Tales of Shanghai

Blogger No More

2011-03-25T14:25:00.009+08:00

China and Blogger are not friends. The feud goes way back to grade school when Blogger called China a "big fatty fat" and, in retaliation, China killed everyone in Blogger's family.

The point is, Blogger has been blocked in China for years. Using a VPN (read: tricking China) has been the best way around the problem up until now. But with the recent protests in the Middle East, China is crazy afraid that access to unregulated internet sites could facilitate an uprising of their own. More and more VPNs are being blocked. Translation: no Blogger for Ness. Thanks a lot, Egypt. You just had to have your precious freedom.

So how am I getting on Blogger now, you ask? The answer is: "I'm" not. This isn't Vanessa. (What?!!) Yeah, this is actually her brother. The reason I've brought you all here it to tell you that Vanessa still loves you very very much, but sometimes people fall out of love and they grow apart and they leave Blogger and start a blog somewhere else.

You can find Vanessa's new blog here.

It's new, it's fresh, and it isn't pinned under the giant hand of the benevolent leader. Have at it.

Just indulge me here

2011-03-03T14:34:00.003+08:00

I would love to travel the world. I want to see all the tourist things but also the every day things. I would love to be able to understand in every language in the world meaning speak, read, write, listen....every aspect. I would love to work for United Nations as a translator. I would love to travel to all the tropical islands such as Bora Bora, Maldives, Bermuda, Barbados, Bahamas, Tahiti, Fiji, and Bali. I would love to own an ultra expensive camera and take up photography. I would love to play tennis in my own private tennis court in my backyard. I would love an apartment in Shanghai and a beach house in Los Angeles. I would also love to have a farm with a horse, a few chickens, pigs, cows. I would love a Mexican cook and a personal trainer and my own private gym. I would love a balcony, an annex, a loft where I have my own personal space and library. I would love to work at an orphanage and go on humanitarian trips with special projects like delivering water and soap to small villages in Africa. I would love to fly without fear of getting shot down by the government. I would love to ride a dinosaur without fear of being eaten or falling off. I would love to have my own messenger pigeon. I would love to stay in bed all day and read a good book without feeling guilty of being unproductive. I would love for each day to last twice as long. I would love to have a little dragon for a pet about the size of Sophie that was very tame and didn't breathe fire on me...

This morning's dream

2011-03-03T14:26:00.002+08:00

I had a dream that I went to Fiji. No matter what time of day, the sun was always setting there and the wind was cold. It was a surprise trip from my husband. But then my mother showed up and wanted to take me to Sydney, Australia. We took a 4 hour plane ride to Sydney but she informed me we could stay only one day. It looked just like Los Angeles, but the palm trees were 20 stories high. I couldn't get out of parking lot near the airport. I just wanted to see the Sydney opera house but couldn't go. My time was up and I had to go back to the plane and all I saw were palm trees and a parking lot.

What's really bizarre about this dream is that I knew the distance between Fiji and Sydney. I literally didn't know where Fiji was before this dream.

Teaching Again

2011-03-02T13:55:00.001+08:00

I started teaching again.

I have some new freshmen for my conversation class. We talked about the differences among the terms: dreams, aspirations, ambitions, and goals. We talked about the words realistic and unrealistic. Also taught them the verb "set" as in "to set goals." Then I had them all create a bucket list after I explained the term to them.

For my writing class, I had a lecture on punctuation and then sent them home with 14 pages of reading. The next class period they took a quiz. There were 13 questions, most just "what are commas, apostrophes, hyphens, etc..." but my favorite questions were these:

10) Explain the difference in meaning
between these two phrases:

• a man-eating shark
• a man eating shark

11) Explain the difference in meaning
between these three phrases:

• three-hundred-year-old trees
• three hundred-year-old trees
• three hundred year-old trees

12) Punctuation is important! Explain
the meaning of each of these sentences:

Woman, without her man, is nothing"

Woman: without her, man is nothing"

13) Explain the meaning of each of these
sentences:

• "King Charles walked and talked half an hour
after his head was cut off

• "King Charles walked and talked; half an hour
after, his head was cut off"

They loved them and it was a fun little exercise that showed them that punctuation in the English language really is important.

China Pavilion

2011-02-26T13:46:00.000+08:00

Ramsey and I with a few friends visited the China Pavilion which was part of the 2010 World Expo. However, to view the China Pavilion you must wait in line for something crazy like 8 hours so we never saw it. Thankfully the China Pavilion was reopened by popular demand until May so we visited it finally. We brought along Flat Benjamin which was made by our nephew Benjamin.

We received the following letter:
-------------------

"Hello! My name is Benjamin.... and I am a kindergartner at......Our class read the book "Flat Stanley" by Jeff Brown. In the book, Stanley became flat when a bulletin board fell on him! One advantage of being flat was that Stanley's parents could send him in an envelope to visit family and friends through the mail- which was cheaper than airfare!

My classmates and I have become flat in order to take an adventure around the world. I have been sent to you in hope that you would be willing to help me along my adventure!"
-------------------

Flat Benjamin was mailed to us from Ramsey's mother and we are sending him along to Ramsey's uncle in England. We will be sending a postcard picture to Benjamin's kindergarten class. Please tell me which one you think is the best for a postcard and leave a comment! Thank you!!!

Karaoke Afternoon

2011-02-25T13:36:00.000+08:00

A wonderful winter afternoon complete with Karaoke and Korean food.

For the record, Billie Jean is not my lover.

California

2011-02-20T19:39:00.001+08:00

I loved my time in California. The warm weather was very much welcomed since I had been stuck in a freezing Shanghai. While I did spend a lot of time babysitting my nieces before you think that's all I did, let me tell you I had a ton of fun doing other various activities! It was so nice to see everyone. I love my family! I loved my late night talks with my Mom and hanging out with my brother Jeremy!

I loved jogging in the afternoons with my brother Jer. I love him so much. For the longest time I couldn't get out of "little sister" status but now we are equals and friends and I love hanging out with him. We always have so much fun when we're together. He's such a good person and he does so much for others and I think a lot of people don't realize it. He's always helping my father out with the kids and putting his plans second. I'm so grateful he's in my life.

I had the best Valentine's Day ever! I spent it with my mother and my niece Stephanie. It was a girly Valentine's Day complete with shopping, mani's and pedi's, restaurant going and seeing the Justin Bieber movie.

Visiting my friend Summer. I visited her and her little baby girl at the hospital and later we got Mexican food. I've missed her so much!!!

Mini friends reunion. It's been so long since I've seen my high school friends!

Spent a Saturday at Venice Beach with Steph and Jer. It was a lot of fun strolling down the street and looking at little vendor shops.

Goodbye sunny California weather. You will be truly missed!!!

Utah (Days 4-7)

2011-02-09T19:10:00.008+08:00

After hanging out with Trinh and Kev, I got to spend time with my dear friend Becca. I was so excited to spend two nights at her apartment and get to see her and her cute little baby boy Alec. He is such a dream baby. He never cries and he smiles all the time. Hanging out with him made me feel encouraged again to have kids. I have ups and downs where I get scared to death to have kids and then there will be times like these where I'll have the most precious, calm baby in my arms and I think, "Yes, perhaps I can do this." I loved bonding with Becca and sharing in each other's interests. Becca and Marat were such good hosts, making me dinner and taking me to Cafe Rio. I had a great time with them.

I love how in love Becca is with her baby. I've never before seen such happiness in a mother's face. She is basically drunk with love with her baby boy. I can't help but be affected by her radiance and love. I felt so cheerful the whole time I was there. I really hope I will be as attached to my future baby.

Cafe Rio Pork Salad: My one true love

On Wednesday I went and saw my friend Layne. We ate at a vegan restaurant and watched Black Swan. (That movie is a trip. ) Was so nice to see her again. Went back to Becca's Thursday morning. That afternoon afternoon, Becca and I invited our friend and former room mate Rebecca Rosello over and see her kids. I haven't seen Rebecca since August 2008. She's growing like a weed! And this was the first time seeing Alessandra.

This is lunch with the Dewey boys. Joseph took a lunch break and we picked up Mark. Ate some tasty Thai food.

Utah was awesome! Thanks to all my great hosts and hostesses! Love you tons!

Utah (Days 1-4)

2011-02-08T04:07:00.005+08:00

So within my 5 week vacation, I have a mini one week vacation to visit my brother in Utah and a couple other of my favorite people.

The first day, Kev and Trinh picked me up from the airport and took me to Vietnamese cuisine at Cafe Trang in Salt Lake. I ordered what Trinh got which was fabulous and I decided I love Vietnamese food. I love the tangy taste of most of the dishes. Afterward, we went to Kevin's Vietnamese class and because it was the New Year, they were having a little class celebration and we ate traditional New Year cake which is a glutinous rice cake with pork and wrapped in bamboo leaves. We also watched a documentary on how the Vietnamese celebrate the New Year and a nice return missionary who went to Cambodia on his mission but taught in Vietnamese translated everything for me. I learned a lot and really have come to like the culture and all the New festivities. I also really like their dress. The language however is something I would never want to learn because I don't really like how it sounds. Trinh sounds pretty when she speaks it but for the most part, it just sounds like the aliens from Mars Attack. haha

Breakfast by Trinh and Kev

The next day, Kev and I went jogging and talked for many hours. So this was our major bonding day. We ate at Cafe Rio which was so awesome and I was looking forward to it for such a long time. Afterward we watched Unstoppable at the dollar theatre.

Saturday, I woke up to fresh made crepes with chocolate and bananna courtesty of Trinh and for lunch her homemade Indian Chicken Masala. Can I just say I love Trinh and her cooking??? We then went to Park City to browze all the boutique shops and it was really fun!

Afterward, we went to the New Year celebration put on by the Vietnamese association of BYU. We had a fabulous dinner, watched great performances, and had a raffle. Trinh won one of the prizes.

Afterward we had icecream at Macey's and watched "The Next Three Days" at the dollar theatre. I thought I was going to pass out from the suspense of the last 15 minutes.

Sunday was rough because it was fast sunday and their church doesn't start til 1:30 and I was starving. But I think it was all in the mind because since my church is so far away in Shanghai that while church starts at 10:30, I don't get home til 3:00 because of all the traveling, so I fast the same amount. I think the torture part was that Trinh had pork roast in her slow cooker which was filling the air with such temptuous smells.

Their church was great. It was a young married ward for those attending BYU and it was weird to realize that I was one of the oldest ones there besides Trinh and Kev. Most of the girls were 20-22. But the lessons were so good! I think having a ward run by young, ambitious, committed young people really helps excite things up.

After church, Trinh made homemade Cafe Rio pork salad, and it was mouthwatering. It had all the characteristics of Cafe Rio because she found the recipe online. The signature house dressing and coke-marinated slow cooked pork was amazing. We watched a lot of the superbowl and the episode of Glee afterward. There was a lot of downtime and relaxing which was so nice! I got to go on Goodreads which is blocked in China and make a list of all the books I want to read. I just got a kindle and am so excited to read all these books that I've been wanting to read for a long time but just don't have space to bring in my luggage to China. I'm so excited all these books are on the kindle but sad that Wild Swans is not since there's no way I can bring that back to China without getting caught. Anyway, if you have a goodreads account, please add me as your friend.

Thanks Kev and Trinh!

My Vacation in America

2011-02-02T08:43:00.001+08:00

Chinese barbies for my nieces

Chinese bride from the Ming Dynasty for MadilynnChang E the moon fairy for Morgan

Manchu princess barbie from the Qing Dynasty for MelanieThe Green Tea fairy for Samantha

I've been in America since the 18th of January. I have a nice break for Chinese New Year courtesy of my university.

Days before arriving, I took my Chinese final and I took my results pretty hard. I got a 85% and the perfectionist in me was pretty disappointed in the score. I spent 7 hours studying for that test. It was a beast. It was 8 pages and included a 250 character composition. (Yes in Chinese characters-eek!). I just felt like I studied so hard and when I studied this hard in college I was always awarded with an A.

But the part that bugs me the most is that I'm getting so upset over a grade that is completely meaningless. It doesn't count for a degree. It's a Chinese course for goodness sakes. Why am I stressing about? Sometimes it feels so unfair that I'm in a class with a bunch of Japanese and Korean that can write these characters in their sleep. I clearly have an unfair advantage but my teacher doesn't seem to expect any less from me than the other students.

You know after a test, you sometimes have the sense of relief. Well I did for my midterm when I got the highest in the class with a 92%. But this time I was third and I guess my pride got in the way. While I was riding my scooter home from the final exam, tears slipped down my cheeks and I was embarrassed that I would actually be so upset about this. I want to know Chinese so badly and I want to be good at it. I want it so much it hurts sometimes.

Well now I'm in America. I was so excited to bring my nieces these beautiful Chinese barbies in traditional attire and tons of toys. I love seeing the joy in their little faces.

Right now I've been taking care of my nieces a lot. I babysit, read stories to them, clean, clean, clean!, make healthy meals for my dad, take the kids to school in the morning and accompany them to their classes.... Sometimes I don't feel like I have a break! But I love them and I love helping out my father. I would do anything for my father. I'm just sad that I'm not always there to do this for him.

This morning was a little rough. It's not easy waking up at 6:20 am and driving over to their house. But at least I get the appreciation from my father. Well this morning I had the hardest time waking up the 13 year old. She was very upset at me that I wouldn't give her 10 more minutes of sleep and later took it out on me by punching me really hard in the arm. Then the 6 year old didn't want anything to do with me and insisted that grandpa drive them to school in the new car. And of course the two year old wanted nothing to do with me. I basically felt like smuck. I basically went over there for nothing.

At first they were so happy to see me and then because I did so much babysitting I had to be a disciplinarian. When there are 6 screaming kids, you can't be their friend. They have to eat their food at the table, they need to make their beds, they need to brush their teeth and get ready for bed when I ask them the first time...of course I need enforce some time-outs when they are trying to claw each other or I need to give them a wap on the butt when they don't listen to me the fourth time I've said something. This is part of being a parent.( Something that I don't have any experience in.) I am the youngest child and this is all very new to me.

But anyone who knows me knows that I'm very sensitive and when you do so much for a child out of love and they treat you like they resent your existence, at least for my personality, I take it pretty hard.

It makes me think...do I really want this in life? Do I want to be resented in the many years of child raising? I suppose it's an idea I better just get used to but it still makes me hesitant.

My Grandpa's 96th B-day (Jan 23)

2011-02-02T00:43:00.000+08:00

Isn't it amazing that I have a grandpa that is 96 years old? Isn't it amazing that all four of my grandparents are alive? Isn't it truly something amazing?!

I was blessed to be in town for my Grandfather's 96th birthday. My Aunt Joyce made a fabulous dinner and I made the German Chocolate cake which is his favorite. Look at how adorable he is!

Coming home from church

2011-01-04T13:38:00.002+08:00

1/1/11 & Happy year of the rabbit!

2011-01-02T11:36:00.007+08:00

Today's new years. Goodbye tiger year! Can you believe I actually fell asleep on New Year's Eve at 10:00 PM? I had been grading all day and I don't remember how it happened but I fell asleep at around 10 and missed saying "Happy New Years" at midnight, making a ton of noise, and kissing my husband. This is the first time in my life I missed doing that! So the next day around 4:00 PM, I did it because that was New Years in America (Pacific Time). I have a recording of doing it. Listen to Sophie getting really into it.

Ramsey spent his New Years day with a video game party. Inviting 3 friends, with two giant flatscreen tvs, and 3 video games systems: xbox 360, wii, playstation 3.
I joined in for a couple of games and whipped people real good on soul caliber 4. Then I proceeded to copy 1000 games on my external harddrive for my Nintendo DS Lite. (Courtesy of Carl who bought 1000 games for $5.88.) Now, my DS playing ways have had an upgrade.

I finished teaching at the University as of last Friday and I don't begin teaching again until FEB 21. I love my awesome long break that Chinese universities provide for their faculty and students. China, you rock!

