En Route Back to China

Hey everyone! I wanted to give you all an update on my traveling, as well as to let you know that I am now back to my normal once a week blog posting (sorry for the the brief hiatus during my time in the states).

I am currently sitting in the Toyko airport after flying for 13 hours. I still have another 4 hour flight tonight to Beijing and then will be spending the night at a hotel in Beijing before heading back to Xi'an tomorrow evening (I arrive too late in Beijing to catch a flight to Xi'an, requiring the overnight stay). I will be checking in at the hotel around 11:30pm tonight, so I have decided that I am going to ring in the New Year by going to bed at midnight! I still get to experience a month of celebration for the Chinese New Year, so I don't feel like I am missing out.

I enjoyed my 17 days in Georgia and also enjoyed seeing many of you as well. It was a great Christmas being with family and friends.

I will check-in again once I get back to Xi'an. Happy New Year to you all!

I'll Be Home for Christmas..

Hey everyone! I am leaving tonight for Beijing and then in the morning I will leave Beijing headed to Atlanta. I arrive into the States Sunday afternoon. I am so excited to be home for the holiday! Now for a brief update of my week.

This week has been full of activities. On Monday some friends and I learned how to play Mahjong, a Chinese game. It is a fun game, but it took me a few rounds to get used to the rules and the speed of play. The game also helped me with studying my Chinese characters. I also learned that playing Mahjong in real life is much different than the computer version of the game.

On Wednesday I went back to the Muslim market where I visited with my new friend Lily. Lily is the lady that makes Chinese scrolls and then hand paints them and writes verses on them. She even offered to teach me how to write characters for free (I may take her up on that some time). Lily was also impressed that I came back on my own to visit her and that I remembered how to get there too.

Thursday night was spent with my little family here as we celebrated a friend's birthday and had a going away party for her. She has been here for 2 years now and is leaving next week to move back to the States where she is going to do some more schooling. She will be missed, but I am thankful for the few months I had to get to know her.

Well, I will be checking in next week from the States. Zaijian! (Goodbye)

A Week of Fun

I can't believe that another week has already passed by and that I will be heading to the states in 9 days.

I have had some great new experiences this week. Tuesday night two of my girlfriends and I went out to eat at a Western restaurant and then joined a group of foreigners at a theater to watch a movie being shown in English (plus it was half price on this night - I paid $3 for the movie). It is a rarity to have a movie shown in English here, so we jumped at the chance to experience a Chinese theater. The movie was 2012, which in my personal opinion was not that great, but was fun none the less. I think it was more entertaining to be in a theater full of Chinese people since they were so excited by the movie, considering China saves the day. And for those of you who are curious, concessions at theaters here sell popcorn that is sweet - more like kettle corn, Haagen Dazs ice cream, nachos, little pastries, and soda.

Today a friend and I spent the day downtown. We first went to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the Muslim quarter (I had fried rice and meat on a stick, my friend had fried rice, tofu, and cow stomach) and then we walked through the shops in the Muslim market. The market area is a big square with little streets connecting to it as well, and has probably close to 250 stalls. The people are sweet and can speak some English, especially the key phrases such as: "You come take a looky" and "I give you good price." Most of these street vendors work long hours as well as working 7 days a week. We did stop at a few vendors and enjoyed talking to the ladies that worked there. One vendor is a like minded lady who makes scrolls and writes verses from a Book out on them in Chinese characters, so we visited with her for probably 30 minutes. After a few hours walking through the market we decided to head home, but not before stopping at Starbucks for a coffee, and to enjoy the Christmas atmosphere that could be found there. Only "Western" restaurants or places known to be "tourist areas" here decorate for Christmas.

I will be checking in again next week before I depart for the states. I hope that you all have a wonderful week.

So Much To Be Thankful For

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration. Since Thanksgiving is a time of year to share the things that you are thankful for, I want to take a moment to do that now. I am especially thankful for each of you, my family and friends. Your love and support of me over the years, as well as your wisdom and advice has helped to shape me into the person I am today. I am thankful for the example that each of you has shown me in how to love and care for others and how to use what I have been given to make a difference in people's lives locally, regionally, and globally. I feel like "thank you" can never fully express my gratitude and appreciation, but I just wanted you all to know that I truly am thankful for each of you and for your selfless sacrifices that have impacted my life.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I had a wonderful day spent with friends here. Our friends that have been in China for 7 years were able to order an American turkey for us to have for that day, which truly was a treat since you cannot get turkey here. We ate all day, played games, and just enjoyed the fellowship of one another. One of my Chinese teachers (she teaches my classes on Wednesday and Thursday) also joined us for most of the day. Obviously Thanksgiving is an American tradition; however, the Chinese that are like-minded usually set aside a day (usually on the weekend) around Thanksgiving to gives thanks to Someone. It was fun to have her spend the day with us and it really reminded me of all the things that I am truly thankful, but that I sometimes take for granted...things that others risk their lives for.

I am also thankful that I will be home for Christmas this year. Since I was in Colombia last year during Christmas I really wanted to be with family this year if that was possible. My friends here strongly encouraged it as long as I was not gone for more than 3 weeks. My parents and I started looking for plane tickets back in August / September and found a really good deal on one. So, my Christmas present from my parents is a plane ticket for me to come home for a few weeks at Christmas. I am so excited. I will be in Georgia the whole time, so unfortunately for my Florida friends, I will not be making it down that way during this trip. With the short amount of time that I will actually be in the States it seemed more logical to stay in one place instead of spending most of my time traveling. I would love to chat with any of my Florida friends while I am in the States, so if you do not have my phone number please email me and I will send it to you. I will be missing classes during the time I am in the States, but our school is really unique in that they realize foreigners will miss classes around the holidays, so they have built in times that I can make up the work.

I know I fell a few days behind with my post due to the holiday, but I will be back to once a week posts starting this week. Again, I am thankful for each of you and the different roles you play in my life.

