Biiiiiiiiiiig Buddha!

It is a fact that the sky has been so much clearer this time in Hong Kong than last time.  It is absolutely beautiful!

Yesterday, we went to Victoria Peak. Victoria Peak is famous for it's view of Hong Kong Harbor. You take a tram from the ground to the top of the peak and then go up several floors of a giant tourist-trap shopping center to the look-out deck. It boosts a 360 view and it's pretty incredible. Since Hong Kong is made up of several islands, you can see the ocean from almost every side. I hate seeing the ocean and not swimming in it, but I don't really think I want to swim in the ocean so close to China. I'm not sure how safe/clean it is.

This next picture is of the last time I was here.

HUGE difference right?

While on top of the mountain, we ran into Hermione, the girl who set up the service project we did in Zhangye last June. How bizarre is that? China has over a billion people and we just happen to be in Hong Kong on the same day, on top of the same mountain, at the same time. I just can't express how crazy I think that is! People say, "It's a small world," but it seriously became so much smaller to me when we saw her. I literally saw the world shrink in my head.

Today, we went to the Cantonese ward sacrament meeting. It is really a unique experience that is just incredible to me. Someone translated into a microphone that goes to the little radio head sets that all of us had. It was a little hard to understand or hear, but the spirit compensated for that. The spirit really was so strong in that room. We sang the hymns in English while the rest sang in Cantonese. It sounded a little weird, and it was no MoTab but it was definitely awesome in its own way. The people were all so welcoming, as well.

 After church, we went to the Po Lin Monastery and Big Buddha. Once again, the sky was SO much clearer. To get to the Buddha, we took a cable car ride. Last time I was here, it was broken so we had to take a bus along a really windy road that made you a little car sick, so this was a much better way to get there.

Of course, Tony flirts it up with all the girls here and they all just love him. All the girls tell me how cute he is, etc, etc. Tony is quite the charmer, that's for sure. He won't admit it, but he is also really good at teaching people Chinese. He accents his tones really well so it's easy to hear and repeats it for you when you say it wrong. He is a big reason I learned so much in China when I was here before. In the cable car we took, Tony was the only guy and the girls teased him the whole time. It got weird really fast and I think Tony was a little embarrassed, but he joked along and teased everyone anyway.

The most exciting thing happened when we got off the cable car. There were DRAGON DANCERS! I can't tell you how excited I was! I never saw the Chinese Dragons here last time and I wanted to so bad. There were 3 dragons and then some creepy person wearing a creepy head dancing. They were dancing to Gangnam Style and some other party rock song and it was seriously the coolest thing! Tony was also really excited so it's not a just a foreigner thing.

This picture is awesome because they are jumping

from that platform to another one and I got them

in mid air! Woot woot!

Sorry for the poor quality of this video, but I just

really wanted to show you how awesome this was!

We climbed the 8 million stairs to the Big Buddha and then walked the "Wisdom Path." Once you walk all of the Wisdom Path, you are supposed to have gained wisdom. I didn't feel any different afterwards so I assume it's because I was already very wise.

The Wisdom Path ends with several trees chopped in half

with carved blessings from Buddha on them.

Now look at a picture from the last time I visited the Big Buddha.

This was a long blog post, but I put up a lot pictures as some of you requested, so I hope you are happy! Until next time, 再见！

Hong Kong Round 2

You can all laugh at me, but I literally cried when the plane touched down in Hong Kong. Words do not express how happy I am to be back in China!

When we arrived at the Temple Patron Housing where we are staying, there was someone waiting at the gate. I freaked out and screamed because it was Tony, my friend from Nanjing! Brad invited him to come to Hong Kong and tour with us. I was SO excited! I can't wait to see everyone else in Nanjing, but it is so great to see Tony and travel with him again. I just love this!

I am weirdly nostalgic. I got in the shower and thought, "Wow, it smells like a Chinese shower." I'm just weird.

Hong Kong is beautiful. There are trees with blossoms and Chinese New Years decorations everywhere. The weather is nice, but humid. It's raining a bit and we are about to go out and tour, so I hope it's not too bad.

I slept really well last night, but woke up really early. I'm so ready to be completely adjusted. A few more days and it will all be over. I love China!

