Campus

Today while I was in the office, two of my teachers were also there.

They were speaking very seriously and seemed very 

intent on the computer they were sitting at. 

I really hadn't been paying attention to what was going on, 

and I was trying not to listen to what they were saying, as it seemed important!

I knew it was none of my business and was something that had made one of them

decide against leaving to go home at one point! {She was on her way out the door and ended

up grabbing a chair and coming back in to sit at the desk} 

As time went on, I needed to get something in another room. Upon my 

return, I happened to glace at the screen and saw the computer screen they were sitting at. 

All of the sudden, the words I had been able to understand but had been letting go

in one ear and out the other started to make sense:

"If I move there, he will be able to capture my piece in one move."

"Can I jump over him there? Is that a good move?"

"What do you think the next move should be?"

etc

They were playing a game! 

I have to say, as silly as it might be, to see the two of them sitting back

and relaxing together as they played a computerized version of Checkers or something,

it just made my day! 

#ItsTheLittleThings

The sun was so bright and gorgeous today, I just had to go out in it for a bit!

So I put off the homework for a bit and took a walk around campus again this afternoon. 

So...I took photos to share!

Princess Peach!

My alarm went off at 7 like always, 

I have two of them actually, and they

both rang, I turned them both off, and rolled over.

Just a few more minutes, i told myself. 

Then, I woke up....at 8! I'm suppose to be in class

at 8! 10 minutes, later, I was in class! Hated being late

but so glad I don't live any further than three floors away!!

I've said it before, and I will say it many more times:

I am SO thankful for Skype!

It allows me to keep in touch with all the most important 

people in my life!

2 years ago this time, my wonderful friend was letting me

cry on her shoulder about some things that were hurting

me. She didn't even need full explanations at times. 

I will never forget how she responded when I sent her a text 

that said I NEEDED to go for a walk. She came to meet me, 

saw I was in pain {heart pain} and didn't even bat an eye

when I burst into tears! Turning to her husband, she said that we 

were going to be awhile and that he should just go on home, she

would take care of me. We had some of the best fun times, and she 

{and her hubby!!} helped me get through some of the hard

homesick and other struggles that come with living so far away

from the home you know. Though we are miles apart and don't

know when that will change, she has remained my close friend

and I am SO so thankful to have her in my life! We don't even 

always agree on things, and it just seems to make our friendship

stronger! 

Someday my friend! Someday I will get to see you again! And

give you a big old hug! This time, the tears will be from joy!

#ItsTheLittleThings

Campus!

It was SUCH an amazingly gorgeous day today! 

The sun was out, the sky was actually blue there were no clouds, 

no big wind, the little fluffies were at a minimum! 

So instead of staying inside and eating my lunch,

I went out for a nice walk in between classes. Was really hoping

it would also help me stay awake as I was having a hard time with that

in my first class! I woke up this morning feeling tired and not so great. Pretty 

much the same way I fell asleep! haha!  Here are some of the things I saw on my walk around campus.

        This is the path that goes along the little river by SIAS. It HURTS!! The stones you see are each sticking up sideways and are not covered very well at all! I have walked it in thick soled shoes and found it to be uncomfortable, but today I was in flip flops {Don't tell my chiropractors please!} and the few feet I had to walk to get to the graffiti wall were so painful! I decided not to continue on that path but instead turn around and head back a different way.
   















       
  We have a group coming Friday from America to be hosted here at SIAS for a week. They will be doing a bit of Cultural studies and other activities all put on by my department. One of the ideas that we had for the week {And I knew I might end up regretting it when I suggested it.} is a scavenger hunt of sorts. We will give the groups photos of things, landmarks, buildings, notable monuments in and around SIAS {all the way to downtown!} and they must find where they are and take a photo there. The idea is to get them to ask people out on the street to help them find these things, as they have all studied a bit of Chinese and their main purpose in being here is to create opportunities to speak with locals. Though the prep was started by another assistant, she only had three photos, so I decided to take a few more while I was out on my walk, and then from these choose a few to use for the hunt this coming Sunday. Its kinda hard though, since for me some of these things are just SO EASY to find since I have been coming here for so many years, while to others they may seem to obscure. Then again, I don't want to make it too easy and have this activity over in moments!

