Finally Finalized

So I'm finally getting around to wrapping up this blog about my time overseas. It was such a great experience and I learned so much while I was over there and, surprisingly, when I came back. Culture shock opened my eyes in many different ways. Hopefully I will be able to post the sound recording of my China message that I gave at the chapel last week; but don't 100% expect it.

Overall, it was AMAZING. God is so good and I thank Him for my time over there and for whatever lies ahead. God bless you and thank you

I'M HOME

Back in America... (more details will eventually follow; but not now)

First Group of "Goodbye"s

Well, it has been a good while since my last post and so some of you may have given up checking to see if I have written a new one. But hopefully you will check one more time. So much has happened in so little time.

Two Saturdays ago, about 10 or 15 Chinese students came over for a really fun afternoon of playing games such as a balloon popping game, the egg toss (both of which me and my team won), a mystery food eating game, and another one that I'm having trouble recalling. After the games, we went into our friends apartment to bao jaozi, which means to make these little things with meat and stuff on the inside; not too bad, and really fun to make. One of my new friends taught me how to do it; it really is an artform. It took me forever to finally figure it out, even with her constant instruction, but by the end of the day, I could make one that looked at least presentable (below is a picture of what they look like before they're cooked; not too different looking afterwards though)

Also, I have been impressed on a few occasions by some of these students' knowledge of American slang. The same girl who taught me how to make jaozi had said earlier in the day (after I said that my team was going to win a game and that hers and my other friend's teams would lose) "In your dreams." And my friend Jack (he chose that name because he likes Jack Sparrow from Pirates) said a few days ago, something.....umm, something slang...but I can't remember what it was. Regardless, he said something slangish.

After we finished the jaozi, we got a very intense game of Uno started. Now, for those of you who have played Uno before and think it is a pretty boring game, one of our Chinese friends is the master at Uno and has a few extra rules that make the game a million times more fun, interesting, and competitive. That was so much fun.

Before this fun field day, however, I had to go teach the English class that I've been helping out with; the one for the young Chinese kids. But there was a catch, this week I had to do it alone. The problem with this is that my Chinese is obviously not the best, and it seems like its almost a vital component for a teacher to be able to speak the same language as the students, but all things considered, it went very well. I had a little trouble keeping these young minds focused, especially it being a Saturday morning when (in my opinion) kids should be running around outside. So anyway, that went well and it was even a little sad to have to tell them goodbye for the last time; they're really sweet kids.

As the 2010-2011 school year is on its way, I have been doing a lot of considering, thinking, and planning about my time at Chapel Hill. One thing that I found out was that, regardless of what foreign language I plan on taking in college (which I'm thinking Chinese), I have to take a placement test for the foreign language I took in high school; and that happens to be Spanish. Being so immersed in the Chinese language, my foreign language thinking is far from what I learned in my high school classes. After I found out that I am going to have to take a Spanish placement test, I wanted to see how much I could remember. So, I tried to remember some translations. After trying to figure out for a couple minutes how to say "1-2-3" in Spanish, I finally had to ask Danielle. "Uno-Dos-Tres"... I'm in big trouble!!!!

I saw two Chinese car wrecks a few days ago. No, I didn't see them happen; I just saw the interesting after effects of them. The first one was a car in a ditch with the back end sticking straight up in the air. There were no police cars, no crash victims, and even no onlookers anywhere around. I have no idea how it got there. The second one was when I was riding the bike back home after spending some of the afternoon with my friend Jack (who I mentioned earlier) and his girlfriend and another friend. There was a huge crowd of people in the middle of a really big intersection (and I had heard that when there is a wreck in China, in a matter of moments, a crowd will gather). So I knew that this was an example. I stopped to see what was going on. It didn't look that interesting, so I wasn't too disappointed when a policeman came up to me and said something to the effect of "you can't be here if you are on a bike." So I quickly resumed my journey back home. I just thought it was pretty interesting; I don't know.

My Chinese is starting to pick up enough to have good basic conversations. I was really happy when I had a little conversation with the man who runs the little garage where the bikes and dian dongs are parked. I see him and his wife almost everyday, and up until now, our conversations have consisted with just saying hello, thank you, and goodbye. So you can imagine my excitement when we actually talked for once... that was a good day.

Well, on Friday, I got up at the crack of 7:45, and started getting ready for a trip into the city. I said goodbye to Josh and Danielle, grabbed my backpack and guitar, and headed out the door. After a 5 or 10 minute walk to the bus stop, I was surprised to come upon a crowd of maybe 40 people waiting for transportation into the city. I was like, "oh no, how am I ever going to be able to get on a bus with all these people? they're gonna all be packed." Well, the first bus came by. It was completely packed (seats and standing area) and we sqeezed one or two people on, in a very uncomfortable-looking position. Then the second one came by, just as filled as the first. I started to wonder if there would ever be a bus with enough room for all of us... and then it happened; around the corner, like a valiant steed, came a big, beautiful double-decker bus, with a little bit of room. Everyone swarmed to the edge of the road and it was hilarious to see this group of people shuffle to the side as the bus slowed down, trying to end up in front of the door when it stopped. It was rediculous; so much pushing and shoving and yelling and trying to get in before everybody else... and some of them STILL wouldn't let me through. No I'm just kidding, but it seems that most of the people crowded around me had that exact motive. As we pushed towards the door, I saw the guy in front of me try to pickpocket the guy in front of him. He was trying to get inside of the bag on the guys back. I was like... "hmmm what am I supposed to do now? do I maybe tap the victim on the shoulder? or perhaps should I let the guy in front of me know that I saw what he was doing? or should I just stand here?" I had never seen someone trying to pickpocket anyone before, so I really wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Fortunately for me (and the guy who's bag was being messed with), the little thief couldn't get anything out. So, we just continued trying to get on the bus; and I watched my own bag even more carefully. We finally got on and for the entire hour into the city, I had to stand, trying to keep watch on my bag and guitar. As you can imagine, it got slightly boring, and so I decided to conduct an experiment about the difference between Americans and Chinese people. Now imagine that you are on a public bus and there is a guy standing behind you. And here in China, there a little handle things that hang down from the bar above. They are not incredibly stable and they swing back and forth. So imagine the guy standing behind you is pulling the handle back and letting it go, causing it to swing into the back of your head. Americans would (most likely) turn around, get mad, and be like "what are you doing?"... But Chinese people (as I discovered) do not even flinch...even after 5 or 6 times. I mean, it was enough to hurt him or anything, but still, an American probably would've gotten annoyed. Needless to say, it was a pretty fun experiment to conduct.

