China July

Home a month

2010-08-30T06:19:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already been a month since we've been home! Just like that we were swept back into our busy lives and the tide has pulled us back out to sea where we are just trying to stay afloat. I kind of knew that would happen-but I pray that the excitement and relationships won't get lost in the shuffle.

I wonder if that is why sometimes God wants us to leave home and go serve. It isn't just for the people we are serving....it's for us too. We step away temporarily from the hustle and bustle and get to see the world from a different view point. A friend of ours posed the questions as we were fund-raising..."Isn't the money you are raising better spent here at home or wouldn't it be better to send the money to people who are already there so that you aren't having to incure travel cost?" I can see his point. On the other hand, God sends eye-witnesses to go serve and then come back and share, all while strengthening the faith of those who serve and are served. While I was in China, my new friend couldn't quite grasp the concept of "volunteering". She initially thought that I was being paid to come teach English. Over the weeks, she kept asking the question in a different way because serving for nothing didn't make any sense to her. It was the last few days that she finally got it "Oh, so you make enough money to be able to come over here are try to make people's live better". Close enough.

So last night our church held a banquet to celebrate the kick-off of our 125th year, the retirement of a large debt, and to showcase the outreach that we have been a part of this summer. I put together a short movie to highlight the trip to China. It was a real pleasure to be able to come back and report of the amazing work God is doing there. I enjoyed reliving the experience and am beginning to let my mind dream of the future and how we might be able to go back. If it is God's will, let it be so!

2010-07-29T16:38:00.001-07:00

Title: Rolly's recipies and More Goodbyes

Today was time with the team to reflect on the events of the last month. Since we've all been doing different things, we hadn't heard all of the stories. It was fun to go over some of the new ones. Mom and I were both happy to hear that one of the trainees in the adult class was extatic to get to take the Christmas tree home. We left the lights and the kids decorations on it and she apparently ran around the room like "Rocky" after winning a fight. I don't know if she wanted to use it in her class or take it home, but whatever she had in mind-she was SO happy! How awesome it that!

We also went through some of the natural feelings we might have when going back home. As you can imagine, we are all excited to see loved ones. I can't wait to hug Brian, Alex, Jake, and Jinmei. I miss them so much! But we have been on a "high" for a month with BIG things happening almost daily. It might take a couple days or a week to get back into a rythym of normalcy. The organization we came with has done a good job in preparing us for those feelings and given us some ways to make it easier. I imagine that someone who has done this for more long term would probably really need that re-entry counseling more than we will having only been gone a month.

In keeping with the saying goodbye theme, mom decided to have her hair washed. We pass about 4 salons everyday as we walk back and forth from the center. We always make a point to wave and they all come to the window and wave back. Sometimes they will be playing an American hit and of course mom has to stop and dance in the window. The salon boys laugh at that. So Mom decided she wanted to let them wash her hair to "say goodbye". They got a real kick out of us coming in. They all got tons of pictures and spoke Chinese with me. It turns out they are all between 16-18 years old. So young! I included a picture of that today!

We were treated to a big lunch today by two of the adult trainees. Fanny and Sunny took us to Fanny's favorite restaurant. They ordered 11 different things and we had a ton of food on the table. They wanted to treat us as a "thank you". Fanny also said that she had a secret suprise for us. She opened a bag and came over and gave me an ornament with jade on it since she knew I liked jade. Then she gave each of us special embroidered ornaments that she ordered from Beijing. It was so thoughtful! We said goodbye to them and shared email addresses.

We had promised Rolly and Judy (the two 14 year old girls we taught on Saturday evenings) that we would meet them to say goodbye at 5pm. By 5:30 I began to wonder if they weren't going to make it. Judy called and said her goodbyes over the phone, she had come earlier in the day and we were out. Rolly came in at 5:45 and said "What a pity! I have such regrets! I wanted to print out the pictures but I ran out of time" She had taken the time to translate 4 Chinese recipes into English for us. We read through them and she asked if they were "acceptable". I thought that was so nice of her! What 14 year old would do that? She then had a very sad look in her eyes and wanted to know when we would come back. Even though I have a feeling it will not happen for us to come back to Jiangmen, I told her that I would like to again someday. She really looked like she was going to cry. I gave her a hug and I told her I would email her. Another very sad goodbye. Mom and I left and commented to each other that we only met with those girls twice for 2 hours each time, and yet she felt such strong feelings.

I can't remember if I mentioned the balloon story. We had put a little note in about a dozen balloons last Saturday. They were on the floor of the classroom and during the break, Rolly and Judy were pushing the balloons together and getting photos with them. We then told them the game was to pop each balloon without using their hands. When Rolly heard that she said "Oh no! They are so beautiful! Do we have to pop them? Can't we take them home?" That kind of stopped me in my tracks. I never thought of a balloon as being anything special and yet to them it was. Just a little balloon. That is all it took to make some one's day. Just a balloon. We sent them home with a handful each!

This evening we said our goodbyes to the team. Another hard goodbye. It is amazing how we are all so different with different gifts and yet we came together as strangers and we leave as friends-forever bonded by this time together.

I had an unexpected phone call from my new friend Suphie when we got home. She had taken me for a foot massage last night and I thought that was our goodbye. I gave her my American T-shirt and a special coin with a neat message on it. I went down to the lobby and she had her arms full with gifts for me to take back to the family. I thought that was so kind of her. I really hope to keep in touch with her. So yet another hard goodbye.

Todays pictures: Mom getting her hair washed, The foot massage with Suphie, Lunch with Fanny and Sunny, ornaments from Fanny

2010-07-29T16:28:00.001-07:00

Title: Christmas in July

Thursday was our final day of teaching. We decided to wrap things up with a party during the each class. We spend Wednesday making stockings and Thursday we had a Christmas in July.

We have to be careful what we say about Christmas. I wish we could go through the real reason for the season, but we reminded ourselves in the morning that we are but a link in a chain. Introducing the idea of Christmas might be just the first little seed that grows a long time after we are gone.

Anyway, it was so much fun to see their faces when they looked in their stockings! It really did sound like Christmas morning! There were squeals of delight and excitement, it was great! The little ones dove right in and dumped everything out while the older kids were very Chinese in their behavior. It is common to not open a gift in front of the giver in the Chinese custom, but I could see them quickly peeking inside and trying to see if it was going to be ok to open it. We encouraged them and they finally went to it. We only had modest gifts for them. We put a pencil, eraser, pad of paper, candy, a balloon, and a couple rubber bands in each stocking. Oh, and a toothbrush. We have been collecting the toothbrushes from the hotel so we had enough to go around! It was really fun!