 I'm not sure that you can see it...this plant is covered in the tree fuzz that has been floating around all week. It looked rather pretty glinting in the light, but made me realize just why my allergies were bugging me more lately!

There can you see it any better on this photo to the right? It kinda looks like Spider Webs, {Why I thought that needed to be capitalized, I don't know} but really its really the tree fuzzies!

As you can tell.....I need some sun! Like REALLY need it!

But it makes me more popular here! 

"OH! You so white!!"

Gardening on campus is made 'simple' by never removing the flowers

from the packages they come in! That way, when they die, all you do

is throw it all away. And it doesn't take long to switch around an arrangement,

since there is little to no digging to do. You just pick up the old flower container, and

place the new one in its place.

 This is one of the photos I am contemplating using in the hunt.

Look everyone! The library is beginning to have walls!

The characters that follow the number 6 say the same thing.

The first is in traditional, the second in simplified. 

It made me realize once again that while I think it is so

hard to learn chacters now, and here on mainland, I can't

imagine if I was trying to learn traditional in Guangdong, Hong Kong, or Taiwan!

This sounds like a humble brag, but its not.

This is just an actual thought I had today:

While listening to a Josh Groban {"I am Josh GROVAN!!"} 

song earlier today it popped into my head

"I wish I knew a second language!" 

It took me a few minutes to realize the dumbness 

of that thought, to be honest!

It is just that now, at times, it fails to dawn on me 

that it is a different language. 

#ItsTheLittleThings

My lazy lazy day!

While growing up, I thought I had been born in the wrong time period. 

Ok, that's not completely true. I just use to say

"I was born in the wrong time period" 

How well I could have actually survived in the space in history I felt

destined for, will never be known and thank goodness! 

I always felt I would have been more comfortable in a Jane Austin time

frame, or if I had been able to be friends with Anne Shirley it would have fit

me so much better. 

But something occurred to me today, 

I didn't like to read until I got my kindle. Then I started to devour books. 

And this week, I have been wasting time making puzzles 

in a app I downloaded for my laptop. 

{I have never liked puzzles, Ever. And yet I am actually choosing to make them this way} 

I had a super lazy day and could probably be considered 

one of the laziest people ever!

I slept in as my back was really sore and the idea of standing

was not the most appealing one. 

Then, I stayed in bed playing on Facebook and Skype chatting a friend. 

I did some homework before it was time to head out to 

Sunday meeting. I had the kids today, which was fun and they were

really well behaved! I was so pleased with that!

When I came back, I had a very short meeting with a classmate 

{was suppose to be with five classmates, only one showed!} 

where we went over some details for a group project we have.

Then, I did a super easy, super short work out! 

As much as I have been enjoying my work outs lately,

I just didn't want to do it tonight! 

Worried that it might worsen the pain in my jaw 

{Which is not bad at all, just gets in the way now and then}

I nearly skipped it, but with my back being sore, I knew I needed

to stick with it and not give myself the out. 

I have been melting an 'Ocean Star' tart all day in my warmer.

I didn't know I liked this one so much!

Bringing so many tarts and other Yankee goodies was such a good

decision! I am excited to gp back in the store and try the new scents 

in a few months! :D

#ItsTheLittleThings

Oopss, I skipped again!

No wonder my allergies are going crazy! I swept the floor and two minutes later, 

this was what it looked like! The trees are in bloom and so the white

fluffies are EVERYWHERE!! They come in through the window out in the hall

and then seep into my room under the door. 

It looks like a lot less in this photo than it really was! They were everywhere!

