Traveling Soul

This last weekend was definitely the best weekend I've ever had in China. On Friday we traveled to Hou Hai, a beautiful and serene area surrounded by three huge lakes. Around the lakes are restaurants, cute stores, and of course many bars and clubs. We left our apartments later than anticipated with one of our usual six girls staying behind. We made sure to get detailed directions from our co-workers who had visited the area the previous weekend. She handed us a map and circled the address of where the hostel was located. We got off of our metro stop around 8:00 and walked for about 30 minutes until deciding to ask for help. A worker from a dessert shop points us straight while simultaneously speaking in Mandarin. Before long we agree to flag a tuk tuk down because we were told that taxis can't go through Hou Hai. Squeezing five people into a tuk tuk, the driver takes us on a long and crazy ride. He drops us off in the middle of Hou Hai, nowhere close to our hostel and we are f...

I wish that I could freely and openly write without filtering myself, but unfortunately I feel as though I don't have a choice. Since we live in a world that uses the internet to judge us before an interview for a job, I want to take all precautions when posting anything for the world to see.         For our first weekend out, we stayed at a recommended hostel called Sanlutin Youth Hostel. During our stay at the hotel for a week (while our room was getting fumigated) , we met a couple who gave us some tips and suggestions on where to go and what not to do. It took us so many twists and turns to find the hostel because while one person would point us to one direction, another would tell us to turn around. Four of the girls took a taxi with the address of the hostel in Chinese while Michaela and I were persistent on finding it on our own two feet. After asking more hotels and restaurants, we discovered the hidden hostel. The Sanlutin Youth Hostel felt like a home...

Independence Day in China did not feel like it was the 4th of July. For one, Beijing is 15 hours ahead so we celebrated it a day earlier and since we are not on a military base, but an embassy, there were no fireworks, parades or BBQ's to attend. Nonetheless, it was amazing. We went to Summer Palace as a whole group and spent most of the day there. Summer Palace is the largest imperial garden in China and it was restored in 1886, making it the most well preserved world park in China. I had no idea that Summer Palace encompassed such a large area complete with pavilions, palaces, temples, bridges, ornamental buildings, and dining areas. The site was full of tourists much like the Forbidden City. However, if you ever find yourself in Beijing, I highly recommend going here. It is full of serene views and the architecture is a site to see for yourself! The geography of where every temple and palace is located is very confusing and can be frustrating to try and figure out if you are lo...

Every Wednesday, all of the children get to go on a field trip. Today was the first day of testing out how that would play out. It was both chaotic and exhausting. Simply just to get on the bus seemed like a hassle. Once we finally arrived, after many missed turns and backing up, we explored the Aquarium. I had to consistently do a head count of the children that I was responsible for and had to remind them to not roam off without a buddy. The Aquarium was an interesting experience, I can't remember the last time that I went to one. I was disheartened to see so many different types of fish in small tanks, cramped and limited to space and freedom. We made it just in time for the whale show where we sat and watched as sea lions were made a spectacle of, playing with a beach ball and doing tricks. Then the whales performed a set. I was not especially fond when the trainer rode on top of the whale through the waves, but the crowd burst with laughter and claps.         ...