The Jarmans

20 week baby bump

2011-06-23T08:38:00.002-05:00

Pictures at 17 weeks 2 days

2011-06-23T07:59:00.002-05:00

Well, it only took 3 weeks to post these pictures. If you haven't hear yet, we think its a boy. He's just too wiggly for us to get a good picture.

Picture at 13 weeks 2 days

2011-06-02T08:58:00.002-05:00

I go to the dr. again tomorrow. Let's see if it takes me 4 weeks to get that picture up.

Pictures at 9 weeks 1 day

2011-04-07T20:37:00.003-05:00

You know it's bad when your last 2 or 3 posts have been way overdue.

2011-04-07T11:15:00.004-05:00

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I updated my blog. Life has been until now, business as usual. I've been teaching high-schoolers about family and consumer science. Kyle has been working at TCC as an academic adviser.
When we moved back from China, we had a sort of "5 things to do after returning checklist". Jobs- check, health insurance- check, a house- check. You see where this is going. The completion of #5 is now in the foreseeable future. In case you haven't heard yet, Kyle and I are expecting; just about 2 months down, 7 more to go. I go for my first doctor's appointment this afternoon. Let the excitement and busy stage of parenthood begin!

More Bahamas

2010-05-14T20:36:00.002-05:00

It's really been to long to remember much to write about. We were actually in Cozumel on Christmas day and had the best quesadillas ever.

Catching up to do

2010-05-14T20:26:00.003-05:00

I've been so busy this school year, that I've really let my posting get behind. Here are some pics from our Christmas vacation in the Bahamas.

Too long

2009-12-19T12:59:00.002-06:00

I can't believe it's been 3 months since my last update. Life has been busy with every day life. Kyle and I bought a house at the end of October and finally moved out of the in-laws house. We had help from both of our families getting it painted and cleaned and moving in. We've unpacked all the boxes, but are still getting things settled. It is a work in progress, but I thought I'd go ahead and post some pictures. Owning a home is item number 4 on my check list of things to do after returning home. On to number 5!
-Merry Christmas!

Time for an update

2009-09-11T19:11:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been a while since my last update. That means that either nothing of worth has happened or I'm so busy that I don't have time to write. This time, I've just been too busy to write. Since I last wrote, Kyle got a job (which completes item #2) and we've now completed #3 on the list; health insurance. Tomorrow, we're continuing our quest for #4- the house. Things are moving along.
I'm really loving my job. I am exhausted and I put in way too many extra hours for the amount of money that I'm being paid, but who gets into teaching for the money anyway!

Item # 2 (half a check)

2009-08-01T12:47:00.002-05:00

Item #2- jobs
I am very excited to inform everyone that I am now officially employed with a full time job. I guess you could say that I start Tuesday. I'll be attending a conference next week, then followed by orientation, teacher work days, and the 19th will be the first day of school. It's so great to finally have something I consider a career and not just a job. Continue to pray for me these next few weeks, because I'll be insanely busy starting my new job and finishing up my temporary job at JCPenney. I'm going to be a zebra. That's kind of similar to what I've been most of my life (broncho)!

item #1-- check

2009-07-30T19:55:00.003-05:00

You may have heard me mention my list of five big things to do upon returning to the US. Now we can officially check off item #1 from the list. As of yesterday, we (Kyle) are now the owners of a black Toyota 4runner and I've had my spiffy little Fit for about a month. For those of you who are more visually inclined. Here are some pics!..... Now on to item #2.

Five

2009-07-23T17:07:00.002-05:00

Not really knowing what life would be like on this side of the ocean, I made my plans. I conjured up a picture of what I thought it would be like. Needless to say it has not been anything like I'd expected.
I have my list of 5 big things to do. I thought I'd have at least 3 checked off the list by this time-- tomorrow will mark the 5th week since we've been back. It turns out I have only checked off half of the first one (the first one being buying cars. We have one car, but still need to buy the second, but we're waiting on to see how long the savings holds up) So, in essence, we can't complete #1 on the list until one of us has conquered #2: the job.
I find myself discontent. I want the things that I can only have after I have a job. I have nothing to do except look for a job until I find one. Looking for a job requires a lot of waiting, one thing that I've never been good at. So, I am forced to do something that I'm not good at--waiting-- to get a job doing something that I will be good at. However, watching the news only makes it seem like the economy is so bad that I'll never get a job. On top of that, when I'm not waiting, the other part of job searching is a roller coaster.
I've NEVER liked roller coasters. I don't have the stomach for it. I'm not to fond of the emotional roller coaster that job search requires either:
You're hopeful- you apply for jobs.
You get a call- your hopes rise up. Someone things I'm qualified for this.
You go to the interview- Again success, or so it seems, the hopes rise almost as high as possible.
Then the rejection- you plunge down as quick as gravity will let you fall.
Then you must muster up the courage to get up again, apply for more jobs.
and the cycle continues.
I want to thank everyone who prayed for us while we were gone, but strangely enough, we are home, but the hard part is not over. Perhaps the hardest part has just begun, because this is home; it's not supposed to be hard. Everything is just supposed to go back the way is was before we left. God promises that he'll always take care of us. Although I don't have what I WANT, I have what I NEED, food and shelter. I have a hard time with that. That is all that God has promised. He didn't promise us jobs, or cars, or a house; he just told us that we would be taken care of; and we are.

China Blocks Google, Gmail, Other Web Sites - Science News | Science

2009-07-21T11:13:00.001-05:00

China Blocks Google, Gmail, Other Web Sites - Science News | Science & Technology | Technology News - FOXNews.com

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State Side

2009-06-23T19:32:00.002-05:00

I am very happy to let you know that unlike in China, blogger is not blocked here. You'll be hearing from me more often. We've been in the States for almost 3 full days. We've been spending time with our families, but not really anything too exciting has happened. We're looking forward to meeting up with old friends. Thank you for your support while we were gone.

Photo album for you from Kimberly on Windows Live

2009-06-04T06:50:00.001-05:00

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Blogging from email

2009-06-04T06:46:00.001-05:00

I'm trying something new. I'm blogging from my email.
Around the middle of last month, we had the Spring concert. I have to say that it is the best we've ever had. The kids did great! I tried to send a link with pictures from the concert and the field trip to the zoo. We'll see if it works. More later.....Hopefully soon!
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Lauren found her dream laptop. Find the PC that's right for you.

The hard part

2009-05-14T03:33:00.003-05:00

Well, with 36 days to check off my calendar, I've already begun having to say my good-bye's. One of our teachers, who is also one of my student's mom's is leaving to take a test for her teaching certificate. She is going to Romania and her daughter, the one in my class is going with her. I'm not good at good-byes; I never have been.
This starts one of those hard parts in life. There is such a mix of emotions. I'm sad to be coming to a close in this chapter of my life, saying good-bye to friends- leaving my kids who I've invested so much of my life, my heart and my soul into, leaving the school that I've had a part in building and developing. I'm leaving knowing that I will probably never see most of these people again. I excited about all the growth our school is going through, but disappointed that I'm not going to get to be a part of it. On the other hand, I'm also excited about opening a new chapter in my life--a new job, a new house (hopefully). I'll finally get to nest. That is something that I've wanted to do for a long time. I lived in the same place until I went to college at age 18. Since then I've moved 12 times (coming up on 13. I'm only 26). I'm also really looking forward to all the comforts that I left behind- my car, grocery shopping in bulk, a real shower and/or bath tub (I miss bubble baths), heating and air conditioning and ceiling fans (I could go on).
I'm sure many of you have lived through times like this in your lives. What can you do other than prepare yourself and carry-on? It will only get easier.

