This is China.

Walking along the canal the other day...

I have seen more vomit here than I wish for any person to see in their lifetime (actually, I can think of one person) and I was a bartender. I once picked up a pint glass of vomit at the end of the night. I appreciate that you didn’t spew all over the floor, but you should have taken that glass to the trash can sir.

Why is everyone always getting sick here? I have no clue. I always thought the Chinese were so healthy, and I still do, but it’s interesting to hear (and see) them throwing up so much. Maybe I wouldn’t have to witness this so much if I didn’t take the bus everyday. I can’t help it; I have a love hate relationship with the bus. I don’t think many of my foreign friends take the bus, but it’s so cheap! How can I not? My father taught me well, frugality is next to godliness. Like I said. Love/Hate. I love how cheap and reliable it is. I hate how crowded it can be (strangers touching me and lack of personal space is my biggest pet peeve) and how often I see someone throwing up. I won’t go into much more detail because this is a gross topic and I don’t enjoy thinking about it either. Let’s just say it happens on average twice a week. Sometimes they are prepared with a bag, sometimes they are not. If they do have a bag then there is no need to get off the bus. Those that don’t have a bag usually get off at the next stop most likely due to embarrassment. Needless to say, I constantly feel dirty in China. People puking on buses, spitting in the street, picking their noses with no shame, shooting snot rockets…. It’s just a war zone of germs here!!

The worlds cutest Starbucks. West Lake.

The Chinese are not huge coffee drinkers. This we know. When I moved here I decided to take part in the green tea lifestyle. You hear about all the amazing health benefits and what not. Plus the women here don’t age. I assume its all the tea they drink, so I gave up coffee. It went really well for the first six or seven months, then my mom came to visit (she ruins everything!). When my parents were here we found ourselves at Starbucks more times than I had been since I moved here. Granted, sometimes it was just to escape the heat or have a rest, but it somehow crept its way back into my life. I think I’ve gotten a soy latte almost every day since they left. I’ve decided I’m not going to feel guilty about it. It’s my treat to myself for living in China! Here’s the difference between a Starbucks in China and one in the US. Starbucks, or any coffee shop for that matter, is going to be packed between the hours of 7:30am and 10:00am. This is a scientific fact (trust me, I worked at Starbucks for over two years). It is completely the opposite here. Starbucks is a ghost town in the morning, and packed in the evenings! I love it, because I don’t necessarily want to see a lot of people before I’ve enjoyed my coffee. From noon to close though, the baristas are nonstop blending Green Tea Frappucinos.

Matching couples and sun umbrellas. This is China.

Speaking of Starbucks (they should really think of endorsing me) I saw this couple on my way in the other day. Chinese couples love wearing matching outfits. It’s hilarious. I do not know a single American guy that would wear a matching outfit with his girlfriend. I mean you see older couples wearing similar styles (there’s a photo of my parents in Spain wearing the same navy jacket they got at a convention, white t-shirt, and khaki pants, darling) but here it’s quite deliberate. I see on average two to four matching couples a day. Sometimes it’s just an identical shirt (most often) but there are exceptions of the entire outfit. I saw a couple wearing matching neon tracksuit and Nikes. It’s hilarious. I don’t know the direct answer as to why. I’m not sure if it’s something they do during the honeymoon phase, when they first become boyfriend and girlfriend, or something they just like to do no matter the stage of their relationship. Either way, it’s funny to see. 

Bo (aka Kitler) is my summer obsession. My roommate and I are babysitting her all summer, but between you and me, I do all the care-taking! I have to sweep my room pretty much everyday because we are both shedding so much in this summer heat. She is very cuddly and very active between the hours of 5am and 7am.

         

Having visitors only leaves me sad.

A few months ago my sister and I discussed traveling together. My whole family has the travel bug, so naturally she planned on making a trip out here while I’m living here. More than anything, I would have loved to do a month long backpacking trip with her, but with our work schedules it just wasn’t realistic. She is a school counselor with summers off. I work at an after school-tutoring center, so summers are our busiest time. Luckily for my sister Anna, her best friend is a schoolteacher. Lindsey lived down the street from us growing up. Anna and Lindz have been friends for most of their lives. Lindsey’s next-door neighbor Jenna is my best friend. It’s a very darling Leave it to Beaver scenario, so I was pumped to hear that I would get to see the both of them.

