Fenghuang Pics

                                 ^ handicrafts and a touristy sign                  ^ a gift from my newfound friend

                                 ^ delicious chewy sesame-seed                   ^ looking down from an old bridge
                                    goodness. Quite a deal at 1元

                                  ^ dragons (LONG) at a temple                       ^ me inside the temple    

                                   ^ 3 adorable primary school                         ^ flower from my head wreath
                                   girls who saw me and decided                      that I put in a vase at the hostel
                                   I was their afternoon playdate.

Fenghuang ✲ River Phoenix

After a long overnight train ride, and two gruelling bus rides (super bumpy roads and I needed to use the bathroom for over 4 hours...enough said), I finally arrived in Fenghuang. It's a quaint little town -- and very picturesque! Near one of the town gates close to the river I met a really nice Chinese girl who spoke some English. She was about my age, and she and all of her friends wanted to take photos with me. In return, they kindly helped me find where I needed to go and they even ran and bought me a map! It was a nice change from the "HELLO!" yell I get from motorcycle-taxi drivers ("hello" is the only English word they know) and the stares I get from most other people.

Currently I'm sitting on my bed in the hostel with the windows open because the weather is so nice today! There is a small orange kitten meowing on the windowsill and a chicken clucking down in the alleyway below. The small cobblestone streets are lined with locals selling anything from flower wreaths to wear on your head, handmade souvenirs, walnut cakes, an assortment of fruits and freshly-made sweets... to caged ducks (ready to prepare for a meal), flattened and dried pig-faces, and stinky fermented tofu. Here are a few pictures from my first two hours here.

 

 ^ flattened, dried pig faces                    ^ fresh crabs, anyone?

          

^ hand-washing clothes                            ^ riverside view

       

          ^ umm, no idea what this is               ^ chuan (boat) and pagoda

    

  ^ my new friend :)                 ^ selling food

In other news, on the second bus-ride getting here there was a HUGE commotion on the side of the street. Our bus slowed down and everyone crowded the windows to see what was going on. There was a man beating another man with a metal shovel -- beating him SO hard it was scary. A few other men tried to take the shovel from him and succeeded. There were at least 70 people gathered to watch the scene. The crazy man then started running away with another man chasing after him. Then, all of a suden the psycho grabs another shovel, turns to the guy chasing him, and starts swinging at him! Our bus was pulling away at that point... but I can't help but think where are the police when you need them? Seriously, there is no shortage of Gong An (公安) police officers here in China, but I constantly wonder what they actually do. Some things I just don't understand.

Heading Out on Another Adventure :)

I'm heading to Fenghuang tonight... taking the night train to Jishou! Fenghuang is an ancient river town, sometimes called River Phoenix, in the western part of Hunan province. I board the train at 11:20PM tonight and arrive in Jishou around 7:30AM. I have a "hard sleeper" ticket, so hopefully I can get some rest on the train. I'll proceed to take a bus from Jishou to Fenghuang and spend some time exploring the town and reading in a tea shoppe. I've heard it's not an exciting place, but very picturesque. I'll post an update with pictures soon!! :)

xoxo.

HEINZZZZZ!

My Chinese friends brought me to an awesome Fujian restaurant last night (kind of a "hole in the wall" type place, but with delicious food...photos to come soon!) and then brought me to a Hong Kong supermarket - with some international/imported foods! I passed on the Bacardi coolers (for now) but did manage to purchase a bottle of Heinz ketchup. :) So, after I came back from being the "special guest" in a university English class this morning, I picked up some cooked potato slices to take home. Aaaand now I'm enjoying potatoes and ketchup. SO GOOD.

