New Era Hotel Yantai

... and look down at the rocks by the sea and count a dozen such couples all being photographed in a small space. It is corny in the extreme. And the forced expressions on their faces somehow manages to be both nauseating and comical. I can't work out what is most objectionable about this phenomenon: the mawkish sentimentality, the artificiality, or the completely unimaginitive repetitiveness of it all: I'm just willing one of the men to perhaps wear a light grey suit.<br>

... least where they travel to have a banquet, as well as the magician Anqi Sheng. Supposedly, everything on the mountain seems white, while its palaces are made from gold and platinum, and jewelries grow on trees.<br><br>There is no pain and no winter; there are rice bowls and wine glasses that never become empty no matter how much people eat or drink from them; and there are ...

... out in the water.<br><br>I then introduced to her the wonders of the Shark Net and how they stop people from becoming Human Fillets, People Chops and Man Flake for the hungry sharks that are swimming around somewhere out there beyond the net. They, like us are at the top of the food chain. We on land and they beneath the surface of the big blue yet things are hardly even between us as we simply won't allow ...

... t have felt much different. Even the kid from New York says Beijing seemed pretty much the same as American cities. Plus, the complete lack of anything natural (including something as basic as sky) was definitely starting to get to me and the similarity was actually kind of frustrating. When I return, however, I'm expecting good weather because it literally improves visibly every day. Beijing did have some cool stuff ...

... out. Turns out the song was playing real loud on some Chinese guy's cell phone, he was trance-dancing right there in middle of the mall! I said, "Say man, what's the name of that sweet song?" That boy didn't even stop dancing, he just said,"Bing He Shi Dai". Needless to say, now I jam to it on my iPod. For the best China travel information and tips on the Internet check out: www.askreddragon.com

... learning a bit of Chinese, snacking and drinking tea - taking it easy until training starts again tomorrow! Our group has a week until we're to be tested on the first proper fist form that we've been taught so I imagine this week will be a tough one. That's about all there is to report but will hopefully start updating sometime this week

... begin to actually enjoy accept the pain and some would even go as far as saying they enjoyed it. Ergo, I call being stretched masochist training, especially while we had Little Du who had us hold every stretch with every leg for 5 minutes each. Stretching the other person is a very sadistic practice because to give them a good stretch and to allow them to reap max benefits you must destroy them. Master's did this very effectively by just completely ...

... more lines, including Chinese ones, in which I introduce various acts. Midway through the rehearsal I called my tutor to cancel the lesson we had planned for the day, since the rehearsal was taking quite a bit longer than the allotted hour I had given it. Just when we were starting to wrap it up, the Korean girl pointed at an item on the program with my name on it, asking me if I was ready to go to rehearsal. Another rehearsal? Turns out they placed me ...

... cool having someone next door. We're getting on really well, although I'm more tempted to shop now I have a girl-friend - uh oh! Watch out jewellery stalls! Also realised how rubbish I was at getting around the centre of Yantai, so the last few weeks I've been determined to get my bearings - if any of you would like to visit, I am now an expert tour guide! I've been teaching Primary and Kindergarten for the last few weeks - lesson plans have included animals, aliens, charades and ...

... and my shaky Chinese... So now I'm in Taiyuan, once the most polluted city in the world, now about the third. I was wondering why I couldnt see the sun... Anyway tomorrow I'm off to Pinyao, a beautiful walled city, so I can get away from the awful hotel I've booked myself into. I won't show you a picture, because the parents would be horrified! Anyway something more cultural will appear here next time I promise! Farewell my Yantai buds xx Take care everyone, Helena xxx