Same Same....but Different

Matthias' birthday in Budapest

Hello again from Hungary. We're on our "Same Same, but Different tour" as this marked our third time together in Budapest, where we celebrated Matthias' birthday. Actually, we stayed in a campsite outside of the city and took the train in (easier than riding with all of our stuff in the heat.) We had a great time walking around the city and visiting Matthias' favorite spot....the Central Market. Budapest is really a great city. We plan on visiting again some spring or fall (when it's not so hot.) Just before the big day, we got a short respite from the hot weather, but it's back again. It makes the riding really tough - hard to enjoy what would normally be idyllic riding through small Hungarian towns when I'm sweating to death, but easy to enjoy the campsites with swimming pools, or those close enough to the Donau for a swim.


Matthias at the Central Market

Like I said, the riding in Hungary hasn't been so great because of the weather, but they have made improvements to the bike paths since we were last here four years ago. And one thing that didn't change is the campsite on the Donau (Duna here in Hungary) where we stayed on our way to (and from) Budapest. The best part is a snack bar where you can drink a beer and watch the ferry cross the river. Beautiful.


View from the snack bar in Domos

So now we're on our way back to Austria where we want to spend more time in the wine district (Wachau) there. Then we're thinking of taking a train up into the Alps and riding back down to Bavaria. Ouch...did I mention the mosquitos? Just got bit - like I have every night. It's a big problem this year - lots of water in spring and hot temps now. Lovely.


Enjoying one of the evening thunderstorms that cool things down for a bit.

Too Damn Hot

Hello from Hungary. I just looked back at my journal and counted 10 days of uncommon heat here in Europe. Yes, hot and humid...just like New York...so not so fun for camping. But anyway, it still gets cool at night....but now around midnight! Today (17 July) is supposed to be the last day of the heatwave. I can't believe I'm looking forward to rain!

So, since the last time I wrote, we rode through Austria and Slovakia. We had done the route before, but liked it so much that we wanted to do it again. And it didn't disappoint us. Our favorite campsite in Passau, Germany is still great (though a bit more expensive, but with upgraded bathrooms) and the ride from Passau to Feldkirchen in Austria was just as spectacular as we remembered. But this time we knew what Jause (pronounced: Yowsah) was, so we stopped at all the "Jause Stations" for delicious Austrian snacks and apple wine spritzers. Then we kind of rushed through Austria so we could make it to Budapest for Matthias' birthday, which we have pretty much done. We're about 60 km from Budapest, and 30 Km from the campsite where we're going to stay (instead of riding into Budapest) so unless there's some kind of hailstorm tomorrow (which I wouldn't rule out at this point) we're going to make it. After a few days of touring Budapest, we're going to head back along the Donau toward Germany (more slowly this time) and try another bike route...we're thinking of catching a train from Linz to Innsbruck (Austria) and riding along the Inn river back into Bavaria. We'll see...

Deggendorf an der Donau

We received some sad news while we were on the road - one of our favorite people in the world - cousin Harry - passed away after a fierce battle with cancer. It's one of the times that it's hard to be away from friends and family, but we're lucky to have so many wonderful memories of Harry (and Charlene), especially when they came to see us last year in Germany. Harry will be terribly missed, but I'm going to do my best to make him proud. As a Spanish teacher, of course Harry was so good with languages. I'm going to do my damndest to become fluent in something other than English. As a matter of fact, Matthias and I are only speaking German to each other. Not that it gives me much practice, as he doesn't speak all that much anyway...

So, we are now in Deggendorf on the Donau (Danube, for those not paying attention.) We've ridden a total of about 1,400 km so far. We've had great luck with weather and our equipment seems to be holding up pretty well. We've met some other cyclists (three from Canada!) and enjoyed comparing stories. We're about 100 km from the Austrian border, but the World cup is screwing up our plans. It's so fun to watch the German team play here - every game is like the superbowl, and there are huge celebrations after each win. We did make it to Regensburg for the last match and had a blast. So, we're going to stay in Passau (near the Austrian border) an extra day to watch Germany play Spain. We've been planning to ride along the Donau to Budapest, where we want to celebrate Matthias' birthday. But if Germany wins, we might have to change our plans and hang around in Bavaria for a few more days. We'll see.

There is a link to photos on the left hand side of the page.

Off (and back on) the beaten path (Dillingen, Germany)

So....off the beaten path (without a prescribed bike path) in France was do-able, but not easy. Actually, it was kind of fun to find our way from town to town on the backroads, but it was HILLY! Eventually, though, after a night in a small-town campsite, we found our way to the Marne Canal and Saverne - a beautiful city in Alsace. We arrived in time to catch part of the USA/Algeria World cup match (actually, I thought the French would be showing the England match instead, but I forgot how many Algerians live in France!) We went back into town later to watch the German national team beat Ghana.

The way to Strasbourg from Saverne was easy (and even a little boring) along the Marne canal. It was actually more difficult to find the campsite in Strasbourg than it was to get there, but with all that accomplished, we hunkered down for two nights and got ready to explore the city the next day. We rode our bikes downtown, stopping first at the site of the European parliament, only to find out that they have no services for visitors. Oh well - we parked our bikes and walke around the old town centre and got something to eat (in an actual restaurant!) We atetypical Alsacian food, which turned out to be just like German food. But the city was lovely. I'll post pictures as soon as I get a good internet connection (which I haven't has since Strasbourg.)

