This weekend there was
a reunion in Chengdu for all the volunteers currently serving in Sichuan
province. Chengdu is where we had our training in July and August, so it always feels like home to go back there. Ben, a volunteer serving in
Chongqing, and I stayed with Aaron at his apartment in his city which is just
outside Chengdu. Friday night I went
with Aaron to his English corner, which was fun but a little overwhelming
because of course the students flocked around us because we’re foreigners. They kept asking what I taught at that school
and I would tell them I don’t teach there but at a school in Jiangyou. Then they asked what I was doing there and
when I said I was visiting Aaron, they all assumed he was my boyfriend. They were sad that I didn’t teach there
because they said I was very fun and I smiled a lot.
Saturday
we went into Chengdu and after waiting an hour and a half at the train station
to buy our return tickets for the next day, we met up with Dan, Lindsay, and
Nick, who are all volunteers in Nanchong.
We took the subway to our hostel, but because only Nick, Ben, and I had
our visas, we had to wait for the others to go to the police station and have
the police verify that they have current visas.
Now we know to always have our visas if we are going to a hostel. Then we went to the university where all the
other volunteers were hanging out, and chatted and met new people. I know everyone in this year’s group of
volunteers (China 18s) but I only know a few of the volunteers who’ve been here
a year (China 17s), so it was great to meet some of them. They seem like a great bunch of people. We went to dinner at a Turkish restaurant
which was so fun and made me feel nostalgic for Turkey (it also reminded me of
Oxford because some of us found a Turkish restaurant and had a super delicious
meal there one day). My sitemate, Mary,
and I had baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, carrot bread, and persimmon
bread, so we ate that for dessert. I’d
had to carry all that for two days and it got to be pretty heavy, but it was
worth it because everyone was so excited to have baked goods.
Next
the 17s took us to a club to meet up with some of their friends, and it turned
out to be one of our favorite clubs that we’d often gone to during our
training. That was cool because it
brought back good memories. We danced
there for a long time and it was very fun, although at one point my glasses got
knocked off and I had a few minutes of panic but then my friend helped me find
them. Phew! I have an extra pair but
they were at site so I would have had a very difficult time navigating and
getting back without them. Then we hung
out at this bar we’d also gone to a few times during training called
LanTown. Some volunteers ended up having
a discussion about Ron Paul and politics so I decided it was a good time to
take a quick power nap. Despite the
shouting and political rants I dozed off and then felt rejuvenated for our next
stop, which was Jellyfish, another of our old favorites. We again danced our tails off and then headed
to McDonalds for a late night/early morning snack (it was like 3:30 AM) before
heading to our hostel. I had thought
before we could just save money and stay out all night instead of paying for a
hostel. But I was grateful to have a bed and a shower. Except one of the girl’s cell phone alarm
kept going off in the early morning, so every time I came close to falling
asleep some stupid song would go off.
Finally the girl in the bunk above me got the phone and just turned it
off. The next morning, we ate at the
hostel. I had apple “pancakes” with
honey, which turned out to be crepes, but were still good, and some hot
chocolate. I had been missing pancakes
and hot chocolate so it was worth it even though I know I could’ve gotten
something cheaper outside of the hostel.
And now I’m inspired to make crepes again!
It
was a great weekend. I love seeing my buddies from training, and it was fun to
meet other volunteers. I’m getting to be
a pro at navigating the trains, buses, and subways with my weekend travels! Last weekend I visited Chongqing… which I
realize I haven’t blogged about… and the weekend before that I was again in Chengdu
to get a flu shot. The only thing is
that the costs add up, and I don’t want to spend all my money and miss out on
other trips. So I think for a while I’m
just going to stick close to my city and get to know that area better. I heard about a horseback riding and hiking
trip in the area of Sichuan province close to Tibet and that would be so
amazing, so from now I will try to keep a tighter hold on my purse
strings. And then there’s Vietnam and
Thailand, which I also really want to visit.
Plus all the great places in China!!!
I’m so excited thinking about the possibilities.
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