These are my babies!

Lulu, Lisa, Nobu, Jason



Bryce, Mandy, Maggie, Rain



Nathan, Bella, Kevin, Alita

I'm so sad. Today is my last day teaching the babes. Ever. Until we leave and I'm going to miss them so much. I loved it. They were a lot of fun to teach and it was neat to be able to watch their improvement in the month that Abs and I taught them. I know it's terrible, but let me just point out my favorites for you. Lulu, Bryce, Maggie, Bella, Alita, and Kevin :)

...."why?"

We went to the Bank today, and the following conversation took place with one of the Bank workers. Ha. This guy is there every time we are there and he is so funny.

So there are 3 of us and we're sitting in the waiting chairs inside the bank for Jilly and Brianna who are exchanging money at the counter. He walks over to us and says, slowly and in broken English, "Can I help you?" We smiled and nicely told him we were just waiting for our friends. We expected him to just walk away but he didn't. He just lingered, and then he said, "You all are from where?" We replied, "We are from America." and he said, "Oh. You all so beautiful" ha, followed by a cute, sheepish little grin, and of course we said, "oh, xie xie." Then... the funny part, Mikelle asked him, "Do you have an English name?" and he just looked at her for a minute and then said, "Why?" Uhhh... Mikelle: "Well, it is just easier for us to remember English names, do you have one?" and after a long pause and a puzzled expression he said, "... Okay!" haha.

I absolutely love communicating with people here. Even the ones that do speak English, which we are so grateful for... it's fun to interact with them.

This may seem silly.

Being in another country, away from home and familiarity... I have found that often I will think of things that I can't wait to do when I get home. You know that feeling you get when you are really excited about something and you really would just love to scream that's how excited about it you are but you don't so you kind of scream inside and smile uncontrollably because you're so excited. It's like a giddy child-like emotion. Ha. This is going to sound funny, cause if I were reading this, I'd expect something sappy and girly like 'I can't wait to date again' (again? ha... who am I kidding?) But it's definitely not anything like that. It's really quite silly, but so true. When I get home, I cannot wait to mow my lawn with the driving lawn mower that we just inherited. It seems odd, but I can't wait. Ah! How fun! I get so enthused at the thought. Hmmmm, what else? When I find carpet, I am going to throw myself onto it and just lie there. Maybe. I love carpet. It has been so missed.

I don't know. It doesn't matter. I just know that on our way home today, I passed a few workers mowing the lawn and I just got so excited. I talked to Jordan yesterday and he was telling me how great it is doing the lawn with the riding lawn mower and I just got so excited again today. It smelt just like a Saturday morning in Cornville, AZ mowing the lawn. Mmmmmmm. It's funny how sometimes in the moment, growing up... we hated it. Do I really have to mow the lawn? We just mowed it a week ago. How could I get out of it? If I just put it off long enough, I'll have to go to soccer or work, and then I won't have to :) I remember wishing it would rain so we didn't have to mow it. But then we grew up, and it became a great opportunity to enjoy the weather and get some sun. And now we look back and think of how much fun we had doing it!

So... 'I call mowing the lawn the first weekend I'm home!' You're off the hook Jordan :)

Mid-Semester Visits

Wow. Today was a long time coming. Steve from the ILP offices came to our school today for a mid semester visit. He spent the day with us. He observed our teaching, interviewed us each individually, we had a group meeting, and then we went to walking street with him. I was so nervous for him to be here and watch our teaching. And of course, my class came unglued the moment he walked in. That would happen. :) We were making hand print flowers with paint today. So I painted the kids hands and helped them put it on the paper, then we'd wash hands and it was very organized and went great in my first class. But the class Steve sat in on went bazurk! Nathan tore up everything I gave him, the kids didn't say anything but "I don't want",coloring got really old, and Jason spilled paint all over my shirt. However, an upside to his visit... he was really funny and very nice, we got some useful tips and some great constructive advice that will hopefully help us in the future, and MOST importantly, he brought us all a favorite American candy bar. Oh YES! Symphony Milk Chocolate with Almond and Toffee bits baby! Mmmmm. They do have chocolate here, it's just not what I choose to spend my money on, and it is just not the same. That was a lovely surprise.

