Hungcun and Xidi villages

Hungcun

Xidi

Xidi

Hungcun

Xidi

Andrea, Emily, Sarah, and I decided to go on a tour of these two famous villages. It was the day after we hiked the Yellow Mountains so I was probably the sorest I have ever been in my life. But none the less we were excited to go. We took a bus about an hour into the mountains and came into this valley. The first village we came to, the Hungcun village, also called the city on water, is, as it sounds, surrounded by water. It was amazing. So beautiful. We were all so sore so as we walked around the village we were all grunting and crying from the pain haha. We were a pretty funny sight. After that village, we went to lunch then went to the second village. The Xidi village is known for its ancient history. Its 900 years old and is from the Ming and Qing dynasty. I personally liked this village the best because of all the history it held. We had a great time and I loved seeing all these ancient places in China.

The YELLOW MOUNTAINS

Old Street

The "Gang"

 Yellow Mountains

My locks

ME

I put off writing this for some time now. Reason number one, I knew it was going to take forever, second, I just didn’t feel like typing it up haha. But now that I’ve started, it’s just time to push through and get it done.

               I’ll start off at the train station getting ready to take the 9 hour train ride to Huangshan, (city of the Yellow Mountains).  We arrived at the train station at about 8 o’clock PM. Our train didn’t leave until 11 so we had some time to kill. We noticed several groups of women and men doing there “nightly aerobics,” so we decided to join in. We had a blast and all of the Chinese people loved us because sooner or later we had a group starting to form around us. The music ended at 8:30 so we moved over to somewhere we could all sit down, but as we walked away we noticed our crowd followed us. Being the kind people we are, we decided to put on a little show for them. So Alexis and I started to do the chicken dance. They went crazy, cheering and clapping and taking a million photos. We did everything in our power to keep these people entertained, from doing the EFY dance to break dancing on the ground. Mary our coordinator thought we were insane and made us leave to go wait inside the train station. All in all though, it was very fun! We waited in the train station for about 2 hours, and then I boarded my first train in China. It was very packed as you might imagine. But we had ok seats so I wasn’t too bothered by the people using my legs as a back rest. We sat by this Chinese man, and we became good friends with him. We named him Shawn.

                We arrived in Tunxi, the village our hostel was in, about an hour and a half from Huangshan. The street our hostel was on is called Old Street. It’s very famous and has a lot of history behind it, but most of all it was shopping central haha. The whole street is lined with tiny shops for half a mile or so. We all had a blast shopping and buying fun items. I bought a jade necklace that many Chinese people have, a huge painting of the yellow mountains (my favorite purchase), a red Chinese dress for Sailor and also a little doll for her as well, and a scarf for my grandma. All in all it was a good day. We all hit the sack after a long day of shopping and wanted to try and get as much rest possible for our big day ahead of us. We woke up at 5:30 am and hopped on our bus and headed out on our big adventure. We sat by the only other American on the bus and found out he was from Idaho. We liked him so much we decided to let him hike the mountains with us. His name is Jim. After getting off that bus, we got on another and it took us part way up the mountain to where you pay and or take the tram. We paid and decided to take the tram part way up to where all the hiking begins.

