Black Dragon Pool

I spent a few hours exploring Black Dragon Pool in Lijiang. It was a close walk from my hostel and a nice place to spend the afternoon.

A rainy Lijiang day

(This picture, on the balcony outside my room. It didn't quite capture the gloominess of the day.  The clouds rolling off the mountains was beautiful)

I've found the nights in Lijiang to be overall very comfortable.  Mainly because it's cool.  It's nice snuggling under the covers for a change.  During my 2nd night it was a pleasant surprise to hear the rain outside my window.  The next day was cloudy and cool.  I decided to make it a day of reading at different cafes around Lijiang.  I got up at 9am and by 10pm I had finished the book I started in the morning.   I started off at a cafe where I had a Naxi (an ethnic group in southwest China) breakfast.

(Potato pancake, bacon, Naxi cheese, scrambled eggs, toast, and coffee)

I explored the endless streets looking for a new cafe with hot tea and a nice view.

(Rose and plumb tea)

I saw this waterfall.

Found a funny sign by the waterfall with a reminder that I had forgotten by the end of the day (see below where I ended my day).

 (Eating out should keep civilized behavior and keep healthy eating in mind)

I sat at the hostel reading, had a nice chat with an American, and ended the day with a banana and chocolate crape.   I like the slow life in Lijiang.  I hear Dali (where I'm headed to next) is even slower.

The book I read was a suggestion from Amazon based on books I've looked at and read in the past.  I always say my tutor is my Chinese therapist.  This book is like my therapist / tutor but so much more.  The week before I left for Yunnan was one of the hardest so far in China.  I was sick, homesick, and just overall blah about my Chinese life.  The book is called 'Dreaming in Chinese'.  The author, Deborah Fallows, lived in China for 3 years with her husband.   She writes about the Chinese language through her experiences with learning the language and living in China.  She has a PhD in Linguistics so when she writes about the endless challenges trying to learn Chinese I feel much better about where I'm at with my Chinese.  As I read the book I could relate to virtually everything she wrote.  I'll quote her in another post because she's able to say how I'm feeling so much more eloquently then I am.  She does a nice job explaining the meaning and history of Mandarin.  I learned quite a few new things about putting words together, what words actually mean, and how to use them.  Sometimes the Chinese have a hard time translating Chinese words into English because often there's far from an exact translation.  I definitely feel better about myself and my struggles with China. 

So much riding in Lijiang

During one of my first days in Lijiang my hostel recommended I take advantage of the beautiful day and bike out to a village.  It sounded like a good idea. The first mistake was mine.  I was supposed to be going north.  I saw a sign that said I was going south but for some reason that wasn't enough to make me turn around.  In China anything that has to do with maps and directions is almost completely backwards from our western ways.  One problem is they don't read maps.  I don't like asking for directions. Period.  No matter what country I'm in.  Eventually I realized I had to.  It was a conversation in Chinese.  I understood him, he understood me but the bottom line was he couldn't help.  The Chinese will be very vague when they give directions because they don't want to look bad and give the wrong directions.  Or even worse admit they don't know where something is. 
A conversation could go like this:
-Where's the post office?
-Zai nar (over there).
Of course there's pointing in some general direction but you part ways completely unsure of where to go.

I rode around for hours knowing I wasn't getting any closer but I had all day so I felt like I had to shi yi shi (give it a try).    I never found the road my hostel told me to take but on the map there was another road that appeared to lead to the village and I just happened to be on that road.  After passing my 2nd set of ghost town subdivisions I ran out of road.

I turned around.  I rode some more and found the market on the map. I seemed to be getting closer!

(Lots of potatoes)

 (Look closely)

(Chicks of all different colors)

(This man bought 3 red ones.  He was given a plastic bag to transport his purchase - the same as when you get food for takeout.  This guy couldn't get them to stay in his bag so he tied the plastic bag. I think the poor little guys were dead before he rode away.)

After the market I was back on the road confident I knew the next road would be the one I needed.  If it was my road the name was different.  Eventually I just couldn't take the exhaust from the cars and trucks anymore. If the ride would have been out in the country without much traffic I could have gone for hours but this was not the country riding I had in Yangshuo.  I gave up and returned to Lijiang with sunburned hands!