Perseverance Pays Off

Well, as an update to last week's post, I wanted to let you know that I now have a 4-cup coffeepot, and that I am currently drinking some delicious coffee as I type this. My quest for a coffeepot proved to be an adventure with a few bumps in the road, but in the end was a success! A few days after going to Lotus to find one I decided to look at the German store called Metro where I found one and purchased it, only to find out when I got it home with it that all the water drained out the base of the unit instead of into the coffeepot. So, a few days later with the help of a friend we took it back to Metro where they saw the problem and offered to test out another one before I took it home, and this one works great. Sometimes it is the simple things in life that bring such joy and remind me that there is Someone who likes to provide even in the littlest of things.

I have also had a few other adventures in the past few days as well. From November 15 - March 15, China releases the gas throughout the country that allows you to run the radiators in the home for heat, and mine did not work for the first two days. I knew that I would need to find a maintenance person to help me fix it, considering I knew it was not smart for me to try to figure out how to turn on the gas / water combination for fear I would turn on the gas full blast. Well, to my surprise a maintenance man was in my hallway as I was leaving one day, so I motioned him to my apartment to play a game of charades to tell him my heat did not work. Of course I could not understand anything he was saying and none of my friends were able to understand either (translation on this matter is still somewhat difficult for those that know the language) so I was left to wait for another day to try again. And well, that day came yesterday when I blew a fuse in my apartment losing all power, which could not be turned back on by just flipping the breaker (which I did try). So, the maintenance department immediately sent someone out to fix the power and the guy was able to get the heat turned on for me as well. The maintenance man was so sweet in that he talked really slow so that I would have time to understand and when I did not understand he would motion to something he needed, and if it was still something I did not understand, he was kind enough to talk to my friend on the phone who would then translate for me. I am kind of glad that things happened the way they did because I ran into the maintenance guy again today on the elevator and he was so excited to talk to me and just smiled and tried again when he asked something I did not understand how to answer.

Well, speaking of weather, it did snow last week and again this weekend. I took a few pictures and have added them to an album that you can find by clicking on the collage of photos on the right side of the page.

It is hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week. Typically, you cannot find turkey meat here (other than the sandwich meat at Subway), but Metro and a few western restaurants will order them around Thanksgiving and Christmas time for the foreigners living in the area. So, this week my friends and I all decided on what we will each be making for our Thanksgiving meal together. Our day of celebration will include turkey, ham, dressing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, veggie tray, fresh fruit, bread, cheesecake, and another dessert. It may not be all the typical things you would find at Thanksgiving, but it is the closest we can get based on what you can find here, and I am looking forward to it.

Also, just for fun I have put together a 4 minute video of what laundry day looks like for me here in case you are interested in watching. The video is below and all you have to do is click the play button. Enjoy.

The Search for a Coffeepot

So, as the title suggests I have been on a search for a coffeepot here. Seems like a simple enough task, right? Not so much when you live in a country whose culture is all about tea. Now, don't get me wrong, I love tea (and have a current supply that will probably last a year), but for someone who has grown up drinking coffee since the age of 7, I would choose coffee any day over tea. I did purchase a 1-cup french press at Starbucks when I first arrived here, but that still lets a good majority of the grinds through and makes the coffee taste bitter. So, yesterday I headed out to Lotus (a local supermarket / store) to see if I could find a coffeepot. As I was walking around looking I was quickly approached by four people very eager to help. Knowing that coffeepots and a description of one have not been part of my vocabulary lessons yet, I was straining to think of what to say when all of a sudden a lady started asking me questions in English. In the conversation that ensued it became clear that this store did not have coffeepots, but at this point it didn't matter to me anymore because of my conversation with this lady. Her English name is Claire and while we were just talking about how long I have been in Xi'an and about her learning English, it was exciting to have the opportunity to just chat with her. So, while my initial search may have not produced the results I was looking for, I feel like I got an even better result in the end. I am hoping to visit Lotus more often and hoping to form a friendship with Claire.

Well, for a language update...the week started for me with the last chapter of book 1. That means that next week I begin book #2. To give you an overview of things I am still learning from book 1: all about the 4 tones, 450 vocabulary words, 10 different sentence patterns, and 30 Chinese characters. That may not seem too overwhelming, but let me remind you of a saying the author of our book has for vocabulary: 'If you can't remember the tone, you can't remember the word.' Oh, how true he is. For me is has been easy to remember the spelling of words, but when you begin to get the same word used in all four tones, and you are trying to remember which correct definition it goes with, it becomes a little bit of a challenge. Or even a completely different scenario of having one word with three different definitions; which can lead to some humorous moments in class when I need to translate a sentence from Chinese to English. My teacher also reminded me today that I am doing well, especially in regards to my pace of learning since all her other students are still four chapters behind me. In regards to learning the 30 Chinese characters, it means that I must know how to both read them as well as draw them in correct sequence too. I have a little more time to work with the drawing of the characters, but it is crucial from here on out that I can read the first 30 since the pinyin form of them has now disappeared in the past two chapters and will no longer be presented in future books. By time I get to book 3, which will be a ways off, ninety percent of the book will be characters with only ten percent being pinyin of new vocabulary being taught. Everyday I have more and more appreciation for the Chinese, and do believe they have one of the most difficult languages to learn.

Well, I am gearing up for winter - the temperatures dropped to the 30's tonight, and snow is predicted for tomorrow. By Thursday night it is suppose to be 16 degrees, so I may be staying in that night.

I know I don't say it enough, but thank you to all of you that support me and for thinking of me. I am truly grateful to have people like you in my life and I think of you often. I am sending my love to all of you.

Am I a Transformer?

Hey! I hope that you all enjoyed the extra hour of sleep that you got this weekend with Daylight Savings time. Since China does not celebrate Daylight Savings time I just slept an extra hour on Saturday morning in anticipation of what was to come for all of you!