The Hong Kong Temple is really beautiful. It's small, but the spirit is the same. I have done baptisms 3 times on the trip already and it is so nice to feel the spirit and enjoy the temple.

ONE HOUR!

I'm completely packed.

My luggage weighs 50 pounds (hopefully)

My room is clean (and my closet is a little empty).

I'm bracing myself for 23 hours of travel followed by AWFUL jet lag.

I still can't believe I get to go back to China so soon since I haven't even been home a whole year!

China Horizons is seriously the best program to ever exist and if you want to go to China, forget ILP, choose CH.

I'm so excited it's almost impossible for me to write anything coherent.

I am using every bit of my self-control not to use 8 million exclamation marks.

I leave my house in less than an hour!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

CHINA!

Changes

If you are confused, so am I, so don't worry. I'm going to help a medical home called Morning Star now. It could change again, who knows. Stay tuned... :)

Goodbyes

I really dislike saying goodbye to people. Perhaps it's the word. It just sounds so final. That's why the Chinese word for goodbye is so much better because it actually means “again see." 再见.

This weekend, I said goodbye to a lot of people. It leaves me exhausted and I crash in my bed and fall asleep like I'm suffering from jet lag.

Yesterday, I spent the day with my Chinese friend 艺泉 (Yi4 quan2), and two awesome guys from my Chinese class, Chance and Thomas. We went "shopping" at the mall (kind of like teenagers) and bought 艺泉 her first pretzel in America. Following that, we went to the dominating local Walmart and bought Valentine's Day treats since I will be travelling and miss Valentine's Day completely. When we went back to 艺泉's apartment we didn't do much of anything but eat and talk. Sometimes, I think that's the best time spent even though when people ask you what you did, it sounds totally lame. I'll be seeing 艺泉 in Shanghai before I fly home in June and I can't wait to see her in her own element.

Then I went to a bar.

Matt and Jayson came home from school this weekend. Jayson called me and told me to bring a coat and my wallet, but refused to tell me where we were going. We drove on the treacherous freeway to Salt Lake City and I saw 3 cars flipped over and at least ten other cars off the road because of the slick ice. We got to City Creek Mall and Jayson and I showed Matt our favorite store. It's our favorite store because when we were looking at clothes, Jayson found an article of clothing and asked me, "Why does this skirt have butt pads." I died laughing because it was a tube-top with a built-in bra. When Matt finished eating his Chick-fil-a chicken, we walked the snow covered streets of SLC to a bar. Jayson has been talking about this bar for a long time. It's called Keys on Main and apparently sometimes it's a karaoke bar. It wasn't karaoke night. It was Mardi Gras. It was really fun to watch the musicians play request after request of popular and not so popular music. They were so talented and probably make a lot of money off tips. I can't say I was completely comfortable being there surrounded by alcohol, but it was the best people watching I've ever had.

That is how we say goodbye. In just 4 days, I will be off to CHINA! The next blog post will for sure be all about China. Until then, 再见.

Beijing

When you go to China, you learn to become a last minute person, change plans at the drop of a dime. True to it's nature, China threw a curve ball at the last minute. Instead of Xi'an and the Starfish Foster Home, I'm off to Beijing and China Little Flower. A woman somehow related to the home offered to let Kendra and me board at her home while there which is beyond amazing of her. There is hope in humanity! ;)

I am completely determined to approach this new experience with an open mind and make Beijing my home. I want to make friends with the locals, and as always, live like the Chinese as much as possible. The best way to keep culture shock and homesickness at bay is to immerse yourself in the culture. It's amazing to embrace (as much as possible) another culture and really experience it. It opens you up to a whole new world you didn't ever know existed. It's the most beautiful experience, and I wish I had the words to truly help you see it the way I do. Better yet, go try it for yourself!

