Ash: This weekend has been a dream! We had a four day vacation so of course we left our city to explore more of China! First things first, we jumped on a bus and drove to the train station for 15 minutes where we jumped on our first train. That train ride lasted about an hour and took us into Guangzhou south, there we got on a metro and rode it for about 30 minutes and got off in Guangzhou. In Guangzhou we got on our next train and that train ride was 14 hours! On our 14 hour train ride I learned just how much I hated trains. This particular train smelled like booty, cigarette smoke, body odor, squatters and of course noodles. Imagine all those smells mixed, gross right! Anyways on this long train ride they had people walking up and down for quite sometime selling snacks and fruit. Part of their snack was really big cup noodles. The best thing about that was that the train had boiling hot water dispensers so you could have yourself a nice little bowl of noodles. The seats to this train were 90 degrees. Basically they looked like a bunch of upside down capital T's lined up. They were the most uncomfortable seats. There's a bit of padding but your booty still went numb crazy fast, your lower back felt like crap and you just couldn't sleep. I slept maybe a total of an hr and a half out of 14 hrs. Let's just say it was rough and to top it all off I had to poop so dang bad that I had no other choice but to walk myself down the cigarette smoke filled walkway to the squatter. This squatter has pee sprayed everywhere, no TP and nothing to wash hands Of course when I went to the bathroom, that's when the train decided to hit a few bumps along the way. I tinkled a bit on my shoes but thankfully poop went in. Oh also the lady I was sitting next to fell asleep and fell over in me and slept on my shoulder for a good half hour and the couple in front of me kept smacking and chewing their gum like a couple of cows, my goodness gracious I thought being ran over by the train would be better than sitting another minute on the train! Our destination was to Jangjiajie where we had planned to visit the Tianmen Mountains and Avatar Mountains. After getting off the train we went straight to our first activity which was cable cars! We rode the longest cable cars up the Tianmen Mountains, it was incredible!! As green as it could get! It was clear for a while and the we hit thick fog, it was actually pretty cool, just wished it wasn't so foggy the top when we got off.
We headed back down the mountain via bus and the road was a switch back the super sharp ones like you see in pictures. That was a little rough but also crazy cool! After all of that we jumped in a taxi and headed to Wulingyuan where we checked into our hostel and finally dropped all of our stuff off. The taxi was a little car so we had 1 girl sitting in the front seat with her bag and then we had to cram 4 girls in the back with all of our stuff for an hr ish drive. We had been hauling our backpacks full of stuff around the Tianmen Mountains after a long 14 hr train ride with no sleep. Rough rough rough!! After dropping stuff off we went out for a bite to eat. The girls are not as adventurous in what they eat as I am so they went to this place that had pizza and me and one girl went to some family kitchen looking hole in the wall. OUR FOOD WAS AMAZING! We split fried rice with eggs and pork with hot peppers. Oh my gosh it was delish, and super cheap! It cost us about $2.50 each and the other girls spent about $6 each. They said their pizzas were super small and obviously frozen pizzas. They should have listened to me in the first place, serves them right.
Anyways, the next day we slept in until about 9 because you can't sleep longer than that on a wooden board. We grabbed something for breakfast and headed straight to the Avatar Mountains! We took the route that required us to hike. We thought eh no big deal we can hike a bit, the mountains are pretty what the heck let's do it! The hike turned out to be 8,000 stairs!! Oh my gosh I thought we were going to die. They were steep stairs that were never ending! The hike was very VERY pretty and you could see a lot of the Avatar Mountains until we got halfway up, then the fog started to get thick and we couldn't see anything anymore. We finally made it to the to and what did we see? McDonald's, gross but we were thankful for something to eat. At McDonald's we met some Americans. We have never been happier to see white people with hair other than dark and people who spoke English. They live in Shanghai. We talked for a bit and they gave us some good info about Beijing and Shanghai for when we go on our long vacation. They also informed us that we could have taken a bus and cable cars to the top which we didn't know about. Slightly bugged but also not. We decided we were really glad we did our 8,000 stairs (217 floors) hike! It was very pretty and an amazing experience to hike the Avatar Mountains. We did take the cable car and bus back down. By then it was dinner time so we decided that we'd go back to the little place we went to before and the girls decided that I'm smart and they'd actually listen to me.
