Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Rants and Raves
Alright may I just get a couple things off my chest... I am a pretty calm person for the most part, but I hate....well hate. I just don't understand how people can ruin childs innocence by making them protest at funerals of people who were either gay or soldier's. There is a church called the Westboro Baptist Church and I just would like to express my anger to them.....ANGER! There. . . they do not realize that they are literally ruining people's lives. They believe that anyone who is not a member of their church will go to hell. . . (hey guys at least it'll be crowded). I do not see the point of holding up signs that say "god hates Ameica" "God hates fags" "thank God for dead soldiers" I really don't. Now as I was saying earlier I really don't get angry easily, but I am literally so mad that I just can't express all my anger in a blog. I just..AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. oK even now I don't feel better.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Final China post two months late!
Hey so I got back from China about two months ago, but I never got to update my blog after the government blocked it so I figured maybe I would try to update it again. So I guess I'll start in Xi'an again and then Beijing and then I'll move on to my final days. Sad.Ya know I really enjoyed my time in China. I wish I kept in better touch with the fourteen people I was with for those five months and I'll have to work on it. Here's our group picture.
There are a couple of people missing. This is right before we left for home. The day of our big performance. The kids were so cute. I miss them so much. I hope I will be able to go see them some day. I hope they will remember me. So here's some more of Xi'an...
So this is just another close up of the pandas. They are soooo cute. Sorry if I put in duplicate pictures. I'm just sorta going with the flow and I have a lot of ground to cover. Literally our zoos have nothing on Chinese zoos, you can literally touch the animals and get so close to them and they don't look as depressed to be caged. It's cute really.
Peacock! Ha you have no idea the effort it took to actually get these birds to flair their feathers. There actually was a couple of people there who were yelling at the birds. . . we just sat there and listened then took pictures when it worked.
So this is at The Wall in Xi'an right before we biked across it. This is Victoria and Jennifer. They taught in Guzhen, but they were friends with Luis and Conrad and came to our place quite frequently. I miss them a lot. They had so much energy. They actually extended and went to Cambodia and Vietnam. Isn't that pretty sweeeeet.
Me with the guard. Mine looks a lot more serious.
One of the pagodas on the top of the wall. Prettty.
HHHHAAAAA sunny looks so tired and we haven't even biked it yet. This was just trying to show how long it was.
My way of getting around the wall. Let me tell you....these things aren't that easy to ride when you're 5'10. I had to be in the front or else I couldn't pedal actually. I shared the bike with Miss Katie Steck and it was so funny because we actually rode around the wall. Most of the tourists we saw were going just around in buggies driven by other people. Granted it was hot and I would've traded them in a heart beat. I don't regret doing it this way. It was way fun.
Well this is at one of the corners. I like the view. Ha man those tube tops. They freakin saved me.
That looks kinda cool doesn't it.
This is me and Katie actually on the bike. Man I should totally put the video I made on here. I tried to take a video while steering one of these suckers. Needless to say....It didnt' work too well.
Here's the video of us on the bike
This is the group that went on the wall. It goes Me, Aaron, Jennifer, Victoria, Sunny, Katie and Luis. Great bunch of people. Super fun!
I could shoot myself in the foot. This place is called.....Muslim quarters I think? It was basically a church, we saw some monks walking around and taking care of it, but I don't think it was really used anymore. I stood in front of this sign because I of course have no idea what the beans it means. Muah ha ha ha.
Cool looking tree. Right outside this place by the way is a ton of shopping in a very popular outdoor shopping area. That area is called Muslim quarters so I don't remember the name to the church. This place was awesome. I got most of my souvenirs here. Including the water piggies!
This was the final site. The actual church. We weren't allowed in. It's so weird to think of how old some of this stuff was. I mean we think a hundred year old building is old? No way.
Hiding from Sunny who, inadvertantly, was taking the picture. I just totally made that word up in that sentence. I don't even know what it means! So if it's wrong then my bad.
Well yes I would also like a random mirror on the ceiling wouldn't you?
Ok so me and katie and victoria had to rush out of muslim quarters to make the show we had signed up for at night. It was a sing and dance thing. It was pretty cool. OH wait back to this dune buggy story. So of course they couldn't fit all of us in one even after insisting so they gave me my own, oh the gloriousness of being fat in China, and we were trying to get through these huge groups of people and of course they were just all staring at me. I think we were a little late but we made it on time.
They basically were amazing. It's a band. It's in a famous opera house and we were so underdressed it was funny.
I mean just look at their outfits.
Those girls you see dancing in movies with the really long sleeves.....ya I saw them live. They were so amazing. They just throw the sleeves and catch them and it looks so cool.
There's a picture of them twirling the sleeves.
The train ride back home. :(
LOok I got skinny. Don't worry! I have gained it back. hahahaha. No it's actually a little depressing. I was so excited. I'll have to start running again or something.
And yet....this was my diet. No joke. Pizza everyday and popcorn and icecream. How does this happen you ask? I couldn't even tell ya.
The mountainous view from the bottom of our apartments.
Karaoke? Night! I don't know how to spell that sorry. Mary and Gloria took us to do some singing!
Me and Katie getting our tunes on. Probably singing some heavy metal hahahah.
LOOK ducks!
AND sneaky spies!
Oh yes! Jodi me and Katie. How wonderful. Jodie sang the most and was the least embarrassed.
I don't think Luis wanted to sing.
Go KYLEE it's your birthday!
A swirly thingy.
Ya know... monsoon season is just awesome. I loved the cooler weather. oK kidding it was never cool weather, this was in a random downpour. This was from my apartment to the school. Literally a thirty second walk.
The puddles accruing on the floor. That basically took away my plans of playing tug of war that day because well....they would just slip all over.
I love these kids. They love the camera. This was Nico, Annie and Josephine.
As the semester came to an end I tried to get good pictures of the groups of kids so I could actually remember what groups they were in. This class was probably my worst. Let's see... Chris is the one in the front covering his face. Libby with the pink purse, man she hated me. hahaha Beil on the far right.... BALE! haha Satala pointing the gun at me in the back. I could never remember her name for the longest time.
Pretty flowers and a good view of our school. It was four floors and we of course were on the fourth. ahhaa
Tony is the little kid. Me and Katie taught next door to each other so we talked a lot in between classes.
My home room! God I love this class. Poppy, Tom, Nigel, Belle, Llily, Michael on the floor out of the picture, Blue,Sky, Wendy (who wasn't actually in my class) and Ben. Freakin awesome class. I miss you guys!
