Because I am cool like that

I have important business conferences at The Bird's Nest...

Esa and Yogi are totally precious. I love how Chinese women hold hands or lock arms while they walk together. I also love the way love needs no translation.

Me, Bella, and Candy being totally awesome after our exhibition outside of The Bird's Nest.

Yogi is wearing her Yogi shirt!

 














because I am cool like that.

Mandarin lesson:
Kù 酷 (cool)

Animal Farm

I must admit that for the majority of my educated life I have not known much about Communism outside of what I learned from Orwell's Animal Farm in the ninth grade. What I did know about Communism revolved around the USSR. Really I have never known much about the form of government which now rules the country in which I reside. I have simply known it was a government that I did not agree with. What I have known of Communism was that its leaders have been brutally vicious and callous. The government is made to control the people and not vice versa. Stalin let his people starve and held mass murders mercilessly throughout the country. I pictured Communist countries as scary, unwelcoming, desolate places where no people could ever be happy. How could one live happily when they are controlled and watched over so heavily? Was this not Big Brother at its finest?

I am learning now that the type of Communism that runs a country is largely dependent on the person who is named leader. Lenin and Stalin were barbarous and unrelenting. They truly ruled with an iron fist. It wasn't until Stalin's death and the start of the Khrushchev Era that Communism began to seem a little relenting and less harsh. A period of détente helped ease the tension between the USSR and its allies. The Soviet Union began to open its borders and allow people access to information and held less restraints on its people. Communism was still the ruling, government party but it was far less coarse and more open to its people. During perestroika, under Gorbachev, the USSR was still under Communist rule but almost completely without the terror that came with the title. Censorship of materials was limited, the Cold War was ended, the Berlin Wall brought down. Under the more lax leadership and the fall of the Iron Curtain, Communism in the USSR was resolved and Russia was left under the rule of an elected president for the first time.

This is a story basically about the rise and the fall of Communism in a country that is currently my neighbor. Is that what happens when Communism is not an almighty force which casts stones at its disbelievers? Will the government not work if it is not executed ruthlessly?

I am ashamed to admit that I know so little about China's history. I do not know how Communism came to be in this country or what forms of governments previously held control. I know there were many dynasties but I do not know what exactly they did or how they chose to control their countrymen. I had a conversation with Bella today about how different our governments are but really I could not make many comparisons since I believe most of what I have always thought about China and its government is false. We talked about health care, freedoms, gun-control. Bella explained that she was taught in school and by her family that you must always respect those in charge whether you believe what they are doing is right or not. She was told never to question authority and always to obey it. I asked her what would happen if she questioned it and all she said was, "It would not be a good idea and I believe it would end very badly." Bella told me that she knew very little about China's government and its president. She said she is certain that other countries know more about China than China knows about itself. I talked to her about how the government in America is supposed to be controlled by the people (not that that is always the case). I told her about how we are taught to question it and to speak up for what we believe in. We told each other the different things we thought were unfair in the world and Bella, in her wisdom beyond my years, informed me that, "Nowhere in the world is perfect, no matter what some may believe is right or wrong. There is nowhere that is perfect." She teaches me so much every day. I see that my beliefs are so different from her's but that it doesn't matter and that I can do nothing but learn from everything she knows.

Mandarin lesson:
Zhèngfǔ 政府 (government)

Twice in one day?

And right after I blogged about having nothing to say to you fine folks.

Well, I still don't have too much to say. But I thought I would show you my apartment again. I cleaned for the cleaning lady who is coming tomorrow. Yes, this does sound odd now that I say type-it-out-loud. I just want her to be able to do the cleaning that actually matters tomorrow and not have to fiddle with the dishes, picking up after me, laundry, or taking out all of the trash. The kitchen, dining room, and shower bathroom need some major scrubbing and I am not about to let my clutter that has built up in the past week stop her from accomplishing that goal.

So, here is some photographic evidence that I did a small amount of cleaning today:

My coconut sun from Wuhan =)

The totally precious bowls and cups I bought! I could only afford two of everything so we will need to get two more soon.

Once it is cleaned, I would certainly call this the cutest part of the apartment! I am in love with the bright yellow wall.

There were tons of paintings shoved against the wall in T's bathroom. I pulled them out and hung them up around the apartment. Because the hooks on this wall are just randomly scattered all over the place, the painting is not exactly centered.

I also want you to see my fabulous bird whistle from Wuhan in action:

 

My totally cool bird whistle

The first part of my day was spent out at Sanlitun buying DVDs and eating lunch. I bought 6 new movies today!

