Off to the Races

Travel weekend #2 is officially upon us!

As I mentioned in my previous post, this weekend Rhett and I are planning to spend two days in Xian and two days in Chengdu, China. Our itinerary is packed to say the least and this will be our first time on an overnight train and the furthest into mainland china we've ever been! All this considered, we don't really know what to expect. Before coming to China, being so in the dark would make me want to pull my hair out (and honestly the urge is still there), BUT I've had nothing but positive experiences here and I'm not going to stop now!

I guess that's the greatest thing I've learned about traveling: you can look up pictures, best places to eat, and must-see attractions, but it will never compare to experiencing it yourself. Not to mention that the expectations we have were made to be exceeded or not met at all so that we can learn from them. Right now my expectation is that Rhett and I are in for a shock. We will be traveling by train, taxi, bus, bikes, and airplanes all in four days,  and doing so in Chinese is going to be a lot more difficult, I'm sure, than it seems now. But you'll never know until you try, right?

Rhett's phycology class gets out in thirty minutes and then we are taking a taxi to Shanghai railway station to being our journey. So until next time, I hope you find something daring to do this weekend, no matter where you are or how many things on your plate! Next week is Thanksgiving so go make an experience worth being thankful for!

love,
kpk

Addictions

In case you were getting tired of my attempts at serious/deep posts, I hope this will be a nice change of pace. Rhett and I have been talking a lot about spending a couple days in Shanghai filming our daily lives to satiate our family and friend's curiosity. In these discussions we have come up with a lot of ideas of places to go/things to do.... but then we realized that filming a couple days would be a little embarrassing. Why? Because we would be frequently visiting one store over... and over... and over again! Yes, we have developed an EXTREME addiction to coco's. What is coco's you say? This glorious little storefront two blocks away from our Jia sells boba tea, hot drinks, kumquat-lemon juice, and so much more for no more than 13 kuai (aka $2). On our lowest of days we have actually gone 3 times. It is seriously getting bad. To make the situation even worse, we've come up with excuses as to why we go so much (the denial):

1. Only a limited time we can have it
2. Sweets aren't a thing here, so this is how we fulfill cravings
3. $2... Nuff said

And that, ladies and gents is why I am undeniably addicted to coco's. For those who ever visit one of their fabulous locations I highly recommend the chocolate milk tea with boba, cold, with a little ice. For the lighter fair, kumquat-lemon juice with fresh squeezed kumquats inside. Order DA (large) of both and you'll pay 10 kuai each. For those who are extremely interested: click here for their english website.

In other, more exciting, news: Next week is a long weekend! Rhett and I will be going to Xian, Leshan, and Chengdu. On the to-do list in 4 days: visit the Terra Cotta soldiers, Drum Tower, Bell Tower, Wild Goose Pagoda, Leshan Giant Buddha, and the Chengdu Panda Research Base to hold a baby panda! I'm so so excited... but it's four days away from coco's :). Will report back soon!

love,
kpk

The countdown has begun

It seems like a lifetime ago that I was telling people I was spending my sophomore year in China. All summer long I found great entertainment in gauging people's reaction to that very statement as I saw them analyzing my sanity. However, it only feels like a week or two ago that I was getting lost on my moped and spending ridiculous amounts of time obsessing over the exact conversion of my lunch bill from RMB to USD. How has time escaped me yet again? The crux of my dilemma started this week when a student only staying for the fall semester informed us that we had officially hit the five week mark before break. Five weeks?! Just barely over a month? In disbelief, we all had a great time recalling everything that we have done so far and also began tough conversations about what our expectations and goals were coming into the program and how they had been fulfilled or not. Some tears and lots of laughs later, none of us could truly comprehend the fact that in just 10 extremely short weeks, we have all grown and experienced much more than we ever could have anticipated. Though our surroundings and the people we are with have officially become familiar, we have all vowed to keep finding ways of challenging ourselves. So! Here's to 10 weeks of wonderful adventures we have shared and to the remaining 5, that they may be filled with adventure as well as challenges.

P.S. I would like to take a quick moment to thank whomever may be reading this. Blogging is still out of my comfort zone but I appreciate every minute taken by someone else to read this and pass it along. I'm so thankful for the motivation from each and every one of you to share my experiences and grow in this exercise. Much love & thanks for sticking with me. Happy Blog-Aversary, everyone!

P.P.S. Here are some links to any newsletters if you've missed them and another video from our media coordinator!

1. Newsletter 05 (EFT Edition)
2. Newsletter 06 (Halloween at the Jia)
3. Video <3

love,
kpk

Shanghai Survivor: Shangri-La EFT

What an amazing week. Now that we've had a few days back from our adventure in Yunnan Province, I honestly cannot believe how much we experienced. As my cultural mentor put it, living in Shanghai is "soft" China. We have every culture represented in accessible and safe food, transportation easily labeled in English, and in a city with the population of Australia: we are safe. I think the EFT came at a perfect time to remind everyone in the program that we are not immune to the struggles of being abroad. In fact, out of the 49 people that attended our Shangri-La Educational Field Trip, only 11 avoided food poisoning/vomiting/diarrhea. It was absolutely insane.

