She believed she could, so she did.

People Are Good.

2011-10-01T00:13:00.000-07:00

So, I've been thinking. And I have decided that people are good. You know that person who hurt your feelings? The person who made you feel stupid? The person who yelled at you, or was mean, or cruel, or unfair? The person who cheated you, or demeaned you and ignited your temper? That person is good and kind, and they mean well. However they are imperfect, flawed.

That person is human, and feels annoyed and angered just like you do sometimes. That person has been hurt, and parts of them may be damaged. They may have walls, defense mechanisms that cause them to lash out, or pull away or speak without much thought. Not that there is any justification for a seemingly mean-spirited comment or action, but sometimes there is a cause that produces that certain effect and unfortunately we all encounter the negative of both.

The next time someone wrongs you, or hurts your feelings, or treats you poorly, try to remember what one of my most admired role models once said despite terrible hardships and horrific wrongdoing, "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart" -Anne Frank.

If Anne Frank can truly believe that Hitler and the Nazi army is really good at heart; then we can surely believe that the people who do much less to harm us than the Nazis did to Anne are good at heart as well. So the next time someone wrongs you, and you feel yourself begin to harden towards them, pause. Soften yourself, recognize their own imperfection and believe in the good in them.

One more quote to inspire you, hopefully like it inspired me, "One way to bring out the best in people, is to believe in the best that you know to be within them."

I was enjoying the sunshine today, and couldnt help but think of this day last December when I was in Machu Picchu with Jenna and Jess. Everything was lovely, and beautiful and green. There was a rainbow, and a few glittering rain drops despite the sunny blue sky. I felt so much joy and so much peace at this moment. I may go in to more detail on a later post. For now, you can enjoy this photo of us doing yoga in Machu Picchu. Yes, I said it. You would be justified in feeling jealous, because it was truly spectacular and I will never forget it. Oh, what I wouldnt give to go back to this day. Just for a moment. So picture yourself doing updog with us, inhale, and exhale, and then go on about your day and believe the best in people around you.

Namaste.

Organization.

2011-09-20T00:14:00.000-07:00

This Fall semester has been like a slap in the face. I can not believe how crazy my schedule is every. single. day. I honestly feel like I am running a marathon each day. Some days I feel like a crazy person, running around with no rhyme or reason. Other days I feel like the most productive person on the planet. But most days, I feel overwhelmed, and stressed out of my mind. I have had quite a few semesters similar to the way this one has been so far. Insanely busy, to the point where I nearly lose all my close friends and family. Where I have about two priorities total. 1.School and 2. Work. Where I lose all hope of ever feeling like a happy, content, person going through life at a decent pace. So, I have decided to do things differently. Here are my solutions, and advice to myself as I attempt to keep a bit of my sanity for the next few months.

1. Make time for ME each day. This mostly means exercising. Exercising is one thing I do just for me, where I focus on myself, and leave everything else at home. I havent gotten this one down yet, mostly because I hardly have enough energy to accomplish my daily tasks, let alone run a few miles or hang out with Jillian Michaels for an hour. I do believe that exercise gives you energy when you are consistent, it is a vicious cycle though. If I dont have the energy to do it in the first place, I have a hard time remembering that I will feel good, energized and happy...full of endorphins after I exercise. I'll nail this one down, it is just going to take me a little longer.

2. Stick to my planner. I bought a new, grey, adorable planner on Saturday. Let me tell you, this baby is my life. I had one before Saturday, but it was all covered with palm trees, and hard to read, and the writing space wasnt quite big enough...so I found something better. I carry this little book around with me everywhere I go. I consult it at LEAST 15 times a day. I have my day written down as everything should happen in order. I also have a "TO-DO" section at the bottom. There is no feeling more gratifying, satisfying, pleasing, or empowering as looking at my planner at the end of my day and seeing everything with a nice clean black line through it, crossing it off. Mission freaking accomplished.

3. Not allowing time to pass being idle. I do not have time to sit for ten minutes and think about where I am going to go running, or to wander around trying to decide where to grab lunch. I have to have these decisions made before hand. I have found myself several times sitting, thinking, THINKING about what I have to do next. Not doing it; thinking about it. What good does this do me? None. How annoying is that? Super. Because then the time for doing said task, passes. And what did I do? I thought about how badly I needed to do this thing, and now I havent done it, and wont have time to do it for the rest of the day, but dont you worry, I really know I mean at this point I REALLY understand how badly I need to do it. Because I have been sitting there, thinking about it this whole time. This has to stop. No more I tell you. It is completely counter-productive, and there is no room for it in my life any longer.

4. Adequate Rest. I am a baby. Seriously. Some people can function well enough on a few hours of sleep for several nights in a row. They are able to do their day, tired, but still functioning. I admire these people. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. I need my sleep, or I am a completely useless, grumpy, counter-productive, beast. So I make time to sleep, or everything else may as well be cancelled. I cant do it. And so, sleep is not something I sacrifice when I have too much to do. Sleep is essential. I never allow myself to think that it is not. My close friends and family appreciate this.

5. Yoga. I am a huge fan of the stuff. It is life changing, and amazing. I wish I could do yoga all day, every single day. However, I do my best to fit my yoga in to my schedule. It doesnt happen every day, but my goal is three times per week. This gives me time to shut everything else out of my mind, and focus on breathing in and out. It is truly amazing what yoga can do for your soul. Im not kidding, whatever you are struggling with, I believe yoga can help. Try it, you wont be disappointed.

6. Adequate Nutrition. When I am stressed I crave french fries. Lots and lots of french fries. Its a comfort thing. It is also unhealthy, and I do not indulge this weakness. I fuel my body with proper nutrients. I try to be mindful every day as to what I am putting in to my body. How can I expect my body and my brain to function the way I need them to, if I am only putting unhealthy, indulgent things in to it? I eat some kind of chocolate every single day, and this is something I include in my adequate nutrition. Its not a lot, but some form of chocolate is consumed daily by this girl, and it is the best part of my day. (probably.)

7. Prioritizing. Things that are most important, like God, my family, close friends, and my health get priority over school work and hours at my job. I always make sure that I find time to do things that are most important, because when this semester is over, the things that are most important to me, still need to be there. It is my job to make sure that happens. So things can fall through the cracks, but those things will not be what is most important to me, because that simply does not make any sense.

I have a few other things I do to keep my life balanced (as much as I can) but it is late, and I am tired. So I will stick to #4, and go to bed.

Getting control over my life has been difficult. Realizing how to fit everything in to my day, and making my schedule work how I want it and need it to has been a really amazing lesson to learn. So here I am, doing a crazy semester at school, and living by a mantra that has seriously changed everything for me. It is the following: "I choose not to feel overwhelmed or discouraged, but to feel empowered". Instead of feeling like I am going to die because I cant breathe as a result of my overwhelming schedule and daunting list of things to-do, I feel empowered. Because I am strong enough to do it all, so long as I am realistic and honest with myself, and I keep my priorities straight. So my advice to you is, feel empowered. That my friends, makes all the difference.

Namaste.

A Snowcone Summer.

2011-08-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

If you know me, it is no secret that I love snowcones. My favorite flavor is rainbow, mostly because nearly every bite is different, and they are such a beautiful little summer treat! I have had plenty of them this summer, but I rarely get my fill. My favorite snowcone shack closed on Saturday, and I would be lying if I told you I was heartbroken about it. I enjoyed my last rainbow snowcone of the season while going for a bike ride. It was a blissful end to a beautiful summer evening.

