french toast and kiwi juice!
so, apparently an earthquake in Taiwan a bit ago has destroyed even the idea of highspeed internet. but, patience (and 6 browsers at a time) has allowed us to persevere, and another copy paste blog will come through.
this is a slight recap of the last few days. i hope you like it. if you want to email me (amy) my email is gibsona2@cc.wwu.edu or my myspace is www.myspace.com/buildingdreamsofclay
and erin's is spikenard04@hotmail.com or www.myspace.com/thebonafidesweatervest
so, do it, make us feel loved.
korea style cooked dog meat
my darlings , even you could have this menu option if you travel to Beijing, China. To get here, all you have to do is the following:
Fly to Hong Kong (17 hours in the air, 2-12 in the airport)
THink china is really easy, without realizing that in HK everything is made for the ease of tourists (especially americans, because they are the fattest)
get thrown into a creepy guest house
sleep there
find a really neat guest house, stay for about 5 days meet cool people from neat places
miss your friends who get your humor, and even encourage it
get tired of HK, because china is big, but HK is busy
ride a subway to shenzhen
go through customs
get into mainland china, where people cut in line, spit on the street, and babies all have holes in their pants
ride a train for 26 hours (just a tip, get the middle bunk on hard sleepers)
feel smelly, claustrophobic and slightly schocked due to your inability to talk to anyone here in less touristy china.
miss your friends
try to learn mandarin really fast
sleep instead, it is a sleeper train
read The Alchemist and feel a ton better about the whole world, especially about travelling in unknown places
get to Beijing
stick out like a sore thumb because you're tall and white with red curly hair
Have an old woman take you under her wing and get you to the right bus
get off the bus (after being stared at, because not many people backpack here)
look around for a bit
get lost
get cold (because it's frickin' cold in beijing, no more sunburn)
get found by some nice chinese travellers who all speak english and take you where you need to go
hang out with them for tea, then realize tea costs Y570 (about 100 US dollars) after you've drank it all.
decide it was worth it
find the nicest hostel ever
get stoked
get hungry
get meat pockets and feel ill
read lots of menus
find the slowest internet POSSIBLE (seriously, i'm almost sweating blood because i'm so frusterated with this internet)
but the internet is free, so it's kindof okay.
find out that your hostel has not only clean showers and good beds, but the best breakfast buffet ever...
eat a ton
finally get access to your blog
appease your parents, who you know are really worried when you don't post blogs
and... part two
your mom has copy watches and handbags...
is what i say (to erin, under my breath) everytime we pass touters on the street. You(meaning jessica, and anyone else) would be rolling with the number of your mom jokes i can tell here. imagine the best jokes ever- because that's all i've got over here.
that's pretty much all i have because the only things i can say in chinese are
hello (nihao)
thankyou (sheshe)
where is the toilet (cesua zai nar)
how much is this (do chau zien)
and a few things that i can't remember
honestly, it is so hard for me to be okay without being able to communicate with everyone, and without being able to read everything, because i'm such an english/reading/understanding geek. other than that, i'm gettin along just fine.
we left Hong Kong yesterday, and after a 25 hour train ride we got to Beijing. i like it, but it is harder for me to get around here, simply because of the language. we keep meeting really awesome people here, other travellers and also residents. kids love erin and i, because we look funny to them, and we make faces at them.
the place we're staying at is down one of the creepiest alleys, past a lot of stinky gutters and interesting meat shops, and it is the nicest hostel i have ever seen. it is part of a real hotel, but they just have a hostel offshoot, and we have huge beds, clean pillows, big showers and even clean squatty toilets. it is amazing, and after a day on the hard sleeper train, i am sooo ready for a shower.
this is what we have decided we like best about china so far.
these are our favorite things
a. bakerys
b. nice people
c. good transportation
d. just different enough to feel scary
e. just different enough for us to feel accomplished when we get things right
f. meat on a stick (hot dogs with bacon wrapped around it, from street vendors)
g. street vendors
h. neat food
i. good smiles
j. tons of amazing clothes and shoes, which we have been avoiding because we don't want to carry them around yet.
so, we are about to go start our first full day in frigid Beijing, wish us well!
