Guangxi's Natural Beauty

I want to go back to Yangshuo !

It was so peaceful...

and beautiful!


This is the view that is on the 20rmb bill !

:)

Another day in Suzhou SIP

Local shops are finally opening up again! After being here a month and feeling like Suzhou SIP was a gost town, I actually saw people on the streets today ! All kinds of small places to eat are now available :) I can't wait to try them all!
This first place I went to today made some kind of rice sandwich. It looked like a big sushi without the seaweed rape or a burrito without the tortilla nor the beans...

Sticky rice filled with dried tofu, some kind of vegetable and spices...

On my way home after school I stopped to grab a few things to snack on:

- kiwi milk (quite good actually)
- hard crunchy twists of something I can't describe! I can't even say if it was sweat or salty.. I think it was both!
- dried fruit (looked like pineapple but tasted like something else!)

I'm starting to really like all these different chinese foods and flavors. Once you get over the unfamiliar packaging and unusual tastes, there are many good things available! :)

No, this is not some kind of accident... The delivery guy just stopped his car in the middle of the intersection, emptied out all the packages from the back seats onto the street, answered a phone call and carried on as if this werethe most normal thing to do...

Sense of Time

If I could have anything, I would ask for time! I always wish there were more hours in a day!
I'm a night owl which is why I'm still up although it's 2am here and I have class tomorrow...

But anyway, loading pictures takes too long but I thought I'd give you an update on things here in Suzhou !

* It's still freezing in case you were wondering... but now I have UGGs (I'm assuming they're fake since I only paid 20$ but they keep me warm so that's all I care!) I've never liked UGGs, I swore I would never by a pair... but I'm in China and I was getting fed up of having frozen toes everyday so that changes everything!! :)

* Thursday China will be celebrating "Lantern Festival" !
I received this email from one of our Chinese teacher:

"In China,Lantern Festival is an very important occasion for families to get together and for everyone--young, old, rich and poor to have fun.It takes place at the end of the Chinese New Year Celebration,on the fifteenth day of the first moon.Lanterns have been part of Chinese life for centuries,so it's not surprising to see a festival of lanterns.

Now I'd like to share with you about some useful information on coming Lantern Festival this Thursday."

Sounds like fun!

* I've been trying all kinds of new food and I like it all! I wasn't expecting it to be so rich though.. everything is deep-fryied, grilled, fryed or stir-fryed...

Hidden behind the McDonalds building I found a local market with all kinds of fresh food :) I never knew there were so many fruits and vegetables I didn't know about! And even the familiar ones like eggplant or cucumbers look different! But they taste really good!
Oh and somehow it's strawberry season here! And they're sooooo delicious although they don't look ripe at all!

* I can order in Chinese! The other day the waiter even told me "hen hao, hen hao" which means "very good"! YAY that made my day!

* "time is endless". Sense of time is another cultural difference... In the Chinese culture it is said that there's always more time. That's actually because they have a circular perception of time, which means everything comes and goes... nothing is forever, it all just keeps turning and as long as everything is balanced it can't go wrong... I like that!

Now.. good night!

Lunch in Ping'An

I sure thought it smelt weird...
I mean, I've been smelling all kinds of smells since I've been here but this was different !

As we walked across the village of Ping'An, there was a dead pig, just laying there...

...we knew we were going to be having lunch soon...

I knew I wasn't going to have meat, I'm a vegetarian... the other ones started thinking...

... especially after we came across this !!

(yeah... you might not like all the pictures below..!)

As we kept on walking, another group of men were cleaning their pigs right in the middle of the pathway !

Okay... I know this is disgusting... it's just to show you how close we had to get!
I plugged my nose, closed one eye, kept the other one open to make sure I didn't trip and fall in the pig... and randomly snapped a picture !

This is China, beautiful and surprising!
You never really know what to expect!

On top of the World

Southern China, Guangxi area...

North of Guilin...

Near Longsheng...

High up in the rice fields....

Pass the village of Ping An...

The Longi Rice Terraces unfold !

... the view was amazing...


And despite the freezing cold air...
it was one of those places where you can just stand and stare out at the view for hours... smiling for no reason!

Familiar Faces

I've noticed that most Chinese people avoid eye contact. More than just the language barriere, what makes it so hard to communicate is the huge difference in body language and lack of visual contact. I had never realized how much is said non verbally.

While in Yangshuo I met a lot of other foreigners travelling across Asia. It felt nice to look a stranger in the eye and smile.

I asked this women if I could take her picture, she said yes (well, i think...) and then looked back down.

I wish I could of kept travelling around China with my backpack... But I have to go back to school tomorrow. Someday maybe...

Xin Nian Hao !

Hello! Happy New Year !

I'm back from the South where I celebrated the Chinese New Year.
Welcome into the year of the rabbit!

Since I arrived in China a few yeaks ago, people have been preparing for the Spring festival. Red banners are taped aroung doorways. Lanterns dangle from trees. Firecrackers are for sell on everyblock. Students and seasonal workers travel back to their families.

As we walked around towns, everyone was getting ready to celebrate.

Food was for sell all over.
Fat fluffy chickens were waiting ... ignorantly!

Families gathered as they played cards and prepared meals.

Firecrackers went off all over. Almost sounded like a war zone with bombs dropping! It was funny how only the foreigners would be surprised and would jump or scream... the local people didn't react to the loud "BOOMMMS", not even the little kids!

The Guangxi area is simply breathtaking! I don't think pictures or words can do it justice.
The views were mysterious and inspiring.
It felt like another world where time stood still.