Well technically I have to grade now. poo. Why did I make such a complicated grading system?? Their quizzes based on the news reading are worth 140 points because they have had 14 quizzes all 10 points each and this is worth 50 percent of their grade. Then their news sharing is 15% of their grade and their attendance 5%. Usually attendance is higher but this semester taking the quizzes really reflected who was there and not. Anyway, their final is worth 30% of their grade. This year another teacher is grading my finals. WOOT! And compiling my final grade. =) So I just have to submit the 70% score. Well that means I have to find out their quiz scores times that by .5, find out their news sharing score, times that by .15, and then their attendance score times that by .05 and then divide all that my 70. Ahhh math. I know I could have excel do this all for me and I have in the past. But this year, doing it my good old calculator methods.

Because it's 1/1/11 I would like to share a few thoughts about the last year. Here were my resolutions this past year:

My New Year's Resolutions 2010

1) Sleep more (uncheck)
2) Take better care of my skin (check)
3) Chinese learning 2 hours a day (check)
4) Make more of an effort to speak Chinese no matter how badly I mess up (check)
5) Make more friends (check)
6) Family prayer, FHE, and Scripture reading nightly (uncheck)
7) Welcome new members of the branch/find ways to make people feel welcome (sorta check-started out strong)
8) Eat breakfast (check)
9) Become a better listener (check???)
10) Look for ways to serve people (check!)

Ok

NEW Years Resolutions 2011
1) Sleep 7-8 hours a day. ahahahaha we'll see.
2) Learn other languages besides Chinese for a total of 4 hours during the week. (Is this unrealistic? Quite possibly, but now I have a ton of pirated Rosetta Stone software to help me)
3) Read the whole New Testament with Ramsey with heavy discussion every night. (We've already started in December in preparation for this years Gospel Doctrine lessons.)
4) Cook at least twice a week. (I used to cook a lot when I first came here until I realized it was more healthy and cheaper to eat out at the mom and pop shops down the road). Well, I really need to develop cooking skills. I will have kids some day ya know!!!
5) Pick up 10 items before going to bed. Never leave the sink full of dishes over night. (You know, my apt would stay immaculate if I just followed this little rule)
6) This year will be the year of toning my legs. I have done a lot with my arms this past year, but ever since I had a little accident with my knee, I couldn't do a proper squat without filling my knee with fluid. Well, it's healed ok now and I have discovered some exercises that aren't squats, but will have to do.)
7) Build my relationship with God. You can't love God if you don't know God. God is an abstract idea until you decide to build a tangible relationship with him. This means, my prayers this year have to be stronger that ever. I'm going to listen more.
8) Also going to try to develop more personal relationships with my students. Have more office time to talk.
9) Going to try to find a few part time jobs. I subbed for an international school last month and made $75 for 3 hours. Now that's what I'm talking about. I need some more spending money for my traveling and taobao.com addictions.
10) Lastly, I will continue to look for ways to serve others. I will do this once a week. It doesn't have to be big but I will do it faithfully once a week.

And to finish this post, I will like to mention a few things. This year I made a friend named Vish through my Chinese class. She is the nicest, sweetest person. I love her dearly.

I've had an awesome Chinese teacher who is patient, sweet, adorable, wonderful.

This year, I brought my dear little pup Sophie to China. Thank you China for letting my dog come to your country!

I traveled with my brother to the Great Wall, visited the Snow and Ice festival in Harbin and vacationed on the white beaches of Sanya on Hainan island.

I also had mini trips to beautiful ancient cities in China.

This is the first time in my life I had money to spend on Christmas and could buy Ramsey a bunch of presents. The first time in my life that money hasn't been an issue like it has in the past. The first time I haven't had to worry about my weight because you can't gain weight in China. (I think it's impossible).

I am happy folks! China is my haven. China is what my soul was searching for all these years.

I love the people.

I love the culture.

I love the traditions.

I love the shopping.

I love (most) of the food.

I love how safe it is here.

Yes, I could welcome a couple of nice things like I wish the air quality would adapt to some sort of shade of blue and that people didn't spit and scream loudly on their cellphones. But every place isn't a perfect utopia. There are people in China that have terrible lives for lack of good health care and money, but thankfully China has been good to me. The government has allowed me to teach their people English and has provided me a free apartment and good wage. And while occasionally I run across a jerk, for the most part the Chinese people are the sweetest, most accommodating people in the world.

God bless America and God bless China! And may 2011 be just as awesome and fulfilling as the last year!

Happy New Year!

My Chinese Tutor's Wedding

2010-12-29T18:56:00.003+08:00

As you know I go to Donghua University three nights a week for 2 hours and 20 minutes each for Chinese class. It's pretty hardcore, but on top of that I have a two hour language exchange on Wednesdays with this Chinese girl named Liu Yi Lai. She got married on December 29th. So Ramsey and I took the train back from Changzhou after Dinosaurland and attended her wedding.

She usually tutors Japanese people in Chinese. Her husband is Japanese and she speaks it fluently. Her English is pretty non existent. In fact, we finally mastered "What are you doing today?" and "I am very busy with work today." Teaching her English actually improves my Chinese a ton because I have to explain everything including grammar rules in Chinese. Anyway, here are some pictures of her wedding. Chinese weddings are really cool. They have so many wedding dress changes. The first part of the wedding, the groom carried the bride "unwillingly" on his back and trots across the room with a covering over her face. It's supposed to represent the "stealing" of the bride from her family. Traditionally all the women in the family have to wail and even the bride will cry all her makeup off to represent her sadness of leaving her family to join another. However no crying at this wedding just her being carried on his back. She looked so cute with her legs dangling. She's so small after all. I wish I got a picture of it.

Me singing "迷宫" at the wedding

Birthday in Changzhou: Dinosaurland

2010-12-29T17:32:00.006+08:00

Dinosaurland is not always everyone's first choice in the winter. It's really a summer thing since it has a connecting water park. The park has 50 different kinds of dinosaur fossils which are located in a museum. It also has more than 30 amusement rides which are spread throughout the park and put into six different themed areas. When we arrived at Dinosaurland, it was a little eerie how vacant everything was. There were hardly no lines. "This isn't China if there are no lines," I told myself. The park is so massive and happy music is blaring through the speakers and with the combination of no people, it put a little dark vibe to the place. I kept telling Ramsey I was creeped out. Thankfully a few hours into it, a lot more people showed up and it seemed less creepy.

Random doves chilling out in Dinosaurland.

There were a lot of rides I enjoyed. One is the equivalent to Splash Mountain. It has the whole log boat and giant drop. We had to buy ponchos for that ride. While it's winter and it's normally freezing, this particular day was quite warm and it didn't seem so bad to get wet. The ride was massive with huge landscapes of differing types of dinosaurs and one large volcano that was the size of a house. Where do they get all this space? Oh, right it's China. Anyway, the artistry was pretty amazing.

Another was this ride where you're kind of on a motorcycle but it's a roller coaster. Can't really explain it but it wasn't fat friendly and even me at 126 lbs was getting my ribs almost squished. The ride was really intense.

Another ride is a giant King Kong picking you up in your bus and shaking you around. He also breathes fire and had a crazy murderous look in his eye.

Another ride I felt like I was going to go off the tract. They would throw you and you felt like you're skidding off the edge but it's just an illusion because the very end is still on the tract. It looked so harmless but I was scared out of my mind. Didn't know I was this afraid of heights until I felt like I was going to fall. I think part of the reason it's so scary is because deaths by roller coasters seems more of a reality in China than in America "the sue" capital of the world.

Another ride was the notorious ride where they launch you in the air and then drop (otherwise called Scream at Knotts Berry Farm and Superman in 6 Flags.)

My favorite thing was that they have this random haunted spook alley called "The Fantastic Spooky House." There were no live actors and it was all animatronics. I actually think it was really good. For one, no one was around, Two, it was quite long, and Three, the artistry was good. It started off all dinosaur stuff and then it just became a huge eclectic freak show with the most horrifying things. At one part, I really felt like I was in hell. These will devils/ghouls were trying to push themselves through the caged walls. And then there was this hallroom where the walls were closing in like you see through the movies. I was walking kind of slowly, just thinking it was fun until I realized that the walls weren't stopping. And then I remembered China isn't fat-people friendly and I had to start running before the walls crushed me. Really China??? You don't care about getting sued? Ha, of course she doesn't. China's a badass and their spook alleys are legit.

Dinosaur also comes with its own museum full of dinosaur bones. It's quite fun seeing the traditional dinosaurs like the Brontosaurus and the T-rex being called funny Chinese names like the sichuan-a-saurus, and the beijjing-a-saurus. I can't remember their names exactly but it was funny like that.

We went to a birdshow. Lots of tricks like picking out the right bowl that contains the ball, doing math, ride mini bikes, and talking.

Birds jamming to the music

Grand finale

Saw a ridiculous stunt show. This dinosaur here beat the crap out of the actors and Ramsey wanted so much to put it up on youtube because it was was hilarious but I got my camera out by the time he ran out. But trust me, it was the best fight scene ever

And now I will leave you with awesome artwork found on the bathroom wall.
What a perfect utopian world with dinosaurs! =)

Birthday in Changzhou: Tianning Temple

2010-12-29T14:32:00.015+08:00

I was feeling kind of depressed thinking about turning 26. I'm not ready! The age 26 represents to me that I have grown up. Yeah, for most people it's 18-21. But for me I still felt like I was in the college age party mode. It helps not having kids. I'm sure as soon as I have kids I will feel very grown up. As I was feeling a little depressed about getting older, Ramsey said, "26 is a sexy age." I think he likes me getting older since he's already 6 years and 3 months older than me.

It seems like just yesterday that I married the love of my life at the age of 20 and here I am 26 and grown up.

I'm very comfortable with telling people my age. In China, people ask about each other's age all the time and every one is always comfortable about it. Even random taxi drivers will ask me. I don't hesitate at all. The Chinese word for twenty-five rolled off my tongue beautifully. Unfortunately twenty-six ends on the falling tone or I think of it as the harsh tone so now I feel like I'm shouting out my age.

This year, a month before I birthday, I asked Ramsey to plan me a wonderful birthday with an awesome hotel. I always do all the planning whenever we have little mini trips. Well the day before I asked him if he had anything planned and he looked at me with this guilty look and I knew he hadn't planned anything. Actually I expected this because he had been so busy with all his part time jobs and he doesn't speak any Chinese to manage booking a hotel or getting train tickets. Thankfully, I know how to rely on myself and I had planned a backup plan for my birthday in case Ramsey didn't plan anything and after I revealed my plan he quickly agreed to pay for everything. =)

I planned an action packed trip to Changzhou (an hour train ride from Shanghai). There we would visit the biggest pagoda in the world and visit Dinosaurland. I asked my friend to book me a hotel. Chinese people are much better at haggling for prices on the phone than I am. So our 826rmb ($121) hotel room ended up being 388rmb ($57 room). P.S. you always have to haggle for the cost of hotel rooms in China. A lot of foreigners don't know this and end up paying the full price. Even the clerks will tell foreigners they can't haggle the price but then they let Chinese people do it. Hence, enlisting a Chinese friend to haggle is the way to go.

Check out our very romantic hotel room! A round bed and a jet tub woot!

We got to the hotel and enjoyed the tub for a while. The original plan was to go to Dinosaurland on my birthday but then we left a little late and it closes at 5 so we ended up switching Tuesday's itinerary with Wednesday's. So Tuesday we ended up seeing Tianning pagoda, visiting Hongmei park and going shopping at Nan Da Jie.

I had no idea my hotel was a 5 minute walk from the pagoda, a 6 minute walk to the Hongmei park, and a 15 minute walk to the Nan Da Jie. I didn't have to rely on taxis that much. Although the taxis are cheaper here than Shanghai and probably more honest. I could actually understand them so clearly! No shanghai dialect to get in my way!

Tianning Temple and Pagoda (天宁寺)

According to Wikipedia: "With 13 stories and a height of 154 m (505 ft), this wooden pagoda is now the tallest pagoda in the world, taller than China's tallest existent pre-modern Buddhist pagoda, the Liaodi Pagoda built in 1055 at a height of 84 m (275 ft). Although the existing pagoda was built by April 2007, the temple grounds and the pagoda have a history of construction and destruction for the past 1,350 years, since the time of the Tang Dynasty (618–907)."

hehe It says Buddhist jungle instead of pagoda:
So, it's not really a complete authentic temple since the poor thing has been damaged so much. It has an elevator for one. As much as I would love to have claimed to have hiked the 13 stories, my knee wouldn't be able to handle it without puffing up to the size of a grapefruit and so I climbed about 5 stories and used the elevator for the rest. One thing that was really cool is that in some of the floors they had a museum and we got to see a lot of ancient artifacts.

This is a view of Hongmei park from the view of one of the floors of the pagoda

The top!

These guys are making a dragon out of pottery. (bowls and plates)

This guy in particular was ecstatic about getting his picture taken and having his work appreciated.
We saw ladies cutting up fabric and tying and gluing it to animals shapes like these cranes here:

Later that evening, we went out the Nan Da Jie and ate at Pizza hut We then rented a karaoke room and sang out our lungs for about an hour and then back to the hotel and enjoyed the jet tub for round two.

P.S. Those are rose pedals I'm holding, not food.

Christmas

2010-12-26T12:49:00.006+08:00

This Christmas was super duper awesome. Why? Well for one, it was on a Saturday! And two, we had our students come over. Ramsey and I had been wanting to invite our most favorite students for a long time. Well our three favorite students our Xin Xiang Mei (Jane), Zhou Chun Yun (Cherry), and Zhang Xiao (Eileen). Eileen also invited her boyfriend who was visiting the same weekend from his university in Beijing. Jane emailed me the pictures shown in this post.

Before the students came over at 5:30 pm, Ramsey and I opened presents and cuddled in our new soft blanket-like pajamas we bought for each other. Ramsey bought me a giant Korean blanket. It's seriously the softest thing ever. He also bought me 10 new outfits, rosetta stone japanese, and korean, a wii, tons of warm tights, 6 pairs of boots and a soft bathrobe. I bought Ramsey the Kinect for the Xbox 360, rosetta stone chinese, 3 pairs of soft pajamas, xbox games, a pair of boxing gloves, muay thai pads, mouth guards, xbox 360 games, a couple of books, muay thai shorts, a sporting cup, and two pairs of church shoes.

This is the first year we could afford to buy so many gifts. For one, we have money this year, but most because two, we shopped a lot on taobao.com which offers unbelievably low prices.

We also had stockings full of candy, peanuts and oranges to keep the tradition from both of our families. We watched the Christmas episode of The Office season 7. =)

Then we started preparations. I bought the Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey to watch. Ramsey started cooking chili. He makes the best chili with a tons of bean variety and I haven't had it the whole time I lived in China. So we found all the ingredients in the import section and made it for our students. We also had roast duck and dumplings.

Our students arrived and we gave them all one present which was a large colorful soft sock. They looked really confused and we laughed. "Where is the other sock Mr. and Mrs. Dewey?" We replied, "You have to match your sock with the other sock on the wall." They didn't understand and so they tried to hang their sock with the other sock and we just laughed and laughed. No, take that one down and keep them both! The other one is filled with candy, peanuts and oranges. They were delighted to get to keep both their socks to make a matching pair. Ramsey and I enjoyed their big bright eyes of wonderment as they experienced their first Christmas stocking.

And then we ate dinner. They absolutely loved the chili. They had seconds and even thirds. We were so shocked because normally Chinese people can't stand American food besides the occasional KFC and Mcdonalds, but they raved about our chili. They loved the whole meal but didn't really understand the movie, because the new Christmas Carol uses the same language as the way Charles Dickens wrote it so it's hard for esl speakers to understand. We paused the movie a lot to explain what was going on. Probably should have stuck with Mickey's Christmas carol. hehe.