Dragon Boat Festival races.

Anna and Lindz started their journey in Beijing. They hiked the wall, saw some stuff (the ushe) then flew into Hangzhou. They got in June 11^th, it was a Tuesday evening. There was a bit of a mix up regarding when their flight would arrive and how they would get to my apartment. Keep in mind, no phones or Internet upon arrival. So coordinating this kind of stuff is old school. Unfortunately, just as I arrived at the airport I got a phone call from Anna. They were at the front gate of my apartment using the guards phone to call me. Wednesday was Dragon Boat festival, a national Chinese holiday. Hangzhou has beautiful canals running through the city that all stem from the Granfd Canal. A massive manmade canal used to ship cargo to Beijing. We met up with some friends to partake in the boat races. It’s fun to see the traditional culture and I’m so happy Anna and Lindz got to experience it. We then walked to a nearby park. The girls were a bit jetlagged so we went back to my apartment to get some grub. There is this whole in the wall restaurant just outside my building. It’s fantastic. We had some eggplant, dumplings, and fried rice. We had a rest then went out to dinner with my friends were they were able to try more authentic Chinese food. I had no idea Anna was a fan of bullfrog?

The following day we planned to bike around Westlake. There really aren’t a whole lot of “sights’ here, but the lake is always fun to explore. Plus biking here is an experience of its own. And I’m happy to report that no one was seriously injured on their bike. We had a great lunch and made some friends! These darling Chinese boys wrote us a note in English asking to take a photo with us. Dancing is very popular here. It is so common to see large groups of women dancing in public squares, as well as men and women practicing their ballroom dancing. It's like a flashmob every few hours. Anna and Lindz having both been dancers were pumped to get in on the dancing! And the Chinese women standing by me loved it too. We continued to bike around the whole lake. The west edge of that lake is much quieter, little traffic, and very serene. As we made it back to civilization I took them to a really popular Shao cow, or street food. The first day they were continually asking me “do you use the water to brush your teeth” and sanitary questions of the sort. Either I’m naïve or just really brave…. I rarely worry about any of that. Seeing them eat the street food was quite the juxtaposition to their original concerns. China has the largest population in the world, if they are all surviving off the food and water, I assume I will too.

That night we stayed in painted our nails and watched The Bachelorette. The next morning they headed off to Shanghai and I went to work. I worked Friday and Saturday. On Saturday I went straight from work to Shanghai to meet them at their hostel. I have the luxury of always staying with a friend in Shanghai, but this hostel was great! Hostels are always a great place to meet interesting people. We relaxed in the lobby and had a couple beers before heading to the Airport. Our flight to Manila was at 12:40am. We left the hostel around 9pm (it takes an hour and a half to get to the airport by subway). Once on the subway you have to transfer to another line that continues on the airport. Yelp, that second line stops running at 10. Wasn’t aware of that. Standing on the platform with that “oh shit” look on our faces we were immediately approached by a woman who offered to drive us to the terminal. Worried about the time a bus would take we took here up on her offer. Luckily we made it to the airport in plenty of time. We arrived at Manila airport just before 5am and was greeted by my dear friend Arz. We headed back to her apartment to get a little more sleep. We then went to a delicious “Father’s Day” brunch.

She is her mothers daughter.

Manila was much different than I expected. The city is quite polluted with a lot of litter on the streets and shanty houses/communities all over. The area we went to was a recently developed commercial neighborhood. It was very modern and felt as if it had been designed by the Irvine Company.  With the warm tropical weather It felt like Honolulu. We wandered around the shops and markets all afternoon.  For lunch we ate at CPK. You have no idea how great it is to see American chains!. The only chains in Hangzhou are McDonalds, Pizza Hut and KFC, and I don’t eat at any of them!

The restaurant we ate at two nights in a row.

