Suzhou, The Venice of China

I've been wanting to go to Suzhou for a long time now. We even had tickets one weekend but had to cancel because half the girls could not come. Anyway the wait was worth it. Oh how I wish we had come earlier so that we could have had time to come back. I'm in love with suzhou. 

This is one of those times in the past 13 months when I regret not bringing my real camera. I regret it so much because this phone can't even being to capture what I saw this weekend. It also stinks that when they replaced my camera I swear they put an old camera on. I compared my phone to Hannah's phone and my phones color was terrible. Sad day. 

So Suzhou. It's known as the Venice of the East as it is a town built all on canals. Now it doesn't even compare to real Venice but it is incredibly beautiful. 

Doesn't that look like a fake background?  Once we arrived we were pleased to see that our hostel was right there on the main part. Our hostel was disgusting though. I never thought I would wish for a squatter BUT oh how I did. The bathrooms at this place were nasty and always wet because the shower head was in there. Just gross. And the bed was oh so hard. I'm so excited for real beds when I get back to America and bathrooms that don't cause the gaga reflex. 

But this hostel had a cute decor and great location. So we spent the net two days exploring and walking. Walking up and down amazingly adorable streets, taking a boat tour through the canals, trying lots of different breads and seeing local life. 

Fun lite shopping street. 

So many people. Every once in awhile like yesterday I go into a panic bc there are too many people and too little space. I just need to escape and get a place to breathe. Especially when they are all pushing you, walking while playing on their phones, and when dead animals and rotting ish are on the sides of the road. 

Or how about when there is a man, sometimes with no shirt because it is too hot, cutting open eels that are also swimming in a bucket infront of him. 

There are some things in life you don't want to see so naturally I take a picture and share with you. 

Lots of men just take their shirts off. The jess is getting bad. 

Suzhou is also famous for their gardens. The garden we went to was stunning. The architecture and lush plant life were beautiful. 

Mikelle was excited to be there. So glad I became China besties with this girl. She's the bomb. 

Then we went on this boat ride and just loved the canals. Seeing the simplistic way these people lived reminded me again of how blessed we are and how we have WAY too much. 

It's really pretty at night too with all the lights. 

Look how many people! Seriously! So. Many. People. I had another get me the Hell out of China moment while walking down these streets. 

Need a scooter? Everyone and their mom has one, even the dogs ride on them. 

The next day we found another street that was even cuter than before. Don't even ask us how many times we had ice cream. It's hot.

We walked where there were no people or tourists which was fun to explore. 

We found a swap meet where you could get your hair cut, but some undies and then even see the dentist. Talk about full service. 

Then this ancient wall. Pretty sweet. Felt like we were in ruins. 

More amazing streets. 

This is what a train station looks like. I'm glad I'm not traveling China alone. I can't imagine only coming here for a week as a tourist. That would be scary. Currently I am on a three hour train with my feet in green beans and tofu staring at the bathroom that is clogged while men hawk luggies. I don't know how to spell either of those words. Basically you should pay the extra $10 for a train that takes an hour and has nice seats. Would have been worth it. This however might be my last train ever. Smiles. Happy dance. 30 days people, 30 days. I can't wait to be home with my animals and of course family and friends. And hot water and beds and clothing and make up and food and ahhhhhhhhh. 

Until then? Hungry? Want some fish? 

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The Terracotta Army

When you think of China chances are you think of 3 things: The Great Wall, The Terracotta Army, and Shanghai. Seeing as how I had done two of these wonders I knew I had to get to the third. The problem was not many others in my group were motivated to see the greatest archeological discovery of the twentieth century. Sad. I know. Lucky for me two girls said yes and we were off for an adventure.

