You know what's nuts?
The day before we left for Hainan, I had a severe allergy attack that lasted all day. I wanted to die!! Trust me, it's the most miserable time when I'm drugged up on antihistamines that don't even work, and I'm still sneezing and blowing my nose raw. (Pardon the graphic details!)
We left for Hainan and I progressively felt better. It was the most wonderful thing to be able to breath and smell. And not only that, but I've noticed something else. My energy level shot up and I felt happier and more awake.
And now I am back in my apartment. Gradually I begin to sniffle. And already this annoying lethargy had set in. I found online how there is such a thing as allergic fatigue. I know my apartment here is like a 6th floor basement--damp and musty and probably infested with mold up the wAzoo.
All this to say... Please pray for me! I have to live here for another two months and this fatigue is making each day long and miserable. I want to finish my time here with excellence. But it's really hard to care about anything when I feel this way.
You should've seen my students yesterday. It was pretty funny. I wore a sleevless shirt because my sunburned arms were still in pain. When I walked into the classroom all the students gasped and pointed and stared, and said things like, you are so black! They kinda freeked out. I guess it's hard to really relate to you what their reactions are like because you'd have to know to what extent they obsess about their skin here. Like in the States many want to be tan or don't mind a little color... but here they spend lots of money on skin WHITENERS! They make fun of someone if their skin is a little darker shade then anothers. So to see me, pale as ever girl, come in dark like that, they were so shocked.
Today it's faded away, lucky me (sarcasm) I can't keep a tan for the life of me.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Sanya Pictures
Here's some nerdy lookin girl on the ferry to Sanya
Here's the nice beach in Sanya
Here's some girl parasailing in Sanya... wish I did that!
Here's Me holding an aligator!... and some girls milkin us for lots of bucks
Sanya Pictures
Here's the dragon dudes in the parade we saw on the way to Sanya.
Here's Me and Bambi at a park in Sanya
Here's Sanya at night from the little boat ride we took
Here's Miss Leah eating crab... can you see the burn setting in!
Sunny Sanya
Was it really Sunny? Ooooh, yes. I have proof. I am beat red from head to toe and can't lift my arms, carry my backpack, sleep with blankets, or take a normal shower for the pain of the sunburn. Yikes!! But the trip as a whole was great.
We left Wednesday morning on the bus. It turned out to be a really long ride to the coast because we were stopped a few times by traffic or whatnot. The coolest part was when there was this really cool parade that was taking up the whole street so we were stopped for almost an hour. It is probably the most authentic cultural Chinese experience that I've witnessed. Meaning that it wasn't a parade for show for tourism, it was a real live cultural event. I'm not sure what the parade was for, but it was really interesting. The people were dressed in very bright, traditional clothing. There were groups of people carrying these platforms with incense, gods, some had children dressed beautifully with their faces painted like the Chinese opera people (u know what I mean?), there were musicians playing traditional flutes and gongs. There were several dragons... u know how several people carry this long dragon and make it dance? It was so interesting. All of this we watched while sitting in the bus waiting for it to pass.
Once we got to the coast we hopped on board the ferry. Hainan Island is a little over an hour away by fairy. It was a really cool experience. The weather was awesome.
We arrived on Hainan Island in the capital city Haikou, where we got back on our bus and continued the treck to Sanya which would be another few hours away. Sanya is one of the furthest southern places in China. Total travel time was about 8+ hours. The ride to Sanya was really nice even though we were getting sick of being on the road by that time. The scenery was fantastic. It is deffinitely more tropical there than even Zhanjiang. Zhanjiang is considered sub-tropical, and now I can see the difference. Hainan has some beautiful mountains, a bazillion palm trees, acres of rice fields, and it seems more green and fresh.
When we arrived in Sanya, we got a taxi to take us to a hotel that Arthur suggested. But unfortunately it had closed down since he was here last year. So we just checked into the hotel very near the bus station. Sanya is definitely a tourist town; it's hopping with shopping places, cute restaraunts, tons of people with "hawaiian" shirts on, and many foreigners.
Brenda and I had dinner at a cute place very close to the beach. We ate there til the sun went down, and decided to get some rest so we could boogie the rest of the next day.
Thursday morning was not so great. Brenda didn't get a wink of sleep the night before because the walls of our hotel room were paper thin and we could hear every little thing that went on throughout the floor. It wasn't all that bad, but she just couldn't handle it. I would've gotten more sleep myself if she wasn't cussing and throwing a hissy fit all night. I guess she thought that if she wasn't able to sleep, nobody should. She went really overboard. It was pretty disturbing. But God is so good. He gave me so much grace and patience to just let it go and not get furious with her. So I just let her cool off, which took a few hours, and we went about our day.
We had dumplings at a place near the beach. The waitress there spoke English so it made it so much easier then most other places. And the food was really good. We did a lot of shopping and running around this day. We found how to get to a nearby park, and how to take the city bus which saved us lots of money. Then we took a little three wheeler motor bike. The driver lady was so sweet. She took us to the park and waited for us so she could take us back. The park was kind of a rip off. There's this expensive entrance fee, but then inside you have to pay for every other little thing. Like a guy kinda gave us a tour, which we never asked him to do... we had to pay for that. If you want to walk accross this one bridge you have to pay. If you want to bang on these drums you have to pay. Surprisingly it was free to pet the deer. And that was the best part! They were so cool. I pet Bambi! I got to hold an aligator and and python!! But then found out we had to pay for that, AND for each girl who posed in the picture. Such cheats. It's amazing. We got rid of our tour guide and just sat on a bench enjoying the sunshine and cool breeze.
