STATESIDE!!

I made it safely to California!! I will be here until Monday night and then fly back to the East Coast!! Just wanted to let you know I made it safely to the Selby's in California!!
See you soon!!

Wild Weather!!

You have not experienced heat and humidity until you have experienced China summers. After being here for all the “seasons” I have decided the 4 seasons are different than ours in the “good ol’ US of A”. First there is no spring or fall/autumn. Of course there are days (just a handful) that would fit into these catergories however not enough to warrant an entire season.

Of course having heard about the horrible winter storms, winter would be one season. Though winter is split into two seasons; freezing cold and bitterly, frost-bitten cold. The first, freezing cold, is normal winter. You need a winter coat, scarf and gloves – optional. During this time it’s nice to be bundled for a walk outside. This cold will last for about 3 months. Half before and half after the bitterly, frost-bitten cold season which lasts for about 3-4 months. A winter coat, scarf, and gloves will not be enough to keep you warm. Teaching in this weather I was wearing long johns, 2 shirts, a sweater/sweatshirt, pants, 2-3 pairs of socks, shoes, my winter coat, 2 pairs of gloves, a scarf, and sometimes a hat. This did not keep me warm. My fingers and toes still felt frozen after class and of course there was a “fear” of frostbite!! It was bitter cold!! In China, schools, stores, most restaurants, and almost all other buildings lack heaters for the winter and AC for the summer.

The summer I also have to break into two seasons; hot summer and flesh-melting, sweat-dripping summer. Hot summer is just that, extremely hot with some humidity, reminding me of some very hot days in the states and lasts about 2 months. It’s not too bad with shorts, flip flops (if you are daring enough to wear them in public!), a cold drink, or ice cream. Now the flesh-melting, sweat-dripping summer is MISERABLE!! I walk outside my air-conditioned apartment into a HEAT WAVE!! I am thankful for my AC, which seems to work overtime!! There is no way to escape the 100+ degree weather and the 85%+ humidity, except to retreat to my apartment. China brings a new meaning to heat. People carry umbrellas (for shade) and fans (Chinese style). Bicycles and motor bikes even have an umbrella holder. Eating in a restaurant they still serve hot water or hot tea. I miss my cold salads, sandwiches, and beverages!! I will get them soon enough!

So there you have it my 4 seasons of China; freezing cold > bitterly, frost-bitten cold > hot summer > flesh-melting, sweat-dripping summer!!

WHICH SEASON DO YOU PREFER?!?

China is like Summer Camp!

Walking around outside between noon and 2 everyday reminds me of WaMaVa (the summer Church camp I grew up attending located in Linden, VA). The quiet stillness of China during their “naptime”. Part of Chinese culture is to take almost a 3 hour lunch/rest time. It generally starts with lunch at 11:30, follows with time “to take a rest”, and ends about 2:30 with people returning to work and school. This has come to be my favorite time of day to go to town or be outside on campus walking around. It tends to be a very peaceful, relaxing time.

The reason WaMaVa comes to mind is after lunch all campers retreat to their cabins for rest period. During this time I always liked sitting on the front porch of the mess hall or the front hill overlooking the lake. It was a great time to reflect and be one with our Creator, admiring the world He created. No crazy campers swarming you or things to be done, just “me” time. The heat also reminds me of WaMaVa, though I do think China has WaMaVa beat. Majority of the days here are hotter and have a higher humidity making it worse and similar to those few days of immense heat we had one my last years working at WaMaVa.

In China I have come to appreciate this time for the simple fact that I can walk around outside and not be stared at. I will not forget these lunch breaks and my many trips into town during this downtime. Now when I go back to WaMaVa (hopefully to teach next summer) maybe it will remind me of China!!

Recent Pictures!

Classia learning to make banana bread and muffins in my kitchen!!

The 3-Self Church in WuHan.

The children at the Primary School we sang at. Surprisingly their English was better than some of our students!

The children performing!

Me, Rusty and Brittany like good little monkeys!!

Megan and her girls playing with their feet in the water to cool off on the hot day!

More girls on the other side of the boat!

J-Bo, Melody, and me - teaching Mel to swim!!

More amazing girls!! - Jane, Sara, Dacy, Susie, and Zoie (down front)

The foreigners! Megan, Brittany, Priscilla, me, J-Bo, Jessi, Jaime, and Darla

Melody and me before jumping off the boat!

