After classes ended early in January, my first trip of the break was to Japan. While in Japan, I traveled with my friend Trey, who thankfully did almost all of the planning for the trip (thanks, Trey). We went to Nara, Kyoto, and Tokyo. In Nara we got to see the largest wooden building in the world, some tame deer, and they even burned a very large hill while we were there. I was a little sad that the hill burning was not so exciting, and it was very cold while that was going on, so we didn't stay to watch the full thing burn. Ha. But it was a nice small city in Japan. Kind of reminded me of one of my hometowns in America, actually.
Kyoto was the city of old Japan. We saw so many old temples and buildings in this city! Some of them were truly beautiful, particularly one building that was completely covered in gold. The way the sun was shining on it was just amazing. And we stayed in a Ryokan while we were there. This is a traditional style Japanese building. We slept on mats on the floor, and there were rice paper doors, and everything was on the ground basically. It was a very nice experience. The people there brought us a special tea every day we came back home, and they even had a large bath that we got to enjoy a couple of nights. Japanese people apparently really enjoy a good bath. I'm not sure it was my favorite, but it wasn't too bad either.
Then came Tokyo. I loved Tokyo. It was so expensive there, but I really enjoyed being there. I tell you honestly that I love being in China, but there is a part of me that hopes that someday I get to live in Tokyo, too (don't worry Mom...I'm not signing away my life just yet :)! The people there were generally so friendly, the city was so clean, the buildings were often very beautiful, the people all looked and acted in such interesting ways...I mean, I really fell in love with the place. It's the best large city I think I've ever met. I think I liked it even more than New York City, but maybe I don't know enough to truly say that. Anyway, I think my favorite area there was the Ginza area. It seemed like you really had to have a lot of money to live there, but everyone looked so professional there. I don't exactly know how to describe it, except to say that it felt strong and powerful, and at the same time humble and ready to welcome you. Ha, maybe I am wrong, but that's how I felt there. All in all, though, I thought Japan was a wonderful place to visit. I'm really glad I went.
After Japan, I flew back to Shanghai and stayed there for a week. I got to spend time with other ESEC teachers, and I also got to spend some time with their students that I had met this past semester. It was really a great time to relax and just enjoy some casual friendships. I also got to do a little shopping while I was there. It was amazing to me that, even though Shanghai is a very Western city in China, the prices there are SO much cheaper than the prices we saw in Japan. Japan is really a very expensive country, with the exception of a few things here and there.
Then I was back in Bengbu for about a week before I went to Hong Kong. I also loved getting to go there. I got to see my old friend from work, Patrick. I got to celebrate the Chinese New Year with his family. That was great fun. It's such a fun time of year for the Chinese, it seems. All the family gets together, and, well, it reminded me a lot of being back home with my family for things like Christmas. So, I was really honored to get to share that time with their family. Another ESEC teacher, Drew, joined me in a very, very small hotel room there. But we managed okay, and we got to see many of the good things around Hong Kong. We even went to the Ocean Park there, which is a combination of an amusement park and an aquarium. And two days after the New Year, we went up to Victoria Peak, and we got to see all of the fireworks in the harbor from up there. I took some video of it, and it's just amazing. So many fireworks. But I had to leave Hong Kong, too. So now I'm back in Bengbu. I'm working on all my lesson plans for next semester. There's still a lot of work to do, but I think it's worth it.
Well, that's my travel story. If you want to see some of the pictures from the trips, you can go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com