Then our driver lady came and got us, and took us for more of a ride around the island. It was really awesome to be there. We went through a little fishing villiage, and fields of coconut trees.
We got on the bus again and let it take us around the city just to look around. We ended up at the most resort-type place on the island. The beach was so nice. And we saw so many foreigners. (When I say foreingers I usually mean White people!!) But I think they were mostly Russians or some European flavors. We ate Rambutan (a tropical fruit), watched a guy make fresh mango ice cream, and enjoyed the awesome weather.
We walked all around the city just looking around at stuff. We had dinner at our "usual" place... the one where the girl spoke English. I had shrimp, and they made it really good.
Then we went to the river and hoped to find a place where we could go on a boat ride. We found this cool little place where we could rent a little boat for an hour. It was so cool, and it would never happen in the U.S. They just put us in this little boat and sent us off without life jackets or a clue about where we were going or if we even knew how to work this thing. It had a little trolling motor so it's not like we could go very far. But it was so cool. It was dark by this time and the city lights reflecting on the water were so beautiful. There were tiny little fish that would swim and jump right next to the boat. One time one of the fish actually jumped right up and hit Brenda in the face!!! and then landed in the boat!!! It was SOOO funny. We knew we had only an hour, so I turned the boat around after a half hour down the river. When it was turned it felt like we weren't even moving!! We were going against the current now! It was really funny, cuz we were basically stuck there! We were moving SOO slow. We knew we'd never make it back in time so we just enjoyed the time we had on the boat regardless. Then after about a half hour after we were supposed to be back, a guy came to rescue us and motored us back to the dock. It was great fun.
Then we went to a cute little shop near the ocean and had some iced tea, then took a walk on the beach. This beach was not as nice as the one near the resorts. It was full of pebbles and shells and didn't make for good bare-foot walking. But we saw the coolest thing. There were little specks in the water that would glow this bright blue, then disappear. It's a similar light to that of fireflies. The blue light was really tiny, but really bright. And it would disolve into the water. Yeah... disolving light. So interesting. I scooped up a handful of sand where a light was, and learned real quick that it was a tiny little crab!! Then I looked closer at the ground near my feet. These little crabs were EVERYWHERE!!! So I put my shoes back on. he he. I've never seen anything like that before, though. The light was so cool. Does any one out there know what I'm talking about?
We didn't get home until pretty late so we decided to stay in that hotel once more.
Friday morning was worse then Thursday morning. Brenda was even more spastic this time. And her bickering and going on kept ME awake almost the whole time too. The only time something from the outside woke me was when a prostitute rang our door bell by accident instead of the door accross the hall at 2am. Wow. Brenda get's so angry she can't keep quiet and she bangs all around and swears every swear word you can think of and cries, and hollars, yeah... she's not very considerate when she's ticked off. It makes for a really unpleasant time. I'm surprised I got as much sleep as I did. And the Lord once again gave me the grace to let it go and not be mad at her. She left the room a few times, and the door has this alarm on it when the key card is not in the right spot. So one time when she left I was all looking foward to getting some peace and quiet, but the alarm went off and would not stop no matter what!!! So I had to get the housekeeper, then she got the matainance guy and he had to drill a hole in the door to get it to stop!! I couldn't sleep at all after that. So I just got ready for the day.
After Brenda came back and was a little more cooled off, we went and had breakfast at a different place. Then we went to the resort beach and spent the day relaxing. This is where I got the burn!!! The water was just too beautiful and nice to not enjoy it. So I went swimming a lot. The scenery is similar to Hawaii! The blue green ocean, the beautiful beaches, the tropical mountains on the distant shorline. There were people parasailing. I wanted to do it too!! It looked really cool. Now that I think back, I should've just done it. But yeah, a great day of just relaxing and hanging out at the beach. Afterwards we had dinner at the "usual" place, and I decided to splurge since I can. So I got fresh crab and mussles! I've never had these before. I got to pick them out of the tank while they were still alive, so I know that it's as fresh as could be. And it was really good. The crab was a lot of work to eat, but tastey.
Afterwards we went to the bus station and left for Haikou. Brenda did not want to spend another night at that hotel, and I wasn't about to suggest otherwise!! We arrived there pretty late and the taxi driver helped us find a place to stay for a good price. Finally, a full nights rest... except for the fact that I was so burned that I couldn't stand to have the covers on me. The pain of the burn was so intense! I dreamed that night I was trying to kill a rattlesnake... I wonder if there was a connection. I felt so cold, and my tummy hurt. Way to go, Leah!! I know I'm smarter then to get burnt to a crisp. I guess not this time.
We got some help from a friend of Maggie's to get our bus tickets back to Zhanjiang on Saturday morning. So we took the bus, then the fairy again (always an interesting experience!), and bussed it all the way home. It's good to be back in my place, but Sanya was so nice. I could've stayed longer.
We tried to find something to put on my burn, so we went to the pharmacy. They gave me somekind of lotion, but it's all in Chinese so I'm not sure exactly what it is. I hope it's not the whitening lotion that they like to use.
We have another week of teaching, then after that is a holiday! So we have more days off next week!! I don't think I will be going anywhere this time, though. After that, it's like nine weeks straight of teaching. And then home sweet home. It will go by super fast, I'm sure.
I'm gonna go fix me something to eat. If you ever get a chance, you should go to Sanya. It's really nice, and you will get a good taste of China, too. I'll post some pics so you can check it out.