Leaving Strasbourg, we rode back into Germany to Offenburg, where we got a train to Donaueschingen - over the hills of the Black Forest to the source of the Donau (or Danube) river. The next day, we started off on the Donau radweg (Danube bike path) with a short ride to Tuttlingen, where we stopped to watch and celebrate Germany's win over England - and luckily for us, there was a town festival going on at the same time (not that they needed another reason to celebrate.) The next day's ride through the Donau valley was hilly, but absolutely gorgeous. We've had really good weather for the last two weeks, except for one day of rain, but it's getting pretty hot here (no, not like at home...it actually still gets COLD in the evening, and as long as you stay in the shade, it's quite nice.) And they say it's just going to keep getting hotter until next weekend. Our aim is to get to Regensburg on Saturday (03 July) to watch the next big World Cup match (Germany v. Argentina). And my next big aim is to find a campsite with wifi - which we haven't has since France. Hopefully then I'll be able to post this along with some pictures.

Jetzt geht's los! (Let's go!!)

The FIFA World Cup in S. Africa is underway and so are we. We're back in Germany on our bikes (at the moment at a campsite) with our new netbook, and we actually stayed in a campsite with wifi (but unfortunately this one doesn't have it.) But before I get to this trip, I've got to say something about our last great trip....down memory lane.

We were back in the US for about three months, and during that time we got to see and spend time with friends and family. Unfortunately, we couldn't see everyone, but it was fun to catch up. Our goal was to spend time with family, specifically Charlene and Harry, and to help my father celebrate 70th birthday (wow.) But we were also pleasantly surprised when Sue flew in from California on a last-minute trip! We were happy that we were finally able to get up to Albany to see Linda her family (and were also graced by a visit from Lara and hers.) And it's always great to see Stu and Howard - thanks Stu for letting us use your apartment so I could visit with old friends Keith, Barb, Matt, Dean, Andrew, Amy, and Steve (yes, I put his name last because I know it bugs him.) So fun to see everyone!

And now for the bike trip. We left Gommern by train after spending a week there looking after Matthias' Oma (grandma) so that his parents could take a short trip. We took the train pretty much across Germany to Duesseldorf on the Rhein, where we set up camp for the first night, took in some of the city, and watched the US play England. The next day we rode to Koeln (Cologne) where we watched some local soccer matches and then the big Germany Australia game at a restaurant near the campsite. Then we continued down the Rhein to Koblenz, where the Mosel river ends and the Mosel bike trail begins. We decided to ride the trail because it would bring us to France, but we found it absolutely beautiful and charming - it actually puts the Rhein (which is somehow more famous) to shame. We had been here before in a car, but the scenery is much more dramatic from a bike somehow. We even had excellent weather for our first four days of riding, with the exception of the day we rode 90km to Trier. It rained quite hard in the morning, but it fortunately didn't start raining until after we packed everything up, so our stuff stayed dry, and we were pretty dry by the time we reached Trier and checked into the campsite for two days.

We stayed in Trier to watch the world cup action (USA and Germany play on the same day...yay!) It was sad when Germany lost, but the US game was pretty exciting. But enough about the obvious. The next day we took a short ride to Remich in Luxembourg and stayed there because, well, I've never been to Luxembourg before. It was nice, but the campsite left a bit to be desired.

The next day we rode to Thionville (another short ride) and stopped there because we didn't have a map to take us further. It's in France, by the way. It was a lovely city, but because it was Sunday, everything was closed, so we couldn't find a map to go further until the next morning. Plus, we had to wait 4pm for the campsite to open. Bienvenue!

On Monday morning we bought a map and traveled on to Metz - another short ride, but it was our first ride that was not on a prescribed bike trail. We found our way pretty well, although Metz is a pretty big city, and not too conducive to bike travel (especially with matthias' bike trailer!) So, although the ride was a bit stressful, the city is lovely and the campsite is fabulous - right on the banks of the Moselle, with clotheslines and picnic tables (we used both.) Oh, and of course they have wifi, which is why I'm posting this hastily-written entry. Tomorrow, we head into the French countryside, again without a prescribed bike trail, so it's up to me and the maps I got at the tourist info office to get us to the next campsite. stay tuned....

Taking the long way home

Linville Falls, NC (Blue Ridge Pkwy)

Back in Highland Falls, NY after a long beautiful drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Really beautiful, and nice this time of year (May) because there was hardly a soul on the road. Sure, most of the campsites were closed, but the ones that were open were lovely and pretty much devoid of people. We took five days driving up from Florida. Definitely the best FL-NY trip yet.

Campsite by Linville Falls


Campsite in Georgia

So here we are enjoying gorgeous views of the Hudson River and visiting family and friends until our flight to Germany on June 2. We are going to be in NYC for a few days starting on May 23rd (so anyone who reads this and wants to catch up should definitely send me an email - otherwise, we'll most likely be at "1849" on Bleecker Street on the evening of Sunday the 23rd so Matthias can get his fill of 25-cent wings.) So, I guess I'll find out if any NYC buddies still read this thing.

Better late than....

