In the end having money in my pocket is all that matters.

Mix a failed attempt at an ATM withdrawl in Inter Mongolia, with another attempt when I arrived in Xi'an the next day. While overnight my hostel in Xi'an processed my $3.00 USD deposit by way of Ireland (!!!) and what do you get? Well folks, you get a frozen bank account.

Being stuck in a cash only society, without access to your funds via ATM is nothing short of frustrating. Additionally at $2.50 (USD) a minute to call the states customer service number, I was nothing short of upset. Never mind the list of crap I had to first fax before they would even have a full conversation with me. It included a copy of my drivers license, passport, atm card, and 3 copies of my signature. Finally at 1:30 in the morning my time, I finally had it sorted out.

Excuse my rant for a moment.... but I am frustrated that departments within Bank of America do not work together and I am frustrated that they are less then hospitable to their patrons traveling abroad and the unique set of circumstances that that entails. Their partner bank here is China has failed 3 times previously in accessing my funds. I am upset that at $2.50 a minute I was put on hold for over 10 minutes after first speaking to a representative, because their collect phone number did not work. I am upset that after being told they would credit my account, in the end I was told they would not.

But needless to say I am not a fond customer of Bank of America at the moment and I will be having a nice-long conversation with my bank manager when I return to the states. I was treated with much disrespect. And was informed that I should call to forewarn them of my travels next time. Hello? I did.

This trip has been filled with many good and memorible moments. But it has also been filled with many hurdles and brick walls. I kept telling myself: hurdles make you stronger and brick walls make you prove how bad you want something. But I would sure be glad if this trip was smooth sailing. But right now I am happy with enough cash in my pocket to last me the next 10-14 days.

I leave in the next couple hours for Tianshui then on to Lanzhou, Jiayuguan, and Durhuang in Gansu Province. From there it is off to Xinjiang then Qinghai. I will try to keep you posted.

Itineray for Grasslands and Desert Trip

I am currently somewhere within that yellow area in the map above.

I thought some of the translations in the itinerary for my trip tomorrow were quite funny, so I thought I would share.

Xilamuren Grassland, desert two-days trip

8:30am Climb lofty and solem Daginshan Mountain. Dfuring the travel you can enjoy the Yinshan Mountain, the pine Greeting Guesta and homeotwn of the emperor.

10:00am After arriving the beautiful grasslands, you will get warm welcome reception from Mongolian people (for short down-horse liquor).

10:10am Feel the Mongolian food culture.

Lunch/12:00pm Lunch Four could dishes, four main couse, tate handed-meat. The Mongolian girl will offer the Hada and liquior to show their warm courtesy.

14:00pm Ride horse (not include)

A: visiting Mongolian family, acquaint the living style of Mongolian family, comprehend heaven-human combination philosophy.

B: visiting swamp, comprehend the harmoney of man and nature. You can take pictures ina beautiful scernery with flocks;

C: Visiting the Aobao hill of the holy altar of Mongolian people, listening to the Mongolian love story and the hero sisters stirring deed, take pictures with flocks. Then a time for free activities.

18:00pm Enjoying grasslands Nadamu competition, such as racing, wresling, then go back to yurt. Then a time for free activities.

19:00pm Havind supper following the solemn ceremony of Mongolia people--- offer Hada, liguor. After supper, enjoy the national sing and dance program. Join the evening party. Living in the traditional Mongolian yurt.

The next day:

7:00am: (Mongolian style breakfast)

8:30am: Set out to Kubuqi desert, on the way you can go sight-seeing the Tumote plain.

Lunch: You canm enjoy the Erdos wedding cermeony (at one's own expense) on the desert.

Afternoon: Go sight seeing the Kubuqi desert, creep th desert, play volleyball on teh desert, riding camels (at one's own expense)

18:00pm Go back to Huhhot, finish the wonderful two day trip.

Anyways sounds like it will be interesting to say the least. I will take lots of photos. I will probably be out of contact through the 12th so don't worry if you don't hear from me.

Love, A

Hohhot is Hot! And you guys Rock!

And by hot, I don't mean sexy. I mean downright dreadful. It is currently (at 7:00 at night) 90* F outside, but as luck would have it is completely cloudly and humidity is at 68%, let alone the nice layer of smog. I want to go out and take some pictures but I think I am going to take some night shots and grab some ice cream.

That said, I am going to dedicate this post to say a huge THANKS! First to all of you who have stopped by and taken a look. I appreciate you allowing me to share my experiences with you. But especially to family friend Anne McTavish, my Aunt Lisa, my Aunt Bev and my Mom. Who have all posted comments! And not just a word or two, but paragraphs. It put a big smile on my face! Thank you all.

