Sweatin' it out in Yangshuo

View from the train to Yangshuo

<p>We have arrived in Yangshuo, a beautiful town we visited a couple of years ago, where I will be attending orienation starting on Monday. So far, everything seems to be in order: we were picked up at the train station in Guilin and brought to Yangshuo, where the staff found us a cheap and good hotel near the school. The 22-hour train ride from Kunming was pretty good - we were able to get tickets for the next day out of Kunming in a four-bed sleeper compartment (two bottom beds) and we had the compartment to ourselves until after dinner (which was really good!) And, the scenery from the train was pretty spectacular.

Li River in Yangshuo

Once in Yangshuo, we met some of the other teachers (mostly younger, of course), registered at the local police station, and were left to explore the town at our leisure. Only problem is that it's too hot and humid to do much in the afternoons - then again it's probably not much hotter than NYC at its worst. But, we have walked around town, found the requisite hand-made noodle shop (which happens to be both delicious ND air-conditioned!!), and I got a bike and went for a short ride with some of the other teachers. Starting on Monday, I'm going to be busy with orienation (from 8:30 in the morning until around 8pm) so Matthias is looking forward to some quiet, free time. I'm looking forward to learning how to manage a classroom that has up to 80 students in it!


Yulong River outside of Yangshuo

This morning (Sunday) I went for a bike ride along the Yulong river. There are SO many tourists here (mainly Chinese, but also Western) that even the back roads were pretty crowded with bikes, buses, and trucks carrying bamboo rafts back up the river. The only advantage to that was that I met a young Chinese tourist named James, and we rode along the river together. He is a student from Nanjing and his English was excellent. We talked a bit about travel around China while we pedaled. By the time I met Matthias back in town I was completely covered in sweat (a huge problem of mine here - it's totally embarrassing!) We ate in the air-conditioned noodle shop and now I'm relaxing in the room, getting ready to go do my daily internet check, load pictures, and of course, post this entry. Actually, I'm posting via email so I'm not sure how the formatting/photos will turn out. Let's see....