Adam A. Barth

红土地

2010-10-05T12:10:00.015-05:00

What is up my peoples! ^_^

It has been a long time since I last blogged on here. Life has been pretty busy in China and usually I put all my pics on facebook (I'm to lazy to put them on here as well) I have been on break from school for the last few days and I went traveling with Sofy to this beautiful place only a few hours from Kunming. It was absolutely amazing and I can't wait to get back there again someday soon. The area is called Hong Tu Di or Red Soil Land and It is relatively unknown to most people. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Yunnan. I have been to a lot of really beautiful places all over Asia and this is one of my favorites by far. Anyways my peoples I love you all and I hope life is treating everyone well. I don't know how often I will update my blog so If you want to see pics, keep in contact, etc the best way is either to email me or on face book. ONE LOVE!!!

Peace, Adam aka 亚丹

adamabarth@hotmail.com

Yao Kanadia

2009-05-11T01:10:00.007-05:00

Luo Ping

2009-05-07T09:45:00.010-05:00

Last weekend I went to a city called "Luo Ping" which is about 5 hours away from Kunming. The city itself is nothing great, but there are some cool places within a short drive. We saw some waterfalls, villages, and rivers. It was an interesting trip! Here are some pics

One Love, Adam

KUNMING CRAZYNESS!!!

2009-04-23T06:24:00.012-05:00

Life in the "Ming" is pretty good. I got a beautiful girlfriend and a wonderful life. Here are some pics of the random crazyness I find myself in. Holla

Cheng Jian!!!

2009-04-06T09:42:00.020-05:00

Last weekend I went to a place about an hour and a half away from Kunming called "Cheng Jian" with my lovely girlfriend and two other friends. It was an amazing trip. I am blessed to be surrounded by beautiful people and incredible places to visit. Here are some pics from the trip.

One Love, Adam

Korea in Kunming!

2009-04-01T04:28:00.011-05:00

Last Sunday I went to my Korean friends parents on the outskirts of Kunming. They own some land with horses, traditional Korean houses, etc. It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to get back and do it again. We ate incredible food, rode horses, shot traditional boa and arrows, and of course went to ktv...haha. Here are some pics from the trip.

One Love, Adam

Kunming Randomness!!!

2009-03-22T06:14:00.009-05:00

Well life in Kunming has been busy lately. School is in full session and there is always something to do. Once again I am blessed I have great teachers and cool classmates. It's always entertaining when I go to class. Life in the motherland is pretty good!

Miss and love you all, Yadan

Thailand (^_^)

2009-02-16T03:51:00.022-06:00

Thailand!!! What can I say...probably the best place I have ever been!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-23T00:32:00.006-06:00

What is up my peoples. At the moment I am chillin in Kunming...extremely bored. Almost everyone I know has left for the holidays so needless to say I don't have too much to do. Don't feel too bad for me though soon I will be in Thailand...(^_^)...I am going to go with my British friend in about a week and we don't have too much planned. The only stuff we really have planned is to go watch some Muay Thai fights and check out the beaches. We have some friends who live in Bangkok as well so hopefully we will hang out with them. Chinese New Year is coming up starting on the 26th. My friend from Beijing might come and visit me, but I'm not sure. If that doesn't happen I will probably just hang out with some friends...probably go to the bars...hehe. Anyways life here is good, nothing new to report. I'm just traveling as much as I can and enjoying the Chinese way of life. HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!

One Love, Adam

Vietnam!!!

2009-01-14T08:35:00.014-06:00

Well I have survived Vietnam...^_^ Shinobu and my self traveled all over and saw a lot really cool places. Vietnam is one of the best countries you could take a vacation to. Everything is cheap, scenery is beautiful, and the people are the nicest in the world. Here are some pictures to show you what we did. Right now I am on a six week break from school so I am planning on relaxing a bit and doing some traveling as well. I am going to go to Thailand on the 31st with my friend for 11 days and other than that who knows where I will go. I am hoping to go to this Chinese Island as well, but I am a little unorganized on that so I''m not sure if I will make it. Other than that not much is new here. I actually passed all my classes so I am very happy about this semester. I know next semester will be really really difficult so I am going to try and prepare as much as I can over the break. From here on out there is no more "pinyin" and I will strictly be using characters. I'm already use to little to no English, but getting rid of pinyin will make things unbelievably hard. 我太害怕汉字特别难！

One Love, Adam

Christmas/New Year in Vietnam!!!