In response to your comment, yes Lisa, I do think that sending one's words out into the blogosphere does leave something to be desired on the instant feedback spectrum. And as luck would have it I did post in the comments section of myfamily.com yesterday the blog link. Though if anyone is reading this here, they don't really need the link. Now do they? But I do commend you Lisa on putting that site together, and know that I empathize greatly.

Anne, it was so nice to here from you. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, and since I didn't make it up skiing this year, it probably has been forever. I hope this post finds you and your family well. I can't remember did Tara just graduate or is it next year. If she did, wish her congratulations for me. Thanks for stoping by and taking a look.

Mom, congratulations yourself on getting accepted to your program. It was great getting to talk with you for the five minutes that I did the other day. To answer your question the exchange rate from the US Dollar to the Chinese Yuan is 1 to 6.86. That means for ever 100 USD I exchange I get roughly 700 Yuan. The other way to think of it is for every 1 Yuan I spend, it only costs me $0.15 or fifteen cents.

Thanks for the two posts and an email, Aunt Bev! I hope that the hurricane comes nowhere close to you. My thoughts will be with you over the next several days even though it sounds like you won't be having any trouble. To answer your question China stays on one time zone (go figure with its size) and it is 15 hours ahead of the West Coast and 12 hours ahead for the East Coast. For you Aunt Bev, look at the clock if it is 10:02 am on Thursday than where I am it is 10:02 pm the next day (Friday). For everyone else on the west coast I recommend first calculating the difference to east coast time (aka add 3 hours) then add the half day ahead.

Finally, a big thanks to my dad! Whom I have woken up at ungodly hours twice in the last week to help me. Just an FYI, I have booked my hotel in Xi'an and my plane ticket there so I am set for the next several days.

I have a couple posts typed up on my blackberry that I attempted unsuccessfully to post to the blog. My blackberry does not have internet service out here in Inner Mongolia, so you should see several posts on what would be the 12th in the US when I arrive in Xi'an (home of the terracotta warriors). Hope all is well!

-A

PHOTOS!!! PHOTOS!!! PHOTOS!!!

I have uploaded 204 photos from the last three weeks to my flicker account. They can be viewed by following the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/28086815@N05/collections/

I hope you enjoy.
Ashley

20 Days in China

Ni Hao Ya'll! So I know I have been remiss in posting for the last couple of days. So I will make a deal with you, if you leave comments I will write more posts. I actually have a couple mostly written waiting for me to post. But right now I just don't feel motivated to send my words out into the great abyss of the world wide web, if there is no one reading them.

I have been told by a reliable source that there are people who are actually reading this blog, the quote actually was "they live for it." The fact that the visitor counter seems to be increasing seems to support this theory, however, I have just not accepted it yet. Why? You ask. Well I asked for people to leave comments, and I haven't heard from anyone including my parents!

So I have come to the conclusion that you all must think that China is still living in the stone age. For whatever other reason would you all not leave a few simple words? Well, I want to dissuade you from the notion. I can check the web and receive email from my phone, as well as, having internet access at every hotel I have stayed at this far.

To make it easier you may now leave anonymous comments, so you don't even have to register. So to review how to leave a comment, follow the following eight steps. Although you should always use extreme caution when typing many, many, many highly scientific studies have proven that there is no lasting effects or damage from leaving comments on a blog post. It is really simple, I promise.

1) At the bottom of the post is a little underlined word "comment," find it.

2) Now, click on it. A pop-up window will open.

3) In the box on the right under the heading "LEAVE YOUR COMMENT" write as short or long a message as you like, some examples include:

"Hi!"

"Thinking of you! Missing you!"

"Oooh, I didn't know that, but it is really interesting. Thanks for sharing."

"More photos please."

"Your post was so funny, I pee'd my pants laughing"

":)"

4) Sign "Your Name."

5) Type in the verification word, from the picture above, into the box below.

6) Choose your identity by choosing one of the check boxes. Either sign in with your Google or OpenID, leave your name/website URL, or choose anonymous.

7) Click the big orange button that says "PUBLISH YOUR POST"

8) Sit back and relax, and know that your thoughts are greatly appreciated.


Love to You All!
Ashley - who has passed the 20 days in China mark and is a bit home sick.

I must have died and gone to heaven...

...or done something to shine God's favor on me (like enduring being sick yesterday morning) because the hotel we are staying at is absolutely wonderful.That is to say that th beds are not wood planks but soft and there are many Westwrn ammenities. Apparently when Chinese government officials (like the PM or President) come from Beijing to Qingdao they stay in this hotel. It is right on the sea.



Because of this not only did I get to take an actual shower (in most chinese homes and hotels the showers are makeshift with the entire bathroom serving as the shower basin. Thus, I am always worried I am going to flood the place and opt to use the handheld cababilities instead of letting the water rain down on me like we are used to in the west). Alas, this morning i had an actual shower for the first time in 2 weeks and I got to use soap that is not my shampoo, the rest of me actually smells different then my hair.