I swear they had a crush on each other. They were the best speakers. Nigel was basically fluent and would often translate things for me.
SEE how close! Those are my apartments. Taken from my schoolroom
I let Nigel take my camera and take pictures. Poppy and sky. Like my word in the background. I loved teaching word. It was so freakin easy and they liked it when you played games that involved beating each other with rulers.
And there they go destroying all my hard work. Typical. hahaha
This snail had a freakin sea shell on its back. It was huge. Sorry I'm getting a little carried away with the pictures. I just like reminiscing.
My bed. HHa man I remember that bed sheet was so freakin big for the bed. It was just a box spring, but I got so used to it. I personalized my wall with photos and a calendar to the countdown of going home.
When Azure left we converted her bed to a hold it all bed.Mostly sunny haha. That's right JIM.
I swear there weren't always shoes just lying on our kitchen counter, but I had just attempted to kill a cockroach. Now I'm going to introduce everyone because I miss them and I'm sure I've already done this but bare with me.
Jeanette
Man she was my head teacher and she was so amazing. She let me eat some of her cake... ya actual cake. I was in her room watching all the seasons of lost probably more than I was in my room. Not to mention that she let me use her oven to cook my baked potatoes all the time. She is so amazing and spoke Chinese so well. She could get us anywhere we needed to go and it was awesome watching everyones faces when they realized she was actually speaking chinese. It amde me laugh. You are awesome Jeanette!
Kylee
Kylee Kylee Kylee, I miss you so much! You were so funny. I loved how we were both in Jeanettes room more than anything. We both ate so many baked potatoes and pizza that it wasn't even funny! Ok it was. You were so good with the kids. They freakin loved you to death and that's awesome. I'm not even kidding when I say I miss you. You were like me and loved sleeping in too. Man people used to give you such crap for that I remember.
Jen
Jen was the first one to get her hair cut in China and it looked good! I think she actually left it in that style she liked it so much. Jen was awesome. She was so great to hang out with and would french braid my hair because she's just that sweet. She went from teaching kindergarten to teaching third grade and she did the transformation beautifully. I'm jealous. You look great all the time Jen.
Katie
Miss Katie Steck. She was my neighbor in two ways and so amazing. She had the happiest energy in the whole group and was always making people laugh. She was always willing to help out and painted I think 25 kids faces in like ten minutes. Not to mention she painted our faces too and without complaint every time. She taught me a lot of new games and was amazing with the kids. She knew when to be strict and when to joke around with them. I miss Miss Katie Steck.
Jodi
Jodi! She brought more luggage than anyone I think and her and Jess actually had to use other peoples luggage on the way home. You were great though. She was our library and art coordinator. She had some of the best props for our final perfomances and she deserved it. Jodi was always in style and was a blast to hang out with on the great wall! She ate the scorpion first ya know! Brave little lass.
Jessica
Jessica was the second most luggage in the entire place. But they both used all of it and she was really good at packing it at the end. She would also french braid my hair too and it was awesome she was so willing to do so. I had so much fun in Beijing with her. I mean really! I got so much more shopping done with them and got a lot more souvenirs. Man and did they know how to bargain. (JOdi and Jess were also lovingly refered to as "The twins" or "The blondes").
Jess
Jess was so shy, but so nice. YOu seriously couldn't meet a nicer girl anywhere even if you tried. I remember how sweet you were because you didn't want to yell at the kids! But ya know sometimes it was necessary and you were so loved by the kids. I was jealous that they all wanted to play with you all the time. It was so cute. I was dragged around Beijing by you, but I don't regret it. I saw so much more than I was planning on and I thank you for that.
Sunny Jim
Roomy! Ya know....she never did her dishes. NO JK Sunny was a really good roommate. We both had some hard times in China and we were there for each other all of those times. It would have been hard to do this trip without her there to help me. (Don't think I forgot that hug you gave me) Seriously Sunny I know I say you weren't a good roommate but I couldn't have done this China experience without you. You went to the store with me, you went downtown with me, you went anywhere and everywhere. Thanks roomy! Golfcart! I'll save you.
Luis and Conrad
No I am not his mom. I happened to have the same first name as your mom and look like her and be going into the same career, but I'm not your mom. Although thanks for the nickname... kinda. Your brothers were so fun to be in China with. Seriously though Luis...FREAKIN HILARIOUS. And Conrad! your freaking hand gestures have travelled from Chnia to here now. That's not funny. I freaking do your expressions a lot.
Aaron
Aaron you were so good with the kids and you were always doing your lesson plans so early just like me! You were very good at picking up the language and you helped us get around and you were such a gentleman. I hope your business is going well and that you are enjoying life.
Bekah
Man Bekah and I had some pretty funny pictures. YOu are so short, but I mean that in the best of ways. I loved hanging out with you all the time. I mean seriously even though I was dead tired in Beijing from being dragged around from you and Jess I think that in the Temple of Heaven and such I had some of the best moments in my whole trips history.
Megan
The only one of us to go to school while we were teaching school in China. Seriously amazing. Her awkward moments just made her so much more funny. I loved hanging out with her. she picked up on the language really well and had to go to Mcdonalds once a week to get her icecream fix which is so funny. I mean in China and her favorite thing is icecream...wait....ya that sounds about right.
Azure
Even though Azure went home early with a parasite she was still my roommate and amazing. Azure was the second one in our group who spoke Chinese. I watched some Ally mcbeal thanks to you and I was able to talk with my boyfriend a lot more because you let me use your charger. I will always be so grateful of that. It sucks that your camera broke at the Terra Cotta Warriors though. I hope things are going well for you.
Nic
Well Nic you were so strict with those kids they put you on TV. You also really liked going off by yourself to karate and you got really good at it as well as knowing the language. It sucks you got sent home and didn't get to say goodbye to your kids though. I know they missed you. Hopefully you can go see them again. Ok back to the stories.
Ya I bought just that many movies. At a dollar a pop ya know I couldn't resist.
Eric. Need I say more. This kid was just always rolling around on the floor and such. FUnny kid though. I do miss him.
For the dragonboat festival we got learn how to make these things. They were basically rice (whodathunkit) wrapped in a leaf.
Me, Jodi and Jess about to eat them. Just kidding. They weren't cooked or anything.
Jodi and Jess were so sweet. They got me a gift for up to 9 days before my birthday. It made my birthday totally awesome.
Chinas sweet treats. Their cakes are so delicious.
Henry in his outfit for the performance. We had so many practices. They are really strict in China about what they show the parents. It has to be perfect and it's even better if there's white people in it.