Then we gave the students gifts. They had to open one and then another student had a chance to open a new one or steal one from another student. Ramsey and I laughed as our students became quite attached to their presents only to look like they would cry after someone would steal their gift. But by the end, each student got two gifts each and looked pretty pleased with at least one of them. =)

Then we had dessert and headed over to the foot spa. Ramsey told me I was like Oprah because I was giving them all foot massages. He imitated Oprah by saying "And you get a foot massage and you get a foot massage and you get a foot massage...you all get foot massages!!!"
The students also said that we had our roles reversed. In Chinese culture, the woman cooks and the husband plans the activities. Well Ramsey cooked and I planned all the activities. They all laughed giddily at this concept.

What I love about my students is that they are all from the countryside, moving to Shanghai for college. One of them grew up on a farm with chickens. They didn't have a lot growing up. They are the most humble and sweetest students I've ever taught. They have a wide-eyed child-like look of innocence and delight in them. They are so grateful and kept talking about how they had never had a foot massage before and felt like princesses. I'm glad this year I could easily afford it and that I could share the joy of Christmas with a few Chinese citizens.

Merry Christmas!!!!

Sophie in Shanghai Snow

2010-12-15T18:08:00.000+08:00

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I looked out my window and discovered it had snowed. This was shocking because it doesn't usually snow in Shanghai and if it does, it's extremely rare. It didn't snow the last year I was here. Plus it was really warm up until this month. I wasn't planning on going outside and leaving my oh so warm apartment but Sophie needed to go, and so we went!

Yangzhou 扬州 (Nov 2nd)

2010-12-15T10:00:00.020+08:00

There comes a point in married life where you just need some time away from your spouse. Perhaps it's my independent driven needs. I was desperately craving girl time. I called up Vish and said, "Let's go on a day trip. You in?" "Of course," she replies. The great thing about Vish is that she's always up for anything. We picked a Tuesday-my favorite day of the week because I don't have to work or have Chinese class on that day. This particular Tuesday, Ramsey was recording his voice for English language learning books, so thankfully he didn't mind our need for girl bonding.

I decided that we should go to Yangzhou because I learned about it for a Chinese reading assignment. Yangzhou is in Jiangsu province. It has a rich history of over 2500 years. It's said that Marco Polo was a governor there. It's famous for it's ancient culture and it raised up many great writers, poets, artists, and scholars. It's where the Yangze river and the Great Beijing-Hangzhou canal, the biggest man made canal/river in the whole world, meet. Yangzhou is also famous for its rice. You know that rice you get with egg, shrimp, corns, peas etc... yeah that's Yangzhou fried rice. Americans love it and that's why it's in every Chinese restaurant back home. But actually the rest of China doesn't always have this style of rice.

Anyway, this is the first time I ever really planned an itinerary on my own. Usually when I travel, others do it for me. Either, a tour guide, a friend, or in the best of cases, my brother Jeremy. He really should go into business doing something like that since he's so awesome at it. I don't think I've actually ever booked a hotel on my own. Well, there's always a first for everything. I booked our train tickets and then I got us our connecting bus tickets at Zhenjiang, and I was feeling pretty good about myself.
How can I describe Yangzhou? It has a very different air about it. Life seems less busy. People are more willing to sell things for cheaper. I think less people are out to rip off the non-suspecting foreigner i.e. "laowai." It's got a special energy however. There is very much a energy of wanting success.

The famous "Five Pagodas Bridge"

The first thing we did was visit the "Slender West Lake." If you looked at it, you wouldn't be able to really think of it as a lake. It looks like a wide river, but I suppose that why it's called "slender." Needless to say, because I'm showing you pictures, this lake is gorgeous. Just breathtaking. It turned out to be a rainy day, but I still saw it's potential. It truly has the most amazing scenery. I've never seen so many willows in my life.

Here's us on a rented boat. We took turns driving it.

I loved Da Ming Temple. We climbed all the way to the 9th floor. This was an invigorating experience. We also got incense sticks, lit them, and placed them in various places. We heard monks chant and I watched Vish pray to Buddha.

This temple dates back to the 5th century AD.

A view from one of the floors. We stopped at each floor to look out. That was the most fun part, plus it gave us a chance to catch our breath.

On the way out I bought a paper toy from a lady. When you pulled it's string from top to bottom it would let out a wild bird sound. You could even make squirrel noises with it if you tug, release, tug release, in short intervals. I thought my niece Samantha would be delighted by it and so planned to bring it back with me to give to her. It has since been broken because I brought it to Chinese class to share and it had a rough time in my backpack. It's for the best though, I think my father and Jeremy would have killed me after the bajillionth time the kids would create its wild bird sound.

We visited a couple of gardens: Ge Yuan and He Yuan. These gardens used to be the property of rich land owners. The garden is broken up in 4 parts, each representing a different season. Here is Vish in Ge Yuan. As you can see, these gardens are famous for their amazing rock landscapes.

We went to the Garden Tomb of Puhaddin and some guy gave us a free private tour. It looked pretty deserted. Said to be a descendant of Mohammed, Puhaddin's grave can be found there.

Then we went through ancient Dong Quan Men alley where people sat at stalls and brick buildings selling an assortment of things. I didn't take any pictures because it was too dark at this point, but just imagine Diagon alley from Harry Potter movies. It looked just like it. It was super cool and medieval looking. I bought a lot of peanut brittle from a man with a cart. That bag lasted for days.

We walked around the city a lot. We ate, we window shopped, I bought a pair of white gloves and white puffy ear muffs.

Then we went to some hot springs. These hotsprings were a great relaxing end to a very walking intensive day. We enjoyed the pool that had rose pedals with rose oil the most. I think we stayed in that one for most of the time.

The next day, we took the 1 and 1/2 hour train ride home.

And thus ends my girl time trip to Yangzhou. =)

Tianmu Lake 天目湖

2010-12-04T19:56:00.014+08:00

The longer your eyebrows, the wiser you are. Oh and a big head helps.

Last year I went to this beautiful lake called Tianmu Lake. We went there for a faculty trip. We had a great time and for all that missed it, you can see a blog entry about it here. Anyway, this year the foreign teacher department which consists of Ramsey and I, two Japanese teachers, 1 Korean teacher, (the Spanish teacher couldn't make it), and 4 Chinese department heads all got to decide on a trip to go this year. This was a much smaller group. Last year, it was the whole faculty of the Tourism department. (Tourism...hence all the tourism). Well, we all put in our suggestions and I suggested Nanjing or Suzhou because I hadn't been to any of those places, but for whatever reason, we ended up going to Tianmu Lake. I guess no one, but Ramsey and I had been, since all of the teachers were new. Even those particular faculty heads hadn't been to the last one.

It was great. We had a very different itinerary. And I felt like everything was new and fresh.
Let me tell you, I needed this trip. I had been sick in bed for a week feeling like I was dying. I had the worst cold and I literally hadn't moved in a week. I finished a 500 page book in a week for goodness sakes. I skipped a whole week of school. I felt, let's say, shut in. Well, thankfully this trip came when my energy had returned and my body was screaming to me "yeah, let's get the hell out of this place!" "This place" being my bed.

To get to Tianmu lake, we took a 3 hour mini bus. We got there around 4:30 pm. First, we had a fabulous meal. And I wouldn't say the food was anything I was extremely crazy about but I love the style of Chinese eating where you get dish after dish, trying many different things, and you all sit around the food and share. It's such a social and fun atmosphere.
Fish soup. It's actually pretty good. But the true blue American girl in me still whispered...mmm hamburgers....my love...where are you?

Then we headed to the hotsprings. We also went there last time and I took pictures. I spent the evening picking my favorite spas out of the 68 to choose from and settled in the Rose oil/Red wine, ginger, and kissing fish one. They charged 2 bucks for the kissing fish one. I guess it was too crowded in the past. I remember it being very so. But this time, not many in there. Hey 2 bucks is a lot in China! Well, since everyone pretty much deserted the kissing fish one, all the fish had no one to suck dead skin off, so they headed straight for Ramsey and me. I swear I had 10 fish on each foot. They were bigger this year. I was a little afraid. But if I stayed and channeled my chi, and I could bear it. It tickled and sometimes I couldn't take it and would scare the little fish away. I couldn't handle them on my fingers or elbows. But everywhere else was fair game. Well, one did start heading toward my boob, and that was not ok.

After the hotsprings, we went back to our hotel. The next morning we had breakfast in the morning and headed out to Tianmu Lake. Last year we took Tour A which was the "Relaxing" tour where we took a boat around the lake. This year we took Option B which was labeled "fun" tour. This consisted of taking a toy train ride up towards the mountain of bamboo. These mountains are covered with 100% bamboo. It looks just like regular trees right? Yeah, you wouldn't guess by looking at the picture, but dude that's all bamboo! It's a national forest and well protected.

We then took a gondola ride up to the highest peak.

We still had to hike a bit to get up there. This peak is called Mt. Wuyuediyi. It's a beautiful mountain. It's 508 meters above sea level and stands as a boundary of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces. It's the highest mountain in the city of Changzhou. At the top, we snacked on sunflower seeds and fresh dates.

I donated money and got to hit a giant prayer gong.

Then we bought a lock and Ramsey had our names inscribed on it.

Probably the only lock up there engraved in English. =)

And we chose a spot to lock it. It doesn't come with a key and will stay there forever. If we ever come back, we can find our heart-shaped lock there and well, the whole idea is just so fantastically romantic to me. Our love locket is on Mt. Wuyuediyi in China!

Afterward, we took the gondola back down

...and hiked through some natural scenery. We found some lovely treasures along the way.

Check out this beautiful piece of Chinese art. =)
Stunning, isn't it? The way the sun beams.

Lake pictures...

Let me tell you, I needed my nature fix. Ahhh there's only so much Shanghai pollution I can take!

Various species of ancient trees, wild flowers and plants grow in the Tianmu Lake Scenic Area. It is also a habitat for wild animals such as wild boar, hare, pheasant, and mallard, etc, together with some man-fed animals such as camel, macaque, spotted deer, and peacock.

Black swans
A gorgeous spider. As long as it's not on my face, it can be labeled gorgeous.

Even the parking lot is pretty cool.

Random dog sleeping on pile of gravel

A wild boar in cage

Carrying away dead bamboo

Then we had lunch. We had a balcony and I took this picture from above.

The lake from the balcony where we had lunch.

I took some pictures of the dishes. We had a lot of fish.Bamboo leaf tea

Fish soup. Actually had a nice broth flavor.

I've never talked about this before. But did you know they have fresh watermelon juice here? No added sweeteners or anything. It's like my favorite thing.

This was a snack on the ride home. I have no idea what the English name is (Water Caltrop?) but in Chinese it's Ling Jiao. It's got a really nice meaty taste to it. You bite into it, and suck out the white insides.

Ramsey and I picked up apple chips from the store

My bosses gave me this nice gift package of all the traditional snacks of Tianmu. I had such a fantastic time.

Young Women in Excellence

2010-11-28T23:34:00.000+08:00

Just a few pictures I took at Young Women in Excellence. Check out my silly and delightful girls...

I Am Grateful For…

2010-11-23T19:19:00.014+08:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and I don’t know about you, but I plan on getting stuffed that day! Well technically my Thanksgiving dinner is this Saturday because Ramsey and I were invited to one of the branch member's home for a Thanksgiving feast that day. We also had a pre-thanksgiving dinner with a bunch of friends. See pictures below.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I would like to take the opportunity to express my thanks.

I am grateful for my God, and his son and my brother, Jesus Christ. I know that when I am “heavy laden,” he will share my “yoke.” Having God in my life has given me sweet purpose. He is my creator, my father, my friend, and my master. I am forever grateful my family introduced me to the gospel. My father and mother have always been great examples to me of unshakable faith.

I am grateful for our branch. When I first moved here, I was overwhelmed by how small and lost I felt in this large, bustling city. My first day at church was amazing. I remember so many people introduced themselves to me and wanted to get to know me. I thought for sure I would escape through the cracks but instead I got tons of “smiles” and “hello’s.” I had a new family! I really feel like this branch is closer than most because we are all far away from our families, so we fill that role for each other.

I am grateful for my husband of 5 years! It's such a comfort to me to have such a great priesthood holder in my household that will take care of me and our future children. He always knows what to say to cheer me up and strengthen me.

I am grateful for my best friend, Vishnupriya, when upon thanking her for something, she attests and says, “Please don’t thank me! It’s the least I can do!” I think about that phrase a lot. When I do a favor for a friend, I sometimes think about how it had been a bother. But Vishnu’s attitude is very different. To her, being a friend means serving the other as a basic principle of friendship and shouldn’t even evoke surprise. Recently, I’ve been really trying to implement this attitude into my actions.

I am grateful for China. I am grateful that the Chinese government has allowed me to live and thrive here and hasn’t restricted my participation in church. I am grateful that I only have to work 3 days a week at my university, so that I have time to take Chinese classes at Donghua University. I am grateful for the kind people here.

Happy Thanksgiving and don’t forget to say your prayers and tell your Heavenly Father all the things you’re grateful for!

“When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.” ~Chinese Proverb

Jenny's Bday

2010-11-13T21:01:00.003+08:00

My friend Jenny invited me to her birthday party and I said I would love to come and then she said she would fill me in on the details. On the day of her birthday she texted me and told me the address of the event. I looked it up on google and noticed it was at a bar. I kept thinking of ways to get out of it without offending her that I didn't like her choice in venue. I really couldn't think of anyway to get out of it. Even saying I was busy or sick seemed like a bad friend move after she was so excited to see me. So after stalling at the gym and getting home and hearing there was a missed call from her, I headed to the flower market, picked up a bouquet of pink roses and lilies and headed over there.

As I walked into the entrance, I already get accosted by an African guy that gets all up in my face and says "Give me a kiss baby." He wreaked of alcohol on his breath. "Oh no" I thought. I wanted to turn around right then and go home and join Ramsey who was playing video games with his friend Carl. Well, I kept going and found Jenny. She was super excited to see me and loved the flowers, perfume, and wallet I got her. Then she introduced me to the festivities. Oh joy, a drinking game. All her friends would take turns rolling the dice and if they hit an odd number they had to down their glasses. Well, of course, I don't drink, so I sat there bored to tears while everyone giggled giddily around me. After about the 4th drinking game, I could feel my eyes starting to close. I didn't want Jenny to feel bad that I was having a bad time so I asked Jenny if she would like to take a break from drinking and come dance. So we went up to the very small and dark dance floor and proceeded to dance.

This had the possibility of being fun, except I kept getting accosted by a lesbian Chinese girl that attempted to grab my boobs multiple time and even my crotch. Then the African guy came out of nowhere and starting dancing close to me from behind. I told him to leave and the lesbian came to my "aid" to protect me but actually she just came to try to woo the African guy who wanted nothing to do with her. So now, I'm thinking she wasn't a drunk lesbian but just drunk. Then a German guy started to try dancing real close to me and the African guy grabbed him and they began a massive fight.

I told Jenny I had a "good time" and went home.

And thus goes the story of my first and last time at a bar.

The end.

Diwali Festival

2010-11-12T20:21:00.003+08:00

Vish and her husband invited Ramsey and I to the traditional Indian festival called Diwali. There was a fabulous buffet and then some great performances. I had a great time dancing with Vish. Ramsey was feeling a little tired so he hung out with Vish's husband at the table.

Halloween Shanghai Style

2010-11-01T12:09:00.001+08:00

Vish, her husband, Ramsey, and I went to a haunted house the Friday before Halloween. I have to say I was really impressed. Supposedly the guy who created it is an engineer and his girlfriend is an artist. Together, they made a pretty authentic haunted house. They had traveled to America to visit the top 60 haunted house and to study what had worked and what hadn't to create the best one they could.
I believe they did an awesome job. It was very creative and spooky. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I have to say, the actors were very well trained and did a great job, My favorite part is that you can easily get lost inside and there's this part you have to crawl through a tunnel, but if you're fat, you're out of luck. That's what I love about China, it's never PC and they don't care.

Other parts I enjoyed was a severed body which was being hacked by a saw suddenly raised and arm at me; lots of spikes almost falling on my head, a truck about to smack right into me; someone grabbing at my ankles through a very thin corridor (after they said no actors would touch us. lol), the girl from "The Ring" crawling out of a t.v., a mad scientist, the hall of mirrors that I got lost in, and the rotating room.