First we had to board a train. A train that would take 13 hours overnight. Hard sleeper it was. Last time I got stuck on the third floor bunk which let me tell you is not fun. This time I was bottom bunk which was a much needed upgrade. The worst part of these sleeper trains in the rocking back and forth and the constant slamming of breaks everytime we come to a stop. With the help of dramamine and a benadry, ear plugs and an eye mask I was able to partially sleep through the night minus the need to roll over every time my hip fell asleep from the hard bed. 

We even tried some yoga to help us relax. For reals though we have been doing yoga every day and it's been helping with flexibility and relaxation. The yoga studio app is awesome. 

We arrive the next morning and to my horror I realize I forgot my baby powder. Baby powder is the one way I can manage to touch my unwashed hair. Some girls are lucky and can go three or more days without washing me on the other hand... One night and I am oil queen, now with bangs. So gross hair it was.

After leaving the train we were shocked to see how busy The station was. More busy than any other city we have been in.

Try facing that crowd. What was really nice is that the hostel picked us up. They were even waiting outside with a sign. After checking in we headed back to the train station and found bus 306 to the Warriors. It was a bumpy hour plus ride. When we arrived we used our student cards to get a half off discount WOOHOO! Ps it has to be a chinese student card so make sure you bring your lunch card. Also don't let your friends use your card because they check the card at three different check points. Now we were inside and to pit 1 we went. 

Here there were about 2k displayed. It was breath taking to see. What was really neat was in the museum they showed what they looked like when they were painted. Can you imagine all of these painted?! We also got to see the largest and most i tribute ancient bronze artifact.

They are still excavating and putting these clay figures back together.

You should do a quick read on these guys. It's fascinating.

Let's talk about why this place is incredible:

• Part of the world’s largest ancient imperial tomb complex—part of a mostly unexcavated necropolis 6 km (4 mi) square!
• One of the top archaeological finds of the 20th century
• 2,200 years old!— It dates back to the uniting of China under one emperor, who's buried there.

• The largest find of its kind (about 1,800 different life-size statues have been uncovered)
• Incredible detail:175–190 cm (5'9–6'3) tall, every one different in gestures and facial expressions, some even with color showing

• All have single-edge eyelids!Legend says the First Emperor had single-edge eyelids, so all his Terracotta Army were made with them.

• The workforce: Historians think 700,000 craftsmen and slaves built the complex, but they and many others were put to death to keep the mausoleum a secret!

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Hannah Banana Changzhou

Hannah and I lived together in Lithuania. Then we both came to China as head teachers. Her school is 1.5 hours by slow train or 30 min by fast train from my school. So when I had the week off and decided last minute not to go to changzhou it seemed like a great chance to go see Hannah! This would also be my first time traveling alone through China. Okay it barely counts beacuse I just had to take an hour ride on the metro, wait an hour in the railway station and then take an hour train to her which I am on now but hey I'm still solo in China. It's quite intimidating this country. 

Hannah will be meeting me at the train station. Right now I'm wishing I had spent the extra $2 to take the fast train especially since I'm sitting backwards. But hey this is part of the experience being squished between a bunch of chinese on a smoke filled train with food scraps all around me. Puuuurfect.

Have you ever tried to get on the metro when everyone is trying to get to work!? Neither had I, until today.

I thought this was crowded. Ha. The chinese laugh. This is very open and spacey. At this point we still had 6 stops till downtown. Six. Each time I though no way, there is no way one more person is going to fit on this train. I mean when they open the metro doors people literally fall out. But oh how I was wrong. More and more and more kept squishing in. 

I must interrupt because I quite literally might vomit right now. The lady across from me just busted open her vacuum sealed chicken foot and is going to town. As if the smell alone wasn't enough to knock out a full grown man the sounds she's making as she slurps the preserved skin off this bone is gut wrenching. I've only been on this train for two minutes. I might not survive. 

Okay so back to the metro. Check this out:

This is what it is like to try and board the metro. You saw what it looked like inside but look how many people are about to get in there. For reals. China has so many people. 

