It is Saturday afternoon here in Kunming and I keep thinking about the fact that one week from now, I will be on a plane headed to the good 'ole USA. You wouldn't believe all the emotions I am feeling... sadness because I have to say good bye to so many people and places this week. Happiness and joy because I get to see the people I love. Excitement because I will be graduating from COLLEGE so soon. It's so unreal!
This week was an excellent week. On Monday, Josalyn and I were biking to this shopping center so I could buy some shoes I found for graduation along with some grocery shopping. We were just having a nice ride, minding our own business and all of a sudden, Josalyn makes a noise, I look to my left and there is a scooter (moped) literally an inch from me. She didn't honk or anything so I had no idea she was so close to me..... so she ran into me. Thankfully I caught myself fast enough and didn't fall completely off my bike but her scooter fell over and she was on the ground. I apologized numerous times in Chinese even though it wasn't my fault... But then again when you're a foreigner, everything is your fault. I still have a small bruise on my leg and a bruise on my arm from the incident.
Thursday night I went to a Chinese Christian worship service with some people. It honestly was a beautiful thing to see people worship the same God in a different language. I had no idea what they were saying but you could feel their sincerity as they sang. I was so happy to see that. On Saturday Josalyn took me the Minority Park where there Minority villages that you can see and experience... it was an absolutely gorgeous place and there were performances going on so I got to see traditional Chinese dancing and an elephant show. Loved every minute of it!
Everyone at school keeps asking me when I leave and they are just astonished at how the time has just flown. I have a lot of plans next week before I leave... I will be observing other classrooms in KIA. Wednesday we don't have school so that is my packing day and I will also be going to someone's house for dinner. Friday Kindergarten is going on a field trip to the train station and that night a bunch of us are going out for dinner and some possible karaoke.... Chinese style. Sounds like a perfect last night in China.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Another week gone.
Another weekend has passed and I will start my last week teaching tomorrow! Friday night me Josalyn and another teacher went to a mexican restaurant that is in the North side of town. It was SO yummy and actually a really nice place (a lot more expensive than we thought haha). Afterwards we went to a cafe and got some cheesecake. Cheesecake is something that is really popular here.. it is something that you guarantee every restaurant will have as a dessert. I think it's because it's not very sweet and Chinese people don't like sweets (not American standards of sweet anyways).
Saturday morning I woke up and went to the international fair at school because I volunteered to help. All staff had to but even though I'm not considered "staff," I still asked if there was any way I could help. Basically there were booths set up from a bunch of different countries (Malaysia, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, Denmark, England USA....) and they were all represented by parents and students who are actually from those countries. They made food, had games, pictures, activities from those countries and then each thing cost a certain amount of tickets. I helped out with the USA booth. It was fun because not just students and staff came to the fair, people from all over Kunming came. Some of the Chinese people wanted their picture with me... because they just never see foreigners! Not gonna lie, made me feel pretty special :)
Ready to start this week and finish it off STRONG. In 13 days I will be on a plane headed across the world. I'm so excited to see and get hugs from the people I love so very much!! Keep me in your prayers :)
Saturday morning I woke up and went to the international fair at school because I volunteered to help. All staff had to but even though I'm not considered "staff," I still asked if there was any way I could help. Basically there were booths set up from a bunch of different countries (Malaysia, Korea, Mexico, Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, Denmark, England USA....) and they were all represented by parents and students who are actually from those countries. They made food, had games, pictures, activities from those countries and then each thing cost a certain amount of tickets. I helped out with the USA booth. It was fun because not just students and staff came to the fair, people from all over Kunming came. Some of the Chinese people wanted their picture with me... because they just never see foreigners! Not gonna lie, made me feel pretty special :)
Ready to start this week and finish it off STRONG. In 13 days I will be on a plane headed across the world. I'm so excited to see and get hugs from the people I love so very much!! Keep me in your prayers :)
Friday, April 19, 2013
Kindergarten has my heart.
It has been such a wonderful week teaching in my precious kindergarten classroom :) I love every single one of those kids. It just amazes me how close you can get to kids in such a short time. May 3rd is going to be a very sad day indeed.
