When we get back from Beijing next weekend, our time here will be one fourth of the way over. Crazy, huh? I still can't believe it.
Now for food cravings of the week: fortune cookies, kung pow chicken, and sweet & sour chicken. I understand if you may find this a little odd. But, none of these "Chinese" foods are actually Chinese. Fortune cookies were not made, and do not exist, in China. They were made in San Francisco. Weird, right? So for this week, we'll just say that I've craved American "Chinese" food.
Since we didn't have any kids at the school this week, we were given the opportunity to work on lesson plans for the upcoming semester and decorate all of the many cork boards throughout the halls. They turned out quite beautifully. But, today was spent in relaxation and preparation for our big trip to Beijing tomorrow! I'm actually pretty nervous about this trip. Traveling in a foreign country still kinda scares me. But, I'm sure that with a lot of caution, prayers, and faith we'll be just fine. I'm not sure how much internet access we'll have while there, so there probably won't be any updates about my adventures until next weekend. May you all have a wonderful Chinese New Year and a happy Valentine's Day.
Wo ai ni!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
And It Feels Like Home To Me
There are dozens of ponds throughout our apartment complex. It's been raining for the past few days and the temperature has been sitting comfortably in the 60s for the past week and a half. And at night, I can now hear frogs croaking, chirping, and singing away. Oddly enough, this is the most comforting noise that I have heard since I've been here. Forget the broken English of strangers and the familiarity of my iPod. The frogs are sending me off to dream of home tonight with a beautiful lullaby.
Wan an. Wo ai ni!
Shaila
Wan an. Wo ai ni!
Shaila
Friday, February 5, 2010
Food Frenzied Friday #3
Wow.. I can't believe another week has gone by already! It's all going by so fast! Twenty weeks left as of yesterday. I cannot believe it!Food cravings of the week have been: Waffle House, strawberry milkshakes, and Ty's mashed potatoes. Although, they did feed us mashed potatoes at lunch today and they were amazing. They, of course, had an Asian twist; adding carrots and peas and some different spices. Yum! I'm beginning to enjoy most of the food. There are some things that I still really don't care for, but its a guarantee to find rice at every meal. And for that I am grateful.
Today was our last day of Winter Camp. Most of the kids don't normally go to Bond, so we had to say goodbye to a lot of them since they won't be coming back for second semester. Very sad. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to teach at the Winter Camp. And I'm sure that I'll love the other kids in the next semester even more.
I was finally able to move into the other apartment!! And I was finally able to do laundry!! The only thing that I'm grateful for bringing TOO much of is underwear and socks! (: But, I could've done without a couple pairs of pants and long sleeve shirts. The temperature here this week has been in the 60s. Although, I hope that everyone at home is enjoying ALL of the beautiful snow. I'm sure the kids are! Good luck to all of the parents! (;
Off to movie night!
Wo ai ni!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Smile
I just received one of the best compliments I could ever hear. One of my wonderful roommates just said something that went like this. "Shaila, I just love your smile. I was watching you this morning when we were doing opening with the kids and I just saw your smile and I just think that it's a very comforting smile. One that makes the kids feel comfortable. Its an angelic smile."
That just made me so happy. Being able to help children feel comfortable around me, especially when they can't understand me, is a characteristic that I believe to be very important. I don't feel like I'm a very good teacher, at least not yet, but I want to be a good nurturer. One thing that I want most in life is to be a mother. And being a good nurturer is most definitely a trait of a great mother. Between my parenting/family/child development classes at school, having the opportunity to serve as the nursery leader at church during the fall, and working with these amazing children here in China, I'm hoping that my chances of becoming at least a good mother will have grown exponentially.
That is all.
That just made me so happy. Being able to help children feel comfortable around me, especially when they can't understand me, is a characteristic that I believe to be very important. I don't feel like I'm a very good teacher, at least not yet, but I want to be a good nurturer. One thing that I want most in life is to be a mother. And being a good nurturer is most definitely a trait of a great mother. Between my parenting/family/child development classes at school, having the opportunity to serve as the nursery leader at church during the fall, and working with these amazing children here in China, I'm hoping that my chances of becoming at least a good mother will have grown exponentially.
