We have been enjoying some perfect weather the last few days which happily confirms that spring has arrived. Sean and I have been enjoying the sun and the warm breezes by hanging outside, going running and having picnics. A convenient (and pretty cute) picnic spot on campus is near the lake at the mini tree stump tables and chairs. A few days ago we grabbed some pork and egg sandwiches, cokes, chips and oreos and spent some much-needed time in the sun.

The perfect weather is just in time for the arrival of Sean's dad. He arrives today in Shanghai which shouldn't be a big deal at all considering today is May 1 and the official opening of the Shanghai World Expo . . .



We are looking forward to showing him around Shanghai and Changzhou before he takes off to explore Beijing and Xian with a tour group. Conveniently, this weekend is the May Day holiday so our part-time jobs and classes on Monday were classes. Hopefully the weather will hold and we can enjoy a weekend in the city among the masses. Have a great spring weekend wherever you are too!

When I first told people that Sean and I were going to try and make it to Cambodia during winter break, many of them said that we absolutely had to go to Angkor Wat. Awhile ago, my first response was, "Angkor what?" because, to be honest, I had never heard of it before. This became more embarrassing when I found out that it was one considered one of the most famous historical wonders of the world. The more I looked into it and read about it, I realized that Angkor Wat for many tourists is the only reason they travel to Cambodia in the first place and is basically the reason that the city Siem Reap is on the map at all.


Many people who visit Angkor Wat are serious about temples, ancient architecture, archeology and photography and you can buy a ticket to visit every day for an entire week. Sean and I opted for the day pass knowing that we would only see a tiny fraction of what Angkor had to offer. Don't get me wrong, I like history and culture, but one day climbing around ancient ruins is usually enough. Especially when it is really hot out, the place is crawling with other tourists and vendors chase you down and get in your face in hopes that you will purchase something.


To maximize our day pass, we got up early in the morning and hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day. This means that he drove us to the temples (there are many scattered all over the place), waited while we climbed around and took pictures, drove us to the next one and then finally, at the end of the day, drove us home all for $12 - what a deal!


Since there were so many temples and so much to see, I am going to just post about a few of my favorites. In this post I'll mention the most famous temple and mother of all temples, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was built in the early 12th century and was once the capital of the ancient Khmer empire. My guidebook claims it to be the world's largest religious building first Hindi, dedicated to Vishnu and then Buddhist.


I was definitely not prepared for the awesomeness that is Angkor Wat. Its size and grandeur made it an eye-popping and jaw-dropping event. This temple was amazing. There were elaborate rooms, several stories, carved walls representing epic tales and statues. Walking around and inside filled me with a sense of awe for how it was built and for what must have gone on here so long ago. It far exceeded my expectations - the closest thing I can compare it to is Macchu Picchu in Peru, but I must say that I think Angkor Wat was cooler.


We spent a couple hours touring the inside and outside, eavesdropping on other guided tours and trying to decipher the stories on the wall. We could have easily spent more time there, but since there were so many other temples to see, we moved on. After visiting the mother of all temples, I can see clearly now what all the fuss is about.

Our first full day in Siem Reap we decided to take it easy and explore some of the surrounding area before we tackled the main tourist draw, the temples of Angkor Wat. After the insanely early off-key rooster medley wake-up-call and breakfast, we hired a tuk-tuk driver for the day and headed out about 20 km from town to the land mine museum.


On the way we were able to see a lot of the countryside. It was a relief to get away from the crazy, tourist and vendor-infested streets of town. During the drive we saw lots of palm trees, rice fields, small houses and lots of people working on their farms or working with cows and water buffalo.


We wanted to go to the land mine museum because of all that we had heard and read about concerning the problems of active mines and UXOs (unexploded ordinances) that still exist in Cambodia today. Cambodia has one of the worst land mine problems in the world. Because of this, many men, women and children stumble upon mines that were left over from years of war and are killed or maimed. The land mine museum is run by a Cambodian who was a boy soldier in the Khmer Rouge whose job was to lay mines. Nowadays he goes around the country and finds mines to deactivate them and so far has removed thousands. His museum is also home to children who have lost their parents to land mines. After walking around in the museum you even get a chance to explore a garden where there are some non-active mines set up to see if you can spot them.

