Hello avid readers,
My name is Abby, and I am here to create a blog about my adventuring into the vast unknown, aka Chengdu, China. I am originally a student from America now doing an internship for 4 months with a local Chinese travel agency. A few months ago, I decided to travel back to China for a second time with Cultural Embrace, because I fell in love with the country after only one month. I come back in hopes of creating just as many memories and opportunities as I had my first time around.
Today was my first day in Chengdu, well, technically my second day, I slept through the first. I am in the Sichuan region, which of course equals awesomely spicy food. I woke up at 4:30 this morning, all sorts of excited for the day to begin. It was the first day of my orientation, and thus I was introduced to the city by my very friendly and very helpful co-worker, Kiki. We set out at around 10 A.M. and headed towards the market.
Sidenote: I must say there is nothing nearly as riveting as being stared at as you walk down the street, I am going to assume its because of my dirty blonde hair, but who knows maybe they just saw my sparkling personality shining through.
Kiki showed me around two different market places where I could purchase anything from soy sauce to a leather purse, and then we headed off to Starbucks (I can’t resist even with all the new exotic places around me). After a refreshing iced green tea latte, a strange look because I ordered the drink iced, and a wonderful conversation with Kiki, we decided to go into the heart of the city. After taking two buses, each for 2 Yuan, we went into the Chengdu version of Central Park. There we played a game where we spun an arrow, similar to the one used in Twister, to determine our luck. I landed on the dragonfly, and Kiki on the butterfly, both of which bring good luck she informed me. She taught me little Chinese words along the way, and in return, I taught her some English slang. After walking around, and having my picture taken by several locals, we decided to stop and sit outside for some traditional Chinese tea.
We preceded to take a taxi down to the large shopping district in the heart of Chengdu. According to Kiki, this was the most upbeat, modern, metropolitan area. We stopped in a restaurant that catered to both foreign and domestic clientele based on their menu. I got the very basic spaghetti and tomato sauce platter (a safe choice, not sure my stomach is quite up to being challenged at this point), and she ordered the congee (a soupy dish made of white rice, with condiments on the side). We sat and chatted some more, wildly waving our hands in hopes of trying to convey our thoughts. After that, we went and walked around admiring the shops, and finally hailing a taxi to take us back to our little office/ my apartment. I then preceded to take a quick bath and prepare myself for my evening activities. I had dinner with the coworkers, a lovely meal of rice, spicy shrimp, fish, carrots, and lotus, and have since come back to inform you about it. Can’t wait for day two tomorrow, Sonam is taking me to see the Tibetan street and a few other as yet to be determined sites.
My name is Abby, and I am here to create a blog about my adventuring into the vast unknown, aka Chengdu, China. I am originally a student from America now doing an internship for 4 months with a local Chinese travel agency. A few months ago, I decided to travel back to China for a second time with Cultural Embrace, because I fell in love with the country after only one month. I come back in hopes of creating just as many memories and opportunities as I had my first time around.
Today was my first day in Chengdu, well, technically my second day, I slept through the first. I am in the Sichuan region, which of course equals awesomely spicy food. I woke up at 4:30 this morning, all sorts of excited for the day to begin. It was the first day of my orientation, and thus I was introduced to the city by my very friendly and very helpful co-worker, Kiki. We set out at around 10 A.M. and headed towards the market.
Sidenote: I must say there is nothing nearly as riveting as being stared at as you walk down the street, I am going to assume its because of my dirty blonde hair, but who knows maybe they just saw my sparkling personality shining through.
Kiki showed me around two different market places where I could purchase anything from soy sauce to a leather purse, and then we headed off to Starbucks (I can’t resist even with all the new exotic places around me). After a refreshing iced green tea latte, a strange look because I ordered the drink iced, and a wonderful conversation with Kiki, we decided to go into the heart of the city. After taking two buses, each for 2 Yuan, we went into the Chengdu version of Central Park. There we played a game where we spun an arrow, similar to the one used in Twister, to determine our luck. I landed on the dragonfly, and Kiki on the butterfly, both of which bring good luck she informed me. She taught me little Chinese words along the way, and in return, I taught her some English slang. After walking around, and having my picture taken by several locals, we decided to stop and sit outside for some traditional Chinese tea.
We preceded to take a taxi down to the large shopping district in the heart of Chengdu. According to Kiki, this was the most upbeat, modern, metropolitan area. We stopped in a restaurant that catered to both foreign and domestic clientele based on their menu. I got the very basic spaghetti and tomato sauce platter (a safe choice, not sure my stomach is quite up to being challenged at this point), and she ordered the congee (a soupy dish made of white rice, with condiments on the side). We sat and chatted some more, wildly waving our hands in hopes of trying to convey our thoughts. After that, we went and walked around admiring the shops, and finally hailing a taxi to take us back to our little office/ my apartment. I then preceded to take a quick bath and prepare myself for my evening activities. I had dinner with the coworkers, a lovely meal of rice, spicy shrimp, fish, carrots, and lotus, and have since come back to inform you about it. Can’t wait for day two tomorrow, Sonam is taking me to see the Tibetan street and a few other as yet to be determined sites.
With love from China,
Abby
Cultural Embrace Intern in China 2011
Abby
Cultural Embrace Intern in China 2011
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