May Holiday

2009-05-08T19:07:00.008-05:00

It seems the week before May Holiday I was still wearing my down-fill brown mid-calf lengh coat. Then on Monday of May Holiday, the weather finally decided that it was okay for Spring to come out. While were were in Beijing at the beginning of the week, I brought jeans and t-shirts for wear, wishing I had brought shorts. Now here I sit almost two weeks later wearing shorts and a tank top, wishing a had an air conditioner. It is so incredibly humid here! It's only 73 here and I'm hot. I'm normally cold-natured.
Enough of me complaining about the absurd weather, now I'm going to get to the fun stuff. Like I mentioned earlier, we went to Beijing for the first part of the week. After arriving and checking into our hotel, we went in search for food and not just any food, Western food (for those of you that don't know that is any food from countries in the western hemisphere and including Europe). That is why we went to Beijing, to comfort our homesickness with some good, familiar food.
We left our hotel and headed in one direction, then after deciding that we were going to wrong way, turned around and backtracked the other way. We ended up doing a gigantic circle. It turns out, where we turned around we were only a block from the restaurant. The restaurant, TGI Friday's was only two blocks from our hotel and we walked around probably 45 minutes before finding it. It was worth it. While the rest of them enjoyed burgers, I gobbled down some chicken strips with Jack Daniel's sauce. I highly recommend it. It was delicious.
We then hopped on a subway (a first for me). The air was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Not may favorite part of the day, being smashed up against a hundred people in one car. We went to Tienanmen square and looked around while dodging people that wanted to either take pictures of us or with us. I had a hard time getting the picture of Kyle without someone we didn't know jumping into the picture.
We then went across the street and into the Forbidden City. That's where I took most of the pictures. We had been there before, but the Sneeds had not. This time around we got the automated tour guide. It was well worth the 40 kuai. I only wish we had gotten there sooner, because they started closing rooms before we were finished. You could spend an entire day there if you wanted.
The next day we went to the Pearl Market to do my favorite thing- shopping! I think this was my favorite day. All of you out there that love garage sales because you can bargain. This is your "heaven". I got some pretty jewelry and some other good souvenirs and in the mean time, I made some lady mad because I didn't want to buy her jade bracelets for what I was willing to pay for them. Something like that would have bothered me before, but I've become somewhat thick-skinned and assertive in the past two years. Later that night we went to an acrobat show. It was good. The Sneeds got some good video of it that you can see on their blog here. The next day we ate our last breakfast at Grandma's kitchen and then packed up at the hotel. Our last visit of the trip was on our way to the airport. We stopped at IKEA. I had never been to one before and I have to say now that I am a big fan. They have one in the Dallas area of which I'm sure we'll be visiting when we get back. The rest of the holiday was pretty uneventful-- just resting, grading and planning for the following week. Here is a slideshow of our pictres. I haven't streamed the videos to the computer yet. Hopefully, I'll get that done soon.

The Wedding Feast

2009-05-01T19:48:00.003-05:00

We started out our "spring break" by attending a wedding reception of one of the staff members from our school. We all met at the school and rode an hour in a bus to another district of the city. It was at a beautiful restaurant by the sea. Vivian was dressed beautifully in a traditional red dress.
The most interesting thing about the night was the food. At weddings, the bride and groom honor their guests by serving very expensive food. Now expensive doesn't actually mean good. Most of the dishes had some sort of seafood in it. With the exception of shrimp, I pretty much hate seafood and after my teaching assistant being sick the previous week and in the hospital from eating bad seafood, I was going to avoid it at all costs. Anyone ever eaten a sea cucumber? One dish in particular I was avoiding. I thought it had squid in it. It was a noodle dish with these little slivers of pink "meat" with a weird bumpy texture. After being assured that it was beef, I gave it a try. The pieces of meat were small enough that I really didn't taste them and some of the bigger pieces I left on my place. Later I found out that it was in fact beef, but it's the part of the body that grosses me out. I know, you think, "This girl grew up in Central High, didn't she ever go to one of the calf frys?"but the answer is no, I have not. However, in my mind, it is much grosser and dirtier to eat the intestines of a cow. Who thought it was a good idea to eat something that animal waste has traveled through? Not me. Needless to say, my own stomach rebelled against me later that night and on until next day. Kyle, who's stomach was also not happy thought that it must have been the pizza from earlier in the day. I tend to disagree. Pizza or cow intestine? What do you think?

A trip to the plant market

2009-04-05T00:52:00.006-05:00

I'm not sure what they're made of, but they were next to the fruit.

With the weather finally warming up, I find myself feeling more optimistic and more inviting of adventure. You'll also find that I have once again gained the motivation to keep up with the blog.
Yesterday, Kyle and I went with some friends to a new plant market so that our friends could look for plants and pots. Late we went to another plant market to visit a painting shop. I'm wanting to buy some artwork to take back with me to fill my future, empty house. It turns out that the store didn't have what I was looking for, but she's be able to get it in two weeks. So I have another trip to look forward to.

Social Studies

2009-04-05T00:28:00.005-05:00

In social studies with my kids, we were studying the Medieval Period. One of the things that we studied was the Vikings. For one of their projects I had them make Viking longhouses. Here are their interpretations of longhouses.

Kyle's cookie making

2009-04-05T00:22:00.003-05:00

In English class, they were studying procedural writing. So Kyle decided to have them follow one of the most common procedural writings there are-- recipes! They had a blast!

Been a while

2009-03-24T03:32:00.002-05:00

It's been a while since my last post. The truth is it's really been just normal everyday life. I have been trudging on waiting for Spring. I hate, I repeat HATE cold weather, but this winter just doesn't want to let go. We had a couple of nice days, but then it got cold again. Today, it snowed all day. It didn't stick, but I still had to walk out to get a cab with crystals formed on the fur ring around my hood and dark, damp spots on my coat. I kind of feel dreary like the weather. I'm ready for spring. Maybe then, things will be more alive and exciting and I'll have something more interesting to blog about.

Aaron Kyle, China - The Best Job In The World

2009-03-04T02:43:00.001-06:00

I didn't know this, but the voting didn't start until yesterday. Here is the link to vote. Give him 5 starts! http://www.islandreefjob.com/en/#/applicants/watch/IMK4_sn5VMU

The Best Job in the World!

