--
Whitney Morgan
SIT Graduate Institute '12
U.S Peace Corps
Chengdu, China
Sunday, August 15, 2010
More Site Visit Photos
--
Whitney Morgan
SIT Graduate Institute '12
U.S Peace Corps
Site Visit Photos
--
Whitney Morgan
SIT Graduate Institute '12
U.S Peace Corps
Chengdu, China
Site Visit
A letter to the past tenants of my soon to be new home...
Dear past PCVs,
Thank you for everything. Thank you for your millions of used, dusty, scratched, and perhaps completely damaged dvd collection. Thank you for the dirty dishes left in the sink, next to the every growing piles of dust located in every nook and cranny of the apartment. Thank you for the two closets filled with every possession y'all decided was not worthy of making the trip back to the United States and/or a friend nearby. Thank you ever so much for the wonderful smell wafting from the unplugged refrigerator that has left the entire apartment smelling something similar to vomit and soy sauce. And most importantly, thank you for the left over shoes, dirty sheets, bed linens, and left over taco seasoning packs that should have been thrown away three years ago. All gifts stated above are treasures that I will truly enjoy throwing into the garbage as soon as I arrive back in Guiyang.
Best,
The incredibly overwhelmed, P.O'd PCV.
As for everything else, the city is really wonderful. There are tons of parks to go hiking in, the city is surrounded by rounded mountains, there is a beautiful river that flows through the entire city, waterfalls to explore and the special hotpot dish served in the city is delicious. The people I met at my university were lovely and very helpful... although I still have many questions, I'm sure they will all be answered in due time. Until then, bleach, rubber gloves and shoes, lysol, as well as fabreze will all be used in large amounts until I have cleaned the apartment to the best of my ability.
2 more weeks of training and then it's off to Guiyang for good!
WM
Dear past PCVs,
Thank you for everything. Thank you for your millions of used, dusty, scratched, and perhaps completely damaged dvd collection. Thank you for the dirty dishes left in the sink, next to the every growing piles of dust located in every nook and cranny of the apartment. Thank you for the two closets filled with every possession y'all decided was not worthy of making the trip back to the United States and/or a friend nearby. Thank you ever so much for the wonderful smell wafting from the unplugged refrigerator that has left the entire apartment smelling something similar to vomit and soy sauce. And most importantly, thank you for the left over shoes, dirty sheets, bed linens, and left over taco seasoning packs that should have been thrown away three years ago. All gifts stated above are treasures that I will truly enjoy throwing into the garbage as soon as I arrive back in Guiyang.
Best,
The incredibly overwhelmed, P.O'd PCV.
As for everything else, the city is really wonderful. There are tons of parks to go hiking in, the city is surrounded by rounded mountains, there is a beautiful river that flows through the entire city, waterfalls to explore and the special hotpot dish served in the city is delicious. The people I met at my university were lovely and very helpful... although I still have many questions, I'm sure they will all be answered in due time. Until then, bleach, rubber gloves and shoes, lysol, as well as fabreze will all be used in large amounts until I have cleaned the apartment to the best of my ability.
2 more weeks of training and then it's off to Guiyang for good!
WM
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Guiyang, Guizhou
Thursday has come and gone, and since then everything has just been so chaotic and busy! But I finally got my site announcement and as of right now I am thrilled with the result. I am moving to Guiyang (approximately 3 million people...small city for China), which is the capital of Guizhou province. I will be working at Guizhou Normal University in the tourism department as their first international Native-English instructor (yikes!). My apartment is right in the middle of downtown, which is great and not so great for many reasons - but every one in the boonies seems to like the fact that I am located there. This coming week I am living with a host family - from what I've been told, because the sheet is written in Chinese characters, my host sister graduated from the University I will be teaching at, with a degree in English. She now works at another nearby school as an assistant to the Waiban office. Waiban is the word for a government official who is in charge of all international faculty, so the good news is my host sister for the week speaks great English!
Big day ahead for me and my 21 other Guizhou-ers... we've got about 13 hrs on an overnight train ride into the Guiyang. And for those that have traveled in China by train before, this will certainly be an interesting experience... especially with all the luggage we've got. Wish me luck! Pictures and such will be posted when I get back next week.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
The End of Model School
Next week I travel to my new home so look out for updates soon!!
--
Whitney Morgan
SIT Graduate Institute '12
U.S Peace Corps (PCT 16)
--
Whitney Morgan
SIT Graduate Institute '12
U.S Peace Corps (PCT 16)
Chengdu, China
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Lilly Pad Farm and Feast
--
Whitney Morgan
SIT Graduate Institute '12
wwm013@gmail.com
U.S Peace Corps
Chengdu, China
IKEA?
