Random stuff...

The past couple weeks have been flying by here in Shenyang, and without me even realizing it, it is already the end of April. I am leaving on my week and a half long vacation on April 29, and will be coming back a day after my birthday (which is May 9 for those of you that do not know/remember!) I have decided to stay in China for my vacation, and will have the opportunity to visit 4 different cities. I can't wait!

In other news, Langston is turning 3 years old this year, so all of the American teachers here are planning parties for the next two weeks. Me and the new teacher, Josh (he doesn't seem like a new teacher anymore, since he fits in so well with all of us), are having a tie-dye party. The actual party is not until next week, but a couple days ago me and my roommates decided to have a practice run since we weren't sure how well the dye would turn out. So, we decided we would just dye 1 or 2 shirts, but it ended up being so fun and working out so well that we actually tie-dyed 8 pieces of clothing. Mollie and I wore our shirts to school today and the Chinese teachers were so excited about the way they looked, so we think that our party next week will be a big hit!

Besides that, things are continuing to go well here, and the weather is constantly changing. Spring has brought warm weather, rain, and a ton of wind. You never really know what you're gonna get here in Shenyang.

It was weird being here for Easter and Passover, since it is obviously not celebrated in China, but I did have the opportunity to talk to both sides of my family for both holidays. I woke up at 4:00am for Easter, but seeing and talking to my family on Skype was worth it!

I will update in a couple weeks after the parties are over and I get back from vacation, but for now, enjoy a couple pictures below!

By the way, for those that haven't noticed, I am finally on facebook. I gave in and joined after being hassled by my very good friend Katie.

I love and miss you all, and I hope everyone is doing well.


We even tie-dyed socks...


Some of our shirts...


What a fun night...

A quick update and some pics...

The last couple days in China have been full of interesting activities and good company. I am no longer sick, and the weather in Shenyang has been getting warmer and nicer every day.

About a week ago a bunch of us from Langston went to the local McDonald's near our school in the hopes of getting free food (which is all the details we were given when we were told about the opportunity). But, as it turns out, nothing is quite that simple in China. We ended up getting a tour of the entire back part of McDonald's, and actually had the opportunity to make our own breakfast sandwiches, which we later ate along with free coffee. We still don't know exactly why this experience was handed to us, but a lot of pictures were taken (both by us and the McDonald's staff), and it ended up being a very fun and interesting morning.


Chelsey, Frank, me, and Josh putting on our aprons and gloves


Jensen, Josh, me, and Chelsey taking a break from making sandwiches


This is the second time I have found myself behind a McDonald's counter in China...weird

In other news, since the weather has been so nice this past week (around 50-mid 60's!), me and my roommates have been walking to school a lot, and I have found myself spending more time outside than I have in quite a while. A couple days ago, Mollie and I had an awesome time wandering around the creepy and cool amusement park that is located right next to our apartment building. In the winter, all the rides were closed down and the place looked like something out of a little kid's nightmare, but now it's all up and running, and crowded with people all the time. It doesn't cost anything to wander around, since it's located inside a public park, but it costs money to get on the rides, which varied from the big ferris wheel that we can see from our living room window to creaky old rides which had to be built many years ago. Mollie and I decided to splurge a little (haha, splurging in China equals about 3 US dollars), and bought tacky little pictures that we painted while sitting on tiny stools surrounded by Chinese people who were also painting tacky Chinese pictures. The scenerio is a little hard to describe, but it was definitely a fun and different experience.

I have pictures of this day and our completed paintings on my camera, but I am not able to load them onto this computer right now, and hope to have them up for viewing in the next couple weeks.

Besides the awesome weather that is now overtaking our city, I have found myself eating very good food these past couple days. We had a hamburger night at our apartment about a week ago, and it ended up being a nice reminder of American food.


Sitting around the table at our apartment about to enjoy hamburgers and fries


Haha -- I'll give you one guess as to which drink I was consuming...

So now that it is officially April, I can sadly say that I am halfway through my teaching contract here at Langston. I don't even want to think about the day it's all over, because I know it will be a sad experience leaving all of this behind. Even if I come back to China, things will never be quite like they are now.

As I've said before, the students at Langston are amazing, and everything is going great here. I hope everyone back home is also doing well, and I miss you all and can't wait to see everyone when I finally make it home in November. Here are a few more random pictures below. Enjoy!


Sophia (she works at Langston), Veronica, me, and Steven


Eating ice cream while shopping with some students at the craziest and biggest underground mall in Shenyang


YAY for China