Friday, May 31, 2013

Day 99: Under the Mushroom

One thing I forgot to mention yesterday was that we met a new friend! Her name is Harriet, and she is one fine gal. We gave our friend this name after we got to know her a little bit better, and because she didn't have an English name and we found this one rather fitting. Now, Harriet isn't your average girl. She is long and slender and loves to dance in the wind. She is the only one among the others who isn't too shy to speak to us. Yet, since meeting her yesterday, sweet Marine said we did in fact scare her, and she is being shy like the others and hiding from us now. We were very disappointed, because all of us in the group wanted to steal Harriet and either take her home with us, or let her dance freely in the wind, like she loved to do. Also, when Harriet gets angry, Marine told us that she turns black. Now, I'm sure you want to know more about Harriet, so I will enlighten you. Harriet is actually Marine's prized and treasured arm hair, just one though, and it happens to be about three inches in length. Marine is completely hairless on her arms and legs, except for "Harry" it. When I was teaching ELE yesterday, I thought there was a stray hair of mine that landed on Marine's arm, so I went to politely take it off. As soon as I reached for it, Marine instantly pulled away and was very protective of her arm. She told us about this hair and that it started growing last year, and since then she has just kept it and let it grow. She told us she began to love it over time, and we just found that hysterical. So, we gave it a name and accepted "her" into our group with open arms. Hahaha Marine is crazy.

Neither the kindergarten or primary teachers had to teach today, because all of our students were performing for the school's children's day festival . Every class in Kaiyin was to perform a dance or some kind of skit, and our group of kindy teachers were lucky enough to be able to help the Chinese teachers get the kids ready for their performances! Jenna, Tyler, and I went into our classroom early this morning and found our students all glammed out in their glittery outfits and stage makeup. They looked so cute; I absolutely loved their energy and excitement to perform.

When we arrived at the stage where they were to be performing, Marine told me that my student Alex would be the host for the show. This little boy is such a smart, sweet, patient, and handsome little one. He is only six years old, yet, I can have basic conversations with him in English, it's incredible. He is also the one who took second place overall at the English competition we went to last week. Gosh, I could seriously go on forever about this boy. Anyways, as soon as he and his assisting host came out onto the stage, I lost it. Seeing him all dressed up and so professional just made me melt. I felt as if he were my own little boy and I was seeing his school play or something. He did so well, I was so proud of him. He spoke with such clarity and was so professional, yet his spunky personality was still very much there. Alex is such a charmer, I love him seriously so much.

After the wonderful dance performance our kids out on, Alex and the others exited the stage, and Alex came running towards me and jumped into my arms. It was seriously one of the best days I've ever had, these kids mean so much to me. I would go on further about the greatness of today, but I don't want to get emotional again. My kids are incredible and so talented. I love them with all my heart.















Thursday, May 30, 2013

Day 98: Children's Day

There were many things to celebrate on this fine day, one being Luke's twentieth birthday, and the other being children's day. I was up during the late hours of the night preparing for both events and nearly had a panic attack because I almost didn't finish. It's hard work being the birthday committee and in charge of the kindergarten's photo booth, especially when the two events land on the same day. However, thanks to a few members in my group and the non-procrastinated hours of preparation, I managed to complete all I needed to and everything turned out quite nicely.

With the holiday being 'children's day', I couldn't think of any other way I'd rather spend my day than with my kids. Marine told us earlier this week that we were to put together an activity that we could invite our kids and their parents to and celebrate children's day with us. Our group of older kindy teachers decided to have three different stations, including: a game station, a signing and dancing station, and a photo booth station. As we discussed different options for the booths, I just kept thinking about the many possibilities there were for a photo booth, so I quickly volunteered to be in charge there. No one was opposed to the idea, so I was ecstatic.

I have seen funny photo booth ideas back at home, with people holding little paper props attached to popsicle sticks, or having a themed photo booth. I thought morphing the two ideas would be clever and so much fun for the kids and their parents to dress up together. In order to make my "vision" a reality, I spent the majority of my day yesterday cutting, gluing, glittering, painting, etc. different props for them to use. Although it was quite time consuming, it was well worth it. Both the parents and the kids had a wonderful time today picking their props and having their photo taken. Preston helped me capture some really sweet moments on camera; I could just tell how much love these parents have for their kids. They are so gentle and sweet to them and it seeing it in person just warmed my heart. Also, by interacting with both the parents and the children made me feel more like a part of their family; I could talk to them about anything, and since I knew their child, I felt as if I already knew them personally. And seeing as how I love them as much as I do, I can't even imagine the love each parent has for their little ones. All I can say is that the love I have for the people I've met and gotten to know here is I describable; I don't know how I will ever be able to leave them behind.

