Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...Vietnam!!!!!!

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...Yangshuo and Nanning!

The Trip started great!!! We left on a bus from Wuchang to the train station! We left in plenty of time...we thought:-) We were very excited...we had an overnight train from Wuhan to Guilin.

This is us! when we were waiting at the bus stop...we had to wait quite a long time for a bus...and when we finally made it to the train station we had to run to the train:-) It was quite the adventure before we even left Wuhan! But we made it!! from left to right...Beau, Paul, Chelsie, Jacqueline and me!!

This was our little cubby in the train! We had tickets all together and it was fun to talk and visit about our adventures ahead:-)

When we got to Guilin, we took a bus to Yangshuo. We never really decided on a place to stay until we arrived in each city! We tried to travel at night if we could so we could sleep on the train and save money and time! But we found this hotel when we arrived in Yangshuo! Maybe this looks a little different for you, but it was quite a nice place for us! The people there were very kind and we all stayed in one room! It was great!

The first day we were all pretty tired and it was raining outside so We took full advantage of the hotel:-) Jacq taught me how to Knit! It was so much fun...we sat on the bed and Knitted for hours. YAY for fun times together!

The last day were were in Yangshuo it had stopped raining and we decided to take a 16 mi. bike ride. We rode all through villages and mountains. It was beautiful!!!

I really loved being with nature and riding my pink bike:-) It was soooo cold:-) I had on about 4 shirts and long johns and 2 pants. The hat and gloves were a must...even thought we were riding for hours.

About half way through the bike ride we arrived at the cave where we were going to stop and enjoy:-) This was a mad cave/hot spring:-) We brought our bathing suits and all covered ourselves in the freezing cold mud...then we had to wash off in the even colder waterfall before they would let us get int he hot springs!!! It was soooooo cold!!! But it was incredibly fun!

After the caves we rode our bike to Moon Mountain. This was a beautiful mountain with the shape of the moon cut out at the top. We hike up the mountain and had a beautiful view of the countryside! It was pretty foggy so you can see as much in the picture:-(

This is "Peter":-) Is was our amazing travel guide on the bike ride. He was the sweetest man! His English was pretty good and I was able to share quite a bit with him!! It was so wonderful to hear how he already knew about the Father from some other bike riders he had taken around the villages in the past. We were able to talk about the book they had given him and about the Creator of all the beautiful nature we were around!! It was so much fun!

We found this cool restaurant and enjoyed the good food twice while there! It was a really amazing place:-)

After 4 days in Yangshuo we took the bus back to Guilin and then another night train to Nanning. This train experience was not quite as enjoyable....we had seats instead of beds. It was MUCH Cheaper but quite miserable:-( LOL It made for a good story to laugh about 2 weeks later...but we arrived in Nanning at 5am and had to walk around the city in the rain to find a place to stay. It was quite the adventure. Nanning is in a province made up of primarily minority groups. We live in Wuhan, a place made of of mostly "Han" people. Han people are the majority in China. We didn't know what a difference it would be to stay in a place like Nanning. When we tried to speak Pu tong hua, "Mandarin Chinese", the people were very hostile towards us. Many of the people only spoke the minority dialect and didn't even know Mandarin. So needless to say, our time in Nanning was very interesting. We even met some other foreigners in this city that were very closed off towards us. We had to travel here to get our visas to enter Vietnam so we had to stay for 4 days. But we tried our best to make the most of it!!

There are many things in China that I have come to grow VERY used to...one of them is "little oranges". We eat these all the time. This is a man who sells little oranges. Many people sell their goods from their cart on wheels:-) Chelsie and I went out one day while here in Nanning to see the recent movie made in China, "Flowers of War". It is the story of the Nanjing massacre. It was sooooo sad and very eye opening. Although there are many people who believe this story is propaganda. It was our first Chinese movie to see in the theater here and we were both in tears by the end. If you are not familiar with it I encourage you to look it up. It played in a few cities in America. The reviews were not very good but I think you have to be Chinese to fully understand the depth of the movie. We were both very effected by it. We had given our passports to a man who knew the lady who worked at our hotel. He said he knew a good place to get visas and could get them for cheap. We were a little nervous about this but, we handed them over and after the allotted time he brought them back and we headed to Vietnam. We took a buss there:-) It was quite a ride! Look for the Vietnam story in the next blog!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

For starters, the weekend of New Years was such a great time of fellowship!!! It was my amazing friend, Rebecca's Birthday and so we celebrated just like always...with an incredible hat...very chinese:-) It says "Black rebel"...the Chinese people wear this hat all the time:-) Sooooo funny! But it was even more enjoyable to see her wear it the whole night:-) We had the opportunity to stay at a very large house here in Wuhan for the weekend. Some friends who are in Wuhan for work live in a great 3 level house and we all stayed together like a family:-) It was so much fun! We cooked together and probably could have had our own TV show. It was so funny to live with each other for a few days. Sometimes I forget how wonderful it is to have community! My friends and teammates and such a blessing and it's great to be able to have such encouragement!!

