Blog, Interrupted...

So, the craziness of my life/this semester, coupled with my tendency to procrastinate (still alive and well after WLC, sadly), has made me QUITE behind on this blog, especially as far as adventures I've had in Wuhan the past 2 1/2 months! So, please enjoy these snippets and updates from the middle of February until the end of April, in Wuhan:

With...another teacher? I actually don't think this lady teaches at my school, but I know she drives the little shuttle bus for some students, and mostly hangs out in our office and reads/watches movies all day :p

*Three new friends have started coming pretty consistently to our studies: Gen, Christina, and especially Stephanie. Gen & Stephanie are cousins, Christina is Gen's workmate, and they all speak English very very well! Christina's a "sister" with us already, and Stephanie is diving into everything with so much interest and enthusiasm, even though she and Gen had never studied before. Those two treated Kelsey and I to sushi and KTV back in February, and we got to know each other more...Stephanie LOVES going to KTV, so we've done a lot of that with her this semester, and just lots of hanging out in general. On a recent walk, she told me that she used to feel much more concerned about the future, but since becoming friends with our group, she feels more at peace with her life. HE has given me (and others) the chance to share that Chr*st is what gets me through hardships, and that belonging to HIS family is a great thing!

Out for crawfish (do-it-yourself dining) with Angela, Kelsey, Becca (an FoC friend visiting from Beijing), Hilary (also from Beijing), Andrea, Stephanie, and myself.

*One day in March, Brian suggested a game night at Kelsey and my place-- we had about six friends over, most of whom don't come to our studies. It was a nice ice-breaker that will hopefully lead to getting closer to these new friends in the future. My friend Nancy, who I met on the bus and chat with regularly on QQ, joined Brian, Jolie, and I for dinner beforehand, and thoroughly enjoyed "Apples to Apples Junior," but was more excited about learning new vocabulary words than winning the game or laughing at the goofy combinations :)

Enjoy the first truly gorgeous day in Wuhan this year, with the old roomie Andrea, some yummy milk tea, and a stroll through Zhong Shan Park.

*As usual, there doesn't seem to be a quick way to communicate with my school, or my recruiter...after much texting and calling back and forth with Kevin, he finally texted me with some valuable information. Knowing he's pretty excellent at English, and has plenty of foreign contacts, I texted him back: "Thanks Kevin, you rock!" He wrote back..."Rock?" So, I got to teach some new English slang that day. Maybe you had to be there, but it sure made Kelsey and I laugh a lot.

One of Wuhan's biggest claims to fame: Springtime's briefly blooming cherry trees.

*Andrea and I got together with our good friend Laetitia back in February, and were introduced to Eliza, an old schoolmate of hers who recently moved back to Wuhan. We spent a fun night walking around together, getting coffee, and talking about life. Eliza has been coming to studies, and is now reading the B*ble for her first time :)

Posing with "mei hua," (beautiful flowers) at Wuhan's agricultural university. In English, these are called "rape," so I obviously prefer calling them by their Chinese name.

*To demonstrate how busy life can get here sometimes, here is a pretty typical week for me, one that I had in the beginning of April:

E@ster Sunday: two ch*rch services, breakfast and lunch at ch*rch, out for beer with American friends, grilling out with most of our Hankou group and playing video games for dinner.

Monday: Teaching at school from 8-5, B*ble Study from 7-9.

Tuesday: Teaching until 5, having tea with my friend Yulia, going to see Titanic 3d with Stephanie and Kelsey. Wednesday: Women's B*ble Study and dyeing E@ster eggs.

Thursday:  Teach in the morning, travel to Hanyang for thai food with Becky, long bus ride and walk through the rain to Wuchang for dinner together with visiting p@stors from all over China. Return home for the tail-end of Aaron and Andrea's Study.

Friday:  Teach in the morning, out for lunch with Stephanie and her boyfriend (in town visiting), over to our friend Ivy's house for dinner...she cooked a gigantic Chinese feast!

Saturday: Played pool with a group of friends, walked around Zhong Shan park twice with two different groups, met up with Andrea and an old student of hers.

Sunday: Went to ch*rch, along with my friend Sophia, good one-on-one with Sophia, injection and hair-washing

Enjoying the cherry blossoms with Chinese-boy Jess, his friend, and American-girl Jess :)

Andrea had the idea of starting up a women's B*ble study second semester, and it's been going very well! Attendance varies somewhat week-to-week, but we have our core group of about 6 regular attendees, mostly close friends of ours. We meet every Wednesday night, have lots of girl talk, and also do topical studies...we've discussed the basic message of the B*ble, E@ster, and marriage & family (this most recent topic is 2 weeks in progress and will probably take longer, haha). Sometimes we just have "bonding nights" of KTV or movie-watching, making sure our friends know that we genuinely love and enjoy spending time with them, not just as "prospects," but as wonderful people! It's a really great environment for the girls, some of whom don't feel comfortable opening up or asking questions during a more typical Study.

A lovely yoga workout session with Kelsey and Andrea--we may or may not have stopped halfway through, in favor of watching Hannah Montana instead ;)

*On Good Friday, we headed to our central w*rship location for a service...I have to confess, my heart wasn't really in it. The tenebrae service back in the U.S. is always one of my favorites, and while I knew it was great that ch*rch would be all in Chinese for our friends, I knew I wouldn't walk away with as much as an English service. But, HE blessed it...first of all, by helping me to understand at least enough of the B*ble readings to know what section of Scr*pture was being discussed. And, to my surprise and delight, two of my friends came to ch*rch, for the first time! One was Jess, a Chinese guy who's come regularly to our Monday night studies...Jessica (an FoC friend) and I met him on the train last year, and while it's amazing that he comes and asks questions eagerly during study, we think he's mostly attending for the English practice. So, to see him come to a Chinese ch*rch service was very encouraging! The second friend who came was Gavin, a really cool guy Andrea and I met way back in August 2010, our first week in Wuhan. We've kept in touch and hung out occasionally, but I hadn't seen him since Halloween. But, he made friends with Ivy, a faithful member of our Group, and she invited him! Getting to see those two friends there, and knowing that our Chinese friends are making connections and inviting others to attend makes me feel better about my decision NOT to come back here, at least not next year...knowing that this is becoming a self-sufficient group of b*lievers, and that HE is the one doing the work--we are just the tools he uses!