Many of you often ask what I am learning in this journey called life, so I wanted to share with you what I have been processing lately. I have started reading the book 'Stand Against the Wind' by Erwin McManus and I feel like Erwin sums up pretty well in the first page where I am at mentally right now. (He begins with the story of Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water)

"The TRANSFORMATION of our character is more REVOLUTION than reformation. It is forged from battles fought far more than by beliefs held. It emerges out of crisis, not out of classroom. It doesn't just come to you; you must run to it. It is like a gauntlet waiting to be conquered. Character is like a hero asleep within you waiting to be awakened. It's power sweeps through you in waves of transformation. In pursuing a life that is not about yourself, you find yourself living the life you've always longed for. And with each challenge faced, with each victory won, you suddenly come to the realization that you are a different person than the one who began the journey. Simply attempting the gauntlet has changed you forever. Peter saw the wind, was gripped by fear, and began to sink. But don't miss the point - he stepped into the storm and walked on water!

Being here in China has not been without its challenges. It's hard for me to see the people here so oppressed by the laws under which they are governed, to see statues of people / things being idolized, or just hearing about certain traditions that would make most of us cringe. Erwin's book has reminded me that the fight for others to experience the same freedom we have is often hard and tedious, but that it is something I must run to and being willing to fight for. And along the way allow Someone to transform me into the best person that I can be to love on the people I come in contact with.

May you all experience the abundance of joy this week and be filled beyond measure. You all are in my heart as well as my thoughts!

Differences

Hey again! So, I told you in my last post that I would fill you in on some culture in my next blog, so this blog is primarily for that.

I have two amazing Chinese teachers, who come from different backgrounds, but have been great at giving me insight into the Chinese lifestyle. My first teacher is from the village, but has moved to the city to live, learn, and work. My second teacher is from the city and very knowledgeable in Mandarin, since it is what she majored in during her college years (equivalent to an English degree in the States). I asked both of my teachers separately about the 1 child policy and they both said things have changed some in the last few years. There is still the 1 child policy, but some recent changes have been made, such as if both parents are only children (no siblings) then they are allowed to have 2 children. As far as for other families the 1 child policy is still strongly suggested, but for those who choose to have more than 1, then many restrictions will be placed on those families (there are 1.3 billion people in China and a little more than 1 million of them are in Xi'an). Many of those restrictions include having to pay 100,000 rmb ($15,000) per each additional child, school fees every year for each additional child, a non-recognized birth for each additional child, and a forfeiture of any governmental job for the parents.

• Due to having to pay a 100,000 rmb fee for each additional child, many believe that only Doctors or Lawyers, or someone considered middle to high class can afford to have more than one child
• The Chinese government recognizes that for the first child of a family that child will receive all the benefits of an education free of charge, but that for each additional child fees must be paid in order to allow those children an education
• For each additional child born the government chooses not to acknowledge the birth of the children and in some cases it is very difficult to get a birth certificate issued
• If a family has more than 1 child then neither of the parents are allowed to have a government job, and if they were already in a government job then they will be fired

Something else that I learned is that although there are 1600 different surnames in China, there are eleven that are common. Those eleven include: Chen, Lin, Huang, Zhang, Li, Wang, Zhao, Wu, Liu, Yang, and Zhou. Another interesting fact about surnames is that when a couple gets married the bride keeps her surname. The only time that she takes on the form of her husband's surname is during introductions to signify her marital status and to whom. Also, in some families (depending on which dynasty traditions that are chosen to be followed) the father-in-law or grandfather names the child after the mother has given birth in order to prevent conflict among the parents.

It has definitely been, and I am sure will continue to be, an experience learning about Chinese culture. Some things I may never fully understand, but no matter what I will still love these people who have already captured my heart.

Once last tidbit before I conclude this post - I know many of you are interested in my progression with Mandarin Chinese. In two weeks I will be done with book 1 and moving into book 2. It normally takes 16 weeks to complete book 1 considered it contains 31 pronunciation lessons and 10 basic lessons (going to the market, post office, etc.), but we will be done in 8 weeks time. I have definitely have had my struggles and frustrations, but feel good about the pace at which we are moving, since it will only help me to be able to communicate that much sooner with the people here.

I hope that you all have a wonderful week and that it is filled with joy and contentment.

All Things New

Wow, it is hard to believe that another week has already come and gone. I finally understand what my parents meant when they always used to say that time flies - as a kid time seems to go by so slowly, but as an adult there are days when you wonder what happened to the day.

Well, I finally got to go to Papa John's and it was everything I was hoping the pizza would be! The decision was made to go this past Saturday, as it was one of my friend's birthday (his 4th), and he invited everyone to join him at Papa John's. The day turned out to be beautiful with a clear blue sky and plenty of sunshine, so after pizza we moved outside to walk around the area where there were carnival rides for the kids. After a little while downtown we came back to my friend's apartment to watch Transformers (his favorite movie). It was a fun day.

Tonight I started teaching what will be once a week swim lessons. My friends F & M (the ones that took me to the French restaurant) had asked me if I would be willing to teach their 2 teenage children swimming, and if I would specifically work with them on their swimming strokes. The children are home schooled, so they needed to find someone to teach them in order to fulfill their Physical Education requirements, and it worked out perfectly that I could help them. This semester is a trial run and if things go well the next few months then there is a possibility of teaching some other foreign home school students too. I am also hoping that this will open up more opportunities with people that we meet at the pool. If nothing else I am enjoying getting to swim with some friends once a week and to do what I love in some fashion - teach.

I know this post is a little short, so I plan on posting another this week, which will include more on Chinese culture. In the meantime I have added another picture album from my trip to the Aquarium here a few weeks ago during the Holiday. Only in China can you find a dinosaur, alien, eskimo, and fish all in one place!

To Be or Not to Be...

...that is the question. No, I am not quoting Hamlet from Shakespeare; however, it does have some semblance to things that I am learning here in China, which I will share with you momentarily. To be or not to be are actually equative verbs (positive and negative) used in forming questions in Chinese. For example, if I wanted to ask if you are American in Mandarin it would be: "Ni shi Meiguoren ma? OR Ni shi-bu-shi Meiguoren?" The shi (to be) and bu shi (not to be) in the second question when translated to English has a literal meaning of: "You be or not be American?" Many translations to English from Mandarin are funny and will give you a good laugh, but I believe also hold a deeper meaning into the mindset of the Chinese people.

