It's all Chinese to ME.

Ok since I only have a couple of days left the last few entries are going to be more of "highlights" of countries if that makes sense.

Matching couples is easily one of the favorite memories of China.

Another highlight is all the children have holes in their pants to make it easy for to potty training. Kinda genius if you think about it... (Another major difference though is that it is acceptable for children to go to the bathroom just about anywhere. You see them on the sides of streets or parents holding them over trash cans all the time.)

Matt, Austin, & I with our spicy, hotpot adventure

Here is the bridge to Tiananmen Square. I of course know that China is a communist Country. I was oblivious/ had forgotten that the Government controls everything. Children growing up in schools have no idea of what happened: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989 There are no markers or plaques acknowledging anything.

China has also found a way to block or at least censor google. While I was in China I was never able to access google on the internet.

Helen & I in the Forbidden palace

China has a 1 child only policy. Just as an outsiders' perspective it was very noticeable. Instead of a lot of little children running around with one parent. There would be tons of caregivers hovering over one child.

Driving in America is going to be so boring when I return. You never know what you may see on the roads in foreign countries. Oxen, horses, motos, cows, roosters, pigs, ducks, buses. The thing that impresses me the most is just the hardcore manual labor that you see in normal day to day life. Everyday there are men & women carrying who knows what all over the streets. I feel like you never see it back home the way you do over here when you travel.

People doing their ritual bows, prayers, & offerings of incense.

The Olympic Stadium

This is my first bite out of one of the scariest desserts I had ever tried. As Helen phrases it the Chinese eat EVERYTHING! So naturally it makes sense that they would combine all their desserts into on Megasert. & serve it over ice. Gushy, mushy, crunchy, & chewey. Not my favorites, but surprisingly tasty.

Traveling reminds me of running a marathon. When you are in a serious race people are always out there to cheer you on & pass out water and other supplies. When you are traveling before you even stop there are always people rushing to sell you their goods.

Back home many people are consumed with their tans. In Asia most people want to be whiter. They were long pants, sleeves, hats, and carry umbrellas. Most of the products sold have whitening enhancers instead of tanning. Everything is the same same, but different. They always will point out our tans. We think it is a compliment, they think its bad.

The Bus chart

This was yet another moment where I was staring off into la la land as Helen was forced to be the "tour guide." One time Helen just started laughing at dinner, wondering what I would have done without her in Asia? The truth is I have no idea. I would have never gotten to see a deeper side to any of the countries because it is pretty intimidating as a newcomer.

We had so many dialogues & inside jokes created about everyone else around us because they were so confused to see her with me. Plus they could never pinpoint where she was from. It was one of my favorite games: Where is Helen from today? It always depended on the situation, bargaining, who was asking & many other external factors.... In reality:

Its all Chinese to me!

FAMILY

It all started way back in Beijing when we thought we had bought tickets to Vietnam. Unfortunately when we arrived to the airport, they had no record of our tickets. Awesome. We had all these signals leading us into dead ends before we "purchased" our tickets. Needless to say we were in the airport, bags packed, barely any chinese currency, ready to leave Beijing. A couple nights before, I had told Helen a story of a friend who went to the airport & had the airport saleswoman buy him a random flight when he realized he had extra time off. We both agreed that it would be so fun & spontaneous to do the same. If we only knew what was in store....

So we booked the cheapest most random flight out of Beijing to the island of Hainan, China. Of course, Helen happened to have long lost family living in a small village on this Island.

Helen when she realized we were going to the the Island where she had family!

We were on the flight with no more Chinese currency & absolutely no plan. We met the cutest girl who helped us get a shady hotel for the night. When we woke up the next day we relocated & Helen put a call to her parents checking to see about her family. We had pretty much canned the idea of going to see her family because we really wanted to get to Vietnam and it was going to be more complicated then we thought. We ended up heading east to a popular beach spot for a few days and bought our flights to Vietnam.

