Tianjin - An Epic Adventure

Today we successfully bought tickets to Tianjin, although this morning started off just as rocky as yesterday had. Valentina's alarm hadn't gone off so if James hadn't texted her to see if she was awake she wouldn't have made it and we would have gone back home. At 7:25 (only 25 minutes late - that's a record for her :) ), she arrived at the subway station and we made our trek back to Beijing South Railway Station (BSRS) to purchase our tickets. Luckily we got 3 tickets on an earlier train than we would have been on had we gone yesterday. Our return train departed at 6 pm, so we were going to have almost 8 hours in Tianjin. On the trip there, I was seated by the window, so I got to watch the scenes change outside. I also tried studying for the TKT Exam I have to take in a little over 2 weeks, but on a 35 minute train ride, you can't do much. Once we arrived in Tianjin, we started walking around. We saw several clocks and then kept walking down by the river. Once we crossed the river, we took pictures of a tank and then walked around what we think was either "5 big roads" or the "Culture Section." We walked around there for awhile and then decided to find something to eat. Tianjin is known for their baozi (steamed buns with a filling), so we chose a restaurant that had many people eating there (that's how we judge if it's a decent place to eat) and ordered lunch. We ordered 7 pork baozi and 7 veggie baozi, 2 cokes and a Sprite. The baozi were delicious and the drinks were lukewarm, even though we asked for bingda (cold). After lunch, we walked around some more and went to the China House, a house literally made of porcelain china. There are 4 floors to this house with a staircase right in the middle so Valentina went to the top floor, James to the bottom, and me in the middle and we took a picture so where you can see all of us. After the China House and Little Italy (a section of Tianjin that has a Bavarian biergarden, a Russian food shop, and several Italian-structured buildings), we walked around a main shopping avenue and found a Starbucks, because by then we all wanted to sit down and relax a little. James and I ordered drinks and then the three of us sat and chatted for a little while before walking through the attached mall looking for a bathroom. When we left the mall, we kept walking around Tianjin and back down by the river. It was about an hour and a half before we were even thinking about returning to the station, so we walked around a little bit more and sat in an area by the river and people watched. It was so funny to see the Chinese people take pictures because they would properly pose for them. Think photo shoot for a magazine and that's what you'd get. Since it was by the river, we also were thinking that it would be funny if someone fell in; however, no one did. The water would have been frigid as the high today was only about 20* C. At 5ish, we walked into the station, went through the metal detector (I don't even think it was on), and found our gate. Valentina went and got a snack while James and I waited with her things. On the train back to Beijing, I sat separated from the other two (Valentina did on the trip to Tianjin) and read my book and listened to my iPod. Since it was dark, I couldn't really see much. The return trip wasn't all that fun. I hadn't eaten a proper meal all day so I was already grumpy and to top it off I was in the middle of a major mood swing, so I just wanted to get home and not talk to anyone. On the subway from the BSRS to Lishuiqiao Nan, I blared my music really loud in my ears and tried to avoid anyone and everyone, including Valentina and James (I must really apologize to them). Once I arrived back at the Lishuiqiao Nan station, I quickly left the station and walked home, grabbing dinner at a local restaurant before coming back to the apartment. My roomie is still on holiday so it's been nice to not have to worry about another person. Well, I think she's home now, so I better go. Talk to you later! :)

I hope there's no limit on the length of a post...

September 6th... 

There’s a first for everything!!

Thursday morning, Miranda and I decided to wander around another district of Beijing, so we decided that we needed to find a bookstore and there’s one around Tuanjiehu. We woke up later than normal (we hadn’t come home last night until around 2:30 am!!) and departed from Lishuiqiaonan Subway Station on our way to Tuanjiehu. While in between Lishuiqiaonan and Beiyuanlu (the next station south) the train stopped on the tracks. I mean, full on came to a dead stop!! Miranda and I looked at each other and if either one of us had been alone we would have freaked out.  Since it had rained quite heavily the night before (while we were out at Paddy O’Shea’s quiz night and Mexican food after), I wondered if the amount of water on the tracks was the reason we stopped (but it also sounded like we hit something, so I’m not totally sure). When we arrived at Tuanjiehu, we started walking in the opposite direction of where we were supposed to be going. Thank goodness I wore comfy shoes and had a kind temperament (didn’t mind getting lost), because that’s what happened. We ended walking back to the subway station and following the directions that Miranda had copied down before we left the apartment. Why we didn’t do that in the first place I will never know.  We arrived at the bookstore about lunchtime, so we perused the book section (we bought two books each) before sitting down at a table and ordering lunch. I had a BLT on Panini bread, French fries, a salad, and sangria. Oh my goodness, it was so delicious and so filling!!  We finished our lunch and read for a little before walking to this really cool building that we had seen across the street from the Bookworm bookstore. We walked to the building, not realizing that it was a three-level mall, including an Apple Store!!          

