Packing: Applied Tetris Expert Level

The thing about backpacking, is that you have one backpack (granted you get to chose the size) but that is it. You fill the backpack and that is all you can take for however long you need (in this case 5 weeks). In my case I also had to be ready to experience temperatures around zero up to eighty degrees. Fun times.

My Bags

Packing was an experience so trying at times that I must admit I forgot to take pictures of the process and end result. Looking through my pictures I actually have surprisingly few pictures of my bag and most of them are just of the straps. Sorry.

My suggestion for backpacking follows what I've read from many sources, pack what you think you need, then take out half. Its really easy to do laundry as you go. Even if your hostel doesn't have a washing machine its easier to laundry in a sink then you think. Believe me you don't want to have to carry all the weight and the stress of checking your bag for flights can be too much.

I highly recommend checking out this website before heading off. It helped me a lot, even if I didn't follow all of their advice I now know from experience I should have.

I'm Back!

春节快乐! Happy Spring Festival!

It's been a while, again. Unfortunately for me it has been getting more and more difficult to get access to the internet. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed being in Hong Kong and Macau! Such wonderful freedom! Wait, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Since I last posted I went on a backpacking trip through Southern China ending in Hong Kong. Over the next few weeks I will post about my adventures.

Til then I hope you enjoy your last night of Spring Festival!

This is a picture of fireworks from my bathroom window.

Christmas is Coming!

Perhaps it's spending the past four years living at college and coming home for visits that makes living on the other side of the planet easier? Whatever it is, I expected this time of year to be harder for me, I expected soul crushing home sickness. Yet I feel fine, I feel excited! I have an awesome group of friends with whom I'll be spending Christmas with.

My Awesome Friends

Plus for the very first time, I have my own Christmas tree which I just finished decorating. Don't judge the decorations too much, remember I'm in China, not too much variety here.

My First Christmas Tree

My wonderful tree! It will be strange waking up on Christams morning in my apartment all alone, but I know I won't be the only one and with the comfort of my friends I'm positive we will make some Christmas memories we will never forget :-)

Plus, I've already decided what my Christmas present to myself is, a five-week backpacking trip through Southern China! Yay for long holidays.

Travel Plans for Vacation

The green line is our backpacking trip, the red line is our flight back (we don't have enough time to backpack the whole thing).

Happy Late Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving in China was much more difficult than I expected. I'm used to large family gatherings at my Aunt's house, not teaching three classes. Luckily I have some awesome friends that made being away from home much easier.

In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving I got to teach all students about it, we even made hand turkeys! That's what they are all holding in the pictures!

It was fun being able to share my favorite holiday with people who had never experienced it before.

However the part that really made my Thanksgiving was being able to spend it with some great friends. As Thanksgiving is not a holiday in China we all had to work, so we had two Thanksgivings. The first one on Thanksgiving its self we went out to eat, the second the Sunday after Thanksgiving we cooked!

Western food on Thanksgiving!

Homemade Thanksgiving Baoding Style

This Thanksgiving I was thankful for the amazing group of friends I have here. Although I might not be able to spend my holidays with my blood family, I get to spend my holidays with my China family :-)

Happy Thanksgiving from China!

Mistakes

This past weekend was supposed to be awesome, a group of us traveled to Shanghai to see my best friend before he went back to the USA.

The trip started off with a train adventure from our "small city" to the great metropolis of Shanghai. Seventeen hours, two trains, a trip to a sex shop, and a strange baiju filled meal later; we were standing in front of Shanghai Railway station.

The trip started out great! After losing ourselves in the depths of a Shanghai black market we went out for a great dinner with the MCLA-ers of Shanghai. I'd post pictures to show our awesome treasures, but too many are USA bound for presents. So instead here are a picture of my awesome new shoes. 

Our second day started great as well, we found the Yuyuan Gardens after a long search. We spend time at a famous Shanghai tea house. Life was good.

