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| Home Sweet Home
It's good to be home! I've been busy, but I felt it was finally time to update my xanga. I want to keep in touch with all you folks I met in China and y'all here in Texas I don't talk to all the time.
One of the things I missed in China was small group. The day after I got back from China I went to small group, and Elsa made this lovely cake with Snickers bars. It was great.
Here are some of my small group buddies.
Ashley and Daphnna
Daphnna's in Dallas at Christ for the Nations. I miss you, Daphnna!
Elsa ~ our small group host
Karen and me
After small group, I picked up my brother Beau and his awesome high school students from Crave. One reason his students are so awesome is that they treated us to dinner at Pizza Hut, where Nina works.
Angel
Nina and Angel
DJ (I know his middle name!) wearing Beau's sunglasses
Champ/Chimp/Champiñon/Champster
Dinner at Pizza Hut was in honor of Champ's birthday. The cool shirt he's wearing was Beau's gift to him.
More small group memories!
This was Daphnna's going away party. Mrs. Pelly made us an awesome Cuban dish for dinner, "Ropa Vieja" (old clothes). After dinner, we played Karaoke. I can't remember what Daphnna and Karen sang together, but Karen and I sang that song (whose title I can't remember) from the 60s that goes "I love you, baby. And, if it's quite all right, I need you, baby." It was fun.
On Friday, we went to Mexico to serve refreshments at vacation Bible school at Pastor Montemayor's mission. My mom, Mrs. Canizalez, Beau, Camden, and I took down over 100 sandwiches that my mom, Mrs. Gutierrez, and I had made. We were able to feed all the children and the volunteers. Even though it was hot, it was great. We were blessed that it didn't rain until we got back, because the rain would have made those dirt roads a nightmare to drive in. I got to meet the Montemayor family who are very sweet. I'm glad Alicia thought to take pictures!
one of the classes
one of the teachers
My sweet brother Camden was eager to help. We had an assembly line going without him, but he squeezed in to put a lollipop on each plate. 
me (That's Alicia in the orange shirt.)
Mom, Beau, and Cam
me pretending to look busy for the camera
Ernesto and Michel
Kidnection Kids
Children's ministry was fun today. Ashley had a very fun but messy game. After the game, there was whipping cream and fruit loops all over the carpet. Carey seemed to enjoy it. "Robbie's going to kill them!" 
Parker
I forget who won the game. I guess it doesn't matter as long as we have fun learning about Jesus! 
It's a good thing Errikka likes whipping cream and fruit loops, because she was covered in them by the end of the game.
DJ and Isabella had to throw fruit loops onto their partners' hats.
Karen and Errikka
DO NOT TRUST ERRIKKA! She came up to me today and gave me a hug and commented on my hair. Later Becky took a sticker off my back that said, "I'm with cheese." ? Go figure. But Errikka's redeeming quality is that she gives great back rubs.
Well ta ta for now. It's good to be back. | | |
| Tour de China
Our last day of camp was on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, we went to Xitang a "water town" with quaint old buildings that represented how people lived in China in the old days and towns were built up around rivers. It was a "Venice in China". There are six water towns in China. Xitang kind of reminded me of the Riverwalk in San Antonio.
On Thursday, we went to Hangzhou and toured the Lei Feng Tower. All the places we visited with legends. I want to read Chinese literature when I get home.
The inconspicuous FBI agent is Eddie. The girls are me, Nichole, Ashia, Karin, Julie, Rita, Joy, Michelle, and Aileen.
Lotus blossoms on West Lake in Hangzhou
Fortunately, a lot of the signs in China are also printed in English.
Poor Nichole broke her ankle the second week of English camp. She was playing Red Rover with her elementary students. Glad I taught middle school and high school kids. 
I think Eric looks like Hudson Taylor, a foreign missionary adopting Chinese dress.
Yesterday, we went to Suzhou and toured "The Humble Administrator's Garden". Suzhou is famous for its silk, so Julie and I bought silk blouses there. Then we heard all about how silk is counterfeited and spent the rest of the trip wondering whether we had been cheated. We considered setting our blouses on fire to see if they were real but decided against it. We also went to Tiger Hill, where our English-speaking tour guide had the cutest accent. It sounded kind of Austrailian. I asked if we would get to see Tiger Woods, but our tour guide said it was too far. Tiger Hill was a very lucky place. There was a boulder called the Peach Stone. If you rub it once, it gives you good fortune; twice, health; three times, a good-looking partner. There was another boulder called the Pillow Stone. If the rock you throw lands on it, you'll have a son; if not, a daughter. If my luck holds out, I should have a good-looking husband and a daughter.
Today, we went to Shanghai. Definitely cool. A big city. Being the goofy Americans that we are, the first place we go to in any city is an American establishment like Starbucks. I bought most of my souvenirs there.  | | |
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This morning I let my students pick a story from their reader. Susan picked "The Favourite Food of American Children". I made me crave American food. So as soon as morning classes were over Gabi, Julie, some their students (Nancy, Rachel, Bess/Beth, and Fairy), and I went to Burger Kids. Not exactly what I was expecting, but good (and cheap). Now I'm full and tired. I'm going to take a Chinese nap until my next class.
I'm working on a new English camp cheer: "English camp is almost done..." Maybe not the best, but it cheered me up!
I can't believe I'm leaving in a week! I think the next few days will pass very quickly and be very full.
This morning my students wrote songs. Susan wrote a sad love song. She and Cacile taught me how to say "Bye-bye, baby," in Chinese: Zai Jien, bao bei. | | |
| Good Times in Zhejiang Province
The cast of Lyle the Kindly Viking, starring Eddie (as himself), Jessica, Jonathan, Karin, Julie, me, Gabi, and Audra.
Last night, Nichole and Elizabeth took the plunge and got the 6-month straight perm. Jessica and I went along and got a hair washing; head, arm, and back massage; and straightening. It was my first time. Ahhh... Audra has said something like Chinese salons are why China should be a world power. They're amazing. And so cheap. I only spent the equivalent of about $3 last night. I don't know about Chinese world wide domination (kind of scary), but I could see myself visiting China again in the near future. :)
The special teachers of English camps' "Special Classes": Jessica/Se Jia, Eddie/Wei Wu (strong)/Ar Bai Wu (retarded), and Audra/Ai De.
Professional English teachers eliciting the target language from the student: Karin, Gabi, Julie, Jessica, Audra, and me.
Karin and Jessica in a restaurant in Ningbo famous for its dog meat (no joke). Unfortunately for Jon-Jon, dog meat was out of season. They serve it in the winter to keep you warm.  Gross.
Zai Jien for now. | | |
| Memories
Here we are in Pinghu the night before Audra left. Poor Audra got laid over in Cincinnati. She should have just stayed here. Anyway, glad I'm not flying through Cincinnati. I hope all goes well.
The Ningbo team: Karin, Audra, Jessica, Gabi, Julie, Jonathan, Eddie, and me.
Things are going pretty well here. I'm loving my students. Yesterday, they invited me to East Lake Square where they were playing a Chinese chick flick. Ahh. It was so sweet, and it'd been a while since I'd seen it a movie. It was called something like "Romantic Cherry Blossom". Mao, one of our translators, had seen it before and explained the plot to me.
Five of us teachers took our students to dinner last night. It was fun hanging out with my kids. Afterwards, my students helped me shop for souvenirs. They're sweet kids.
Went to the pearl farm two nights ago. It was fun experiencing rural China. Kind of reminded me of Mexico (bumpy roads, etc.).
Well, back to class. Pray for me and my kids! | | |
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