Happy 4th of July! This year I was able to bake some very tasty dishes for dinner and dessert! I got to make Puppy Chow, a very special dessert that includes ingredients from America. I also got to watch/help mom make Cherry Crumble…. yummm 🙂 I'm so glad I got to spend my time with my family as well as making food on this special day!

In China, if you want to get somewhere without paying for an airline ticket the next best mode of transportation is trains.  This is a very popular option for the Chinese because it is inexpensive.  One big downside is that it takes a long time, however for those who are looking for a truly Chinese experience, trains are the best choice!  Our friends who recently visited China, wanted a real Chinese experience, so we suggested a 27 hour sleeper train to get to Guilin.  Rachel and I accompanied them to Guilin and I personally had a great time on the long train ride with Alex and Madi, the Vander Ark girls.  In a sleeper train there are separate compartments with two sets of bunk beds, three beds high.  Rachel and Alex slept on the top, Madi and I slept in the middle beds ad the parents slept on the bottom.  A frustration on this particular trip was that there were electrical outlets on the train but there was no electricity turned on to them!  So when my computer went out of charge we had to, *gasp*, survive without technology!   So we napped, ate, drank tea, played board and card games, etc. etc.    I had a great time despite the battery loss and was really happy that I could have that experience with the Vander Arks. 

This June we have been hosting company here in China almost constantly.  At the beginning of the summer my grandparents came for Michael's graduation and to visit China, and the day they left we picked up our friends, the Vander Arks, from the airport!  So it has been a pretty busy, but fun, summer.   In this blog I'll summarize our visit with our special friends from Washington DC, the Vander Arks.  One of their goals was to see Tianjin, and get a picture of our lives here for a bit.  After almost two weeks together in Tianjin, we went to Beijing to sight see.  From there Rachel and I went to Guilin with their family to be "tour guides".  I was really excited to visit Guilin, this being my second time there.  The scenery in Gulin, a city in the south of China, is breathtaking and the activities are limitless.  While in Guilin an adventure education company named China Climb brought us rock climbing, biking, kayaking, cooking, caving, swimming, and hiking!  It was a ton of fun, but a bit difficult.  These were all great ways to experience the beauty of the south of China as well as the culture. 

My favorite activity was kayaking.  At the beginning I was having a hard time trying to paddle with my cast, but later I really enjoyed it because the water was moving so slowly that we could leisurely paddle along or just float down the river and take a dip when we're hot.  It was so relaxing and a lot of fun!  Over all I had a great time in Guilin and am very thankful for the opportunity to go with the Vander Arks!

As someone who's lived in China for almost three years now, I think you are getting a picture of how little I have seen tourist attractions in Beijing.  Of course I  have been to the Great Wall, if I hadn't that would really be cheeping myself out of China's long and interesting history.  So yesterday I saw the Summer Palace with our guests, the Vander Arks.  This has been the second visit I've had to the Summer Palace, but this time we hired a tour guide and I was able to get a deeper insight on what really happened hundreds of years ago.  The Summer Palace was a sort of resort form the royalty of China.  The emperor would use a canal that directly connects the Forbidden city, the emperor's home, and the Summer Palace to get there.  One of my favorite parts about this place is the "long corridor".  This is an open ait covered walk way that connects a long stretch between two buildings.  On this corridor's beams supporting the roof you can see Chinese paintings that have been preserved from years ago.  All the paintings that cover the inside of the corridor amount to over 8,000 in the whole length of it!  I found it very interesting because of my love for Chinese painting.  The Summer palace as a whole is a magnificent cluster of red gold and blue buildings scattered around a large lake who reflects the grandness of the tallest circular building built right into a small mountain.  It is truly a magnificent "resort, even for a king!      