I got to hang out with some friends I met at "Mr. Mai's" Christmas Party on the Monday after new years day. They were such sweet girls and we want to get to know each other more! After I had met them the first time we found out that one of my students was Amy's cousin!!! Amy and Miki were my friends from the party and now We even had more of a connection! So Olivia, My student, and Miki and Amy invited me to "Snack Street" in Wuhan. This is an amazing place that is perfect at breakfast! Great food!!! So we had such a wonderful time together!

Then we went to The Wuhan Revolution Museum! It was quite an experience!!! Very interesting...most everything was in Chinese so i just enjoyed the pictures:-)

After hanging out with the girls I met my friends back in Hanyang(my part of town) at the local Arcade!! Chinese people LOVE to play at the arcade! We also have a skating rink inside the arcade! Some of our friends from Aloha met us there and we all played together! The guys were getting their dance moves on:-)

I love DDR:-) It was so much fun to play with FanFan...She and I are normally in the kitchen together when I work at Aloha! I love her:-)

Hanging out with them is such a blast!!! They are a blessing to me! My friend Karen also came and played with us!

This was quite a fun New Years!!! 2012 started with a wonderful time of fellowship and it has only gotten better! Next Blog will be the first of my Vacation Blogs!!!!

Merry Christmas Chinese Style!!!!

Christmas time is here..well, it was:-) It was defiantly The MOST Wonderful Time of the Year!!! There were so many opportunities to share the REAL reason for the Season! I enjoyed telling ALL of my classes exactly what the Holiday was about and even teaching them Joy to the World!!! They loved it! We learned about 3 songs and I almost forgot I was teaching English...I was dreaming I was teaching music again:-)

One of my friends had a Christmas Party at her house and we invited many of our Chinese friends. We played games with them and all of the foreigners told their Christmas traditions:-) It was such a great time of sharing and reading the REAL Christmas story! There were lots of questions after this party! I was pinning the nose on rudolph:-)

This was my friend Cynthia and then our friend from Starbucks! They both go to my school! Karen is on the right next to my friend LiPing! It was such a blast...oh and we served them Christmas desserts:-) and Hot Apple Cider:-) It was quite the American experience!

This was the Christmas party at "Mr. Mais" Coffee House in Wuchang. I went to volunteer for the party and met these two awesome girls! We have loved getting to know each other since then!

This was our group that helped at the party! We are quite the bunch...it was so much fun to go to a different part of Wuhan for the night and serve with others on my team! Loves these peeps!

After the Party at "Mr. Mais" we had a sleep over at Adam and Becca's house. It was like our family Christmas. We all slept in the living room beside the tree and watched a Christmas movie. Then "Christmas Morning"(it was actually Christmas Eve..but we pretended!) we all woke up and ate a wonderful breakfast together and opened gifts! it was so special...they all went in together and got me a plaque for my kitchen that is shaped like a chicken:-) It says "Chicken Kitchen"...lol Oh the fun we have together:-) Each person had a gift from the team...it was awesome!

I left early to head to Aloha and start helping with their Christmas dinner! But before I left I had to get a Christmas Picture with Sophia, Adam and Becca's oldest! She is such a sweet girl and I love having her in my life:-)

Diane and I were getting ready for the big dinner!

Nathan, Ing and I played for the Dinner:-) It was so much fun to play carols together! It felt like We were in America...almost...

Christmas morning we all went to fellowship and Anna, Inga and I had to have a picture with the coats we had made here! We all went to the Fabric market and designed coats for the winter! It was so much fun!!!! Of course, mine looks just a littl eon the blingy side...I love it:-)

After fellowship some of us went to Bruce and Donna's house for Christmas Dinner! We invited friends to come with us and it was such a great time!

Bruce and Donna are our small group leaders:-) They are such a blessing to me and Donna is an incredible cook!!! Her food was perfect! i don't know how she manages to make it tast so great:-) LiPing and I decided we would be the red family:-)

Christmas night I went with LiPing to her fellowship. I invited 2 of my closest friends...Yola and Linda. The service was incredible! I didn't understand much because it was all in Chinese But I understood...in my heart:-) It was such an overwhelming experience to be with so many Chinese people who were so genuine and committed! I wept...

Yola is on the far left...she made the biggest decision that night:-) It was amazing. We were all crying and so happy...Linda was moved by the music and asked many questions. I know the Father has her....it will just take more time. This was the best Christmas gift I could have ever been given...to know that I have another sister:-) It was truly "The MOST WONDERFUL time of the Year"!!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!!!

YAY!!!! It was my Birthday...lol I sounds very happy right now...I am normally not as happy about getting older. At least since being over 25. This bday, I thought would be especially hard because it will be my last year in my 20s and I wasn't with my family. But the Father showered me with love! from my friends and family back in Texas to my awesome friends and new family in Wuhan! I could not have been blessed with a more wonderful group of friends here. They have been such a blessing to me and I am continually blown away by the Love of my Father!