I inherited a necklace today. In a weird sort of way. Jeanie, the new Bond teacher from Canada gave it to me. I walked in and simply complimented her on her outfit. I told her she looked very cute, then I noticed her necklace and I told her how much I loved it. It's a beautiful necklace, very authentic. It's from Africa and it was made for her. So just like that, she took it off, and handed it to me. She said, "Do you love it?" and I said, "Yes, it's beautiful. It looks great on you" and she said, "okay then it is yours" and she handed it to me. Uh.... I felt horrible. I STILL feel horrible. She told me later she said that she has so much jewelry and accessories that when people compliment her things, and she can tell that they really love them, she has to give it to them. She told me that she wore that necklace today with the intent of giving it away and she told me that she had a feeling it would be me who would end up with it. She is a sweetheart. But it doesn't feel right to keep it, especially because of how authentic and special it is. Evidently she gives her things away all the time. She's already given away another pair of earrings. I don't know if it is part of her culture, or if she is just that sweet. Jeanie really is a neat girl.

Tonight we were visited by a couple of police men. For the first time in the [almost] 4 months that we've been here, we have yet to have policeman knocking on our apartment door at night until tonight. Because we don't speak Chinese, and they don't speak English, the purpose of their visit remains unknown. They knocked, we answered, they tried to communicate, we tried to communicate. We couldn't. They couldn't. So they left. Hmmmm, curious.

A Picnic On A Beautiful Day!

What a perfect day it was! It was a gorgeous, clear spring day! Blue skies full of big white clouds, a cool breeze, sun shining... OH! So good! So, to take advantage of such a lovely day, I took a bike ride after breakfast down to a little stream on the side of the main road. There are beautiful lilly pads and lotus flowers in it and I keep telling myself I'm going to go down there. So I did. I brought a book, and just soaked it up. Mmmmm.

Later in the afternoon, we met with Jesse, one of the Chinese teachers... for a picnic. The plan was to meet up with her and JoJo and Wendy, but Wendy and JoJo couldn't make it last minute so Jesse came and she was so much fun. She met us at the Vanguard stop and we walked to one of the city parks. On the way.... we passed the wall I love! The one I wrote about earlier. Faded, old, dirty, yellow, blue, brick... it is wonderful. I love it.

We invited Jesse, Wendy, and JoJo to the picnic so we provided food but we didn't want it to be too expensive so we bought a loaf of bread, one bunch of bananas, some peanut butter and a few side snacks... crackers, fruit. And we made peanut butter and banana sandwiches! ha. And Jesse brought some snacks too. Dried squid, these yummy coconut things, some tomato chip things. I didn't think I'd like the squid but I loved it. It was way yummy. Really chewy. We played games, and took pictures, and Abs taught Jesse some dance moves, and she tried to teach us, ha. It was really fun, and it was just such a pretty day to be out and enjoying the great weather we had.

We got home and had a little cleaning party, during which we decided to rearrange our living room. I LOVE rearranging furniture and mixing things up every once in a while. It is so fun and such a great, happy feeling to have a clean organized place to live!

...

Sweet Rain had a siezure today. We were outside with the babies playing Red Light, Green Light when it happened. He hadn't been acting normal all through our classes so I knew he wasn't feeling well. It's so hard to watch such a little body struggle like that. I can't even imagine that being my child.

Shangri La Hotel....

So it was Brianna's birthday today... and little Cardstons... Happy Birthday to them! The four of us in our apartment woke up real early and blew up some balloons and walked them over to the other apartment with a big Birthday sign and hung it up and threw balloons everywhere for her birthday. That was fun. And we had cake later.

This evening, Abby and I originally had plans to go on a home visit but Aiden's mother invited the seven of us teachers to join her, Tina, and Aiden for dinner. So... because they are so influential at the school we couldn't really refuse even if we wanted to. I don't know why we'd want to. They took us to a five star hotel... it's a famous line all over Asia called The Shangri La Hotel. Maybe you've heard of it :) It was beautiful! and the best part. AH! We got to the restaurant, and it was a Western food buffet. Western food as in, AMERICAN... like Mashed potatoes, sea foods, beef, steaks, fruit, COLD salad, garlic bread, pasta, ICE CREAM! Ummmmm. Yes. Besides, Pizza Hut once and a McDonalds ice cream cone here and there, we haven't eaten Western food since we left for China in January.