This was right before the final performance. Me, Katie, Jess, Bekah, and Megan all were performing the funky chicken so we got some chickens painted on our faces courtesy of katie. The girls who we performed with were Bekah and Megans kids. and they were such brats! I remember always wanting to punch them.
Literally ten minutes before it started the headmaster told us we had to have something on our heads. These dorky things were born. You have to remember that I was heading to Beijing this very same day and didn't really care very much to be sitting there. My plane was leaving in a few hours I was stoked.
Us finally on stage. Man it was so bright and they stuck a mic right in front of my face so I started laughing cuz I sure as heck didn't want to be louder than everone else. We got on a plane after much confusion on how to get to our travel agency place. They finally figured it out for us and we got a taxi then hopped on a bus to the airport. A few of us got to leave a day earlier because we got special permission and got our tickets afterwards which others had already ordered theirs. I went with Bekah and Jess. When we got there we couldn't figure out where we were for the life of us. We just got off the subway and didn't know where to go. We showed three taxis, I think, the address and none of them would take us there so we figured it was far away. Finally we got someone who said they would take us for one hundred yuan! hahahah bull! The book we had said it was a ten dollar cab ride so we were like. I'm good thanks. We ended up just walking and finally found someone who knew where it was. It was within walking distance and when we turned on the street this building just made me laugh
Ya make sure your kids don't go next door. ahhaahha and that icecream shop didn't even have icecream. Stupid.
This was our hostel. It was very nice.
Naturally it started raining on our first day there. But hey who cares it's freakin beijing. bekah and me.
the entrance to tiananmen square and the forbidden city!
First thing you see when you walk in. Tiananmen square was nothing like what I was expecting. It was basically just inside of a courtyard and it wasn't very big.
The entrance and my ticket to the forbidden city. I couldn't even believe it. We were supposed to meet up with Luis, conrad, sunny, victoria and jennifer so me bekah and jess just leaned against this pole and I am not kidding we started counting how many took our photos people were asking us for and if I remember correctly we had twenty five in ten minutes. They get a lot more courageous when you are standing in one spot as opposed to actually moving around. It was hilarious. Oh and some would try and be sneaky about it, but we would just point to them so they knew we could see them.
Me and Jess were the two tallest girls and Bekah was the shortest so it made for a very interesting picture. I had so much fun with these two in Beijing.
There ya go!
This is the forbidden city. It was a lot different than what I thought it would be like. Basically all the buildings to me looked the same to be honest, but they were still cool. It was like a huge maze and it was great because we had the best time laughing about getting stuck in there somewhere or something like that. And Bekah took a piece of the ground. hahahha we were all laughing that she would get arrested.
Ya in front of the first piece of the forbidden city.
A bridge you say.
On the way to the second door area.
My partners in crime.
Pretty sweet huh.
It's a dragurtle!
Oh ya! That's old stuff that I have touched.. . That millions else have touched...
What lawn?
OH no! It's got me captain!
Don't we look so enthusiastic. Probably like ten people just staring at us right now.
cool quote and me standing in front of the sign.
ATTACK!
Jess is basically awesome.
I'm singing in the forbidden city oh just singing in the forbidden city!
So these doors have nine knobs horizontal and vertically. It was a good luck thing I'm sure, but I don't quite remember why.
We thought we paid to go to the top of a guard tower, but we were wrong, this was still a good view though. Across the street is Mao's grave basically. I don't remember what the big open space was called though. When I first got there I thought it was Tiananmen square.
I just thought that the picture looked cool with the flags in it.
This was the place where Mao was buried. Atually at this place I think we had another five people ask for our pictures. They freakin love the white skin. The guy taking the picture actually took two. He didn't believe that he had taken it the first time. I was like... no, really ya did!
At an underground market we found this food court. This food was really good. I have no complaints about it. This is the area where the Tiananmen incident actually happened. With the tank. I can't believe I was actually in that same place. It's amazing.
The famous pearl street market. I got my knock off converse shoes there and Jess got the cutest bag I've ever seen. I wanted it, but I'm a baby and couldn't bring myself to spend money.
I bet you didn't know they rated toilets.
I was so tired by the Temple of Heaven, by this point I seriously sat whenever I could.
We are so gangsta.
Look I have no legs and Bekah is taller than me.
Yup
Alright so see the people in the background all staring at me? Ya. Well this spot is a magical spot. It's in the very middle of a circle surrounded my even numbers of circles and things and if you stand in it it's supposed to be just special. So everyone naturally wanted pictures on it. I kinda had to keep going then backing up because people wouldn't let me in so I started eventually just creeping closer and closer not noticing that everyone was staring at me while I was doing it. I mean I was like ninja-ing it alright. I looked so stupid. So finally people just cleared a path and let me in. It was a very awkward five second picture.
Man we were so delusional by this point that we were making jokes about Bekah getting us lost in a bear infested area.
Now they only have 999 flowers. Muahhahahah Bekah's picture was funnier. I'll have to get it from her.
See the great wall. That was my first site of it. It's on top of the mountain. I totally thought it'd be a lot more hidden than that.
Me on the tram up to the Great Wall! The girl I'm sitting next to is there writing a paper on woman in business.
And there she is.
It's so long. It is a lot different than in Mulan though. The guard stations are actually really close together not far apart like in the movie. I honestly couldn't even believe that I was up there for awhile.
Another
Touching the GREAT WALL OF CHINA
We were in a pretty touristy part of the wall so you can tell it's been a little rebuilt, but still awesome.
See the white? That's where it's been touched up.
Inside one of the guard towers.
See how excited I was to be on the great wall.
My favorite picture of the great wall moments.
Ya this wasn't scary at all.
Another good view of the wall and how long it is.
Yay for being crooked. Basically the stairs on the great wall are extremely uneven so you can take a huge step then a teeny step.
We were the only three from our group on this part of the wall.
Oh and we got to tobogan on the way down! That was a blast for sure.
Jodi and Jess got some cool rice hats for their parents.
That night a couple of us went to an acrobatic show. Let me just tell you... you have not seen an acrobatic show until you have seen a chinese acrobatic show. We weren't allowed to take pictures of it unfortunately, but we saw the most amazing things ever; ten girls on one bike making a pyramid, little kids on pogo sticks on their arms bouncing on the tiniest ledge, uh uh, crap. I don't remember any more! But it was amazing. After I got out I was so happy I had gone.
At the summer palace.
They have these everywhere. Apparently there is a male and female and they are opposites. I believe they are called foo dogs.
