First Off:
Hey! I hope all of you are doing well and watching all of ASU’s college football games for me, as I am definitely missing it … for some strange reason the games aren’t broadcasted over here!
In case you didn’t know, most social networks are blocked in China, and therefore it is almost impossible to post a blog. So, I figured that I would send out a little newsletter of sorts to update you guys on what is new with me. However, it looks like I will be getting blog back sooner rather than later, so go ahead and check there for stories, pictures and updates.

The Old Plan:
Well, as most of you knew, I was supposed to be living in Shenzhen, China, for the next 10 months or so, teaching English to Chinese children.
However, as most things in life continually do, things changed. The job turned out to be an entirely different job to what I had committed to before hoping on the plane...and paired with a variety of other factors, it wasn’t the job or city for me. I will no longer be living in China, instead I will be going back to Portland to soak up some time with my parents, friends, and homely comforts, before joining the Peace Corps in June.
China really is an amazing place, and I will miss the culture and the people a lot. Genuinely, if you ever get the chance, do visit, and soak up and experience all that is the Chinese way and the Chinese culture.


The New Plan:
I am sure you have all heard the expression ‘When in Rome’, well, I would like to
replace Rome with Southeast Asia. I am sure at some point when I have talked to any of you, I have mentioned my love for Southeast Asia and my desires to backpack throughout this region. Well, it seems that the time has come! “When in Southeast Asia”! Since I am heading back to America, and then it seems, heading onto Africa, I am making one last trip!
On Monday, we will head out and take the train from Shenzhen to Hanoi, Vietnam. From there, we will spend the next 5 weeks backpacking south down the coast of Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City and through the Mekong Delta and then head west to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and visit the Angkor Wat temples in Northern Cambodia, and then go to Bangkok to fly back to Shenzhen as cheaply as possible.
I am so excited for this trip...it has always been a dream of mine to trek from
Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. And, after spending the last few weeks dreaming and researching, I couldn’t be more excited to go. For all the ‘parents’ out there...we will be careful, we will be smart, we will take pictures and we will have fun, so there is no need to worry!

The Blog:
I am really hoping that I will be able to post blog updates while we are out on the road. I have no doubts that I will be learning a ton about myself and the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples and cultures, and I would love to share that on the blog...I can’t make any promises about internet cafes though! Check there if you are interested, otherwise, I am sure you will be hearing from me when I get back home! :)

Hope you are all well...much love.

Goodbye, China

China; the most populous country in the world, in which I lived in the 9th largest city, a nation with such a diverse and continuous history and landscape, and a group of people who are immense in number and endlessly entertaining. As said in Chinese, Zhongguo, China, is a country that I have had an amazing time living in and experiencing for these last six months.

It’s the last night in my apartment, and I am sitting up waiting for the last load of laundry to finish so I can head to bed. In twenty-four hours, I will be leaving China. As I think about all that has happened since I arrived in December, it seems impossible to sum up this experience in words.

I don’t think that there is one experience that would summarize all that I have learned or seen while I have been here. But, I think, walking away, I am always going to remember China by its people. A group of people that are so different than who I am, and so unique in who they are. On a typical day, I would see more people than I thought possible crowding onto a public bus, an old man walking around in pajamas for a late night run to the store, people, tons of people, out in the parks at night doing exercises, jump rope, dancing or any other activity, be invited to eat or drink with a stranger who happened to be at the restaurant I went to, or be overwhelmed by how loud the city is between people, car horns, advertisements and vendors. In the end, it is those moments and these people that I will remember most about the time I spent in China.

Although I am sad to leave the group of interns and life in Shenyang, I am excited for what lays ahead…8 days in Thailand, 2 weeks with my whole family in Portland, 10 days with amazing friends in Arizona, 10 months of home-cooked food, microwaves and dryers living with my parents in Oregon, and then another whole adventure somewhere in Africa for 27 months. The time I have spent here in Shenyang has been priceless in so many ways, and I do feel so fortunate to have come. I am sure in the next few months in Portland, I will realize all that I miss and love in Shenyang, and realize all that I have learned and the ways that I have changed after living here. It has definitely been an adventure of a lifetime.

Much love for the last time from China.

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- - Frost

An Update

I really should be sleeping because its past midnight and the beginning of a really busy next 2 weeks… but… I keep thinking in the back of my mind how much I need to blog. I haven’t written in seemingly forever, so I thought I would just check in and say hi.

