And This,..Is My China.

"The World is a book and those who do not travel only read one page." St. Augustine 

Travel in Asia is definitely a challenge. However, without a doubt, Asia holds a special charm that makes it a backpackers dream. Whether you are traveling to China for a week or for a year, you will experience a culture full of mystery, food and beauty. Having lived in China for about four months, I have put together a list of things I felt made my experience my own. If you have the chance to experience China, take a look at some of these! Maybe you can find some that will help you experience the smells, tastes, views and ideas that helped make China a trip of a lifetime.

One of my favorite pictures. Shanghai, China

1. Feeling shear panic after buckling your seat belt on a Boeing 747 headed for Shanghai; 17 hours feels so daunting! And even if that doesn't scare you; you're going to China. China!

2. Staring at your first-ever China issued passport stamp for five minutes after you get through customs.

3. Waking up and jumping to your window for the first week to make sure China wasn't a dream.

4. Getting stoked at the opportunity of using chopsticks for the first time in the student cafeteria and looking around and making sure all the Asian students could see that an American could eat with two sticks.

5.  Experiencing a true power blackout in a city of 9 million people.

6. Taking walks, both during the day and night, experiencing the things you would normally not see when traveling with a group or on the bus.

7. Renting a bike, taking it across the city and exploring around alley's and back streets where the locals are.

8. Knowing someone is taking a picture of you and awkwardly posing and smiling for the camera.

9. Eating and trying all food that is in front of you. Whether its tofu, duck tongue, chicken feet or cow intestines - you'll remember the things you don't like and have a story to tell when it's done.

Kristin and I at a restaurant with our main course of,..well,..

10. Trying Stinky Tofu in each city you travel to and hoping it would be better as you went along.

11. Playing Bus Hop! Rules: Go to the bus station, take the first bus that comes to the station and ride it for a specific number of stops. Then, get off and explore the area and get back on the bus to another destination. You'll find places you never thought existed and learn more about what your city holds.

12. Along with this bus game, playing "bus surfing" on an empty bus - the bus driver might yell at you but you can't understand him anyway.

13. Exploring sky scrapers and malls - just walk in and ride the escalators. Many stores and people will surprise you.

Hangzhou Tower, Hangzhou, China

14. Take the high speed train to a major city. It's the smoothest thing you'll ever encounter.

15. Siting in the front seat of a taxi and using hand gestures and what-sounds-like-Chinese sounds to get back to your campus. Playing charades with a taxi driver is way more fun than you think!

16. Speaking of charades, playing this game all throughout China is quite entertaining. You'll come up with very interesting ways to get where you need to go and what you need.

17. Try the street food! Yes, of course be careful with what and where you buy it from, but most of it is the best food you will ever eat in your life.

18. See the iconic Bund in Shanghai both in the day and night. The city is amazing and is one of my favorites that I visited while abroad.

19. Walk through as many fish, meat, vegetable, fruit, clothing, night, day and retail markets as possible. I learned and witnessed real Chinese culture by taking the time to watch the people, what they buy and what foreigners do while in such situations.

Market in Xi'an.

20. Experience the northern parts of China and visit Tiananmen Square, Art District 789, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City and of course, the Great Wall, all located in Beijing. 

21. Take a sleeper train to a far off destination! Over 15 hours is best because you actually get to sleep on the train. 

22. Hearing a Chinese man talk in his sleep while on one of those iconic sleeper trains. 

23. Meeting and staying in contact with Chinese friends you meet while in a hostel. 

Probably one of my favorite nights of my trip. American's together with Chinese, British and French friends

24. Watching a lady sell puppies on the street. Ask if you can pet them! I bet she won't let you. Gosh..

25. Having to experience printing your own plane tickets at an automatic ticket dispenser in Xi'an and only to have one of your friends' ticket not register. Not only do you have to wait in line to talk to a teller, but you have to once again play charades. English isn't too prevalent in the far Western parts of China...

26. Being the only American on a bus, shuttle or train car that is full of Mandarin speaking Asians. Sometimes you get stared at long enough you feel as if you belong in a zoo. 

