Hostels can range from hotels with communal bathrooms to dorm-like rooms that allow you to meet potentially five other people.

The first hostel I stayed in was Wangfujing International Hostel. It's like a hotel where people keep to themselves, even in the rooms. The bathrooms all had Western toliets which was nice. Although, one can't avoid a squat pot forever.

The second hostel, Shuyuan, in Xi'an, was more of a "hostel." People hung out in the bar and resturant talking, laughing and inevitably, drinking. This one was my favorite. The staff was exceptionally helpful and I felt at home.

Apparently, so did one roommate, who my sister and I named, Sir Sleeps a Lot. He would be asleep eighteen to twenty hours a day.

We also had Sir Butterfingers who would wake us up every morning at seven when he dropped everything possible.

Lastly, we splurged in Beijing at the Emperor's Guesthouse for a two-person room. This hostel was like a cross between the first and the second - you could find people but if you wanted to be left alone, you could do that too.

Honestly, hostels are great, cheap places to stay. They come with their own quirks, but that is just to be expected.

The Beijing subway is notoriously crowded. (Yes, even at three in the afternoon on a Sunday.) The majority of the stops don't have escalators and good luck trying to find an elevator. China's public transport is hopeless for those wheelchair or even crutches bound.

Taxis are cheaper in cities other than Beijing where fares start at 10 yuan at go up by 2 yuan a unit (I believe by kilometers). There won't be a place to buckle your seatbelt and extremely few drivers speak English. It will be a slightly crazy ride since almost no one obeys traffic laws and horns are normal sounds. In fact, ambulance sirens are disregarded more than taxi horns.

Bus quality varies though fares are usually one yuan. In some cities, they won't come to a complete stop. General operating procedure is to get on in the front and exit in the middle. There is no such thing as a fire code so the buses can be so full you can't move to get off.

Trains are generally half an hour late and filled with people. Hard seats may be the best price but it also means people can pack around you. Sleepers are decent though it helps to take a sleeping aid if you really want to sleep.

There are bicycle ride things called "tuk-tuks" but the seats are small. However, they are authentic.

While queueing might be commonplace in the airport, never expect it on public transportation. There is nothing wrong with elbowing because you will be elbowed in return.

Depending on where you start from, a flight to China can take 10.5 hours to almost 14. (Definitely more if you have connecting flights, ect.)

The plane ride to China is about 99.5% Chinese and .5 non-Chinese (at least, in both cases my family has experienced.) Regarless, announcements are made first in English and there may only be one flight attendant fluent in Chinese.

Entertaining yourself can be difficult depending on what you consider entertainment. Movies are generally okay though there's a limited selection - especially if you return the same month you left. Personally, I enjoy the map feature to know how long I've been on the plane, how much longer to go and maps. I also read (it's got to be a thick book to keep me occupied the entire time) and journal.

On the flight there, if you are in the back of the plane, expect the Asian meal option to be out. Also be prepared to have something to eat or drink every 4 or so hours. At times it's annoying because you don't want to have junk on your tray table constantly.

Chinese customs/ immigration can be scary with surgical masks and lack of non-authoritative ways. However, generally if you follow the instructions you will be fine. It's kind of a show - one for a good purpose - but a show.

It's helpful to have your passport with you for the beginning of the flight for when you fill out the forms (one you have to keep to leave China) because all of them require your passport number.

At the airport, expect people to queue but don't be shocked if they don't.

In less than a week, I will be back in the United States and won't see my sister again until February. It's amazing how quickly the time has flown. And yet, time has also dragged on.

By the end of the first week I was not happy. I wanted to be back in the U.S. more than I wanted to spend time with my sister. Now, I take just about everything with a grain of salt (or spit in the Chinese custom).

I will start my teaching of American customs and my life in American hopefully tomorrow depending on what time we will get in on the train from Xi'an. I, personally, can't wait because it gives me something to do other than read massive amounts of fan fiction or read The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand for a scholarship.

But right now, we're in Xi'an. It's a very walkable city - thankfully. I was happy to find it so much different than Beijing where I didn't have a great experience. Xi'an is quieter (if you can call it quiet), cleaner and much more people friendly - although the lack of non-expensive resturants can be slightly frustrating.

That being said, there isn't much to see in Xi'an. The Bell and Drum Towers are in the center of town (quite literally for the first one) and other than the Muslim quarter - there isn't much to see in town. The Terra Cotta Warriors are about an hour by bus and while I am happy to have seen them, you need an imagination to imagine people building them. Thankfully, I have one!

It's been a love/hate experience with China and now, instead of saying that it was good to see my sister, I can say that it was an experience. Because that's what is has been. It's been something I will remember forever, and also not want to experience again. It's weird but also so completely normal. In a way, it is like when we would visit millions of churches in Europe. I would say, "Oh, that's a cool church," but then I wouldn't want to return. China has been like that for me.

Later, I'll talk about hostel life - when I get the chance. For now, someone wants the computer.

I taught for the first time the other day. A lesson that I thought would take at least twenty minutes took maybe five. And I was talking slow! There's some things I realized I need to add, revisit and think about some more before I decide to teach that lesson again. If I want to give Maggie's students a true vision of what life as an American high schooler is, then I need to be more detailed.

The other day, while in one of the Junior 3's classrooms I noticeed a board which I guessed to be a no-name board. Most of it was jibberish as all Chinese except the word for 'exit' is. And then I noticed something eerily familiar. AlSo3 I think was what it was. And then with an excited squeak, I looked to Maggie, "It's Chemistry!"