2008-12-19T20:53:00.003-06:00

Well in case you have not heard I will be heading off to Vietnam here on Tuesday Dec, 23rd. Shinobu and myself will be spending about 10 days in Vietnam traveling around. We will start our journey in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) and then travel up the coast checking out what Vietnam has too offer. I am looking forward to seeing Shinobu and getting out of China for awhile. I love it here, but I am in desperate need of a vacation...hehe. Anyways I will be missing everyone very much during the holidays and I hope you all have a great time. You will be in my heart and on my mind while I am sitting on a beach in Vietnam...hahahah....sorry I had to say it. Anyways I will be back in Kunming on the 2nd of January just in time to take my finals for school and then I will have a big break from about the 8th of January to the end of February. I am planning on going to Thailand with my friend, a Chinese island called Hainan to visit my old Chinese teacher, and possibly to some other places as well. There is just too much to see here in SE Asia. Have a great Christmas and New Year my peoples. I will talk to you in 2009.

PEACE

One Love, Adam

Jazz Concert

2008-12-08T07:03:00.009-06:00

My friend is in a Jazz band here in Kunming. Every Friday and Saturday night they play at this nice Thai restaurant. Last weekend I went there with some friends and had a great time. It is amazing the things there are to do here in China. holla holla holla

One Love, Adam

Lijiang!!!

2008-11-26T08:45:00.016-06:00

I went to a place called Lijiang last weekend with my friend and it was a pretty sweet trip. We climbed a mountain and explored the area on bikes. There are many other cool places to visit near Lijiang that I didn't get a chance to see so I think I will be back that away again soon in the near future. Anyways it as a great trip and it felt good to do some traveling. Kunming is the best, but it is nice to get out of the big city every once and awhile...PEACE

FIshing (Chinese Style)

2008-11-13T22:30:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I went fishing with my friends class. We went to a place where they have stocked pools of fish so It wasn't "True Fishing", but it was still pretty cool and actually difficult. It took hours for anyone to catch a fish. I ended up catching 5 fish and I think I missed 2 others. We had a BBQ as well and the workers there fried up the fish for us. It was pretty tasty, but not as good as MN fish...hehe. Anyways here are some pics from the day. Party on my peoples

Love, Adam

Mile, Yunnan

2008-11-08T22:07:00.012-06:00

I just got back home from Mile, Yunnan which is famous for its huge buddha and natural hot springs. I have to say that Mile is one of the cleanest cities I have been to in China and is a great place to get away for a little relaxing vacation from the big city. We stayed at a 5 star hotel that cost about 35 u.s. dollars a night...^_^ Included was a incredible breakfast and access to all the different natural hot springs. The next day we went hiking to see the big golden buddha which was also amazing. Then we went to have lunch at my teachers parents house. It was pretty cool to have a huge home cooked lunch with some local people. My teachers family was great and the food was delicious. After that we went and rented some paddle boats and cruised around the lake. It is only about 3 hours from Kunming and I hope to get back there again someday. PEACE

Halloween (Chinese Style)

2008-11-04T11:02:00.007-06:00

So last Friday my self and a bunch of friends celebrated Halloween here in Kunming. I have to say it was one of the best Halloweens I can remember...and to be honest I don't remember all of the night...hahaha. Here are some pics to show you what it is like when a bunch of foreigners get dressed up and go to a Halloween party in China...PEACE