27. Whatever religion you believe in, find as many places of interest as possible. You might be away from home but for me, I was always home at Mass...and it meant a lot to me. 

Catholic Church in Beijing. 

My church in Hangzhou

28. Speaking of religion, even if you don't believe in it, go to as many temples and experience as much Buddhism as possible. They're remarkable religions to learn about and will help you see what you believe in even more. 

29. It's amazing how much you can see God while in an atheist country. 

30. Traveling to the South of China and visiting the rice fields and terraces of Guilin. Not to mention the karsts are amazing. (Geology and Agriculture,..where could you go wrong?!)

31. Living in a traditional Mountain village while learning about rice and how it is produced. A perk is getting to eat the rice they produce - the best in the world!

32. Having to shut your eyes as your shuttle driver goes 45 mph around a cliff curve with a 100 foot drop on one side. It's all in the name of adventure, right?

33. Spending a night going to markets and night clubs in Yangshuo. ..yah. 

34. Seeing this:

Li River in Tangshuo - best river boat ride ever

35. Missing a train 1,000 miles from home and having to find alternative ways to get back for class on Monday. 

36. Experiencing the nightlife of China. It's more crazy than one would think. 

37. Loving China so much that you get upset about leaving even before you pack your suitcase. They say culture shock is the worst, well, I have come to a realization that re-entry shock is the worst. 

38. Traveling China independently with some of your best friends.

Kristin, Ryan and me riding bikes on the Xi'an Ancient City Wall 

39. Spending a semester with strangers that became your family. 

My classmates and our advisor, George

40. Knowing that in order to truly appreciate what you experienced, you have to leave the places you love. 

These are just some of the things that I experienced while in China. Now that I have been home for about a month, I have realized how lucky I was to have had this opportunity. The people I met, the scenes I saw and the culture I experienced helped me discover myself as an individual. I am forever in debt and I can't wait to return to China. ..My China. 

"Travel has a way of stretching the mind. The stretch comes not from travel's immediate rewards, the inevitable myriad new sights, smells and sounds, but with experiencing firsthand how others do differently what we believed to be the right and only way." - Ralph Crawsaw 

Extra Travel? Extra Memories!

Back in September (2013) a friend of mine, Ryan, and I decided to do a spontaneous weekend trip to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and the Badlands.  Only knowing each other for a few months prior, we were off to test whether we could stand each other, travel independently and get to our desitnation and back before the weekend’s end. With just the start of our adventures, he was asked to be our program’s student advisor in China. I was thrilled to have such a cool guy with me on my China adventure.

Mount Rushmore - South Dakota - September 2013

The City from Victoria Peak

Fast forward eight months and you would find yourself two adventurers ready to take on South Asia. Our program ended in late May and Ryan and I planned an extra 18 days for some independent travel. Leaving for Hong Kong on the 25^th, we successfully traveled out of China and to a SAR (Special Administrative Region) of China. Made up of separate islands, we had to take ferries to travel to different places. I am so impressed and proud that within four days, we were able to navigate buses, boats and ferries to see the amazing things Hong Kong had to offer. Beaches, Big Buddha's and amazing hiking trails line the islands all around the area. 

If you travel to Hong Kong, Macau is a must see! 

Knowing that Hong Kong had a sister SAR, we knew we had to travel to Macau. From our previous adventures across China, we often had unplanned and spontaneous travel ideas. However, this was the real deal! Docking at the port, we walked through customs and found ourselves in a completely new culture. We got ourselves a map and walked into the city center, hitting up all the major sites and having a blast along the way. I thought I was proud of ourselves for navigating Hong Kong, but I was amazed at how we got around Macau. Previously a Portugal Port, I felt like I was in Lisbon for the day - definitely my favorite place of our extra 18 day travel. 

Flying out of Taiwan on the 10th, we set aside five days to travel outside "China." Deciding to take a leap of adventure, we flew to Bangkok, Thailand. With the actual temperature about 101 degrees and a humidity feel of 115, Bangkok was rough! However, this place was one of our favorites and we found ourselves jetting around the city riding in Tuk Tuk's (motor-bike type taxi's). If Bangkok is in your next itinerary, make sure to take a ride in one of these. The drivers are super fun, speak amazing English and know how to make your experience worth while. We visited traditional Thai temples, ate the well-know spicy food and bought extremely cheap clothes at night and day markets. However, the best experience we had was riding and washing elephants in the River Kwai. 