We also had the kids make pipe-cleaner decorations for the tree mom hauled from home. We found a strand of Christmas lights next door at the 2 kuai store (the Chinese equivalent of the dollar store) and they even blinked! I think when you see the pictures you will agree that it looked like Christmas yesterday!

After the stockings were opened and the candy was eaten, we had to say goodbye. How can you become so attached in such a short time? It was really hard, especially knowing that we will never see these kiddos again. We got hugs from a lot of the little ones, but even as we said goodbye and I told them in Chinese that we were flying on a plane back to America, they still said "See you tomorrow!" Ugh. That was hard.

Well, I will treasure these memories in my heart forever. We have been so blessed to even be a part of their lives for a short month.

2010-07-28T19:25:00.001-07:00

Title: Top 10 minor things to be thankful for

Our time in Jiangmen is winding down. Today is our final day of teaching and tomorrow begins a time for reflection, observations, and personal decompression as we get ready to re-enter our lives back home.

I will begin that in a more serious manner tomorrow, but on this last day of teaching, I thought I would offer a little list of some of the minor things that I have been thankful for.

1. The super-sized, strong umbrellas that the hotel has let us use. (The monsoon started yesterday)

2. That the monsoon only started yesterday

3. My Chaco sandals (if you’ve been following all along-I went with that brand and have been very happy, they have a thicker sole so my feet aren’t always submerged in puddles)

4. The internet, email, and skype (being able to talk to the family has made life so much better!)

5. Napkins. They are not readily available at restaurants, but thankfully, we have always had someone at the table who thought to snag some.

6. Hand Sanitizer

7. Bottled water

8. My pocket Chinese language guide. (For some reason, people don’t always understand me when I am clearly speaking their language. I am thankful that I’ve been able to whip open the little book and point to the character and then the light bulb goes on and they repeat what I am sure that I’ve been saying all along.)

9. The washer and dryer at the center. Once a week I haul a big bag of laundry to the center where we teach. The washing machine only soaks and spins without an agitator and the dryer takes 5 times to get the load dry. But by the end of the day, I have clean and dry clothes and it didn’t cost me a dime. I am very grateful they have thought to provide that for us.

10. Lai Huang Bao. (translation yellow milk buns) Those little guys are so delicious. I really don’t know how I ever lived without them? Oh, Lai Huang Bao…Where have you been all my life? Mom and I grab one from the street vendor and eat one almost every day. They will be missed.

2010-07-26T16:51:00.001-07:00

Title: Macau Wow

Yesterday was another exciting day! Mom and I were thrilled to find out that we had multiple entry visas for China. When we found that out, we started thinking how nice it would be to take our day off and go see Macau (sounds like macow).

Macau is a SAR (Special Autonomous Region) of China. China has two others that I know of, Tibet, and Hong Kong. What that means is that if you are a Chinese national, you have to have a visa to get in and out. For foreigners, you don't have to have a visa to get into Macau, but you must have a multiple entry visa to get back to mainland China. Up until 1995, the Portuguese controlled Macau and had so for over 100 years I think. But the influence in the architecture and food has remained. We were excited to go see the beautiful island and eat some Macanese/Portuguese food. Oh, by the way, it is also known as "The Monte Carlo of the East" but we didn't take part in any gambling.

We were prepared to work our way through buying our bus tickets and getting through customs on our own, but were more than thrilled when my new friend offered to go with us and drive us there. It just so happened that because of her work, she already had a visa. Yeah!!!! In hindsight, I can't begin to even tell you how good that was that she was with us. We would not have had the slightest clue how to get from point a to point b without her there! However, I was excited that the menus were in English and our waiter spoke English so that was nice for a little change.

We left at 8 in the morning and went to visit Suphie's company. Are you thinking "Wait, I thought her name was Suzy?" Yes, it was. When we got in the car she explained that she had looked over English names and found a name she liked so that we could be a little different. She liked the name Sophie. But she still wanted to keep the "Su" part so she has chosen to make a new name "Suphie". OK. Mom made a comment that I was thinking, "What is the point of picking an American name if you are going to pick one that sounds Chinese? Why not go with your real Chinese name?" But we are going with Suphie.

It took us close to 2 hours to make it through customs so it was after noon by the time we sat down for lunch in Macau. I ordered Portuguese chicken in a bread bowl, Suphie ordered spaghetti, and mom ordered a steak. It was good food. We also ordered nachos. They were different. It was Doritos with seasoned ground beef.

Next we went to the Ruins of St. Paul. Everyone said to us that if you see the ruins, you've seen Macau. That is what Macau is known for. It was pretty cool and it was swarming with people in the heat of the day. Mom stayed at the base and Suphie and I went to the top. It is just the facade of the front of the church. It had burned 3 times since 1540, it is my understanding that the facade is actually from the late 1600's. Exploring the history of the old church opened up a neat conversation between the two of us.

We explored the little shops and then walked around two of the really big casinos. They have a Venetian Hotel and Resort that is just like the one in Las Vegas. I hit the jackpot without even placing one single bet- I found a Starbucks in the hotel! I had given up Chai Lattes long ago-but yesterday, I gave in and had one. YUM. The other hotel was called the Grand Lisboa. It looks like a giant lotus flower and at night is lit up like no other.

We left Macau and only had to wait for 45 minutes to get through customs this time. We met one of Suphie's friends in a neighboring town for late night appetizers and then got on the road for the 1 1/2 hour car ride home. We made it back at 2 in the morning! Poor Mom! It is a good thing that we didn't have class on Monday morning, only in the afternoon.

I really enjoyed our little side trip to Macau. I think it is neat though how "you know who" set it up for us to have a ride and a guide and then gave the opportunity and right moments to open a neat discussion. I'll tell more later, but none of it could have happened if we hadn't taken a whole day to spend with my new friend in a new place.

2010-07-26T16:47:00.000-07:00

Title: The last Saturday of teaching

After our fun night of Kareoke, we slept in-but not too long because we had to go play with George and Eugene by 10:00am. They were so happy to see us today and we played and sang until it was time to go. We will only see them 3 more times and then we are out of their lives as quickly as we came in. Poor little fellas. I feel sad for them because they are too little to understand why their new lao shi's (teachers) won't come back. Well, give them 5 minutes, they will forget us.