Matthias on the bus between Soppong and Pai

A lot of time has passed since the last post - I'm sitting here in Florida on my new netbook not knowing where to start. I left off in Chiang Rai, Thailand (February 2010) from where we continued on to Pai. We relaxed for about a week in Pai and Matthias took another fruit-carving lesson there (he wanted to learn how to make an orchid.) We then made our way southward toward Bangkok, stopping for a short (sweaty) stay in Ayunthaya. We rented bikes and toured the town with its ancient structures, but we were longing for the cool, comfortable evenings of northern Thailand and Laos. Then it was one night in Bangkok before our flight to Berlin (where we then found ourselves longing for the heat again...)


Temple ruins in Ayunthaya


We stayed about two weeks in Germany, visiting Matthias' family and (sort of) celebrating his mom's 60th birthday (we were there on the actual day, but she had the big party after we left for America...oops.) We did get to spend a few days in the Harz area, where there was still lots of snow and I could try (unsuccessfully) a little cross country skiing. We also got our medical appointments taken care of. Is this thing getting boring, or what?!! See why I haven't written?



We then flew to NY and spent a lot of time visiting family before driving down to Florida to see my parents. And we've been here ever since - for about a month. We're having a nice visit and Matthias is putting his fishing license to work.





Next update from up north.

Chaing Rai Surprise

Another bike ride in Luang Nam Tha

So, we made it to Chiang Rai, Thailand from Luang Nam Tha in less than a day, using various modes of transport: taxi/pick-up truck to the bus, a bouncy bus over the mountains, a tuk-tuk to the river, a motor boat across the Mekong, a motorcycle taxi to the bus station, and a local bus to Chiang Rai. All in all it took about 7 hours, but we arrived unscathed and checked into a nice hotel near the bus station and night market. The night market was key, because that’s where Matthias planned to eat a nice grilled fish that night, which he did…and then some.


Matthias' beloved fish at the Chiang Rai night market

We really only stopped in Chiang Rai to break up the trip to Pai (and because Matthias liked the night market) but as we set off the next day on foot, we saw some nice temples, checked out the river, and made our way to a nearby cave with a temple in it- along a road that we decided would be great for bike riding the next day (which sealed our decision to stay an extra day.) We also stopped at a great roadside noodle/rice place where Matthias had noodle soup and I had Kao Soi – yummy noodles in spicy yellow curry with chicken. It was a long day of walking, so Matthias decided he deserved another fish at the night market. This one was steamed.


Inside the Buddha cave outside of Chiang Rai

The next day, we rented bikes and set off past the river and cave we saw the day before only to come across more caves with Buddhas in them – part of a lovely park on the river. Theride was so nice that we continued down the road where we passed a local festival with a market, food and dancing. Of course we stopped for some roast pig and beef.


Pig and cow roast!

On down the road, we came to a touristy but cute Karen (local tribe) village that operated elephant rides by (and in) the river. We stopped to admire the elephants and the handicrafts for a bit before heading back to town. It was almost a perfect day until Matthias’ chain came off, and while trying to fix it the back wheel somehow became bent, so not only could he not ride the bike, he couldn’t push it either. He actually had to lift one wheel up and walk for quite a ways before we found some friendly tuk tuk drivers who had the tools to fix it. Fortunately, we were done with our ride anyway. So, one more trip to the night market and back on the road to Pai.


Cute elephant

Our trip to Pai went smoothly (about 6 hours in all) and despite my fears of high-season (coupled with Chinese New Year) prices, we found a decent room at a great price in town. The only drawback – no wifi. But, Pai is the kind of place where one shouldn’t mind not being connected, and I can’t complain too much as I sit on our front porch in the guesthouse garden and write this. And now that I’m done, I’ll head over to a café that has wifi, order a fruit shake, post the blog entry, and see who won the Superbowl.

Links to more photos are now updated on the left of the page.

Climate Change

Balmy New Year's Day in Xi'an

Back on the road and back to the blog. We are now in Laos, on our way to Bangkok and then Germany and then the US. I finished teaching on January 22nd – one week before my students had to take their end-of-term exams. It really was an interesting experience, and perhaps I’ll write about it someday, but now that we’re traveling again, I’d rather write about that! But first I have to mention the great New Year's/birthday weekend we spent in Xi'an with Katie and Laura. Although New Year's Eve was a bit anti-climactic, the highlight of the weekend might have been the three-hour New Year's Day lunch at a Tibetan fish restaurant with Frank, Laura, and new friends Trisha and Graham. I also shared birthday cake (though we each had our own little cakes - thanks Laura!) at the hostel cafe with Katie, who is also "cursed" with the dreaded day-after-New Years birthday.



Our Tibetan Fish feast!

Sooo....the day after my last class, we took an overnight train from Baoji (about an hour and a half from our village of HuaiYa) to Chengdu. The train ride was fine, except that we had to share our compartment with a guy who snored really loudly! Still, we managed to sleep a bit and arrived in Chengdu bright and early at 5:30 AM, where we got our free ride to Sim’s Guesthouse, which was nice and cozy. After checking in, coffee and showers, we took the local bus to the center of town and visited the “Tibetan Street”, where we ate lunch (Matthias once again had his favorite pulled noodle soup dish – Muslim style.) Then we walked through the “New Ancient Street “ – a recently-built shopping and eating complex made to look like an old Chinese village. Chengdu was a bit warmer than what we were used to, so it was nice for walking around, but it was still quite cold at night. We had dinner at the Guesthouse, which wasn’t so great except that we met Pat, an American who’s teaching English in Shanghai.