I documented my snowcones on occasion throughout the summer, because seriously, few things bring me joy like a rainbow I can hold in my hands.

Life.

2011-08-20T16:16:00.000-07:00

I honestly feel better about things just looking at those scribbles. I am so overwhelmed, exhausted, and spread way too thin. I have so much to do, so little time, and close to zero motivation to do any of it.

All I want to do is:
Lay in the sunshine
Watch Greys Anatomy for a solid day
Finish my book. (Tom Sawyer, currently.)
Take a nap. Please.
Learn Italian. (yeah, right.. except I am totally serious.)
Eat chocolate
do yoga
But come on, there is hardly time for any of that. And, it is still Summer! What on earth am I going to do when school starts again in a week? I cant even think about that. So, lets just not go there.

I am collecting clutter on the shelves of my day to day life...along with dust bunnies and yellowing to-do lists. I think its time for a good mid-august life gathering, organizing, and de-cluttering session.

Care to join?

Birthday Week

2011-05-05T21:47:00.000-07:00

I recently turned 20. Talk about mid life crisis. I feel like turning 20 was a bigger deal than 16, or 18 combined. I am no longer a teenager, which is both good as well as not so good. I love that I am moving on towards becoming who I want to be, but I hate that my teenage years are over. They were so bittersweet, I learned so much and changed every single day. Those years were just as exhausting and disheartening as they were carefree and full of adventure. I really grew in to the person I am going to be for the rest of my life during those years, and from here on out I am just shaping, trimming, adding and cutting for the rest of my life as I try to create the best possible version of myself as I can. Knowing that I have passed that stage, and can close that chapter of my life is weird. I never really thought the day would come where I am no longer a teenager. But here it is, and here I am, and time just keeps passing as the world spins madly on. Perhaps I will be taken seriously now that I have entered my twenties... or, perhaps not.

After all, like my sweet 16 year old sister told me several times, "How do you expect anyone to take you (a celebrating twenty year old) seriously as you wear a sparkly birthday tiara?" She's probably right. Who cares? Age is just a number. It's my birthday, and I'm 20! I'll do what I want..which includes ridiculous birthday head wear.

I decided that I am initiating a new birthday tradition with this tiara. Although I have a feeling I may be the only one who ever takes part in the celebrating festivities to such an extreme. Birthdays are a big deal in my family, and an even bigger deal to me. I had an awesome birthday week thanks to my lovely friends and family.

It all began with my best friend Marissa, and our self-declared "Day of Fun".

We took some fun spring pictures because she recently bought a new lens that she has been dying to experiment with. We had so much fun. Oh! How I adore her!

We then headed up to our favorite store where Marissa was incredibly patient for hours. (literally.) While I tried on almost every article of clothing in the store looking for the perfect birthday present to myself.

On our way we stopped for a delicious lavender boba, which was truly delicious. Not many people love the stuff as much as I do, but I think I may have successfully passed my obsession on to Marissa.

After shopping, we were exhausted and starving and decided that the only way to appropriately celebrate the end of the semester as well as my birthday is with our famous "Ice cream for dinner" night. So we did just that. Had nothing but some french fries and ice cream for dinner. It is a really fun tradition that Mariss and I take pretty seriously. Don't mess with us when it comes to our Leatherby's. We usually end each semester with a trip to our favorite ice cream store where there is only one rule: Leave your calorie counter and your Jillian Michaels conscience at the door.

People usually comment on how impressed they are with the two of us eating most of a sundae of this stature, as we appear to be pretty healthy and fit individuals. But when it comes to good food, Mariss and I have our priorities straight. Which helps us to have our fitness priorities even straighter. (haha)

The next day I played basketball with a good friend of mine for several hours, and if you know me, you know that is one of my favorite things to do. I wish I did it more often to be honest. I went straight from basketball, to rock climbing with my soul mate Jenna. I am not a climber, but she has been trying to get me to climb with her for a while now so we took this Friday to make it happen. It really was so much fun, I cant wait to go again! Jenna was so patient and so encouraging. I just love that girl. She then took me to dinner at a delicious restaurant where she absolutely spoiled me. She knows how much I love good food, and we can definitely appreciate that together. After dinner we saw Jane Eyre, which was absolutely amazing. One of the best films I have seen in a really long time. In fact, I plan on buying it as soon as I can. I still haven't finished the book, which is pathetic, I know. It has taken me 3 months to read..can you believe that? I can't. I am embarrassed to admit it, but to be honest until now I just haven't had the time to devote to reading. Now that school is out, that is going to be different, and I couldn't be more excited to get started on my summer reading list.

The next day I spent with my mom and sisters, we went shopping, got pedicures, and then went to dinner as a family at one of my favorite restaurants. The Cheesecake Factory! And yes, I really wore my sparkly birthday tiara throughout dinner.

The next day was my real birthday, so all my extended family came over for a picnic and delicious white chocolate coconut birthday cake (thanks to my sweet momma) after church. I wish the weather would have been just a little bit warmer so we could have played in the sunshine, but I have high hopes that the warm weather really is on its way.

I had the best birthday week, seeing as I was completely spoiled by those around me. I have such wonderful friends and family that made my birthday really amazing. So here's to being 20, the beginning of a decade sure to bring a ton of change.. I can't wait!

Sister Sleepovers and Mountain Vistas.

2010-11-18T15:03:00.000-08:00

I seriously can not believe how quickly time is passing. Every morning when I wake up and realize the date, I can hardly believe we are almost through with November! This fall has passed so quickly. I have loved every second of the beautiful colors and the marvelous sunshine that just refuses to give up. I missed Autumn last year, however I think that has helped me to appreciate the season that much more this year.

Last weekend my littlest sister and I had a girls night, where we spent the entire evening together. As soon as I got home from work we went to our favorite frozen yogurt shop, and then headed home to watch Harry Potter in our PJ's. That night we had a sleepover on the couch, and the next night she slept over in my bed. It was so much fun to hang out with my adorable little sis. She is just the cutest thing ever, we always have fun together. I can't believe she is 11 years old. So old, and such a little girl! I love her.

I have also recently been doing my best to run as often as I can. My dear friend and I want to run a half marathon this coming spring, so we are starting now...I have been doing pretty well with running nearly everyday. Which is quite an accomplishment for me, considering I have never been consistent when I run, ever. Also, because I wake up so early to go to school. Every day it is an exhausting internal battle trying to move my body. It is hard to run several miles between school and work when I wake up at 4:30 am. Seriously? I will never complain about another 8:00 am class. 6 am makes 8 am look like a lazy Saturday morning. Only 3 weeks left! I can do it. Right? I swear, once I get a decent amount of sleep at night I will be better with exercising. It may be an excuse, but in my opinion it's a dang good one.

Anyway. I have a favorite running trail. One night I went running just as the sun was beginning to set...you know that time of day when everything seems to have a golden glow? When the sun is in just the right spot as you're driving and you fear for the life of those in your path because you are blinded? It is my favorite time of day. I think everything is so much more beautiful when the sun is working so hard to illuminate the world as best it can. As I was running, I just had to turn off my ipod because I was in absolute awe of the beauty around me. I have never realized the hundreds of shades of red, orange and yellow floating on the tree tops. The sun was streaming through the leaves, casting cool shadows, and thick tunnels of crisp air along the path.

