P.S. China

Just a little something of my journey through China.  My 27 months living as a Peace Corps volunteer.

[allaboutchinese]

不要让成功冲昏了头脑，也不要把失败记在心里。生命苦短，你应该过得开心一些。

Never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart。Life is short and you deserve to be happy.

[peacecorpsjourney]

抄手 – Similar to wontons, chaoshou can be found all around Sichuan in a variety of styles – but it’s best in a spicy oil bath with some green veggies! 

[jtlunar]

It's never the wrong time.☄️☄️ #dontbeafraid #refocus #time #repost #chelseahandler #love #help #keepliving #staythoughful #staymindful #inspiration #inspire @chelseahandler

[jtlunar]

Last week was my last time in the classroom with all my students. A few of my classes I have had for two years and others only one but I have gotten to know them all in very special ways. Being a teacher has brought me a lot of frustrations with the students, myself, and just being a teacher in general but it only takes one small instance for all of that to go away. Those are the moments when I feel so grateful I became a teacher. My students have brought me so much joy, knowledge, and friendship over the past two years that I will never forget. During my service I have taught over 600 freshman and sophomore students majoring from engineering to medicine to environmental protection. It was hard to say goodbye and it's taken me two years to realize it, but they have been the best part of this experience and I could not have done it without them.

[jtlunar]

Dragon boat festival. On this day there are boat races all around the country in order to remember a very famous poet. A few friends and I were able to participate in a race in the city I am living in. There were about 40 people in the boat racing a short distance. Although my team did not come close to winning (we came in last place) we had a lot of fun taking part in the races.

[jtlunar]

Last weekend one of my friends invited me to her hometown which is the neighboring city to Tongren. Songtao is very similar to Tongren but with a larger Miao ethnicity population. We walked around the city, cooked, went for a hike, and visited a Miao village. My friend only speaks Chinese so some of the time it was a little difficult to communicate but she always showed me her true self through her generosity and patience. I had a great time getting to know her family and learning more about Miao history. The clothing my friend and I are wearing is the Miao traditional clothing and the gold writing is Chinese and Miao language. So interesting!

[obamawhitehouse]

“A generation after young Americans came here to fight, a new generation of Americans are going to come here to teach and build and deepen the friendship between us.” —President Obama on the @peacecorps coming to Vietnam for the first time

[jtlunar]

Train rides through the countryside.

[jtlunar]

Backgrounds.

[jtlunar]

Chongqing, Wulong. 重庆，武隆。

[jtlunar]

My co-worker invited me over for dinner. She can cook.

[howapcvputsitgently]

When locals just stare at me

[jtlunar]

Hi, can I help you?

[allaboutchinese]

猫! Cat!

[jtlunar]

贵州，铜仁 。米豆腐 Mi doufu (rice tofu), specialty food of Tongren.

[jtlunar]

上海 Shanghai food

[cgtnofficial]

Time traveling in China: Photographing the changing country

How did cities in China change during the past century? In order to find out, an America-based photographer decided to revisit the places in his old photos and snap another photo in the same angle and focal length.

Dheera Venkatraman took the photos while traveling across China in the beginning of 2016, and paired with the old photos, mostly taken during the early 1900s, on his personal website.

Naming the photo series “Time Traveling in China,” the MIT alumnus and sci-fi lover told The Paper, an online news portal, that he was especially interested in working on a project with a sense of “time travel.”

(Photos: dheera.net)

[mingsonjia-deactivated20170120]

外滩 The Bund, Shanghai