HTAD (Head Teacher Appreciation Day)

Let me tell you about a holiday that I had no idea existed. It's called Head Teacher Appreciation Day! Let me tell you something. I feel appreciated. Story time!

Susan and I were invited to spend the night with Kelly (our coordinator). We didn't know what we were going to do, but we knew that we were supposed to dress nice. So, Susan and I dressed up and got all fancy and we met Kelly at the school gate at 5:00. She then drove us to this restaurant about 5 minutes away. We didn't really think this was unusual because we go out to eat with her sometimes. But, we went inside the restaurant and guess what happened? Lots of our teachers all jumped out and yelled "surprise"! Understand that I had NO IDEA that this was going to happen. I was absolutely speechless. Then, Susan and I were bombarded with hugs and lots of "I love you!"s.

To make the night even cooler, we ate delicious Korean food and at the end of the meal, all of our teachers went around and said something nice about Susan and I. Of course I cried. Okay, I bawled. What really did it in was when Kelly spoke and said that we were her favorite and most hard working head teachers in the 8 semesters that she's worked with ILP. She then said "I will love you two forever". Okay, I'm getting weepy just remembering it, it was that touching. She's incredible. Apparently she and our teachers planned this whole surprise party for Susan and I just to tell us that they loved us and appreciated us. All of the teachers said the nicest things to us as well. It was just an incredible night.

To make things even better, we all went to a mystery location and I didn't figure out that it was a massage place until I saw the chairs! I never would have gone to get a massage if I was left to my own devices, but Kelly was insistent that Susan and I have some time to relax.

The massage was the furthest thing from relaxing. It. Hurt. So. Bad.

But it felt so good.

Curious.

I also got what is called "cupping" on my back just to say that I did it. This morning I have 14 circular bruises on my back that are pretty rocking.

To make the whole night really over the top was my teachers later showed me a photo collage that they put together for us. How sweet can they be???

In conclusion, I am so incredibly blessed. I had such a hard week this last week and I remember praying for things to be better. I had been so stressed and I felt like no one really noticed how hard Susan and I were working. However, they did notice and they were so sweet in planning that whole night for the two of us. I am so thankful for them. I'll brag and say that they're the best ILP teachers ever. Ever.

These Are a Few Of My Favorite Things....

It seems that I've been in China for about 2 months now. I'm halfway through! It seems weird that it has gone so fast, but at the same time I can't believe how much we've been able to cram in such a short amount of time. We've seen a lot of things, worked a lot, played around a lot, and definitely learned a lot. I know that I've personally learned a lot about myself-- especially that I'm stronger than I think that I am. Also, I've found that I have such an amazing supportive sister here with me, my co-head teacher is fantastic, and I have many good friends who are very talented teachers. I am very blessed by those the Lord has put me with through this experience.

Now the kids. Wow. They're simply amazing. I love those sweet children so much, I can hardly stand it. Their cute faces and loving qualities make me want to be a better person.

So, story time. At the beginning of the semester, Susan and I had lots of questions about this one student named Danny. He wouldn't participate in class and spent a large portion of the time during class hitting his head on the wall, staring blankly, or hurting himself. Remember that this boy is about 7 years old. I had talked to this boy towards the beginning of the semester, and couldn't figure out what was wrong and why he was so sad and angry. It made me sad to see him struggle so much, but there not be much that I could do to help. Weeks went by and nothing changed. But, my amazing teachers decided that they would show an increase of love toward Danny and guess what? He started opening up! One day, he left class because he was having a hard time and I found him and played games with him and gave him lots of love and hugs. Now, he is one of my best friends and always is the first to come and give me a huge hug and tell me that he loves me. This boy is simply amazing. I'm not sure what his whole story is, but I know that he stays at the school all of the time. He doesn't go home or see his parents on weekends. It breaks my heart to know that such a sweet child who is full of love could feel rejected by his family. Again, I don't know his parent's story and what's going on in their lives, but it's still hard to think about.

I have made a special effort this week to go and spend more time with the kids. Because I'm a head teacher, I don't have students of my own (the teachers are sort of like my students), so I don't get all of that one-on-one time that the teachers get. So, I was finding that I was growing tired and forgetting the reason that I was there. I forgot that I was really here to serve them, I was just doing it another way. So, I have taken a lot of time this week to go and be with the kids during meal-times, recess, and to tuck them in to bed at night. I am happy to say that because of this, I have been much happier and I am so blessed to interact with them. They really are incredible.

So, in other news, I got my hair cut at a salon. I wasn't planning on doing it, but my coordinator was going to get it cut before we headed back to the school one day, and I decided that my hair was looking sort of drab so I decided to get mine cut too! My hour long cut/shampoo/style only ended up costing 30 yuan (less than $5!) It also looks fantastically Asian! Say hello to long bangs and sassy style!