Not to mention the absolutely breathtaking mountains. They had such a golden glow to them, and were so majestic, just waiting for nightfall. I honestly had tears well up in my eyes. I was so overwhelmed with how incredibly beautiful it is. I am so lucky to live somewhere so diverse and rich in seasons. I just had to share.
I love traveling, and I know there are countless beautiful views throughout the world, however I believe that one of the most beautiful views is right in my backyard.

*I did not take this photo. I do, however appreciate whoever did.

Autumn.

2010-10-10T22:30:00.000-07:00

I have been terrible at keeping up this blog. To be honest, I haven't quite known exactly what to say. Call it a severe case of writers block, call it laziness, call it what you may. I am agreeing right now to be better. Especially because I am writing for no one but myself, and I love it. So, self. Let's blog.

I have finally come to terms with the fact that even though I absolutely love and adore Summer, it is gone until next year. Words can not do justice to the physical heartache, and absolute despair I felt when this realization finally sunk in.

I cherish Summer, every second of it. Every single day is so full of promise and adventure, in all its color and sunshine. This Summer was one of the best so far. I spent nearly every day with one of my best friends, and I ate one snowcone every single day. I went on multiple bike rides a day, overcame a huge trial, and proved to myself that I really can do anything. I spent countless hours soaking up the sun, hundreds of hours moving my body and twice as many hours doing next to nothing at all. It was fabulous. Just exactly the way Summer should be.

So here is to one of the best summers so far. You will be missed. Especially when I think about whats coming the next few months....

The snow, the freezing temperatures, frost on my windshield, scraping my car, the sun setting at 5 pm, salt marks on my jeans, being cold, wet feet, trudging through the snow, slipping on ice, constantly being cold, not seeing anything but black, white, and shades of gray for 4 months, driving in scary weather, and did I mention, being cold?! I hate winter. Hate. Luckily, the holidays bring enough merriment to ease us in to the most dreadful time of the year by disguising the preceding months as the most wonderful time of the year.

The most wonderful time of the year begins with October. When the leaves begin to change, and the air becomes crisp. To me, it seems that Autumn is when the world is trying its absolute best to show us how beautiful it can really be by exploding with color. I love it, so much. I love the spicy drinks, and all the cinnamon comfort food. Snuggling up with blankets and cozy clothes. I love all the Halloween festivities, and the family time around Thanksgiving. Lets not forget the perfect temperatures, and the sweet smell of Summer fading into fiery colors. It is indeed a glorious time of the year.

I just wish my life could slow down for a second so I could enjoy it. I am still trying to figure out where September went, and it is nearly the middle of October. Oh, how time does fly.

p.s. Happy 10.10.2010!

Cherry Blossoms

2010-04-09T00:25:00.000-07:00

The cherry blossoms were especially breathtaking today. Are these even cherry blossoms? I have no idea, but they were beautiful so to me they are cherry blossoms. Perhaps this was because today was the first sunny, warm, and spring-like day we have had this year. The sky was extra blue today, and the grass a stunning green. Flowers blooming in the rich brown soil seemed remarkably vibrant. The air was notably fresh as I took it in my lungs and surprisingly as well as gratefully warm on my skin. I felt more alive today than I have in months. I believe that in the Winter, the best part of me hides beneath the cold, dead ground, hibernating until the sun comes out and color comes back in to the world. Perhaps that is why my senses were so alive and excited today. Part of my heart and soul found its way back to me with every breath I took in the sweet sunshine.

Spring has sprung. Thank you, Mother Nature; for something as beautiful, and as refreshing, as this season after such a long, dull, and murderous Winter.

ps. I wish I could figure out how to get my blog to just be white. Black letters, and everything else white. Stupid weird backgrounds. I'm sick of you. Go away!

My China life in pictures.

2010-01-26T00:08:00.000-08:00

So, I probably should have mentioned how I was posting things on my blog while I was in China.. I was using a proxy and trying to spend as little time on the blogspot website as possible. I was doing this, because I was afraid the government would discover my loop hole and get rid of it. So, the posts I made while I was in China were actually emails that I sent home. I just cut certain parts, and combined several emails to make it seem like something more of a real blog post. I hope no one else has noticed (if anyone even reads this..) that those posts were mostly one huge paragraph. I apologize for that. I really don't write like that. At least I really hope not.

Also, I was not able to post any pictures. This was really frustrating! I was taking all these awesome photos of where I lived and the kids I loved, and wasn't able to share them except a few a week through email home to my parents. So I will post a few now that will sum up most of my adventure over there.

This is Jenna and I in the beginning, before we became the life-long travel soul mates that we are now. We are standing in front of the Big Buddha in Hong Kong. This is day 1 in China.

Hong Kong. Such a beautiful city. It has a nice...claustrophobic feeling about it.

First night in our apartment in Guzhen, Zhongshan. It was a very small room, 2 big hard beds, and 4 big suitcases full of things we never used.

Immediately after arriving in Guzhen, we barely had time to pack before we realized we had several days before teaching began. So we went to Xi'an for four or five days. It was probably one of, if not my favorite of all my vacations in China. This is me on the Tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuang. He was the Emperor who had the Terracotta Warriors made to guard the very Mausoleum that I am standing on.

Terracotta Army. When I walked in to this dome, it literally took my breath away. This is a fascinating piece of history.

My neighborhood in Guzhen.

Little William. He has the cutest little smile!

Our favorite thing to eat in all of China. Muslim noodles!

My favorite drink in all of China. Boba!

Halloween.

Thanksgiving Dinner.

Regardless of the fact that Jenna and I are generally quite clean, I am embarrassed to say; this is what our room looked like a good amount of the time.

I tried really hard not to, but I totally had favorites. Rather, I had a favorite. This is Devan. I love him.

My ELE (afternoon english) class.

Jenna and I had fun coming up with fake holidays to be sure that our last weeks in China did not pass without making a lot of memories. This is us on 80's day.

Hunter and I.

Jimmy and I.

This is in Hangzhou, about an hour outside of Shanghai. It was so beautiful!

This is one of the only temples that survived the Cultural Revolution. It was so incredible!

We went on a boat ride on West Lake, and I thought it was such a charming atmosphere.

This is West Street in Yangshuo, my favorite vacation.

Bamboo raft ride down the Li River.

The Forbidden City.

The Great Wall of China. (Which means I can cross off #1 on my World Wonder list)

I loved my time in China! I had the most incredible adventure, and the kids I taught changed my life. I cant wait for my next adventure!

