China

China is a place with few tourists, beautiful scenery, incredible architecture, loving people and great food. I spent 6 weeks getting to know this unique culture and I loved every moment of it. From learning calligraphy, painting, Tai chi, and a few Chinese words to hiking up the Great Wall and getting lost in the Forbidden City, this country is one I hope to return to soon.

The streets in China seem like madness as cars, bikes, buses and motorcycles are everywhere and red lights don't seem to matter so much. At first it was kinda scary but I learned to love crossing the streets, as it was basically frogger. I consider myself to now be a professional street crosser. The food also was very different, and as you would expect, nothing like Chinese food in America. My favorite food quickly became eggplant, and also the rice and noodle dishes of course.

Walking around the streets of Beijing, there are not very many tourists...unless you go to the main touristy sites such as the Forbidden City. Even as you went into a restaurant, they didn't know much English, and we knew little Chinese, so it was a game of charades. The best part was pointing at a picture or some random characters and seeing what mystery food appears a few minutes later.

The Chinese are some of the most welcoming, kind and serving people I know. Even with cultural and language barriers in the way, they chose to make sure we felt welcome and happy while we were in China. Everyone we met, from shop owners and restaurant employees to people we met on the streets went out of there way for us as if it was second nature. I hope in America I could live at least half as kind and serving as those in China.

I will be honest, China was not on my top places to visit right now, but it has been my favorite destination so far. I highly suggest visiting China as soon as you can, you will not regret it. I feel like I cannot truly tell others the uniqueness of China because they need to experience it themselves to truly understand.  So, as you are thinking of where to go next, pick China. When you go, you won't only experience a unique culture with a lot of history and incredible food, but also lovely people and an unforgettable experience.