Lijiang

Since I have a break between semesters I decided to see why everyone always makes such a fuss over Yunnan. Yunnan is a province located in the southwest part of China.  My first stop was Lijiang.  The population is a little over 1 million people.  It's history dates back 800 years.  The elevation is 2500.  The main attraction is Old Town.  It is a sprawling town of streets that go on and on in no particular pattern.  The streets are filled with shops, restaurants, bars, cafes, and guest houses.

 (You can see the faces on these animal skins)

 (Even an old Chinese city isn't complete without a Pizza Hut and KFC)

There are waterways that go through Old Town.  Though boats couldn't fit on the river this town really reminded me of Wuzhen.

My favorite bit of the town were the shops that go up a hill.  All the businesses there have a fantastic view. 

 (A nice view to enjoy with a cup of coffee.)

I'll say it again (this won't be the last time) China is beautiful at night.

Something unique that Lijiang has are styrofoam boats you can buy, make a wish, and send floating down the river.   It's a very nice site to just sit and watch the little boats go by.

I made it to week 24!

This past weekend was the last one of the term.  To celebrate with the students we called it the party weekend.  They brought lots of food and I brought candy and games to play.  With my little kids I read them a Dr. Seuss book.  Some of the students brought in a talent to show everyone.

(This is one of my favorite classes of little ones. Callie, posing in the front, said to me in the middle of class one day 'You're a BEAUTIFUL teacher'.)

(This is my favorite class because it is filled with different personalities. They don't know a lot of words but they tried hard to get to know me with the English words they do know.)

(This is my least favorite class. They were uncontrollable and I dreaded walking in there every Saturday.  They were the only class I yelled at and basically just gave up trying to teach by the end of my hour each week.  It didn't help that they were right before lunch.)

 
(Rina showed off her latin dancing)

(Gary took pictures of EVERYTHING and everyone)

(Tiger played the violin and also did a pretty impressive dog imitation)

(Tiger's music stand, I can't remember his name, he took his job very seriously)

(Our poor cleaning women cleaned our classrooms after every class.  Not only did all the garbage cans look like this the floor had chips and candy smashed all over it.)

(I had no idea Jerry was a hip hop dancer.)

(After our last class we went downstairs for dinner.  We were celebrating the end of the semester and saying goodbye to my roommate Lorynn and one of our Chinese teachers Molly.)

I saved the best for last!  Gary is a sweetheart and possibly my favorite student from this semester.  Every Saturday before class he would come into our office and sit with me.  He asked me questions with his minimal English such as,  Do you like to read?  Do you like red?  Do you like tea?  Can you run?  Can you swim?   Then when it was time to go to class he would carry my things for me.  Sometimes he would bring me and the Chinese teacher little gifts.  On the exam day he gave me a packet of tissues they were handing out on the street and what appeared to be a weed.  During our last class he hurt his finger and walked around with it in this position. 

Flying with Chinese 'children'

My first clue should have been the long line for a picture in front of the fake airport background and the crowd laughing as their pictures as they came out of the printer.  As I walked by I tried to picture grown American men posing in front of a fake airplane at the airport - and waiting in line to do it!  Turns out I would be flying from Yangshuo to Xi'an with this group.

As I walked to my seat I could see my row and quickly glanced to see if I had neighbors.  I could feel everyone's stares as I made my way down the aisle.  I sat down and could hear them asking each other if I spoke Chinese.  Finally one asked me in sort of English.  They asked where I was from.  These weren't guys I felt like practicing my Chinese with.  Usually the stares, pictures, hellos, and uncomfortable conversations are easily escapable while I'm out and about.  This time I was trapped.  I was one of 3 foreigners on the plane and the only one in my section of the airplane. I could tell by their mannerisms that they had never been on an airplane before and probably never on a trip before.  It was a group of about 30 men and women.   I couldn't tell if everyone thought the guys I was sitting next to were lucky or if it was just some kind of freak show they couldn't stop watching.  A woman came back and took our picture.  I tried to bury myself deep in my book and my iPod.

Luckily their attention was not just on me.  They were taking lots of pictures of the flight attendants and were REALLY pissing them off.  The flight attendants grabbed their cameras and deleted the pictures.  This happened during the entire flight.  They were like children that never learned.  I felt sorry for the flight attendants and heard one tell them to stop because this was her job and she was trying to work.