 Flying to our last destination, we traveled to Taipei, Taiwan to see Ryan's relatives. His grandmother, originally born in Taiwan, still has brothers and sisters living on this island. We were lucky enough to have a place to stay at Daniel's, Ryan's Uncle, home for the duration of the trip. Cleaner and more organized than China, we both agreed that Taiwan was more sophisticated than the Mainland. Ryan's family took us to see several historical monuments and museums, treated us to traditional Taiwanese restaurants and drove us to see the beautiful landscapes that were used in America's favorite: Jurassic Park.

Volcano near Taipei City 

With our trip coming to a close, we got to meet up with our friend, Jack, who we studied with us at River Falls. Excited to see him, we went to an Adventure Time Museum Display, ate at a restaurant and went shopping at traditional outdoor and underground markets. Our final day of independent travel was one of the best as we got to see a great friend. 

Our Elephant Tour Guides in Bangkok

Without a doubt, I had an amazing experience the last 18 days. I wouldn't have wanted to travel with anyone else and I learned a lot from Ryan. Good luck working in Scotland, my friend! Thanks for all the amazing memories - you've been a great role model, advisor and friend. I wouldn't have had such a great experience without you (:

The Not So End-End

Travel changes you. 

Seeing the world, living in a different city, consuming the culture, eating the cuisine, respecting different religions; travel makes you learn. Whether you travel from coast to coast or board a plane for a 17 hour, 8,000 mile flight; travel pushes you out of your comfort zone. I have witnessed growth from my study abroad classmates and myself to no end.

My family at the Zhejiang International Studies University in Hangzhou

Four months ago, I was living in my hometown of 900 people. Four months ago, I never traveled out of the country or flew my by myself. Four months ago I didn't know any Mandarin; a language I was going to be completely surrounded in. Four months ago I never thought I would learn so much from this experience. Now that my program has ended, I am speechless that I managed to survive in a city of 9,000,000 people. I am proud that I successfully flew 17 hours across the globe and threw myself into a new culture. Not being able to understand anything on information boards while flying domestically within China, missing a train 1,000 miles from Hangzhou and independently traveling across South Asia all show that I have grown individually.

National Park in Hong Kong

But most importantly, I am proud that I did all this while only being 20 years old. Twenty years old and I lived in one of the most culturally different countries apart from America. America is beautiful, yet the world outside our National Boarders is amazing as well. Climbing the Great Wall of China, biking on the Xi'an Ancient City Wall, independently traveling to Shanghai and climbing mountains in Guilin; I have had the best time of my life. So, with this not so end-end, I say goodbye. I say goodbye to my Chinese friends, the strangers I have met along the way and the countries that I have visited while my time abroad. I am writing this in the Tokyo Airport, watching my plane drive up to the jet bridge. My journey is coming to an end. An end that I knew would come, but never expected it to arrive so soon. Always happens that way, doesn't it?(:

Mountains near Guilin. 

Anyway, this is a not-so-end-end too because I independently traveled to five different places outside China with one of my best friends. I will have a lot to say about those experiences but needed to get this post out of the way first. I loved Asia, the people met and the person I have become. I am headed home now! I can't wait to share my experiences with everyone.

Thank you to my parents, sister and family who have supported me and my decision to come on this adventure. Thank you to my friends at home who have been listening to my stories and looking at my pictures I send them. Thank you to my new friends that I have made in Hangzhou; you all hold a special place in my heart. Thank you to my study abroad classmates and advisors,...I can't explain how much each and every one of you mean to me. Without a doubt, thank you God for blessing me and allowing me to have this experience. I love you all.

See you shortly.

Tyler










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Nike or Converse?

