This post has potential to become pages long....but I'll try to keep it short. Mostly I just thought I would share with you some of my favorite China experiences. Photos will be included (notice I said "photos" instead of "pictures", because that's an extremely Chinese thing to say. You can even catch me using that phrase from time to time when I'm feeling especially Asian...)

Favorite experience #1......

Of course a favorite past time was strolling up and down the Great Wall of China. It was great, really it was. Actually, I didn't realize how -off- my visual image of it was before I saw it with my own eyes. Who knew that it actually traversed the mountains that it was built upon and included death hikes up Mt. Everest?? Go figure. Besides the 7,000 calories I lost making the trek, it was an experience I will NEVER forget.

Experience #2.....

I went to an Olympic event sized Jackie Chan concert. Did you know that Jackie is actually a teenage pop sensation in Asia? He's huge. Big. Famous.... if you squint your eyes towards the red hands on the stage, you'll see a tiny man in a cream sweater.....there he is. He looked especially classy in his matching beige scarf. Go Jackie. Go Jackie go.



Experience #3.....

I rafted down the Li River on a bamboo raft. Seriously folks....does it get more China than that? It was so incredible....and long. But did i care? No, i did not.






Experience #4.....


I would consider one of my favorite experiences to include all the absolutely disgusting food that I had the chance to sample. Where else would I have eaten duck webbing (to your left), or coagulated pigs blood (to your right)? If you are curious how you would go about eating duck webbing, you actually stretch the toes apart, and then nibble off the stretched webbing in between. I bet it tastes just how you imagine it would. And the list of disgusting food is pages long, don't even worry....these were just a few of the best.

Experience #5....

I went on the current Guinness Book Of World Records Roller Coaster for the longest vertical drop in the world. If you can find it, its the drop nearest to the left...and the best part is that they actually dangle you directly at the top, over the edge, for a full minute. I would be interested to know how many Asians have wet their pants at that very spot.



Experience #6....
We beach bummed in the tropical paradise of Sanya on Hainan Island for four days- this included eating mangos the size of your head from this fruit market every morning, parasailing over the clear turquoise waters, scuba diving China style (having them strap boulders to our waist, giving us a thumbs up, and then throwing us in the ocean), and witnessing many mature ages Russian men sporting speedos and beer bellies.....and hair.




Experience #7....


One of my FAVORITE times in China was the time spent in the Forbidden City in BeiJing. Being the history buff that I am, I knew ALL about its history, not to mention the history regarding Tianannmen Square and the Mao Mausoleum just across the road. It was INCREDIBLE to be in the middle of so much HISTORY. If you're interesting on learning more, I can definitely recommend some good books for you to read....do it!! Wow. It was awesome. It was even worth this 26 HOUR HARD SEAT TRAIN RIDE. Can anyone claim that they rode sitting up on a hard seat for 26 hours straight? If you have, I don't believe you. MISERABLE.


Experience #8....

I risked my life to climb hundreds of feet below Yanghuo village in the Guanxi Province, in flip flops and a plastic hat, just to swim in a mud pool. But wow it was worth it. China china china....something like this would NEVER be legal in the states. Infact, I'm positive that if I had happened to slip and fall into a thousand foot crevice (which we were crossing over holding on to ropes...) they wouldn't have thought twice about it. And then they probablly would have chased us out with knives. Sometims people just have the most fun in the sketchiest of locations.... and I happen to be one of those people.

Experience #9....
My FAVORITE place to spend time in GuZhen was at the morning market...if you woke up really early on Saturday mornings, you, along with all of GuZhen, could stroll around a city block filled with farmers and butchers and fisherman's stalls selling anything and everything. Cantonese food and more specifially the food of my province, GuangDong, is especially known for their love to eat "anything with four legs besides a table and anything that flys besides airplanes." Its true, they love to. See above for two of the dishes I samples. If you look really closely at this picture you can see intestines hanging from a hook on your right, and on your left, the skin of a pig head. Mmmm mmmmm. I really thought it was the coolest thing, and I think that we should have them in America.

Experience 10!
I hope you're not too shocked when I say that my favorite experience in China was teaching my kids.....because aparantly it's all I can talk about! I MISS THESE LITTLE BALLS OF TERROR!!!!!!







ALSO, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN PLANET EARTH BY BBC......YOU NEED TO! THEY'RE REPLAYING IT ON THE DISCOVERY CHANNEL STARTING TONIGHT AT 8. Just thought I'd throw that out there while I have your attention....I've watched the whole thing cover to cover three times and I STILL love. And so will you, I promise.