Me!! Before we got on the boat!

All the girls!!

Mike, me, and Vito at the family dinner!

The family in ShiYan!!

Praises!

I have had two SURPRISES this week...
1 - We have a new sister!! Can't say much but we are thankful!! I wll share more when I come home!
2 - My lady (LiHeHua) at the market and her family are my family in many ways!! I took Mel with me to translate on Monday and we ended up staying and talking for 2 hours! Her husband was going to share HIS love with me since Mel was there. But we found out in the end we are RELATED!! We shared with eachother for two hours. We sang a few Chinese songs right in the middle of the market (granted it was during the Chinese "naptime"). Of course we do some things differently but it is such a blessing to know this and find out. I had been planning to give her The Good Book in Chinese before leaving, I still will, I know it will be put to good use! She and her husband invited me to go to meet their "home family". I believe we will head out there Friday night and see what it's like!

HE has surely opened doors and windows!!

"Dance Monkey Dance"

Have you ever seen (in movies or in person) one of those men at fairs or carnivals that walk around with a monkey on their shoulder. They play music and the monkey dances like a good trained little animal. I think I have felt like that monkey more in China than ever before in my life. Having a foreigner (especially American or British) work for you is somewhat of a status symbol in China. However, I do not think they realize it is actually rude to treat us like little show monkeys. It is rather funny though! The last one was the best so far...

We (Rusty, Brittany, and I) were asked to attend a performance at one of the nearby elementary schools. Little did we know until that day it was because we were meant to perform. They picked us up and took us to dinner which was awkward. We sat on one side of the gigantic round table with the lazy susan in the middle. The teacher that accompanied us from that school along with Fred (our "manager") said about two things to us during dinner. One of which was "what will you be singing?"... hang on a sec... we were supposed to sing?... During dinner no one else from the school spoke to us. Immediately after we finished eating we were escorted to the front of the auditorium of the school and seated in the front row. Everyone, parents, family, children, and other teachers stared at us. We were number 8 to perform. We sang "Everytime I Kneel..." and were then walked in front of the stage and out of the building to a taxi to return to school. What a night?!

They gave us dinner so we...
"DANCED"!!

Girl's Retreat Part Er!! - That means 2!

About 2 weeks ago we had another "girl's retreat". We call it girl's because here you are not a lady or owman until you are much older. As much as I tell them I am a woman they laugh and say no. It apparently can also be offensive to some. Anyway, we were going to host it here at our small school, however, we thought it might draw too much attention to us seeing as how we are generally kept under close watch as it is. We moved it to a neighboring larger city (just a few million people!). We piled 8 of us into to cars and set out on the one and a half hour drive to ShiYan. When we arrived Friday evening we took the girls to their choice of either McDonalds or KFC. Out of the 6 of them only 2 had been to KFC and 1 of those 2 had been to McDonalds. Their first experience with "Western (fast) Food". It was quite entertaining to see their expressions!!
After dinner we headed back to John and Megan's where all of us stayed in their very LARGE 3 bedroom apartment. We played a little Mah Jong and ended the evening with singing.

Saturday morning while we were "rising" many of Megan's students came over and joined us for breakfast. We shared with them the art of French Toast and syrup (homemade - as most things are in China). Following breakfast we got "supplies" and headed to meet another 20 or so girls. On the way we of course forgot all the bread, PB, and J to make lunch so Megan and Jessi went to retrieve it! When we all arrived and were accounted for we boarded a bus for an hour ride to the Reservoir. Upon arrival we had our girls haggle the price, we foreigners should have hidden until they finished! When we finally got on the bus and got moving we all went downstairs and sang for a while. We had a short lesson but with the boat moving and it's noise we could not hear well. So we made PB and J for lunch and the boat stopped so we were able to hear better.
The girl's, our sisters, were incredible! I couldn't understand them but the impression they left on those we brought was wonderful. They spoke of their relationship with their Father and how that relationship became an important part of their life. Then in small groups they were able to speak more intimately about choices and life. It helped open some eyes to new things. It was uplifting even for me, to see the passion.

