My Week In Guilin

By:

Jennifer Au

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Hi Everyone,

Right now I am on a train coming back to Beijing. This week has been a blast! I spent a week in an amazing hostel in Guilin with a ้žๅธธๅฅฝ (very good) friend and I also met many amazing people! I’m happy I decided to explore Guilin instead of stay in Beijing during my week vacation.

We stayed at a hostel called This Old Place; this was the perfect location for us because it was right in the center of the city. On top of that it’s located next to a beautiful lake/park. During nighttime me and my friend would take a stroll along the lake. :) Everyone at the hostel was very kind and helpful, so we felt like we were right at home!

My friend Nora and I went to tourist attractions everyday. It was definitely tiring, but it was well worth it. My favorite tourist attraction was a cruise along the river. The scenery was absolutely stunning and on top of that we made a new friend! It was really fun conversing with her in Mandarin. We were not able to understand every single word she said, but we were able understand the main points!

During our last night of Guilin, we decided to go to a local bar/club. This was one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had in Guilin. First of all, when we saw people in giant animal costumes dancing with people. At first we thought this was something normal for clubs in Guilin, but we realized it was one of the employee’s birthday. Still, the only time I could imagine this scene is at a child’s birthday party! Secondly, Nora and I were being treated very well just because we are from America. This type of special service was very new to us! The employees kept on giving us free snacks/drinks. And lastly, we had quite an experience at the dance floor. There were very few people there, and they were all linked together in a circle (with their arms around each other). When me and my friend tried dancing by ourselves, they kept on pushing us into the center. This was a little uncomfortable for us, so we left!

The only unfortunate event that occurred during my trip was I was pick pocketed! Someone stole my phone! :'( Despite this, I still had a lot of fun and created many awesome memories!

Nora and I about to slide down a mountain! :D
Nora and I about to slide down a mountain! :D
Chillin' on a bamboo raft! :)
Chillin’ on a bamboo raft! :)
The lake right next to our hostel!
The lake right next to our hostel!

-Jen

Jennifer Au

Ni hao! My name is Jennifer Au and I am a fourth year Biology major at the University of California, Irvine. During Fall 2015 I have been given the amazing opportunity to study at Beijing Normal University for four months to learn Mandarin. I chose this program because it was the one option that included an intensive Chinese language program. I want to learn Mandarin so I could better communicate with other individuals including my family in China. It has always been my dream to reach in and discover the culture of my ancestors and who I really am and through this study abroad program, I will be able to incorporate academics and social development with cultural cognizance. My deep rooted desire to study abroad in China as a Chinese American may seem a little predictable, but this desire mainly stems from my upbringing in a predominate Latino neighborhood, in which I assimilated more with the Latino community and felt significantly displaced from my own culture. Iโ€™m looking forward to meeting the locals and practicing Mandarin with them everyday and trying authentic Chinese cuisine, like Peking duck! I also hope to use my Chinese acquisition as a physician assistant to communicate with patients who may speak Chinese.