Andrea and I celebrating with Sophia post-b@ptism.

I think that years from now, when I look back on Wuhan, and the WORK done here, I will always think of Sophia first. She went from a workmate, to a friend, eventually to someone we were able to study the B*ble with, at first as a curiosity, and then as someone that she says brings her great peace. For awhile, I thought it was just a shallow sort of "peace" she was referring to, but her actions lately have reminded me that G*d is working in her heart. In February, Sophia and I had one more private B*ble study, and then we met with Adam (our "Shepherd" here in Wuhan), and Sophia agreed to be b@ptized that coming Sunday. Sitting there with her in the front row, as she nervously waited to confess her f@ith and have our Chinese friend Jonathan Li pour water on her head, and speak G*d's name and promises to her...one of the best things that's ever happened to me :) I ask for your pr@yers for my dear friend--I truly believe that she b*lieves, but she has an incredibly busy work schedule, and lives at least an hour away from ch*rch. She has come since then, however, and lately has confided that she really wants Jasper, her husband, to start attending too...knowing that she's taking HIM seriously, and wants her husband to have the same joy she does, is a great blessing!

Dumpling-making lessons!

One night awhile back, Sylvia and Angela came over to teach Kelsey, Andrea, and I how to make dumplings. The process was pretty simple, since Angela's mom had already rolled out little circles of dough, and the girls brought all the pork and veggies to use as filling. Basically you just fill up the dough like pigs in the blanket, try to fold it together beautifully, and drop the cute little guys into some boiling water--it was delicious, and we ate a lot! Brian came over to "help" by eating some, and there are three things from the evening that will stick with me: 1) Angela & Sylvia tasting the raw pork to make sure it had the right flavor before cooking it 2) Sylvia starting a small fire in our apartment, with the dangerous combination of our fast-acting hot plate and lots of oil (we all stared at it for a couple seconds, before realizing we should turn off the hot plate and cover the fire)! 3) Led mostly by Brian & Andrea, we proceeded to have a burping contest. Our nights here are not always the classiest ;)

And, speaking of classy: a Hankou group late-night snack at McDonald's :)

*In the beginning of April, China celebrate Qing Ming Jie, or "Tomb-Sweeping Day," a day that sadly is traditionally used to visit the graves of departed family members, and honor them by burning pictures of money and possessions, believed to be tributes that their ancestors receive in the beyond. Thankfully, some of our Chr*stian friends do not celebrate the holiday, and we did some off-school celebrating of our own! One day after ch*rch, Jessica and I rode bikes to meet Jess and a friend for a LONG (but fun!) day of bike-riding, checking out blooming cherry trees and flowers, lunch, and talking. Jessica and I went out to get haircuts and tour her school afterwards, and then biked to her house (I think we biked about 5 hours that day)! A couple friends were visiting from Beijing, as well as Indonesia, so we went out dancing one night, and also had a group dinner of crawfish followed by KTV. The last day of holiday was spent going to East Lake, the most scenic part of Wuhan, and walking around a huge garden of cherry trees. It was very gorgeous, but rainy, so Andrea, Stephanie, and I left early, came back home for a marathon dinner of hot pot (we ordered plates and plates of food, eating and talking for 3 hours), and finally, watched a couple movies!

With the cherry blossoms at East Lake--luckily it was only drizzling lightly at this point!

*On April 1st, I was a bit bummed that my students are too small to get the concept of April Fool's Day. Thankfully, a little prank I pulled on QQ seemed to work pretty well too-- you can post "status updates" on it, just like on Facebook...so I wrote "I can't believe I just spent the night in a Chinese jail!" Two Chinese friends wrote me later, asking what happened and if I was okay...thankfully, they were good sports when I explained the joke :) But the best part of the trick happened when I wasn't even present--Jessica told Peter, Darin, and Andy (three FoC buddies) about it, and they ALL fell for it...texting me, asking for details, and pretending to be upset when I told them it was a fake...tee hee hee.

Our big group at East Lake, along with three or four people we'd never met before, who just wanted to be in the picture with some foreigners...

*Our regular Monday night B*ble study at my and Kelsey's apartment continues to go well, and be blessed in attendance...we have a changing group of faces, but many friends have been coming back week after week, thanks to HIM. This semester, we've tried splitting up the study, with Kelsey and I taking turns leading along with Brian--it makes us pretty nervous each week, but it's really good to keep me from getting lazy or apathetic, and it tests me, encouraging me to study His Word more often. And the feeling of getting to explain a new idea, or reinforce everyone's understanding of His Grace--priceless!

Pool-playing with Snowy, Kelsey, and Kristine.