The boat took us to one more place where we "crazy" wai gou ren (foreigners) jumped off the top of the boat into the river (part of the Yangtze)! Chinese people, I have learned, cannot and typically do not swim, as they are scared of the water. Some decided to give it a try so we made it a rule that unless you could swim you HAD to wear a life jacket. We had a few jump in (off the bottom of the boat) and try swimming for the first time. A few also asked us to teach them. Most remained on the boat looking down with huge grins on their faces. It was HYSTERICAL!! We had girls jumping in them flailing their arms about with life jackets on until one of us was with them. Of course we stayed nearby at all times. We, Americans were pretty excited to go swimming so we brought our bathing suits. Our Chinese "dare devils" braved it in their skivvies!! After cooling off we went to dinner and ended at Andrew and Jamie's for singing, dessert, and a new "birthday"! We were WIPED out by the time we got back to Megan's. - BEDTIME!!

Sunday morning we had a meeting and singing. For lunch everyone was on their own before we headed back to good ol' DJK (DanJiangKou)!!

It was a very uplifting weekend!! As always there is more to the story but this is all I can write! One I am exhausted and it's late and two - it's China!

I hope to add pictures next week!!

NO MORE COMPUTER

I have no more laptop. My computer has decided not to work anymore leaving me feeling cut off from the world. A few days ago the screen started to randomly go black. I emailed Glenn about it a little too late. This morning the screen went black and I restarted only this time it would not restart. I used Jessi's computer to call Glenn to see if he had any solutions. There was nothing to do but call tech support. I call using Jessi's computer and they said I had three options after we tried some possible "solutions".
1-Take it to an authorized HP dealer in China and pay for the repairs.
2-Mail it to a family memeber to send in to HP in the states.
3-They extend my warranty only to correct this problem and I send it in when I get home to America.
1-I have little money and time to travel to take my computer to Beijing, Shanghai, or HongKong. As well as the time I would need to reschedule more classes which I cannot do after my dental disasters"
2-There is no way I am putting my valuable computer in the mail in China to the states. Not gonna happen.
3-I am without my laptop until they fix it when I come back, but I don't have to pay (I hope).

SO choice number 3 has been my decision. I will try to get the school's "Chinese" computer in my apartment up and running. Until then my time online will probably be sporatic and rare. Not only does this take away some entertainment and communication, but also my access to photos, vidoes, and other documents I have on my computer including lesson plans and grades.
This is turning out to be a sad day. Frustration has begun to set in, though I am trying my best to not let it get me. :(
I am ready to come home.

EARTHQUAKE!!

This morning there was an earthquake in Chengdu of the Sichuan Province. It measured 7.8 on the Richter Scale and was felt all over China, including many islands on the coast like Taiwan, and as far as Hanoi, Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand. Even buildings in Beijing shook. It was felt here in DJK. We are approximately 494 miles (~8hours) from the earthquakes epicenter. I personally don't recall feeling much out of the ordinary, but Jessi does. I claim being on the ground floor I did not feel anything shake but on the third floor she felt the building sway.
Over 8,500 people have been killed, 10,000 injured, and another 900 trapped in a collapsed Middle School and still more trapped under 4 other collapsed schools (as of midnight Monday here). 80 % of all buildings in Beichuan county of Sichuan province have collapsed. Pray for the people of Chengdu and their families.
We are fine here in DJK. No building collapses or injuries due to the earthquake.
Just wanted to let you know so none of you would worry if you heard!
Also if you have heard keep in prayers the hand, foot, and mouth disease is in China and has killed a minimum of 33 people. A handful of those deaths have been in our province.
I promise to stay as safe as i can!
Much love always!!
><>+<><

Blessed Beyond Measure!

I have now returned from my final weekend in Wuhan. (The next time I go will be to catch a plane back to the states!) This thought crossed my mind as I drove by the airport exit in the highway: 'Next time I come to Wuhan I will be taking this exit!'
I have seen the dentist and done a little shopping!
I am in the clear! I asked the dentist about the crown, what it is made of. Rachel had informed me that lead has been used in some and it causes multiple health problems. My wonderfully kind-hearted dentist LiZhiYong (Timothy), eased my mind when he said it was not made of lead but a mixture of gold and palladium!! YAY!!! What a relief! HE has answered my request and those on my behalf!
My teeth are doing well so far! Hopefully they will make it until I get back to NC.
While in the big metropolis of Wuhan I also did a bit of shopping, food shopping of course! I grabbed a few things we can't get here in DJK. Things like: cereal (corn flakes), butter (cheaper in the big city), peanut butter (real PB), ham (lunch meat for sandwiches), and spaghetti noodles.
That's all for now!
Though having written emails to a few people who have asked when Iam coming home, I have realized something. I have only 7 WEEKENDS left in CHINA!! It is almost unbelieveable that July is almost here! 2 of those weekends have already been planned! This is crazy!! Time is flying!

