The Nikki Madi Dynasty

I got into Xiamen Monday about 11am and took a bus around Xiamen for 1 yuan to find the hostel. I could’ve taken a taxi, but I wanted to see a bit more of the city. Xiamen is beautiful! Greenery, trees, palm trees, lakes, beautiful buildings, a beach and ocean views, and some 1st world conveniences-I got to eat at McDonalds! It’s amazing how good some American food tastes after being deprived for a few months. Oh it was good to be with Madi and Sam again! My China family! I’ve missed them a lot. We took a hike through some botanical gardens beyond a lake and through a field and the gardens were so magnificent. I got to see some cool trees, flowers, cacti, rocks, views, birds, and it was just great. It took most of the day and it was quite a hike. One cool thing about Xiamen is it has the big city portion, but it’s full of nature everywhere, a good blend, and it’s a more chill atmosphere compared to Beijing. I think if I came back here to teach Xiamen would be my first choice-I would choose Beijing, but it’s so expensive. Sam and Madi, who have both been to Xiamen before, introduced me to Zhongshanlu (middle mountain road, a strip mall) and Gulanyu, a beautiful island off the mainland that we had to take a ferry to get to and it has many more shops, beaches, fruit, and attractions. Tuesday the three of us went to a Buddhist temple, the Nanputuo Temple, where actual monks shave their heads and live. It’s set on the side of a small forest and it’s beautiful up there on the mountain. It’s a beautiful place and then a beautiful hike beyond. After the hike (I’ve done a lot of those this trip ;), Madi and I got to go off on our own and just talk and enjoy nature and a leaf fight. I love us! Afterward Alex, an old student of Madi’s Grandma Moss, took us sigh seeing around Xiamen and we drove underwater! There is an underwater tunnel 70 meters below sea level, and we went through it twice for fun. Then we picked up Sam and went to a Vegetarian restaurant because Jimmy, another former student, is one. The food was pretty good and so was the company. We got to meet a few more students, including Vera, Alan and Harry. After dinner, Alan took the three of us out for hot chocolate-always a good end to the day.
Wednesday Alan took us to what he thought was the Butterfly Valley, but it was just a good hike, which was perfectly fine, but we didn’t see all the butterflies we thought we would. Then he took us more sight seeing and out to lunch at a seafood place. We got to choose all of our food before they cooked it for us, which made me glad I don’t lose my appetite fast. It was alright, but I’m not a huge fan of an entire meal of seafood, just a thing or two here and there, so I wasn’t full or hungry at the end of the meal. Afterward he took us back to our hostel, where we chillaxed and Madi and I played a ridiculously silly version of pool. Good times! Then we went out to eat with Madi’s Grandma Moss’ Chinese Doctor, Dr. Tian, who took us around her hospital, which was pretty first world and nice. Then she took us out for Japanese food, which was really delicious. I have been severely spoiled these past couple weeks, completely! It’s nice, but I don’t think I could live like this forever. The most I spent was just plane tickets, and hardly anything on meals or water. After dinner we parted, and Sam, Madi, and I went to Gulanyu again and looked around and bought some fruit which we planned to do a documentary on.
Thursday was mine and Madi’s day to hang out while Sam went to Taiwan (Madi and I only have a single-entry visa). We went to Gulanyu (twice) and went to an organ museum, which is quite a cool place and we took a bunch of pictures, and then we hung out on the beaches, bought some things, gathered seashells, played around, and when we came back the second time it was raining with thunder and lightning, but we came back across the ferry to play on the beach anyway-everyone was getting out of the rain and thought we were insane. It was great! When we decided to go back and were sopping wet, people on the street still offered us umbrellas and I couldn’t help but laugh because of how drenched we were-we were more wet than the rain itself, what would an umbrella do? Haha. We went back and then to dinner with Alex, and he took us to his apartment-SO nice with an amazing view of Xiamen and he has a beautiful wife and the most adorable son, Thomas, who I just wanted to steal as my own. He’s so energetic and amazing at the piano and he’s only 3. He’s quite brilliant for his age, and so adorable. We met Charles, a colleague of Alex, and his son Andy, who wants to study in America after high school, so we had someone else to speak English to. After dinner, Sam, Madi, and I documented the fruit we bought, and then they went to bed and I stayed up all night skyping David. Why not, the next 24 hours would be traveling home? Friday we took a sleeper bus to Guangzhou and then a sleeper train to Yongzhou, and then a taxi to our school. This was my first time on a sleeper bus. If I’ve ever complained about sleeper trains before I was grateful for them after riding a sleeper bus. A sleeper bus is a bus with beds in them, if you can call them beds. They are only at most 5 feet long and a foot and a half wide, with rails on either side to keep you from falling off while the bus takes windy and bumpy turns. The only way I slept so well on them is because I was tired from being up all night and traveling always makes me tired. I can sleep anywhere now. It was nice to travel again with people I know. We met a guy named Chris who works at the university in Lingling and he’s from Boston, so we talked and visited, got numbers and promised to hang out before we went home, and in the morning (Saturday when we arrived in Yongzhou), we took a taxi home together. I slept so well on the bus and train, but I was still tired when I got back, and because I was locked out of my apartment, Madi was gracious enough to let me use her things.
Wow, these past 2 weeks were fantastic and priceless (even more for me because I didn’t spend much at all, hehe). Life is SO good! Thanks for your patience and prayers-the Lord has been with me every step of my journey!
This week my students are doing a talent show and next week the party for the class who has earned it. Then depending on if I teach the next week, we’ll have a final words lesson/party extension/pictures week, then I go to Shanghai (if I get out earlier than that last week I’ll go to Harbin first to visit Tate at his place and see the sights there), and then I fly back to America! I’m so excited to come home to see my family, friends, and David, but at the same time I’ll miss my students terribly. I did over these past two weeks and I’m not even gone for good. I love them. Life is excellent and full of adventure, and that makes one happy Nikki!


Pics 1-5: First Views of Xiamen around the University
Pic 6: Lover's Lake
Pic 7-9: Botanical Gardens










Pic 10-14: The cacti garden
Pic 15-18: Xiamen from the Botanical Garden hike









Pic 19: Xiamen sunset
Pic 20: Gardens
Pic 21: I rode an Elephant
Pics 22-23: Pics of Xiamen from the Gulanyu Ferry at night








Pics 24-28: The Nanputuo Temple and views from the forest behind
Pic 29: Classical Music Park: Me and Beethoven
Pic 30: Alex taking us sigh seeing-one beach on Xiamen
Pic 31: Marathon Sculptures
Pic 32: The underwater tunnel 70 meters below the ocean










Pic 33: The Butterfly Valley
Pic 34: My tail in Butterfly Valley
Pic 35: "Found a Peanut Just Now..." in Butterfly Valley
Pic 36: My favorite part of BV-look at that mole hair!
Pic 37: Baby Butterfly
Pic 38: Sam, Alan, and Madi on the path
Pic 39: Dolphins in Butterfly Valley?








Pics 40-42: Alan took us to a seafood restaurant. We got to choose our living food to eat. Yummy
Pics 43: Our plates
Pic 44: Sam going to town on the giant shrimp
Pic 45: Madi and her shelled snail
Pic 46: Our hostel in Xiamen
Pic 47: The Gulanyu aquarium
Pic 48: Organ Museum










Pic 49-51: Gulanyu Beach
Pic 52-54: Getting soaked in the Lightning Storm
Pic 55: Alex's Family (I love little Thomas!)
Pic 56: Charles, Andy, Sam, Madi, Thomas and Mother, Me, and Alex at dinner together.
Pic 57: Sleeper Bus Madi and Sam- Our way back Home!