Expecting the Unexpected

China. If you ever live in China, there is one thing you are certain to learn: never have expectations. Or, I guess I should say expect to be surprised. I was expecting this last weekend to just be incomparable to any other weekend I have ever spent. And sure, overall it was amazing. Yes, I still love China more than almost anything (don't worry,  I still love the Angels more!). But, when you let your expectations rise to insurmountable  heights, you are bound to be disappointed.  And even if that disappointment is very small in the grand scheme of things, in my five weeks here, I've learned I'd rather be surprised.

Our trip to the ancient town of Qingyan is a perfect example of of not letting my expectations get too high. The forecast called for rain, but we got very lucky as it was just another cloudy and humid day with no real threat from the clouds.  As usual, we got a little bit of a later start than we anticipated and I'd be lying if I didn't admit to being the one to hold us up. Hey, don't blame me that I can't do my laundry during the week! Anyway, by now I'm sure the others have grown accustomed to Amber and I always being late. It's just in our nature. Also, we have to walk further...so there. We hoped on our beloved Bus 69 and went to one of our favorite stops in town to grab some lunch. We always see a lot of students in this area because there is a school there and they love to say hello to us. We have also found quite a few places to eat that we just love! However, I had a bit of bad luck with my lunch this day. I ordered zhurou chaomian (pork fried noodles) and most meals here always come with a bowl of soup (really its just broth). Well right after I was brought my food (which was delicious), the girl sitting across from me got up to leave and accidentally bumped the table. Next thing I know, scalding hot soup cascades all over me and the owner just looks on in horror. (ok, I may be exaggerating just a bit...). But ya, I basically rip off my shirt and my arm was already red as a tomato and starting to blister in some areas. Now, many of you probably aren't too surprised to hear this happened to me; I mean, if it's going to happen to anyone, it'll be me. Amber just stared at me with jaw dropped and in disbelief that I wasn't crying. Trust me, I wanted to. 

After forcing myself to finish my lunch, we were off to find either the right bus or a taxi to take us to our next destination. We ran into a group of students who wanted to talk to us and help us. This alone turned into an almost hour long adventure of trying to hail a cab to finding the right bus stop. But it is always really fun to meet new people and make new friends. I also made a friend with a university student studying English. I always find it so brave for these people to come up to us and start a conversation with us. I don't think I could do that, especially in a language that is foreign to me! So we finally got on to the right bus to lead us to the next pit stop, Hebin Park. From here, we had to take a special bus to the town because it is pretty far from the city proper. We had to wait quite awhile to get on the bus because they do not come as often as the regular city buses. We also wanted to make sure we got seats because the trip is over an hour. 

So we arrive to the town a full 4 hours after we left our neighborhood. Talk about a long commute. We walk in to the town and it was pretty amazing. Even with restorations, many of the buildings are originals from when it was built in 1378! That is ridiculously old. The town was built for military purposes during the Ming Dynasty.  It has such a unique blend of culture as a result from the mixture of ethnic groups and religions. I was really looking forward to visiting some of the temples, pavilions, and archways of the village, but it turned out that either things were not marked well...or we just didn't know where to look. The area of the town we saw was basically just street upon street of vendors selling souvenir type items. And yes, many of them were beautiful works of art such as bamboo scrolls, jewelry, paintings, and clothing. As dorky as I am, I was really hoping to learn more about the history of the place. There is also supposed to be a store where they make candies out of roses; I really wanted to buy some and watch them make it, but we could not find the place. 

We did however find the southern entrance to the town where the wall to protect the town is still partially intact. I felt like I was on a mini Great Wall of China. And the surrounding land was so green and beautiful that this part pretty much made up for the disappointment of the rest. I really wish home could be as green as everything here is. 