*Sometimes the most entertaining part of Monday night study is what happens afterward--a couple weeks back, Kelsey and a few friends were conspiring, saying I'd be more likely to stay in China if I had a boyfriend here...they asked what qualities I'd like in a Chinese guy, and I said 1) speaks English well 2) a good singer 3) nice arms. We giggled and decided they could patrol the streets for me, looking for guys with these characteristics. And then...Bonnie, Stephanie, and Shelly did a test-run of the screening process--with Brian. It was hilarious to watch Brian's confused reaction to Shelly walking up to him and testing his English skills by making an awkward conversation, Stephanie squeezing his arms, and Bonnie asking him to sing us a song before laughing adorably and running away :)

At Zhong Shan Park with Kristine--she's a sweet girl, but very clingy...and after an hour of walking around and taking dozens of pictures, my smile was starting to get a bit fake ;)

*One of the new friends I've been blessed to make this year is Julia (or Yulia), a Russian lady who's the mom of one of my students. She's lived in China for about twenty years now, is fluent in Chinese, English (and of course, Russian), and married a Chinese man. They have two adorable children, one who attends my kindergarten, and she's really reached out to me and been a fabulous friend. Sometimes at my school I feel pretty lonely as the only foreigner, and taken advantage of...but Julia invites me over for lunch or tea (her apartment's really close to my school) and she can really relate to all of my feelings. She listens to me complain, and then says how she understands...she's been a kindergarten teacher in China before too, and of course is familiar with the stares and such that come with being a foreigner here! But apart from that, she's so sweet and funny, we always laugh a lot when we're together, and she cooks delicious Russian AND Chinese food--I feel so grateful for having the chance to meet this incredible lady!

Two darlings from my "Strawberry Class."

*After Sophia's b@ptism, Andrea and I went with her to Aloha, our favorite American-style restaurant in Wuhan, where one of Sophia's connections treated us to a delicious lunch. It was awkward, being paraded as foreigners, having to make conversation with her daughter and take lots of pictures, but it was worth it...especially when Sophia pointed out Paul and Jackie, the two new foreign teachers at her school, who took Andrea and my old positions. We introduced ourselves, and when I said that I'm Julie/Miss Cox, Paul exclaimed, "They LOVE you!" I guess my former students bring up my name or lessons a lot in his classes with them, and he'll occasionally hear murmurs of "Miss Cox" among themselves when they're talking...this made me so happy, because I miss teaching them SO MUCH :) About a week later, Andrea and I went out to dinner with the married couple, and had great fun comparing stories about our experiences with the school, and laughing at the antics of the lovable, naughty kids!

Long Run, Luan, and I after making E@ster eggs!

*Last Friday night, tardy as I was, I wanted to invite friends over to dye E@ster eggs, with the kit my dear family had sent me. Envisioning a smaller get-together, it became a kind of big group...six Chinese friends, and four foreigners gathered around the table for an egg-dyeing demonstration, and we all joined in to turn out some impressive creations. Well, not me--I've never been very gifted in the artistic department, but friends made faces, different countries' flags, square-shaped fruit, and elaborate designs, all of which were quite impressive! Before we got to work, we had a short ten-minute explanation of why we celebrate E@ster...we read four main points about the B*ble, along with a few p@ssages...none of our visitors are yet Chr*stian, so it was a great opportunity to share our Joy with them!

Showing off our creations!

Well, I am currently running late for a short vacation, but I had to send off this blog first :) May HE bless and keep all of you, until next time!

"Go Where Your Heart Takes You"

   Awhile back, my wonderful parents sent me some Valentine's candy...it was tons of fun passing out those little "sweethearts" with messages on them to Chinese friends, explaining goofy & lovey-dovey English phrases. I was most excited, however, about the Dove Promises they gave me--delicious chocolates with alternately sweet & sappy thoughts written on their wrappers. One night, I opened one that read "Go Where Your Heart Takes You." Given what was going on and going through my head at the time, I think I will keep and treasure that silly little wrapper forever.

At GuiYuan Simiao (temple) with Andrea, Andy, myself, Gabi, Aaron, Sarah, Nicole, and John Wendland).

    Back in Wuhan, I had a few days of settling in before going back to school...I rested up, but then spent a lot of time with our Hankou group, showing John Wendland and Gabi (two fellow FoC teachers from different cities) around our city a bit...we took them out dancing, went to shoot off fireworks by the river, to a temple, to "Breakfast Street" (a place with tons of delicious & unique street food), on a ferry ride, and more. It was a lot of fun, but my mind wasn't really there at all...

Ruth and baby John :)

     A couple days into my Hong Kong trip, I got awful news, hard to wrap my mind around...one of my best friends, Ruth, from high school, was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer. Even worse, she was over six months pregnant at the time. The distance and surreal nature of it all made it very hard to sink it--Ruth has always been vibrant, full of life & energy, and always very young and healthy. My first few weeks back in Wuhan were rough...school was fine, studies and hanging out with friends were great, but I thought about my beautiful friend constantly, desperately wanting to go see her. After lots of pr@yer, talks with my supportive parents, loving fam and friends, and reading that Dove Promises wrapper, I decided "Go Where Your Heart Takes You" was perfect advice...I headed home to America for two weeks.

Our very own rock band ;)

    Thankfully, my school was very understanding about giving me the time off, my sensational parents gave me yet another loan to pay for the flight, and studies were able to go on as usual during my time away from Wuhan. In spite of the horrible situation, of course it was such a blessing to be able to see my family while I was home...my mom & dad, sisters, and grandparents picked me up from the airport, and it was a joyful reunion!

Out to eat with the cousins!

    While I was home, I also got to see a few aunts & uncles, my Grandma Cox, a few friends, and cousins. My sweet little cousins, Emily & Leah, were even in a production of "The King and I" that I was lucky enough to watch while I was home--great job, girls!!! Thankfully, Ruthie was admitted to Mayo Hospital, one of the best cancer-treatment centers in the entire world...I know she has countless family, friends, and supporters who were so grateful she was in the hands of staff there. Selfishly speaking, it was nice for me, just an hour away from my house...I was able to travel back & forth between seeing her and spending time with my family.

Leah & Emily played two of the King's children in Luther High School's "The King and I."

    At home with my family, we went out to eat (I had my three must-have in America foods: Taco Bell, a shamrock shake, and hummus :p), played games, watched movies, talked a bunch, and just enjoyed each other's company. It was Stefanie's Spring Break from WLC for one of the weeks I was home too--pretty nice! I was happy to visit my home congregation (especially for Lenten services), sing offertory with my parents and Stef, and watch Maria play (and dominate!) in a volleyball match :)

Watching Maria (bottom right) serve like 15 consecutive points in a row...you go, gurrrrl!