But this is not why I think I am in God's favor... When we arrived in the breakfast room spread amongst the usual Chinese breakfast wears of portiage (sp), many vegetables, noddles, rice, and stuffed buns there were fried eggs, ham, and sweet potatoes along with some fruit. Already my stomach was taking a sigh of relief as I went to find a table. But that was when the maricle happenned, my eyes fell on a toaster and a plate of white bread, sitting there next to it was a dish of strawberry jam and wait for it, wait for it... COFFEE!!!!!!



I really do feel like I am in heaven, even though I don't imagine that heaven is quite as grey and drizzly as the weather outside. Nonetheless, with normal western breakfast foods in my tummy I am one happy camper regardless.



On another note, to add to the list from yesterday the sea smells the same everywhere too!


From Qingdao in Shandong Province, this is Ashley signing off.

My First Run-In wth the Zhongguo Jingcha

If you don't understand any Chinese than you should know that Zhongguo is China and Jingcha means police. Yes, my first run in with the Police in China. Don't worry obviously I lived to tell the tale.

As we passed through the toll into Qingdao and paid the 175 yuan toll, the car I was in was waived over to the mobile China police station, i.e., a tent with a table underneath. They looked at the driver's license and registration and when they saw a foreigner in the backseat asked to see my passport. We all got out of the car and another officer asked to see in the trunk.

He asked if I spoken any Chinese. I reponded "a little.". He asked if I was American, I responded in the affirmative. He asked if this was a visa for travelling, I said "dui, lvxing.". He wrote some stuff into a book including my namen the cars license number, passport and visa numbers, then handed me back my passport. The whole thing lasted five minutes and we were back on the road.

I suspected and my hosts confirmed that it is added security measures for the Olympics. For the sailing portion of the Games is being hosted in Qingdao. I say good for China to be proactive, I know that while I will be on guard myself when I attend the games it will make me feel a bit safer. For those that don't know in February the Chinese government announced that they arrested several individuals in Xinjiang in connection with an Olympic terrorist plot.

But tonight at least I am safe, I hope you and your families are as well.
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

Similarities and Differences

I have had several experiences during the last several days that I never imagined when I set out on this trip two weeks ago. Nevertheless, I have had to remind myself to not look this gift-horse in the mouth on more than one occasion, when my desire to do things for myself and be in control of the situation has clashed with the Chinese people's euthusiatic hospitable nature.

Chinese hospitality is a different dragon than the US version. I will admit sadly that it led to one confrontation in Tai'an, when I felt a cultural barrier was crossed to the point well passed where I deemed appropriate for the situation. In the end, I felt no choice but to leave. But if the situation in Tai'an ended on a somewhat sour note - a note that I very well wish it had not - it did teach me a very valuable lesson in Chinese generocity and hospitality. That is to say, Chinese hospitality is bottomless, even when you pull the rug out feom under them ir drop in unannounced.

Okay, so I haven't completely tested that theory (as I do make a halfway decent house guest), but I do think that Chinese hospitality is deeper than the American version.

I am never without my own English speaking guide even if she is only fifteen. And I have drank more beer while toasting then I thought possible without bursting. Nevermind the fact that the only time I have managed to pay for anything in the last couple days (and I have tried) was a 10 yuan key deposit and only because my host didn't have anything less than a 100 yuan note and I had a 10 handy, in the end it was only a deposit and I recieved it back! I guess I haven't paid for anything. Someone even paid for my hotel room one night after I had headed up to my room for the night.

I am currently staying with one of the three host families who have opened their doors to me since arriving in Jining - Liye's family, Emma's family and Anya's family, never mind Ben who has arranged this all for me. My dad would be happy to know that while in Jining I have not been out of anyone's sights... period.

These wonderful people have accompanied me up Taishan, to Qufu, Zoucheng, and Qingdao. They have taken me swimming and fishing (though not at the sametime). I have had traditional chinese instruments played for me and I've been properly introduced to Chinese pop music. They have taken me out out to eat, they have cooked for me, and they have taughted me how to make dumplings. In doing so they have introduced me to regional delicacies like Chicken toes; watermellon sushi; grasshoppers and other fried bugs, which I have eaten four; pea poposicles, which taste like green tea with frozen pea bits embedded; digua, a dish of sweet potatoes deepfried and covered in sugar; mazhe which is translated as gingilbi? Any clue anyone? it brown and goes on greenbeans; a fruit called well I can't remember but it is green and has a consistancy of a pear but on the inside it is like a tomato. And much, much more.

But for them showing me all that is unique I have learned that giggling and laughter transcend any language barrier. Pets know if you are an animal person. There are warm pee spots in all pools and soccer fans on all couches throughout the globe. Small kids preforming will always make you smile. The "are we there yet?" wine is universal. No matter where you are when your sick your parents bed is the best place of all, but no one can replace your parents. Medicine tastes bad, period. The fact that men don't like asking for directions and womed love of all things chocolate and ice cream is interwoven into the respective chromosomes. And nothing tastes better than home cooked food.

