Back from Spring Break

I never thought I'd ever see another Spring Break again but so goes my life as a born-again student. For the holiday last week, a few friends and I went to Sanya on Hainan Island off the coast of Southern China. This may be the most beautiful place you've never heard of. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Resort in the pristine Yalong Bay (The Ritz isn't completed yet otherwise I would have been there ;) and had the place almost to ourselves. It actually was a really nice resort right on the water with beautifully landscaped grounds and a fantastic pool. I was immensely satisfied.

Many call Sanya the Hawaii of China and while it is just as beautiful it still lacks the development and amenities of Hawaii. I'd equate it more to Cabo although surprisingly it doesn't seem to be inundated with development. I guess that's a good thing and quite unusual for China but basically there is NOTHING to do besides lay out on the beach during the day and eat at night. Which suited me juuuust fine for the first 3 days but after that I started to get island fever. There was a street of clubs that we tried out as the only non-Chinese patrons. It was interesting but definitely a different scene than we are used to and we weren't in the mood for a loud club nor the clown in the corner behind us constantly blowing a whistle and making balloon animals (I kid you not!). So each night we ended up at Rainbow Bar (a rainbow apparently has no significance here); a nice enough bar w/ a pool table as its saving grace but nonetheless a knock off of TGIFridays. The owner, American of course, even went so far as to copy the menu verbatim complete with a Jack Daniel's Grill section. I love that I couldn't even tell you where a Fridays is in LA or SF but I've now been to 3 in China (NOT by my choice). So anyway, Sanya was nice but I recommend 3 days max. My parents (who arrive today!!) want to go so I am going to strategically plan a quick trip right before I go to Germany in early May for the wedding to maximize my tan :)

I was able to catch CNN while in Sanya which happened to be the same time the Olympic torch was going through Europe and on its way to San Francisco. I don't get CNN at home in Shanghai so I was an eager viewer at all hours. What was interesting was the contrast in CNN's reporting to The China Daily, China's national English language paper and supported by the government. All CNN reported was the turmoil the protesters were causing for the torch procession while the China Daily's headline read, "Olympic Torch Receives Warm Reception in Chilly London" (London had near zero temps that week). There was one line about protesters trying to disrupt the relay but it was handled swiftly by Olympic organizers. CNN even did a clip about The China Daily trying to sugarcoat the protests. It was quite humorous to read. I will write a separate post about the Olympics, Tibet, etc and the sentiment here in China since quite a few people have been asking me about it.

So that was my Spring Break. I'm really embracing this student life and think I may try to make a career out of it :)

A girl can dream can't she??