Last week our students had military training, which means that we had yet another week off of school. Instead of sticking around Huanghsi with nothing to do, Camille and I took a spontaneous trip to Guangzhou to visit our friends, Crista and Dan, from back home. Crista went to grad school with Camille and me, and was one of my teaching partners. They have been living here since January and we have been trying for ten months to visit them, so we were very excited for the opportunity. Plus, it is already quite cold in Huangshi...I'm talking jackets and boots already, but it was nice and warm down south!
Camille and I with Crista and another friend, Claire, on the way to see the river at night.
Most of the buildings on the river light up at night. This tower is one of the things Guangzhou is famous for.
Our hosts, Dan and Crista.
In front of the tower.
Getting legit pedicures...we can't get these in Huangshi!
We also went to Macao for a day. It is even further south and is known as the Vegas of China. It has several replicas of hotels and figures from Las Vegas, as well as the largest hotel in the world, The Venetian.
We got McDonalds!! In America, I never eat McDonalds, but in China it is such a treat and comfort of home! I ordered a cup of water with my food and they gave me this little baby cup. You can't really tell how small it is in this picture, but I promise you, it was smaller than my hand! Notice how high the straw comes out!
Cool alleyway leading to St. Paul's ruins.
A stand of dried meat. There were tons of these along the alleyway.
St. Paul's Ruins.
Birdcages in the tree at the park.
More birdcages at the park.
This was Dan's reenactment of some Chinese tourists, who were taking pictures like this as we were walking by. I failed to get a picture of the real deal, so I made Dan reenact it for us!
Crista holding on for dear life on the crazy bus ride....
to the beach! This was my first time to see the beach in China and the first time to put my feet in the South China Sea.
Playing in the park. Many parks in China have equipment like this for people to use for exercise or for play! This one was a battle of who was stronger....I obviously lost!
This one is supposed to massage your back.
We passed this couple getting professional pictures taken of them. Couples in China like to wear matching shirts/matching clothes. We see this all the time! I'm so glad we snapped some pictures of this priceless moment!
Oh the train ride back...Camille and I could only get a seat ticket for an overnight train ride from Guangzhou to Wuhan, which was about 11 hours long. In China, the train stations sell out of bed and seat tickets, so they then begin selling standing room tickets. This picture doesn't even begin to describe the chaos and crowdedness of that train car!! It was insane, they never even turned off the lights! It was interesting to do it once, but I doubt I will ever do it again!
This adorable boy came over to watch some videos and play some games with us on Camille's ipad. He made for some good entertainment for the long train ride!
This was such a fun trip and such a great time catching up with friends! Camille and I loved being around fellow Louisianians again! Thanks so much, Crista and Dan, for hosting us!
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