When I finally got into the city, I got off the bus and caught a taxi to my friend Luke's house. On the way there, we passed a playground and there was a man with his shirt off, hanging upside down from the monkey bars, doing some sort of exercise. I would've been surprised, except...it's China. I got to his house and we spent the morning and afternoon just chillin and having a good time. We went to lunch in a little Muslim restaurant near his house, which had really good food. Later that afternoon, we got a taxi to a nearby park. We found a nice spot and sat down with our guitars and began to play and sing. We had so much fun playing for the group of people that quickly gathered around. It was obvious they were just interested in us because we were foreigners singing English songs (and Luke's hair is very blonds, which made us stand out even more). But it was loads of fun. We had planned on being back at his house at 4:00, so that we could get some more stuff done before going to youth group where we were going to help lead the music. However, the first time we even looked at our clock, it was 4:45. We had really let the time get away from us and had stayed an hour longer than we planned, but it was completely worth it. We learned later that the proper term for what we were doing (contrary to what we thought is "jamming") is actually "busking." Whatever it's called, we had a lot of fun doing it.

Oh by the way, I've seen some very interesting automobiles while I've been over here; and to name a few: a crazy-looking 3-wheeled car, a dian dong che (motor bike) with a cover over top (it's hard to explain), and even a 20-wheeled truck (plus 2 spare tires on the back). Those were all from a long time ago, but I just now remembered to blog about them; so there it is.

Anyway, it was really sad going to my last International Youth Group meeting ever!! But I gotta say, it was a really good one to end on. I got to play guitar for the singing while my Australian friend led, Luke played bass, plus we had a drummer and keyboardist. It was a lot of fun (and we never used a capo; just straight up; so that was interesting). Before the singing, we played a really fun game called acid river, in which you have to find creative ways of getting across the acid river without touching it. The catch is that you have one guy on your team who can be in it. To save from going into too much detail, I'll stop there. But anyway, my last time across, I got Luke to kneel down and I was planning on jumping from his back to the other side. Little did I know that he has a slippery back. Consequently, I went flying through the air and pretty much landed on my face. It was a little embarrassing, flailing through the air in front of all the girls, but I'm sure I'll live. Anyway, that was a really fun game. Everybody was really kind to me, telling me that they've enjoyed getting to know me and that they hoped I would have a good trip back to America. I walked to shaokao (where most of the teens go to eat afterwards) with some of my friends. I was only able to stay for about 10 minutes because my ride was leaving at 11:00. Anyway, I didn't want to leave. I've really enjoyed being with all these other teens. It's incredible how nice they all are and how close I've gotten to so many of them over only a short period of time. It was no fun at all having to tell some of them goodbye.

The next day, Saturday, I went with Josh and Danielle and like 20 Chinese people (most of whom I had never met) to have a nice morning/afternoon at a lake a little over a half an hour from the apartment. It was so much fun. We cooked so much food it was unbelievable. Some of it was pretty good and some of it not so much. But I ate squid for the first time and I thought it was not bad at all (in spite of the obvious resemblance to a live squid's tentacles). I had a really fun time getting to know some of the students, throwing frisbee, playing uno, singing Chinese songs and playing some games, and just hanging out. Although it was extremely tiring, it was a great way to spend the day.

Yesterday, Sunday, was my last day of going to the International Fellowship. After the meeting finished, Josh and Danielle went home because Josh wasn't feeling very well; and I stayed in town so that I could hang out with some of my friends. I went with Luke, Rachel, Miriam, Emily, Nathan, and the Thongs (these names probably mean nothing to you; these are some of my friends) and rode the bus to a nearby eating place. We ate at the French Cafe (which was really good; I got a burger), where we enjoyed a couple hours of chatting and enjoying one another's company. After we finished, we all went for a walk through the streets, stopping in some clothing stores that the girls (and Nathan) were interested in, and going into the market to buy some vegetables for Danielle. I was having so much fun talking with them and just hanging out.... But unfortunately, the time came to say goodbye. These were the worst of them yet. These were the closest of all of my youth group friends. After I gave them all hugs and said goodbye, I walked off down the street to meet Amy so we could catch a taxi back to our apartments. After 20 minutes of being lost, going to the wrong place, and continually getting updated directions (from a store phone because my cell phone had run out of minutes), I finally got to our rendezvous spot. On the way there, I saw the place where Josh and Danielle used to live; the place where I had stayed with them on my first visit. But anyway, yeah, I hate saying goodbye.