It all began with 'to be or not to be' as I was studying the other day, and I just couldn't get the thought out of my head. Many would say that the literal translation of the phrase is: 'is it better to live or to die?' Continuing with that mindset I thought about what does it mean to live and what does it mean to die, and what does that look like from a perspective a great Friend of mine has always taught me -that to truly live you must first die to self. I also thought about a quote someone used with this same subject one time that says: "You live once, you die twice. You die once, you live twice." That freedom is found in dying to self, and finding your purpose in Someone who will freely give that in order for us to truly live both here on earth and in eternity. Which brings me to the Chinese people - I have discovered that they have the concept right, just the wrong perspective and teaching which has led them to make the decisions they have made. For them, freedom is found in material possessions, both in their life here on earth, and those taken with them in the after-life, as well as many other views revolving around that concept. So, what does all this mean for me? Well, this once again re-affirms to me why I have the amazing opportunity I have to live and do life among the Chinese people - to be an example of what 'to be or not to be' means to me by living it out everyday. My journey through life so far has led me down the path as an educator, who has been given the ability to go and make a difference in the world. Even though in my own teachable moments I often need to be reminded of this, I plan on bringing REAL LIFE to the people of Xi'an!

More coming soon.....

Terracotta Warriors & Chinese National Holiday

Hey again! Well, this past week has been extremely busy, but definitely fun. I spent the beginning of the week with my friends at the grocery store, with what seemed like everybody else in town, in preparation for places being closed for the National Holiday, which runs from October 1 -8. No one was really sure if places would be closed just for Thursday (the first day of the National Holiday), or for the whole week, but we wanted to be prepared no matter what. The rest of my week included going to see the Terracotta Warriors, and several times of hanging out with my friends and taking walks around some parts of town.

I enjoyed my visit to the Terracotta Warriors, and found it quite interesting. My friend Jess was taking her mom and sister, who were in town visiting, and since it was something I wanted to do, it worked out perfectly for me to join them. I skipped class to go on Wednesday, but only after my teacher encouraged me to go since it is part of the history of Xi'an, and I could do the reviewing of previous lessons from that day's class as homework. We left in the morning to catch a bus to the train station (15-20 minutes with all the stops), where we would catch another bus from there to the warriors (which takes an hour). We could have scheduled to get a driver to take us, but we were up for the adventure and realized that this would allow us to ride the bus with all the people heading home to the village for the Holiday. We discovered that there are several buses that leave from the train station with the final stop being the Terracotta Warriors, but that they all make stops at villages along the way. Trying to get on one of these buses was somewhat chaotic at first since there were so many people, and the Chinese do not believe in orderly lines, but rather to push your way onto the bus. Eventually the workers and guards were able to create lines and get things more organized, so we only ended up waiting for about 15 minutes. The bus ride there was very nice and I enjoyed seeing more parts of Xi'an that I do not get to see everyday. We arrived at the museum and spent close to 3 hours there, taking in the sites and learning the history of the warriors. If I included all the information in here about the Terracotta Warriors, it would take an entire blog, so hopefully this description will suffice: the Terracotta Warriors are from the first Qin Dynasty ruler, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, and represents the emperor’s ability to control the resources of the newly unified China during his reign, and his attempt to re-create and maintain that empire in the afterlife. Somethings about his reign are fascinating and highly advanced for his time, but other things are just sad and indescribable (like people being buried alive to protect the secrets of the burial tomb).

On Thursday, as China was celebrating the National Holiday of 60 years of the People's Republic of China, my friends and I gathered to celebrate the freedom that we each have been given. One of our friends (the ones that took me to the French restuarant) hosted the event at their home and we had a potluck lunch. Our host provided chili and cornbread, while everyone else brought fruit, veggies, and desserts. We enjoyed the fellowship of one another and watched the parade of the 60th anniversary on television while eating. The parade reminded us of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, with decorative floats and dance exhibitions, but one thing about the parade that was definitely odd (and would not be found in any American parades) was when they celebrated by rolling out of all the Chinese military tanks, and then showed the submarines, and aircraft carriers out in nearby waters. After lunch and the parade we spent the rest of the day outside on the grass playing the dutch blitz card game.

This weekend a few of us ventured out downtown, and while there we checked to see if Papa John's had opened up on the National Holiday as planned, but we found that it will probably be another week before they are ready to open. This Papa John's will be different in comparison to the States, in that they will have a dining room so you can eat there if you want. While there we did venture next door to the Dairy Queen to get a blizzard. If you are ever looking for an adventure, and you can always find them here in China, you can try a Jelly or Green Tea blizzards at Dairy Queen. I chose to pass on those flavors and instead went with the Georgia mudfudge, which was really good.

I have posted 2 albums of pictures for you to enjoy at your leisure. The first album is of the Terracotta Warriors, while the other is just random pictures from the journey to and from the museum. For those of you who have not looked at the photo albums before it is very simple. Click the picture in the right hand column under the word 'PICTURES' and it will direct you to a new web page with all my photos. Once you see the albums of photos, simply click the album that you would like to look at, and then you can view them. You can choose to click the first picture and then click on the word slideshow (which typically changes pictures every 3 seconds; though you can change that option) or you can double click the first picture to open it and then from there you can advance through the pictures at your own pace by clicking the arrow directly above the picture, taking you to the next one.

Well, I am concluding here for now, so until next time I hope that you all are doing well.