To finish with a quote from dinner... Your skin may be white and we may call our skin brown, but we drink the same beer.

That's all folks as the crazy pig likes to say. Just wanted to leave a note on my observations, I do promise to post about my trips to see Confucius and Menciucs as well as what a Chinese persons daily life looks like. Hope all is well back in the states.

Ash

P.S. If you picked up on it yes I had a bought of something, but it looks like I am over it. A mix of the hot nights, humid days, too much new food, probably a mouthful of bad water, and not sleeping well due to the wood plank like beds. Oh yeah and I am prone to migraines, but alas, I am well now! But if you would keep me in your thoughts and/or prayers I would appreciate it and I know my parents would too.

Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone with SprintSpeed

One mountain, One river, & One saint

If you speak to a person in the south, they will claim 'a myriad of mountains, rivers, and geniuses'. I climbed one of these myriads of mountains last week, a mountain that overlooks Guangzhou called Baiyuanshan (White Cloud Mountain). It took me two hours to reach the top from the midway point, walking on a widely paved two lane road. I caught the top of the mountain just in time to view part of the sunset (see the first two pictures on the right) and then descend all the way down the mountain in the dark, getting bitten all the way. The view from the top was amazing, the jury is still out, though, on if it was worth all the mosquito bites.

But if you ask someone in Shandong province they will smugly say that Shandong has 'one mountain, one river, and one saint.' Needlessly implying that they have the last word in China on each: Taishan, the Yellow River, and Confucius.

Taishan is one of the most revered peaks in Chinese consciousness. The story of Taishan's creation dates back to the creation myth of the earth itself, and because of this, Taishan is thoroughly intertwined in Chinese history. At the beginning of time, when all was in chaos and heaven and earth were swirling all together Pan Gu was born. He promptly set about separating the earth from the heavens and with each day that passed he grew taller and taller, the sky grew higher and higher and the ground grew thicker and thicker. Finally after 18,000 years the two were finally separated and Pan Gu died of exhaustion. His body disintegrated and his eyes became the sun and moon, his blood filled the land and transformed into rivers, his sweat fell as rain and his head and limbs became the Taoists 5 most sacred peaks. Taishan formed from Pan Gu's head.

Whether because it formed from Pan Gu's head or because it is situated in the east, which is representative of spring and birth in the Chinese culture, Taishan is the most revered of peaks in Taoism, but is also revered in Buddhism and Confucianism as well. Further, it is believed that heaven would not allow an unworthy ruler to ascend to the summit of the mountain, so a successful climb denoted divine approval. In China's 3,000 years of history many emperors and rulers have attempted to climb the mountain adding to its rich historical legacy. 5 emperors were successful in their climbs, and during the Qing dynasty 17th century to 1911, hundreds of thousands have climbed the 1545 meters to the top. But these numbers pale in its modern popularity, on the May long-weekend in 2006, it is said 190,000 people climbed the mountains 6,666 steps (see third picture on right).


In the paths of all who came before me, I too set out on this gruelling climb, fortunate enough to meet up with several American's and their English speaking host. Heidi and Nora were both middle school teachers visiting a school in Jining. They were in China for just under a month and were sadly leaving the next day for Beijing. I must say the climb was much more enjoyable because I climbed with them (see group picture on the right, we were at the start of the climb).

The day began at the Dai Temple, where many emperors stayed prior to their pilgrimage. Then we proceeded to the mountain, where we slowly set out on our climb. We reached the top about two hours later, while highly commercialized at the top (there is even a hotel) we walked around briefly before electing to eat dinner. We greatly enjoyed the cable car ride down the mountain, though the trip would not have been nearly as fulfilling if we had elected to take the cable car up. Take a look at the man carrying boxes down the mountain, these men get paid 10 yuan per trip! I can only imagine!



In the evening I wandered the local night market with a junior named Phoebe, who was majoring in English at the Tai'an Agricultural University. I had some sort of fish on a stick, as well as kettle corn. Both were surprisingly good. I was amazed at the different wares for sale, Phoebe said that Night Markets are common throughout many Chinese cities. Think of them as farmers markets taking place at night and selling everything from books, to pots and pans, food, electrical lights, shoes, and everything else in between. There was even a man with a monkey performing tricks!

The next morning I took the 9:13 train out of town. I was greatly impressed with the Chinese peoples' ability to Que, a large improvement from my stay in Beijing 2 years ago. However, when the train doors did not line up correctly with the pre-formed rows waiting on the platform all hope was lost and people went running and crowded the doors.

