Nimen Hao,
Today was a great day. It was an excursion day, which meant we had no meetings, so that is always a good day. We went to Changbaishan, which is a beautiful range of mountains on another part of the North Korea / China border. Don’t worry. There were just rows and rows of mountains. It was very foggy at times, but sometimes the fog moved away and you had a clear view. Tian Chi, one of the mountains in the range is actually a volcano, I think, and it has a lake in the crater. I think that’s right. The guide explained everything in Mandarin Chinese and we had to rely on a translator, whom I could not hear very well. So if you’re interested in the history, google it. But, nevertheless, it was beautiful, and very scary. There were a few points that we climbed up to, and let me tell you that there are NO RAILS. There is just a very low rope that would not do anything if you tipped over but probably brush the bottom of your feet. I was extra careful, although many of the Chinese were not. They were climbing over the rope and going out to the edge of mountain cliffs to take pictures. I couldn't’t believe it! There was literally nothing between them from the edge and the valley. Some of the people in our group even did the same thing. I wouldn’t dare. I like living and am not for getting hurt or fatally wounded in another country. You better believe that I took my precious time and stayed on the right course. People were going around me, which was perfectly fine. Oh, and I forgot to tell you about the ride up to the peak. We had to get into jeeps and they drove completely insane up these mountain passes. They were turning curves and swerving up the mountain roads. This was supposed to be a form of entertainment, but we Americans did not enjoy it. One girl even almost got sick. So, I can say that I have officially been to Changbaishan, and don’t particularly feel the need to go again, because I know what it entails. And guess what, I was a star again. I’m still loving the attention though, but today was a bit much. I was swarmed a couple of times with people actually just grabbing handfuls of my hair. I wasn’t prepared this time and actually got a little irritated, but don’t worry mom, I was nice. We go to Xian tomorrow, which is where the Terra Cotta warriors museum is. We are all extremely excited to see this. We are also sort of glad to be going to a fairly big city again, just because it’s the next place on our list to go I guess. Well folks, I’m off to bed as I have to rise at 5am tomorrow to board a bus for the airport for our next stop. Wish me well and send your prayers.!
Tamara
Friday, July 03, 2009 03:16AM
Hello all,
Guess where we went today? NORTH KOREA!!! Well, sort of. We went to a little town called Tu men on the North Korea / China border. There is a bridge that separates North Korea and China and North Korea was just a 2 minute walk over the bridge. Of course we couldn't go over, but how interesting it was. I have enclosed some pics from your viewing pleasure. I know that I have been a star in every city, but let me tell you that in this little city they must never receive visitors because they looked and looked and looked some more. As usual, I was amused! This city was not on our agenda, but the two schools that we were supposed to visit cancelled on us at the last minute because of, you know what! Supposedly, there is some school in Hong Kong that had a reported case of the Swine Flu and they are being extra careful with tourists. But, I didn't mind. That gave us an opportunity to have some free time, which we hardly ever get, and thus I'm writing you early. Tonight we have guess what, a banquet. I am not really looking forward to it. At these banquets we have to make merry and be social and engage our guests in conversation and entertain them. I am just not in the mood today. I just want to lie down in my room and watch T.V. until I fall asleep. Tomorrow we have to leave at 5:30 a. m. for a 4 hour drive to the national park, hike up a mountain to a waterfall, hike back down, drive four hours back, pack, and board a plane the next day for our next flight. WE NEED A BREAK! They keep telling us to make sure that we get plenty of rest, but HELLO. Sounds like a contradiction huh? I mean, don't get me wrong. I am sooooooooo grateful and excited to be here, but the human body needs a rest every now and then. OK, I just needed to vent a little. Overall, things are great. We are all getting along, mostly (I don't have anything to do with the little discord that there is) and mostly everyone is happy and healthy, including me. So, in my opinion, it's all good. Well, with the little bit of free time that we have I think that I may take a nap. And let me tell you, I foresee alot of those taking place when I come back to the states. Well, later for now. Take care everyone. Until next time.
Tamara
Thursday, July 02, 2009 06:30PM EST
Hello all,
One word. Karoake! It was sooooo fun. What they do here is give you your own room for your group, and you just have a ball. We had some of our Chinese teacher friends that we have met here join us. It was a good time to be had by all. I didn't take my camera so I can't send any pics of that. I'll get someone else's. It's interesting the kind of song choices that they make. They were singing the Carpenters, old versions of songs that we haven't heard or thought of in years. They had no idea what some of the songs were that we were singing. Nevertheless, a good time was had by all. We also went to visit a high school and met some cool kids. That was a really nice experience. They want to know so much about America and they are so studious. I wish that more of our kids were like that. And, dinner was fun too. Well, that's about it for now. I'l catch up with you all later.
Tamara
Wednesday, July 01, 2009 10:21 AM EST
Nimen Hao,
Wow! Yanji. What can I say? Well, first let me start off by saying that Yanji is in Jinsu Province, and not what I said yesterday. The people here have been sooooooooooo wonderful. We were hosted to lunch today by the local university and what a crowd they were. They were soooo much fun. And the food didn't make me nauseous. We even had prawns. After lunch we then sang (the Chinese love to sing), a lot. I led the group in a rendition of "Killing me Softly". There were also some other singers. One was one of the professors from the university, a 27 year old English professor (I know) who sang "I Will Follow Him" because he saw the movie "Sister Act II" the night before and loved it. They were so much fun, I can't say that enough. They are taking us out to Karoake tomorrow. That should produce some interesting stories. Today we also had a city tour of Yanji, and guess who's famous. ME! The reason, well, is because frankly they just don't see African-American people with dreadlocks. I draw a crowd wherever I go, people just come up and start touching my hair. One lady even touched my face. And, I love it! All of the attention is hypnotizing. At home there are tons of people who share some of my qualities. Here there are none. I am a rarity. I like the sound of that. Our guide translated a few times what they were saying, but I think that he got tired after a while because there were just soooooo many people. You know that we had a huge dinner, so I don't need to talk about that. After dinner, however, my roommate and I went for a massage, and oh what an experience. I have never been twisted, and turned, and pulled, and punched, and stepped on, and kneed in the back, and chopped, and pinched, and walked on, etc.... like they did tonight. I am still sore, but in a good way. If that makes since. They best part was a foot massage. They soaked our feet and then massaged them with aromatherapy oils. I almost went to sleep on the table. And, guess how much it cost? $12 US for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Folks, you can't beat that. We are thinking of going back on Friday. Well, we have an early morning tomorrow and a full day so I better get going. Until next time. Enjoy the pics!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 08:30AM EST
Hello all,
Well, we made it without any trouble. We are in Yanji, Jingsu (?) Province, which is actually about 30 min. away from the North Korean/Russian border. Yikes! But don't worry, we won't be venturing into North Korea. I don't have any pictures today, because we really haven't done anything, but eat. We had a huge welcoming banquet, (lunch and dinner) by our Yanji hosts and honestly, do you really want to see more pictures of food? I'm actually hoping that we'll make it to KFC this week. KFC is HUGE here if you didn't know. The flight here wasn't too bad. The airport here is super small. It's like the airport off of North Liberty St. for those of you who are in Winston. It's sort of a medium size country town with a local University and a few developed areas, mainly downtown. But, there are also shacks scattered here and there. I consider this to be a part of the REAL China, the kind that they don't necessarily want you to see. Well, I'm off to bed. Talk to you all soon.
Tamara
OK,
I just didn't feel right without sending any pics. The crickets and the sea horses are delicacies that I will not be partaking of. And, the masked people are those that I told you about on the plane that come in and check for symptoms of the swine flu.
Tamara
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