So, by now it was about 6 o'clock and we knew we had to start heading back because most of the buses we have to take stop running at 10 pm. So after grabbing a little snack (pineapple on a stick!) we headed out to the line for the bus. We had to wait for the second one to come. By then, it was 7 and we knew we were cutting it close.  What we didn't know was that there was a crazy traffic jam happening a whole 10 minutes away from the town. It was so bad that the bus driver eventually turned the bus off and just got off the bus. And thus far I've failed to mention this bus was packed! Not only was every seat full, but the aisle was completely full, kids were sitting on parents laps, people were standing on the stairs leading up to the bus...it was just nuts. Amber and I practically had people sitting in our laps (as did Cate and Jake). So in all, we were stopped for over an hour. I had never been more glad for going to the bathroom before we left (unlike Amber and Jake). I found the whole situation just a little funny and a lot crazy. We started making bets as to what time we'd get home. Amber was mildly freaking out...so we started to play hangman (I'm so glad I always bring my notebook and pen everywhere!). We were doing full on phrases during our game, such as "I really miss California right now." 

We finally started moving and got back to the bus stop just before 10 o'clock and just after the last bus left. We found out we were also in a part of town that doesn't leave restaurants open very late...and we were all pretty hungry. So we went to the only place open still, Dicos. We had every intention of trying Dicos in the near future. It's a chain fast food type restaurant here that basically serves a variety of chicken sandwiches and meals. We all had french fries for the first time since being in China, which I guess is kind of exciting, but I honestly would have preferred some super delicious Chinese food. Well, who am I kidding...I really just want Mexican food, but I can't get that in Guiyang. 

It then took another almost hour to find a taxi that was 1) empty so that it could fit us all and 2) with a driver that knew how to get to our apartments. We live in an area that was only built a couple years ago so it is pretty common for drivers to not know where to go when we hand them our address. But we finally hailed a cab with all four seats empty. Even though he didn't know where to take us, we got in and immediately called our liaison Daisy to have her  explain to our driver where we live. It worked out beautifully. 

So we made it home all in one piece (minus a fear tears for some...and minus a few layers of skin on my arm). The ancient town was pretty cool, maybe a bit of a letdown, but we still had a fun time.  I mean, it's not every day you get to walk on stone streets that are over 600 years old!

Green Guiyang, Fresh Guiyang.

One day I'm going to be lying on my deathbed thinking about times of the past. Some memories will be a blur: the color of my prom dress, the first boy I ever kissed, every trip to the beach. But some memories will come back to me with such vividness and clarity that I will be transported back to the time and place that they occurred and I will desperately try to hold on to those final minutes to keep the magic alive. I'm sure some of those memories are still waiting to be made, but I know with certainty that much of my time in China will be ingrained in my mind forever. But this last Friday night will go down in my personal history as a night I'll never forget.

We were invited to go to a theater show with some of the school teachers and administrators. We were very excited even though we weren't exactly sure what to prepare ourselves for. Whenever we go out, we have to take two taxis. Usually Amber and I ride with Cynthia while Cate and Jake ride with Daisy. So we hunted down a taxi in front of the school and were whisked away into rush hour traffic. To get an accurate image of what this would look like, picture traffic in LA on a late Friday afternoon. But add in nonexistent driving rules, ceaseless honking, and lack of space between vehicles and you have China traffic. This was probably one of the worst driving experiences we had since arriving in China considering the number of close calls, jerky stops, and generally crazy driving by our dear taxi man. But we made it in one piece to the theater and enjoyed a wonderful conversation with Cynthia as we always do.

The rest of the group had already arrived and wandered off in a different direction by the time we got there so we headed into a cafe across the street to wait until show time. Any time I see the word coffee, I get excited. That stuff is seriously a drug to me. Black and bitter or creamy and sweet. Doesn't matter just give it to me and I'll love you forever. And the place itself was pretty cool. It had a nice vibe, good decor, and smelled of coffee. What's not to love, I was in heaven. If only coffee drinks weren't so expensive here, it would be a perfect world.  I ordered a "mochaccino" so it was kind of part mocha, part cappuccino. Nice a foamy and rich and just perfect.