Accomplishments Outweigh the Frustrations

Where do I begin? Well, I will start with a recent situation that was somewhat frustrating, but a situation that I am glad happened because I found the answer that I had been searching for. You may recall that I had mentioned in previous posts about the possibility of going to Beijing at some point to meet with the organization that wanted me to teach English to athletes here in Xi'an. Well, long story short, after skyping with the Director and one of the top professors on September 11, the decision was made for me to go to Beijing as soon as possible (sometime between September 14 - 27). So, I proceeded to book my plane ticket and get things in order to leave the night of Wednesday, September 23 and return the night of Sunday, September 27; only to find out 2 days later that this meeting may not happen for awhile since the athlete foundation has had to put the expansion of the program to other cities on hold. I was a little frustrated to say the least since I felt like the Director and Professor had really pushed the issue of me coming as soon as possible, to only turn around and say that this could wait for awhile. However, when I really stepped back from the situation and thought about it, I really had a peace about the whole situation. I have really been excited about this program all along, and still think it is an amazing opportunity, yet one thing that didn't feel right was that if I came into this program now, I was going to have to spend 2-4 months in Beijing for training before coming back to Xi'an to run the program here. While that doesn't sound like such a bad thing, it really wasn't the best option for me right now, especially with my situation with language school. This whole first semester is so crucial to my ability to get around and to be able to communicate with people that to stop in the middle would not be the best option. There was also the concern of what would happen if I missed that much school since I am on a student visa, and whether my visa would be compromised. I also thought about my favorite book and how so many pages are filled with lines about waiting. I wanted this opportunity to happen soon, but I realized that if this opportunity is meant to happen then it will happen at the right time, and I just have to wait and see what will transpire.

I want to follow that up with a story of accomplishment for the week. You remember that plane ticket I mentioned that I already bought to go to Beijing? Well, turns out that ticket I purchased for a really great price was non-changeable and non-refundable. The company I used is a reputable one that specializes in flights throughout Asia and Europe, and one that all my friends use, it was just that apparently I didn't read the fine print of the ticket I purchased since it was a web special. When I called the company I spoke with a lady who said that she couldn't help me, but that I could maybe call the airline and tell them what happened and they might be able to help me. I called the airline, and after telling the lady on the other end my situation, asked if I could possibly switch my ticket to use in December instead. After speaking with her supervisor she confirmed that I could switch my ticket for a fee, but since I did not have a Chinese credit card, I would have to go to a booking office to pay the fee in cash of 120rmb ($18) within 48 hours to confirm my new flight. I thanked the lady as well as Someone else that I knew had a hand in the situation. So, on Wednesday afternoon this week I ventured out on my own with the address that the airline had sent me written in Chinese, flagged down a taxi, and headed across town to the booking office to pay my $18. The taxi driver dropped me off at the door to the building and I was able to find the office once I entered the building. An attendant working in the office spoke English (my back-up plan was to call one of my friends and have them talk in Chinese to the attendant) and she took care of canceling my old ticket and issuing my new one. As I was leaving the building I spotted a Starbucks to my left, so I stopped in for a coffee and ran into my friend Matt M. Matt and his wife were the ones who took me out to dinner at a French restaurant a few weeks ago. Matt and I chatted for a few minutes before I headed out to flag down another taxi to head home. It was a really good day, as well as an exciting adventure to take care of something with help from Someone who I consider a dear Friend.

I also want to share with you about my weekly plans. I have decided that on Friday afternoons I am going to start going to a place called the Village Cafe (coffee shop / western food / hangout place) that is about 10 minutes from my apartment and that is also across the street from one of the bigger universities. The Village Cafe attracts many students young and old that are from all over the world. It is my hope to go each week to hang out for a few hours in hopes of meeting people and forming relationships that will hopefully lead to me being able to mentor some of these students. I did not really have a chance to meet anyone today, since some students are getting ready to go home or travel next week for the holiday, but I still feel like in time this is going to open up some doors of opportunity.

Speaking of the holiday, starting next week on Thursday, October 1, marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and everyone has been getting ready for the big event for the past week. Flags are now flying everywhere and minor cosmetic things have been taking place for the big event. I am looking forward to sharing with you what the events of a week of celebration for this holiday entail. In the meantime, I will leave you with just a few more insights into things here in China.

* When someone refers to their home, it means an apartment (it is very rare to find a stand alone home here)

* You really have to use the correct tone with your words since a word with a 2nd tone spelled the same way as a word with the 4th tone are two totally different meanings

* If you like to be adventurous, you can try chicken flavored toothpaste that is sold in stores everywhere

Until next time, I wish you all well. Looking forward to checking in again soon.

Say What?

I survived my second week of learning Mandarin! It was definitely a crazy, intense week, and included crying from laughing so much, but I have enjoyed it. I thought the "r" and "c" from last week were hard, but I discovered this week that there are several more that I am going to have to really practice to say correctly. Both of my teachers have said that I am improving from last week and doing well, so that is encouraging.

Speaking of Mandarin.....the last two times that I have gone into the little quick mart in our apartment complex the shop owners have taken an interest in helping me to be able to understand numbers spoken in Chinese, so it has been cool to experience that. Tonight when I went in, the husband typed the amount on the calculator and then the wife said it slowly for me to hear. I then repeated it back to her and she smiled. I won't be learning the numbers section of my book for a few more weeks, but I may know a few before we even get to that section.

So, I have officially been here for a month now and I can honestly say that I have already seen things here that break my heart. One thing has been in regards to jobs. China has done well in trying to create jobs for as many people as possible, but the people receive such a poor salary that I do not know how many families survive - their minimum wage is basically the equivalent of $1.50 an hour, and for work that they give 110% effort to. Many of the workers are from nearby villages and either take buses into town to work for the day, or workers who have moved to the city leaving their spouses and children behind, and whom they only see 1 month a year.

On another note, I have enjoyed talking to a few of you via Skype this week. If you are unaware of Skype, it is a free service that you download to your computer that allows you to call or video call anyone on Skype around the world. My mom especially loves it since as she says: "She gets to see my lovely face." (Ok, so I enjoy seeing her face too, but don't tell her I said that!) So, for those of you that would love to chat sometime via Skype please email me and I will send you my Skype name and tell you how to set up Skype if you are interested.

In closing I have included a few more cultural observations (you knew they had to be coming):

* China is working on becoming "green," so when going to the store, you need to either purchase an environmentally friendly bag there or bring your own - most stores do not have plastic bags, or if they do, you will be charged for each one you use

* If someone hands you something using both hands, then you are to accept it with both hands (sign of respect)

* Xi'an has lots of dust, so it is rare that you will ever see a blue sky (though we had a rare day Monday, so everyone was outside most of the day)

* Everything here receives a red stamp to make it official, including when you leave a store you have to get your receipt stamped

On a quick side note, I turned in my passport last week to get my new student visa put in, and I was able to pick it up today, so that is a huge relief. I will be checking in again within the week. Thank you to all of you who read my blogs each week - I really appreciate it and am touched by your support.