Our 3rd day we woke up to rain. Quite a bummer but it was ok. We had to check out and had to take all of our stuff with us. We went to Jhangjiajie National Forest Park and we took a boat ride around the most beautiful lake I think I have ever seen! The only problem was that we had to hike for maybe 20 minutes in the rain with all of our stuff. Thank goodness for umbrellas but my shoes were soaked through and I was freezing cold. Our boat ride turned out to be a private tour because nobody else had been in line when we got on! We went to the next place which was a cave. The girls were really wanting to do it but it was a 2 hour hike to the cave and of course we still had all of our stuff and our shoes were soaked through. I told them that I was not going to suffer for hours all for a ave, no thank you! Turned out that it wouldn't have worked out anyways because we had to catch our 13 hr train ride back home. So we didn't do that cave, and I'm kinda really glad we didn't because that would have been miserable. Despite all of the challenges, a 13 hr train ride and being cold and wet, we don't regret anything. It was incredible to see what we saw. God's creations blow my mind away!! Oh also we saw monkeys at the base of the Avatar Mountains. They would walk right next to you, kinda freaky but super cool!
Ash: Oh and at the Tianmen Mountains we walked on a glass road clear at the top. Freaky freaky!!
Dad: What an awesome trip you had
Ash: It's unreal that I'm able to see and experience things that most people are not.
Dad: It makes me happy that you like to explore and learn about other cultures and what God has created for us. The world is an amazing creation and some of the people/cultures are too.
Ash: The only issue with it is that it makes for an expensive hobby!
Dad: That is does
Ash: I'm excited for you to experience China. It's quite the country!
Dad: I'm looking forward to it
Dad: Is your air mattress still working out?
Ash: Yes! I'm not sure how these girls can sleep on these wooden boards. 2 nights at the hostel we were at was bad enough. I woke up with a sore tail bone and sore shoulder. Very grateful for my air mattress!
Aunt Jodi: Wow Bina that's awesome. Beautiful pictures
Mum: That's way cool Ashie poo. I'm so so so glad you get to do this! Thank you for sending your news and all these photos.
Ash: I have nothing but time to share! I'm stuck on another 13 hr train ride.
Aunt Jodi: You need to bring bum wipes and hand sanitizer with you on those trips.
Ash: Oh I do, don't you worry! Too nasty not too!!
Aunt Jodi: And ear plugs so you don't have to listen to the cow people chew
Aunt Jodi: It seems like Asians make a lot of noise when they eat.
Mum: Oh ear plugs. Ash we didn't think about ear plugs for you. We can bring some. Is there anything else you wish you had? Sounds like that air mattress turned out to be a treasure!
Aunt Jodi: You can get a big pack of ear plugs at Walmart in the pharmacy area.
Dad: Ash, in the little makeup bag I got from Delta that I gave you has earplugs
Ash: Boy do they ever! They slurp their noodles like a bunch of pigs, chomp their gum like cows and smack everything else! So insanely disgusting and annoying. My gosh this trip is sure testing my patience. I was about ready to smack the couple on my first train for chewing their gum and this dude behind me chewing down on his seeds.
Ash: Does it have earplugs?! I will look. That'd be super nice to have.
Nonny: Ashie, awesome experiences! And aren't you so glad that you have adventurous parents and you've had so many opportunities to travel and explore. The ladies that I traveled with in Mexico brought TP and sanitizer everywhere. Thank you for sharing
Ash: I'm thankful for it. It's helped me be adventurous, and I love it! Yeah, I bring t issues and hand sanitizer everywhere too!
Aunt Jodi: That's too adventurous
Mum: Gross dear
Mum: But i'd eat the white one since it seems to be the white sheep of the family.
Dad: I'm at my taxi drivers house for lunch
Ash: That's a bit sketch father
Mum: added Wes and Cass
Dad: He stands at about 4ft 8" tall
Ash: It's funny looking!
Dad: It is. There was a sister that was probably 3 inches shorter than him at church. He is the Bishop in his ward and it appears to be a primary program each week with adults. He can barely look over the podium because the podiums don't go up or down. So you see from about his bottom lip to the top of his head when he's at the podium conducting.
Thursday, December 19, 2019
March 12, 2018
Ash: Sunday we woke up and got right into a bus to head to church. We were the first stop out of 4 total stops. 4 girls from my group that were coming made the bus wait for 20 minutes so that put us behind schedule and then construction all through the city trying to get to the other stops to pick up other groups. So, on top of a 3.5 hr bus ride to church we were an hour late. They did sacrament for us in the kitchen and then of course Sunday school and Relief Society.
The lessons we're talking mainly about how to live with Christ again. After church we went and got a quick ie to eat...we got a burger and fries and then headed back home with another 3.5 hour bus ride.