My Apartment/Randomness

2008-10-26T05:27:00.014-05:00

I finally got my own place. It is a little ghetto, but I like it. I go my Internet hooked up and I need to do a few more things to get my apartment the way I want it. It is Sunday night here in Kunming and I am just chilling...I should be studying, but I don't really feel like it...^_^ It has been awhile since I blogged and I am hoping to get back on track with it. I have not traveled anywhere cool lately, but I think I will take a couple trips in the near future. There is this mountain with a golden temple I want to go climb and a few other places close to Kunming I think I will visit soon. The weather here is still nice it has been raining a lot, but its still warm...hehe. I am really hoping to avoid snow for an entire year...ahhh that would be so nice!!! Anyways I miss and love everybody back in MN. I hope you all doing great. PEACE

One Love, Adam

wo de zhong guo ming zi...我的中国名子

2008-10-10T23:04:00.004-05:00

The other day while I was working out with my roommate down at the "Green Lake" I saw this old man doing calligraphy. I mumbled a few Chinese words to him and asked him If he could draw my Chinese name. I read about his biography that his wife gave me and found out he was pretty famous. During the cultural revolution he has two of his fingers on his right hand badly injured so he learned how to do calligraphy with his left hand. Now he has mastered the technique using either hands and is really amazing at it. The characters on here are written from right to left instead of the typical way of modern Chinese writing which is left to right. Anyways I was very happy to get him to write my name for me.

PEACE, Ya dan (亚丹)

My telephone #

2008-10-07T07:01:00.006-05:00

Hello my peoples. If anyone is ever interested in trying to call me or send me a text here is my phone number in China...get ready it is crazy long...

0118615969537945

If you dial from MN that should be all the numbers you need. 011 is to get out of the U.S. and 86 is China's country code...the rest is my number. If you hear some strange beeps that means it is working...hehe. I bought a calling card last week and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to use it. So if you get a random phone call from a strange number it might be me...^_^

Anyways life in China has been a roller coaster lately. I might move into an apartment off campus with one of my friends. It is a pretty nice apartment and it is a good deal so I am really thinking about doing to do it. I just got done with my week long break from school so it is kinda nice to get back to my routine of school. When I am busy I seem to be happier then when I don't have much to do. The last week was a lil rough, cuz I had a lot on my mind and nothing to do. I have felt much better the last couple days and I am going to do my best to keep my head up and stay focused. I hope all is well for everyone and I will keep you posted on my adventures here in the motherland. Peace

One Love, Adam

翠湖

2008-10-05T09:49:00.007-05:00

Here are some picks of the "Green Lake" It is a beautiful place right by my university. I usually go walk or run around the lake a few times a week. There is all kinds of people playing different traditional instruments and dancing. It is really cool place to go at night.

PEACE, Adam

^_^

2008-09-28T23:30:00.004-05:00

I went out to a Chinese concert the other night with my friend Katka and a few of my classmates and my teacher. The concert itself was quite interesting. It was more of an interaction show between the crowd and the pop singer then a concert. After the show Katka and I went out and got some wine and pizza. If only she was single my life in China would be set...she is one cool chicka. PEACE

The good life...

2008-09-24T10:34:00.002-05:00

This picture was from one of the first nights I was in Kunming as you can see the ratio of girls to guys is quite good in this picture. We all went out to dinner and then to a bar for a few pijiu (beers). I have to say I have met some unbelievably cool people here and have made many great friends. Usually on the weekends we get a whole gang of people and we head out to "Kun Du" (Where all the bars/clubs are) and paint the town red. There is nothing like a bunch of foreigners from all different parts of the world partying in Chinese discos. It is a sight to see...hehe. Anyways I just found this pic from one of my friends so I thought I would post it. Today was a good day. My classes went well and I almost done for the week. I have a break from school all next week, which I am very much looking forward to. Tonight I am going to go get some pizza with my friend Katka and then go see my Chinese friend Chenling Jin. My Chinese friend is a cool dude. He owns a clothing shop right by my campus and he is gonna hook me up with some Chinese soccer and basketball jerseys. After that I will probably just crash, cuz I am pretty tired. The best part of my day.....I asked one of my teachers out on a date...so hopefully this weekend or sometime over the break coming up we will get together and go out for dinner....^_^