So now on with the evening, to the life changing part and memory maker and just all around awesomeness that is everything China but specifically Guiyang. Leading up to the show, we were all just hanging out in the courtyard of the theater and playing this game of sorts that is common here. Basically you get these weighted spinning tops and a stick with a whip on it. You start off by winding the whip part around the top, do some fancy spinning and foot work, and the off the top goes into a spinning frenzy. You then smack it with the whip and it just keeps going forever.  As I'm sure many of you could guess, I was terrible at this. I couldn't do it for the life of me. I would either just straight up miss the top, hit myself with the whip, or not hit it at the right angle. Oh well though, it was still fun.

We then entered the theater and some of the performers were in the lobby posing for pictures, so naturally we take the opportunity for a massive photo op. We all posed individually, as a group, with some administrators and yada yada. It was great. And of course other people entering the theater all automatically turn and look at us like we are aliens from another planet. It's so weird to think that some of these people could be seeing a white person for the first time.  But then again, any time I see a white person here (which is very rare...I think it's happened 4 times) I stare at them like an elephant at the zoo. I guess it is just exciting to see someone different from everyone else. I only wish that the others we have seen could be nicer. We always want to talk to them but we're almost always blown off and just kind of waved to. White people of the world...y'all need to be friendlier.

Okay. I feel almost like I've been putting this off because I already know my words cannot and will not do it justice. But the show. Purely magical. From the moment I walked into the actually theater, I was blown away and it hadn't even started yet. The stage seemed kind of small (but then when the current was pulled away it did get much bigger) and the screens themselves were really awesome. The way they were set it made you feel like you were either moving through the forest or the ocean or an old village. And it was just so lifelike. I swear several times I thought they were working some kind of Chinese optical illusion on me and I would think I was looking at a screen and then all of a sudden realize it was a real person. But nope, it was always just a screen (at least in the beginning) that looked super real. When the host came out, I didn't really know what to think at first. Part of me wanted to call him Michael Jackson, part of me wanted to call him Elvis...all of me wanted to call him a pimp. Purple, velvet suit with sparkly detail. Wowza. But the guy could pull it off. And even though I couldn't understand a word he said (we did get a little bit of translations from Cynthia and Daisy) I was still completely entertained.

And then the show actually started.  And within the first ten seconds I wanted to just cry from the beauty of it all.  Somehow, the whole stage was turned into this magical water wonder world. They managed to make a waterfall on stage. A real waterfall. Part of me so desperately wanted to figure out where the water came from and where it was going. But that would ruin the magic. But the dancing and music, now that was something to drop your jaw over and just stare in complete awe.  Everyone was so graceful and beautiful. Again, I couldn't understand the words, but I could feel the power, passion, and love from every single person on that stage.  And it gave me this feeling that I have not had in a very long time.  I hate to bring up my own dancing past because my skill level (or should I say lack of skill) was no where even comparable. But I know that I loved to do it and I know what it is like to put your whole body and soul into something. And for the first time watching a dance performance, I truly felt like I could feel the body and soul of each dancer. You could tell that they loved what they were doing.

All in all there were maybe ten or so different acts and each one had to do with a part of Guizhou (the province that Guiyang is in) and the many ethnic groups that live here. There were some that were just dance to music, some with dancing and music being played, some just music, some with singing. A little bit of everything.  Another stunning part of the show were the customs. Everyone for the most part was outfitted in traditional attire from the ethnic group they were representing (such as the Miao or the Dong). The brilliant colors and decoration and fine detail were amazing. The ornamentation was also spectacular. In one dance, the group of dancers changed their outfits twice while dancing and I still can't figure out how they did it or how I didn't see it happen. It is as if I blinked my eyes and there dresses changed from purple to red to yellow. Another crazy thing was the leaf player. No joke, this man comes out on stage and there is some music and at first I thought he was playing some kind of flute like instrument. Then I'm informed he is playing a leaf. I mean, are you kidding me? Sure everyone has seen the kid you can pick a blade of grass and blow on it and make a little high pitched whistle. But this was straight up notes and melodies and changing pitch...on a leaf. Just when I thought I couldn't be more amazed, I was blown away again.