Monday, we started our 2nd week of teaching and we rotated the kids with the other 3/4 year old teachers so we have a completely new group of kids that we rotate within our 3 teachers. It was a little chaotic but the kids are very smart. I've had a few kids I've wanted to strangle, but I learned that a few of them don't have both parents. They have either a mom or a dad so their home situations are not always the best. After teaching I studied for my certification for about 3 hours and aced 2 quizzes. I'm pretty excited about how well I'm doing with it. We had eggs and rice for dinner which was delish and then we went out in small groups and went to this little street market they had set up earlier that day. Tons of clothes, shoes, jewelry, fruits/veggies, a little food and TONS AND TONS of people doing nails. I bought 2 shirts for $3 each and we all got a manicure for $4.70!! They're all very willing to negotiate so of course we jew them down a smidge.
Oh! The Saturday before all of this the school took us hiking! All the teachers that came showed up in skirts and nice shoes and suits and dress shoes and we showed up in shorts/yoga pants and T-shirts. Anyways, at the top of this mountain was a 10 story high temple. It was super pretty and super cool. Unfortunately they had the stairs blocked off so we couldn't go up to it. After hiking the school took us to dinner and on the menu was snake, rabbit, rat, possum, goat, cat and fish. We aren't exactly sure what we ate that night but it was some of those with a lot of rice and some veggies. The rice and veggies were good but the eat was a bit sketchy looking and gross.
When we got to the top of the mountain, EVERYONE wanted pictures of us. The picture with the red banner is of us with a random group of Chinese. The picture of us and the guy in his suit is the owners of the school. The lady is also the principal.
Mum: Ash that's all way fun news!! Keep it all coming. It sounds like things are getting a bit better. It all looks fun. Thank you for keeping us all up to date.
Ash: Things are good! I'm loving China more and more and becoming less and less homesick.
Mum: I'm so glad and sorta figured it would just take a little time. You've always enjoyed other cultures and discovering new places. I'm a bit jealous. Until you told me what was for dinner.
Ash: It's been tons of fun. Today marks two weeks which is CRAZY!! Kind of glad time is going fast.
Mum: There's a super cute guy here who really hopes time will fly.
Ash:
Mum: Yep, that's the guy!
Aunt Jodi: Does he miss my Bina too?
Mum: I asked him if he missed the heck out of Ash like I do and he said...yeah, I don't have anything to look forward to.
Aunt Jodi: Hopefully he's looking forward to Bina coming home.
Mum: Then I said maybe it's good to not have your girlfriend around so you can focus on school. He said no, he would much rather have Ash home. He's a cute kid.
Ash: Aw what a cute dud!
The lessons we're talking mainly about how to live with Christ again. After church we went and got a quick ie to eat...we got a burger and fries and then headed back home with another 3.5 hour bus ride.
Monday, we started our 2nd week of teaching and we rotated the kids with the other 3/4 year old teachers so we have a completely new group of kids that we rotate within our 3 teachers. It was a little chaotic but the kids are very smart. I've had a few kids I've wanted to strangle, but I learned that a few of them don't have both parents. They have either a mom or a dad so their home situations are not always the best. After teaching I studied for my certification for about 3 hours and aced 2 quizzes. I'm pretty excited about how well I'm doing with it. We had eggs and rice for dinner which was delish and then we went out in small groups and went to this little street market they had set up earlier that day. Tons of clothes, shoes, jewelry, fruits/veggies, a little food and TONS AND TONS of people doing nails. I bought 2 shirts for $3 each and we all got a manicure for $4.70!! They're all very willing to negotiate so of course we jew them down a smidge.
Oh! The Saturday before all of this the school took us hiking! All the teachers that came showed up in skirts and nice shoes and suits and dress shoes and we showed up in shorts/yoga pants and T-shirts. Anyways, at the top of this mountain was a 10 story high temple. It was super pretty and super cool. Unfortunately they had the stairs blocked off so we couldn't go up to it. After hiking the school took us to dinner and on the menu was snake, rabbit, rat, possum, goat, cat and fish. We aren't exactly sure what we ate that night but it was some of those with a lot of rice and some veggies. The rice and veggies were good but the eat was a bit sketchy looking and gross.
When we got to the top of the mountain, EVERYONE wanted pictures of us. The picture with the red banner is of us with a random group of Chinese. The picture of us and the guy in his suit is the owners of the school. The lady is also the principal.
Mum: Ash that's all way fun news!! Keep it all coming. It sounds like things are getting a bit better. It all looks fun. Thank you for keeping us all up to date.
Ash: Things are good! I'm loving China more and more and becoming less and less homesick.
Mum: I'm so glad and sorta figured it would just take a little time. You've always enjoyed other cultures and discovering new places. I'm a bit jealous. Until you told me what was for dinner.
Ash: It's been tons of fun. Today marks two weeks which is CRAZY!! Kind of glad time is going fast.
