I'm Still Alive!

Hello everyone!

I realize that it has been over a month since I have written a blog update! How embarrasing... I could say that I am just sooo busy doing awesome things, that I haven't had time! This is partly true, but mostly I am just terrible at writing blog entries! I apologize. I will try to improve. :)

I will give y'all a quick summary of my last month here. I have done many things and have many updates, but I will not bore you with an entire novel! Here is a summary of my month in China:

I started teaching towards the end of September. I am teaching non-English majors, and they are all freshmen! They are so adorable. Most of their English is quite impressive! This makes it easier to teach them some more complicated topics, and deeper issues. So far, teaching has been pretty fun. I still get kind of nervous before each class, but it is getting easier each week.

At the beginning of October, we had a break for the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. We got a week off! It was so fun. I did some traveling during this week with my other teacher friends. We went to Dalian for a couple days. This is a city up north, with some nice beaches. We did some sight-seeing here, but avoided the water (Chinese beaches are a little different...just saying.) We also traveled to Beijing during this week. Beijing is so awesome! I will probably be visiting the city about once a month. I like to go there when I'm feeling a bit homesick. There are a ton of Western-style restaurants (including Starbucks!!) and also some of my favorite retail stores (i.e. H&M.) I was also able to do some exploring and shopping around the tourist areas. I got some good stuff at the Silk market, but learned that I'm not a huge fan of bartering...so much pressure!

The rest of October was fairly routine, consisting of classes, English corner (a club), lunch with students, Saturday nights at our favorite coffee shop Tony's, and hang out times with the team and students.

At the end of October, we threw a Halloween party for the students on campus. We had over 200 students come! It was so fun, but intense. We did some dancing, scary stories, games, and trick or treating around campus. The kids loved it. I was in charge of decorations and music for the night. I made a large paper tree, and some cute bats that hung from a string (just to name a few.) Kelley and I also made a couple Jack-O-Lanterns for decoration. My mom sent a large fake pumpkin to carve! I was so excited. Haha. I also dressed up as a tree for Halloween. I didn't have a costume, so I took advantage of the leaves on campus and made a necklace and bracelets of leaves. I also made a nest in my hair! Complete with leaves, twigs, and a couple fake eggs. The kids were a little confused, but I was proud. However, I ran out of time, so I had to wear the nest in my hair during my last class of the day. Needless to say, it was hard for them to take me seriously that day. Overall, Halloween was a huge success!

Last weekend, I was privelege to take part in a basketball tournament! Don't be fooled by the exclamation point. I was not that excited about it. The staff was asked to be a part of the tournament, and I might have been guilted into it...oh well. I think they learned REALLY fast that not all Americans are good at basketball! This week, my boss/friend Dane came to visit from America. He visited our classes and spent time encouraging us and taking us out to dinner! It was a great time. I was a bit nervous to have him visit my class, but it went pretty well.

So there you have it. A summary of my last month in China!! I am sorry for the abundance of words...I tend to do that. I will try not to wait so long next time!! Also, my roommate Kelley is SUPER good at blogging!! She has an excellent blog that shows the last month in pictures and words. There are lots of pictures of me in her blog, so you should check it out! Especially since I have been so bad at updating my blog...haha. Enjoy: http://kelleyschinasong.blogspot.com

Proof of my Existence in China

As I looked through my last blog post, I realized that I neglected to include any pictures of my time in China. How else is anyone supposed to believe that I am truly across the world?! Geez. So, here are a few pictures around my campus, with friends, etc. I have yet to document my apartment. But, every good chapter needs a cliff hanger, right? Stay tuned until next time!

 

Where to begin...let's start by explaining my current morning routine. Each morning, I receive a delightful wake-up call from my darling freshmen standing about 10 feet from my window. If you find yourself struggling to get out of the bed in the morning, I would suggest hiring 20-25 kids to yell "1,2,3,4" outside of your window. It is more effective if it is spoken in Chinese, however. If that doesn't work, have them stomp around a bit while they are at it. It works for me! Here is a picture of the freshmen in there military training gear. So precious.