We left Wednesday morning on the bus. It turned out to be a really long ride to the coast because we were stopped a few times by traffic or whatnot. The coolest part was when there was this really cool parade that was taking up the whole street so we were stopped for almost an hour. It is probably the most authentic cultural Chinese experience that I've witnessed. Meaning that it wasn't a parade for show for tourism, it was a real live cultural event. I'm not sure what the parade was for, but it was really interesting. The people were dressed in very bright, traditional clothing. There were groups of people carrying these platforms with incense, gods, some had children dressed beautifully with their faces painted like the Chinese opera people (u know what I mean?), there were musicians playing traditional flutes and gongs. There were several dragons... u know how several people carry this long dragon and make it dance? It was so interesting. All of this we watched while sitting in the bus waiting for it to pass.
Once we got to the coast we hopped on board the ferry. Hainan Island is a little over an hour away by fairy. It was a really cool experience. The weather was awesome.
We arrived on Hainan Island in the capital city Haikou, where we got back on our bus and continued the treck to Sanya which would be another few hours away. Sanya is one of the furthest southern places in China. Total travel time was about 8+ hours. The ride to Sanya was really nice even though we were getting sick of being on the road by that time. The scenery was fantastic. It is deffinitely more tropical there than even Zhanjiang. Zhanjiang is considered sub-tropical, and now I can see the difference. Hainan has some beautiful mountains, a bazillion palm trees, acres of rice fields, and it seems more green and fresh.
When we arrived in Sanya, we got a taxi to take us to a hotel that Arthur suggested. But unfortunately it had closed down since he was here last year. So we just checked into the hotel very near the bus station. Sanya is definitely a tourist town; it's hopping with shopping places, cute restaraunts, tons of people with "hawaiian" shirts on, and many foreigners.
Brenda and I had dinner at a cute place very close to the beach. We ate there til the sun went down, and decided to get some rest so we could boogie the rest of the next day.
Thursday morning was not so great. Brenda didn't get a wink of sleep the night before because the walls of our hotel room were paper thin and we could hear every little thing that went on throughout the floor. It wasn't all that bad, but she just couldn't handle it. I would've gotten more sleep myself if she wasn't cussing and throwing a hissy fit all night. I guess she thought that if she wasn't able to sleep, nobody should. She went really overboard. It was pretty disturbing. But God is so good. He gave me so much grace and patience to just let it go and not get furious with her. So I just let her cool off, which took a few hours, and we went about our day.
We had dumplings at a place near the beach. The waitress there spoke English so it made it so much easier then most other places. And the food was really good. We did a lot of shopping and running around this day. We found how to get to a nearby park, and how to take the city bus which saved us lots of money. Then we took a little three wheeler motor bike. The driver lady was so sweet. She took us to the park and waited for us so she could take us back. The park was kind of a rip off. There's this expensive entrance fee, but then inside you have to pay for every other little thing. Like a guy kinda gave us a tour, which we never asked him to do... we had to pay for that. If you want to walk accross this one bridge you have to pay. If you want to bang on these drums you have to pay. Surprisingly it was free to pet the deer. And that was the best part! They were so cool. I pet Bambi! I got to hold an aligator and and python!! But then found out we had to pay for that, AND for each girl who posed in the picture. Such cheats. It's amazing. We got rid of our tour guide and just sat on a bench enjoying the sunshine and cool breeze.
Then our driver lady came and got us, and took us for more of a ride around the island. It was really awesome to be there. We went through a little fishing villiage, and fields of coconut trees.
We got on the bus again and let it take us around the city just to look around. We ended up at the most resort-type place on the island. The beach was so nice. And we saw so many foreigners. (When I say foreingers I usually mean White people!!) But I think they were mostly Russians or some European flavors. We ate Rambutan (a tropical fruit), watched a guy make fresh mango ice cream, and enjoyed the awesome weather.
We walked all around the city just looking around at stuff. We had dinner at our "usual" place... the one where the girl spoke English. I had shrimp, and they made it really good.
Then we went to the river and hoped to find a place where we could go on a boat ride. We found this cool little place where we could rent a little boat for an hour. It was so cool, and it would never happen in the U.S. They just put us in this little boat and sent us off without life jackets or a clue about where we were going or if we even knew how to work this thing. It had a little trolling motor so it's not like we could go very far. But it was so cool. It was dark by this time and the city lights reflecting on the water were so beautiful. There were tiny little fish that would swim and jump right next to the boat. One time one of the fish actually jumped right up and hit Brenda in the face!!! and then landed in the boat!!! It was SOOO funny. We knew we had only an hour, so I turned the boat around after a half hour down the river. When it was turned it felt like we weren't even moving!! We were going against the current now! It was really funny, cuz we were basically stuck there! We were moving SOO slow. We knew we'd never make it back in time so we just enjoyed the time we had on the boat regardless. Then after about a half hour after we were supposed to be back, a guy came to rescue us and motored us back to the dock. It was great fun.
Then we went to a cute little shop near the ocean and had some iced tea, then took a walk on the beach. This beach was not as nice as the one near the resorts. It was full of pebbles and shells and didn't make for good bare-foot walking. But we saw the coolest thing. There were little specks in the water that would glow this bright blue, then disappear. It's a similar light to that of fireflies. The blue light was really tiny, but really bright. And it would disolve into the water. Yeah... disolving light. So interesting. I scooped up a handful of sand where a light was, and learned real quick that it was a tiny little crab!! Then I looked closer at the ground near my feet. These little crabs were EVERYWHERE!!! So I put my shoes back on. he he. I've never seen anything like that before, though. The light was so cool. Does any one out there know what I'm talking about?
We didn't get home until pretty late so we decided to stay in that hotel once more.