Class and Some Stories

Hey! Since it has been a week since my last post, this one may be a bit long.

As of today, I have had a week's worth of language classes, which I have enjoyed immensely. Mandarin can be a difficult language, but I have been told by my teachers that I am doing very well. During this first week we focused on the four tones as well as the pinyin. The pinyin is used for non-Chinese speakers in an effort to help you pronounce the word correctly, as well as to recognize which tone to use. Here is a brief description of the four tones, using a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest pitch of your voice:

1st tone - pitch is relatively high and is kept level (5 to 5)
2nd tone - rises from mid-pitch to high (3 to 5)
3rd tone - mid-low pitch drops down and then rises to a mid-high pitch (2 to 1 to 3.5)
4th tone - falls sharply from a high pitch to a low pitch quickly (5 to 1)

Our teacher has said that we will most likely be in the pronunciation portion of the book for another two weeks, which is good considering most people take five to six weeks with pronunciation. So far my biggest two struggles have been with the "c" and "r" consonants. The "c" is suppose to sound like the 'ts-h' in 'it's-hot.' And the "r" is suppose to sound like the 'z' in 'azure' or the 'j' in 'jaune.' And it has also been a little difficult when trying to read twenty words to remember the correct sound to use with the vowels. Meaning an "i" sounds like 'e' as in 'see,' an "ei" sounds like an 'a' as in 'weigh,' and an "ai" sounds like 'i' as in 'aisle.' So, it has been a little bit of a challenge so far, and will continue to be one I am sure, but I know that those challenges will only help to make me a better communicator in Chinese.

So, today I had the opportunity to go with two foreign families, whom I met a few weeks ago through mutual friends, to an international contemporary art show. The art show was free and was at this place that had several buildings all within one complex, and the art was displayed in forty different rooms. I enjoyed the exhibits and thought it was the perfect day to go since it was raining all day. Tonight after the art show I was invited out to dinner with one of the families and they took me to a wonderful French restaurant (the cook is actually French). I had an amazing ham and cheese omelet with hash browns for my meal, and then we all split creme brulee and hazelnut chocolate mousse for dessert. I picked up the business card for this restaurant so in the future I can show it to a cab driver to take me there again. I also learned how to say my neighborhood and apartment complex in Chinese tonight, since those are two important things to know when needing a cab (even if you cannot speak the language). The family I was with made sure the cab driver understood where I was going before we parted ways, and I just enjoyed the night scenery of the city on the drive home. And for those of you worried about me, it is very safe here to take a taxi at night. I have also added some pictures from today to the 'Pictures Around Town in China' photo album - check them out when you have a chance.

I wanted to share another quick story with you. There is a little quick mart at the west gate to my apartment complex that I occasionally stop at to pick up something I have forgotten at the store. A husband and wife run the store and know that I am new to Xi'an and that I cannot speak Chinese yet. So, the other day I went in to get a Lime flavored water and a Mandarin Orange flavored water. I looked for them on the shelf and when I couldn't find them, I figured they were sold out, so I was in the process of getting a plain water when I realized that the wife had run over to a stock of supplies that had just come in and came back with the Lime and Mandarin Orange waters. She looked at me and smiled and nodded waiting to make sure that was what I wanted. I nodded yes, paid, and walked out of the store with a smile on my face. I have only been here three weeks, and this woman has already taken an interest in knowing what I like and trying to make sure that she has it for me. It is also in moments like that when I realize that you can still communicate with people without having to speak their language.

Also, as promised from previous blogs, I am including a few more insights into things I have observed in this culture.

* When entering a home, you must remove your shoes. For a foreigner hosting a Chinese friend or vice versa, you are to have house slippers available for your guests to wear while in your home

* Dates on food containers include both a production date as well as an expiration date. If an item has only one date on it, then it is the production date

* Milk is only sold here in bags (pure milk from the cow) or boxes (what we know as shelf milk), and will not be found in the refrigerator, but on the shelves. The box milk is good for a year, but must be refrigerated once it has been opened

* Most of the Chinese people have really long fingernails, or at least one fingernail that is really long (longer than acrylic nails that women have put on)

Wishing you a wonderful and restful weekend - you will be hearing from me again next week.

The Writing is on the Wall...

...So that thought has been running through my head for the last little bit. I think it is such a great statement as to the life lessons I am being reminded of lately. The last few weeks I have had to be dependent on my friends here in China to be able to get things done and to even be able to get around town. I began to realize that I am an independent person, and am not afraid to fend for myself, so having to depend on others has been a humbling experience. Being independent is not a bad thing, but I was once again reminded that in this life I will always have Someone I can depend on; Someone who will let me be independent and make my mistakes, but who will always accept me when I come back. So, for me, this lesson is once again being written on the wall of my heart.

Okay, I want to update you on some other things going on in my life, as well as share some more observations about China. A few friends and I were to go to Beijing this week to talk with the Director about teaching English to athletes here in Xi'an, but that trip had to be postponed until sometime next month. We are hoping to start up that program after getting back from Beijing, but we are just waiting to see what the Director says - it may not start now until January. In the meantime there is another possibility of me helping teach English to students that range in age from 7 and up.

Classes start for me on Monday, and I am getting excited to start learning Chinese. I know Monday is Labor Day in the U.S., but here in China they celebrate Labor Day in May. I do get a day off in October though for the Chinese equivalent of Independence Day; coincidentally the same day as the opening of a Papa John's here too. Hey, you gotta have some semblance of home, right? As part of my preparations for school a friend and I had to have a medical exam yesterday. The school we will be attending set up the exam for us at an International Clinic in town and provided a translator who met us to assist as well. Our exam consisted of bloodwork, x-ray of our lungs, EKG for heart rate, blood pressure, and an ultrasound of our organs. The ultrasound test did seem a little weird, especially since guys had to do it too, but was totally fine (all my organs are in check!!). For the most part though things were similar to a clinic in the States.

