Food Frenzied Friday #2

I've decided to try to make this a weekly thing. I know that its completely boring, but maybe it will help you understand how difficult of a time I'm having with NOT being able to have the foods I'm used to.
This week the cravings have been for: pot roast, honey BBQ popcorn chicken from KFC, chocolate pie, cantaloupe, pumpkin rolls, and .. fresh salad and hershey's ice cream (yes, again)

As for the rest of the day-
I've absolutely decided that I'm in love with one of the girls at our Winter Camp. Yesterday was her first day with us. Some of these kids came into the camp without English names, so we get to choose their names. I named this girl Emily. She is the most beautiful little girl, and so bright! She is learning so fast and she has only been there for two days!
I had my first evaluation today. Today was the day of my least planned lesson. So, that wasn't too great. Luckily Jillian (our head teacher) has sat in on my class for a few minutes throughout the week, so the evaluation was kinda for the whole week instead of just today. All in all, I feel like my lessons were a success. The kids learn so fast and try so hard. They're adorable and I'm in love with them already. The teaching isn't easy, thats for sure. But already worth it and I still have five more months of it.
We all got our Chinese names yesterday! We kinda got to pick them, but from a list that Tina gave us. The list had different things like seasons and emotions on it. I picked Xiu Qiu. Which means Beautiful Fall. Ty said that this is so that everyone here will know that I'm clumsy, but will do it gracefully. Not the case. The word "xiu" means beautiful when talking about a view. And "qiu" means fall, as in the season. Tina said that most of the Chinese names here describe the time of day or year that they were born. I wasn't born in the fall but each time that I'm away from home, I'm more and more convinced that Virginia is the most beautiful state to be in, especially during fall. I love it! And that is why I picked Xiu Qiu.
Also, I'd like for everyone to know that I miss my mother terribly. That is all.
Have a great weekend!
Wo ai ni! -I love you!

Wo hen kai xin!

I'm so happy! Today was "American food" day at school. Need I say more? (: Not really, but I will.
They served us little hamburgers for breakfast. Although, they still had a little bit of an Asian twist. In the middle of the rolls there was a spoonful of something that resembled red beets. I wasn't really a fan, but the rest of it was delicious! For lunch we had spaghetti and IT.. WAS.. GLORIOUS! They gave us each a plate piled high with steaming noodles and tomatoe sauce. The cooks were so adorable. They were just so happy that we were so excited about our meal. I personally finished every last bite. It was the most filling meal I've had since getting here. When we were done, Jenny (the cook) came out and asked if we wanted more. We told her that we were completely full. She laughed and ran back to the kitchen and returned with a huge pan that still had plenty of spaghetti on it. We all thought this was funny mostly because the conversation was in broken chinese and english.. and also because of the simple fact that we were completely satisfied with our meal. It was a great day at Bond! And I'm just so grateful for everyone at the school who has gone to such great lengths to make us comfortable.
The kids at Winter Camp are adorable! The oldest group of kids are still a handful but I love them just the same. We finish this week and then have the same group through next week. After that, we have a week to plan lessons and then we have the whole next week off for Chinese New Year! We're hoping to get tickets to Beijing, but its seeming like it is going to be a very difficult process. But, if we don't get to go during this break then we will just go on one of our shorter breaks. Either way, I'm seeing the Great Wall before I leave China!
I keep having weird/sad dreams. I'm not sure if its from the food, or if its because I'm just so far from home. If anyone knows of any remedies for this, I'd appreciate them.
Also, my thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Morgan Harrington. Please remember them at this time as well as all of those suffering in Haiti.
To end on a happy note, I'd just like to let everyone know that I have just under five months until I come home. I've already been gone from Virginia for a month... Crazy huh? Maybe the next five months won't go by as slow as I thought they would. The school weeks go by really fast, and that helps a lot.
Oh! And for those of you wondering- Sarah, Brianna, and I are now on day 3 of our walking/running routine. I already feel like I'm getting better!
Happy Wednesday!