We explored the other side of our hotel once we got back. By the way-I can't remember if I mentioned that we are now in a little efficiency hotel. As cozy as the apartment was, we are happy to be in a hotel "taking one for the team". We have a teammate who is only 17 and she needed to move into the hotel, Mom and I were asked if we wouldn't mind moving to keep her company. Oh, twist my arm.....I guess so! Don't get any grandiose ideas, it is also very cozy. But the biggest blessing is an actual shower with hot water.

Anyway-our view from our hotel room is an alleyway with an open garbage dump. We keep waiting for the trash man to come-I don't think it's going to happen. But we decided to walk around and it is so neat that on the other side down the alleyway is a whole new little village to explore! We found a little bao zi stand, they are the meat filled steamed buns that I love. We ate that for lunch and then we walked through some flower stands that smelled so nice. Mom found out the lilies were only fifty cents so she bought us each a lilly to put next to our bed and now our hotel room smells nice. It is a good thing too because I'm sorry to say this, but the shoes my mom bought (the keens) stink so bad! They are great shoes for comfort, but they hang onto the smell in a ferocious way! But now I only smell the Lillis.

Saturday afternoon is our time with Rolly and Judy. Fly is in a cha cha competition, so she has to miss English class to practice. When Rolly found out this would be our last Saturday she got very sad. She said she has made something for us and wanted to give it to us next Saturday. We will be gone by then but I offered to meet her up at the center some evening and we set it up for Thursday night. She was thrilled then. We talked about families with them as well and made more paper doll cut outs. They are real sweethearts. I will miss them!

That night, we met up with Caroline, the 17 year old and went out to dinner. We stumbled our way through them menu and were happy to see we got what we expected we were getting. We ate at our favorite place. They have very delicious honey coated and thinly sliced pork, tasty sauteed eggplant, and garlic broccoli. It is so yummy. We now have a usual waitress there. She came up to me and said she would have to leave for a few days. She asked me to write down in English the names of what we were eating and then she wrote them in Chinese. She said that it is now taped up in the kitchen so anytime we go in they will know what we want to eat. I thought that was so thoughtful! When we left I saw the young cooks having a little break. I asked to take their picture and they got all excited, before I knew it-about 4 more leaped out of the kitchen to jump into the picture. It was fun! They just chatting and laughing it up after we snapped the picture. Yelling after us "Hello! Hello! Nice to meet you!" It is so enduring to see people try to talk to us. I told mom that after this week-our fame is over, boo hoo! Caroline said "It will be a welcome change!"

Today's photos: Our morning with George and Eugene, Bao Zi lunch, Rolly and Judy, and our favorite cooks in Jiangmen

2010-07-24T20:54:00.001-07:00

Title: A new level of bizarre

Today capped off a wonderful week of teaching. We have a b. study everyday at lunch and this Sunday is one of our teammates 40th anniversary. We surprised him with two cakes. One "chocolate" and the other some kind of fruity sponge cake. In general, my experience has been that the Chinese have wonderful foods, but that we have very different ideas about what constitutes dessert. The cakes however, were a nice delight. They were tasty and light, covered with fruit and tomatoes. I guess a tomato is a fruit, but I don't really put it in the same category as cantaloupe and pineapple. But never the less, they find their way atop many Chinese cakes.

We all found a western restaurant for dinner and we ordered pizza. I figured 3 times a charm. It was alright, the best we've had here, but no Zio's! (Brian-that is our first stop on the way home from the airport!) The funny thing was that this place did a pretty decent job of having a bistro atmosphere. They had painted brick walls, a bookshelf crammed with English titles, American/European pictures, and the added charm of being able to sign your name on the ceiling. We were still the only westerners in the place but there was proof all over the ceiling that others had been there before. In fact, I looked up and saw "Bruce from Omaha, NE was here" CRAZY!! I know there wasn't a "Bruce" with the Omaha team that was here last week, so yet another Omahaan had made the track to Jiangmen. We had to put our name right next to his.

So where did we go from there? Let's just say we traveled deep into the pop culture of China. Mom and I accepted an invitation from my new friend, Suzy, to go sing Karaoke. I knew it was a popular past time and I had visions of what we know of as Karaoke with maybe a big bar type establishment and a lot of people watching or singing along. That would have been bad enough, but "When in Rome" right? Well, this was so beyond what I had in my head. Whoever is hosting the night, reserves a private room. You have a couple couches and a coffee table and a big screen TV on the wall with a little computer in the corner. There are two microphones and the whole night is centered on showcasing whoever wants (or is forced) to sing the next song. Suzy had invited a few of her friends and they brought a friend from Austria. I began to surmise that we might be on Chinese Candid Camera and this was "Bring a foreign friend night". So there was a total of 8 of us and before I could even get my bearings and acclimate to my surreal environment, I was handed a microphone and told to sing. My new friend kind of pushed me out of my seat to a standing position and told me to read off the TV screen. It was one of the few English songs they had in their repertoire. They were astonished that I had never heard this song. I can't even tell you what it was or who the artist was. I'm guessing it might have come from Britain in the 80's. It is apparently one of their favorites. I hated to disappoint them so I followed the lyrics and did my best to stay on key. It was a pathetic showing. So I had to redeem myself. Just my luck! They also had "My heart will go on and on" by Celine Dion and "Hit me Baby" by Britney Spears. Those were the songs they selected for me. At least I knew them.

Mom had the privilege of belting out "House of the Rising Sun", and "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Are you Sleeping, Brother John?" (seriously-that was in the line-up!) . We were then educated by a government journalist friend of someone that came that "These songs are very famous in America". Hmm, really. I didn't know that. Smile. Nod. Play along.

Then it was time for lights out and strobe lights on. Two songs of dancing (yes-still in our little room), then it was time to go.

Really, I'm confident that there was a hidden camera in that room somewhere and that someone is getting a good laugh today.

Saturday is full with the Twins in the morning and Rolly, Judy, and Fly in the afternoon.

Pictures for today: Paper doll-family cut outs, Mom on the scooter with Susan, Lee's Cakes,our restaurant graffiti, and of course Karaoke night. I put a little clip of the two Suzy's singing Celine.

