Hawaii

Well, eventho we only had one day off the boat, I enjoyed every second of it. I didn’t go snorkeling. I didn’t go to Pearl Harbor. I didn’t go skydiving. I didn’t jump off any rocks. I didn’t climb any mountains. All I did was lay on the beach and swim in the pacific ocean. And to be honest, I was perfectly happy with my day. I didn’t bring a beach towel on my trip. So in Puerto Rico, I was thinking about buying one, but I never got around it. Then I went to a little (not touristic) town in brazil and I didn’t go to a beach in south Africa. Then when we started to get to asia, it started getting chilly and we went to less beaches. So when we got to Hawaii, I just decided it was too late in my trip to buy a towel that I was just gonna get rid of before I got home. But it’s moderately funny to me that everytime we go to a beach, I just kinda roll around on my belly in the sand. I get sooo sandy all the time. Like my hair is filled with sand for a couple days. It’s kinda gross, but as long as I don’t get any in my mouth, I’m okay with it. So, needless to say, I am still towel-less and sandy.
Hawaii was beautiful. We were in Honolulu and we went to a beach in Waikiki. To be honest, I have no idea how the islands are set up. I don’t know which ones have active volcanoes on them, and I def don’t know which one ‘the big island’ is. We were only there for like 13 hours, so it doesn’t really matter I guess. Never the less, it is still very beautiful. I think my favorite part is although it is a tropical island- the architecture isn’t pink and teal like it is in most places. In the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and even in Florida there are pink buildings and yellow buildings and stuff. Here, everything is a bold color, never pastel colors. A lot of things look like dark wood and there are lots of greens and stuff. I like the overall architecture way more here in Hawaii.
We at lunch in Cheeseburger in Paradise. I was super excited to eat here, but when I got my burger it did have lettuce and tomatoes, Heinz 57 and French Fried Potatoes. It even had a slice of onion on it. The only thing missing was a big kosher pickle. So when our waiter came back, I asked him where the pickle was and he said the restaurant had nothing to do with Jimmy Buffet. He actually sued the chain because it’s his song. For some reason, the burger just wasn’t as good as it was when I thought there was a connection between my delicious meal and my favorite song about cheeseburgers.
Well everyone- this blog is only for Poppa Bear, Both Mummas, Rannie, Mark, Kristofer and Brenda. I’m pretty sure I made it very clear that I wanted more emails from not only my fam (who did a very good job) but the people I rarely hear from. I only got emails from the same people who always write to me. Maybe not as many people read my blog as I thought. The only new comer this time was Brenda. (thanks Brenda) I really tried to post pictures this time. the thing is, the internet on the boat is slow, and the connection always times out. i have like 15 pictures that i want to show you all, but they won't post. guess you'll just have to wait three weeks. I’ll be calling people out next time if I don’t get more. I have 11 days on the ocean in the very near future.
On a very very happy note, I have become friends with a guy named André. Yesterday, he had a get together to celebrate the third year in his life that his cancer has been in remission. He is an amazing person who can walk into a room full of strangers and be bffs with everyone 20 minutes later. He kinda reminds me of dad in that way. He is very honest and people seem to relate to him. He’s amazing and is an inspiration to the whole world (I can say that because in less than 3 weeks, I can say I have officially have been around it.). I would like to thank him for staying alive because he has enriched my life by living his own.
Officially 3 days till the 2008 NFL Draft. Please please pick up some offensive linemen. I’m tired of blaming them for our problems. To be honest, I’m more tired of them being our problem. I doubt we’ll take a lineman in the first round but I hope we get some quality guys at some point. I’ll be sad if we don’t walk away with one. With the schedule we have next year, we really need this to be a good draft. Maybe the second best in steelers history. Who could ask for more than 4 hall of famers in one draft? I guess I can at least ask- just not expect it to happen. Maybe Tomlin is the next Noll. Cross your fingers for a good draft!!! I am.
Good luck pens (in a couple days) I’ll be following along and wearing my pens shirt as much as possible. I don’t want to be the smelly kid on the boat, but if that’s what it takes, I’m down to do it. Do me a favor, everytime jagr touches the puck, boo him. Think about how embarrassing he is for tucking that jersey in, and it will be easy to make fun of him. (o:
Now onto 11 days on the boat before we get to Puerto Rico. I can’t believe how fast this trip has gone by. I guess I knew it would fly by, and I was absolutely right. I’ll miss it so much when I get back- yet I can’t wait to step on American soil (mainland soil) I’m so fortunate to be on a trip like this so I’m trying not to wish it away. Instead, I enjoy every day I’m here even if it’s just on the boat.