                As we stepped off the tram I was instantly hit with the beauty of the view. The mist that over took the mountains only added to the magic of it all. If it weren’t for all the crazy Chinese people chattering away, it could have been very peaceful. We got a map and started for “beginning to believe peak”. On the way we ran into some monkeys in the trees by our path. I thought it was pretty cool seeing wild monkey’s haha. After making it to beginning to believe we started across the mountain for the west stairs that lead down the mountain. The view was incredible the whole way. But I’m not going to lie, all the stairs that we had to climb were unreal. I thought it was never going to end. We came to a point before we started to go down the mountain, we realized we had to make it down the mountain by 5 to catch our bus. It was 3 o’clock so we knew we had to hurry. Me, Emily, Andrea and Jim wanted to hike Lotus peak because it was probably the one part of the mountain I had to do. For one reason it is where my sister hung her locks, and it is where I wanted to hang mine. The locks are locks you buy somewhere on the mountain and a man carves your name into it. So I got 6, one for my mom and dad, Britt and land, sailor, Jordan, Trevor, and me. Any who, while Bobby and Alexis were going to the bathroom, us 4 decided that if we wanted to make it in time we needed to go now. So we decided with the other girls that we would meet at the bus. So we took off and headed for Lotus Peak. Our first challenge was the “hundred ladders.” Yeah it was 253 stairs straight up, and that was just the beginning. I am not exaggerating when I say, it was the hardest hike I have ever done, not to mention we were trying to hurry, so were trying to run up this peak, but it is straight up, stair after stair, and we are literally dying haha. Were dripping sweat, all the Chinese people think were insane, and when you think you are close, you look up, and see your not even half way. Haha. Finally we see the peaks top, I was so excited I couldn’t stand it, and then I looked at what I had to climb to get there. Each step was at least a foot high and a foot across, so we were literally on all fours climbing up this mountain. We finally reach the top and I was greeted with a nice blast of cool air. The mist was very thick so it wasn’t like it was a beautiful view, but it was so peaceful. It was quiet because not a ton of people hike this part because it is hard. So I sat down on the edge next to the chain where my sister hung our locks 5 years ago. As I got my chains ready, I was seriously dripping sweat off my face onto my legs, it was nasty. I hung my locks off the edge. I know this is so cheesy but I felt like I put a part of me on that mountain. It was an amazing experience.

                We started down the peak, and we soon realized that going down was just as hard as going up, if not more. The steps were SO steep. We had to go down sideways, and there was nothing to hold onto. We were trying to hurry but decided being safe was better than catching the bus. I twisted my knee none the less but pushed on. We went through this cave and when we came out on the other side, the view, literally took my breath away. We all stopped and stared for as long as we thought wise, then we had to head off again. Now going down this mountain was insane. The steps never had a break, it was just steps for as far as the eye could see. Going up the mountain you were out of breath so it was hard that way, but going down was hard on our legs and feet. My calves were burning and my feet were on fire. But we had to hurry and just keep going. At one point we looked at the clock and realized there was no possible way we could make it, so we made the decision we were going to take it easy and just take a cab home. Then we headed off, just eager to get down the mountain. FINALLY we saw the bus that takes us down to the bus station. We paid and got on. We arrived down at the bus station at 6:10 pm and grabbed a taxi. We arrived back at the hostel around 7:30 and ran into Bobby and Alexis and talked about what happened. What happened after that came as a shock to us three. Bobby and Alexis started to get mad at us for leaving them and not leaving them a map. We held a group meeting and argued for a good hour. Them saying we did not consider their feelings when we left, and us saying that Lotus Peak was the most important part of the mountain and we were scared about waiting any longer and wasting time, and that no one was thinking about a map and to blame the whole thing on us was pretty ridiculous. Long story short, we worked things out and everything is fine now, but it was just some group drama.

                Although that happened, the overall Yellow Mountain experience was one I will never forget. It was amazing, the experiences I had on that mountain are ones I will treasure forever.



JUST GO pics and vids

                Us in front of the national symbol for festival day. Don't ask, its weird!

           

After our sad atempt at wipe out!

Emilys epic follow up!

Shame shame you NOW know my name...

Us "back stage"

Somewhere in the first week of my arrival, our Chinese coordinator Mary asked us if we would like to be on this Chinese game show called Just Go. Just go is sort of like American wipe out if that will help you understand. We all, of course, said we would love to but thought no more about the subject. Well we were wrong about thinking she wouldn’t pull through. Monday we get a knock on the door and there is Andrea with a big smile on her face. She says "sooooo Mary got us on Just Go…" We all freaked out and started preparing for the coming Friday. Preparing as in, saying we are getting prepared, but still doing the same stuff as normal. Maybe squeezing our gluts coming up the stairs.

Well the big day comes and were up at 5:00 in the morning making our 2 hour drive to He Fei, the capital of Anhui province. We ended up getting lost and arriving an hour and a half late. It was no big deal though, they hadn’t even started he games. So we get situated “back stage” and sit and watch a TV that shows what’s going on live. So we watch as the first group of girls goes. In my mind, and I’m positive in the minds of my fellow teammates, we have got this one in the bag. I was fairly confident that I was going to breeze by this course and win Mary an AC unit. You see the prize you win at the end if you complete the course, you win a whirlpool air-conditioning unit. Now I will quickly run through the women’s course and the men’s.