That is all.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
And Then There Was Popcorn...
Today was a truly great day, for many reasons.
1. It was a beautiful day. I even got to see the BLUE sky for a little while.
2. Brianna and I went to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park across the street from the school. Beautiful. I'll post those pictures later.
3. Emails from family and friends (:
4. Most of my kids were good today and my lesson went well.
5. We had Chinese lessons today and I learned a few more words and phrases. Remembering them is another story.
6. We booked our plane tickets to Beijing for the New Year!
7. And - then - there - was - POPCORN!!
As some of you may know, I love popcorn. But, since I'm in China and it is a more rare commodity than it is in the states, I love it even more. Some of the girls found a few packages of microwave popcorn the other day but it was a little expensive, especially for just an individual bag. But, to get to my story- after our Chinese lessons, we went to dinner at the Kaiyin school down the street. Then four of us headed back towards the apartment. We decided to stop by one of the noodle shops and just check out prices for next week when we won't be eating at the school. As we were walking in, I looked at the girl who was working there and I saw that she had a handful of popcorn. I turned to Brianna in complete shock and gasped "she has popcorn!" Then, by another miracle, we see Tina & her husband walking down the street past the noodle shop. We begin to talk to her and then have her ask the girl where she got the popcorn. She told us that she got it just next door. The ladies in that shop came out and began talking with us and offered to make us some. I was practically jumping for joy. Seriously. I just kept repeating "wo hen kai xin!" which means "I'm very happy!" It was amazing. She lightly coated the pan with oil and then put some kernels in and let it pop. Then afterwards, she took it out and set it in the lid. She then sprinkled sugar into the pan and let it melt, and then put the popcorn back into the pan and mixed it. Almost like kettle corn, but without the salt. It was soooo good. Definitely made me extremely happy!
As for the last bit of good news, I will FINALLY be moving into the other apartment and FINALLY have a bedroom and FINALLY have a space to call mine. Yay yay yay! We're now watching Kung Fu Panda, how appropriate? Today was a great day, and I can just sense that there are plenty more to come.
Wo ai ni!
1. It was a beautiful day. I even got to see the BLUE sky for a little while.
2. Brianna and I went to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park across the street from the school. Beautiful. I'll post those pictures later.
3. Emails from family and friends (:
4. Most of my kids were good today and my lesson went well.
5. We had Chinese lessons today and I learned a few more words and phrases. Remembering them is another story.
6. We booked our plane tickets to Beijing for the New Year!
7. And - then - there - was - POPCORN!!
As some of you may know, I love popcorn. But, since I'm in China and it is a more rare commodity than it is in the states, I love it even more. Some of the girls found a few packages of microwave popcorn the other day but it was a little expensive, especially for just an individual bag. But, to get to my story- after our Chinese lessons, we went to dinner at the Kaiyin school down the street. Then four of us headed back towards the apartment. We decided to stop by one of the noodle shops and just check out prices for next week when we won't be eating at the school. As we were walking in, I looked at the girl who was working there and I saw that she had a handful of popcorn. I turned to Brianna in complete shock and gasped "she has popcorn!" Then, by another miracle, we see Tina & her husband walking down the street past the noodle shop. We begin to talk to her and then have her ask the girl where she got the popcorn. She told us that she got it just next door. The ladies in that shop came out and began talking with us and offered to make us some. I was practically jumping for joy. Seriously. I just kept repeating "wo hen kai xin!" which means "I'm very happy!" It was amazing. She lightly coated the pan with oil and then put some kernels in and let it pop. Then afterwards, she took it out and set it in the lid. She then sprinkled sugar into the pan and let it melt, and then put the popcorn back into the pan and mixed it. Almost like kettle corn, but without the salt. It was soooo good. Definitely made me extremely happy!
As for the last bit of good news, I will FINALLY be moving into the other apartment and FINALLY have a bedroom and FINALLY have a space to call mine. Yay yay yay! We're now watching Kung Fu Panda, how appropriate? Today was a great day, and I can just sense that there are plenty more to come.
Wo ai ni!
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