China: Xiangtan

Dayton and I left Guangzhou for an extremely long and slow train ride to Changsha where we planned to transfer to Xiangtan where I had taught English for 5 months in 2008. On the train we sort of huddled together because it was really cold, especially coming from hot weather in Thailand. After a few hours on the train some people got curious about who we were and started talking to us. Some college girls practiced a bit of English with us and asked us what our plans were. We started discussing things in Chinese and they said that the train station that we were headed to had been closed down and suggested that we get off a station earlier and get a taxi instead. So with their help we found a taxi and were soon on our way to Xiangtan. Once we arrived at the university we had to wait a while before my friend Sara would be done teaching classes. I met Sara while I was teaching there and she was still there and offered us her extra bedroom. She had a roommate Ana and they both welcomed us to their apartment and were super kind to us. We had a great time staying with them but after a few days when we had planned to leave I became very ill. For the next week I was in bed battling a cough and fever which seemed to never want to go away. After about a week though I was feeling quite a bit better and Dayton and I went roller skating together. As soon as we walked in a guy on roller skates about our age came up to us and asked Dayton (in chinese) if he wanted to roller skate with him. Dayton agreed, thinking they would just hang out on the rink and was surprised when this guy grabbed his hand! I wish I had my camera so I could have gotten a photo.
The week in Xiangtan was a very humbling experience for me. I was really stoked to follow our plan and see a lot of China but 1 week in bed taught me to be patient and reminded me that I'm human. After I felt a little better we got our packs and went to the train station to buy tickets to Jiang Jia Jie, a national park. When I was almost to the window I had a distinct feeling that we should board a train to Beijing instead. I talked to Dayton and he agreed, the next thing we knew we were on a first-class overnight train to one of the largest cities in the world. Next stop: Beijing.