* * *

Some other interesting foods I've fallen in love with recently include:

         - Lotus root (Ou in Chinese...first picture below - L)

         - Some sort of bamboo or tofu noodle (second picture - R)

         - Dosha baozi, a breakfast bun filled with red-bean paste 

         - Black sesame seed paste (third/bottom picture)

A Chinese Facial Experiment

I was at the supermarket a few days ago and saw a stand full of on-sale skincare products. Thinking that my face is much too dry these days, I excitedly picked up a "home facial" packet, slightly comforted by the Nivea-esque logo on the front. "Sivia France", it boasted. France! And it's only 2.9元 (less than 50 cents), on sale from the regular 10元. I turn the package around and find Chinese instructions, but with pictures. Plus, most home facials are self-explanatory. Haha. Anyway, I buy the packet.

This morning I decided to try the facial. "Ocean Deeply Moisturizing Mask", it's called. Now, the thing to understand about Chinese face and skin-care products is this: they often contain bleaching/whitening agents because Chinese people are obsessed with having fair skin. So this is actually the first time I've attempted putting anything Chinese on my face, since I don't want to make my already tan-less face even whiter. And since translations (if there are any on the packaging) are always Chinglish, it's impossible to tell what you're getting when you buy a Chinese product. (Which, by the way, makes for pretty interesting grocery shopping experiences. It's a constant experiment!).

As I sit here with this ridiculous-looking mask on my face, I wonder if in 15 minutes I'll be the next Michael Jackson... with a frighteningly white complexion. Maybe I'll buy a white glove while I'm at it. Ahhhhh. Fingers crossed for my face looking normal once I remove the mask!! LOL!!!

^ scary, I know. but hilarious, right?

Soooooo the club in Zhuzhou is pretty hilarious.... Let's just say foreigners dont have to buy drinks there. ;) It's pretty awesome. I had a fun night tonight celebrating Sammy and Callum's birthdays with fellow British and American expats!! After hanging out at Nora's for a bit we headed to SoHo (the local bar/club), and then had some late-night (early morning?) snacks on Walking Street (this amazing "pedestrian-only" area with lots of food stands at night). Here are a few pics of the crew.

^ on Walking Street at 1:30am

^ Callum with his birthday card. hahaha...

^ getting chilly here at night!!!

Happy Halloween from ErZhong!!!

^ Daisy, Me, and Nora

Ahhhh it is too cold here at night! I'm sleeping with three blankets and two hot water bottles (no, they're not plastic, Mom) just to keep warm. But every morning I wake up in my little cocoon and am absolutely freezing. The heater isn't working in my apartment. And my clothes are taking forever to hang dry (there are no such things are dryers here in China...and I hand wash most of my clothes to avoid the washing machine that destroys things). lol. Ohhh China. It's going to be an interesting winter!

This weekend I ended up not going to Ningyuan, although it would've been a fun time. The logistics of getting away for a weekend can be overwhelming, especially when I commute over an hour each day (round-trip). It's a pain in the butt sometimes, because I can't just "run home", grab my stuff, and head to the train or bus station. One of my favourite quotes that I try to repeat to myself here is: "Do what you can with what you have, where you are" (Teddy Roosevelt).

It's been a rainy week and I'm exhausted for some reason. Last night I had a bowl of sou cai la mien (noodles in broth with cooked leafy greens...mmmm), walked around the new lake, and headed back to my apartment to try and unwind/relax. And to think about life. I think it's about time to crack open that bottle of Jack Daniels I brought with me. ;)

Of all the songs to hear in public in China, I've heard Richard Marx's "Right Here Waiting" twice in the past 24 hours. Ironic. *Sigh* I wish life was a little less complicated sometimes.

Anyway, last night I played badminton for two hours with Sarah M and some other teachers at her school. It was awesome! It had been over 5 years since I played competitively, and I sure have missed it!!!

This week's lesson on Halloween has been going really well. I'm getting a kick out of scaring the kids, haha. I bet the school administration hates me though, since I'm getting the class to practice screaming (hey -- they've gotta learn new vocab one way or the other) and I'm showing them clips from Nightmare Before Christmas and Michael Jackson's "Thriller". It keeps the kids attentive and interested, so it works for me! lol.

