The next few posts, I'm going to do all within today, my day off. I've been neglecting my blog, mostly because I've...well, been doing as the Chinese do. And also doing stupid weiguoren stuff that probably gave me more stuff than I actually wanted to do.
First of all, the National Holiday. First week of October. I said good-bye to my classes the week before, wished them all a merry holiday - I even let one class skip if they promised to turn in a big assignment when we got back from break. I was going to Beijing and it was going to be awesome.
Nope.
Apparently train tickets to Beijing sell out waaaay in advance during the National Holiday. Its cool though, I had a fall-back plan:
Dalian. I could go to Dalian. Awesome city by the coast. I could see the ocean one last time before the temperature started to drop below -10C for the next 6-months.
Nope. Sold out. Waaaay in advance.
Jilin City?
Nope. Not because of tickets though. One of my students that lives there said that after the recent floods and such, it was not a good place to be. But I could come later. But not during the National Holiday.
So...I guess, Changchun it was. Hooray?
The other American teacher here, Carter, saved the day. While I was in my last class of the week (he had a super light load the first month or so we were here), he got invited to a Teacher's dinner honoring...y'know, a teacher. There he meant Vincent, a guy that we had met a week or two prior, from New Zealand.
He had a great idea. (Vincent is the one that looks like he's from New Zealand. The weird one.)
Changbai Shan. A giant mountain on the border of China and North Korea. There were slots still open on the tour, and apparently it would be one of the last tours going there this season (it gets super cold). Well, sign us up.
Paid about 360yuan for a two-way bus trip, and a night in some town at the foot of the mountain. Also a meal. Pretty awesome deal. And good company. We also met Vincent's friend Marek (older gentleman from Australia, but a kind of German-accent? He's a pretty interesting guy.
Here is Marek, doing something Australian.
The trip to the mountain was about as eventful as you would imagine a 6-hour bus ride through rural China to be.
Not very.
We (Carter and I) talked with Vincent and Marek, we made friends with a group of Chinese girls and general tried to do anything to pass the time faster. I'm going to hit fast-forward to the part where we're on the mountain, because I think I can show you what we saw better with pictures than words (I am no poet).
I will assure you, it is many more steps to get to the top than you think.
From the side of the mountain
Looked like the peak. Pretty awesome looking. North Carolina mountains look a little bit different...
Behind me, in the caldera of Changbai Shan (oh yes, its a volcano), is Heaven Lake or 'Lake Tianchi.' Apparently there is a monster that lives within it. I believe it (I saw it).
Here is me looking dramatically at North Korea. Legend states that Glorious Leader Kim Jong-Il was born on this mountaintop, and his birth was foretold by a swallow and heralded by a double-rainbow.
I believe it.
Here are the Chinese girls we befriended. Most of them are Japanese majors, the one in the middle, I think, is an English major.
And, like life, its a long way from the top.
What followed was a 7-hour bus ride to Changchun, where I promptly went up into my apartment and went comatose. I mean, I thought my bed was comfortable, you should have seen the digs that this Chinese hotel gave us:
Super comfy.
For the glory of China!
- Andrew
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