While I don't have any stories yet for the One River, I do however have many for the One Saint, but I will leave those for my next post. As well as a post on Chinese lifestyle and Chinese hospitality. More in good time, tomorrow looks like it will be a down day in the morning, so I will try as I know that the blog went dry for most of the week.

Love to all back in the states. Dad, Mom, Nate, love you all!

NOTE to old friends, new friends, and family: I know someone out in the great wide blog-o-sphere has been reading my blog since I have had over 50 posts since I last checked. I would love to hear from you (even if it is just you mom and dad), simply click on the "Comments" link at the bottom of the post and leave a couple of words.

Traditions, Modernity, and Shamian

Shamian Island is a sheltered place, its name means "sandy surface" in Cantonese and that is just what it is. In the concessions that followed in the wake of the Opium Wars, half of the island was given to the British and the other half was given to the French. A fence was built along the canal separating the island and kept the rift raft that lived outside the city walls from entering the island. For inside was a sheltered world, in fact, it was the only area in all of Canton that foreigners were allowed to set up their trading posts.

Today the now decaying colonial architecture remains. The restored Catholic church sits perched along the main boulevard, the American consulate resides at one end and the White Swan hotel (probably the most famous hotel in Guangzhou if not Guangdong) rises above the .3 sq km island. Two one-way roads, which really are more like pedestrian avenues are flanked by trees and run down the center of the island on either side of playgrounds, gardens, and walkways.

Bronze statues depicting the island's history stand motionless in front of historical buildings in various states of upkeep and amongst the activity that is many Chinese people playing badminton in the park and foreigners pushing their adopted Chinese babies in strollers. Only the occasional neon sign glowing from the cross-streets, alert the traveler that it is the 20th century and not the 18th. Today Shamian Island remains much like it was one-hundred and fifty years ago, a sequestration from Guangzhou. It remains a sleepy southern town in the middle of a growing dragon.

But Guangzhou is not the completely modernized city that the Chinese government would have you believe it is. Yes, walking off the island you are immediately met with a six lane highway, but if the dilapidation of the island shows times past, than the ordure of decreption on the other side of the freeway will make you wonder is indoor plumping was ever really invented.

I first ventured into this area on Sunday, when the island's pharmacy was closed and I was minutes from tearing my legs off due to the 40 or so bug bites that covered my calves. Today, I walked through this area again and this time I really looked as I walked. I wondered about these people's lives, I wondered if the earthquake had hit Guangzhou instead of Chendgu would these building still be standing. I wondered about the filth and grim, the fact that there were children not wearing shoes, and windows with no glass. I wondered if this was really poverty, and then I realized that this was not as bad as it gets in China.

Guangzhou can quite easily be classified as the economic center of the Pearl River Delta and combined with Shenzhen creates the heart of China's leading commercial and manufacturing region. The 2007 GDP was over $100 billion US dollars and per capita with approx. 6 million urban dwellers this factors out to bt the sixth highest (among 695 cities) in China at about $12,00/year. This success is attributed to the reforms of Deng Xiaoping, who came to power in the late 1970s, which led to rapid economic growth due to the city's close proximity to Hong Kong and access to the Pearl River. If this is "rough" here (and I do believe that other places in the city have it worse) then I wonder how it is in cities and towns who have not experienced as much economic growth.

To be honest, these sights have shocked me and I have found myself not wanting to leave the security of Shamian. Instead I find myself reading Three Kingdoms at Starbucks and watching Chinese in the park. I have found myself without words for posting to this blog. I don't think I have ever had an idealistic view of China, but something about the raw pain of this country has struck me over the last couple of days while staying in Guangzhou.

A week ago I set out to see the "real China" and for me, I thought that meant seeing the "traditional China," which hadn't yet been touched by the modernity of the west. But today I am conscious that maybe "traditional" isn't all that it is cracked up to be after all. Just maybe I am starting to see the arguements about modernity differently.

Getting To & Staying in Guangzhou

Well I made it to Guangdong. Today I have felt the contradictions of pride in little successes and frustration in minute failures. This day has left me simply exhausted, but at the end of it, I got where I wanted to go and that was all that mattered. I had done it and the obstacles along the way, were just that obstacles. Someone once said, God puts brickwalls up in our paths so we must prove how bad we want it.

The bus took off from Wen Chai district's China Travel Services' office on Hennsey Street in Hong Kong. The ticket was only 100 HKD! The bus picked up at a couple other stops and then we headed to the China Border. After taking my carry-on bag off the bus with me at immigration I became worried that my backpack stored under the bus would not meet me on the other side of immigration. But the worry went away for the briefest of moments when they stamped the departing stamp into my passport. I felt like I was walking on air in the make shift space between two countries.