Before we started, we decided that it was fair to say that we would probably be uncomforably full by the end of that meal because really, how often do we get that kind of food? ... and it would be an understatement to say, that we were infact all VERY uncomfortably full by the end of our meal. And when it was the end to us, Aiden's mom kept telling us to get more because we still had a half hour to get more food before they closed the buffet, so not wanting to be rude, we did. I've never felt so sick in my entire life. I had a food baby. I felt like there was another human being inside of me. And when I woke up the next morning, I woke up still feeling sick with a food baby. Bluh. Gross. But it was delicious, it really was. Funny though. I don't know why we all reacted that way. We will eat Western food again, and it will be soon enough. But I guess when you're in a foreign country and all you eat is rice, meat and vegetables every day... some good carbs and dairy can do great things for your heart and mind :)

It was so sweet of them to take us out though. It was not cheap taking all 7 of us out to a nice restaurant like that, and they were so generous to do that. It was fun interacting with Aiden outside of class too. He is definitley one of two of the best speakers the ILP program has at Bond and it blows my mind how smart he is at only age 5. He's a cutie.

Home Visits

The last couple of weeks we have been doing home visits to our students homes to meet their parents and talk with them about their kids improvement, behaviors, strengths, weaknesses, etc, and I think it's been one of the best parts of all this thus far. It gives us an opportunity to 1) see our students and spend time with them outside of class 2) meet and interact with their parents, and 3) learn and experience more of the Chinese culture behind closed doors.

Our first visit was to Alita/Anita's house. [Her first english name was Lisa, and that's who she was in Winter camp so that's what I know her as, but the Chinese teachers changed it to Anita/Alita. I say that because one day it's Anita, the next it's Alita. Poor thing.] Her mother is gorgeous, which is completely irrelevant, I'm just sayin'. We drove up in the bus and I was expecting an apartment because NO ONE lives in houses. They just don't, and we never hear about it. People just live in apartment complexes, but we pulled up to this GORGEOUS house in a GORGEOUS neighborhood not far from us. The car stopped in front of the house and the gate to the house lit up and opened on it's own. A beautiful very elegant gate. The house was beautiful. Everything was so beautiful. Every wall piece, rug, picture, ceiling fixture! There were chandeliers in every hallway and room. Bright lighting, mirrored walls, a grand piano, beautiful tiled floors. It was all very elegant and very charming. I've never seen anything like it. Anita [2 yrs old mind you] had a bigger room than my entire apartment last semester. She had a queen size bed, a wide flat screen TV, a mini pool table, key board, her own bathroom with a lowered sink and mirrors for her height, a vanity, and my personal favorite... a dresser with 80 pairs of shoes in it. PUH! She is certainly one spoiled little girl :) We're told and reminded occassionally how well off the parents of our students are, but spending the evening in that home really engrained it for me.

What a sweet mom though. Her father wasn't home unfortunately, but we got to sit and visit with her mom a little bit. She didn't speak any English so our English speaking Chinese teacher translated for us when we spoke, otherwise we just listened, picking up on random words or phrases every once in a while. It's so fun when you are learning a new language, to sit and listen and actually be able to comprehend parts of what is being said. A fun feeling.

We also visited Rain's house later that same evening. Both his mother and father were home and his father speaks a little English so it was nice to be able to communicate with him. Rain was so fun. He is just all smiles at school now that he has warmed up to us, but he was putting on a show for us that night. He brough us, one by one, every toy car in his toy bin... which is a lot! :) It makes me so happy though when the kids respond and react to us outsideo of class. That is so good.

Maggie's home was a couple nights later and I really enjoyed that home visit. Her family just moved here in the last year from Canada, so her Dad speaks English fluently. I was shocked when he spoke for the first time. He hardly had an accent even. Excellent pronunciation. It is so different to be in the homes and to observe the way the children act with their parents and respond to discipline (if there is any discipline... seems to be lacking with a number of our students :) and just interacts as a whole. Maggie was a little terror during our home visit but she is excellent in class. She is an angel. She speaks well, follows directions, gives hugs (always a great bonus) ... but in her home I wanted to give her a good spanking! Not really appropriate, ha.

Anyway. We have a number of other students we need to visit and I'm looking forward to them. It's a neat opportunity we have.