2009-02-25T05:32:00.004-06:00

Kyle applied for "The Best Job in the World" to work in Australia for 6 months as an island caretaker in the Great Barrier Reef. He would be in charge of cleaning the pool, feeding the fish and blogging about tourist stuff in order to promote tourism for Queensland. The one with the most votes will make it to the second round, so get out there and vote by rating it with 5 stars.
http://www.islandreefjob.com/applicants/watch/IMK4_sn5VMU

Hawaii Videos

2009-01-27T23:56:00.024-06:00

While at home

2009-01-26T01:42:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful, relaxing time at home with our families, but we are home now across the ocean and it feels good to be home. Our traveling went well as far as the traveling part. I had a little problem because when my ticket was purchased my first and last name were switched. It's funny that no one noticed on the four flights that we took before we made it to Oklahoma, but it seemed that everybody noticed on the way back.
The jet lag isn't too bad and we're meeting friends for dinner that arrived here while we were stateside. Keep watching the blog. We'll keep you updated.

John Mark was taking a picture of me with his "camera".

The boys went hunting

2009-01-26T01:36:00.001-06:00

My new cousin-in-law Russell is somewhat of an outdoors man. He, Kyle and my brother-in-law Micah went hunt or to say the least practiced shooting. It turns out Micah was a natural. He put a hole through a shot gun shell. I don't know it distance, but it's still impressive.

Sighting in the airport

2009-01-26T01:20:00.004-06:00

For all of you lost fans out there, look who we saw in the airport!

Cmas

2009-01-26T01:01:00.005-06:00

We made it back to the good old land of Oklahoma on the 21st and had a whirl wind of Cmas celebrations with family in Tulsa before going to my folks in Central. We had a blast with all our family. All the tables of food were for the same meal. It was insane.

Last day on the Cruize

2009-01-26T00:54:00.002-06:00

The last day Kyle, Daniella and Blake went to Poipu beach to take surfing lessons. Randy and I rented a car to drive to the beach to watch them. We went with the convertible only not to be able to figure out how to get the top down. We found the beach that they were on, but we were too late they had already gotten out of the water. Daniella liked it a lot, but Kyle thought surfing was too much work. That's what I thought in the first place.
While Randy and I were looking for the surfers, we spotted a monk seal. Later we drove to a water fall that is seen in the opening scene of Fantasy Island

Dec. 18th, Kauai Zipline

2009-01-05T13:15:00.003-06:00

Kyle and Jill went on a series of zip lines over a canopy of trees. I have video of it that I will post later. IT was kind of cloudy that day. Randy and I walked around and found a really awesome coy fish pond near one of the hotels. There was also a beautiful beach area just a half a mile from the pier.
I don't remember much else about it because now I've waited too long to post. Stay tuned for more!

Dec. 17th, Kona, Snorkel & Kayaking

2008-12-31T15:31:00.004-06:00

This was the day that we decided to celebrate our anniversary. It was really not until the 23rd, but why celebrate your anniversary in Oklahoma when you can celebrate it in Hawaii. We went on a Kayak and snorkeling adventure. We went kayaking in the ocean. You can't believe how overwhelming it is to be in this tiny kayak on the vast openness of the ocean.

We kayaked to a cave. They Kyle climbed up the cliff in front of the cave a jumped off. It didn't look to be as far up as it looked to be down.

Then we snorkeled at a different spot. I enjoyed it a lot more this time than I did at Molokini Crater.

We were exhausted after returning from our excursion, so we ate a late lunch and settled in for a nap. We slept a little too long. The dining rooms wouldn't be open by the time we could get ready, so we ordered room service instead. What a great way to celebrate your anniversary!

Dec. 16th, Hilo, my not so favorite day

2008-12-31T15:20:00.003-06:00

Remember me saying that we had to wait for a bus to come pick us up from an excursion for an hour and I had to go to the bathroom. This day I woke up with a bladder infection. Good-bye fun for the day; I have to stay near the toilet. Hilo is where all the volcanoes are. I heard the scenery is beautiful. Kyle and the rest of the family went on a bike ride and I had to miss it. When the family returned, I found out that Kyle had had a bike wreck and severely scraped up his hands and to top it all off, he passed out after standing up. I think he jumped up too soon, because he didn't want to be "That Guy" who held up the tour. I'm glad that I didn't see it, then I would have been worried about him.

Dec. 15th, the second day in Maui- Shopping

2008-12-31T14:44:00.010-06:00

I really think I could live here. It is so beautiful. I went shopping in Lahaina with Jill, the other 3 sisters and grandmother. There was one banion tree that was unbelievably large. The area it covered was probably 30 feet in diameter.

We were shopping in a tourist shopping area. Among the first items I purchased were a can of Dr. Pepper and a twix- two thing that I can't get where I live now and they weren't available on the ship.

After eating at Burgers in Paradise, Jill, Teri and I went in search of a beach. We saw eel, crabs, and one lady near us even said she saw an octopus.

Hawaii underwater pictures

2008-12-31T14:40:00.002-06:00

December 14th the first day of the cruise

2008-12-27T22:03:00.004-06:00

The first day we went on our first excursion. We went snorkeling in one of the top ten dive sites in the world, Molokini Crater.

After getting on the boat that would take us to the crater, they served us some fruit punch and pastries. The boat was pretty rough, so I got sick and tossed my cookies over the side of the boat. We got to the snorkel site. It was beautiful. Kyle saw a reef shark. I still wasn't feeling well, so I got back on the boat. After drinking and attempting to eat some pretzels, I fed the fishes a second time. One of the crew members came over and started pointing one all the different species of fish that were getting an extra snack. To top that off, when we got back to pier, we had to wait an hour for the charter bus to take us back to the cruise ship. To make matters worse, I had to go to the bathroom and it was a 20 minute drive and we literally hit every light on red. It was later to cause me more pain and discomfort.

Needless to say, my first time snorkeling was not the most wonderful experience of my life, but we were in Hawaii.

December 13th, The longest day of my life!

2008-12-22T13:19:00.014-06:00

The 13th was literally the longest day of my life--42 hours. You may ask yourself, how can someone have a 42 hour day. Well, with traveling more than half way around the world, crossing the international date line, we essential lived the 13th twice. It began like a normal Saturday, talking to our parents on skype and relaxing. Then the abnormal started with last minute packing and the 1 and a half hour drive to a nearby city to get on an airplane.

We finally turned into the what we assumed was the airport. I think it was actually the back gate to the airport. We took a few turns and passed a sign that had an airplane on it and some C characters on it. There was a road that forked to the left that went toward to airport tower and a fork to the right that went away from it. He took the one on the right. After driving away from the airport we asked to driver. He then stopped and asked directions. Instead of telling us where to go, the stranger just hopped in with us. There are not many places where you can just pick up a stranger. He took us right to it; we turned at the sign of the airplane that we foreigners couldn't read. Here's the stranger.

We had about an 8 hour flight, then we stepped into paradise. Parts of the airport were actually open. Being around 80 year round, they don't need air conditioning.

We got a taxi to the pier, but not just any taxi...

Our ship was called The Pride of America.

We were able to get on the ship and have lunch, then we fell asleep in the theatre waiting to go to our stateroom.

...and in the morning...

2008-12-05T02:58:00.003-06:00

This is what it looked like.

