Everyday Moments

Recently, I was flipping through my iPhone and I realized that there were so many photos I was yet to share with you all. So here are eight photos accompanied by eight little Nanjing vignettes to match!

This past fall, the pollution in Nanjing was horrendous. Usually, the AQI level (Air Quality Index) was three times as worse as New York City. I even had classes cancelled because parents didn't want their children to leave the house. There were days we couldn't see more than a few feet in front of us, the smog was so terrible! This dusty car is just one example of visual pollution I saw.

I spent New Year's Eve with a large group of friends, who bought fireworks to set off at midnight on the Caochengmen Bridge (which happens to be the bridge that separates their apartment from mine!) I guess the idea to spend New Year's on the bridge had occurred to other people in the area, including these two Chinese girls, who lit their lantern (with their wishes for the new year written on it) and chatted with us in Chinese as we watched it float over the river.

One Saturday, Evan and I were wandering around Nanjing and we happened upon a kind of unremarkable market. There was no prepared food to buy and a lot of "Made for TV" type junk. However, it was worth it in the end because we found that they had bumper cars! It was a fun addition to our errand-filled day.

Deji Plaza is the fanciest mall in Nanjing, it's where all the designer stores and most expensive restaurants are located. I've always love this cute decoration and how this open area allows you to see all the floors together.

So glad I went to the annual Plum Blossom festival in Nanjing, the flowers were absolutely beautiful. Even though the AQI level that day was still dangerously high, the sky was blue, the flowers smelled amazing, and it was a nice way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Plus a bonus photo from the festival: a Chinese-opera mask kite being flown at the park.

In addition to my work with Hohai and Rise, I also am college consultant. My Chinese coworkers and I had a long day, so they all gathered on the couch with ten minutes left on the clock to chat in Chinese.

Hohai's campus is really beautiful. I snapped this shot on my way to work one day. Even though I hate that my classes are so early and require me to be on the bus to Jiangning at 7, I like seeing the campus empty and flooded with sunlight at 6:40 AM.

Everyday life, no matter where you are, is filled with these little neat, beautiful moments and I think it's important to capture them. And more importantly, enjoy them!

A Whole New (Underwater) World

I don't think it would surprise anyone to know that while in the Philippines, I earned my Scuba certification. I'm fairly adventurous, (remember that time I went skydiving?) I like nature (dragging my family to different nature sites, I will convert you!) and I was looking for a fun activity to do for the last half of my vacation. Scuba fit the bill on all accounts!

Suit up!

Ready to go...

I was lucky that one of my fabulous All Hands donors introduced me to her nephew, Jeremy. Even more lucky that he not only is a scuba instructor, but also just so happened to run a scuba shop. And luckier still that his scuba shop just so happened to be on the same island as my volunteer work. Lots of wonderful coincidences.

Not to brag, but I consider myself a pretty quick study. Before my first lesson, I read (and aced) the quizzes (I probably shouldn't brag about that, they are insanely easy.) I felt really over-confident. The underwater skills seemed super doable. My first underwater "skill" was to learn was how to clear my goggles if they got water in them. And guys, I freaked. My mask full of water, I couldn't see Jeremy, I flailed and hyperventilated, and eventually I flipped out and swam right back to the surface (which isn't encouraged because if you were actually diving at a deep level, swimming up so quickly has terrible consequences.) But after a minute or two of floating at the surface, we swam back down and I managed to clear my goggles. It certainly wasn't perfect, and mask clearing was the skill I struggled most with for the rest of my dives (which is really unfortunate, because I have a tendency to breathe heavily through my nose, which fogs up the glass.) From then on, I handled each skill calmly and did an acceptable job on the first try.

But the good stuff came on my first dives. They were incredible. The fish, the coral, all those wacky organisms whose names I don't know. All of these creatures and landscapes I've never seen before. I like to consider I'm well travelled, but the Earth is 70% water and I had never seen the bottom of the ocean like that before. Depending on how much sun there was, the coral was a million shades of purple, pink, and white. I was mesmerized by the never-ending school of silver barracuda. Even just looking out at the water, how far it goes, how deep it goes. I got that same feeling I get in a modern art museum: I could stare and stare and stare at the same piece of coral for hours, examining each intricacy, each color, each facet. I sometimes forgot to breathe, not because I was using the respirator, but because the sight literally took my breath away.

Underwater action shot

Very cool coral

Not gonna lie, "A Whole New World" from Aladdin popped into my head on more than one occasion.

Also, pet monkey at the scuba shop

As well as a few days at the scuba shop nippa hut, I also stayed at a beautiful resort in the nearby Anda Beach, called Blue Star Dive. Even though Blue Star is a fancy resort (fancy by my standards, at least... you all remember the hut in Thailand, right?) they had backpacker friendly rooms and prices. The staff was friendly, I had a gorgeous room, the food was good, and the owners were incredibly sweet.

Fancy!

The resort from the boat

Private beach

I went on two dives with Blue Star, an amazing daytime dive to one of their many dive spots, and a nighttime dive, which was scary but incredible. We saw mandarin fish, an eel, and all kinds of other fish that only come out at night.

My underwater "tour guide"

I'm on a boat.

Overall, my last week in the Philippines was a wonderful, relaxing break after the noise and work of All Hands. Anda Beach was quiet and secluded, when I went to the Anda public beach for the day I was the only person there! I'd wake up at sunrise and go to sleep early. I ate well, read a ton of great books, and saw some of the most memorable and beautiful sights I'll ever see.

 

















*Stay tuned, I hope to add more scuba pictures soon!