Wentang

Friday: As soon as my classes were over, I made my way to the train station, bag in hand to buy my ticket and catch the earliest train possible to Nanchang. Somehow, even though I arrived twenty minutes before the train was to leave, I missed the one I was hoping to catch and thus had to catch the next one and wait at the train station for an hour.
Fine.
The train ended up being standing room only and quite packed. No sitting for the hour and a half journey for me, although a creep-o did offer me a chance to come sit next to him. No thanks.
I arrived in Nanchang around 3:45 and met Nathan and Liz (who had arrived before me) at the McDonalds near the station. We sat around for awhile 'shooting the shit' and waited for Nik to arrive. After he joined us we headed back to the train station to meet Cici who had our train tickets and whose apartment we would be staying at.
The train was fantastic, it was the express, and so clean! We arrived in Yichun about an one and a half hours after departing Nanchang. We quickly caught a taxi outside the station and headed on to Wentang where we would be staying.
First things first, it was dinner time. After an interesting meal, which included such delicacies as a vegetable which tasted like grass and dirt, and another which had the taste and consitancy of pork fat, we headed on to Cici's apartment.
We decided that some hot springs were in order, so after mixing a few drinks to take with us, we headed out to the springs. It was already dark outside, and we headed to a close place first. Unfortunately it would be closing only about an hour after we had arrived, so we decided to move on to the posh springs instead. We eventually found the place and headed in.
The springs were very nice and we had a lot of fun trying the different pools, enjoying our drinks, and hanging out. Soon it was closing time, so we headed back to Cici's place where we played a few drinking games with Nathan's snapping alligator, then headed to bed.

Saturday: I was feeling pretty unwell, most likely from the combination of drinking and Chinese food. (Maybe I'm allergic to msg?). We went for lunch at a nice restaurant just up the street where Cici ordered a giant stone bowl full of fish and a few other dishes. We then caught a mianbaoche to take us to the mountain. The ride was a bit uncomfortable for me and my volatile stomach, but the company was pleasant and the views were nice. On our way to the mountain our driver managed to run over a chicken.
Immediately an old woman came running to the van yelling at the driver who then had to stop and pay her off for the chicken. We still don't even know if it was actually her chicken, but she made somethine like 40 yuan off of it's untimely death.
We finally arrived at the mountain which was gorgeous. However, once we had wandered inside and seen how expensive it was, we changed our minds. Almost 200 yuan to climb this stinking thing? Pshhh. No way. We took a few pictures on our way out, and grabbed another mianbaoche to take us back to Wentang.
We decided our money would be better spent at the posh hot springs, so we donned our bathing suits and headed back. We spent most of our time skipping from pool to pool and enjoyed a game of Marco Polo.
Eventually it was time to go home so we headed back to Cici's to pack our bags and catch a mianbaoche to the train station. I only wish it could have lasted longer.
We arrived back in Nanchang quite late in the evening, bid Cici farewell, and headed to Nathan and Nik's apartment complex. We were all exhausted from the hot springs so we headed to bed pretty much as soon as we got home.

Sunday: My stomach was still a bit achy. Nathan, Liz, and I headed to the Muslim noodle restaurant for lunch (I swear, everytime we go there I'm sick and can't eat the entire bowl, so now I'm pretty sure the owner thinks I don't like his restaurant.) It was then time to head back to the train station so Liz could catch her train back to Wuhan and I could get my ticket and head back to Jiujiang. Liz left around 1:30 so Nathan and I headed to McDonald's to hang out before my train at 2-ish.
It was another train with standing only room, but I met some nice kids from Jiujiang University who I had a good chat with on the way home. They even let me practice my Chinese! Not too shabby.
When I arrived home I found this fantastic e-mail:

Hi Jessica,

I am delighted to let you know that your submitted photo has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of our Schmap San Francisco Guide:

Japanese Tea Garden


****

Neat, huh?
I also had an email from Real World Chinese asking me to send a copy of my visa and a letter from my employer saying I was allowed to study in Beijing for the summer. Ridiculous. I let Hamlin know, so hopefully he's taking care of that. I'll re-emphasize how important it is to him on Wednesday if I haven't heard anything.

