My name is Joni, I'm an American student from Florida Int'l University studying in China for a semester. This is just a taste of what I will be experiencing this semester. For more photos, please visit my instagram @jonevette. Enjoy!
My last two weeks.
I had an amazing last two weeks in China, it started off with a trip to the Beijing Zoo where I got to see the cutest panda’s ever! I also got to eat at Dadong Roast duck again. (I posted previously about Dadong on this blog.) It was a special occasion because It was my 21st birthday. My boyfriend Andrew made this weekend an incredibly unforgettable weekend.
The last week was a scramble to the finish line because I had to pack and start cleaning up my room. It was also finals week, so Andrew and I couldn’t go on one last adventure to Thailand as planned. However, this week was awesome! On the last day I watched Mulan in English, which was really cool to me. We spent our last night bar hopping with friends till four in the morning. We all had such a great and amazing time. We left our dorms 3 hours after we got home and made our way on to the airport.
It was such a bittersweet moment. It was cold and gray, it was the week before Christmas, I wanted to be with my family and friends, but I didn’t want to leave this life that I’ve created behind. I’ve made the best of friends who I know call family behind, I left the crazy adventures of Joni and Andrew behind, I left the late nights, the language, the food, and times spent with my American friends behind too. As much as I wanted to go back home, a part of my heart was left in China. Something that I will always cherish and love. I bring home with me new knowledge of friendships, America, freedom, and how the world works now, and for that I am thankful.
The End.
Our trip to the Great Wall of China was awesome! We took a lift up to the top of the mountain then we got to walk and explore the Wall. We wandered off to a closed off portion that said “DO NOT TRESPASSING.” We pretended to not speak English and continued on our merry way into the ruins of the great wall. When our exploration was done, we were able to ride this sweet toboggan down the mountain.
Only in China
Today at the subway station, an older woman was staring at me. Then she walked up to me and grabbed my hair. I guess the curls confused her and she needed to see if they were real.
For our first day in Beijing, we went to the Forbidden City. The air pollution was awful! Nonetheless, it was still beautiful!
Celebrity Status
Andrew and I were walking around when this giddy girl ran up to us. She squealed “Hi! Today my birthday! I take picture with you?” We said sure and took the photo. While we were posing for the cameras, peace signs and all, a flash mob of high school Chinese girls swarmed us for photo ops! It was the cutest and scariest thing ever.
An abandoned theme park right next to the North and South Korean border. So desolate. So cold.