This week I had the opportunity to visit an "unregistered" (illegal) kindergarten in Kunming that was started by a foreigner about 5 years ago. She wanted to provide education for families who work but can't afford to send their children to Chinese kindergarten. The thing about Chinese Kindergartens is that it's a BIG DEAL. They are all over the city and these schools JUST have Kindergarten in their buildings. After kindergarten they go to a primary school and then middle school.. etc. All these schools cost a tuition and most of them are more than what Chinese people can afford. So this Kindergarten is held in an apartment, now taught by a local Chinese woman who took over after the foreigner left. She lives in this apartment so she has her own bedroom and the rest of the apartment is all for this school. I got to interact with the kids a little bit and although they didn't know any English, I figured out quickly how incredibly smart they were. I thought it was so great to see how God has given the skills and patience to this woman in order dedicate her life to helping others. That is what I hope to be doing for the rest of my life!
Otherwise.. life in Kunming has been pretty much the same. Go to the market after school to pick up stuff to cook for dinner.. ride your bike to school every morning.. sit outside in the evenings and thank God for every single blessing..
The next 2 weeks will be exciting as I finish doing everything that I want and preparing for my journey home.. I feel like I have planned something everyday to make sure I don't waste a minute here. God is so good. I really can't say it enough. I think back sometimes about the process of getting here and how He never failed me. And even as I am sure, His promises are still true.
This week I had the opportunity to visit an "unregistered" (illegal) kindergarten in Kunming that was started by a foreigner about 5 years ago. She wanted to provide education for families who work but can't afford to send their children to Chinese kindergarten. The thing about Chinese Kindergartens is that it's a BIG DEAL. They are all over the city and these schools JUST have Kindergarten in their buildings. After kindergarten they go to a primary school and then middle school.. etc. All these schools cost a tuition and most of them are more than what Chinese people can afford. So this Kindergarten is held in an apartment, now taught by a local Chinese woman who took over after the foreigner left. She lives in this apartment so she has her own bedroom and the rest of the apartment is all for this school. I got to interact with the kids a little bit and although they didn't know any English, I figured out quickly how incredibly smart they were. I thought it was so great to see how God has given the skills and patience to this woman in order dedicate her life to helping others. That is what I hope to be doing for the rest of my life!
Otherwise.. life in Kunming has been pretty much the same. Go to the market after school to pick up stuff to cook for dinner.. ride your bike to school every morning.. sit outside in the evenings and thank God for every single blessing..
The next 2 weeks will be exciting as I finish doing everything that I want and preparing for my journey home.. I feel like I have planned something everyday to make sure I don't waste a minute here. God is so good. I really can't say it enough. I think back sometimes about the process of getting here and how He never failed me. And even as I am sure, His promises are still true.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
A long adventurous weekend.
I have returned from Yuxi and it really was a great weekend!! There were 9 middle school girls and 5 adults. I must say it was rather strange to be on the "chaperone" side of things. I'm so used to being on the kids side but it was rather fun being one of the adults :) And it was very different than chasing 5 year olds around the classroom!
The reason why we went is because there is a teacher who used to work at KIA who started an English school in the village of Er Shan and she wanted to us to come and host an Easter Party for her students. SO that is what we did on Saturday. Friday, we left right after school at 4 on a charter bus. We got stuck in a traffic jam for about an hour and a half so our journey was prolonged and we didn't get to eat dinner until I think 8 or 9 o'clock. Food all weekend was SO good. All typical/traditional Chinese dishes but I loved them all. Friday night we ate at a restaurant and they served us family style. All the food goes on a big lazy Susan so you just spin it until you get what you want. I have a confession to make up.. I ate chicken feet this night. I was so curious and everyone thought it was so funny because I had never seen cooked chicken feet before. I took one bite and that was plenty for me! We got to the hotel and let's just say that American standards are quite different than Chinese standards. There was a cockroach in our bathroom, no shower curtain on the shower and the bed was like a cement block.
Saturday morning we woke up and ate breakfast (meals were in the hotel from this point on- they cooked for us). Rice noodles are what Chinese typically eat for breakfast so that is what we had along with warm sweet soy milk and hard boiled eggs. The milk was my FAVORITE. It was so yummy. We then hiked up a path on the mountain so I got to see a beautiful view of the village and all the farmlands. I also got to know Vivian (an assistant in my classroom) better during this time because she shared her story with me :) She is a beautiful person and I'm so glad we got to talk. After this we walked through town a little bit and as you can guess, all the villagers stared at us because they don't ever see foreigners. Lunch was so good. I'm serious, I could live on Chinese food forever. After lunch we had to get ready for the party- there were 5 stations that kids rotated to- making gods eyes, Easter egg hunt, piñata hitting, water game and an English game. They put me helping with the craft and if you know anything about me, you know how perfect that is. It was really difficult for me to communicate with the students because all of them speak Chinese and barely English. So it was quite interesting to see us try and give directions...