The title of this blog comes from a tiny portion of the show that was pretty awesome as well (okay the whole thing was awesome...but still). This guy was singing and most of the crowd was singing with him because the lyrics were on some screens to the side of the stage. The song was of course in Chinese, but there were also English subtitles (that were just translated hilariously like everything in China is). And though the song in Chinese was completely beautiful, the translation just kept making me giggle. And everyone was standing and swaying to the music and dancing. The only word the four of us could sing was "Guiyang" but every once in awhile one of us would pick up on a word and sorta kinda sing along.  Well that wasn't gonna fly with me, so of course I start just belting out the English lyrics as best as I could with the melody.  And the part that was repeated time and time again was "green Guiyang, fresh Guiyang".  Finally people caught on to what I was doing and it brought about a few giggles. None of that should come as a surprise though, it was just me being typical Ashley!

Because I fear this is getting too long (and I've been working on this blog off and on for over two days now) I'll just quickly touch on two more little details that made the evening go from a home run to grand slam: the personal interaction.  At first, there was some crowd participation when Jake was invited up on stage with a couple other guys to take part in a dance competition of sorts.  They had to race to put on some traditional Miao clothing (which was falling off most of the guys...and pretty much all of them put something on wrong) and then they had to follow the steps of a dancer.  Jake was chosen as the winner (probably because he was a foreigner...but he was still great!) and won a nice little prize. Then the show continued and while I was super stoked for Jake, I was also a little jealous. It's not every day you get invited on stage at a show...and even less likely to happen in China! But then, all of a sudden, we were all essentially pulled on to stage during this dance of what a traditional wedding would be like. We just kept going in circles and circles swinging our arms and smiling and laughing and chanting. 

This is the moment I will never forget. The time when I could stop smiling until my cheeks started to hurt.  When I never wanted to let go of the sweaty hand of the dancer who jumped in between me and Amber. I want to hold on to that feeling of pure joy and exuberance forever. One can live their life day by day with being content. Maybe not true happiness, but content. But its those little pockets of pure joy and happiness that make all of the bad worth fighting for.  This was my little pocket of happiness. Something I never want to let go of. Something I will cherish forever.  

Random Ramblings.

So I feel a little guilty, mostly because my dear mother back home wants me to write more in my blog. She wishes I had more time to write; I wish I had more to say. Life here is still amazing, but the more I set myself into a routine and repeat the same actions daily, the less I feel I have to share. How many times can I talk about my rowdy yet adorable kids without boring people to death and eventually slipping in to an abysmal fate of an inconsequential blogger. So, here I am, trying to think of things to share that would be even remotely interesting.

On the other hand, things that I find mundane and boring may be very exciting to those back home. Just because it happens to me every day in China, doesn't mean the same thing could or would happen in the States.

To begin, curses are in order to be said to Mother Nature. I knew I would be jinxing myself when I said we have been having wonderful weather. So far this week, it has been pretty gloomy and cold every day. To make matters worse, I've been fighting off a cold since Sunday. Yet another China first...being sick. But, I'm happy to report that being sick here is exactly the same as being sick at home! Who would have thought?! But on the bright side of being sick, one of the teachers shared some delicious green tea with me, and it definitely did help soothe my awful sore throat. Little acts of kindness like that are exactly why I love China so much. People here have been so incredibly nice to me and the rest of the foreign teachers. I love it so much when people shout "hello!" to me from across the street. I love it even more when someone is a little too shy to say "hello" so they mumble it after I've already walked past them. I being able to turn around and smile at them while saying "hello" back. It just fills me with happiness for some reason.

We did have a nice adventure last night for dinner. None of us were particularly thrilled with what the school was serving and we were all craving dumplings, so we decided to stop somewhere on the way home for Dinner #2. Only the place we stumbled into unfortunately had no dumplings because it was a hotpot style restaurant. Though I've had a few bad experiences with hotpot thus far, we couldn't really leave. And I am so glad we didn't. For those of you not in the know, hotpot is basically when you choose a meat and it is brought to you in a big pot with various veggies and in a broth and it just sits and cooks on your table. This one was served with rice. We are pretty sure we ordered duck. This was one of my favorite meals since being in China. It was perfect for a cold night. The meat was tender and delicious. The broth was hearty and flavorful. There were super yummy bean sprouts and green leafy veggies and it was just overall wonderful. SO SO GOOD.