Rain, Maggie

4.14

April 14th of this year, South China suffered a massive earthquake that has declared 1,000+ dead already. Today at the school we had 3 minutes of silence with all of China and the Chinese teachers prepared a short presentation for the kids to try to explain to them and help them understand what had happened. It's unbelievable how fast these things happen, people are gone just like that. This has been one of a handful of earthquakes this year and things will only get worse, no doubt. It was neat to be able to mourn and share those feelings with our school and the teachers we work with today.

Fake Money

Evidently, an ATM I withdrew money from on Saturday dispensed me 3 fake 100 RMB bills. Yes. At the time I didn't have a clue and I was rushing to make the next bus to Guangzhou so I just took the money and left.

There were a few times in Guangzhou at different times this weekend where I tried to use the money but they would always refuse it and give it back. I was so confused! They always always always check the money here, hold it up to the light, do what they do just like they do in the States but I never actually thought fake money came around. If you recall, I mentioned earlier, I tried to pay the taxi driver with one of my 100's and that's the reason he gave it back, because it was fake. When I went to go home on Sunday I tried to buy my ticket and John took it and jokingly suggested that it looked fake and I said, “oh right. I'm pretty sure it's not fake...” and then I gave her the bill to pay and she declined it and John said, “oh my goodness! It is fake, let me see that!...” ha... so he checked the rest of my bills and sure enough, the ATM dispensed me fake money, which is not necessarily uncommon to happen at banks occasionally or in stores, especially to foreigners but coming from an ATM it is VERY rare. So today I took the money into school and asked Cherry and Tina if there was any way I could take it into the bank with one of them and get it switched out, and unfortunately they told me I can't because I didn't say anything right when it happened. Shucks. I'm so disappointed, that's a good chunk that I'm out now. BUT, a great lesson learned. I now know how to distinguish real and fake money and it will certainly not happen again.

In America, it seems like if someone tried to buy something with a fake bill a big deal would probably be made... but not here. They just look at it, shake their heads and give it back. 'Oh! Fake money? No problem. Try again with real money next time!' :) Kind of funny.

dui, dui, dui

Let me see. Where to start. The last few days I was in Guangzhou with John & Sonia... and a handful of noteworthy events took place.

For starters...
I got to Guangzhou and went to hail a cab to John and Sonia's... only to be refused by every one of the drivers. I finally figured out I had exited on the wrong side of the station and the taxi's were going the opposite direction than I needed to go. So I turned around and walked back through the train station. During my route, I happened to stumble upon quite a sight. This was something we heard of happening before we came, but aside from little children, I had yet to see it happen until now. There was a woman... who was squatting, going #2... in the middle of the bus station (outdoors) with people all around her. I did a double take... and just laughed. Absolutely disgusted, naturally...but for some reason, it was really funny to me. No one stared, it was like it was perfectly normal. So... I guess next time I have to go and I can't find a washroom... easy solution, I'll just go. :) Anyway... the story continues.

So I proceed to find another taxi and ask him if he could take me to the address I had written down. He tells me he will do it for 100 yuan. ONE HUNDRED YUAN! Ummm, no. Absolutely not. I had come into this bus station before and I knew that their home was only about 2 kilometers from the station which costs no more than 7 yuan. So I told him, Tai gui le! And left. Next cab driver told me 50. After hailing a number of cabs and trying all of them... the cheapest price I could get was 50 yuan. I would have walked if I thought I could get there... and if John and Sonia weren't already expecting me an hour prior to the current time. So, very relentlessly I consented and took the 50 yuan offer. I got in the cab and again told him Tai gui le! I was very upset and he just laughed and rolled his eyes, and began to try to make small talk. He asked me if I was coming from Shenzen and I told him.... “Wo shi ying wen lao shi zai Zhongshan. Wo shi Meiguoren.” By that time, we were there... ( yeah! That's how close we were to their house and he charged me FIFTY RMB. Little punk!) and I handed him one of my 100 bills to break, and he looked at it, examined it … and gave it back. So like a silly, naïve American I thought he was thinking, 'oh... I made friends with a nice American and it really was so much closer than I thought... I just won't charge her anything.' ha. FAT CHANCE. So I said, “oh...xie xie...” haha... It makes me laugh just to think I really thought that. HA! He looked at me as if to say, 'thanks for what? Give me my money!' So I again gave him the 100 and he for some reason would not take it so I very optimistically flipped through my bills for the exact amount of 50 and I found one and gave it to him. Again, he looked at it and gave it back, pointing to a ripped corner. So demanding those cab drivers are.... so I said, “Mei you!” Which means don't have … and I gave him the 50 again and shut the door. Oh man! And... he didn't have a receipt machine in the cab, so I had no way to get a receipt to somehow get a reimbursement.