Then reality stepped in and I realized that all I could remember about the bus I had been on was that it was blue, the problem was there were multiple blue buses! But then, a chinese man started waving to me, I pointed to myself and lifted my eyebrow and he nodded his head and motioned for me to come. As I finally sat on the bus, I realized that when I had first boarded the bus in Hong Kong they had stuck a bright orange circle on my shirt. I had thought it was tacky when they had done it and quickly dismissed it, but now I was so extremely grateful for that little orange round circle.

I got back on the bus and we only traveled for about a minute and a half when the bus stopped again. This time for customs INTO China. Everyone stood up immediately and I too followed. I was a little trepidacious and afraid once again that I was going to lose my bag at some point. The driver motioned me around the side and sure enough I needed to pick up the bag. I have no clue why this thought of picking up my bag had weighed so heavily on my heart during the last stop, but I was so glad that it had. I once again entered the building and I stood in the long line for visitors. I passed through without a problem, the customs official took a good long look at my passport photo and then he stamped my passport. I let out the breath that I hadn't realized I had been holding. I had had so many visa issues up until this point that I was worried that something was going to go wrong, but low and behold it did not.

I had tried to go on this trip last summer and it did not happen for reasons outside of my control. I was worried that with so many problems planning my trip this time around that maybe it was not meant to be either. But I have been reaffirmed that this is God's plan and he is in control and not me. I am trying very hard not to plan things to a "T," but going with the flow and relaxing a little. But somehow the confucision of not speaking or understanding Cantonese has brought out the traits in me of needing to be in control.

In Hong Kong, as well as Guangzhou, Cantonese is the common language and while I can get the just of signs I often find it disorientating. For the most part I did not say a word on the bus, until a little boy a couple rows ahead of me, smiled shyly and waved. I asked in Mandarin what was his name and he just looked at me. His mom who was sitting across from me had to tell him I was speaking Putonghua (Mandarin - or the People's Language). We smiled at each other, but the section of our bus once again grew quiet and I didn't speak anymore - a bit disappointed.

Finally after 4 hours we arrived in Guangzhou, rush hour was a bear. As soon as I got off the bus I was accosted by multiple gentleman either A) trying to offer me a hotel room at a "good price," or B) asking if I wanted to exchange money. I wanted to do neither and no matter how hard I told them no (Wo bu yao - I don't want, wo bu xuyao - I don't need, wo yijing you yi ge- I already have one), they still followed. For the first time on this trip I did not want to be the foreigner. I felt lost and I just wanted to slip into the backgound so I could orient myself without the entire world staring.

But at the same time I was elated, here I was in China after so much work to get here. I had read that there was a great cheap guest house of Shamian Island, so I headed toward the Subway. After consulting the map in the guidebook against the subway map, I found a stop that seemed to be nearby. I then went to the ticket machine and bought a ticket for 4 yuan. It spit out a little plastic chip and I was confused with what I was suppose to do with it.

Finally I placed the chip on the magnetic strip and the door opened. The little chips work like smartcards do on the metro in DC, now I felt a bit better. But rather stupid at the same time. It took me a while to orient myself in which direction I needed to be going on what lines, but after consulting the guidebook as a reference map and with the help of an English speaking Chinese student, I made it to my destination, Shamian Island.

The island is a holdover from the French and the British, who each controlled half of the 1/2 mile long island. It is now the home of the US Consulate, but more on the island tomorrow. I checked in to the Guangzhou Youth Hostel after being lost for a bit on this very small island (again feeling disoriented and a little slow intellectually), but finally I had made it!

The hostel is very nice compared to the last two I stayed at. I have a bed in a dormitory room with 10 beds, which feel like they are a piece of wood. I met a guy from somewhere in the states, and we talked a bit aout the legitimacy of the Chinese Government and the potental for the fruition of a democratic government. He shared his Chinese crackers which taste a bit like Ritz and I shared my trail mix. Both were a treat and since I had been starving, it constitued my dinner. I was simply too exhausted to go out at the moment. We talked about going out to a bar later and I told him to let me nap for a couple minutes first. When he finally came back, I said I was going to stay and off the rest of the hostellers went. The room was blessed quiet and I slept for 3 hours. I woke sweaty and decided I really needed a shower! I took one in the small bathroom, but now I was awake if not more comfortable. I pulled out Three Kingdoms which is a Chinese epic novel and started reading I made it 30 pages in, before putting on my iPod and drifting off to sleep. I woke up periodically thoughout the night and at 6:30 said enough, and got up.

I wondered out onto the island and started my day, which I will leave for my post tonight. I hope all is going well in the states. My love and best wishes to you all!

Getting a move on out!

Well I am off to Guangdong. I was originally going to stay in Hong Kong longer, but as I am going to return to Hong Kong at the end of my trip for several days, I feel as if I should get a move on early. There are buses departing for Guangdong hourly from near the Wan Chai metro station, cost: 100 HKD (~$20).

