ok, I am back.  I know that you are surprised my two frequent visits to update my site so close together.  Nothing terrible has happened.  I am just visiting the nicest internet cafe i have ever seen or been to (assuming that I had been to one at a time when I couldn't see).  So I thought I would take the time to write to you again and say hi and maybe elaborate a little bit on my past few weeks.

 

If you don't remember, the chinese school year follows the lunar new year when it comes to the winter break.  So this year the 18th of this month is the lunar new year.  Since we finished teaching after the second week of january we have almost two months until classes start up again.  That is really cool since we will have a lot of time to travel around and see things but not so cool because traveling costs money and two months of traveling is a lot of money even when you are traveling on a budget. 

 

I have come to believe that China is the budget traveler's paradise.  Things there are just cheap.  Southeast Asia is cheap too but I have the advantage of knowing China a lot better than I do other places and therefore can bargain a lot better and have the ability to ask the right questions.  (Like now in Bangkok.  Aaron and I are staying at a cheap guest house.  I asked most of the right questions but let an important one like "Do we have hot water?" slip past.)  In China I know most of the things they try to skimp and save on.  Down here it is all relatively new.  So we get stuck every now and then.

 

Needless to say most teachers save up throughout the semester so they can travel during the winter break.  It is definitely cheaper to travel within China but it is nice to stick around down here in the sun too.  Just as an example here is what my teammates are doing this break.  Two are traveling to India.  Two are stay8ing at the beach in Thailand for a while.  And two are returning back to the school.  And then Aaron and I have our own plans.  A lot of teachers have the chance to return to the states for a month or so.  Of course America is probably the most costly place to travel so usually they have relatives who want them to come home and pay for them. 

 

Anyway, Aaron and I will leave in the morning for Shanghai.  We will stay there for a couple of days and then we will leave for a small island that is part of Korea.  It is called Jeju do.  I made some good Korean friends right when I arrived in China.  We have been friends for over three years now and so I am going to visit.  I am really excited to go.  Even though this particular island is known as the honeymoon island.  Trust me, Aaron and I aren't that close.  :) 

 

I still haven't had a chance to post any pictures, but when I do I will be sure to give you a better commentary of my travels.  So, be sure to study up on Guilin (China), Cambodia (Angkor Wat and the Killing Fields), and Jeju island in Korea.  There will be a test.