Friday morning was worse then Thursday morning. Brenda was even more spastic this time. And her bickering and going on kept ME awake almost the whole time too. The only time something from the outside woke me was when a prostitute rang our door bell by accident instead of the door accross the hall at 2am. Wow. Brenda get's so angry she can't keep quiet and she bangs all around and swears every swear word you can think of and cries, and hollars, yeah... she's not very considerate when she's ticked off. It makes for a really unpleasant time. I'm surprised I got as much sleep as I did. And the Lord once again gave me the grace to let it go and not be mad at her. She left the room a few times, and the door has this alarm on it when the key card is not in the right spot. So one time when she left I was all looking foward to getting some peace and quiet, but the alarm went off and would not stop no matter what!!! So I had to get the housekeeper, then she got the matainance guy and he had to drill a hole in the door to get it to stop!! I couldn't sleep at all after that. So I just got ready for the day.
After Brenda came back and was a little more cooled off, we went and had breakfast at a different place. Then we went to the resort beach and spent the day relaxing. This is where I got the burn!!! The water was just too beautiful and nice to not enjoy it. So I went swimming a lot. The scenery is similar to Hawaii! The blue green ocean, the beautiful beaches, the tropical mountains on the distant shorline. There were people parasailing. I wanted to do it too!! It looked really cool. Now that I think back, I should've just done it. But yeah, a great day of just relaxing and hanging out at the beach. Afterwards we had dinner at the "usual" place, and I decided to splurge since I can. So I got fresh crab and mussles! I've never had these before. I got to pick them out of the tank while they were still alive, so I know that it's as fresh as could be. And it was really good. The crab was a lot of work to eat, but tastey.
Afterwards we went to the bus station and left for Haikou. Brenda did not want to spend another night at that hotel, and I wasn't about to suggest otherwise!! We arrived there pretty late and the taxi driver helped us find a place to stay for a good price. Finally, a full nights rest... except for the fact that I was so burned that I couldn't stand to have the covers on me. The pain of the burn was so intense! I dreamed that night I was trying to kill a rattlesnake... I wonder if there was a connection. I felt so cold, and my tummy hurt. Way to go, Leah!! I know I'm smarter then to get burnt to a crisp. I guess not this time.
We got some help from a friend of Maggie's to get our bus tickets back to Zhanjiang on Saturday morning. So we took the bus, then the fairy again (always an interesting experience!), and bussed it all the way home. It's good to be back in my place, but Sanya was so nice. I could've stayed longer.
We tried to find something to put on my burn, so we went to the pharmacy. They gave me somekind of lotion, but it's all in Chinese so I'm not sure exactly what it is. I hope it's not the whitening lotion that they like to use.
We have another week of teaching, then after that is a holiday! So we have more days off next week!! I don't think I will be going anywhere this time, though. After that, it's like nine weeks straight of teaching. And then home sweet home. It will go by super fast, I'm sure.
I'm gonna go fix me something to eat. If you ever get a chance, you should go to Sanya. It's really nice, and you will get a good taste of China, too. I'll post some pics so you can check it out.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
C U LAter!
Hey!
I'm off to sunny Sanya in just a few minutes!! It's going to be really nice to have a break. I will take as many pics as I can and post a few here for you to see.
Blessings to you all!
I'm off to sunny Sanya in just a few minutes!! It's going to be really nice to have a break. I will take as many pics as I can and post a few here for you to see.
Blessings to you all!
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Praise Him with Me!
Today is Resurrection Suday. I haven't left my room all day! I just spent it in here talking to my loved ones on the phone and reading some awesome stuff. I read the rest of Jack Deere's "Surprised By the Power of the Spirit." I found myself in tears at the end of the book as he shared testimonies of some amazing things that the Lord did for his people.
I went on a TV fast... which was harder then you might think for me. I spend way too much time in mind numbing hours watching movies and tv. There are like 4 or 5 English TV chanels aired from Hong Kong.
Brenda and I are still
Right now I'm listening to Shane & Shane. I'll share some of the lyrics with you in celebration of our risen Lord! Just Praisin' him...
I went on a TV fast... which was harder then you might think for me. I spend way too much time in mind numbing hours watching movies and tv. There are like 4 or 5 English TV chanels aired from Hong Kong.
Brenda and I are still
Right now I'm listening to Shane & Shane. I'll share some of the lyrics with you in celebration of our risen Lord! Just Praisin' him...
WHEN I THINK ABOUT THE LORD
When I think about the Lord
How He saved me, how He raised me
How He filled me up with the Holy Ghost
How He healed me to the uttermost
When I think about the Lord
How He picked me up and turned me around
And set my feet on solid ground
It makes me wanna shout hallelujah
Thank you Jesus
Lord, You're worthy of all the glory
All the honor and
All the praise
HEARTS OF SERVANTS
Jesus you are
Jesus you were
Jesus you will always be
A perfect servant to us
A perfect servant to death
Even death on a cross
Give us the picture of your face
Show us the measure of your grace
Reveal the love of the Father
Put within us tenderness
Release from us all selfishness
We'll consider them better
We are yours, give us hearts of servants
I WANT IT ALL
Use me, Break me, Waste me on you Lord
Ruin me, take me, waste me on You
For to die is to live...
To starve is to feast
And less of me is more of Jesus
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
If i lose my lifeI gain everything
And at the cross
Away with all death's sting
Lord, I want it allLord, I want it all
There is power in the blood
There is victory in Jesus
Come in power, wash me clean
Overwhelm me with Your presence
There is power in the blood
There is victory in Jesus
Help me glory in the cross
Help me find my gain in loss
(philippians 1:21-23; 3:7-11)
SWEET ILLUMINATION
One thing, one thing
This is what I desire, this is what I desire
Sweet illumination, sweet illumination
That I may gaze upon His face
Oh, to know this man
Sweet illumination, sweet illumination
To glory in the presence of the King
Behold the sweet essence of this one thing
That I may know the Spring within me
As it rises the Spring, so sweet
You are "The Greatest Taste" Lord! You are Better! "Waste" me on you, Lord!" Give us Sweet illumination to know you more and more and more and more and more and more.......
