Qingdao, China

Qingdao, China

So, as most of you know, about 5 years ago Brien and I lived in China. I wanted to share one of my crazy experiences with those of you who haven't had a chance to read my blog from way back when! I laughed as I read it.  And, I FOUND MY PICTURES WAHOOOOOOO so I incorporated them......It's pretty long but worth reading!   ;0) 

*************************************************************Hey everyone. As some of you know, I went on a trip to Qingdao, China for 5 days with 100 kids, 12 Chinese teachers, 2 tour guides and me...and NO ONE spoke English. 

It was an awesome experience...not awesome like hey this is awesome, but awesome as in a WILD AND CRAZY way!

Here are some things that I experienced on my journey:

DAY 1:
Whoah...there are 100 kids here...but they aren't really interested in me at all..which was a big difference compared to kids at schools that we teach at....at the schools that we teach at, they can't get enough of foreigners and ALWAYS wanna talk to you...but here, they all have their friends and are super excited for their vacation. 
I sat next to this really cute girl who was trying to speak "Chinglish" to me.....

I had to turn my Chinese brain on full blast for this trip.

The plane ride there was NUTS...we took up the entire plane and the kids were up out of their seats, throwing food at each other and SCREAMING..it was really funny...if I were just a normal passenger--not on a trip with these kids--I would be like OH MY GOD! haha... Anyways...when the plane was taking off all of the kids were like WOOOOOO and laughing and they were sooooo excited since it was the first plane ride for most of these kids!  It was cute! 

The tour guide kept on trying to talk to me, but I didn't understand everything and was frantically searching in my dictionary to find words she was saying to me. I just kept saying what everyone always says here: "Hao hao hao" (Those of you who live here know what I'm talking about, those of you who don't, Hao Hao Hao can mean a million different things!) haha

The poor flight attendants...there was a lot of turbulance, and the seatbelt signs were on...of course no one cared and were still running around....Things are REALLY RELAXED here in China! I felt like I took all of my students on vacation! When we got off the plane, it took us about an hour to get to the hotel...When we arrived it was midnight and there were screaming kids EVERYWHERE..it took about an hour and a half to get them all situated into their rooms. I shared a room with two of the tour guides..they were really nice....but I was too tired to try and communicate with anyone.....

DAY 2:
So, I woke up at 4 AM for no reason and just layed there. I started hearing the kids at 6AM running around and yelling..I was already up, so it didn't matter! First, we went to Signal Hill Park. 

It's on top of this mountain and it was a really nice hike..it was raining though, so we didn't get much of a view. "WHAT A PITY" as my students would say! 

When we got towards the bottom of the mountain, the rain stopped and I got some views of the German inspired buildings around. Man it was SO NICE to see mountains and hills and NATURAL greenery, instead of FLAT CONCRETE EVERYWHERE! 


Then, we went to Zhan Qiao Pier, which was really nice. 

It was only misting out, and it was really cool out....felt nice not to sweat for once! It smelled like the ocean! I think I got into EVERY SINGLE PERSONS PICTURES on that pier....OY! Stray people would "slyly" snap shots of me, and the brave ones would actually ask me. When we got back to the bus, it started downpouring, so we were lucky we got back when we did! Good thing I brought my umbrella, even though my good friend, Reshalati, INSISTED I wouldn't need it there. 


Next, we went to this AWESOME AQUARIUM! 

I haven't been to an aquarium since I was a kid...They had one of those tunnels with water surrounding it. It was so beautiful and peaceful..I just stood on a moving walkway and stared! 

Then, we all seriously waited for an hour for this lame show to start, and it only lasted for 5 minutes. The kids enjoyed it at least. They are entertained by the littlest things! At the end of the aquarium I seriously thought I got lost for a while..I even went outside to see if our bus was still there...and somehow I found a stray door back into the place where I saw one of the tour guide's flags....What a scary feeling that was!