This is my Dear friend, and Chinese mother, Linda! She is also an English Teacher at my University. She and I have been friends since the second month I came. I invited her to coffee because I really wanted friends and she spoke great English and seemed really open. Well, She has been the biggest blessing in my life. I feel like she and her husband have adopted me. They are such sweet people. She and I eat lunch together almost every week and since November her husband has opened his own coffe shop, Gee Coffee:-) So I frequently stop by the shop to have coffee and visit with them. She treated me to birthday lunch on my birthday. I had to teach all morning but rode my bike to the shop right after to meet her:-) She has become one of my best friends in Wuhan.

After eating with Linda I ride to Starbucks to have a wonderful coffee date with my dear friend and neighbor Michelle. She is also a teacher here and we live right next to each other. I don't go to starbucks very ofter at all. This was only my second time since coming here. It is quite expensive so I normally go to other shops...but it is the best:-) Michelle treated me to a wonderful drink and treat! It was so much fun!!

Then, right after that, my friends Jacqueline and Rebecca took me to dinner(I know it looks like I ate and drank all day...because I did!). This is a great little place we call "the spagetti place". It is actually a chinese steak house but we always get spagetti:-) It was such a refreshing time of visiting and being my my sweet friends! I love these girls very much!!!

Then I rode my bike back to school for English Corner. Every Tuesday is English Corner and it just happened to be the last one of the year...it was so much fun! The word spread that it was my birthday and everyone sang to me. It was so special!

This is Tony, he is a dear "brother" and friend I met the first week I arrived. He came and brought me a book full of Chinese fellowship songs:-) AHHHH I was so excited to be able to learn fellowship songs in Chinese! I was able to help he and and a group of his friends with a special song to perform at their fellowship Christmas event. I was able to help the pianist with her part and teach the others some different harmonies...they were so amazing to try to learn these parts even though they weren't musical:-) The day after the even the piano player texted me to say that her parents had come. They had been very against her attending this type of thing but on that day(Christmas Eve) they believed!!!!!! Oh what an amazing Christmas for her!!!! Such an awesome Father!!!!

This is a view of English Corner... I wrote a few popular Christmas carols on the board and was allowed to teach them to the students:-) It was so much fun!!!!

This is Sunshine...He is one of my students from my sports major class. He always came to see me at English Corner. Someone told him it was my birthday so he prepared a special song to sing for me, "Yellow" by Coldplay. He doesn't speak much English at all but he sang it perfectly:-) It meant so much to me!

The weekend after my birthday, some of my closest friends gave me a surprise bday party:-) They took me in a taxi to start the day and we ended up at HORSE ISLAND!!!!!!!!! OMG....I couldn't have dreamed of a better gift. Horse Island is an island in the middle of the Yangtze River, in Wuhan that has horses to ride!!!! We arrived there and I was soooooo excited:-) In the picture beside me is Mandi, Kirk, Ryan, Jacqueline and LiPing.

It really is an island so they were waiting to take us across the river on a boat...a very small boat:-) The guys were loving the big barge in our way:-)

These girls are so amazing!!!

When we got to the island this is what we found...it looked like it should have been called "Chicken island"! There were lots more chickens than horses:-) The family that lives on the island, lives in this little place.

They made us rest and have tea first...very Chinese:-) It was so fun! I don't think my friends knew how much I liked chickens and farms until we got there. LOL, now they make fun of me...all the time:-( But apparently I am fun to make fun of:-)

We were able to ride 2 horses. So we took turns! Kirk and I went first...these were very small horses!!! But I LOVED every minute of it!!!

Horseback riding is on of my most favorite things to do...and we got to ride on an Island..in China! it was like a dream come true for this horse lovin', China lovin' girl:-)

So next they still wouldn't tell me what we were going to do...but we got in a bread van(a taxi that looks like a van) and headed off to....Dinner!!!! We went to place called "Grandma's Kitchen". It was full of amazing western food that had great MEXICAN FOOD! i can't believe how special they made this for me!

It is a very crazy tradition for my friend Nathan, but he always gets the birthday person a "special" hat. He makes them close their eyes and he puts it on...you can't look until the night is over...lol If only I had known how CRAZY the hat was that he got for me!!! When we got to dinner many friends were there to celebrate with us, and I wore this hat the whole time....The chinese ppl were looking at me VERY strange!!!! After I saw it I totally knew why!

I loved the restaurant! It was full of cowboy stuff:-) As we were leaving I asked where my dear friend Becca had gone. My friends assured me she was down stairs and we would meet her there. Well, to my surprise the birthday wasn't over....

When i walked through the doors of the mall to enter the outside, Becca was there with the music playing as told me the last birthday surprise was a country dance for me:-) I almost cried! There are not many things I love more than everything this Birthday celebration entailed...and to top it off with line dancing on the sidewalk of the mall was incredible! We had so much fin dancing the night away:-) Oh and many Chinese people had a blast watching us:-)

This is Becca:-) She made this amazing dessert and then had all of the girls to her house for an awesome sleepover:-) She is such a blessing and I am so grateful for her and her family!!!

Needless to say, this was a birthday I will NEVER forget:-) All my sweet friends have no idea what a blessing they are to me. Each one has touched my life during my time here and I am in constant amazement of how the Father provides what we need at the perfect time:-) I think 29 isn't going to be so bad after all:-)