2010-07-22T21:18:00.001-07:00

Title: Snow White and the 8 little men and a $5 massage.

We're well over half way now and are busy with our students. Our early morning class has grown from 3 kids to 8. We have 1 little fellow who didn't come with an English name so I put all our guy family member names on the board and let him choose. He is a rascal and so the name of Chris was fitting! (Just kidding Chris, you know we love you!)

He doesn't speak ANY English and I think he gets bored because he doesn't understand, so he gets a little wild. Mom runs around periodically and sprays their hands with hand sanitizer. Chris really likes that and he doesn't want to wait, so he thought the bottle that we spray the white board off with is the same stuff. I kept trying to explain that it wasn't. He has now used up the whole bottle on his hands, arms, face, ect. How were we to know that the white-board spray was like "gold" around here? Apparently there is not another drop of it anywhere in the building and we have no idea if we will get anymore. Our white-board will be pretty much useless now, but Chris is squeaky clean.

Our drama this week for the children is Snow White. I already mentioned that we have 8 kids. We had them make finger puppets and mom and I play the part of Snow White and the Wicked Stepmother. So naturally, we now have 8 dwarfs. Only I don't know how to say "dwarf" in Chinese so they are now "8 little men". I really don't know if they have a clue what we are saying but they sit around so nicely (except Chris) and hold up their little finger puppet men when we motion for them to do it. It's cute.

The older kids get into things when we play games, so that is now the strategy-games, games, games. We had them choose cards off the board and make sentences and we play bingo. I have to think of a game for today. We have 9 in that class now and unless we are gaming it-they are super quiet.

The twins have been up to the usual mischief. Their 3rd birthday is next month so we are teaching them "Happy Birthday". Other songs include "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" (that one gets used a lot here), "Two little Eyes", "A,B,C", "I like to Eat Apples and Bananas", and much to my dismay.....Mom keeps singing "Thank you very much, Thank you very much, that's the nicest thing that anyone's ever done for me" from Oliver Twist? Only that's all she knows so it gets sung over and over again. I love her.

So out of all of this singing, gaming, chasing, teaching, and translating, Mom and I agreed to go get a Chinese massage with our team. The other Omaha team had taken a group while they were here and had really enjoyed. They recommended it and we agreed when we found out it was about an hour long foot massage and it only cost $5. How could we pass that up? We walked in to the spa and were escorted up to the 6th floor by traditional Chinese costumed ladies. There were four of us and they took us to a room with 4 reclining chairs. It was calming and peaceful. Then the technicians ie..Chinese torture executioners came in. Well, I should clarify. Everyone else had nice soothing foot, back, and neck massages. For some reason, I was the lucky one who was assigned a guy who decided that contortion would benefit me. I'm not sure I can even describe what I went through. At one point my leg was being yanked around like a double-dutch jump rope and the next moment I have a knee in my back and I'm being bent backwards. Judging by the concerned looks on my fellow team members faces, I would say they were just hoping that they weren't the next victims. I soldiered through it and kept telling myself that "Hey, these people do this all the time-it's probably a technique that is centuries old and somehow good for me." But this morning, I am really sore and questioning the methods of Mister Woo.

Todays picture shows us BEFORE I had any clue of what was about to happen. Sorry-no AFTER picture. A DURING picture or video would have been entertaining-but I was focused on surviving, not snapping pictures.

2010-07-20T18:52:00.001-07:00

Title: And now...the twins

So about the twins. Little Eugene and George. Their Chinese names mean "right" and "left". They are quite a pair. These little cherubs are 3 years old and are the emperors of the very large house. You may be confused and have questions, allow me to clear things up.

Who are the twins?
They are the only sons of a very wealthy Chinese clothing manufacturer from Hong Kong. They are to start preschool at a high brow institution in HK beginning in December. In order to get in, they have to pass an English test. George is calm and caring, a thinker, a builder, and very cute. Eugene has a ornery streak, a habit of making himself vomit, likes to destroy things, and dance around, and is also very cute.

Why are you going there?
I ask myself that question every day. Higher powers see fit that we should go there 6 days a week for 1 hour to narrate what the twins are doing as well as what we are doing and basically just speak English to them. At times we dance around like fools and sing songs they don't understand and provide entertainment for the maids, the nanny, the cook, the interpreter, the grandmother, and the mom.

Is that what you thought you would be doing in China?
Nope. But as previously mentioned in other blog entries, we have had many opportunities to fulfill expected roles. This role is not one I ever dreamed of. But, I turn it over and know that you-know-who works if very mysterious ways and who knows what his plan is for this interaction.

Hmm, so are they spoiled?
Well, yes. But if I left it there, you might think that I don't like them. I really do. They are very smart and cute. They have warmed up to us and I do enjoy it when they laugh and smile. But what I really feel for them is sadness. They are denied nothing. If they want to stick rhinestones on the wall, they stick rhinestones on the wall. If they want to throw a fit and hit their mother, they throw a fit and hit their mother, they eat sweet after sweet after sweet, and they get away with EVERYTHING. All while the mother and grandmother watch on or leave the room. I feel sad for them because it goes against what I know is a healthy situation. I will say that I am only seeing a snapshot. One hour out of every day is not necessarily indicative of the other 23. But if my instinct is correct, shame shame shame. But man are they cute!

Now onto other matters. I think I mentioned "she-who-has-yet-to-be-named" before. She is the one who I met at the BBQ, she wanted to take me out to dinner to talk so that she could practice English and I could practice Chinese and so that I could give her and English name. Mom came along and we went out last night. She took us to a nice place and we had wonderful food and great conversation. I know your dying to hear her new name. I wrote down all of the female names in our extended family and let her choose, that way any name she picked would be special. Who is the lucky winner? Well let's just say that there is another Suzy in the world now. That's right, she picked my name, and I didn't even write that one down. Well, there is a cool twist to this story. My teacher, Lin Lao Shi, (Hi if you are there!) gave me the Chinese name of Su Xi (it is pronounced almost like my name) and the Su character means and area in China that is legendary for beautiful women. As it turns out, my new friend (Su Rong) uses the same character for her "su" as I do because she is actually from that area. When we discovered that she got really excited and said "Oh! It seems as if we are sisters! So we exchanged emails and skype addresses and hope to stay in touch. She said she wants me to explain more to her about you-know-who. She also wants to take me to Karaoke before we leave. That could be interesting.

