In the kitchen...

This will be posted later but I thought I'd give you live updating of our Chinese adventure that is Thanksgiving lunch. 

Friday
10:30
I'm waiting on the bus to head out to Zion to start making a huge Thanksgiving lunch. 

2:07 
We have everything cut. The chicken is in the rice cooker as well as the free bean casserole. Complete with fried onion crunches. We'll start those later with the rice and the veggies. You see, we're jimmy rigging crockpots by using rice cookers like they were crockpots. We're out getting a late lunch now and when we get back I'll stirfry the cauliflower and hopefully Tony will have arrived with the butter and potatoes so we can start peeling and get the stuffing made. I'll check back in later. 

3:43
The chicken and green bean casserole has been started! Will check on it again later. 

4:38
Chicken check!! It looks and smells pretty darn good. Casserole looks odd and smells a little off but I'm holding out hope! 

6:21
Time to turn things off until tomorrow. Study soon, and I'm sure we'll get street food afterwards. 

11:34
Street food in abundance! And since the electricity went out at Zion we haven't had a tv because it got fried. (No such thing as surge protectors here). By never fear we have a projector! And a lot of white wall. 

Saturday 
7:25
I'm up........ No really. I'm up. We have to make the mashed potatoes. Fry up the cauliflower. Shred the chicken. And make sure everything is warm for lunch. 

9:28
I shredded the chicken and seasoned it well with lowrys salt. Then I fried the cauliflower and got the table ready for all the rice cookers. Now up stairs for the service. 

11:54
Everyone is eating and they love it. I'm eating and I love it too. Yum. 

Thanksgiving done. 

Until next time. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

It has come to the first holiday I'll not be home for, and what a dandy to miss! My Thursday is over half finished, and my family at home hasn't even woken to their Thursday yet. I know they'll be heading to Grams house for a very large turkey, mashed 'tatoes and gravy, stuffing, veggies, and cheeses… Then, once they're full to the brim they'll dish up the pie. MmmmMmm. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Luckily, we're having a version of that menu here in the Far East. (or West depending on which direction you choose) In a couple hours I'll be heading over to Joe's house. He ordered a turkey online, and all of us are bringing a dish for the table. It has the makings of being quite delicious.

There are many strange happenings with this holiday - mostly because I'm in China, not at home, and not going shopping into the wee hours of morning. But one stand out strangeness is that today I went to school to teach. For the first time in 22 years, I went to school on Thanksgiving. I know, its odd.

I will admit that being away from home has been hard, and missing this holiday isn't easy. But there are three things that are helping me. First, the weather in China is weird. It has just gotten cold, so it doesn't feel like holiday season already. I imagine Christmas will sneak up on me too with the lack of snow. Second, I've come to realize in the last few weeks that I chose to be here. I wasn't forced into this. And because of that fact, I really have no reason to complain. Now, I will say I miss home, because I do have a heart. It just doesn't bring me down as much. Being here has been amazing so far, and I wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. Even my favorite meal of the year. (Plus, Gram said she'd make me turkey in July) And third, because of the wonders of technology and a little help from coffee to help me stay awake, I'll be able to talk to my family. It's not the same as being there in person, but it's pretty fabulous. To wrap up this post, I just want to say to my people back in the Fox Cities of WI that I miss you guys. I thought about saying I wish I was there… but the truth is, I wish you were here. I can't even think of one specific thing I want you to see or experience, I just want you to see this place. Nevertheless, sending all my love and have a piece of pumpkin pie for me!!

Until next time.

The god of thunder and other updates

Well, it's happened… This meager little blog has had over 2000 page views. Wa-hoo!!

I went to see Thor 2 in the theaters here in Shaoxing last night. We had a group of about 8 going, and it was a good time. We got a deal on tickets because we had a group so big, and I got popcorn and a soda because, why not? The popcorn was sweet. Sorta like kettle corn… The movie was in 3D, so we got some pretty awesome glasses… that we had to give back. Shooot. The movie was in English, obviously, and had chinese subtitles. The thing about going to a movie where most of the audience has to read the words is that you can make a fair amount of noise and no one cares. Now, chinese people tend to make a lot of noise to begin with, spend time on their phones, and take pics/videos in the theater anyway, but it was still an oddity for me. As for the movie, it was awesome!! I definitely would suggest it.