I LOVE CHINA

Life in China

2008-09-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

So I have been trying to blog more, but life here in the motherland is insanely busy. I will walk you through a day in the life of me in China. Usually I get up around 9:00 and go get some weird, but incredibly tasty "Chinese egg Mc muffins" from this little lady on the street. After that I have class for 2 hours until noon. My classes are taught almost strictly in Chinese. It sounds very tough, but if you study and pay attention it gets easier everyday. At noon I usually go get lunch with some friends and sit by this little pond area on campus. After that I have class for another 2 hours. Finally around 3 each day I am done. I have a language exchange partner who I meet with 4 times a week. I teach her English and she helps me with my Chinese. Sometimes it seems like it is too much and I just want to relax, but meeting with her that much really helps me a great deal with my Chinese. If I don't meet with her I will go play basket ball at another school that has better basketball courts then my university or go running with some Israelis. It is sweet when we play ball, usually we get a pretty big crowd and I do my best to pull some street moves for them...^_^. I have been hanging out with a girl from the Czech Republic and we go out for dinner almost every night and hang out quite a bit. She is really cool and probably my best friend here in Kunming. We usually check out a different restaurant every night. On the weekends everyone likes to go out to "Kun Du" which is where all the bars or "Disco's" as the call em here in China. It is absolutely insane. There are probably 30-40 different clubs in one area. Living in the International dorms is fun. It is nice because there is always something going on and almost every girl living here is cute! The weather in Kunming is awesome and traveling around Yunnan is the best. I really am in a great situation and I am so thankful that I have this opportunity. I miss all my peoples back home and I look forward to the day I can see all my friends and family again. I will do my best to update my blog more often and I hope you check back to see what life in China is all about. PEACE

One Love, Adam

Yuan Yang

2008-09-16T08:16:00.022-05:00

Yuan Yang might just be the most beautiful place I have ever been. We watched the sun rise and sun set from different places and all I can say is...WOW. There are pics on here form the bus ride which we were 5 deep in one bunk bed for 12 hours. Also there are pictures on the rice paddies and terraces, wanted posters, lil people saying hello, my crew of 2 Israelis, 3 English, 1 Czech, and 1 American aka me, a dog waiting for the sunrise, the view from our hotel which cost me 3 dollars a night, Market day, and some other pics of scenery/etc on here.

I hope you enjoy them and if you ever come to Yunnan you must go to Yuan Yang. I hope to someday have a vacation home here, hehe.

One Love my peoples. Ya dan

你好

2008-09-11T23:09:00.002-05:00

Was up my peoples, I just got done with class for the week and so far It has been really difficult, but I think I can do it. I am in the pre-elementary level and there is little to no English spoken in my classes. This is good and bad, hehe. I am feeling better with my Chinese each day, but I still have a long road a head of me. This weekend myself and a few friends are going to go out to see some villages and rice paddies. I'm not exactly sure the name of the place, but when I get back I should know it, hehe. It will be a 6 hour bus ride and then we will stay there for 2 days. I'm not sure where we will stay, but I am excited to get out and see the rural side of Yunnan. On sunday it is the Mid-Autumn festival here so there should be some cool stuff going on. Life here in Kunming has been good lately and I am trying my best to get out and do as much as possible. I think today I will go get some pizza...again, hehe and then maybe go play some ball or lift weights. I am trying not to lose any weight here in China so I started lifting. I hope everyone is doing great in MN and I think about you guys every day here. One love

Adam

2008-09-08T10:53:00.015-05:00

The other day a myself and a group of International students went to a place called "Xi Shan" We hiked through the jungle and then climbed a mountain. We took the road less traveled by up the mountain and had a great time. The view at the top of the mountain was amazing. You could see the city and a huge lake. Here are a bunch of pictures of what we did. Zai jian