September 27th...

I must, first, apologize for my long absence! I've been so busy and the internet at my apartment apparently hates all things Mac related, so I sit here at work, tethered to the ethernet cable. 

Now that I've been in Beijing now for just over a month, I've settled into my own. My roomie and I have had our differences. She leaves glasses and other dishes around the apartment for several days before she'll wash them. Then, she'll complain if I leave a dish in the sink just for an hour or so. Ugh! I've started going to the gym and swimming at least 10 laps every weekday morning. It's relaxing to be back in the water and not have to worry about aches and pains in my knees. I still walk to work, but since finding the shortcut it only takes me about 20-25 minutes to get to work. Work is stressful - I've had so many parents complain that I'm not a male teacher that I'm flat out tired of hearing about it.  Lessons are becoming easier and easier to plan and I'm finding fun activities to do with my students (Teacher Repeat, Robots Game, Sticky Ball Tic-Tac-Toe). I'd forgotten how much fun it is to play games in class because the U.S. strictly wants us to teach to the test. Our students want to have fun while also learning English! :) 

My Small Star classes are becoming my favorite classes, even the Small Star Blue (3 year olds) that I had a rough time with at the beginning is starting to come together. I just can't wait to see where I am in another month or two. Tomorrow,  Valentina, James, and I are going to Chinese lessons and then going to Tian'anmen Square because the last time we went there we just went to the Forbidden City. Yay for two days off!! Friday, I only have 1 class before having 5 days of holiday because of National Day! I love the Chinese because they celebrate everything, including teachers! The only thing about having a holiday is that they believe in working for your holiday. Thursday and Friday of next week (October 6th and 7th) I have to work, even though many of our classes have been cancelled. Training will then occur on the 8th and 9th. 

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Today marks the first real vacation that I’ve had since arriving here in China almost 2 months ago!!  It’s National Holiday for the Chinese people, so the EF staff has 5 whole days off. I wanted to get out of the city and see other places around Beijing, so Valentina and I planned a trip to Shidu, last minute of course, because we couldn’t go see the Terra Cotta Warriors at Xi’an because no train tickets were available (apparently everyone in Beijing leaves!!). Caroline, Valentina’s friend that works at the Guomao center where we have our Chinese lessons every week, was planning a trip to Shidu, so we decided to tag along. I woke up this morning at 5:30 because Valentina and I were meeting at the ditie zhan (subway station) at 6 so that we could be at Caroline’s house by 7. It takes 45 minutes at least to get from Lishuiqiao Nan to the Agricultural Exhibition Center where Caroline lives.  About 6:50ish we arrived near Caroline’s house and a car drove up to us and rolled down the window. The two people inside spoke English and seemed to know who we were. We had no clue who they were but quickly realized that they were probably the two that were going to take us to Shidu. J Chester and Lindsey helped us load our stuff into the Nissan and then we (Caroline had just now joined us) went to a baozi (steamed dumplings) place and bought breakfast for the 3-hour car ride. On the car ride out there, music and conversation flowed quickly. Chester has great taste in music because we listened to Linkin Park, rap, and some songs that I had never heard before but really liked. Three hours later, and after stopping several times, we arrived at our destination, Shidu!

            When we arrived in Shidu, we decided that maybe it was best if we found a hotel first before we went to the scenic area. We drove to two different hotels, and the first one was more expensive and didn’t have much to offer. The second one we went to was cheaper (400RMB – which equaled out to less than $15 a person) and included a traditional Chinese breakfast. Chester negotiated the price because if they saw Valentina, Caroline, and I they would raise the price since we’re foreigners. We quickly agreed that the second one would suit our needs and we walked around the hotel to choose our rooms. We chose two rooms side by side, one with what would be comparable to a king size bed and one with double and single beds in it. Chester, Caroline, and Lindsay were in the double/single room while Val and I were in the room with the king size bed. We unloaded our stuff and headed for scenic Shidu. We bought tickets to the area and promptly queued to get into a cable car that would take us up the mountain. First of all, I’m deathly afraid of heights, so that cable car ride was not the greatest experience ever, especially since I was by myself. All of us, except Chester, got out of the cable cars at the first station because that was where the bungee jumping station was. Don’t worry, dear readers, I did not partake in the bungee jumping, although Lindsay and I were there to take pictures of and video the experience for Caroline and Valentina.  After they finished jumping off of a very tiny platform and cabling back up to meet Lindsay and I, we continued up the mountain and hiked around and saw several temples and gorgeous waterfalls. I don’t know how many stairs I climbed altogether, but it was a lot and I didn’t ache afterwards. I guess that I’m getting used to hiking around and taking lots of stairs. Maybe this move to China was a good idea after all. We climbed up the mountain and had a chance to ring a bell, climb up a 99-stair waterfall, and saw some really cool temples. By the time we descended the mountain at about 2:30ish, we were all starving, so we went down the road and ate at a restaurant. Sadly, all of the restaurants in Shidu sell the same things, and the first restaurant was unwilling to concede to our dietary needs (one of us is vegetarian) so we chose the 2^nd restaurant. We ordered some mushrooms, green beans, a pork and potato dish, rice, and kung pao chicken. All of the dishes were amazing, so we stuffed ourselves until we couldn’t eat any more.