A Day Full of Firsts

Today was the first day of Winter Camp at the school. We had more kids than we originally thought we would, so we needed to use all six teachers instead of just five. Which means, TODAY WAS MY FIRST DAY TEACHING!! It wasn't as nerve-racking as I thought it would be. But, the kids at the camp aren't our normal ILP kids, and they seemed to be a lot more well behaved. Yay! In other good news, today was also the first day that I finished a whole meal!! Lunch was delicious! I normally just eat about 1/4-1/2 of the meal, and then eat a small bowl of rice. But, today was another story entirely. Not a single piece of food remained on my tray for the sweet lunch lady to throw away!
Tonight we had our first family night. We played "Pee Speed Scrabble." Also another first. Whoever makes a word out of the first six yells "draw" and then everyone draws another piece. This goes on until all of the pieces are used. Everyone then gulps down a glass of water except for the winner. If you get up to pee, then you're out. This keeps going until there is one person left. Quite hilarious if you ask me. I usually have a pretty strong bladder (TMI.. sorry) but I was the third person out. Not because I had to pee but because I thought I was going to throw up from drinking so much water! And, some of you may be offended by my Scrabble word, but I obviously found it humorous and wanted to share it with you. Anyway, moving on to a different subject..
Another first! Sarah, Brianna, and I started our six week walking/running program. I just realized that this blog is not only full of firsts, but the number six has come up a lot as well. Anyway, I'm hoping that this program will actually enable me to run for more than 2 minutes straight before feeling as if I'll collapse if I don't just walk instead. A marathon is on my bucket list, so maybe this will get the ball rolling on that goal.
I don't have much else to tell about the day. Although, a lot of really funny things were said today. I will share them with you now.

"I woke up and thought there was an Asian in my bed. But upon further inspection I realized.. it was just me."

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I'll put this in the dryer. Wait.. we don't have a dryer." (no one has dryers here, everyone hangs their clothes out the windows)

"Oh! I just got the pee shivers!"

"That candy tasted like vomit!"

I'm sure that there were more, but I've forgotten them by now.
I was going to try to take pictures of the beautiful scenery today, but it was super foggy and a tad bit cold. I will attempt it tomorrow, but I don't think it is supposed to get warmer until later in the week.
Happy Monday!

PS- the other pictures are of our delicious ice cream from dinner at Amethyst (a super good restaurant where we had a lot of .. fun not knowing Chinese) and our second adventure to Walking Street this past Saturday.

Pig skin, Chicken Feet, and Fish Eyes

Upon learning that I would be going to China, I was pretty excited about the food. I love "Chinese food!".. or so I thought. Since being here, we've been given the "opportunity" to eat real-100%-no doubt about it-Chinese food. The title of this post is not random in any sense. And because of these .. delicacies, I have craved a very big variety of "American food." So now for your reading pleasure, I will list any and all foods that I currently crave, or have wanted since being in China. Enjoy!
Pancakes, teddy grahams, spaghetti, hamburgers, goldfish, pizza (yes, believe it or not), hot chocolate, Hershey's ice cream, fresh green salad, grilled chicken (without the oil and bones), peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, Dr.Pepper, tootsie rolls, popcorn (our stash is quickly disappearing), chocolate chip cookies, no bake cookies, banana nut bread, any kind of American chocolate, chicken alfredo, waffle fries, baked potatoes, crisp bacon, popsicles, stroganoff, potato soup, mom's vegetable soup, subway sandwiches, grilled deer meat, pasta salad, Bella's BP dunkers, pizza hut breadsticks, macaroni & cheese, dry cereal, and butterscotch pudding.
Don't get me wrong, not all of the food is crazy weird. I've actually had a lot of good meals. But, I'm quite excited for all the now seemingly AMAZING food that is at home. Do not complain about the food there. DON'T DO IT!

PS. I just watched "Julie & Julia." I now want to cook, and have also decided that I want to marry a man who is similar to the husbands in this movie. :)

