"Non"chang

Nanchang fell through. This is our day.

We also went on a walk along the road

Front Gate

Our Bbbbiiillllbooooarrrdd

Chicken and trash

This is the building I am in

Hitch Hiker

So happy to not be in the apartment

Rice 

Some student dorms

Just some trees 

More chickens

Lorry-Rory-Story

  I taught today for the first time.

6 classes of 40+ students [3rd grade and 5th grade]. I teach a total of 21 classes a week. That's a lot of repeating myself and a big gap between the next time the class sees me. 840+ students for 40 minutes once every week... Well it should be interesting to say the least. Every class had it's ups and downs but I can 'confidently' say I totally think I can do this...right?

At least I look good.

Our thoughts on the first day in facial expressions

Rain ...Rain.. Go away... I didnt pack for this on anyday!

Teacher-ed up

I deserve a medal for the best left fingernail painting job in the history of ever.

Meow

 The best news is while teaching in one of my 3rd grade classes, a bright student began to shine above the rest. SERIOUSLY this kid was as smart as the translators they have helping us at the school. At first I thought he might be a trouble maker because as the class grew a bit loud and restless he ran to the front and started yelling in Chinese. I thought he was being a class clown but by the end of his sentence all the kids were back sitting down quietly. He looked at me and smiled. He was helping me out! Now some people hate teachers pets but lemme tell you, Teachers do not! He was so helpful throughout the whole class! Translating my instructions to the class and answering all of my questions.

   I was very nervous when I learned I was not going to have an assistant/translator to help me in the classes. I imagined what it would have been like when I was 9 year old if some African had come into my class trying to tell me she loves Pizza and Cats in Swahili! I prayed that all would go well and that they could understand me and... BOOM! This KID!

 I asked the name of this little Eisenstein and smiled as he cheerfully said "My Chinese name is Lin Hao My English name is Rory."!

:D

(for those of you who don't understand this is exciting because I have a close friend named Rory who is currently serving a mission. We left on the same day.)

The sliiiight downer to this beautiful story is that he then spelled his name for me and it's actually Lorry. But still, in the moment, I was stoked .

The rest of the day was a successful-ish blur I was happy to get out of alive.

The day did wear on me and honestly I was crying with anxiety during my goodnight Skype call with the parentals. The prospect of another day of yelling my name and CATS and PIZZA to confused, cute, Chinese children was an overwhelming one. Then ... Knock Knock Knock... "class is canceled because of placement tests... we are going to the city tomorrow".
  God really does know how much I can handle. Thank heavens. The PIZZA-CATS-LIBERTEE yelling will have to wait until my next class all the way on Monday.
 I am so blessed and I wish I remembered it more. I'm not saying this is easy, but as soon as I do my part, God prepares a way for me to accomplish the things which he asks. He doesn't give me more than I can chew [though, He cuts it pretty close sometimes].
Speaking of chew... I get to go to the STORE! I don't think any human has looked forward to a a trip to the super market this much and cup-o-noodles never sounded so good.
 Nanchang... here we come!

Prison, Ponderings, ... And a word Wyatt hates.

The following post was written in frustration. I have added updates before posting.

       I used to wonder what it would be like to live in Prison... Guards at the gate, rock hard beds, cold rooms, showers are just a cave with a drain in the floor and for food they just heat up garbage and feed it to thousands. I don't wonder anymore. 

Just Kidding... its not that bad here. The food is though. It's terrible. Hairy pig ears, fish complete with fins/eyes/scales and bones, and chickens from the heads to the toes(even crunchy talons) then its rolled in oil til its soggy and cooked in a kitchen that looks like a gas station bathroom then set out to get cold and served to 6,000 people. I haven't eaten much in the cafeteria here.(no update: still gross)
  

It would all be well if I could go to a restaurant for dinner or stock up on cup-of-noodles at the store but they won't let us leave! Literally! (update: they explained that they wanted us on campus for good P.R. with the parents of the kids.)

    I imagine we will be released soon. Maybe I will get offered parole for good behavior. They told us 3 hours ago that they would come get us to teach and they still haven't.  (Update:They never came that day. The following night we got our schedules.)

 
It's a really fancy prison, but it's prison. I'm in CHINA! I wanna go explore! 

 If things don't change soon I'm bustin' out. I've seen Prison Break. I already  started my tattoos.
(Update: Obviously if I were to get a tattoo in China it would be of myself as Mulan, not a map of a school.)

UPDATE UPDATE!THIS JUST IN! As I was typing these updates I got the Newest Update. My fellow Americans ventured a great escape and were successful!  That's right ladies and gentlemen! After 5 days of being trapped on campus WE ARE FREE! (to cross the street to the store... we shall see about going into town)

The next paragraph is a new outlook on life... not really. It's just an attitude adjustment for me and my new way of seeing things.