I got there and Sonia had a homemade Heavens to Betsy burrito waiting for me. She is SO good. They are so good! It's no wonder I'm gaining weight. John and Sonia care of that. Homemade tortilla, homemade re-fried beans, shredded beef... homemade salsa... Mmmm. So yummy. I haven't had one of those or anything like it since before I left. We spent the afternoon together, and that night Sonia and I took the girls to a big shopping mall to get a pair of pants hemmed and make a quick stop for me. We ended up spending the entire night there. We got pedicures, and Sonia took me to try some noodles from her home city. They were so spicy... beats me how I finished all of it. My lips were tingling!

We finished up around 9:30... John met us outside with a cab to go home. We put the girls down for the night, and of course, the night was young for the rest of us, because it's China! We walked to a restaurant about 10 minutes away where I tried 'patty chicken' which is just another, less direct name for Bullfrog. :) It was a hot pot. They brought us the pot with the frogs already in it, and then they brought out a number of other raw dishes for us to cook. Lamb, tofu, lettuce, seaweed, and... pig brain. I recommend all of it. I loved the bull frog! That was delicious, hao chi. Seaweed, tofu, lamb, yummy... all of it. But the pig brain, I will never ever try again. The flavor, the texture, knowing what it is, it was not my favorite. Although, I have now tried it... didn't like it, and now I never have to try it again. Check. The hot pot itself was SO incredibly spicy. I was full to begin with when we arrived, so after eating all that spicy my stomach was not feeling well. It has become very clear that I do not handle spicy things too well. There were numbing peppers in the sauce also and that took action with the first bite. It eased and my taste buds got used to it I think as the meal progressed, but after that first bite, I didn't know how I was going to keep eating. Wheeew.

It was so fun though. Being there with John and Sonia enjoying their company and getting to know them together better. I just loved it, every minute of it.

We enjoyed a wonderful Sabbath day together and I headed back home around 6'o clock. Such a fun weekend.

Something to live by...

"Be so happy that when others look at you they become happy too."

A friend shared this quote with me, and... I really love it. There is so much potential in it. I LOVE to see and interact with happy people. It really is contagious, and it feels great to smile and laugh along. It sure beats sadness... or anger. Sometimes it's good to self evaluate... and make mini resolutions to be better. So I've made it a goal to make this quote something I live by; to be happy and try more diligently to express my gratitude for life in the form of a smile :)

Chinese men grow their fingernails. It kind of wierds me out. It's almost creepy. I don't really know. That sounds awful but it's so true once you see it. I was looking at a set of hands today thinking, 'oh wow, she has beautiful hands...' and then I saw him! :) I think it's great that they take such great care of their skin and hands but the nails.... eeeey, that's what gets me.

I am... going to Guangzhou again this weekend. Just me this time... and I C.A.N.T. W.A.I.T to see those little nieces of mine again!

Rain.

I think we've hit Monsoon's season. I ran home today. Not just the regular China mist but a serious Arizona down pour. That's really all I have it to compare it with. It was beautiful.

Yangshuo Vacation Pics are up!!! ... *thank you Tarah

The rooftop of our Hostel


West Street (the main stopping street in Yangshuo)


The next few are from the village we stopped at along the Li River.




It was Easter! and we saw baby Chicks. How perfect... :)













Anyo!












The gorgeous mountains surrounding the Li River






Mary Jane's Hostel

Thoughts from Spring Conference 2010

I've just spent a little while listening to conference. It's so incredible to me, the feelings of peace and happiness... I know it's such a cliche but really, that hearing a Prophets voice can do for us individually. It is so uplifting and gives me so much strength to simply hear their words and have the desire to be better. Because I know I can. I have sooo much room for improvement. But how boring would life be if we didn't have room to grow? If we were all perfect already, goals wouldn't mean anything. We would have nothing to live for.

Dieter Uchtdorfs talk really deeply touched me. We can always be more Christlike. The Savior loved the world, enough to lay down his life for us, every one of us. His life on this earth was a life spent serving and loving us. He never spoke a negative word to or about anyone. He saw every person he came in contact with as his brother or sister, and he loved them accordingly. That is amazing. I need to improve. I know that I will be happier if I re center my life around Christ and recognize the love I have for every one of my earthly brother and sisters. They deserve my love and happiness, not frustration, rudeness, judgements.