    I think it was my third day back in the U.S., when I was finally able to go visit Ruth in the hospital...we had talked on the phone a couple times while I was in China, and then again once I'd arrived home.. I was so grateful to have the chance to see her, and so excited to have a "sleepover" in her hospital room's extra bed. I made the trip, saw my my strong, inspiring friend, and her new baby, and...I've been sitting here for 5 minutes trying to think of the words to sum up how I was feeling...I can't.

Our night on the town, once Ruthie was released from the hospital :)

    In spite of everything they had going on, Ruth and her husband, Paul, still were caring and hospitable towards me...buying me lunch, asking about China...I was blown away by this young couple, and reminded why I am SO BLESSED to have this wonderful Chr*stian friend in my life. Seeing her precious baby boy, 2 months premature, tiny and frail, yet thriving and growing, was one of the strongest demonstrations of G*d's love that I have ever seen.

    During my time with Ruth in the hospital, we of course talked for hours, laughed and cried, reminisced and caught up...but, she was a busy, busy patient! Nurses, doctors, specialists, and experts poured in and out of the room constantly during her stay--there weren't 15 minutes that she was left alone, from morning until night. Exhausting for her, but definitely a blessing...she was in HIS hands, through the caring & faithful staff at Mayo. From talking to her, I know Ruthie treasures so many of the nurses who took the time to get to know her personally along with caring for her physically. And, I have no doubt that Ruth & Paul's f@ith in the face of extreme difficulty served as a Chr*stian witness to dozens (hundreds?) of medical staff there.

I got to be serenaded with Pride & Prejudice soundtrack music, and "Time to Say Goodbye" in the hospital lobby. There was applause--Ruth is as talented as ever.

    For my first visit and sleepover, we mostly hung out in Ruthie's room, with Paul spending the night at the Ronald McDonald House nearby. The staff was able to bring baby John to Ruth's room a couple times daily (he was in the NICU on another floor) and we walked over to visit him as well. Ruth and I did a bit of scrapbooking together, watched some of The Office with Paul, and discussed how blessed we are to share a common f@ith, to know that HE is with us no matter what.

John Wilde Webber...3 pounds of CUTE! As Paul likes to say: "He's moderately cute." :)

    I got to visit Ruth three more times during my two weeks in America...thanks to HIM, she was released from the hospital after 1 1/2 months, and staying with Paul at the Ronald McDonald House, able to continue her treatment and feeding tube on an out-patient basis. (FYI: The Ronald McDonald House is an incredible organization, worth looking up if it's new to you.) Our time together was just such a gift...Ruth and I got to spend so much quality time with one another--we went to the mall, buying new clothes for her (and matching shirts for ourselves) and even sampling a little ice cream, we did some errands, and visited John lots! I got to help give her tiny son a bath one day...it was darling :)  One of my favorite parts of our time was going out for cheesy, scrumptious pizza with Paul, laughing and getting to know him better, and the two of them as couple better (I was in their wedding, but hadn't spent TOO much time with both of them). Even though they're just a bit older than me, I look up to Ruth and Paul in many, many ways.

Getting bigger and stronger, healthier and even more cuddly! 

    Knowing it wouldn't be easy to say goodbye before heading back to China, my mom joined me for my last visit to Ruthie and John...Ruth's two sisters-in-law were there, so it was nice to talk with them a bit too. HE has surrounded her with so much support, caring family & friends! Back here in Wuhan, I'm still thinking about my dear friend on a very regular basis, keeping her in my "thoughts." While I was with her, Ruth sweetly said she admired the things I am doing in China, but what she is doing is one of the most impressive things I've ever seen: battling disease with all her might, staying strong for her precious son, continuing to reach out to everyone around her with Chr*stian kindness, and reminding us all to keep HIM as our true source of strength, joy, and comfort. Ruthie, I love you so much.

Applebee's with Stephers, Chara, Alex, Alyssa, Alli, and Josh (Abby already left, and Kristine hadn't yet arrived).

    My last day in the U.S., I was so happy to have a quick get-together with some of my very dear WLC friends...I got a table at Applebee's and just smiled constantly as friends came and went--I love you guys! I reluctantly said goodbye to my family, my dad dropped me off at the airport, and before I knew it, I was back in Wuhan once again. In the weeks before coming to visit Ruth, I had considered just ending my contract with school early and staying in the U.S. Even though that was somewhat appealing, and I still wish I could see Ruth on a regular basis, I'm glad that I made a different decision. My heart took me to America to see my beautiful friend, but it took me back to China too. I believe HE still has work for me to do in these remaining couple of months, friendships to strengthen, and other hearts to touch with HIS precious Word. Let's thank our L*rd for all the people, places, and experiences he puts into our lives...for all the opportunities he bestows to serve and thank HIM...for memories and moments that will never leave your heart, no matter where life takes you.

To learn more about my brave, selfless friend, or to make a donation, please check out this website:

http://theruthwebberfund.bbnow.org/index.php

~Spring Festival: Hong Kong~

Aaron, Andrea and I landed in beautiful, modern, CLEAN Hong Kong early in the morning, took a long subway ride into the city, and found our retreat center...we would be meeting up with about 40 fellow FoC teachers and "Workers" serving around China!

Hong Kong, definitely my favorite skyline I've seen thus far in my life :) The tallest building is featured on the movie, "The Dark Knight," and the one with spires in the center is my favorite building ever--if you Google "Hong Kong Bank of China building," it'll show up much better than it does in this pic.

Tired and grungy, we unfortunately had to wait at the retreat center (not-so-conveniently atop a steep hill with no easy way to the top) a few hours until our rooms were available. We had fun talking and laughing with teachers from other cities, meeting new friends and greeting the old.

Sign in the park--I guess that's putting it quite nicely!