"Please like me"

Waking up before Chantecler could call up the sun we lugged our luggage onto a bus and headed to the Airport.

We said goodbye to our hotel and parted with some friends there.

I will miss Ben and Jack1 and Jack2 and Tony. Ben was always looking out for us and even sent his 13 year old son off with us in busy HongKong to help us barter and stay safe. He was very protective and worried about all the girls in our group. He was very sweet. Thank you Ben. I would also miss Shenzhen and the wonders it brought. Mostly food, but also this wonderful memory of a man who sat in the dirt lot below our hotel for and over an hour in a suit. I'm not sure what his job title is but I aspire to be like him one day.

As we shuffled around early in the morning to the airport in Shenzhen, saying goodbye to the friends we had made that weren't going to our cities,  I couldn't help but feel like Lidsay Lohan in Parent Trap as she is riding up to meet her mother in London. My fingers were crossed as I walked around wide eyed taking in new sites and thinking over and over "Pleeeeaasseee like me".

I used my first squatter toilet.

We boarded the plane and we were OFF!

Our first 1,000 year old egg!

Ridin' in style

CHEESE! Okay it wasnt really cheese... but it was cheese-ish flavored

Thank you for permission, toothpick

The brave soul who was the first to bite the brown egg

Then we took a bus to a rather dingy part of town. A man literally stopped his car in the road to look at the first white person he had ever seen. Then they put our luggage in one car and us in another and we drove even further into the boonies. Then suddenly we were there.

THERE! HERE! The place i had been researching and finding pictures of. The place that 5 months ago I made a wild decision to spend roughly half a year at. I HAD MADE IT!....and it was COLD! I mean cold!

 I won my own room with a game similar to paper rock scissors! YAY!

 Our rooms were really gross. I found used Qtips, clay and hair behind the beds! I don't want to go into detail about the bathroom but lets just say I boiled multiple pots of hot water and poured it over everything twice before I did anything in there.

We took all of our furniture into the halls so we could clean well
I'm glad my fellow Americans are also cleanly people

This is after I had thrown away the clay and some Qtips.
ew.

I opened the window for like an"ah" beautiful sunshine moment"
and got AHHH! wasps!

To keep the feetsies warm

After sanitizing my living space I tried to cozy in for a night sleep but it was hard with just a thin sheet for a blanket in a room where I can ACTUALLY see my breath. I mean I know they can’t control the weather but they could have warned us! I would have brought a better jacket or something.Luckily, necessity is the mother of invention. I went around and shoved newspaper in the cracks under my door. Made a bag out of tin foil and filled water bottles with boiling water and put them in it.THEN I put it at the foot of my bed to keep me warm. I also slept with 3 pairs of pants on and all my shirts. This is NOT a joke. This is CHINA!

 I was feeling super pity party about it and wanting to quit
but then I met the kids.
Well played China...Well played...

I know it'll all be worth it. I want to teach and give them any and everything I can. They are all just so giddy and silly with us!We are treated like celebrities!They are so bright and eager to learn! Most of them don't speak much English but if you just say "hello" (or Herrrro) to them they will giggle for a good 5 minutes over it. Even the teachers think we are celebrities, asking for pictures with us and giggling when we talk to them. Its surreal. These children are incredible sons and daughters of God. Even though we aren't allowed to speak of religion here at all, the three kids from my group and I are trying to testify of Christ through service rather than words.

Excitment in Shenzhen

From HongKong we crossed the border to Shenzhen and I was officially in MAINLAND CHINA!

Exciting Stuff. Why this excited?
Were we looking forward to being in a room with only three girls instead of 8?

Were we looking forward to training?

Were we excited for AWESOME shower sandals that we shamelessly wore in public?

The answer to all of these questions is one simple word: YES!

 but what were we most excited for?
 BETTER FOOD. I'm talking way better!

First Dumpling Of China

There were so many! and steamed in cool bamboo bowl things!

Fried eggplant is changing our lives here!
I liked it most!

We got lost and stumbled upon the
BEST thing that ever happened to us
This place was like Panda Express except
Obviously way better.
We took a group of 14 back the next day!

Everything they brought was spicy this night
Some people hated it
More for me! YUM!

I didn't realize I loved these so much until I had swallowed them all
but there were yummy cucumbers with spicy-ness all over them

Fried Bananas with carmel
AKA: Big hot hard sweet sticky banana ballls

Ahhh Shenzhen<3 the first time I had been full in over a week. Bless you.