 

During the day, I often like to go exploring and meet some of the students on my campus! So far, I have met some really nice students. Yesterday, one of the students (Keira) gave Kevin, Katie and I a tour of my campus. The campus is beautiful! In the picture above, you can see part of the track. The track runs right behind my apartment, giving me a lovely view of the students strolling past. Here are some more pictures of my campus!!

 

Here is the path we take to get from our apartment to the main road. It goes directly through campus.



View of our apartment building from the track.



A random statue in the middle of campus.

A path and stuff.

 

A fun bridge on campus.

A gorgeous pagoda on campus!

My fellow teacher/friend Katie. Oh, and me too.



The main teaching building that I will have my classes in!

 

My friends Katie, Kevin and Keira. Keira and Katie are attempting to make a heart with their arms, but Kevin got in the way...


 

Keira (tour guide/new friend) and me!

 

Now you have a glimpse of the lovely campus that I get to walk around every day. I also travel around other parts of Qinhuandao on a daily basis. We often travel to the local grocery store, as well as the larger grocery store (similar to Walmart) that is downtown. This store is called Tesco. I will be sure to upload some pictures around town as my time here continues. Here is one to tithe y'all over. It is a picture from our first time downtown.

 

Me, Katie, and my lovely roommate Kelley
 

You might be tired of looking at all of these pictures, but I have a couple more for you!! You have seen a hint of my daily life in Qinhuangdao thus far. Here are a couple pictures from my night life here. Mostly, I love to spend time with the team or have a laid back night at home. But occasionally, we like to have little adventures. Last Friday, Katie, Kevin and I went to the KTV with some new Chinese friends. KTV is a karaoke chain that is super popular in China. You sit in a small room and proceed to humiliate yourself in front of people that you may or may not have met 10 minutes prior. It is rather enjoyable. And some people here take it very seriously!! Don't worry, I will spare you pictures of this event. Consider yourself lucky.

 

Last Saturday, our team went to a coffee shop downtown. It is owned by a very friendly man named Tony. Alex and Brett often sing here on Saturday nights. It is a very cute place, and they have excellent milk shakes!! I can easily see this place becoming a favorite hang-out spot. Here are a couple pictures from our night there:

 

Nancy and Keira! Very adorable. If you didn't figure it out yet, this "heart" pose is quite the rage in China. Much like the peace sign...
 

The lovely couple: Alex and Brett. How darling.

Katie, Kelley, ME, Brett. Love this group!


I have been busy with lots of other fun things here in China. It has been an awesome time to get to know the team, get used to life in Qinhuangdao, and start learning a bit of Mandarin!! I have also started brainstorming ideas for my classes that will begin in two weeks. It has been nice to have the time off. After all, I do tend to move a little slower than some. So it is good for me to have the extra time.

We also had our first "English Corner" tonight. This will be a weekly event where students who want to learn English are able to come and talk to us, converse about important issues, play games, etc. It was a great time for me to finally meet some more students! I am so excited to see where my new friendships will take me. More updates to come!!

Oh, and I am including a bonus picture for y'all. (Sorry for all of the "y'alls" in my blog. You can blame my Texan friend Katie for that.) Anyways, among our other fun weekly activities, I try to spend plenty of time with the girls on my team. They are awesome! This week, we decided it would be fun to make a terribly cheesy dance video set to 80's pop music. It was quite incredible. While making the video, Alex and Katie thought it would be a fun idea to fro my hair out. Naturally, I thought it would be a good idea (and not at all humiliating) to post it online...here you go!

 To answer your question, no it is not a wig. Well folks, I hope you  have enjoyed this blog update. I also hope that you were brave enough and awake enough to make it to this point. I tend to be a little wordy... I will try to update again soon!!
 



You know you're in China when...