On a lighter note, today was a blast. I went with Josh and Danielle to the Wild Animal Park. It was unbelievably cool (but I'll save those stories for the next blog...which will include pictures). But after we did that, we were joined by Grace and Amy (our friends) and we all went to dinner in a Samoan restaurant, where, oddly enough, we knew the waiter. When we got home, I left and rode the dian dong to campus (in the dark) to meet one of my Chinese friends. The reason: he wanted to give me a gift. He gave me a big, rolled up piece of paper that had really cool looking, painted Chinese characters on it. I asked him what it said and he told me that it said my name and that he hoped I would have a great time at college. It is really cool looking and I'm planning on hanging it in my dorm at UNC next semester.

Wow, this is a really long post. Props to anyone who made it all the way through. Be looking for the next post about the wild animal park; its gonna be really interesting.

Well, I better go make the most of these last couple of days here in this wonderful country of China. The idea of leaving is extremely bittersweet. America, I'm almost back!!

Only 2 Weeks 2 1/2 Days to Go... So Sad

Hmmm, where to start, where to start??...

Well maybe I'll start with a little interesting fact about one of my teachers over here. Adding to the Asian video-gamer stereotype, he recently informed me that he used to play the video game World of Warcraft at least 10 hours every single day!!! And also, he said that on some days, he would play 20 hours!!! Can you believe that? Is that not incredible?... Of course, he is now a teacher and has given it up because he now realizes that it was a complete waste of time... Anyway, I just thought that was a LOT of hours

A few days ago, I was hanging out with a little six-year-old genius. He is such a funny kid and both of his parents are brilliant and, like a lot of the American kids over here, he can speak both English and Chinese very well. Well, he and I were making paper airplanes and coming up with variations on the airplane that he and his father had invented. As he taught me how to make it, he instructed me on many different parts of real aircrafts, his favorite planes, and numerous usages of words that I did not know existed until I was at least a teenager. After we finished our final version, it was time for him to go home. As he left, he told me he was going to take our prototype back to his house where he would "work on it" and eventually make enough "aircrafts" to become his "super fleet."... He's an absolutely brilliant kid.

After he left, one of my Chinese friends taught me how to make an authentic Chinese paper airplane. It flies really well but its super complicated to make so I'll have to ask him to show me again. He said that when he was a kid, he and his friends would make paper airplanes all the time. I will never lose another airplane flying contest again; thank goodness I don't have to go through that pain anymore.

He said that another thing he grew up doing all the time was skipping rocks over the water. I was at a lake with him one day and we began skipping some rocks. I was undeniably impressed with the incredible amount of times that he somehow managed to get those smooth stones to skip across the lake. It was pretty ridiculous to say the least.

Well, next I want to list 10 things that I've noticed, seen, or found interesting during my time here in China:

#1: The Chinese men (and women) do not simply spit. They somehow manage to cough up every little bit of gunk in their throats and then spit it out on the public sidewalks. Goodness, they're so loud... and disgusting.

#2: I recently had to go across the street to the little make-shift market to buy some apples and lettuce. When I was trying to find the lettuce (which, as it ended up, there was no lettuce there at all), I met a man selling something that ALMOST looked like lettuce... and he looked exactly like a Chinese-version of Ernest T. Bass from Andy Griffith. It was really funny. Its kinda hard to explain, so this might be one of those "you had to be there."

#3: A couple weeks ago, I fell victim to a variation of the infamous Chinese Water Torture. While sitting in the bathroom, the hot water heater continued to drip - drip - drip. Oh it was horrible. Really annoying. I can't imagine how bad it would be to have the actual torture done on you...

#4: One morning, before I woke up, they cut off the electricity to the apartment complex. Unfortunately, they gave us no prior warning. That evening, while Josh and Danielle were gone somewhere, I was left alone in the pitch black with no electricity. I did not have much choice but to simply lay on the couch and wait for 9:00, which is when the power was supposed to come back on... Anyway, it was a long time in the dark

#5: One little treat that I have enjoyed twice while being here is little ice cream bar things sold in a few little stores. The good brand is "Walls" I believe, and they are fantastic. Mmhmm good

#6: Days ago, while riding while Jarred on his dian dong back to the apartments, we passed the little trash house by the street. There was nasty liquid streaming on the sidewalk beside the dumpster thing. That would not have been so disgusting if there had not been two dogs there. One of the dogs had his head on the ground, wiping it in the filthy liquid. I don't know if it was attracted to the hideous odor, or he just couldn't find regular water, but it was pretty nasty regardless.

#7: One of my new favorite Chinese foods is the dan chou fan (fried rice with egg). Oh it's so good. I can order it to go all by myself (I'm pretty excited about being able to do that; sorry). That is really good stuff... dirt cheap too.

#8: Chinese kids do not have great problem-solving skills. I help (or at least I like to think I do) with an English class for Chinese kids. It is every Saturday for an hour (after 5 days of extremely long school days, these kids spend their "free day" going to more classes. Oh how I would hate to be a Chinese kid.

#9: At the shitang (dining hall) at campus, I got something that I thought was meat, even after eating some of it. I was really surprised when I asked one of the guys I was eating with what it was, and he said toufu. Hmmm... wasn't quite as bad as I had thought... still weird, though.

#10: One thing that I really hate is when I am riding my bike and a big truck passes me and I get the horrible feeling that it is raining... really nasty water.

So anyway, last week was a good week. I got to play guitar again with my friend Luke at the youth group; so that was a lot of fun. I finally got to play some soccer; I kicked around with a team as they were warming up for their tournament game, of which I saw a portion; and I also played some pickup on another day with some college guys.

