Still on vacation...

So, it was an eventful day. Meghan and I decided to go shopping to try to get spongues, airfreshners and a comforter.

We got sidetracked and purchased none of the above items. Instead we walked past the market (which was the furthest from our apartment we had ventured away since arriving in Chengde). We then found the outside of the summer resort and palaces of the Ching Emperor. From what our travel books have said, this is massive. It apparently has multiple palaces, monistaries, etc. and is just completely beautiful. Outside of the palace/park were a whole bunch of venders selling crafts, food, etc. Meghan and I each bought an item.

We then hurried back to our apartment where we called Chris to come meet us so we could show him what we found. Figures, though, that after we got there, Chris had already been by there. Oh well. We are very curious to get in there, however, we are going to wait untilwe have a full day and it's as nice as it was today. We have 11 months for this to happen.

So, we have quickly learned that there are about 10 KTV bars in Chengde. KTV is Kareoke. They would not let us in our first night in Chengde. We are very confused as to why the five of us were not allowed into the one accross from Meghan and my apartments. We asked our waibon today and she thought it was because they had already announced last call. So, tomorrow we are going to try to get in!

The other three teachers (Chris, Megan and Travis) went on their campus visit today and met their other faculty. Travis starts to teach tomorrow, so I am anxious to hear how it went for him. Meghan and I don't start teaching until next Monday, however we do have to meet our Waibon Wednesday morning. She is taking us to campus to meet the faculty and president of the English Department. I am getting anxious to find out our schedule, etc. I enjoy just hanging out, but I still feel like I am on vacation. Maybe once I start teaching, the "vacation" feeling will go away.

We're in Chengde

Meghan and I are in Chengde! We arrived here on Friday. It was a great drive, about 6 hours. It was very scenic. I will make sure to add photos as I can.

So, alot has happened in these two days. First, Meghan and I moved into our apartments. With a little bit of cleaning (and throwing a whole bunch of stuff away), our apartments are comming along well. They are pretty spacious. When you walk in there is a tiny kitchen to the left and a small space with a China cabinent. Then, to the right is my bedroom with a desk and computer and king size bed. Across from my room in the living room with a tv, couch and four chairs. The bathroom, is, um...interesting (to put it nicely. It is the size of a closet. There is a toilet (thank God for that!), and a shower heard that comes off the wall. There is alos a sink and mirror. So, basically when I shower, it gets the entire bathrom soaked. It is the most akward shower I have ever seen. But, I have runing water, a working toilet, and have had a hot shower every day so far. So, I guess I don't have too much to complain about.


Our apartment is right off of a main street where there are a lot of shops, and KVT bars. KVT is Kareoke (I can't spell!), here in China and is very popular. We are going to go there one night with the other Drake kids who are in Chengde.

Meghan and I walked over to the hotel where the other Meghan, Chris and Justin are staying for a month, because their apartments are not ready yet. They found a great dumpling restaurant. The five of us had dinner and each had a beer. It was great. The total cost of the dinner was 52 RMB (Chinese Currency) all together. That is about $9 US. Therefore, each of us had dinner and a beer for under $2 US. I love how cheap food here in China is. We also found a KFC and went into it just for fun. On the walls it said, "finger licking good" and "Natural, organic, KFC". We took photos of it, I'll post them later.

There is a lot more to say, which I will do later, but Meghan and I are going shopping now, then to get some lunch. Hopefully we stop at a good street vender.

We made it!

Meghan and I made it to China.

Our flights went well, minus one technicality on our flight to Beijing.  First, Meghan and I flew from Minneapolis to Denver.  Then, a 45 minute lay-over and we were off to Vancuver, British Columbia, Canada.  That was nice, but the airport was extremely odd.  As we were walking through customs, there was like a fake forest set up with recorded animal noises.  It was one of the strangest things I had seen in an airport.

While we were in Vancuver, we met up with Chris, who is also living in Chengde but teaching at the Teacher's College.  He was on the same flight with us to Beijing.  So, the flight to Beijing wasn't too bad.  It was only 10.5 hours.  On the back of each seat there was a tv screen for each passenger so he/she could choose from the list of movies and tv shows to watch.  They weren't working.  The head flight attendant restarted the screens numerous times.  Then, everyone's tv screen start working, but mine.  Oh well.  Good thing I brought a travel CD case of movies.  It was nice, because last time I flew internationally, there wasn't a power adapter on the back of each seat and also a usb charger.  Therefore, I was able to keep my computer and ipod charged the whole plane trip.

Then, Meghan and I met with our foreign officer in Beijing.  She is so nice, and has so far completely gone out of her way to make Meghan and I feel comfortable.  We grabbed our bags and loaded up the car.  We drove to the Shiz, about 3.5 hours away from Beijing, becuase in the morning we are having our physical examinations and so purchasing cell phones.  Then, we will head to Chengde (the city we will be living in).

We checked into our hotel and walked around the block to find a place where we can get some additional passport photos for when we go to get our physical.  It was closed, so we will have to go there in the morning before our appointment.  

Sorry, not a very exciting entry, but thought ya'll should at least know that we have made it to China, and lasted through our first day.

Almost ready to leave

This is just to make sure that everything is working.  

It's Sunday and I am all packed and ready to go!  It's weird thinking that in just a few days I will be living in the People's Republic of China....

This is the site where I will be blogging all about the "adventures" that I will be having in China.  Please feel free to contact me during my time over there by responding to this blog, e-mailing me (zas001@gmail.com) or talking to me on Skype (zasinchina).  

ZS