After a long day and kind of heavy and depressing day thinking about land mines, we were ready to try some Cambodian food which was served to us in banana leaves. The food had some coconut flavor, fish sauces and curries. After dinner we bought a small book about the temples we were planning to see tomorrow and tried to digest some of the history that we would be walking around in the following day.

I never know what I am in for when I open up a text message from one of my Chinese students. Because of language and cultural differences the messages are often very endearing and entertaining. But others completely catch me off guard like the one I got yesterday from a fellow Chinese teacher, Shelly. "I am going to your house to deliver some fresh eggs." Since I was not expecting any eggs, I was a little surprised but met her at the door anyways and accepted a very large box of eggs. She explained that her friend lives on a farm and gave her a lot of eggs and she wanted me to have some. From the weight of the box I guessed that there were around three to four dozen eggs - that's a lot of eggs! I thanked her and told her that when I made something with the eggs I would call her so she could come over and try it.


That was last week and since then I have been inundating Sean with the eggs since I can't eat them all myself. He is quite happy about this since eggs are one of his favorite foods. However, for the last week we have been sharing omelets, fried egg sandwiches, scrambled eggs, egg salad sandwiches, deviled eggs and eggs with salsa and have decided that we are pretty much done with eggs for awhile. Since Sean and I both don't have classes Thursday morning we chose to make a big brunch together and invite Shelly over to eat with us. We made eggs with mushrooms, onions and peppers, chocolate chip pancakes and a big fruit salad. Shelly brought a student and a colleague over and they were thrilled to try some American food and speak English. They didn't eat that much so I am not sure they really liked it, but at least they tried everything. They were especially interested in trying (and translating) the maple syrup (from the US!) and salsa.


It was really fun and now I think I am down to about ten eggs. Too bad Shelly didn't give them to me a few weeks ago or I could have dyed and decorated real eggs in class for Easter!

Last week one of my students, Evans, asked me to be a judge for a speech competition a week later during the school-wide English Festival. About every day after he asked me, he sent me a text message reminding me where and when I was supposed to be at the event. I couldn't tell if he was scared that I hadn't understood him or if the contest was a very big deal.

Tonight was the speech competition and since it was the first of its kind that I have been to, I thought it was pretty interesting. I was told to be there at 6:30 pm though the speeches didn't start until 7:00. I spent the time chatting with other students and judges and wishing I had brought some papers to grade. Evans had dramatic music playing in the background and was busy getting everything ready to go. This included putting a red velvet tablecloth on the desk where the judges were sitting, handing out our complimentary gifts (a strange ceramic elfin doll) and water, and explaining (and translating) the evaluation forms.

There were to be 14 speeches with a singing performance mid-way through the competition. We were to judge according to their personal introduction, content and clarity of speech and response to a question. Unfortunately, the judges were not allowed to ask a question of our choice, we had to pick from a list which I suspect had also been given to the competitors to prepare for. Each speech lasted for about two minutes and included topics such as "ambition", "work and man", "friendship", "don't look back", "how to say future", "Shanghai Expo" and "Beijing Olympics." There was a wide range of performance styles and abilities and I actually had a good time watching and listening to the students. Some of them were students I had had last semester and some of them were my current students. I was especially entertained by the fact that the other judges (all Chinese) were intensely curious about the scores that I was giving to the contestants and were constantly sneaking peeks at my evaluation sheet.

The whole experience was pretty entertaining and was fairly well-run and organized and I wouldn't mind being a judge for another competition for this year's festival or for the next year's event as well.

It has been raining in Changzhou for the past five days and I am starting to go a little crazy. On campus and downtown there is not the greatest drainage so I am constantly sloshing around in lakes of puddles or getting splashed by waves produced by cars or buses. To solve this I have been hanging out indoors reading, watching movies, Skyping with family and friends, lesson planning and grading papers. So far I have watched the movies "Shutter Island", "Sherlock Holmes", "Dark Knight", "The Break Up", and "Alice in Wonderland". Next up are "Fantastic Mr. Fox" and "Where the Wild Things Are."