Using a nifty little ipod app, I found out some interesting things about my birthday: On the exact same day (same day; same year), John Lennon's aunt and guardian passed away. Also, December 6 was the same day Santa Claus died (or more specifically, St. Nicholas)...

I just got back from playing Mahjong, a really cool Chinese game that so many people spend hours and hours playing. It's kinda confusing but really interesting. I won the first game but lost every other one. I had a blast and I hope I get to play it again. (And just in case you were wondering, it is NOT the same Mahjong you play on the computer).

Well, I want to end this post with a conversation I had over text messages this past week. It was with a girl I met once while talking with my friend (her boyfriend) at campus. She must have gotten my number from him. I really hope he doesn't round up his friends to beat me up. (Oh and, no, those are no my typos in the following conversation. This is exactly how she wrote them...)

Girl: "Hello ,sir, Im a chinese girl. Iwant to make friends with you. Do you agree?"

Me: "Have I met you before? Or do you know one of my friends?"

Girl: "Yes,I met you in today,When we are having lunch.I know have your phone-number that not get your admit is imprudemt.Im sorry,I only want make frinds with you"

(After I gave her a slight compliment about her "great" english, she responds with:)

Girl: "...you are the first people that say my English is well ,I feel so excited..."

(Here are some more of her texts:)

Girl: "Class is over eventually,so tired. Thanks your praise just now,Please don't angry with Korea, it's me that get your number initiatively"

Girl: "Oh,your home at here?only you or and your family?how long have you in China?"

Girl: "Im sorry I asked you shortly,I remembed that American don't like somebody who asked their personal questions suddenly.I feel sad,please excuse me.Disturb you so long,Im so sorry,Having a talk next time.Thank you, have a good night"

...It was interesting to say the least.

Dali

What a fantastic weekend...

We just got back from a four day retreat/vacation in Dali, China. This beautiful city, lined with busy streets, 3 famous towers, and a beautiful lake, offered a perfect environment to enjoy walking through streets full of vendors, coffee shops, and wonderful restaurants. The weather was beautiful every single day and made it very easy for us to enjoy ourselves.

We did so many fantastic things in that short amount of time: we went on a really long group bike ride to the lake; we ate at some really great restaurants, ranging from regular Chinese dinners to good ol' American cheeseburgers to Italian lasagna and pizza; we spent several hours talking and reading in a great little coffee shop called the Black Dragon Cafe. That was one of my favorite parts of the trip; sitting in the coffee shop, either reading my book or talking about my upcoming years at UNC.

(Side note: while I have been around coffee-drinkers my entire life, I have yet to try a sip. Reason #1: I have seen many coffee addicts who apparently cannot go a day without the stuff and I am in no hurry to become one of them. Reason #2 (more importantly): I have been planning on waiting to drink it for when I start college. I know that there will be many occasions when I will need to be able to stay awake during class. When this happens, I do not want to have built up any immunity to it to where it would have any less of an impact on me than possible. However, after spending so much time sitting with these college graduates, I cannot help but be excited to have my first cup. Anyway, enough of that long, and probably boring, rabbit-trail)

Oh I had so much fun riding there and back in the "party bus," finishing off my book, having great conversations, and playing fun and intellectually-stimulating games. It was a blast.

To tell you the truth, I really did not want to come back. I enjoyed so much all of the time I spent reading in the coffee shop, walking around, and being with the people that I love and care about... Oh well, I'm still here with the same people, just with less free time.

Tomorrow I'm back into the regular routine of going to campus, meeting new people, and having Chinese language class. On Friday, I get to help my friend Luke again playing music for the youth group. I can't wait.

Anyway, that was a little bit of our trip to Dali. At the top of this blog page, there are some pictures from there. Oh, what a great weekend. Now it's time to look forward to my remaining time here, where I can't wait to see all of the surprises that are in store.

Wo De Pengyou / Bike Race / Etc.

Today was very interesting indeed. Having a special day off from class (because my teacher had some kind of interview), I decided to bike to one of the campuses where one of my new friends attends. On the way there, I was biking along, minding my own business, when two guys on a dian dong che (remember, its that electric scooter thing) pulled up beside me. They were obviously going much faster than me because I was peddling and they were speeding along by simply rotating a single wrist. Regardless, as they began to pass, they slowed down until they matched my speed, and the guy on the back smiled and said, "hello". I laughed and responded with the same common greeting; after which, they sped off out of sight.

As I neared the school, I was not positive on which street to take. I could see the school in the near distance but neither road that lay before me was headed straight for it. Realizing that I would eventually have to decide which direction to take, I turned to a guy walking by, pointed to the school, and said, "Qing wen na shi..." Before I finished my question of whether or not that was the college I was looking for, he interrupted with the name of that particular school. I then pointed in both directions and did my best to convey my current predicament. He pointed which way to go and as I began to bike off, I traded a "thank you (xia xia)" for a "you're welcome (meiyou)." Now, don't get the idea that I think that I'm fluent or anything, but I was extremely psyched to be able to have a conversation (no matter how short) with a Chinese-speaking stranger. It was pretty cool.

After reading the title of this particular blog, some of you may be wondering what "wo de pengyou" means and why it is in my title (untranslated). Well, it means "my friend(s)," and I chose this because I spent of a considerable amount of my afternoon at the campus hanging out with three Chinese friends. They met me at the gate and then led me to their sushe (dorm). When we first walked in, one of them asked me if I wanted some water. Wanting to be accepting of the Chinese generosity, I said, "Yes please." Unfortunately for me, I didn't think about that they probably did not have an extra cup. He walked over to his desk and got his personal, used, unwashed, lip-stained, drinking glass. He filled it with about a centimeter of water in order to "wash it out" and then he dumped out the water. I sat in my little chair knowing that my "Yes please" was irreversible at this point. He gave it to me, and to avoid being rude, I took a quick swallow, trying my best to allow minimal contact between my mouth and the glass. Not the best but I'm still alive. While in the dorm, we played guitar for a long time and played many many songs (including the Chinese song that I have been learning for the past couple of days, which I was very excited to play for Chinese ears).