National Teachers Day

2009-09-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today was national teachers day in China which is apparently a really big deal! 2 days ago the headmaster and both principals took us hiking at this BEAUTIFUL tropical chinese oasis. It was so pretty, it looked like something out of a movie. The stone pathway and stairs that winded their way elegantly up a mountain next to a stream. There was also a little restaurant/cafe place about halfway up the mountain. It was just so cool, the atmosphere was unreal! It was just set back in the trees a little and had a awning that was held up by bamboo poles. The tables were quaint with candles in the middle and small bamboo stools to sit on. There were lanterns along the sides (it was sunset when we went, so it got dark rather quickly.) There was also another place where you crossed a bridge and the trees cleared and there was a gorgeous lake that reflected the few lights that were on the mountain. A tall pagoda stood at the summit which made the end of the hike worth it to get to the top and see such a different building architecturaly. We also had an awesome view of the city. The ambiance of it all was so enchanting, and it was only a 20 min bus ride away. Jenna and I want to go there more often, and hopefully in the day so we can take pictures. Anyway, that was a fun activity to do with the headmaster and principal, then we went out to dinner to a really nice restaurant. I cant remember the name of the style of restaurant but they are at every formal dining place i have been so far. It is where you all sit at a round table, and there is a smaller round thing in the middle that spins and is raised up a bit. that is what they put all the food on, and you just spin it and take what you want. We had some delicious dumplings, flat bread, pita-type sandwhiches, chow mein, sauteed green beans, and asparagus. They also brought out pork ribs but I explained to the headmaster I didnt like meat but she insisted that we try it because it had a "very unique flavor that is very famous in Guangzhou" so she gave me a small piece. I ate it, and it was fine but I was glad she didnt give me the entire thing. Anyway that food was quite good. Then last night, we went out for dinner again to a different place. This time when we first walked in the restaurant there was big tanks with tons of different fish, shrimp, crabs, turtles, frogs etc. We went upstairs and the first thing they brought out was a large bowl that looked like it was full of chicken broth. So one of the chinese teachers put some broth in all of our cups. I tried a few mouthfulls but didnt like it at all. It tasted like dirty water with a hint of meat. It also tasted quite strongly of iron which was strange. (remember this bowl of broth, ill get to it later in my story...) so i pushed my cup aside and hoped for something better...unfortunately it didnt come. The next dishes were shrimp which would have been fine, had they not been whole shrimp that were completely whole. (Eyes, feelers, legs and all.) The next was a plate that had chunks of chicken and chunks of beef. They looked like they had a really good glaze on them so i tried a piece but it was so wiggly I couldnt even pretend to like it. A few minutes later when the plate came around again i noticed the chicken head sitting on the plate looking up at me. it had been cut in half so if you turned it over on one side you could see the chicken brain, the nasal pasage, eye socket etc...yum! so i definately had to pass on that, and my appetite was dwindling although I had been starving at the beginning of dinner. The next dish was a whole fish. Yes, a large fish that was completely whole, the only thing they had done after cooking was slit open the belly so if you wanted to eat the organs, they were fresh and readily accessible. The next dish was oysters. Then chicken feet. Then scallops and mushrooms. and towards the end of the meal after eating a lot of green beans that came with one of the dishes and drinking coke, Jenna thought, well maybe that chicken broth will be ok if we put it on rice...So we stood up to spoon some in to a bowl, and there in the bottom of the broth bowl was a black bird. Just hanging out in the bottom of this bowl. and we had just drank his hot juices!!! We started laughing so hard I had tears streaming down my face and obviously any desire I had previously to eat anything was absolutely absent. It was hilarious that we thought there would be normal chicken broth there. Of course it was something weird, and of course we tried it (and hated it by the way...) before knowing it was just hot water they had poured over a dead birds body. So that was a really interesting outing. Also, the restaurant was really crowded and the big tables full of people would walk around and toast us all. So when it came to be our turn, we got up with our coke and orange soda in our glasses and toasted a bunch of drunk chinese people who just wanted to celebrate teachers. It was pretty funny!
That was last night, so today for teachers day we went to a performance at the town square building that was for all the teachers put on by students and the school board for the town of Guzhen. The major part of the get together was for the children to dance. I have never been to a stranger dance concert! They had the most bizarre costumes, and music, and dance moves, i just couldnt believe my eyes. For example, in one dance there was about 8 of the kids wearing full lime green spandex suits and had a big plastic dark green thing strapped to their back that resembled a piece of lettuce. There was also an angel, 2 fairy's, a boy in a trash bag (he was a cloud) another boy in a superhero/vampire costume, and 3 main girls, one of the main girls was wearing a red and gold hoop skirt and red tree branches strapped to her back, another was wearing a yellow ruffly dress that had a looooong train and a candlestick on top of her head, and the 3rd girl was wearing a green mini dress with a big green bowl thing on her head. they danced around for a billion years to weird music and bizarre sound effects. I couldnt believe it! there was another dance that about 6 boys did that was a breakdancing number to the mario game theme song!!!! it was so crazy. anyway, that was funny and then we went to get our hair washed. It was a pretty good day, and fun that we didnt have to teach and got to do some other things instead.
I am leaving in the morning for Hangzhou, it is a 19 hour train ride north of where I am now. So that will be an interesting experience, 19 hours sitting on a train! I am very excited though, it is only about an hour away from Shanghai, so maybe we will be able to go there for a day. The main reason we are going to Hangzhou is because there is a lake there called West Lake. I think I told you about it, it is where monks and emperors would go as a retreat. It is supposed to be a very tranquil environment, and very beautiful. I am prepared to take a lot of pictures! When we go on vacation like this (like when we went to Xi'an and Kaiyin) I only took the backpack dad let me borrow. So I feel like I am just backpacking through China and it really is so fun! I better get to bed, I have a long 2 days of traveling ahead of me.