Love you all! see you in 17 days!!!

Japan

Oh Japan, you are so wonderful. So lets begin with a little history of Japan. Towards the end of the war, Japan was very ready to surrender. We had basically bombed the shit out of their country until there was basically nothing left. (Now this is just what one of my friends read at the Hiroshima museum, this isn’t necessarily fact or fiction. Take it how you will.) So Japan was ready to surrender- and we set the official date for the surrender for like 4 months in the future. Then Russia wanted to have a part in rebuilding Japan and kinda controlling it when all was said and done. So we decided we wanted to end the war once and for all and we wanted to have all the control over the situation and leave Russia out of the whole thing. So we dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and killed hundreds of thousands of people (and destroyed their crops, lives, and caused leukemia for many years to come) those weren’t soldiers we killed… those were people. So then Russia started talking to Japan about surrender and pushed the surrender date up to like in the very near future, but instead of waiting and letting Russia take the credit, we bombed Nagasaki (killing probably around the same amount of people) and then the surrender happened right there and then. Then we had control over all kinds of stuff because they officially surrendered to us. I’m not sure if this all makes sense or even if it’s correct, but that’s what I took away from the whole situation.

Needless to say, we then forced the Japanese to re write their constitution so they didn’t decide to be communists like we had always feared. But the people they selected to write the constitution refused to do it because they wanted to keep using the constitution they had before. So like 10 or 14 Americans got together to write a constitution for Japan, none of them had political science degrees or any skills in completing a task like that. They basically just modeled the constitution after our constitution. I’d say this is pretty much why everything in Japan reminded me of America. Kobe was pretty much like any American city, but really expensive. It was kinda interesting to see because most of the info structure was very similar-but everyone actually followed the rules. The walk/don’t walk signs were actually paid attention to. Even if no cars were coming… they still stood there till the green man came on. Basically, it was the complete opposite of Vietnam. I just went with it. I just mimic whatever the locals do and I feel that’s the safest way to hang out in a country. If I do what everyone else does, I won’t be hit by a car or taken to jail. (o:

So the day we got into Japan it was crazy. The Japanese customs are very strict so we had to have out temperature taken while we were on the boat. Then we took our passports and landing cards, stood in a long long line, then were finger printed, interviewed and then were allowed to go on our way. Basically, we didn’t get off the boat till 1pm. Normally it only takes till 10ish. It was okay with me tho. Hahaha my friend Corette said “Just don’t commit any crimes in Japan without gloves on.”

When we got off the boat Mal (who I like to call Meow) and I walked around Kobe to see what it was all about. It reminded me a lot of Pittsburgh. When I’m in a new country, I like to compare it to places I have already been. South Africa reminded me of florida. Hong Kong reminded me of NYC. India didn’t remind me of anything at all. But Japan could defiantly fit in any city in America. It was a little hilly, but set up exactly the same. It was super interesting how us sticking our nose in another countries business forces them to act like us.

One difference between Americans and Japanese (besides the language) is how polite the Japanese are. In America if you were in NYC and confused about where you were going… if an American walked up to you helped you figure out where you were on a map, then offered to take you to your next bus stop, you would be super confused and even skeptic. Of course you would be because we are basically trained to think that way. In Japan, it was common for us to come across a local that would go above and beyond what would be expected of them in America. If I walked past someone and my breeze knocked a napkin off their table- I would naturally just bend over and pick it up for them. It was sorta my fault, but not a really big deal. A person from Japan would take the napkin and genuinely apologize till I walk away. It is super weird because we would normally just give a smile and take the napkin or to be honest, just ignore the whole situation. It was kinda nice go to from pushy countries to a very polite one.