So I went and skipped a day or two again this week!

Sigh!

I always have pretty good reasons! haha!

 My little thing for yesterday was going to be this:

I went out to get some dinner and came across the

wife of one of the teachers. {I went to his wedding back in the beginning of 

last semester. I have known him now since my first year, but I had never 

met her before the wedding}

She was wearing a mask like the one you see in the photo above, but

I could recognize it was her. She flagged me down {I had headphones on}

and after a quick greeting, handed me a mask of my own

and said that I should wear this to protect myself from the many floaty things

in the air. {Not her exact words...haha! It was all in Chinese of course!}

These are SUPER common in China! 

You wear them when you are sick or when you are afraid you will get sick.

You wear them when you are on a scooter to keep dust out of your face.

You wear them when the pollution is at its highest.

And you wear it pretty much anytime you don't want to get stuff in your nose or mouth.

It was just so nice of her to care and make sure I was taken care of!

And you don't look as silly doing something that everyone else is doing

right? So I put it on, even though it felt strange at first!

#ItsTheLittleThings

And look, I can put sunglasses on and you would never even know who I am!

I can be all like

"别看我!" 

Don't look at me!

And then...this happened today!

Last night, I had just made some cinnamon sugar 

fried bread/donuts and took about three bites when I felt

part of my tooth break off. It didn't really shock or worry me that much

as my tooth has been falling apart for like four years now. I got it filled four years

ago before going to camp one year, and then while at camp the tooth broke a bit, Since then, it

has slowly been chipping and breaking, even with a piece breaking off earlier this year,

BUT, as I ate the next couple of bites, I felt something new and weird!

The filling fell out! :(

I debated what to do about it, as there was little to no pain, but I didn't

want to get an infection or have to pussy foot around the hole forever! Plus, once I return

to the States, there is no way I could ever afford to have anything done there. So after

some buzzing, I started to text people to see if anyone was available to help me go to the dentist.

My very sweet very dear friend went with me to be both my translator and moral support.

I was going to tell the to pull the rest of the tooth as I was pretty sure it was too 

far gone to be filled again. This option scared me a bit though, as they do not really give

much in the way of pain meds. :( 

Instead, the Doctor suggested putting caps on them. The set she offered first was over 700 RMB

which was way out of my price range. {Father had provided the money just hours

before, when a friend told me she had been setting aside money to give to me, and

hadn't had a chance to yet!} The 700 RMB option was nice white

teeth, but they had an inside lining of silver/metal so they would not

look completely real. There was also a 1000+ option for full on

white real looking teeth. I told her they were both too pricey and we could just yank it. 

Once it was explained to the doc that I was a student,not making money, and

not being given tons of money from my parents {I would like to make a side

note here just to say that my parents have been awesome and are wonderful

in helping me out when I need it! But the idea about International Students

is that we are all here on Daddy and Mommy's dime, as many students are! 

It is also the common thought that all Americans are rich and want only the top

quality of things and are willing to pay lots for it.} once this was all explained to her,

she said there was a final option of having silver {Filling coloured} teeth

made, but that she hadn't mentioned it thinking I wouldn't like the idea of it.

As it was less than 450, and involved far less pain, I went with that!

It took much longer to file down the teeth than she thought it would 

{It is a back molar, and she is going to cap the final two. Both have

had problems in the past, and this will help to stabilize the cap.} 

as she said that American's have much stronger teeth! haha!