Weekend trip to Kaiyin

2009-09-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well, it is sunday night here (about 11pm) and I have had the longest day ever. I can't believe I am still going! We left yesterday afternoon for Kayin which is another city in Zhongshan, it is about 2 hours away on bus. There are 2 other groups of teachers living in Kayin so we stayed with them sat night and woke up early this morning around 5:30am to get to church on time which started at 10. The branch is in Shenzhen (shen-jen) which is about an hour and a half - two hours from Kaiyan. So, we woke up and caught the bus which came around 630-7 and arrived there close to 9am. It was so odd, the church building is just like a house but inside it is extremely similar to a church. (white walls, pictures of Christ everywhere...etc.) Except, it is still a house. So the living room and like 2 bedrooms have all been joined together to create like a chapel, then the kitchen is closely connected, there is a bedroom downstairs along with a bathroom. The relief society room is upstairs along with more bedroom aand a bathroom. I never went in the basement but thats where primary was held. It was such a cool experience. It was really different from the branch in Xi'an only because in Xi'an it was in a classroom and only 20 people or so. At this branch in Shenzhen there was families with babies, toddlers, children of all ages, etc. Most all of them were from America too which was nice to finally be able to speak English and actually understand what people are saying. The branch presidency had interviews with all of the teachers from ILP at some point throughout the day. It was really funny meeting with the branch president in a closet/laundry room, but it worked! They were all really really nice, and said if we needed anything they would help in any way they could. They also are going to work on getting a few preisthood holders from the branch presidency to come to Zhongshan once in a while so we can have church here. It only makes sense that 3 men come to 20+ teachers and not the other way around. Anyway, they also gave us a phone number and email address we can contact them at if we (or you as parents) ever need anything. If you want that let me know.
The sacrament meeting was really awesome, it was fast and testimony meeting today and I havent ever felt gratitude for the gospel and for my family like I did today. Just watching the families interact with one another made me realize that you are doing the same thing at church in the states without me and I will admit that was the first I have felt a little homesick this whole trip. The testimonies I heard were truly inspiring. A boy about 16 gave the sweetest and most sincere testimony I have ever heard in my life. He is Chinese but lives in Hong Kong (I dont know why he was in the mainland...) and he said at school that week some of the kids he eats lunch with were talking about how he is Mormon. They asked him why he doesnt drink tea or coffee (I think this was the question that came up because tea and coffee are HUGE over here. Tea is for obvious reasons, but they really do serve it with every meal without you even ordering it. So obviously it is odd for a chinese person to not drink it.) Anyway, the kids were wondering why he didnt drink tea or coffee and he said he didnt have a very good answer for them besides it coinsides with what he believes in. He got a little choked up when he said that later he was pondering his answer and what he could possibly say that would be better in the future he realized the REAL reason he doesnt drink tea or coffee. Because it is asked of him. That hit me so hard, I couldnt believe it. What a smart kid! That is so true. We don't really need any other answer to give other people or even to give ourselves if we are ever contemplating why we are following hte commandments. Because it is asked of us. He went on to say how Christ gave him agency and paid for every bad choice he has ever made and that the least he could do to pay back his older brother is by doing what is asked of him without further question or doubt. His testimony was so inspirational. Another guy got up and talked about how in the Doctrine and Covenants, if someone does wrong to you, and hurts you in some way one time, you should forgive them. if they hurt you again, you should forgive them. if they hurt you a third time, you should forgive them. He said there is NO point in our lives when we will ever be justified in saying, I have forgiven this person enough times. This time is where I draw the line. That we will always be asked and expected to forgive everyone every single time they hurt us. This also was humbling to hear the more I thought about it.
Relief society was also really awesome, it was on Family Home Evening and they told us that even though we are away from our families for so long and we obviously cant participate in FHE with you guys back home, that the girls I am living with here in Guzhen are my China family. So we have decided to do family home evening every week together and I think it will be really fun. We are starting to get in to a routine that is incredibly productive, and it is really nice to have the structure in our crazy lives here in China. They told us how FHE will strengthen our bonds as a "family" and we are excited to experience that.
After church the bus dropped us off at the school in Kaiyan, we grabbed some lunch (peanut noodles mmmm! and dumplings in peanut sauce...mmmm!) then caught another bus from the school in Kaiyan to the bus station in Kaiyan. It was about a 45 min trip from the school to the bus station. Then we caught another bus into Guzhen which was about a 2 hour ride. The 2 hour bus ride was on a bus that was so packed I couldnt believe it was legal. all the seats were full and people were just standing so close together everytime someone new got on i had no idea where they were going to stand. I had a seat luckily but I was touching people on everyside, and on top of all that there was zero air conditioning on the stupid thing! That many people in such a small space with no air flow when everyone was already hot and sweaty because the humid weather here is the pits but it really was the worst thing that I have experienced so far. I really was trying with every breath not to burst in to tears from being literally drenched in not only my sweat but all the strangers around me also, and feeling like I couldnt breath because the air was so hot and stale and heavy....ahhhh! Anyway, we got home around 6:30 and I never thought I would be so grateful to come back to our cockroach infested, sweaty, smelly apartment but I couldnt wait.
Jenna and i made a suddenly pasta thing for dinner tonight that was the alfredo. We dont have cows milk here so we used velveeta cheese to thicken the alfredo sauce. It didnt taste quite the same as it should in america, but it was delicious. I love my roommates and they are my China family. I got really lucky with my group. I am really excited that we all get a long so well.
We have a vacation this week which I am really looking forward to. Thursday is teachers day, so we dont ahve to teach, and we are going to get our hair washed with all the other teachers for only 10 kuai (about $1.20US!) and also possibly a movie so that should be fun. Then we do have to teach friday, but we are hopefully leaving friday night for our vacation and will be home tuesday night. We were initally going to Yangshuo/Guilin but are thinking we might go to West lake instead for this trip. West lake is a retreat that the emporers would go to, it is supposed to be really beautiful. anyway, I cant wait and I think it will be really fun. We always have some crazy adventures on our vacations and trips.
I was talking to the other girls the other day and we all realized how fast all of our expenses are adding up and it is a little startling...yes, everything is cheap but we really havent eaten in the school cafeteria ( mostly because we see the rice soaking in garbage cans, and a few other things in the kitchen that can not be sanitary and we dont want to get sick! also, its always mystery meat, however they are quite fond of fish heads on plain rice for some reason?) anyway, so we are having to eat out for almost every meal which isnt a big deal other than its getting really old eating rice...noodles...or dumplings...for every meal. So, we go to the grocery store and try to buy groceries which is still cheap, and allows us some variety but it is adding up which worries me a little. I think we are spending between $10-$15US a week on food which is pretty awesome actually because in america that would be like one meal, maybe two eating out and we do get full of some delicious food...BUT. ILP told us all meals were included so that is 10-15$ that none of us had planned on spending each week. Which is frustrating, because yes we probably COULD eat the food from the cafeteria and just get some sauce from the grocery store to put on plain rice and only eat the vegetables and toss the meat, but it would get old fast, and i dont think its very sanitary the way they do things. And yeah, Chinese standards for health is obviously lots different than in america, but they are used to eating this way...we arent. Anyway, i just realized the other day that the money i thought i was going to be able to use 100% for traveling and souveniers and some treats here and there is going a lot faster and to other places than what i had initially planned. So that is kind of a bummer for sure, I'm not sure what to do about that, I might have to let you know how garbage can soaked rice is with fish heads on top.....
ps. we found these ice cream treats yesterday that taste like sugar cookie dough with vanilla ice cream in the middle! They are so so weird! they are only 1 kuai so they are really cheap but i have never had anything like it. its like a frozen sugar cookie dough ball with ice cream inside...Oh China!