Back to my stay in Japan- Meow and I were walking around Kobe and we decided to go back to the boat to find some more friends. As we walked back, we saw Davis and Andre walking towards us with a group of Japanese students. Apparently, they were at the welcome reception (through semester at sea) and these students were taking them to karaoke. Karaoke in Japan? I just thought it was a stereotype!! So we get to the Karaoke place and it’s $5 an hour. So we get one hour and they lead us to a little room. A karaoke bar in Japan isn’t like it is in America. It’s a little room with a tv and some hi-tech gadges in it. The room is about 5X10 for 5 people to go in and sing for a year. It was super fun- but I realized something about Japan. Most of the stereotypes we generally accept are very true. The Japanese people are always polite and doing whatever they can. In Karoke, they clap off beat. They are always smiling and generally happy and they love sushi. Just like you see on the chappelle show- that’s how it is here.

My second and third day in Japan were spent at a homestay. My family was a woman named Satoko who kept me company for those two days. She worked for the city and had a beautiful house right outside of Kobe. Satoko and I stayed with a woman named Tamiko and Stacy (a semester at sea girl) pretty much the whole time so we could keep each other interested. Tamiko was an English teacher so she was very fluent in English. With our families- we went to Osaka. Osaka is like 40 minutes from Kobe. It is where a lot of people live, who normally work in the city. It’s a nice area and in the center is Osaka Castle. The castle was built by a Samari as his castle when him, and eventually his son, ruled the area. Because most of the explanations of the items inside the castle were in Japanese, I didn’t get most of it, but there were lots of folding screens that depicted important battles. It was interesting to see all the things that still existed from hundreds of years ago. The Japanese people are so diligent and very good at keeping things in order. This was shown in The Osaka Castle because of all the artifacts that they still had. It was pretty amazing to me.

That day I had a chicken dish that was so delicious. It was rice with pieces of chicken on top. Then on top of all that was egg. Tamiko told me this dish was called Oyako Donburi. Donburi means bowl, which is what the food was in. Oya means parent and Ko means child. I’ll give you guys a couple seconds to realized why that is hilarious….. And for my slower audience it’s hilarious because the chicken is the parent and the egg is the child. Hilarious… right? Another dish that is similar to that one has pork instead of chicken, but the rest of the food is the same. This dish is called Tanin Donburi. Tanin means stranger, which is also very funny to me for some reason.

The second day, we went to Kyoto for the day. Kyoto is an area that has about a dozen shrines/temples within a couple mile radius. We planned on going to four sacred sites, but we only ended up gong to two because we ran out of time. Kiyomizudera temple was a Buddhist temple built in 778. It was super beautiful there. Before you enter the temple, you are expected to rinse your hands in the water that comes from the mountains that surround the temple. I took some pictures of people washing their hands. Specifically, some pictures of a mom helping her kids wash their hands and at the same time teaching them a tradition that they will use for the rest of their lives. The second place we visited was a shrine. I believe the fact it’s called a shrine means it comes form the religion Shinto. Yasakajinja Shring was brightly colored and there were lots of people walking around. There were 3 or 4 areas set up for fortunes. You would chose a number and tell the man at the stand, he would then give you the piece of paper that corresponds with that number. You would read it then fold it and tie it onto one of the areas set up to hold fortunes. Some areas were strings hanging vertically. Other areas were poles that were arranged horizontally. Either way, it was probably my favorite thing to photograph because it looked super cool and artistic. (o:

Much of my stay in Japan was filled with the beautiful background of cherry blossom trees. We just happened to visit the same week the trees were in bloom. Let me tell you, Japanese people LOVE cherry blossom trees. The trees are everywhere and it was difficult to find a tree that wasn’t occupied with people that sat on a blanket and had a picnic. Many high school and college students hung out with their friends under the trees after school. I mentioned the cherry blossoms that are in DC and Tamiko already knew about them and got excited when I mentioned them. We all exchanged email addresses and said our goodbyes. I enjoyed my homestay. It allowed me to see more of Japan than I would have alone. Although the people are super nice and eager to help you, it is still difficult to get around. After getting thru china on my own, I was relieved to just follow someone who knew where they were going.

Unfortunately for me, Japan was super expensive. The last day, I just hung out and didn’t do much of anything because I didn’t want to waste my money on a $40 T-shirt or a $20 meal. I found an internet café and hung out for 2 hours. This was by far the nicest internet café I’ve ever been to in my life. I guess I don’t frequent them at home, but it was def the nicest of my whole trip. There were free drinks, big screens, a fast connection and comfy seats.

