Trip to Beijing

Even though I have lived in China a little over 2 years, I have never had the opportunity to go to Beijing and to be a tourist. I was in Beijing for a week in 2010 for the Red Cross Society of China Life Education course training, but we only had one day off, and since it was the worst pollution day ever (meaning you literally could only see about five feet in front of you), my friends and I decided to go to the waterpark inside the Water Cube that day. The only other times I have been in Beijing have been for a few hours overnight when flying back and forth from the States. 

So, on October 26th my roommate and I left on an overnight train headed to Beijing. We arrived the next morning, got checked into our hotel and headed out to explore as well as to find an import store called Jenny Lou's where we were going to pick up a few items for some friends back in Xi'an. There are a few Jenny Lou's, so we asked the concierge at the hotel which one was the easiest to get to by using the subway system. We followed the directions that the concierge gave us and ended up in the Russian-Chinese mob part of town. My roommate and I saw a few "sketchy" things occur as we quickly figured out how to get out of that area of town. We decided to try for another Jenny Lou's in a safer part of town, and after walking an hour and asking several people directions (in Chinese), we finally found it. (Side note regarding something I have learned about people in Beijing:  when asking directions of a Chinese person, if they do not know the answer to your question then they make something up in order to save face instead of just telling you they do not know - totally opposite of our culture).

For the next two days I had arranged for a driver (whom my friends had used before and were impressed with his services) to drive us to the tourist places. Ironically hiring a driver saved both time and money compared to taking buses. So, on the first day our driver, Harry, took us to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, to the Summer Palace, and to the Olympic Center. The second day he took us to the Temple of Heaven, the Pearl market, Tiananmen Square, and the Forbidden City. The two days were busy with seeing several sights in a day, but the best possible way to see everything too in such a short amount of time. I know I definitely had a good time. My roommate and I headed back the next night on another overnight train.

Be sure to click on the link to see pictures from my trip to Beijing.

Seeing Chinese Serve their Own

So, there is something that I did not mention in my last post, but that I felt deserved its own post and wanted to share with you.

My Chinese friend and teacher, Rebekah, had a chance to go on her first short term trip a few weeks ago to Yushu, which is in the Qinghai province - near Tibet.  There was a group of ten members (all Chinese) that went to help the people who suffered from an earthquake there several months ago.  Each team member was responsible for asking friends and family to help them purchase certain items to take for the people whether it was school supplies, clothing, etc.  The team members were also responsible for raising funds that would help purchase blankets and cow dung (to be used as fuel for fires for cooking, etc.) for the people.  My friends and I were so excited to be able to help her out with both of her responsibilities as well as to encourage her and talk to our Friend on her behalf for this trip.  For me, it was also exciting to see the passion and joy she had to go out and to serve her own people in any way that she could.

After her trip Rebekah was happy to report back to my friends and I about her time.  She reported that the team faced many challenges during their time in Yushu, but all of them said that it was worth the effort to see people's lives touched and changed.  The group was able to help provide for the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of the people during the ten days and all walked away with an even deeper sense of who the One is in their lives too. 

Long Overdue Update

This post may become a little long as there is a lot of news to catch you up on, so here we go.

About ten days after arriving back into Xi'an and getting settled in a routine, my friends and I were happy to host a group from the States.  Two of the girls stayed at my house and I had fun spending time with them outside of their work time.  One of the girls that stayed at my house is from a Chinese background, but was born in Indonesia and grew up in Australia.  She speaks a little Cantonese (a Hong Kong dialect), but not Mandarin, so it was a funny sight around town to have Chinese people talk to her and for me to have to say that she did not understand and to translate instead.

On September 20 I began teaching the Life Education course for the semester and it has been going really well.  In this culture it is typical for the students to listen to the teacher and to not ask questions, but every week these students have asked some really great questions, and are eager to know more.  Several of the students have even stayed after class to talk to me as well.

Chinese National Holiday was October 1-9, so it was a week full of fireworks and people everywhere.  Chinese people are given seven days off of work, so it can be very difficult to go anywhere because taxis are hard to find, food is sold out in grocery stores, etc., but it is nice to see the people spending time with their families like we do at Thanksgiving.

A few weeks ago I also began helping a friend study for the American College of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (ACSM cPT) exam.  I took the exam a few years ago and missed passing the exam by 5 points, and have always wanted to take the exam again.  Becoming a cPT has been a dream of mine, and know it is helpful tool to my teaching of health and wellness in any culture, so I once again am pursuing the tasks necessary to take the exam.  My friend and I meet once a week to study and to see how we are progressing with our weekly practice tests.  My friend plans on taking the exam here in December (it is a computer exam offered in English here at a university), and I will take it again stateside most likely in January.