I figured out that I can take the 701 bus down 16 stops to get dropped off right in front of The Village. Pretty awesome I think! It beats having to walk from the subway when it is unbearably hot outside right now. And it really only took about 30 minutes, so that is not so bad. I am pretty sure it is faster by bus than by subway considering I would have to take the bus to the subway and then walk from the subway stop to The Village.

So anyways, here are some photos of Sanlitun, or as I like to tell my friends and family, "America Town."

Here I am before going out on my big artistic adventure last night! My hair is blow dried AND straightened! And even though you can't really tell here, I have a full face of makeup on! Wow!

I love when kids play in fountains. It was so hot today that I seriously considered joining them.

Many familiar shops and several foreigners are the reason I like to refer to this place as "America Town."

Beijing traffic... gotta love it.

Note the blue sky!

Mature Content

**Disclaimer: This post may contain mature content!

So I went to my art class last night. I would not call it a class, actually. It was really just a drawing studio. It may have been the most relaxing and soothing thing that I have ever done. I felt so at peace with the world when the two hours was up. I left the apartment pretty early because I wanted to make sure I could find where I was going without much difficulty. I had received an email saying I could meet a representative from The Hutong (the place with the studio) at a nearby restaurant/hostel, Grandma's Kitchen.

I made it there about an hour early and I decided to get ahead and eat some dinner. I had pork chops with apples and macaroni and cheese. The mac-n-cheese was absolutely delicious. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I decided I would walk around the Shique hutong for a few minutes before I called to have my guide bring me to the studio. The place was really unlike any of the other hutongs I have been in so far. It was very authentic China. The people were outside doing laundry and cooking and playing Mahjong. There were some kids playing in the alleyways and women chatting outside of their homes. Besides the fact that there was a subway stop and one western restaurant, the place seemed pretty much untouched by tourism and modernization. I walked back to Grandma's Kitchen before I got too lost and called for someone to come pick me up.

I am really mad at myself for not taking pictures of the place. If you want to see what the venue looked like go to their website! The Hutong I promise I will take pictures the next time I go.

So my class started around 7:30. I got all set up with the help of another regular attendee. I grabbed some paper, an easel, and a board. I picked out my seat and made myself comfortable with a refreshing glass of plum juice. The music came on and the model came out. Remember, this is a "life drawing" class. I knew there was going to be a live model because it said so when I signed up. I also had a feeling about what that model would be doing exactly. My feelings were correct. She removed her robe and did a series of standing, sitting, and laying down poses. I now have about 10 drawings of a naked Chinese lady lying on my living room floor. I really have no clue what to do with them. I decided I actually did a good job on one so I hung it up above my bed.

I am not sure how you all feel about me posting a picture of the female body on my blog? Note: Mature Content. Is it all making sense to you now?

The drawing class may have been the most relaxing thing I have ever done. It felt so nice to just drown myself in my paper with my pencil and charcoal. I felt so rejuvenated and de-stressed when I was finished. I definitely think this is something I could start doing on a regular basis. The Hutong also offers cooking classes, has a traditional Chinese medicine hospital, and a tea shop. The place was very cool. Be sure to look at them on their website.

Well I am going to force myself to clean a little bit, even though I have a cleaning lady coming tomorrow. I want to pick up before she gets here. I have let myself slip a little on keeping everything perfectly organized. The coffee table is kind of looking disastrous right now. I may even head out again today and find some things to do in my new home city!

Mandarin lesson:
Nǚ 女 (woman)

Is it strange that I have nothing to say?