I went out with some fellow hostel-goers last night (Alex from Australia/England, Melissa who is currently living in Shanghai, Mo who is from Scotland and another guy from Canada) and got in about 2am. Surprisingly I woke up early this morning at 9:30, and decided I was over Hong Kong, though the company has been great!

The Olympics in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is home to to the Equestrian portion of the Olympics. This morning I was reading in the China Southern Post that 40,000 tickets to the events became available through a company called China Travel Services. These tickets are only available in Hong Kong, you MUST come in person to one of their offices to buy them.

Low and behold, I happen to be in Hong Kong, so first thing this morning I stopped into their office in Central Hong Kong and bought tickets to two events, a final event (where medals are awarded) on August 14 and a dressage event on August 17. I bought two tickets, so if any of you want to fly out for the games let me know!

On another note, the picture above was taken with a new lens I purchased for my camera, a Nikon 18-200mm. My dad knows how long I have had my eye on this particular lens. I traded in my two lens that span this same spectrum a 18-55mm and a 55-200mm. It was just two otherwise. Final cost for the new lens 5,000 HKD. This translates to 659 U.S. Dollars, this is roughly the price of a used lens in the US, so I think I got a pretty good deal.

DELAYED!!!

The epic journey begins, at the pace of a hurd of turtles and has quickly down-shifted to the pace of a turd of hurdles... going nowhere fast!

Currently I am sitting on my Seattle flight to San Francisco, on the tarmac in San Fran. While we landed 25 minutes ago we have moved gates three times and have yet to park at a gate. The pilot just came on to tell us they are moving us back to our original gate, WTF? Anyways, this delay is on top of the hour plus delay out of Seattle for weather. Whether my Hong Kong flight was delayed too, I don't yet know, but I am pretty sure that I just saw my Hong Kong flight take off.

I am challenging myself to look at this as an adventure and not fret about it. If you know me your know that I like to plan to a "T," so this is a big challenge for me. It's like a choose your own adventure novel. To travel to Hong Kong turn to page 72, or for travel to Chinatown in San Francisco turn to page 33. Here's hoping it's Hong Kong.

UPDATE #1
Looks like it is page 33 after all and lucky me, I get to spend the night in San Francisco before hoping to LA in the morning for a 1:00pm flight to Hong Kong. In the mean time I am going to try and find my bag.

UPDATE #2
The customer service representative put in a meter for the airline to pull my bag at 2:00, however when I finally left the airport at 11:15, they had still not located yet, but I was told that someone was actively looking, so I headed back to the hotel to get some shut eye. When I came back at 6:45 the next morning, no one had found my bag yet, then came along Oscar. I am convinced that Oscar has special powers, because after 15 minutes of looking, Oscar found my bag!!!

After throwing out a couple bottles of liquid, I opted to carry my bag on board. I am convinced had I not spent all night pushing for my bag, it never would have made my Hong Kong flight, because it never would have made it to LA, when they found it my bag was sitting in the International Baggage Area.

I learned a lesson though, take a picture of your bag before you check it. It did wonders in helping Oscar find my bag!

Moving on Up... Moving on Out!

This morning I walked through the heart of campus - Red Square - and it was eerily calm. No students on Healy Beach, no one tabling for their clubs, a neon pink sign hung over the student run coffee shop in ICC loudly proclaiming "closed."

It's official class are over, finals completed, the campus is deserted, the only people left are graduating seniors and school administrators. Later this week proud family and friends will flock to campus. Many of my friends are graduating in the coming days. Forgetting for a moment that I, myself will be no where near the intersection of O and 37th streets that mark the gates of campus, these people who I have laughed with and cried for, these people who have become my family will be setting off on journeys of their own. I won't be able to call them up and say "Let's go get a beer at Tombs," instead they will be frequenting saki houses as they teach English in Japan or hanging out late into the night at anyone of the many clubs that dot the island of Manhattan. One has even gotten a job doing modeling... okay, okay... she is going to be doing computer modeling, but Pam for all the joking know that I couldn't be prouder to call you my friend.

This week is filled with bittersweet thoughts. I can't tell you how excited I am to pack my bag and climb on a plane to cross the ocean and begin walking the streets of China. But tonight I wasn't packing my backpack, I was packing up my apartment. There was no excitement, no anticipation. Instead I went through all the old mail I had hastily tossed into my desk as I ran off to class. I sorted through the papers, tests, and notes that marked the passage of another year of college gone. I took my pictures off the walls and packed my worldly possessions into boxes. Tonight is most likely the last night I will sleep under this roof, surrounded by these walls and as I lay in bed typing this I realized that I am not quite ready to let go, I am not quite ready to close my eyes and let this last night float away in a dream.

This was my first apartment, my very first truly mine apartment. While I may have had to share it with a handful of spider crickets and it could feel like a deep dark cave on the sunniest of days I will be sad to see it go. Tomorrow I will pack my boxes into the car and after I hand over the keys on Thursday, with tears staining my eyes, I will take one more step towards the beginning of this journey.