Old and new together on the "new/ancient" street

The next day it was off to see the pandas – one of our main reasons for visiting Chengdu. Unfortunately, Matthias was quite ill (but made the trip anyway like a real trooper.) We booked the excursion through the guesthouse, which was convenient and the Pandas were adorable! We were back at the guesthouse by noon, so we were able to grab some soup and dumplings on the street, change some of our Chinese money into dollars, and then Matthias could go to bed while I got a haircut. That night, Matthias was too sick to go out so I went with Pat for Sichuan hotpot. It was spicy, but not any spicier than some of the food in Shaanxi.



Fabulous panda!

The next day we got the train to Kunming. It was an overnight train and then some, but we were lucky to have a compartment to ourselves, and Matthias was feeling a bit better. We arrived in Kunming the following morning and checked into a rather expensive (30 USD) and nice hotel near the train station. The weather, at last, was spring-like and lovely. Warm and sunny. We went for lunch at a restaurant we passed (up) the last time we were in Kunming. We ordered Beijing Duck (which was good, but not nearly as good as the one we had in Xi’an with Katja and Simon) some spicy noodles (delicious!) and some vegetables. After lunch we walked around, changed more money, and went back to the hotel to rest up for our bus ride to Jinghong the next day.


View from the bus to Jinghong


The next morning, we got to the ‘pseudo bus station’ in Kunming just before 8AM to catch our minibus to the actual bus we were taking to Jinghong. Apparently, they moved the long distance bus station some 15 km away from the city, so you either have to get public transport out there and buy your ticket, or get it through an agent like we did. Anyway, we got to our regular bus just fine and we were on our way as scheduled by 9am. The ride was nice – along a new highway with breathtaking views – until the highway ended and we had to take a smaller road (also with fantastic views) where we got stuck in some sort of traffic jam for well over an hour. Still, at around 5:30 PM we pulled into the Jinghong (south) bus station and got a decent (but somewhat shabby) room at the hotel there. From there, we found our way into the center of town for some delicious noodle soup!


Matthias in Jinghong

Jinghong is a nice city – it’s still China, of course, but one starts to get that laid-back Southeast Asia feeling there. We spent the next day walking around in the glorious sunshine (weather is getting really warm by now) and trying to figure out how to get to Laos. We were told (we think) at the bus stations that they couldn’t sell tickets for the next day’s bus until the night before. So, after exploring the city, drinking a couple of local beers, and eating one last delicious Chinese dinner, we went back to the South bus station and got our tickets for 10:40AM the next day to Luang Nam Tha. The bus was pretty empty, except for five other tourists, a couple of local people, and lots of boxes. It seems since they don’t have a lot of people making the trip, they use the buses to transport goods as well. Hey, at least boxes of juice and sacks of flour don’t spit or throw up! The bus made a lot of stops, but the ride was nice, the border was pretty painless (except for the visa fees), and we arrived in Luang NamTha before 5pm.


My first Beer Lao

And here we are! I’m writing this from our guesthouse in Luang NamTha, which doesn’t have internet access (I’ll post it later). We are soooo glad that we came here! We had considered taking the boat down the Mekong directly to Thailand, but besides being much more expensive, we’re glad we didn’t miss out on Laos. It’s wonderful here! It’s a pretty small town (although it’s the provincial capital) with lovely trails for biking, a good local market, and fabulous food. It’s a great time of year to be here as well – mornings and evenings are cool, while the days get pretty hot yet still nice in the shade. We’re in heaven! We’ve been here for four nights, and now it’s time for us to go to Thailand. We hope to make it to Chiang Rai in one day – we’ll see how that goes. Until then…


Scene from one of our bike rides

Last ditch effort

I thought I would try to get a blog entry in before the start of the new year. It's been quite a long time, but between feeling that I didn't have much to write about, and the fact that I spend a lot of my time on the computer trying to do lesson plans, I just haven't made the effort. But let's see if I can drum up some interesting tidbits as I reflect on the past year (or at least the past two months.)


Matthias checking out the kiwis that grow around here.

Teaching in China has been a really interesting experience. The students are great, and although I get frustrated trying to manage a class of 70+ students, trying to motivate them when all they really care about is studying for their next exam, and trying to keep the chalk dust out of my computer (and my lungs), I think it's been pretty rewarding so far. I suppose I'm learning more than my students, and exhausting as it is, by the time I get to the 14th rendition of my lesson plan, I think I'm pretty darn good at it.