Then we left, and I heard "Qingdao Pijiu" Which is "Tsingtao Beer" and I got excited....Well, here's what the tour was: We all stayed on the bus and a Qingdao employee came on and just talked and the bus driver drove us around... LAME - O!!!! I put my iPod on and blasted music. I was pissed..I thought we were gunna see some cool beer being made and at least get a freakin mug! 


We ate breakfast, lunch and dinner at the SAME place today....WITH THE SAME FOOD. Great!

DAY 3:
Today, I packed my bags and all I could figure out was that we weren't staying at that hotel anymore. This whole not knowing ANYWHERE we are going was CRAZY! So, I heard the tour guide say something and all of the kids started cheering, so I figured we were going someplace cool. We ended up going to the beach...it was sooo nice!!!

Yeah the sand was all wet, and it was cool out, but it was nice to hear the waves again! The kids were going absolutely CRAZY and were soooo excited! It was great! They all threw their shoes off and ran into the edge of the water and would all scream when waves would come. I'm sure that most of these kids have never been outside of Chengdu before and have never seen an ocean! So, it was a huge deal (like it is to anyone who hasn't been to the ocean before). We didn't have time to go swimming swimming, just put our feet in...that was good enough for me, cause it was freezing! The kids all got soaked and had to change their clothes. Then, an hour later we all got back on the bus....and of course I didn't know what we were gunna do next....I just assumed we would go on a cool boat ride or a museum or something....
Well, the bus just kept going and going....5 HOURS LATER, we all got off the bus, and there was a boat waiting there for us...and it was seriously like a DUNGEON! We all just piled into this boat with NO WINDOWS AT ALL..and just stood there for 20 minutes....I thought I was going to puke everywhere...(I could only imagine this is what it was like for people to come to America on the boats....) 

We ended up at a Navy Base....the kids all piled out of the boat and officers started yelling at all of the kids to get into lines and come quickly....it was nuts!

When they got to their rooms there were like 20 people to one room with bunk beds that are WOOD..really...WOOD beds..and NO BLANKETS...

I got really nervous....luckily I was told that since I am a foreigner I wasn't allowed to sleep there THANK GOD....I had to go to this hotel which was pretty nice! 


The meals were DISGUSTING and I just ate a couple of bites of bread (seriously) for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 4:
Before any meal at the Navy Base, the kids had to do these drills, and if anyone got something wrong, they ALL had to do it over again until everyone got it right..it was really funny! The kids sang some songs and did some military drills all day....BORINGGGG.....I wasn't even supposed to be there...haha.....
Then, all of the adults went on this trolly ride around the base and of course I didn't understand anything, so I got to go on for free...Then we got dropped off at this little shopping center where everyone sold the same things...SEASHELLS....it was nice to just walk around instead of just sitting there though! Then, we seriously sat, waiting for 3 HOURS for lunch that I didn't eat...and after lunch we waited for 2 HOURS....WHAT THE FLIP....WHAT A WASTE OF TIME! I get soooooo antsy! Well, at least I practiced my Chinese with people! 
So, I had to go to the squatter bathroom and literally WAS GAGGING....I went, and then RAN out of there like choking and coughing...people were staring at me...I don't care...MAN EVEN WITH MY NOSE PLUGGED IT WAS RANK! IT WAS HORRENDOUS!!!!! I've NEVER been in such a disgusting bathroom in my life! 


So finally after all that waiting we went to a LAME Navy museum. Then we all got our stuff and got back onto the dungeon boat back to the town WeiHai. 


Then, we all got onto the bus and I was told we were going back to Qingdao (At least that's what I thought I heard) So I prepared myself for a 5 hour bus ride back....and 5 MINUTES later we got to this hotel..haha...this was so crazy not knowing ANYTHING.....