These last few weeks have been filled with really busy but really fun days. We had a day off to go rafting as a group, which was cancelled due to pouring rain. Instead, we spent the day together as an intern group having a big American breakfast, going bowling, making pottery and going out to dinner. Another highlight was getting a massage and Chinese Ba Guan, which is the traditional cupping practice. The masseuse takes a glass cup, puts a flame inside for a second and then presses it on your back so that it suctions and pulls your skin up inside your back. Historically, it was used to pull all of the toxins out of your body, and the darker the marks are that are left, the more sick you are in that area. It was definitely an interesting sensation, and my back looks like it has light pink/purple polka dots. And, one other very fun night was going to the TV tower that overlooks Shenyang. The tower has awesome views of the city and a rotating restaurant. We sat and ate (mediocre) Chinese food while making a full rotation in the tower and seeing different parts of this massive city we have spent the last six months living in.

Today marked the beginning of our replacements arriving. Until Sunday, the new bunch of interns are will arrive. The next two weeks will be filled with wrapping things up in Shenyang, airport runs to pick up the newbies, training, showing them around the city, hanging out with students and saying goodbye to everyone here. It should be a really busy and chaotic, yet very fun and memorable last two weeks.

The Sum of All the Parts

[Blogger has officially been blocked in China, so, a good friend of mine is kindly posting these for me. So, these next few weeks may be slower to write than normal.]

I feel like there are so many parts, decisions, endings and beginnings happening simultaneously right now, that the mix of emotions and events seems to blend together to a neutral where you can just enjoy it all.

Endings. Five weeks from tomorrow I will be leaving China. I can’t believe how fast time has gone and how, at the same time, coming to China seems like a distant memory. The time here has truly been a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I have fallen in love with people, both Americans and Chinese, that I didn’t know before, the culture, Shenyang, and the crazy quirks that you only find in China. I know that the true ending will come in five more weeks, and it will be more than hard to say goodbye, but this season has been one that I will cherish for a long time to come.

Events. The to-do list of things to buy, see, and do, before I go seems to be growing everyday. The days lately have been filled with warm weather, celebrating lots of birthdays (the group picture is everyone celebrating Andrew’s 21st birthday), exploring different parts of the city, going on shopping trips for shorts or gifts to send home, and making American dinners to use up the seasoning packets that our parents have sent us. It has been really fun to ‘cross off’ things from the list with other friends. There are still many events to look forward to as well…this weekend we are going to the beach down of Dalian (where there is an amusement park!)! And then in June, we have an intern day trip set aside where we are planning on going rafting down a river and even more, a girls weekend trip to Benxi (said Ben-she) Water Caves and to see a different portion of the Great Wall in Dandong. Even though the time is winding down, there is lots to do and see!

Decisions. With five weeks to go, I am still looking forward to the future. Thanks to my Mom, I have gotten appointments set up to complete the Peace Corps paperwork that is waiting for me as soon as I get back to Portland. I find myself reading articles about Africa, and always just wondering, dreaming, and praying, about what that adventure and season of life will be like.

Beginnings. It seems odd that at the end of a chapter there would be a new beginning, but this wouldn’t be life if things didn’t end and begin at the same time. Since Saturday’s are by far the busiest day at Langston, and all of us interns work and finish around the same time, Josh started a new tradition of going to Daxi (said Da-she) night market to enjoy a warm night, beer and street food together. A pitcher of beer is less than $1, food on a stick is less than 20c, and all of us trying to learn a Chinese dice game is always entertaining. We had a really good time sitting out together for a few hours at the market, and am I sure this is a tradition that all of us will want to keep up until we go home.

The sum of all the parts is simply this; unforgettable and amazing.

Snapshots.

Here is the latest photo album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2476917&id=10003281&l=2567e7af19

Adventure..Changes..Peace Corps..

Earlier this week, a group of us went to the Expo Center in Shenyang. It is a large botanical garden that has many different gardens from different regions in China and different countries of the world. The gardens were cool, but that wasn't the best part! There was a large water park where there were many obstacles of how to get across the water - all with the intention of you falling in. There were rope swings, barrels, tires that sank as soon as you stepped on them, team ones where all four of us had to work together to avoid the water and many other different things. It's always fun to get out and play and be active for a day! In addition to the gardens and the water activities, there were rides. Oh, how I love rides. We went on the 'crazy train', where I was too small for the seatbelt and was tossed around in my seat the whole time. Bruises and all, Chinese rollercoasters are so fun! We were all exhausted and worn out by the end of the day, but it was definitely a really good day. A special thanks to the students who took us there and showed us around all day!