So The winds were so bad that day that the boats people were renting were all being pushed to the sides so they basically had to go rescue all the people out of the boats. Everyone, including me, was watching in awe.
Figures men would be watching sports.
These bridges were unbelievably steep. You get to the top and look down and just think. . . well there I go.
There were so many lilypads.
On the way to see the Olympic sites. Basically we got a cab, but even though there was a long line of cabs they would only let us take this one in the front. We soon found out why. It cost us one hundred yuan. That's a lot by the by. We were watching it go up and realized how screwed we were. Oh well.
There's the birds nest you guys. Where the opening ceremonies were held.
A cool statue by the place where the olympics were held.
If she can be stuck up then so can I!
Hey Hey Michael Phelps was in there. That's the outside of the water cube.
We paid to go inside of it and it was pretty awesome I won't lie to you.
Video of where Michael Phelps swam And that's where he swam.
Some cool bubble things.
I believe it.
These olympic guys were seriously the cutest things I've ever seen.
That's where the torch was kept lit.
I always knew that grass smiled. I knew it. :)
Me and Jodi on our last night in Beijing. Just doing some shopping, looking for scorpions.
Oh yes they are alive before you eat them. That stick is 10 yuan which is by the way about a dollar fifty.
Then there's the cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, worms, whatever, they were all gross looking.
I love this picture. Even though the scorpion looks like it's going up my nose. This was right before I was about to eat it.
See the guy behind me, he kept scaring me. I'll have to get the video from Jodi or Jess and post it.
My face right after I ate the scorpion. It literally wasn't that bad. It tasted like chicken. I'm not kidding either. You take two bites and it's fine. The hardest part is making yourself eat it.
Apparently they didn't hear me say we were opening our mouths to show we had eaten it.
This is snake... or dog.... I don't remember. Either way . . .It was gross.
They make these look so good, but they are so gross.
We finally ran into Sunny's group by sheer coincidence on our last night.
The two groups converging.
We had to go to the other schools spectacle and then we had to perform a song and a few of us sing the funky chicken again and they told us we had to wear makeup. Like literally a necessity.
Jeanettes sister Debbie. She was a head teacher too. It was her spectacle program.
The other school had to perform Kung fu in front of all the people standing outside. You have to realize this was at the bai jia which is like our walmart and it had a mcdonalds. It was always busy and white people draw a crowd.
Before class
After class.
Gotta love em.
Thomas. I loved this kid. He was so bad all the time, but if you were nice, he'd be nice back.
Beil and Selena. Selena was so freakin short.
We made Nigel lead the class because he knew the baby shark song. This is my home room and Katies home room combined because that's how it worked out.
My E.L.E. class. Basically they are so little and they just sit there and punch each other, but I won't lie they are so cute. I have a video of them doing the princess pat that is so funny.
Jackie! Such a cute kid.
Naturally Michael would do that.
Look Henry gave me a cute hug like he cares.
Sammy. He was the biggest of the kids, and without a doubt the nicest.
This was my homeroom and Katies. I spent the most time with them because they were doing the performance with us. I loved them all. In the middle is May who was our chinese teacher. She would help keep the kids under control if we needed her and she was a good friend. I ate with her family and they were awesome. I hope I get to see her again.
Just to let you know. . . It is very difficult to hold a squirming child like this.
Look my mean face. That was about all the authority I had. . . none.
These two could kick anyones butt. Shelly was the one girl who seriously dominated in kung fu.
Our last outing we went to Guangzhou to see the circus and go to the zoo. Again their zoos are so awesome. Literally their animals are always moving and playing.It was raining so bad though. It sucked, but since umbrellas ended up doing up no good we just walked around without them causing more of a scene than intended. Here's a cute elephant playing in the water.
This lion was so cute. I felt really bad for him though cuz he was very sedated. I mean they kinda have to when you have people holding him all day. He was so soft though. I loved it.
It's a freakin kangaroo! Just hopping around. I mean really our zoos are not that cool.
Here is the white tiger, which is what we were initially wanting to hold, but our lion was just as cute. They just have these animals walking around. It's freakin amazing.
Oh and you can feed the giraffes! How totally cool is that? Katie has the rest of my pictures from the zoo unfortunately. I've got pictures of the tigers. They are so big you wouldn't even believe.
Here is right before the circus.
The group of us that went to the circus.
This was an international circus so there were people from everywhere performing in it. This guy was just dancing around the front of the seats and stuff in between acts.
This guy was lifting a girl through a loop as they lifted them into the air.
And this trick of course. Man the girl in the middle has got some great cardio.
Our movie day the last day of class. We watched Mulan.
Me, Katie, and Sunny went and got fake nails a couple days before we left so we could say we actually got our nails done.
This was goodbye for the kindergarten. I cried and they weren't even my kids. It didn't help that Jodi and Jess were balling.
Me with our coordinators Mary and Gloria.
Getting Sky's uniform on.
I think I was getting mad at Shelly cuz she kept knocking hers off and we were on a time crunch.
Me and Katies kids all ready to perform! Don't you like their shark fins.
They all had lines to say and they did it so well. I was so proud of them. They sang the song so perfect too. It was awesome to see all of our hard work paying off.
Singing the baby shark song.
Beil sang this song so great. I wish I had the video! I almost died. She would scream it out loud. I'll see if I can get the video from Luis.
This is me handing out my gifts to my kids. I basically just took pictures with each of them and then printed them out and gave them a note saying how much I'd miss them.
Me and May saying our goodbyes.
He was crying, and I thought it was because we were leavin but it as because his mom didn't come to the performance. So ya. That made me feel special.
Man I miss this kid. He's just so cute.
Belle was my one of my favorite girls. She is really sweet.
Wow. Now this was a step for sure! HE actually wanted a hug.
Derek was for sure way cute, he was a hassle, but I miss him none the less.
She gave me a full on hug. Like full one. So sweet.
Tony wanted a hug too. We were sitting in class with them for a second while they got their tests back and he came and said goodbye to me.
Cute little Wendy.
Sorry the pic was a little overexposed. I just really thought his face was funny in this.
I always worried that I would drop the kids when they did this because they like to jump hard but I never did.
You know what was funny was that none of the kids actually seemed that sad about any of us leaving. I mean some were sad, but I think they thought we were coming back or something. This was my last goodbye to Vivian.
Freaking Jeanette! LOVE HER. she ws chasing Gloria and when Gloria finally stopped and looked at her this was the face she did. Jeanette had the best faces on the planet.
This is Gloria being totally scared when Jeanette caught up to her.