Mum: There's a super cute guy here who really hopes time will fly.
Ash:
Mum: Yep, that's the guy!
Aunt Jodi: Does he miss my Bina too?
Mum: I asked him if he missed the heck out of Ash like I do and he said...yeah, I don't have anything to look forward to.
Aunt Jodi: Hopefully he's looking forward to Bina coming home.
Mum: Then I said maybe it's good to not have your girlfriend around so you can focus on school. He said no, he would much rather have Ash home. He's a cute kid.
Ash: Aw what a cute dud!
Wednesday, December 18, 2019
March 5, 2018
Ash: First day of teaching was disastrous! The kids were insane. There were a few kids that were amazing and participated and the other kids were punks and went crazy and talked Chinese non stop. It's so awkward when you're trying to get them to say things or do things and they just stare at you. But oh my they are the cutest kids!
Dad: Cute
Ash: They say my name as teacha asslyn
Aunt Jodi: Sounds like what Pete called you when you guys were little.
Dad: That's close to what your brothers used to call you when they were learning your name.
Aunt Jodi: Tell them to say city sheriff. See if hey're like Koreans. Their c sounds more like sh. When I was in Korea there were a few English things the missionaries thought were funny to have them say.
Ash: I just take it as a term of endearment. OOOO I'll definitely have to try that on them, I'll record and show you how they say it.
Ash: A couple girls and I went out and explored the city a bit before and after dinner. We've seen everything from sweat shops to endless amounts of light shops. I've never seen people more confused than these people when we asked them to take our picture. I think we almost got hit by a car a dozen times, they're crazy dirvers! It's okay, we're alive.
Mum: That's cute ashie poo. Keep them coming.
Dad: All the kids look half asleep
Nonny: Cute little kids.
Dad: Looks like fun
Ash: My kids grab my hair and say "yallow yallow" it's pretty funny!
Aunt Jodi: You should play red light, green light with them.
Ash: Smart!
Nonny: That's pretty amazing that these little kids are taught respect at such a young age
Ash: It really is amazing!
Aunt Jodi: Those kids are adorable
Aunt Jodi: You should teach them the primary song once there was a snowman.
Nonny: The videos/photos are awesome. Is it starting to be less stressful/more fun?
Ash: Good idea with once there was a snowman. And no, I don't really like teaching yet, it's still pretty stressful.
Aunt Jodi: Hey Bina teach them the do as I'm doing song.
Nonny: Good idea Jodi
Aunt Jodi: I'm trying to think of all the songs we sing in primary that the kids love
Ash: Oh yeah that's an easy song. What else? We have a hard time coming up with easy sons to sing.
Aunt Jodi: You should look at the primary song book. There are lots of nonreligious songs you can sing in there. You know what else you should look at the Sunbeam lesson manual for lesson ideas and material. Most of the Sunbeam lessons have a lot of nonreligious lesson material. Like love the animals, we're thankful for water, eat healthy foods I love my family.
Dad: An you could change some of the words in some of the songs to make them nonreligious. Like "book of Buddha stories" instead of book of mormon stories. jajajaja.
Ash: Would it be easy to find objects that relate to the lessons in the manual?
Aunt Jodi: Yes indeed
Aunt Jodi When you get in the LDS gospel library the Sunbeam manual is Primary 1
Aunt Jodi: And if you have the LDS music app then you can play primary songs with music and kids singing.
Ash: I do lesson planning tomorrow so this will help a ton!
Aunt Jodi: Sing Old MacDonald had a farm and Wheels on the bus.
Ash: They say my name as teacha asslyn
Aunt Jodi: Sounds like what Pete called you when you guys were little.
Dad: That's close to what your brothers used to call you when they were learning your name.
Aunt Jodi: Tell them to say city sheriff. See if hey're like Koreans. Their c sounds more like sh. When I was in Korea there were a few English things the missionaries thought were funny to have them say.
Ash: I just take it as a term of endearment. OOOO I'll definitely have to try that on them, I'll record and show you how they say it.
Ash: A couple girls and I went out and explored the city a bit before and after dinner. We've seen everything from sweat shops to endless amounts of light shops. I've never seen people more confused than these people when we asked them to take our picture. I think we almost got hit by a car a dozen times, they're crazy dirvers! It's okay, we're alive.
Mum: That's cute ashie poo. Keep them coming.
Dad: All the kids look half asleep
Nonny: Cute little kids.
Dad: Looks like fun
Ash: My kids grab my hair and say "yallow yallow" it's pretty funny!
Aunt Jodi: You should play red light, green light with them.
Ash: Smart!
Nonny: That's pretty amazing that these little kids are taught respect at such a young age
Ash: It really is amazing!