Relationships with Chinese friends has kept me busy as well, and I am so glad for the opportunities that I have had to spend with each one of them.  My time with Jo (the lady from my newsletter) has been really good and she is always excited to see me.  I am continuing to ask that I can see her come into the family of believers before I leave here, so please be thinking about that for me too.

In other random news one Line of the new Xi'an Subway system opened up the end of September, along with Xi'an's first Burger King, so my roommate, Chinese teacher and I all went and rode the subway one night and ate at Burger King for dinner.  The subway is really nice and makes getting to certain places quicker and more convenient. 

Well, I will conclude there for now.  I will be traveling to Beijing for 4 days the end of next week with my roommate to do the tourist things, as the only other times I have been to Beijing have been for the Life Education training and for a few hour layovers on my way stateside.  I am looking forward to this trip and sharing with you when I get back.

And It Begins...

I have been back in Xi'an now for a week, and have gotten back in the routine after a few days of getting over jet lag.  I have begun meeting with Chinese friends again as well as spending time preparing the Life Education course, which I will begin teaching on September 20 for the semester.  I am also preparing to host another group from our company, who arrive this Thursday.

My friend Natasha, who did two schools with me and we went to Colombia, South America together during our company training, is joining our group here and is my roommate for the next three months.  She arrived a week before I got back from the States and it has been great re-connecting with her.  One of her younger sisters just arrived yesterday as well for a two week visit.  So, it will be a little busy the next few weeks, but I am excited about all the opportunities that await me.
 

Plans for July

I hope you all are staying cool during these summer months.  It has begun to get really hot here.  Average temperatures have been in the 90's.  Sometimes I don't know how the Chinese people can stand it considering there are many places that do not have air conditioning or don't use it for fear that it uses too much electricity.  

A few days ago I made a 24 hour trip to Hong Kong for visa purposes.  Since I am on a tourist visa I have to leave every 90 days.  The 90th day was not until July 24, but I was going to be cutting it close since I am hoping to fly to the States on July 25, and I did not want to not make it out and pay the hefty fines, so I went early.  This time around it was cheaper for me to fly to Shenzhen (still mainland China) and to take a bus across the border into Hong Kong.  The journey went well, but definitely had some interesting moments too.  When I arrived in Shenzhen I bought my bus ticket to my stop in Hong Kong, and the ticketing agent then placed a sticker on me and told me to not take it off until my final destination.  I felt like an unaccompanied minor flying on a plane (though I did laugh about this), since I was then walked to my bus as well.  The 1st bus took about 20 minutes to go to the China customs stop, where the bus drops you off and you take all of your luggage with you into the building (the bus drivers have to go through customs too and may not be the ones to pick you up once you clear customs).  China customs took me about 10 minutes to clear, and as I was walking out to where you catch the bus on the other side, a man saw my sticker and grabbed my hand and led me directly to my next bus (again I laughed).  The 2nd bus took 5 minutes to go to the Hong Kong customs stop, which involved the same process.  This stop lasted an hour though due to so many people wanting to cross the border, and involved witnessing an altercation.  Two Chinese ladies, who initially had been in front of me in line, decided that they didn't want to wait and jumped into the Hong Kong resident line. The customs security guard sent them back to the end of my line, where they worked their way back up to in front of me again (not uncommon for people to "butt in line" here), and when the customs security guard caught them again they preceded to argue profusely with the guard.  After a few minutes of arguing one of the Chinese ladies swung at the security guard and would have hit her had her friend not grabbed her wrist at the last moment.  The lady who swung was taken into the back and was let go and sent through customs after 10 minutes.  Only in China!  I then left Hong Kong customs and was at my destination 25 minutes later.  This time I stayed at my Company's place in Hong Kong, and got to spend a few hours hanging out with my friend Natasha who is back doing another school there.  My trip back to Shenzhen involved the same process with the buses and customs, but this time did not include any interesting moments.  

So, a quick run down of my July plans.  I finish classes this week on July 5th and then I will be a coach again this summer for the Sunshine International camp from July 13-23.  This is a leadership camp for both Chinese and American high school and college students that takes place in a different city in China every year, and this year it happens to be taking place in Xi'an!  The day after camp ends I will be flying to Beijing to spend the night, as I am hoping to catch the 1st flight of the day early on July 25th to the States (I am flying on a buddy pass from some great friends).  My plans from there are to be in Georgia for a week, then Florida for 2 weeks, and then 2 weeks vacation with mom and dad.  Looking forward to seeing many of you this summer.  