Saturday, April 15, 2006
UNCheck it out...
I found out today that there was a miscommunication. I DO have to teach next week. But only Monday and Tuesday. It's all good. Brenda and I are talking about going to Sanya, Hainan for a couple days. So I guess I will be spending Easter trying to come up with a lesson plan for Monday and Tuesday.
Today was nice and relaxing. Did some cleaning, a little shopping, watched a little TV. Had dinner with Brenda and Dream. It's always interesting with Dream. Lately she has paid less attention to me. Ever since I shared some Truths with her. Instead she's more interested in talking with Brenda and Arthur, because they are a little more crazy and exciting I guess. But later tonight she called me from a book store and asked if I could meet her there so she could borrow some money. I kind of reluctantly aggreed. It was already late and I didn't want to go out, especially by myself. But I knew she needed this book. So I got Brenda to come with me. When we got there, we found Dream with Arthur. I was a little annoyed that she had us come all the way out there when she ended borrowing money from Arthur and didn't bother to call and tell me I didn't need to come. Drama drama drama. And Dream felt really bad. I got over it, but she couldn't get over feeling bad about it. She left in a huff. Later she called apologizing almost in tears. She was relieved when I told her she's forgiven and not to worry about the silly misunderstanding. I guess all this to say, I hope some more doors will open in her heart. She's just a kid and does some crazy stuff. And I really want to reach out to her. She's really attracted to naughty things right now. She likes to tell every one she's a rebel and brags about the ways she sneaks around behind her gaurdians' backs. She needs JC.
I hope you all have a wonderful Ressurection Day. PTL, He is risen!!!
Today was nice and relaxing. Did some cleaning, a little shopping, watched a little TV. Had dinner with Brenda and Dream. It's always interesting with Dream. Lately she has paid less attention to me. Ever since I shared some Truths with her. Instead she's more interested in talking with Brenda and Arthur, because they are a little more crazy and exciting I guess. But later tonight she called me from a book store and asked if I could meet her there so she could borrow some money. I kind of reluctantly aggreed. It was already late and I didn't want to go out, especially by myself. But I knew she needed this book. So I got Brenda to come with me. When we got there, we found Dream with Arthur. I was a little annoyed that she had us come all the way out there when she ended borrowing money from Arthur and didn't bother to call and tell me I didn't need to come. Drama drama drama. And Dream felt really bad. I got over it, but she couldn't get over feeling bad about it. She left in a huff. Later she called apologizing almost in tears. She was relieved when I told her she's forgiven and not to worry about the silly misunderstanding. I guess all this to say, I hope some more doors will open in her heart. She's just a kid and does some crazy stuff. And I really want to reach out to her. She's really attracted to naughty things right now. She likes to tell every one she's a rebel and brags about the ways she sneaks around behind her gaurdians' backs. She needs JC.
I hope you all have a wonderful Ressurection Day. PTL, He is risen!!!
Friday, April 14, 2006
Check it Out!
I just found out that I don't have to teach at all next week!!! How easy do I have it? The students have mid terms starting Wednesday, and want Monday and Tuesday to study. I could go somewhere! But I should hang on to the little cash I have. I know that once I get back home it won't last me as long as it will here.
I just finished watching the Bruce Lee story. I've seen it like 3 times already, but it always intrigues me.
Last night Mark told me that some people from Australia would be here and they would sit in on my class. He told me to be prepared. I feel uncomfortable with people other than Chinese observing me, but made up my mind to just do my thing and not worry about it. But I guess I was more anxious than I realized cuz I had a dream about it! I dreamed that this Australian guy came to visit my class, and when my students would ask questions he would answer, and he eventually ended up taking over the class pushing me aside. Crazy! So I woke up all feeling all this crazy anxiety. When the time finally came, no one from Australia showed up! They visited someone else's class. Instead, there was a Chinese girl that visited my class. She's a college student soon to graduate. She was a cutie. She might be an English teacher in the future. She thought my class was very interesting. I usually get a positive and enthusiastic response from Chinese who sit in on my class because my teaching style is so completely different from the Chinese teachers. Theirs is teacher focused whereas I strive to keep mine as student focused as possible.
My Friday afternoon class got a little out of hand today. The boys in that class are these big tall basketball crazy guys. They are a lot of fun, but they just can't keep still or quiet for two seconds. And it doesn't at all help that it's Friday afternoon. And I'm feeling so close to the end that I really don't care how unruly they are at this point! It's probably so bad for me to give up, but you should see these boys. They are like 6 feet tall. I'm not even joking. I can tell they do things to get my reaction. At least they treat me like I'm there. There's one class that goes on as if I wasn't even in the room. There are other classes that I truly a delight to be in though. They soak up everything I say and participate so well. They make it all worth it. I love them all, the good ones, the crazy ones, the naughty ones, the sweet ones, the ones who just sleep in class, the ones who hang on my every word. They are all so great. They are each so unique. Man, I am really going to miss them.
It's only just started to get out that I will not be returning. I haven't told anyone but the higher-ups, but tonight I got a message from a girl ("watermelon") who found out I was leaving. She's really disappointed, and she's not even my student!! She was Nigel's student. I see her on the bus now and then. She's a teacher's daughter and her English is amazing. It's so proper and her vocabulary is huge. But it's so text book that it's hard to have a real laid back conversation with her. But I know she is sincere and sweet.