Here I am living my dreams off in another country but the past few days I have really felt like I just have nothing to blog about. I have been back in Beijing for about a week and a half and I have already set a routine for myself. I wake up in the morning with hopefully enough time to take a shower. I rush out the door to catch my bus usually about 30 minutes before I have to be at the office. I take the 420 bus down six stops and I walk to the breakfast food stand that I recently found and buy the Chinese version of an egg-Mckmuffin. It is a sesame biscuit with a fried egg inside and some shredded potatoes and carrots. I eat my breakfast while I walk to work. I usually arrive to Romp N Roll about 10 minutes early so I finish my breakfast and check my Facebook. I spend the rest of my day teaching any classes that we end up having, learning Chinese while teaching English to the office girls, eating lunch, snacking, Facebooking, organizing, and chatting with Bella. The past two days I have had to interview some girls for the new assistant job. It is really strange having to interview someone. They like to have me talk to them to see how good their English is. I have learned that I am not the best at interviewing people. I think I get more nervous than the person who is being interviewed. I just find myself not knowing what to say. I told Bella that we need to write down some questions for me to ask instead of me just trying to think of them on the fly. I mean, if you know me, you know how much I hate interviews. Apparently it is no different when I am the interviewer instead of the interviewee. When I get off work, I take the bus back home and drop my things off inside. I pretty much go out for dinner every night because I do not want to cook in my kitchen, it is just too dirty. So I walk to the mall and head for whatever restaurant I feel in the mood for. A lot of the times that ends up being Paris Baguette or Subway. But I also like to try some new places from time-to-time. The supermarket has a large cafeteria-type-place in it. I have yet to try any of the food because I don't know what it is. But I decided that I am just going to start trying stuff to see if I like it... whether I know what it is or not. After I grab dinner I decide, "Do I want to eat here or go home and eat?" Oh decisions, decisions. I pick a place and eat. When I get home I usually watch some TV online or Skype with someone and then I go to bed. Wow, really I am having such an exciting time! To get myself out of the funk and usual routine I have put myself in, I signed up for an art class. I am going to The Hutong tonight to check it out. I am not really sure how to get there and I obviously have very minimal artistic abilities, but I thought it would be something fun and hopefully I can meet some new people while I am there. I must admit I am really getting lonely in China. I am just ready for Theresa to get back from Wuhan and be my roommate. I have now lived alone for over two months and I absolutely hate the solitude. I am trying not to be angry about it but it is a little frustrating because I feel like I did not come to China to just be lonely all the time. I really do not feel like going out and having adventures because honestly it is just not as much fun when there is no one to experience things with. I am pretty tired of having to do everything by myself. I am not saying I need someone to hold my hand through everything that I do, I am just saying it would be nice to have someone to experience this fun journey with! So... I am going to that art class later on with the hopes of making a friend in this crazy city.

Mandarin lesson:
Miánhuā táng 棉花糖 (marshmallow/cotton candy)

My genius plan to learn Chinese

We are creating an office word wall to help me learn some Chinese and to help the office girls learn English. Two of my colleagues saw Transformers 3 last night and all I have heard them talking about today is Bumble Bee.

The conversation goes something like this to my uneducated ears:

"Qiao zhou xi si duai ni han kou Bumble Bee chen li dao zi."

I asked why I keep hearing Bumble Bee being said in the office and Bella explained that they saw the movie last night and Vivian really likes Bumble Bee. She even learned an entire sentence to say to me, "I saw Transformers 3 last night." I love how my colleagues are learning English and I wish I could follow along with them and learn some Chinese.

In comes our Mandarin/English Office Word Wall and it already has its first word!

We are going to add to our wall every day! I cannot wait to see the kinds of words we come up with!

No need for a Mandarin lesson right now. See above if needed! Bumble bee is pronounced - me fung.

Fun and Games

I think I am ready to blog about a few realities at work.

Well.. not too many realities - but like I said, a few.

During the morning meeting today my boss decided she did not want me and my assistant to go to outside events together. Instead, she thinks it would be a good idea for just one of us to go with maybe 2 or 3 sales girls. Mind you, my assistant is the only true, reliable English speaker at work. So she says that if my assistant goes to the events then she will run the event in English and in Chinese. When I go to the events I will run the event in English... with no Chinese. My lovely assistant spoke up for me and said, "But what if the parents have questions or are not following the rules correctly?" To which my boss responded, "Well we have a few days so you can just teach her some Chinese so she knows how to respond."

Yes.

That is the way it goes at my new office. I have a few days so I can just learn some Chinese. This coming from the woman who has never had a conversation with me because she does not speak any English. Needless to say I found this idea to be a tad bit preposterous. However, I have decided to no longer speak my complaints. I have learned that Bella does a very good job at relaying my emotions without me having to get all angry. So I just laughed and thought, well isn't that a silly quandary? The boss lady also wants my assistant to take more of a backseat in class so that the instruction is mostly in English. I am not opposed to this idea. I think they would get more out of the class with the least amount of translation as possible. I was told that I could just do a lot of hand motions to make the parents understand. Just like that - I will wave my arms around and they will understand! I love it!

Another totally absurd idea from the powers that be in the office - We are going to host a one-year-old's birthday party at the end of the month. This is not the absurd idea. But when I asked what sorts of things we needed to plan for the party I was told that we needed to bake a cake... and that our competitors always have clowns at their parties so maybe Bella and I could do magic. Yes... I am going to now learn Chinese and MAGIC in just a few short days! Man, I love Wangjing!