        

Questions Asked

Well, it seems like the past 2 weeks since I have checked in have flown by.  Here is a quick recap before I get to the main part of the blog that I am most excited about.  Our friends from the States, whom I was hosting 5 of the 8 girls, left on June 10 and moved on to their next venture.  I loved the opportunities that I got to spend with the girls in my house and to pour into their lives during the short time that they were here.  And they definitely left an impact in my life as well.  Two days after they left I celebrated my 32nd birthday with the girls (the husbands stayed home with the kids) by eating pizza at Papa John's, ice cream at Dairy Queen, and walked around at the Big Goose Pagoda.  I also wore a new skirt that day that I bought myself a few days earlier at H&M that just opened here.  And the day after my birthday I celebrated again by having dinner with my Chinese friends at my favorite Chinese restaurant here - complete with sweet and sour chicken, rice, eggplant, and vegetables.

So, yesterday (Saturday), was my day to teach my once a week English class to 6-7 year olds.  After class my boss and I were talking about words that I was learning in Chinese, etc., when she asked if she could inquire about an English word (side note: my boss has an excellent grasp of the English language and has a college degree in English).  So, she writes the word "history" on the whiteboard and proceeds to ask if the word was really meant to be about "His story".  She told me she had been watching some movie and was thinking about the main character and how it really represented his account/story of history.  So, we had a chance to talk about it for a little bit and it was really good.  If you could just keep my boss, Jo, in your thoughts and that we would have more opportunities like this one, I would appreciate it.  Jo does not believe yet, but I can see a desire in her to know more and she is genuine is her questions.

Hope you are enjoying summer.

      

My Life Lately

It has been a busy month since my last post, so to catch you up on what I have been up to.  My laptop has crashed once again - actually the third time since I have been in China, but I am pretty sure that it has to do with this particular model of HP since my mom and brother have the same models, and the same problems too.  Thankfully I am still covered under warranty and can get it fixed while I am stateside this summer.  And I am also thankful for a friend who is loaning me his spare laptop to use in the meantime.

I have continued to stay busy with Chinese classes, mentoring, and teaching, and continue to love the opportunities that I get to spend with students.  At the Little Ants Learning Club where I teach English on Saturdays, we had a presentation day last week for half of the kids, who have completed this semester of classes (they are now focusing their time on preparing for upcoming school exams).  Four of the students are done until September, while I am still teaching five to six more students every week.  The students who finished last week did a great job and were really excited to show their parents what they have learned.  I hope to post a picture soon of me with the students - I am having problems uploading them tonight.

Last week my friends and I welcomed another group of friends from the company in the States, who will be here until June 10.  They are another great group of students who have really taken initiative already.  So far they have already been to an orphanage about an hour outside the city for three days this week to help with some Special Needs kids, and will be working with some other orphans here in the city in a few days.  I have five of the girls staying with me at my apartment and I have really enjoyed getting to know them.

Also in five weeks I will be working at the Sunshine International Camp again and this year it is being held in Xi'an.  And then hopefully the day after camp ends I am hoping to be headed stateside for a few weeks.  I will keep you posted on those events in future posts.

Hope you are having a splendid summer!

Time in Hong Kong

Well, I returned from a 4 day trip to Hong Kong last week (for visa purposes), so I thought I would share with you about my experience while I was there.

My time was pretty relaxing and included exploring the city and eating some great Western food.  My friend Erica and I got checked into our hostel Saturday afternoon and then went off to find Outback Steakhouse for dinner (which was great).  We walked down to Victoria Bay on our way back to the hostel and completed the evening with a stop at 7-Eleven.  Side note:  I have to say that my time in Hong Kong reminded me a lot of Florida with 7-Elevens and Circle K everywhere and the smell of the bay - it actually made me miss FL and want to go out on a boat this summer while I am home.

(Victoria Bay at night)

Sunday was another beautifully sunny and clear day (unlike most days in Xi'an) and we headed off to club at one of the tallest buildings in the financial district of Hong Kong.  We had a great experience there and enjoyed the Easter celebration of the risen One.  Afterwards we were invited to join everyone in an Italian themed pot luck lunch.  One of the club members is originally from Italy, so he actually made many of the dishes, which were excellent.  Afterwards Erica and I headed over to the Peak Tram, which takes you to the top of the highest peak on Hong Kong.  Since it was a holiday and everyone had the same idea, it would have been a 2 hour wait.  We decided that we would prefer to come back the next day and instead went to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens just up the road, and that was free admission.  And on that night we decided to eat at Burger King after failing to find a Mexican restaurant.

