Nanjing and Tibet

The good news is that I am alive! The bad is pretty obvious… I have completely failed at keeping track of my time here. I went to Tibet for two weeks and had the most amazing time! If you want to hear about it, I suggest bring up any of the following topics: Camping at 17,000 feet, the Tibetan exile community, walking to school, or sky burials. Here are some of my pictures, just to show you a bit about the beauty of the plateau.

Oh, and if you want to hear about my 48 hour train ride with food poisoning, feel free to ask… If you dare.

Since I got back, things have been a bit of a blur. We had our Chinese mid-terms about two weeks after our long trip. I scraped by and was happy with my results. The day after the exam was over, we packed our bags and headed to Nanjing for the weekend. It was no ordinary weekend.

Firstly, Beijing has yet to understand the concept of foliage. Sure, there are several tree’s that scatter the landscape, but they look like they sprouted from toxic waste dumps (which they basically have), and in comparison to the size, several hundred tree’s do no do much to improve the gray scenery. Nanjing had obviously gotten the memo about tree’s and the city was much better for it. The city was refreshingly green and had all the excellent aspects of a smaller city. To make the situation better, the ex-pat community in Nanjing are really fun! And when I say fun, I mean that we stayed out until sunrise both nights we were in the city : )

We went to the Nanjing Massacre memorial and museum on Saturday. The architecture for the memorial could definitely give all Washington, D.C. memorials a run for their money. The museum got mixed reviews from our group. Some felt that it was better then the Holocaust Museum and other’s felt that the layout did not given enough voice to the victims. I guess, that you’ll have to go there to make the judgment for yourself.

We also tried to get to the Sun Yat-Sen mausoleum, but on the walk up to it, we were mobbed by about 50 tourists wanting to take pictures with us. By the time we broke free, it was 5:03, and the damn doors closed at 5. My friend Daiana, who is formidable in an argument, attempted to convince the guards to let us in, but nothing would work. I guess I’ll just have to go back to Nanjing to see it another time!

That evening was unofficially Halloween, and some people in our group headed out to get costumes. Of course, the best impromptu costumes are ears, so we ended up going out, looking like the Bunny-brigade. At one point, we went to the bar Ellen’s, and got cited by two police officers carrying water guns. We were charged with bestiality.

All in all, I am adoring my time here, partly because of China, and largely because the people I am meeting are amazing. My host family is really kind and patient, and my friends are ridiculous and hardworking. That’s all for now, but I am going to put a lot of effort into a new post much sooner then this one! Loads of love!