Big Changes in Pangliu Village

(Michael)

The ride to Pangliu followed the tend of most of our other travels in China, complete with picturesque fields and blood-churning traffic maneuvers, but with two exceptions; Patricia was not with us due to an unfortunate run-in with some rather suspect dumplings, and “Coo,” our most… unique guide thus far, was replaced temporarily by the infinitely more cordial and informative tour company owner, Richard. The remaining members of our group learned about the recent history of Pangliu, Richard’s life, and how the two were closely intertwined.

Reporting for Duty

(Brandon)

I apologize for missing my second blog post. I picked up a pretty bad bug while we were in Shaxi Village and I was bedridden for the next two days, missing most of our current trek in Lijiang. It got to the point where I had to go to a local hospital in Lijiang. Luckily, our tour guide, Evan, was there to help us out. He translated everything the doctors and nurses said, making sure I got what I needed, from treatment to an actual bed. Mike and Ms. Moy faithfully stuck by my side, braving the long night and providing much needed lightheartedness.

Southern Lake and Lantern Displays

(Deanna)

In our first official day in Xi’an, we ventured out into the Southern Lake, an artificial lake invested to beautify the already lovely Xi’an. The government decided to move residents to apartments and the residents were paid 500,000 Yuan equivalent to 80,000 US dollars. My initial thought was that the lake was artificial, how is it possible for it to be this beautiful? The lake is quite similar to Kunming’s lake which is peaceful, even featuring calm background music to add to the mood of the lake. In snapping photos of the lake, a little girl saw me strolling in the park and ran towards her grandmother.

Forget Two Chain, this is more like No Chain (Shaxi day two)

(Patty)

The guest house we stayed in last night (and tonight) is beautiful, however we were all discouraged to discover they were unheated. This, however was made better by the boys' discovery that our beds were heated. So, after a warm and refreshing sleep, the group embarked on the task. We left the courtyard where our rooms were set, and wandered to another courtyard(where we were told there would be food for us) and found our way into the middle of someone's home. Although we were very confused, we found the owner of the home, who also happened to work at the hotel, and he directed us into his dining room and treated us to a delicious breakfast. We are still quite unsure if we imposed ourselves on this man and his home, but he seemed happy to have us, so we plan to return again tomorrow morning.

White-Knuckling It to Shaxi

(Michael)

Our journey to ShaXi was a lot like the first World War; it consisted of long periods of serenity punctured intermittently with brief moments of pure terror. We left DaLi right after a Chinese buffet style breakfast in a van with a driver who both spoke no English and did not know the word ‘fear’ in any language and ended up in ShaXi within a few hours.

Trains and Temples

(Veronica Moy - teacher at Dover-Sherborn Middle School)

Picking up where Deanna left off, we waited as patiently as possible for our train to board. This proved to be difficult since each new and exciting day has been so physically and mentally demanding - which is good, as it challenges us to reach beyond our comfort zone and learn about the culture we are immersed in. By 10p, we were all desperately looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

News from Kunming

[Ed. note - other posts arrived later than Randy posted this first one, but it appears here to preserve the sense of itinerary] 

(Randy Hoover - 2004 D-S China Exchange teacher currently on leave, living in Kunming)  

Hi all,

The group hasn’t been able to get internet access long enough to upload their blog posts yet, so I’m sending this quick update and a few photos from Kunming, where I just had the pleasure of spending a few hours with them before they had to catch their overnight sleeper train to Dali. Everyone is in good humor and enjoying their adventure!

Valentine's Day in Guilin

(Deanna Biddy - senior at Dover-Sherborn High School)

Hello all!

Today is Valentine’s Day and we all rose early from our beds at 06:45 to encounter an early breakfast accompanied with much food. Our food spanned from vanilla yogurt with Rice Krispies, Croissants to Fried Eggs with Sausage, generally the meals kept coming and we tried to aim to finish one whole plate but to no avail. Afterwards, we went back to our rooms to quickly pack our belongings to get into the van to go see Elephant Trunk Hill and Reed Flute Cave.

Yangshuo Impressions

(Brandon Wu - senior at Dover-Sherborn High School)

Hey ya'll,

This is our second day in Yangshuo. We had much of the day off today to relax and explore. Mike and I went for an early breakfast and then for a walk through a nearby park. It was fascinating to see all of the activities that people were doing. We saw people doing tai-chi, a lady practicing with a sword (or what appeared to be), many kids running around under the watchful eye of their parents, and groups of men sitting around stone tables playing checkers or cards.

Day 1 in Yangshuo

(Patty Williamson - senior at Dover-Sherborn High School)

Hi everyone!

After finally getting to our Guilin hotel at 130AM, it was quite difficult for the 5 of us to be excited about a 630 wake up call, but after an early breakfast in the hotel (an interesting western-eastern fusion--I'd recommend the watermelon juice) and some encouragement for, our guide, Lily, we got in the van and headed for Fubo hill. Let me tell you, this is the biggest hill, ever. Lily was in much better shape than the rest of us, and seemingly much less afraid of falling up or down the 325 steep steps to the top, so she made her way around the hill insanely quickly. From the top, we could see most of the city of Guilin, and the hundreds of peaks along the Li river which makes Guilin so famous.

Ants and Gods

(Michael Vaughan - senior at Dover-Sherborn High School)

The most empowering and humbling experiences of my life thus far happened simultaneously on our thirteen hour fight from Toronto to Beijing over Siberia. I was absent mindedly looking out of our plane window when the sun rose to me for the second time today and the land we were flying over crept into view through the dissolving canvas of the cloud layer.

(FIRST POST OF 2013 EXCHANGE) Great Timing, Don't You Think?

(Mr Viz - husband of Rebecca Vizulis and China Exchange tech support!)

For those of you who look forward to following the China Exchange Blog when it revs up around Chinese New Year each year, you must be wondering why nothing has appeared given that the departure date of February 8 (yesterday) has come and gone.  Well, wouldn't you know it, the 5th biggest snowstorm in Massachusetts history had to hit us at exactly the right (wrong) time, cancelling Friday 10am flight to Newark/Hong Kong.  Why it was cancelled, and so soon, is beyond me.  The forecast called for the storm to start in earnest around Friday noon, and in fact on Friday morning things weren't too bad.  But United had already cancelled all its flights on Thursday evening.  Are the airlines getting soft?