The older kindy's children's day went smoothly and was a blast, for the Chinese teachers, the English teachers, the kids, their parents, and really whoever else joined us. However, the younger kindy did not quite have the same experience. The day's activities went smoothly, for the most part, but all when it was time for the parents to leave, a riot broke out. Seeing as how some of the kids are only three or four, they have a stronger attachment to mommy and daddy than our older kids do. That being said, a chorus of cries and screams arose after several of the parents had left and didn't bring their child along with them. The funniest part of this situation was seeing each teacher, both English and Chinese, carrying out a different crying child to lunch, about ten minutes after the others had already made their way down. There were about six of the littles who couldn't quite keep it together, so they were coddled and held until the tears stopped flowing.

Our group later moved onto celebrating Mr. Luke Tuttle's birthday, which included the typical door decorations, a dinner date, and a cake from Bond. Luke spoke with the owner of a cute little cafe near us, called Jam, yesterday and she offered our group a slammin deal to eat dinner there for his birthday. Basically, we would all get a sandwich, a salad, and some bread pudding for only 25 quai, which equals out to be about four whole dollars. Let alone, the food is made by the sweetest Russian ladies, and it is incredible, so the deal was too good to pass up.

We invited Victoria to tag along, and a lot of the Shiqui girls, and our coordinators came as well. We spent the evening listening to good music, eating delicious food, and just enjoying our time together. I could think of no better way to end this day, it's been yet another perfect one.





Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Day 97: Chinese Song

For Chinese class this evening, we began learning the song called, "Those Years" which comes from a very famous movie here in China. Seeing as how we only have a few weeks to memorize the Chinese lyrics and perform it in front of the all he kids and their parents, we will really need to get serious about practicing. I have gained a whole new respect to my Kindergarteners who pick up an English song in a matter of a few days, they are much brighter than I.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Day 96: Teacha Yummy

Since I have taught all but one of the six teaching areas this semester, I have finally be assigned to teach kitchen for the remainder of our time here. There are both good and bad things that come with this teaching area, however. On the positive side, the kids absolutely love you and listen so well in class, because they know "yummy food" awaits them at the end of class. Also, your name is replaced with the title of "Teacha Yummy". On the downside, there is a lot of prep to do the night before class, and I have already forgotten to prepare once out of two days. I had to make two batches of muffins at six thirty am this morning, in order to have my treats ready and to be to class on time. So, after today's early morning, I think I have learned my lesson to prepare the night before.

Like I mentioned earlier, I made muffins for my class today, and I paired the muffins with the story, "If you Give a Moose a Muffin", similar to the story, "If you a Give a Mouse a Cookie". To give a little background knowledge of the plot of the book, this moose requests many things of this little boy, which leads to other requests, and more requests, all after the boy gave him the moose a muffin. To incorporate language into my lesson, I brought an item related to each request the moose had made and asked the kids act out each scene. My favorite prop of the day happened to be my sweatshirt, randomly. Despite the sweltering heat today, my little kidlets all wanted to try it on after I had read about the large moose trying on the boy's jacket. Instead of the jacket being too small for hem, as the moose's was, the jacket was at least six sizes too large for each of them. Their little bodies just drowned in it. I had to snap a few pictures, because they looked so cute and I could just see each of their sassy little personalities, even with most of their body and face being covered. It was such a good time and a good lesson.

After class and our weekly Tuesday meeting, Jenna, Lexi, Amanda, Preston, and I all headed to the pool. However, the pool we normally go to was closed. We only found out it was closed after about forty five minutes of trying to communicate in English to a Chinese employee, which was highly unsuccessful. So, we decided to leave and try the pool down by the park where we do cross fit. Although it was a long process and journey to get there, it turned out to be well worth it. It was much larger and deeper than the pool we normally visited, and had more than two lawn chairs!! Score!

We laid out for quite some time (and are now quite burnt), but at one point, we noticed a group of boys sitting on the exercise equipment outside of the pool looking at us. At first, we thought it was creepy, but then they would cheer for us if we dove into the pool or something stupid, so it more so turned into just a funny situation. Then, this man came up to us, well, mostly to Jenna, and asked to take a picture with us, while in our bathing suits, remember? Anyways, he spoke no English and just tried acting out where he wanted us to be positioned in the picture, and it just so happened he wanted us to surround him and smile, with him looking like a pimp in the middle. It was so terribly awkward.