The weather has all of the sudden turned cold again! It's so weird. Just a couple days ago we were drenched in sweat, and now we're back in our jackets. Strange!!!!!!!
Wow. I just realized that as far as teaching goes, Apri is already over! I can't get over how incredibly fast the time is going. Brenda says that when you get older it just gets faster and faster. I can't imagine it going any faster then it is now.
I got another note from Amy. She said that no one has ever treated her so kindly before. You should see her smile. She's got an incredibly sweet smile. In her eyes you can see she has been hurt badly somehow, but there is still so much hope and dreams in there. Such an adorable girl.
It's such a great thing to be here.
I just finished watching the Bruce Lee story. I've seen it like 3 times already, but it always intrigues me.
Last night Mark told me that some people from Australia would be here and they would sit in on my class. He told me to be prepared. I feel uncomfortable with people other than Chinese observing me, but made up my mind to just do my thing and not worry about it. But I guess I was more anxious than I realized cuz I had a dream about it! I dreamed that this Australian guy came to visit my class, and when my students would ask questions he would answer, and he eventually ended up taking over the class pushing me aside. Crazy! So I woke up all feeling all this crazy anxiety. When the time finally came, no one from Australia showed up! They visited someone else's class. Instead, there was a Chinese girl that visited my class. She's a college student soon to graduate. She was a cutie. She might be an English teacher in the future. She thought my class was very interesting. I usually get a positive and enthusiastic response from Chinese who sit in on my class because my teaching style is so completely different from the Chinese teachers. Theirs is teacher focused whereas I strive to keep mine as student focused as possible.
My Friday afternoon class got a little out of hand today. The boys in that class are these big tall basketball crazy guys. They are a lot of fun, but they just can't keep still or quiet for two seconds. And it doesn't at all help that it's Friday afternoon. And I'm feeling so close to the end that I really don't care how unruly they are at this point! It's probably so bad for me to give up, but you should see these boys. They are like 6 feet tall. I'm not even joking. I can tell they do things to get my reaction. At least they treat me like I'm there. There's one class that goes on as if I wasn't even in the room. There are other classes that I truly a delight to be in though. They soak up everything I say and participate so well. They make it all worth it. I love them all, the good ones, the crazy ones, the naughty ones, the sweet ones, the ones who just sleep in class, the ones who hang on my every word. They are all so great. They are each so unique. Man, I am really going to miss them.
It's only just started to get out that I will not be returning. I haven't told anyone but the higher-ups, but tonight I got a message from a girl ("watermelon") who found out I was leaving. She's really disappointed, and she's not even my student!! She was Nigel's student. I see her on the bus now and then. She's a teacher's daughter and her English is amazing. It's so proper and her vocabulary is huge. But it's so text book that it's hard to have a real laid back conversation with her. But I know she is sincere and sweet.
The weather has all of the sudden turned cold again! It's so weird. Just a couple days ago we were drenched in sweat, and now we're back in our jackets. Strange!!!!!!!
Wow. I just realized that as far as teaching goes, Apri is already over! I can't get over how incredibly fast the time is going. Brenda says that when you get older it just gets faster and faster. I can't imagine it going any faster then it is now.
I got another note from Amy. She said that no one has ever treated her so kindly before. You should see her smile. She's got an incredibly sweet smile. In her eyes you can see she has been hurt badly somehow, but there is still so much hope and dreams in there. Such an adorable girl.
It's such a great thing to be here.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Zao Sheng Hao
Greetings from China, once again.
Sunday I went to the dentist! I went for a cleaning, but I also wanted to see what they could do about these suspicious teeth that hurt when I brush. The facilities were pretty decent actually. But having to work with a translator who doesn't know what a cavity is can be frustrating! My translator was Mark... that married guy who's been hitting on me ya know. yikes. He thought it might be cute to try to comfort me every time I flinched when the dentist poked some sensitive teeth. what a creep!!! The dentist didn't seem too concerned about these teeth that were giving me problems. I am pretty sure i have a cavity but he just said i had a sensitive nerve. i will get a second opinion when i come home. as for now, he patched them up with some amalgum and that will save me from some pains for a while any way. The whole trip cost me about 30 USD. So I can't complain.
Saturday was the day that i finally told the school that I will not be returning next term. I was a little concerned how they would take it, but it went well. They weren't too surprised I guess as I have been hinting on this for some time. So far, no trouble from them. Except Mark. I thought maybe his advances would cease once he knew I made up my mind to not come back. But as you can see from Sunday's dentist apointment, he hadn't given up the idea. I was pretty standoffish since then and perhaps he's gotten the clue. If not, I know I will just have to say something. Me and my nonconfrontational personality issues!!
drama drama drama.
Classes are going fairly well this week. I am doing role play. I give them a situation and some students have to create dialogue and an ending. They mostly do really well. It's a good way to get some to talk. Unfortunately it's impossible to get them all to speak in a single class. There are just TOO many of them!! As the actors prepare I share with the rest of the class some interesting facts like it's impossible to lick your elbow, cats have 32 muscles in each ear, and it's impossible for pigs to look up. Weird factoids. Then towards the end of class we play a version of Boggle on the blackboard. It's fun to see the things they come up with. They end up making up words, and I tell them if they can find it in their dictionaries I will give it to them, so sometimes I end up learning a few words myself! They are to run up to the board and write the words they find, and in the end we see who has the most. They actually get pretty competitive. But these kinds of games are usually only good for one class. After that, it's old news.
Next week they have their mid term exams, so I get a few days off! Yippy skippy! I'd like to go to Sanya, Hainan Island. It's the Hawaii of China. But no one else wants to blow all their money traveling. This is my last chance to see somewhere else! We might just end up going to Bei Hai, where we went last semester during midterms when Nigel was with us. It's a beach. I guess it would be alright.