Me and Jeanette posing at a final dinner and Candice being all creepy in the background. She was at our school for the last weeks of school.
Yay for Katie and Kylee!
Ya know if this was anyone other than Katie I would be suprised there was an eye on her tongue.
The last time on the cool escalators.
Me and Sunny on our way home! Well that's it. Ya know I came back fifty pounds lighter and I understand and love the Chinese culture so much more. I had a great time and I discovered that I wanted to do something with children after teaching for five months. I'm still with Kim and here's a pic of one of our first days back together.
happy days! Final pics:
Me and Sunny before
Me and Sunny after
There are a couple of people missing. This is right before we left for home. The day of our big performance. The kids were so cute. I miss them so much. I hope I will be able to go see them some day. I hope they will remember me. So here's some more of Xi'an...
So this is just another close up of the pandas. They are soooo cute. Sorry if I put in duplicate pictures. I'm just sorta going with the flow and I have a lot of ground to cover. Literally our zoos have nothing on Chinese zoos, you can literally touch the animals and get so close to them and they don't look as depressed to be caged. It's cute really.
Peacock! Ha you have no idea the effort it took to actually get these birds to flair their feathers. There actually was a couple of people there who were yelling at the birds. . . we just sat there and listened then took pictures when it worked.
So this is at The Wall in Xi'an right before we biked across it. This is Victoria and Jennifer. They taught in Guzhen, but they were friends with Luis and Conrad and came to our place quite frequently. I miss them a lot. They had so much energy. They actually extended and went to Cambodia and Vietnam. Isn't that pretty sweeeeet.
Me with the guard. Mine looks a lot more serious.
One of the pagodas on the top of the wall. Prettty.
HHHHAAAAA sunny looks so tired and we haven't even biked it yet. This was just trying to show how long it was.
My way of getting around the wall. Let me tell you....these things aren't that easy to ride when you're 5'10. I had to be in the front or else I couldn't pedal actually. I shared the bike with Miss Katie Steck and it was so funny because we actually rode around the wall. Most of the tourists we saw were going just around in buggies driven by other people. Granted it was hot and I would've traded them in a heart beat. I don't regret doing it this way. It was way fun.
Well this is at one of the corners. I like the view. Ha man those tube tops. They freakin saved me.
That looks kinda cool doesn't it.
This is me and Katie actually on the bike. Man I should totally put the video I made on here. I tried to take a video while steering one of these suckers. Needless to say....It didnt' work too well.
Here's the video of us on the bike
This is the group that went on the wall. It goes Me, Aaron, Jennifer, Victoria, Sunny, Katie and Luis. Great bunch of people. Super fun!
I could shoot myself in the foot. This place is called.....Muslim quarters I think? It was basically a church, we saw some monks walking around and taking care of it, but I don't think it was really used anymore. I stood in front of this sign because I of course have no idea what the beans it means. Muah ha ha ha.
Cool looking tree. Right outside this place by the way is a ton of shopping in a very popular outdoor shopping area. That area is called Muslim quarters so I don't remember the name to the church. This place was awesome. I got most of my souvenirs here. Including the water piggies!
This was the final site. The actual church. We weren't allowed in. It's so weird to think of how old some of this stuff was. I mean we think a hundred year old building is old? No way.
Hiding from Sunny who, inadvertantly, was taking the picture. I just totally made that word up in that sentence. I don't even know what it means! So if it's wrong then my bad.
Well yes I would also like a random mirror on the ceiling wouldn't you?
Ok so me and katie and victoria had to rush out of muslim quarters to make the show we had signed up for at night. It was a sing and dance thing. It was pretty cool. OH wait back to this dune buggy story. So of course they couldn't fit all of us in one even after insisting so they gave me my own, oh the gloriousness of being fat in China, and we were trying to get through these huge groups of people and of course they were just all staring at me. I think we were a little late but we made it on time.
They basically were amazing. It's a band. It's in a famous opera house and we were so underdressed it was funny.
I mean just look at their outfits.
Those girls you see dancing in movies with the really long sleeves.....ya I saw them live. They were so amazing. They just throw the sleeves and catch them and it looks so cool.
There's a picture of them twirling the sleeves.
The train ride back home. :(
LOok I got skinny. Don't worry! I have gained it back. hahahaha. No it's actually a little depressing. I was so excited. I'll have to start running again or something.
And yet....this was my diet. No joke. Pizza everyday and popcorn and icecream. How does this happen you ask? I couldn't even tell ya.
The mountainous view from the bottom of our apartments.
Karaoke? Night! I don't know how to spell that sorry. Mary and Gloria took us to do some singing!
Me and Katie getting our tunes on. Probably singing some heavy metal hahahah.
LOOK ducks!
AND sneaky spies!
Oh yes! Jodi me and Katie. How wonderful. Jodie sang the most and was the least embarrassed.
I don't think Luis wanted to sing.
Go KYLEE it's your birthday!
A swirly thingy.
Ya know... monsoon season is just awesome. I loved the cooler weather. oK kidding it was never cool weather, this was in a random downpour. This was from my apartment to the school. Literally a thirty second walk.
The puddles accruing on the floor. That basically took away my plans of playing tug of war that day because well....they would just slip all over.
I love these kids. They love the camera. This was Nico, Annie and Josephine.
As the semester came to an end I tried to get good pictures of the groups of kids so I could actually remember what groups they were in. This class was probably my worst. Let's see... Chris is the one in the front covering his face. Libby with the pink purse, man she hated me. hahaha Beil on the far right.... BALE! haha Satala pointing the gun at me in the back. I could never remember her name for the longest time.
Pretty flowers and a good view of our school. It was four floors and we of course were on the fourth. ahhaa
Tony is the little kid. Me and Katie taught next door to each other so we talked a lot in between classes.
My home room! God I love this class. Poppy, Tom, Nigel, Belle, Llily, Michael on the floor out of the picture, Blue,Sky, Wendy (who wasn't actually in my class) and Ben. Freakin awesome class. I miss you guys!
I swear they had a crush on each other. They were the best speakers. Nigel was basically fluent and would often translate things for me.
SEE how close! Those are my apartments. Taken from my schoolroom
I let Nigel take my camera and take pictures. Poppy and sky. Like my word in the background. I loved teaching word. It was so freakin easy and they liked it when you played games that involved beating each other with rulers.
And there they go destroying all my hard work. Typical. hahaha
This snail had a freakin sea shell on its back. It was huge. Sorry I'm getting a little carried away with the pictures. I just like reminiscing.