For me personally, I was not one of the 11. I actually lasted quite a long time in comparison to half of the group that earned the label "puke bus" after the second day. I even ran around Shaxi buying electrolyte-filled drinks for my boyfriend, Rhett, as he lost all of his food contents for the day. But I earned my 5 AM wake up call, completely immobilized because of food sickness.  Rapidly loosing fluids, I knew that I was facing a 3 and 1/2 hour bus ride and I was adamant on not soiling my pants/throw up on the bus. So I inadvertently dehydrated myself to the extent that when we finally arrived at a Lijiang restaurant, I was incapacitated. After attempting to go to the bathroom before our bus ride to the hotel, I collapsed. Rhett picked me up, and I passed out seconds later. He informed me later that he had to fend off random Chinese people attempting to put some sort of smelling salts on me while carry me down to the bus where our directors were. Next thing I knew, I was in Lijiang hospital, IV attached and being poked and prodded. Despite my fears, the hospital was just fine but lacking dozens of regulations like in the US. Doors were wide open on a 40-50 degree day, sheets not changed in between patients, people smoking in the lobby, and nurses needing to be tracked down rather than being attentive. But, as the title of this post reiterates: we survived.

Everything was exaggerated because of sickness but the bottom line was that the trip was the unexpected journey we knew it would be. We all needed some un-comfortableness in our lives and we got it by the bus-load. Though everyone would have been much happier avoiding sickness, nothing was serious and the sites around us were an amazing distraction from the negatives. I haven't expanded enough on all of the sites we saw, but I did create another video for everyone to see the trip first-hand. Don't worry: it doesn't document the events mentioned above besides a few pictures inside the hospital. I hope you like it! Also, other people in the program have begun to make videos as well and I wanted to share them all for your viewing pleasure. They are listed below and are incredible. Enjoy!

1. My Video: Shangri-La EFT
2. David Hong: Yunnan "Educational" Field Trip
3. My Video: Hong Kong & Macau
4. Justin Lew: ~China Begins
5. Zach Chen: Shanghai | Orientation Week

love,
kpk

Pass the Jellyfish

Life and Shanghai is surprisingly easy now. Between making solo trips to supermarkets and confidently bargaining at fake markets, there have been relatively few "culture shock" moments. Until last night. Group dinner was at a high end, family-style Chinese restaurant. As dish after dish came out, the less and less I recognized. Kung pao chicken, beef and celery root, rice were in the clear. Lotus root, bean curd, and last but most certainly not least, jellyfish were another story. Somehow all of the adventurous eaters were at my table, asking permission to take the fishes head and getting excited when pickled eggplant came to the table. Encouraged by those around me I did, in fact, try ALMOST everything on the table. Though I narrowly escaped eating the gooey bean curd, I did in fact, have to try the raw jellyfish. My verdict? Not terrible but unexpectedly crunchy. Happy Weird Food Wednesday!

love,

kpk

PS. As always, here is the link to the most recent Shanghai Newsletter: CLICK HERE

Hong Kong & Macau

Our first trip has successfully been completed! After our wonderful weekend I find it hard to believe that I was so worried about it all. I could tell you all about it but I think this video will do our trip justice. Enjoy and share the link :)

love,
kpk

ps. Check out the special travel edition of the shanghai newsletter! CLICK HERE!

Pre-Travel Gitters

I cannot believe it. A month has passed since we arrived in Shanghai. There have been some low's but an overwhelming amount of high's. As my parents have said a few times over facetime: China has been treating me well. But as September comes to a close that means it's time for October (Duh I know, but hold on -  I promise I have a point). In America, October is pretty much synonymous with Halloween. In China, it's all about The National Holiday. Like Fourth of July for an entire week, China spends every October 1-7 celebrating the founding of The People's Republic of China on September 21st, 1949. During this holiday, I will be traveling to Hong Kong and Macau. I am so beyond excited, however, there are always a few butterflies when it comes to traveling. Expect the unexpected has always been my motto for travel, however, in Asia I feel it is best to have as much planned out as humanly possible. But even then, you still can't account for all things going on around you. For instance, yesterday 38 people were injured in Hong Kong during a protest and the situation is still shaky (read more here). Not exactly what I had in mind for the long weekend. I have been assured by many locals that I would have to literally join the protest to be in any danger, but the fact that it is still going on is worrisome. Needless to say, pre-travel gitters are abundant. I am trying to shake off the general worries about traveling and focus instead on the wonderful things we have planned. From firework watching in Victoria Harbor, Hong Kong Disney, and a daytrip to Macau, there is no doubt in my mind that we are going to have a fantastic time. But to all those who are still concerned (Mommy), I promise to keep updates frequent and to be extremely careful!

PS - Newsletter 2 is out! CLICK HERE to read it! <3

love,
kpk