Just wait to hear the rest of the story. Our usual driver couldn't get his car out of the snow. We walked to the main road to look for a taxi. For some reason, the taxis don't want to stop. Even if they didn't have anyone in them they just kept right on going. I guess they were afraid of getting stuck. Then we walked all the way around the other side of our enormous apartment complex to a bus stop. Then a bus pulled up, so full that people's faces were smashed up agains the windows. There was no way we were getting on that bus. We went to a different bus stop, where other routes went by. No buses were stopping there. Finally, we decided that the only way we were going to get to school was to walk. So we walked all the way to school. I think it's about 2 miles, but with all of the walking that we'd done previously, it was probably more like 2 and a half. That was my adventure for the day. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. This wraps of the final full week of school. Only 3 school days left until winter holiday!

Cmas Concert

2008-12-05T02:53:00.002-06:00

Our second anual Cmas concert was held last night. It was really great. The kids did great and we had a wonderful turn out of family and friends from the community. It also snowed very heavily during the concert. By the time we left "It was begining to look a lot like Cmas".

Happy Turkey Day!

2008-12-01T05:28:00.003-06:00

We celebrated out Thanksgiving meal at the school. All the staff was there in addition to a couple of friends. It was a really great day. We had PLENTY to eat!

Drama Skit

2008-11-25T05:56:00.004-06:00

Here is a skit that Kyle's drama class did. Enjoy!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2008-11-24T06:29:00.003-06:00

The students like to put their scarves and gloves on the radiators for warm them up.

The fourth grade teacher and my Chinese teacher.

It snowed quite a big last week. The kids a lot of fun playing in the snow. I really wasn't ready for it to get that cold yet, so luckily, it warmed up a little this week. It was beautiful while it lasted. This is probably one of the few cities where the snow is actually white.

More suprising foods!

2008-11-17T03:25:00.003-06:00

This weekend we went to Pizza Hut with some friends. Our friend ordered a teriyaki pizza, and wanted a large one, but they were out of them, so he got stuck with a small one. On top of that, when they brought it out, it was moving! Like it was waving in the air as if to say, "Don't eat me, don't eat me." I was just mesmerized by it. I couldn't stop watching it, so I got a little clip of it waving around to share with all of you. We finally decided, that it must be fish skin. Who knew? On a pizza? Oh well, with as much as they love their sea food here, it's not that surprising.

In other news, our nation wide heat came on this weekend. We are now warming up and just in time. Today, it snowed, big, beautiful snowflakes.

Happy Pepero Day!

2008-11-11T03:42:00.003-06:00

In the country where we live, as well as Korea, there is a company named Pepero. They make a snack food that is very similiar to pretzel sticks covered in chocolate or your choice of topping. Today is Pepero day November 11th, 11/11 (like sticks). So in honor of Pepero my students brought a lot of pepero. Pretty grand marketing scheme don't you think. Just look at how many boxes there are in my room for only 9 students.

To eat or not to eat Part 3

2008-11-08T06:11:00.003-06:00

This week we went out to eat with a group of our friends. We think the restaurant was Japanese, but it may have been Korean. Kyle ordered what he thought was like fish sticks; it was labeled fish in vinegar. It came to the table as frozen, raw fish. It looked nothing like the picture on the menu. By looking at it, it looked like it had been stuffed with something like corn meal. Only to find out after he had taken a huge bite of it, that it was not in fact corn meal. They were in fact pregnant fish. I don't think a dish like that would ever slide back home. It was kind of nauseating to think about. Other things that just look to disgusting to try is the tuna. It's not mashed up and in a can like most of you think of. It is actually little beige colored fish, sort of see through except for the beady little eyes. I just can't make myself eat anything that still has eyes.

fall trip

2008-11-01T19:29:00.008-05:00

Fall Trip part one
Fall trip part two
Fall Trip part three

Trick or Treat

2008-11-01T08:12:00.002-05:00

New Building

2008-10-19T06:24:00.006-05:00

A lot has happened in the last month since I've last posted. For starters, we snuck back to the states during October Holiday. If we didn't see you, we were trying to keep a low profile because we just wanted to spend time with our families. Kyle's brother got married and we had a great time at the wedding.
After returning back to Asia, we got cleaned up and went up to the school to teach for a half day. I really can't vouch for the quality of teaching that occurs when I've just spent the last day and a half traveling, but it kept me awake. We taught the next day and the following day the kids didn't come to school. We spent it packing up our old school and moving to our new school.
We have a fabulous new school building. It actually looks like a school. It's neat, clean and I have a big classroom. We also have radiators in this building, so that means that it will be warm and we won't have to use kerosene heaters. Friday, they hung the curtains. I'll have to get a picture of my room all finished. It really is great.

Imagine a day at the DMV

2008-09-14T00:31:00.003-05:00

One day a couple of weeks ago, Kyle, some of our other teachers and I went to some govt. agency to get our visas renewed. The place reminded us the most of the DMV. Old building, lots of windows, a big counter to fill our paper work and lots and lots of people. We went in the morning and waited. They we were told that we had to leave and come back becuase our group was too big. We went back to school for about an hour, waited until thier two hour lunch break was about 30 minutes from being over and then went back and waited some more. One of our co-workers got tired of waiting so he went to a convience story and bought milk and oreos for everyone. The milk however, came in a bag. This is very common here, but I had never drunk milk out of a bag before. It was quite a chore handeling the the bag in one hand and cookies in the other. I was paraniod that I was going to get milk all over me. I was starving, so it made the day a great deal more enjoyable.

One, two, three, eggplant! update

2008-09-12T21:00:00.002-05:00

About a month and a half ago, we went and had some pictures taken like the Chinese do when they get married. Here is a slide show of some of the pictures. It was a fun and tiresome day!

School Stuff

2008-09-10T07:08:00.003-05:00

Kyle created a game about feudalism to play with his Social Studies class. Here's a clip.

Little things around town

2008-09-01T04:33:00.007-05:00

I actually got my camera out a few times and have some pictures that I would like to share with you. The first is of my class, eager, ready to go out to recess. There is a new store in town called Jusco. It is new and fabulous and like a mall. The next two pictures were taken there. One is of the McDonald's, with the walk through window opening up into the mall and the other is of a giant moon cake. A moon cake is part of a Chinese traditional festival that is held in the fall.The final picture was taken inside our apartment complex. It is an enormous complex. Some of the people who live here are misplaced farmers. Take a look.... That is all corn. Isn't it amazing?

2 and a half weeks of normal life

2008-08-21T17:02:00.003-05:00

With all the excitement of traveling this summer. Normal life seems to feel somewhat...well normal. We are two and a half weeks into the fall semester of school. I have twelve students in my class this year although one will be leaving for Shanghai next week. She is a wonderful student and I will miss her.

I bet all the teachers out there can relate; I feel like all I do anymore is grade papers. I truely have a new appreciation for what my teachers went through to make sure that I learned something.

Our school is growing rapidly. Our enrollment is up probably close to 90 now. I think most of the growth is in our middle school. I think last year at this time our enrollment was in the thirties or forties. It's really amazing. In the next two or three weeks, we're going to be moving to a new campus with larger classrooms and better facilities. However, the thing that I think I like the most is that we won't have to walk to 4th of a mile down the dirt road--that gets very muddy when it rains-- anymore.

