shanghai

My last few days were spent in the wonderful city of Shanghai.  It was a fun filled last few days.  We made a couple visits to the Bund, the French Concession, got to go to church, we hit up a couple museums,  took a bus tour of the city, and went to the fake markets (multiple times, might I add).  My favorite part would probably have to be the fake markets.  We all know how much I love shopping and after pretty much being deprived of it, it was fun to shop a little bit.  I got a kick of the bargaining thing.  The people were ridiculous and it was kind of fun seeing how low you get get the price dropped to.  If you couldn't get it for as low as you wanted, all you had to do was walk to the next store and you would most likely get it for cheaper.  It was also kind of a pain because they would mark things up ridiculously high and then they would proceed to tell us that they would make no money if they sold it to us for cheaper.  They lie, just watch out if you ever find yourself at a fake market in China.

We were also able to meet up with a friend that we originally came to China with.  It was great to be with a friend.  Friends are something that we have been lacking lately so it was a nice change of pace and it spiced up our conversations a little bit.

In the bigger, more touristy cities in China, they have things called tea scams and everyone warns you about.  Ever since coming to China, I have been warned about this thing.  I kind of started to doubt that it really happened.  Only until this past week when people tried to hit me with it, twice!  Pretty much, young people, around my age, will walk around the city and ask you to take a picture of a couple of them.  Their English is really good so they will then start to have small talk with you.  Small talk then leads to them telling you that they are going to go watch tea.  If you didn't already know, tea making/pouring/drinking/andwhateverelse is quite the art.  They will invite you to go with them.  It is a trick and it is terrible because they will take you to try a tiny bit of tea and then chart you an insane amount.  It is dumb, so don't fall into their traps.

Overall, my trip to Shanghai was a fun experience.  I loved seeing the Bund at night with all of the fun lights.  They joke in the travel book saying something along the lines...  Well, you may not be able to see the Great Wall from space but you will have a heck of a time missing Shanghai.  Shanghi is a mega city with more than 30 thousand people in it.  It was insane.  Also, in this mega city, we happened to run into a couple that we came over with and spent a few days with in Beijing.  It was awesome and totally unexpected.  I never thought it would have happened in a city that big.

{this is the building we had church in}

{we met up with our friend Garrin and we didn't let a lot of rain stop us}

{on our way to the airport.  we had so much luggage to take on the subway and it was such a pain but we made it through}

last weekend in guiyang

What do we do for our last weekend in Guiyang?  Well, we spend it with our favorite people in China, Emma and her family.  We spent all day on Saturday with them.  They really have become my China family and I am really going to miss them.  We started the day off with picking wax berries.  And now we will be having wax berries for daysssss.  We got sent home with more wax berries than we know what to do with.  Good thing we like them.  Speaking of Chinese fruit, my favorite is mangosteens.  They are oh so good.
 

After wax berry picking we headed to lunch to eat some spicy chicken.  This chicken was some of the best that I have had in China but I still don't understand how every single piece of chicken has a bone in it.  What happened to all of the chicken breast and boneless chicken.  They really make you work for your meat here.  it is 90% bones and 10% meat.  Not cool.  After lunch we went to a little amusement park called Happy Land.  It was empty.  Which is great, because usually that means that you can just ride all of the awesome rides you want over and over again.  Nope, you had to carry around your ticket and get it punched each time you got on a ride and you can only go on each ride once.  So lame but we had a good time regardless.  Chinese people are hilarious when it comes to anything that may be a little bit exciting or scary.  They freak out about the smallest rides.  It is funny to watch.  Also, who goes to an amusement park and won't ride the roller coaster ride?  Basically every single Asian.  Why is Disneyland always full of Asians?  I have no idea because, trust me, they aren't there for the rides.  

{love this girl and i am so glad i got to experience china with her!}

{yes, they bought us ponchos for a water ride.  typical asians.}

{we were upset because we got pretty wet, even with the ponchos.}

After the amusement park, they took us to a five star hotel for dinner.  We had individual hot pot which was kind of fun.  It was great because I wasn't having anyone tell me what I should eat and it was everything that I liked and wanted.  Seriously, this family has done so much for us and have included us in all of their fun plans.  I am so grateful for them!  Saying goodbye to them didn't really seem real.  I think that maybe because we are not packed at all and we still have a week of teaching left.  I can't believe that I am leaving so soon.  Ahhhhhhhhh.

thoughts

I have one week left in this place that I have called home for the last five months.  Tears come to my eyes just thinking about it.  To say that this adventure has been easy and nothing but sunshine and rainbows would be a lie.  But I can say that this adventure has been worth it.  Beyond worth it.  It wasn't always easy standing on a bus full of people but looking around you and feeling so alone.  Is that even possible in a city full of almost 3 million people?  It wasn't always easy wondering around a city completely lost.  It wasn't easy standing in a restaurant trying to get some food and having people rambling off in Chinese and not having a clue what is going on.  It wasn't easy having no idea how to get your tickets to get into the park.  Basically, living in a foreign country for five months wasn't the easiest thing that I have decided to do.  