There were a few weird occurrences at the pool today, but it was overall a good experience as usual. I think I've been convinced to change pools, the one we went today was just perfect. I can't wait for more sunny days!









Monday, May 27, 2013

Day 95: Wings on wings on wings

Marine visited each of our apartments today to do her monthly check on our water, electricity, and gas meter levels. Seeing as how most were gone at the time of her arrival, Marine came into Lexi's apartment where we were both lounging out on the beds enjoying the cool air from her new air conditioner. Marine commented that we might get sick because the air is too cold for our bellies, so she made us wrap up in a thick blanket; she kills me.

She checked the water and was then moving onto the gas meter, which is in the kitchen. Lexi warned her that there were several dead bugs on her dead porch (rain bugs) but Marine went on her way and ignored the warming. However, from her instant reaction, we could tell that she was quite shocked at how many bugs there really were. Once she walked outside the door, all we could hear was her hollering, "Wow! Wow, so many wings! Where did they come from?" Lexi replied by saying, "the door is broken", which I don't quite think she quite heard what Marine asked, so Marine replied by saying, "So wait, the door broke, and then all the wings fell out of it? That's a lot of wings!"

I don't know why I found this so funny, but it was hilarious. The way Marine spoke and flexed the tones in her voice made me laugh and laugh. Naturally, she didn't know what I was laughing at, so she disregarded my actions and continued ranting about the mass quantity of wings.

Marine is such a funny lady; I absolutely love her. She is such a considerate one and always looking out for us, though. We've really got some good coordinators taking care of us here.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Day 94: Wax party

Lexi has been growing her armpit hair out for a solid week and a half now, for we made plans to wax it this week. I encouraged her to wait a full two weeks so the hair would be long enough, but a full two weeks of growth would have been far too much. For some reason, her hair grows in thicker and at a much faster rate here, than it does at home, so I had more than enough hair to work with.

I heated the wax, prepped the strips, and had her lay on our floor. I lathered her pits with wax and pulled out chunks of hair, strip by strip. Because there was so much hair, I had to do each pit in sections, rather than the whole thing at once. This elongated the process quite extensively, but Lex took it like a champ and didn't complain a bit.

After several applications, a few bleeding pores, and many cries of pain, her armpits were completely hairless and beautiful. I felt so badly for her throughout the whole process, but at the same time, she asked me to do it and, she won't have to shave for the next few weeks, so it all works out.

Anyways, that was the main excitement for the day. I am off to bed now, and ready to be "teacha yummy" tomorrow. I am finally teaching kitchen and I will be making no bake cookies tomorrow with the kids; I cannot wait.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Day 93: Changlong Park

It was a rather exciting day today, we finally got to go to the amusement park that Bond was treating us to! The weather has been so bipolar here that we just had to choose a day and stick with it, because we could never count on having a perfect day for the park. Thus, we just decided on today and went for it.

There were so many fun rides there, including this coaster that had the steepest drop in the world! This was the coaster that was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records I mentioned a few days ago, so being able to ride it was a rush in itself. Naturally, I wanted to be in the front row for the first time riding it, but the row was already full when our group went. Carmelo and I then decided to wait and ride it after the rest of my group did.

As Carmelo and I saw their cart approach the start again, we notice that their stunned faces and wind blown hair. This was enough proof that is was a wile ride. Also, the first thing Preston said as he got off the ride was that his phone fell out of his pocket. Seeing as how this coaster was incredibly tall and one of the longest ones I've seen, I thought the phone was absolutely done for. However, lucky for him, it fell out right at the beginning and it was caught in a net right below him. It had been raining all day before the drop, but it stopped magically after he dropped it. The staff retrieved it after some time, and he and his phone were reunited. I was so surprised first, that he got it back and second, that it worked just fine. It was a miracle.

The whole park experience was an interesting one, ranging from a huge downpour upon our arrival, mysterious beef burgers, a terrible lumberjack show with a bunch of life hating, white people (I mean, I'd probably hate my life too if my line of work was being a lumberjack in a Chinese amusement park and having to perform everyday, rain or shine), weird encounters with different group members, "oh heaven, you know what that's worth", and many more. It was a funny day, one to remember for sure, but overall a pretty good one.

After we were through with our adventures, sweet Carmelo drove Konner, Cameron, Brent, and I home to Kaiyin. I was so tired during the drive back, and I've learned that one of the only things to keep me awake in times like these is if I doodle. So, Carmelo offered up his arm to let me doodle on. I left him with a lovely wrist tattoo, and it was a bonus that he seemed to like it, so all was well.