It's been SOOO hot lately! Amazing how just a couple weeks ago was really cold. Now it's in the near high 80's. It's gross how easily I sweat just standing and teaching! It's hard on my voice too, cuz they've got all these fans going and I have to try to speak louder, and my little voice just can't handle it for more than two classes a day! And the usual is 3, and one day I have 4. Thank goodness tomorrow I only have 1. My easy day! I'm going to send some more stuff home. It's nuts how much stuff I've accumulated since I've moved here. Already I've sent 2 boxes of stuff home to myself. And tomorrow I will send another. And it still looks like I haven't made a dent. It's cheaper for me to mail things home then it would be for me to pay the fees for overweight luggage on the plane.
I looked at the calendar my sister sent me today. She wrote all kinds of really cute and sweet things on special days so that I can remember. I was surprised to see that this Sunday is Easter!! My family has been telling me about saders and stuff like that, but I guess I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I've never missed an Easter Sunday as far as I can remember. But I am glad that I can celebrate and praise the Lord no matter where I am. To be very honest, it's been a dry time for me lately. Please remember me around this special time of remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross and how he gave us new life in Him through his victory over death. And remember where I am and the people that I see every day who need to know what Jesus did for them.
Happy Resurrection day to you!
Sunday I went to the dentist! I went for a cleaning, but I also wanted to see what they could do about these suspicious teeth that hurt when I brush. The facilities were pretty decent actually. But having to work with a translator who doesn't know what a cavity is can be frustrating! My translator was Mark... that married guy who's been hitting on me ya know. yikes. He thought it might be cute to try to comfort me every time I flinched when the dentist poked some sensitive teeth. what a creep!!! The dentist didn't seem too concerned about these teeth that were giving me problems. I am pretty sure i have a cavity but he just said i had a sensitive nerve. i will get a second opinion when i come home. as for now, he patched them up with some amalgum and that will save me from some pains for a while any way. The whole trip cost me about 30 USD. So I can't complain.
Saturday was the day that i finally told the school that I will not be returning next term. I was a little concerned how they would take it, but it went well. They weren't too surprised I guess as I have been hinting on this for some time. So far, no trouble from them. Except Mark. I thought maybe his advances would cease once he knew I made up my mind to not come back. But as you can see from Sunday's dentist apointment, he hadn't given up the idea. I was pretty standoffish since then and perhaps he's gotten the clue. If not, I know I will just have to say something. Me and my nonconfrontational personality issues!!
drama drama drama.
Classes are going fairly well this week. I am doing role play. I give them a situation and some students have to create dialogue and an ending. They mostly do really well. It's a good way to get some to talk. Unfortunately it's impossible to get them all to speak in a single class. There are just TOO many of them!! As the actors prepare I share with the rest of the class some interesting facts like it's impossible to lick your elbow, cats have 32 muscles in each ear, and it's impossible for pigs to look up. Weird factoids. Then towards the end of class we play a version of Boggle on the blackboard. It's fun to see the things they come up with. They end up making up words, and I tell them if they can find it in their dictionaries I will give it to them, so sometimes I end up learning a few words myself! They are to run up to the board and write the words they find, and in the end we see who has the most. They actually get pretty competitive. But these kinds of games are usually only good for one class. After that, it's old news.
Next week they have their mid term exams, so I get a few days off! Yippy skippy! I'd like to go to Sanya, Hainan Island. It's the Hawaii of China. But no one else wants to blow all their money traveling. This is my last chance to see somewhere else! We might just end up going to Bei Hai, where we went last semester during midterms when Nigel was with us. It's a beach. I guess it would be alright.
It's been SOOO hot lately! Amazing how just a couple weeks ago was really cold. Now it's in the near high 80's. It's gross how easily I sweat just standing and teaching! It's hard on my voice too, cuz they've got all these fans going and I have to try to speak louder, and my little voice just can't handle it for more than two classes a day! And the usual is 3, and one day I have 4. Thank goodness tomorrow I only have 1. My easy day! I'm going to send some more stuff home. It's nuts how much stuff I've accumulated since I've moved here. Already I've sent 2 boxes of stuff home to myself. And tomorrow I will send another. And it still looks like I haven't made a dent. It's cheaper for me to mail things home then it would be for me to pay the fees for overweight luggage on the plane.
I looked at the calendar my sister sent me today. She wrote all kinds of really cute and sweet things on special days so that I can remember. I was surprised to see that this Sunday is Easter!! My family has been telling me about saders and stuff like that, but I guess I didn't put 2 and 2 together. I've never missed an Easter Sunday as far as I can remember. But I am glad that I can celebrate and praise the Lord no matter where I am. To be very honest, it's been a dry time for me lately. Please remember me around this special time of remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross and how he gave us new life in Him through his victory over death. And remember where I am and the people that I see every day who need to know what Jesus did for them.
Happy Resurrection day to you!
Friday, April 07, 2006
wo xi huan ming tian
Did any one call me in the middle of the night last night? For you it wouldn't been in the middle of the day though. But someone called me and I was too tired to pick up, and now I am worried that it was something important, cuz you know usually people don't call in the middle of the night unless it's urgent. So I hope that every one and every thing is ok.
This week is FINALLY over. It wasn't terrible, it was just hard for me emotionally. I'm glad it's over. Classes today did not go very well. They did not listen to me, it was so out of control, and I felt completely powerless to do anything. I was this close to walking out and just going home. But I was thinking about it, and they could probably sense I was having an off day and just took advantage of it. Who knows.