She kept having to change the drill bit!
She was super kind! Encouraging me the entire time, and complimenting me
about my Chinese comprehension and my strong teeth are,
And the friend that came with me was amazing!
Not only did she translate for me when she could see I was confused
but she also stayed right next to me the entire time, speaking
encouragingly when she could see I was in pain, worrying
about my back because of how I had to sit, and squeezing my hand when I
was in the most pain. I am so thankful she was with me!
While i have not been in a great deal of pain {I've had a headache
off and on since it was done, and my jaw is sore from how long and wide I had
to hold it open} but a friend from the office dropped in tonight to see how
I was feeling after she read about my day on WeChat,
She told me to make sure I call her if I needed anything and
that if I don't have someone to go with me when its time to return for
the caps to be put on.
I am so incredibly Blsd where I am! I am so thankful for all the
friends I have here. Days like today really sink it in that I have
only two and a half months left before I will board a plane and leave China!
I love this country I call home! And I love these people that have become my family here!

Little bit of this, little bit of that!

Wow. so I guess I am finding how bad I am at being sure to post every single day!!

I wrote a {almost} three page essay for my exam...and then found out that it was only worth 12 points! In the past, I have said that I failed an exam and then did a 'not as bad' job. This one I am 100% sure of because you can't get points for things you left blank or wrote "Did we really study this? I don't remember it at all!" 

I got a 94 on my speaking exam, and that to me is the important one. Not the exam as much as just knowing that I can actually speak! Earlier in the day I had to text someone as part of my job. I sent him a text in both Chinese and English and when he wrote back he replied first in English and then, in Chinese, asked if I was Chinese. When I replied that I was American he wrote back "American? Your Chinese is awesome!" Even if he was just being nice, it really did make my day!

The best part of my day came today when a friend told me that when

I get back to the States, he wants to talk more about the way I think

and believe and all! I can't do it here, but he knows that I am 'different' 

and so I will be able to best explain why when I am back on the

other side of the world! Its exciting!

A friend of mine popped a bag of my
microwave popcorn today. I don't think it worked out quite right! haha!
The photo on the left is what was popped after the full time. The photo on the right is all the left over kernels in the bag after it finished. It was strawberry flavoured too! Too bad it didn't work right, but it was really nice of her to help me get the use of a microwave to make it! :) I have awesome friends!

Ya'll might be sick of my work out posts, and for that I am sorry!

If'n ya are...skip this! :D 

Last night when I came back from my exam, the one I knew I had 

blown, all I wanted to do was work out! I had been looking forward

to it all day, and was glad to have the test over with so I can kick, squat,

punch, vine step, and shimmy my way out of the bad mood. 

I found some more new videos to work out to

and once again, THEY KILL ME, but they are so much fun!

My boss leaves for Sri Lanka in two days and will be gone for about a week. 

We have a group coming for a Study Tour in a little over a week. 

Yup....she is going to be gone for two days of the tour.

I am being left in charge. 

Today in the office I was approached by a couple of the other assistants and

they said "So we will have a meeting tomorrow with you, right?"

and I said "We will?"

"Yes" they replied "Boss told us you will hold a meeting tomorrow

to go over things about the group coming and what we need to do" 

EEKK!! News to me!

Turns out she had set the meeting up so that

I can make sure I know everyone's name and we can 

go over one more time that

1. I am the contact person should there be any questions or problems

2. They are to contact me every step of the way so that I am kept up to date on how things are going

3. Everyone {Including me} knows who is doing what and when. 

As far as the stuff I have to do once the group gets here,

so much of it is stuff I've done many times before during BMH camp, so I 

am really not all that worried!

{Welcome them to the castle, get them registered, get them

settled in their dorms, make sure they know the schedule

and make it to the first event in time, have an orientation/Question and Answer time

host a get together with their Culture Buddies, and things like that} 

Here is something crazy! 

The semester only has a month and 18 days left in it!

OH. MY. GOODNESS!! 

Oh yeah, and I neglected to mention that Monday I got to Skype with 

another friend I haven't seen since Winter camp.

It was so good! We laughed and had some good deep conversations

and just kinda hung out! We even spread it out into two different sessions

since she had to go to class in between! haha!

Over and over, I am so thankful for Skype! 

She is in China, but that does not make the WOW factor any less

impressive to me that we were able to chat for so long!

#ItsTheLittleThings