I’m glad to see the regulars are still consistently commenting on my blog. I appreciate every letter that is typed. I will suggest something from everyone that is reading this. Take 5 minutes, or as long as you want, and send me an email. I’m def not complaining but the next few weeks are gonna get tough for me. I have 23 days left on my trip. Only 3 of them are spent on land. That, topped with the fact that finals are coming up very soon will make me hate my life for sure. The next time I’ll check my emails will be April 21^st. So you all have almost a week to make some time for your favorite world traveler. Just to make it clear, you don’t have to be my immediate family or best friends to write an email. I’ve heard from most of them a lot. Even if my dad gave you my blog and you barely know me, I’d like to hear from you. Even if your one of the people that work with Mrs. Fetsko and you’re reading my blog because you like my stories, send me an email. I’m not threatening anyone but you better write OR ELSE. (o: My email address is Nicoledembski@gmail.com

Right now, the boat is rocky-er than it has ever been. It’s kinda fun for me because I don’t get sick. Basically I just get to watch, and hear, stuff fall off tables onto the floor. I hear everyone’s drawers opening and slamming shut. Today at dinner, the soup pot fell off the counter and dishes fell onto the ground. It was moderately exciting.

Mumma (biological) tomorrow is one of my best friend, Allie’s, Birthday. Those plates and hats will def. come in handy for her celebration. (o:

Poppa Bear- I can’t stop thinking about driving that vette right after I get home, graduate, have a party, go back to cal, then come back home and sleep for a whole week.

Mark- Thanks a ton for the Atlantic crossing care package. I’m crushing some cheddar chex mix as we speak (I was gonna save all the triangle crackers for you, but it’ll will be like 3 weeks before I get home). The beef jerkey is pretty much gone and I put my steelers print bandana on max.

Kristofer- Thanks for taking care of all my graduation stuff. And thanks for the news about me walking with honors chords!! I was super excited when I read that! Love you times infinity.

Joule- I’ll be home in 24 days. You’ll have your bff back and I’ll be chearing your little softball players on as soon as I can!!

Mumma (friend) I’m glad you’re doing better. I can’t wait to call you from Hawaii and hear about your life.

Nano- I’m glad I got a chance to talk to you online for a minute. I miss those little gutz and I can’t wait to give you your present. You’ll love it for sure.

Rye- thanks for coming on strong in the 4^th quarter. (I prefer football over baseball)

Rannie Rand- You’re the best sister ever. Congrats on the brand new purchase. I can’t wait to help you tear that wallpaper down when I get home. Just so you supply some food maybe some tony’s pizza, I’m sure you can sucker some of my friends into helping. (o:

China

China China China… Lets just say our trip was very very interesting. For almost an entire month, the field office (the people who set up Semester at Sea trips) was telling us not to do china independently because it is too hard to get around and no one understands English. By the time they made that announcement, we had already booked our flight to Beijing, so like or not, we were going to China independently. I felt better about our trip when I asked my mom to send me point books. These are books with lots of pictures that you can basically just point to in order to show someone else what you want. If I want chicken and ramen noodles, I just point to each thing, and then the waiter brings it to me. Unfortunately, due to India’s terrible postal services, I never got my books. Thanks Mumma for sending them at the appropriate time, but screw you India for not being sufficient at anything except the culinary arts. Anyways, 7 of us were going to go to China independently, and we were gonna have a good time. About a week before we got to China they made us fill out an independent travel form. They had these in every port but China was the first port that it was mandatory to fill out where you were going and when you were going to be back. In the previous ports, it was more so if you didn’t come back to the boat, semester at sea could look at this form and at least have an idea of what part of the country to start looking for you in. We didn’t know at first, but in China, it was actually used to compile a list of people that were going to return to the boat between the 3rd and the 8th and people that were going to stay somewhere in the country. Unfortunatly, because they didn’t know you HAD to fill out the form, the two alexes (long and short haired) didn’t fill out the form. In short, they weren’t allowed to travel with us from Hong Kong to Shanghai. They had to return to the boat every night. Weird huh? Sucks for them and the $300 plane ticket that they had to eat. Since the other people that were supposed to be going with us were friends with the alexs, it ended up just being me Tea (my roommate) and Christine.
It actually worked out perfectly and was the best number of people to travel with. The trip in general was sooo much fun and I learned a ton. China was the first country that we went to where a majority of the population isn’t bi-lingual. I’m not sure why, but pretty much everyone in China only speaks Mandarin. They are starting to teach English in school now and most college kids know enough to get by. Fortunately for us, that was enough to get train tickets, dinner, and answer other questions that we had.
First, some geography. Hong Kong is in the very very south of China. It hasn’t officially been a part of China for very long. It was under brittish rule, and now it’s technically a part of China, but it’s allowed to make it’s own economic decisions about trade and stuff. Shanghai is, don’t take my word for it, most populated city in the world and is located on the eastern coast of China. Beijing is to the west and north of Shanghai. If you traveled to Beijing from Hong Kong by train- it would take over a day. To take a train from Beijing to Shanghai, it would take 13 hours. That just gives you a little idea of what we’re working with.
Our plan was to get into Hong Kong then that night take a train to Shenzen where we would take a flight to Beijing the next day. The reason we were going to Shenzen was because the flights to Beijing were like $200 cheaper. From Beijing, we were going to hang out for a couple days, then sleeper train it back to Shanghai to meet the boat by the 6th. Since we weren’t leaving Shanghai till the 8th, we could hang out in Shanghai for a couple days. Perfect plan. Only problem is we had concrete plans besides our plane ticket. No worries tho, we were on our way.
Shenzen was pretty cool. We easily found a hotel and it was super nice. Shenzen is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Because it’s close to the huge city of Hong Kong, lots of people live in Shenzen and work in the city. Apparently, the country has a ridiculous genie coefficient, the difference between the really rich and really poor people. Hahaha, I forgot to mention, during one our preport meetings, our interport student (the kid from china that comes on our boat until we get to the country to answer our questions) said something about being careful in Shenzen because people’s organs get stolen. That’s so absurd, but still hilarious. So we stayed there for the night, then flew to Beijing the next day.
Beijing was very much unlike what I expected. I expected something like New York because everyone said it’s a huge and very populated. To be honest, as I walked down the street, I would never have guessed that its one of the most populated cities in the world. We decided because the city is so spread out, it seems like there are not as many people as there actually are. It was odd. Another thing that we just could not get over the whole visit was the pollution. You could see the smog in the sky. You could only see buildings for a certain distance then they vanished into the pollution. I assume its what Pittsburgh was like when we were making steel for the war. It really made us sick. We all came home with sinus problems and sore throats. In school, we learned that American’s make more pollution per person than any other country in the world. After going to China, I cannot possibly believe that any more. I understand they have more people so there is going to be more pollution but the fact that right now, sailing a couple hours away from China, the air is still smoggy and polluted. I guess the only time you can see very far in China is when it’s windy. It was my least favorite part of the whole trip. Matea suggested that the reason the statistics say we produce more waste than anyone else is because we keep more accurate records of what we are putting out. If a country has no filters on any of their factories, as long as they don’t keep records, they technically producing that waste. It is an interesting concept that I didn’t think of until we had almost left.