After our little guitar concert, we went outside in the hot hot sun to play a little basketball. We shot around and talked for a long time. We eventually got tired of that so we went to a little juice shop where I drank two glasses of some fantastic grape juice for 4 quai each (like 60 cents maybe). Oh, those were so good. I also went with them to their dining hall when it was time for their early dinner (their meal times are just like our dear ol' elderly folks). And by the way, never ask a Chinese person if a food is spicy or not. They will say it is not even if it will nearly destroy the mouth of an American; and if they say that it IS spicy, even the toughest redneck in the world should proceed with caution. Needless to say, the meal was pretty spicy. Although, it was really a good meal and much better than the cafeteria at my campus. I guess spicy is not so bad...actually it's not bad at all.

Well, it was time to come home. I said my goodbyes and biked off into the sunset towards my host/hostess's humble abode. When I was only a few minutes from my destination, I came upon my favorite stretch of road that I ever get the opportunity to bike on. It is downhill, with little speed bumps and potholes scattered in different places, making it a little more like an obstacle course than a road. With the bike chain on the highest possible gears, I began peddling with much more intensity than before. I picked up speed and inhaled as I felt the wind blow on my face. I was passing dian dongs left and right. Nothing could pass me.... That is, until a little Chinese guy came whizzing by; also on a bike. As he passed, he was grinning from ear to ear and muttering something in his native tongue. Well, naturally, I took that as a challenge. I picked up speed as best I could and just smiled as I went flying by this happy little guy who thought he had gotten the better of me. I got about a 10 meter lead (hooray for the metric system) and continued looking over my shoulder to see if his constant peddling was allowing him to catch up or not. While I had to peddle as hard as I possibly could, he couldn't quite make another pass. Fortunately, I had to turn at the bottom of the hill, bringing our spontaneous race to a sudden end. As I pulled off to the side and pulled gently on my brakes, I turned my head to watch him continue on to his destination to go about his daily business. We both smiled and waved and I couldn't help but just be thankful that the often boring, 25 minute bike ride had suddenly become so memorable and enjoyable. By far, it was the most epic bike race I have ever had. Give it up for my unnamed competitor. Thanks, man

At home, as Danielle prepared our wonderful dinner, Josh and I stayed in the kitchen to have a lengthy, detailed, and helpful discussion between us three about specific concerns that I have been considering about my upcoming life at UNC. It feels so good to be able to talk about these things with people that have been there before and that I completely trust. Josh gave me a book to read that I am excited about reading: "Total Truth." I read the forward and I know that it will be an extremely beneficial read.

I was thinking about something today. I was thinking about how easy it is here to make a complete stranger smile. In America, that could take quite a bit of work, seeing that Americans you pass on the street look at you as just another person they pass. In China, however, where foreigners are few, they look at you differently... very differently. When you smile and say "hello" (in Chinese or English), it is hilarious to watch their countenance instantly change from a completely blank, yet incessant, stare to a smile reaching from ear to ear. It is so cool... That is, unless the person wasn't completely staring at you and then you smile, and then they're not sure if you smiled, and then they resort to the blank stare as they try to decide what you just did. Goodness; it is very interesting to say the least.

Anyway, that was my day. Hope you enjoyed getting to live a little part of it. Later

Happy Easter

Well, it's been a while since I wrote anything on here. Everything is starting to fall into a routine so there is not quite as much to write about. However, I do have an update on my Chinese language learning.

A few days ago, after my 3 hour class, I went to the school cafeteria and sat down with some students and began talking with them. Their English was not bad at all, but many times throughout our conversation, I would say phrases in Chinese when they didn't understand the English or when it just make it clearer. I was very surprised and encouraged with all that I could say. Now, of course, it wasn't really that much. It is only a month's-worth of learning and I know that it is exceedingly minimal in comparison to what I would need to actually carry on complete Chinese conversations and nowhere close to how much Josh, Danielle, and all of my new friends can speak; but still, it got me excited. I really enjoyed that day and was smiling the whole way home on the dian dong che.

Also, I watched "The Passion" at the International youth group on Good Friday. It was really moving and a great way to spend time thinking about that gruesome, yet wonderful, story. After it was over, I went with some of my new friends to shaokao, which is Chinese barbecue. I rode on the back of Luke's (my new good friend) dian dong, which, I got to say, is by far the coolest dian dong I have ever seen. He recently spent a few quai "pimpin' it up". It has hong kong license plates, blue lights lining it, and a double frequency car horn... It is pretty sweet.

Anyway, I had a great time hanging out with him and 5 other friends talking about college and their lives in foreign countries and watching drunk Chinese men almost get in a fight. Very interesting night.

So anyway, I'll write more later. Happy Easter!!!!

Watermelons, Etc.

If you read my brother and sister-in-law's blog (joshanddanielle.blogspot.com), then you may have already read about the watermelon truck spill. If not; yesterday morning, on the way to international fellowship, we encountered a traffic jam. After a long time of waiting, we finally made it up to the front of the line and realized the trouble. In the left lane of the highway, laying on the pavement, was the back end of a truck which had completely broken off and fallen to the ground. Following the back end were hundreds of watermelons laying all over that far lane; some crushed, some not. It was hilarious. Traffic was backed up so far because of a watermelon spill. It was by far the most interesting cause of a traffic jam that I had ever seen. (If you want to see a picture, go to the blog afore mentioned.)