Today at breakfast, I saw egg rolls for the first time since being in China. That sorta made me laugh. Because yes, we have the stereotypical rice and noodles every. single. day. But the other foods like egg rolls, pot stickers, and such aren't as common, at least not where I am. If you ever come to China, don't expect your favorite Orange Chicken or Beef and Broccoli. You'll be sourly disappointed and less likely to send your taste buds on the culinary exploration of a lifetime.
One thing I really do miss is Mexican food. I've heard there is a restaurant in Beijing and one in Nanjing...so I guess I'll just have to go get my fix there.

My classes for the most part are getting better. Sure I have some bad days and some bad classes and some bad lessons on occasion. But whenever the bell rings, I try to leave that behind me and wipe the slate clean. And if I'm having a difficult time doing that, I just walk outside until I see a student, and when they come running up to me with pure love and happiness, all else is immediately forgotten. The dynamics of my classrooms are so different from what I would expect elementary schools in the US to be like and I was there so long ago I can't even remember what my personal experiences were like. My kids LOVE to rat each other out for doing bad things. "Teacher, he hit her!" "Teacher, she's crying" "Teacher, he has his book open" "Teacher, she is coloring" It's endless. And pretty much without fail, I get at least one crier in every single class every single day. I'm pretty sure I had a record today though. In once class alone I had 4 kids crying at various points. I also had to break up a fight between two boys in the same class. It was nuts; they went full on kung fu on each other and were kicking each other in the face and hitting and of course a few other boys tried to get involved.

The most exciting thing that has happened this week though happened yesterday (Wednesday). I opened a Bank of China account! I'm practically, officially Chinese now! All I need is a Chinese name (which is currently being thought over by some of my new and amazing Chinese friends). The bank was definitely an experience. Not too many foreigners come to the area that I live so it took quite awhile for them to figure out how to open an account for me. Then the account became active, but wasn't registering in their system. At one point, some people came in trying to scam the bank out of money or something like that (someone tried to explain it to me, but I didn't really understand them). I was at the bank for over an hour with all the mix ups and confusion. But, as I left, the bank manager came rushing out and thanked me for coming in. She also gave me a gift (two little hand towels) as an apology for having to wait so long. Talk about hospitality!

So China, its a land of mysteries. New things happen every day. But I'm adjusting so much that even when the new things happen, I'm expecting them and they just don't really phase me anymore.

When Monkeys Attack

So, knock on wood, but Guiyang has defeated the odds and we have had a full week without rain. Curses to mother nature if she reads this and mocks me with rain tomorrow. Anyway, it has been so incredibly nice here the last week. I woke up to sunshine, I've slept without my sweatshirt AND without socks on. Now how exciting is that!?

So we were all looking forward to Saturday because we had made plans to visit Qianling Mountain Park. And boy did Saturday not disappoint. The day started with French Toast. Yup, we made French Toast in China because we are that cool. We each got something different and created a feast of sorts with sliced apples and orange juice. It was super fun and just seemed so incredibly normal.

We then set off on the bus to the park. We had to take the bus to one stop, and then find a taxi to get to the park. There is a way to get to the park using several different buses, but we figured why not "splurge" on a taxi...it only cost about twice as much as the bus. Getting a taxi is always an exciting adventure in China because you basically just wave your arm out and wait for one to stop. But usually a driver will stop to pick up more passengers until their car is full so its pretty difficult to find a completely empty taxi for all four of us!

We made it to the park without a problem, paid the small admission fee (5 RMB) and went on in. Even at first glance its amazing. There were so many things to see, trees, flowers, ponds, lakes, people. And the place is huge. It is made of two different mountains (Qianling and White Elephant) and then the spaces around and between the mountains too. There is also a famous Ming temple (Hongfu Temple) that you can ride cable cars to, but we decided to save that for another time.

Wondering the park, we found everything from musical entertainers (some better than others) and little amusement park type place with carnival like rides, caves, beautiful buildings...and monkeys. SO MANY MONKEYS. The park is actually kind of famous for it's monkeys. They are so acclimated to humans that they walk right on up to you and take food from your hand, steal your bottles, and reach into your pockets.

