Experiences in China Video

For my group project, we had to create a video that sums up our journey in China. So if you ask me, "How was China?" I will tell you that no words can truly express how magical it was. I am happy to share this short video with you filled with pictures and footage of our semester. I'm done with my semester and back in the U.S... for now... See You in the Fall Beijing!

ENJOY!

Watch it in HD 720

Anyang Excursion to the farmland

Waking up with only ten minutes to spare, I woke my roommate up, threw on my clothes, grabbed all of my bags, and ran to the taxi going to the train station. The program took us on the bullet train going 300kg per hour instead of the sleeper train to Shanghai (thank God!). Once we all arrived in the Hunan province, next was a two hour bus ride to Anyang where the trip was mainly held. But not before going on a four hour hike which nearly killed us! 

The hike up the mountains were definitely not safe because of the height and long drop down. Plus it was hailing. I’m just glad everyone made it out alive. On the top of the mountain, I learned how to handmake baskets. Despite my fingers almost falling off, it was a very memorable experience.

Haha the guesthouse~~ Well it wasn’t what I expected. The food dishes the owners served were excellent and the locals were very nice. But the horror struck once we entered our rooms. Before I could even open my door, I hear screaming and someone literally getting sick. So I finally enter the room and got hit with the worst odor in my life. In addition, there was no heat for the entire night. Alas, I put a smile on my face and got over it to enjoy my time.

For the rest of the trip we did a six hour hike, bonded over a bonfire, rapelled down a mountain, and took a cave boat ride! I must sat, that was the funnest getaway from the city ever!! 

First day in the farmland

Making dumplings and bonding over the bonfire (our only source of heat)

Half way through the six hour hike. Lunch time! We had the Chinese version of KFC.

Rainy day learning how to weave baskets

High Speed Bullet Train

Knocked OUT!

ALIVE!

We all fit through that crack in the mountain

We repelled down that!

Photo up with some curious strangers

The slide down the mountain

Boat ride through the cave

Vacation/Break in Hainan, Sanya

April 1st was the start of an amazing Tomb Sweeping break on the island of Sanya. The exact location is near the South China Sea by Taiwan. The weather was in the mid 80’s all week and humid! Everyone knows how much I love humidity! The island had clear blue skies and clean sea air. I was in heaven!

The hotel my friend and I stayed in was booked for a steal! $250 for six nights at a five star hotel seemed impossible, but dreams do come true. Our hotel included a private beach, pool, hammocks, breakfast, etc. The room itself had a balcony view of palm trees. As for the hotel workers, my friend and I always kept them entertained by using our body language to go places and ordering room service.

The people in Sanya were relatively nice and friendly. Only a tiny percentage of people spoke English, so I improved my Chinese because my friend’s Chinese was really poor. The taxi drivers were by far the coolest people I met on vacation because we would get lost most of the time. So all of us would make conversation in the cab. Visiting lower Sanya was the first time I experienced angry stares. The area in itself was filled with negative energy, so we decided never to go back down there. But ultimately the natives were very nice.

Nice taxi drivers show us a great time in Upper Sanya

During the vacation, I only wanted to relax, rest, and recharge my batteries because I was so busy in Beijing. So all I did was eat, sleep, exercise, go to the beach, and study by the pool. But during the weekend, I spent my nights exploring Hainan night life.

Food in Hainan was quite a hassle trying to find. The hotel supplied us with a map, but even that wasn’t helpful. My friend and I got lost so much! One evening we got lost at ten pm and the only nearby restaurant open was at the Sheraton hotel. I ordered a Chicago styled hot-dog ($14) and got hit on by old Norwegian steamboat racers. But once we got use to transportation, we ate out comfortably. Sanya has the freshest seafood I've ever eaten!

The most relaxing part of the trip was my friend’s birthday. I was cool with the hotel manager, so I asked him to prepare a birthday cake and send it to the room. He happily put in the request and afterwards helped me study Chinese. An hour later, a couple hotel staff came to our room and sang the Chinese happy birthday song. For the rest of the night, my friend and I ordered room service and watched movies on tv. It was such a chill night.

Lexi's birthday cake with whipped frosting, dragon fruit, apples, cantaloupe, and kiwi

My vacation came to an end after six days and I was ready to part ways with Sanya. Once we arrived at the airport at 9am, the flight was delayed twice. We finally took off at 10:50pm! In between the time, we checked back into our hotel and slept. After a medical emergency, two passengers getting sick, and experiencing the worst turbulence of my life, we landed in Beijing at 2:15am. I did not get back to my dorm until 4am because the line to get a taxi was really long. But a week of relaxation made me smile through the nightmare. 

Despite the torture coming back to Beijing, I am extremely grateful that I had the chance to spend my break in Hainan. Chilling on the beach and doing everything I wanted (which was absolutely nothing) helped me recharge my batteries. Midterms bring it on!

Shanghai Excursion

Let’s start from the beginning. My program and about 50 other ICB students accompanied us to Shanghai for a couple days. I made a few friends on the bus to the train station and we all were really rushed to make our train on time. When we got on the train, there were 6 bunks per sleeper cabin. The train ride was 15 hours to Shanghai and back. That’s more than my flight to Beijing! But it was fun because all I did was eat and bond with my fellow ICB students. I passed out in my bed and I only had 8 more hours on the train. 

Finally we arrived in Shanghai! My first impressions of Shanghai were that it was very green in terms of preserving their nature and it’s way more modern than Beijing. The food was alright tasting, but my stomach hated it. The weather was pretty and rainy, but not like the kind of rain that feels dirty in cities...the rain was cleaner. 

View of Shanghai

Modern Italian corner

Talking about modern, I never thought I'd live to see a Rolls-Royce which is my dream car. I just had to take a picture!

Just about to go into the China Art Museum

We traveled to the Pearl Tower to see all of Shanghai which was amazing. 

Waiting in line for the tower elevator

View from the pearl tower

After the Pearl tower tour

Generously giving a helping hand after a long trip to the tower

Shanghai nightlife~~ I met up with a mutual friend who lived in the city and he showed my friends and I one of the hottest clubs in Shanghai. M2 was packed, but not surprising for a Saturday night. That night I partied with some of my Chinese friends and made it back to the hotel before 1. Going to bed at 2, I needed to wake up at 8 for the next trip.

Also, we traveled to a water town outside of the city. That was an experience in itself because I did not have an umbrella. So I was umbrella hopping the entire time. The natives were humble and there were a lot of traditional clothes, artwork, and historical artifacts.

Enough said!~

Bumming some rain shelter from Jamaal

After being stuck in traffic for two hours going to the train station, the program treated us to KFC and we caught our train. The eating, drinking, and bonding continued, however, our teacher decided to have class so we could sleep in the next day. He gave us an assignment to talk with our ICB classmates about aspects of Chinese culture and report back. Once we completed class, I hung out with other students on the train. I actually went to sleep at a decent time but~~~~

On the slow train back to Beijing

There was an elder Chinese man in the bunk next to me and he snored SO loudly! I can usually drown it out with my iPod, but it was dead. My roommate let me use hers but J-pop couldn’t put me to sleep. So I only got three hours of sleep. I didn’t fall asleep until the elder man woke up to start his day (7:00am). 

I loved Shanghai and I was honestly a little disappointed to be back in Beijing, but I had a wonderful experience and made a ton of Chinese friends along the way.