Most places I have been in China have been fairly traditional. Thousand year old temples, street food vendors and small fruit markets are a norm while walking around Hangzhou. However, there is a spot in Hangzhou that I like to call "Times Square." Even though it is no where near as beautiful or magical as New York; it still has the same feeling. Here, you find the super expensive stores, fancy restaurants and the most innovative technology. I knew China was modern but I guess I didn't expect to see the stores like Nike, Converse and other American known chains. 

Prices are about the same at most stores as you would find in America. A pair of red converse (that I desperately wanted) at the Converse store costed about 300 RMB which is about 50 US dollars. i priced some shoes ad Adidas and they were about the same as stores in America as well.

Nothing says America more than baseball! China loves America, Americans, American sports,...anything and everything American. When I walked into the MLB store, I was asked to take a picture with some students who were trying on some New York Yankee hats - they were shocked that I was in the store. 

This past week was May Day Break - imagine any busy gathering of people and times it by 10,000 people. West Lake, known all throughout China as "Heaven on Earth," had an insane amount of people flocking to the shores. At times, I had to literally walk with the group of people in a mass mob. It felt like a cow in a cattle heard. Weird! 

West Lake on May Day Break - 80 degrees with 80,000 people

Gems In My City

In the past few months, I have traveled to Shanghai (several times), Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, Yangshou and Tian Tao Village. However, we haven't had much time to explore the area around Hangzhou. I never realized how lucky I was to be living in such a beautiful city. Everyone we met on our travels always said: "Ohhh, Hangzhou. Very beautiful!" And it's true - I can see why this is the Gem of China! 

West Lake in Hangzhou at sunset 

Spending last week with some faculty that came from River Falls to do a program visit, we were able to show them around our city. It was very gratifying to be able to show adults around a foreign place. It made me realize even more that Hangzhou is my home.
After that, we went on a program day to the Tea and Silk Museums that are very famous in Hangzhou. At the Tea Museum, we were able to walk through the rows of tea and pick the rip leaves used to make Longsheng Green Tea. 

Katie and I in the tea fields

On Easter Sunday, our program supervisor treated us by taking us to an Eco-Farm to pick strawberries, cherries and cucumbers. After spending an hour walking around greenhouse after greenhouse of vegetables and fruit, we walked to a park to have a cookout. Even though I couldn't spend Easter with my family back at home, I got to spend it with my fellow Experience China participants. So basically; my family away from home(:
 

100% better than American strawberries! 

It was definitely one of my favorite Easters - being surrounded by friends, love and Chinese food!

This past weekend, we decided to take a bus to another famous spot in Hangzhou. Lingyin Temple is considered a must see spot for all visitors and we decided to be tourists for the day and go visit this place. Thousand year old mountain carvings lined a small mountain that led to the actual temple. Words can’t describe what was there,…even the pictures don’t do it justice! Everything was so beautiful and majestic. Hundreds of statues lined temples, massive Buddha statues loomed in four story tall buildings and Monks quietly praying and walking through the park.
 

Temple wall lined with statues made of bronze 

 

Without a doubt, I am glad to call Hangzhou my home! I am sad to be leaving so shortly – however, I am glad to have had the change to live here for three months. This next weekend is May Break and instead of traveling somewhere else in China, I decided to stay home and see parts of this 9 million person city. Every street has adventure and I want to explore it as much as possible. Let no gem be hidden!

Bye for now, I will write again shortly.

In the meantime, go adventuring!

Ty

"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken fro granted." - Bill Bryson

Mountain Carving 

To the South of China!

I'd like to first start off by saying that all I want right now is: Easter Candy!! If I could have any wish granted right now, it would be for (Lorena says, "Hi!") Jelly Beans, Recess Peanut Butter Eggs, Sixtlets,...anything! But in all seriousness, I am sad I won't be home for Easter - especially since all I want is (of course) candy, ham, tuna salad, cheese and anything else American related. It's times like these that really make you miss your home nation's traditions.