All of the English teachers on Teacher's Day in September

But enough about me - what can I say about my students? They're marvelous, but it's hard to get to know them when I see about 1,500 of them just once a week. Most are shy when it comes to speaking English. I know they can read and comprehend at a pretty high level (judging from their English textbook and exam papers), but when I speak to them, the majority just stare, say "sorry, I don't know," or "yes" despite the question. Sometimes there's a breakthrough, though, and I get them to laugh about something I said (or just laugh at me!) Then there are a handful who have had the benefit of extra English instruction (small group workshops during spring or summer break) so they can communicate pretty well and are probably just bored in my classes. The students are most interested in learning about western culture - they're dying to know what American students their age do (wish I knew so I could tell them!) And they love to sing! This week we sang Jingle Bells as a warm-up activity, which was fun. But I'm saving the best for last: next month I'll teach them a Michael Jackson song - something at least one student asks for every week. Speaking of the most famous MJ in China (Michael Jordan probably a close second) I've got to say I've developed a new appreciation for the King of Pop while I've been here. But we'll see if I still feel that way after 18 sessions of teaching a lesson plan based on MJ's "You are not Alone."


Class 12, Grade 1

Matthias and I made a few trips to Xi'an over the past couple of months, where we were able to buy some western comfort food for our kitchen, including butter and cheese, which have had the unfortunate effect of reversing the weight loss I experienced after getting here, but also made us feel a bit more comfy. We planned to make some additional side trips, but between a snow storm one weekend, and seperate bouts of the flu (the normal/seasonal kind), we never made it. I still have intentions to visit a nearby temple in January. Hopefully we'll be able to make it.


School campus after the snow in November

Our last trip to Xi'an was particularly special, as we met Matthias' cousin Katja and her friend Simon there for Christmas. It was a blast. We braved the cold and rode bikes along the city wall (something I always wanted to do but could never convince Matthias!), visited the great Mosque (another thing Matthias wouldn't have done without the peer pressure) and ate some amazing Beijing Duck. It was fantastic! And now I can look forward to New Year's in Xi'an. Our school actually has a day off for New Year's (or what they call the Solar New Year.) We're leaving for Xi'an tomorrow afternoon (New Year's Eve) and will meet some other Buckland teachers there, including Katie, who shares my birthday. And I'm betting that Xi'an is one place that doesn't actually close down on the second of January! Yay!


Riding on the Xi'an city wall with Katja and Simon

More photos online at Picasa:
November Photos
December Photos

Zàijiàn!​ (see you!)

The Lost Weekend

Yes, there's still a blog.  Even though I can't see it (blogspot is blocked here), and even though whenever I have time to write, I don't feel like it.  But I'm making myself now, as I indulge in downloaded General Hospital on our awesome dvd/mp4/avi media player.  Yes, technology in China allows us to play all sorts of ill-gotten media, not to mention the dozens of DVDs stashed in our apartment – including 5 seasons of Desperate Housewives, 3 seasons of "24", and 20 seasons of the Simpsons!  I'm in pirate heaven!  Argh maties!

Oh yeah…and I'm an English teacher! I've been teaching, on and off, for a little over a month now.  I say on and off because here in China, the one constant is that things change.  I didn't teach for most of the first week of classes because my students had military training.  Then, I worked through the weekend last week in preparation for the Mid-Autumn holiday, during which (I found out a few days before) I got about 10 days off.  So, about teaching.  It's challenging and exhausting, yet somewhat rewarding.  I might have mentioned that there are around 80 students in each class.  They range in age from about 14 to 16, and although they are quite well-behaved, it's pretty hard to manage the class, or teach in a meaningful way.  I teach 14 classes in what they call Grade I (about 9th grade in the US) and 4 Grade II (or 10th grade) classes.  So, I really only have to do two lesson plans a week (one for each grade), but repeating the class 14 times is a bit trying.  I can't complain, though, as the experience is pretty enjoyable.  I might have mentioned that the students live here on campus (as do we) and are involved in studies from before 7AM until after 10PM, when we still see them in their classrooms!

Being in a small town in China can be challenging, and I suppose we are both experiencing some culture shock.  Matthias is suffering a bit more from his "celebrity status", as it really bothers him when people stare, point, or call out "hello!". And they do…every time we go out!   He said it makes him feel like a monkey in a cage - like they're trying to make him dance.  And, despite having to work so much, the students here all want to be my "friend".  They call (I made the mistake of giving my number during the first few classes) and some even stop by the apartment.   Apparently, the last teacher – who was here by himself and also quite a bit younger (closer to the age of the students) made a lot of friends among students.  So, to make myself at least a bit more available, I eat lunch nearly every day in the students' cafeteria.

So, we just got back from our somewhat last-minute-planned holiday (since I wasn't sure how many days I would have off until just before.)  We decided to go to Xi'an for a few days, and then when we found out I had more than a week off, we added a city called Xining to the mix.  Our goal was good food, which we knew based on previous experience we would be able to get in Xi'an.  The food here in HuaiYa is pretty limited (or at least our ordering ability is.)  They make lots of noodle dishes, which we love, but they add some kind of red hot chili oil to everything, which seems to upset Matthias' stomach.  Now, I don't mind spicy food, but everything here tastes just like the red chili oil, and if you ask them to hold the chili oil, the dishes don't taste like much at all.  Actually, there's an exception – a guy near the market makes a great vegetable/tofu noodle soup (sans the red stuff), which Matthias eats for lunch every day.  And there are dumplings and steamed buns.  Oh, and this yummy pita-like bread stuffed with stewed meat (or veggies.)   Actually…what am I complaining about?    

