So after a summer exploring the states and parts of Canada, I returned to Chengdu, China for year 3. I’ve been back in Sichuan for a month already; an insanely busy month, full of school work, friends, course work, and sleep. And it occurs to me that there is still so much I have neglected to show you on this blog: food (hot pot and dim sum), trips (to the Panda Base, Sanya, Hanoi & Halong Bay, Taiwan, and Xishuangbanna), and just everyday craziness around Chengdu (construction, school, murder mystery parties, whatever else is going on). I will try to be better to devoting more time to writing.
This coming week, we have a 6 day work-week: 4 days with students (including a back-to-school night), and 2 days of professional development. I have so much to do to get ready for Friday & Saturday! But the following week, we only have a 3-day work week after which I’m heading down to the Yunnan province, which is a deliciously beautiful part of China.
Actually, depending where you go in the Yunnan province, the area may not even feel like China. Last April, Kerensa and I flew to Xishuangbanna for their annual Water Throwing Festival. Xishuangbanna is an autonomous prefecture in the far south of the Yunnan province, which is located in the south-west area of China. The majority of people in Xishuangbanna are not the Chinese Han, but the Dai people, closely related to people in Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. Xishuangbanna actually sits close to these countries as well, butting up to Myanmar and only a river’s width from Laos. As such, all the signs are in two (sometimes 3) languages: Chinese and some script that looks marvelously similar to Thai (and English, if you’re lucky).
Although a prefecture of only about 1 million (compared, let’s say, to Chengdu’s 14 million), there were plenty of people in the city of Jinghong, where Kerensa and I were staying. I could write about everything we did there, all related to the Water Throwing Festival, but this video I came across explains it so much more concisely:
The coolest part of the festival, by far, was the actual day of the water throwing. This next video are some photos I took of the festivities, set to the Piano Guy’s Cello Ascends. (An aside: these musicians are amazing! Buy their music, see them in concert, become as obsessed as I am!)
I suppose it is time to get back to being productive for the evening. Thanks for checking in!
Update on my life: I just bought a spiffy new VPN. So while I wrote this post about a week ago, I’m just getting around to posting it. Hopefully posts will be a lot easier from here on out!…
A short while ago, in Bali…
Wow. December 30. I have never in my life been on a vacation this long. But, since December 13, I’ve been here on the island of Bali relaxing and enjoying the heat, the sky, and the blessed sun. I leave here on January 1 and am decidedly not looking forward to the cold, cloudy Chengdu that I’m heading back to. I can’t wait to see my kiddos again, but a large, pathetic part of me is counting down the days until Chinese New Year, when I can escape again and explore some other eastern port.
Life here in Bali is cheap (by western standards), although it’s a bit of a pill for me to figure out the exchange rate. I end up turning prices back into Chinese RMB then figuring out American prices from there. Basically, 100,000 rupiah is about $8. So pulling $80 bucks from an ATM gives me 1,000,000 rupiah…which is more than enough play money for a day or two. Most meals end up costing me about $10-$15, which is much more expensive than China, but infinitely cheaper than taking a vacation in the United States.
Accents here are also amazing. There are so many Australians around, staying here for a cheap holiday, that I can swoon while listening to them for a few moments, at least until they become incredibly obnoxious. And no, Australians currently splashing and shouting in the hotel pool, I’m not talking about you at all… (Do Aussies get as bad a rap as Americans when traveling?)
Our holiday commenced with four of us–Yang, Jay, Adam, and me–checking into hotels in Seminyak (northern Kuta). There we stayed about a block from the beach, passing by very small, very touristy shops every morning. We spent the first week in Bali soaking up the sun. We explored restaurants, strolled through the hot sand, and went dancing at night in local clubs. Adam got to surf one day and I learned how to play the game Euchre (and am currently on a major winning streak on my phone app of the game). The only downside was Jay and I both got sick with various ailments which had us laying low for a bit.
SeminyakAdam surfsYang makes a friend in Seminyak
After Kuta, we traveled on up to the quieter Ubud. We randomly bumped into a couple who taught with QSI in Shenzhen our first morning there. While in Ubud, we took it easy but spent time exploring the monkey forest, rice terraces, a coffee plantation, and attending a local dance. We ate dinner almost every night at the same restaurant, becoming something like regulars in our very short time there. Alicia, Kerensa, and Thommy (all from Chengdu) also landed in Ubud during our stay. We spent one night hanging out with them, exploring the limited Ubud night life.
Jay and Yang in the Monkey ForestAdam makes a friendJust chilling with the primatesJay and Yang at the fire danceFire dance actorDancing through embersThe view out the front door of my hotel room in Ubud.Yang has fish nibble on her feetFish frenzy! This tickled so much at first!Adam and me hanging out at the rice terracesAwesome shot! Jay and Yang in front of the terraces.Rice terracesRice terracesYang and Adam exploreRice!Nuts and spicesAsian Palm CivetCoffee/Tea flight.The CanadiansAt the coffee plantationMeeting up with Kerensa, Thommy, and Alicia for dinner in Ubud
On Christmas Eve, Jay and Yang headed for the northern part of Bali while Adam and I headed back down to Kuta. It was a quite Christmas eve, filled with lots of walking, exploring the local beaches. On Christmas day, more walking. We went to a local mall and had sushi as our Christmas meal (which always makes a perfect holiday!). After a day of hanging out, Adam headed off to the airport and I went to mass. After church, I walked back to my hotel room (about a 40 minute stroll) and tucked myself in bed exhausted.
The day after Christmas was the only day of this vacation I had to myself (not that that’s a bad thing; I would much rather be around others). But I decided to take full advantage of it. I spent hours at a spa (my skin, I tell you, is still softer because of it) coming back only to order room service and fall into the most peaceful, angel-like sleep.
The following day, Saturday, I met back up with Jay and Yang at our new hotel, also in Kuta (central Kuta this time). I’ve been terribly lazy since meeting up with them. We spent most of yesterday shopping, but today I have only left the hotel to meander down the street to the nearby convenience store. Tonight, we are going out to dinner and then I’m meeting up with Kerensa and Alicia (who are down from Ubud) for drinks and dancing.
We did, however, have one eerie moment. On Saturday night, I was hanging out in the hotel pool with Jay and an Australian. The wind started to blow and lightening crackled in the distance. I was contemplating whether or not to get out of the pool when the Aussie pointed out the lightening. “It never seems to amount to much, though,” Jay said. I stayed in the pool a while after Jay, getting out only when Yang wanted to go try a restaurant nearby. After a late dinner, I fell asleep, waking up to a heavy rain crashing down around 7am. The skies cleared a bit later, but already flight 8501, which took off from nearby Java island, had crashed. Since then there have been heavy periods of rain that roll through and, as we remember the victims of this accident, it’s also a little chilling to know that in two days, at about the same departure time, we’re flying the same airline back to Chengdu.
The Chengdu Chapter 