My life in China

2009-09-04T23:54:00.000-07:00

Well I have been in China for over 2 weeks now, and I can hardly believe it...I feel like I have been here at least a month! (In a good way, I am having the time of my life!) Here are some things I have learned since being here.
1. Nothing is REALLY clean in China. If it appears clean, it isn't. And it definitely isn't sanitary.
2.You carry around an umbrella with you when you go out, whether it is rain or shine.
3. Don't wear any article of clothing that is tight. It will end up being the catch-all for perspiration.
4. Chinese people sleep where they fall.
5. The danger zone must only exist in America, because raw (or cooked) meat will sit in the hot humid sun all day in a metal pan and people eat it all the time.
6. Sweet things are hard to come by in China.
7. Chinese fruit isn't as good as American fruit.
8. Living in China and using the yuan/RMB/kuai is a great way to get more for your dollar. ( I went to the grocery store yesterday and bought cereal, soy milk, peanut butter, a loaf of bread, gatorade, 3 juices, 2 packages of crackers, plastic bowls and cutlery, 4 apples and a bunch of grapes and spent 24 kuai which is less than $4.00US.)
9. People don't make eye contact with you. or anyone for that matter.
10. Americans are treated like royalty. (as we walk down the street, Chinese people will yell whatever english they know after us. ex: Hello! Hello!, This or that!, Too Much!, Beautiful!, How much!?, It is quite hilarious.)
11. Carbs are 98% of the Chinese diet. Rice, Noodles, bread, crackers, etc. (i feel like scurvy is a serious concern here...)
12. There is no limit as to how many people can ride on a scooter/motorcycle at the same time. ( The most I have seen is 5...full grown adults!)
13. Hot dogs have glitter on them, and i dont want to know why..
14. To have 2 hard wooden palates as a bed is considered a lot better than just having 1 hard wooden palate to sleep on.
15. Air conditioning is not necessary, even in the most hot and humid climate on earth.
Thats all I can really think of off the top of my head, but I am sure I will learn more as time goes on!
Today was day 3 of class. I am teaching Kitchen this week, and we made Smores! here, they have marshmallows that come individually wrapped like a candy and have different fillings. I bought some with chocolate filling and did my best to pick out a sweet cracker that would resemble a graham cracker. It was a really fun activity and the kids LOVED it! The kids in my home room class are: Lisa, she is a pretty big girl for her age but such a sweetheart. She will always cup her hands and whisper things in to my ear. She will also just mouth things all the time like she is talking, but no words come out. It is pretty funny! Jodi, is an adorable, petite little girl. On the first day of school, she was in Jennas class playing duck, duck goose and she was wearing a glass bracelet, she slipped and fell and the beads broke and cut her face! It was so sad, but she took it like a champ. She and Lisa get along really well. Devan is my favorite student so far. He could not be any more precious! He keeps me laughing all day. For example, the first rule in our classroom is No Chinese. Everytime before we begin class we go over the rules so the kids know them well. However, since English is completely new to them when they want to talk to their classmates often times they will speak chinese.
(When this happens I stop class and say, No Chinese! and if they continue I put them on the Chinese chair for about 20 seconds.) So one particular time, Devan said something in Chinese and I gasped and said No Chinese! he just laughed and mocked me for several minutes...I kept laughing so he kept doing it. He is quite the character. He also must be a dancer or something because he will do sashe-pleas (sp?) all around the classroom, along with several really hilarious dance moves as he chants, 5-6-7-8.... Alex is my other little boy, he has the cutest little face ever! His english is really improving a lot and its only been 3 days. I cant wait to watch him learn more. He communicates really well what he wants and is a great helper in class! When my water bottle runs out, he will run over to the water jug and fill it up for me. I am not a fan of the way the chinese drink their water (its always really hot. I havent had a cold drink since ive been here.) but it is so sweet of him, I drink it anyway. Cindy and Amy are both very quiet. I have a really hard time getting either one of them to speak much, although I know they understand what I am saying. If I get them one on one, and ask a question they always respond appropriately, so it might just take a little extra time and attention to get them to the same level as the other kids. Katie is my last little girl. She is pretty shy, but when you open her up everyday, she smiles and just lights up the room with her laugh and energy! (the hard part is getting her to not be so grumpy...) She is pretty stubborn and doesnt like to follow directions as much as my other kids though. If any of them are going to be troublesome, its her. She just doesnt like to try speaking english. I will have to try a few other reward systems to find one that fits her specifically.
In addition to my regular classes, I have ELE classes on tues, wed, fri from 3:20-3:50. It is basically just like babysitting 30 kids at once. It is kind of a frustrating thing to have to do, because the kids we do the ELE classes for, are not enrolled in the ILP program so they know zero english. So when I go in there and talk or sing, or tell a story in english its not like they have any idea what I am saying. So I have to use lots of actions and singing and pictures to keep them entertained for a half hour. I dont think it is effective, but I have to do it, so whatever.
A weekday in my life here in China is similar to this:
7-8am. wake up, make bed, do AM yoga with Jenna, eat breakfast. (usually cereal and soy milk, yogurt, granola bars, fruit, etc...)
8-8:45am get ready for the day, prepare bag with teaching supplies, make bed.
8:45-12noon. Teach English. 6 rotations total.
12-1pm Lunch (we ate in the cafeteria once, and were so grossed out we havent been back. so we usually eat sandwhiches or whatever we have in the apartment for lunch.)
1-2pm Chinese class (M-TR, although Chinese is really difficult to be motivated to go to. Our teacher isnt very good...)
2-3pm free time
3:20-3:50 ELE classes (T,W,F)
4-10pm is when we go to the grocery store, dancing, wishy washy place, post office, email home, shower, watch movies, go shopping, and out to dinner etc. We eat out almost every night for dinner. Which usually ends up costing between 4-8 kuai per person. ( $0.60-$1.15 US).

People werent kidding when they said that China has a certain smell. It is really in your clothes, especially after you have just washed them. No such thing as clean clothes smell! It is really frustrating.
Chinese drivers are the craziest drivers! I can not believe how insane people are on the road. It is basically just everyone looking out for themselves which seems to work well enough. Everyone completely disreguards any traffic lights, or signs, or lanes on the road. Everyone just drives wherever they can and wherever they want. Even on the sidewalk! I can't believe some of the things I have seen while on the road. They will drive between lanes and I am not kidding when I say if I had my window rolled down, and the car next to me had their window rolled down, I could touch the other cars radio. It is absurd how close people get to each others cars without touching. I am shocked most the time. Ihave to not pay attention to what is going on on the road, or I would lose it every single day.
I have had some delicious dumplings and noodles since I have been here (that is my favorite thing to order when we go out. I am not brave enough to really try much else...) And the thing that makes the dumplings so awesome half the time is the sauce they are dipped in. I think I will buy some of the chinese sauces and stuff that they have here to bring home and see if I can find anything like it back home in an asian market. I am also getting pretty good at using chopsticks! Most the time I have no choice but to use chopsticks, so its either figure out a way to get the food in my mouth, or starve!
I think that is all for now, I have to get to bed!

Xi'an

2009-08-30T23:44:00.000-07:00

I am checking my email using the hostel computer in Xi'an. I am already traveling inside my traveling abroad. I wouldn't have it any other way! That is how I want to make my dreams come true. By traveling the world. I cant wait. It really is so beautiful in other countries. And I learn things everyday I could never learn in a classroom...its a compltely different kind of education, and i love it. speaking of my dreams.....in the airport while we waited for our flight to Xi'an I met the executive chef of a very fancy chinese restaurant here in Xi'an. There was a man at starbucks who could translate for us and to make a very very long story short, he invited us all to eat at his restaurant tomorrow night (saturday night) for free!!!! He said we could order whatever we want free of charge! how cool is that?! I would LOVE to be able to just watch him for a day in the kitchen....you could learn so much! The mans name is Wenlu Xu. he is the executive chef at the Prince Restaurant, which is apparently in a hotel? He also said that one of his friends just opened one up in Florida somewhere and that it is the best mandarin and cantonese food we will ever eat. I will let you know how that goes! He was so kind, (which is not characteristic of an executive chef) and incredibly adamant about us coming to his restaurant. I cant wait!