We were warned by the school to not get too close to the monkeys. I guess you can say we tried to listen...because once a monkey decides he wants to come up to you, there is no stopping him. But I am very proud to say that I am the only one who did not lose a bottle to a monkey. Probably because they thought I was one of them.

I almost don't even know what else to say. I mean, what can you say about monkeys. Some were huge and ugly. There were quite a few babies that were tiny and adorable. Some seemed extra mean, they can peel oranges in lightning quick speed. The are cute, but mysterious little buggers. They also can be a little evil. They can sense the fear in you and just take one little step your way and send you running and squealing for the hills.

The park also had a little zoo inside it. This was the first time something in China actually upset me. I've heard the stories of how the zoos can be kind of cruel places, but I guess I wasn't fully prepared to face the reality of the situation. Some parts didn't seem too bad. But other parts really just left me feeling disgusted. There were two poor bears out in the baking sun with basically no water. A lion was cooped up in a cage smaller than what the monkeys had and his back legs were chained together. And the bottom of his cage was just covered in scratch marks as if he wanted nothing else then to escape his prison. And though he would surely eat me alive, I wish I could have freed him. Parts of the zoo were kind of cool too. There were beautiful peacocks. Ok, I guess that's kind of it. I really only liked the peacocks. They were exquisitely beautiful.

We got lunch in the park, potatoes and noodles. They were delicious. We also walked down and then climbed back up one of the mountainous areas. That was a real treat for my bum and legs. Tons of people (usually around our age) stopped us and asked to take pictures with us which was just beyond hilarious. Its like we are celebrities here.

One thing I will never get over is how cheap everything is here. My entire day expenses are as follows:
apples (for breakfast): 7 RMB
bus rides (to and from park): 2 RMB
taxi (to and from park split 4 ways): 5 RMB
lunch at park: 5 RMB
dinner downtown: 7 RMB
drinks throughout the day: 6 RMB

That's 32 RMB. Which is roughly $5 in the US.

How mind boggling is that. An entire day of entertainment and food and transportation for $5. I swear things are way too expensive back home. The only thing here that is more expensive is anything import. Like peanut butter. And cheese. Man do I miss cheese. (oh, and I guess my crazy expensive towel...check the last blog if you don't know what I mean). I don't even know what I'll do when I get back home and can't even get a decent meal for $5.

So basically, I'm never leaving China.

Oh, and beware of the monkeys.

Let Me Share This Whole New World With You.

Ok. So I watched Aladdin last night in bed because I couldn't fall asleep even though I had just woken myself up from falling asleep on the couch. I don't quite understand it myself, but it is the case. So Aladdin. They are flying away on a magic carpet and falling in love and it just hits me like a 10 ton wrecking ball. Minus the magic carpet, the movie is portraying my life. Only instead of falling in love with a street rat turned fake prince (or more eloquently a diamond in the rough), I am falling in love with China. What a glorious place this is. And it makes me so incredibly sad how fast time is just flying by. My time left here is already down below 100 days. That's practically nothing in the grand scheme of things.

So many random little things happened during this week that at the time, each individual one didn't seem blog worthy. But now looking back, I wish I had kept a better record of everything. I know I'll miss something and then randomly bring it up like a month from now and there won't be any good context. It will sound something like this next blurb:

So on our first day in Guiyang, literally the day we stepped off the plane, I did one of the dumbest things ever. And I can't believe it has taken me this long to write about it. I somehow managed to spend $40 (yes...US dollars) on a bath towel. We were shopping for a few things we needed in our apartments and none of us had towels so we each grabbed one. I went straight for the red without looking too closely at the price tag. I come to find out it cost over 250 RMB. My jaw just dropped when I saw it, but since I don't speak chinese and didn't know what to do or say, I just forked over the cash and wept on the inside. I then talked to my liaison about it after having a mini panic attack and she was able to return the towel and get me my money back. Major relief and happy ending to a tell of Ashley woes.

