Monday, July 28, 2014

Courtney in China, Letter 12

We have finally left Shanghai and are in Guilin!

I am so happy! It feels like I'm on vacation again. Shanghai was great, but the dorms were super dirty and I (and everybody else) was just so tired of climbing 83 stairs to get home, going to class, doing homework, having to take cold showers, and  being hot and sweaty all the time. It was so nice to get to Guilin and go to this really cool cave then be able to come back to the hotel and go swimming! It was literally the funnest time I've ever had in a pool. We were so happy and relieved and excited and jubilant to be in the refreshing water! 

These past couple of days have been an experience. On Friday we went on a day trip to some ancient fishing village and it was alright. I hadn't eaten breakfast so I was so starving by the time lunch came around, I was so excited for lunch! We go into this restaurant, which isn't the best looking, but it's China, so I excuse that, but there is only one small standing oscillating fan in the whole restaurant. So I'm hot and sweaty and starving to death, and I'm trying really hard to be a nice a person everybody and I think I was. The moment that they brought out the dried fish heads, the shrimp with eyeballs, the lotus root, and the squid legs, I had decided that I reached my limit of Chinese food intake. Normally I can find something that I like in a meal like eggplant or cabbage or rice, but this meal everything tasted horrible! Even the rice! (This is the beginning of the end).

On Saturday we went to this beautiful island that had a ton of nature everywhere. We were able to rent bikes and take them around the island. It was a really fun experience. On this bike ride though I had hit a bump on a bridge and my nice traditional style fan that I had been using flew out of my basket and landed in the water. :( Also that day my mechanically powered hand crank fan got smashed in my backpack and broke. After the biking we went to this restaurant place to eat and I got the vegetable and bean curd option and it literally was the WORST food I have ever had (don't worry though that night we went to Papa Johns and I ate some really good pizzas). When we got back to the dorms our power had been turned off because we used all of the money we had put on the card. So our room was dark and really hot. That night is when my cell phone got lost in the Chinese Taxi system (I'm trying to come up with a better story like it fell off the great wall, or it was eaten by a panda or something). So we had to pack up all of our stuff last night in the dark with no a/c and I didn't have my phone to use as a flashlight or anything. 

Anyway, I'll stop complaining because I am in China and that is still so cool! But, after having all those experiences I am soooooooo happy to be in a hotel with power and wifi and ac and a pool! Admist all those annoyances I had some really great times. I am very excited to be able to go back to America though and eat some yummy foods. 

Hope you guys are doing well! 
Love 

Court

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