After International Fellowship, we went across the street to eat a delicious Chinese meal. When we put down our chopsticks, it was time for Josh and Danielle to go run some errands before going to the airport so Danielle could catch her flight to Beijing, where she will remain for a few days.

While they did all that, I caught a taxi and went to Chicago Coffee (a nice little western coffee shop) to wait for a few hours for Josh to return. Grace and Amy (two of my new friends) were there so I talked to them for a long time about going to Chapel Hill. I'm still in shock that I'm going to be attending UNC in less than 5 months...

Anyway, when Josh got to the coffee shop and we were all ready to head home, something very interesting happened. First of all, it has not rained in this province in 7 months!!!! Thats a very long time, especially for all of the farmers who haven't been able to plant. With that in mind, listen to what happened. As we were about to walk to the car, clouds came overhead, the wind started blowing, and it began to sprinkle. When we opened the door, the bottom fell out. It was crazy. Jarred, Shelley, and Grace all said that they heard people out in the streets cheering about the rain. It was great.

Well, it's about time to start my monday. Today is the only weekday that we don't have class, so today we are going to get haircuts, maybe take a bike ride, put up smoke detectors, play a little music, study some, and who knows what. It is going to be an interesting week to say the least...

Oh I just remembered, last Friday, a guy named Luke (American who's one of my best friends over here) asked me to help him lead the music at the International Youth Group so I played guitar with him. That was really cool coming in and actually participating the second week I'm there. Luke's a really cool guy and I'm looking forward to chilling with him for the next month and a half... Ok bye for now

Center of Attention

Today was pretty interesting. I went to the cafeteria for lunch like I usually do. I got my food and looked for some friendly-looking students. I saw two guys sitting at a table and they looked like they could possibly be English-speakers, and at the very least, friendly. I began speaking with them, testing to see how well they could speak my native tongue. I found out pretty quickly that their the English was ok and that we could converse. After we finished eating, they invited me back to their dorm (this is fairly common, by the way) and so I quickly finished my meal and headed out with them. We we got to their dorm, we climbed five flights of stairs to get to their room. It had three bunk beds, a little porch, and a desk... for six students.

They offered me a stool to sit on. I sat down and continued our small talk. As we chatted, more and more guys kept coming into the room to listen. It was hilarious. They were obviously not used to talking with a white guy, and especially not having one sit in their dorm room. I was sitting on a stool with eleven Chinese students all crowded around me watching my every move. That is one of the huge differences between here and back home: they are (for the most part) very interested in foreigners.

They asked about where I lived and I drew a crude map of North Carolina in relation to the rest of America. A very popular question came up unsurprisingly, "You like NBA?" That led to a lengthy discussion about their/my favorite teams/players. We also talked about school, my very few Chinese friends, sports, and anything we could think of to talk about (in English, of course).

They were very friendly. I really enjoyed my time sitting there with the crowd of Chinese guys crowded in that small room laughing at every funny (and sometimes not that funny) thing I said. (I could really get used to this kind of crowd; you dont have to be that funny; you dont have to be that interesting; you just have to be foreign)

After that, I went to class with my laoshi (teacher) that has been in the hospital for the last week. That was fun and it was my first class with him. Now I'm finally on to the 10 hours of class a week.

Class ended and I walked over to the neighboring university where Danielle was so that I could get the dian dong che (motor scooter thing). Once that was acquired, I drove back to my campus to play some pickup basketball. Some of the guys from the dorm room were there and we played for a while. That was really fun and I really enjoyed my day.

So now I'm back home watching Spiderman 1 as I type this blog. Tomorrow will be filled with many more surprises I'm sure. I am planning on going to class from 1-4 and then heading straight into town to help my new friend Luke lead the singing at the International youth group. He is such a cool guy and I really enjoy playing with him. Anyway, that was my day today and my plans for tomorrow. Catcha later

Well here it is... finally. The Beijing video. It's pretty long so only the hardcore will make it all the way through... but you may be quizzed on it so you may want to pay attention...

Sick Monday

Woke up this morning kinda blue... To be more specific, I was sick. I spent my entire morning going through the effects that these kinds of sickness have on people (I'll spare you the details). It is now mid afternoon and I'm finally up and about, only feeling slightly dizzy and sickly. Tonight: we'll eat hamburgers (really testing my healing stomach) with Jarred and Shelley and then we'll all watch a movie or something. I'm pretty excited because I'm sick and tired (pun intended) of sitting around all day. Company is just what I need.

Anyway, I hope I'll be back out tomorrow as I have class and stuff.

I still don't know why I got sick though. Maybe the wind blew on my feet last night; or perhaps I walked on a cold floor without slippers; or it could be that I mixed bottled water with boiled water. If you are thinking that these reasons are impossible to be the cause, just ask the Chinese. These are legit "reasons" for getting sick that Josh told me about; at least they're legit reasons in the Chinese point of view.

Chapel Hill and My Saturday

Busy busy busy... So much stuff (as usual) has happened since my last blog. First of all, I was informed that I am going to be singing the National Anthem at the Greensboro Grasshoppers game this summer on July 7th. The game is at 12:30, just in case anybody wants to come.

Well then comes along a crazy Saturday. In the morning, I went with Josh to teach an English class for Chinese kids. He did most of it this week, but for the Saturdays remaining in my trip, I will be the primary teacher... Kinda scary, but hopefully it will all work out; they know an incredible amount of English vocabulary, so that will help.