LOVIN' LIFE!!

My day has been one of the incredible ones so far today!! I only see it getting better!!

I am in Wuhan for medical reasons (aka dental).

I awoke this morning with the sun shining in the bedroom of Leah's apartment. It was 6:30 and I still had another hour and a half before having to get up. So I pulled the blanket over my head and fell back asleep. I got up and dressed, having showered the night before. I called Matt and Caitlin so I could go for a short visit and see their new baby! I held the baby (YAY!!) and met Caitlin's parents who are finishing their 2 week visit to China. We all sat and talked for a little while and they gave a me a cup of freshly brewed coffee (I am a sucker for coffee - especially brewed coffee, not instant!)

When I got back to Leah's, she, Wade, and I got a taxi to the "fabric street". I had to pick up the dress I had made the last time I visited! I got the dress (though it needs a few small things done, which I am sure my mother will help me with that I could not translate to them), but it looks nice!! I went to a Christian bookstore near the Three-Self Church and bought a few things. I tried to go to another one and buy a few "Good Books" but it was closed for lunch! It is a good thing I bought a box last time!! When I finished there I got on bus 521 with the mob of people and rode it back to this side of town. I got off the bus in front of my favorite place here... STARBUCKS!!! I am sitting outside with my computer and a Venti Raspberry Mocha Frappuchino!!! I AM LOVIN' LIFE!!! Though the building is blocking the sun, it is a gorgeous day outside. I have a good book next to me and it is incredible!! It is quite obvious this is an American "establishment". One, I have seen no fewer than 9 Americans go into Starbucks and emerge with a beverage of some kind in the past hour. Two, it is clean, inside and out. Three, and probably one of the more important reasons, there is a western toilet inside!! It is an amazing feeling. There is some jazz music on the speakers much like in the states. If I close my eyes, block out the chinese I hear, the traffic from the all too close busy street, and the smeel of Chinese food, I could be in America!! Crazy I know!!! :) Of course my eyes closed is a necessity because if they are open I would see this table of 4 that are currently staring at me as I type!

The rest of my day seems like it will be just more icing on the cake! In a few minutes I will walk to the dental hospital and get the "permanent" crown put on my tooth. Hopefully this will be the last dental work I have done in China. Now the reason for saying "permanent" is because my sister Rachel has through my mother told me that there have been some problems with things like this from China because they contain lead which leads to serious problems. I know the tooth I am getting has a metal base and porcelin on top. I am not sure if it is lead though. I will ask but I am not certain he will understand or know. We shall see. It will at least (I hope) be ok until I come home! I am happy to report there have been no more broken teeth in the past two weeks!!

After that I will return to to Leah's and drop off all my stuff. In the evening I will go meet my wonderful Indian American (family from India, raised in FL) friend, Ronnie, at DQ. YES, that is Dariy Queen!! It should be a swell end to my already wonderful day!!

Hope your day is as awesome as mine is!!

I'm not FAT I'm just FLUFFY!!! :)

This is what a poster read that we (my sisters and I) gave my dad when we were little. On it is a picture of a teddy bear with sweatbands on running (on the beach I believe)! I always remember that.
I just thought that was a good segue into what happened on Wednesday evening!
At 7:30 we have (the dreaded) English Corner. English Corner is 1+1/2 hours every Wednesday night for the freshman to come and practice English by speaking with us native speakers. (Though I am not sure I am doing them any good, I feel like my English speaking skills, just aren't what they were. We all have noticed our speech has changed a bit. I just hope it easily changes back when I return or nobody in the US will understand me!!) Anyway... I also say dreaded because it is uneventful, boring, and makes me wish I was sitting in a lecture (even a Chinese lecture!) Have you ever had or tried to have a conversation with someone where you felt you had to "carry" the conversation because they just weren't speaking, so it was a little awkward and quiet awkward? This is EVERY week for us!!
When we walk into the canteen (cafeteria) they begin to pull us apart to sit at separate tables. They then proceed to ask a million questions. Generally they are repeated over and over...

