Shanghai fun

Ashley and Kate

Sushi platter

Butterfly Roll

Last night we got to go out for sushi for my friend Sierra's 30th birthday!  We went to a Haiku for sushi and drinks with about 15 of our friends!  The sushi was amazing and her husband paid a small fortune for an American chocolate cake!  I had the butterfly roll and it was amazing!  We also got chicken Teriyaki and edamame!  We also were drinking Blushing Geisha!  They were so amazing! Then we went for drinks at O'Malleys and then dancing and "The Apartment".

Beef 'n' Roll

Our fantastic cake!

Massive bill almost 4,000 RMB

Then we went dancing at "The Apartment"

Grasslands of Mongolia

In the morning before we left Hohhot!  Thought is was a Muslim temple but just a Jewelry store temple was next door.

We looked so silly taking all these pictures.  We were not allowed to walk around the temple because our tour guide said we were showing too much skin!

you can see hanging meat almost anywhere in China, even in the grocery store!  It is a little weird that it is not refrigerated.  They also eat every part of the body and usually serve the whole animal skin and all!

Then we took the bus out to the grasslands!  We stayed at a small village with several yurts! The land had horses, chickens, and pigs, so kinda of like an American farm.  Our yurts were solar powered and had no heat/air.  So it was so cold while we were sleeping.  The beds felt like hard boards with thin cotton mattress.  Needless to say we were glad we only stayed for one night.  When first got there they welcomed us with a shot.  You had to hole the shot in your left hand and dip you right ring finger in the shot and throw a drop to the ground, to the sky, and across your forehead. Then we ate lunch in a circular yurt, while the staff serenade!  The room was small and the volume on the singing was so loud we couldn't hear each other at all!

Me standing by a yurt!

Dinner!

My roommate Ashley inside our the yurt!  

Then they took us and some Japanese tourist went and watched Mongolian wrestling!  Which was two men rolling in the dirt with funny jackets on!  It was over in about a minute!

We then went horse back riding with was terrifying and exciting all at the same time!  Halfway through the ride we stopped for tea!  There were small white objects on the table in different sizes, Ashley said they were for tea so we all put them in our tea.  Later we found out that it was a type of Mongolian cheese.  Gross!!

Kristina and I horse back riding!

prayer flags in the middle of the grasslands!  

After are long ride we napped and read in the sunset!  We went back to the big yurt for dinner and ended up getting a whole leg of lamb! After dinner the staff made a huge bonfire and put up a strobe light for us to have a dance party! We were the only guest because it was late in the season and no one but the crazy Americans would stay the night in yurt when it was so cold!

They gave us each a blue scarf as a gift!

View of our yurt

Ashley, Me, Kristina, and Jenny!  Girls night in the grasslands!

The next we went for a scenic run and a lovely breakfast!  Then we head out to the desert, that will be next update!

Inner Mongolia

I light candles for my loved one who are not with us anymore.

Inner Mongolia: Day One
We had a week off in October for Autumn Festival!  This is when almost the whole country gets a week off.  It is a very busy travel time.  It is also called Moon Festival because during this time of year the moon is the roundest.  They also eat a lot of moon cakes( dry cake with  different fruit jellies).

We arrived in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, at noon, and was picked up by our tour guide Annie!  She took us out to a great lunch and we received free moon cakes!!  Moon cakes are usually really dry and gross.  The Chinese buy them like crazy and always give them as gifts!

Then we went to the Dazhao Temple, which means the Infinite Temple.    The Dazhao Temple is the oldest and the largest Temple in Hohhot.  It is a Lamaist Buddhist temple and was visited by the Tibetan Dalai Lama in 1950's.

The temples have monks that live there but I guess they can get married if they want.  Since it was Mid-Autumn Festival the temple was decorated with prayer flags and people left offerings for different statues to bring good luck for their families!  

Horse wrapped in prayer flags.

 They leave moon cakes and fruit such as apples, peaches, pomegranates (symbol of fertility), grapes and melons.  The mothers bring pomegranates to help their children have children.   You can see that people left money, nuts, and flowers!  They could also buy candles and incenses to burn.  The temple was really amazing!  There were several people praying and bringing offerings for the moon goddess

Here are some of my best pictures from my trip!  I will make more updates soon!

At all the sights they had Mongolian first, Mandarin second, and English third. 

Here is Ashley, Jenny, Kristina, and tour guide Annie by the temple!

Outside offering table with prayer flags above!

There were several monks living and visiting the temple.  They were praying and chanting with families.

Jenny, Ashley, Me, and Kristina

They had several of these pots around the temple, you make a wish for happiness and the longer it takes for your money to reach the bottom the more happiness you receive.  That is why so many people but cash into the pots, and people believe the higher value the money has the longer it takes to sink to the bottom.

Inside the temple where the monks prayed and chanted.  

Ashley, Me, Jenny, and Kristina outside the temple

    

Jolyn and Sally

Kuya

Shanghai Zoo Field Trip!!!

We took our first field trip to the zoo!  It was so much fun!  The animals were a little sad but mostly it was a regular zoo!  When we got to school we first found out that the bus we ordered was to small which is so China.  So we go in two groups but it was a nice tour bus but had a crazy bus driver!  

We first went to see the bears!  The bears sit up and beg for food. :(  There are signs everywhere not to feed the bears but I guess people still feed the animals!  Also the bars around the animals are really low for how close you are to the animals!  Lucky no children were eaten!

Angelina, Rio, Jeff, Me!

 The zoo had little buses that drove us around since we had students from age two to five. Next we saw the lions, elephants, and panda bears!  The lions were really cute and cuddled!  But also a chinese man kept throwing food in the cage.  Our principal said the first year she took the kids to the zoo the male lion was sleeping and a chinese guy hit it with a plastic bottle in the head.   Then we went to a grassy area and ate a picnic lunch!  It was a really nice day!