Our two classes were canceled today so Bella and I sat down and made a schedule for all of our future events and we thought of some birthday party ideas. We wrote out the rest of our summer schedule, too so we know what classes to expect every day. We also constructed a slide, did a little more organizing, and finished putting things away in the gym closet. The center is really coming together, despite the craziness that sometimes happens.

After finishing the day's to-do list, Bella and I chitchatted in the office about the comparisons in America's and China's education system. I mean, really there are no comparisons... they are basically all contrasts. We talked about how in China, if you want your child to have a decent education you may have to fork out 100,000 yuan for tuition at a good primary school. She said that the teachers have to be strict because there are so many students in the classroom that she would lose control if she were too nice. We talked about how when children raise their hands they have to put both arms in front of them with their fingertips touching the opposite elbows and raise the right arm up into a perfect 90 degree angle with the left arm. She said that children do not shout out, talk out of turn, or cause disturbances in class. We talked about how frequently students in China are tested and how they are expected to do well on their tests or they will not be admitted into good schools the next year. Bella told me about how unfair the education is for Chinese children. She said that they do not learn about the way the world really works and they do not learn about how to become successful doing what they love to do. Bella had questions about education in America. I told her it was not all fun and games in America, either. She said that in the magazine she was reading that the first lesson kindergartners have is how to identify a girl's bathroom vs. a boy's bathroom. I told her that is certainly not the first kindergarten lesson. I explained that the goals of kindergarten are to get students ready to read and to work on behaviors and social skills. She talked about how funny it is that when she sees American children they are always so wild and out of control but that the adults are so courteous and use good manners. She asked how that came to be. She said that in China the children are always respectful and use good manners while the adults have no idea how to act civilly (i.e. hawking loogies on the street, blowing snot rockets, coughing right in your face.. etc). I got a good chuckle out of this. I told her that we start testing children very young in America - even in preschool. She thought that Americans did not test their children. She thought that was just an Asia thing. I said that testing our students so extremely is not having positive effects in our country. She asked if a kindergartner did poorly on their state tests would that mean they could not attend a good primary school. I explained that all children in America will receive a free public education and that their tests did not have anything to do with attending school. She called our system fake testing. I explained that even though children would still receive an education even with poor test scores, they would be placed on a lower track. I told her about my three-year-old cousin who struggles with his handwriting and his teachers are concerned and already showing signs of early tracking. They are talking about starting him late to kindergarten even though it is over a year away and that he may need special services because he cannot write his name. I told her this is what testing does in our country. I explained that my cousin will be lucky because he has parents who will stick up for him but many children do not have that luxury. Many children are on the low track at three and they have their lives already determined for them. They are placed in the dolphins reading group and everyone knows the dolphins are the dumb kids. They are kept out of special classes to review. They have to settle for a general diploma because they needed remediation courses and didn't have time to take the foreign language classes needed for the advanced diploma. They may not get into college. They may drop out of school. They may join a gang or get pregnant in high school or choose the wrong path. This can all happen because a teacher decided to place a child on a low track when he was only three. Bella responded by saying, "But that is not fair either. America is supposed to be the land of opportunity. It is supposed to be where people go to live their dreams. I see now it is not all fun and games."

I am so happy that I am getting to know my assistant better and better. I am glad we are learning about each other and our backgrounds and our cultures. I am glad that she is making me more aware of what is going on in the world and in my own country.

There was no other choice for me in this world. China is where I am supposed to be right now. Even in just one day my whole outlook on the world can be changed. It took me coming here to realize that life is not all fun and games.

Mandarin lesson:
Lèqù 乐趣 (fun) Yóuxì 游戏 (games)

In love with organization

Every moment that I haven't been teaching this week, I have been organizing! I kind of look at the new center as a little baby in need of some love and care. I decided to start in the art room because it was just pretty bad in there. I am wishing I had taken "before" photos but I did not! Everyone else has been posting photos of their classrooms on Facebook... well, here are my "classrooms" for all intensive purposes.

Theresa and I have both explained that Rompy's tongue should probably be red and not brown. Apparently our opinion on this does not matter much. Bella says we will just tell people he ate a lot of chocolate...

I love labeling things!

One of the nurseries. I love the canopy over the crib!

Rompy's house! Rompy and his family are so skinny in their portrait!