Aunt Jodi: Those kids are adorable
Aunt Jodi: You should teach them the primary song once there was a snowman.
Nonny: The videos/photos are awesome. Is it starting to be less stressful/more fun?
Ash: Good idea with once there was a snowman. And no, I don't really like teaching yet, it's still pretty stressful.
Aunt Jodi: Hey Bina teach them the do as I'm doing song.
Nonny: Good idea Jodi
Aunt Jodi: I'm trying to think of all the songs we sing in primary that the kids love
Ash: Oh yeah that's an easy song. What else? We have a hard time coming up with easy sons to sing.
Aunt Jodi: You should look at the primary song book. There are lots of nonreligious songs you can sing in there. You know what else you should look at the Sunbeam lesson manual for lesson ideas and material. Most of the Sunbeam lessons have a lot of nonreligious lesson material. Like love the animals, we're thankful for water, eat healthy foods I love my family.
Dad: An you could change some of the words in some of the songs to make them nonreligious. Like "book of Buddha stories" instead of book of mormon stories. jajajaja.
Ash: Would it be easy to find objects that relate to the lessons in the manual?
Aunt Jodi: Yes indeed
Aunt Jodi When you get in the LDS gospel library the Sunbeam manual is Primary 1
Aunt Jodi: And if you have the LDS music app then you can play primary songs with music and kids singing.
Ash: I do lesson planning tomorrow so this will help a ton!
Aunt Jodi: Sing Old MacDonald had a farm and Wheels on the bus.
March 4, 2018
Ash: This weekend was district conference. We are a 2 hr bus ride away from Shenzhen which is where church is. We had to give a final count of how many people from our group were going for sure so they could arrange a bus with the right amount of seats and last minute the 2 girls that didn't want to go decided they did want to. So we were 2 seats short in the bus and of course me and my buddy had to sit squished between the seats on the hard floor for 2 hours. Those girls should have sat on the floor. The conference was a Saturday and Sunday deal so we stayed in a hotel nearby. It cost us each $13. We all had to share a double bed except for 1 bed had 3 girls. The beds are literally a board. Church is in a big house in a super nice neighborhood. They fed us pizza when we got there Saturday and then a chicken sandwich after the meeting which was pretty dang good. The pizza was nasty! Made it super nice that they provided the bus and food for this trip, made our $13 even better. Saturday they talked a lot about standing up for our faith. And Sunday they talked about eternal families. We had a general authority from Hong Kong in our meetings, bro and sis Funk. They were very nice just very talkative. Saturday night me and a few girls went out and explored a little corner called sea world. Super cute place. After Sunday's meeting we headed back home to plan our lessons for the first day of school tomorrow! Mine are pretty bad but I keep telling myself we only teach 2 hrs a day and they're only 3 yrs old. I'm anxious to meet the kids and nervous about teaching.
Oh we also got the most delicious Muslim noodles for lunch and dinner.
Nonny: Ash these photos are awesome! That's pretty frustrating about the crowded bus/bed, but the food looks yummy. If you ever get the chance to go to Window of the World in Shenzhen, go! We went there with uncle Ryan and it's awesome. Miniature replicas of famous places around the world...it was pretty incredible. Google it.
Aunt Jodi: What great experiences these are for you Bina. Even the frustrating stuff is good learning. I taught the 3yr olds at church last year and the 4yr olds this year. They all have the attention span of a gnat. I imagine 3-4 yr olds are similar in China and US. Use a lot of inflection in your voice, and facial expressions to keep their attention.
Ash: It's really frustrating to me that some of these girls have to get their way with a lot of things. I'm looking at it as a way to teach me patience I guess. I'll definitely have to see if there are some girls that would want to see Window of the World it sounds pretty amazing! That's what I worry about is their attention span. The parents want to see progress and 3/4 year olds just want to play. It'll be tough but I'm excited to start!
Aunt Jodi: But even when they're playing you can be teaching and then it's fun to learn We color pictures and teach while they color You could color pictures and have the say the things they're coloring. Teach through songs/music too. Our kids love playing red light/green light.
Aunt Jodi: Those other girls sound like they definitely will help you learn patience Hopefully they learn a thing or two about being considerate of others.
Ash: Yeah, they're having us talk about the features of everything we use and do. Most the girls are cool and I get along with them fine but there are just a few that act a bit stuck up. It's alright, I keep telling myself it's only 4 months.
Nonny: Really good suggestions from Aunt Jodi. Just make learning fun...when you're having a little fun with them they will learn. Even with the ladies we taught cooking to in Mexico would be ore interested in what we were teaching if it was a little fun.
