Traveling Soul

It's such a strange and unfamiliar feeling to be back. The crisp, fresh air is something that I dearly longed for...I never slept at all on the 12 hour plane ride and I barely drifted in and out of consciousness on the second plane ride to Portland. My friend Chaunte picked me up and on the 2 hour ride home, I rambled on about China, skipping over the details...we made a quick stop at a secret swimming hole near the McKenzie River where we enjoyed the company of a stranger friend, organic watermelon, and the beauty of the setting sun. I dipped into the cold water up to my waste, looking into the distance, I saw a blue heron fly over. Nature is something I can never escape and as promised, it always brings the good vibes. I knew that when I came back, it would be somewhat difficult to adjust to everything. When talking about any experience, words fail to convey the emotions, the thought process, and the feelings that create and make up an experience. When you return from traveling...

About two weeks ago, I lost my phone... It's been very difficult communicating and reaching out to people, but on the plus side, I spend the majority of my time reading and writing, if not having deep talks with my roommate. For the most part, it has been very enjoyable and I feel as though my days are more fulfilling. So Chris from Germany and to my friends and family who I haven't been able to contact, I'm still alive. Last weekend, on Friday, my friends and I went out to dinner for Shakercha's birthday. Her birthday is next weekend, but she's not traveling with us to Shanghai. In fact, there will only be four of us going there, two down from our usual six. We are taking a 16 hour overnight train to save money and then a bullet train back. We will have 26 hours in Shanghai, but I know that every second will be worth it. It's crazy to think that I have 10 days here in Beijing. What started out as 2 months has passed by faster than I could have imagined. As so...

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.         ...

Today is the 9th day of being in China and the second day of camp, but it is the first day that I have seen the sun shine and the blue skies since coming here. The sun is the source of my happiness and when I saw it, I couldn't believe it. The pollution had dispersed and the sky was absolutely brilliant. I'm conscious about how appreciative I am of the sun and the clean air that we have back home but being here has just reaffirmed my love for it.              Camp was far less chaotic today than it was yesterday, however we still have a lot of work to do. Whenever I am in the presence of children, I am always in awe at their imagination and their colorful expressive minds. One of my student told me that she "colored what she felt". Her picture of dolphins jumping out of the ocean was described as coming from her imagination. Today I got three more kids added to my group making the count to thirteen. The majority of the children that I work with do ...