Oh now a man is coughing up who knows what is in his lungs. Oh the smell. I may pass out. I don't know how to discretely plug my nose and keep my face in a neutral position. She literally just bit off part of the mest and is sucking it then spitting the grits on the table. Wueezy. Queezy. 

Blah! 

I survived. Got off and headed out to look for the McDonald's that Hannah and I were to meet at. Went in no Hannah. Decided to wait outside. No Hannah. Went back in mcdonalds and checked all the levels. I waited outside until about 11:25. I got in at 10:50. Then I decided to wait inside McDonald's. She didn't show. I started to panic bc what if she forgot or get lost etc. I had no idea where her school was. I would have to figure out how to buy a ticket and go home. I prayed and prayed and then started texting her. But I never got a response. At this point it was 11:40 and about an hour has passed. I decided to wait until 12:30 and then go back. I kept texting and saying all sorts of things. Finally at 12 i headed out and saw Hannah walking up! Woohoo! Turns out the bus she normally takes got canceled and she tried a different bus and got kicked off and then had to figure out how to take a taxi. What is even funnier is she was getting all my messages and responding. I wasn't stying any of her messages but the way I was responding made it look like I was. 

Too funny! I am so glad we found each other! So then we had to figure out how to get back. Her city has no metro. I will never complain again about our metro. I'm so blessed to live in a city with a metro! So an hour and a half later we get to her school and she takes me on a tour. Her school is significantly smaller than mine and very different but so cute. 

These are their bedrooms! They are HUGE! Their beds are also HUGE! But they have squattwrs 😂 they also have common areas which are great and an industrial kitchen they can cook in which I am so jealous! But they only get cafeteria food which is nasty. We are so blessed in nanjing to have so many food options and to get a monthly living allowance which allows me to do my own food. I would have died if I had been assigned to Changzhou. They have a rock wall which is awesome! They also have adorable eating areas outside and their building is so pretty! They have wrought iron stair rails and peacocks! Even a garden they can pick food from!

The kids at the school are so cute! Everyone walks past and says hello teacher and gives you a high five! Adorable!

They also have had a lot of teachers paint the walls of their school which is so fun. I got to stay and watch their openings and how their teachers teach. Got some ideas for our school and loved seeing ILP in place at another school. 

That night we went to the night market. It was awesome! They have little tuck tuck. Cars that you can use to go close distances for 5y and we took that about two min to the market. I tried this amazing food that is like an english muffin kind of:

Like a dough with an egg and green onions in it. It was so good!

After that we came back and played cards. The next morning we went to lunch and then went and watched their elementary classes. After that we headed into town on the bus. The bus that was so hot and moved so much I was sick and miserable. Again I will never again complain about our metro. We are so blessed. 

Once we made it the hour on the bus we went to the most beautiful park I've ever seen. We spent hours walking around and exploring this gigantic park. 

There were two huge pagodas and tons of quaint little bridges and walkways. 

This one area was covered in green algae. There was a rose garden with roses bigger than my outspread hangs. 

As we walked through the rose garden this cute man was taking our picture and then became way into Hannah.

I don't blame him bc she is beautiful and look at her hair! So he wanted to take some photos of her:

Then he found another photographer and they took more photos of her and an Asian model. 

I was totally fine with being the DUFF in this situation. So funny to watch this unfolding. After this we continued our walk. 

After walking around we hit up the grocery store partially bc it was one I have not been in and also to find dinner. we got some 1y oh I don't know what they are called. It's basically a huge bread dumpling of dough and sometimes has things inside like meat. They cost thirty cents. 

I forgot we also went to a candy store and picked out a whole bunch of candies and then tried them all. They were delicious. So much fun and they lady in there thought it was hilarious to watch us. One time I bit into one candy and it shot chocolaye all over my face and hands and the lady laughed and laughed. Too much fun! 

Hannah and I had a great time catching up and also talking about Lithuania and how much we missed it. I just might need togo back there! 

By the way I paid the extra three bucks and took the really nice fast train home. 

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