Ash: We're doing activities with them but talking about every little thing. I just don't want them to get bored of something and want to mess around.
Aunt Jodi: That's when the inflection in your voice gets their attention back. If you say something really excited they're going to see what's exciting.
Nonny: If you sens that they are getting bored with something, change the activity. All of a sudden start marching around the room naming the objects in the room...window, desk, floor, hands that clap, feet that March, etc.
Ash: Good suggestions. I guess I'll have to see how tomorrow goes.
Aunt Jodi: You'll have fun but that age kid sure takes a lot of energy from you.
Ash: I'll send pics of my kids soon so you guys can see
Oh we also got the most delicious Muslim noodles for lunch and dinner.
Aunt Jodi: What great experiences these are for you Bina. Even the frustrating stuff is good learning. I taught the 3yr olds at church last year and the 4yr olds this year. They all have the attention span of a gnat. I imagine 3-4 yr olds are similar in China and US. Use a lot of inflection in your voice, and facial expressions to keep their attention.
Ash: It's really frustrating to me that some of these girls have to get their way with a lot of things. I'm looking at it as a way to teach me patience I guess. I'll definitely have to see if there are some girls that would want to see Window of the World it sounds pretty amazing! That's what I worry about is their attention span. The parents want to see progress and 3/4 year olds just want to play. It'll be tough but I'm excited to start!
Aunt Jodi: But even when they're playing you can be teaching and then it's fun to learn We color pictures and teach while they color You could color pictures and have the say the things they're coloring. Teach through songs/music too. Our kids love playing red light/green light.
Aunt Jodi: Those other girls sound like they definitely will help you learn patience Hopefully they learn a thing or two about being considerate of others.
Ash: Yeah, they're having us talk about the features of everything we use and do. Most the girls are cool and I get along with them fine but there are just a few that act a bit stuck up. It's alright, I keep telling myself it's only 4 months.
Nonny: Really good suggestions from Aunt Jodi. Just make learning fun...when you're having a little fun with them they will learn. Even with the ladies we taught cooking to in Mexico would be ore interested in what we were teaching if it was a little fun.
Ash: We're doing activities with them but talking about every little thing. I just don't want them to get bored of something and want to mess around.
Aunt Jodi: That's when the inflection in your voice gets their attention back. If you say something really excited they're going to see what's exciting.
Nonny: If you sens that they are getting bored with something, change the activity. All of a sudden start marching around the room naming the objects in the room...window, desk, floor, hands that clap, feet that March, etc.
Ash: Good suggestions. I guess I'll have to see how tomorrow goes.
Aunt Jodi: You'll have fun but that age kid sure takes a lot of energy from you.
Ash: I'll send pics of my kids soon so you guys can see
March 2, 2018
Ash: It's a really big school! So for the rest of my day it's mostly free time. Occasionally we'll have group meetings but that's like 1-2 times a week. And as far as lesson plans go it is completely up to us volunteers to come up with the lessons. So every 2 weeks I'll make a lesson plan. We don't live on the school campus, we live about 3 minutes down the street.
March 1 2018
Ash: Holy cow that jello was a pain in the butt to eat with chop sticks!
Dad: What an awesome first day you had
Mum: That's pretty cool Ash. Sounds like a fun evening.
Nonny: It's way cool! I think it's pretty exciting to discover how people throughout the world live.
Nonny: And one thing about China is they LOVE the glitter of lights and more lights. Neon everywhere.
Ash: Our coordinator told us that our city is known for its lights and the lighting business, kind of interesting.
Dad: That's cool
Dad: Did your bed hold its air all night?
Dad: When do you start teaching?
Ash: Yes it did. I slept pretty good, it's just hard for me to get used to the time difference. My body is a bit out of whack!
Ash: I start teaching next week, I think they were saying on Monday
Dad: Welcome to my life jajajajajaja
Dad: Nice to have a few days to get over jetlag
Ash: We're doing a couple training sessions today to kind of get a better feel for it instead of being thrown in.
Dad: You have to force yourself to get onto their time
Ash: Je lag is getting the best of all of us. It's a pain in the booty.
Dad: Keep yourself hydrated. That helps me get through jetlag faster.
Ash: I've been trying my best to stay hydrated.
Dad: Good
Nonny: Aunt Jodi would like to be added to the group, okey pokey???
Mum: Added Aunt Jodi
Aunt Jodi: Good thing Lou! Hi Bina!!!
Ash: Hi aunt Jodi!
Aunt Jodi: Oh my Bina. Be a good girl.
Ash: I'm sure trying to be
Dad: How was lunch today?
Ash: Lunch was gross! We had some pork and veggie mix, rice, boiled cabbage and pig bone broth.