My bed. HHa man I remember that bed sheet was so freakin big for the bed. It was just a box spring, but I got so used to it. I personalized my wall with photos and a calendar to the countdown of going home.
When Azure left we converted her bed to a hold it all bed.Mostly sunny haha. That's right JIM.
I swear there weren't always shoes just lying on our kitchen counter, but I had just attempted to kill a cockroach. Now I'm going to introduce everyone because I miss them and I'm sure I've already done this but bare with me.
Jeanette
Man she was my head teacher and she was so amazing. She let me eat some of her cake... ya actual cake. I was in her room watching all the seasons of lost probably more than I was in my room. Not to mention that she let me use her oven to cook my baked potatoes all the time. She is so amazing and spoke Chinese so well. She could get us anywhere we needed to go and it was awesome watching everyones faces when they realized she was actually speaking chinese. It amde me laugh. You are awesome Jeanette!
Kylee
Kylee Kylee Kylee, I miss you so much! You were so funny. I loved how we were both in Jeanettes room more than anything. We both ate so many baked potatoes and pizza that it wasn't even funny! Ok it was. You were so good with the kids. They freakin loved you to death and that's awesome. I'm not even kidding when I say I miss you. You were like me and loved sleeping in too. Man people used to give you such crap for that I remember.
Jen
Jen was the first one to get her hair cut in China and it looked good! I think she actually left it in that style she liked it so much. Jen was awesome. She was so great to hang out with and would french braid my hair because she's just that sweet. She went from teaching kindergarten to teaching third grade and she did the transformation beautifully. I'm jealous. You look great all the time Jen.Katie
Miss Katie Steck. She was my neighbor in two ways and so amazing. She had the happiest energy in the whole group and was always making people laugh. She was always willing to help out and painted I think 25 kids faces in like ten minutes. Not to mention she painted our faces too and without complaint every time. She taught me a lot of new games and was amazing with the kids. She knew when to be strict and when to joke around with them. I miss Miss Katie Steck.
Jodi
Jodi! She brought more luggage than anyone I think and her and Jess actually had to use other peoples luggage on the way home. You were great though. She was our library and art coordinator. She had some of the best props for our final perfomances and she deserved it. Jodi was always in style and was a blast to hang out with on the great wall! She ate the scorpion first ya know! Brave little lass.
Jessica
Jessica was the second most luggage in the entire place. But they both used all of it and she was really good at packing it at the end. She would also french braid my hair too and it was awesome she was so willing to do so. I had so much fun in Beijing with her. I mean really! I got so much more shopping done with them and got a lot more souvenirs. Man and did they know how to bargain. (JOdi and Jess were also lovingly refered to as "The twins" or "The blondes").
Jess
Jess was so shy, but so nice. YOu seriously couldn't meet a nicer girl anywhere even if you tried. I remember how sweet you were because you didn't want to yell at the kids! But ya know sometimes it was necessary and you were so loved by the kids. I was jealous that they all wanted to play with you all the time. It was so cute. I was dragged around Beijing by you, but I don't regret it. I saw so much more than I was planning on and I thank you for that.
Sunny Jim
Roomy! Ya know....she never did her dishes. NO JK Sunny was a really good roommate. We both had some hard times in China and we were there for each other all of those times. It would have been hard to do this trip without her there to help me. (Don't think I forgot that hug you gave me) Seriously Sunny I know I say you weren't a good roommate but I couldn't have done this China experience without you. You went to the store with me, you went downtown with me, you went anywhere and everywhere. Thanks roomy! Golfcart! I'll save you.
Luis and Conrad
No I am not his mom. I happened to have the same first name as your mom and look like her and be going into the same career, but I'm not your mom. Although thanks for the nickname... kinda. Your brothers were so fun to be in China with. Seriously though Luis...FREAKIN HILARIOUS. And Conrad! your freaking hand gestures have travelled from Chnia to here now. That's not funny. I freaking do your expressions a lot.
Aaron
Aaron you were so good with the kids and you were always doing your lesson plans so early just like me! You were very good at picking up the language and you helped us get around and you were such a gentleman. I hope your business is going well and that you are enjoying life.
Bekah
Man Bekah and I had some pretty funny pictures. YOu are so short, but I mean that in the best of ways. I loved hanging out with you all the time. I mean seriously even though I was dead tired in Beijing from being dragged around from you and Jess I think that in the Temple of Heaven and such I had some of the best moments in my whole trips history.
Megan
The only one of us to go to school while we were teaching school in China. Seriously amazing. Her awkward moments just made her so much more funny. I loved hanging out with her. she picked up on the language really well and had to go to Mcdonalds once a week to get her icecream fix which is so funny. I mean in China and her favorite thing is icecream...wait....ya that sounds about right.
Azure
Even though Azure went home early with a parasite she was still my roommate and amazing. Azure was the second one in our group who spoke Chinese. I watched some Ally mcbeal thanks to you and I was able to talk with my boyfriend a lot more because you let me use your charger. I will always be so grateful of that. It sucks that your camera broke at the Terra Cotta Warriors though. I hope things are going well for you.
Nic
Well Nic you were so strict with those kids they put you on TV. You also really liked going off by yourself to karate and you got really good at it as well as knowing the language. It sucks you got sent home and didn't get to say goodbye to your kids though. I know they missed you. Hopefully you can go see them again. Ok back to the stories.
Ya I bought just that many movies. At a dollar a pop ya know I couldn't resist.
Eric. Need I say more. This kid was just always rolling around on the floor and such. FUnny kid though. I do miss him.
For the dragonboat festival we got learn how to make these things. They were basically rice (whodathunkit) wrapped in a leaf.
Me, Jodi and Jess about to eat them. Just kidding. They weren't cooked or anything.
Jodi and Jess were so sweet. They got me a gift for up to 9 days before my birthday. It made my birthday totally awesome.
Chinas sweet treats. Their cakes are so delicious.
Henry in his outfit for the performance. We had so many practices. They are really strict in China about what they show the parents. It has to be perfect and it's even better if there's white people in it.
This was right before the final performance. Me, Katie, Jess, Bekah, and Megan all were performing the funky chicken so we got some chickens painted on our faces courtesy of katie. The girls who we performed with were Bekah and Megans kids. and they were such brats! I remember always wanting to punch them.
Literally ten minutes before it started the headmaster told us we had to have something on our heads. These dorky things were born. You have to remember that I was heading to Beijing this very same day and didn't really care very much to be sitting there. My plane was leaving in a few hours I was stoked.