            After lunch, we went back to Shidu and rented a couple of bamboo rafts. Caroline and Valentina guided our raft while I watched other people as they tried to run into us. Quickly we got tired of bamboo rafting, so we decided to drive around the area of Shidu to see what else we could find. We hopped in the car and drove for about half an hour before we just stopped on the side of the road to take pictures. After doing that a couple of times, we drove back to the hotel and ate dinner. It was as delicious as lunch, since we ordered agaric with eggs, another type of mushroom, corn, rice, and some other dishes. Once we finished dinner, we went back to our rooms and chatted for an hour or so before we said good night and went to bed. The bed was softer than the bed I sleep on at my apartment, so I slept really well.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Day 2 of Shidu!

This morning we woke up early (7:00) and ate breakfast at the hotel. It was a very traditional Chinese breakfast – porridge, steamed buns, hard-boiled eggs, and jasmine tea. We ate all that was served to us and packed into the car and left the hotel. Before breakfast; however, I took the shortest and coldest shower I have ever taken in my life. There was very little water pressure and the water took forever to heat up so I ended up having to stand to one side and wash my hair upside down because the water was ice cold. L Driving back to Shidu we decided that today we would walk across the suspension bridge and climb up another section of the mountain. There were so many people on the suspension bridge that it was violently shaking from side to side. When you looked down all you saw was algae-filled water, so there was very little safety. I grabbed onto the sides (thank goodness I have long enough arms to where I could do that) and very slowly made my way across. Thankfully, Lindsay was also a little frightened so we walked together most of the way. Part of me can still feel the swaying of the bridge, even though I crossed the bridge at almost 9:00 this morning.  Honestly, I screamed several times because I thought that I couldn’t do it. However, the temples on the other side and the view from the mountains after we hiked up them were well worth the terrifying journey across the bridge. We hiked around the mountains of Shidu for a while and then decided maybe it was time to go somewhere else. The five of us walked to the Beijing Tourist Center and asked for information on the things we could do around Shidu and they told us about this nifty area called Gushanzhai Canyon. We walked around this canyon and hiked up some more mountains and then walked through a very narrow passage called the Thread of Light before descending the mountain and coming back to Beijing. At about 2:30 pm, we arrived on the outskirts of town and found a McDonald’s to have a late lunch. After lunch we continued our trek back to the inner rings of town to drop Caroline at Sanlitun before going back to Chester’s apartment for a tour. By the time we got back to Beiyuanlu/Lishuiqiao Nan it was getting dark (so approximately 6:30ish), so Val and I had Chester drop us off at Lotus because we’re meeting at our favorite Korean restaurant on Friday evening before going to Valentina’s apartment to swap pictures (Lindsay took over 500 herself!!) I arrived back at my apartment around 7:15 and unpacked my backpack, just to start repacking it for our trip to Tianjin with James, another coworker, tomorrow morning. Good night! Must sleep before going to the train station at 7:00 tomorrow morning to buy tickets (35 min trip). 

 

October 3rd... 

Today, James, Valentina, and I were supposed to go to the town of Tianjin, which is only about a 1/2 hour train ride from Beijing. We met at the subway station near our house and traveled the hour or so to the Beijing South Railway Station to purchase our tickets to Tianjin. However, once we got there, we quickly realized that James didn't have his passport so we couldn't buy our tickets. Instead, we walked around Xidan (there's another Apple store there), found a Starbucks (saw Johnny Bravo), and boarded the subway home. After I arrived home, I relaxed for awhile before leaving my apartment, ate dinner, bought an external hard drive (for the picture swap on Friday), and then came back home to watch the news and relax. I'm roomie free, so I can do whatever I want. :) Tomorrow, James will have his passport so we can travel to Tianjin. As I reflect back on today, I realize that maybe things happened for a reason. I'm glad that I got to relax today.