Beach Bound!

We are leaving for the beach today! I'm packed and ready to go. I am going to the sports store to see if I can get a mask and snorkel. YEAHA.

IST (In Service Training) was okay. It wasn't as bad as I anticipated. I had fun rooming with Jeesun. We are both SO EXCITED for vacation! I went out Thursday and Friday night. Good times with good people.

I hope to take some pictures during this vacation.

Sunshine, beach, seafood...HERE I COME!

1 Week Down, 1 to Go

This past week was spent at a fancy hotel, just down the street from my apartment. I forgot how fabulous central heating is! (My school informed me that my bill DOUBLED in December...whoops.) By staying at the hotel, I am enjoying the heat and saving my school money. IST is 2 weeks. It was fun catching up with everybody. I haven't sat in meetings from 8:30-5:15 in a LONG time. The TEFL guy was superb. I learned more in 3 days with him then I did for all of PST.
Funny/embarrassing story: On Monday, our keynote speaker was Anthony Kuhn. He is a fabulous speaker. I thoroughly enjoyed his speech and truly appreciate him coming from Bejing to speak to us and answer our questions. When he was finished, he was talking to some PC staff. I waited until he was alone (I didn't want to interrupt). I shook his hand and thanked him for coming. He then said to me, "Thank YOU for coming." I was not thinking and what did I immediately say?! "I didn't have a choice." He then sort of shrugged his shoulders. Whoops.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4458700

I have one more week of training, then a few days to relax, and then I'm outta here! I'm going to Hainan (Chinese island south of mainland China). I'm bringing 6 books, swimsuit and sunglasses, and I will be parked at the beach for 10 days.

“Tears are words the heart can't express”

Last week was my first week of vacation. I drank a fabulous Dr. Pepper with my spaghetti dinner when my grades where submitted (little did I know that there were "corrections" that needed to be made).

I also joined a gym with Andrew and went ALL last week. I let myself go in college, and I'm trying to get myself back. I have to remember that progress is slow. I didn't gain all my college weight in a day...it won't come off in a day either. (It also appears from my picture that I need to work on portion sizes?!)

And, I'm able to read again! :) YES!

Last Friday night, I went out to eat to celebrate 2 volunteers' birthdays. Dinner was terrific. We went to a reggae bar afterwards. My favorite part was the random dogs that were hanging out.

When I returned home, I spoke to my dad. If you know me, you know that I'm basically obsessed with my (our/family) dog. To make a long story short, I thought that my dog was going to die over the weekend. I haven't cried like that in a long time. I cried myself to sleep. I am happy to report that she is doing just fine. However, it really hit home that she may not be alive when I return from China. This also saddens me. I remain thankful that she made it home. I remain thankful that she has been such an amazing friend and family member for the past 13 years. I always thought I would fall apart when she passes. And I might. But, I might just be stronger than I think.

Twenty Ten

Happy New Year's! 2010!!!

It's Saturday! I'm done with exams! I'm almost done grading exams! :) What a fabulous weekend!

I missed the party of the year (NYE), but I'm really okay with that. I really needed to chilax after a week of giving/grading exams.

I visited my home stay mom and dad for lunch yesterday. It's about 20 km away, and it took me 2 hours. Traffic was terrible! We had chicken pot for lunch. Instead of hot pot or duck pot, we had chicken pot. On my way to their house, I'm not joking.....I SAW A CAMEL!!! I got so excited! I haven't seen a camel since Mali!!! I don't know the word for camel in Chinese, and my charades was hilarious and then my "baba" said it! I was like "DUI!!!!" (Correct!) My mom really likes chicken feet. I was like, I thought chickens have 2 feet. My mom ate both the feet and then her friend ate one. I was like, "?" My dad was like, "no. chickens have 4 feet." I was like "really? no...." It turns out, they bought 2 chickens. My friends and I are so cheap, we only buy 1 at a time. Anyway, I kept everyone laughing at lunch (and not even on purpose.) After lunch, we walked around, and sure enough, we all saw the camel. A kid was on it, and his mom was taking his picture. Other highlights from my trip include: a dog wearing a penguin sweater and a dog wearing a pink hooded sweater with bunny ears on the hood. Where's my camera when I need it?!