So overdue...

Alright Sarah I think it's about time I show my gratitude for you creating this blog for me by finally posting something! I realize that this was created so that I could keep my peeps back home updated on China life, and I'm already half way through my experience...but no worries I will catch you up in a jiff.

My China experience started off fairly rough. For those of you that don't know...I found out I had mono a week before I was leaving, and saying I felt like hell is an understatement. The journey to China including the 3 flights and layovers took about 30 hours and I was so sick if I would have had a pan, I would have asked the yucky, Asian man sitting by me to knock me over the head with it. But I made it...and that's the important thing! I made it without losing my sanity...

We flew in to Hong Kong in the middle of a typhoon, and all 40 of us spent the next two days touring Hong Kong and exploring the city. Then we split up according to the schools we were assigned to teach at and made our journeys to where we'd be living for the next 4 months. The school I teach at is called Kaiyin and is in the city Zhongshan (about 2 hours from Hong Kong). It is beautiful where I live. Our school is in a very suburby and more upper class area, so I feel really lucky. My apartment is slightly different however...I share a dirty, crowded, bug infested 15' X 20' room with 2 girls (that I love thank heavens), but I often wonder why I am here? Since we are all scared to kill the spiders, cockroaches, and other creatures that invade our spacious apartment, we've decided to name them and allow them to live among us. I've since adopted the phrase "embrace it".

So the reason why I came...teaching my asian kiddles the English language. What an adventure that has been. Since August 23rd I've become the mother of 8 beautiful Asian children who are all the same age, but have different fathers...take it as you will. I had the privilege of giving a few of them English names, but my favorite name is Popeye. My kids are all between the ages of 5-7 and know very basic English, but I'm slowly trying to help them progress. When you see pictures of them you will see how adorable they are, but what you won't see is what little hellions they can turn in to sometimes. That has probably been the most frustrating thing for me since I've been here. I spend time planning and preparing lessons that are fun for them, but they chit chat in Chinese, poke each other in the eyes, and do everything but listen to me...maybe I just need a reality check. I'm not teaching adults, I'm teaching little children.

Aside from teaching my first graders, I have 4 kindergarten classes that I teach once a week and they are the cutest things I've ever seen, but have no respect for my personal bubble. I really like my bubble... People told me that the Chinese don't have a problem invading personal space, but I didn't think that would be a problem with my kindergarteners. I was teaching them last Thursday and I've honestly never felt more violated by little children in my life. Every time I turned my back to any of the kids I got spanks left and right on my booty, which turned in to spanks on my front side as well...hmmm....as I was trying to control my kids and protect myself, I noticed two little boys laying on the floor giggling as they were looking up my skirt. Really children? Really? Who taught you this?? Lessons learned from the kindergarteners...wear a cup and never wear a skirt again.

When I'm not teaching I'm vacationing! I have been on two amazing vacations since I left...the first was to a place called Guilin, and the other was Beijing and Shanghai! Guilin is a more rural part of China and one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. The mountains are incredible...they are luscious green and remind me of mountains in Dr. Seuss books. In Guilin we rented electric scooters, swam in mud caves, floated down a river in a bamboo boat, and shopped! I also had my first experience of traveling on a sleeper bus, which I wish everyone could experience at some point in their life. Last week I got home from my second vacation Shanghai and Beijing. It was amazing. In Shanghai we had a blast with the night life, walking the streets with vendors, and sight seeing. We also went to Old Shanghai which is how I pictured China with all the Asian architecture. We only spent one night in Shanghai because our main focus was Beijing. In Beijing we went to Tienamen Square, the Forbidden City, Summer Palace (the Emperor's summer home), several olympic venues, the silk market (where my bank account severely suffered), and most importantly The Great Wall of China! It was the most amazing and surreal feeling walking along the Great Wall...it was undescribable. Something I never thought I'd ever do... I love being able to have this vacation time because I didn't realize how much there is to see in China. There is so much history here, and I've only scratched the surface. China is amazing. There are definitely things I haven't expected though and I am still trying to get used to...so I decided to create a list...which will be added to as the adventure continues...I've titled this list P.S. China (It's a friendly list China might be interested in...)

P.S. China

1. Yes the chickens have large talons, and no I don't want to eat them.
2. As fun as it is to pee without a seat or a door, I'd like one...
3. To the mothers and fathers: Check the crotch of childrens clothing before buying. It seems to be a common trend to buy crotchless clothing for young kids. (I first discovered this while on a train watching a baby create a fountain a urin that puddled to the floor of the bus I was on. While I watched in shock, the mother wiped the urin on her hands off onto her shirt)...really?
4. To the masseuses: Please wash your hands before massaging my face...sometimes they smell like butt.
5. To clothing store workers: My name is London, not "Hello Just Looking!"
6. Take out the word sleeper in "Sleeper Bus" the last thing you do is sleep on 1' wide x 3' tall bed with Asian music playing the whole night long...
7. American girls posing like manniquins in the middle of Shanghai doesn't qualify making the news...
8. To the taxi drivers: It's ok to admit you don't know where something is.
9. Why are there Irish pubs China?
10. What does maybe really mean?

Although this list may seem negative, these are only a few of the many reasons why I love China!! Honestly, this is coolest thing I've ever done, and I can't wait for more adventures! I love you all at home!!