Life in China

2008-09-05T23:51:00.002-05:00

Was up my peoples, I have made it to the motherland in one piece, hehe. I will start blogging much more as soon as I get internet in my room. The internet on campus is really slow so that is why I have not even tried to blog yet. So anyways where do I start...hmmm. Well I am chillin in Kunming and I have been here for about 5 days. I have met some really cool people including my roommate who is from England. He got a degree in Chinese so he has been very helpful. Last night was really fun we partied at some peoples flat (English term) and then we all went out to the night market where all the discos are. It was a great time. We had a group of probably like 12 people many of whom are from Eastern Europe and women...^_^. We partied all night! Being in a Chinese night club is always interesting. I was boogying down and all of a sudden got pulled into a line of people who were dancing around the club. Vodka and warm beer were flowing all night. It was fun to meet many of the other international students on that level so we could get to know each other better. It's cool cuz most of them live in the same building as me and James (my roommate). I still have not started classes yet and I think I will on Monday or Tuesday. It is nice because all of the teachers and staff I have met seem really nice and helpful. I have been walking around on my own as much as possible to try and see if I can survive on my own. The other day I was shopping and I stayed in the store for like 2 hours trying to talk in Chinese with the people and then I went and got lunch with them. I think I will go back there today. I am going to teach the owners wife English and she will help me with my Chinese. Also I might go buy a bike today so I can go riding around town with my friend Katka from the Check Republic. Sunday I think we will take a trip out to the mountains to get out of town and get some fresh air. Kunming is a little more polluted then I remembered and is very crammed with people. There are 4 million people jammed into a little city. I am having a great time so far and I am very glad that I took this opportunity. I will try to take some pictures so I can post them on my next blog. I have been busy just walking around and doing stuff that I have not had much time to take too many pictures. I miss all my peoples back home and I hope everyone is doing great. I am thinking about all of you here in China. One Love, Adam

The time has almost come...

2008-08-28T16:42:00.010-05:00

Well my peoples soon I will be heading off to the motherland. My flight leaves early in the morning on Monday. The days here seem to go by almost instantaneously the closer I get to leaving. I will miss all of my family and friends (and probably English too,hehe) while I am gone. I will think about everyone often. I am going to try and make a conscious effort to blog a few times a week while I am in China. Hopefully I will have some good stories to tell...^_^ The best way to get a hold of me if anyone is interested is probably online through my email (adamabarth@hotmail.com) or facebook and myspace. I am online usually every night and I will try to respond as quick as possible. I am planning on buying a cell phone and some calling cards once I get settled in. After I do I will post my number on here. I will be attending Yunnan Normal University (Shi Da, in Chinese) and I will be living in a city called Kunming.

Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province which borders Vietnam, Laos, Mynmar, and Tibet. Yunnan is the most ethnically diverse province in China so I will have a great opportunity to meet many different people! I really want to travel a lot and go to some places that will be close to me. My goal for the next year is to make it to... Nepal, India, and Japan. Who knows if I can make it to these countries, but hopefully I can figure it out. Also I want to travel all over China and I think I will take a trip to Beijing to visit my Chinese teacher from SCSU and my friend Candy. Close to me I there are two cities I want to go and see...Dali and Chengdu. I am starting to ramble now, cuz there are so many places I want to go. The list could go on for forever...hehe. I posted a few pictures on here so you can see what Kunming and Yunnan look like.

I am blessed to have this opportunity and excited to make the big move to China. I wish everyone the best while I am gone and I will miss everyone dearly.

One Love

Adam (亚丹)

A phone call from China...