Now, back to Xi'an.  It was a combination of China's National Day (the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic to boot) and the Mid-Autumn Festival, so we were worried about travel.  We were able to get a reservation at a nice hotel (just a bit more expensive than usual) and although the streets of Xi'an were pretty crowded, we didn't have any issues with travel, or with finding good restaurants!  There are a few pictures on the web album from our favorite place near the south gate, where we ate ribs, veggie dishes (with plenty of garlic!) and good dumplings.  We also found another place that specializes in dishes that they grill in the window, where we had a few beers, some grilled scallops and meat kabobs, and grilled eggplant (again with lots of garlic!)  And, when some other foreign teachers (with placements in other cities around the province) saw us through the window, they joined us for a few more beers and talk of school life in China.

Of course, we did a little bit more in Xi'an than eat.  We walked a lot around the City, spending some time in the Muslim Quarter and around the city walls.  We even tried to go to the local history museum, but the line to get in was overwhelming (probably due to the holiday.)  

Our next stop on our Mid-Autumn odyssey was Xining, in Qinghai province.  Going here from Xi'an didn't really make sense, since we had to backtrack past our neck of the woods to head west into the Himalayan plateau.  But we chose it for a few reasons.  First, we thought it would be interesting to see an area close to Tibet (actually traveling to Tibet requires a special permit and a lot of money.)  Second, at 2000 meters high, it might be too cold to visit later.  And, third, since my passport is still in Yangshuo (where they are processing my work permit) I needed to find a hotel that I could contact in advance – in English - to see if they would allow us to check in using a copy.  

Xining actually turned out to be a great choice.  The city itself isn't beautiful, but the mix of cultures there was interesting and refreshing. After being in a small town where we're the only ones who look different, it was a nice change.   Tibetan Buddhism originated in the surrounding area, and the current Dalai Lama was born in a village not far away.  So, in the bustling and colorful markets you could rub elbows with Tibetan monks, Chinese Muslims, as well as people who looked more like Mongolians than Chinese (at least to us.)  And did we eat??  We feasted on lamb, Mutton, noodles, stews, and even a yummy leg of pork.  Our favorite place was a large food court, where you could order dishes from various stalls, sit inside (where it's warm) and drink beer, and (for a small fee) use the not-so-overwhelmingly-disgusting bathrooms.  The weather was pretty lousy during our three days in Xining – rainy and chilly most of the time – so we didn't make the side trips out to the countryside, but we still managed to have a nice time.  

Now we're back in HuaiYa and waiting for internet access to resume.  We've been without internet at home for a few weeks while the school is in the middle of upgrading its network.  We've been told we'll be back online next week – obviously, this won't be posted until we're back online, so it may be a little dated by the time it's there.  Oh, one more thing – I've lost all access to Facebook (my way around the firewall is no longer working), so my apologies to anyone trying to contact me that way.  Email is best.  

I'm posting this via email and am not sure how to post links, so I'll include a link to the latest photos (October 2009) and hope for the best:
October photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jrosenyc/100910#

Cool Change

Hello from HuaiYa! We have more or less settled in to our apartment on campus at HuaiYa Senior Middle school, where I will be teaching "oral English" to Class 1 students - equivalent to 9th graders in the US, I think. Anyway, I don't start teaching until the day after tomorrow (as I understand it) so I'll be able to provide more information about that soon. We arrived here on Tuesday (25 Aug) and have been getting things together, cleaning, and exploring the environs. I haven't posted pictures of the apartment because Aaron - the foreign English teacher from last year - posted them on his blog. I'll include the link below.


One street in HuaiYa, with mountains in the background

We flew up to Xi'an from Guilin on Monday, arriving too late on Monday night to do anything but grab some dumplings and a beer at a nearby night market just before midnight. The next morning, we were picked up by the school's Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) and driven to the school, stopping for lunch at a great restaurant at the foot of TaiBaiShan. The FAO ordered about six delicious dishes for the four of us, and although we ate until we were stuffed, it looked like we didn't put a dent in the dishes. Also, conversation was a bit slow and awkward. That night, the school's headmaster and a bunch of other VIPs took us to dinner at the same restaurant. Still delicious, and a teeny bit less awkward as the guy sitting next to Matthias was very interested in Germany ("how many people have cars there? How old do you have to be to drive? How are the roads?") It was a room full of men, and since I don't know much about the NBA, I wasn't of much interest to them. Still, each one toasted our arrival with Baijiu (strong Chinese liquor), but we were able to maintain our sanity by taking small sips each time...


Tangyu - nearby scenic spot

HuaiYa is indeed a small village. However, it seems to have everything we need - a small supermarket, a bustling street market, and a number of stalls/restaurants selling hand-pulled noodles and other delicacies. We have already taken the bus to the next town, which has a couple of bigger supermarkets, a bigger street market, etc., etc. And, the weather here is much, much cooler than down in Yangshuo, to my great relief. This morning, we took the bus to TangYu the tourist town at the base of Mt. Taibai (where we had lunch and dinner on Monday.) Nothing so fancy today, though....just a bowl of noodle soup, of course. Tomorrow is the first day of school, but I don't think I'm teaching a class until Wednesday. Supposedly, I find out tonight. By tracking down Lily, an English teacher who brought us shopping on our first day here, I found out that there's 'a meeting' tonight. Not sure if I'm supposed to go or if I'll just learn my fate afterward. Anyway, I'm now reachable by cell phone, internet, and land line. They'll just have to let me know.