The following day we headed out to Boracay, one of the most popular and beautiful islands in the Philippines. From the airport we took a two our bus that took us through the provinces and farms, then a small boat took us to the island, then a trike (like a motorcycle with a side car for multiple passangers) took us to our hotel. The bus was actually really nice in that we were able to see what most of the land in the Philippines looks like. When traveling you often see the larger cities. I love to see the more rural/common lifestyle. We settled into our hotel then headed down to the beach to find a restaurant for dinner.

Pre-Storm

We woke up the next morning and headed back to the beach. The weather was a little dodgy and looked as if a storm was coming in. We found a resort and laid out hoping to get as much sun as possible before the storm came in. I hadn’t been in the sun in 8 months and in fear of not getting any color didn’t use any sunscreen. It was rather overcast, yet still warm. I think this trip has finally taught me to use sunscreen no matter what! The Irish blood in me just can’t handle the sun. I don’t think I’ve ever been burned that bad. Almost three weeks later I’m still peeling. I like to think of it as new skin. Shedding the old, a rebirth if you will. After a few hours on the beach it began to rain and get a bit chilly. We headed to the Jacuzzi. After about an hour of enjoying the pool the storm really came in. In a matter of minutes the rain and wind were so aggressive water was seeping into the lobby. We sat in the lobby to wait it out, staff constantly trying to sweep out the water. The hotel had a shuttle service that was kind enough to drive us back to our hotel. Later that evening, when the weather had settled down we went back to the restaurant we ate at the first night. Filipino food is amazing!!  

The next morning we wandered around the little town and did some shopping before heading back to the airport. We had lunch at a small open air restaurant/bar playing game 6 of the NBA finals. We showed up just in time to watch the end of the 4^th quarter and OT. Asian cultures love the NBA. Arz and I continued to shout “Lakers” to the locals who asked where we were from.

Her backpack is bigger than she is.

We shared a van with a really nice group of friends also from Manila. They were so talkative and friendly, very unlike the Chinese. The fact that almost everyone in the Philippines speaks English is a huge plus, but also, I have never met friendlier people. It was unreal, or maybe I’ve just been in China too long. Customer service in this country was fantastic, so many smiles. In China, any store/restaurant/office you’re at, you will rarely get a smile or any kind of greeting; just blank stares. It’s quite irritating.

We got back to Manila and had dinner, then Anna and Lindz headed to Bangkok. I stayed one more night and got to meet a bunch of Arz’s friends and coworkers at a birthday party. It was great to get a feel for her daily life (not that she’s going to birthday parties everyday or anything). I headed back to China the following morning.

Leaving paradise.

The vacation and break from China was much needed. It was amazing to get to spend time with my sister and Lindsey as well as Arz! Also the Western culture in the Philippines was wonderful… CPK for lunch, come ooonnnn.

Next family member visit: My brother and sister-in-law in August!!!

Happy 4th of July

In years past the 4th of July was more of a superficial holiday for me. It was just beach, booze, and bikinis. And I am not happy nor comfortable in a bikini, so it was more of a holiday I dreaded a bit.

Fast forward to having been in China for almost 9 months... oh what I would give to be in the U.S. And not just because I miss the beach (though I really do!) but because I miss the culture of a country that is truly free. I mean, yeah the government is tapping your phone calls and what not... but as Americans we are so blessed. No, our government isn't perfect. No government is. Until someone figures it out and reaches utopia, I'll settle for the life of an American.

I put on my red, white and blue this morning and contemplated what I would do in my classes today. I thought "oh, we can talk about freedom!"  But then it hit me, my students wouldn't have much to say on the topic. I don't think it's a topic that would build a rousing discussion amongst my students. Does the idea of freedom (and their lack of) make them bitter or resentful. Or is it a concept they can't even wrap their heads around? I've decided not to get into the topic, because I would feel guilty, as if rubbing it in their face what freedoms Americans are privileged with. Maybe we'll talk about movies? Oh wait, those are censored here. 

Living outside of the U.S. bubble as given me the opportunity to learn so much about the differences around the world. I have a dear friend from Turkey, my roommates classmate was just murdered in a protest in Egypt (innocent bystander), and I'm living in a communist country with a cat resembling Hitler holding my purse captive. It makes me extremely proud and grateful to be an American.

Happy Independence Day to you all! 

Go BBQ and drink a beer for me. And be safe!