One of the more recent and fun purchases that Sean and I made was a new bicycle. We decided to go halfsies to see if we would use it enough to justify getting two. Plus, a normal way to transport two people on campus is for one person to pedal and for the other to ride on the back. Sean and I have been employing this method a lot lately and I have discovered that it is quite fun whizzing around sidesaddle on the back while Sean pedals. Our shared bike is pretty nice; it's a navy beauty with a bell and basket and its model name is the "City Human". As an added bonus, with the purchase of our bike we got a large, red raincoat that is especially made for biking. It clips to the basket to keep its contents and your knees dry. This raincoat has come in handy quite a bit, especially these last few days. During rainy days in Changzhou, everyone on bikes and mopeds are outfitted like Sean below:

We bike around campus a lot and have also begun riding downtown instead of taking a taxi or the bus. Ken started doing this last semester but I was a bit hesitant at first to follow his lead as traffic is crazy and seemed a little intimidating. When I decided to give it a try, Ken's advice was twofold: "be a sheep" (stay in the group with the rest of the bikes and mopeds) and "biking in Changhzou is like a giant game of chicken" (traffic rules don't really apply, who goes first is determined by the size and gumption of the vehicle). Needless to say, I hate the game of chicken and am always hesitant and unsure of when to go. This is not an effective attitude as a cyclist in a Chinese city and I am quickly learning to be more aggressive, extremely aware and confident. Even so, I still feel like I am in a crazy video game when I bike home dodging pedestrians in the bike lanes, errant taxis, unpredictable mopeds and the conditions that are common in Changzhou such as construction, pot holes and stray dogs and cats.


Biking downtown, though adventurous, saves time and is also more pleasant than being cooped up in a stuffy taxi or crammed in on a bus. It is cheaper too! One of the main concerns is where and how to lock your bike once you get there. Bikes are often stolen even when they are locked. Ken got his stolen a couple of weeks ago. Most people just put a lock on the back tire and don't lock it to anything - it is hard to find something available since there are so many bikes! So far so good - our bike is still holding up well and hasn't been stolen. Now we just need some nice weather so we can enjoy the ride!

We left Bangkok early in the morning to make it to Cambodia before the border closed. The guidebook calls it an "epic journey" and advised us to take lots of snacks and drinks for the bus ride. To get into Cambodia, you take a bus to Aranya Prhatet, the border town, and then a tuk-tuk to cross the border. Crossing the border was not too difficult and involved waiting in a few lines before we boarded yet another bus to head to Siem Reap, the city of Angkor Wat, the main tourist attraction in Cambodia. Our total trip time was about 12 hours and we were very ready and happy to crash in the uncomfortable beds of the $2/hostel after grabbing a bit to eat in town.


In Siem Reap we exchanged Baht for Riel but in this crazy tourist city you can pay with American dollars, Thai Baht or Cambodian Riel or in any combination of the three. On the way to Siem Reap the countryside was filled with green fields, rice paddies, palm trees and a little bit of jungle. The living conditions looked very poor and most houses looked like shacks. It was strange after seeing so much poverty to enter the city of Siem Reap and see huge, Las Vegas style hotels with pools, gardens and lavish restaurants. There is every kind of living quarters one could want here, from five star fancy to low-budget bunkhouses.


The main part of the city was the most touristy place I have ever seen in my life. Everyone was a foreigner except for the people working at the shops and restaurants. There were countless street vendors walking around trying to sell you anything from squeaking frogs to beaded bracelets. They were annoyingly persistent and a little too aggressive for me to handle. The food and beer was some of the cheapest yet (50 cent beers and meals for as low as $2) and there were lots of goodies to peruse in the night market. Some of the most interesting tourist draws were large tanks of fish advertised to eat away at the dead skin on your feet. Many offered you a free beer while you were being nibbled. The main strip was busy and it was a relief to find our tuk-tuk driver (the one with the shirt on that said "No money no honey") so we could go back to our hostel and get some much-needed shut eye. On to the temples and ruins tomorrow!

Last Thursday Sean's sister, Katie, and her girlfriend, Jess, came to China to visit for 6 days. It was a short trip but we packed it in and stayed busy. We had a really good time though I wish it had been warmer weather (Kate and Jess live in Hawaii and were shocked by the weather that hasn't quite turned spring yet in Changzhou).


We picked them up in Shanghai on Thursday night and took the train back to Changzhou. We spent the next few days showing them around the campus and the downtown. It was really fun to see their reactions to trying new foods and drinks such as Chinese beer, milk tea, stinky tofu, spicy soup and street food. Sean took them to one of the big markets down town where you should bargain in order to get a fair price and they made several purchases. We also visited Red Plum Park, a tea house and the DVD store. Jess enjoyed finding several pairs of cheap glasses and lenses and also got a Chinese haircut! On campus we ate at the cafeteria, hung around at my apartment and watched movies, caught the tail end of a student singing competeition and even had a make-up party. One of the things Sean and I were most excited about were the goodies that Kate and Jess brought us: Mac and Cheese, Ranch, Salsa, popcorn and Reeses Peeses! (thanks guys!)