The women’s course consists of a tramp, 4 turn tables, 3 sweeper arms going around in a circle while you jump from 1 platform to the other, a long treadmill, then the  sinister stairs, then to a swinging platform you must land on by swinging from a rope, then you must cross 3 moving tables that pivot with your weight, then you must climb up a 30 foot slide with water coming down it by pulling yourself up with a rope, then you hit the big red button and you win.

The men’s course, you start out by running across 8 unstable treasure chest looking things, then you must run across 6 rolling logs, then pull volt across a 20 foot gap, after that you run up the treadmill and to the row of sinister stairs, then you come to two moving tables that you must jump from one to the other through a moving windmill, then climb the 30 foot slide to victory!

So the first group of girls go, then the first group of guys. Then they are calling our names and were lining up on stage, my heart is going crazy and I feel like I might pass out haha! Andrea goes first, she makes it to the sweeper arms but takes one right in the butt and falls head first into the water. Then its Alexis, she makes it all the way to the sinister stairs but falls in at the top. Then it’s me, the buzzer sounds and I start running, I jump off the tramp and come to the first turn table, I hop on and start to situate myself for the next jump, but then the table angles down and I slip right off. I try and jump to the next table but it was too late and I fell into the water. I was SO MAD, I could not believe I didn’t even make it past the first table, I knew that I shamed myself and America ;) then Emily is up, she gets to the first turn table and… yes indeed, falls in. Next is Garnet, she makes it to the first turn table and as you guessed, falls in, following me and Emily’s lead. Last but not least is Sarah. She comes to the first turn table and makes it, then the second, then the third, and yes to the fourth, all she has to do now is get to the platform… but she falls haha. We come back to the back stage and get to watch Bobby and Jeff go. Bobby goes and makes it all the way, he not only just makes it but he does it in record breaking time, 1 minute 30 seconds. Jeff goes and falls off at the logs.

Over all I had a blast, even though I shamed America on national TV, I still had a great time. Sorry to my fellow Americans for not even making it past the first turn table ;)

The KIDS

This is the middle group, the "favored" ones :)

Playing "red light, green light"

Me and some kids playing "duck duck goose"

Emily, Me, Mee Mee, and Sarah

Of late, not much has been going on here. Were in the last week of summer camp, the humidity is unreal. Even when your just sitting down with the kids, you can feel the drips of sweat running down your back and face. Haha gross image right? But its how it is, no avoiding the truth! The one and only thing that keeps me sain in this kind of heat is the kids. They are so fun and such a joy to be around. They can always put a smile on my face and get me laughing in no time. Depending on the day, I either have the babies (1-3 graders), the middle group (4-6 graders), or on the worst days, the middle schoolers. (7-9 graders). Why i say worst day is because the middle school kids don’t have a care in the world for us or what we are trying to teach them. We all say that they are "to cool for school". There are a couple students from that group who do care and take the time to talk to us and try to better their English. The middle groups, the 4th through 6th grade kids are my favorite, they are at that age where they can be taught easily and love the games we teach them. The babies are fun but very hard to control, but they are the cutest things ever. They grab your hand like you are their best friend and lead you on some sort of an adventure. There is this little girl, not in any of the groups we teach, but her mom is a Chinese teacher at the school so she comes and hangs around with us. She is the cutest thing and loves us all a lot. She grabs are hands and chatters in Chinese as she leads us around the school. We named her Mee Mee and she loves it! All of the parents with little kids always wants their kids to touch us, so they will walk up to us and make their little kids give us high fives, its way funny and it happens at least once a day. We took our kids to this "park", which was quite beautiful. As you keep walking through the middle of the forest on this path, it leads to this amusement park, if you are from Utah, it is like a mini, creepy version of Lagoon. except you don’t pay at the front, you pay for each individual ride you want to go on. I went on the bumper cars because one of my students refused to go without me. Then we did the screamer, the one like at Lagoon where you start going around and around and the machine starts going straight up so you are doing back flips kinda. Anyways i got dragged on that one also but loved it so much i did it again. haha. The kids really do care for you and try and teach you all they know in Chinese, like how to count to ten, or simple words like T-shirt, or water. I can’t wait for the real semester to begin and have my own class to teach and also learn so much from.