Mom is doing great. She is such a help in the classes. It turns out that we are in just the roles we were made for. We are working nicely together and have a routine down for sharing close quarters. She battles the sweat more than I do, and she has given up on hairspray, but other than that-she is fine. I'm really glad she is here!

I am also really glad that we can Skype Brian and Dad about every other day. It is nice to hear what is going on. A few times we've been able to even catch the kids for a quick sound bite. I know my older two are in New Orleans right now. I bet it is every bit as hot and humid there as it is here. I hope they are having a fun and meaningful time! I heard there is a guy who does what we are doing only longer term in Hong Kong who is going to be speaking down in New Orleans. It would be cool if they could hear him!

So tonight's pictures are of the twins, their house, the two Su Xis and a couple shots of some other work we've been doing (just kidding)

2010-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Title: Kaiping Watchtowers (sounds like hyping with a "K")

Sunday is our team's day off. (But really-there is no "day off" we are "on" all the time) The center arranged a tour for us to the city of Kaiping. We were told it is southwest of Jiangmen, but I need to find it on a map to make sure. (Sometimes the translations don't quite make it through correctly) It took us about 2 hours to get there. It is a city famous in China for these old fortress-style homes and judging by the number of signs and advertisements I saw along the way-it is also apparently famous for faucets. I really had no idea that there are so many kinds of faucets, sign after sign after sign, and strangely enough-a lot of them had a friendly explanation in English that "plastic is good".

Anyway, the watchtowers were very cool. They were built to protect the wealthy families who had come home from "Gold Mountain" (California, during the gold rush). They came home with money and Western treasures that made them subject to robberies. So they built these 4-7 story square fortresses to protect their belongings and their family. Often they would have more than one wife and so each wife had their own floor with their own kitchen, bedroom for her, bedroom for the kids, and bathroom. These buildings are a national historic site so some of them are furnished and are treated like a museum. Others are vacant and still others have people living in them. We went to two villages and then had a big lunch.

As interesting as Kaiping was, the drive up and back as well as the time walking around was the really cool part. I was able to spend some one-on-one time with a couple of the Chinese locals who are helping as our guides. The conversations we had are very special. Hearing there stories and answering their questions was the reason I came!

I took over 100 pictures just on that trip alone! Here are a few: a couple of the watchtowers, Mom and me in our "farmer" hats, a cute chicken, a lotus (we eat the root here), a farmer tilling with an ox, and ducks in a truck.

Oh-by the way......Someone in our group has won so far in the contest of "find the most unusual English name" he met a girl named "Vegetable" last night. But so far, I'm winning the contest of "Snap a picture of the most people on a scooter" contest with 5. I'll go ahead and throw that picture in for good measure too.

2010-07-17T12:25:00.001-07:00

Title: Six Pretty People Pass the time Pondering the Pagoda

Another amazing day! We got up early for a hike to the Longguan Pagoda. It was a really pretty hike but Mom and I could only get so close before we had to turn back. The rest of the group was able to continue. We are all on different schedules and Mom and I are the only ones that have a Saturday morning engagement with the previously mentioned twins (more to come on them later). But after a humid hike, we readied ourselves for an hour of fun with 3 year olds, George and Eugene.

One of the workers at the center has become our personal guide. She is so kind to us and has really taken us under her wing. She invited Mom and me to her home (she isn't married so as is tradition in China, she lives with her brother and sister-in-law), they all had never had foreign guests so they were very excited to host us. It was really touching to see the effort that was made on our behalf. They are so gracious and hospitable. Susan's nephew wrote us a letter and decorated it on a big piece of construction paper. He was so eager to show us. It was so sweet! Then we ate, and ate, and ate! Susan's father does all of the cooking and he was very proud of a certain dish, of course we had to finish that one! After lunch, we sat down and ate snacks. Then they invited us to take a nap, then we got up and had more snacks and played UNO, then we had more snacks and carrot juice. Then we toured the apartment grounds and were given gifts. It was very special. We didn't eat dinner tonight

After Susan's, we ran back to grab our materials and went to the center for a 4-6pm class. We have Rolly, Fly, and Judy in that class. Did I mention that a lot of the Chinese give themselves very interesting English names? I suppose that there are a lot of the same name so they want to be unique. They are succeeding in that! There is a Dolphin, Fish, Fanny, Sunny, boys named Vicky and Trinity, and a Happy. Then you have the very old fashioned names, there is a Hilda, Doris, Judith, Dorothy, and Sally May. I love the variety! It is fun to meet all sorts of new people.

So the lady that I met at the BBQ that asked me to give her an English name showed up at the center tonight. She has never been before and so it was really neat that she had the opportunity to hear a special message. The name I selected for her was one her friend already had, so I have to think of another one. She has invited me to dinner on Monday night. I told her yes, but my mother has to come along since I promised my Brian and Dad that I wouldn't ever leave her side. So she-who-has-yet-to-be-named, will pick us up on Monday night. I have until then to come up with a suitable name.

I continue to be impressed with how friendly people are to us. I have made a lot of new friends.

(The pictures are of the pagoda, our group, Susan's family at lunch, and her nephew with his letter to us)

2010-07-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Title: Daily life

Well we are settling into somewhat of a routine here, and still every day is an adventure! Once I get a few pictures, I will tell you about our little twins, George and Eugene. I feel like Mary Poppins, more on that later.

Wednesday night we went to the BBQ that was hosted by the Omaha team. It was great! They have these table sized fire pits (see the picture) with a grate over the top. You skewer your own food and grill it yourself. It is a social event and the park had hundreds of these grills. They said on a holiday, every table is taken. The Omaha team also brought stuff for smores. The Chinese weren't too thrilled (too sweet), but I appreciated them immensely!

We continue to enjoy our morning classes. We are with the low and middle level speakers ages 5-13.The little ones are so cute! They just love to learn and try their best. They will say things like "May I come in Suzy?" It sounds so adorable. We played a fishing game with poles and put words on the fish-they really got into it. The older boys are not excited about learning English, so our challenge has become to get them to engage and smile. We taught them how to make their hand into a rubber band gun to "shoot" the turkeys during our Thanksgiving lesson. They had never done that before! Then on Friday, we played Jenga with them. They had to say a word and pull a block, then a sentence and pull a block, then ask a question and pull a block. They loved it!