In other news, we are planning our Thanksgiving menu. We're doing dinner Thursday at a Chinese house with some other foreigners. Then, doing our own meal for lunch on Saturday with our own Chinese friends. The food planned includes chicken, rice, steamed corn/carrots, green bean casserole, stuffing, fried cauliflower, and mashed potatoes. This seems pretty standard… and it is, until you realize that canned vegetables don't exist in China. Nor does stuffing in a box. So, we'll be making it from scratch. Which doesn't seem to be too large an undertaking at this point…. but we could very well be overestimating our skills and underestimating the task at hand. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Today, at school, there was an English competition. About 60 4-6 year olds got up in front of six foreign teachers, three from my kindergarten and three from the big campus, to perform either a song or a story in English. Some of them looked nearly terrified, some were cute, some were rather good, some not so much… But I couldn't get over how they make the kids do this, and it starts in Kindergarten. It only gets worse from there… I don't think I'll ever understand the China child raising / school standard mindset.

I think that about covers my life for the last few days. Nothing else new really going on here. Still biking everywhere, going to school everyday, living the China life.

Until next time.

OY!!...ster.

Well I promised a story about the pearl market. Here is it. WOW. 

I found out after returning to Shaoxing that Zhuji produces 73% of the worlds freshwater pearls. That's amazing. And the market proved it. The building that housed the market was gianourmous. More square footage than any state fair exhibition hall or sports stadium I've ever seen. Each 'store' in the place was only the size if a decent mall kiosk. Like rows of storage units, but with pearls. The stores were different retailers of the pearls but each one only had a few finished products. Necklaces, bracelets, pendants, etc. Most of their pearls were in strings and in bunches or ten strings or so and bagged on shelves. Each store had to have thousands of pearls just siting there. And there were dishes of single pearls sorted by color, size, and quality. I was concerned about imitation pearls. In a place this size there had to be some. What really amazed me though is that the ones you would think were fake because of their size, clarity, and perfect round shape were actually real and worth thousands of kuai. (6 kuai= 1 dollar).  There were pearls of all colors imaginable. The real, not dyed,  pearls were all shades of white, cream, and pinkish hues. They were mostly round, with some very interesting odd shaped ones too. 

The fun part of shopping here was the bartering. Very few places had price tags. You looked things over, decided if you liked something and asked how much. Then, you barter 'em down. It worked real well for our group because we had four foreigners and four Chinese. So we paired off to do our shopping. It works better that way. Emma, my friend, helped me save a lot of money. She even told one lady that Americans don't like the number 13....which allowed my necklace to go from 130 to 100 kuai. She's pretty great. 

Over all I spent about 1100 kuai on five pendants, three necklaces and a ring. Which are all gorgeous, and destined for the beautiful women in my life when I return home. I had to ask what pearls were worth in America. I didn't know how good of a deal I was getting. I discovered that most pearl necklaces in America sell for roughly $150-$200 depending on size and color. Well, I got all my treasures for just under $200. I think I got a good deal. 

Until next time. 

It was bound to happen

Well folks, it's happened. I've gotten sick. I'm pretty sure its a cold. But it's set up camp in my sinuses and I do not appreciate it's extended stay. I can tell you, being sick is pretty much the same no matter what country you're in. I have to carry tissues because my nose never stops running, and I sound like a cartoon character…

I have some American medicine with me, so that's been good. I'm on day 4 and I'm hoping to shake it soon.

Some of us Americans, and a few Chinese friends are all going to Marie's house this weekend. We'll leave Saturday around noon, and return Sunday afternoon. She lives about an hour from here (she's a student on my campus) and there is a huge pearl market where she lives. =) Now, I know what you're thinking… I look great in pearls! haha! I'm also keeping some gifty things in mind for the peeps back home. (*cough, Mom might have mentioned she liked pearls)

In other news, I received my first letter in China! My very awesome friend Samantha sent me one. It's not anything to brag about to anyone else, but to me… it was so wonderful.

Until next time.

P.S. Did you like the music blog? It went over well because the page was viewed 124 times. WOW! You guys are so great. I'll be away from the internet for the weekend, but I'll have a nice update on the pearl market come next week.

The little things...

It's the little things that count.
Make the best of things.
Starbucks cures all.

So, I might have made that last one up…. but I think it'll catch on.

For those of you that know me, seeing a large Starbucks cup in my hand is nothing but ordinary. I would plan my morning route to include a foray thru the Starbucks drive thru. Well, in my two months since leaving home, I've not had Starbucks. You're thinking… Duh! You're in China. Weh-he-hell… They have Starbucks in China. And today was my first indulgence.

Starbucks in America is a bit pricey, but not bad. In China, its a lot pricey and not something I can get as frequently as in America. However, the quality is still top notch.