We arrived back to Kaiyin, got some dinner, and I checked in for the night. I was so beat, the day was long and I hardly got any sleep the night before. I took a nap after dinner (which was a terrible idea) and then walked to the smoothie shop with Jenna to get our favorite cranberry yogurt smoothies. I really appreciate and love Jenna, and her willingness to walk and chat with me at any hour of the night. I've found that these walks have been the best therapy and times for me to organize my thoughts. I don't know what I would do without her here, she is truly one of the best friends I've ever had.

After we got back from our walk, the majority of the group left on an adventure, while I stayed back and chatted with Amanda. She, too, has made this trip an exceptional one. I am so blessed to have been surrounded with such wonderful people not only on this trip, but in my life as a whole. The friendships I've made here, both within my group and with some of the locals, will forever be so precious to me. They have all helped me grow as an individual and helped change and soften my heart on many things. I am so grateful for everyone and everything that's happened here, both good and bad, and for all the valuable lessons I've learned here and I can now apply to my life.







Friday, May 24, 2013

Day 92: Bliss

I'll just let the pictures do the talking for today. It's been a good and fulfilling one!



























Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Day 91: Happy Happy Birthday, Mama Bear

This is a shout out to my main Ma,
Since I can't write, I'll put it in song
I haven't seen you for far too long,
But know that I love you, from home to Hong Kong

One thing about you, that I'll always admire,
Is that on the monument, even after a flat tire,
You'll burn through the hills, like a trail of fire,
And when I finally reach the top, I'll see you've hardly perspired

You are a champ, in whatever you do,
Whether it's donating a kidney, or raising a zoo
You have taken our hits, a time or two,
Yet we still get you laughing and in your craziest moods

You're my biggest advocate, always on my team,
Defending me always, even after a mean April fool's scheme
We do, however, work so well together,
Like cheating on banana grams, to make us look better

Whether it's getting Red Mango or a cool sonic drink,
You're in the car, before I have time to blink
We jam on the way to some Mumford and Sons,
And have our life chats, which are my most favorite ones.

You always remind me to do what is right,
Whether it's saying my prayers, or making curfew each night
At times I stubbornly disregard your words,
And each time I realize my choice was absurd.

It's your 50th birthday, which is, "Over the Hill"
But you're a rockin' hot momma, people need to get real.
I wish I could spend the day's time your way,
But for now I'll just wish you a Happy Birthday!

Happy 50th Birthday Google Mama!


"Happy" sign language in the Forbidden City, Beijing, China
"50" among the Dr. Seuss mountains in YangShuo, China
"Birthday" taken on the Great Wall of China
"Google" on a homemade bamboo raft on the Li river
"Mama" written during our Chinese dumpling night in Zhongshan, China












Day 89: Time

I've read the book "The Time Keeper" while I've been here, and it's really made me realize how precious time is. It is the only thing that we cannot ask for more of, so we need to make the best of our time, in every situation. It finally hit me today with how little time I have left here and it's a bittersweet feeling. I am thrilled to see my family and friends back home, yet I have made so many good friends, that feel like family, here as well. I really want to make the best of the few short weeks I have left by exploring and spending time with those I love, and I know I will. I haven't had many bad days here, so I am really looking forward to the upcoming adventures.

Day 90: Sling Shot

After class, I spent about two hours in the supply room and filled out my monthly progress reports for my home room class. As much as I love these kiddos, I can't say I like writing their progress reports, it is such a tedious and repetitive task.

After I was through, I went back to my apartment to make some lunch. I've been getting a little sick of rice, (little is an understatement) so I decided to try and make something different back home. However, when I got back and realized all I had to choose from was oatmeal and dry pancake mix; I was a little bit discouraged. Since I've had oatmeal for the past three days, I chose to whip out the pancake mix.

We don't have a stove top here, nor do we have a non stick pan. Thus, I had to get creative and resort to baking the pancake mix in our handy dandy toaster oven. I was a little worried about how it would turn out, but I checked about ten minutes after I put it in the oven and it looked perfectly golden brown on top, and crispy! I know this doesn't sound like your average pancake, but it sure was tasty. I threw some honey on it and made a meal out of it. I also made Lexi one of my masterpieces, because she got locked out of her room and was hungry, so I fed her poor soul.

After my baking adventure, Lexi and I began spitting off my balcony, who knows why. After several minutes of spitting, my mouth began to run a little dry, so I went and got my water bottle from inside to refuel. I took a drink, and instead of spitting spit, I began to spit water off the balcony; Lex and I then began to turn our spitting into a game. We were trying to see who could drip their spit droplets closest to this rug, that belongs to the person below me, or who could hit different objects below. It was a gross game, and kind of cruel, but we were entertained for quite some time doing it.