Then I went with Josh to campus where, after eating lunch, I played some pickup basketball and a little tennis. It was fun, but I learned something about Chinese pickup sports: they never quit!!! After what seemed like 2 hours of playing 3 on 3 basketball in the blazing hot sun, I was in desperate need of water and rest. However, they didn't speak much English at all and of course, my Chinese is no better. So that meant I had to keep playing until this "endless game" ended. Finally, we kinda stopped for water and some of the guys grabbed their stuff, so I took off to the tennis courts where Josh was hitting around with three other guys. By this time, I had a pretty annoying headache. After a while, Josh wanted a break so we traded his racket for my resting time and I played a little tennis. Chinese students also apparently never get tired of playing tennis... even in the hot sun. With my headache growing steadily worse, I really wanted to take a break and sit down. I ran through all of the Chinese words that I have learned so far, trying to figure out something to say to tell them that I wanted to rest. Finally, I figured out how to say "I am tired" in Chinese. I said it and one of the guys told me to rest, so I gratefully sat down and drank the pepsi he had bought for me (unfortunately, he had no water).

After a long time of being at campus, it was finally time to go home. Josh and I got to the car and drove back to the apartment. We got there and when we were halfway up the stairs, Josh said he forgot something in the car. I went back to get it, came back up the stairs, and was ready to unlock to the door. However, before I did so, I notice an envelope taped to the door that said "Joe, open this before you come inside"... As I opened it, I wondered if it was my "you have not been accepted to Chapel Hill" letter; but then I thought, Josh and Danielle wouldn't be cruel enough to make me open that outside. I unfolded the paper and noticed the old well picture that is on the top of the UNC letters. I think my heart skipped a beat when I glanced down to the first line of the letter; I saw "It gives me great pleasure to offer you admission..." I couldn't believe it. I remember saying "Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness," as I unlocked the door.

When I opened it, Josh, Danielle, and six of our friends were standing there in a line and busted out in the UNC fight song. It was such a great surprise and I really appreciated it. I was so in shock. After they finished singing, they all congratulated me. It was then that I realized how shocked I was; I hadn't even noticed all of the decoration. There was a huge UNC flag hanging from the ceiling, the table was covered in a UNC table cloth, there were UNC plates, UNC napkins, and a UNC cake; not to mention some of the UNC grads there were wearing UNC shirts. It was really cool... Very UNC concentrated for sure!!!

After I got over the initial shock of being accepted to THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL, we went to dinner with some of Josh and Danielle's friends. We had so much fun. The dinner conversation was very interesting: we talked about the earthquake that had happened that day (apparently there was a very small earthquake in that city that day. Unfortunately, I didn't have the pleasure of feeling it. Oh well, maybe the next one). We also talked about hilarious things that these two couples have noticed/experienced during their time in China. Oh those stories were hysterical.

So anyway, that was my Saturday. Mmhmm it was incredible. I really appreciated, enjoyed, and am thankful for that day

For all of you music lovers, I recorded a short little song as a test for the video camera. Videos of actual China things will come soon, but for now, this is all I got. Videos of interesting Chinese things, such as the market and life in the Middle Country, will be coming soon. Enjoy

Wo De Laoshi (my teacher) is Sick

Good morning everybody. Well, my teacher called this morning and said that he is still sick and cannot teach me yet again (yesterday was supposed to be my first class with him but he was sick then too). He said that he has a fever and thus cannot teach. So now I must wait until tomorrow when I can sit under the teaching of my other teacher, the same one from Tuesday.

Oh wait... I just had an epiphany of sorts. I had been planning on going to campus early to eat lunch before class. After that, I was going to play some pickup basketball with students out there and hopefully make a few English-speaking friends. However, this may all change seeing that my teacher was suddenly overtaken by this horrible disease of a fever. Hmmm I will have to ask Josh and Danielle about this. Perhaps I will just go to eat and play basketball, or perhaps I will hang around here.

There are a lot of things here that need to be done. I need to study more of the Chinese that I learned on Tuesday. I was practicing yesterday with Danielle and I can put together some simple phrases (grammatically-correct, even). I was talking to an English-speaking student yesterday and I would throw in a Chinese word or phrase in the conversation every chance I could. I was pretty proud of myself. I also could go running around the lake which I described in a previous post. Plus, I was also planning on going to Jarred's tonight to pump a little iron (It's tough to keep up with all of these Chinese jocks around, you know?). If not all of that, I need to figure out my video camera, tune the violin that was lent to me for my stay, and........................

Well that was an adventure. Many things just happened in between the writing of these two paragraphs... First, my parents called on skype from America, so I talked with them for a while. Halfway through the conversation, the phone rings (FYI: this phone rings when someone at the gate of the apartment building wants to be let in)... (and by the way, I am home alone, because Josh and Danielle are still at the police station). So I told my parents to hang on a minute while I go see who it is. This conversation then takes place:

Me: "Hello?"

Them: "Please open door" (in a Chinese accent)

Me: "Who is this?"

Them: (Chinese words)

Me: "I dont speak Chinese..."

Them: (More Chinese words)

Me: "Hang on. Let me go ask my brother" (I said this knowing that they obviously had no idea what I was talking about).

I then walked away from the phone, leaving these unknown Chinese people outside with hopes that they will go away and not come in to beat me up. I then told my parents that people wanted to get in and then I called Josh... No answer. Danielle, thank goodness, picked up her phone and told me what to do. So I went back over, pushed the button to open the gate, opened the apartment door, and waited as they slowly climbed the three flights of steps to where I stood. The ominous echoes of the steps of the four pairs of feet rung through the stairwell. When they got to the door, I noticed that they were younger than me and were wearing very nice business suits. I handed the phone to the guy and let Danielle talk to them in Chinese. When they hung up, they gave the phone back, said goodbye, and I shut the door.