Waiting in line for the haunted house

On Saturday, there was a branch Halloween party. Ramsey was training some people and didn't come, and honestly, I don't know why I came. It was clearly made for the kids and I felt a little awkward being the only adult in a costume (I was a witch).

But thankfully, that night there was an "adult" Halloween party at a friend's house and we watched the Halloween episode of the latest "The Office" and "Modern Family." There were plenty of goodies as well. The host is a pretty good party planner.

On actual Halloween, (the Sunday), we didn't actually do anything but Ramsey and I took Sophie on a walk and we reminisced about childhood Halloweens. We just kind of hanged out. I wanted to watch a horror film, but I think we ended up just eating dinner and turning in early.

Here is a picture of me and one of my classes on the friday before Halloween.

Flower, Bird, Fish and Insect Market...

2010-10-27T16:17:00.002+08:00

...where all of your wildest pet needs come true!!!

Like for example if you want a chained cat

Perhaps a pet cricket so you can indulge in your cricket fighting hobby

An albino turtle is always so cute!

Baby turtles that are illegal in the US for fear that children will put them in their mouths

Some pretty birds

A really cheap parrot that wants outta there!

Random colorful fish everywhere. (I mean EVERYWHERE in this place)

Slimy black salamanders...the neon orange ones via picture didn't turn out.

Chinchillas!!!

Lovely/weird plant specimens

And after all of THAT, this is all I came home with:
a bonsai plant.

Vish is back!!!

2010-10-26T16:39:00.000+08:00

Vish is back from India! She brought me back some clothes and jewelry. I'm so glad to have my Vish back!!!!

2010 World Expo: Shanghai

2010-10-26T11:34:00.006+08:00

Expo was super duper crowded but got to pass some lines like got VIP tickets for Italian pavilion for eating at an Italian restaurant, and my friend Jenny worked in the Spanish pavilion and got us in. (See picture below. She is manager of the gift shop.) Really enjoyed the United Nations pavilion and all the performances: aka Shaolin Monks kungfu, Phillipines Drum and dance, and Pacific Island dance performance.... Good food at Peru restaurant. Crappy at Argentina restaurant. (My milanesas was freezer burned and resembled more like a flat fish stick.) Italian restaurant was pretty good. Lots of walking. Lots of pictures. I think I have like 200 pictures. I'm crazy. Anyway, I've put up a few.

Lu Time

2010-10-12T16:11:00.005+08:00

Ramsey, Lu, and I went to see the film "Inception" in theatres. (Yes, I know, it's been out for a long time.) Anyway, I have to say, I love that film so much. It's definitely my kind of film. I think about dreams a lot and the process that is involved. I felt like I really understood the movie even in all its complexity and Ramsey and I discussed it for a good 2 days afterward. =)

Lunch with Lu

No, I didn't order it.

Ramsey is so good at video games that he was playing this game forever on only 2 coins (40 cents). The only reason it ended was cuz he was getting bored. He just can't die. heh heh

Outside the video arcade

Yeah, I was a little too big to ride on it. But I tried.

10/10/10 & 3 reflections

2010-10-10T14:13:00.006+08:00

I really wanted to do something exciting on this day. But alas, it was a Sunday and that limits things. We did have the Spanish teacher over for dinner and showed off our new renovations to our apartment aka the wood floor, mocha painted walls, and burgundy accent wall. (A summer project Ramsey and I worked on to make our apartment look less like a prison cell).

So, the only way I know how to celebrate this day to is tell you my feelings. Yay for feelings time.

Reflection #1) I had a dream

In my dream, I was walking down the hall and I heard my husband and his friend Isamu talking about me in the bathroom. Isamu was asking Ramsey how his marriage was going. Ramsey said, "Well she's great. I love her so much, but sometimes she really can be negative and puts me in low spirits." I keep trying to place my ear closer to the crack of the door, and my mother walks by and says, "What are you doing?" really loudly and I had to shush her. And then I heard them opening the door handle and I had to make a run for it.

When I awoke, I thought, "why would Ramsey feel that way?" (even though it's just a dream). I started reflecting on my life. I've been thinking about in what ways I've been negative. Sometimes we see ourselves in a better light, then we really are. Then I remembered just the other day I was really upset at Ramsey for something so stupid. My boss gave Ramsey some important school documents and I saw her hand it to him. When we needed it today, I reminded him that she had handed them to him and he denied that was the case. We argued back and forth and he kept saying I was making stuff up which made me more upset.

Finally I went through all his notebooks in his backpack and found the documents and waved it in his face. And then I proceeded to take the opportunity to remind him that I'm right 98% of the time and in the future it would save us both time if he would simply accept that fact. Yikes.

Oops. Ok, that wasn't very nice. And while I felt like justice was served, this was 100% negativity. Marriage isn't a competition. It is a cooperation. This dream has inspired me to remind myself of that fact. Because I like to start with attainable goals, I will start with getting through a month without saying one negative thing to my husband. Good luck to me!

Reflection #2 I never want to get fat again!

I like my life right now. I feel energetic, light, quick, and sexy. Besides exercising and eating right, I continue to motivate myself by reading and listening to motivational material. I just finished the book on cd: "I Can Make You Thin" by Paul Mckenna. He is known as a hypnotist, but I'm totally ok with hypnotism as long I am giving up my free will to hear messages motivating me to stay healthy, instead of giving up my free will to be evil and so on.
But, that's only part of his program. The other part is advice. The advice I remember the most is:

Enjoy each bite of your food. Chew it 15-20 times and put your fork down (or in my case, my chopsticks) between each bite. At first it was annoying but it totally helps you realize when you get full sooner.

Don't make any food forbidden. They did an experiment with toddlers in the 1930s where they gave kids choices of the most unhealthy stuff to the most healthy stuff for a month. Just one massive buffet for 30 days. When people assumed they would swarm icecream and candy, all the children in the study picked from a variety of foods without any previous discussion, and they ended up all picking a balanced diet. When we deny a certain food, we start getting obsessed around a certain food.

Leave something on your plate. From childhood, we're told to finish the plate or we are a bad person and disobedient. Somehow that has carried through with us to adulthood and is hurting us psychologically. Leave something in the plate. That shows the brain that it's ok that we don't finish. Even it's just one pea. It's a powerful message to the brain.
And there's a whole section on emotional eating...but I don't want to dedicate this whole entry to this.
I have to say though his exercise section was really great and really motivated me to think of exercise as a pleasurable thing instead of a chore.

Reflection #3: Believe in myself and my goals

I used to tell people what they wanted to hear. When people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up etc. I went to the college that people expected of me, (don't get me wrong, I freakin love BYU), and a lot of times I made decisions that perhaps weren't true to myself.

Some people tell me my dreams are silly and I'm not going to point out any names. A few people didn't believe I would move to China when I mentioned this dream in 2005. But, while it took me a while to make it over here, I did in 2009. Same as my current dreams. I have a dream to go to one international destination a year for the next 10 years. Many may think I can't do it. But I will. I'm really tired of the pressure from society that imply my dreams are impracticable. I can design my life to be whatever I want it to be. There is a lot of hardwork, but it's what makes me happy.

War!

2010-09-28T14:25:00.004+08:00

I'm teaching a news reading class where we talk about current events. One of the big news items lately is this dispute between China and Japan over this island that both claim as their territory. The island is called "Diaoyu" in Chinese and "Senkaku" in Japanese. This dispute has been going on since WW2 but without too much concern since the island was not seen as so valuable but since then, they have found that the island is rich in natural resources and tensions are starting to heighten.

Well recently, a Chinese fisherman and his crew got in a boat accident after colliding with two Japanese coastguard boats in the East China Sea near the island and the Japanese detained the crew. China was furious and demanded they be released. Japanese caved a bit and returned all the crew except the captain and held the captain for several weeks. China believed they had no right to put this captain in jail since China believes they have claim to the island. Well, Japan eventually returned the captain and China demanded an apology. Japan refused to give any apologies because they believed there was no case for one since Japan believes the island is their own. Now, relations are strained and China is pulling out business deals and high level contracts to punish Japan. Japan is pissed.

LOL. I'm sure you can get a better summary of what's going on by reading the news.
Anyway, Ramsey was talking about this issue in his class too and asked what the students thought about what should happen. All the girls shouted out "War" and the only boy said, "Can we resolve this through peaceful, diplomatic means?" "No!!!" said all the girls. "War!!!" Jim Pan, the only one wanting the peaceful approach spent a bit of time trying to convince the rest of the class. I'm not sure they were convinced.

Weird, huh!

Happy Thoughts

2010-09-28T13:51:00.007+08:00

I have been in China for 1 year, 1 month, and 1 day. I'm happy. Life is good. I was supposed to sing a duet with Ramsey in church but he had food poisoning (bad exotic fruit) the morning we were supposed to do it and I had to quickly get to church and had no time to phone anyone to cancel it. So I showed up a little late and while the 2nd counselor is making the announcements he sees me alone and says, "It appear that Sister Dewey is alone today, so I don't think we'll have the pleasure of hearing the Deweys sing a duet." And I respond in front of the whole congregation, "I can give my testimony instead" and he agrees. So after the first speaker, I go up and bear my testimony and I start off about how much I love being in China and that it doesn't really matter what I do for a job as long as I'm in China I am happy. I talked about how we all have choices and one of them is to be happy and that we shouldn't compare ourselves to others and should be satisfied with the life we have. And then I continued with my testimony of Jesus Christ.

I would like to bear my testimony to everyone on this blog.

Everyone, I know Christ atoned for our sins. He is the bread of life. All we have to do is feast on his words. He is the way, the truth, the only path that makes sense. All the other paths will only bring us sorrow. And yes, we may not realize it at the time because the world is telling us what they think brings happiness. But do they have the comprehensibility of a God? No. We, as a human race, are trapped. Our minds can only reveal to us what we have learned since birth. Yes, as a human race, we are constrained. Everyone has the desire to "make it on their own." Everyone would like to trust their own ideas and instincts but the reality is we don't have enough knowledge. We MUST rely on God. How do we know what God wants and expects of us? He doesn't leave us in the dark. He has given us so many tools: prayer, the scriptures, modern day prophets, the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is real. I have been given this spiritual gift since the day of my baptism. He helps me make wise choices. I know if I hadn't received the Holy Ghost, there are a lot more stupid decisions I would be making in my life right now. I also know that he is a precious gift that can leave. There are times in my life, I didn't feel his presence as strongly, and let me tell you, that has scared me to death. Sometimes, we just need that reminder of our goal and what our purpose is here. I'm so grateful for all these "helps" I get from my Heavenly Father.

One of the women in the branch came up to me after church and told me she was glad about what I said about loving China and loving living here. She said a lot of the women in the branch, including her, needed to hear that. There are a lot of trailing spouses that haven't been able to adapt to life in China and so she was happy to hear my passion for China.

Why do I love China? I'm not sure I can properly sum it up. There's too many things. All I know, is that this is the first time in my life where I feel genuinely happy for such a long period. I feel complete. I feel at home. I love my branch. They are the best branch ever. I have a much better job then I've ever had. I eat a lot more healthy than I ever have. I have more time than I ever have. I am learning a language I love. I'm surrounded by a culture that I love even if at times it doesn't make too much sense. ;) I have a free apartment, with all my utilities paid for. I have a cutest little sausage dog that is the best cuddler ever. I have the most amazing husband that tells me he loves me constantly. All of these things together make me feel so blessed. Yes, things could always be better. I could be richer. My hair could behave in this weather. lol. But it doesn't matter. I've learned to be fulfilled with what I got. And what I've got right now is awesome.

Chinese Progress

2010-09-24T13:36:00.006+08:00

I'm taking this night class. At first I was a little intimidated because I open the text book and it's all Chinese characters. No pinyin. So, before my first lesson, I start reading through it and thankfully, it comes with a cd, so I can just hear and understand it and write the sound over the character instead of taking the laborious procedure of looking up the character in the dictionary.

The teacher that did the placement test was concerned about putting me in this particular level because of my reading/writing skills. I convinced her that while my reading and writing is not on par with the Asian students, I would be able to handle the class.

So the first day of class happens. The teacher speaks exclusively in Chinese. At this point, I'm not sure if she speaks English. However, I understand everything she is saying and it doesn't hit me until I look around and just observe. I was overcome with this overwhelming astonishment that last year, this wouldn't be possible. All this time, I didn't think I was progressing fast enough, but somehow I am able to understand the whole class even when the teacher was speaking at a fast pace. I use to think my speaking skills were better than my listening skills, but I now know that it has been reversed.

Well, I soon realized that I was in league as far as speaking with the other students. There's only 11 of us now. Last semester there were 25. There are 2 Japanese college students, 1 Korean college student, 1 older Korean woman, 4 older Korean business men. 1 girl from Madagascar, and 1 girl from Italy. The girl from Madagascar and the girl from Italy both can't write the characters well, so at least I have two in the same boat as me. I have found that while a lot of them can speak Chinese, their pronunciation is really bad. I am definitely the #1 student with regards to pronunciation. This is something I've always put a lot of stress on. While some students may spend time with the vocabulary, I would practice the sounds over and over again in my beginning stages of learning Mandarin. When we were asked to write sentences on the chalkboard using the correct word order, I had to cringe while I wrote the characters at a pace 10 x slower then the Japanese students and even the Korean students. When I sat down, one of the Japanese guys tried to comfort me by saying that it isn't important and that my oral skills are very good.

I really don't feel like I need to be able to write the characters because I usually only write on the computer. As long as I can read them, I think that it is good enough because if I can type the pinyin, the google tool will just give me a list of characters to choose and as long as I can recognize them, I'm good to go. However, if I don't learn how to write these characters myself, I can't pass any of the HSK tests. These tests are important if I ever want to teach Mandarin in the future. (I'm not ignoring that possibility).

Not everyone goes to class. I'd say there's at least 3-4 that miss every time. I don't see why they would because this class isn't cheap, but I guess everyone has their responsibilities outside of class.

The teacher reviews a lot. It's pretty slow paced, but I suppose it's good for me to have that material shoved into my brain so many times. Repetition is really the key to learning a language.

Sometimes I freak myself out that I'm not improving enough. Sometimes when I see people in my branch that have been here 2-3 years and don't speak any Chinese, I realize you can't just live in China and hope it will just soak in. No, you have put tons of effort into it. But right now, I don't have enough chances to speak. I have the taxi driver, the grocery clerk, the restaurant staff. But how is this ever going to help me talk about current events and deeper issues? I need friends. I need friends that aren't trying to practice their English with me. haha.

I hate losing face. I hate when people laugh at me. Like yesterday, I was at the home depot of Chinese stores and trying to explain buying something like a caulk gun-like tool, and the clerk wouldn't even listen to me. I just had started my sentence. He just saw that I was a foreigner and started walking away. Usually, I would just find another clerk after experiencing the embarrassment but this time I walked right in front of him and demanded that he listen to me or I would tell his manager how he treated me, and then I definitely got his attention. I'm tired of the embarrassment and the constant humiliation. I'm tired when people have that little amused smirk on their face and look at their friends while I try my very best. I'm sure many of these people who walk away from me will never know how it feels because they may never learn a foreign language.

Ramsey coaches me a lot and gives me pep talks. He talks about learning Spanish and how he believes he could have been fluent in Spanish before his mission if he just let go of his pride. He was afraid of making mistakes and losing face. But he explained to me that this is only hurting your progress. He asked me why I didn't ask the taxi drivers about their day. I guess because most the time their dialect comes out. Many of them have a strong Shanghainese accent to their Mandarin which makes it harder to understand.

One time, I had a really good conversation with a taxi driver. We talked about the 1 child policy in China and about having kids in China in general and it was the first time I could really understand a taxi driver. He wasn't Shanghainese however. That really makes the difference. Shanghainese people click like little birds. Imagine a little bird calling for his mother to return to the nest. And they can't pronounce their "SH" and "ZH". Like "Shanghai" is "Sanghai." Depending how fast their speaking, it can get really tricky.