Changes. It seems there have been so many changes lately, and so many more to come in the next few weeks.

I don't know how many of you I have told, but I got nominated to a position in the Peace Corps last week. The position is business advising in a French-speaking country in Africa leaving in June of 2010. After thinking about it a lot, praying about and it talking to many people...I am going to pursue going into the Peace Corps. This is my dream job, and something I have been hoping would happen for a few years now.

This means that I will not be coming back to China to teach for another year, and leaves me with 6 more weeks in Shenyang. Even though I am so excited about the opportunity to do economic development in Africa, it seems that my 'plan' for the next few years dramatically changed...Asia to Africa. There is so much more I want to do in China, and I know these last few weeks will be filled with many more adventures with those of us here.

(Jensen, in the middle, and the guys in Dalian.) Today is Jensen's last day in China. He is heading back to the US for his graduation from Brown and to go on to medical school there (smarty pants). It is weird to think that as a group, we are beginning to go our own ways and all we did here together is starting to end. We have definitely had a ton of fun together exploring China and hanging out in Shenyang, and will definitely miss Jensen's quirky and witty comments that make us all laugh. I am sure these next few weeks will be filled with many 'lasts' but I know all of us have enjoyed the time we have had together in Shenyang.

The Philippines!

I was lucky enough to get to spend 8 nights in the Philippines and definitely enjoyed the sun, beach, and relaxing. We indulged on western culture; we are adapted to Asian culture and adding English was a huge bonus to us! It truly did feel like we were home...even though we were still in Asia!

We spent the first two nights in Manila, where we fully enjoyed western food chains for super cheap and watching a movie in the theater again! The second day, we ventured out to Splash Island, which is a water park about an hour outside of Manila. Because my Manadarin is still so limited, its hard to find out how to get to new places in China, so it was nice to be able to ask how to get to Splash Island. We had a good time riding down water slides and floating in innertubes on the lazy river!


(After laying out all day, before going out to dinner.)
Then, we headed to Cebu City...on a different island from Manila. We spent a night in the city and explored around there. There was definitely a different, smaller, feel than Manila, and it was cool to check it out. We layed out on the grass and watched a huge thunderstorm!

We then spent the next chunk of time in Moalboal and Panagsama Beach, which was about a 3 hour bus ride from Cebu City. We stayed right on the 'beach' (even though it was a very short beach and shorter than what we were used to in the US), layed out, read English magazines, drank mango shakes and relaxed. At night, the beach turned into tide pools at low tide, so we would go explore and look around at the starfish, fish and coral that was in the tide pools. It was pretty cool! During the day, I managed to get a pretty good sunburn too!

(On the river trek!)
For the next two days, we decided to be adventurous. :) My favorite day for sure was when we went on a river trek! We took some random cargo truck (at least that's what I thought it was!) out to Kawasan falls, a very popular and tourist destination. We hiked past the falls for awhile and then hoped in the water. From here, we swam out in a canyon, under the jungle and climbed up waterfalls, cliff jumped, swam till the next fall, climbed some more, and repeated the process. It was amazing! So beautiful; clear water, tons of water falls, the jungle all around, and just a beautiful view everywhere you looked. When we finished the trek, there was a huge Philippino meal waiting for us - fish, chicken, pork, potatoes and rice all cooked over a fire with a traditional Philippino sauce. Delcious. We definitely had a blast this day!

The next day, we continued the adventure, haha, and went SCUBA diving! Neither of us had been SCUBA diving before, so we did discover diving. They taught us the essentials in the shallower water of the ocean and then headed out to dive for 45 miniutes or so. It was awesome, we were on this cliff of coral to one side and then the other was just blue ocean. We dove down till around 10m and saw tons of fish, all colors and all sizes, and very different sizes and colors of coral. It was really amazing. (The view of the ocean and overlooking restaurants in Panagsama beach.)

Then, we had to head back to Cebu to fly back. We enjoyed getting to see the new release of Wolverine and eat one last American meal: pizza! It was a very relaxing, fun and memorable vacation!

Now, back to school. It is fun to be back with everyone and I am looking for Lindsey and Chelsey getting back from their travels so we can all hang out and share stories and pictures!

Here are some pictures:
Pictures from the countryside and last month or so in Shenyang:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2472280&id=10003281&l=edadffbcff
The Philippines:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2472274&id=10003281&l=7bc5b23db6