Weekend plans? Trying to decide between heading down to Ningyuan with Nora for the big WT Halloween party and staying here for Sammy and Callum's birthday celebration (they're two British expats teaching here in Zhuzhou). I'm kind of burned out from traveling, to be honest. I just want to finish reading 1984 by George Orwell. A 300-page book should NOT be taking me over 2 weeks to finish! Gah!

OOOOH i forgot to mention that today I was an honourable judge for my school's "English song contest". Students from all three grades competed (solo or in a small group) in the auditorium after the last period of classes. There are some pretty talented students at our school! It was really entertaining. And, here's the kicker -- a teacher came over to me near the end of the contest and whispered, "Cait, we need some time to make the decision for the winner; we want you to say something to the students while we talk. Please sing a song." After about ten seconds of internal fear of making an ass of myself, I agreed to do it. I've really got nothing to lose -- and much more to gain.

So I introduced myself, spoke a bit of Chinese, and sang a verse of Enrique Iglesias's "Dimelo" and the opening to "My Girl" by Van Morrison. Hahahahaha. Because I had a few more seconds to kill, I took some questions from the students. Why was I not surprised when Justin Bieber came up almost immediately? lol. After the contest winners were announced I went to dinner with some other teachers. It was nice finally being invited to something!

Never a dull moment in China.

Academic Restlessness

So, since I haven't yet taken the GRE or GMAT, I can't apply for grad schools until next year.  But I'm feeling lost without having some sort of academic work to complete.  I'm currently looking at Continuing Ed programs offered through universities.  The only question is what to take?  I am interested in sooo many things - it's hard to choose just one course!  But I know that if I have a low-key online course it will help keep me focused and busy in China... something to periodically take my mind off teaching.  Here are a few courses I'm considering:

    - Achieving Success with Difficult People (bahahaha...just what i need for those blasted middle school children!)
    - Natural Health and Healing
    - Assisting Aging Parents (juuuuuuust kidding, Mom and Dad)
    - Get Assertive! (this might help me with standing up to my liaison and not being a pushover at my school)
    - Travel Writing

In all seriousness, I think I'm going to take the natural health and healing course.  It covers elements of a holistic lifestyle and healing, including vitamins, antioxidants, hydrotherapy, diet, biorhythms, fasting, etc.  I'm trying to get into Traditional Chinese Medicine (中医) and I think this would be a great supplement to my existing research. :)

And I miss playing music. It's such a healthy creative outlet for me, but I don't have access to any instruments here (that I know of). ♩♪♫♬ I would do anything for a piano and guitar... ♩♪♫♬

What can I say... it's just a Starbucks coffee and Bailey's Irish Cream kinda morning.
Add some Benjamin Francis Leftwich to the mix, and it's a perfect morning.

♪ "Where does the time go? Where does the time all go forever?
 It hides in your eyes, in a picture in another place's sky." ♫

Lion Statues in China

Since I arrived in China, I've seen tons of sculptures of lions and fu dogs (pictured above) gracing the entrance of banks, big restaurants, office buildings, and hotels. There are always two -- one on each side of the entrance -- and they are usually really big.

According to folklore, lions possessed magical powers that enabled them to predict natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes. Just before catastrophes would occur, the eyes of sculpted lions would turn red or shed tears of blood.

Statues of lions were introduced in China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) and given to emperors are gifts. The lions also symbolised the spread of Buddhism across the nation.

The setting position of the lions is strictly determined by the rules of fengshui. According to fengshui, it is most proper to point lions toward the west or northwest, the directions they entered China.

A pair of sculptured lions at an entrance consist of two sexes. The male will be on the left and is playing with a silk ball with his right paw. The silk ball stands for the power and high position. The female uses her left forepaw to nurse her cub and is symbolic of success for many successive generations. Lions must always appear in pairs, a male and a female. If one is broken, the two, as a pair, must be moved away together.

The stone lions are also used to decorate bridges, tombs and pagodas.