Eventually, Aaron and I set off to meet one of my best friends in the world, STANLEY! We became good friends/bro & sis while attending WLC together, and he recently moved back to his hometown of Hong Kong, which worked out quite well for us :D It was a very exciting reunion, and I finally got to meet his parents as well!

Gorgeous area where Stanley took us hiking one day.

It was pretty funny--Aaron and I needed Stanley and his parents to help us buy tickets back to Wuhan, so I called his home phone, trying to get ahold of him. Unfortunately for me, his mom answered...not that she's not a lovely woman, it's just that I can't speak Cantonese (the local dialect of Chinese) :p I stumbled through a few Mandarin phrases, saying I was her son's old friend from America, teaching English in Wuhan, and we were here. She listened & answered patiently, eventually giving the phone to Stan, who told me that actually his mom doesn't speak much Mandarin either, and I probably would have been just as well-off speaking English to her as Mandarin, haha. Oh well.

KTC and J.C. reunited at last!

After their help buying tickets (thanks guys!), Stanley and I went off on a little adventure, and I got a tour of his old apartment complex, playgrounds that he visited as a child, and even a look at a nearby Lutheran day school for kids...it was so much fun catching up and seeing the place that my friend called "home," especially after he's already seen SO MUCH of my country!

Delicious hot pot...fresh and tasty!

Stanley graciously served as translator that night, as we and his parents shared a meal...his mom is an excellent cook, and while she said "it's nothing" regarding the dinner she prepared, I was blown away--she had set out tons of fresh veggies and meat for "hot pot," a famous type of meal in China, that I usually eat at restaurants. But it's the same concept at someone's home too--there is a hot pot of boiling water, mixed with herbs & spices, that you toss delicious food into until it's cooked, and then you eat. And eat. And eat! Hong Kong food is different from Wuhan food...it's not spicy, but in general contains a lot of seafood and just tastes VERY fresh. Example: one of the shrimps on the table JUMPED off and onto the floor before we cooked it :)

Love this one! Though it might be slightly cooler if the skyscraper was NOT coming out of Stanley's head ;)

Our first night there, Stanley and I walked around, catching up and enjoying the fantastic skyline of Hong Kong! Being a native, he knew a really good spot (the parking ramp of a shopping mall, hidden away from tourists) to take in all the lights and less people!

Darin, Andy, Stan, me, Jessica, and Steph (all Wuhan teachers except for Steph, who's in Yinchuan, & Stanley, of course).

The next night, after a morning and afternoon of retreat presentations and talking with teachers from different cities, Stanley escorted a bigger group of us out and about--we went out to dinner, shopped and explored, and hit the skyline viewing spot yet again...if I lived there, I'd probably want to do so every night as well!

So, we naturally decided it would be a good idea to take a ton of goofy pics...this was the best result of our "jumping" attempts.

A colony of Great Britain until 1997, Hong Kong is now a specially-owned territory of China, retaining its own government and many different policies than the mainland, while still being a city-state considered part of China. This means the city's quite Westernized, the recordings of people speaking English are in cute British accents, and that being a foreigner there isn't as big of a deal as in Wuhan or other more traditional Chinese cities. We could use English occasionally, and didn't really get stared at...a nice transition before we hit Wuhan again :)

Showing that it is possible, in densely-populated Hong Kong, to shove 6 adults onto a small subway bench!

With a population around 7 million people, and a land mass less than half the size of Milwaukee, Hong Kong is certainly a crowded little place, bustling with restaurants, shopping (lots of stores make patrons wait outside in a line, 6-Flags-style, until there's enough room inside), and commerce.

One night, Stanley took us out for some curry...it wasn't Chinese food, but oh my goodness, it was so delicious! I had some chicken and green curry, creamy, just the right amount of spice--one of the best meals I've eaten in China, I think! Then he took us to a popular, incredibly crowded dessert spot, where we crammed together around a couple tiny tables, and tried mostly local sweets. Andy did get a tower of ice cream, but most of us tried hot, sweet, dessert soups, featuring sesame flavoring, or ginger. Very different from typical American dessert, but really good!

The lady taking this picture was sitting basically RIGHT next to me, at the next table. Oh, squishy, "cozy" Hong Kong :)

In spite of (or, more accurately, because of) all our fun activities at night, and early morning wake-up for retreat presentations, I was quite exhausted during our entire 4-day stay in Hong Kong...I found myself longing for naps during rare moments of free time, but between socializing, retreat activities, and making sure our flight back to Wuhan was okay (other friends had had problems with flight cancellations), there just wasn't time. It was worth it, though! The retreat itself was very interesting, and each presentation gave me something new to consider during my remaining months in Wuhan.

Rob Siirila and a seminary worker teaching us actions to a popular Chinese house ch*rch song.

Teachers and p@stors serving through China, as well as back in the states, presented for us, on topics ranging from English teaching, relating our own personal experience to our gospel outreach, Old Testament survey, and the reality of heaven & hell. I was blown away from everyone's knowledge, excited to meet former WELS President Gurgel, who was in attendance, and get the chance to know the leader of Asian Lutheran Seminary, Rob Siirila, a bit better. This guy has been in China for over 25 years, speaks Mandarin fluently, and Cantonese quite well, and is such a shining example for all of us aspiring m*ssionaries, of a servant's heart, humor, and drive...listening to him speak is always very encouraging. Thank G*d in your pr@yers for m*ssionaries like him!

About to pig out at Fat Angelo's Restaurant: (starting from left corner, clockwise) Beth, Kim, Stephanie, Zach, Dan, Steph, Stanley, myself, and Nicole).