I walked back to the computer where my parents were waiting for my return. Unfortunately, my microphone started messing up. Apparently, all that they could hear on their end was the noises of the microphone moving around and me yelling "Mom!!" (I yelled "Mom" just so they could hear me, but it came across to her as a cry for help). They had a webcam so I could see them freaking out, thinking that their son was being beaten by Chinese government officials on the other side of the world; and I had no way of telling them otherwise. FINALLY, I got through to them by just typing my messages to them. So, we're all good. But it was pretty funny; that whole situation.

So anyway, Josh and Danielle just got back so Im gonna go eat my breakfast and get started on my day. So long from across the world...

Dian Dong Che Pictures

So Danielle took a couple pictures yesterday when we were riding on the dian dong che... My mom and sister wanted me to put up pictures, so here they are: (Sorry to everybody else who could care less).

Wo de gege Song Jie (my big brother Josh)

Settling In

Well, here we go.

I left off last time with me about to enter Josh and Danielle's apartment for the first time. I can now say, as I sit here in their living room, that I absolutely love their living quarters. Everything about it; my room, the open kitchen, the living room with the cool red couches, the three short flights of steps to get inside (their last apartment was five), and pretty much everything about it I love so much. On Monday, I went running with Danielle around a gorgeous lake right near their house. It is a fantastic run, starting only like 30 meters from their apartment, going across the street, down some steps, around the lake (which is surrounded by a beautiful park with flowers, different paths, and just sheer peacefulness) twice, back up the steps, back across the street, and back to their apartment. All of this totals about 5 kilometers, and I cannot wait to start running it regularly. It is such a nice place to stay.

I had my first language class yesterday, which completely got me so psyched to study and to keep learning. I love the language so much and I can't wait until I can pick up some phrases here and there. I am really looking forward to these next several weeks of intense study and slow progress.

I went to the market yesterday with Danielle to get some chicken and some fresh vegetables for a week's-worth of dinners. The market is one of the most interesting things about life over here (at least in my opinion). As we walked through, Danielle picked out fresh vegetables, we saw meat hanging out all over the place, and even (skip this if you are squeamish) saw dead goats hanging up for all to see. The dirt floors, the money being exchanged with the same uncovered hands that handle the food, and just the sheer feeling of being in a Chinese market all work together to make this trip one of extreme excitement. I got all of it on video (including me eating some nasty meat in the "never gonna happen" section, as Danielle calls it), but unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out how to get it "edit"able. Hopefully Josh will figure it out soon so I can blog it for your viewing pleasure.

I just now got back from a campus where I ate lunch with Josh and another guy and where I met one of my first English-speaking Chinese friends. He is a really nice guy and I am looking forward to chilling with him some in the near future.

Well, thats most of what has happened to me since I've gotten "home" (for 2 months). I am so excited about the rest of the week and hopefully I'll have more time to blog more consistently (with videos if Josh can get it working and maybe some pictures). But for now, this is all I have. So long for now from the Middle Country. Zaijian

Beijing

Words cannot express what I am feeling as I begin this post. Do you realize how many things have happened to me since four days ago when I boarded the plane back home? I feels like weeks have gone by, with so much stuff happening that it would be virtually impossible to type it all. With this in mind, I will do my best to give only the highlights.

After a great flight to Newark, my patience was tested when my four hour layover was extended by a couple hours for major aircraft malfunctions. Time did pass quicker, however, because I met a few new friends (who would be on the same flight as me) who made the wait a little more enjoyable. After the long, arduous journey of 14 hours, I arrived safely in beautiful Beijing.

The next few days were spent with my brother Josh and two of his/my friends and some other people. The Great Wall (including the extremely fun ride down from it on the "toboggan" or something like that), the Olympic Village, a park overlooking the Forbidden City, and the amazing Chinese Acrobats offered a fantastic start to my 2 month trip. The pearl market the next day was loads of fun. Listening to Josh bargain is a show in itself. The tactics, demeanor, and not to mention the foreign language that he uses are simply incredible to watch as he goes to work to make sure we don't get ripped off. It was a fantastic weekend.

As our time in Beijing expired, the time came to move on to Josh and Danielle's city. We flew on an airline that I believe has been affectionately nicknamed "China Death" or something to that effect. Anyway, disproving the nickname, we arrived safely into much warmer weather (almost hot) and set out to get settled into my new temporary home. I was so excited to see the inside as we walked up the three flights of stairs to the door of their apartment. I couldn't wait to get inside.........

And So It Begins...

Well it's about that time. In two days, I will be leaving dark and early (around 4:15 am) for the airport where I will begin my lengthy excursion over many miles of land and water to stay with my beloved brother and sister-in-law. For those of you who plan on "following" me there (and those who just will make occasional check-ups), I will write updates over the next several weeks about my daily life across the water. Don't expect the laughs, tears, and excitement that you get from my older siblings' blog; but maybe they can give me a few tips when I get there...

I am getting more and more excited as each day passes. The anticipation, mixed with the long to-do list, is enough to make me wish I was already there. But I guess that that would take out half the fun of going; so that leaves me where I am now... Packing and preparing for this incredible time I'm about to have.

So... check back on my blog occasionally; read it often; or if you want to get crazy, you can bookmark it.

Well, that's all for now. See you on the other side of the world.