The Great Wall of China

I had such an amazing time. Any one want to come to China and do it with me?

I arrived in the early morning on Saturday, ate my breakfast in Tiananmen Square and some English speaking Chinese teachers started talking to me. We went to a traditional tea ceremony and then they bought me a turtle. (It died.) Then I went with a tour group of 6 (total) to the Great Wall. Everything was provided, the food, the beer, the sleeping bags, and the transportation. I came back to Zhengzhou on Sunday, around midnight.

It was wonderful!

Lisa Baer on the Great Wall of China!

Great Wall in the distance.

A local family gave us lunch after the hike.

Sometimes the hike meant that we
couldn't be on the Great Wall.
Some of the wall was not safe.

Brushed my teeth off the Great Wall.

About to sleep on the watch tower of the Great Wall.

This was the section that I walked on.

When I first arrived in Beijing, this woman took me to
a tea ceremony and bought me a turtle.
The turtle's name is Jackie Chan.

My new friend's friend.

Eating tiny oranges in Tiananmen Square while a random
man looks in.

Sleeping on the Great Wall of China!

I am leaving for Beijing TONIGHT (Friday night) to hike along and sleep on the Great Wall of China this weekend!

SO.EXCITED.

Also, here's my current work schedule and the second schedule is what I will have in 6 weeks. I'm working more hours now so I work less hours later.

Kaifeng, China

Well, I had a lot of fun last weekend. I went to the flower festival with my friend, Beryl.

It was her brother's birthday and so we ate cake, checked out some beautiful flowers, and got stared at a lot by people.

Oh, I also saw where the Emperor used to live and work as Kaifeng used to be the capital of China. It was very cool! I loved the food.

Leftovers after a huge lunch.

The best soup I have ever had. It has candy, sugar,
raisins, beans, and nuts all in it. Amazing.

Some pictures of the flowers at the festival.

All of these flowers share one single root.

Getting into a groove

Just being a teacher in China.

Apparently there is a Chrysanthemum Festival going on in Kaifeng, so I am going to that this weekend.

Traveling! Flowers! Sounds perfect.

Manila & El Nido, Philippines

I arrived in Manila on the 29th of September and stayed in a hostel for a night. I met up with some awesome people in my hostel and we enjoyed a great dinner before I went to El Nido via private plane.

When I arrived in El Nido, I stumbled upon a deserted beach with a resort and they gave me a cottage for only $20 USD a night, instead of $150 USD a night. I love traveling during the low-season!

I also went kayaking to an island and I snorkeled and swam all day while exploring the coral reefs.

The next day, I went hiking through a jungle to get to hot springs.

And then I went hiking through another jungle to get to a waterfall (during a typhoon). It was awesome!

I also drank with the locals, read in a hammock, and relaxed. Lovely, perfect vacation.

I returned to Manila on the 4th and will go back to China on the 6th.

Here's some videos:

My first cottage that I stayed at the first night I arrived at my resort in El Nido.

A quick look around my resort

Exotic, chatty bird.

My breakfast companion at the resort in El Nido

El Nido's Hot Springs- Boil an egg in 5 minutes!

Waterfall I hiked to in El Nido

The best kind of pain- I love it.

My other cottage at the resort (I was switched the 2nd day)