On the way back from school I was thinking and realizing how long it's been since I've had a real hug. I just wanted someone to hold me so bad at that moment. And now it's all I can think about.
Today I was supposed to tell the school of my decision not to extend my contract into next year. I don't know why I'm worrying about it so much. I guess I don't trust them to take it well. Especially Mark. His special attentions are really starting to creep me out and one of these days I'm gonna have to tell him to back off. For one thing, he's married. Arg. So much drama, and I try so hard to avoid it.
I have only eleven more weeks to go. Doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme. Some days go slower then others. Today is one of those days.
On a brighter note, I discovered this awesome awesome chicken recipe when I was just playing around with my ingredients. It's incredible. I got some really cute clothes made for me at the tailors for apx. $5 per shirt. I painted my toe nails this morning. I learned some new words in Chinese. I'm enjoying my new little hobby of drying funky tropical fruit seeds for a friend. And it rained today. I love the rain. It seems dreary and sad at times, but it always makes things smell fresh and alive. Maybe there's an analogy in there for my life right now.
Any news from home would be more than welcome.
This week is FINALLY over. It wasn't terrible, it was just hard for me emotionally. I'm glad it's over. Classes today did not go very well. They did not listen to me, it was so out of control, and I felt completely powerless to do anything. I was this close to walking out and just going home. But I was thinking about it, and they could probably sense I was having an off day and just took advantage of it. Who knows.
On the way back from school I was thinking and realizing how long it's been since I've had a real hug. I just wanted someone to hold me so bad at that moment. And now it's all I can think about.
Today I was supposed to tell the school of my decision not to extend my contract into next year. I don't know why I'm worrying about it so much. I guess I don't trust them to take it well. Especially Mark. His special attentions are really starting to creep me out and one of these days I'm gonna have to tell him to back off. For one thing, he's married. Arg. So much drama, and I try so hard to avoid it.
I have only eleven more weeks to go. Doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme. Some days go slower then others. Today is one of those days.
On a brighter note, I discovered this awesome awesome chicken recipe when I was just playing around with my ingredients. It's incredible. I got some really cute clothes made for me at the tailors for apx. $5 per shirt. I painted my toe nails this morning. I learned some new words in Chinese. I'm enjoying my new little hobby of drying funky tropical fruit seeds for a friend. And it rained today. I love the rain. It seems dreary and sad at times, but it always makes things smell fresh and alive. Maybe there's an analogy in there for my life right now.
Any news from home would be more than welcome.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Holy rusted metal, Batman!
Is it really April already? What happened to March? I swear March didn't happen yet! Unreal...
Anyway, last Saturday was nice. I went to a shrimp hatchery. It was really interesting! The owner is the cousin of our friend Jane at school. He owns several shrimp hatcheries around China, and hopes to spread business into Europe. He showed us where he keeps the mama shrimp and the papa shrimp. And these aren't your typical shrimp. These suckers are huge! They are more like lobsters about 8 or 9 inches long. What he does is breeds shrimp and keeps the eggs in a room that they keep heated with this big ol' furnace. When the tiny little eggs hatch, they have these huge room size tanks full of micro size shrimp babies. Then he sells the shrimp babies to other places where they raise them for food, etc. He had sever different kinds of shrimp in different buildings in room-size tanks. He told us how meticulous it is to do this kind of business, as the water and temperatures and lighting has to be just right for them to simply live. We went home with a big bag of frozen monster shrimp. I don't quite know how to cook 'em up, but it will be fun to try.
This week, Brenda and I decided to give the kids a break and do something very different for a change of pace. Something more for fun and good times cuz the kids seem so stressed out and sick of school these days. So I took from my youth group days, mixed it in with some ESL, and came up with a fashion show lesson. So talk about some fashion type words like style, catwalk, beauty contest, etc. I put them into 4 teams, give them each a "fashion bag," and they have to create a new fashion design with the items in the bag. Items include: toilet paper, mop head, blue plastic tube, CDs, and crazy junk like that. So it's really nutty, but they enjoy taping random things like juice boxes and a bunch of TP to eachother. he he he.
Can you tell I'm burning out a little myself?!?!?!
Anyway, last Saturday was nice. I went to a shrimp hatchery. It was really interesting! The owner is the cousin of our friend Jane at school. He owns several shrimp hatcheries around China, and hopes to spread business into Europe. He showed us where he keeps the mama shrimp and the papa shrimp. And these aren't your typical shrimp. These suckers are huge! They are more like lobsters about 8 or 9 inches long. What he does is breeds shrimp and keeps the eggs in a room that they keep heated with this big ol' furnace. When the tiny little eggs hatch, they have these huge room size tanks full of micro size shrimp babies. Then he sells the shrimp babies to other places where they raise them for food, etc. He had sever different kinds of shrimp in different buildings in room-size tanks. He told us how meticulous it is to do this kind of business, as the water and temperatures and lighting has to be just right for them to simply live. We went home with a big bag of frozen monster shrimp. I don't quite know how to cook 'em up, but it will be fun to try.
This week, Brenda and I decided to give the kids a break and do something very different for a change of pace. Something more for fun and good times cuz the kids seem so stressed out and sick of school these days. So I took from my youth group days, mixed it in with some ESL, and came up with a fashion show lesson. So talk about some fashion type words like style, catwalk, beauty contest, etc. I put them into 4 teams, give them each a "fashion bag," and they have to create a new fashion design with the items in the bag. Items include: toilet paper, mop head, blue plastic tube, CDs, and crazy junk like that. So it's really nutty, but they enjoy taping random things like juice boxes and a bunch of TP to eachother. he he he.
Can you tell I'm burning out a little myself?!?!?!