My First Week in Zhongshan

I don't even know where to start. I really should have kept up with this a lot better. I'll try to tell all of what I can remember, but forgive my lack of detail.
On my birthday(Jan 11th), our first full day here, we went to the school. We got to observe how the classes ran and got to meet all of the Chinese teachers. They bought me the coolest cake. It tasted great, but it had little cherry tomatoes on top. That was a little strange. It was also the Suki, the school principal's, birthday. To celebrate, the school took us all out to dinner that night. Pretty interesting food, but most of it was really good. On Tuesday and Wednesday we also observed at the school again. And we got to go to the grocery store, how exciting! We've come to find that almost everyone stares at us. We've also learned that quite a few of the men know the words "beautiful girl" haha!
Thursday was Jaimie's birthday. They sent her a cake that had sweet potatoes inside it. Also strange, but pretty good. Sarah has a brother who lives not to far from here and he offered to take us out to lunch that day. The food was also great. Although, it's not at all like the Chinese food you find at home. Sarah's brother, John, brought his beautiful (Chinese) wife, Sonia, and their two adorable daughters with them. I want an Asian baby. For real. Too bad I don't find any of the men here attractive.
Anyway, back on subject! Friday wasn't very eventful, but that night we went with our adorable coordinator, Tina, to enjoy some Chinese karaoke! It's not quite like American karaoke. Instead of getting up in front of a large crowd of strangers to sing your heart out, your group just gets their own private room. Tina brought some of her friends, so we had a group of about twelve. We had a lot of fun singing, and our male Chinese friends had a lot of fun losing against Jaimie at a dice/drinking game (Jaimie chugged Coke while the men did shots of beer). Also, I wouldn't want to forget to mention the "yummy" snacks that they served us. Spicy green beans, dried tuna, and chicken feet. Yes, chicken feet. Just one of the many ... interesting things that we have been given to eat while here.
Saturday was a complete adventure in and of itself! We went to Walking Street where a lot of the city does it's shopping. Our group split up almost as soon as we got there. A couple of the groups stayed at the beginning of the street while Brianna and I went ahead to explore the rest. Little did we know that we'd be walking right into the middle of a Chinese documentary! We're almost used to everyone staring and yelling out "hello!" so we thought little of the man who yelled out "hey!" and smiled at us. Then he walked right up to us and told us that he was a director and needed two foreigners to be in his documentary to eat some kind of biscuit/pie. We were a little suspicious at first, but then agreed to help him out. We watched as they finished up a shot of a couple on the back of a bike and while we were waiting, the rest of our group caught up with us. Two more girls in the group were also recruited, and off we went to one of the famous bakeries on the street to become stars! The biscuits/pies were more like super dry cookies that had very little flavor. A box of these "cookies" was our payment for being in his film. As we were in the bakery, everyone on the street was staring in.. and beginning to assume we were American celebrities. We'll let them keep thinking that.. After that adventure was over, our group separated again and Brianna and I ventured off to see the rest of the street. After seeing dozens of stores full of shoes and coats (it's still the "cold" season here.. even as the temperature is sitting at about 65 degrees on average) and even a little food stand that was selling something that had tentacles and looked like it was still moving.... we landed ourselves in yet another predicament. We stopped for just a moment to look at a long pink hallway that lead to a second floor. A man walked right up to us and said something like "give you facial, no money!" Again, we were suspicious. But, he repeated himself and we headed up the hallway. All of the women smiled and greeted us, some in Chinese and some in broken English. Then we laid down on the beds to begin our free facials. The two women kept trying to speak to us in Chinese. Good thing we know how to say "I don't understand", because thats the only thing we could keep telling them. After a ton of laughter, stares, forty five minutes, and even proofreading a girls written English, it was time for us to meet back up with the rest of the group. The women tried to have us pay them but we kept repeating that we were told it was free. We got out our Chinese/English dictionaries and phrase books, which they loved, and tried again to tell them we weren't going to pay. They finally understood and were still very happy that we had stopped in. So, to sum up the day, we got free cookies and facials.. mostly because we were American/different. Sounds good to me! Now on to Sunday.
The nearest Mormon branch that we could meet at is over an hour away by train, and can sometimes be a bit expensive. So, we held our own church meeting at our apartment. It was really nice and also comforting.
On Monday (Jan.18th) we began teaching. For the first three weeks, I am in charge of doing the opening exercises with all of the 100+ kids at the school. Which basically means that I get to introduce the teachers, tell the weather, and help the kids pick fun songs to sing to start the day. Not too bad. But, in a few weeks we will rotate responsibilities and then I will be teaching groups of about 5-7 kids for 5 different class periods. Right now we're really trying to get to know the kids. And we're trying even harder to create strict rules/schedules so that the kids will hopefully be able to get into a smooth routine. We've already found the trouble makers, the shy ones, and maybe some of our favorites.
Zhongshan is beautiful and I'm so grateful for the hundreds of workers who take care of the landscaping on a daily basis. Palm trees line most of the streets and there are flowers everywhere. So pretty.
Dinner at the cafeteria (not so good) is soon.. and because of this food, I already know what my next post will be about!
I hope to hear from you all! Loc07001@byui.edu
And thank you again to April for posting my pictures!!

