Today was one of my favorite days in China. A few months prior, my Badm 199 volunteer group was tasked to give a presentation on the different cities we were going to visit. I talked about Suzhou and we finally got to visit it! Suzhou is often called the “Venice of the East” this is … Continue reading 5-19-19 Blog Post →

After a shaky takeoff from Zhang Jiakou, we eventually made our way to the market at the water town. To me this has been one of the coolest places we've seen on the trip. There were a lot of cool little shops and less people aggressively trying to sell to you/yelling at you than Pearl … Continue reading Day 6 (5/19) →

Today, we visited the Zhujiajiao Water Town and it was certainly one of the most picturesque and interesting places I have ever been. We took a beautiful boat ride and it was so cool to go down different canals and see what different parts of the town looked like. I really liked the white and … Continue reading 5/19 Reflection →

After a day of traveling we spent some time in a water town. I learned some new Chinese words with Jun and Kayla while walking through the street markets. I bought my mom this sweet leather bound notebook! China Corner with Jun (ft. Kayla) Word of the Day: "fan qie jian" means ketchup Word of … Continue reading Day 6: I now know 4 Chinese words →

Today, after traveling from Zhangjiakou to Shanghai, we visited a water town. The plane took off very quickly and very poorly. We noted on the bus ride from the airport to the water town that there were a lot of groups of identical apartment buildings. We noted that we prefer variety in the buildings for … Continue reading May 19 Water Town →

Today we traveled to Suzhou, starting with a flight from Zhangbei to Shanghai. I have never reached 30,000 feet so fast and I've been on a lot f flights. The pilots really wanted to get out of the wind and it made for a rather entertaining takeoff. The fight rest of the flight goes smoothly … Continue reading Suzhou Day 1: Water Town and Suzhou at First Glance →

Today was a pretty cool day walking around the water town and enjoying some great cultural immersion. I thought the shops were really fun to walk around and I ended up finding a really pretty painting for only $5! Even if it is a fake, it's a fun souvenir of the trip and I'm looking … Continue reading Water town!! →

Today, I experienced some memorable moments as we visited the water towns outside of Suzhou and I was incredibly impressed. It is known as the "Venice of the East", and I was quickly drawing comparisons between the town and the actual city of Venice in Italy, which I visited when I studied abroad. Some major … Continue reading May 19 Blog Post →

Southern Chinese people really know how to bargain, unfortunately for me. The market was packed with locals and tourists alike. What surprised me was that some stores were open since 2003. I could imagine that their bargaining skill and business success are no coincidence. Wandering the streets reminded me of the streets of Chinatown SF. … Continue reading 5/19: Water Village →