China, Day 4

These last 2 weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions for me.  I have gone from super excited to come to China, to scared out of my mind, to just overly emotional and crying about nothing.  Part of the last part I chalk up to having 2 X-Chromosomes.  Even this morning, mom Skyped me and I became emotional.  Part of it is that I haven’t been sleeping well….i have a bruised hip from this bed.  Also It is just being in a new place, which no matter what place it is, is scary.  The third part that adds to my emotional state is just being bored, which brings me to today.  Today was my 4^th day here in Cangzhou and it was fabulous!! I met up with Edwina and Alistair at noon and they took me to a Japanese place for lunch.  It was great!! It is our favorite place so far.  After lunch we wandered over to the grocery store-what an experience.  Walking in it looks like a market that you would find in a smaller town in the US, not like a huge Vons in Long Beach, but more like the Piggly Wiggly in Louisiana.  In the stores there is a more open area-similar to a produce section in Vons-and here is where you know you are in a Chinese market.  There are tons of veggies, different than I have ever seen.  Some fresh, some dried and some just I don’t know.  There are tubs to scoop of different types of rice and other grains, and noodles.  Then there is the seafood section.  You know those restaurants that have the big lobster tanks when you walk in and Dad always says “we are eating them for dinner”…well Cangzhou may not have lobster tanks, but plenty of crab and fish tanks.  Big fish too!! It’s quite fun to walk around.  And as you are walking around, there are about 20 workers (everywhere is staffed likes it’s Disneyland on Christmas) in groups staring at you.  Not in a rude way, just in the Chinese way.  After, Edwina took me off the main street to walk down “the back streets of Cangzhou”.  It is more like what we westerners think China is like.  Just a little dirtier, but similar to what you would find the floor to look like after the Rose Parade.  We walked by the fire station, the fire fighters wear army print uniforms in their off time….we saw them outside cleaning up their garden and it took us a few minutes to realize they weren’t army.  A cool street to walk down was the produce street.  It is scattered with people riding their bikes and driving their little car wagons, old men playing chess and people selling fruits and vegetables.  Although we didn’t need anything we walked down and looked around, having a great time.  It was such a fun day! It was great to get out and see more of Cangzhou and to just not be bored.  I am so happy to have Edwin and Alistair here; we are the only westerners in the whole city.  For a while this didn’t make sense, because I figured a city this size would have multiple English schools (which naturally attracts more westerners), but DD Dragon is the only English school in the whole city.  If I was the only westerner this would have been a really difficult 6 months, but I am so fortunate to have 2 others, one more on the way, and to like them and get along.  I mentioned to Edwina that I was interested in taking a Martial Arts class, since we are in the martial arts capital of China, and she said that she was really keen to do it too, so yay!! We are going to be looking into that.  We also want to travel as much as possible so we are going to have travel/tourist Tuesdays, our off day. 

I observed my first class last night and was informed that I am doing a demo class tomorrow.  A demo class is when parents being their children to the school and see if they want to send them to the school.  So 10am tomorrow I am teaching not only my first class here at DD Dragon, but a demo class.  Edwina ran through it with me and gave me a demo, demo class.  They kids in the classes are great though, so I am not worried, but it is a little nerve raking since it’s my first time teaching here and the parents are going to sit in.  I have realized though, watching Edwina last night and Alistair tonight, that the best way to make it a fun lesson is just to act like a goof (which Mom informed me I do very well, haha) so that should be good for me.  I am very excited to start working and have a schedule again.  I also get to start at least 2 new classes, which will be great, because then they will really be mine, and I get to choose they western names! I am already thinking of fun names. 

Noodles and Chopsticks

Tuesday was my first full day here in Canzghou.  It has been wonderful weather so I have been walking around outside for a bit.  Tuesday I went out to lunch with Fenfen and we ran into Edwina and Alistair (the other 2 English teachers).  They are great and I am so happy to have finally met them and that we will be spending the next 6 months together.  They came over to Shishi's and we played a game of Uno before Fenfen went back to school.  I have been so tired, so after everyone left I crashed for a bit.  Then Fenfen and I went over to Edwina and Alistair's for dinner.  They are staying in my apartment before moving to theirs.  The apartment is great, it's big, clean, has a couch!!, and the bed has a mattress!!!! I am very excited to move into the apartment.  Staying at Shishi's is nice, but I feel like a visitor and am living out of a suitcase, I just want to get settled in.  Dinner was very fun though.  Edwina cooked and made a nice spread: potatoes, noodles, dumplings (so yummy) and veggies. 

Wednesday was relaxing.  I finally got more sleep.  Not a great night’s sleep, but just more.  The bed I am on is a little uncomfortable so I am still getting used to it, but I am getting in some good naps here and there.  I went to lunch with Fenfen again, and I had the first meal of Chinese food that I loved!!! It was noodles from a place nearby.  And interesting thing I am noticing is that all the buildings (apartments, restaurants, etc. ) have long, heavy plastic hanging in strips in front of the entry way, to keep bug out I assume.  But anyways, my favorite meal…it was wonderful! Noodles and lots of vegetables.  I am getting much better at chopsticks too.  I am still not great, and I don’t use them the same way as everyone else but I am doing well.  I still haven't had too much to eat here though.  I go out like once of twice a day.  And lately I have been so tired that, last night I slept right through dinner.  But hopefully I will get caught up on sleep soon and I will be able to start a more normal schedule. 