After the water ran out and our mouths were dry, Lexi pretended to javelin my laundry lifting pole off my balcony. I don't know the proper name for this tool, but it basically is a rod that lifts my clothes and extends them to a high hanging bar to dry. Anyways, we thought it would be fun to try and javelin it off over our balcony into the trees, but we were much too far from our target to try, so we refrained from trying. So alternatively, I got a few rubber bands out of my teaching supply bag and we decided to use the rod as a sling shot instead, rather than a flying spear. We shot rubber bands off my balcony for almost an hour, it was so funny, yet quite a good time.

Lexi, Courtney, and I later spent the rest of our evening with Victoria, making QQ's and walking to get smoothies. QQ is like MSN or instant messenger, but the Chinese version. Everyone has it here to communicate with each other, and when we make friends they all ask for our QQ numbers. Seeing as how we didn't have one until today, it has been hard to keep in contact with many people we've met. Thus, I am very excited to have gotten one and to try it out! It should allow me to keep in better contact with my friends here in China.

Anyways, it's been a good, funny, but a good day. I am very blessed to have the life I do, and the people in my life that I do. Life is good. On that note, I'm off to bed, goodnight.

Pictures:
1: the kids craft I did with them today
2: sling shot baby



Monday, May 20, 2013

Day 88: Oakley

Well, we found a little kitty this evening. I have seen it a time or two, hanging out around our trash can outside, but it was pouring rain and thundering this afternoon, and we heard a series of little kitties cries from below us. Thus, Brent decided to go and find the source, when he saw a sopping wet kitty and saved our little friend. He took him inside, dried it off, and then gave it a dry home in a box for a while. As soon as he showed us, Lexi and I instantly fell in love. Although our kitty very well might have a disease or two, we decided to play with it just for a little bit; it was so snuggly and precious. I just wanted to cuddle it all night long, but we decided to put it back outside, as soon as the rain stopped. We didn't want to get in trouble, get diseases, or get attached, so it was better that we let the little guy go. Anyways, that was the excitement of the evening.

I also got to Skype Jessica and Josh this afternoon, finally, and heard about their amazing lives and up comings. We haven't successfully had a Skype date yet, so it was especially good to catch up a little bit with them. It's always so good to hear from my family, they're so wonderful and make me happier than anything. I also spoke to my Mom and Dad for a few minutes about their awesome experience doing their iron man last weekend! I must say, my parents are rockin hot and so fit, I am just so proud of them and their accomplishments. They're so driven and dedicated to exercising and training, yet they still find all the time to ensure they're doing everything else that's important to them as well. Gosh, I don't mean to brag, but my family is so good, I admire them all so much. It will be a wonderful experience to see them in a few short weeks!





Sunday, May 19, 2013

Day 87: J-Bean's 20th Birthday

Today was a special day, for it was sweet Jenna Camille's birthday. I had Lexi take her out for a while last night, so I could decorate the room and set up the treats I got for her; it turned out wonderfully. There were blasts of color and pom poms, everywhere, in our room. She got home around midnight, saw the room, and was thrilled to see everything.

When we woke up, we got ready and went to church, had lunch afterwards, then went to the pool to take a nap. It was far too hot today to do anything outside, so we figured relaxing out by the pool and occasionally taking a quick dip would be far better than secluding ourselves in our cold rooms for the day.

We went out to dinner to this yummy restaurant by the one plus one supermarket, and all was perfect, until I left my wallet inside. After we were done eating, we went outside to take a group picture with everyone who had come to celebrate with Jenna. After our photo session, an employee ran outside to our group and gave Chloe something that we had forgotten, and it was my wallet. I don't know how I forgot it, I am usually so careful with that thing. Anyways, I was very happy that they were so kind to return it, but I was then really discouraged to find out 400 of the 500, about 75 dollars (which was supposed to last me until the end of the trip) yuan I just pulled out of the ATM was missing.

Vicky tried going in there and asking what happened or if they had my money, but we had no luck. I was super bummed, and rather bugged, but I guess it was my fault for being so careless. I will now just have to be much more careful with my belongings and probably not participate in upcoming events, for having that much money stolen really puts a big damper on my budget. But, it's ok, we only have a short time left so I will try and make due with what I've got! Being positive is key, I can't just wallow in self pity or I'll just ruin he end of the trip. It sucks, yes, I'm sad, yes, but it happens. Anyways, that was my day. Goodnight.