Dad: The top left looks like cooper barf.
Dad: Nice spork you have
Ash: It tasted like it would be cooper barf. Yeah, we're required to bring our own utensils and I don't want to bring the nasty forks from our apartment.
Dad: Oh good. I'm glad you brought your own utensil
Ash: Thanks to you! Definitely came in handy.
Mum: That's pretty cool Ash. Sounds like a fun evening.
Nonny: It's way cool! I think it's pretty exciting to discover how people throughout the world live.
Nonny: And one thing about China is they LOVE the glitter of lights and more lights. Neon everywhere.
Ash: Our coordinator told us that our city is known for its lights and the lighting business, kind of interesting.
Dad: That's cool
Dad: Did your bed hold its air all night?
Dad: When do you start teaching?
Ash: Yes it did. I slept pretty good, it's just hard for me to get used to the time difference. My body is a bit out of whack!
Ash: I start teaching next week, I think they were saying on Monday
Dad: Welcome to my life jajajajajaja
Dad: Nice to have a few days to get over jetlag
Ash: We're doing a couple training sessions today to kind of get a better feel for it instead of being thrown in.
Dad: You have to force yourself to get onto their time
Ash: Je lag is getting the best of all of us. It's a pain in the booty.
Dad: Keep yourself hydrated. That helps me get through jetlag faster.
Ash: I've been trying my best to stay hydrated.
Dad: Good
Nonny: Aunt Jodi would like to be added to the group, okey pokey???
Mum: Added Aunt Jodi
Aunt Jodi: Good thing Lou! Hi Bina!!!
Ash: Hi aunt Jodi!
Aunt Jodi: Oh my Bina. Be a good girl.
Ash: I'm sure trying to be
Dad: How was lunch today?
Ash: Lunch was gross! We had some pork and veggie mix, rice, boiled cabbage and pig bone broth.
Dad: The top left looks like cooper barf.
Dad: Nice spork you have
Ash: It tasted like it would be cooper barf. Yeah, we're required to bring our own utensils and I don't want to bring the nasty forks from our apartment.
Dad: Oh good. I'm glad you brought your own utensil
Ash: Thanks to you! Definitely came in handy.
February 28, 2018
mum: Ash just put your photos here. I'll add everything to your book.
Ash: OK
Nonny: How r u doing Ash???
Ash: Had a rough morning. It hit me hard that I was on my own in China for 4 months. After hrs and hrs of traveling I got to my apartment at 1:30 this morning.
Nonny: That's not bad, Ashie..I kind of expected a little bit worse.
Ash: My group has 3 apartments. 3 girls in mine, 5 in each of the others. I took the COLDEST shower I've ever had in my entire life this morning.
Mum: Will they always be cold showers?
Ash: Yep, freezing cold showers for 4 months.
Mum: Oh man. Boil some water to pour over you.
Nonny: Pop and I had cold showers in Mexico, but for only one week. Well they'll be fast!
Dad: Dang Ash. I should have prepped you for a cold shower. I should have had you take a shower after mom and me. Instead of always having a shower first.
Nonny: Boiled lettuce or cabbage?
Ash: That's the other thing, we DON'T have a kitchen. We have a tiny little fridge. They deliver clean water to us to drink.
Ash: It was a super fast shower. A rude awakening.
Ash: It's boiled lettuce
Dad: Yummy
Nonny: So you eat all your meals at school?
Dad: The section of your tray to the left of the fork looks the best
Ash: Yeah it was surprisingly not bad. The meat was pretty good. Boiled lettuce is nasty. Part of the fee was meals included and they're provided by the school. I'll eat all my meals at the school unless I'm on vacation.
Nonny: Do you like the people in your group?
Nonny: Especially those in your apt?
Mum: Of all girls Ashie, you can do this. You're a tough girls. Positive mental messages...I can do this...I can do hard things...I'm strong, etc.
Ash: There are like 3 girls that are pretty obnoxious but other than that the girls seem pretty cool! Yes the girls in my apartment are very nice.
Nonny: That's good news. I've heard several people make very positive comments about your program. You're experiencing "cultural shock". Like your mom said, just stay positive. I think you will love the little kids once you get to start teaching.
Ash: I'm trying my very best to stay positive about everything. We just toured the school, it's pretty big.
Ash: They have the WEIRDEST things in their markets holy cow
Dad: That's what makes markets in different countries fun and interesting.
Dad: Ash, do you have an electrical outlet in your bathroom?
Ash: It is fun and definitely interesting. No, no outlet in the bathroom that I've noticed.
