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.