Do you like Chinese food?
Can you use chopsticks?
Have you acclimated to China?
Is it colder/hotter in China than your home?
Have you been to (the name of their obscure small hometown)? Why not? It's beautiful.
Where have you been in China?
What did you do for the (name of holiday)?
The Olympics will be in Beijing this year. Will you go? Why not?
What do you think of China?
Can you cook Chinese food?
You go to town alone? How can you do that? How do you buy things? (when shopping alone)
What is the difference between teaching in America and China?
and of course two of my favorite "questions"...
Where are you from?
Can you show us some customs of America? (Right then in English Corner?! Hmmmm...)

WHO IS TEACHING THEM???
Anyway back to the story so talking this past Wednesday was actually pretty good. I only had one "here's your sign question", the first on the above list. The rest of the conversations were pretty good!! I find a good way to pass the time is to be ECCENTRIC or OVERLY ENTHUSIASTIC about EVERYTHING.
During conversation, one of the girls turns to me and says "You should lose weight." Just like that with a smile on her face. You should have seen the faces of some students and Jessi sitting next to me! It was rather interesting. It is not the first time that has happened in China. I have learned not to take offense at that. I went on to explain with a smile that I am happy as me and I don't need to change my appearance to make others happy. She asked why and I said I had no reason to do that and that my friends and family love me for me and not for my body. I told all of them people will love them for who they are not what they look like.
This is a common statement in China. It is not considered rude or anything. It is like saying "It is sunny outside."
I told my friend Classia and she had the best reaction!! She said who is the girl I will go take care of her. Classia told me though it is common for Chinese to do that, they know (especially if they learn English) not to say that to foreigners. It was quite entertaining. It made me think of the poster and smile!
Just one of many experiences!! As I have said a million times before, there are some things I will miss dearly and some, yeah, I won't miss at all!! :)

BLOCKED AGAIN!

Well it was really nice to read all of your blogs while it lasted. However, blog pages are currently blocked, yet again!
Here's to hoping they will unblock again soon. They seem to be opening websites because of the impending Olympics. Something about trying to prove they are a "free" country! LOL :) Interesting, like an oxymoron in a way!
Ah well back to grading mid-terms!!

Mini CRAZY Shorts (Stories that is!)

Double Takes

We finished picking strawberries a few weeks ago and ate lunch at a nearby restaurant on the edge of town (DJK - Danjiangkou). As we (Jessi and I) were waiting for bus #2 with our Waiban, Robert, and a student a truck was coming towards us. It drove past us a few feet, stopped, and backed up. I said to Jessi they must have missed the turn onto the dirt path we had just come from (where the restaurant is). NOPE! She was right, they backed up just to stop and stare at the two foreign blonds!! After sitting there staring at us for a minute or two they continued on there way. Just something else to remind us we CAN'T BLEND IN!! :)

MINI OLYMPICS?!

Our school has a Sport's Meeting annually for which classes are cancelled for 3 days! During this time the students and some faculty compete against other departments (Science, PE (not allowed to compete), English, Chinese, and Math). I do not teach freshman so I was not asked to participate much. I was fine with that! However the last day we went to watch Rusty do shot-put and they asked me to do Tug-O-War. 16 on 16 for each department (8 women and 8 men). Rusty was one of the men and they asked me to be one of the women. Why, you ask, well I am about the size of 2 Chinese women! Women are generally very dainty and not very strong. I'll leave it at that! We won against the Chinese department which was a big deal! YAY!

A Bug's Life
...is very short in my apartment!! A few weeks ago I went to the market to buy groceries and returned to find swarming termites all over my bathroom and kitchen. Luckily I had closed the kitchen door. But this did prompt the entire scrub down of my kitchen. At first they did not believe me but I finally convinced them so they came and sprayed pesticide. It helped but did not solve the problem. Then I found them crawling out of the wall, in mass numbers, in the room where my "front door" is. They came again, drilled holes, more pesticide, took the ceiling out of the bathroom for more as well, and then put putty in all the holes. This seemed to take care of it, until... this weekend when they started creating new holes and coming through more cracks! Woo Hoo!! I have also found millipedes, worms, roly polies, stink bugs, and fruit flies! Needless to say I am almost on my fourth can of RAID!! the fun things tend to go for a swim in my toilet after enjoying a nice "raid" shower!!

