Happy New Year (Chinese, that is)

Alright, I am going to try to come back to blogging now that I have a way to get access again to blogger and facebook. I will post some more about my winter travels soon in the next few days but as it is Chinese new year, I thought I would make this first one back in a few months for that.

This is the first year I have actually been in China for the night of Chinese New Year. I got together with some teammates and we hung out as the fireworks started. Here is a video and some pictures of the fireworks just outside my friends' window. It was pretty intense and there are still fireworks going off here and there throughout the city and will be for the next week or so.

a little before midnight before it got real crazy. My other videos of it more crazy wouldn't upload so maybe later I'll try again.

Walking around looking at fireworks well after bedtime. Way too loud and exciting to sleep!

taking pictures outside-it was really cold hanging out of hte windows!!

A Walk To Maili Coffee

A few days ago, I decided to take my camera with me on my walk to my favorite coffee shop, Maili coffee. I usually go there at least once a week to work on preparing for youth group because it is a nice quiet place where I can really focus on preparing well and not get distracted at my house. This is a photo journal of that trip.


Coming down the stairs. This needle was laying on the window seal as I cam down the stairs. I have no idea where it is from, but there it was.


The pile of trash where I had just seen a huge rat run under. (This was the second time I had seen him)


Pile of chairs hanging out for storage? by my house.


This sign says "Protect the environment. Please don't go #1 here." Notice the wet wall. When I was coming back from the gym, there was definitely a man going there. Yes, it is very awkward to have to walk by that.


Grill/baking eggs and sweet potatoes that you can buy on the street.


This is one of my favorite restaurants. It is basically a bunch of vegetables, tofu, and some meat cooked and then seasoned really spicy (they have 5 levels of spicy and I only get the lowest and am sweating). Right now cabbage and big onions are in season and very cheap so everyone buys a ton and dries them on the street to use all winter.


Outside a hair salon. They dry their towels just on the sidewalk by their shop.


Recyclables car. These men ride around with these carts all day yelling for people to bring out their recyclables (kind of like on monty python... "bring out your recyclables...")


Chicken running around by the drying cabbage. (Sorry a little blurry-using old camera until I can buy a new one since my camera was stolen this summer)


Made it to Maili Coffee, this super cute Korean coffee shop that we all love to go to.

Parents' Night Out

A few weeks ago I was approached by a few of the kids here at CLP about helping them out on a Friday night. They decided they wanted to give their parents (and a few other families' parents) a night out so the parents could hang out together. After much brainstorming, we ended up helping them cook dinner for their parents. We split the kids between two houses-young kids at one house to be babysit by a few singles and the oldest 5 at another house with two other teammates and myself. The kids had sent out invitations to their parents telling them formal attire required but not much more than that. It was supposedly all a surprise to the parents. Lisa, Mandy and I rounded up the kids and started assigning jobs: set table, make brownies, clean salad veggies, chop veggies, butter and garlic bread, boil noodles and sauce for pasta. They were so fun to watch (think 2 girls and 3 boys around 10-12 years old).

cleaning up

chopping veggies

serving dinner

When the parents came over (dressed very nicely) the kids all took their jobs as matri'd, hosts, and waiters. They brought their parents all the dishes and refilled drinks. After the parents started eating the kids got to make themselves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Eventually, we served dessert, did dishes and put them away and then sent the parents back to another house to continue playing Wii and other games. We all then retired to the little kid house to help the by then very tired babysitters (10 little kids there under age of 8 or 9). We enjoyed the end of Mary Poppins and then enjoyed even more when the parents came to fetch their kids. It was quite the success of a night. The highlight still being when the kids welcomed their parents to dinner by saying "Welcome to the House of Love."

watching Mary Poppins

Easter

I have always given up something for lent every year since high school. I am not Catholic, I just think it is such a valuable practice. It is amazing how much more it helps me focus on the coming of Easter and the importance of it. It helps remind me about the meaning of Easter. This year with lent I gave up watching tv and movies by myself. It was definitely one of the hardest things I have given up. Because I tend to watch a lot of tv to relax after classes or a busy week, I was constantly reminded of the coming of Easter this year. Also, I worked on learning how to tell the story of Easter in Chinese which also makes the story so much more meaningful. This Easter was definitely one in which I was much more mindful of the reason for celebrating the holiday. For that I was thankful.