But all of the good things that have come out of this adventure out weigh the bad by so much.  I have learned to better recognize the Lord's hand in my life.  I have gained a stronger testimony that He knows who I am and He knows my exact needs.  He knows when I need to run into a kind stranger who will go out of their way to help me.  Tender mercies happen all the time in our lives.  I know that they didn't just happen because I am living in China.  I think I was just more aware of them because I had no one else.  Take the time to look around you and realize that the Lord is aware of you.  

Speaking of kind strangers, I have learned that I need to be better at being that kind stranger.  So many kind strangers have been the answers to my prayers and I can do the same if I will just look around me and see where I am needed.  

I have also learned so much from my little yahoo students.  They have showed me how to love.  They gave me so much love.  Take the love that you get from any normal child that you know and multiply it by ten.  Not a day went by where I didn't get a hug or 100 hugs from my students.  Not a day went by without multiple children telling me how much they loved me.  It was great and it made all of my crazy, uncontrollable classes worth it.  I have also never seen a group of kids take care of each other like these classes take care of their classmates.  When someone is sad, there is a group of about 10 other students trying to cheer them up.  It is a sight to see.  They have each other's backs in every situation.  It is perfect.

Ah, my students.  I am going to miss them.  I told them that I was leaving and going back to America.  It broke my heart to see some of the students crying.  They would say, "Teacher, you go to America?"  "Teacherrrrrr.  Nooooooo."  "Don't go to America."  "Teacher, I am sad." and all of the other combinations that revolve around me not going back to America and how they are sad that I am leaving.  It was a sad thing to see.  Maybe, just maybe, I was actually able to touch their lives in a small way.  I hope so.  

{you wouldn't believe what gets transported on scooters here.  it is actually pretty insane and comical.  you will see anything from dogs, five people, beds, tons of flowers, boxes stacked so high, tv's, or even some trees.  it is crazyyyy.  and they are very talented balancing that stuff.  i am impressed.}

field trip

We finally got to hang out with our dear friend Emma.  I find it kind of funny that we don't get invited by the school to go on field trips with our students, but instead we have to get invited by the students parent's.  Saturday we were able to go on a field trip to Scotland Park with 42 little first graders and their parents.  It was quite the day.  I am pretty sure that at times during the day, the parents were enjoying themselves more than the children were.  We played some games in the field, ate lunch (or more pretended to eat lunch), and raced down the hill in a little cart.  It was fun spending time with our students outside of class.  Also, the next time you go on a field trip with one of your kids, make sure you wear a matching outfit with your child.  Actually, on second thought, don't do it.  Even though everyone does it China, doesn't mean that it is a good idea.  Everyone eats chicken feet here, and that is a pretty terrible idea.  Even though the kids are crazier and more wild then any kids I have ever met, I am sure going to miss them when I leave.

  

{sheep and goats}

{my little students chowing down on chicken feet}

{i am in love with these wildflowers}

{wannabe stonehedge}

{crazy kids}

{crazy kids and their equally crazy parents}

{and now you know why we pretended to eat lunch}

{my little eva}

And this following picture because it is just too cute not to share.  These adorable boys carry my backpack for me every time after their class.  Oh man, I love them.

lost in translation

The signs here kill me.  Seriously though.  They are hilarious and they hardly get the translation right.  But that is okay because I get a kick out of it.  Here are a few.  Okay, more than a few.  Enjoy.

{but clothe the flames are you're good}

{the pictures on all of the signs are equally as amusing.}

{be careful.  it's lippery.}

{four star toilet.  it wasn't anything special.  just a bunch of squatters.  but i'd like to see that five star toilet.  and who goes around rating toilets?}

{a personal favorite of mine.}

{i never knew that 3+1=180.  news flash.}

{notice we didn't take pictures of the fish.  just the sign.}

{those subway gaps are dangerous.  poor bloody finger.}

{it's sad that they have to have a sign for this but littering is a huge problem here.}

{these were in the same building.  yards away from each other.  i guess they weren't sure which one was right.}

{both are non-recyclable.}