The rest of the day, the girls were allowed to have fun. We went swimming in a hot springs pool and then went to a karaoke room and had a dance party. I didn't have a bathing suit but I wore shorts and a tshirt. It was totally worth it. I CRASHED that night because it was such a long day! We woke up Sunday morning, packed up, ate breakfast and went into the center of the town where the Girl Scout leader gave the girls a photo And shopping scavenger hunt. They had a lot of fun :) and then we ate lunch and left for our journey home.
It truly was a great weekend and its crazy that I gotta get up and go to school tomorrow morning! Another week is about to begin and I think I am ready for it... hehe. Thank you all for your continued prayers :) Can't wait to see all the people I love in just 20 days!
Things I've learned:
17. Little boys swim butt naked in pools in China.
18. All parts of an animal are edible.
19. Cooked plain pumpkin is DELICIOUS.
The reason why we went is because there is a teacher who used to work at KIA who started an English school in the village of Er Shan and she wanted to us to come and host an Easter Party for her students. SO that is what we did on Saturday. Friday, we left right after school at 4 on a charter bus. We got stuck in a traffic jam for about an hour and a half so our journey was prolonged and we didn't get to eat dinner until I think 8 or 9 o'clock. Food all weekend was SO good. All typical/traditional Chinese dishes but I loved them all. Friday night we ate at a restaurant and they served us family style. All the food goes on a big lazy Susan so you just spin it until you get what you want. I have a confession to make up.. I ate chicken feet this night. I was so curious and everyone thought it was so funny because I had never seen cooked chicken feet before. I took one bite and that was plenty for me! We got to the hotel and let's just say that American standards are quite different than Chinese standards. There was a cockroach in our bathroom, no shower curtain on the shower and the bed was like a cement block.
Saturday morning we woke up and ate breakfast (meals were in the hotel from this point on- they cooked for us). Rice noodles are what Chinese typically eat for breakfast so that is what we had along with warm sweet soy milk and hard boiled eggs. The milk was my FAVORITE. It was so yummy. We then hiked up a path on the mountain so I got to see a beautiful view of the village and all the farmlands. I also got to know Vivian (an assistant in my classroom) better during this time because she shared her story with me :) She is a beautiful person and I'm so glad we got to talk. After this we walked through town a little bit and as you can guess, all the villagers stared at us because they don't ever see foreigners. Lunch was so good. I'm serious, I could live on Chinese food forever. After lunch we had to get ready for the party- there were 5 stations that kids rotated to- making gods eyes, Easter egg hunt, piñata hitting, water game and an English game. They put me helping with the craft and if you know anything about me, you know how perfect that is. It was really difficult for me to communicate with the students because all of them speak Chinese and barely English. So it was quite interesting to see us try and give directions...
The rest of the day, the girls were allowed to have fun. We went swimming in a hot springs pool and then went to a karaoke room and had a dance party. I didn't have a bathing suit but I wore shorts and a tshirt. It was totally worth it. I CRASHED that night because it was such a long day! We woke up Sunday morning, packed up, ate breakfast and went into the center of the town where the Girl Scout leader gave the girls a photo And shopping scavenger hunt. They had a lot of fun :) and then we ate lunch and left for our journey home.
It truly was a great weekend and its crazy that I gotta get up and go to school tomorrow morning! Another week is about to begin and I think I am ready for it... hehe. Thank you all for your continued prayers :) Can't wait to see all the people I love in just 20 days!
Things I've learned:
17. Little boys swim butt naked in pools in China.
18. All parts of an animal are edible.
19. Cooked plain pumpkin is DELICIOUS.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
5 weeks??
It is seriously so hard to believe that my 5th week here in China is just about done. 3 weeks from Saturday I will be on plane headed back to the states and it will definitely be a bittersweet day for me...
I made it back to Kunming in one piece :) Exhausted, but I made it back and jumped right back into school on Monday. Standardized testing began so it was just a crazy week from the beginning. Our normal routine was all out of order and since I don't believe in testing Kindergarteners, my patience was tested this week! BUT on the bright side, I got to start my science unit on motion which the students love. We got to walk around the xiao qu (sounds like shou choo = neighborhood) to find a swing (most of my students have never been on one before..) as apart of one of the activities. While we were walking I noticed two of my students were holding hands (a boy and a girl) and I started listening to their conversation.. the girl said "when I grow up, I'm going to marry you." The boy said "how do you know you're going to marry me?" Girl- "because I decided it." Boy- "I have to decide too!" Haha I thought this was so cute and just a typical kid conversation. Love my Kindergarteners!