As someone who's lived in China for almost three years now, I think you are getting a picture of how little I have seen tourist attractions in Beijing.  Of course I  have been to the Great Wall, if I hadn't that would really be cheeping myself out of China's long and interesting history.  So yesterday I saw the Summer Palace with our guests, the Vander Arks.  This has been the second visit I've had to the Summer Palace, but this time we hired a tour guide and I was able to get a deeper insight on what really happened hundreds of years ago.  The Summer Palace was a sort of resort form the royalty of China.  The emperor would use a canal that directly connects the Forbidden city, the emperor's home, and the Summer Palace to get there.  One of my favorite parts about this place is the "long corridor".  This is an open ait covered walk way that connects a long stretch between two buildings.  On this corridor's beams supporting the roof you can see Chinese paintings that have been preserved from years ago.  All the paintings that cover the inside of the corridor amount to over 8,000 in the whole length of it!  I found it very interesting because of my love for Chinese painting.  The Summer palace as a whole is a magnificent cluster of red gold and blue buildings scattered around a large lake who reflects the grandness of the tallest circular building built right into a small mountain.  It is truly a magnificent "resort, even for a king!      

Rachel and Jessie have been gone for a week to YangShuo, China with our visitors from America. So Maddie and I got busy in the kitchen today making some favorites for the 4th of July. The girls should return home by dinner time today as long as their flight is on time. We are blessed this year to have many yummy ingredients from America brought by our guests! Buffalo Hot Wings
Sun-dried tomato and feta cheese pasta salad
Veggies and Dip
Cherry Crumble Pie
Puppy Chow chocolate peanut butter snack mix

Rachel and Jessie have been gone for a week to YangShuo, China with our visitors from America. So Maddie and I got busy in the kitchen today making some favorites for the 4th of July. The girls should return home by dinner time today as long as their flight is on time. We are blessed this year to have many yummy ingredients from America brought by our guests! Buffalo Hot Wings
Sun-dried tomato and feta cheese pasta salad
Veggies and Dip
Cherry Crumble Pie
Puppy Chow chocolate peanut butter snack mix

And for a special treat…Red, White and Blue candies, a mixture of York Pieces and M&M’s

Happy 4th of July! Today I actually didn't realize it was the 4th of July till my mom pointed it out to me and by then I was dressed in an "I ♥ China" T-Shirt 😛 So I quickly went searching for the the Old Navy Famous American Flag T-Shirt I received from my Aunt Jill 🙂

This June we have been hosting company here in China almost constantly.  At the beginning of the summer my grandparents came for Michael’s graduation and to visit China, and the day they left we picked up our friends, the Vander Arks, from the airport!  So it has been a pretty busy, but fun, summer.   In this blog I’ll summarize our visit with our special friends from Washington DC, the Vander Arks.  One of their goals was to see Tianjin, and get a picture of our lives here for a bit.  After almost two weeks together in Tianjin, we went to Beijing to sight see.  From there Rachel and I went to Guilin with their family to be “tour guides”.  I was really excited to visit Guilin, this being my second time there.  The scenery in Gulin, a city in the south of China, is breathtaking and the activities are limitless.  While in Guilin an adventure education company named China Climb brought us rock climbing, biking, kayaking, cooking, caving, swimming, and hiking!  It was a ton of fun, but a bit difficult.  These were all great ways to experience the beauty of the south of China as well as the culture. 

My favorite activity was kayaking.  At the beginning I was having a hard time trying to paddle with my cast, but later I really enjoyed it because the water was moving so slowly that we could leisurely paddle along or just float down the river and take a dip when we’re hot.  It was so relaxing and a lot of fun!  Over all I had a great time in Guilin and am very thankful for the opportunity to go with the Vander Arks!

In China, if you want to get somewhere without paying for an airline ticket the next best mode of transportation is trains.  This is a very popular option for the Chinese because it is inexpensive.  One big downside is that it takes a long time, however for those who are looking for a truly Chinese experience, trains are the best choice!  Our friends who recently visited China, wanted a real Chinese experience, so we suggested a sleeper train to get to Guilin.  Rachel and I accompanied them to Guilin and I personally had a great time on the over night train with Alex and Madi, the Vander Ark girls.  In a sleeper train there are separate compartments with two sets of bunk beds, three beds high.  Rachel and Alex slept on the top, Madi and I slept in the middle beds ad the parents slept on the bottom.  A frustration on this particular trip was that there were electrical outlets on the train but there was no electricity turned on to them!  So when my computer went out of charge we had to, *gasp*, survive without technology!   So we napped, ate, drank tea, played board and card games, etc. etc.    I had a great time despite the battery loss and was really happy that I could have that experience with the Vander Arks.