2010-07-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Title "Food, Baskets with things in them, and Little Red Riding Hood"

What a surprise we had when we walked into the English camp thinking we would be "helping" the main teacher. Ha Ha! I knew we were in trouble when she came in and sat down leaving the desk at the front of the room open. She is Chinese and we must have had a communication error because in all of our meetings, we got the impression she had lessons planned. Mei wen tie! (No problem)

We winged it again with both classes and then made a point to prepare for today's class. It ran a LOT smoother. The tweens are quite. We are having a hard time getting them to even talk. But I'm quite sure that within a few days, we'll get them laughing and smiling. I accept the challenge! There are 3 older boys that are 12 and 13, they are clearly unhappy that their moms made them come, so they weren't thrilled about making Valentines cards. (This week the young class learns about animals and the older class learns about American holidays.)

Both classes are to learn a story and act it out. The story for this week is "Little Red Riding Hood". The Chinese version is a bit more graphic than I learned it. The wolf actually eats the grandma and Little Red and then the hunter comes in and slashes open the belly of the wolf while it is sleeping, the devoured humans escape, fill the wolf's belly up with rocks, sew him back up, wake him up, then the hunter shoots him. Maybe the Brother's Grimm wrote it like that and it has not been changed in China the way we modified it in America. I wish I would have actually read it before I read it aloud the first time during the class. I just assumed that "Hey, I know this story." So I didn't bother to study it. I don't know if I was masking my shock enough to give it away that I didn't know that version.

This afternoon we will head over to the twins house for the first time and then we will go to a BBQ hosted by the Latimer team from Omaha. They are guessing about 60 Chinese students will be there in addition to our two teams.

I'm including some pictures of some neat things we see on our walks to and from the center. You'll notice that baskets are used for everything from babies to chickens. Also, there is a picture of a "Baby Swimming Center". Mom and I stumbled upon it and are guessing that since the apartments don't have bathtubs, these larger sinks are for the babies to get a soak and then a nap. The babies were so cute! The videos are of our favorite noodle shop. We eat there for lunch. You will see how the noodles are sliced right into the water. YUM!

I have mentioned how delicious the food is, right? I'm so sorry to say that it blows the American style Chinese food away. I might get sick of it someday soon, but not yet! I love the jiao zi (dumplings) bao zi (steamed buns with egg or meat), and mian tiao (noodles).

Lin Lao Shi, if you are reading this, THANK YOU for teaching me Chinese. As you would say, "It is SO useful!"

2010-07-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

"Preparing for Class"

Today is Monday, July 12. We have our official schedule now and 3 of us start tomorrow. The 4 that are working with adults began class today. It will be a good class for them-a 1:1 ratio! But they worked out a schedule that keeps 2 of them there in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Then they all get together for an hour long free discussion time with the trainees.

Mom and I are helping with kids, it is perfect for us! We begin at 8:30am M-F, we will be helping with 6-11 year olds for their 3 week summer English camp. It will be fun. We will be done with that at noon and then we will meet the team for lunch. Then at 3:45 we get in a taxi and head to a private home to play with a set of 3 year old twin boys. Their parents are paying the school to have teachers come play with them and speak English. So we will be there every day for an hour, except Sundays. Twice during our time here, we will pop into the adult's class and give 2 presentations. One on Manners in America and the other on Salk, the guy who invented the Polio vaccine. The adult class learns about historical people in English and then answers questions to test comprehension. I picked that guy out of the choices because both my sister's company and my company have ties to him. I thought that was cool! I didn't know that until I started researching him, I even found pictures on the internet of polio vaccines with my company's label. For the manners presentation, Mom is going to be "Mrs. Manners" and while I deliver the presentation, she will demonstrate what not to do. I will be sure to capture that on video!

I can't wait to get home to give details about the amazing interactions we are having with individuals. It just blows my mind! I'm excited to get to teach tomorrow-but even if the whole teaching thing fell apart-just being with the people of Jiangmen has proven to be precious. Today, as mom and I were walking down the street, we were approached by a young woman. She spoke a little English and wanted to just say "hello" and ask where we came from and why we were here. We explained we would be here for the month and that we are teaching English at the center and that on Saturday and Sunday nights there is a free English class open to the public. She said she would try to come. I asked the center if they had business cards that we could give people because these types of encounters are happening a lot. We took a stack and already this evening had another chance to invite someone. People are very friendly here to us. It feels a bit like if the circus came to town. As we walk down the street, people stop and stare. Out of a city of 4 million, we seem to be the only westerners. But being a bit different looking is what gets people to want to come try to talk to us if they speak a little English. So that give us the chance to invite them to the center.

I am so grateful to be here!

Tonight our coordinators from the foundation left for Kunming. So we were on our own for dinner. I am the only one who speaks enough Chinese to get us in trouble so I was elected as the official orderer. We did alright! I was glad that I had my phrase book though, because without that-we probably would have ended up with chicken head soup.

I forgot to mention that last night's dinner was interesting......we went out for "western" food and ended up with fruit cocktail on our pizza.

2010-07-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

"UnexpectedOpportunities"

So far this trip has been one where we should be ready for anything and today was no exception! Mom and I only had one obligation today since it was Saturday. We were to meet with the summer camp coordinator to find out our schedule for next week. Our morning was free time to explore, we found a market, a park, and a great breakfast of more noodles with eggs and chicken. No Special K here. That's ok. When in Rome....

But the unexpected surprise came tonight. There is a team here from Omaha! I knew we might run into them but I didn't know we would be able to spend a good deal of time with them. There are 10 of them and one of the families has kids that go to school with Jake. Their team was prepared to host a free English class for all ages up at the center and we were invited to come observe. After dinner, the 9 of us went up and prepared to do just that. They had an opening with introductions including teaching the 100+ Chinese a little about Nebraska. They taught them about where Nebraska is and what 2 things our state is famous for.....Corn and Husker football. It was surreal to think that here we are in China listening to other folks from Omaha talk about our home. Who wouldhave guessed that?