So on one of our last days on the Island I am in my bathing suit & sun dress ready to go to the beach, I make a quick run to the ATM and when I return Helen is on the phone talking to her family. The next thing I know we are on a "3 hour" bus headed to the small town where Helen's great uncle lives.

When we arrive (2 hours later than anticipated,) Helen's second cousin whose name I still am yet to be able to pronounce scoops us off the bus & we are flying in a taxi to there family chateaux-like compound.

Right when we arrived they showered us with coconuts & other delicious fruits. We only stayed one night but we had 2 of the best meals I had when I was in China.

Helen's great uncle is her grandmother's youngest brother. His whole family lived in this village. Every family had their own building but It appeared like they all shared 1 bathroom. All the elders spoke Cantonese. The parents, and children spoke Cantonese & Mandarin. Helen spoke Mandarin and English. Try to imagine what it was like to give me 1 message or ask me a question. Remember I was the first American they had ever met. Although I love the movie Lost in Translation, I find it hardly did this scenario justice.

Here is Helen's 2nd cousin that took us around the whole time with his 3 month hold baby boy & his grandparents.

After we ate dinner, Helen's cousins took us out for a night on the town. We drove about 20 minutes into town by taxi & saw the main city square. Even though it was only a tuesday it was buzzing with people. They had this one area that was filled with all these people doing traditional dancing. It reminded me a bit of Criders for all those Kerrville people (except with a Chinese spin!) They said that during the summer it is always packed because it is so hot in their houses that everyone comes to the square to cool off.

After we saw the town square they really spiced it up by taking us to the main discoteca/ karaoke hall. There was this moment where I was dancing on the dance floor to some cheesy eighties ballads in my same sun dress & bathing suit where I could hardly believe my life - we were supposed to be going to the beach & instead we are having one of the coolest most surreal family encounters.

This of course was a super special occasion for the cousins to go out & they showed us a fantastic time. On this trip I really have not gone out much. Its exhausting always being on the road, plus the same cheesy touristy bars are boring. This night along with a few others with LOCALS are by far the most memorable!

Unfortunately this picture does not do the whole meal justice because the food kept coming but I was too busy eating to take any more photos. At this meal I unknowingly tried the most unusual food... I had already eaten it the night before in the soup. Later at this brunch Helen was "sweet "enough to inform me I was eating PIGS BLOOD. Which slowed me down a bit. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

After brunch, we took photos, and then we were on our way to catch our flight to Vietnam. Here were my favorite family shots:

La Gran muralla de China

We took a ferry which I would compare to a cheap "cruise" from Japan to China. We met a great group of travelers that were all heading to Beijing as well. So we kinda continued our cruise through Beijing. One of our friends, Fernando, had done his homework & found this exclusive great wall tour!

For Cinco De Mayo we celebrated by hiking The Great Wall of China! Surprisingly enough I picked up a couple new Spanish phrases since there is no hope in me taking on Chinese. 

We drove about 3 hours outside of the city & met our 65 year pistol tour guide & got to hike the great wall with no one else & no cheesy vendors! 

Helen's tour guide responsibilities will not end till we leave Asia... (Again because our guide was not English speaking so she got to help translate. Remember even though they say English speaking it does not mean they actual speak English.)

Kojie, our Japanese friend, who always spices it up with the greatest faces in all photos!

Although I would never want to down play any hiking experience, after my near death ice picking Bolivian adventure I do not think any trek will ever surmount to that experience.

Been there - hiked that.

KEEN: The shoe that goes everywhere!

After we hiked the Great Wall we had a great lunch in the local village.

Then we met some other friends and all went out for Peking Duck (which is one of Beijing's specialties and what Helen was most looking forward to.) We wrapped it up like a fajita with veggies inside. It was totally delish!

After our duck, we walked around some of the night markets and we took one more photo before we said goodbye to some of our group. 

Yeah- these scorpions were still wriggling. Although I have gotten so good about trying new things & getting over my texture issues, this was not going to happen.