Today I taught my kids about going to the doctor and all that related vocab. They really don't know many body parts, so we went over that, and I taught them the different words for 'butt'.
Tomorrow I have plans to meet a student to hang out/ have a Chinese lesson/ shop.
Now I'm off to cook dinner and maybe do some yoga.

You can see pictures from Wentag here.

Tomorrow

You will get an update about this weekend. It was super.

Now... I must make a lesson plan and sleep.

Things of note...

• The fingernails are fixed. I managed to uber eff them up when I got home from the salon so I whipped out the polish remover and repainted them hot pink with glitter. I even managed to cut them down to a more resonable length, although the middle and ring fingers are still looking a bit long. I'm quite proud of my fingernail painting skillz although I'm nowhere near as good as the profs.
• I have already saved up half of the program fee for this summer. Go me! Now I just need to get my tax return in, and save up the other 4000rmb plus any spending money I may need. However, I have been told that I shall probably get about 11,000rmb when summer break starts, so I don't think that will be a problem either. I also plan to do some private lessons for cash while I'm in Beijing if I can, or find some other job on the side.
  
• I talked to Hamlin about my visa issues, i.e. my visa expires the day after I head up to Beijing. He said he would talk to some people and try to get it sorted so I don't have to worry about it.
• Tomorrow I have two classes, then head to Nanchang to meet up with Nathan and Liz before we head to the hot springs.
• I must go pack.

That's it.

P.S. I still really want a trapeze. Oof.

Very little to say...

Not much is going on. The weather has been too cold and wet to spend much time outdoors.

Sophie and I went to the nail salon today and I paid for her to have her nails done. I also had mine redone but I don't like them at all. They're black with white polka dots which would be cute on shorter nails, but on the longish nails just looks frightening. I'll get them redone next weekend or something.

That is all. Going to the hot springs this weekend. Getting paid tomorrow, but a majority of it is going into savings for summer school. I am wiped out, so a shower and bed for me.

I <3 Hong Kong

I'm completely wiped, but I figure I'll try to get this all posted and wrapped up before I pass out (plus the laundry is still going.)

Nathan and I caught the train to Shenzhen around 4pm on Friday. We both took some Nyquil and passed out pretty early, eager to sleep through the fourteen hour train ride. We ended up arriving around 5:30am.

Unfortunately for us, the ticket booth to buy our return tickets to Nanchang/Jiujiang didn't open until later, so we spent some time eating breakfast and hanging out (in the gloriously warm weather) at the Shenzhen train station. Eventually we were able to buy the return tickets and move on to the other side of the train station which was where the border to Hong Kong was located.
We passed through customs with ease and made our way to the metro where we bought tickets to head into the main city area of Kowloon. After a 45 minute metro ride we arrived at our stop, which was conveniently located right next to the Mirador Mansion where we were to stay. Inside the mansion were a number of hostels, so we settled for one, made a deal with the lady who ran the operation, and settled in. Naps and showers were in order, so we set about making that happen.
In the early afternoon we decided to have some lunch (Indian food) before setting out to look around. The area we were in (Nathan Road) was bustling with activity. We walked around and discovered how conveniently close we were to the Ocean Port where Grandma and Grandpa would be docking the next day. We decided to take the ferry across to the island of Hong Kong (it probably has it's own name but I can't be bothered to look it up.) We spent hours looking around at all the markets, hiking up stairs, and peeking into art galleries. In the evening we wandered by the park, and stumbled upon a night market. By the end of the day my feet were straight up busted and we were exhausted.