One, two, three, eggplant!

2008-07-31T19:15:00.002-05:00

In America we say one, two three, cheese. Here it's yi, er, san, qiezi (pronounced ee, are, sahn, chyeh dzuh). Yesterday, we went downtown to get a picture album made. When a couple gets married, they do this and it's really a big deal. Kyle and I thought it would just be neat to have. We did three different changes of clothes. The first was a Eastern version of a Western wedding dress and tuxedo. The second we were dressed in traditional clothing of the Tang Dynasty and the third was some traditional clothing that we had made for ourselves. Next week wee get to go pick out the pictures and then we'll get the book about 20 days from then. I wish I had pictures to show you. It was fun and tiring all at the same time. I don't remember ever being twisted and contorted in so many ways. It took us almost 5 hours.
Tomorrow is our first staff meeting and school starts on Wednesday. We've had several new teachers come into town this week and it's been nice getting to know them and show them around.

July 10, 2008 Aquarium

2008-07-11T00:49:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we went to the aquarium in Penglai. It was really interesting-- a lot of different fish and animals. I had been there before on a field trip, but this time I actually got to see it because we weren't running through the whole thing. They had electric eels, seals, star fish, dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, paranas, and a polar bear. There were several different kinds of animals that you can pay to feed. Jill fed the paranas; Kenzie fed the sea turtles and the seals. We then finished the last of our video journals on the way home.

July 9, 2008 Guitar Hero

2008-07-11T00:45:00.002-05:00

With the lack of TV, we have now corrupted the adults with our video games. They are offically adicted. We couldn't get Randy away from "Call of Duty". He was even dreaming about Russians and Germans in his sleep. Jill couldn't get enough of "Guitar Hero". Here is a video of Jill and Jennye rockin out.

July 8, 2008 Pizza Hut

2008-07-11T00:31:00.005-05:00

We took Kyle's parents around town and showed them a little of what it is like where we live. We also took them to one of the fanciest western food resturaunts in town. Some of you know it- Pizza Hut. It is a lot nicer in China.

July 6, 2008 Back home

2008-07-11T00:09:00.004-05:00

I took these pictures from the airplane on the way home from Xi'an. I thought the countryside was just beautiful. We returned from our trip, unpacked and headed to a friend's house for dinner. Kyle's dad wanted to try some delicacies. Our friends are wonderful cooks. The food was really good, but I have to say that I didn't try some of it. You'll have to watch the video to find out what they ate.

July 5, 2008 Xi'an

2008-07-11T00:05:00.012-05:00

This was by far my favorite day. We began by going to Bampo Village (upper left). The ruins date back to 4000 B. C. They uncovered many houses and building as well as tombs and pottery. They are continuing excavation in the area. They also had some videos showing how they built their houses.

We then went to my favorite place. This is the place of the Terracotta Warriors. The first Emperor of the unified China around 200 B. C.- the first Emperor of the Qin Dynasty built the warriors. The warriors were said to guard the underworld. They have uncovered 3 pits and there are thought to be as many as thirty totaling over 70,000 warriors. The three pits that we visited were about 1.5 kilometers from his tomb.

The most fascinating thing about the warriors is that each one is unique and said to be made after someone in the Emperor's army. Each has a different face. They are also different heights and weights.

When first excavated, they statues had color, but it faded in about a week. They have halted excavation until technology will allow them to preserve the color.

There was one warrior that was in perfect condition. He is called the lucky warrior. He is in a kneeling position. The great detail on each figure is astounding, from the face to the hair and the armor.

There is a place in the first pit called the warrior hospital. It is where the archeologists are restoring the figures. It takes two of them one year to complete one statue. They only work at night to avoid tourists crowding. It is very tedious, intricate work.

You can also touch the clay that the warriors are made of. They also use the mud to make new statues to sell. You can buy a exact life size replica for your garden for about $2,000 or small figurines for about 200 kuai like the one that Kyle and I got.

Next we went to the emperor's tomb. It was kind of anticlimactic. The actual tomb has never been opened because they're waiting for the technology to preserve it also. It was shaped like a pyramid and then trees planted over it to disguise it from evil spirit birds that might come and disrupt it. You can walk up to the top of it. There is a platform there with a great view of the mountains and the warrior excavation sites.

We then went to the Wild Goose Pagota. Everyone was tired so Jill and I just went in a snapped a few pictures. We actuallly saw some monks while we were there.

Then we drove through the ancient city gates and by the bell tower and the drum tower, both of which were used as warning signals in historic times.

All together I would say that Xi'an was the most fascinating city that I have ever visited.

July 4, 2008 Xi'an

2008-07-11T00:03:00.003-05:00

We arrive in Xi'an on the 4th. We mostly just relaxed and enjoyed our nice room complete with room service. Later Jill and I ventured out to a Chinese supermarket. It was a new experience for her, one that few people have.

July 3, 2008 Yangtze River Cruise

2008-07-11T00:00:00.005-05:00

This was our last full day on the ship. There were many cultural activities to view on the boat; inside snuff bottle painting, finger painting, embroidery, acupuncture and cultural dances. The food was also mostly Chinese. I ate a lot of dishes that I had never had before. It was more local cuisine. In the south they are known for their spicy food; it is different than what we're used to in the north.

Our excursion was to Feng Du City. It's known as "Chinese Hell". It is believed that all Chinese go here after they die. It's neat to look at all the interesting buildings. We also had to climb 800 steps to get to it- quite a hike!

July 2, 2008 Yangtze River Cruise

2008-07-10T23:42:00.006-05:00

This was the second day of our cruise. We had stayed up late the night before playing settlers so I was really tired. I also had a headache so I slept in and missed the excursion. Kyle said that I missed the best one. This was a ride up the Shenong Stream, a tributary of the Yangtze. As you can see from the video it's just beautiful!

July 1, 2008 Yangtze River Cruise

2008-07-10T23:18:00.006-05:00

The boat was pretty nice. We had a large bathroom and a balcony. The scenery there is beautiful. It was hot ans humid, but always foggy. The mountains that we passed through look like a lot of the paintings that you see. It was a really great experience.

The first day of the river cruize we toured the three gorges dam. You can't fathem the size and magnitude of it. It was really cool.

Bejing June 30, 2008

2008-07-09T20:05:00.005-05:00

This was our transit day. We were flying from Beijing to the small town of Yichang to catch our river boat cruise down the yangze river. Our flight was to leave at 1:30 and we were there in pleanty of time with no real set backs. I glanced at the monitor as we strolled by and found our flight--still on time as planned. We found us a spot away from the crowds to avoid being stared at, our backs away from the gate. Some flight was called to board and all the people near our gate left. We had been listening to all the announcements, and though in Chinese, we never heard our flight number spoken. Kyle went to check at the gate desk and I went and found the monitor. Our flight that was suposed to board in 20 minutes was cancled.