With our meal there was a little thing of jelly for the roll.   They had a hard time figuring out that you use the bent corner to peel back the top.  When they figured out a way to open it they ate the jelly with their finger or a spoon.

They drank an unusual amount of coffee.  I rarely see Chinese drinking coffee and this group drank pots of it.   I wanted to try some to see what the flight attendants were putting in it.  More likely they've never had it before and it was like tasting chocolate for the first time.

Then we landed and were taxi'ing.  Nearly everyone in my section got up as soon as we touched the ground.  It took longer than it should have for the flight attendants to tell them to sit down.  In true Chinese fashion when it was actually time to get off the plane it was a mad dash for the door.   I thought the guy next to me was going to rip off my seat belt.

Though they were highly annoying I was fascinated by this group of adults essentially acting like children. I wonder if there is a group of people in the US that has never been on a plane before and would act like this their first time. Or maybe I've done this too many times to find anything worth being amazed by while I'm traveling in the air. 

My Yangshuo vacation is over

Yangshuo is an amazing place to take a vacation from the city.  I met some nice people at the hostel and still had my own freedom to explore what I wanted.  Staying in a scenic, quiet area rather than the city center was the perfect choice. 

I only saw 2 stoplights in the entire city.  There are fewer cars than Xi'an.  Everyone seems to drive more carefully, not so crazy, and they actually have patients.  Infact I found that the Yangshuo people and tourists were much kinder and more considerate.  It was nice to see that in China.  There was less spitting and less babies going to bathroom on trees or behind cars.

Riding a bike around was perfect. It's been a long time since I've used a bike as my primary mode of transportation and I loved it.  No haggling with taxi drivers or tired feet from walking. 

I didn't ride a city bus but I thought they were so cute and the opposite of what I'm used to in Xi'an.  There's no standing on these buses!

I can't believe my vacation is over and it's back to Xi'an.  I can't wait to plan my next trip! (Which is in a few weeks!)

Yangshuo accommodations: Trippers Guest House and Retreat

Trippers Guest House was a fantastic place to stay.   At first I was worried it was too far away from the center of town but it only took a minute to realize that was exactly what I needed.  I've always lived and nearly always vacationed in big cities.  I've been missing out on the quietness of being outside a city.  The location really couldn't be better.  It only takes about 10 minutes to bike into the center of town, there's a beach close by, and it is surrounded by hills to make for a great view wherever you are. 

 (This is the bar / restaurant / cafe area at the Guest House.  There's a nice atmosphere at any time of the day.)

The staff was incredibly helpful and I always felt taken care of.  They seemed to be able to make anything happen.  I rented a bike for the week and saved time and money having my own transportation.  The bike was in great shape and I always saw them checking the tires to make sure they stayed in great shape.

When Charlotte left I decided to move over to the newly opened retreat that the same owners opened a month earlier.

The retreat is just down the road from the guest house.  I'm glad I stayed there though I think the guest house is a bit better for the solo traveler.  At the guest house there is a dorm room so other people are also there traveling by themselves.  The retreat attracts more couples.  Both are owned by a Belgian / Chinese couple which seems to be a winning combination to make a Chinese vacation comfortable and enjoyable.  The staff spoke English very well.

The owners had a nice presence around both places, were very friendly, and there if we needed something the front desk couldn't take care of or if the front desk was busy.  The rooms were nice and very clean. 

The food was reasonably priced and they served Western and Chinese foods - the same at both places.  I ate most of my meals there because it was usually cheaper and better than what I would find in town.  The breakfast was a perfect size in the morning and exactly what I've been missing in China - eggs, toast or baguette (butter and jelly), fruit, yogurt, coffee, juice.  I met a lot of people over my 8 nights and no one had a bad thing to say about any of the food they ordered.  The apple crumble was amazing. I wish I would have taken a picture of it.  You don't get dessert like that very often in China. 

If you go to Yangshuo you must stay here!   I will definitely be going back.

The best signs in Yangshuo

There are signs all over China that have spelling mistakes or aren't translated properly.  These are some of my favorites in Yangshuo.

(BARSHROOM)

This is funny because there were usually more than 15 people on it and nobody seemed to shake it on purpose.  It shakes when you walk - even if you're on it by yourself.  I couldn't wait to get off.

(DUMPINGS)