I have always loved learning languages. When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time making up my own languages. I also liked making up characters likes Egyptian hieroglyphics. When I was a kid, I made it my goal to learn 5 languages in my lifetime. As of my adult life I wanted those to be: Russian, Chinese, Japanese, French, and Spanish. I have since kicked out Japanese. Something I had to do. And I'm tempted to kick out French and Spanish. My Russian is started to get pretty scary. It's been 5 years since I've taken courses. I spoke Russian the other day to a fellow expat, and Chinese words kept escaping into the conversation. Another humiliation. Learning a language takes over your whole life. I need a couple of lifetimes to learn these languages.

See, one of my problems is lack of patience. I get frustrated too easily when I feel I'm not progressing at the speed I'd like. I get upset at my memorizing skills. A week ago, I really had it, and spent hours researching way to improve my memory and came up with some pretty cool tricks. So far, I've seen some improvement so I'm going to concentrate on memorizing skills as much as I do a foreign language. It will especially help with learning the characters.

I tried teaching some of these memorizing skills to my class and I was blown away. They are amazing and it's so easy for them. I asked them how they did it and they explained that that was how the Chinese school system works. They spent their whole education memorizing facts, history, math. There isn't too much creativity emphasized in the Chinese school system. They are like little robots sometimes when I call on them. Without letting the language flow, they rehearse some learned dialogue that while correct, sounds very unnatural. But the point is, they can memorize anything, and they can usually memorize it fast.

So it would appear that the ability to memorize things in Chinese culture is really above Western culture. I was looking back at a test in the 1950s in America, and man oh man, the education system looks so different! You need to take a look! Would you see a test like that nowadays? I doubt it.

Don't get me wrong. I love the fact in the West, we are allowed to be free-thinkers and are rewarded for being unique, different, and creative, but sometimes, I feel like there wasn't enough emphasis on memorization skills. And by that, I don't mean emphasis on memorizing things, but emphasis on HOW TO memorize things.

For those of you who are reading this and have learned a foreign language, please leave a comment about your process and the struggle if any, and any tips you may have. Thanks. =)

Foreign Teacher Dept. Mid Autumn Festival Dinner

2010-09-17T21:53:00.003+08:00

YW Activity: Horse Riding Instruction

2010-09-15T21:22:00.002+08:00

I found a deal online that had horse riding instruction for $11/person down from $55. I decided to make it a YW activity. It was basic. You know, learning how to stop the horse, how to turn, trot etc... nothing too fancy. And then after a while, we headed down a trail for a little while. Still, the girls had fun because some haven't been on a horse before. But let me tell you, nothing as fun as the 1-2 hour riding in Wyoming. ;) Still a good activity for the young women who aren't so confident on horses.

India 2011 here I come!

2010-09-14T12:28:00.010+08:00

As some of you may know, I have a new best friend, Vish. Which by the way does not replace any of my other best friends (aka Layne, Lu, and Becca). Her husband works here and she doesn't have any kids which is perfect. (Not saying peeps with kids are not perfect to hang out with, but it's a lot easier to hang out with Vish, riding my scooter with her in tow around town, and bargaining in Korea Town, for example.)

Vish and her husband and me and my husband have all become friends. Vish goes back to India every year. In fact, she's in India right now, and I miss her dearly. Anyway, one night after watching Indian comedies at her apartment while eating delicious Indian food that her cook made, she mentioned about wanting to show me around India. I was instantly intrigued. She said she would do all the travel plans. Traveling is also so much better when you have someone to do all the planning.

So we agreed that India is too hot in the summer and that we should take advantage of the full week holiday that China has every Oct. Then it would be up to Ramsey and I to get one more week off work, which shouldn't be too hard since I only work 2-3 x a week anyway.

We will be visiting New Dehli and hanging out with Vish's husband's family. Then heading off to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and then the northwest desert part where we will see many sites and ride camels and the like. Then we will head to the south, visit Chennai and then Vish's hometown- Hangout with her relatives, head over to the south east, look at the beautiful lush greenery and mountains, maybe ride an elephant and pet a baby tiger....

The Travel Bug: 10 year Travel Plan

2010-09-11T11:38:00.019+08:00

I have the travel bug. Besides the occasional inland trip, I've decided that I'm going to pick an international destination a year to visit. This is a really easily realized dream. I'm not the type of person that spends all my money on clothes, bags, shoes. I don't need all the latest technology. I really just want to enjoy my life and live for experiences rather than possessions. I love making memories. I want to make all these memories with Ramsey. I want pictures to show to our future kids. I basically want to live a life full of rich experiences. I've never been really good at saving money, but I'm going to try.

One family home evening, Ramsey and I discussed all the places we wanted to visit. Here is what we came up with:

2011: India (See the Taj Mahal, Dehli, some desert lands, riding camels, and elephants, then heading the south to visit Vishnu and her relatives) {This one, Vish and I discussed, but Ramsey agreed to}

2012 has two trips because these places are close to China and the flights are cheap:
2012 Summer: Japan (Few cities tour...including the Miyazaki museum of course) {I want my brother Jer to join us for this one}
2012 Fall: Thailand Tour (Bangkok and Phuket)

2013: Mexico Tour (all over...like taking local transportation aka buses filled with chickens) {Also, planning to invite Ramsey's brother Joseph since he loves Mexico. And my brother Kevin (who served his mission in Mexico) and his wife, Trinh, can join us too if they're not too busy.}

At this point the order isn't solid.

2014: Great Britain Tour (England, Scotland, Ireland)/Visit Ramsey's aunts, uncles, great uncles, great aunts, cousins {basically his mom's side of the family. We also plan on inviting Ramsey's mom.}

2015: South American Tour (Centering around Argentina-->Ramsey's mission)

2016: The Mediterranean Tour (Following the coastline: Spain, Portugal, Morocco, South of France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Israel) {Possibly the most ambitious tour. Ramsey came up with this one}

2017: Australia/New Zealand {My choice}

2018: Central America Tour {Ramsey's choice}

2019: Holocaust Tour (Visit Germany, Austria, Poland, and the Netherlands...visiting concentration camps, Ann Frank's House). {This was at near the top of my list since I read Holocaust books as one of my hobbies, but Ramsey put this on the bottom. Compromises. ;) }

2020: Hawaii {Ramsey's choice}

2021: Viking Tour (Iceland, Eastern Canada, New England) {I didn't name this tour, Ramsey did.}

Besides the India tour which is being completely arranged by my friend Vishnu, if there are any of these tours that you would like to join us for, let me know. I would arrange all the travel plans, itinerary, and tickets. You would just have to pay your part. ;)

Happy 4th Anniversary, Bloggy!

2010-09-10T13:30:00.005+08:00

I've been a pretty terrible blogger in the past. I could try harder. But isn't it better to live your life living than spending time blogging all about it‽‽

I will try to spend more time blogging. And hopefully my blog posts will interest you. If they don't, I give you permission to turn your face away right now. Right now!

If you are still reading, I love you.

What I have learned living in China after 1 year

2010-08-31T14:56:00.011+08:00

To commemorate my one year of living in China, I am writing the top 50 things I've learned about China and its culture. And yes, this list encompasses mostly weird stuff, because I don't want to bore you. Also, these are my general impressions and please don't get offended by my massive stereotyping.

This is the good and the bad, people! (and the just plain weird.) No hold backs!

1) Chinese people will do anything for you (and I mean literally anything) if you are a good friend to them. It's one of those, "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours." Or they will do most anything for you if you are their really good friend's friend.

Let me give you an example. One of my good friends, Shizhang, who I met in Utah has his family living in Shanghai. When I first came to Shanghai, I was scared, confused, and a little freaked out. I have my comfort zone you know. Well, Shizhang's mother took me right under her wing and treated me like her daughter. Actually she calls me her American daughter now. She tutored me in Chinese for free for 4 whole months until her mom got sick. She cooked me food. She took me shopping. Helped me buy a phone and a bike. The list goes on. I love her so much.

When I was staying in my good friend, Lu's hometown in Mudanjiang, my brother and I really wanted to visit Harbin because that's where the world famous ice festival happens. We didn't know anyone there and we were a little scared to deal with the possibilities of getting ripped off and exploited but Lu's dad made a phone call to his good friend in Harbin and arranged for him to take us around the city for free. He drove us to multiple locations and even took us out to eat and refused all money we offered to him. He was so sweet and wanted nothing in return but to help out his friend. Thank you Uncle Zhou!
I have many more examples including so many Chinese friends. But we'll move on.

2) Chinese people worry about every last cent. Yes, they will argue over the smallest amounts of money. Every yuan means the world to them. However, if you are their friend they will insist on paying for dinner and taxi rides etc and won't take no for an answer.

3) Chinese people love rules. Even if the rules don't make sense or get in the way of good business, they will follow those rules to a T. (Unless they are taxi drivers)

4) Chinese people often like to think in "we." I don't get many conversations with my students that start with "I." It's always, "Mrs. Dewey, we think..." I always have to correct them and say "You mean, you think..." It drives me crazy.

5) Chinese women love to wear crazy clothes that look like costumes. And yet they are so adorable with their giant bows in their hair and their crazy tall shoulder pads. They wear things that I could never get away with wearing, but they seem to look so cute and doll-like. I just want to pinch their cheeks.

6) Shanghai women love mini skirts. Even in the winter. They will wear the tiniest little skirt you ever did see and then wear warm stockings underneath. I'm pretty sure they will freeze for the sake of fashion.

7) Chinese children like to push. I have received whiplash on many occasions.

8) Chinese children love this little goat cartoon character. The show is called:

"Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf"

They have backpacks, toys, everything. I don't think they watch anything else. Really. Oh and they love the expo mascot, Haibao.

9) Chinese men love to spit on the sidewalk. It's like a rain cloud sometimes trying to pass all the spitting men. No, it's like dodging bullets.

10) As long as you can speak decent Chinese, you can usually endear people to you and get the price you want.

11) Most Chinese people are terrified of dogs. (Even scared of little ol' Sophie)

12) Chinese people love poodles and pekingese dogs. That's all I ever see.

13) Chinese like putting little booties on their dog's feet. It's all the rage. Every dog seems to have them in the winter. Chinese dogs also have the latest fashions and usually all wear chic clothes.

14) Chinese people are very impressed if you speak any Chinese at all and will over compliment you, making you feel like a 100 bucks even if you just know "Ni hao."

15) Chinese people often don't like minorities. I'm talking about Chinese minorities. They all look Chinese to me but they can always tell.

16) Don't follow art students to a coffee shop to help them practice their English. (I haven't done this, but it's scam that will make you lose lots of money.)

17) Chinese people don't like eating cheese. If you do find cheese, it will cost a fortune to acquire. Chinese people don't eat cheese flavored Cheetos. They have tons of Cheetos but they are all weird flavors like garlic chicken flavor etc...

18) Lays potato chips are awesome in China. Especially blueberry flavor and kiwi flavor.

19) Squid jerky is pretty much the most awesome thing ever.

20) You need to pay for grocery bags. They don't come free. Oh, and no refills on soda drinks at McDonalds and other fast food restaurants. If you ask for more than one ketchup packet, they give you a look.

21) Sometimes scooter riders will purposely aim for a foreigner to claim you jumped out at them and then get a big settlement from the accident. Even if they have just a bruise, they will often milk it.

22) Chinese people love to eat with their mouth open. I actually like it. Don't know why.

23) Chinese people don't have individual meals. You just order a bunch and share. Everyone's chopsticks touch everyone else's food.

24) If you're a blonde, you will get harassed daily for pictures. Dying my hair brown was the best thing I could have done.

25) Chinese people will say it how it is. If you're fat, they'll let you know and ask you why you insist on being so fat.

26) Chinese women don't have much of a butt, so good luck finding jeans that will not expose your crack.

27) Nail polish remover is really hard to find. Yet, nail polish is everywhere including the side of the road. I will never understand.

28) Shampoos like pantene pro-v will put their shampoo in the same box as body wash but make it look like conditioner. So if you can't read the label then you end up putting body wash that looks exactly like conditioner in your hair. Conditioner is mostly sold separately from the shampoo and is generally harder to find.

29) Chinese television is pretty lame. You can only see good stuff if you watch satellite or the internet. Otherwise, you get "war era" dramas reflecting the Mao era, filmed in 60 frames per second.

30) Chinese grandmas love love love their grandchild. Their whole life revolves around their grandchild. The parents will work and often hardly see their child and the grandparent will be the sole care-taker of that child. The grandmother's life consists of taichi in the morning and taking care of the grandchild for the rest of the day.

31) Chinese babies don't wear diapers. They have splits in their pants and when they have to go, the grandparent will hold them over the grass. Some have trained the baby by whistling. This is a signal that it's ok to pee now.

32) Chinese people will often have the cheapest apt on the market and the lowest paying salary, but gosh darn it, they will have the most expensive cell phone on the market.

33) Survival of the biggest. First trucks, then vans, then cars/taxis, then scooters, then bikers, then pedestrians. Pedestrians are at the bottom of the food chain. It's like mission impossible trying to cross the street even when the green walky guy lights up. Oh no. You still have to play a real life version of "Frogger."

34) Every Chinese child will undoubtedly point a finger at a foreigner and say in Chinese "foreigner."

35) The 3 questions a taxi driver will ask you upon entering their vehicle: "1) Where are you from? 2) How long have you lived in China? 3) What's your age? (In that exact order).

36) Age is not a personal thing like it is in America. You will be asked your age by anyone for no reason at all. And that goes for salary and the cost of apt etc ...

37) Chinese children (especially girls in pigtails) are the most adorable things you will ever encounter.

38) Chinese will sleep anywhere and everywhere. In fact, take a look at this site for an example:

39) Chinese people love rock hard mattresses. It's good for their back or something. They also like warm water. Ice water is thought as ludicrous and terrible for your health.

40) Green tea. Every Chinese person will give you a full length lecture on the health benefits of drinking green tea in an earnest attempt to get you to drink green tea. The way they talk about it, you'd swear it was magic potion or something.

41) Obama is kind of huge here. You can buy Obama pillows, Obama flipflops, Obama backpacks. You name it, you can find Obama's face on it. Oh, and there is a new dance club called "Obama"

This is from my friend Heather's blog. It was so good, I had to repost it:

Can you read the writing on these flip flops?

It says OBAMA The Savior of the World Economy.

42) Chinese pharmacies are awesome. I've been able to get a lot of drugs over the counter for things I would always need a prescription for in America (like acne medicine etc...)

43) Chinese hospitals smell like ancient Chinese medicine: herbs, roots, sticks, tea, and have no soap in the bathrooms.

44) Chinese hospitals see patients super fast. There are so many doctors that you never wait long. They always take your word for it and hook you up with tons of medicine.

45) Copies are big here. You want a Louis Vuitton bag that looks exactly like the original? You got it for 5 bucks. You want Iron Man II dvd even though it's still in theatres? You got that too, except some copies have them speaking in Russian with German subtitles. Do you want a nice laptop from a man on the street who clearly stole it that afternoon from some guy in the metro, you can get that too. (Though I wouldn't do that. Who could live with that?)

46) Chinese people respect the elderly. They respect their heritage and they are in general, really respectful to their parents. I wish some American teenagers could learn a thing or two from Chinese teenagers.

47) Chinese people eat lots of fish and chicken with tons of bones. They'll either eat the bones or put the whole thing in the mouth, chew for a while and then spit all the bones out at once on their plate. They have some serious talent.

48) Chinese people are really friendly. They are also very helpful if you have questions. They generally love foreigners and are quite intrigued by them.

49) Chinese food is really cheap. 8 steamed dumplings in a basket for only 44¢!

50) Chinese people always have great hair. It's just natural for them. Beautiful shiny, black hair that always behaves even in the most terrible humid weather. Ramsey always says that they look like they just walked out of a shampoo commercial shoot.

uh, yeah the list could go on. This is just the stuff on the top of my head. Maybe I'll write a new list in another year!

And despite the fact I'm in one of the weirdest countries ever, I have fallen in love with the country. I love China!