We asked around and found out that we had to go to a specific desk of the airline we had flown. We got to the desk and I handed the tickets to the lady and she never said anything to me; didn't even try. Luckily there was another foreigner there and he told us that there was a place nearby where we had to go reclaim our luggage. They were then going to try and get us on a flight that left at 2:00, it was now 1:05. The terminal that the other flight left from was 20 minutes away.

An aiport personnel guided us to the elevator to go down to the termainal transit buses. Randy being clustropphobic, couldn't take the elevator so decided to take an alternate route. On the elevator we met a nice Chinese mad who spoke English. He kind of took us in and took care of us. The elevator only took us to the second floor and then back up to the third; we needed to go to the first. It was a long crowded elevator ride. We figured that Randy would be down waiting for us when we got there, but no Randy in sight and he didn't have a cellphone, not to mention that the cellphone numbers are so long here that no one memorizes them. We were about to go on to terminal one thinking he had gone on without us. Then we see him coming down the escalator chatting it up with one of the airport staff. We almost lost Randy.

We make it to terminal one and they flight had already left. Go figure... I don't know why they even attempted to get us on that one anyway. There were no other flights directly to Yichang that day, so we got Grace --the lady who helped my inlaw book the cruize-- on the phone. She told us of a flight that would leave at 4 from terminal 2 and take us to Wuhan and there she would arrange a 4 hour bus ride for us.

We went back out and waited on a shuttle bus. One came anc we asked if it went to terminal two. They said it did, so we hopped on. It didn't take us to terminal two that was about 3 minutes away; it took us back to terminal 3 that we had begun in. We had to get out of the bus and go to another floor to get on a bus and go 20 minutes back to terminal 2 that was only a few minutes away from the terminal that we are just at. It's three o'clock by now. We go to the ticket window of the airline that we thought the flight was with. Then Jill and I got scope out where the baggage check in is. We get the tickets and go the te baggage check-in desk. Long lines..then a new one opens up and I go right to her. After a few minutes, she tells me that this is not their flight and I need to go to another check-in area that was back the way we came. We get in line there are are behind only one person. We are checkin in. It's 3:30. The gentleman realizes that and takes us and all our baggage to the manual expedited check-in. Then we run to security. 3:40, Kyle and I get through fine, but the other 3 get stuck in security. Some lady is searchin Kenzies bag and then she tries to fix the broken zipper for the next 10 minutes. I sent Kyle on to tthe gate to make sure that they wait for us. Jill's bag is set aside; Randy's bag is searched. Then they just give them all their stuff and let them go. It's now 3:50. Plane takes off in ten minutes. I start running to our gate, 29. It is the last one. I run and get to the gate. Then Kenzie makes it. They are telling us to get on, but the other two have still not come around the corner. They finally arrive; we all board and as soon as we get seated the plane taxis down the runway. We got to rest for a while.

We get to the Wuhan airport and there is a nice gentleman holding our name. We go with him and he loads us onto a nice mini bus. We got to see some beautiful country and arrived at the peir at 11:30. Ony thirty minutes before the boat departed. We were exhausted.

Beijing June 29, 2008

2008-07-08T06:16:00.006-05:00

We began the day again with a visit to Grandma's Kitchen. We then went to the pearl market. Jill, Jennye and I arrived at the pearl market, but the other 4 were no where to be found. We called and started walking around looking for each other. Finally, we find out that the driver had instead taken them to the Lama Temple, another location on the card that he had shown him. After they arrived, we went straight to the third floor to talk to a lady that Jennye had "guanxi" aka relationship with.

I have found that I really like negotiating. I didn't think that I would because I'm such a conflict adversive person. Except for the pearls, I didn't spend over 15 kuai for any one thing. I think I'm pretty good at it. My nanny would be proud. I thought of her the entire time; the whole place is just like a giant garage sell! I'm already planning to go back.

One day we drove by the bird's nest. I don't remember the day, so I'll just stick it here.

Beijing June 28, 2008

2008-07-07T10:07:00.011-05:00

Saturday in Beijing was probably our busiest. First we ate breakfast of course at Grandma's Kitchen. We then drove outside of Beijing to the Great Wall. We rode a chair lift up to the great wall. There is only a portion of the wall that they let you climb on. It has been restored. We saw a map that showed chair lifts and toboggans from each end of the part that you are allowed to climb on. We climbed all they way to the other end only to find out that the only toboggan down was on the side where we began. So we had to do it all again. The toboggan would have been fun, but someone ahead of our group was going so slow that we were all crammed up together and we didn't ever get to go very fast.

After leaving the wall we stopped at a clossinae factory. It was really neat to see how it was done. They were all so beautiful. Karen, I know you love them, so I took these pictures just for you.

Next was the summer palace. Again, like the forbidden city, it was full of beautiful gardens and interesting buildings, but most of them you couldn't go into. That is what I want to see; beautiful fabrics and furnishings. The outsides of the buildings just look the same after a while.

Beijing June 27, 2008

2008-07-07T05:59:00.010-05:00

The second day we went to the Forbidden City. It was the home of some of the ancient Chinese Emperors. It is called the forbidden city because you could only enter if you were invited by the emperor. Uninvited guests were killed. The architecture was really neat, but the sheer vastness is it's most significant quality. The largest hall, or room in the center of the complex, was the thrown room. We didn't get to go it; it was under renovation. I was disappointed about that.

That evening we ate at a Texmex place called Peter's. It was great. They alsos had Dr. Pepper. Then we went and got massages. After the massage, the emplyees of the massage place stood out in the rain and hailed us a cab, so it didn't take as long and we didn't have to get really wet. We had a lot of fun. They usually didn't have customers that spoke a little Chinese, so they had a good time chatting with us. A couple of them spoke a little bit of English.

Beijing June 26, 2008

2008-07-07T05:45:00.005-05:00

On the 26th of last month. Kyle and I traveled to Beijing to meet his family. We took Jennye and a couple of the C kids with us. I was really great to have family in town. We got into Beijing and found them and then headed to the hotel to check in. We were staying in some small but nice hotel that was on a street not much bigger than an alley. It was just down the street from the Forbidden city; so it was a great location and the street had a lot of Chinese character. That night we had the much anticipated western food. You don't get more American than TGI Fridays. It was raining when we left so we ran into the 7 11 next door to buy an umbrella. It took us about an hour to get a taxi from there back to the hotel. It was like we were invisible. The cabs would be empty, but they wouldn't stop or they didn't want to run their meter and charge us an outrageous price. One wouldn't take us because they wouldn't take 4 people. My conclusion- taxi drivers in Beijing are stupid. Finally we got a private car to take us but it was a little pricey.

Our newest place

2008-06-24T03:14:00.005-05:00

Kyle and I just moved.....again. Here is a virtual tour of our new place. I hope you enjoy. We're leaving for Beijing in two days. I'm excited about seeing more of China.

Things to Come

2008-06-22T06:28:00.002-05:00

Next week, we're going to Beijing for a few days and then on a river cruise of the Yangze river down south. Stay tuned for these exciting updates!