Lastly, Andrea, Sarah, and I went downtown tonight to hang out and we stumbled upon a large marketplace called "Big World". After looking around for a bit, we decided that we'd get out nails done, so we started, then all of the sudden stores started closing and the lights all went out. We were some of the last people in the entire building!!! Still, they stayed and painted out nails, and I'm very glad that we did it. It was super fun.

Life has been good. I have been stretched to some of my stress limits, but it's still been good. I have incredibly supportive family and friends back at home as well was here, and I am so appreciative of every encouraging comment that I receive. I am seeing pretty crazy things happening back in the USA, and I hope that everyone is safe.

A student named Chocolate. What a cutie.

 One of my favorite students named Danny

 Andrea, Sarah, and I getting our nails done (see video below).

 Me and my new Asian haircut.

Watch this awesome video!

Qingdao and Update

Hello world!

I've finally found a minute where I can update my status and let all of the lovely people in my life know how I'm doing in a little place called China.

First: Let's talk about Qingdao (Ching- Dow)

Susan (my beautiful, talented, and fantastic co-head teacher) and her sister went with me down to Qingdao which is about 4 hours south of Weihai for our 4 day weekend trip last week. We originally didn't plan on going on vacation because we hadn't planned anything, however, we decided that it would be good for us to get out and get some sunshine and enjoy the fact that we're in a completely different culture with lots of beautiful things around us.

So, Thursday morning we boarded a bus to Qingdao, which wasn't really exciting. We got lost for a bit because our bus station was on the other side of town. However, with the help of a lady with a little boy, we found the right bus and headed into town- and this is what we saw:

Beautiful huh? Ocean meets metropolis meets ancient architecture. For those of you who don't know much about Qingdao (I know that I didn't before I went), it was a port that was taken over for about 40 years (1890-1930) by the Germans. During that time, they built lots of mansions and other European architectural buildings that we were lucky enough to see.

Beautiful building on the Qingdao pier. Apparently, it's the same building that's on Tingsao beer which is one of the most well known beers in China. However, I just think that it looks awesome :)

Did I mention beautiful European architecture? Here's the Protestant Church. We couldn't really get up very close to it because it costs more money. It was just as amazing at a distance.

This is another well known Catholic Cathedral- and it is actually still holding mass meetings! How cool is that? I'm in China in front of one of the only cathedrals in China.

We were taking pictures when we were walking to the bus stop so we could remember where our hotel was, and these were some buildings right next to the bus stop. I thought the fog made them look majestic.

A very cool statue in downtown Qingdao.

So, the next day we took a million buses to get to Mt. Laoshan which is originally an hour away from downtown Qingdao, however by bus (and a million wrong directions) it took us almost 3 hours. However, we were in good spirits when we saw this beautiful scene:

Beautiful huh? We saw that. We hiked that mountain as well.

This is me in the parking lot :) Pretty glamorous huh?  I'm pretty sure this jacket is every single picture of me in China- I hope it will warm up soon.

At the top :) It had rained as we were walking up, so if I look like death please send forgiving thoughts my way. We also met this family who was from Mexico on the hike up. They warmed my heart and it was good to hear a familiar language.

The next day, we went to Zhongshan Park and the Zhongshan Temple. What better way to get to the temple from the park but by cable car?

I was alone in the cable car, but Susan and Cindy were having a good ol' social time haha :)

One part of the Zhongshan Temple. What was so unusual was that it's still a fully functioning temple so there were lots of people burning incenses and monks walking all around. It felt slightly awkward taking this picture...

More cable car pictures of Qingdao

Another portion of Zhongshan temple grounds. Very cool! 

So, that was my vacation. It was great getting to see all of those amazing things, and I had so many fun experiences I'd go back in a heartbeat. 

Since we've been back, it's been one of the most stressful weeks of my life. I've been pushed to my limits and though it's been incredibly difficult, I am very blessed to see the Lord's hand in my life and the hands of His servants. I've gotten the chance to watch a couple of conference talks which have been incredibly helpful. I've also made prayer a large part of my life. Lastly, I have some pretty amazing people in my life right now that I'm so grateful for. They are positive and loving and help me whenever I am struggling. I am definitely in no shortage of friends here. I could not be any more thankful for them in my life. 

I hope that everything is going well back at home- I'll update again when I can :)

Busy Bee...

I used to be so much better at this blogging thing back when I was in Mexico- I suppose adding another 17 teachers and living with them has lessened my free time just a bit.

I honestly don't know where all the time has gone- I've been in China for a month and I can hardly remember what has happened. I know that we squeezed in a vacation to Beijing, a million trainings, evaluations, and class visits, but it's weird that it's already this far into my experience here. I think that I need to take a more active role in making sure that I have fun and get to know my teachers (outside the classroom) as much as possible.