Okay, a few more observations / insights about China:

* You do not flush toilet paper here, you throw it away; you will find western toilets in apartments, but in almost all restaurants / public places there are squatty potties and you better have your own toilet paper

* Any time there is a grand opening of a new building they shoot off fireworks

* When getting in a cab you can only get in on the passenger side - the back door on the driver side does not open

* The men always allow a woman or child to go first whether it is on or off the elevator, out a door, etc. The Chinese people also have high respect for their elders and it is seen in their actions of leading them across the street or helping carry the groceries

Well, I will close for now, but look for an update next week about my first few days of class.

Crazy Things About China

So, just thought I would share with you some things that I have noticed / experienced in the first few days of being here.

* The street sweeper trucks play the Happy Birthday tune while driving up and down the streets (this starts promptly at 7am every morning)

* The same street sweeper truck sprays tons of water on the streets to "contain all the dust" yet doesn't care if you are in the line of fire

* Everyone drives like a maniac here (worse than when I was in Colombia); they will drive down the middle of two lanes just to get in front of another car - yet I haven't seen any accidents so far

* While the Chinese people are very nice, they have no qualms about pushing in front of you in line at the store or jumping in a taxi that you just flagged down

* Instead of going to the car wash, the car wash comes to you - there are men with water tanks on the back of their bikes that wash cars in our apartment complex all the time, and they look like they just came from the dealership

* The only children that you will find at the playground or outside playing are babies and toddlers since the other children are studying most of the time

* Baby and toddler clothing are split bottom pants so that kids can go to the bathroom easier

* Being an American you get stared at everywhere you go

* Even when they realize that you can't speak Mandarin they still speak to you in their language nonstop and even faster

So, there are just a few tidbits of things I have discovered so far. I am sure that I will have plenty more to share with you in the next few months.

To update you as well - I am now officially in my own apartment. It is a 2 bedroom / 1 bath (it was the same price as a 1 bedroom) and is located on the 8th floor (the number 8 is a lucky number for the Chinese). So, anytime you all want to visit I have a spare room for you. I have posted some pictures of my apartment for you to see (click the picture of the sunset to the right to access the photos). I am calling these the before pictures. The Chinese like to put crazy colors together such as my yellow couch, with a purple table and chairs in the eating area, which are both located in the same room. Since there are so many fabric markets here that specialize in re-upholstering furniture for really cheap prices I plan on changing out some colors over the next few months, as well as re-arranging some furniture too. When I am finished I will post some new pictures.

Well, that's it from here for now. I am still loving being here and finding my niche to make a difference in this place. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

In China, Doing Well, and Accomplishing A Lot

Ni Hao (Hello) from China! I have officially been here 5 days, and have had no problems adjusting to being here. I was able to stay awake 11 hours after arriving on Thursday, but definitely slept for 12 hours that night as well as the next night to fight off jet-lag. I have been to street markets and Metro (a store very similar to a Sam's or Costco), and have done pretty well in remembering which direction to go to get to these places. I have also eaten at a Subway and a Turkish restaurant since being here. Xi'an definitely has a wider variety of foods than I anticipated since there are restaurants that specialize in American, Italian, Mexican, Turkish, and Korean in addition to all the Chinese food - which is delicious, by the way.

As far as getting things accomplished, I found an apartment and have put down a deposit and should be signing the contract in the next day or two. How apartments are done here is very similar to someone owning a condo in the States - you have a landlord (or owner) for each apartment and you go through a realtor to negotiate a price with the landlord to rent an apartment. Due to this fact all the apartments are very different from appearance to flexibility in what you can do in your apartment. We looked at 5 apartments in 2 days, and I have to say that they were all different, with things I liked in each one, but the one that I liked the best and felt "at home" in was the very first one. It is also in the same apartment complex as the rest of my friends. All of my friends here have apartments in the same complex, we are all just in different buildings. My friends have told me that I am very lucky to have a landlord who is so nice and accommodating. He has allowed me the option of painting (the Chinese use some crazy colors in places), if I so desire in the future, and he asked if he could buy me a plant or flowers for my place for when I moved in. He also showed me how to work the washing machine, considering you have to hook it up to the water source in the bathroom and the directions are written in Chinese. I feel good about the choice I made and look forward to making it home over the next several months. I will post pictures once I am moved in.

School.......my friends and I met with the Director this morning of a new school that we are going to go to for classes, and we will start on September 7. The school is associated with a University, but is a smaller version run out of two apartments that were converted to a classroom and office space. This school option is a little cheaper price wise, is located in our apartment complex, and has like-minded people. A few of us (including myself) are going to do 2 to 1, meaning it will be 2 of us to 1 teacher for 10 hours a week, while a few others will do 1 to 1 for 8 hours a week. We will also have 2 teachers that will rotate throughout the week to give us different teaching styles as well as different experiences with dialect and pronunciation. I am excited about the school and feel this was the best option to get more attention to learning the language. There is also the option of getting a tutor for a few hours a week to help with language if needed.

Finally, things are coming together for work as well, but I am going to leave those details to be filled in later once they are finalized. What I will say in the meantime is that I will be working with Olympic athletes that are here in Xi'an teaching them English and life skills. I will have to go to Beijing for a few days or possibly a week for training before starting work, but I will let you know once I have the details. I am pretty excited though.

I plan to post another blog in a few days to update you on more and to give you an insight to the little quirky things I have discovered about Xi'an and China in general. Hope you have a wonderful week.

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

Hey! So, I am officially leaving for China in a few hours. When I arrive it will be Thursday morning for me, and Wednesday night for you (there is a 12 hour time difference). I hope to post a blog sometime soon after arriving, but it may be a few days until I can get internet.

I am looking forward to updating you from the other side of the world!

Just Around the Corner

Howdy! Just thought I would give you a quick update on what is going on in the next few days before my departure. Tonight my parents flew into town to spend the weekend with me before I head out, as well as my aunt and uncle (on my mom's side) decided to come for a 24 hour visit. When my Uncle Tommy and I get together we seem to get into a lot of trouble, so we will have to see how much of a ruckus we can cause in the short time we have together.