On Monday we went to Shanghai and did touristy stuff like walking around the Bund along the river and window shopping on Nanjing Road. We also tried some beer at the Bund Brewery and some tea at a classy tea house. With the Shanghai Expo looming near, the city was in fine form and the most beautiful and clean that I have ever seen it. Transportation has also been improved and we took advantage of the new metro line from the train station to the airport.


The visit went by really fast and we hope that Kate and Jess can come back for a longer one next time. Our next visitor is Sean's dad who comes on May 1 which shouldn't be crazy at all given that it is the opening day of the Shanghai Expo . . .

On the morning of Saturday, February 6, we boarded a bus for what our guidebook called an "epic journey" - the trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia. During this all-day adventure we filled the time by reading books, listening to music and remembering our time in Thailand. Sean and I took an hour or two to jot down some thoughts and make some lists. Here's some of what we wrote down on the bus ride:

If you go to Thailand, be prepared to:
-pay in Baht
-sit in traffic in a taxi in Bangkok for a long time
-drive on the left
-take cold showers
-get asked if you want a tuk-tuk, suit or massage more times than you can remember
-get asked where you are going all the time
-sweat
-eat loads of spring rolls
-enter a 7-11
-visit temples and beaches
-ride an elephant
-have people bow or wai at you
-get scammed
-know what the king looks like (his image is everywhere)
-wonder if someone is a man or a woman
-drink out of a straw
-go through many bottles of sunscreen
-take your shoes off
-marvel at how friendly, happy and laid back the Thai people seem
-want to stay longer


Books I read or listened to:
-South: the story of Shackleton's last expedition 1914-1917
-Same Kind of Different As Me
-Watership Down
-Born to Run (this was a fantastic read even if you don't like running)
-Mennonite in a Little Black Dress (loved this book - if you are from a religiously conservative place in the midwest this is a must read)
-Emma

Things I wish I had:
-a Kindle
-a waterproof camera
-a netbook (we saw many many travelers blogging and checking emails using these mini computers instead of visiting internet cafes)

Things that I was glad I had:
-camelbak (hydration backpack for hiking)
-camera
-ipod
-chacos (these sandals have lasted me forever and are my absolute favorite)
-light weight and fast-drying clothes
-headlamp
-bug spray and sunscreen

Tips for going to Thailand:
-take overnight buses to save money
-pack light
-only take taxis which use a meter
-there's no reason to use a tuk-tuk unless it's just for fun
-always haggle with the first price
-bring a small day pack
-get out of the city
-bring your own bug spray and sunscreen; it's really expensive in Thailand
-consider getting your visas for Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos in Bangkok; it's quick and easy


Favorite stuff:
My favorite activity - elephant ride
Sean's favorite activity - rock climbing
My least favorite thing - getting treated like a walking ATM
Sean's least favorite thing - constantly getting scammed
My favorite food - pad Thai and glass noodles
Sean's favorite food - spicy Thai papaya salad
Our favorite hostels - Suk 11 and Sanctuary

Next time we would:
-stay in Banglampoo in Bangkok
-visit the north of Thailand
-pack less
-stay longer

It was a great trip - I would return to Thailand in a heartbeat. Now it's on to Cambodia!

I had been wanting to see what a student's dorm room looked like on campus for some time now and finally got around to making plans with some girls I talked with at English Corner last week. I just wanted to stop by, look around, ask some questions and take some pictures, but the four girls of room 502 in West Campus had other ideas. They wanted me to come early in the morning so we could hang out before class. I probably received about 8 text messages and two phone calls the night before just to make sure everything was a go. I could tell the students were really excited and I felt bad because I didn't want to make it a big deal or have them clean or go to any extra work when they are already really busy, but it was not to be so.



