Update

Oops. I’ve been working on writing up my trip to Beijing and trying to figure out how to post the pictures, and the week has flown by. This weekend was particularly busy; on Friday I had four students over to eat American food for dinner (Adventures in Hot Plating), on Saturday the school had its track meet (lots of cheering all day), and yesterday the American teachers here spent most of the day together in fellowship and fun. Last night we made chicken tacos – with salsa! And sour cream!! (sort of) and it was delicious. I do miss American food. However, now October holiday – National Day – has begun. It celebrates the founding of the modern country of China in 1949. I had planned to travel south to Shanghai and Suzhou, but I waited too late to get tickets. The police had our passports last week to fill out the paperwork for residency permits, and I didn’t want to buy a ticket without having my passport because they had told us three different days we would get them back, and you can’t travel without your passport. I waited to buy tickets, and then they were sold out.
I’ll admit, the rail system here is wonderful and infuriating. You can go almost anywhere, though you may have to stand in the aisle for up to 24 hours to do so. You can only buy tickets that originate in the city in which you currently are; you have to buy the return ticket when you get to your destination. If there are any left. You can only buy tickets in person at the train station or at a travel agent’s. Usually, you can only buy tickets a few days in advance, and during National Holiday, apparently everyone travels. This is one of the three times a year most people have off and can go home to see their families. I have pondered this question – how can every city be full and all the tickets gone? Are some dull cities completely empty while others are completely full?
However, the result of this is that I’ll be going back to Beijing for four days. I was able to get a ticket (with a seat, unlike last trip) and a hostel reservation. While part of me is disappointed that I can’t go farther and see more, this is a good solution. I won’t have another extended weekend to see Beijing until January, and the city is massive and full of things to see. I plan to go South in January, and I’ll go to Shanghai and Suzhou then and continue down the coast without backtracking as much. I’ll return to QHD on Thursday and probably go to see the Great Wall, which is nearby. I’m sorry I didn’t post about my first trip before the second happened. I have been working on writing it up, I promise! I’ll post when I get back. I hope everyone is well. If you have a chance, please leave feedback, as I can’t tell if anyone is reading this. It won’t appear immediately because I have to approve it, but it will appear. Have a good first week of October, and enjoy your American food!