Road Trippin' through Europe

When I first got off the plane, smelled the mixture of different flavors and saw cockroaches running around the streets, I questioned myself how and why did I end up there? It was my choice though, nobody forced me to move to China for 5 months, go out of a so-called comfort zone and live a life full of adventures. By staying for a longer time in a foreign country, I was able to learn and experience way much more than any ordinary tourists. I lived in Shantou, very small industrial Chinese village with only 5 million people. Most of the people there have never seen a foreigner, so being a tall blond girl with light eyes, I felt like a superstar that people make pictures of, smile at, ask for signatures, buy drinks or meals. I learned how to eat with chopsticks, how to eat rice every day and never get bored of it, how to taste crazy things like frog hot pot, soup with monkey brains or the mooncake. During the National Holidays, I had a chance to visit the Great Wall together with half billion Chinese tourists as most of the people travel during the same week and choose the capital as their main destination. There were some moments when I just got stuck in a crowd on the Great Wall with no possibility to move forwards or backwards. Nevertheless, the Great Wall was way much more outstanding than it seems from the pictures. While visiting Longsheng rice terraces near Guilin city, I took a night train for 13 hours. Price for a student ticket was only 6 euros! On the train I have met a Chinese guy who was friendly enough to help me buy further bus ticket and even offered breakfast when we got off. After trying traditional bamboo sticky rice, I have visited a small Huanglou village with Red Yao minority - women with long hair. A must-see performance of Red Yao women included traditional dances, songs and interesting stories. For instance, women are allowed to cut their hair only once in a lifetime - when they turn 18; their hair never gets gray as they wash it with rice water (good tip for ladies and gentlemen!). Must-do activities in Guilin and Yangshuo also included bamboo boat trip along Li River, cycling tour around neighboring villages and beer fish for a dinner meal. To sum up, those 5 months in China living like a superstar together with cockroaches in my room, meeting different people, travelling alone and experiencing true cultural shocks and adventures were one of the best ones in my life and I am more than happy that I have ended up there.