China 2010

My daughter Elyse and I traveled to China in January 2010. She wanted to try teaching at an English school in Shenyang, which was recommended by one of her friends. I told her before she committed, we should go check it out. It was a wonderful trip. We stayed in Bejing for 5 days, and then took a train to Shenyang.

One of my clients, Ying Yan, put me in touch with her sister, Yan Yan. We met up with her and her daughter, and spent a very cold and snowy day shopping. It was really fun being able to explore the city with them.

We toured the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square while we were in Bejing. We also hired a guide to take us to Mings Tomb and the Great Wall. Our tour included a visit to a silk factory and a teahouse. That was a long day, but totally worth it.

Our next stop was Shenyang, which is where the school is located. Shenyang is located north of Bejing and is considered the gateway to North Korea. Yikes! It was really cold there. There are vendors on the streets selling strawberries on a stick. I bought one but couldn’t eat it until it thawed out. We had such a fun time with the group of teachers there. They took us out to all their favorite restaurants and bars. I had the best eggplant dish of my life (and I don’t usually like eggplant). One of the teachers, Perran, invited us to a dinner at his friend Crystal’s house. She made a meal fit for a king. We even got to help make the dumplings. We got to explore the local meat market as well. Talk about a variety of meats! Incredible. I will post a video that Elyse put together. It’s fairly long, but it does a great job of showing China and it’s many different facets.