But the icing on the cake came after the opening. I mentioned to our coordinator that Mom and I would be more than willing to help if they needed it and she told us to find a room and we might be able to be help out. We popped our head in a room and it happened to be the room of beginners. They were between the ages of 6-11 and they were just learning so they didn't have any American teachers in that room. The Chinese woman saw us and we asked if we could help. She said yes and "Oh, would you please be our teachers tonight?" Well, you didn't have to ask us twice! We were thrilled and even though it was on the fly-we had a BALL! The kids love Mom! It just goes to show you that it is just something about her. At one point 3 of them just ran up and hugged her. It was so cute! We winged it for an hour. We talked about American holidays, fruit, colors, names of clothing and body parts, and sang some songs. There was probably a dozen kids and some of the moms. It was such a thrill! I'm sure those moms were laughing at us and thinking we were crazy! We were up there dancing around and making "gobble gobble" sounds when we talked about Thanksgiving....I'm sure you can imagine!

So I'm including some pictures and maybe a video if it works. The first picture is of the center (do you notice what is on the top of the building? That is another unexpected surprise), the next picture is of the rooftops of the houses around the center, then we have a picture of Mom and me in front of our improve English class, and if it works also a video (I had no idea the children would know "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" but they sang right along with us!)

2010-07-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

"Out to the Countryside"

Wow! What a day! This day is definitely one that Mom and I will never forget. We were so privileged to be able to go visit two villages and two family homes today. We drove about 30 minutes into the country. It is mind blowing to go from a bustling city into a very rural countryside in just a few short minutes. The difference in living conditions is stark. The two families lived in concrete rooms. They were traditional Chinese homes in that the rooms all opened to a communal area where each family shared a toilet, hose, and a wok that sat over a firebox. These were very poor families, but kind and gracious to us. The first family was a man and a woman. He was a retired teacher and they told us their story through a translator. She served us a honeydew melon and hot water. It was touching.

The second family was made up of 2 older girls and 1 older boy. Their mother had died and their father had moved away to farm and send money back. Their story was pretty sad, but they too wanted to tell us about their lives. We spent time with each family and were able to talk with them. It was a pretty emotional day. I'll be able to go into more detail when I get back.

I met two elderly ladies in the village. They were walking together and they caught my eye. I asked them if I could take their picture and they agreed. I had a guide with me and so she translated. They wanted to know where I came from and were happy to hear it was America. They said it must have cost a lot of money to come here and wanted to know why I did it. I told them my youngest daughter was from China and that I wanted to learn more about her culture. They were pleased and wanted to know if China is a beautiful place. I told them "Yes, China is a beautiful place with beautiful people. I love China." They smiled so proudly. It was something I'll never forget. I'll attach their picture. Can't you just see so much in their eyes? I see strength, will and determination, pain, and love. I could have spent hours with them listening to their life stories. One can only imagine what they have been through.

2010-07-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

Title "Settling into Jiangmen"

Here we are in our home away from home for the next month. We arrived at our apartment around 9pm. We were pretty beat but eager to find out what our living conditions would be like.

I'm happy to say that we will be diving into life in China right away. Our apartment is a typical Chinese style apartment. It is on the 14th floor and has an efficiency kitchen and bathroom. We are sharing it with 3 other adults. Mom and I have a bunk bed and a window with a river view.

Last night the people on the streets were watching the soccer game and every once in a while we were awakened to big cheers.

Today we met the other teachers and went through orientation. We had noodles for lunch and are working on what our English classes will look like. We are still deciding if we are going to be teaching adults or kids. It should be a lot of fun either way.

(The pictures are of the locals fishing by the Forbidden City, our bedroom)

2010-07-06T19:48:00.000-07:00

(Title) Good Morning! Beijing!

Mom and I made it to Beijing last night at midnight. We were VERY happy to have a nice bed to stretch out in with big fluffy pillows. We slept in till 4:30am (time change has us a bit off), and studied our lesson plans. We are in a hotel tonight that serves both western and Chinese breakfast. We sampled both and were happy to have one more pancake before we head to a land of where pancakes are a thing of mystery.

I have made it a goal to try to say at least one thing in Chinese to people I encounter. So far, everyone has understood me and been very nice to tell me that I speak Chinese well. I found out why it is a bit risky last night. I asked our taxi driver why we were stopped in a traffic jam. He went on a rant in Chinese and expected that I understood. The only thing that I think I was able to decipher was that some foreign dignitary was blocking the road with their motorcade. Mom thought she heard the name "Obama". Wouldn't that beat all?

Well, today we will keep trying to get our body clocks in rhythm with the local time. We fly on to Guangzhou this afternoon and then take a 2 hour ride to Jiangmen City.

Gotta go!

And We're Off!

2010-07-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here we go! After a somewhat rainy, but still very fun 4th of July yesterday, we are ready to head East.

Mom and I are in Minneapolis airport just waiting for our flight to Tokyo. We enjoyed our last American lunch (hamburger and fries) and made a plea to Jake to email my forgotten presentation to me.

All is well. We had a few tears this morning as we said our "farewells", but other than that-we are all smiles.

The next post will be coming to you from Beijing.

Oh, by the way, in case you were wondering-I got the Chacos. I wore them all weekend and had no sudden urges to become a vegan. Whew!

The battle of the Keens VS Chacos

2010-06-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today Mom and I went to the store to buy a pair of what I like to call Sport Utility Shoes. They are rugged and SO not feminine and something I never thought I would wear. But alas, we are heading to the South China Sea during Monsoon season, so we've been advised to buy some of these kicks.

After and hour of trying on several different styles, Mom went with a pair of Keens that her grand-daughter said reminded her of Tele-tubbies. They do have a bulbous look to them but apparently they are durable and can wick water away like no other. I kept staring down at my feet in disbelief. On my left I too had a Tele-tubby style clown shoe and on my right I tried a Chaco sandal. This is another hippie sandal that is known for being a great hiking shoe for hot and wet climates.

I had them put on hold. I have to sleep on this decision. I buy these shoes and what's next....Will I feel the uncontrollable urge to go purchase a Prius? Will I choose to eliminate meat from my diet? Will I watch Whale Wars and feel a tug at my heart for the Whales while eating my granola?

If anyone has an opinion on Keens VS Chacos, and has escaped the aforementioned fate, please let me know. I must buy one of the two.

Closing the loop on Jake's trip

2010-06-27T07:17:00.000-07:00

So just in case you were wondering......

Jake made it home safely. We were all at the airport and craning our necks to see him come through the gate when I see this tall kid in a full-length black silk robe with a embroidered red dragon on it. Only Jake!

