Shanghai Round 2

Shanghai is such an amazing city! I had so much fun there this past weekend. Carlee, Jocelyn and I got there Thursday night and spent all day Friday shopping. Then we walked the bund at night and danced on a rooftop in the rain! Saturday all day we went climbed on our backs! That was probably the highlight for me :) Haha we also got to ride elephants and they picked us up in their trunk! We all got to hold a baby white tiger, baby siberian tiger and a monkey! Not to mention the Kangaroos we saw and the Pandas sharing bamboo...

The Bund

Rooftop view

After 3 long months with no DP and no cheese,

I finally got my fix :)

Thank you Shanghai for having imported foods!

Our Dance

This was just a rehearsal... I haven't been able to get my hands on the final performance video. So there are a lot of parts in this where we aren't together but just ignore that ;) I start out just to the left of center in light purple. Notice how the kids scream my name when I come out for single ladies!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL_CGDPjiu0&feature=youtu.be

Wuxi Weekend

This past weekend my friends Jocelyn and Carlee went on a quick trip with me! We went to Wuxi on Saturday morning (it took about 30 mins on the train). It was pouring rain when we got there but that didn't stop us from having an awesome day. 

We knew of a park in this city so we started showing people pictures and asking them how to get there. Eventually we found the right buses. As we cruised through the rolling green hills, I looked out the window and saw this incredible, huge, gold statue poking through. It was gorgeous! This "grand buddha" figure is the center of the park and everything else just leads up to it. I saw tons of cool architecture and worshiping. It was really fun exploring, even though everything we had was soaked. We got to see this really amazing show in a huge grand theater and it was really moving. The whole place was filled with crazy lights and seats in the shape of a globe. The show was about life and people around the world and I loved it. 

You can't really tell but I am literally SOAKED here

The theater

Later on we took a train to SuZhou and spent the night there. In SuZhou we saw the "Central Park" and "Times Square" and some other cool malls and stuff. After that I took my friends to see Shantang Jie, a famous area known as the "Venice of China" or "Venice of the East." 

I've been there before and it's beautiful! 

Me being a weirdo as always

They're obsessed with us

Gotta love them bus rides... and my fake Michael Kors wallet ;)

Today all 19 of us performed in a big show that the kids put on for the Wujin school district officials that came. It was super fun! I will have to post our dance video on here soon. 

Love you all! Only one more month and 11 days.

Beijing

WOW Beijing was amazing! I still liked Hangzhou and Zhangjiajie better, but we definitely had a great time on this trip. It started off with a 10 hour overnight train. The time flew by and we woke up in Beijing! It was a beautiful city. We stayed in the 365 Inn hostel right near Tiananmen Square. It was really fun exploring that whole area by our hostel. First stop was the Forbidden City right in the Square. So much history around us and so many cool buildings. It felt a lot like our Washington D.C.

Tiananmen Square

The entrance to the Forbidden City

Me in the Forbidden City.. I think it's also called the Imperial Palace

View from the roof of our hostel

The street at night

Another rooftop shot

Me and my buddies in the Forbidden City
From the left: Bre, Me, Madi, Carlee, Jocelyn, Jordan and Ryan

Some statues near the hostel

Day 2 we went to the Summer Palace
which I personally liked much better than the Forbidden City

Lots of cool architecture and a big lake
We took a fun boat ride around the lake here

Me with a Buddha thing and a popsicle ;)

Next we went to the Silk Market for the knockoff goods!
Here I am sitting on the floor of the metro...
maybe only those of you have been to a foreign country will

understand why this is so crazy! Sometimes when your legs

are tired you will do crazy things. The looks I got were priceless.

Right across the street from the Pearl Market... the Temple of Heaven!
Look closely ;)

Took a really fun bike ride through Beijing with my newest pengyou! (friend)

The next day I climbed the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!!!

Here are my feet on the actual wall

Once in a lifetime moments...

We're always making friends with the foreigners...

The "alpine slide" off the wall

On the train back from the wall... we had to sit on the floor
Every seat was taken! Super rough :(

Me at one of the best night markets ever

Yes, I ate a whole scorpion! And a starfish too.

AND 3 grasshoppers ;) Haha

I LOVE CHINA! Life can't get much better. I hope you're all doing well! I love you guys!
Do something crazy this week for me :)