Firsts and Lasts

2008-06-22T05:26:00.005-05:00

This past week was a week of firsts and lasts. On Tuesday, we had the first ever YA graduation ceremony with one graduating senior. It was a very emotional time; remembering how the school began not that long ago. We said good-bye to leaving students and staff-- things all too common for an international school.

The next day, Wednesday, was our last day of school. It was a hard day for me. I got really attached my students-- really. It's difficult for me to imagine them in middle school next year completely on their own. They're my kids. Anyway, I'm sure they will do great. That's what I prepared them for all year. The last day of school we played board games. Here are some pictures of graduation and the last day of school. My how they've grown since August.

September 2007

Things Worth Mentioning

2008-06-14T20:20:00.008-05:00

We have been so busy these past few weeks. We are still on school but only three more days to go. We've been busy trying to cram that last bit of knowledge into our students heads before we send them off for a summer of fun.

Friday night we had a game night at the school.
The difference between this one and all the ones we've had
before is that the 5th grade got to attend.
It was a great chance for them to get to
know the older students and interact with
them. I really enjoyed them this year and
find it hard to let them grow up and move on
to middle school.

We have some friends that traveled to a nearby
city to go to the dentist. This city is much larger
than the city where we live and --the great thing
is-- they have DR. PEPPER!!!!!!! We had not
had Dr. Pepper since we were home in Feburuary.
They brought us back a couple. It was so
refreshing. We played a game afterward
and I just sat there sipping my soda in cola
heavan, watching in sugary bliss.

Some of you know of our love of the game
"Settlers of Catan" If you haven't played it,
it is a really fun game. We were introduced
to it over here and acquired it when we
were in the states. We play
almsot every Wednesday night. For those
of you who have played, you know that
sometimes it is difficult to build a city. This
game, Jennye built Two cities for the first
time sice we've begun playing. Way to go Jennye!

Lovely Weekend

2008-05-27T07:19:00.003-05:00

We spent Satuday at a lovely beach about an hour from where we live. It was nice and relaxing.

Spring Concert

2008-05-23T05:25:00.008-05:00

Thursday was our Spring concert. The kids performed so well. It was wonderful! Here is a picture of my students. It's almost impossible to get a picture of them without one of the girls covering thier face. This is the best one that I got....silly girls.

New do

2008-05-23T05:21:00.002-05:00

I decided to get my hair cut. I needed something cool for the summer. It was about time for a change.

Secondary Spring Trip Day 3 & 4

2008-05-18T04:47:00.007-05:00

Watch these videos last

Secondary Spring Trip Day 2

2008-05-18T04:44:00.009-05:00

Watch these videos second.

Secondary Spring Trip

2008-05-18T03:00:00.005-05:00

I had to do the video in several parts because it was so long. Enjoy!

May Holiday AKA Spring Break 2008 part 2

2008-05-04T06:37:00.006-05:00

Friday afternoon I left and went to Shenyang with a couple of friends. We were going for a concert. Some of you may know the artist. His name is Stephen Curtis Chapman. Come to find out, he was staying in the same hotel that we were in. When we entered the dining room of the hotel for breakfast on Saturday morning we noticed him sitting at a table with his crew and family, not far from where we were sitting. All through breakfast we sat and talked about wanting to have our picture taken with him, but not having the guts or the nerve to ask.
Finally, as our meal neared an end. Three young boys were seated at the table directly next to us and one of my friends recognized him as Stephen's son. Shortly after Stephen came over to talk to his son and the other band members at the table. It was obvious that we had been talking about him and staring throughout the whole meal. Being so close to us he smiled and said hi. Then one of my friends asked if he would take a picture with us. He was so kind to do so after we introduced ourselves. It was really an experience to meet the man behind all the lyrics. He said that he was in town because he wanted to be an encouragement and in turn, we had the opportunity to offer encouragement to him in what he's doing.

That was only breakfast. The rest of the day was spent running around town, shopping, and eating wonderful food. We had a wonderful time. I even saw some stores that you at home might be familiar with. It's always comforting to see these kind of places so far from home.

The concert was fantastic. By the second song tears were streaming down my cheeks. The song was a fast, upbeat song celebrating the fact that we are all children of the Father. It was so moving to be in that place in the presence of the one who sent us here. This song was followed shortly by a song with the lyrics summarized something like this "it's all Yours, the streets in London, the children in Uganda, and somewhere in the song it mentions Shanghai." It was a great reminder that everything is his. Everything in the world and nothing can stop him, or keep him out, or refuse to let him work. Everything is his, I own nothing. It is all for him.

Throughout the entire concert, I was reminded and encouraged about so many things. HE is SO good and I am so undeserving. It was a time of encouragement, of refreshment and probably the most memorable spring break trip I will ever have.

May Holiday AKA Spring Break 2008 Part 1

2008-05-01T08:41:00.008-05:00

The first part of the week Kyle went camping near a little village about two hours from some city where some of our friends used to live. They had a great time, but pictures can tell more than 1,000 words and video tells even more.

While Kyle was off in the middle of nowhere, I was enjoying me myself here at home doing the things that I never have time to do when school is going on. I finally finished a skirt that I began last summer before we moved here. I am really proud of how it turned out.

Rock-N-Roll Husband

2008-04-22T05:46:00.003-05:00

We have been without the xbox for four months because it has been out of commition. We hadn't even gotten to play the new game that we got for cmas. Kyle has been jamming out with Guitar Hero. I wonder what the neighbors thing. Why all of a sudden all the music?

The hat

2008-04-19T10:17:00.002-05:00

I bought Kyle a hat in Qingdao. Isn't he handsome?

Like Cmas

2008-04-19T10:10:00.002-05:00

This past week we received a package from my parents. It was like Cmas. We were trying frantically to to get the box open. Every square inch of it was tapped. There was paper all over the floor and I had all the goodies lined up so that I could see it all. We didn't know what all would be in it, so it was a wonderful surprise. Some thing you just take for granted when you can go to the store and buy them any time you want.

Let's go fly a kite.....

2008-04-19T10:04:00.003-05:00

Up to the highest height
Let's go fly a kite and send it soaring.... I guess you know the song, here's the video.

We feel really loved.

2008-04-11T05:10:00.007-05:00

As some of you know, Kyle and I have the same birthday only one year apart. Kyle was three weeks late and I was two months early. It's really a lot of fun celebrating together. Although our birthdays were on Wednesday, we took each other out to eat on Tuesday evening. We went to the Western restaurant in town (for those of you who aren't familiar with the lingo, western means not Asian). I had a chicken Cesar salad and Kyle had ribs. It was wonderful. Then we went home and enjoyed the rest of our evening.

The following morning(the day of our birthdays), we went to school as normal. Nearly all of the secondary students came to school early that morning. They decorated Kyle's classroom and had a plethora of goodies set out on a table. As soon as he entered the door, they yelled surprise along with firecrackers and the whole bit. Not knowing any of this, Kyle calls me and asks me to come down to his room. As I open the door, they do the same thing and scare me to death. Then they lit a special birthday candle and sang happy birthday to us. They also gave me a bouquet of beautiful flowers. I was also shower with gifts from my students as well and during snack time one of my students had brought cupcakes and topped one with a candle followed my more singing as you know how it goes.