Village along a river leading to the mountain base

But on a lighter note, things have been great here in China as usual. Last week, we went to the Guilin area for our Rice Terracing course taught by one of our UWRF professors. Taking a sleeper train, we embarked on a 18 hour ride to the South of China. The city lights from home eventually faded into flat farm fields which gradually turned into mist covered mountains. Once arriving in Guilin, we took a three hour bus ride to a base halfway up a mountain. The whole feeling of "mountains on one side and a cliff on the other" was basically the theme of the whole ride. Good thing the driver was texting and driving, eh?

Walking to our village

After safely arriving at the base, we hiked up the mountain to Tian Tao Village. Magical, Majestic and Mighty. Looking out over the valley, I saw mountain after mountain looming far off in the distance with rice terraces covering the smaller hills below me. We stayed in the village for three days collecting data, observing and hiking among the terraces. They were insanely beautiful and it is so hard to imagine that people created these over 1000 years ago. Often, we saw horses running up and down the mountains, cows and water buffalo munching on weeds and snakes and salamanders slithering around under our feet. Even though it was beautiful, there was a large sense of tourism as this village was (as it seemed) a gathering place for the French, Germans and Spaniards. Interestingly enough they all spoke English and we got to converse with them as well as some of the locals.

The view from my window - the mountains in the distance were twice the height you see

Walking back down to the halfway base point, the same driving/texting driver picked us up and we headed down the switchback filled mountain. Adding to the excitement, it rained the night before resulting in, well, an interesting ride down. Usually signs in China aren't always correct but: Watch For Falling Rocks was spot on. I'm surprised the driver dude wasn't texting while going around the pile - good thing, though, because the left side of the van was skimming the edge of a 100 foot drop off. It was one of those: "I'mmmm...just going to close my eyes now" moments.

After four hours of exciting driving, we arrived in Yangshuo, a river city about an hour south of Guilin. There, we got to see the iconic karsts that are legendary to China. Almost any movie that features China usually has a scene that is focused on these mountains; and I can see why!

Moon Hill - we climbed it sat under the arch!

Farm fields with karsts in the background

The highlight of this trip would have be a river boat ride we took up and down a portion of the Li River. We got to ride sketchy rafts and saw the scene on the back of the twenty Yuan bill. This was my favorite part of the whole trip and I want to go back! We also went to a cave to go 'mud swimming' which entailed jumping around in a mud pit. It reminded me of the time I lost my shoe in a cow manure pit - but this time I was all for jumping in fully. After getting all muddy, we jumped into a hot spring that was fed naturally through hot springs filtered through the rocks. The mud and water were filled with minerals that made our skin feel amazing! I didn't dare bring my camera in with me - and it was a good thing because it would have died most likely.

We ended out trip by accidently missing our train back to Hangzhou and had to fly back home after several attempts to get a new train. Even though we lost out on money, I still wouldn't have given up the experience!
This was one of my favorite trips and as I look back at these pictures, I get a sense of accomplishment and gratitude! China is amazing!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! It has been a long and jam-packed month. Sending love to everyone at home and I hope your Easter was Blessed with family and of course food. (candy!!)

Ty

Found this while climbing up Moon Hill. Foot(e) anyone?

Ten Days, Four Cities, 4,000 Miles

The Entrance to the Forbidden City in Beijing 

Well, I decided I better write a blog before I get too far behind. The last time I wrote, I just got back from Shanghai for a weekend trip. This time, I am writing after returning from my Spring Break. I’m about to go through 10 days of my life in a little post so get ready for some word vomit! Ha..

We started off with the whole group flying to Beijing to do a three day scheduled group weekend. A flight from Hangzhou to Beijing only lasted about 2 hours. After landing, we met up with our tour guide, Crystal, and headed into the city. Expecting to be choked by smog – I was pleasantly surprised that we didn’t experience a ton of smog! Only at night, when temperatures dropped, the smog fell into the city. Either way, it was nice not having to wear a mask. 

Ryan, Kristin and I at Tiananmen Square....such an eerie feeling to be there

We hit up every single big ‘touristy’ thing in Beijing such as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, 798 Art District, Tiananmen Square and of course the mighty Great Wall of China. The Great Wall was definitely breath taking. I still can’t believe I was there and I walked up and down a section twice! After three days with the group, Ryan, Kristin and I ventured off by ourselves and got a separate hostel to start off our Spring Break. Highlight: eating cat, dog and snake at a street market near our hostel. Is it bad so say that dog and cat were extremely good? Snake tasted,..well,..like what you would expect snake to taste like. Yuck.