Things have definitely continued to progress nicely, and I am not stressed out at all - maybe that's because I did not wait until the last minute to pack either (that usually makes a difference). I have one suitcase completely packed and is under 50lbs., and I am almost done with packing everything else into the second suitcase, but just trying to make sure it is under 50 lbs. as well.

It's officially 3 days until I leave for China, and I am getting very excited. I don't think it will really hit me until after a few days of being there that I have actually moved, but I am looking forward to that moment and to the many adventures that await me in learning a new language and culture.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend and that you are enjoying many adventures of your own.

Fun Filled Week

Hey again! Whew, last week was jam-packed, but full of great memories and lots of fun! The week started out with a get together on Sunday, which gave me the opportunity to see many of you, and to be able to catch up with you on what has been happening in your lives. I enjoy the times that I get to spend with each of you.

The rest of the week was spent with the family hanging out and visiting sites around town. My parents and I enjoyed having Ethan and Drew (my nephews) staying with us for the week, and
I even enjoyed the morning wake-up calls when they jumped in the bed and sang my dad's morning song to me (Get up, get up, you sleepy head, get up, get up, get out of bed). No offense to my dad, but when your nephews sing it, it is cute and tolerated a little bit better. One day during the week we went to the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. It has been 2 years since I have been to the Aquarium and at least 10 years since I have been to the World of Coca-Cola, so I enjoyed it immensely. It was also fun to watch the excitement in Ethan and Drew at both places as they dragged Wills, a family friend, around to all their favorite things. And Ethan and Drew's best advice for the World of Coca-Cola: "Do not drink the Beverly in the tasting room - it is gross!" Another day during the week, after my brother and sister-in-law arrived in town, we went to Stone Mountain. We rode the cable car to the top of the mountain, which I enjoyed since I had never done that the other times I have been, and enjoyed looking out from the top. After the ride back down, my brother, sister-in-law, and nephews all decided to do the ropes course. The boys especially loved it, and were trying all the "more difficult" obstacles on the course. We then concluded the night with a wonderful laser and fireworks show. I have posted some pictures for the week for you to look at.

On Saturday my Aunt Carol, Uncle Art, cousin Angie and her girls Cynthia, Dayle, and Brandi (on my dad's side of the family) came and joined us for the weekend. We had a great time reminiscing and just spending time together. It is always fun to see family.

Well, the countdown is now 11 days until I leave. I am beginning to decide what I want to take with me and lay it out, so we will see how it goes. I will update you next week on if I packed well or not.

Hope you have a great week, and I will be checking in again soon.

A Bargain

So, like every person does, I enjoy a good deal. Granted, I am not as gifted as my mother in always finding the best deals out there, but I do enjoy those moments that I feel like I got something at a really good price. Last week I began the search for a new backpack - one with a lifetime guarantee, that could be used to carry my laptop and things, or one that could be used for weekend trips. The type of backpack I was looking for normally runs between $80 and $120, but I was only willing to pay $40 (I know, sounds crazy for a backpack, right?). Anyways, on Monday night I received an email from REI (Recreational Equipment Incorporated) stating that I had not used my dividend yet (which is a cash back bonus from purchases made the previous year), and that in addition to that, for being an email subscriber I could get an additional 25% off my purchase on selected items. So, I headed to REI the next day to search out their selections of backpacks. I found a Jan Sport that I really liked, but still didn't feel like I was going to be under my budget (and surely a backpack like this would not be on the 25% off list). I asked the clerk to double check the price for me since it wasn't marked, and I only found one backpack in the color black - there were plenty of the other colors, but I wanted the black one. He checked, and I was relieved to find that it was $25 less then the others since it was the only one of that color. So, I decided it would be in my budget and preceded to check out. Well, I was excited upon check out when I learned that the cashier decided to give me the 25% off discount. Thanks to the sale price, my dividend earnings, and the 25% off, I only spent $15 dollars on a $115 backpack. Pretty sweet, huh?

Well, I just wanted to share with you my excitement from last week in getting prepared to leave. I spent a little time cleaning out some things in my room, and will need to spend some more time on it next week, but this week I am enjoying having my nephews staying with me. I will update you next time on all our adventures from this week.

Update

Hey again! It's official...... I have my new passport and visa, and my flights are coming together, so I will be ready to go in a month. It's hard to believe that I will be leaving in a month from now. I am definitely excited and a little bit nervous too. I think it is always a little nerve-wracking when you go to a new place that you are unfamiliar with, but I also know that I adapt well in new situations too, so that makes it easier.

My time in Florida comes to an end tomorrow, but I have had a great time while being here. My family and I spent the 4th of July week at the beach, and when my brother and sister-in-law had to leave after the weekend, we kept my nephews the rest of the week. Mom, dad and I had a great time with them and we all have some great memories. My favorite memory of Drew for the week was hearing him remind me that I lost to him 3 times in the card game Go Fish! And my favorite memory of Ethan for the week was when he asked Grandma what was for dessert, and she asked why he thought we were having dessert, and he said: "Because we always have dessert when we are at Grandma's. You spoil us!" I just love those boys!!

I am also very thankful for the time I have had to see many of you while I have been in Florida. It is always great seeing you and being able to catch up on what has been going on in your life. I am also looking forward to the opportunities I will get to see many of you in Georgia throughout the next month. Everyone of you are very special to me and hold a special place in my heart.

Well, I look forward to checking in again next week; until then I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Checking Things Off The List

Hey everyone! I am back to blogging and looking forward to keeping you updated on the newest details of my journey.

I have been in Florida for 2 weeks now and have 1 more week here before I head back to Georgia to pack and do some spring cleaning (figured mom and dad wouldn't mind storing my things a few more years, but that I wouldn't leave so much stuff with them if possible). It is amazing how much stuff I have accumulated over the years, and did not realize it until recently.

Well, another exciting thing, that I can check off my To Do List, is that I now have my new passport and my visa is currently being sent FedEx to arrive tomorrow. So, that is one huge relief of having those 2 items.

Hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July, and I will be checking in with you again soon.