He spun tales for us into the night and easily had every bit of our attention. In short, he had a blast. So many funny things, like the "diamond" necklace he won from a scratch ticket that a street vendor (who was peddeling eyelid massagers and wouldn't leave Jake alone) gave him. Or the fact that the three 17 year old boys bought sleeper car tickets on the overnight train to Beijing and set up tours for themselves to go to the Great Wall and then got up at 5:30 to see the flag raised in Tiananmen Square-all by themselves-no adults! Trip of a lifetime! So glad he's home.

His friend that treated him to the whole trip is Ming. He is coming back at the end of July and will be our foreign exchange student next year. So I'll have 2 seniors in the house. It's gonna be a fun year!

1 Week to go!

2010-06-27T07:04:00.000-07:00

The week started off with a bang on Monday when we found out that our plans would need to change for the trip. Because of unforeseen complications, the province that we thought we would be traveling to is off the table but thankfully, there was a backup plan. We will now be heading to Guandong province to a city that is just about as far south as you can get without completely being in the South China Sea.

I've checked it out online and am happy to report that there is NO WAY that we will ever be cold there, or thirsty. We will be in a sub-tropical location during monsoon season. That is something I never pictured myself doing-it's funny the twists and turns life can take you on! But I was down in New Orleans all week for work, and it has been so rainy here at home that maybe I'll be acclimated.

Anyway, I spent a lot of time on the phone on Monday re-routing our trip. I was able to use the Chinese travel agent that Jake and his friends used for their China trip. He found us reasonable tickets for short notice. So it's all coming together. I will say that I have to laugh when I think of the 2 hour bus ride that Mom and I will have to endure to get to our final destination. I'm picturing an old bus jam packed with weary Chinese workers heading home, and then Mom and me. I'll try to snag a picture to capture the essence.

So I am very excited to go. I have no idea what is in store for the trip-only my wild imagination. We have one week left. I put together a list of "to-do's" and it's pretty long, but my adrenaline is pumping so bring it on!

1 and 39

2010-05-27T04:20:00.000-07:00

Jake is 1 day away from leaving for Wuhan, China. I can't believe that he actually leaves tomorrow morning! Farewell, Jake and so-long good-night sleep! See you in 18 days!

Meanwhile, 39 days to go until Mom and I leave. I received and email from the coordinator who lives in Kunming. She said the local governments are still trying to decide where we will be teaching. I am eager to find out where we will be. Yunnan is a very diverse province. It could be that we are up in the mountains close to Tibet (cold) or that we are down in the river valley near Vietnam (hot). It will be important to know so that we can pack properly. We are only allowed to take one carry on that weighs no more than 45lbs, and one small carry on.

I've been working hard on our lesson plans. Mom is going to be my assistant in the classroom-that is going to be a huge help! The organization has sent us these manuals with a theme lesson for each day and then several optional activities that go with each lesson. I flew out to Rapid City and back on Tuesday and was able to really dig into it on the plane. I was working through one of the lessons when someone tapped me on the shoulder and asked where I was going. It turned out that I was surrounded by middle school English teachers on their way to a competition in Knoxville. They were so interested and offered tips for my own class. It was really neat to be able to share the upcoming experience with them. They just kept asking questions and wanted to know more and more. I knew this opportunity would allow me to meet people in China and to share in their lives, what I didn't think about on the front end was how it would allow me opportunities to share in the lives of others that I interact with while I'm still here. It is very cool!

Page turners

2010-05-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks at the Allen house. Strangely enough, Jake and another friend from school got an invitation for an all expenses paid trip to travel to China with their buddy who is a Chinese foreign exchange student. He leaves at the end of May for 2 1/2 weeks so all my plans for acquiring our visas and getting our vaccinations have all been bumped up a month to accommodate Jake's trip. He is excited-I will be a nervous wreck while he's gone.

Anyway-aside from all of the logistics that need my attention, I have been sticking my nose in a variety of books to help me prepare. The latest books were "The Bonesetter's Daughter" by Amy Tan and "Lost on Planet China" (I can't remember that author). The first one is a novel that I would highly recommend, it is a very good story that spans a Chinese family's lives for 3 generations. The second is the memoirs of a guy who is trying to decide if he wants to move his family to China, he travels all over the country and he gives a humor-filled account of his mishaps. That one was a bit scary-he didn't put the best light on things. It actually made me a bit more nervous for the two trips that are coming up. I gave both of the books to Mom, I warned her but I'm afraid she might have second thoughts when she reads the second one. The good thing is that the author actually liked Yunnan. It was the only place that he visited that he gave the impression that he liked, and that is the province we will be staying in.

Fundraiser Fun!

2010-04-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

How to come up with the much needed funds for airline tickets and cost for the trip? How about Lenten dinners, Sunday breakfasts, Easter banners, a garage sale, and a Mother's Day Dash'N'Dine?

As soon as the paperwork was turned in, we jumped right in and began the fundraisers. It's been pretty exciting to see how eager people are to help out. After only two months, I'm pretty close to my goal. The rest will go towards Mom's expenses.

Today Mom and I held a spur-of-the-moment garage sale in conjunction with her neighborhood's garage sale days. We quick pulled a few items from each house and then whipped up some cookies, brownies, bratwurst, and hot dogs and set up shop.

We had a steady crowd and sold all but 4 hot dogs. We didn't sell very much of our -ok, I'll admit it-junk, but we the food items we sold made the event worth our time.

Tomorrow is another breakfast. It's been fun to see what new recipes Mom comes up with. She has a lot of fun with that side of things.

Ni Hao! (Hello) Here is the scoop.....

2010-04-24T15:50:00.000-07:00

Wow! Thanks for joining me on this adventure. It's been two months since I felt moved to sign up as a volunteer to go to China to teach English. I'll be joining a team of around 10 people from around the U.S., all of them complete strangers except my mother who decided to join me! We will leave the beginning of July and come home the first part of August. One of the exciting twists is that we will be traveling to Yunnan China. My family and I were there a little over 4 years ago when we adopted our now 10-year old daughter. So I will be working in her home province. Neat!

We have to raise our own funds to pay for travel, so my mother and I began that process at the end of February. We've had such a generous outpouring of support in such a short amount of time! It is really exciting to see it come together so quickly. He is so amazing!

I thought it might be nice for people to follow along with the progress before, during, and after the trip. I am learning so much already-I really want to share with anyone who will listen. So welcome to my blog and xie xie (thank you) for your support!