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!!