Dad: If you have an outlet, you can get a shower head like the one I sent in the link that when water passes through the shower head it heats the water. I used and still do use when in Brazil
Ash: I just don't think I have an outlet
Dad: Find out how far away the closest outlet is.
Dad: How far it is from the shower head
Ash: About 15 feet
Dad: Just use an extension cord
Dad: Do you have anything to heat water?
Ash: No nothing to heat water
Dad: OK
Ash: We met with the principal and her husband (they own the school too) and they invited us to their staff party. It also happens to be the 2nd to last day of their Chinese New Year so their party was a big deal. Everyone got up and performed and boy was it hilarious. Us Americans couldn't keep it together. Anyway, the first dish of the dinner came to the table and I swear all of our jaws dropped to our knees..IT HAD A FULL BLOWN CHICKEN HEAD just resting on the plate. That's when we all knew we were in trouble. After that they brought out plates and plates full of food Everyone took a vow that we would try everything we were offered during our trip so we all tried the dishes. I think I might stick to Panda Express if this is how it is. After dinner they had a drawing and I WON!! Woot Woot! I won a hot pot, they say it's for cooking soups and stuff so that's cool. Man, it still feels unreal that I'm here in China doing what I love. It's been quite the eventful day.
Ash: OK
Nonny: How r u doing Ash???
Ash: Had a rough morning. It hit me hard that I was on my own in China for 4 months. After hrs and hrs of traveling I got to my apartment at 1:30 this morning.
Ash: My group has 3 apartments. 3 girls in mine, 5 in each of the others. I took the COLDEST shower I've ever had in my entire life this morning.
Mum: Will they always be cold showers?
Ash: Yep, freezing cold showers for 4 months.
Mum: Oh man. Boil some water to pour over you.
Nonny: Pop and I had cold showers in Mexico, but for only one week. Well they'll be fast!
Dad: Dang Ash. I should have prepped you for a cold shower. I should have had you take a shower after mom and me. Instead of always having a shower first.
Nonny: Boiled lettuce or cabbage?
Ash: That's the other thing, we DON'T have a kitchen. We have a tiny little fridge. They deliver clean water to us to drink.
Ash: It was a super fast shower. A rude awakening.
Ash: It's boiled lettuce
Dad: Yummy
Nonny: So you eat all your meals at school?
Dad: The section of your tray to the left of the fork looks the best
Ash: Yeah it was surprisingly not bad. The meat was pretty good. Boiled lettuce is nasty. Part of the fee was meals included and they're provided by the school. I'll eat all my meals at the school unless I'm on vacation.
Nonny: Do you like the people in your group?
Nonny: Especially those in your apt?
Mum: Of all girls Ashie, you can do this. You're a tough girls. Positive mental messages...I can do this...I can do hard things...I'm strong, etc.
Ash: There are like 3 girls that are pretty obnoxious but other than that the girls seem pretty cool! Yes the girls in my apartment are very nice.
Nonny: That's good news. I've heard several people make very positive comments about your program. You're experiencing "cultural shock". Like your mom said, just stay positive. I think you will love the little kids once you get to start teaching.
Ash: I'm trying my very best to stay positive about everything. We just toured the school, it's pretty big.
Ash: They have the WEIRDEST things in their markets holy cow
Dad: That's what makes markets in different countries fun and interesting.
Dad: Ash, do you have an electrical outlet in your bathroom?
Ash: It is fun and definitely interesting. No, no outlet in the bathroom that I've noticed.
Dad: If you have an outlet, you can get a shower head like the one I sent in the link that when water passes through the shower head it heats the water. I used and still do use when in Brazil
Ash: I just don't think I have an outlet
Dad: Find out how far away the closest outlet is.
Dad: How far it is from the shower head
Ash: About 15 feet
Dad: Just use an extension cord
Dad: Do you have anything to heat water?
Ash: No nothing to heat water
Dad: OK
Ash: We met with the principal and her husband (they own the school too) and they invited us to their staff party. It also happens to be the 2nd to last day of their Chinese New Year so their party was a big deal. Everyone got up and performed and boy was it hilarious. Us Americans couldn't keep it together. Anyway, the first dish of the dinner came to the table and I swear all of our jaws dropped to our knees..IT HAD A FULL BLOWN CHICKEN HEAD just resting on the plate. That's when we all knew we were in trouble. After that they brought out plates and plates full of food Everyone took a vow that we would try everything we were offered during our trip so we all tried the dishes. I think I might stick to Panda Express if this is how it is. After dinner they had a drawing and I WON!! Woot Woot! I won a hot pot, they say it's for cooking soups and stuff so that's cool. Man, it still feels unreal that I'm here in China doing what I love. It's been quite the eventful day.
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