Us finally on stage. Man it was so bright and they stuck a mic right in front of my face so I started laughing cuz I sure as heck didn't want to be louder than everone else. We got on a plane after much confusion on how to get to our travel agency place. They finally figured it out for us and we got a taxi then hopped on a bus to the airport. A few of us got to leave a day earlier because we got special permission and got our tickets afterwards which others had already ordered theirs. I went with Bekah and Jess. When we got there we couldn't figure out where we were for the life of us. We just got off the subway and didn't know where to go. We showed three taxis, I think, the address and none of them would take us there so we figured it was far away. Finally we got someone who said they would take us for one hundred yuan! hahahah bull! The book we had said it was a ten dollar cab ride so we were like. I'm good thanks. We ended up just walking and finally found someone who knew where it was. It was within walking distance and when we turned on the street this building just made me laugh
Ya make sure your kids don't go next door. ahhaahha and that icecream shop didn't even have icecream. Stupid.
This was our hostel. It was very nice.
Naturally it started raining on our first day there. But hey who cares it's freakin beijing. bekah and me.
the entrance to tiananmen square and the forbidden city!
First thing you see when you walk in. Tiananmen square was nothing like what I was expecting. It was basically just inside of a courtyard and it wasn't very big.
The entrance and my ticket to the forbidden city. I couldn't even believe it. We were supposed to meet up with Luis, conrad, sunny, victoria and jennifer so me bekah and jess just leaned against this pole and I am not kidding we started counting how many took our photos people were asking us for and if I remember correctly we had twenty five in ten minutes. They get a lot more courageous when you are standing in one spot as opposed to actually moving around. It was hilarious. Oh and some would try and be sneaky about it, but we would just point to them so they knew we could see them.
Me and Jess were the two tallest girls and Bekah was the shortest so it made for a very interesting picture. I had so much fun with these two in Beijing.
There ya go!
This is the forbidden city. It was a lot different than what I thought it would be like. Basically all the buildings to me looked the same to be honest, but they were still cool. It was like a huge maze and it was great because we had the best time laughing about getting stuck in there somewhere or something like that. And Bekah took a piece of the ground. hahahha we were all laughing that she would get arrested.
Ya in front of the first piece of the forbidden city.
A bridge you say.
On the way to the second door area.
My partners in crime.
Pretty sweet huh.
It's a dragurtle!
Oh ya! That's old stuff that I have touched.. . That millions else have touched...
What lawn?
OH no! It's got me captain!
Don't we look so enthusiastic. Probably like ten people just staring at us right now.
cool quote and me standing in front of the sign.
ATTACK!
Jess is basically awesome.
I'm singing in the forbidden city oh just singing in the forbidden city!
So these doors have nine knobs horizontal and vertically. It was a good luck thing I'm sure, but I don't quite remember why.
We thought we paid to go to the top of a guard tower, but we were wrong, this was still a good view though. Across the street is Mao's grave basically. I don't remember what the big open space was called though. When I first got there I thought it was Tiananmen square.
I just thought that the picture looked cool with the flags in it.
This was the place where Mao was buried. Atually at this place I think we had another five people ask for our pictures. They freakin love the white skin. The guy taking the picture actually took two. He didn't believe that he had taken it the first time. I was like... no, really ya did!
At an underground market we found this food court. This food was really good. I have no complaints about it. This is the area where the Tiananmen incident actually happened. With the tank. I can't believe I was actually in that same place. It's amazing.
The famous pearl street market. I got my knock off converse shoes there and Jess got the cutest bag I've ever seen. I wanted it, but I'm a baby and couldn't bring myself to spend money.
I bet you didn't know they rated toilets.
I was so tired by the Temple of Heaven, by this point I seriously sat whenever I could.
We are so gangsta.
Look I have no legs and Bekah is taller than me.
Yup
Alright so see the people in the background all staring at me? Ya. Well this spot is a magical spot. It's in the very middle of a circle surrounded my even numbers of circles and things and if you stand in it it's supposed to be just special. So everyone naturally wanted pictures on it. I kinda had to keep going then backing up because people wouldn't let me in so I started eventually just creeping closer and closer not noticing that everyone was staring at me while I was doing it. I mean I was like ninja-ing it alright. I looked so stupid. So finally people just cleared a path and let me in. It was a very awkward five second picture.
Man we were so delusional by this point that we were making jokes about Bekah getting us lost in a bear infested area.
Now they only have 999 flowers. Muahhahahah Bekah's picture was funnier. I'll have to get it from her.
See the great wall. That was my first site of it. It's on top of the mountain. I totally thought it'd be a lot more hidden than that.
Me on the tram up to the Great Wall! The girl I'm sitting next to is there writing a paper on woman in business.
And there she is.
It's so long. It is a lot different than in Mulan though. The guard stations are actually really close together not far apart like in the movie. I honestly couldn't even believe that I was up there for awhile.
Another
Touching the GREAT WALL OF CHINA
We were in a pretty touristy part of the wall so you can tell it's been a little rebuilt, but still awesome.
See the white? That's where it's been touched up.
Inside one of the guard towers.
See how excited I was to be on the great wall.
My favorite picture of the great wall moments.
Ya this wasn't scary at all.
Another good view of the wall and how long it is.
Yay for being crooked. Basically the stairs on the great wall are extremely uneven so you can take a huge step then a teeny step.
We were the only three from our group on this part of the wall.
Oh and we got to tobogan on the way down! That was a blast for sure.
Jodi and Jess got some cool rice hats for their parents.
That night a couple of us went to an acrobatic show. Let me just tell you... you have not seen an acrobatic show until you have seen a chinese acrobatic show. We weren't allowed to take pictures of it unfortunately, but we saw the most amazing things ever; ten girls on one bike making a pyramid, little kids on pogo sticks on their arms bouncing on the tiniest ledge, uh uh, crap. I don't remember any more! But it was amazing. After I got out I was so happy I had gone.
At the summer palace.
They have these everywhere. Apparently there is a male and female and they are opposites. I believe they are called foo dogs.
So The winds were so bad that day that the boats people were renting were all being pushed to the sides so they basically had to go rescue all the people out of the boats. Everyone, including me, was watching in awe.
Figures men would be watching sports.
These bridges were unbelievably steep. You get to the top and look down and just think. . . well there I go.
There were so many lilypads.
On the way to see the Olympic sites. Basically we got a cab, but even though there was a long line of cabs they would only let us take this one in the front. We soon found out why. It cost us one hundred yuan. That's a lot by the by. We were watching it go up and realized how screwed we were. Oh well.
There's the birds nest you guys. Where the opening ceremonies were held.