The castle does not look quite like this anymore. I moved all of the baskets and bins into the storage closet.

This is the bathroom! I love the tile.

My side of the closet. It is definitely a tight squeeze!

I put all things needed in the gym often on the first shelf. The middle shelf will be for TRMs (Theme Related Materials) and the third shelf are things that are extra supplies or rarely used.

This is the sales side of the closet... It looks WAY better here than yesterday morning. I almost want to organize this side, too. I just think I would be frustrated when it didn't last. I informed the sales team that this is their side and they must stay off of my side.

Some people have been asking to see my apartment. I will post the pictures Theresa took before moving in. I am still in the process of unpacking and getting situated so the place is pretty much a wreck right now. Once it is clean and organized I will post the new pictures of what our place looks like.

This is Theresa's bedroom. We decided that because her boyfriend will be visiting next year- she should probably have this room. You know... because it has a DOOR and my room does not! It also has a bathroom with a really cool bathtub. After our cleaning lady helps us get the place clean I will be trying out this tub.

This is the bathroom off of my bedroom. It has the shower in it. T and I will obviously be sharing bathrooms. Her's for the tub, mine for the shower and washing machine!

Here is my bedroom. The curtain is my "door." The bedrooms are really like lofts. It is super cute. My room is the first you walk into when coming upstairs. The curtain kind of makes a little hallway to get to T's room. There is also tons of storage in my room. I have that long desk type thing with shelves, then more shelves on the wall with the bathroom and then a huge "closet/wardrobe" in my hallway. T and I will be sharing the storage areas.

This is the living room. There is also an entertainment center against the wall with a flat screen TV! I like the wood chairs but I would also like to find some cushions for them!

Here is the dining area. The refrigerator is also in this room and there is a cabinet in the back, too. This is the first room you walk into when you come inside.

Here is our kitchen. It is very small and really dirty right now. This is why we are in need of someone to come help us clean! I do not even walk into the kitchen. I am a little grossed out by it right now.

Here are the stairs from the dining area into the living room and you can see they continue to go up which is where you would walk into my bedroom and our makeshift hallway. Yes, the stairs are glass. It is really cool but also a little creepy. I hold on to the hand rail pretty tightly when I walk on them at night!

Here is our courtyard. We are on the ninth floor. You can also see what the outside of the apartments look like here. It is really cool!

So... that is basically my life right now. Work and home. I am going to make myself get up at some point today so I can go shopping for things for the apartment. I have a whole list going. I need sheets and a blanket and pillows. We also need plates, bowls, and cups. We do not have any cleaning supplies so I need all of those. I am not sure how to get everything I need and walk back home with it all. I think I will get as much as I can carry today and go back tomorrow for another round of as much as I can carry. First stop today= Wal Mart. There is one on the same street as our apartment! Tomorrow I think I will try to find IKEA. It is relatively close, I am just not quite sure where it is exactly.

By the way, the Grand Opening went really well on Saturday. There were tons of people there! I was pretty frustrated basically the whole time because plans kept changing at the last second and I had to do things that I didn't know about. I think sometimes my employer forgets I do not speak Chinese. So many people kept telling me things in Chinese like I should just understand. I had to run and find my two strong English speakers every time someone was trying to tell me what to do. Even though it was chaotic and all over the place, I had a lot of fun and the kids had a lot of fun. I am hoping that we score a lot of new members and quickly! I am pretty sure the center will not last with only the six members we had signed prior to the opening!

Mandarin lesson:
Jiànshēnfáng 健身房 (gym) Yìshù de 艺术的 (art) Yīnyuè 音乐 (music)

Super Storytellers!

My friend, Jessica, is a first year teacher and she needs some help in buying a few supplies for her classroom! She wants to expand literacy for her first graders in a fun and interactive way by building stories with LEGOS. Please visit her Donor's Choose site to see how you can help!

http://www.donorschoose.org/donors/proposal.html?id=595988&challengeid=173416

Thanks friends/family!

Wangjing

I know I really have not updated about what I think about my new surroundings... well... I want to blog positively about being back in Beijing because I have been looking forward to it for so long. Right now it is kid of hard to be completely positive. However, there have been several good things to come my way in the past two days.

