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krystalrock
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Name: Krystal
Birthday: 9/9/1983
Gender: Female
Interests: My husband, reading, playing outside, watching movies, and most recently, dominoes.
Expertise: Making grilled cheese sandwiches
Occupation: Oral English Teacher
Message: message me
Member Since:
5/20/2006
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| Chad and I have been hanging out in a town called Dali for the last few days and it's been a pretty relaxing experience. To tell the truth, we haven't done much of anything. We have watched the following movies in English: The Grey Zone, Reign of Fire, The Jackal (half of it before it was interrupted by a demonstration on Tai Chi), and some awful movie Shack did that I think might be called Steel. In Chinese, we watched Pearl Harbor and it loses it's effect in a different language. Some of you might be asking "what effect", especially those of the male gender who think it's a terrible movie, but I think it's a great cheesy love story. We've also had time to read our books and play cards. Dali is definitely one of the ultimate hang out towns. However, for other laowai or "foreigners" it is a hang out town due to all the "smokey smoke" that is offered by these women: Now, of course they are not carrying any children, but the baby is replaced with a suspiciously covered basket. Anyway, we leave tomorrow for Kunming and we will then be headed for the Pandas!! That's right, Pandas is a capitalized word. There is a large breeding reservation for the Pandas there and we hope to hold a baby one for a small donation. While reading in my Lonely Planet, I discovered a couple of reasons why the Pandas are becoming extinct and I want to share them with you, just in case you were wondering. 1) Apparently, Pandas are particular in who they mate with. 2) If a female gives birth to 2 cubs, she will either abandon it OR role over on it in her sleep. Pandas, what a great creation... | | |
| So, 2 days ago we got on a bus under the assumption, given to us by a qualified ticket counter worker, that it would take 10 hours. It was a sleeper bus with beds and it left at 2:30. Little did we know that by 10 hours, the lady meant 18. Good times. I have trouble actually sleeping on these buses and during the middle of the night, between the hours of 3 and 5 I came up with this list: 5 Things I Appreciate More After Riding on a Sleeper Bus (In no particular order) 1. The American Highway System 2. Smoking laws that are followed and respected 3. People who do not spit on buses 4. Clean feet 5. Western toilets with stall doors The reasoning behind my list is as follows. (1) The majority of the time we were supposed to be sleeping, I believed that we were off-roading. Multiple times I felt as if I would be flung or bumped from top bunk. (2) Men in China feel the need to smoke in closed spaces, and somehow can't go through the night without smoking. (3) Due to all the smoking that goes on, there is a lot of junk in the Chinese lung. We fortunately were able to hear it all brought to the surface of the mouth and then have it placed on the floor where we walk. (4) Feet smell. (5) At a rest stop, we were expected to use the restroom in concrete holes without a door. I have come to the conclusion that if I want to stay in China with a good attitude, I should stay away from sleeper buses, so this is my vow. Down with sleeper buses! | | |
| Internet in China is awful and is the reason I have not been able to post in awhile. Right now Chad and I are in Kunming China waiting on a bus that doesn't leave for 7 more hours. We are at the end of week 4 of our 6 week long traveling spree. It's been really great so far. We began our trip in Harbin, a northern city in China where the temperatures are -30 degrees celsius. They have this great ice lantern festival and snow sculpture exhibit every winter and we figured might as well go when we have the chance. I wore about 18 different layers of clothing to keep warm and at one point I felt like the toe warmers in my boots froze. However, it was a lot of fun and the displays were amazing. Next we went through Beijing and ate at our favorite Chinese Mexican restaurant, Pete's. Granted, we have only ate at one mexican place here, but it's decked out with a Texas theme and the waiters wear Texas flags, so we really felt at home. Next we went to Xi'an where the Terracotta Warriors are. For those of you who don't remember your history lesson, these are the 6000+ underground warriors that were found 30 years ago that were supposedly made 2000 years ago. The warriors are life size and not a single one looks the same. After Xi'an we met up with Chad's sister in Shanghai and traveled around with her for a week. We went to several touristy cities that are around Shanghai and it was a pretty good time. After that we headed to my personal favorite so far, a small town called Yangshuo. It had these breathtaking peaks that just shot out of the ground. We took a bike ride through the rice paddies that are surrounded by these peaks and it was here that I came to a strange conclusion. In a country where our Father does not exist, I have never felt closer to him. He is more alive and real here, to me, than He ever was in America. The beauty and peace I felt on that bike ride has been the highlight of my time in China. After that, we came here and met up with some friends who we will be traveling with for the next 10 days or so. If we have to kill some more time, I'll try to keep you updated. If you are in the states reading this, eat some Taco Bueno for me. I could really go for some right now. | | |
|  | Currently Watching
Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition)
By Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Mark Boone Junior, Linus Roache, Morgan Freeman, Larry Holden, Gerard Murphy (II), Colin McFarlane, Sara Stewart, Gus Lewis, Richard Brake, Rade Serbedzija, Emma Lockhart
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I was late to work this morning. I got a flat tire...on my bicycle. Wow, life sure is different over here, but at the same time very similar. | | |
| Chad received this text message today and I wanted to share it with you guys:
Chad, I came across a sentence that I can't understand, here it is.
"Don't trust anyone who knows how to give a wedgie"
Doesn't a wedgie mean shoes? | | |
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