This article was, again!, written at the date below and for my family, but I have made just a few slight changes. I also decided to take all names out for now. This is because I think I should ask anyone before I put their name in my blog and it is sometimes hard to get in touch with my friends because they are in other countries and sometimes hard to reach. So, since I have yet to get replies as to how they feel about this matter, and making up fake names seemed not so great to me, I have omitted their names for now.
April 15th, 2008
It was very warm in Beijing yesterday, and it is today too. I think spring has really arrived.
I have been studying for the midterms that are April 23rd, 24th, and 25th. I will have to write an 80-character essay, listen to dialogues and do some sort of speaking. That means I have a LOT of studying to do.
Last weekend, I went to Shanghai and Nanjing. Two friends from my class went, as well four from another class. Two know each other from Holland, one is from Australia, one is from the U.S., one is from Germany but his parents are from Hong Kong, and one is from Iceland.
Shanghai is a lot like Beijing but it feels more international and there are quite a few European style homes and buildings. It rained a little while we were there and the sun didn’t come out much, but we got to see a lot.
We went to the Propaganda Museum, the Pearl TV Tower, crossed the river on a boat, saw Sun Yat-Sen’s former residence, walked the Bund during the day and at night and saw the Yuyuan Garden and the Old City.
The Bund is really pretty at night, almost as nice as Guangzhou. The museum was one of the most interesting I’ve ever seen. There were propaganda posters from 1949-79. A lot were about America. At the Pearl Tower, we were going to go all the way to the top, but my friend from Germany lost our group ticket, and so we only went to 263 meters.
But it was not a big deal. We got to see all of Shanghai and watch the boats on the river, and the new buildings under construction.
Nanjing was a two or three-hour train ride from Shanghai. I met a very nice Chinese girl on the train. We exchanged email addresses and plan to write each other from time to time.
Nanjing was really nice. It isn’t a huge city like Shanghai or Beijing. We took a lift to the top of Monk Peak -a very long way- and hiked down -also a very long way- and saw Sun Yat-Sen’s mausoleum. It was really big and impressive. You had to walk up a LOT of stairs to get to it. I also realized that McDonalds and Burger King are made out of somewhat more real food in countries other than America.
Monk Peak was my favorite place that we visited, besides the city wall. It was all wilderness, for the most part, which is what I like the best. Of course being from Alaska, I am a big hiker and this was just my thing. It was really hot and sunny, with lots of bugs flying around, but everything was beautiful. At one point we asked for directions and a very nice Chinese man showed us the way, and even came with us since he was going in the same direction. Talk about good opportunity to practice our Chinese! The trails ran between the trees and we came upon a lake with small, Chinese style open buildings with benches. A man even jumped in the lake to swim.
On another note that is completely off topic: Chinese Hot Pot is also really good, and fun to eat. You order small amounts of whatever you think you will like and you cook the food yourself in “soup” that boils in the middle of your table. It makes eating really entertaining.
We also walked the Old City Wall. The Wall is really big and a very nice walk. Of course, we paid a bit, but it was worth it. The rocks were not clean, grass was growing between them, making it much more romantic.
A film scene was being shot as we walked on the wall. Two people were walking along, talking, with a big mic above them and cameras ahead.
Being in Nanjing felt like being in what people call ‘real China’. The China that isn’t extremely international. There are less foreigners and not many commercial proceedings. It felt nice actually. I am not a big city person and Nanjing was very beautiful to me.
Our train back to Beijing was relatively uneventful. We played cards until midnight. I was the only one who could shuffle like a pro. hehe☺
At the Beijing Train Station, we were asked to present our tickets. Of course, the boys had lost theirs (they had been losing and forgetting things the entire trip). We searched and waited and searched some more. The ladies working there were not nice and no one spoke any English and none of us know enough Chinese to really say what we want. Finally, a man came over to us and told us to just go. The ladies weren’t too happy about that, but at least we were free!
We have unanimously decided that from now on, one of the girls must have responsibility of boy’s tickets at all times. The boys can never have responsibility of their own tickets anymore. Maybe it will keep them, and thus us, out of trouble.
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