ChCHCh..China...

Hello, friends! Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a wonderful evening! :) I decided to skip the usual New Years Eve festivities and go for something more relaxing... I was getting a massage at a spa as the clock struck 12( 1.5 hr for $35-40)! It was a wonderful massage, but I was trying not to yell or cry during the event. Getting a massage outside the US is always rather interesting. This one was a very intense and this woman was massaging me like she would tenderize a slab of steak. haha. Koreans LOVE their spas. They are very cheap to get in. It is around $5 to use their saunas, pools, and relaxation rooms.They are open 24 hours and people go at all hours of the evening/morning. We left at 3 am. The only catch about using the spa is no clothing is allowed (I went to females only spa). haha. So, I was facing my fears as I entered 2009. I may have conquered my public nudity fear, but you will NOT see me streaking through the streets anytime soon...maybe next year. :)

China!!! Well, I have been avoiding this blog all week! I have so much to tell and show you. I'm not sure where to begin. I will break it up into days. I was there for 5 days and took close to 450 pictures. haha. Don't worry, I won't post them all. China was nothing like I expected. It was MASSIVE. The buildings were HUGE. The streets were clean and well kept up. I didn't notice the pollution until the 3rd day, which I am guessing it was due to the cold weather. I was pleasantly surprised to see Christmas decorations all over the city. There were lights, Santa's, snowmen, and other Christmas themed decorations. I saw a few churches and many temples. I thought that Christian churches were banned in China, but I was wrong. According to the Chinese government, citizens may choose between the 5 official religions- Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, or Taoism. Any other religions are banned and you can be arrested if you are caught. All places of worship must be registered with the government and follow their strict rules. Most churches/places of worship are underground and face persecution daily. According to newspapers here, the government was relaxed during the Olympics, but has become strict again and arrests have increased. Lame.

I felt like I had much more space in Beijing than Seoul. I'm not sure how that is possible, considering Beijing's population is around 17 million and Seoul's population is 12 million. We were twirling around on the sidewalks and waving our arms, being silly and laughing that we weren't running into people or being pushed around by the aggressive Koreans. I didn't realize how crowded Seoul really is.

Although were very busy during the days, the nights were spent hanging out and laughing in our hostel. We shared a room with 5 other strangers. It was like summer camp. So fun! We hung out with some of the guys we stayed with. There was a German (Peter) and a French (Damien) guy that we got to know pretty well. They were both studying in Shanghai and knew quite a bit of Chinese. They helped get us around in the evenings and find food. haha. They were a lifesaver and very entertaining. I was in love with Damien's French accent. There were many times I had to have him repeat what he said because I was in a trance by his voice. He thought it was quite amusing. I told him to drop the accent, so I could actually listen to what he was saying, but he just laughed and continued to be dreamy.

Day 1( Wed)

We arrived in the morning and headed to our hostel. We found out quickly that Chinese people do not speak very much English- if any at all. They are also HORRIBLE drivers. I think I almost died 100 times. I would compare them to drivers in India. They do not stop for pedestrians and red lights are just a suggestion. Geesh. I think they are need to go back to driver's ed- actually, something tells me that they never went there to begin with. The streets were very wide and had an entire lane for bikers. Lots of bikes everywhere.


We headed to the Forbidden City after we dropped our stuff off at the hostel. The Forbidden City took 14 years to build and was finished in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty and then used during the Qing Dynasty. It has 980 buildings within the palace and everything is massive. Again, I felt very small and I am a giant compared to many of the Chinese population. It was so beautiful. I love the color themes of all the temples I have visited thus far. You can tell that the Chinese had influence over the temples in Korea. They were very similar to one another.





















Day 2 (Christmas)
We signed up for a tour of the Great Wall at the Forbidden City, which we were a little hesitant about. There are so many people trying to scam you in China. People will come up to you and try to get you to buy all their little trinkets that look like crap or want to be your tour guide. There were also more beggars in China than I have seen in Korea. It is pretty sad. I haven't been around that in a while.
So, we were picked up bright and early on Christmas morning by our tour guide. We boarded a bus with the other tourists. There was quite the variety of foreigners- 3 guys from Iran, 2 girls from Sweden, A couple from Korea, a guy from Finland, and us 3 crazy American girls. We started off the tour by heading to this lame jade store. I guess all these tours have 2 stops on the way to their destinations to get foreigners to buy crazy souvenirs. Lame. Lame. Lame.