Our last day in Beijing we went to a street market and got some pretty cool deals on some scarves, small nick-knacks and other random things. In all honesty, I have never felt so uncomfortable in my whole time in China than I did at this market. We were basically the only white people in a very large yet cramped shopping area. We had pick-pocketers following us the whole time, sellers dragging us into their stores, and locals were staring at us at all times. I’m not sure why I felt so weird but I didn't like it at all! I am glad to be back in my safe home in Hangzhou(:

Because a jumping picture is always necessary

Making our way to the train station, I realized how alone you really are in a foreign country. Not speaking a lick of English, most people in the Beijing train station couldn’t help us when we needed to find our train terminal. It is a fun game, really though, because I love searching for what we need. Xi’an was our next destination and a 13 hour overnight train ride was standing in the way. In a train of over 500 people – we were the only Americans. Two other girls from Britain eventually showed up which rounded the grand total of five white people,…haha. 

Surprisingly, the train ride went extremely fast and I loved every minute of it. Six bunks in one cubicle with three stacked one on top of the other. To picture it,…imagine a train car and put in about 48 beds in one side with an isle and one fold down chair next to the other window across from the beds. An excuse to sleep for 10 or so hours? I’ll take it!!

Xi’an is located in western China and is one of the oldest cities in the country. We arrived at about 10am and went straight to our hostel. I saw the real China. By real China, I mean poor, run down houses, way more beggars on the street than normal and just…extremely dirty. I thought I was going to hate this place but it turned out to be my favorite by far. 

We met up with two other group members and we went to old temples, biked eight miles around the whole length of the 3000 year old City Wall, experienced REAL open air markets and saw the amazing Terracotta Warriors.  

**Disclosure** What I mean by real open air markets is taking all USDA standards and throwing them out the window, stomping on them, kicking through a tunnel and burnt on the street. And then probably spit on and burnt again. Cow eyes, heart and liver next to lettuce, leaks and onions? Sure, why not. .. .. . 

Anyway, I enjoyed the Warriors but my favorite place we went was to an Islamic influenced market where we got to try foods from all across Western China and the far east. I absolutely LOVED seeing this new culture and I never wanted to leave.  I am not ashamed to say that I went back to the market at least five times in four days because it was just that cool. The people were awesome, the food was spicy and the culture was so fascinating. 

Xi'an Clothes Market

Islamic Influenced Market!!

What made Xi’an my favorite, however, would have to have been the people we met at our hostel. We met people from Canada, Germany, Britain (those girls from the train station), France, Australia and of course, China. I made so many connections and I now have several Chinese students’ emails and have been talking regularly since I returned to Hangzhou. Most of them have never talked to a foreigner before; I feel honored. Hostels are so much fun and I recommend them to anyone. If I didn’t stay at the one in Xi’an then I wouldn’t have a connection to go fishing on a sail boat on Vancouver Island in Canada. Anyone wanna come?!(:

Xi’an was an unexpected beauty and I will return someday! After leaving Xi'an, we flew back home to Hangzhou. Our flight was at 7:50am so we had to get to the airport at about 5:50am which required us to leave our hostel at 4:45am! Two hours back home, I was asked by the Experience China Program to travel to Shanghai to pick up one of our professors coming to Hangzhou from River Falls to teach. So, by the time we arrived home, I was on a three hour shuttle to Shanghai. After about 22 hours of traveling and being up - I finally made it back home with the professor safe and sound. 

First solo traveling experience: Check. First solo traveling experience in the worlds largest city: Check. 

That's all for now.  I will leave you with a picture of me and the gang in Xi'an. So many good memories! I had an amazing time and I am excited to leave for Guilin tomorrow for a 22 hour train ride to visit the rice terraces in Southern China. Guilin is 'magical' said by everyone who has visited. We will have to see(: 

Peace, love and high fives, 

Tyler