So, I'm sitting here in the biggest Starbucks I've ever been in (I'm on the second floor, and it's the size of 4 of my regular Starbucks at home), listening to some classy, smooth, Christmas music, sipping a delightful gingerbread latte and it hits me…. I'm in China. I know that doesn't come as a surprise to you. But for a bit, sitting here engrossed in my day, I forgot. It was nice.

So, for those of you with the means, please enjoy a holiday themed coffee for me…. Either from your local Starbucks or any other coffee place you choose.

Until next time.

Hum dee dum...

This is my second post today. I should probably wait until tomorrow so that you can have something to read then… but, nah… 

I talk a lot about music. Certain music moves me, certain music needs to accompany bike rides, and certain music lulls me to sleep. 

I realize that not all of you have the same taste in music, and unless you are motivated to look up songs, or lyrics that I post then you are probably a little lost. Well, I'm going to try to remedy that. I've compiled a small collection of my favorites for you to listen to. Yep. I'm looking out for ya. 

Now, there are a few things I'd like you to keep in mind as you're enjoying these tasty musical tidbits. First, music is about a multitude of things… so don't go reading too much into it. Some songs I chose because they have a great beat. Some because they have a soothing quality. Some because of the lyrics, and still some because they have a quality I can't quite place. 

I've made a youtube playlist of these songs, and I'm hoping to add to it as time goes on a new songs peak my fancy, and become linked to moments in my life. 

Click away, and enjoy. 

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCCjLhs8Q7obzzN2pxwuWiYmFVBIWSl9L

(If you listen to each one all the way thru, its about 40 minutes… But soooo worth it.)

Until next time. 

This….. is Kindergarten Idol

I hope you read that title in the voice of Seacrest from American Idol…. haha.

Today, at school when I walked into the first class I was informed that there was a singing competition and I could go along. Okay… Let's go. I won't argue with not having to teach. (internal victory dance).

We go down stairs to this large room. There are chairs for all the kids and teachers and in front of them is a stage. The teachers settle the kids as best as they can. Keep in mind that this room is filled with about 100 four year olds (all my kids) and an additional 20 or so three year olds. Quiet isn't really an option here. I take a few pics of the group because this is the first chance I've had to take pics of all my kids. Then I sit down to watch the proceedings. The concept is that each child goes on stage and sings a song. Not in groups or pairs, but individually. Some of the kids did just fine. Others were silent and could not be prompted to sing, and some just shouted into the mic what ever they wanted. The microphone is not a hand held device, its' the kind that is meant to go around your head, sit on your ears and the mic extends along your cheek. The kind that pop singers in the 90s used because they danced and sang. And the mic is connected to a small speaker, like what a tour guide would hang on their belt. You needed to know this so the next comment makes sense. The mic would squeal, you know that high pitched sound that happens when the mic gets too close to the speaker. Yes, that sound. (feel free to shiver) Well, the mic was making this sound and the teachers kept trying to move the speaker farther away from the mic…. needless of it being attached. (eye roll) Also, when ever the mic would squeal it was because the kid was either holding their hand around the mic, or eating it. Imagine for a moment what the ABC's sounds like when the mic is inside the kids mouth. Mhmm… cute went out the window about 20 minutes ago. Remember there are about 120 kids each singing individually. So, not all of them ate it. Only like 15.

As the morning progressed, kids began to lose interest. Not that they had much to begin with. To make this easier, I'll just list the activities going on besides singing.
- Shouting
- Screaming
- Playing on teeter-totters; this room doubles as an indoor activity room so there are plastic teeter totter things like what Play-Skol would make.
- Teacher's taking video and pictures of each kid.
- Kids running around
- Crying… And let me tell you, crying is highly contagious. One kid started and within 2 minutes three more took queue and decided crying was the thing to do. Which only added to the aforementioned screaming.
- Snack time; one class had their watermelon slices sitting in this room. Not only does juicy watermelon make a mess, but they didn't give me one!
- Leaving and returning; the other classes left to go have snack and then came back. Or small groups left to go potty or wash hands. It's a lot of movement.

I was going into sensory overload. Even with three teachers per class it was nuts. 15 adults for 120 kids doesn't exactly add up to a lot of control.

