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| Vanessa in Israel |
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| Devin, Sarah and Jess in Las Vegas. |
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| Georgia in China! |
Since I was studying abroad in China this fall, I decided to travel around the country during winter break. I spent three weeks traveling through China on planes, 24-hour trains, and overnight buses (on which you get stuck sleeping in a bed with strangers if you don't claim a bed early!). I went to incredibly modern cities whose skyscrapers light up in different colors and designs at night, countryside far enough removed that public long-distance buses are waved down like taxis by farmers, and industrial cities with smoke stacks interspersed between super tall apartment buildings. First, I went south to see the rice terraces in Yunnan Province. I ended up getting lost hiking through the terraces and got a lot of strange looks from local farmers. From there I went to see the unique karst landscape (strangely pointy little mountains) in Yangshuo. I went biking around the countryside and explored a cave. I spent Christmas in Macau, wandering through the colonial Portuguese-style buildings and Christmas lights. I visited a friend in Hong Kong for New Years where I saw the fireworks and ate my weight in dim sum. Next, I went back to Beijing, where I had been studying, and made friends with the owner of the dumpling shack for whom my friend is currently interning. Lastly, I went to Harbin, which is so far north that your camera battery will die from the cold. There I wandered through the ice festival and saw intricate snow sculptures and giant ice buildings with colorful lights in them. Even though I'm still I a little surprised I made it out alive what with the many mistakes I made (you can never get travel plans exactly right in China; it always take a little improv), it was an adventure of a lifetime and I'm really glad I took the initiative and went.
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