Yes, yes I know- it's been forever! But in my defense, this country that I am currently living in has tried its darndest to keep me off of my blog and out of touch with all of you. No, I have not outsmarted said country; I have paid someone else to do that. So here I am- where to begin?? I honestly have no idea. In some ways, it would just be easier to back off of the blog, but I watched "Julie & Julia" the other night and was inspired to get back to it. Cheesy, but true. Great movie, by the way- I recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.
So yeah- it's my second year in China, back in good ol' Langfang. So much has changed, so much is still the same. New teammates, new students, new subjects to teach, but same apartment, same restaurants, same Father over it all. It's been a great start to the year for sure, and as always, China is delivering on the fun/strange/adventurous stories. I have deemed this year "the year of the animals". They seem to be everywhere these days- some good and some bad. There are 2 pet ducks on our street, along with a bunny and a giant cricket (though he's been gone since the weather turned cold). A new batch of kittens was stranded on the roof behind our apartments recently, and I have had 2 housemates of the animal kind. The first was a tiny lizard in my kitchen sink, and the second was a MUCH less welcome guest: a mouse. The story is long and spans almost the entire semester so far, but suffice it to say that he was eating the garbage out of the can under my sink and chewing his way through my washer drainage hose. I naturally did not appreciate what he was doing, so I fed him peanut butter attached to an industrial sized mouse trap. Good thing, because he was also industrial sized. GROSS. But at least I have now solved the mystery of the footprints that greeted me in my apartment when I returned in August...
I could go on and on, but I think I'll let some pictures do the talking now.
I ran and finished the 9K race in the Beijing Marathon on October 18 with my Baoding teammate Kerry. We met our two goals: no stopping and finishing in less than 1 hour! Our time- 59:45! It was such a great experience, I'm thinking that a half-marathon could be in my future...
Guess who? It's Flat Shamblee!! I was gone on a trip and my teammates decided that they just couldn't live without me. So they drew me up and took me around China with them. I came home to pictures of myself doing all kinds of fun things. I love my team! :)
One of the biggest surprises of the year so far: a freak snowstorm that dumped over 2 inches on November 1! It was the strangest sight- green leaves and white snow- and it brought winter here in a hurry. Though it was an extra special treat- I don't think I've ever had it snow on my birthday before!
And speaking of birthdays, can we talk about these awesome cakes??? Almost too beautiful to eat...almost. Did I mention how much I love my teammates?? :)
My birthday was also a great time of celebration with some of my closest Chinese friends. My great friend and sister DanDan (second from the left) rode the train for 7 hours from grad school just to visit for the weekend. We partied it up at KTV (Chinese karaoke) and had a great time singing, laughing, and sharing No Bake Cherry Cheesecake (thanks, Mom!)
So yeah- it's my second year in China, back in good ol' Langfang. So much has changed, so much is still the same. New teammates, new students, new subjects to teach, but same apartment, same restaurants, same Father over it all. It's been a great start to the year for sure, and as always, China is delivering on the fun/strange/adventurous stories. I have deemed this year "the year of the animals". They seem to be everywhere these days- some good and some bad. There are 2 pet ducks on our street, along with a bunny and a giant cricket (though he's been gone since the weather turned cold). A new batch of kittens was stranded on the roof behind our apartments recently, and I have had 2 housemates of the animal kind. The first was a tiny lizard in my kitchen sink, and the second was a MUCH less welcome guest: a mouse. The story is long and spans almost the entire semester so far, but suffice it to say that he was eating the garbage out of the can under my sink and chewing his way through my washer drainage hose. I naturally did not appreciate what he was doing, so I fed him peanut butter attached to an industrial sized mouse trap. Good thing, because he was also industrial sized. GROSS. But at least I have now solved the mystery of the footprints that greeted me in my apartment when I returned in August...
I could go on and on, but I think I'll let some pictures do the talking now.
I ran and finished the 9K race in the Beijing Marathon on October 18 with my Baoding teammate Kerry. We met our two goals: no stopping and finishing in less than 1 hour! Our time- 59:45! It was such a great experience, I'm thinking that a half-marathon could be in my future...
Guess who? It's Flat Shamblee!! I was gone on a trip and my teammates decided that they just couldn't live without me. So they drew me up and took me around China with them. I came home to pictures of myself doing all kinds of fun things. I love my team! :)
One of the biggest surprises of the year so far: a freak snowstorm that dumped over 2 inches on November 1! It was the strangest sight- green leaves and white snow- and it brought winter here in a hurry. Though it was an extra special treat- I don't think I've ever had it snow on my birthday before!
And speaking of birthdays, can we talk about these awesome cakes??? Almost too beautiful to eat...almost. Did I mention how much I love my teammates?? :)
My birthday was also a great time of celebration with some of my closest Chinese friends. My great friend and sister DanDan (second from the left) rode the train for 7 hours from grad school just to visit for the weekend. We partied it up at KTV (Chinese karaoke) and had a great time singing, laughing, and sharing No Bake Cherry Cheesecake (thanks, Mom!)Apparently I've reached the limit on picture uploads. More later!
No comments:
Post a Comment