Our Savior, willingly took upon him the pains and sufferings of us all. And how great. He loved all the time. We need to be the same way. I can be more liberal with my love. Love is the inspiration that led our Savior to the garden of gethsemane. As we extend our love to others, we will become happier, the spirit will touch us and we will bless the lives of others and in turn our lives will be blessed. Christ died for all mankind, and has given us the perfect example of how we need to be. We need to love our fellow men as he loves us.

Another thing I loved was from Elder Richard G. Scott's talk, titles, "He Lives! All Glory To His Name." He said. The more we know and how well we understand our Saviors atonement for us can affect the experiences we have in life. It changes our perspective. It changes who we are. It can give the strength and motivation to get through trials and succeed in our lives. We need to, it is important to have that understanding. I want to. I want to study the atonement and really understand it, and while doing so, hopefully become closer to my Savior.

Said by President Uchtdorf, It is our reaction to adversity, not the adversity itself that defines and characterizes us. It is important that we respond with Faith and trust in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Chinese Fan Dance...

I have never been a dancer. I don't think I really ever will be, but I'd like to think that someday my view on my dancing will be similar to that of my singing. And that is, I can't! But I do it anyway, ALL THE TIME! In the meantime however, I don't have a choice. The Chinese teachers are insisting that we fan dance at the Childrens Performance Show at the end of the semester. I know what you're thinking, and I'm still trying to figure it out. It does seem odd that we are performing in a couple different routines at the CHILDREN'S performance night. Wo bu zhidao! Besides feeling ever so uncomfortable and out of my comfort zone, it is kind of cool learning the dance. It's fascinating. Really a beautiful dance.

On the other hand, put me on a soccer field... with a soccer ball, and I'd feel a little more at home :) Gosh I miss soccer.

I am coming home in 10 weeks. Uh, where did all of that time go? I cannot believe it. Time just dissolves. Pretty soon I'll be married with 12 little ones of my own. Umm....WHAAA!? WHOA DREAM BIG! If only I really could be as amazing as my mom and raise twelve children. But seriously.

So, I LOVE teaching the babies. They are a bunch of little angels. Well no. I take that back. Nathan is a terror... and so is Kevin. And so is Jason. But they are so sweet. It is more difficult to get language from the lessons, they hardly speak their own language, but it is so fun. I love these kids. I love them, all of them. Even the terrors. Jason cried all through class today. Fortunately our lessons were cut short because the Dentist came in so we had to take the kids to all get a check up. Otherwise, that poor little boy. I don't know how he cries for such long periods, straight. Must be exhausting.

Last night, I got everything done, all ready to go to bed early at 9:30.... and I layed in bed for 3 hours NOT able to sleep. I couldn't get my mind to shut off. I hate it when that happens. All too often it seems. And on top of that, I felt like there were bugs crawling all over me. But I just washed my sheets, shook out my blanket, zipped my bed net so I was sure it was just my imagination. Sure enough, I woke up this morning COVERED in bug bites! I don't know how to get them out. Ah!

Sweet Teddy...

There is a little girl in our complex. Her name is Teddy and she is about 5. I met her and her friend Vicky one day while I was exersizing. She doesn't speak a ton of English but she's learning and it's fun communicating with her. So on a fairly regular basis we will see her within our complex and she's normally with her Dad but sometimes she is with Vicky just playing. Anyway, EVERYTIME we see her... without fail, she stops what she's doing and runs over to us with a huge happy grin on her face and gives us all high fives then she runs back to whatever she was doing without a word, just so happily. It makes me so happy. She is so adorable... she never fails to lift my spirits.

