! And it was actually a nice place, especially when you consider the cost!

I was excited because Beijing actually looked like how I expected all of China to look - - ribbed roofing, pagodas, and “chinese like” architecture. 

Our first day, we headed to the Pearl Market. It’s a 6 story, bargainers paradise. They have the name brand goods there (some definitely fake knock off’s but others that look and feel like the real thing!) They will start at an extremely steep price and you have to work them down to about a tenth of what they originally say! For a super long time I have wanted to go there so I could stock up on North Face jackets and a nice hiking/travel backpack. Sure enough we got both! Joey also got a North Face jacket and 2 pairs of Nike Free’s. We left with our new treasures after having spent just over $100 for it all! Unfortunately I didn’t get any pearls like I wanted to but I know there will be many more shopping excursions while we are here. On the roof of the building there was a beautiful terrace to walk through that offered spectacular views of the “Temple of Heaven” across the street.

Pearl Market Storefront 

On the roof!

Temple of Heaven in the background

When we were walking around that day, we found this street where the 2008 Olympic Marathon ran through!

The next day, we went to the Olympic park!! I LOVE the Olympics!! I am thrilled beyond belief that they are only 5 months away! So it was a must-stop for us. Before we walked around the “Bird’s Nest” and the “Water Cube” we got our fill of “Ice-Scooting”! It is exactly as it sounds - - you scoot on the ice while sitting on a chair that has rails below you and use long ice picks to push yourself a long. We asked this group of Asian girls to snap our picture and they were so excited. They immediately asked if we would take pictures WITH them, which we proceeded to do for the next 5 minutes as they took turns taking the picture so each could have a chance to be in the picture with us. I’m not sure why but they love Americans here! They are completely fascinated by us. I loved being able to see the Olympic Park! It’s so awesome to me that they build these huge structures to house the Olympic games, a 2 week event, then it becomes a tourist spot for years to come. 

The signs are the best here! I'm sure I will include many throughout my China blogging! 

ICE-SKOOTING!!

In front of the "Bird's Nest" - - where all of the track and field events were held.

Something to ponder. 

Remember when I used to have orange elbows, hands and feet from eating too many sweet potatoes? Well that may come back while I am here! They sell them on the street and they are the best!

Forbidden City in the night

A building in Tiananmen Square

 On Sunday, we went to the GREAT WALL! I have wanted to hike the Great Wall for soo long! We signed up with a tour so we didn’t have to mess with finding the right area we wanted to go to. We were very glad we did because it made it so easy! It was about 2 hours from our hostel . We road a chair lift to the actual wall so we didn’t have to waste any time going up the stairs to the wall. We only had 3 hours so we needed to make it count! This section of the wall is called Mutianyu. Once you reach the Wall, if you go to the right then you can walk/climb to 6 towers that are unrestored. It was awesome!! Then we ventured over to the restored section - - towers 6 through 23. One word to some up the workout we put in there - - STAIRS! We pretty much climbed up and down stairs of all kinds, heights, and steepness! We actually made it past tower 23 which carried on to some very unrestored areas that were being taken over by plant growth. If it hadn’t been winter, all of the plant-life would have been bursting with color. On one side of the Wall you could look over into Mongolia and the other side, China. It was kind of unreal that we were actually ON the GREAT WALL! We loved every minute of it!! 

Check out how far it goes behind us! We made it to where the letters begin on the mountain in the distance

Just picture all of the brown, sleeping plants Green! Then you can see what it's like the rest of the year. 

Way past tower 23 it gets like this. No more nice tailored stairs. 

See how steep they are! It got even worse than this.

A tree coming out of the wall... kinda strange. 

To continue the fun, we road an alpine slide/tobaggan off of the wall to the bottom. If it weren’t for a slow poke in front of us we could have really gained speed on the metal railways!! 

These guys offered to take a picture with us. Then they asked us for money :(

That night, we walked the town!

 If you have a sensitive stomach or get queasy easy, look away for the next few pictures. They are GROSS. One of the street markets in Beijing is known for it’s scorpions, beetles, spiders, snakes, and more ON A STICK. Well I’ll just let you see for yourself...

SEAHORSES 

Yes, that definitely says Sheep Penis, it's the one right there next to the SNAKE wrapped around the stick!

Sad. 

 After being traumatized by the things we had just seen people eating, we found a dairy queen and I indulged in my childhood favorite - - a chocolate dipped cone! Joey had an Oreo Brownie Sunday. We were loving it!!

Monday was our final day, we were worn out but we still had much to see before days end. So we started off with the “Summer Palace”. It is where Emperor’s would escape to in the summers, so naturally it was extravagant and HUGE! We walked around the entire frozen lake, up MORE stairs, down MORE stairs, and looked into beautiful Pagodas.

Explanation of the tower above. 

MORE stairs. Our legs were still trashed from the Great Wall the day before!

So pretty.

 We then made it to the Forbidden City. From the outside it doesn’t really look that cool. It actually looks a little on the bland side and I wasn’t that excited for it but we couldn’t pass it up! We walked in and the place kept going and going and going. It was HUGE and actually very beautiful. One thing is for sure, the Chinese like color! We ended up being very glad we went. That night we were pooped. Absolutely exhausted so we ended it perfectly, sitting on the top floor of the hostel with two of our friends, Mckenna and Emma, eating spring rolls, salad and pizza while looking out over the lit up night scape of Beijing.

Awesome bedroom in the Forbidden City. 

Everyone snaps pictures in front of the red, extra-large door entering the Forbidden City, so Joe made sure he got one of me. 

 We climbed to the top of this park that had a beautiful tower. It gave us an amazing view of the Forbidden City. 

Finally it was time to head back to our train. We all passed out and arrived back in Changzhou the next morning, slightly dreading the day of teaching we had ahead of us.

And that night we started planning on our next big China adventure! : )

Have a great weekend!