It was a really nice hotel...I had to share a room with some grandma who came on the trip and one of the tour guides. So, I'm just watching TV, and all of a sudden the grandma comes out of the shower TOTALLY NAKED and just starts talking to me!!!!! OMG...TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT!! I wasn't THAT surprised, since I've lived in China for almost a year, and weird stuff always happens...They also all go pee with the doors WIDE OPEN and just get naked in front of you to change. I just HAD TO get out of the room, so I went into the lobby and just hung out for like an hour. I had such a headache from hearing ONLY CHINESE for all of this time..I needed a break! Then I went back to the room, and the phone in our room kept on ringing, and the Grandma would just stare at me and I'm like HELLO I DON'T SPEAK CHINESE I'M NOT ANSWERING IT! Then, kids kept coming in and out of my room when we all have our pajamas on....I felt EXHAUSTED!

DAY 5:
So, I woke up at 5 AM for no reason..I kept waking up super early on this trip...Maybe I was paranoid that they would leave without me! Everyone went to eat the same meal of breakfast....EVERY FREAKIN MEAL WAS EXACTLY THE SAME!! I didn't even want to LOOK at any of the food. I bought a Pepsi and some small cookies for some nourishment since I hadn't eaten in 3 days. Everyone was trying to force me to eat, I didn't know how to communicate that if I even SMELLED any of it I would throw up everywhere..I just kept telling them I already ate. HOW THE FLIP CAN THEY EAT THE SAME FREAKIN THING EVERY DAY FOR 3 MEALS A DAY!! AHHHHHHHH!!! Soooo weird! 


Then I just got on the bus at 7:30AM and we left at 9:30 AM . That's how it's been this WHOLE TRIP.. WAITING WAITING WAITING on the bus...it was soooo annoying! Then we left for Qingdao...Then guess what we did? We went for lunch....Everyone but me! I sat in the lobby and ate a Snickers bar while people stared at me. Then, I got on the bus and waited for another hour to leave. 


We went to the Haier museum....Another LAME museum...WHO WANTS TO GO TO A MUSEUM FILLED WITH REFRIGERATORS? They took millions of pictures!!! Too funny (ESPECIALLY THE HAIER MASCOTS!!!)

Then, we went to Coca Cola. 

We went in and they gave us a free drink and watched a movie which was mostly just Coca Cola commercials...we got to see drinks being made and bottled which was cool...and that was it....It wasn't even an hour...


Next, we went to this weirdo store that ONLY sold dried packaged seafood and it smelled HORRIBLE. I thought GREAT now the entire bus is gunna smell like this! The kids of course went crazy and bought like EVERYTHING in the store! 


Then, it was time for dinner...This time I didn't even get off the bus! The kids were all asking me in Chinese why I wasn't eating...I told them I wasn't used to it and I ate some crackers. FINALLY we were off to the airport....Our flight left at 10:50 PM ....


And of course at the END of the ENTIRE TRIP I find out that most of the kids DO speak SOME English and they all started talking to me and asking me questions at the freaking AIRPORT....I guess they didn't have anything to look forward to anymore, and they finally realized that I was there with them! 

My ticket said I was supposed to sit in the middle of all of the kids, but I told the flight attendant I couldn't sit there, so she let me sit in the front row..I had had ENOUGH!

FINAL THOUGHTS:
WHO DOES THIS?!?!?!?! It was a CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY experience and I'm really glad that I did it....It was hard, but worth it. I really had to turn my Chinese Brain on the entire trip and I learned a lot of new words, and my listening skills have improved! I learned A TON of different cultural differences....It was cool being absolutely FORCED to speak only Chinese and listen to ONLY Chinese....

I was pushed WAY beyond my comfort zone MANY TIMES....But hey, you gotta do that sometimes in life right!?!?!

~NaTALIE~
;0) 
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Hope you all enjoyed this story!  Life is too short, do something CRAZY!!!

REVIEW: Let's just talk a little about P.F.Chang's...