Naturally, Maggie's students found it amusing that I figured out it was Chemistry. What? I'm a senior in high school - I should be able to recognize a chemical reaction formula! That being said, I couldn't tell what type of reaction because above the arrows where it normally tells the energy or what have you, it was written in Chinese.

These Junior 3's are the equivalent of freshman - 14 years old - and they are all taking full-blown Chemistry! I took Chemistry as a freshman but I was by people who were juniors.

Then, walking past a classroom on the senior campus (where we live) I saw a very, very familiar math equation on the screen. They were simplifying trigometric functions. Again with the amazing-ness! I took Trigonometry as a junior and there are quite a few people in my high school that will never take it.

I find it amazing how when I came to China I felt like I was slightly better than my sister's Chinese students because I a) knew English and b) had more money. It was a subconscious thing. But every day these kids amaze me. They are so intelligent. I won't say they are more intelligent than Americans because they have trouble with creativity.

They don't have any "creative" classes - yearbook, newspaper, sculpture (art although generally the students, it seems, don't take it). My sister says that they are not allowed to major in fun things either. They are amazed when they found out that I am going to major in Creative Writing and History. That is just beyond them.

And yet, they are so smart. They have a passion and an eagerness for learning that surprises me constantly. It's a great feeling to know that you can still be taught something even when you aren't expecting to learn.

I've been in China since Saturday afternoon and I have decided it's definitely no Europe. And maybe that's my fault because I was hoping it would be like Europe. And maybe it's that I'm not used to something so completely, utterly different than what I know. Whatever the case is, China has taken my expectations and blown them out the window.

Walking off the airplane I was happy to see a glass, stable, permanent jet way. Jet ways scare me to death so it was nice to know this one wasn't going to fall. Entering the actual airport it was gorgeous. If it wasn't against Chinese law I would have taken pictures of it. It opened just before the Olympics so it's new and very airy.

A health check (walking through temperature gauges) and customs proved to be scary. There are about twenty customs lines, each with a Chinese official in a surgical mask. Yes, a surgical mask. They don't want to get sick (who does?) and they check your passport and visa - making sure, I assume, you were on the plane manifesto.

Seeing my sister was absolutely amazing. It even made up for the fact that I had McDonalds two meals in a row (minus the meals on the plane). We got to our hostel and by 7 p.m (5 a.m in the U.S.) I was out.

Beijing turned out to be an experience and preferably one I won't have to repeat very often. (Or at all in the case of the metro experience.) The streets are dark, littered with garbage everywhere. And you have to make sure you are avoiding the spitting. Apparently the Chinese believe that is bad to keep phlegm in your body so they spit it out. And also, they wear knit surgical masks because they want to keep their mouth warm. Interesting huh?

We weren't rushing but somehow we got through the Forbidden City and Tian'amen Square in about three hours. The Forbidden City is cool for about the first five buildings. After that it's like, "Oh, more Ming architecture."

Lunch was at a Muslim restaurant where the beef wasn't of great quality - but we were hungry and wanted food.

The Chinese metros rarely have escalators and never elevators so we lugged my two suitcases all around the metro. We think about half of China's population was on those metro rides. There aren't weekends for the Chinese, as I've experienced.

We changed train tickets and had an absolutely horrible experience with the train. Now we know never to get standing room only tickets on a train again. Arriving in Handan around 8:30 we got to Maggie's apartment and then almost promptly went to sleep.

The next morning I went to class with her. And that was an experience of a lifetime. I walked in to a class of 65 students to find them cheering and clapping for me. It was definitely overwhelming. So far I've been to two classes - I'm going to more after lunch. And they were both Junior 1's - the first year of middle school for them. Both classes asked me my age (they thought I was old) and then later, in the second class, they brought Chinese dimes to me and asked if I would buy them an iPod. Sorry honeys, that won't buy an iPod.

I had something at lunch that really turned my stomach and so yesterday I skipped two classes so I could rest and be near a bathroom in case I needed to throw up. After eating some fried rice last night and again today for lunch, I am much better. So yay for so far avoiding the dreaded traveller's sickness.

Until later -

In less than a week I will be in Beijing, China with my absolutely amazing sister. And I could probably go on and on and on (and on!) about how excited I am to see her, to see China and see some monks kick some kung fu butt. (Plus the Muslim bakeries) But I won't. Because there's plenty of time for that once I get to China (or at least, on the 14 hour plane ride.)

I've been retyping some school essays so I can get rid of them and have a digital copy instead. As a future English and History major I need to have samples of my writing for... something I think. If nothing more than to get inspired (yes, I'm weird). But as I'm retyping them I'm realizing I write much better history papers than I do English papers. Is that weird or what? My AP World History papers are much more fluid, more solid reasoned and except for I tend to like to use the word governments over and over, are pretty good. My Honors English II essays? Oh good Merlin they are terrible!

This year I'm taking Humanities which is basically a philosophy slash social science slash English class. And I'm starting to be able to write good English papers that are well thought out (in blue book style which is hard for me.) However, I haven't written a "what's the symbolism in this piece?" paper in about eight months, maybe more. I'm wondering how that's going to affect me when I'm forced to write papers like that for college.

Don't get me wrong, I still love English more than history but for some reason, I happen to be better at history writing. Weird.

Ann