Link to Aaron's (former teacher's) blog with photos of our apartment and HuaiYa

Don't carry a red handbag if you're traveling with a lot of monkeys, and other valuable lessons

Buckland school in Yangshuo

I just finished my one-week orientation at the Buckland School to prepare me for teaching in a small town in central China. On Monday, we're leaving for HuaiYa, a village approximately 100 km from Xi'an, of Terra Cotta Army fame. We've been to Xi'an before and liked it, and it will be good for Matthias to have such a large place nearby (2 hours by bus) and it will be a good place for us to go on weekends as well. I found the orientation to be very helpful, and I it prepared me sufficiently to teach a class of 80 students! But I suppose I'm as prepared as most of the others - many of whom are fresh out of college without any teaching experience. Then again, a lot of them took the trouble to learn some Mandarin before they came. That's something I have to work on.


Orientation

We learned a lot about Chinese culture and potential problems we might encounter, and I've poured over the blog of the guy who taught in HuaiYa last year (there is a link to his blog on the left.) Probably a little too much, in that I'm making myself crazy. And that's one thing NOT to do here - just have to let things happen. I've been told that my job is relatively low-stress - I'm just supposed to help students with their spoken English. NOT to teach new grammar, NOT to prepare them for exams...they have other teachers for that. I'm also going to be some sort of a 'public relations tool' for the school - basically there so that they can say: "we've got a foreign teacher!" Works for me. Hopefully I'll be able to help some of the students get more comfortable speaking English (most of them learn the mechanics of the language just to pass exams, helps them advance in school, but never really learn to speak. I remember that from High School Spanish!)


Just a few fellow teachers (and Buckland CEO) at dinner. Watch out China!

Enough speculation - I'll have more to write about my experience once once it actually starts. But so far I'm quite happy with Buckland, which runs a few English schools and recruits foreign teachers for public schools throughout the country. The orientation was comprehensive and somewhat exhausting - starting at 8:30 in the morning and ending at 9pm (with a 2 and a half hour break at lunch.) But that's how just about everyone works here, and the kids go to school for just about as many hours per day, too. We got practical tips from previous teachers, as well as some seemingly sound advice on what we should/should not do here (the red handbag and monkeys story was about someone who had his passport swiped by a monkey (they seem to like red things.) Oh, and Chinese people (particularly men) like to drink, and often have drinking "competitions" (I have already been asked: how much beer can you drink? Not that I have ever found my limit...)It's something to beware of when school officials or other teachers invite us out to dinner. Many toasts, lots of strong alcohol. I had better stick to beer (which is fortunately pretty weak here.)


Something stronger than Chinese beer

More photos are on the Picassa Web Album site. Next posting from HuaiYa!!

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....

Chillin' out in Yunnan

We're about at the end of our high-altitude week-long escape from the heat in Dali. Tomorrow, we are taking a bus back to Kunming (still high-altitude, at least) and then we've got to get a train to Guilin, where we'll be back in tropical heat and humidity. Getting a train might prove to be difficult, as the tourist season seems to be in full swing. Never mind the confusion at the train station, although the nice staff person at the Jade Emu Guesthouse wrote out our request for train tickets in Chinese, so hopefully all we have to do is find the right window and hand the note to the attendant.


Courtyard at the Jade Emu

Speaking of the Jade Emu, I can't say enough about how nice it is here. The owners (an Australian-Chinese couple - Dave and Snow) have really created a haven for backpackers (as well as more "mature" travelers.) After weeks of staying in places with limited English at reception, broken or dingy bathrooms,and just generally low standards, the Jade Emu is a refreshing change! They've got everything, including Wifi, BBC, DVDs, good showers, REAL toilet paper, etc., etc. Our room is right off the courtyard/bar area, but still not too noisy, even though the guesthouse is full. We also rented the best-maintained bikes we've had in Asia.


Fishermen at Lake Er Hai

Our bike ride was really nice. Following Dave's advice, we cycled to the lake, through the narrow streets of the village of Cai-Cun, and out into the rice and produce fields, cutting back over to the lake now and then to check out the local fishermen. The next day, we hiked up the mountain, following Snow's directions. The sun was a bit too strong, and although we never found the temple or the actual tourist route, we had a nice secluded hike up and down the mountainside.


Matthias on our hike

I know this is rather late in the post for me to start talking about food, but since the restaurants here seem to be very touristy, I've been letting Matthias drag me to the same noodle shop night after night (they DO have good noodles.) Plus, I know I've got another 5 months to try other Chinese dishes - and hopefully I'll soon learn enough Mandarin to be able to order without seeing what others are eating!


Matthias at his favorite restaurant

I don't know when I'll have internet again, or when/if I'll have access to the blog, but hopefully I'll be able to write again soon about my orientation in Yangshuo and my ultimate placement. 'Till then.