I took a picture of the crap they told me not to. They waste my time, I break their rules. :) I'm a bad ass.

Next, we went to a see the tomb of Emperor Yong Lee, the founder of the Ming Dynasty. It was pretty cool, but I was hoping to see more than one tomb. The rest of the tombs are closed off to the public, unless you want to shell out the big bucks.

This is Mr. Yong Lee's tomb. He is said to be buried behind the tomb.

These stone statues are actually sacrificial incense burners, hence the coins and fruit next to them.

The building that contains the tomb.



I think it is crazy to give the statue of Mr. Lee money. I wonder what he needs money for? Polish? We wouldn't want his statue to get dull or dusty.

Next, we had lunch with our tour group. We had to go back to the Jade crap shoot, because the restaurant was connected to the building. Lunch was pretty hilarious. Most of the people at the table did not know how to use chopsticks. I felt like a professional compared to them, which shows how awful they were. The Iranians were hilarious. They would not eat any of the meat, because they said they don't trust the meat in China. I think they may have eaten some white rice and thats about it. They kept telling everyone to just eat with their hands. It was quite comical. All of us were tourists from all over the world. We were all experiencing a new culture together and it did not matter where we were from. It was a very weird lunch filled with awkward silences and laughter.

Next, we headed to the Great Wall of China. We arrived at the wall and got in line for the tram that takes us up to the more popular portion of the wall- or at least that's what I thought we were doing. We got to the front of the line and saw our transportaion. It was little cars that were connected to one another- just like a rollercoaster. They practically pushed me into the moving car- yes, it was moving. I pulled down the seat belt and found that mine didn't lock. I thought I was going to die. Ok, I am being a little dramatic, but I was worried. What the hell were we doing? See face below.





Well, I made it to the top and they yanked me out of the car and again, decided it wasn't necessary to stop the car. So, we stated walking on the wall and I was in compete awe. The view was incredible. There were no words and the pictures do not even come close to its beauty. If you ever have the chance to see it, I highly encourage you to. There were a lot of people on the wall. There were people trying to sell stuff, which was a little annoying. We stopped and took a ton of pictures. I also had to pose with a few asian people. It's tough being a celebrity in Asia. haha. The wall was FREEZING. The winds were strong and my whole body was numb, but it was worth it. It was very difficult to climb up the wall. It was SO steep.I felt the burn in my legs all the way up! It would have sucked if it was icy.
















So, the Great Wall of China lived up to its expectations and then some. I was very happy to be there on Christmas. I was thinking of all of you and wishing you were experiencing it with me. It was breathtaking. We were on the wall for 2 hours and I could have stayed for another 2 hours. It would take someone 5 years to climb the entire wall. The Chinese people refer to the wall as the "Wall of Tombs" because beneath the wall are mass graves. The graves were of enemies and of the people who were building the wall. It is said that 2-3 million Chinese people died while building the wall. The wall was built to protect the northern Chinese border from attacks. It was built, rebuilt, and maintained from 5th century BC to the 16th century.
On the way home, we HAD to stop at a Chinese medicine place where they tried to sell us more crap. Sweet. :)

We got home, exhausted and starving. We met up with our friends Peter and Damien. They decided that we needed to have duck for dinner. Apparently, China is known for their fabulous duck cuisine. I wasn't too excited about it, because I had seen some not so appetizing duck the day before.

Yummy. blehhh.
So, we spent 3 hours lost in Beijing trying to find this restaurant. We got to see a lot of the city and froze our tushies off. That seemed to be a theme of the week. brrrr. We finally found a place- not duck- and had a great dinner, sorta. The menu contained crazy food like bullfrog, duck blood, liver, tongue, and rooster. I had the rooster and eggplant- it was alright. It was mostly bone.The eggplant was awesome and I ended up having it for every meal after that. American Chinese food is nothing like the authentic stuff. Peter had the duck blood. blehhh. It looked like red tofu. He wanted me to try it, but I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole.

So, my Christmas was great. Very different, but I will never forget it. How could I?

I'm Back....

I made it back from China. It is going to take me a few days to upload my pics and tell you everything. It will be a massive post. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I am pretty exhausted and get to teach all day. Wohoooo!