Ophelia waited outside building 59 for me in the morning and then walked me over to her dorm sending several text messages and answering phone calls along the way to confirm that yes, we were on our way and would arrive shortly. The girls that I were meeting lived on the fifth floor of a nicer (I think) dorm on campus. They live four to a room and have their own bathroom inside the room as well. Each room has four desks, two bunk beds and four wardrobes. When we arrived, I was greeted by a herd of female students who wanted to "play" before class (all of the foreign teachers and I are trying to switch this overused/misused word with more appropriate alternatives like "hang out" or "spend time with" but we are not having much success). They had snacks out on their desks for me that they had bought the night before and a hot cup of instant coffee ready to go. I was really moved by all the preparations they went to and felt bad that I really didn't have much to offer them besides coffee morning breath, English conversation and picture opportunities. This, as it turns out, is all that you need to entertain 15 female juniors for two hours before class. If there are a variety of stuffed animals around that is even better.


We took loads of pictures, with my camera, with their phones and cameras, in different poses, in different combinations, in different parts of the room, hugging alternate stuffed bears and bunnies and with jackets on and off etc. It was an experience to remember. I had a lot of fun and it was really neat to see how and where my students live. Everything was so organized and clean because they have room inspections at least once a week. They are not allowed to have anything electric in their rooms (ie water heater pots, hair dryers, curling irons, electric blankets) and the electricity is shut off at 11pm. Students have to be in their dorms at 11pm as well. On the way out you could see rows and rows of thermoses that the students use to store the hot water they use for drinking.


It was cool to see a girls' dorm and I hope I will also be able to see a boys' dorm (they can be hard to enter if you are a girl) as I hear that some boys live six to twelve to a room. That's pretty different from my Hope College dorm room with one roommate, TV, mini fridge, loft beds, hot plate and heater - pure luxury!

Before heading to Cambodia the next day, Sean and I spent one last night exploring Khao San Road in Bangkok. While we had been staying in the Sukhumvit area close to the downtown and the Sky train, most backpackers stay in the Khao San Road area. Khao San Road is known for budget hostels, cheap and tasty food and a crazy nightlife.


When our taxi dropped us off we immediately felt like we were in a carnival. There were lights everywhere and music blasting from all directions. Street vendors wheeled around carts of pad Thai and banana pancakes and you could get a massage in a lounge chair on the side of the road for prices that would make you never want to leave. You could also choose from several places to get a tattoo, piercing or dreadlocks in your hair. Bars and clubs lined every available inch on the sides of the main drag and the side streets offered stalls of cheap t-shirts, artsy trinkets and trendy silver jewelry. There was even a cart full of fried insects, worms and scorpions where you could sample your favorite crawly creature. I had fun walking around and seeing everything but was quite happy to take a taxi back to a less-crazed part of the city where everyone and anyone wasn't asking if I wanted some marijuana.

Spring is in the air at our university which means it will soon be time to drag out the mosquito nets and umbrellas (to keep your skin from being dark). Sunny days are also popular for giving your comforter an air bath. All around campus you can see heavy blankets draped on bushes, trees, poles and balconies. Since Kate and Jess, Sean's sister and her girlfriend, are coming tomorrow and are staying with me, I decided to do some major spring cleaning which included washing lots of sheets and towels and spreading the comforters out on the bushes for a proper air bath. I also put some fun spring gel designs on my door. The random assortment of cute things at a Chinese Walmart is an endless supply of entertaining distractions.



Spring also meant that I talked about Easter in my culture and oral English classes. I tried to explain the religious and not-so-religious aspects of the holiday, but I am not sure how much actually got through. It can be a little challenging to explain the central holiday of Christianity when your students are still fuzzy on what it really means to be a Christian anyways. They definitely had fun talking about peeps, jellybeans and chocolate rabbits, however, and things got a bit chaotic when we decorated "eggs" (pastel balloons) and played competitive Taboo and Pictionary for candy using words about spring and Easter.


Spring is also the time when the foreign teachers have to give a speech on the topic of their choice. Ken spoke first tonight and his topic was "Christianity in America: Why people believe or do not." It was a good presentation that explained faith and reason and challenged the students to think about how they make decisions. The students had some really good questions after the presentation and I was impressed at the amount of interest they had in attending a speech outside of class. Ken gave the presentation to a completely packed house and many students had to be turned away or stand crowded in the back. This is just one more example of how foreigners can sometimes feel like a bit of a spectacle or a big deal (Peter, another teacher here, has a really good and recent post about this). When Sean and I poked our head in the room to look for a seat, we were greeted with excited shouts and cries and even some applause. It gets a little ridiculous.