Visited a Temple Fair in Zhengzhou today, part of the Lunar Festival. One of the assistants at the University (a sweet Freshman boy) arranged a tour bus to take us into the city to visit the temple of Chenghuang, the God of Zhengzhou City. According to the student, this deity is in
Okay. Our Seoul trip. It was AMAZING! I loved it and can't wait to go back and pick up where I left off.
So first off, Olivia and I got ourselves--by taxi--to the Zhengzhou airport. WOOT! Then we got ourselves through security! YAY! I was so impressed with ourselves. On our Korean Air Flight--best airline EVER!--I was in the window seat watching all the traffic on the China Sea and looking for my first sight of Incheon. Weeeeell, I said LIv, look at that plane! I have never been this close to another plane in the air! Right then that plane went up to the left and we went down to the right. LOL! OOPS. Guess we weren't meant to be that close. Whew! We got to S. Korea, and through customs and security. All our bags were there so we were OFF! First stop, Dunkin Donuts! Real coffee. YES! HAHA Then we found out how to get a sim card and temporary cell service. Tada! We are quite the travelers now. :-) We got on the Air Port Bus to Seoul. The girl said get off at the last stop. The last stop was out in the middle of no where....took a cab back to within 2 blocks of an earlier stop.....bah! Found the hostel and got settled....it had to be 110 or more in my room. I was so hot and dehydrated my electrolytes were all out of whack. Took a couple of hours to fix that the next morning but then we were off! We went to the Tourism Office for information, then down a preserved street (cultural), and then finished the day at a Korean BBQ restaurant! When we went in Olivia realized it was one she and Beth had eaten in before! All things grand! Successfully decorating our digs here in China :) SIAS provides each teacher with a small apartment in the foreign faculty housing building. It comes with a standard living room, bathroom, kitchenette (or at least sink/counter/fridge), and a surprisingly good sized bedroom. Washers and dryers are shared communally and are located on different floors, not in-room. And some rooms come with more closets than others. But over all, the place isn't too bad!
Unfortunately, the decor leaves a little more to be desired. Olivia's room is at least mostly freshly painted and has lovely furniture, but then it is on the newer side of the building. Angela's was built earlier and has plain white walls (blue in the kitchen), wood/black pleather accessories, and random spots where photo frames were removed. So we decided that the rooms needed a little sprucing up to feel more like home! And we actually found a really awesome way to add some design and color into the rooms! The local Wal-mart replica here in Xinzheng is named Waka (said Wanja), and it has some random odds and ends of home decor. We were delighted to stumble across this set of wall art designs called "Room Decor." They don't actually say who produces the product, but we have completely fallen in love. Room Decor are large sets of wall/window/door stickers that come in hundreds of styles, colors, designs, and more. Some are set on a white background; others have transparent backs. There are flowers, gardens, Eiffel Towers, cityscapes, landscapes, lakescapes, animals, normal nature, fantasy, elegant women pictures, and even the cute little cartoon couples that look like something from a manga. They are darling! Easy to put on and take off, some even come in 3D :) Friday the 13th has been a very great day, indeed! We went to the Henan National Museum in Zhengzhou with two Chinese friends we've made here at SIAS. First we had to get a taxi on the street. That was a first for us here. They charged us 4 times as much for 4 people....I was SHOCKED. Now I understand it is the Chinese way. Just so you know. Then we took on the Zhengzhou subway for the first time. TADA! We did it! Okay, full disclosure---Lucy knew just where we were going. :-)
Then lunch at a McD's. The dad next to us handed me a baby so he could take pictures.....well, all of a sudden he grabs him back. What the heck? It seems natures called. So under their table and on the floor was better than on me. I heartily agree! :-) Then, it was off to the museum. What a wonderful place. We covered the first two floors. Hope you enjoy the pics! |
Angela & OliviaAfter finishing law school, we are off to see the world! The adventure starts in China, Xinzheng, Henan to be exact. You are welcome to come along for the ride! Present Home!Archives
April 2015
Categories
All
|