Hong Kong to Shenzhen to Nanjing to Zhenjiang to Yangzhong

Hong Kong is beautiful! It was so warm there! I was starting to wonder why I brought all my winter gear because I did not use any of it in Hong Kong or Shenzhen. The first full day we went to the Hong Kong temple which was right across the street from where we were staying. That was a lot of fun. They did the ordinance in English but they were Chinese names. That was the first place I learned that the Chinese are very open about themselves. I was in the bathroom changing (They don't have stalls or anything) and when I walked out there was a completely naked Chinese lady right in front of me. I think I was able to wipe the shock off my face pretty quick. It was pretty scary at first. After the temple we rode the Victoria Peak Tram. The view at the top was beautiful! It looked out over Hong Kong. It was very smoggy but pretty too.
 The next day we went to a Chinese LDS Ward. It was in Chinese naturally so we got funny headphone things and one of the sisters in the ward translated for us. After that we went to see a giant Big Buddha. It was foggy there so none of my pictures really turned out. The fog cleared as we were leaving naturally. There was a monastery there. I was standing next to a funny looking statue making fun of it's face and getting my picture taken when a Chinese lady came up and starting worshipping the statue. That was awkward. After that we had a group dinner. We were supposed to have dumplings but the place was closed down. So we ended up at this place that served noodles. All of agreed that it didn't taste super good. That was my first encounter with hot water. The Chinese think that if  you feel cold you will get a cold so they serve water hot. It was nasty.
We were staying at temple housing so there were other LDS Chinese people staying there with us. One night they were all out talking. I came out because I knew some people were playing games but I opened my door stepped out and there was a semi circle of Chinese people staring at me. Carlos (He is in our group and speaks Chinese) introduced me and they all told me how beautiful I was (China is such a self esteem boost!). One of the Chinese women braided my hair for me. She was running her fingers through it and said something in Chinese. All of a sudden all the Chinese people came over and started rubbing my hair. I have no idea what she said about my hair but I hope it was good!
On Monday we went to see 13,000 Buddhas. And there really were 13,000 Buddhas there. They were very funny looking and none of them were the same. They had little temple like thingies that we went into. And then got kicked out of because Jacob (The director of the program I went to China with) decided to open the cases that contained the ashes of their ancestors. It was great. Then we went to the Hong Kong Museum of History. It was fascinating. I learned so much that they don't teach in history classes. After that we went on a Star Ferry Ride. I had just eaten pizza (the first really greasy thing I've eaten since leaving the states) and had to run back to the meeting place because we were late (I ran into a Chinese man's bag and he started cursing at me in Chinese. Good thing I don't speak that!) so bouncing around on a boat did nothing to help my poor stomach. We finished that night's activities with the Star Symphony Laser Show. The buildings across the river all lit up in time to music. It was actually pretty awesome.
We took the Subway to Shenzhen. That was fun. Almost 30 people with all their luggage on an already packed subway? Talk about crowded. Shenzhen did nothing to help me realize why we brought winter clothes. But it's still very south and close to Hong Kong. Our hotel was super nice. Super nice even for US standards. I shared a room with my really good friend Alicyn. We were best friends within 5 minutes of meeting each other. We practiced language on the streets of Shenzhen for the rest of the afternoon and caught up with the whole group for dinner later. That was an experience. So far my food had been normal. Mostly noodles (I swear they eat more noodles than rice here crazy right?) But that night was not normal. They brought out a chicken dish. It looked like they plucked, cooked, chopped, chilled, and served. It had all the inner parts of a chicken still in it. And it was cold to top it off. That scared me at first. I didn't really like that one. Then they brought out another dish. I put some on my plate but then Alicyn began shrieking that it had a sucker and must be an octopus so I put it on Aaron's plate. But then we found out it was eggplant so I ate it. Found out I like eggplant. Never liked it in the States. Then they served duck the same way as chicken except hot. I liked that much better. Alicyn got the spine and she didn't like looking at it so she decided the next best place to put it was my plate. So I looked like a pig that night.
The next two days was filled with training and eating lots of noodles. I also discovered my celebrity status. I love being a celebrity! I have so many people that point and stare and take my picture. One time I was buying a Coke at the grocery store (Coke is so good here. When ever my tummy feels icky I drink some and feel much better) and some girls started taking our picture. After we checked out she got a picture with us. My favorite though was when we were at a street market. We were sitting down in the middle of the market because they found out my friend speaks Chinese. All of a sudden this random girl came up and started pantomiming picture. She dragged us over to where there was good light and began taking fifty million pictures of us. Aaron and Alicyn were able to piece together charades and actual Chinese and had her come be in the picture with us. Her friend then took fifty million pictures of us.
We flew from Shenzhen to Nanjing the next morning. Chinese flights are much better than American flights. It was only two hours but they served us lunch and gave us drinks that had more liquid than ice. Our liaison Becky (Her English name) picked all of us going to Zhenjiang and Yangzhong up at the airport. At the time I thought I was going to Zhenjiang but Jacob told me that that morning he had found out the high school in Yangzhong decided they wanted a female teacher instead of a male teacher and switched me and the male they had. That was exciting. Jacob fought as hard as he could but they would not give in. I was so scared. I didn't know anyone there and the only other English teacher at my school was a Scottish man name Andy who almost had a heart attack when he found out there are no bars in Yangzhong (Talk about living up to Scottish standards). He is actually very nice and we get along very well. As I was typing this he told me to throw in that he is awesome. They also have big heads in Scotland I guess. The school wasn't ready for us so I spent three nights in a hotel that would be considered shabby in the US but was a good hotel by Chinese standards.
The good thing that has come out of this switch is the bargaining that Jacob was able to do for me. Because I was willing to stay the school bought me a bicycle. It is so much better than my bicycle in the states. The seat is big, it has a basket in the front, and it has a bell. In China they use their car horns and bike bells to tell you that they are there. So people honk a lot here. The other thing is I have four day work weeks so I can go stay with Alicyn in Zhenjiang every weekend. And I am getting 250 yuan extra a week for travelling money. Awesome right? So now I basically get two cities. I was so scared when I found out I wasn't going to be with my friend Alicyn but I know there is a reason for me to be in Yangzhong.