Unchartered Territory

We found a new market in town. They were NOT used to seeing foreigners! Boy do I love to be stared at and followed while I shop. I am not sure what I will do when I come home and have to shop without being the center of attention and with no one following me.

Sunny Sunshine

The weather here has made a drastic turn. Have I told you that spring here lasts for about one week. Two if you're lucky! All week long it has been in the 90's. The sun has been shining with a pretty clear sky (at least clear for China)! Jessi and I have found that we can go use the roof access on Rusty and Brittany's building where we have found a corner that is generally hidden from just about everyone. We like to go out in the sun and read, at least those are our intentions! Usually we just end up talking of course, as girls do! It's nice to enjoy the sunshine and not feel like we are on display... it's also great for a tan too!! We all are already feeling the heat of Chinese summers!! Be thankful in the states that just about everything has AC, here it is a rarity, but my apt is using it!! Confused about one thing - why are they still wearing jackets and layers?!?

Knuckle-sandwich - I WISH!!!

The thing I worried most about coming over here was... my teeth! I know it sounds odd but I always have problems. I have BAD teeth! This has definitely given me some interesting experiences here in China. Some I wish I didn't have to experience but am nonetheless and trying to make the best of it. If you have been reading then you know I already had one broekn tooth with a not so great experience with a dentist here in DJK. Well about 2 weeks ago I was eating a piece of dried banana (I love dried fruit - a good healthy snack!) and half of one of my teeth broke. I did not feel pain but of course was thinking this is not what I need. So I got in touch with friends that know dentists in our capital of Hubei province, Wuhan. I had 5 of my classes cancelled and left last Wednesday for Wuhan, stayed with some friends, and saw a dentist that surprised me with how well he spoke English. Thursday he analyzed my tooth, took, xrays, and they began working on it. I asked for novacaine, which they gave... and it WORKED!! I did not feel a thing as they drilled. They put medicine on it, basically a root canal. Thursday night I was brushing my teeth and yet a third tooth broke. Just my luck! So Friday I went back and within 15 minutes of sitting in the chair he had it filled! Saturday, Timothy put the posts in my other tooth and fit me for a crown. I go back next weekend (10th) for him to put the crown on. The good thing is dental work is cheaper in China. My filling was only $10! However, my sister Rachel has informed me, that crowns originating in China have high lead content which is causing problems in patients now. So I will have to ask about this when I go back. Please be thinking about this for me!! It's the last thing I need now!!

(TOUCHING THE YANTZE RIVER!!)

$5 or LESS!

Since I was in Wuhan for 5 days, when I returned there was no food other than a potato and an apple in my apartment. I went to my lady at the market. I will miss her smile dearly when I leave China! I visit her stand first for all the food I need to buy. I had Melody with me one day when I saw her and Melody translated that she thinks of me like her daughter. Her daughter is away from home at school, like me in a sense. She knows that her daughter misses home like I do as well. She said she likes to think someone is taking care of her daughter and so she would do the same with me, her foreign daughter! Not only do I enjoy her smiles but she gives me good prices! After I pick what I need/want to buy, she adds extra stuff; a handful or two of garlic, 2-3 bunches of cabbage, a melon, or other random stuff. It's great!!

In the following picture everything on my counter cost me a little less than $5!!!

Darkness Sheds New Light
Jessi, Melody, and I headed to town as the sun was going down. We walked there and arrived soon after it set! Since it was May holiday with no school the next day we wanted to check out the town square action! There is almost always something going on!! We had a great time shopping a little and walking around. We noticed many more people staring at us because we are usually not out at night in town. (Our Waiban, the over-protective parent, wants us on campus by dark and not in town alone due to protests in China against the French. He thinks people may think we are French and attack us. Not true, besides we all know the phrase "Wo shi mei guo ren" = "I am American". We are fluent in that phrase!) Have no fear we are safe here in our city, not a protesting type city, unlike Wuhan. Needless to say we had a lot of fun walking around and watching people dance in the square!! The kids loved having their pictures taken!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, 2 of us (Rusty and Jessi) have been talked to about English tutoring with the Good Book. Nothing was said flat out but things have been noticed. We are always noticed though!