The Belated Holiday-2007 Recap

I originally wrote the following post at the beginning of December, though in a blink of an eye I was buried in finals and then tired from finals. Before I knew it the holidays were over and it just seemed frutile to send out Christmas cards. But alas an opportunity to share it with all of you arrose, this my innagural post of my first blog. I will write an update on this letter shortly, so keep your eyes out. Without further ado may I present December 2007…

Happy Holidays from the Nation’s Capital! I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you moments from my life this year. For this has been an exciting year for me, as I have had many new experiences and created some wonderful memories along the way. The spring semester was marked by the continuation of my study of Chinese and everything China. In addition to participating in a graduate Chinese History course, I countined my internship at National Geographic and began working in the Science Library at Georgetown.

I spent Spring Break in New York City, Baltimore, and visiting the many museums here in DC. As the semester continued, classes were puncuated with the success of Georgetown’s basketball team and my trip to Atlanta in April to cheer Georgetown on at the Final Four. Although I had nosebleed seats and we lost to Ohio State((who in return were beat by Floridia in the final game), I had an amazing time hanging with fellow Hoyas and partaking in all the activities.

May brought an end to the semester as well as an end to my eighteen month internship with the Cinema Ventures department at National Geographic. Although I was sad to see it end, I was ready to head home to Seattle for a nice long break. On the way home, I met my dad, aunt and uncle in Las Vegas. After taking in the many offerings of the city, my dad and I road trip-ed to Mexico and back, stopping along the way at the Grand Canyon’s new Skywalk. I quickly got over my fear of falling through the 5 inch glass and was running and jumping before I knew it, 4,000 feet above the Colorado River.

Upon arriving in Seattle I dealt with all the joys and frustrations of moving back home, but I am really glad that I spent the summer at home. I got to re-know my brother who is now 16 and taller than me, which I still think is not right. But we’re even because Nate is still jealous of me; within two weeks of arriving home I convinced my dad to get a puppy. Within days Nathan and I, too, were road-tripping it across the mountains to meet a breeder. While Nathan insisted on driving on the way there (after all, he argued, he needed the practice for his upcoming driving test), he was content to snuggle with our new ball of fluff, Duke, on the way home. While Duke at 12 weeks old was content to nap in Nathan’s lap on the ride home, the now 9 month old Samoyed is gigantic!

I officially attained adulthood this summer, when I turned 21. We had a fabulous dinner at Coho’s, a restaurant my family frequents at home in Redmond. My extended family threw me a b-day scavenger hunt. I spent all day with different members of my family doing things I had never done before; I had breakfast with my Aunt Maria and my two cousins, Monica and Alex, at the golf-club near their home, I visited a hands on music museum with my Second-Cousin Rhonda, toured Seattle on Ride-the-Ducks with my Aunt Lisa – a very good quacking accompanist – and had dinner back at my Aunt’s house where we played my family’s favorite games: euchre and whomp-um. All in all, it was a good birthday.

August saw a vacation with my mom and brother where we went on a cruise to Alaska, sailing through the Inland Passage and then rode a train to Mount McKinley and Denali National Park. The wildlife abounded, but it was the adventures of hiking and biking on my own, kayaking and zip-lining with Nate, and a float plane flight over the glaciers to a salmon bake in a secluded area only accessible in summer by float plane and boat with my Brother and Mom and six hungry bears that was extremely memorable. In all, it was an amazing trip and a great way to cap the summer off before heading back to school.

I arrived back in DC and after staying with a friend for a couple weeks, found my very first, really-truly-mine apartment. The coming weeks saw an infestation of spider-crickets and mice, but after a visit from the exterminator I was once again happily inhabiting my apartment alone. Regardless I am very proud to say that I am paying my own rent with a part-time job with National Geographic. I was excited to be met with a job offer on my return to DC and I now work part-time in the Marketing & Sponsorship department of NG Entertainment. We released Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure (available at IMAX theaters) in October and I was honored to be given a line credit as Intern to the Associate Producer. I will forever be inscribed on the silver screen.

In my free time, I was just recently cast in the GU production of the Vagina Monologues and I religiously attend Georgetown home basketball games to cheer on the Hoyas. I am now in the midst of finals and will be heading home before I know it. This holiday season has been filled with friends’ parties and lots of studying, and even a little snow. While I have greatly enjoyed this year, I am very excited for 2008. I have just gained my dean’s approval to spend this coming fall abroad studying in Harbin, China, at an affiliate university to GU. The program is difficult, but is highlighted by a one-on-one tutorial with a professor where they will guide me in writing a research paper in Chinese. I will return to Georgetown for my last semester before I graduate from the School of Foreign Service in the spring.

I hope the year has treated you as well as it has me. With much love,
Ashley Howard.