Well, here I am. In china at last!! I'm sorry that it has been so long since I have written a blog update. It has been insanely CRAZY to say the least. Crazy AWESOME! Ok, well, that might not always be the case...as I am going through lots of adjustments, etc. But it has been pretty awesome. Here is a miniature summary of what I have been up to while in China (please excuse the lack of pictures...I will get to that eventually):

It took us quite some time to get to Qinhuangdao China. It was a delightful(?) journey indeed. We started out with an hour drive to the Dulles Airport in D.C. We then boarded a 14 hour flight to Beijing, followed by a 4 hour bus ride to Qinhuangdao. I was pleased once we finally arrived!! It was fun to see parts of China during our bus ride, but I was also so tired and slightly delirious...so it was hard to experience the full value of the journey.

 Kelley and I stayed at a hotel near our school the first night that we were in Qinhuangdao. We were moving into Brett's old apartment, so he needed time to move out, etc. The following day, we helped Brett move his things out, and we started to settle in! The apartment is pretty nice. It needed some heavy-duty cleaning, but I think it will be a lovely place to live once we fully settle in. I will add pictures once we have everything in order! We have a kitchen, one bathroom (a small room with toilet, sink and shower head in one open space...yay for wet floors!), two bedrooms, and a nice living room. My room is quite lovely and has a view of the university's track field. This allows me to watch students walk around in circles. This helps to entertain me during the slower times of the day (don't worry, I am only a little bit creepy.) Our apartment is located right next to campus, so we are able to walk to class and see our students very easily!

On Saturday, my fellow teachers (Brett, Kevin and Kelley) and I found out what our teaching schedules will be for the following semester. I will be teaching Oral English. Basically, I will be helping the students develop their conversational skills, while also teaching them about the American culture. I am also hoping to stir up some meaningful and thought-provoking conversations with my students! I will be teaching 8 classes of freshmen each week. Since all of my students are freshmen, I won't actually start teaching for another 4 weeks! Freshmen have military training for the first 4 weeks of class (only in China...) so I will have some more time to prepare before I start in on the fun. During this mini vacation, I plan to learn some Chinese, visit with students, wander the streets of Qinhuangdao, adjust to my new home, and prepare for my new job!! I am hoping to continue to stay busy. So far, I am finding that this will NOT be a problem. There are so many things to do and see here.

Now you know a little about my daily life in China. But, I'm sure you're curious about the fun little quirks of China that tend to make every little task a bit more interesting... Instead of typing everything out, I will just write down some highlights about life in China. Enjoy!

You know you're in China when:

1. You feel like an exhibit at the art museum...or zoo.
2. It takes a week to learn how to tell the taxi driver your destination. And then you still end up 10       minutes from your desired location.
3. Every meal is fried and greasy. Well, I guess that isn't much different from my normal diet...
4. You are the one that people speak loudly and slowly to. Turns out it doesn't help to repeat things over and over at a louder decibel and slower speed...it's still Chinese.
5. People are very hospitable and kind to their friends (and often us foreigners.)
6. You find a stuffed Pomeranian at the market. And I don't mean a cute stuffed animal you can find at Toy's R Us.
7. People are blow drying a puppy on the side of the road.
8. Lines at the grocery store are non-existent. And if you aren't tapping the person in front of you with your cart, you are moving TOO slow!
9. Two wooden twigs are considered utensils.
10. Things change constantly!
11. Things can tend to move even slower than me...it's a rare thing to see.
12. Running red lights is considered normal, and absolutely necessary.
13. Frogger is very popular game! Only, you play it every day while crossing the street. Slightly more terrifying, but much more rewarding.
14. Medical examinations often include suction cups, sketchy x-rays, an ultrasound, and blood sample.
15. Small children wear split pants. And this is no accident. How else would you be able to go to the bathroom on the side of the street? Common sense folks.
16. Everything feels unfamiliar, and yet it just feels right. :)

My list could go on forever, but I will just have to wait until another time. Overall, China has been a crazy experience. So many changes. It is hard to describe it in a simple blog post. Over time, I hope to record all of my fun experiences, pictures, my fun travels, and my heart during this adventure of my life. I know that this year will be hard, unfamiliar, exciting, fun, and a time for growth and learning. I can't wait to see how it will all unfold!!