Tonight is foreigner's movie night here in my apt. We like to get together every so often to hangout and be American!

Tomorrow (Sunday) we have to make up our Friday classes from the May holiday - aka: crazy Chinese holiday schedules!

2 MONTHS EXACTLY UNTIL I AM IN CALIFORNIA!!! YAY!!

Beth and Debbie's Visit!

I know this is late in being written but oh well, what else am I gonna do!

Beth and Debbie came for one week! It was wonderful to have them here. I set them up with a friend of mine in Beijing so they could see the Great Wall during their layover. Monday night I picked them up at the airport in Xiangfan and we drove (2 hours) home to my apartment on campus. They fell asleep in the car, so when we arrived we were all wide awake. For me it was the excitement of having family here! I made them some (authentic) Chinese food to eat while we talked and watched a movie. During this time I opened "my" suitcases of gifts from the states! They had brought one and a half suitcases full of stuff for me! Not only gifts for me but also over 430 plastic Easter eggs and American candy to put inside each one. (I used the eggs in my classes - as part of Culture I taught them about Easter and gave them each a gift - an egg - for Easter!) They enjoyed it, especially since I also read a book about the meaning of Easter my mom sent along! It helped them understand!

Calling mom on my computer to tell her they arrived safely!

Tuesday I took them into town, by bus, to the market and supermarket. They were able to experience what I go through to buy food. We walked around for a bit and then headed back home to make lunch. That evening we made dinner for 4 of my students who joined us.

Wednesday we spent the morning at Wudang Mountain (the birthplace of martial arts and where Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon was filmed).

Since they had just "climbed" (literally) the Great Wall two days prior they were sore and we were unable to hike the mountain. Instead we took the cable car up and down. The bus from the bottom to the cable car and back was not one we ever wanted to experience again! It was such a winding road that there were no less than 3 people throwing up each time. It was disgusting! And the smells, oh the smells!! Blech!

The view was incredible! It was a remarkably clear day (at least for China!)

The signs and line for the cable car going down was ridiculous.

By the way if you suffer from giddiness you cannot ride the cable car!!

Thursday morning I went to my classes, we had lunch with Jessi, Rusty, and Brittany, then headed to Xiangfan to hop on board a train to Xi'an (home of the Terra Cotta Soldiers)! We arrived in Xi'an early Friday morning and proceeded to buy returning train tickets first, then get a taxi to our hotel. When we arrived at the hotel we showered (a must after being on a Chinese train for 10 hours or so even in a soft sleeper - private room with a door and 4 beds - softer than mine!!) and got a car from the hotel to take us to... STARBUCKS!!! YAY!!!! After Starbucks we spent a few hours at the Terra Cotta pits learning about its history and went shopping at a market. Xi'an is a beautiful city! Of all the cities in China I have been to, Xi'an is definitely one of my top 2 (Hangzhou being the other)! It has everything you could need (Chinese standards - even for a foreigner!) We enjoyed our time shopping (market and Super Walmart) and then went to eat dinner at the Hilton!! It was one of the best meals I have had in 8 months!! We were well fed!!
Saturday morning we got up early to hit Starbucks one last time on our way to the train station. When we arrived at the train station we started running because our train was on the platform and we did not want to miss it! This train trip was in the hard sleepers and all day long. It left about 8am and we did not get into ShiYan until about 5:30ish. On the train we listened to our iPods, chatted, and played games. Not only did we entertain ourselves but also other people on the train! We played a dice game, Farkle, and then played a card game, SET. Since hard sleepers are open (no door), everytime someone would walk by they did a double take or would stop and stare. While playing two men came over and treid to learn to play by watching. Debbie and I tried to teach him. I think he was a bit confused but in the end understood. It was pretty comical! (BUT - a special THANKS to my mom for getting me a little Mandarin Chinese Translation Pocket Guide - it has proved EXTREMELY useful this year - THANKS MOM!!)

In ShiYan we also stopped at McDonalds for dinner (where Debbie used her first ever squatty potty!! I haven't had it since Thanksgiving. "Beef" hit the spot!

Sunday we met with my group of friends and chatted for a little while. We spent the rest of the day shopping in town and hanging out! It was definitely needed!!