On Monday we headed back to the Peak Tram and were in line for only 10 minutes before getting on the tram to the top.  Once at the top we went out on the the observatory deck and looked at all of Hong Kong down below - it was a pretty cool sight.  Afterwards we headed inside to Pacific Coffee (ranked #1 in Hong Kong 7 years in a row) and had coffee and a great Greek salad for lunch.  After awhile we left there and headed back to walk around in the Central district of Hong Kong, where we found a park that we walked through and explored for a little bit. 

(Peak Tram)

(View from Peak Observatory)

And on Tuesday it was time to head back to the airport to fly back to Xi'an.  So, most of this day for me was spent checking out of the hostel and getting on a bus for an hour to the Hong Kong airport and then just hanging out at a Pacific Coffee before boarding my flight.

I definitely enjoyed my brief time in Hong Kong.  It is definitely an easy place to get around and things are in Chinese (mostly Cantonese, though many people speak Mandarin too) and English.  The subway system is amazing and the Star Ferry also makes it easy to get from the Kowloon region to Wan Chai or Central District region in 7 minutes or less.       

And Then There Were None

It is so weird to go from having lots of guests in your house for three weeks to complete silence again.  I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of the ladies that lived in my house while they were here, and the times that I was able to spend with the entire group at other functions too.  They are a great group of young adults with passion and determination, who are going to make a great impact in the world.

Well, life for me is back to normal for a little bit before my friends and I have the opportunity to host another group of friends from the States for twelve days starting the end of May.  I am looking forward to hosting another group and getting the chance to meet some more young adults with the same desire to make a change in this world.

This weekend my friend Erica and I will be traveling to Hong Kong for four days.  We both are on a year long, multiple entry, tourist visa, but we have to leave the country every ninety days.  And since Hong Kong is not mainland China, we can cross over the border to meet that requirement.  I found an amazing deal on a round trip airline ticket in and out of Hong Kong International Airport (most people fly into Shenzhen then take a bus over the border into Hong Kong since it is cheaper - not this time) and am staying at a really great hostel that several of my foreign friends have stayed at before.  I am pretty excited to go since I have never been to Hong Kong.  I hear there are multiple Outback Steakhouse's throughout the city, which I will definitely check out one day.  I am really excited as well as I will be there on Easter Sunday and will get the opportunity to go to a well known club (Sunday fellowship) in one of the highest buildings in Hong Kong. 

I will close for now, but hope that you all are doing well.  Will check in again upon my return from Hong Kong.

Busy 2 Months

This blog is long overdue, but I am excited to be blogging again more regularly after 2 months.  As a side note:  I did get locked out of the Internet for a little while during my hiatus (the secure server I connect through was compromised), but things have been running smoothly for a little bit now, so I hope it stays that way.  

So, since I am hoping to send out an updated newsletter via email soon of the past few months, I will just update you on the latest now in this blog. 

Currently there is a group of friends from the company, who are on a two month trip through China and Hong Kong here in Xi'an, and half of the girls have been staying with me at my apartment.  The other girls are staying at another friend's apartment, and all the guys are at another apartment.  My friends will be here a total of 3 weeks and during that time will be involved with various work projects from working at orphanages, foster homes to teaching English.  It has been fun hanging out with many of them.

I have also been busy again with my Chinese language classes, teaching English once a week for an hour and a half, and getting ready to teach the Life Education course.  I have also made some strides in building relationships with some of the parents whose children come to English club on Saturdays, so it has been rewarding to see some fruit from that.

Well, I am going to conclude there for now, but will be back in a week with another update.

Year of the Rabbit & Everything Else

Happy Year of the Rabbit.  Chinese New Year was officially rung in with style at midnight on February 2, with fireworks displays that really can't be explained.  I did my best to take pictures and a video, though neither do justice to what is really occurring in the moment.  People were shooting off fireworks everywhere, including right below my building, and one even hit my window (luckily made of double pane glass) as I was watching the display from inside my bedroom - there is still a mark on my window.  Most of the festivities conclude tonight, so most of the fireworks will cease, though I am sure some will still linger for a few days.  In case you are wondering by the way, why the constant shooting off of fireworks, it is because many Chinese believe that the loud sounds scare off evil and bring them good luck.