One thing that really made me think at the retreat was Rob's admonition to set goals for our second semester in Wuhan...I made four for myself: 1) be more positive about teaching (oops, I should work more on that one) 2) pr@y and encourage Sophia to be b@ptized (by HIS grace, that has happened), 3) spend quality time with "old friends" who attend study and know about HIM (it's been going well), 4) look for more opportunities to share HIM with newer friends, like my friend Jess (he's been coming to our study a lot, and even one ch*rch service) and Joy, another teacher at my school (we talk a lot, but I should work harder to witness). We had a nice closing service at a Lutheran ch*rch (HK has freedom of r*ligion, starkly different from mainland), and hit up an Italian restaurant, "Fat Angelo's," for a family-style meal that was just such a nice reminder of home--chicken wings, salad, breadsticks, pasta, meatballs, and tiramisu...yummm!

Pagoda overlooking Shenzhen's botanical gardens.

For our final day in H.K., Stanley's dad wanted to give me a quick tour of Shenzhen, a city right next to Hong Kong, sharing its cleanliness and good manners, yet a part of China's mainland government and policies. Mr. Chan was pretty excited to show us around, and Aaron & Brian came along as well. We took a long subway ride into the city, went through customs, and enjoyed a lunch of beef & noodles.

Fairy-like excitement over "Fairy Lake."

After lunch, we took a bus ride to some botanical gardens...Stanley commented on how bad the traffic was, but I just laughed--NOTHING compared to Wuhan ;)

We walked around for a couple hours, enjoying the beautiful weather, clean and GREEN park, and of course, mastering our martial arts skills!

Before we headed to the airport to catch our flight "home," Stanley's dad took us to a shopping mall with lots of bargaining/knockoff products, etc. Brian got a toy helicopter, which he was pretty proud of :D He also treated us to a delicious Shenzhen-style meal and saw us off at the subway station. I was sad to say goodbye to my friend, but will never forget how amazing it was to meet his family, and how hospitable and kind they were!

Brian, Aaron, and I met up with Sarah & Kelsey at the Shenzhen airport, went through check-in and security, and were having a nice visit at the airport, when suddenly we heard an announcement: our flight was delayed, and all passengers would be shuttled to a nearby hotel until the plane was ready. We tried asking around, but never were able to tell for sure whether the flight would be two hours or twenty-four hours from the present...it was actually kind of a fun end to the trip, hanging out in the boys' room, drinking a beer and reminiscing. About three hours later, hotel staff called the room phone, and we were shuttled BACK to the airport around 2 a.m. Exhausted, we finally made it back to Wuhan around 5, and back to our apartments around 6 a.m. Needless to say, I slept until 4 p.m., tired out but very content looking back on our Spring Festival travels :)

Control switch for the light fixtures in our hotel room. I have no idea what "small pox" is supposed to mean, but it entertained us to no end!

Stay tuned for more stories about "normal" life in Wuhan!

~Spring Festival: Bali~

Ah...the island of Bali! The stuff of dreams...Julia Robert's get-away in "Eat, Pr@y, Love,"...and most importantly, our next Spring Festival destination :)

Front entryway to our gorgeous & relaxing hostel (fyi, the Swastika is a symbol for peace for many places in Southeast Asia...not that other less-than-pleasant thing)!

After a bit of difficulty once our flight landed (our hostel had promised a pick-up, but no one was there, forcing us to take a taxi ourselves), we were headed to the Swastika Bungalows, our home in tropical paradise for our final week of vacay outside China :)

One of the four pools gracing our lovely hostel!

Our hostel wasn't the fanciest, or close-by any high-class beach...in fact, many fellow residents, we learned, were more in their "golden years" than we :) But, the staff was very friendly, we were close-by to lots of restaurants, shops, and touristy places, and had wonderful weather...in the eighties and SUNNY! Yes, I got quite sunburned a couple times, probably my first sunburns ever in January/February ;)

We usually tried to fill up on our complimentary breakfast buffet each morning...they made me feel nicely welcomed with this pancake and blueberry sauce.

The name of the game for our time in Bali: relaxation! So this blog will probably be pretty short on stories-- I guess I do have a couple good ones, but they're better told in person, so hopefully we can chat about them face-to-face someday :)

While we were definitely surrounded by tons of other tourists, we met some locals as well, and saw evidence of the Hinduism prevalent in the area--the little incense/flower/fruit box thingy above serves as an offering to the Hindu gods.

Being low on money and in such a beautiful place led to lots of lounging by the pool, as well as walking to the beach a couple times...it was pretty secluded, and had chairs you could rent for a low price, and sleep/read/suntan for hours :)

Admiring our hostel's island-style decor.

We spent a lot of evenings venturing out on the street near our hostel, checking out lots of different restaurants, bars, and entertainment. Several places had life music/dancing, and due to the large number of tourists from the country, there were plenty of Australian-operated haunts...one of which featured a "beet burger." I didn't try it, but I think some in our group did :)

We became friends with a couple members of this band :)

A couple nights into our stay, we went to a local restaurant that served Western-style food, but promised a free & traditional dance show with live music! Of course, we were in!

It was really interesting to see the traditional Balinese dancers...the ladies danced with their fingers spread out, and creepily (in my opinion) darted their eyes back and forth, haha. Equally entertaining were the musicians, all male, accompanying the dancers...a couple of them kept making eyes and waving at Andrea and I (one of them was quite in love with Andrea, I think, hehe).

Scary...while I declined to dance with him in front of everyone, I agreed to a picture ;)

At one point in the show (several short acts, different costumes, masks, etc.) the above performer pulled Aaron up from his seat, and the two proceeded to dance in hilarious harmony for a couple minutes (if you are friends with Aaron, please let me know--I have the video available :D Aaron then gestured to Andrea and I (we were sitting at a different table), but we declined, not feeling brave enough, and knowing we couldn't top his performance anyway!

After the performance was finished, the men who'd shot us lots of looks eventually came over and talked to Andrea and I...much more shyly than when they were onstage :) The cute kid on the right played a frog, and we think he might be this guy's son...he was the only child in the show, and he did a great job!