Things You Can and Can't Buy in China

大家好！

One of the biggest struggles I found while trying to pack for China my first time was that I didn't know what I could buy there and what I couldn't. Here is a pretty basic list of necessities that you can buy in China (Please note that this is a general list. You may be able to find some things in one city that you can't in another):

• Toothbrushes and toothpaste like Crest and also lots of really gross tasting ones. I'd just stick to Crest.
• Socks (not thick ones)
• Razors (though they are not as high quality and usually more expensive since they are uncommon)
• Makeup (Also can be expensive depending on how picky you are about brands, etc.)
• Hair dye (Only natural colors in blond and dark brown)
• Q-tips
• Nail clippers
• Office supplies like paper, scissors, colored pencils, markers, notebooks (often with poor English on the covers), etc. 
• Hair gel and spray (in larger cities mostly)
• Clothes (If you are of a small build) and shoes (if you are about a size 7 in women's or 10 in men's)
• Some decent brands of body wash, lotion, and shampoo and conditioner. While in China, I used the L'Oreal curly hair products, but they were a little pricey at 30 yuan a piece which is around $5. They do carry Olay products, but note that all things are in smaller quantities for higher prices because they are imported. If you can, just bring your own.
• Hair dyers and straighteners. There are little shops everywhere that sell random things, so it's not hard to find one for really cheap.
• Chapstick
• Laundry detergent though I do prefer to bring my own because I think the detergent in China is really hard on clothes. (Be careful when buying this if you do. Try to buy ones with colored clothing pictured on the package to be safe)

You cannot buy

• Deodorant
• Contacts and contact solution (I've heard that if you can find a Watson's you can find this there.)
• Dental floss
• Mouthwash
• Western medications such as ibuprofen, cold meds, Peptobismo, etc.
• Tampons
• Good sunscreen
• Shoes if your feet are over size 7 in women's or 10 in men's. I brought two pairs of shoes. Heels and some tennis shoes. My tennis shoes got holes and I had to buy new ones (at a foreign store that luckily carried my size) and I wished the whole time I was there that I had a pair of flats to wear to school instead of heels.

Here are a few things I brought that I found very useful:

• Pack of playing cards
• Sewing kit (packing is limited and China is hard on clothes. Your clothes are bound to get a little worn out with all the extra walking and travel so it's good to be able to do minor repairs)
• Granola bars and fruit snacks to eat while getting used to different food.
• A backpack or a big purse to carry lots of things with so you don't have to take your huge suitcase on shorter trips.
• A USB for printing things, sharing lessons, or anything else for that matter They are pretty expensive to buy in China sometimes, so I'd bring one just to be safe.
• An iPod with games and music
• A couple books to read though you can use the hostel book exchange if you find any good books there.
• A Mandarin-English dictionary. 
• A passport case to protect it from ware and tear. You can't take trains or planes  or stay in a hotel or hostel without it, so you use it a lot.
• A lint roller
• A basic light jacket you can wear inside or when you go outside to work out.
• A watch
• Warm socks (I spent more than half the time with frozen toes my first time even though)
• Boots (Like thick ones. I just bought cheap Ugg look a-likes and they kept my feet warm both the 2nd and 3rd time I went to China.)
• Gloves and scarves
• Adapters (the ones we bought at Walmart all broke so find one elsewhere)
• A laptop. Some schools will be willing to provide you with one to use, while others won't. Some schools will give you an office computer while others won't. A laptop is a great resource when you are teaching since you can make power points and get online ideas and help.

The China Horizons packing page has some good suggestions as well. To look at that, click here.

Good websites I frequented that will help you get around or get information:

• Ctrip is great for getting times and prices on trains and planes as well as finding hotels.
• Hostel World for booking hostels (a cheaper form of a hotel)
• The Great Firewall of China lets you test websites to see if they will work or not in Mainland (though not entirely reliable since it says Gmail doesn't work even though it does.)
• The Travel China Guide is great at giving you ideas of places to see in the cities you travel to.
• Sogou is where I get all my Chinese music from. You can get basically any other kind of music on there, too, but remember that it's illegal so I can't technicallly encourage it... ;)
• Youku is the Chinese YouTube. You can watch tons of TV shows and movies if you are in Mainland China (otherwise it doesn't work). It's great!
• Baidu is the Chinese google. I use the map on Baidu paired with Google Translate to find things in our city.
• (Note that blogs, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many other websites won't work unless you have a VPN or proxy server. It's suggested you get one before you leave because once in China, it's much harder to get one. I've used Express VPN and Switch VPN. Of the two, I'd recommend Express, but Switch was cheaper.  As far as free goes, I haven't found any that work super great, but I have set up a proxy on my Google Chrome browser. You can do this by following the instructions on this website: http://mrjetlee.com/facebook-from-china/ )

For anyone who reads this, I really hope it helps you pack and prepare for your trip to China!