The past two weeks have also included adventures for me such as two rounds of sickness and the heat radiator pipe bursting in the bathroom shooting water everywhere and causing a mess.  The first week I found myself with a sinus infection, which was to be expected since I went from warm weather in Thailand back to cold weather of Xi'an; however, this one was worse than I normally get and required an antibiotic, yet the one problem was that pharmacies here were closed for Chinese New Year.  So, finally on Saturday my friend Sarah was able to find a pharmacy that was open and get me some medicine.  Oh, and that medicine is Azithromycin/Zithromax combo for only $2.50 and is over the counter.  On Sunday I was out for the day, and when I returned home I discovered that the heat radiator pipe in the bathroom was shooting water everywhere and was just about to begin pouring over into the rest of the apartment (the bathroom floor is 2 inches lower than the rest of the floors).  I called my friend Chris, who with 2 other friends, literally came running over to help me, which I was extremely grateful for considering I don't know what to do in these situations and I definitely do not know this area of the Chinese language. The maintenance man had to come and shut off the heat to my apartment as the heating unit in the bathroom will need to be replaced, but it cannot be done until after Chinese New Year when people get back to work.  And then of course, a few days ago I got the flu, though a much milder case than most people, as it has been going around here.  So, today I am on the mend and looking forward to not being sick anymore.

Other than the few minor things, everything is great and I am excited about this year.  I am still teaching English for an hour and a half on Saturdays and I love it and the relationships that I have built with the kids and the ladies who run the learning club.  The Life Education course will begin soon in the Universities, so I am excited to begin teaching that curriculum too.  The school semester here for the spring is a little different than the States in that it runs from the first week of March until the first week of July, so for this month I have had time to do some preparations for the course before it begins.

Well, I will conclude there for now, but hope you all are doing well.  For my Georgia friends, I am sure that the snow is pretty, but is getting a little old by now too.  Just think - spring is right around the corner!!    

Thailand Recap

Well, I am back from Thailand where I enjoyed a great time of teaching, fellowship with others from my company, and beautiful weather of 80 degrees everyday.  And to think that last night here in China it was snowing - gotta love experiencing two different seasons during two weeks.

I feel like I am a very open and honest person about my life and what I am experiencing, so I thought that I would continue with that in this blog.  While I knew that the teaching and training that I would receive during my time in Thailand would be very beneficial and helpful for my work here, I didn't foresee the other things that were in store for me during that time too.  I sometimes have a tendency to think that I have everything under control and try to be strong, when in reality I am actually crumbling under fear and worries.  And so, during my time in Thailand I had to come to the realization once again that I can never do it on my own and that when I surrender those worries I am at peace and have renewed hope.  I also just had to realize that I do live in a place that is a "cloud of darkness" and so getting out from that cloud for a few weeks made a huge difference.  I know that I was also free from that cloud when I was home for Christmas, but I didn't really process through those things then since I made my main focus during the month family and friends.  I am just thankful for the One that never leaves me where I am at and pursues me relentlessly until I grasp hold of what is in store for me and my calling.  

Well, as for other highlights of my time in Thailand, during a few of the afternoons off my friends and I got to do some excursions.  One day we went to a monkey show.  The monkeys are trained to do various tasks during the show such as lifting weights, shooting free throws into a basketball goal, and climbing trees to pick coconuts.  There were really impressive and it is amazing what you can teach a monkey.  On another day a friend and I got to play with and hold a baby tiger.  There are so cute and just like a bigger kitten.  And on one of the last days before a group of us had a chance to go and ride elephants.  I have posted pictures of all my excursions, including the day that I met up with my friend Rebecca and her family at the zoo and Night Safari.  Hope you enjoy.

In Thailand

Happy New Year!  I want to post a quick blog to let you know that right now I am in Chiang Mai, Thailand for two weeks for a seminar/teaching time for my company.  I really feel like this time will be very beneficial and will allow for continued growth in regards to leadership.

While we do have lots of meetings during our time here, we also have some free time to explore the city here, so I plan on riding an elephant sometime next week.  Last week I discovered that my friend Rebecca and her mother, from Gainesville, GA were also going to be in Chiang Mai visiting her brother and his family, so yesterday I had the opportunity to join them at the zoo and to go on a night safari too.  Both activities of the day were pretty amazing and I really had a great time catching up.  On the Night Safari we were allowed to hand feed deer, zebra, giraffes, and pigs that would come up to you on the tram, which was really awesome.  I personally got to pet a deer, which was pretty cool.  I will post pictures and include more about my time here when I get back to China.