Yangshuo, China... one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

Our vacation began Friday night. We left by sleeper bus from Zhongshan to Yangshuo, an 11 hour ride. Sleeper buses. Hmm. Three rows of bunk beds, all way to small for any American. They are certainly made for Chinese people. The bedding was damp. I'm sure it was nothing but the humidity, but in the moment... your imagination really gets the best of you. So you would think that being on a sleeper bus, this would involve sleep, but rather... we were entertained by the Chinese Opera on TV until 1:00 am. I had a top bunk and the television screen was placed right above me, just one bunk ahead. I had my headphones in trying to eliminate the majority of the sound, and when I took them out I couldn't believe how loud they were playing this opera, and the funny thing is... no one was watching it. Oh China. About an hour into our ride I realized how badly I needed to use the facilities. The next time I would have access to one would be at the stop they make at midway. I don't think I've ever had to go so bad in my life. Oh my, so once we got to the bathroom stop, as much as I didn't want to get out and go because of how gross I was imagining it would be... I did. I had to. And... It was definitely as gross as I imagined it and more. I will skip the details, but I will say... it was a great experience. I say that about everything now... whether I want to experience it again or not... it makes me feel better about it. Despite all that, and besides the weird Chinese man that was always staring at me, one bunk away every time I rolled over... the second half of the ride was much smoother sailing than the first.

We awoke upon arrival close to 5:00 am. We were dropped off, not at a station but just on the side of the road in the wet mist. It was still dark out, but light enough to be able to see a quite obvious change of scene. The silhouettes of the mountains were gorgeous and it wasn't even light out yet. We were approached by an English speaking man who inquired of us where it was we needed to go. We told him Monkey Jane's Hostel and he said he could get us there by taxi for 60 yuan.10 for each of us. It was a rip off, and we knew it... but it was early, dark, wet, and the streets were deserted. We felt like it was our only option. So we waited a moment, for our 'taxi' but none came. A covered motor buggy pulled up however, and the man motioned for us to get on... so, we did. He took us to Monkey Jane's where we woke up the receptionist and ended up not even checking in yet for fear they would charge us for that night. We walked down the stone streets just before sunrise and marveled at the mountains surrounding the city. It was beautiful! At 8 o'clock we checked into our 6 bed bunk suite :) … and started the day. MUD CAVES, first event on the agenda. We didn't want to loose any time... we only had 3 days in Yangshuo so we booked our mud caves adventure with the hostel just an hour or so after we checked in. We went with another American couple and had a fantastic time. Our transportation there made it an epic trip. There were 9 of us crammed into the smallest van I've ever seen. Jam, Abs and I were in the very back seat and the whole back panel of the thing was coming off. The seats flew every time we hit a bump. Ha. It was so much fun. The mud was cold... very cold... but it was worth it. We dove in, swam around in the mud, took some pictures... loved it. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures because we couldn't take camera's in... but we bought a couple prints. The caves were absolutely phenomenal, and the hot springs following were even more wonderful. Since we got here I have been saying how wonderful a hot tub would be... and those hot springs just hit the spot. It was cold, they were warm... and it felt marvelous. The bus ride out there and back was breathtaking.

We spent the majority of our Easter Sunday on the Li River. We bartered with a sweet little lady on West Street whose husband does bamboo raft rides. It was a steal! For 4 hours on the Li river, surrounded by stunning mountain formations on a cool overcast day with a cute little man and good company , we paid 20 yuan each. Which is about $3.50. The surroundings are astonishing! I have never felt so small in my entire life, just being surrounded by God's beautiful creations and being encompassed by it all. It wasn't a super clear day unfortunately, which made it hard to see the endless Gui Mountain peaks, there are so many it's unbelievable, but the river was clean. Not just compared to other rivers in China. It was very clear...we could see all the way to the bottom. A beautiful day indeed. On our way back, our driver stopped at a small village along the river. It was so great. There were chickens everywhere. We saw a mother hen with about 8 of her little chicks. It was so sweet, especially being Easter Sunday that was kind of fun. I love the little villages that we visit with the stone pathways, brick buildings, and the sweet people that inhabit them. It's so amazing. These people are so happy and appear so content. They have no technology at all. There were a number of open doorways we passed by with women just sitting and making food together, playing with their children. Abs and I were thinking how neat of an experience it would be to go and live there with them, and do what they do for a period of time. Imagine all the things that we would learn from them.