On Easter night, I had two of my previous tutors and close friends over to celebrate the holiday. We had dinner together and then dyed eggs. It was their first time to dye eggs and we had so much fun! Their eggs were so beautiful (mine not so much-definitely don't have the artistic touch). So great to hang out with these friends and talk about the holiday.



That weekend for our small group meeting on Saturday my group had childcare (every week a different group takes turns taking care of the children). I got "Pandas" aka the small kids. They were so cute so I just had to take some pictures of them. After childcare my group went to our favorite Indian restaurant to eat lunch together. A great Easter weekend!

Noah-"Got Milk?" (At Indian dinner)

Another great trip to Harbin

train station in Changchun-about to head to Harbin

Last weekend we had a long weekend (no school on Monday) so I decided to take a trip to visit Harbin friends. I got to help celebrate my great friend, Erika's birthday on Saturday night which was way fun. On Sunday, I met with other internationals in the city for a time of singing and learning and wen to lunch with them. Then I was able to stop and see a great friend from HIT from last year, Zouyan and a few other of the independent teachers from my old school at a new fun coffee shop. They are so fun and I am hoping to make another trip up soon again to hang out with them more!

Zhiwei and me hanging out

Zhiwei

Isobel and her daughter!

After about an hour with them I finally got to see one of my old tutor/friend from Harbin's new baby-who's not so baby anymore! It is so fun to see my friend Isobel as a mother and her cute kid! After playing with her daughter for a while (who pretty much just stared at me the whole time-strange foreigner!) we headed to meet up with my other great Harbin Chinese friends for dinner. So great to be able to get together with them and talk. I always talked with them in primarily English before but this time we talked only in Chinese. So much fun and encouraging to be able to carry on conversations with them and talk about things going on in their lives. It is so exciting to be able to communicate with people on deeper and deeper levels. They were quite suprised I could converse as much with them as well! There were definitely times I didn't know what all they were talking about which is just another challenge to keep learning. It is amazing-the more I learn the more I am constantly reminded I don't know!

Masen (Maria) and Tianyu (Alex)
Tangke (Catherine) scouping out leftovers
Maria and me
David doesn't want his picture taken
Tangke (Catherine) and me-great friends

All of us after dinner (Isobel had to go home to take care of her baby)

Tutor Game Night

playing Chinese monopoly

We had our first tutor game night a while back. We try to have a tutor game/fun night once a month (as I talked about last semester). Our first one was a great hit-a ton of tutors and other Chinese friends game to hang out. It is such a great time to hang out with tutors outside of our required tutor times each day. There was a showing of Wall-E (the kids movie) and many games being played (including Settlers of Katan, Sorry, Uno, and others). My table played Chinese monopoly (the places are cities in China-Boardwalk and Park Place are Shanghai and Beijing!). We had a lot of fun (even though my tutor and I did not win)! It's so fun to be able to play tese games and hang out in Chinese now! Here are some fun pictures from the night.

my tutor and me

(Some fancy Settlers game-yes they know all the words for it in Chinese too!)

Healthy again

Last Monday I started feeling sick with sore throat and achy. I canceled tutor time on Monday afternoon and took the day off on Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday I went to class and tutor time but still was feeling bad. Thursday after studying at a friend's house on the way home I decided to stop at the pharmacy. In China, you can just go to the pharmacy and tell them your symptoms and they will give you the right medicine-no need to go to the doctor's office. If serious enough, you go the hospital (and almost always get an IV-that is the solution to most problems). I explained my symptoms, paid my $1.75 and headed home with my new medicine. My medicine actually had English instructions and I was pretty impressed with the translation. Here are a few quotes from it-not bad for an English translation in China!

-It is forbidden to take it when the property of the product changes (not just recommended, forbidden!)
-It is forbidden for persons who are allergic to the drug. Allergic persons should take it carefully. (how do you define an allergic person?)
-This product is non-recipe medication for cold (I like to make non recipe things too)
-This product is hard capsule, the contents are little yellow pills. it is odorless and slightly bitter in taste" (and is among the deadliest poisons known to man? )


I think the combination of rest, thoughts, and the medicine together did finally get rid of the sickness by Sunday night. I am still recovering somewhat this week but doing much better. I realize I definitely take my health for granted here and am thankful I am not often sick!

In other news-Obama is meeting with China's leader, Hu Jintao about the economy problem. This is the first time for Obama to meet with Hu Jintao and so is very important for the future of China and the US's relationship. Please be remembering this time of meeting and their talks about the economy.