Tomorrow (Friday) after school I will be headed on then Girl Scouts trip for the weekend and I'm really excited about seeing another part of China and just getting to know other students and teachers. I decided I'm going to do a "technology fast" so I'm not taking my iPad, phone, etc. so if you try to contact me, you'll know why I'm not responding! I want this weekend to just give me a break from student teaching and just relax and enjoy this time I get to have with new people. God has been so good to me, so I want to give some time back to Him. This is something I have felt like he has been leading me to do. I promise to share all my adventures when I return :)
I have also been planning and filling every spare time I have for the 23 days with seeing new things in Kunming and spending time with people. I want every moment to count so I won't leave here with any regrets. But I hardly think that is going to happen.
Keep me in your prayers. God just keeps showing me that His plans for me are far greater than I'll ever imagine. And because of that, I'm so full of joy.
I made it back to Kunming in one piece :) Exhausted, but I made it back and jumped right back into school on Monday. Standardized testing began so it was just a crazy week from the beginning. Our normal routine was all out of order and since I don't believe in testing Kindergarteners, my patience was tested this week! BUT on the bright side, I got to start my science unit on motion which the students love. We got to walk around the xiao qu (sounds like shou choo = neighborhood) to find a swing (most of my students have never been on one before..) as apart of one of the activities. While we were walking I noticed two of my students were holding hands (a boy and a girl) and I started listening to their conversation.. the girl said "when I grow up, I'm going to marry you." The boy said "how do you know you're going to marry me?" Girl- "because I decided it." Boy- "I have to decide too!" Haha I thought this was so cute and just a typical kid conversation. Love my Kindergarteners!
Tomorrow (Friday) after school I will be headed on then Girl Scouts trip for the weekend and I'm really excited about seeing another part of China and just getting to know other students and teachers. I decided I'm going to do a "technology fast" so I'm not taking my iPad, phone, etc. so if you try to contact me, you'll know why I'm not responding! I want this weekend to just give me a break from student teaching and just relax and enjoy this time I get to have with new people. God has been so good to me, so I want to give some time back to Him. This is something I have felt like he has been leading me to do. I promise to share all my adventures when I return :)
I have also been planning and filling every spare time I have for the 23 days with seeing new things in Kunming and spending time with people. I want every moment to count so I won't leave here with any regrets. But I hardly think that is going to happen.
Keep me in your prayers. God just keeps showing me that His plans for me are far greater than I'll ever imagine. And because of that, I'm so full of joy.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Beijing in 3.
Well as you all probably have figured from my pictures on Facebook and Instagram, I have been a busy busy girl the past 3-4 days! I think I will just take you guys day by day and let you know some of the fun and interesting that have happened...
Wednesday: Jennifer Zhang was essentially my personal tour guide through my trip to Beijing. Ric and Cindy asked her to travel along with me and show me the sites and since she is Chinese, she was an excellent translator as well :) On this we day we went to the Great Wall. We were planning on going to a very touristy place where they charge you admission and all that stuff but someone told us about this secret non-public place to the climb the wall sooo we decided to go on that adventure :) It was an hour drive through back country roads to get to the wall so that itself was a beautiful scene. In order to get up TO the wall we had to walk through someone's yard so they she made us pay them 2 kuai (which definitely beats 45 kuai) and then we had to walk up this crazy hill/pathway. Once we got up on the wall, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I'm sure you could see by some of my pictures how beautiful it was. Not just the wall itself but we could see mountains for miles and miles and there was a gorge right below us and we could see other villages as we walked... We climbed (yes, climbed- not walked) for almost 2 hours and then decided to turn around. I was absolutely terrified the whole time because I'm so scared of heights and the wall's sides weren't there any more so there was practically no edge/side. SCARY. But it was worth every second :)
Thursday: I woke up with sore legs. This girl isn't used to climbing. But we went into the heart of Beijing- where Tianamen Square & The Forbidden City are. It was SOOO crowded because it was a holiday- Tomb Sweeping Day. This is where the people decorate the ancestors tomb in honor of them and also burn paper money for them in the afterlife. So there were people everywhere and we took lots of pictures and went to the Forbidden City where we got to see all the old buildings and architecture of where the emperor and all his wives lived. It was really neat to see all that history from so many years ago. Since I forgot to take a piece of the wall home with me, I grabbed some stone that chipped off the road in the Forbidden City and saved it :)
Friday: Today we went to the Pearl Market which is essentially a Chinese mall. You can bargain for ANYTHING and there were like 5 levels of just stuff- purses, shoes, some clothes, electronics, Asian stuff, etc. I had a really really fun time learning how to bargain and the tricks of how to get the price you want. All the workers spoke English so it was pretty nice, although I do know how to bargain in Chinese too :) I got some really good deals and was very proud of myself! I got 2 pairs of Toms for about $15 each. One of those pairs are actually for Brittany's (my roommate) wedding so I was thrilled to have bought them in China for way cheaper.