Request!

I'm able to post a blog, but I'm unable to add pictures along with it. If anyone would be willing to post the pictures for me, I would GREATLY appreciate it! It would only be once or twice a week probably. Thank you! (:

No Worries!

Okay so blogspot isn't blocked, directly! Haha! Just letting everyone know. Will post more later. Headed out to lunch!

Last Day in Hong Kong

After a restless night, and waking up 2-3 times like always, and then having that weird feeling of not knowing exactly where I was when I DID wake up.. We had breakfast at the bakery in the hotel, then went off on our tour. We went to Victoria's Peak (the highest point in Hong Kong)
Then we went to Aberdeen to a little harbor where fishermen do a lot of their fishing.. but it's pretty sparse this time of year.


Then we went to the Aberdeen Jewelry Shop (I don't think thats the real name, but I know that that is where it was!) and we got to see how they made a lot of their jewelry. Then we got to go into the showroom where they had dozens of counters filled with some of the most beautiful necklaces/bracelets/earrings/etc. that I've ever seen. And of course they were playing some orchestra music in the background.. so I automatically feel like (a) I'm in a movie and (b) I'm underdressed in my tennis shoes and pull-over.
Afterwards, we went to one of the large bazaars and just looked around. We'll probably do most of our shopping when we go to Beijing on vacation. Then, we headed back to the hotel. Our tour guide suggested a place to eat just down the road. We were the only Americans in the whole restaurant and only one man working there spoke English. After getting what seemed like an appetizer, we went back to the hotel and rested before going to the Symphony of Lights at the harbor.

While waiting for the bus to take us back to the hotel, there was some kind of accident just down the road. I saw the firetrucks, and automatically started running after them to take a picture for Ty. I probably just looked like another "crazy American tourist" but thats okay.


All in all, our stay in Hong Kong was pretty good, but I'm definitely excited to get unpacked and settled in to Zhongshan tomorrow! ;)

24+ hours of traveling, 7 tired girls, 3 planes, 2 angry taxi drivers, 1 big bus, and a partridge in a pear tree!

We made it to Hong Kong!! I met up with our head teacher and three of the other girls in Salt Lake. Then we flew to LA and met the other two. The flight from LA to Seoul, Korea wasn't quite the fifteen hours that I was expecting. Instead it was only a mere twelve. Ha. Then a two hour wait in Korea. Then a three and a half hour flight to Hong Kong. (And, I've decided that Korean Air is the best airline).When first leaving the airport, the island is absolutely beautiful.
But once we entered the city, heading toward our hotel, I realized even more how desperately I never want to live in a huge city!


After finally arriving to our hotel and emailing our parents, we quickly got dressed and went out to find the Hong Kong Temple. The group was split up because a taxi can only take five people. So three went in one, and four went in another. We knew the street name.. but of course the taxi driver couldn't understand a single word we were saying. After about an hour of frustration, we FINALLY turned a corner and saw the angel Moroni on top of the temple. That poor driver was very happy to have us out, even if he did keep calling us beautiful. It was comforting to be in a sanctuary with familiar feelings of faith and religion while being in a very UNfamiliar place.


Sleep is screaming my name by now, so I better obey before I start screaming back. Especially since we have a 4.5 hour tour ahead of us in the morning!

All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye

Leaving Rexburg in 45 minutes!
Then on to Salt Lake... then LA... then KOREA! Then Hong Kong! I'm beginning to freak out a little.. Wish me luck! And keep your fingers crossed that Blogger won't be blocked in Zhongshan!

New Year. New Adventures.

For those of you who don't know, I'm going to Zhongshan, China for the next six months to teach English with the International Language Programs. China has blocked many websites, such as Facebook, so I created this blog in order to keep in contact with friends and family back home.
I flew from Virginia to Utah last week, and spent New Year's there with a roommate, and then drove up to Idaho to spend time with my very pregnant cousin and her husband. I leave for Salt Lake City again in two days!!! I can't believe how fast everything is happening! I'm super nervous and scared, but very excited!
I wish all of you a happy new year and hope to hear from you while I'm away.
PS. Here is a picture of what the view will be outside my apartment window in China. Pretty cool, huh?