we love you more than meat on a stick (and that says a ton)
this is a slight recap of the last few days. i hope you like it. if you want to email me (amy) my email is gibsona2@cc.wwu.edu or my myspace is www.myspace.com/buildingdreamsofclay
and erin's is spikenard04@hotmail.com or www.myspace.com/thebonafidesweatervest
so, do it, make us feel loved.
korea style cooked dog meat
my darlings , even you could have this menu option if you travel to Beijing, China. To get here, all you have to do is the following:
Fly to Hong Kong (17 hours in the air, 2-12 in the airport)
THink china is really easy, without realizing that in HK everything is made for the ease of tourists (especially americans, because they are the fattest)
get thrown into a creepy guest house
sleep there
find a really neat guest house, stay for about 5 days meet cool people from neat places
miss your friends who get your humor, and even encourage it
get tired of HK, because china is big, but HK is busy
ride a subway to shenzhen
go through customs
get into mainland china, where people cut in line, spit on the street, and babies all have holes in their pants
ride a train for 26 hours (just a tip, get the middle bunk on hard sleepers)
feel smelly, claustrophobic and slightly schocked due to your inability to talk to anyone here in less touristy china.
miss your friends
try to learn mandarin really fast
sleep instead, it is a sleeper train
read The Alchemist and feel a ton better about the whole world, especially about travelling in unknown places
get to Beijing
stick out like a sore thumb because you're tall and white with red curly hair
Have an old woman take you under her wing and get you to the right bus
get off the bus (after being stared at, because not many people backpack here)
look around for a bit
get lost
get cold (because it's frickin' cold in beijing, no more sunburn)
get found by some nice chinese travellers who all speak english and take you where you need to go
hang out with them for tea, then realize tea costs Y570 (about 100 US dollars) after you've drank it all.
decide it was worth it
find the nicest hostel ever
get stoked
get hungry
get meat pockets and feel ill
read lots of menus
find the slowest internet POSSIBLE (seriously, i'm almost sweating blood because i'm so frusterated with this internet)
but the internet is free, so it's kindof okay.
find out that your hostel has not only clean showers and good beds, but the best breakfast buffet ever...
eat a ton
finally get access to your blog
appease your parents, who you know are really worried when you don't post blogs
and... part two
your mom has copy watches and handbags...
is what i say (to erin, under my breath) everytime we pass touters on the street. You(meaning jessica, and anyone else) would be rolling with the number of your mom jokes i can tell here. imagine the best jokes ever- because that's all i've got over here.
that's pretty much all i have because the only things i can say in chinese are
hello (nihao)
thankyou (sheshe)
where is the toilet (cesua zai nar)
how much is this (do chau zien)
and a few things that i can't remember
honestly, it is so hard for me to be okay without being able to communicate with everyone, and without being able to read everything, because i'm such an english/reading/understanding geek. other than that, i'm gettin along just fine.
we left Hong Kong yesterday, and after a 25 hour train ride we got to Beijing. i like it, but it is harder for me to get around here, simply because of the language. we keep meeting really awesome people here, other travellers and also residents. kids love erin and i, because we look funny to them, and we make faces at them.
the place we're staying at is down one of the creepiest alleys, past a lot of stinky gutters and interesting meat shops, and it is the nicest hostel i have ever seen. it is part of a real hotel, but they just have a hostel offshoot, and we have huge beds, clean pillows, big showers and even clean squatty toilets. it is amazing, and after a day on the hard sleeper train, i am sooo ready for a shower.
this is what we have decided we like best about china so far.
these are our favorite things
a. bakerys
b. nice people
c. good transportation
d. just different enough to feel scary
e. just different enough for us to feel accomplished when we get things right
f. meat on a stick (hot dogs with bacon wrapped around it, from street vendors)
g. street vendors
h. neat food
i. good smiles
j. tons of amazing clothes and shoes, which we have been avoiding because we don't want to carry them around yet.
so, we are about to go start our first full day in frigid Beijing, wish us well!
we love you more than meat on a stick (and that says a ton)
posted by Amy Gibson at 8:35 PM
1 Comments:
amy and erin!!!! sounds like you guys are doing well... yah... i was on the 25 hr sleeper this break... i guess the whole curly red hair thing does make u stick out like a sore thumb... are u guys gonna go out to xining? hope all is well and be safe...
joe
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