I saw the Terracotta Warriors today! I can not even tell you how cool it was! They are calling it the 8th wonder of the world, and boy i agree! I also got to see the tomb of QinShihuang who was the emporer who had the terracotta warriors built to guard his tomb. The warriors and the tomb are about a mile and a half apart. They say that the tomb still hasnt been excavated because they have found intense amounts of mercury in the walls that they have penetrated, and in the tellings about the tomb they talk about "rivers and seas of mercury" which turned out to be true, and aparently there are a few other crazy warnings about who ever or whatever is guarding the tomb itself since there is supposed to be beautiful treasures buried with the emporer also. I would LOVE to do more research about it..Just think, i was standing on his tomb today! So crazy! Anyway, the warriors were incredible. The detail is emaculate, and truely awe inspiring. The Emperor had all the workers who made the warriors sealed in the kiln after they were complete so the secret of the warriors died with the town, and then with himself when he died. They were discovered in 1974 by a farmer (I met him today!!!!) They found more warriors in 1984 and found more recently, but are waiting until they have more technology to fully excavate them. (When the first warriors were found, they were colorful, but once they made contact with the air some type of oxidation happened and the color faded completely after 3 days. So they are waiting to find some kind of preservation technique to save the beautiful 2,000 year old pigment on the warriors.)
We also went to a silk factory where I learned how silk is made. Silk worms are nasty looking! But it is INCREDIBLE at how they find the ends of the strings of their cocoons. From one silk worms cocoon they can get 1,800 meters of silk thread. Pretty crazy!
We are staying in a hostel for 6 US dollars per night and it is such a cool experience! I will have to tell you more a bout that later. Anyway, they booked our tour for us and arranged everything, all we had to do was show up so that was helpful. They have posters about all the different tours, and things you can do here and the tour today was from 9:30am to 6pm and we were exhausted! So we rested for about an hour then went to the Tang Dynasty Music and Dancing show. It cost 198Yuan or about 26 US. It was so worth it! It was a beautiful asian musical basically with incredible lights, and costumes, headdresses, backgrounds...it was an all around awesome experience! It is pouring rain all night so when the show was over we had our umbrellas and were running through the streets trying to catch a taxi. The drivers in china are very defensive...everyone just looks out for themselves and it seems like that is the only law. They completely disreguard any signs, or pedestrians or lights...people just go when they want. Anyway, we finally caught a taxi and there were no seats in this little van! It was just covered with cardboard so we had to sit on the floor and hope he took us to the right place. (we keep a list of everywhere we are staying in chinese to show people where we need to go. It is an adventure sometimes but we always make it back safe!) We couldnt stop laughing, it was such an awesome experience. One you could definitely only get in China!
Here in china, people stop me all the time to take pictures with me. It is really really funny. They push the other girls in my group away and suddenly i am surrounded with chinese people and flashes everywhere...i dont get it! I must look really odd to them or something? I dont know about that one...
I better go, my time is about up!

Life In Guzhen, Zhongshan

2009-08-25T22:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
Trying to figure out how to get wireless internet in China and not knowing the language or who to contact was really difficult! Anyway, we are all moved in to our apartment in Guzhen and it is very...interesting to say the least. IT IS SO HOT AND HUMID IN CHINA ITS TERRIBLE!!!!!!! Seriously though, we have like sweat marks down our backs as we walk down the street. You can not focus on the heat and humidity or it would be miserable. We do our best to push through. The AC in our apartment is only mediocre. Jenna and I are sharing a room and we have the best AC in all the apartment (luckily!!!) It is also a very small room. In the big family room we have two big fans that just blow hot air around which is better than no air circulation at all, but it still isnt very comfortable. Our bathroom is the biggest difference though. It is only one room for the shower, toilet and a very SMALL sink. Toilet is not a "western" toilet..it is a Chinese toilet. Better known as a squatter. Yes, it is simply a hole in the ground. Its so weird and awkward and hilarious and terrifying and scary! I will have to show you when we skype because I can't describe it very well. But seriously...be grateful for 3 things there at home that I do not have. 1. Air Conditioning. 2. Dry Heat. 3. A Toilet to sit on. The city is kind of dirty that we are in. It is not as nice as I thought it was going to be, but it could be a lot worse. I am grateful for what I have. Yesterday we went to the bank and the store, and people just live in garages and warehouses and sleep on the ground with nothing...it is terribly sad. So compared to that we are very very very blessed. I am having SO much fun! Everything is an experience and it is really awesome to see the way people really live in China away from the bigger cities. We joke that we all are getting scurvy because we eat lots of bread, and noodles but rarely fruits or vegetables. I have had the same noodles for 3 meals now and its getting really old. We ate at a dumpling shop yesterday for lunch and it was delicious! We also went to the grocery store and bought some really crazy fruits to try with our dinner. i took pictures, but none of the fruits were very good. We bought some fruit juice and that is already almost gone so we will have to buy more. Also, they told us we dont have to teach until Sept 1. and we have a vacation time from the 27-31 so we are going to Xi'an. That is where the terracotta warriors are, etc. It is going to be so fun I cant wait! We are flying both ways which cost us about $190 US round trip. Expensive, yeah, but we would rather have more time there where it is such a short vacation and so far away. I am having lots of fun and I will update more later!

Hong Kong!

2009-08-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

I can not think of a very good word besides different to describe Hong Kong. Many things are not good or bad...just different than what I know.

Yesterday, when we first got here we had free time for the whole day and even though it had been like 40 hours since we had last REALLY slept (cat naps on the collectively 17 hour plane ride dont count!) and we were wearing the same clothes and had no idea what was going on we decided to start the 4 month trip off right and go on an adventure! First, we walked about 30 min through the crazy and busy streets of HK. Then we got on the Metro which is like a subway and rode it for a good 40 min or so. Then we walked through a mall to a bus station and took an hour and 15 min bus ride to the top of some mountain, where the Po Lin (i think?) Monestary is, which means... BIG BUDDAH! We climbed all the stairs and walked around the big statue. It really was cool! The drive up and the drive down though were on really windy roads so I had to sit at the front of the bus to be sure not to get car sick. The heat and humidity made the trip almost more than I could stand. But it was incredibly interesting, we saw a few monks and people go inside the bottom part of the buddah where you worship I guess. We werent allowed to take any pictures once we were inside. There were 3 levels... on the bottom was a big wooden buddah and beautiful lights and flowers, etc. The middle level had paintings and pictures and prayer beads. And on the top level was "The Relic". I want to learn more about the Relics because they are a big deal to the Chinese people. The black relic is hair, the red relic is the flesh and the white relic is the bone. This Temple or whatever it was, was devoted to the White Relic. So we got to see that which was basically a glass case with really beautiful crystals and flowers, and statues inside.

After seeing the Big Buddah, we were kind of hungry so we stopped at a bakery and I got some bread and a chocolate mousse cup. The bread was just salty bread, and the mousse cup was DELICIOUS! The best part was, that was about 8$ HK which is like $1.15 US! After enjoying our Chinese pastries, we showered and went to bed...and man was I tired! This morning we started a tour of the city around 8:30am and went to Victoria Peak which is basically just a look out point for the city. When we were up there I saw a really beautiful HK spoon I wanted. It was $30HK which is not quite $4US. But I only had 2 $20HK so I asked the sweet old man for change... and he gave me a fake $10 bill! Luckily I knew the difference, so I could pick which $10bill I wanted from his stack but I was slightly taken back that that happened.
We also went to Stanley Market which was really awesome shopping! Things seemed pretty cheap but Amanda says we can get them for cheaper in mainland so we didnt buy anything. It was still a really fun experience and it was cool to see the things we can buy.
There is a big tunnel in HK that goes from HK island to Kowloon island and it is UNDER the harbour. So you pay a little bit and go through the tunnel. I haven't been that claustrophobic in a long time. Our sweet tour guide Matthew who has lived in HK his whole life told us that HK is made up of 3 parts. Hong Kong Island or Hong Kong City is the most densly populated city in the world. 2 million people living in just a few square miles. Then there is the New Territiories (I personally think they should come up with a better name for this!) and there is about 1 million on that island, and on Kowloon there is over 1.5 million. Can you imagin that many people crammed in to such a tiny space? Me either, and I walked through it today! You can really tell though when you are walking around. Everyone seems to be in a huge hurry and there are so many people everywhere you look. The streets are also very narrow and I was sure our bus was going to crash when we were on the tour. But they know what they are doing, and they are great at defensive driving. If people drove like they do here, in America I think there would be %50 more accidents. It really is crazy.
We also went to the Hong Kong Temple today. It is tiny! Absolutely the smallest temple I have ever been in. There are walls with a small courtyard around the bottom and once you step in the gates its like a wall of silence...it is pretty cool especially because the HK streets are crazy and busy and full of honking! We didnt have to wait too long...at least I didnt. We had a group of 22 people and only 2 could change at a time. One had to change in the bathroom and the other in the shower! Also, I am pretty sure EVERYONE who was working at the temple that day was down in the baptistry. The Temple President was the one marking the names so that was pretty cool to see him involved with us. They sounded like they were speaking complete gibberish While they were praying, etc. it sounds like they are just mumbling or stuttering or something. However, the peace and comfort inside that building was the same as it was 4 days ago in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple so something is right there. It was an awesome experience.