My best friend, Erin, (since 1st grade :) ) got engaged on Christmas! I'm super excited and did a little dance for her in my classroom... Yeah! Congrats Trent and Erin!!!!!!!

k. Time to go teach and wake up! Have a fabulous day!


peace out.

xoxoxoxox

Merry Christmas- EARLY

Hello! Well, tomorrow I am leaving for Beijing, China. I am super pumped. I am starting to come down with a cold, which really sucks. Hopefully, it won't get any worse and ruin my trip. I am not sure what to expect, which makes it very exciting. I am staying in a hostel with my two other friends. It was really expensive... 5 dollars a night. Can you believe that? We have nothing planned, really. We have a few destinatons that we want to see, but otherwise we will go where the wind takes us. It is going to be cold and possibly snowy. I am bringing my boots and warm clothes. Last night, we had our "first" real snow here. It maybe snowed an inch, but it was great. I made my friend Megan go for a midnight walk with me along the Han river. It was so pretty with all the snow. I felt like a little kid again. Ahhh.. I love the first snow! It officially feels like Christmas. The snow makes me think of home... but I am not envious of YOUR weather. I hear it is cold, snowy, and awful. (Chuckle, Chuckle.) Sorry. :)

I went to Missionaries of Charity today and had a wonderful time. I had lunch with them and hungout for a few hours before school. They made me introduce myself to the new volunteers. Along with that, they asked me to sing a song. Yes, a song- infront of everyone. I started laughing and turned red. I told them I was horrible at singing, but they insisted. I couldn't think of anything to sing, so I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle". My voice was shaking and my stage fright kicked in. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, but they seemed amused. I'm not sure if it was because of my fabulous singing or at my foolishness. Either way, it was a fun day and I hope I never have to sing infront of them again. haha.

Time to go teach. I will put up pics early next week. Merry Christmas. Tell Santa hello for me. I forgot to give him my new address, so I don't think he will be coming this year. So sad.

ps. Yesterday, I convinced my students that Americans can fly. haha. They believed me! Of course, I told them I was joking after a few minutes. Ahhhh.... I love being a teacher.

Ho Ho Ho. Merry Christmas. I hope you all were good this year. Celebrate each other and everything that you have! Don't stress about tomorrow, enjoy today! Blessing to you all.

k. I am really done.

xoxox

Dude. Longest Post of My Life! Geesh..

(Remember to click on the pictures to make larger)




Our first stop was a little town/village near the DMZ. We had lunch, which was KOREAN food. Can you believe it? We were with about 80 other foreigners. The people at my table would only eat the rice. I'm not sure how they survive here. I like the food...most days. I think I would hate my life if I only ate white rice everyday.
The pots are for the fermenting process of ....KIMCHI!! Woop, woop! People where eating right out of the pot that is shown. Kids were crowding around the pot to get a taste. Gross. It looks like vomit. Blehhh

On our way to the DMZ, we were able to see more of the village. The population is near 200 - all farmers who produce soybean and ginseng. They pay no taxes and are making the big bucks. I think our guide said they make around 100,000 US dollars a year. There is an United States military base in the village, but it is currently vacant. Almost everyone at that base is now serving in Iraq. :(

Well, just in case you were dying to go to a small crappy "amusement park", there is one right next to the DMZ. Who needs history, when you can ride on the Viking! haha.


This is the memorial for the United States- thanking the US for their efforts in the war and honoring those who were lost.




This is the "Freedom Bridge". This bridge is where NK brought POWS to their camps. It is also where they were released after they signed the armistice in 1953. The bridge is blocked off, because it leads to NK. The memorial is located where the bridge is blocked off. It is covered with posters, pictures, and writings.

The group of people next the statue were singing songs. I am guessing they were mourning the losses of loved ones during the war or the continued separation of family members.



The fence along the path to the bridge was lined with ribbon. All of the ribbons were written with messages- possibly of encouragement, hope, or of loss. It's interesting that almost everything is in another language. I am so nosey- I wish I knew. I wonder what I would want to say if it were my country? I can't imagine how frustrating it would be- to border an enemy that took someone you loved or still has someone you love. To know they are so close, yet you can't do anything.



The border fences are barbed wire. Be careful if you are planning on climbing over them.
I took the picture of the military dude (SK) in the watching post from fairly far away. Thank you zoom lens. Then, I read the sign when I was looking at my pictures. OPPS! Glad I didn't get shot! :)




The other picture is the walkway to the 3rd tunnel that SK found in 1978. I believe there are 5 total that they have been found? NK built them to attack Seoul, but they never did. This tunnel had the potential of sending 30,000 troops through within an hour. We couldn't take photos in the tunnel. The tunnel was very wet and we had to crouch down to walk through. Everyone was complaining that they had to wear helmets, but I'm pretty sure I heard people's helmets hit the rock ceiling at least a dozen times. haha. I can't imagine what the conditions were like as they built the tunnel. They must have been soggy, wet, and cold for months. blehhh.