Afterwards, the three of us headed to a local club, drawn in by its cover band...we had fun sitting close to the stage while singing along to their songs, excited to know most of the songs, and meet the band members...though they may have been a little too friendly later at night, so we eventually split ;) We also met a really friendly Australian guy, who I think had been to that area at least twenty times in his life...a regular, I guess. He was there with his two daughters (about my age) and was a really nice, friendly guy...we all had fun talking together, and I was eventually convinced to goofily dance around with him :D

Putting on a show? Making a fool of myself? Maybe both, but it was fun (with my Australian buddy) :)

After playing pool and talking for awhile, Andrea and I ended our night at a club called "The Zoo." Aaron had decided to head back home and get to bed at a reasonable hour...we probably would have done the same, but we made friends with a British guy outside the door, who said he would buy drinks for us...but don't worry, Mom, I either ignored or dumped drinks out onto the floor if I didn't see them being poured :)

This show's storyline centered around the "Barong," a mythical, lion-like creature,  known in Bali as the hero and champion of good. This, however, is just a picture I like of a character freaking out onstage :D

We didn't have much time to sleep in after a late night of dancing at The Zoo, but the next day was worth the early wake-up: after stuffing ourselves at the hostel's free breakfast, we met up with a local tour guide, who took us to see some sights. First on the list was a traditional dance performance, very well-done, and somewhat easy to understand (thanks to the description the venue provided us, on English handouts)!

So, next on our list of places to visit was a "monkey park." To tell you the truth, I was pretty excited about it, and thought it was cute/funny how nervous Andrea was going into it...but maybe she just had a better idea of what to expect than I did!

Aaron bravely purchased a bunch of bananas at the entrance, but being short on cash and more tentative, Andrea and I hung back and watched as a couple monkeys jumped RIGHT onto Aaron, taking the bananas out of his hand (not very gently), giving him a back massage (kind of, hitting his back) and picking through his hair. It was funny, and I thought I was safe since I didn't have any food on me. However...

Andrea and I both ended up getting mildly attacked by the little critters! Tourists could basically walk on paths swimming with monkeys, and could've stepped on one if they weren't careful...I guess they're probably very used to such a lifestyle, and before long two of them jumped onto Andrea, stealing her empty water bottle (out of her purse) and biting her! I told my friends that I didn't necessarily NEED to have a similar experience, but a short time later, I got similarly hijacked by the little buggers...they also bit me and spazzed out...it was SCARY...but the little demons did make for some good pictures ;)

This guy's got it made--he gets to sit outside in the sun, offering rides to gullible tourists, while holding a sign that says "Sexy car, sexy driver, sexy prices." :)

Actually, I think these pictures are out of order, but I'm too lazy to change them--before we saw the monkeys, we checked out a coffee plantation...and we learned the "special" way that the local coffee is made...

Roasting some coffee beans.

If you've seen the movie "The Bucket List," then maybe this will ring a bell--there's an animal, called the "luwak" (similar to a weasel, but I'm sure you could Google it) that lives in this region of the world, and eats coffee beans, supposedly for their fleshy pulp. The beans are then digested...do you see where I'm going with this...? Eventually, when they are "deposited" onto the ground, plantation workers will wash, roast, and brew the beans to make coffee...and yes, we did get to sample it...

With my lovely and entertaining travel buddies, overlooking part of the coffee plantation.

So yeah, it's called "Kopi Luwak," which I guess has a better ring than "Weasel Poop Coffee," and after being thoroughly amused hearing about the process, and seeing the cages where the plantation keeps bean-eating and "depositing" luwaks, we got free samples, and...it was really good! I only like coffee with lots of cream & sugar, but this stuff was much less bitter, almost sweet! Not that I'll drink it again anytime soon (thinking of where it comes from, and also because it's REALLY expensive to purchase), but it was a fun thing to try :)

While chatting and overlooking the nearby view, the three of us got to sample a few other types of coffee (chocolate coffee, ginger coffee) and tea (the lemon tea was our favorite--basically like a lemon drop candy).

Okay, back on track: after the monkey visit/horrifying experience, we drove to check out a local volcano...it was really pretty, but unfortunately it was quite foggy and rainy, so we didn't admire it for too long. Bali (and Indonesia in general) was in its rainy season, meaning that each day would have a period of rain, but thankfully it never lasted too long while we were there :)

The volcano viewpoint offered a buffet that looked delicious, but was too pricey, so we asked our driver to help us find another place--after driving around and checking out a few different restaurants, we ended up at a new buffet...that was almost the same price. Oh well...these things will happen when you're a tourist, and we did have a nice view of the volcano while we ate :)

Our last stop of the day was a nearby outdoor temple (or rather, ruins of a huge temple, and then a small, still in-use temple) that was recommended to us by a friend in Jakarta. She billed it as an Indiana Jones-esque place, and I had to agree with her!

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking, but "Gunung Kawi" temple was a very impressive place to visit! First, we climbed down a ton of stairs, and then walked on lots of different winding paths, staring in wonder at statues that we built into sides of cliffs, checking out artifacts that were centuries of years old, and trying to take in the history of the place.

The nature itself was also really beautiful...flowing streams, palm trees, so much green and fresh air...I had to take a minute just to soak that in, remembering I'd shortly be headed back to the pollution of Wuhan :p

Gunung Kawi was built in the 10th Century as a Hindu place of w0rship, and according to legend, the ruins were originally built to serve as shrines to the reigning king, his family, and concubines.

Rice terraces and several old buildings also surrounded the shrines, and supposedly locals still offer homage to that Hindi king from centuries in the past.

The below picture shows the inner sanctum of the temple, which sadly is still used for w0rship today...even though it was sad, we were very fortunate to be there while a ceremony was going on. We stood in the distance and watched as the Hindi w0rshippers splashed water on one another, chanted, and pr@yed, desperately wanting to share with them the truth of the Living Water. Probably one of the more depressing temple visits I've had, just to see so many gathered in a ritual so empty...please pr@y that more people here can know the joy of a G*d who HEARS and LOVES us beyond measure!

