This year my Christmas was slightly unorthodox, and by unorthodox, I mean I didn't really celebrate it...or remember it. Sure there were a few decorations here and there if you really looked for it, but compared to the massive full frontal assault that is Christmas in the states, it was really easy to just let it go by unnoticed.
Here's a breakdown of my Christmas (to the tune of 12 days of Christmas)
12 hour train ride
11 miles hiking
10,000 mountains
9 dollar pizza
8 souvenir shops
7 german tourists
6 wrong turns
5 racist cab drivers
4 awesome kids
3 rainy days
2 crappy bikes
And a Christmas I'll never forget
There were no all-day-all-night-25-days-of-christmas TV marathons of "The Santa Clause," "Home Alone" and those weird Lifetime and Hallmark specials. No advertisements telling me about all the things I should buy, and no mad panic to buy all of the presents I put off buying until Christmas eve.
So instead of celebrating Christmas like a normal American, a friend and I, (we'll call him Aaron, because that's his name) went to Yangshuo and Guilin in Guanxi province. Now, if you aren't familiar with Guilin, you are really missing out, you've probably even seen it without knowing. It served as the background for the wookie planet in Star Wars III, and several scenes from Avatar (The James Cameron one, not the crappy joke that M. Night Shyamalan made) were filmed there. Basically, a lot of the mountains stand by themselves and if you squint really hard and shut your eyes, they kinda look like Christmas trees.
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| To see it you have to use your imagination....and LSD |
To describe it in one word would be impossible. It was one of those places that pictures don't do justice too. It was beautiful beyond belief, and if you ever get the chance to go there, do it.
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| Seriously, the only other white things around for miles were the clouds |
I went on a 20 mile bike ride through forgotten mountain villages where children ran after the two white guys who were clearly lost (we were). Every village we came to was farther and farther away from where we were supposed to be, but there just comes a point when turning around takes longer that pushing forward. The problem started when we came to a fork in the road that our map didn't have on it. We definitely chose the wrong one...or the right one if you're a fan of Robert Frost.
Three days was probably too long to spend there, but we did manage to explore the entire city (which is impressive in China)
Aaron and I even accidentally stumbled into an Underground Volleyball tournament.
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| Pictured: Bad parenting |
In Guilin we got lost again and ended up walking 11 miles while trying to find the train station. It didn't help that every Chinese person we asked told us a different direction. But on the up side, we climbed a mountain and met some really cool kids at the top whose parents should be reported to Child services. Seriously. I still can't believe we made it up there without climbing gear.
It may not have been normal Christmas, but it will always be a Christmas I remember. Even though I forgot it was Christmas at the time.
Other than that, I haven't been doing a whole lot. My semester doesn't end until next Friday (so count your blessings Teacher friends in the States), so I've been gearing up for finals and trying to cram a lot of last minute things into these last few days.
Happy New Year (Xiannian Kuaile)!