Now a little bit about teaching. I LOVE my kids. They are so stinking adorable. And I feel like so many random crazy things happen in my classes. I almost always get at least one crier a day. Either a boy hit a girl. Or I wouldn't let 15 kids go to the bathroom at once. Or I didn't call on someone. Or maybe I'm just an evil teacher who takes away comic books from 6 year old boys who just don't give a hoot about what I'm saying. It breaks my heart when the kids cry. Especially when they are my favorite students. On Friday, one of my favorite 2nd grade boys cried because his team was losing the class competition for candy and he kept trying to get them to be quiet but to no avail. I tried to explain to him that sometimes we win, and sometimes we lose, and that it is okay to lose. He just kept nodding his head and saying "ok" in this tiny whisper of a voice with tears streaming down his cheeks. So preciously sad.

I had one boy sit in class with a gushing bloody nose, and when I tried to tell the chinese teacher, she just shrugged her shoulders and left. It sounds cruel, but that's just the way things are here. The mentality is why should a student just sit around in a nurses office for the bleeding to stop when they can sit in class and still learn while they wait for it to stop.

One 1st grader lost a tooth in my class this week. I tried to explain that it was a special thing, but he just threw his tooth away! Again, I was just so baffled by these tiny differences between the Chinese culture and American culture. Back home we make such a big deal over everything and make every single little innocuous occasion special. When something extra special comes along its treated no different than any mundane special thing. In China, if you make a big deal out of something, it better be super special. Or it ends up being the most simple thing ever and I'm left scratching my head wondering how giving a kid a piggy back ride can elicit such gratitude.

It is crazy to me the range in skill level all my students have. I have some 1st graders who can hold a whole conversation with me while some of my 4th graders can't even tell me their name. But I've already seen some growth and that just brings me so much joy. I love walking down the street and hearing "hello teacher miss Ashley!" and then a bunch of giggles from high pitched and innocent voices.

The kids absolutely love when I act silly in any way. For example, when the bell rings to start class, I always do the same little dance. Over a couple lessons, some kids started doing the dance with me. Others just sit and laugh. Some applaud at the end until a take a little bow which gets them all laughing. Little moments like that are what make every bad thing that happens disappear. When a kid runs up to me yelling "teacher beautiful teacher, i love you" I forget that my apartment doesn't have hot water. I forget about the bug bites, or the endless horn honking, the shoes that don't fit me too well, and the fact that I usually get all of the energy sucked out of me by my second class of the day. None of that matters anymore because the only thing that does matter is the unconditional and absolutely pure love that I receive from my students. I just hope they realize that that love is completely a two way street.

Weekend Fun!

We have now been in China for over two weeks. Between the four of us here in Guiyang, there is a lot of missing going around. There are husbands, boyfriends, family, and friends still in America that we wish we could see every day. Mostly we wish they were here with us. But, there is one thing we all are desperately missing and yearning for. The feelings of emptiness that are overwhelming us are created a bond among us ten times stronger than James himself...(get it, bond...James...).

We miss cheese.

Cheese. Glorious cheese. None of us realized how much we loved it, craved it, until we came to China and were faced with the sad truth that you just can't find it here. But, alas our dreams came true when we heard two ordinary words that we placed together create something magical: Pizza Hut.

The school treated us to an evening out on the town. We went to dinner at Pizza Hut, which is one of the nicest and most expensive restaurants in the area. Tears nearly spilled down our faces  as the first slice of pizza was picked up and the gooey deliciousness was stretching mile high. And this wasn't an ordinary Pizza Hut. Chandeliers graced the ceiling and classical music wafted through the air along with the aroma of freshly baking crust. And you can't forget the ever extensive menu including everything from pizza, pasta, and dessert to salmon and squid.  It was purely magical.

We continued the night by taking a stroll through the heart of downtown Guiyang and Remnin Square. Any time the sun goes down and lights come on, China becomes a beautiful place. Being the tourists that we are, all four of us were snapping pictures constantly. Daisy and Cynthia then took us to an American owned and run coffee shop and again, I cried tears of joy. I drank quite possibly the best toffee nut latte I have ever had. It was so fun to just be away from the school and acting young and carefree. Hanging out with Daisy and Cynthia outside of work settings was also a ton of fun! They aren't much older than we are and it is really cool to see more of what life is like for the locals on a first hand basis.

