August - Part 1

I need to break August into two parts.

My first half of August was spent in Gansu. Gansu is different from Chongqing in so many ways. One of the best ways is that it was dry. Yes, it did rain a few days. But it was somehow better than Chongqing rain. Outside of the mountain area there was almost constant blue sky and if there is one regret I have, it's that I didn't pack long pants and a jacket. When I was told to pack warm clothes, I didn't fully believe that it would actually be cold. If you go to Gansu, pack warm clothes.

Manic
You can also see the "Yellow" river in the background. It was red/brown. Liars.

When I arrived in Lanzhou, I went directly to the hostel and met a girl named Manic. The entire first day I was with Manic, she spoke Chinese the whole time. It was a good boost of confidence for me. After she got tired of talking to herself, we started speaking English. We went sightseeing together one day. She insisted on climbing this mountain. We got to the top around 2:00. Then she announced that she wanted to watch the sunset from the mountain top. We waited there 5 hours. Just as the sun started to approach the horizon, about 1 hour after the sandstorm, the clouds came in and Manic says, "What a pity! We can't see the sunset. Let's go before it gets dark." Yes. Let's.

Xiahe, Gansu

One main street runs through Xiahe. All of the buildings are colorful.
It seems to be becoming more touristy based on the new shopping areas being built outside of the monastery.

I left Lanzhou and went to Xiahe. Lonely Planet described Xiahe as an "alluring monastic town." IF YOU ARE IN GANSU, DO NOT MISS XIAHE. There have been few times in China when I say, "Wow! That exceeded my expectations." This was one of those few times. We stayed in the Tibetan Overseas Hotel. It was good (Clean, quiet, and hot water. Refreshing after Huar Hostel in Lanzhou). The people working the front desk were also helpful. If you can, take the outer kora and if you intend on renting bikes to go to one of the grasslands, reserve them the night before.

Friendly faces and bread.
It doesn't get better than this.

A view from the outer kora down to the monastery.

Since we couldn't get bikes, we walked to the grasslands.
The trail ended and we needed to cross the river. 

Short of swimming or turning around, this was the only option.

The prayer wheels around the monastery.

 I could have stayed in Xiahe for the rest of the trip, but it was time to move on. After the train ride from hell, we arrived in Dunhuang. Dunhuang should have a blog post of its own. Dunhuang is known for the Mogao caves. These caves are the largest collection of buddhist art in the world and are particularly impressive because of their age and how well they have been preserved. If you have more time to stay in Dunhuang, you can also take camels out into the dunes and spend the night in the desert for about 400 kuai (see Charlie Johng's Dune Guesthouse). 400 is pretty cheap when you consider you're going to pay 120 to get into the park to see the dunes anyways and it covers the guide and food.

A view of the dunes from the Silk Road Hotel.

Mogao caves
Getting here was an adventure. We were informed that tickets had to be bought online only.
Internet-less, we called Caroline, she got the tickets, we picked them up, hitched a ride from
 some other tourists to the caves, and then realized
we could have bought the tickets at the visitor's center AND the caves.

 We then went to Jiayuguan and I saw the Great Wall for my first time.

Great Wall

To get to our hostel from the street we had to walk through this restaurant.
There were 2 poster-sized Maos in this restaurant.

 Our last leg in Gansu was Zhangye. Seeing the Danxia landforms was my priority. Scenic spots like this can't be accurately photographed. It was more incredible than any picture could show.

We said a sad goodbye to Gansu (its diversity, cool weather, and bread) and it was time for Sichuan province.

July

I have been so terrible at keeping up with this blog. I should just give up. I’m much too proud for that.

I didn’t bring my computer while traveling this summer, but I did take notes on things I saw or things for the blog. And by “notes” I mean that I wrote 2 stories down. One of those stories was a scathing piece on Dove Beauty White soap, which I had assumed included bleaching ingredients like many popular cosmetic products in China, addressing the betrayal I felt from a company that claims to support natural beauty. I then did some research and Beauty White soap is sold in the United States as well and includes no bleaching agents. Luckily I abandoned that soapbox before I ever got on it. Pun intended.

Will you be cleaner after using this? Probably.
Whiter? Nope.

So now I have massive chunks of unaccounted-for time, which some people have asked about, and I’ve got nothing. So, I’m going to select a few pictures from July and August and write about those.

My summer began with a short trip to Guiyang and Xingyi in Guizhou province and Kunming in Yunnan province. Although these provinces are south of Chongqing, the temperatures are more mild year-round.

Some folks in Guizhou

While I was in Guiyang, I was reunited with some lovely volunteers. My hosts treated me to pancakes and countless treats from home and we even went to a real brewery to celebrate the 4^th of July. Guiyang was a beautiful city with personality, trees lining the wide streets, and blue skies. I must admit that I’m a little jealous of the volunteers there.

Some monkeys were just hanging out on the hiking path.

I then went to visit Jon in Xingyi. Xingyi is the southernmost volunteer site in China. We biked through minority villages, rice paddies, and mountains. We hiked a bit. We woke up early to watch the terrible Brazil-Germany world cup match. I wish I had had more time because Xingyi is a beautiful little city.

Biking in Xingyi: the cheaper and less-touristy Yangshuo

 In Kunming, I met up with my friend Caroline. Caroline is a girl I met at school. I was in the cafeteria one day for lunch and she walked up to me and said, “I want to practice English. Do you want to practice Chinese? We can help each other.” I miss her this year.

Caroline

Our first meeting we had decided to bring pictures that we would try to explain (her in English and me in Chinese). She brought pictures of a trip, to Tibet and Nepal then through Gansu, she had taken by hitchhiking. She is now one of my best friends in China. I’m already planning on visiting her again in January.

This was a Sani village, in Shilin county, a branch of the Yi people.

When we arrived in the village, it was eerily empty.
We followed the loud music and found the funeral march just behind this ox.

Shilin County, 2014

The next morning I hopped on a train and bought this bread because it looked good.
Whenever I buy bread in China, I am disappointed, due to my expectations.
I expected something cinnamon-y and sweet. I got savory and peppery.
Also, my 18 hour train ride turned into 23 hours. Unrelated to the disappointing buns. 

After that trip, I had 3 days to prepare for Summer Project. In Peace Corps China, we train primary and middle school teachers. Like most experiences I have teaching in China, I probably learned more from students than they did from me. The location of our summer project wasn’t too shabby either.

Pengshui, Chongqing

On the weekend between our two weeks teaching for summer project, my school sent me to a conference in Lanzhou in Gansu province. It was the most nervous I have been to speak in a long time. I arrived in Lanzhou late on Saturday and left right after my presentation on Sunday. My entire 15 hours spent in Lanzhou were spent in the hotel.

This is me pretending to be professional.

My abstract was printed and distributed in a book
with all the other abstracts from the speakers.
Best souvenir yet.

After the last week of Summer Project, it was time to flip the calendar page already.