On Sunday I am headed back to Kunming where I will finish up my last 4 weeks student teaching! Next weekend I will be traveling again so I'm enjoying being a busy girl :) I have really really really enjoyed my time here with Ric & Cindy. They have truly been such a blessing to me and have made me feel right at home. I don't know how I'll ever thank them enough for everything they have done for me. God has been so good to me.
Things I've Learned:
14. Street vendors are illegal so when they see/hear police coming, they pack up and leave asap!
15. You can trust Muslim restaurants here because since they are religious, they're restaurant and food will be clean.
16. Beijing dialect is so different than Kunming. People who live in Beijing add like a "r" sound at the end of words/sentences. (And I can actually tell the difference!)
Wednesday: Jennifer Zhang was essentially my personal tour guide through my trip to Beijing. Ric and Cindy asked her to travel along with me and show me the sites and since she is Chinese, she was an excellent translator as well :) On this we day we went to the Great Wall. We were planning on going to a very touristy place where they charge you admission and all that stuff but someone told us about this secret non-public place to the climb the wall sooo we decided to go on that adventure :) It was an hour drive through back country roads to get to the wall so that itself was a beautiful scene. In order to get up TO the wall we had to walk through someone's yard so they she made us pay them 2 kuai (which definitely beats 45 kuai) and then we had to walk up this crazy hill/pathway. Once we got up on the wall, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I'm sure you could see by some of my pictures how beautiful it was. Not just the wall itself but we could see mountains for miles and miles and there was a gorge right below us and we could see other villages as we walked... We climbed (yes, climbed- not walked) for almost 2 hours and then decided to turn around. I was absolutely terrified the whole time because I'm so scared of heights and the wall's sides weren't there any more so there was practically no edge/side. SCARY. But it was worth every second :)
Thursday: I woke up with sore legs. This girl isn't used to climbing. But we went into the heart of Beijing- where Tianamen Square & The Forbidden City are. It was SOOO crowded because it was a holiday- Tomb Sweeping Day. This is where the people decorate the ancestors tomb in honor of them and also burn paper money for them in the afterlife. So there were people everywhere and we took lots of pictures and went to the Forbidden City where we got to see all the old buildings and architecture of where the emperor and all his wives lived. It was really neat to see all that history from so many years ago. Since I forgot to take a piece of the wall home with me, I grabbed some stone that chipped off the road in the Forbidden City and saved it :)
Friday: Today we went to the Pearl Market which is essentially a Chinese mall. You can bargain for ANYTHING and there were like 5 levels of just stuff- purses, shoes, some clothes, electronics, Asian stuff, etc. I had a really really fun time learning how to bargain and the tricks of how to get the price you want. All the workers spoke English so it was pretty nice, although I do know how to bargain in Chinese too :) I got some really good deals and was very proud of myself! I got 2 pairs of Toms for about $15 each. One of those pairs are actually for Brittany's (my roommate) wedding so I was thrilled to have bought them in China for way cheaper.
On Sunday I am headed back to Kunming where I will finish up my last 4 weeks student teaching! Next weekend I will be traveling again so I'm enjoying being a busy girl :) I have really really really enjoyed my time here with Ric & Cindy. They have truly been such a blessing to me and have made me feel right at home. I don't know how I'll ever thank them enough for everything they have done for me. God has been so good to me.
Things I've Learned:
14. Street vendors are illegal so when they see/hear police coming, they pack up and leave asap!
15. You can trust Muslim restaurants here because since they are religious, they're restaurant and food will be clean.
16. Beijing dialect is so different than Kunming. People who live in Beijing add like a "r" sound at the end of words/sentences. (And I can actually tell the difference!)
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