First of all, I ate Subway for dinner tonight! It was so delicious that I felt I was living in sandwich heaven. I also bought some mochi balls for dessert. Theresa had talked very highly of them. I tried the caramel macchiato and the mango cream. I absolutely loved the mango but was not a fan of the macchiato. Last night I had Paris Baguette and Haagen Dazs. I also found the Auntie Annie's pretzel shop and several other restaurants that were familiar. There is a mall right down the block from our apartment and the food court is amazing. I am so happy all of this good food is within walking distance. It was definitely not like that in Wuhan. I also found the supermarket which is downstairs in the mall. The majority of malls I have been in have supermarkets on the bottom floor. This particular supermarket was great. Most of the aisles had Mandarin and English! It was not ridiculously crowded and it was actually pleasant to walk around in. It even smelled like a regular grocery store. I managed to find some Trix cereal! As soon as I buy dinnerware this weekend I will be going back for that! I cannot wait to eat cereal. It has been too long. I really like our new apartment. It is dirty... which I do not like at all. But, once it is clean I definitely feel like I will like it. I was not loving it yesterday but I think I was just too stressed to see the good things. It definitely needs some sprucing up and some personal touches to make it look more like our home. If I figure out how to get photos developed in China then I would love to frame some pictures around the apartment. Pictures always make a place more homely. I am going to make my way to Wal Mart (which is right down the street) and to IKEA this weekend. I want to get a few things that our apartment is lacking. I also need to get some cleaning supplies. This place needs it.

We have our grand opening tomorrow at the new center. I just got here yesterday and already I am responsible for making this place open successfully. I have my fingers crossed that everything goes well. I could use some prayers from all of you as well. I am still trying to get into the swing of things around the office. For the third time since I have arrived in China two months ago, I am the new person. This time is different, though, because I do not have a fellow employee to show me around and get me situated. I have to just jump in and open the center JUST LIKE THAT! There have been a few (probably an understatement) hiccups in the planning and I am not positive that we are all on the same page for tomorrow's big event. I am hoping that even if people mess a few things up they will be energetic and having fun and not make the mistakes noticeable to the costumers.

I should make myself go to bed. I have to be at work an hour earlier than usual to prepare for the big opening!

Mandarin lesson:
Wǒ lái le 我来了 (I am coming) - Theresa already knew this so I thought I should learn it, too!

Video of our journey

Watch our adventures from pretty much the beginning of the long hike through many beautiful places before we finally reached the Motherland.

It's like you can all be here with me now! To read more about The Yellow Crane Tower (pronounced in China- Hwang Hway Low), go to Theresa's blog. She also has more pictures. I would talk about it but basically I would copy what she said! I am sad to be without my roomie already...

I will continue capturing our fun times on video. I think this will be something really great to look back on in the future! Even if Theresa does think it is pretty ridiculous of me... I know she is secretly loving all of the footage!

Mandarin lesson:
Shìpín 视频 (video) Xiàngjī 相机 (camera) Zhàopiàn 照片 (photograph)

Did you know Inner Mongolia

is in China and not in fact in Mongolia? Who would've thunk it? In case you do not believe me, feast with your own eyes this map of China's provinces:

Do you see the large, yellow province on the top of China? Apparently that is Inner Mongolia. How could it be called "inner" when it is on the border of Mongolia? Asia... you continue to boggle my mind.

Why all this talk about Inner Mongolia you may be wondering? Theresa and I are thinking of having a "Happy Birthday, Chelsie" slash "Welcome home to Beijing, Theresa," soiree in this mysterious province. We would take an overnight train and stay for two days to ride camels in the dessert and horses in the grasslands... then we would return on an overnight train and high tail it back to work. I am hoping this plan becomes action. We would get back to Beijing and only have four days left before my mom gets here to vacation, Middle Kingdom style.

I will blog later about my new apartment, Romp N Roll center, city, life... For now I want to unpack a few things and try to get cozy. Here's to hoping the fifth move was the final one in China!

Mandarin lesson:
Nèiménggǔ 内蒙古 (Inner Mongolia)

Yellow Crane

By far the most beautiful site I have seen in China thus far. I am glad that I am leaving Wuhan with such a pretty image in my head! I feel like the city was just starting to feel comfortable to me. I was learning my way around, had finally been able to tell the taxi driver directions to the apartment, began to grow a fond relationship with many kiddos at the center, and definitely found friendships that I am happy to have known. Everything felt so right when Theresa got here. It made me feel like I had no reason to feel lonely to begin with.

The Yellow Crane Tower was gorgeous. I will leave you with a few pictures from that day.

Back in Beijing tomorrow- as Candy said last night on our way to hot pot, time flies. It's true.

Mandarin lesson:
Huáng hè lóu 黄鹤楼 (Yellow Crane Tower)