We then went on the search for some edible food. We were starving and wanted something of substance! Just down the street from our hotel was a small dumpling shop. It was like a little cafe. We tried the beef, korean spicy, jade, and the house special dumplings both steamed and pan fried. They were 3$HK each and we got 5 plates so it ended up being a little more than $10US for 3 of us to eat. We were really full too! The dumplings were delicious and they had little containers with different sauces and garlic and some red pepper relish that was REALLY hot but so good! We came back to the hotel and some girls took a nap but I hung out with Amanda and Shalise...we talked and looked at pictures it was really fun. We were going to go down to the pier to see the laser show, but we missed the last bus and we all had $100 HK (about $13US) to spend before we leave tomorrow. (Mainland China and HK$ are not the same.) So we went shopping on Nathan Street! It is the most popular and busy street in Hong Kong. We saw a small cooler sitting on a stool as we walked past and it had like small easter egg looking things inside floating in water...except they were round like balls. I was curious so I bought one for Amanda and I. The lady opened the ball in to a plastic bag and a white ball fell out. I thought it was like a frozen slushee or something. IT WAS JELLO! It was the weirdest thing I have ever ate. It was really gelatinous like jell-o but it didnt have much flavor besides a sweet vanilla that was very subtle. I hated it! We all tried it but threw it away. We also tried some soy ice cream which was pretty good. It also had some small jell-o like pieces on the side as a topping along with bananas and mini marshmallows. really strange. I bought some really cute shoes at the shopping mall... The lady first wanted 150$HK which is a little less than $20US. I told her it was too much and walked away...after some bargaining I got them for $50HK which is like $7.50US So I was happy! I am exhausted after yet another really long day. It is so fun here, and I am loving it, but I can not wait to get to Guzhen so we can settle in and not live out of a suit case in a cramped hotel room anymore.
I dont think I will have facebook in mainland China. I am pretty sure the government blocks it, so checking the blog, email, and skype are the best ways to communicate. I think we will have to get on either late at night for me, and early in themorning for you guys, or the other way around because otherwise, one of us should be sleeping!
I also can't upload any of my pictures here for some reason. It is really frustrating and I am trying to figure it out so check back later! I am thinking it might be because my internet connection is not the best...hopefully that will change. I want you to see what I am seeing! Its pretty unreal!
I love and miss you all!!!

Taipei!

2009-08-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

Well I just arrived in Taipei...after a 12 hour flight. It was really terrible, but I am so glad to be here now. I can feel the humidity already, the airport is pretty muggy. I would do anything for some bottled water! They gave tiny little cups of water on the flight, I wanted to grab the stewardess and ask for her pitcher of water and a straw! This time difference thing is screwing with my head! It is 6:20 am here, but 4:20pm back home. Mind you, Its FRIDAY and yesterday was Wednesday. I don't try to understand the time difference because I can never fully wrap my head around it.

I can not believe I am in Asia! I am finally living my dreams, and I could not be more excited about it. I am so excited to be here and to be doing what I am doing! My roommates are awesome and I can tell we are all going to be really good friends by the time we leave in December.

I'm off to find some bottled water!

Waiting To Fly

2009-06-28T01:03:00.000-07:00

Not enough fingers and toes to track or organize
the beautiful stories that pulse through my soul,
Feeding my famished ambition, and supporting my floating dreams.
In times of monotony and strife, I sense vivid colors,
whirling patterns, true love, and a lost soul found.
Beauty that's suffocating, and landscapes that liberate.
Truth written on the trunks of trees, and prayers lining the clouds,
my experience in paradise saves my life.
Each time I suck in-stealing sweet honeysuckle away from the sky.
Creating thoughts so much bigger than this life we have,
So much bigger than me and you.
A rare, widespread ocean of opportunity,
constantly wailing for my attention, begging for my future.
Hot pavement burning my feet,
the air full of yellow, collecting on my body as I own the street.
Skipping with the breeze.
Just floating through life.
Allowing nonesene to replace reality.
Waiting for freedom.
Waiting for wide open spaces.
Wind in my hair, miles passing under my seat.
The sun casting the longest shadows all year.
Preparing to take off.
Waiting to Fly.

Eighteen Forever.

2009-06-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote in my journal last night about how "eighteen forever" entered my life, and why it is so important to me. After reading it just barely I realized that the only person I wrote that for was myself.
However, towards the end I wrote all the random defining thoughts that daily swarm inside my head. It was an incredible release and an exuberant feeling to finally see everything I have been holding on to for so long, out on paper. The following is an excerpt of that journal entry.

"I am ecstatic to indulge in the future. Experiencing as much as in this beautiful world as I can. I plan on venturing into the horizon whenever I feel like it. I may not know for sure where I am headed... and honestly- that is the beauty of it.
I want to be wise enough not to be reckless, but brave enough to take great risks. To embrace, not knowing what comes next. I want to find something that makes me happy and follow it wherever it leads me. I want to live a creative life, and stop expecting perfection. I want to accept this beautiful, strange world, and learn from it in my own way...at my own pace. No matter where I go- I'll go with all my heart. To live every day so that every sunrise holds more promise, and every sunset holds more peace. I want to fly..like a bird. I want to "live my life for others; for that is the only life worthwhile." (-Albert Einstein). I want to live so that only living on this Earth once, is enough. I want to have outgoing guts, and the imagination to improvise while making my life writable. I'll measure my success only in laugh lines.
Also, maybe one day I’ll get a serious career, or be serious about a spouse. Maybe I’ll learn adult daily responsibility; I'll settle down in my home town, and pay bills on a modest home with a wrap around porch and a kitchen where the sun streams in from any hour of the day. I don’t deny that one day, that will be me. in fact, I hope it is. but never want to lose sight of the little things, like running barefoot, or wishing on wish flowers, or finding beauty and purity in the innocence of a rainstorm. I never want to forget the way it feels to sit outside at night, looking at the stars or the city lights and knowing that it’s possible to do absolutely anything.
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world" (-Anne Frank).
I pray that the spirit and fire that burns within me now at 18, lives within my soul forever.