Scaling the Great Firewall of China

We have been in China for over a week now, and have made our way to Dali - a high-altitude, cool, touristy retreat in Southwest China. I think we're somewhere in the foothills of the Himalayas, along the route to Tibet, which is still, I think, a few overnight bus rides away. No, we're not going - we've just got time (and energy) enough to relax for about a week before setting off for Guilin, where I'll attend my teacher orientation and then get shipped out into the hinterlands for my teaching assignment. I also promised Matthias that we wouldn't take any more long bus rides "just to see another Chinese town." He has a point - traveling is not all that comfortable here, and we are lugging a lot of stuff along with us (winter clothes, gifts, etc.) Following is an account of our travels after we learned that we couldn't get a boat from Northern Thailand to China. It's not that the boat doesn't operate anymore, the agent told us that there were just no boats through the end of July - not enough people, she said. And we had to leave Thailand by the end of July or renew our visa.

Matthias on the bus to Chiang Khong

So...from Chiang Rai in Thailand we got the local bus to Chiang Khong (about two hours) and found a place to stay for the night. That was a mistake, actually, since after we booked the room, we found out there was a bus to Meng-la, China leaving early the next morning from Huay Xai, Laos. Huay Xai was just across the river from where we were, but we would have to spend the night there in order to make the bus early the next morning. So, since the bus runs only every other day, making the next available bus two days later, we decided to stay in Chiang Khong an extra night, make our way over to Laos for another night, and then get the bus to China. I don't recommend spending much time in either Chiang Khong or Huay Xai, especially in high summer, as there's not all that much to do. We were able to rent bikes one day in Chiang Khong and took a nice ride along the Mekong, before the intense afternoon heat set in.

Catfish beach on the Mekong

We booked the bus (including 'taxi' to the ferry, ferry to Laos, and transportation to the bus station in Huay Xai) through an agent in Chiang Khong - probably overpaying, but we wanted everything taken care of as the heat was starting to take its toll on our moods. Anyway, we had lots of time, and we ended up paying about half of what the boat up the Mekong would have cost.

Matthias on the bus to China

The bus to Mengla (ordinary, non-air-con bus) left the Huay Xai bus station at 8:30 in the morning, stopped in Luang Namtha for lunch at around noon, and arrived in Meng-la at around 4pm (China time - 1 hour ahead of Laos time.) We had enough time to catch a bus on to Jinghong, where we wanted to spend a few days, but decided to stay in Meng-la overnight. The hotel right at the bus station was quite nice (save for the squat toilet - though it was clean, and part of an otherwise very nice bathroom) and cheap, so we got a room and went out to get some dinner. After what seemed like quite a search, we ended up at a noodle shop right near the hotel, where the hand-pulled noodle soup thrilled Matthias. And when Matthias is happy....

The next morning we got the bus to Jinghong, a town on the Mekong River (we were supposed to get the boat here). The bus ride was smooth, but by the time we walked to the College Hotel (recommended in Lonely Planet), we were dripping with sweat. And the a/c in the room wasn't all that powerful. Actually, we were quite disappointed with the room (I was, until I found the DSL Internet cable.) Jinghong was probably a good (re-) introduction to China, but it was a bit too hot and humid in the afternoons to really enjoy roaming around. So, on our second day, we decided to spend another two nights and then head on to Kunming. After we bought our bus tickets (two days in advance, we happened upon a hotel right next to the bus station - we checked it out and found it to be nice, so we decided to spend the night before we left there, so as to be closer to the bus station. When we checked in the next day, they gave us a two-room suite for 60 RMB (about 10 bucks), with butt-kicking A/C, cable TV (one english channel), water heater, tea, etc. - all but internet.) Had we known it would be so nice, we actually would have hung around a few more days, just to eat more of the delicious noodle soups! For anyone looking for a place to stay in Jinghong, China, it's called the Traffic Hotel, just to the right as you exit the long-distance bus station.

Best noodle soup so far - in Jinghong

We took an early bus to Kunming - it was actually a sleeper bus with beds - as opposed to an overnight bus because, as Matthias rightly pointed out: (1) we can see more during the day, (2) we never get a good night's sleep on a bus, and (3) we don't save that much money by not getting a hotel. The bus was comfortable, but without bathrooms. I haven't found a blog about China yet that hasn't complained about the horrid conditions of public toilets in China, so I won't go into that now. The bus took about 3 hours longer than we expected, and we arrived in Kunming as it was getting dark. Luckily, we happened upon a decent hotel not far from the bus and train station (I'll see if I can find the name.) Very little English spoken, but pointing to the phrases in our Lonely Planet book, along with our handy picture book did the trick at check in.

Sleeper bus to Kunming

Kunming was, as advertised, much cooler than Jinghong, but as a city of 1 million, it wasn't as laid back" as I had hoped. We spent a few days walking around town - looking at stores, parks and markets - and of course trying all the food. I had the best dumplings yet from a food court stall we happened by. Can't wait to have them again when we go back (on the way to Guilin.)

Central Kunming

After a few days of exploring the city, we got the bus to Dali, and we have finally found a place to chill out for a while. It's really touristy here - the "old town" seems to have been torn down and rebuilt to cater to visitors - and the streets are teeming with (mainly Chinese) tourists. That's okay, we'll get enough of the 'real China' once we're living here.

Street in Dali

For now, we'll enjoy our super-comfy, wifi- and BBC-equipped hotel and the quiet and cool surroundings. I even figured out how to access facebook and Picassa (at least for now) so there are new photos which can be accessed by clicking the following links:

July 2009 album (new photos added at the end)

August 2009 album (new)

That's all for now. Better post this while I still can.