This just in, Beijing is holding the 2008 olympics. Who knew? I wonder how those marathon runners are going to deal with that pollution…. Anyways, when we got off the boat in Hong Kong, some 8th graders were giving a survey. “did you know Beijing is holding the Olympics in 2008?” “Yes” “Do you know what day the Olympics start?” “um, no” “here are some multiple choice days” “um, okay…. August 1st” “no, pick August 8th” “okay, august 8th.” “that’s correct… do you know what the cartoon characters for the Olympics stand for.” “what cartoon characters for the Olympics?” “okay, thank you for your time. I like your hair, can I take a picture with you?” “alright.”
That’s pretty much how our whole trip was. We didn’t know anything they were talking about, then they took pictures with us. It was kinda cute but at the same time it was kinda strange. As we were walking by, a Chinese man would either ask us if they could take a picture with us, or they would just slyly stand by where we were and the other man would blatantly take a picture of us rather than the person that should have been the subject of the picture. Like the camera wouldn’t even been facing the other person it would be aimed at us. I have highlighted hair and I got a lot of photograph attention, I can only imagine what some of the really blonde girls on the boat went thru during their trip.
There are 5 little anime characters that are like the symbols for the Olympics. In class, we learned about the 5 elements that are respected in the Chinese culture. Water, metal, wood, earth, and . We figured that each of these little cartoon characters stood for one of these sacred elements. Apparently, there characters are actually just little animals. One is a panda, one is an antelope, there is some sort of bird and whatever to be honest. They are strange and I don’t really like them. They each have names and when you put all of their names together, it says ‘welcome to Beijing.’ That’s kinda cool I guess.
The Great Wall: on the way to the wall, we saw a lot of poor people. I guess the rich people live in the cities, and the poor people live on the outskirts of the cities. It was odd to see because I expected more equality in the country. I’ll talk about that next. The tour we went on for the great wall was a 10k walk from one area to the next. I would tell you the areas, but to be honest, I forget. I have it written down somewhere so just ask if you’re interested. Between the two points, about half of the wall had been reconstructed, and the other half is falling apart but was the amazing part (to me) of the hike. The wall was build to keep the Mongolians out of China and from what I hear, it really worked. As you walk on the wall, the side to the north, where Mongolia is, there are large windows so the soldiers could push rocks thru to kill intruding Mongolians. The windows on the south side were much smaller. Soldiers could speak to fellow soldiers on the ground. The part on the wall that I would describe as the railing is taller than the ‘railing’ on the south side. It was interesting to see. The day we went, it was super rainy and cold. I wore shorts because I didn’t want to climb in jeans. Everyone (including me) thought I was dumb for having shorts on, but as soon as we started hiking, I realized it was a good choice. Before we started hiking, I def thought I was an idiot. It was freezing and I thought my legs were gonna fall off. On the way to the wall I bought a hoodie that says “I climbed the great wall.” It’s tacky and I like it. When we started hiking, I realized why the great wall was a 7th wonder of the world. It is amazing and huge. The people who died during it’s construction were built right into the wall. Someone told me that each brick in the wall represents an entire day’s work for one man. That seems ridiculous considering how many bricks are in the wall itself. I’m not sure I believe that but I guess you have to consider the fact that you have to carry all the bricks to the right place and make the mortar and stuff, I guess maybe it’s not too far fetched. Its interesting because the bricks of the wall don’t stay in a straight line. They line up with contours of the mountains that the wall was built on. Super cool. At some points on the wall, you are walking up very steep steps. (Poppa Bear, someone needs to teach those ancestral Chinese people how to build some steps with the perfect ratio. I need a square and a piece of 2X12 and I’ll get them right.) The wall itself was an amazing sight. Once we got past the pollution and fog (from the rain) that blocked any of the wall that was in the distance, we were able to appreciate the greatness of the wall. I’m going to try my hardest to post a picture or two of the wall. We’ll see how that works out when I go to load them.