The statue is supposed to symbolize the two parts of Korea coming together as one. I was trying to give them a hand, but it is harder than it looks- literally.

Before we went into the tunnel, we watched a short video on the DMZ and went in their small museum. The video was completely ridiculous. They made the DMZ look like it was now one big park full of flowers, animals, trees, and benches. Like we were going to take our families there to frolick with the flowers and hangout ...they forgot to mention the occasional bullets that be flying at your head. Sure, it is full of trees and nature, but there is no peace in sight. I'm not sure what they were trying to show, but they are delusional. For those who aren't sure what the DMZ is, it stands for Demilitarized Zone. It is along the 38th parallel and cuts Korea in half. It is a buffer zone along the border and is very heavily secured. There is no "border line", but the zone is 2.5 miles wide. The DMZ is controlled by many barbed wire fences, soldiers,cameras, and super sweet spies (I'm guessing).










NORTH KOREA! Woop, woop! Well, they were very strict about taking photos, so I had to literally stand on my tippy-toes and hope that I was aiming towards land and not the sky (see pic of other people looking ridiculous). The soldier dude was watching our every move, so I thought I should maybe follow directions. :) The pictures were disappointing, but I feel like you can tell what it is like over there- the land anyways. As I looked in the binoculars, the houses looked like they fairly new or in good condition and they were all the same. Like right out of a suburban development. I saw no people or any movement over there. I have read, that it is more like a " mock town" for only the outside observer to see. I'm sure the other side of the mountain, out of everyone's view, is full of shacks and poverty- little to no running water. North Korea is facing a near famine, thus they are placing stricter laws on the people. If they try to escape, the punishments are a lot harsher and they face more jail time. It's hard to know what is truth and what are lies, but either way, North Korean people are suffering even more.








The last stop on the tour was Dorasan Station. South Korea built this train station for the future. Seriously. They are hoping to have this train run through NK, China, Europe, and eventually Great Britain. They are putting all their marbles in one basket and assuming the other countries will be SUPER EXCITED for this new line of transportation. As for right now, the train goes to the Unification village- when it was open. They (SK) are waiting until a certain president (I'm sure you can guess which one..) changes his mind or dies... The tour guide said they thought four years. Hmm... I wonder where they got that number from? Do they know something we don't? Personally, I think he is dead already. The papers here seem to think so, as well.

I was so surprised to see Mr. President Bushy at the train station. I guess he was there during the grand opening and signed those materials- railroad stuff. If you look closely at the picture, he is signing with the marker upside down. Even South Koreans can get a good laugh at our brilliant president. I mean that with the utmost respect. wink. :)


First of all, I am writing this in South Korea. I decided that Communism wasn't for me, so I came home to my fabulous apartment. The DMZ tour was very cool, but I was a little disappointed that I didn't get closer to the border of North Korea. The tour usually goes to Panmunjom (Unification Village), which is the site where North Korea and South Korea signed the armistice in 1953. An armistice is a contact to stop fighting during war and negotiate peace. It does not mean the end of the war, as we can see with the two sides relationship today. There has been more tensions between the two sides in a recent months. A Korean women was shot on the North Korean border. She was on a tour on the NK side and walked too far away from her designated area. According to the NK side, they told her stop and turn around. She did not listen, so they shot her. Most people say that it was the women's fault, but she still didn't deserve to die. Also, there has been issues with some SK protesters. They have been launching gas balloons over the border that contain propaganda leaflets. Thus, this has led to stricter border restrictions, so little tourists like me, can't soak up some history in NK. SO SAD. Geeez. Don't they know how important I am? Apparently, not.

Christmas is next week! Yeah! Can't wait! Have a fabulous week getting ready and baking massive amounts of food! Safe travels to all who are getting in a car and venturing out in the snow. I will be thinking of you. I will leave you with my "Christmas photo". I went to a professional establishment called Miller Time. They were really great. They even offer you a beverage..or two. :)



oh...here is a new friend of mine. Her name is Angelina. She says, "hello."