Ramsey

2010-08-19T12:20:00.009+08:00

Ramsey has been gone for two days. I miss him so much. He's in Jiangsu province training the anti-terrorist unit of the Chinese police force how to kick ass including how to do a proper guillotine choke (that Jack Bauer does wrong every time in "24").

Why does Ramsey have such an exciting life since he moved to China? He's been traveling all over and fighting just like an old school street fighter game character. He now works at two different gyms, is recording his voice for English learning books, and taking tons of personal training clients. And in the fall, he'll start teaching at the university again. He is one busy man, and I hardly see him much anymore.

Now our anniversary is coming up this Friday. The big "5". I think this is pretty awesome. A big accomplishment. I'm glad we lasted so far. lol. Hey, a lot of people don't.

I want to take the opportunity to express my love for my dear husband Ramsey.

Ramsey,
You are one of the most talented people I know. You have so many talents, I have an inferiority complex around you. (jk). But really, you are amazing. While some men sit in front of the tv watching football and drinking beer, you make something with your life. You are always pushing yourself to be a better and more talented person. You are such a great teacher. You have been teaching everyone your talents instead of keeping them to yourself.

Ramsey, you are so sweet. When I'm really tired and can't move my tired body, you'll move your even more tired body to take the dog out to pee. Yes, that's one example, but it means a lot to me. You are constantly worried about me. When we walk around the city a lot, you'll offer to take my bag because you know my shoulders hurt.

Ramsey, you are my best friend. I love that we can spend hours watching silly shows like Bully Beatdown and we enjoy it equally together. We enjoy spending time with each other, even the 1 & 1/2 hour epic journey to church every Sunday. We eat cookies on the metro and talk.

Ramsey, thank you for being sexy. You have never once let yourself "go." You've always had a six pack and a perfect manly physique ever since the day we met. I'm just barely figuring out that I need to return the favor. You have always been sweet about my chub, but I'm glad I finally have the opportunity to pay you back.
Ramsey, there's a reason that wherever we go, you keep getting called as gospel doctrine teacher. You know the gospel like the back of your hand. You're the only one I know who read the whole bible from start to finish at the age of 11. I know that if I have any questions relating to our church, I just need to ask you. It's such a great comfort to have such a great priesthood holder in my household that will take care of me and our future children.

Ramsey, I love your smile and I love your laugh. Everyday, I still can't believe how lucky I am to have you. I really need to work harder on showing you. Everyday, I fall in love with your face again. I fall in love with your caring spirit. I fall in love with your brilliant mind.

Happy 5th. And here's to many more good years to come!

Love,
That one girl that sleeps in your bed

This is an entry about meat

2010-08-18T12:05:00.000+08:00

I have been checking the scale and I've remained consistently 123 lbs this whole week.
I don't know how I lost another 5 lbs in a month, but I'm trying to wrack my brain on it. Then I remembered-I've been kind of going vegetarian lately. Not that I want to be vegetarian (I can't give up chicken soup), but since I made friends with Vish (who eats Vegetarian due to her religion), I haven't been wanting to make her feel uncomfortable so I've been eating vegetarian with her every day at the cafeteria.

I don't think I'll be staying at 123 lbs for too long. For one, I'm on this huge crusade to become a body builder. (I just had to lose the fat first). No, I don't mean one of those nasty no-neck body builders, but you know, a moderate one that grace the covers of Shape magazine. I've realized that I've never had the body I always wanted and now is the time. I won't get another. I'm sure I'll start having kids in a year or two (or three!), and I need to get this dream realized before then.

However, Ramsey and I are soon to be hiring a cook we had recommended from a friend and if her dishes happen to be very delicious, my 123 lb frame body may be no longer.

Ramsey and my diet need different attention. Since Ramsey works out about 4 hours on any given day, he needs a lot of fuel and protein, so when he requests dinner from me it's usually meat, meat, and more meat.

My body has been feeling very good since the intake of less meat, so now I'm realizing my life can be fine without so much of it.

I think this can all be very easily resolved by explaining to our new cook to make Ramsey's portions doused with meat, and mine with a few bits to none. I can get my protein from tofu, nuts, and milk and a bunch of other favorite foods.

I think my friend Layne has inspired me. She recently turned Vegetarian. And now that I hang out with Vish, who is also, I just keep getting inspired. My body really does feel so good right now. But I'm not turning Vegetarian. By no means. Don't get me wrong-I love me my meat. It's just that I need to calm down a bit on it.

What are your thoughts?

Dino Beach

2010-08-17T09:51:00.007+08:00

Today I woke up. My body sore.

Why do my butt cheeks hurt? Oh yeah, I was trying to stay balanced on that crocodile.
Actually first, the crocodile, then the giant worm that spins, and then a couple of hippos.

Before, I give you any more details of my extensive injuries, let me begin the story.

Alex, his friend Tracy (he's a boy), my friend Jenny, and my friend Vish all went to a water park called Dino Beach or in Chinese "Redai Fengbao" (Tropical Storm). Both Vish and my husband had to work, so we just had that small group of 5.

We had a blast. The slides were pretty top notch. Although, because it was Chinese Valentine's Day, it was a little more crowded than usual. Thankfully, with 5 people, the conversation never turned dull. There was a lot of girl flirting-meaning me and Vish would splash each other and try to knock each other off rafts...(or maybe that we me just trying to do that to her).

My favorite was the wave pool. Because it was so crowded, when the waves came, it was one huge bumper car experience with tons of tubes capsizing. I of course, stuck to the side where the waves were the biggest, and I went surfing for a long time flying over people's drowning heads, while screaming in terror/joy. The lifeguards always freaked out a bit when they saw me coming because I knew how to hit the wave just right to fly over everyone. I flipped about twice in the process and took a while to find the surface again, but strong enough to push rafts off my head. (I have been lifting weights after all.)

One experience I enjoyed was the camaraderie. At times, my intertube would get separated from the group, but there was never a chance to get bored. People I had never met would grab my tube and include me in their "tube chain" for extra bumping fun. So many smiles, so many laughs. I don't think this would happen in America. I think we are a lot more reserved. I would definitely not have grabbed someone else's raft and start leading them into the biggest waves. Perhaps there were many Chinese people who wanted to see the foreigner "survive" the wave, or I like my other idea--that people are just extra friendly here. At one point a Chinese guy, who looked like he had a girlfriend on the tube with him grabbed my hand and held onto it for the duration of the wave. I thought it was weird and rather than breaking free, I let him hold my hand to see where this was going, and I thought the girlfriend would for sure not like her boyfriend holding some foreign girl's hand but as soon as a wave crashed our grip, the girlfriend grabbed my other hand and I was relieved to find it was all platonic gestures.

So while the slides were all about seconds in duration, the most fun is when we would go into the children's water playgrounds and explore. There were many parts where you could sneakily stand near a bucket, fill it with water and then splash all unsuspecting passerby. Don't ask me why this was so amusing, but I just reveled in it so much especially when they would look up and see a foreigner responsible for the act, and their look of shock turned into a smile. It was like one big treehouse full of dirty tricks on people.

And then there were the floating animals that were usually impossible to stay on. You know those floating things made out of hard foam that are kept afloat with a rope tied underneath. People often step on them and use rope to get across. Well, these animals were like the same concept. Imagine a mechanical rodeo bull...yeah it was kind of like that. The best part is when everyone around you started knocking the animals to buck you off. I was really good at staying on because of my really long legs that could balance me easier and the extra ab core strength I've been gaining for the last few months. Sometimes I would get cocky and even motion swinging a fake rope above my head like a cowboy, and you can imagine that got everyone even more excited to try to knock the foreigner off. Why I played on these floatable animals for about 45 minutes I have no idea.

Ok, my injuries.... So this very cute Chinese girl probably in her early 20s, I think became a little taken with me, because she followed me around wherever I went and well lets just say she was a little crazy. Knocking people off the animals before anyone really had a chance to get on and also pulling people and well just being all around aggressive. At one point she dived right into my face, and her head hit me in the eyebrow area, and I got a nice purple bruise from her antics. And then of course my butt can hardly move right now from everyone's attempts to knock me off those floating animals.

That was my Monday. How was yours?

Donghua University

2010-08-14T11:01:00.002+08:00

My awesome teacher Ms. Gao and my awesome class. Someone emailed to me. I don't have a pic of Ms. Fang!

Well my 4 week intensive Chinese program is over. (Sniff. Sniff). It was really intense, because I didn't have time to blog everyday like I had planned. But I really enjoyed it. I made so many friends. I loved all the trips and cultural activities. I loved it all. I loved both my teachers. Especially Ms. Fang. She is the bestest. She is one of the best teachers out there! I hope I get her next semester, but I hardly doubt it. What would be the chance that she teaches the night class and happens to teach my level? I don't know. When I found out Miss Fang was applying to teach Chinese in an American university I asked if I could write a letter of recommendation for her. I will miss her so much. I learned so much in her class. Here is the recommendation I wrote for her:

Vanessa M. Dewey

689 Wuzhong Road, Bldg 13, Apt 202

Shanghai, China, 201103

vanessadewey@gmail.com

August 10^th, 2010

To whom this may concern,

My name is Vanessa Dewey and I’m from Los Angeles, California. I am currently studying Chinese at Donghua University in Shanghai, China. I have had the pleasure of taking a Chinese course from Katherine Fang.

Katherine Fang is a remarkable teacher. As most people are aware, Mandarin Chinese is a difficult language for foreigners to learn. I have been learning Chinese through different methods and through several different teachers, but Ms. Fang is certainly the best. She has been able to effectively explain complicated grammar points that I have endlessly struggled with in the past. She gives us great examples that are applicable to our daily lives as well as allowing the class to practice their own sentences with the grammar patterns she teaches. Also, she prepares very useful visual aids that are really helpful in memory building and gives context to the language.

I can see the endless preparation she does for the class and I can’t help but be so grateful for all the time and energy she puts into our education. Being fluent in Chinese has been a dream of mine for quite some time now. There have been times when I have felt overwhelmed and wanted to take the easy route and just quit. After taking Ms. Fang’s class, I’ve realized that while Chinese is difficult, it is not impossible. I still remember one day when Ms. Fang was explaining a rather complicated grammar point and I was at the point of feeling almost helpless when all of a sudden she said, “If you can learn this major grammar point, you can be half Chinese.” As soon as she said this, my ears perked up. She had caught my interest and I did my very best to understand it, and within that day, I did. Ms. Fang has clever ways to motivate her students. I know she cares about us and has our best interests at heart.

I believe that it is in your best interest to consider employing Katherine Fang. I have learned first hand that not everyone has what it takes to be a good teacher. Just because you speak the language as a native doesn’t mean you have the ability to be a teacher, or just because you have studied a language for many years doesn’t make you qualified to teach it to others. It takes a lot more than that. It takes creativity, patience, wit, proper preparation, and experience—all of which Katherine Fang possesses. I couldn’t recommend a better teacher.

Sincerely,

Vanessa. M. Dewey

Donghua University Outing: Duo Lun Culture Street

2010-08-11T13:52:00.003+08:00

This was the meeting place for many of the great thinkers and artists of the 1930s which embodies the cultural atmosphere in shanghai of that time.

My friend Vish

The road is paved with pebbles. along the road, there are western-style buildings freshly painted with their doors opened for visitors,many of these shops have beautiful displays of calligraphy, paintings, antiques and mahogany furniture for sale. The street is hard to identify on the map but it once had a great influence on the history of chinese culture. Many famous cultural figures who shone through history, like luxun, quqiubai, guomoruo and maodun once assembled here and fought here. Places like league of leftist writers, Zhonghua Arts University, Shanghai Arts Theater and Gongfei Café were their battle fields. For more than a century, Duolun street and several streets nearby represent the historical cultural growth centre of shanghai. The Zhian arch and Yongan lane are in the 1930s style.
Source

A very asian-y looking Catholic church

Some modern art. Those are eggs in front of them.

YW Sleepover of Madness

2010-08-06T15:20:00.001+08:00

Teenage girls + too much junkfood= scary night for Sister Dewey. Thankfully Sister Cannon was there too.

Donghua University excursion: ZhuJiaJiao

2010-08-03T16:53:00.001+08:00

ZhuJiaJiao was a village formed 1700 years ago and is now a famous sightseeing attraction on the outskirts of Shanghai. While it was almost unbearably hot, Ramsey and I still enjoyed the visit there. =)

Trip to Hangzhou (Day 2)

2010-07-28T10:50:00.003+08:00

This is the second day of our 2-day trip to Hangzhou. We went to the Lingyin Temple otherwise known as the "Temple of the Soul's Retreat." It's in the Wulin mountains, and has layers of pagodas. So after you climb a bit, you get to enjoy a temple, then you climb some more etc... My favorite was the The Hall of Five Hundred Arhats. I didn't get any pictures of it, but it was awesome. It consisted of a giant maze full of 500 life-sized statues of Arhats. Ramsey and I had great fun looking at all the different intricacies of each Arhat. They held symbolic items. My favorite was the arhat that had eyebrows that reached the floor symbolizing his great wisdom.

Donghua University students (the boys) oh and Ramsey.

Trip to Hangzhou (Day 1)

2010-07-26T17:24:00.006+08:00

I love this Chinese program I'm in. It's fantastic. Not only do I get to learn Chinese (which is one of passions right now) but also get to experience cultural activities and local trips. This weekend we went to Hangzhou. Pronounced "Hahng-joe" I really love this city. I've heard about it a lot. All my students kept telling me I had to go. They said that Hangzhou has one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in China. The city is well known for the "West Lake" or in Chinese "Xi Hu." There are many lakes called "West Lake" in China but they're all named after this one because it's the most famous. Many ancient writers have written about this lake and many Chinese billionaires retire in nice condos by the shore. The cost of one of these places are about 10 million USA dollars at least. Ouch. You can tell Chinese people love this lake!

The first day, we took a 3 hour bus ride and arrived in Hangzhou. The city of Hangzhou provides thousands of free bicycles for those who want to ride around the lake. They only ask for a deposit and will give it back once you safely bring the bike back. I wanted to do this but it wasn't part of the itinerary so I will come back some time with Ramsey and do it. Also, we took a boat tour on the lake but we took the biggest boat with too many people. I will come back with Ramsey alone and ride one of those tiny raft like boats. But all in all, the tour was really good and well-organized. We went to a lot of temples I wouldn't have thought to go to.

We had lunch by the lake at a traditional Hangzhou restaurant. The dishes reflected the culture of Hangzhou but I felt like there was too much fish!

Then we went to this place called Chenghuang temple. This man who was a judge was a very fair judge and many people loved and respected him. Well one day, he sentenced a gang to prison and somehow they were able to persuade the Emperor to kill him by tarnishing his name somehow and then after the Emperor killed him, the people were very angry and to make amends the Emperor gave him the title of the City God and erected this temple for him.

This place is a great lookout to see wonderful views of the city and lake. This lake is 100% natural, and the water is fresh, because the Ocean cycles new water in continuously because it's connected to a river.

After that, we went to "Old China Street" on He Fang Street--the most famous shopping street that has a bunch of fun souveniers to look at and traditional Hangzhou street food. One cool dish is pineapple with yummy sweet rice cooked in the middle of it. Ramsey bought some peanut brittle that we saw some Chinese men smashing into one flat piece.

We ate a dinner that consisted of way too much fish and then headed back to our hotel. It was a 4 star hotel. Ramsey and I took to the streets to explore and Ramsey bought me a couple pretty bracelets and a small wooden chest.

Chinese Class: Day 2, 3, 4

2010-07-22T17:23:00.009+08:00

The Korean girls that sit in front of me.

I'm really enjoying my class. I figured out quite quickly that I'm the most advanced in my class after listening to the rest of the students answer questions. Also, the class is taught exclusively in Chinese and while some of these students have been learning Chinese at universities back in their home countries, I don't believe they've ever had a Chinese class taught exclusively in Chinese. Thanks to my friend Shizhang's mom, who tutored me completely in Chinese, I'm used to it and have caught on. I find myself translating for the rest of the class often. I'm kind of the "go to" person as well.