However, there was one little thing that happened that made the whole experience awesome. This little girl named Lily was sitting in front of me. When she realized I was behind her she would turn around slowly and look at me, then whip back to the front. She wears glasses, so she had to turn almost all the way around to see me. And the glasses are pretty strong so they make her eyes look pretty big. So adorable!!! Then, after a bit I moved my chair back a bit because I was getting overtaken by kids moving their chairs. Well, after she had snack, she returned to her chair and saw me moved so she  moved her chair back right in front of me again. AH! There is a picture above of her playing peek with me. But I also got another picture when she moved by me. If there was a chance of taking one of these little Chinese people home with me, it would be Lily.

Until next time.

My four classes of four year olds (about 100), plus a few three year olds. 

This is Lily. 
She's adorable.
This picture doesn't do her justice.
I sorta love her. 

Pondering.

There are two sides to every coin. This American idiom is applied in a multitude of situations, decisions, and people. It basically is another way of saying take another look or change your perspective when approaching something. When applied to people it can mean the way others see you and how you view yourself. 

I'll use myself as an example, because, well... I'm writing this. Other people have described me as confident, a leader, smart and smart ass, goal/decision oriented, outgoing, loud, abrasive, and always happy. You, my readers, have been the ones who have given me these compliments. For that, I thank you. Kind words are always appreciated. 

Now for my side of the coin. I'll agree that I'm confident but it's because I usually operate in areas of comfort. It's easy to be confident when you're comfortable - luckily I have been able to make myself comfortable in a variety of situations. I don't mind leading, but would rather follow. I think I'm smart but there is so much I don't know. As for smart ass.... somethings are just natural. 😉 I'm outgoing, but again I like to follow.  I'm loud, but not as loud as when I was younger. When you get told you are loud as much as I was you would become quiet too. Abrasive is another way of saying I'm not empathetic. And that's true. (I'm working on it) Lastly, I'm always happy because nothing ever bothers me much. I don't let the little things get to me. 

Now, the real crux, decisions. When I make a decision I stick with it. Mom always said "you don't have to play/join this or that again, but you have to finish the commitment you already made." It's a good life rule. The problem for me is that either I don't dwell enough on a decision or I dwell way too long. Plus, I would rather someone else make the decision. 

The current situation that requires this topic is my long term decision of "to china, or not to china." I've been in the Middle Kingdom for just shy of two months and have about eight to go, and my decision to 're-up' for another year doesn't have to be made for another four or five months. Needless of this large amount of time, I've been thinking about it ever since I arrived. Today, as I was pondering it again I just wanted someone to tell me what to do! I realize this is completely irrational because I wouldn't like it after the fact. But the idea of not having to sweat over this is rather appealing. 

To make things clear, I've not made a decision either way. But I ponder a lot. 

A girl and her bike.

I can't tell where the journey will end, but I know where to start.
All this time I was finding myself and I didn't know I was lost.
Hope I get the chance to travel the world, but I don't have any plans.

We are the saints. We are the children. We are the sons and daughters of our G.d. 

I'd rather forget and not slow down.

The last post was about biking, but I spend a fair amount of time on my bike. Today, the sun was warm and the breeze was cool. My iPod was set on shuffle and the perfect blend of songs popped up to accompany my ride. Above are a few lyrics that stuck with me. 

If you have the ability, take the time to walk, run, bike, or drive with a dual purpose. When I'm biking it is to get to school - but the alternate purpose is to breathe the (mostly) clean air, witness the locals scurrying about, and listen to music. Music has a cleansing effect. Even though for a good portion of my ride I'm watching intersections, weaving around other bikers and ebikes, and avoiding parked cars (that have doors that open suddenly) I still have moments when the music is coursing though me. I can feel it inside making me ride faster, making my heart beat harder, or making me slow down and enjoy the lyrics. This is one of the things I love about China. The traffic can be crazy, especially in the mornings, and the people love to stare, but with my headphones in I'm just biking. I'm just a girl and her bike. 

Until next time. 

 No hands ride home this afternoon. 

My morning commute; waiting at a stop light with fellow morning travelers. 

Soaring. Zooming. Flying.

When I ride my bike it's usually to get to school or get home. The route has gotten pretty standard. Out the gate, left at the end of the road... one block and right. Straight around the round-a-bout and after a few more blocks, right across the bridge and left into campus. Then the same thing in reverse to get home. I take that route two or four times a day.

Sometimes on my route, things happen. I like to ride without using my hands sometimes. The locals usually stare at me anyway, but when I ride with no hands they definitely do. One day as I rode past a lady on an e-bike she just started laughing at me and pointed. Laura was behind me and she thought it was funny. Then today, I pulled up to a stop and a guy I had passed pulled up next to me. I glanced at him, noticed he was staring and said 'nihow' and he responded with a slur of mandarin. Now, my mandarin is, well, nonexistent, so I had no clue what he said. But then he held his hands out, and I realized he was talking about my riding. Amusing.