Monday was certainly a day worth mentioning.... Sunday night we were visiting with Peter, the receptionist at our hostel and Jaimie and Jillian asked him if there was any way we could go horseback riding along the river and he said he could maybe try but not likely, and if we did it would be expensive. So rather, he suggested that we ride a water buffalo. Naturally, we were all game for that. He told us to meet him at 10 o'clock in the lobby Monday morning, so we did! But not really knowing for sure if we'd be able to really ride a water buffalo. Sure enough though, Peter was ready to take us out to a water buffalo so we rented petal bikes and scooters and we rode out to the country side outside of the city a ways. It was soooo beautiful. The day Monday was less drabby and actually quite nice. A little chilly, light jacket weather but those came off not far into our bike ride. Peter rode his motorcycle at the front and we all followed behind to a smaller village just outside of Yangshuo where we met up with a friend of his, the most adorable little man I have yet to see in China. You'll understand once the pictures get posted. He was there with his water buffalo, Anyo. We each paid 10 yuan each to ride Anyo and take pictures with them. Most of us just wanted pictures of the little man, whose name unfortunately I cannot remember, and he LOVED it. I think we made him feel really good with our little photo op. :)

After leaving there, Peter wanted to take us up a little further to his hometown to show us his home and his garden. Because of all the rain the day before, our trek was more intense than we'd anticipated. A lot of it was uphill and suuuuper muddy. Four of the girls on scooters actually slid in the mud. Two shared a scooter, and two of the scooters had a hard time in the mud. Kind of really funny. Some thought it was more funny than others. I was so grateful I had a petal bike. It was really nice though, biking, enjoying the breeze and the views. We got to Peter's village and we saw his home and where he lives, and his massive gardens. It was so neat. He had beautiful gardens with tons of trees and plants. He makes a living off of selling the fruit and vegetables that he grows. Our favorite were the Kumquats. I've never had them before now, but they are like little cuties only you eat the entire thing....skin and all, and the skin is actually more sweet than the inside. Mmmm. They are so delicious.

It was really great to be able to spend the day in the country side and have our own little guided tour free of charge by a friend. And we got to visit his home and learn about him and his life and see what kind of things he does. I think it made him really happy too, to be able to take us all and show us what he holds dear to him, the things he is proud of. We didn't get to meet his family but we would have loved to. When we left, he told us all that he loved us. Ha. Oh Peter.

That night, we walked around and enjoyed the city a bit more. The city is striking and very authentic. It is filled with tourists... but the draw isn't the quaint city... it's the natural beauty all around it.

Our sleeper bus home left at 8 o'clock and it was a much more relaxed trip home than it was there. I'm really just pleased that I didn't have to use another bathroom at an early morning pit stop again. As always, it was so great to get home to Zhongshan.

Babies, Babies, Babies!

New week, new rotations. These next four weeks I will be teaching the babies. Babies referring to the 2-3 year olds. It's been two days. Wednesday and Thursday and it's not bad. It's difficult because we certainly don't get as much language out of them because they are so young, and that is discouraging... but at the same time, because they know so little... when they do get it, or they do repeat, it's that much more exciting to see them picking it up! And of coures... they are adorable. Maggie, Lulu, and Emma... hands down, my favorite. Maggie is an excellent speaker. Lulu is the only 2 year old and she is so petite and adorable, that's all... and Emma is all smiles, and all hugs, all the time. I love it. Nathan is up there. He'd be further up if he didn't rip up every arts and crafts item I made him. Wierd kid. Then there's Rain. Rain is always crying...always so sad. Poor little guy. And his little eyes are shaped like a sad little puppy dog. Brianna and Shaila has had the babies for the last few weeks and it's funny, Shaila warned us that Rain does this wierd thing where he keeps food in his mouth for hours after he has received it... and today, I understood what she was talking about. We had snack, then we taught our second lesson and halfway through it I realized he had like all of his snack still in his mouth. Uck. It's a problem. We need to fix that. All in all, I like working with the babies. They are soo sweet.

Natalya left today. She was one of the other Bond teachers from Canada. She's been here for a while, and in Thailand before that. She left back to Canada today... she'll be working on her Masters at a university there on the East coast. SOOO good for her, but we'll miss her a lot. She was really fun.

Oh Thank heaven!

My roommates are so wonderful. Their funny, their uplifting, their entertaining, and I learn something new from them everyday. Today I received a lesson on flirting. Flirting 101 as it was referred to.

First lesson of flirting: Flirting and stalking are the same thing.

........

uhh, hmm..... wh-what!? I'm not sure I understand. And she was serious. I had her explain, and for a second I thougt it might have made sense, but it really didn't. Then there is Jillian, who has a completely different view on flirting. Jillians was a bit more common, familiar at least. Ha. It's so great how different we all are. They are going to teach me how to flirt before I go home because evidently, I don't.

That'll be great. Looking forward to it.