I was sad to see them go, but Monday I had to take them back to the airport. I know they were glad to have the experience and ready to go home. It was certainly my pleasure to entertain them while they were here! I hope they enjoyed their time as much as I did having them!! IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

Back in the Swing!

So we have been back in classes now for about 4 weeks. It is hard to believe it has already been 4 weeks!!Then again it could be due to how chaotic my life has felt for the past few weeks. I am teaching my same students, only now it is 2 oral English classes and 6 speech and debate classes. Classes have been going very well and running smoothly.
I have been having some issues though. Towards the end of my travelling I messed up my knee somehow. It was swollen and hurt to walk, much less climb stairs. After going to the "health center" on campus and staying off it for a few days, it seems to have worked itself out. I should be ok for my climb up Wudang Mountain (again) next week!!
Then almost three weeks ago one of my teeth in the back broke. How? I have no clue. I brushed my teeth, went to bed, and when I got up in the morning 1/4 was missing! The dentists here in China are also located at the hospital. It is much different even in the hospital. My apartment is cleaner than the hospital! I went the first time thinking he would fix it, but no he didn't. He gave me two shots, my mouth was a little numb for about5 minutes and he drilled. Whatever the shot was that he gave me did not work for drilling. I DON'T DO TOOTH PAIN!! It really hurt when he would hit the nerve. I cried. It was pretty bad. I would take my American dentist any day over that! Then he put "medicine" on/in it and some sort of plaster on top. Two days later I returned thinking he would fix it this time for sure. Nope! He pulled off the plaster stuff, took the medicine out, cleaned the tooth, put more medicine in, and plaster on top again. This time I was to wait for 10 days. I finally went back last Sunday to get it fixed. I had a fellow teacher translate for me that if he did not fix it that day I was going to go somewhere else the next weekend. Needless to say, he fixed it!
In Chinese hospitals (at least the ones I have been in) there is no such thing as privacy (except for nudity - we loved those physicals upon arrival and we were only with other girls because we were foreign). While I was in the chair being worked on there was at one time 7 other people in the room watching, besides the Dr. and me. It was crazy. There was even a little girl that kept peering under his arm at me. This was definitely an experience I do not wish to have again. The Dr. continued to repeat that I was weak and could not handle pain, my mother spoiled me with candy as a child, and the Drs. in America are lazy and do not do things correctly. NONE of which is TRUE!!! This experience has made me grateful for the health care in the US. Do not think me negative there is a good thing about this here. What would have cost me in the states about$150+ was only $35!! For that I am also grateful!!
As if life wasn't messy from that, there is a "bug" going around here, runny noses, sore throats, and exhaustion.
Other than these little "hiccups" life is swell!! Things are back on track here. Friday night game nights, Tuesday night get-togethers, Sunday meetings, and other times we hang out. I can barely believe I have exactly 15 weeks from today before I leave. Not only that but Beth and Debbie (2 of my 4 siblings) are coming to visit. They arrive on MONDAY!!!!!!! They stay for one week which will be wonderful and awesome to see family!! YAY!!!

Well I best be going to bed. It is midnight (oops!) and I have classes from 7:50-11:30 tomorrow! So goodnight and be blessed!!

PICTURES!! - Part 3

LAOS

Palace in Vientiane the Capital of Laos.
Waterfall at 4,000 Islands, Laos
4,000 Islands, Laos
4,000 Islands, Laos
Buddha Park, Laos

Me at Buddha Park!
Ashley (a girl from Maryland I met on the city bus to the Park) and me

BANGKOK, THAILAND
Famous Palace in Bangkok, Thailand
Me at Wat Pho
Cheryl, John, and me near Wat Pho. I met Cheryl and John in Laos, heading from the 4,000 Islands to Vientiane. They are from New Jersey!
Students inside the gates of Wat Pho.
Khao San Road. Big tourist street in Bangkok.
Khao San Road. Notice the McDonalds, Starbucks, and 7-11!!

HANGZHOU, CHINA with the NEELYS!!

West Lake, Hangzhou

West lake

My last meal in Hangzhou!! I love Papa Johns!!
Dinner with Adrin and Janet!

The market where Janet and I went shopping during the day a few times!!

I had an awesome time travelling these many places, tasting new cuisines, meeting wonderful people, and seeing friends!!