We met Grandma and Grandpa the next day, at 10am sharp. Luckily the dock was only a 15 minute walk away from our hotel. We decided that breakfast was in order and found a local Starbucks to meet our breakfast needs. After that it was off down Nathan road to have a look at the shops and try to find a tailor (unsuccessfully). After a nice look around the park which boasts a small lake complete with flamingos and a rare bird aviary, we made our way to the ferry to see the island. Nathan has a brilliant mind for directions and took us back to all the markets I thought the grandparents would like to see. We ended up hopping on a tram as a mini adventure, but didn't make it far before deciding to stop at another market for a quick look and some lunch. A pizza hut was nearby, so we headed in there to refuel, gorging on such delicacies as garlic bread and pizza.
The idea of going to Stanley Market kept coming up, so we hailed a cab and headed out that way. It ended up being on the opposite side of the island, but the views were brilliant as we passed all the million dollar homes and small beaches. We did a bit more shopping at the market, running into Grandma and Grandpa's fellow Oriana passengers as we did. After a few picture taking opportunities, we decided to catch a double decker bus back to the city.
We took the top deck of the ferry back to Kowloon which was quite nice. The shopping had accumulated into a bothersome mess, so we went back to our hotel to drop it off before heading on to the night market. Street food was in order, though it cost a might more than street food on the mainland. Nathan ordered about four dishes, and Grandma and I scampered off to have a look at the market while they were being cooked. Unfortunately the dishes arrived soon after we left, so it was a bit cold when we returned, but still delicious.
It was soon time for the light show, so we made our way to where the ferry dock was in order to get good seats. The show was quite nice, although the commentating was in Cantonese. Everyone was pretty exhausted after that so we walked Grandma and Grandpa back to the Oriana and headed off. Nathan enjoyed a couple beers while I did a bit more shopping, then went back to the hotel.

Monday morning Nathan and I hurried to The Penninsula to meet Grandma and Grandpa. We had a delicious breakfast there while taking in all the poshness. We decided it best to drop off the Ribena and book that Grandma and Grandpa had brought with them, so we returned to the hotel, then made our way to the Hong Kong space museum. Unfortunately it was closed, so we headed for the ferry instead. After a short ride across we were once again on the island. Nathan led us to the area where all the art galleries are, so we spent the afternoon poking around in there until it was time to return to Kowloon. We metroed back and stopped by our hotel to check out and retrieve our bags before heading to a small Indian restaurant in the next mansion over from ours.
We ordered our food and ended up waiting forever! I was growing ever more nervous about missing our train, but we were able to eat and get the naan to go. We bid Grandma and Grandpa farewell, and ran for the metro which we had to take to get back to the HK/Shenzhen border. We ended up having just enough time to make it through customs and arrived at our train gate just as it began boarding.
Nathan and I didn't have beds next to each other, so I hung out in his area until we were both exhausted. Then I returned to my bed, had a Nyquil, read for a bit, and passed out.

This morning Nathan tapped me as he was heading off. His stop was in Nanchang, an hour and a half before my own. I gave him a hug, then fell back asleep, before being woken up to hand over my ticket and prepare to disembark. The train was a bit late getting in, but I immediately found a taxi (where I was overcharged but didn't care) and arrived home with enough time to unpack before heading to class.
In class we watched a movie, The Princess Bride, which the kids all seemed to adore. Think I'll stick to the movies this week, next week will be a hard lesson 'At the Doctor'.


P.S. Nathan and I now own Fafu, a lovable panda who like bamboo and traveling as well as blogging. Check out her adventures here: http://chroniclesoffafu.blogspot.com/

Wahoo!

Hi, Jessica,

Thank you for choosing Real World Chinese. This is to confirm that we 
have already received your application for 6-week Chinese Language 
Program at BLCU from July 9th to August 19th, 2009. The application 
fee and program deposit have been received too. You do not need to 
send your application documents anywhere else.

We will send your application to the university in 2 business days. 
Usually it takes 3-4 weeks to get the Admission Notice and JW202 Form. 
(You may not need it since you have been in China.) We will book the 
on-campus accommodation for you too.

Thank you again for choosing RWC. We are looking forward to seeing you 
in Beijing this summer.

Please feel free to contact us at any time if you have more questions.

Best wishes,

--
Victor Zhang
Program Advisor

In order of exciting level...

Today I applied for the intensive Chinese language course at Beijing Language and Culture University for the summer! Very exciting indeed. They have my money, application, a copy of my passport, and my diploma, as well as a passport-sized photo of moi.

Sophie and I went to the train station and bought two tickets to Shenzhen. So, I'm all set to leave on Friday to head down to Hong Kong.

I also managed to break the main computer in my classroom with the arm of a chair, but Max was a superstar and had the crew fix it right away.