Bengbu, China

This is the MayFlora Campus from the inside.

Bengbu, City

Sweetest old lady

apartment buildings

The family at the key maker shop

First school lunch meal (very good)

When I first landed in China, the first thing to hit me was not the beauty, but the humidity!!! It is hotter than the middle of summer back home, and not to mention it was 8:00, very dark and still blasted hot. We met up with the rest of our group and our Chinese coordinator Mary. Our bus driver took us to a hotel to stay in because we did not want to drive to the school in the dark. That was my first real experience with the Chinese culture. Me, Emily and Alexis shared one room, Sarah, Garnet and Andrea in another, Mary and Jackie in one, and Bobby and our driver in the other. Me and Emily shared a bed, not to mention it was a twin and hard as a rock. with the crazy time change from Utah me and Emily fell asleep super fast but i woke up at 3 am. We went to breakfast that the hotel provided and it was my first taste of Chinese food. It was ok. Very Very different. After that we packed up and head for Bengbu. Our van was made to fit 8 people and we managed to fit 10 along with 15, 50 pound bags! It was a sight to see. We made 3 stops, and the farther we got for Shanghai, the more the people stared at us. Mary said that not many white people visit these areas. After an exhausting 8 hour ride, we finally took the exit for Bengbu. My first thoughts were how green and open it was. Lots of endless fields. We then pulled up to the school. It was HUGE. So different from what i imagined. Some men helped us carry all of our luggage up the 6 flights of stairs. Mary showed us our rooms and we started to unpack. Our rooms were also nicer then i expected. We both have full beds (rock hard :)) and an actual toilet, no squatter business. Bobby then told us to come up one more flight of stairs that led to the roof. We walked out and the view was breath taking. all you could see were fields of green surrounding the school. The campus was also very beautiful, with a lake and a very Chinese looking bridge the crossed the middle of it. After that Mary took us to show us around campus and then took us out to this little restaurant in our building. I ordered egg fried noodles and LOVED them. Very good. For dinner we went to the cafeteria or dining room as they call it and i had my first taste of "school lunch" haha. I was actually pretty surprised, it wasn’t as bad as i was expecting. The next day Mary took us into Bengbu city to shop and look around. I was shocked at how much poverty i saw. Lots of run down Apartments that people still lived in. It is a bigger city then i thought it would be with lots of people. We had a great time shopping and i bought a sweet pair of neon green Vans and a supper cute bag. Everything is so cheap its hard not to buy everything! We then went home and had a good nights rest... I have truly loved my experience so far. There is not a place in the world i would rather be. The people are so kind and willing to help. And i love the beauty of China and the culture.

Family Shout Outs!!!

To start off my first blog post, I would just like to say a little about my back ground. My family is my life, they mean the world to me and as I am on this journey I have all the love and support i could ask for. So here is a shout out to all of them. Mom, dad, honestly I could not ask for better parents, you have been so loving and supportive of all the things I choose to do and never once have I felt that I didn’t have your trust with what I choose to do. Britt, my big sis. What would my life be like without you? I can’t even imagine. You have been such a good sister to me, you taught me all my 'need to know' facts in life! I feel like we have only grown closer over time and know that will never change. Landon, oh Land I love you so much, I could not have asked for a better brother in law, you are such a stud and I appreciate how much you love my sister. Sailor Powell, my gosh how could I ever put into words the love I have for you my little bug. NEVER grow up, stay my sweet little girl! Jord, gosh bro I feel that we have only become closer these last months and I miss you so much. I miss you contagious laugh and your quick smile. You are so sweet and kind to me and I treasure every moment with you. Trevor, Trev I am so proud of you and your willingness to serve the Lord. I can feel your testimony every time I read your e-mails. You are such a loving and protective brother. My favorite thing about you is your protectiveness over me, I know I laugh when you say you will cut their tongues off haha but I know that you truly mean that you won’t let anything bad ever happened to me. That’s the end of my shout outs and i love and miss you all!

Love your daughter and sister, Steph!