Gobble gobble.

I just spent my first thanksgiving away from home, but I was surrounded by family. The PCVs in the Guizhou province came together in the capital, Guiyang, for some old fashioned turkey, stuffing, and (God bless) pumpkin pie. What a great time.

I arrived on Friday after a longer-than-usual 7 hour bus ride. There was some hold up due to construction and a traffic accident, but I wasn't complaining because the seats on the bus were HUGE (think first class on an airplane) and there was an English movie, Transporter 3. I'm pretty sure that the bus drivers put on English movies just for the foreigners, but the other passengers seemed interested too, so no love lost.

After arriving, I indulged in some western food at Papa John's Restaurant with some friends from China 14. Very Delicious. It's difficult to figure out WHY you are serving in the Peace Corps while you are mowing down on fresh pizza; that's another topic for another post.

Back to T-day. SO EPIC. There's nothing like camaraderie when you're away from your family. The celebration was a great; the perfect mix of cooking and eating was achieved, and efforts in the kitchen segued into efforts on the plate. We even had a few expat families running around with little (and adorable) toddlers. I don't think a Thanksgiving is complete without a young family fussing about somewhere. Much love to those that were there.

After the dinner though, things got decidedly more young adult. A group of us ventured forth with turkey in our veins. We hit a local bar and had some Chinese beer while discussing the ins and outs of community development, global economics, and the pros of popping bottle tops on wooden tables. Very good.

Back on Blogger

Alright, after an 8 week hiatus, I am back to writing. I'm planning on doing some retrospective posts regarding my pre-service training later, but for now I'll pick up with the present.

I've arrived at my site in China, deep in the heart of Guizhou province, which is south of Sichuan province, which is where I have been during my PST. Right now I am on my 1 week site visit, which has thus far been AWESOME, and I will return to Chengdu and my host family on Friday/Saturday.

I left for my site visit last Sunday evening with my site mate and a handful of other PCTs and PCVs stationed in the province. The train from Chengdu to Guiyang, which is the capital of Guizhou, is a 13 or 17 hour expedition, depending on what ticket you book. The PC was nice enough to book us overnight tickets on the new, fast, and (most importantly) AIR CONDITIONED train. Very comfortable, not too cramped. Upon disembarking in Guiyang, my site mate and I were greeted by a University representative and ushered to the bus, which was the next leg of our journey.

In a single word, the bus trip was AMAZING. Guizhou is beautiful, and viewing the country side by bus isn't a bad way to see a lot of area in a short time. We traveled through some beautiful gorges, up and down mountains, through and in between peaks. The country side is like nothing I have seen before. Rice paddies and corn everywhere that is farmable, and sprawling mountains and forests everywhere else. The bus ride was over 5 hours, but well worth it.

My apartment is clean and simple, and I really like the city I have been stationed in. My new flat has a big bedroom, semi-outdoor kitchen, and clean floors (which are becoming dirtier as forget to put on sandals when I come home). The last volunteers that were here left a lot of English reading material as well as lots of teaching materials. My site mate and I are digging through it, mining for the gold and separating the chaff.

So yes, much more to come. I haven't written in a while, and there will be retrospective stories to tell.