The most fun/best experience I had riding around town was the other day. I was only a block from school, and there were no cars, so I moved from the bike lane into traffic and coasted down the slight hill to school with my arms stretched out. It was a mostly clear day and there was some sunshine, and I loved the wind as I picked up speed. I couldn't stop smiling for the next ten minutes.

It was one of those moments that made me especially happy. I can't explain why, but it was just lovely.

Until next time.

Hangzhou Marathon

Hello again!

So, it's been a crazy couple of days. I'll start at the beginning, I'm told it's a very good place to start.

Last week ended on a pretty good note. Teaching on Friday consisted of coloring... and who doesn't love coloring. (some Chinese four year olds don't, but that's moot) They colored in teapots to correspond with teaching them to sing and dance to 'I'm a little teapot.' It was super cute. *pics above*

Then, I headed out to the train station to grab tickets for Seth and I to go to Hangzhou on Saturday morning. We stayed for study, but because the power didn't get fixed, we ended up canceling it. Oh, well! The evening was then concluded by going for dinner with Shaw, and watching the Great Gatsby. I've never read the book (and I'm thinking I should) but the movie was alright. I enjoyed the settings and costumes. But, I've strayed from the point.

Saturday morning our train ended up being late, and we waited an extra hour at the train station. But as a perk we got some snacks on the train. Yay! Once in Hangzhou, we met up with our people. There are  10 or so HZ-ers (Hangzhou-ers), 6 of us SX-ers (Shaoxing-ers) and then 4 from Wuhan, and 7 from Shanghai. Oh, and Tony's parents were there and Chuck another visitor. It was a good group. We went out to visit the tea fields and they were just wonderful. Nothing super specific to see or do, but we walked through a little town and climbed up into the tea plants. The clouds (pollution) was low so it made the mountains/hills disappear into the mist. Very cool. *pics above*

Then, we had ch.rch at 5 and one of the HZ Chinese friends was washed. My first one here, and it was quite the sight. Also, because there were so many Americans the sound was awesome, we even had one a cappella song.

Then, (not to diminish the importance of the last activity) we went out for MEXICAN!! Now, when I'm at home I do not go out for real Mexican all that often - but the concept of non-chinese food is just so wonderful. For those of you who are in America, I don't know if you realize the wonderfulness of being able to choose between Western, Chinese, Mexican, Greek and other ethnic foods.... I mean even the choices of Panera, Culvers, Taco Bell, and Panda Express. Everything here is of a singular background. I'm not complaining (yet) because I love all of it so far. But going out for Mexican was great. I had some nachos with shredded chicken and a strawberry margarita. And yes, it was de-lish!!! After dinner we went back to the Flying H (the girls apartment) and played games with friends. Fun times had by all.

Sunday morning was an early one. We were up at 6 and out by 640 or so. We met the boys and headed for the starting line of the 2013 Hangzhou International Marathon. Two of our friends, Nate and Hannah, ran the full, and two of our friends, Jen and Dan, ran the half. I didn't see them before the race started but we saw all the runners start, and gave high fives to a whole bunch of Chinese runners and clapped and cheered and made noise. =) Then, I got coffee with Tony's parents while we waited for Tony to meet the landlord of Zion (still no power). A quick taxi ride to the finish line, and we waited for Nate. We missed Dan and Jen finish, but they both did well and finished under the times they wanted. Whoo! Nate came it just about 3 hours. He was very focused as he came to the last half kilometer but gave us a little fist pump as we cheered loud. He set a new personal best I think... He's pretty awesome. Then about 45 minutes later came time for Hannah. We cheered and hollered again, and ushered her to the finish. She finished about 4 hours and was happy with it.

Then, I went with some of the guys to get Cold Stone ice cream. They all biked along with the marathoners so they were going to bike back to the apartment. I got some directions and set off for home on my own. And believe it or not, I 'china' pretty well. (china: verb; to be native in China successfully) Made it back and then Seth and I headed out for the train station. We wanted to get home before the busses in SX stopped running. Well, we got to the subway station that takes us to the train station and got a phone call.... All train tickets to SX sold out. Internal monologue at this moment went like this: Well, shooooot! We headed back and stayed the night, caught an early train this morning and made it back in time to teach at 9. Whew....

Needless to say, "I'm so ti-ard"

And that folks is a not so typical weekend in China. We'll do it all over again, sorta, in a month when we go to Shanghai for the marathon there.

Until next time.