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.