That's when things started to take a turn for the worst; a trip to the brewery gone bad. I remember beer, Long Island Ice Teas, shots of SoCo, and being really happy. Then I woke up.

Drunk me said somethings that hurt people I care about. I don't know what I said, I don't know what I was thinking when I said them, but I know that I am so sorry and ashamed for hurting the people I care about. Most of all I really hope that one day we will all be able to see past this.

My Arch Enemy

Since arriving in China I have acquired various things, a sudden like of Starbucks and McDonald's, an appreciation for Halloween, a compelling need to hold a baby panda in the near future, and an Arch Enemy. I know most of you are probably reading this and thinking there she goes again with the exaggerating, but I assure you this is real.

My Arch Enemy

To the unsuspecting eye this toilet looks innocent, and for expat eyes in China it looks inviting. That's when it gets you though. This toilet has the power to break and fix it's self at whim. I'll be in my apartment and the toilet will be broken, I'll get the woman who is working in my building and as soon as she come into my apartment it will be fixed again!

It all started in September, when my toilet stopped working, I couldn't flush it. Plumbers would come it would work for a little bit, fix it, and leave. Then  maybe two or three days later it would break again. The problem progressed and by the end of October the water in my toilet was constantly running. In order to flush my toilet I needed to pour a bucket of water into the toilet bowl.

Then on November 15th something changed. My friend Matt was visiting from Shanghai and I left him in my apartment as I went to tell the woman working that my toilet was broken. I had finally had enough. As per usual when the woman got to my apartment my toilet was magically fixed. I'm still suspicious that Matt had something to do with it.

The toilet appeared fine as I parted Baoding to have a weekend trip in Beijing.

I came back the afternoon of November 18th to a rather disgusting surprise. When I flushed my toilet its contents would gush out of the base of the toilet. 

It was so gross.

Now it has been nearly a week there have been more Chinese plumbers in my apartment then I care to admit and I sit here waiting in fear of the next time I flush my toilet.

I miss America.

It's Been Too Long

I could come up with a lot of excuses about why it's been so long. First it was a few bad days which we affectionately call "bad China days" here. Then it was my plan to go to Cambodia falling through. Soon after I was way too busy with the extra classes. Then the Internet didn't work. I could tell you that all these reasons prevented me from making a new post. But I think we all know that's not true. At least I know that's not true.

I think what really prevented me from was shame. I wasn't enjoying every moment of China and I felt like I should be. I use the word "felt" because I've since changed my views. With the help of some really awesome friends I've had some realizations these past few weeks.

1. We are young enough to make mistakes and still be able to fix them. I need to stop worrying about the future and focusing on the present. I'm always so focused on what I want to do that I often forget that what I'm doing needs attention too. I vow to change this. I don't want to have to look back at my time in China and think about all the things I could have done. I want to look back on this time and think about all the amazing things I did do.

2. I can't keep disappearing. It's my defense mechanism, when things get to be too much I go into cocoon mode. I distance myself from people and try to power through it on my own. I'm not going to do that anymore, I want this blog to be an accurate depiction of my time here and it won't be that if I censor the times when I question why I came here.

3. You can't immerse yourself in another culture if you still have one foot stuck in your own. I'm talking about Facebook, it is a great way to stay in contact with friends but at the same time I can't give my life to Facebook messenger. I find that when the times get tough I spend way too much time on Facebook. Honestly I'm not sure if I will be able to totally fix this one but blogging about it is the first step.

4. It is ok to not love every second of every day. When I first got to China I was so proud of myself and focused so much on how lucky I am that I made myself feel really bad when I didn't love it. This is ridiculous even positive changes come with some negatives. I'm not going to beat myself up over me having bad days.

I know this post seems really cheesy but it symbolizes a big change in the way I think and the way I am going to let myself think. I realized that my biggest judge has always been myself and I don't want to live like that anymore. My posts don't have to always address some major event. If I want to rant about my broken toilet I will do just that!

So welcome to my new blog, with my new way of thinking!