(Source: ChinaDaily.com)

Post Office Woes

Nothing like bawling your eyes out in the middle of the post office to build up your image in the community. Today has been tough.

Afternoon Bike Ride & Evening Light Show

Today, after I dragged my sore glutes out of bed (thanks Mt. Heng, lol), I made a cup of Starbucks coffee (thanks Mom for the coffee press), and then headed out for the afternoon. I love walking, but it takes so long to explore a city that way. So today I decided to go for a long bike ride to cover as much of Zhuzhou as possible in about 3 hours.

It was incredibly fun. =D

I biked across bridges, along the Xiang River, through construction zones, into poor areas, aaaaaand on a freeway. Yeah. That last one was a mistake. I got distracted and missed the "no bikes" overhead sign  and found myself on a multi-lane highway. Good thing traffic laws aren't really enforced here! I got a few people yelling "Hello!" and waving out the window. If I had cable TV I'd probably find myself on the evening news. lol. Anyway, I got off at the next exit ramp and continued my exploration of the city. There are so many cool pockets of Zhuzhou that I didn't know existed until this afternoon. I am definitely going to be doing this more often!! And it's amazing exercise!

Below are a few photos I took along the way.

^ mother teaching her son how to fly a kite. 

^ quick stop for a snack and photo

^ Zhuzhou has beautiful wildflowers along the walking/biking paths

^ riverside path

^ and then i found myself biking in a construction zone.

love you china.

^ i love flowers

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Then I came home, had a quick dinner, and headed to the light show across the street at the new lake with Nora.  We had a great time talking by the lake and enjoying the cool breeze. Zhuzhou is really impressing me with all the new things they're doing -- this light show is just one example. The hilarious thing about this huge new lake is that we didn't even know it existed until a few days ago. There has been a TON of construction going on behind YanDi square, which is right across the road from our apartments at No. 2 Middle School. But there were huge walls up everywhere so it was impossible to see what was going on back there. Rumours were spreading about a lake, but we were doubtful. 

Then all of a sudden the barricades were gone. Aaaaaaand it turns out there *is* indeed a lake there... a HUGE lake with beautiful walking paths, gardens, outdoor amphitheatre areas, and statues. It was honestly like that scene in The Truman Show (movie with Jim Carrey) when Truman discovers a whole different world exists beyond what he previously knew. Nora and I now joke about this lake constantly. It opens up a whole realm of new possibilities for fun... like reading by the lake, going for a walk or bike ride around the lake, or lesson planning by the lake. (Not to mention watching the nightly light/water/fire show over the lake). LOL. Who knew?!

This is more entertainment than I can handle. ;)

^ the news station tower behind YanDi Square,

complete with beaming lasers

^ nightly light show over the lake

^ beautiful light show, complete with music and pyrotechnics.

i was definitely impressed.

^ thanks to Patty for the group shot

Hengshan, Nanyue

Weekend Trip to 南岳 (Nányuè)

This weekend I headed to Nanyue with Nora and Bianca to visit Tina and Jooik at their school (and to celebrate Tina's birthday!). We met up with 8 other WorldTeachers and hiked all day Saturday up to Zhurong Peak on Mount Heng (衡山). It was a gorgeous hike with beautiful scenery -- and pretty steep most of the way up. Not including rest breaks, we hiked for 6 hours; it took us 3:40h to get up to the peak. Now I can say I've hiked one of China's "Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism". There was actually the world's largest international Taoism conference being held in Nanyue this weekend. Anyway, I had a blast hanging out with the other WTers.

Took a fast train home last night (got up to 306 km/h!!) and met two guys on the train who (ironically) live behind my school campus. They asked if I wanted a free cab ride home from the train station and kept saying "Wonderful day, beautiful girl". Haha. They didn't speak much English, but it was still fun. Here are a few pictures from this weekend's adventure!!

^ Nanyue Middle School (南岳中学)

 

^ amazing scenery

^ we survived the trek back down the mountain :)