What is it like being on top? At first I didn't like it. I felt like I was at the right level and that the rest of the students shouldn't be in the advanced class. But I've gotten used to the idea and put up with their lack of vocabulary. While I have a very large vocabulary, I often lack the ability to be grammatically correct.

I decided that I needed to stop comparing myself to others. I am learning for myself. I will put up with their endless obvious questions and focus on what I'm learning in the class. Otherwise, I will drive myself insane.

I've been sitting in a new seat every day and meeting new people. Today, I met a Japanese student named Nanako and she is married as well. She is very beautiful, but I was getting kind of distracted by her fake eye lashes because the glue was coming off.

There is one man that is Japanese (I think about 50 years old). He doesn't like me very much and mutters to some of our classmates that I'm too advanced for the class and shouldn't be there, but the truth is the book is perfect for me. I am at the correct level. Everyone else is bumped up because they couldn't fill up my class and there were too many beginners in the other classes.

Here is a picture of some of my Korean classmates. They are so sweet and always want to take pictures with me.

We had culture class in the afternoon and learned some Taichi. Our instructor was so graceful. It will take me a long time before I can be like that!

Chinese Class: Day 1

2010-07-19T17:02:00.005+08:00

Well, the first day was a half day. We usually have two classes of grammar and two classes of speaking but today we just had two oral classes.

I haven't met my first teacher yet but my oral teacher is Ms. Gao. She seems really sweet and patient.

So I walked into the class and like I thought, all Koreans and some Japanese. Shockingly, after a while, two Spanish people walk in. They were a little shy so I didn't talk too much to them. There was a Japanese girl behind me that was a lot more interesting and we talked for a while. Her Mandarin was impressive but I felt we were at similar levels. Then I talked to the Korean guy next to me for a while who has a really cool deep voice.

Then another Korean girl sat to the right of me and I couldn't really communicate with her well. It appeared she hardly could speak Mandarin or she was shy. I really don't think she should be at this level. I feel bad for her because later I realized she didn't understand the teacher's directions since the teacher only speaks Chinese.

I find that a lot of my classmates are about my level or below. I guess they all have their strengths and weaknesses just like me.

I also found out that there are two divisions: Beginner and Advanced but that there are little levels in both of them. So I'm in the Advanced class Level 1 if that makes any sense. lol. There are still classes above mine. I looked at one of the girls' books and I felt I could handle the Advanced Level 2 class alright. In fact, I feel like the class I'm in was a little easy but I think maybe it's just the first day. But, I'm happy to be on top of the class instead of at the bottom. A lot of people were impressed by my self introduction because I could speak fast, but that's really because I've talked about myself a lot in Chinese already.

I have become very popular it appears. People from out of nowhere know my name and wave wildly at me in the halls. I feel so bad, but all these Koreans have similar faces and hairstyles. They seem more alike than the Chinese. And when they tell me their names, there's no way my mind can remember so I have to write them down. Well they all love me and want to take pictures with me.

What's so funny is that when I said I was from America they all gasped in pleasure and then when I said I was from Los Angeles, they all squealed and wanted to hold my hand. I have become somewhat of a little doll or plaything for them.

After class, I was paying tuition for my culture class and I met that Indian girl again. I don't know her name either and I've asked so many times and couldn't understand her that I'm afraid to ask again, so let's call her R because her name starts with the letter R. Anyway R and I bought cafeteria cards and ended up eating lunch together. The lunch at Donghua University is pretty nasty and R is a vegetarian so it made it especially difficult to find some dishes. Thankfully I helped her find some potato and beans dish and I ate some egg and tomato dish. R is in the beginner class and so we can't be in the same class but at least we're all in the culture class together.

For culture class today, we learned Chinese calligraphy. I've practiced Chinese calligraphy before so I really just wanted to dive in and do it, but instead I have to listen to like a half an hour history lesson of all the different styles. Finally we get to try and she only lets us do two characters: 有 and 法. After perfecting those I got so bored, so I started practicing my Chinese name: 杜婉莎 over and over again and I think I've finally mastered it. I love the smell of the brushes like horse hair I think, and the scroll paper, and even the ink. I really wish I could go crazy with the brush but I had to hold back. Apparently, a girl went a little crazy with the brush and drew a lot of butterflies.

I think I'm the type of person that likes to do things quickly. Once, we do one character I want to do the next. I don't want to keep writing the same character over and over again. I don't think it improves. I think it gets worst. The first time I try really hard and each time, I get lazier and lazier, while getting more and more bored. This is who I am. I need to be constantly invigorated.

After class, I showed R how to use the metro and showed her how to get a transportation card. I have the metro system memorized and the bus routes down pat, so a lot of people come to me and ask me how to get home and I help them. It's kind of funny that they all started asking me. I felt like a Shanghainese. In fact, I know the transportation system better than a lot of my Shanghainese friends.

By the end of the day, my mouth was so dry because I spoke so much Mandarin and made so many friends. It's a little overwhelming how fast I'm making friends. Student life is great!

Chinese Class: Registration Day

2010-07-17T13:35:00.010+08:00

Today was registration day.

I walked in the office and noticed all Asian people. I think, hmmm where do I go, so I keep walking down the hall. A lady stops me. "You need to take a number!" Ok where? She points to the mass of asian people. I think to myself. These people all need to learn Chinese? Well, turns out, they are all Korean and Japanese. How ethnocentric am I?? Why did it never occur to me that most of my peers would be Asian! Yes other Asians need to learn Chinese too!

Wow there's a lot of them. So I wait in my seat and finally a non asian face- a lady from India sits next to me. We talk for a while. An hour passes, and then my number is called. I get my picture taken and receive a student id for Donghua University. Then I wait in line for another number. I meet a Korean girl named Katie and the only other American, a Chinese American guy from Michigan, named Mike. We get to know each other and I realize quite quickly we won't be ending up in the same class for both of them don't know any Chinese. I scoped out the rest of the scene. It appeared the only students that really knew any Chinese were the Japanese and some Korean. All the western faces would be in the beginner class.

Then I realized...hmmm if I'm with all the Asians, so much for any hope of the class being conducted in English.

When I take the placement test, my tester seems quite pleased with my reading skills and for the most part with my speaking skills too. She places me in the advanced class. "Wait!" I say. I don't want to be in the beginner class but I don't want to be in the advanced class. Can I be in the middle class?" Apparently there is only two types of class. Ahhh, watching a few people tested, I figure out real quickly that I will be the only western face in the advanced class. I don't speak any Korean or Japanese so it may be hard to make friends.

We'll see. I'll try my best. I really do want to use this opportunity to make friends since the program isn't just language but also trips and cultural activities as well.

The Shanghai Library

2010-07-15T21:43:00.003+08:00

The Shanghai Library has a foreign book section so I was excited to check it out. Then I got there and realized the section was crap! All the books had a yellow tint to it and were like from the 70s. There was an English section and then a bunch of other language sections. Man, the German section rocks. They have so many new, good-smelling, clean books and their section is huge! Even the Russian section is better than the English section. There was an Australian section which I thought was weird because the last time I checked, they also spoke English, but then I opened up a children's book and it wasn't any English I was familiar with. The story of Cinder-Ella as they call her has so much Australian slang that I couldn't catch up.

After leaving the foreign section, I explored the rest of the library, and it was really quite beautiful. So many floors and so many books! There is an ancient books section that was quite marvelous. I just loved looking at all the old calligraphy.

After the library, I went to Yu Gardens. (Even though I've been there a lot). I just love finding street food and enjoy window shopping. I picked up two silver necklaces with a little mouse charm that has little rhinestones on it-one for me and one for my friend Lu because we're both the year of the mouse.

Dropped by Carrefour on the way home and picked up some chocolate pudding for Ramsey for when he gets home. My friend Carl told me that they sell them really cheap there and that Ramsey would love the surprise. Can't say it was my idea. But at least I stocked the fridge. ;)

Got home and walked Sophie with my neighbor who has an big white fluffy dog (Alaskan?) named Snow White. It was a good day.

The Shanghai Library

Eating at CHA

2010-07-14T21:24:00.000+08:00

CHA is a trendy restaurant in the midst of XuJiaHui. There's usually an hour wait to get it. Charlie must like it. He got there early and got us a table and little by little we piled in. I was second (15 minutes late), then Alex (30 minutes late) and then BingBing (1 hour late). LOL. We are such classy people. Charlie and BingBing are dating. Charlie has been going to law school at the University of Pennsylvania and BingBing works for the Bank of Shanghai. Alex is my old driver's ed student and is visiting for a month (Shanghai is his hometown. He currently goes to the U of U). And Ramsey? Where is Ramsey??? He's in Singapore fighting people and some junk.

CHA had some amazing food. I couldn't get enough of the seafood curry. Definitely by far my favorite. Somehow Charlie knew I loved curry when I only told him once a long time ago. What a fabulous memory. We also ordered some Singapore noodles in honor of Ramsey being in Singapore and toasted for good luck on his fight.

Anyway, I have to say I love these people. They are so kind. Charlie paid for the whole dinner even after I refused his offer adamantly, he wouldn't let me pay. After dinner, BingBing got picked up by her dad on a motorcycle. Awesome. And Charlie, Alex, and I went to the metro. They are so kind. They accompanied me to my stop even though it was the opposite direction and then the metro ended up closing so they couldn't take it to get home. But they proceeded to walk me off the metro to my bus stop before they caught a cab. Chinese men are such gentlemen! They helped me down the stairs and opened all the doors for me and I asked them "Are all Chinese men like this?" And they said just the Shanghainese men. Shanghainese men get often a bad rap for being weak. I guess they cook and clean for their wives unlike a lot of Chinese men that expect it.

Yay for CHA! And yay for polite and charming Shanghainese men!

English Blog

2010-07-14T11:40:00.004+08:00

At the beginning of the year, I assigned my students to write in their blog in English twice a week. Here are some of their entries. Sometimes, they would write to me.

"You are a responsible teacher, I could say like this.

I still remember that day when you got to go, after you finished the morning class.

You didn’t go until you cleaned up the blackboard.

I never saw a teacher do like this in college."

"Do you know, Mrs. Dewey?

We all appreciate you and Mr. Dewey, ranging from our teachers to us.

Even though you two have married for several years,

you still looks like that you married just several days ago.

We always see you hand in hand, and go to classes,

and you are so suitable, both in the appearance and talent.

You are beautiful and he is handsome.

Also Mr. Dewey can sing well, speech well, box well, etc.

And you can play the piano.

I heard Mr. Dewey earned his college fees all by himself.

You are both so excellent.

And you two are responsible,

Especially you are.

It's hard to imagine you never studying in China before,

because your assignment is like our Chinese teacher assigned us.

"I really appreciate the video your brother made for you,

I think it will be a nice memory for you, and your brother.

Because of your video,

I suddenly have an idea of making one.

When I am free, I will walk here and there at school,

and make a video for my college life.

We will graduate from school one year later,

I'd like to memory something in my mind."

"Last night, when I was hanging around in my living community, suddenly a black cat leaped into my sight. Oh my Gosh! Such a “great” encounter, it scared me a little bit, my mind went into deep thought wondering whether it’s a bad or a good symptom. Owning to my English teacher told us in some countries it’s an unlucky sign, if you met a complete black cat, it will occur a lose-lose situation on you! While, my friend said to me that in France, it’s really super lucky circumstances.

So I try to persuade myself to be optimistic and think towards into the bright side as far as possible. Just in a second, a miracle appeared! I found 10 Yuan on the ground very just at my next step to my feet. At that moment, I drew a conclusion: I’m always very lucky! Anywhere, anytime!

Things seem a bit dramatic, when I woke up this morning, I found my gums swelling. I rushed into the bathroom and checked what’s up. Unexpectedly, there grew a tooth! It was really itch and painful… something comes to me: Mrs. Dewey taught us that in America, there exists a naughty tooth fairy, she likes to take one of a child’s teeth away in his or her dreams then gave some pocket money under their pillow. But weird that I got the money but I didn’t lose my teeth on the contrary, I got a new one!"

YW Activity: Toy Story 3 in 3D and Pizza Marzano

2010-07-09T22:12:00.004+08:00

For a yw activity, we joined up with the Pudong branch (since the summer has brought dwindling numbers of girls) and headed out to XinTianDi. We saw Toy Story 3 in 3D, ate pizza at Pizza Marzano, and ate at ColdStones for dessert. The movie was really cute. I didn't like the other 2 movies, but I really liked this one. It was really clever and I appreciated the darker themes (This is my dark side talking). If you have ever read Animal Farm and liked it, well, you'll like this movie. LOL. Don't ask why Animal Farm is similar, just watch it.

Afterward, we watched a group of Chinese musicians playing movie themes with their traditional Chinese instruments. Their version of the Pirates of the Carribean theme song was amazing!!!

Karaoke Krazy 2.0

2010-07-08T21:43:00.000+08:00

When I was a driver's ed teacher, I had a student named Alex. He is from Shanghai and studying at the U of U. Well, when he found out I was moving to Shanghai, we exchanged emails. He's back for a month and contacted me. How fun, huh!

I invited my bestest friend in Shanghai, Jenny, and she invited a guy friend of hers. Alex brought his cousin and I brought Ramsey of course!!!

I actually sang a lot this time, including the spice girls. (Did I just say that????)

One of my favorite girls, Jenny!

Alex and me

Alex and his cousin

Mr. Dewey singing Bob Dylan?? Or the Beatles, can't remember.

The cutest girl and the cutest guy

Jenny and her guy friend. His English name was Zero. lol.

Alex and his cousin

Afterward, Jenny and Zero left and the rest of us went to eat at a Hong Kong food style restaurant. (Ramsey is taking the picture). It totally looks like I'm on a date with another man because Ramsey is missing and I'm blocking Alex's cousin. LOL.

Feng Shui

2010-07-06T12:25:00.004+08:00

This is an explanation of Feng Shui by Cathy Xiaoxia Zhou

Feng Shui, literally meaning "wind and water," developed from very ancient times, is the study of the "built environment." It is primarily focused on the Qi (Cosmic energies) within a structure, as that is what has the most direct effect on the people. In another word, it is about aligning energies in living or working environment. The main points of concern is that the landscaping is beautiful and in balance with the rest of the environment. Feng Shui in the old days was known as "Kan Yu" (the observation of the forces between Heaven and Earth). Only towards the end of the Qing Dynasty did the term "Feng Shui" come to be used unanimously to represent "Kan Yu." Feng Shui today is seen in interior design and hour decorating, etc.

The foundation theory for Feng Shui is the five-element theory. They are:
Wood
Fire
Earth
Metal
Water

These five elements interplay and form cyclical changes
Wood produces fire
Fire produces earth
Earth produces metal
Metal produces water
Water produces wood

They also generate destructive effects
Wood uproots earth
Earth blocks water
Water douses fire
Fire melts metal
Metal chops wood

Wood is green
Fire is red
Earth is yellow
Metal is white or gold
Water is blue or black

So the optimum combination of the five elements is of great importance.
The goal of Feng Shui is to create a comfortable and beautiful environment. And the key stress is to achieve balance.

YW Activity: Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

2010-07-01T22:46:00.007+08:00

For a young women's activity, we went to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. There were only three girls because most of the young women left for the summer. There were a lot of cool parts. Each part of the museum is divided into different parts of science i.e. animal life, the human body, light, ecosystems, robots, etc.. It was very hands on. I think the girls had a lot of fun.

This big guy was hanging from the ceiling....Robot spider! Why did all the insects have to wiggle??? Gross!!

Poor fish....

This was a weird one. We went in these little fruit cars and explored the process of digestion. Along the way, parts of the body would talk to us and explain the process and after being chewed up, we got digested and pooped out at the end while hearing the lovely sounds of farting noises. Bizarre.

The ride was in 3D

Be afraid...be very afraid....
Entering the oral cavity...
Being chewed...
Why is the uvula talking to us? lol.
I took a picture of a picture...