First 12 Hours in China

Wow!! My first 8 hours in China were a whirlwind. After the longest flight I have ever been on (about 13 hours) we landed. It was actually a very relaxing flight. I sat in the bulk head (so tons of leg room), in the middle group of seat and middle seat was empty, so SCORE!!! haha. The guy sitting in ‘next’ to me was from the bay area and has lots of friends teaching in China and he comes over here all the time. He gave me great little tid-bits to help me in my time here and some advice on travelling in Asia. We covered these topics in the first hour of the flight so the remainder of the flight was sleeping and watching movies: Pirates 4, Bridesmaids and Thor….good times.

Ok so the whirlwind part: after landing at 4:07pm local time I got my baggage. Much to my frustration the handle on my suitcase was broken during the flight someway and won’t come up…so I had to wheel it around by the fabric top handle. It’s not too bad since the suitcase is so tall, but it is uncomfortable.

My boss, Shishi, was to meet me at the airport so she could take me back to Cangzhou (my city). For some reason we didn’t connect for 2 hours. I was looking for her and she was there looking for me, but for some reason we never saw each other. It was really hard for a while…..but it was great talking to Dad for a few mins (to let them know I made it and to check my email to verify that I told Shishi the right landing date).   Well about 20 min after that I found Shishi!!! It was great, she was so warm and friendly.  We were immediately talking non-stop.  But since it had taken so long to meet up we had less than 2 hours to get the main train station in Beijing (in rush hour!).  So we were running like crazy people: airport shuttle train, tube line 1, tube line 4 then 20 min left to get to the other side of the train station and get onto the Cangzhou train…and of course we are doing this with all of my luggage…needless to say we were both so exhausted by the time we got on the train.  The train is an hour to Cangzhou, and I slept about 45 min of that. 

My first impression of Cangzhou was lights.  There is a main street leading from the train station into town, and there are these huge, old style, street lights guiding you in.  There are high buildings everywhere.  And since I came in at night everything was lit up.  Not like New York or LA but a ton of lights.  On every block was a group of trees that had lights on them, it was pretty.  The buildings all have multi-colored lights on the sides…even the taxis had light tubes around their back windows. 

Shishi took me to dinner around 10.  I was so tired, but not wanting to be rude didn’t say anything.  Eating was en event because I am horrible at working chopsticks, and they don’t have forks, so it was funny.  But I managed with my noodles just fine. 

Right now I am at Shishi's apartment.  She wants me to stay here while I get orientated in the city.  And it is very nice, but I really want to unpack.  But Shishi is very nice, and her son Fenfen is as well.  He came in and saw me this morning before going to school and asked if I can have lunch with him instead of him eating at school. 

Well I am going to try to get another hour of sleep….so tired, but the dog Beano woke me up this morning around 6:30 and I wanted to check my email..and now it's 8, so about another hour should do it :)

it's been way too long, so here's an update (the reader's digest version)

These last 2 months have flown by!! July 29th I joined my parents and Sharon in Copenhagen for a 12 day Baltic Cruise.  It was so wonderful to see everyone again as well as being on a cruise ship-i love cruises!!! After the cruise they headed to England while I ventured to Barcelona for 2 days.  The 2 days were a major adventure: La Sagrada Familia, Parc Gruell, and meeting new people.  I arrived home (after a 2-stopover, 24 hour travel), to wonderful Long Beach Airport and was greeted by Aunt Sherry, Uncle Steve, Brian and a beautiful bouquet of flowers.  I had 2 days alone at home before mom, dad and sharon arrived home.  The 2 days were very relaxing-I mainly hung out at home with Lucy (the puppy) and rode mom's bike around since my license expired while I was in Europe.  A week after returning home The family went to Havasu.  Mom and dad for the weekends, but Sharon and I stayed (with a handful of friends) for 10 days.  In the middle of the week we took a side trip to the Grand Canyon.  Lucy came with us and, of course, she became a little celebrity.  People were taking pictures of her instead of the big hole right in front of us, haha. 
After havasu I stayed home for a week getting visa stuff done.  Sharon came with me to LA (my carpool buddy) and after I got my visa a 'I am going to China" danced was born, haha.  It was so fun.  My friend Kim is going through some important life stuff so Sharon and I made a 3 day trip to beautiful Pleasant Grove, Utah to visit Kim and her husband Jared.  It was a hilarious 3 days to say the least.  Synopsis is: nickle arcade, earning 1500 tickets, buying fun hats with the tickets, hiking, tons of Mexican food, Epic meal time on youtube and so much laughing I thought my cheeks would fall off. 
The next week was filled with getting ready for Wesley's engagement party on 9.10.11.  The party was a success.  The day started off with pouring rain (after mom and I had driven to LA at 4am to get flowers).  By 10 the rain was gone so we were able to start setting up.  The house was so crowded, it was great!! Everyone had a good time and the majority of people stayed for 5+ hours. 
That brings us to this last week, in which the theme was: get ready for China! I had a few mini-melt downs.  I am so excited but also SO nervous.  China is just so new and I am a little apprehensive.  But my families support is really encouraging and their faith in me has helped.  So currently I am sitting in the Vancouver airport in the VIP Lounge (courtesy of Mom and Dad's priority pass). 

Nickle Arcade in Utah

Arhus, Denmark @ a Moot



Parc Gruell, Barcelona