Training for a Life of Spontaneity

Before heading to China, I made a pit stop in Baltimore Maryland for training. When I got to Baltimore, I was able to finally meet Dane and Jo. They are the two from ELT Edge that hired me, and they are in charge of training and helping us out while we are in China. It was awesome to be able to finally talk to them in person and really get to know them. They are a great couple and have already been such a support for all of us teachers. Throughout training, we stayed at a lovely house that belonged to one of the ELT Edge board members. It was a beautiful area, and a great place to feel at home while we learned all about China. Training week was very helpful! We spent time learning about the Chinese culture, our goals and vision for the year, and lots of team building! We were even able to do a high ropes course one day. It was quite enjoyable. I pretended to be super adventurous about it, but I was definitely a bit nervous. Haha.

I also finally got to meet my new team for the year! There are seven teachers overall. We are split up between 3 different Universities. I will be teaching at the Northeast University (aka Dongda) along with Brett, Kelley and Kevin. Alex and Katie will be teaching together at the Hebei Normal University of Science and Technology (aka Sci-tech.) And finally, Danny will be teaching at the Hebei Vocational College of Foreign Languages (aka Nandaihe.) All of the universities are within 45 minutes of each other, so we will all see each other every Sunday at least. We will also have a girls night each week. Yay!

I was so excited to meet our team. I was curious to see how we would get along and work together. Turns out, we have an awesome dynamic! I have loved getting to know everyone so far. We have all been able to laugh together about ridiculous things, but we are also able to open up and talk about deep stuff. I have a feeling it will a great year with these folks!! Here is a picture of the team, so that you can get an idea of all the crazy kids that I will be living life with:

Picture Caption (Starting from left to right): Alex Ianno - kind, outgoing, hilarious, honest and beautiful heart, Nikki Stoll - curly hair, slightly awkward, enjoys long walks on the beach, Danny Beall - smart, also hilarious, great story teller, Kevin DeKreek - curly hair, California surfer (obvi) witty, Brett Hine - quite intelligent, team leader, funny, Katie Worthen - bubbly, lovable, honest, quirky in the best way possible, Kelley Wolbert - sweet, kind, warm and open heart, future roommate!

Going into the week of training, I was definitely nervous for the year ahead. After training, I was even more nervous...haha. But it really helped me to envision and prepare for the real China that I would be stepping into. I was excited to get to China and start living this adventurous and exciting lifestyle that I heard all about!!

I'll be there in a Jif!

 

You may ask yourself: "Why is there a picture of peanut butter on a blog about China?" Well, I will tell you:

1. I love peanut butter. I once asked for a jar of peanut butter for my birthday. It was such a delightful gift. I enjoyed every little morsel of my precious peanut butter. (I later realized that my parents got off easy for gifts that year...)

2. One of the first questions that I asked when I found out I would be teaching in China for a year was: "Can I buy peanut butter there?" This is a true and valid concern.

3. I love a good pun.

Anywho, back to blogging business. It is official: I will be leaving Colorado on Thursday! I am heading to Baltimore, MD for a week of training. While at training, I will finally be able to meet my fellow teachers! I am excited to meet them and learn a thing or two about what I'm getting myself into.

We will leave for China on August 23rd. Yay!! We will be flying into Beijing, and then traveling four hours east to the city of Qinhuangdao. This will be my new home for the next 10 months! I am so excited, and also a tad bit nervous. I will be teaching at the Northeastern University. I am hoping to connect with the students here, and fully embrace the new culture! I will try to update y'all with my new adventures. (Whether you like it or not.)

And don't you worry, I will post the minute that I find me some good ole peanut butter. In the meantime, I have an emergency supply in my suitcase.