P.F. Chang's finally opened up in Buffalo...I've heard about it before, and people would rave about it.... I'm glad we were finally able to check out the hype!  I really wasn't sure what to expect...I knew it couldn't be just an ordinary Chinese take out place...So I went in pretty open-minded.  (I don't have any pics of the food because our camera was stolen...sorry!!)

We ordered the "CHANG'S CHICKEN LETTUCE WRAPS" for an appetizer.....YUMMMMMM!!!!! It tasted like the Wok itself, and had such a depth of flavor to it.  I could have eaten just that as my meal....We ordered two (since there were 6 of us) and they went really fast! My mouth is watering just talking about it!!

For dinner, I ordered their signature dish: the "MONGOLIAN BEEF"....Even MORE YUMMMM!!!!!  I loved the scallions especially. (Scallions are in a few of my favorite dishes from Chengdu, so it was nice to get that in every bite).  Be careful, you will have major onion breath for like 2 days!  It was very expensive ($14.95) but it was a huge order, and would be enough for two.  I thought it was definitely worth it!! 

My hubby, Brien, ordered the "CHENGDU SPICED LAMB"...He loved it....I normally am not a fan of lamb... in fact I hate lamb...but I loved his dish too!  It had a key Chengdu flavor, kind of like "Shao Kao" seasoning with the spice tuned down for Americans ...but it was delish!!!  I couldn't get enough of it!!  Man I miss those flavors!!!  

Dessert....well I was pretty disappointed.  Brien and I ordered the "THE GREAT WALL OF CHOCOLATE" which was basically a massive piece of chocolate cake....looks better than it tasted....I wouldn't order that one again it was pretty bland...I was happy we were all sharing desserts at the table..My sister-in-law, Michelle, ordered the "BANANA SPRING ROLLS" and I didn't want to give it back!!! Holy moly that was an AMAZING dessert!! I'll definitely order that one instead next time!!!

For my drink, I ordered the "PF-X" which has: X-RATED Fusion Liqueur, Mango Vodka and Pama Liqueur shaken with a splash of Sprite....Best drink I have had in a long time....It was $9 and not that big, but I loved it!  Yes, it sounds frilly and girly....but who cares....get over it....try it!! Tasted like a jolly rancher!! 

Go with a big group of people and all order different dishes...we had so much fun passing our food around the table trying bites of each other's.  That way, the next time you go, you know which dish to get. 

I don't think anyone took food home, it was that good!!!   Just be prepared to pay a lot!  (I'm sure if you go at lunch time it would be cheaper)

I recommend this restaurant to anyone!! 
Sooooo good!!!


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Photo Love #1: The Leshan Giant Buddha

Here is one of my favorite photos taken in Leshan, China. 

My husband, Brien, and I lived in Chengdu, China for a year and had so many amazing, life changing experiences.  One of the places that we visited was The Leshan Giant Buddha.

The Leshan Giant Buddha is the largest stone-carved Buddha in the WORLD...Brien and I spent a very hot and sweaty crazy busy day here. When I say hot and sweaty I mean INSANELY HOT AND SWEATY....As in droplets of water running down our foreheads and shirts completely soaked through...Being smushed and pushed through weaving lines, and almost thinking we were going to be pushed down the INSANE staircase we had to climb down in order to get to the Buddha's feet.
If you look at the Buddha to the top right, near the Ear, is where the lines started....Imagine the busiest day at Disney World, lines without any fastpasses times 30 and that was the line....But it was SO WORTH IT!  This photo isn't even the entire Buddha....I took this picture when on the staircase of doom...There is a whole lower half with massive feet.!!!  It's almost impossible to get a picture of the entire Buddha unless you take one of the boat tours on the river that runs in front of it.
It's easy to get amazing shots of the Buddha, I just kept snapping at every angle.
Anyways, if you are ever in China, and near Leshan, you MUST go here, DO NOT pass this opportunity up, pictures do not do this justice.

I just have to show you the steep staircase of doom winding it's way down the mountain!