I can't remember what we did that night, after a long day of sightseeing, so that probably means we went out for dinner somewhere cheap, watched a movie, and went to bed early :)

Aaron, myself, and Kelsey swimming "with" Andrea...I love this pic :D

We got a wonderful treat the next day: Kelsey and Sarah joined us for our last couple days in Bali! It was so nice to see them after being apart for almost three weeks, and we had fun catching up and playing in the pool for much of the afternoon...

Kelsey, Aaron, and I spent a couple hours trying different goofy poses, seeing how creatively we could jump into the pool, and teaching each other how to dive ^_^

We also later discovered that Kelsey and Sarah's room was next to a huge, more beautiful pool that we didn't know existed in our previous four days' stay! It featured a swim-up bar (my first time to use such a thing, and it was great!) and two nice workers who we made friends with...they gave us some local fruit to try (man, it was SOUR...I succeeded in keeping a straight face, but Kelsey did not and it was funny) and chatted, and yes, now we're friends on Facebook ;)

Aaron and I had fun swimming out a ways into the ocean one day, climbing up and enjoying the view from a little island, and watching a man in the shelter next to ours doing some yoga and meditation. It was great splashing around in the water...until Andrea came out and joined us, fueling the fire of my fear of sharks (which I had been trying to keep dormant), telling us that they can hear heartbeats from miles away, and can swim 100 miles per hour :/

Our bigger group had fun going out to dinner together, goofing around, dancing, and accumulated a nice collection of inside jokes...we'll always have a "Bali bond." :)

Roomie! Love ya, Kels :)

Our second-to-last day in Bali, Andrea convinced us to check out Tanah Lot, a famous temple on the water...I was hesitant, simply because I was enjoying our nights of dancing and days of laziness, but eventually our whole group caved, and the place DID look pretty nice in the pictures.

We had fun walking around and checking the temple out from afar, but sadly we couldn't really go inside or look at anything too closely...we stuck around hoping we'd see the famous "sunset over Tanah Lot" (which again, looked gorgeous in the brochures), but sadly, it was cloudy...so we all sipped drinks and talked about how the day had "changed our lives." Three might have been a little sarcasm there ;)

Andrea, Sarah, myself, Aaron, Kelsey, and our new friend Denni.

One night when Aaron and I were out, we met a nice waiter, named Denni. A couple days later, he and Aaron met up for a bike ride around the beach, and a little while after that, Andrea even got to visit him at his house! He came to the temple with us, and it was fun getting to know him...he has the dream to be a tour guide all over the world, and visit America someday.

On our final day in Bali, we slept as late as possible, gorged once more on our free breakfast, and spent the majority of the afternoon suntanning, swimming, reading, and laughing. For dinner, Denni took us to a local warung (street food in Indonesia) to try more authentic Balinese food...probably very good thing, since we'd mostly been eating Western food during our time there!

Unfortunately I was still pretty full from lunch, and had a stomachache, so I hope I didn't offend Denni by not eating all of my meal...in general, though, I felt the meat was pretty sketchy (not bad, just not what I'm used to, and I didn't know what it all was), the vegetables were absolutely delicious, and the whole thing set my mouth on fire!

Dinner...I wish I could remember what these specific things were, but I do remember, it was SPICY!!!

Sadly, our time in Bali had come to an end...Andrea, Aaron, and I packed up our bags, bid a fond farewell to the sun, Denni, and Sarah & Kelsey (they were staying an extra day), and began the voyage to HONG KONG!

Our "camp" for the night in Jakarta's airport--Aaron and I tried to snooze on the less-than-comfy purple chairs...Andrea actually went around the corner and slept on the floor :p

But before we could reach Hong Kong, we had to spend parts of two different nights in two different airports :( The three of us flew to Jakarta for layover number one, sleeping for about 6 hours (or trying to) and then flying to SINGAPORE!

Part of the skyline on our river cruise.

Our time in Singapore was pretty limited, but far too long to think about staying in the airport when we were in a new country (we had about ten hours), so we exchanged a bit of money in the airport, talked to a very strange travel guide (she mentioned very inappropriate things to us, but was helpful also, I guess), and took a taxi to the river, where we took a short informational tour of the downtown area.

Thanks to Andrea, for lending me your stylish cap :)

Of course, throughout our few hours there, Jack Sparrow's voice: "Clearly you've never been to Singapore" rang in my head again and again!

Sweet arena featuring 3 skyscrapers and a ship on top!

Its own city AND country as well, Singapore actually felt a lot like Milwaukee to Andrea and I as we drove around, saw tons of western buildings & restaurants, and foreigners quite frequently. Honestly, it hardly felt like we were in Asia anymore.

The famed "Merlion" of Singapore.

We were briefed on the history of Singapore during our cruise-- the British used Singapore as a stronghold to help anchor its "East India Company," it was occupied by the Japanese during WWII, and gained its independence in 1959. Something quite humorous to me is the city's mascot, the "Merlion." Half-fish to represent the country's roots as a fishing village, and half-lion because the city's name translates to "lion city." And spouting water, I'm guessing just because it's really fun :)

Another arena, nicknamed "The Durian," because it's shaped like the spiny & stinky fruit, popular in much of Asia.

 After our cruise, we did a bit of exploring, but were impeded by the rainy day, and lack of moolah...we ate at McDonald's, walked around a mall, and eventually made our way to an Indian district of the city, where we got a glimpse of a culture different from the "Western city with Asian people" feel that the rest of the city had, to me at least. We shopped at some markets, strolled around, checked out a temple, and eventually headed back to the airport.

Not lovin' the rain (and I was not lovin' the slippery ground that made me slide all over on my flip-flops) :p

After a few hours in the airport, checking our Facebooks, exploring, and trying to sleep, we were on an overnight-ish flight...off to HONG KONG!!!