Bunch of magnetism, optical illusions, electricity demonstrations etc...
Cool fountain....how does it work????
Making a music video and getting really into it....

For Father's Day

2010-06-21T06:03:00.001+08:00

The accuracy of this is based on my memory. Feel free to correct any facts.

Jay Charles Munns—a Brief Sketch of His Life

(Written for Father’s Day, June 20^th 2010 by Vanessa Munns Dewey)

My father Jay Charles Munns, was born on June 2^nd 1948 in Honolulu, Hawaii to Orlin Charles Munns and Opalgene Rawson Munns.

Early Childhood

It may seem strange to know my father was born in Hawaii but before you get any ideas that I’m half Hawaiian, I must tell you that my grandfather (or his father) was stationed there for the US air force and had served as a navigator pilot during WW2. My father and his family moved around a bit and then moved to sunny southern California where he was raised for the remainder of his childhood.

My father was named after his grandpa James “Jay” Arthur Rawson. My father in particular has many great stories to tell about his great grandmother Sarah Weaver Holt. She was a famous poet in Idaho and well-loved by many. My father spoke about how she was a great performer and would often recite monologues for the neighborhood children. One Halloween she dressed up as a witch and had such great acting skills, that she had all the neighborhood kids convinced that she was truly a witch! My father got plenty of attention with so many grandparents and great grandparents to smother him with love.

My father had a dog like all traditional American families but no one would guess what other pet he owned! He was a proud owner of a de-scented skunk named “Lucky.” Lucky was fun to have around and was as well-behaved as a house cat. Whenever my father had his piano lessons, his piano teacher would delight in having Lucky sit on her lap. Ever since I heard the story about Lucky the Skunk, it was my own dream to adopt one. Alas, it’s quite difficult so I surrendered this quest.

My father is an amazing pianist and began learning the piano at a very young age. It didn’t take long before he was able to pick out melodies and play by ear. He was also a very young composer. One of my favorite pieces of his is a nice little ragtime piece called “Jay’s Tune” where he goes gracefully from one end of the keyboard to the other end. He was able to find part-time jobs working at Shakey’s Pizza and other smoke-filled venues. [Imagine piano salon in smoky haze—romantic isn’t it?] Although he smelled like a smoker, this was a small price to pay to be able to entertain the bustling night scene.

My father developed a love of old music from his family, especially his grandmother, Virginia Holt Rawson, an accomplished violinist. He loved the complex yet wistful melodies from the early 1900s-1940s. You can imagine an older generation’s surprise seeing such a young kid whip out their music! He was instantly loved and he was proud of the respect that he earned.

Early Adult Years

My father was accepted to Brigham Young University and it only took him two weeks to find the love of his life, my mother, Cheryl Woolf Munns. His roommate and my mother’s roommate were dating and dragged them along on their dates. My father and my mother went on a date and played on a see-saw and from then on, see-saws are a reminder for them of their blooming romance. My father dutifully accepted a calling to serve a two-year mission in the Bristol England Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and took a break from education while my mother waited for his return.

He loved his mission and developed a taste for British food (especially fish and chips dunked in vinegar!). He made many friends and converted many people. One of the few times he had a chance to talk to his parents on the phone he was shocked to hear how hard his mother pronounced her “R’s.” (Think: nails on a chalkboard) It would appear he adapted to the soft accent of the English, as well as adapting well to a delicious cookie called “Digestives.”

When my father got home from his mission he reunited with my mother and they decided to get married on June 12, 1970. My father continued his schooling, pursuing a law degree at BYU’s law school and my mother taught grade school full-time. They were a happy couple. My father got a part-time job at a pizza parlor and it was always an exciting treat to bring home extras for dinner. One time their little basement apartment got flooded but they were able to rescue many of their things without too much damage.

Family Life

My father took his sweet bride to southern California and continued to do a lot of piano side jobs and my mother got a job teaching in El Monte. There were plenty of amazing experiences including the birth of their first daughter, Valerie Munns. My father decided to open up a used piano/rental store and then later pursued a career involving law. One by one, little children filled the small home on Serenade Drive in West Covina. 1978 produced little Ryan Jay Munns. 1980 produced little Jeremy Charles Munns. 1982 produced little Kevin Woolf Munns, and finally 1984 produced little Vanessa Munns which required a move to a larger house on Holly Oak Drive.

My father was blessed to always find work in the field of law (Worker’s Compensation) through his extensive knowledge of networking, and at the same blessed to be able to share his musical talent though side jobs. He met amazing people throughout his musical career and had many great mentors. He also made life-long friends with some of the guys he jammed with. One of my most prized possessions are his group’s vinyl records reading “Jay and His Boys.” He was a quick-learner and many great musicians considered him their disciple. His music became something to be sought after. He has entertained many celebrities and even 2 U.S. presidents. His music is a rarity, cherished by those that remember and appreciate the style.

My father has also dutifully accepted many church callings including Bishop and 2^nd counselor of the Stake Presidency. Many people have expressed their love and appreciation to me about the impact he made in their lives. I know my father lived with the spirit of God in his life and was able to teach and heal people that needed his wise guidance so much.

Later Adult

My father became the guardian of six precious grandchildren ranging from a baby to a teenager. Among their favorite things to do is taking trips to the family cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains and dancing around the piano while my father plays music. He loves sharing “his” music and teaching his grandchildren the words to songs that clearly no one else their age would know!

My father has received a boost of musical energy and is happily participating in two music groups: “The Stardust Trio” which is a trio consisting of piano, trumpet and drums, and a 1940s re-creation of the Andrew Sisters that call themselves “The Sentimental Sisters.” All over the San Gabriel valley do these two groups perform and bring so much joy to the older generation (and even younger generations!) who are able to relive old memories.

Conclusion

My father’s life has been full and meaningful. He is a wise father and great grandfather. His strength of character and morals has been and always will be an example for his descendents to look up to and follow. The only way to get to know my father better is to give him a call and to ask him yourself! I am sure he would love the call!

Zongzi

2010-06-18T13:12:00.009+08:00

The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu festival, is a holiday in Chinese culture to commemorate Qu Yuan who was a famous scholar in ancient China. Supposedly he was upset with the affairs of the government and when he put in his two cents, they exiled him. He was also a poet and wrote about his feelings toward the kingdom and how it was ruled. One day, he couldn't bear it anymore and threw himself into a river and drowned himself.

Many of the local people considered him a hero and spent days paddling boats searching for his body. They also threw rice into the river so the fishes would eat the rice instead of his decaying body. Another version of the story is that they threw in rice to feed Qu Yuan and they wrapped the rice in bamboo leaves to give it weight so it would sink to the bottom of the river. Every year Chinese people eat this snack called "zongzi" to commemorate him.

They also do dragon boat races to see who can "find his body the fastest." Actually they are just racing. It's all symbolic really. Actually, I'm pretty terrible at telling stories. If you want to read a better explanation, go to our trusty friend Wikipedia.

My student, Cassie, brought me some zongzi filled with rice and pork that her mother cooked and some hardboiled eggs laid by her two chickens. Delicious! Ramsey doesn't like zongzi but I think it's growing on me.

YM & YW Joint Activity: Pool Party!!!

2010-06-16T16:58:00.005+08:00

Luo Bin Han (Robin Hood)

2010-06-15T22:15:00.005+08:00

I never remember to take my camera anywhere, hence the lack of blog entries but today I did!

Today, Ramsey and I had the day off and we decided to go to the outdoor mall near our apartment.

We went to a wonderful Thai restaurant called "The Banana Leaf Curry House" for lunch. We had lamb skewers dipped in peanut sauce, pineapple fried rice and a chicken green curry. It was all fabulous and not too expensive.

Then we walked around a bit and just enjoyed the scene.

"Puyang" Every Chinese kid's favorite cartoon character

Ramsey gave me this look after I told him to ride the "pizza car."

We were itching to see Iron Man 2 but I guess it's not in theatres any more (We did see the DVD for sale) so we went to Robin Hood instead. I'm so glad they don't dub over Western movies here like they often do in Russia. The tickets were cheap only 30 rmb ($4.50). Pretty nice theatre. The Chinese are smart-they put a huge space between the first row and the screen so no one gets a terrible seat, and then just make it go farther back. You pick your seats when you buy them which is nice.

Robin Hood aka "Luo Bin Han"

Later that evening we met up with our co-workers Bora (the Korean teacher) and Ken (the Japanese teacher) Man, I'm sure it was funny to all who saw us (three different nationalities) bridging the gap by communicating in Chinese.

Bora took us to a great Korean restaurant and we had Korean BBQ which was to die for. This was their "going away" dinner that I paid for to say thank you for being such great friends. I will miss them dearly. They are both leaving the university. Bora is going to Australia to learn English for a few months and then returning to Korea to pursue international trade and Ken is getting another job in Shanghai.

2010-06-11T10:05:00.002+08:00

Dear Mrs. Dewey,
Last week, I was frightened by the assignment. All I wanted to do was escape, so I just handed in someone else's poem and you gave me a "rewrite" as a punishment. Now, I realized that when you are frightened by work, you must march to it upright and conquer it. You can do it only when you give yourself a chance to face it.
The first time I met you and Mr. Dewey, I was deeply touched by the gaze between you two and I totally felt the love in the air. I hope it happens between my lover and me. So I write this poem to all of us. Hope you like it and forgive my faults.

No Words

Your gaze with deep emotion is my desire-
My desire of yearning is longer than the night.
What is the distance from eyes to heart?
I always ask you.

At what time,
Tacit agreement was in existence between you and me.
There is no need of many words,
After an emotious gaze.
All problems will vanish like smoke-
Only two leaping hearts remain.

Small as my heart,
It is enough to hold you.
Holding you-
I felt I have held the whole world,
And the whole world is full of happiness.

Poetry from Class 08051 & 08052

2010-06-11T09:26:00.006+08:00

Starry Mood by Jade Yan

Floating in the sky
Clouds form in front of me
Your appearance in shape.
The wind with me
Carries you as if carrying the sun.
No matter where we are
It is sunny.
Butterflies, flowers
Lead you and me around nature.
Step by step, hand in hand
We look for the stars.
1 2 3 4
forms a line
Silently I make a wish
Hoping these stars could see or hear.
If they hear,
It must be realized.

Untitled by Annie Yuan

I dream of flying with you
Because in this lifetime
I know you'll be waiting for me
in the next lifetime

I dream of flying with you
With every bit of me
closer to you.
We land in the snow,
Writing our life, hand in hand,
Then flying away from this complex world.

Summer by Joyce Chen

Summer, the fabulous season, is the year's king.
Sunflowers kiss the faces of all that pass by.
In order to enjoy the scenery-
Pedestrians wear various sunglasses.
Girls put on their most colorful skirts.
Everyone falls in love with sandals.

On the sunny afternoon of July,
The cicadas are singing-
It becomes melody amongst the rustling leaves.
Young lovers meet in the sunshine,
Welcoming summer with open arms
While watermelons drive away my tiredness
And then my heart, with pleasure, fills.

More Poetry (Class 08053)

2010-05-31T19:09:00.003+08:00

Lunch by Tifa Wu

Sesame balls
Floating in the boiling soup
Rolling
Jumping
Just like chubby children

Three for you and
Three for me
Six balls and six tastes

Half for you and
Half for me
Tongue greets lips and teeth
And we
Fill up on happiness

The Sun, The Moon and Stars By Sunny Zhao

I am a most special dust in the universe.
I live in this world
Where the sun is my parents-
The most important existence in my world
The moon is my love-
The most desired existence in my world.
The stars are my friends, relatives, rivals...
They are the ones I cannot ignore.
They add color to my life.

I float in this universe and pursue my life.
But no matter where my life points to
I won't forget you,
My sun, moon, and stars.

Goodbye to a Friend by Karen Liu

It rains
Every raindrop is a feeling
I remember that day we stood in the rain
The sky, the rain, two girls, and a tear.
We listen to the sound of distance
So quiet, so clear

It rains
Every raindrop is a moment missing
And we knew it was time
The face, the words, two girls, and the day
That hung on the scene
were taken away

It shines
A drop of sunshine in a dream
And I knew it would come
The sky, the sun, two girls, and a smile
Together again
So happy, so well

Some Poetry from My Students (Class 08054 English Writing)

2010-05-26T11:36:00.010+08:00

Star and Wish by Trista Chu

If stars know
they bear all the desires,

They will twinkle
strenuously.

If you see
the brightest star,

It is the wish
I make for you.

Puppy Love by Alexis Zhong

Sometimes I act like a spoiled child.
Sometimes I drive you crazy.
Sometimes I make an ass of myself.
But you want to change me.

You say you don't.
I say you do.

When we can't seem to makeup,
When we are at a standstill,
When we are about to breakup,
I look at you, you smile at me, and then,
We fall in love again.

Parting at the Station by Cindy Gong

When you hold my hands
Saying again and again "Take care my love"
Again and again "Goodbye my love"

When I get on the train
I can't help but cry out your name.
Your face blurred because my eyes blurred by tears.

Thousands of words welled up in my heart
When can it take me back to your side?

Wait For the Dream Blossom By Kathy Lu

Suddenly I begin to miss the blossoms-
Pink Sakura
Blue Gentian
Orchid Lavender

From near to far
They extend to the end of the sky

I am a child walking alone
Along this narrow road
Breathing the fragrance of flowers
Adoring the past covered by a shadow left behind.

Fireworks by Sonia Zhang

Beautiful fireworks from the dark sky
Spark, Spark
Disappear into the blue paradise
Your sparkling black eyes reflect
Twinkle, Twinkle
Leaves something in my heart.
Those beautiful fireworks
Bringing color to my life.

Love Will Go On by Emily Li

Love, you will be a star in my overhead.
If you die,
I will be a firefly
I will dimly fly

From night to midnight
From midnight to daybreak
Hoping to have a clear sky
When I can see the eternal and changeless star
That is you.

I hope to see you shine for me
Although stopped by day, stopped by sky
We love each other from eye to eye.

Defoliation by Irene Zhang (Poetry style: Cinquain)

Defoliation
Fallen, Faded
Bestrewn on ground
Then decayed and buried
Death

Our Meeting by Caroline Xu

Dusk comes down noisily
Shining lanterns turn on
Among the vast human sea

What are you looking for
Under the neon sign?
You will find me-
A figure, slipped from your heart

I will not ask
You do not say
The evening breeze
Taking you away
from me into the crowd

Sophie=Joy

2010-05-22T19:15:00.000+08:00

US

2010-05-22T15:01:00.000+08:00

Some people post pictures of their kids...

2010-05-21T14:59:00.006+08:00

I don't have kids. So I'm posting pictures of my dog. Deal.

Sneezing

I woke up to this:

2010-05-21T12:42:00.002+08:00

I love you baby!!!

Bora-my Korean friend

2010-05-19T18:34:00.003+08:00

One of my coworkers is Korean. She teaches Korean at the same university I teach at. We have developed a friendship although we can only communicate through Chinese. I found out the other day that she will not be returning next semester and I was really sad! Seriously, she was the closest friend I had at the university and we ate lunch together every Monday. Here is a picture of some yummy kimchi pancakes she made me. She says it's not called kimchi pancakes but I don't remember what she called them so I'm calling it kimchi pancakes. I love kimchi btw-the sourness is awesome. Ramsey doesn't really care for the stuff.

Wedding Present

2010-04-25T18:51:00.005+08:00

This is the wedding present I got made in China for my brother's wedding. I had a man handcarve their picture onto stone-no computer people!

Kevin and Trinh's wedding was so beautiful. Trinh looked amazing and Kevin dashing. The colors were white and a kind of Tiffany blue. Their temple ceremony was held at the San Diego temple and their reception in Covina. They had amazing food-Hawaiian BBQ and beautiful decor!!! Everything just looked so good!

photos by Kathy Olsen

Youth Conference

2010-04-18T18:44:00.000+08:00

Because I am one of the YW leaders, I went to youth conference. It was a blast. All of the speakers and activities were well planned and fun! We all got red tshirts that said "Be Strong and of a Good Courage" to go with the theme.