2008-08-13T13:22:00.002-05:00

So lately I have been getting a little frustrated with my soon to come trip back to the motherland. The school that I plan on attending has been giving me the run around a little bit and it has been difficult to deal with. Recently while on a fishing trip in Canada my uncle Mark had told me the "Secret" to life. Apparently every successful person in the world knows this secret. Basically in order to life the life you desire you must "will it" to happen. If you are willing to work as hard as you can and not take no for an answer you can accomplish damn near anything you want. Last night before I went to bed I told my self I am going to will my dream of studying in China to a reality. I want it that bad. So I pass out like any other night only to be awoken by my father at 4 in the morning. He bursts opens my door and says "China is on the phone". I can barely comprehend reality at this point and I don't know what is going on. I grab the phone and I hear a sweet voice talking to me. She says we would like you to come and study at our university. If we send you some forms do you think you will be able to get your visa? I said yes I believe so. Then she double checked my address to make sure it was right and said they were going to mail the forms to me. I had so many more questions to ask her like.....Did I get the scholarship? Can I reserve a room in the dorms? etc. All of which I did not ask, but I am not worried about that. It is funny because she did not say that I did or did not get the scholarship. I am assuming that I did not and I am totally ok with that, but i think it is kinda funny that I still do not know. In a previous email I had told them I would like to live in the dorms by myself and they said that would be no problem so I think that should be ok. I am very happy to hear from them and to get this dream of mine back on track. I am going to try and get there as soon as possible. Right now my goal is to be there by Sept. 2. So that is my story I was awoken last night by a phone call from China.....if you believe in the secret anything is possible. One Love

Peace, Adam

Always Love

2008-07-10T12:50:00.009-05:00

Awhile back I came across this song and ever since I first heard it, I have tried to live by these words. "Always Love.....hate will get you every time".

To make a mountain of your life
Is just a choice
But I never learned enough
To listen to the voice that told me
Always love Hate will get you every time
Always love Don't wait til the finish line

Slow demands come 'round
Squeeze the air and keep the rest out
It helps to write it down
Even when you then cross it out

But Always Love Hate will get you every time
Always Love Even when you wanna fight

Self-directed lives
I want to know what it'd be like to
Aim so high above
Any card that you've been dealt, you...

Always Love Hate will get you every time
Always Love Hate will get you...

I've been held back by something
Yeah. You said to me quietly on the stairs,
I've been held back by something
Yeah. You said to me quietly on the stairs.
You said
Hey, you good ones.
Hey, you good ones.

To make a mountain of your life
Is just a choice
But I never learned enough
To listen to the voice that told me...
Always love hate will get you every time
Always love hate will get you?

I've been held back by something
Yeah, You said to me quietly on the stairs,
I've been held back by something
Yeah, You said to me quietly on the stairs
You said..
Hey, you good ones
Hey, you good ones
Hey, you good ones

By Nada Surf

HOWTOSTUDYABROADINCHINA.COM

2008-06-05T00:46:00.003-05:00

Well I officially have my own website now. I bought the domain name HOWTOSTUDYABROADINCHINA.COM and finally got it up and running. It took me a couple days to figure out sorta what I am doing. I have never typed code and what not so it has been very difficult...none the less the site is in exsistence. I really want to use this site to help people who are looking for information about studying abroad in China. Right now I don't have much on there, but hopefully in a few weeks I will have it complete. Hope you check it out. PEACE

彝族舞曲

2008-05-26T22:29:00.003-05:00

Here is a video of me playing a classical version of a song originally played on Chinese traditional instruments such as the pipa which is an ancient Chinese guitar. This version was composed by Wang Huiran in 1960. It is called "Yi Dance". The Yi people are an ethnic minority group primarily located in Yunnan, China. I am still trying to add more to it, but this is what I got so far. I had to save it as a small file to post it so the quality is not that great. I hope you like it...PEACE

FREERICE.COM

2008-05-17T23:25:00.002-05:00

The Plan

2008-05-15T00:57:00.003-05:00

so lately I have been working very hard to get a scholarship for China done on time. I have been driving all over this good ole state of Minnesota. I am hoping and praying that this scholarship will come through, but either way I have made up my mind that I am going to China. I don't want to give up on my dream of speaking another language, traveling the world, and making a positive impact. I think moving to China is the best place to continue my journey in life and maybe...just maybe learn to speak putong hua (Mandarin Chinese) My plan is to go to school in Kunming which is in South West China. I applied for Yunnan Normal University and I'm waiting to see if i am accepted and if I can get a scholarship. The plan is to set up shop in China and learn Chinese, have fun and travel around. Ayight my peoples....One Love

Adam