There is a first for everything... and who knew that the first time I'd ever go to an IKEA would be in China?? Not me. It was like walking into a little piece of Swedish heaven, and had I a home to outfit I would have gone bonkers in that store. The best part of it all... everything is made in China. No shipping costs added, no taxes... it was unlike anything I have ever seen before. Now, unfortunately, when I go home and happen to walk into an IKEA, the chair that was RMB $69 (approximately USD $10), is probably going to be USD $30. How unfortunate.
This excursion started due to the gift a friend of mine and myself are doing for our families today - making them spaghetti for lunch. We went to the biggest supermarket I have even seen - and for those that know me well, I get incredibly overwhelmed with menus and supermarkets. Too many choices, and in this circumstance, an absurd amount of people. Not to mention the little illiteracy problem I have here in this country. We were also with my friends host brother, his wife, and their one year old son, Niu Niu (meaning... cow. they give ugly endearing nicknames to their children... it's a thing here. I dunno). So while my friend and I wanted to take off, find the things we needed, they absolutely would NOT let us out of their sites... therefore, when we thought we had lost them to cover ground, finding the foods we needed for this soon to be feast, there they were, baby and cart in tow. Again, I am a "baby panda" - and even the slightest errand to do, like buying groceries, is indeed something I cannot do, because.... wait for it... I am not Chinese. Never mind I am 23 almost 24 years old. Never mind I am training to work for the US Government in China... never mind that I am, as some would consider, an adult.
It's funny putting these tiny details into perspective. Because if I were to introduce the topic of conversation, all those things - my age, my job, my education - would be reason for me to be married right now with a baby on the way. And if they didn't feel uncomfortable saying it to me, they would probably have already brought over potential suitors to fix the "problem" of no boyfriend. My students have already tried, and thank goodness I was able to put a stop to it - but I have never been in a place where me being single and 23 is such an issue. I've tackled the food issue in the house... now having to maneuver this topic is just nearly impossible. However, there is one thing I can tell my students, my host family, and any other random person who appears to be worried about the lack of "romance" in my life. I don't have to lie about it which makes it all the better... simply put... My father told me I was not allowed to come home married. Thanks for that rule Dad - it came in handy more than I thought it would.
Aside from the IKEA excursion as well as the scary supermarket, I was able to go to an unbelievable large Lilly pad farm... they have boardwalks all around the park so you are weaving in and out of the lilly pads - it was about 5 minutes from our home, but the families assured us it was "Chinese country-side". Beautiful none-the-less.
5 days until I have my interview for potential sites... 2 weeks until I receive my site announcement. Am I ready to move to my new home and get this going? Absolutely... let's just hope it works out.
This excursion started due to the gift a friend of mine and myself are doing for our families today - making them spaghetti for lunch. We went to the biggest supermarket I have even seen - and for those that know me well, I get incredibly overwhelmed with menus and supermarkets. Too many choices, and in this circumstance, an absurd amount of people. Not to mention the little illiteracy problem I have here in this country. We were also with my friends host brother, his wife, and their one year old son, Niu Niu (meaning... cow. they give ugly endearing nicknames to their children... it's a thing here. I dunno). So while my friend and I wanted to take off, find the things we needed, they absolutely would NOT let us out of their sites... therefore, when we thought we had lost them to cover ground, finding the foods we needed for this soon to be feast, there they were, baby and cart in tow. Again, I am a "baby panda" - and even the slightest errand to do, like buying groceries, is indeed something I cannot do, because.... wait for it... I am not Chinese. Never mind I am 23 almost 24 years old. Never mind I am training to work for the US Government in China... never mind that I am, as some would consider, an adult.
It's funny putting these tiny details into perspective. Because if I were to introduce the topic of conversation, all those things - my age, my job, my education - would be reason for me to be married right now with a baby on the way. And if they didn't feel uncomfortable saying it to me, they would probably have already brought over potential suitors to fix the "problem" of no boyfriend. My students have already tried, and thank goodness I was able to put a stop to it - but I have never been in a place where me being single and 23 is such an issue. I've tackled the food issue in the house... now having to maneuver this topic is just nearly impossible. However, there is one thing I can tell my students, my host family, and any other random person who appears to be worried about the lack of "romance" in my life. I don't have to lie about it which makes it all the better... simply put... My father told me I was not allowed to come home married. Thanks for that rule Dad - it came in handy more than I thought it would.
Aside from the IKEA excursion as well as the scary supermarket, I was able to go to an unbelievable large Lilly pad farm... they have boardwalks all around the park so you are weaving in and out of the lilly pads - it was about 5 minutes from our home, but the families assured us it was "Chinese country-side". Beautiful none-the-less.
5 days until I have my interview for potential sites... 2 weeks until I receive my site announcement. Am I ready to move to my new home and get this going? Absolutely... let's just hope it works out.
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