Later that evening the Costa's had us over for dinner for our specially requested chocolate chip pancake dinner followed by the most delicious chocolate cake that had our combined age and a game of "Settlers". (It is worth noting that Jennye had a stand up came and built multiple cities) We returned home exhausted from all the festivities, but never in our lives had we ever felt so loved.

Weekend Trip to Beijing...ah I mean Qingdao

2008-04-06T07:33:00.006-05:00

This weekend, we had the opportunity to go to Qingdao with some friends. Qingdao is a little less than a 3 hour drive due south of us. It is on the other side of the little peninsula that juts out into the yellow sea. We left on Saturday morning, spent the night in a pretty nice hotel and arrived back in our city Sunday afternoon. After we arrived in Qingdao and checked into our hotel, the first item of business was to find somewhere to eat for lunch. We ate at a French restaurant called La Villa. The guys all got something called a steak sandwich and I had the best lasagna that I had had in a long time. After eating lunch the men and the women parted ways. The men went sight seeing and the women went shopping. I was able to find some new sunglasses since the lenses in my old ones wouldn't stay in. We met up later and toured some of the old German district. You'll see some of these pictures in the slide show.

Later that night we went to a German restaurant. Chris is German and he was more than happy to recommend some dishes for us. Between the schnitzel and the spatzel we were holding our bellies by the end of dinner from eating so much.

The weekend mainly consisted of eat and of going to the grocery store to buy food that you can't get here. We bought some cookie and cake mixes from the import section as well as some different kinds of cheeses that you can't get here. We were on the look out for Dr. Pepper because we heard that you could get it there, but we had no such luck.

For breakfast, we had wonderful pastries and hot chocolate and for lunch we went to an Italian restaurant, that was also very tasty. We got a margarita pizza. Kyle was worried that it wouldn't be enough, but it was gigantic and we even had some to take home as left overs. I think the sauce was what made it so good, it was very unique.

We had a wonderful time. We even got to take naps on the way home so we're rested and ready for another week of school. I think it was the best weekend get-a-way that I've ever had!

P. S. The first one is video and the second one is a slide show of pictures.

Our new little favorite

2008-04-06T07:17:00.007-05:00

There's a new resturant in town that we absolutely love. It serves Eastern and Western food and has a wonderful atmosphere. The food always comes out beautifully arranged and always delicious!

From a day back in February

2008-04-06T07:15:00.003-05:00

Beijing

2008-03-30T04:06:00.003-05:00

This weekend, Kyle had the opportunity to travel with our principal to do some recruiting in Beijing. They were only there for a day, but they packed everything into it that they could. Kyle will probaby tell more about it in the next update, but here are some pictures that you might enjoy!

Friendly visitor

2008-03-25T07:08:00.004-05:00

From the spring until mid fall, small lizards that we know as geckos like to come into our building. You may see one sit in one place for a couple of weeks and then dissappear. This one was spotted in our principal's office the other day. I was able to get pretty close. At the begining of the school year, Kyle had one for a pet. He set the habitat near our window. It was pretty hot that time of year. Sad to say that Mr. Gecko is not longer with us. Maybe there'll be a Mr. Gecko II.....

New Camera

2008-03-25T07:02:00.004-05:00

I got a new camera as an early birthday present. My old one kind of ceased to work. It's got all these cool new settings. It has a setting for snow and one for fireworks (which comes in really handy here) and one for the beach one for the sunset, but my favorite one is the self protrait. I no longer have to worry about getting the right light exposure and focus. It's got a setting for it! So here is a self-portrait that I took with my new camera. Notice how good the lighting is!

Kyle misses his garage!

2008-03-25T06:57:00.002-05:00

need I say more?

Sight seeing

2008-03-22T23:56:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of touring an older part of the city with some history dating back to the 1800's and later. The name of the city is directly translated as smoky mounds. Back in the days of the dynasties, large stone platforms were built near the sea. They would create a smoke signal to warn all the the surrounding areas of the approaching Japanese pirates. There was a replica of one of these near the light house that I visited. There is a picture of it, but I'm not sure if you can really tell what it is. If you see a stone structure next to a cherry tree, that's it. The light house is white and kind of blends in with the sky.
In the museum, there were a lot of pictures of some of the colonial style buildings that are still standing around the city, but since most of the writing was in Chinese, I don't really know what any of the buildings were. In the same area stood all of the old consulates that were erected at the time that the agreement was made to make the city a trading port open to foreigners. There was the Danish Embassy, the American Embassy and the ruins of the German Embassy. I took a picture of the American one.
While we were walking along a path we came upon a little store that sold an assortment of sea shells. I thought they display was an interesting view of how things are here, and I just liked the color. Other pictures in the slide show are also from this tourist area.

To Sink or not to Sink

2008-03-20T19:33:00.007-05:00

Eventually all of them did when we put enough coins in them. In science we are studying the properties of matter and one of them being mass and another being buoyancy and how they are related. The assignment was to design a boat out of foil that would hold the most amount of weight possible. All were very serious about their boat designs, taking ever so much care as the constructed them. It was a lot of fun! Some of them held up to 250 grams!

To Eat

2008-03-13T04:49:00.003-05:00

One of the great things that we enjoy here is the frest fruit and vegetables. Now the strawberries are in season. Today I bought a jin (about one pound) for 6 kuai that is about 50 cents. They are so delicious. We've also enjoyed some wonderful food that our housekeeper has cooked for us. One of our favorite dishes is pork ribs. It is the best meat that I've ever put in my mouth.

Tape Girl

2008-03-13T04:40:00.004-05:00

Here are some funny pictures that I thought you might enjoy. As most of you know, I enjoy making my own clothes. I used to have some software that I could make patterns with on the computer, but it doesn't work with vista on our new computer. I looked into getting a dressform, but I don't want to spend that much money so I found on the internet where you can make one out of duct tape. I gave it a try and here are some pictures of the result. I kind of felt like a robot. It was a funny sight.

Reading Contest Winners!

2008-03-07T03:35:00.004-06:00

Over the holiday we ahd a school wide reading contest. I am proud to say of my students that they won. I had the number one and the number two reader in my class. Only the two of them combined totaled almost 10,000 pages. Wow! Can you imagine? The reward for our class winning was a trip to the local pizza place for lunch. We had a great time!

The new crew

2008-03-06T02:50:00.004-06:00

We're winding up the 3rd week of school after being back from our long winter break. It was good to be back and to see all of our students again. Now that we're back in the swing of things and getting used to our schedule again, I've finally found time to update the blog. My class has changed a lot over the break. I lost to student, but it's good news- two of them improved their English so much that they got to promote to the 6th grade (a more age appropriate grade). I also gained 4 students. One was returning from a long stay in the US, one was promoted from the 4th grade and two are brand new. I'm very excited to have this semester underway. I hope to be updating the blog with some more interesting stories soon.

PS Kyle's middle school class grew from seven at the end of last semester to 13 so we're experiencing tremendous growth.

Pics from home slideshows

2008-02-07T20:21:00.000-06:00