I did go downtown this last Friday for the first time since I've been here, and I'm quite sad that I haven't gone before! It was really fun! First, we went to a noodle shop that I had heard all about from the other volunteers and it definitely didn't disappoint! They made the noodles in front of our eyes (I'll try to remember to take pictures next time), the dish was about $1.50, and it was probably the best food that I've tasted here since I've been in China. It was delightful!

After we had dinner, we walked around the night market, which basically consisted of a lot of booths where vendors sold everything from hair ties, to Engrish clothing (that's clothing that has weird English on it), to squid on a stick. It was so much fun!

After, we all went to KFC and ate 2 ice cream cones each, because we were missing it so much. Totally worth it.

Besides that night, my life has been incredibly tiring. It's hard to be one of the only people that 20+ volunteers come to to solve their problems. It's difficult to squeeze in any time for yourself or to contact family or friends. I've definitely had difficult times where I wanted to give up and other times where I have wondered what I'm doing here. It's hard to come and serve in another country but your job doesn't work with the children directly. Though I know that I'm serving because I'm training the teachers to be better teachers for the kids, it's hard because I don't really get to work with those same kids and be their teacher. However, I'm also planning on putting more time aside to go and play with the kids on my own time.

So, this experience isn't exactly what I had planned. It definitely has its bad days and its good days. I love the people that I work with, and I'm so immensely blessed to watch them grow and help me grow, I love seeing the kids and seeing their beautiful faces every day. I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life because I have the knowledge of someone that I can turn to for strength that I wouldn't have all by myself. I am so grateful for prayer. It has helped me with a lot of situations that I had no idea how to deal with all by myself. I'm grateful for a loving and ever-patient co-head teacher (Susan). She is someone that encourages me and strengthens me and shows me so much love.

So, I'm sorry I haven't had time to contact any of you back at home. I hope that you all are doing well and that you feel the Lord's love for all of you in your life.

China is Change

Hello all-

I hope that everything is going well back in the states. Whenever I move to a different place, it seems weird that people are still living their lives back at home, that life still goes on without me there.

So, as an update. I am currently in Weihai, Shandong, China trying to keep up with all of the demands that China has put on me. They say that "China is change", and they definitely aren't lying! I thought that Mexico was crazy and unpredictable, but China makes Mexico look tame! Hardly anything stays the same, because they're constantly trying to make things easier, which in turn makes it more complicated because it changes so many times. Maybe a few months of this and I'll become the most adaptable American in existence!

This week has been a continuation of teaching and trying to get everyone on a semi-doable schedule. The kids are crazy, and I'm sure that it's frustrating to a lot of the teachers. However, I hope that someday soon it will become more fun for them and that they can see first-hand how much good they're doing in the world by working with these kids. I see so many positive interactions between the teacher and the students both inside and outside the classroom, that it makes me sad I don't have any students of my own.

Unfortunately, things aren't really going to get much easier until they get harder. We have mid-semester visits coming up this week where a director from Utah comes over and sees how we are doing and how the teachers are coping with all of the new stresses that are put on them. The visit itself is incredibly helpful and fun, but all of the work leading up to it is not so fun. We have lots of cleaning, cataloging, training, and other preparations that have to get done before the director comes. However, I'm confident that we can do it. I have incredibly hard working teachers and an incredibly hard working co-head teacher (whom I love).

This weekend, Susan and I mainly stayed at the apartment. We took a quick trip to the beach (which is only a 30 or so walk away) and took in all of the beautiful waves and ocean breeze. We also have taken the time to watch some movies and purposely relax and not work. We were very much in the need of a break this weekend.

This morning, we had church. For those of you who don't know, we don't actually go to a meeting because our branch includes all of the people that live in smaller cities all over China. Our ward boundaries is the country of China! Crazy huh? So, we call a certain number, put the phone on speakerphone (mute it as well), and listen to the talks that way. They give us 8 minutes in the middle of the meeting when some of the boys who were authorized to bless and pass the sacrament carry out those duties, but besides that, it's very much similar to regular church. The church is really the same everywhere in the world! However, I'll be very grateful when I get to head back to the states and go to church in person.

Tonight, Susan and I are heading to the home of our coordinator's friend (don't know her name). We're not really sure what to expect, but I'm excited for the experience because I know that I'll learn a lot about the Chinese culture and that maybe I'll make some new friends in Weihai.