Communism in practice in China was nothing like we learned in high school. In communism everyone is supposed to be equal. Equal racially, economically, politically, and pretty much every aspect. Let me tell you, there is nothing equal about the country of China. The system works for them I guess, but in no way would I call it communism. If a Chinese man says ‘the government sucks” in the streets, he isn’t black bagged and never seen again. It’s not like the book 1984 where everything is monitored and people are swept away in the middle of the night. Of course, the government has certain liberties that other political systems don’t have, but to be honest, I think governments will do whatever they want on a very normal basis. It’s interesting. People generally are okay with the system the live in and are very fluid in how they live their lives. In Beijing, they are getting ready for the Olympics. Huge hotels, airports, and sports arenas are being built. Because there is no land left, people are moved out of their home in order to build these new buildings. The people that are moved are given a small stipend and sent on their way. When we asked our friend Lily (our new Chinese friend) she said they were sad of course, but they just left like they had to. It wasn’t really an issue. They just did it. it’s part of living in China I guess. We visited an area that would not be there in less than a month. Being that the Olympics start on August 8th (thank you 8th grader surveyor) I’m not sure they are going to get all the construction done. Most building are still not finished on the outside and def. not finished on the inside. I guess if it comes down to the wire, they’ll just work 24 hours a day to get it done. I just don’t see it happening. Anyways, there are cameras in most public places, but I would hardly say the country in general is Communist in its purest form. Whatever.
We made a couple friends in China. Something I thought was very interesting was their obsession with speaking to us. Not many american’s travel to china (from what I have seen) so I think they really enjoy practicing their English with Americans. The people that spoke English were very good at it. But keep in mind that most people don’t speak English.
Out of the people we talked to, all of them asked how many brothers and sisters we each had. They thought it was interesting that Christine and Tea each had 3 siblings. Could you imagine if Ryan was there and told them about his 5 siblings? They wouldn’t even know what to do with that information. They said if a family has two children, the family pays more taxes. We asked what happens if a family has 3 children and Lily simply said ‘families don’t have 3 children.’ I think the parents are arrested, but I’m not sure about that.
We had some very good food in China. It doesn’t taste like the Chinese food from dragon on main street. There is a lot of rice and a good amount of noodles. My favorite things to eat there was spring rolls and dumplings. I like the boiled dumplings the most. They are very much like the pirogues that Poppa Bear makes but with different stuff in the inside. Then you dip them in soy sauce and fill your belly. Mmmm. Delish.
When we visited Tie’an amin square and the Forbidden City, we bought this delicious, for lack of better word, thing. It was like peanuts and peanut butter and rasins, and honey and probably tons of MSG, but it was delicious.
One of the most interesting parts of my trip was riding the 13 hour train from Beijing to Shanghai. We tried to get a sleeper train, but unfortunately, the language barrier did not allow us to by a bed for the long trip. We spent like 30 bucks, and had a seat for the whole trip. There were some people that got a ticket to sit on the train but that doesn’t guarantee you a seat. Those people stood the whole time. That would be terrible. But we sat in our seats the whole time and had a pretty good time talking to some locals from Shanghai and Beijing. After about 2 hours of riding on the train, I took some Nyquil for my cough and slept for almost 9 hours straight. Matea and Christine didn’t sleep as much as me, maybe 2 hours, so I felt lucky. I guess I’ve always been excellent at sleeping in cars and busses and stuff.
In closing, I want to thank two people for my excellent stay in China. Rannie and Ryan, my sister and brother in law, bought me a Columbia rain coat before I came on this trip. I forgot it in Malaysia when it stormed all day long. I decided I wouldn’t let that happen again. I took the coat with me to China, and I honestly believe my trip would have been miserable had I not had it. It was warm and kept me and Poppa Bear’s camera dry. Thanks so much Voss’s!! It certainly came in handy.
Today, we have 30 days left in our trip. Most of that will be spent on the boat so please sent tons of emails so I have something to do. I plan on sending lots of electronic postcards so you will all have something else to read too. Maybe if I think of something good enough to write, I’ll blog a little between Japan and Costa Rica.
Thanks to Mark for sending me a package of food to hold me over till I get home. Cheese chex mix, teriyaki beef jerkey, and some sponge bob fruit snacks. Of course, he also included tons of steelers stuff. I think I have more steelers stuff hanging on my wall next to my bed than I have in my room at home. But I’m def. not complaining- I love it.
Thanks Mumma and ‘Traveling Poppa Bear’ for sending my Myron Cope shirt. I’m wearing it right now and I can’t get enough of it. it looks like a terrible towel and towards the bottom it says “this is Myron Cope… on sports.” I sure am gonna miss that scratchy voiced little man.
Thanks to kristofer for sending me letters in China. I love how you still change the font color to keep me and you interested. (o:

Love and Miss you all!!
Sorry no pictures. i'll try again tomorrow morning

one little thing

Oh man, I can’t believe I forgot to write about this in my last post. When I was at the cu chi tunnels… I shot an AK47!!!! I bought 10 bullets and messed up some rabbit targets they had set up there. The gun was mounted in the front so no one could turn around and shoot someone next to them. The only other large gun I’ve ever fired was a shot gun. I guess not many people get a chance to shoot an AK 47 so I was super excited about it. Even with ear protection, the guns were super loud. I have no idea if the military provides ear plugs, but they should. I could imagine how your ear drums would never recover after being around gunshots for a long amount of time. Even from 400 yards away from the firing range, you could still clearly hear what was going on. That’s all! Love you all!!

Ps, We’ll see who regularly checks my blog because this is a surprise post that I’m sure no one was expecting