On Saturday we ventured back out to the same area on our own and went shopping at Walmart. In the square outside of it, there were hundreds of people out flying kites and having fun in the cold cold weather. But it was so fun and cool to see what vibrant of a life China has. It seems like you can never go out in America and see multiple generations of families out together and just having fun. We also went back to the coffee shop and played cards for hours, just having fun all being together.

Sunday has been another day of relaxation and fun. I have to finish some lesson plans for the following week but we watched a movie, played some card games, and are now about to head to dinner. We have had fun and are looking forward to tons more adventures and excitement to come. Most excitedly, we have KTV plans for Thursday night!! Wooo!

Teacher, let me try.

Ok. So it may not have been a full week (we started Wednesday) but I have successfully completed my first week of teaching. Boy oh boy was it a roller coaster. I went from bursting into tears on my first day to very much missing my students come this morning (Saturday). Those little buggers are just so darn cute! 

So here are a couple blurbs and highlights from my classes. 

Let's start with first grade. They are by far the most adorable of all. I have 3 different classes and teach each one twice a week. Their favorite thing: when I pretend to be a monkey. Their least favorite thing: raising their hands. Its basically nonexistent with them.  They also LOVE a song from their book and a dance I made up to it. Amber, Cate, and Jake are going crazy because I'm basically singing everything and breaking out into dance every two seconds. Its like I'm on full-time teacher mode already. 

My second grade students are a little bit of a curve ball. There are also three classes, but I see them all three times a week.  My worst class is Grade 2 Class 2. I have kids who can't seem to sit in their chairs without falling out every two seconds. One boy who has come close to pooping his pants twice. Whenever I let one kid go to the bathroom, every single one of them has to go. But one of the funniest things has also happened in Grade 2. I was trying to get the students to make name tags but they were not understanding what I wanted them to do at all. So I tried to make an example by making my own name tag. Next thing I know I have 35 student name tags that all say "Miss Ashley". When I said "no your name" a few kids then wrote "Miss Judy" or "Miss Jerry". I laughed so hard when I got out of class. They are at times entertaining, but over all, mostly annoying. The other two classes are kinda a blur, so I can justly comment on the rest of grade 2. 

Grade three and four are some of my favorite students. Partially because they understand a lot more of what I'm saying (while still keeping what I am saying pretty simple). I get a lot of hand raising and volunteering which is amazing. I have some kids who love to show how much they know and some who I can't get a word out of. But in my 4th grade class I did witness something pretty awesome. I called on one girl to give an example of an activity I had the class do and she was so so scared and wouldn't say anything. Even with my endless encouragement and that of her friend. But finally she muttered out an answer (that was drowned out by me and her friend saying it with her) but I gave her endless praise for a job well done. After that, she volunteered for everything! Including coming up to the board to write an answer! It was so great seeing the confidence grow in her and all within one class. I can't wait to track her progress through the whole semester. 

The one thing that is the same in all classes though is that whenever they get really excited about volunteering to do something its a deafening chorus of "teacher, let me try! let me try!" Even though I was warned about that, it still drives me a little crazy. Its also funny. And awesome to know they all want to try and show off what they know. 

Some parts of teaching break my heart just a little too. I've had at least one kid cry every day so far. And Thursday evening when I was in the office alone working on lesson plans, I had one girl come in (from 3rd grade) and start talking to me with the little conversational English she knows. Next thing I know, she is hugging me and calling me "mama" and then she says she misses her mom. She kept nuzzling into the crook of my neck and saying "you're mama" and I almost wanted to cry. I don't understand how kids as young as 5 and 6 can be away from their parents for so long at a time. Even if it is only a Monday-Friday boarding school, I can only imagine (and am now seeing first hand) just how difficult it can be. 

(this is the only picture of the school I have so far. this is at the entrance and called "wall of smiles" featuring some of the students)