A cool statue by the place where the olympics were held.
If she can be stuck up then so can I!
Hey Hey Michael Phelps was in there. That's the outside of the water cube.
We paid to go inside of it and it was pretty awesome I won't lie to you.
Video of where Michael Phelps swam And that's where he swam.
Some cool bubble things.
I believe it.
These olympic guys were seriously the cutest things I've ever seen.
That's where the torch was kept lit.
I always knew that grass smiled. I knew it. :)
Me and Jodi on our last night in Beijing. Just doing some shopping, looking for scorpions.
Oh yes they are alive before you eat them. That stick is 10 yuan which is by the way about a dollar fifty.
Then there's the cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, worms, whatever, they were all gross looking.
I love this picture. Even though the scorpion looks like it's going up my nose. This was right before I was about to eat it.
See the guy behind me, he kept scaring me. I'll have to get the video from Jodi or Jess and post it.
My face right after I ate the scorpion. It literally wasn't that bad. It tasted like chicken. I'm not kidding either. You take two bites and it's fine. The hardest part is making yourself eat it.
Apparently they didn't hear me say we were opening our mouths to show we had eaten it.
This is snake... or dog.... I don't remember. Either way . . .It was gross.
They make these look so good, but they are so gross.
We finally ran into Sunny's group by sheer coincidence on our last night.
The two groups converging.
We had to go to the other schools spectacle and then we had to perform a song and a few of us sing the funky chicken again and they told us we had to wear makeup. Like literally a necessity.
Jeanettes sister Debbie. She was a head teacher too. It was her spectacle program.
The other school had to perform Kung fu in front of all the people standing outside. You have to realize this was at the bai jia which is like our walmart and it had a mcdonalds. It was always busy and white people draw a crowd.
Before class
After class.
Gotta love em.
Thomas. I loved this kid. He was so bad all the time, but if you were nice, he'd be nice back.
Beil and Selena. Selena was so freakin short.
We made Nigel lead the class because he knew the baby shark song. This is my home room and Katies home room combined because that's how it worked out.
My E.L.E. class. Basically they are so little and they just sit there and punch each other, but I won't lie they are so cute. I have a video of them doing the princess pat that is so funny.
Jackie! Such a cute kid.
Naturally Michael would do that.
Look Henry gave me a cute hug like he cares.
Sammy. He was the biggest of the kids, and without a doubt the nicest.
This was my homeroom and Katies. I spent the most time with them because they were doing the performance with us. I loved them all. In the middle is May who was our chinese teacher. She would help keep the kids under control if we needed her and she was a good friend. I ate with her family and they were awesome. I hope I get to see her again.
Just to let you know. . . It is very difficult to hold a squirming child like this.
Look my mean face. That was about all the authority I had. . . none.
These two could kick anyones butt. Shelly was the one girl who seriously dominated in kung fu.
Our last outing we went to Guangzhou to see the circus and go to the zoo. Again their zoos are so awesome. Literally their animals are always moving and playing.It was raining so bad though. It sucked, but since umbrellas ended up doing up no good we just walked around without them causing more of a scene than intended. Here's a cute elephant playing in the water.
This lion was so cute. I felt really bad for him though cuz he was very sedated. I mean they kinda have to when you have people holding him all day. He was so soft though. I loved it.
It's a freakin kangaroo! Just hopping around. I mean really our zoos are not that cool.
Here is the white tiger, which is what we were initially wanting to hold, but our lion was just as cute. They just have these animals walking around. It's freakin amazing.
Oh and you can feed the giraffes! How totally cool is that? Katie has the rest of my pictures from the zoo unfortunately. I've got pictures of the tigers. They are so big you wouldn't even believe.
Here is right before the circus.
The group of us that went to the circus.
This was an international circus so there were people from everywhere performing in it. This guy was just dancing around the front of the seats and stuff in between acts.
This guy was lifting a girl through a loop as they lifted them into the air.
And this trick of course. Man the girl in the middle has got some great cardio.
Our movie day the last day of class. We watched Mulan.
Me, Katie, and Sunny went and got fake nails a couple days before we left so we could say we actually got our nails done.
This was goodbye for the kindergarten. I cried and they weren't even my kids. It didn't help that Jodi and Jess were balling.
Me with our coordinators Mary and Gloria.
Getting Sky's uniform on.
I think I was getting mad at Shelly cuz she kept knocking hers off and we were on a time crunch.
Me and Katies kids all ready to perform! Don't you like their shark fins.
They all had lines to say and they did it so well. I was so proud of them. They sang the song so perfect too. It was awesome to see all of our hard work paying off.
Singing the baby shark song.
Beil sang this song so great. I wish I had the video! I almost died. She would scream it out loud. I'll see if I can get the video from Luis.
This is me handing out my gifts to my kids. I basically just took pictures with each of them and then printed them out and gave them a note saying how much I'd miss them.
Me and May saying our goodbyes.
He was crying, and I thought it was because we were leavin but it as because his mom didn't come to the performance. So ya. That made me feel special.
Man I miss this kid. He's just so cute.
Belle was my one of my favorite girls. She is really sweet.
Wow. Now this was a step for sure! HE actually wanted a hug.
Derek was for sure way cute, he was a hassle, but I miss him none the less.
She gave me a full on hug. Like full one. So sweet.
Tony wanted a hug too. We were sitting in class with them for a second while they got their tests back and he came and said goodbye to me.
Cute little Wendy.
Sorry the pic was a little overexposed. I just really thought his face was funny in this.
I always worried that I would drop the kids when they did this because they like to jump hard but I never did.
You know what was funny was that none of the kids actually seemed that sad about any of us leaving. I mean some were sad, but I think they thought we were coming back or something. This was my last goodbye to Vivian.
Freaking Jeanette! LOVE HER. she ws chasing Gloria and when Gloria finally stopped and looked at her this was the face she did. Jeanette had the best faces on the planet.
This is Gloria being totally scared when Jeanette caught up to her.
Me and Jeanette posing at a final dinner and Candice being all creepy in the background. She was at our school for the last weeks of school.
Yay for Katie and Kylee!
Ya know if this was anyone other than Katie I would be suprised there was an eye on her tongue.
The last time on the cool escalators.
Me and Sunny on our way home! Well that's it. Ya know I came back fifty pounds lighter and I understand and love the Chinese culture so much more. I had a great time and I discovered that I wanted to do something with children after teaching for five months. I'm still with Kim and here's a pic of one of our first days back together.
happy days! Final pics:
Me and Sunny before
Me and Sunny after
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