Finally, some embarrassing moments:

We made friends with a cat which we named Snowpuff. When we were heading back to our apartments, we were pointing out all of the other cats and naming them accordingly (Pongo, Orange-Mc-Fatty-Pants, etc.) We then saw a cat, but because it was being so still, we didn't know of it's mannerisms (so obviously we couldn't name it unless we knew it's personality). So, Susan climbed a hill and got really close to it. Little did we know, but there were some Chinese folk who were staring at us. I shouted to Susan "Susan! We look like crazy people doing this! We look crazy!" After about a minute or so of this, on of the Chinese men turned to me and spoke "Cat?" I nooded. He then said "You....like?". I then replied "Not really. No." He just looked confused and went inside. Now Susan and I are probably going to be known around campus as the crazy-cat-head teachers.

Another story, we live on the 5th floor of our apartment building, so we go up and down stairs ALL DAY. One day, when a group of us were heading down to dinner, Andrea (my sister) got the idea to slide down a portion of the banister. She did so, but only about a foot or two. Still, she slid off the banister with quite a bit of speed. Being the competitive (and dumb) person I am, I decided that I wanted to slide down the entire section of the banister. So, I sat down and started sliding. I realized that I was going much too fast, so I quickly grabbed the bars on the side of me. However, my feet kept sliding until they were stuck in a section of the stairs. I then fell off the stairs onto one of my volunteers. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, there were a pair of older Chinese men that saw the entire thing who felt no shame in laughing at me.

Does that last story even make sense? Maybe I should film a reenactment. Or not...

That's about everything that I have to report. I hope that everyone is happy and well. Much love from China!

I'm Alive and Well + Pictures!

I want to apologize that I haven't updated sooner, but so much has happened, and I've been having a hard time getting my blog updated. So much has been happening! I'll start at the beginning and let you all know about my fantastic time in China.

We had an incredibly long flight to Seoul, South Korea where we stayed overnight at a hotel in the city center. The hotel was gorgeous and we were definitely pampered. We then took an early morning flight the next morning and we arrived in Weihai at 9:10am. 

The first thing that Kelly (our wonderful coordinator) told us when we stepped off the plane and met her in the airport was "You're going on vacation tomorrow". What!!?? So after a crazy day running all around campus to the clinic (someone got a firecracker in their eye), register passports, unload school supplies, move into apartments, meet with teachers, and pack again, we left the school at 5:00am the next morning on a tour bus on the way to Beijing, China. 

The best word to describe my experience in Beijing was "unreal". I honestly still can't believe that I went there and saw everything that I did. I got to experience the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Pearl, Jade, and Silk Factory, among lots of other places! My legs are still scolding me for hiking that many stairs at the Great Wall, but it was totally worth it. 

After one day of travelling to Beijing, two days of sightseeing, and another day of travelling, we were back in Weihai. We spent well over 10 hours (and some much longer) preparing for school which started the next day. Normally, teachers have much longer to prepare for classes, but the school doesn't really know all that goes on in our training meetings. For Susan and I as head teachers, it was quite a task. However, I'm glad to say that after lots of hours of preparation, I believe that our teachers were as prepared as possible for their classes. They all did far better than expected, and we are convinced that we are the luckiest head teachers in ILP.

As for now, here's some photos of Beijing and the beach of Weihai to tide everyone over until I find time to do another post.

Andrea and I in the Forbidden City

A really awesome building in Beijing

In Tienanmen Square

 More Forbidden City Pictures

 At the Summer Palace in Beijing

 Susan (my amazing co-head teacher) and I at the summer palace.

 The Great Wall

 The beautiful beach of Weihai

 Me and a very confused young girl at a kindergarten that we teach at

 Andrea and the Great Wall

 This is our fantastic, humongous school and it's many stairs

 One last beach picture

Alright everyone, until next time!

The Exodus

In case you have all been living under a rock, I'm heading to China... tomorrow. Usually I'm better at updating people about my life, but I've been so busy getting ready, I hardly have time to brag.

So, some info:

Where: Weihai, Shandong, China
When: February 26- June 26
Why: Going to be a head teacher through International Language Programs (pretty much the best volunteer program out there)
Who: Me, my sister, my amazing co-head teacher Susan, and 20 teachers! Wowsa!

So, I'm going to be gone for quite some time. However, I'm hopeful that this experience will be just as amazing (if not more amazing) as my previous experiences. I'm excited to experience a different culture and especially that I have the opportunity to share it with my sister (and best friend), Andrea.

So, as usual, I'll be posting weekly updates here on this beautiful blog throughout this upcoming semester. Because I'm going to be in China (where internet is highly firewalled and protected), I'm unsure if I'll be able to use things like facebook. However, I'm confident that this blog will be a good source of information for those who are interested.

As well as having my blog and email so people from home can contact me, I also have an internet phone number. So, in case you'd like to text or call, my number is 801-900-3148. I can't promise I'll get back to you the minute that you attempt to contact me, but I will get back to you as soon as possible.

That's about it. I hope to update again soon when I'm on Chinese soil.

Alicia