Two words: Mt. Tai. I have never seen something so astonishing in my entire life. Climbing Mt. Tai was hands down the most phenomenal experience of my twenty years on Earth. That is not an exaggeration. It was such a challenge and such a struggle to climb up 6,500 steps, but when I finished, I felt like I could conquer the world. We all encouraged each other and pushed ourselves. We even made some Chinese friends along the way! We kept asking how much further and someone finally answered us in English! She told us we … // Read more
Call a cab in New York and call a cab in China and let me know what you think. It is quite a feat to get a cab in the middle of Tian Jin–far more difficult than getting a cab in New York City. With some help from a girl from Florida State University, we finally got a few cabs for our first night out on the town. Only four people can ride in a cab so we all had to split up. It is hard to even explain the traffic in Tian Jin. There are basically no road … // Read more
Confucius is one of the most well-known philosophers in history, and we got the privilege of touring different areas related to his life. It was incredibly interesting to see the history all around me. The architecture is absolutely gorgeous. Aside from the gorgeous scenery and fascinating history around me, all I could think about was the toe I stubbed the day before. My poor little pinky toe was in so much pain. (I’m a baby, I know). It started pouring down rain, and I had forgotten my rain jacket. After getting soaked, I remembered that I … // Read more
After arriving in Beijing, we took a bus to Tian Jin Foreign Studies University (TFSU). As the bus drove through the city of Tian Jin, we were all in amazement. It is like nothing I have ever seen. I immediately fell in love with the city. The university is its own little town. It is absolutely beautiful, and I felt right at home. The dorm rooms are incredibly nice, and there is even a television with a few American channels that I never even wanted to turn on and watch. There was too much fun to be had … // Read more
After many hours of traveling, we made it to Tokyo, Japan for our 22-hour layover. We went on a bus tour of the city and got to explore some of the most popular streets. One of the most fascinating sites was the busiest pedestrian walkway in the world. There were hundreds and hundreds of people crossing the walkway when we pulled up to it. Tokyo was very similar to America’s New York–very busy and lots of shopping. It was, however, rather quiet to be such a big city. Our stay there was short-lived, but very worth it. I am … // Read more
I’m writing this while on a 13 hour flight to Tokyo where we have a 24 hour layover. We will get to go on a bus tour of Tokyo and fly out for Beijing the next morning. While all that sounds grand and simple, it was a real struggle to get here. Remember when I mentioned that stupid things like having a virus would happen to me? Well some more fun things have been happening to me all day, and all before it was even 8 am. I don’t even get up that early. Ever. After the kiosk … // Read more
Packing, trying to stay awake so I can sleep on the plane, and fighting off a virus: that’s what I am doing as I prepare to leave America and travel to China. I am a terrible packer because I bring way more than I will ever need, but I used vacuum pack bags in order to bring plenty of clothes. I am apparently a very high maintenance traveler, but I’m okay with that. I woke up this morning with a terrible stomach virus. That’s just my luck, by the way. I hope it isn’t an omen of how the trip … // Read more
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