What 5 year old little girl has not had a first ballet class? Today a neighbor invited us to a small class of four little girls from our neighborhood. I was so thankful for a friend who had recently given us a bunch of clothes which included a little pink leotard (our friend was moving back to Oklahoma). Megan had a great time, and Sean whole heartedly approved of Megan going, especially after he learned that the teacher spoke only in Chinese to the girls.
What 5 year old little girl has not had a first ballet class? Today a neighbor invited us to a small class of four little girls from our neighborhood. I was so thankful for a friend who had recently given us a bunch of clothes which included a little pink leotard (our friend was moving back to Oklahoma). Megan had a great time, and Sean whole heartedly approved of Megan going, especially after he learned that the teacher spoke only in Chinese to the girls.
This summer I have been able to visit family and friends and also have a very relaxing time. Although I was not able to go to America I have still had tons of fun just hanging out here in Tianjin!
At the beginning of our summer break my grandparents and cousin got to visit us here in China! It was fun showing them around Tianjin and Beijing, and I had a ton of fun getting to show them my school and neighborhood. I also had fun getting to have time with them playing cards and board games, eating dinner together, and just talking. This visit definitely brightened my summer, I’m so glad I got to have the time I did with them!
I was just looking through the pictures I took on my 9th grade Spring Trip and I found this photo (below). I remeber how I spotted the mom and baby sitting on the side of the shopping street. The mother was feeding her adorable baby a gram cracker and the baby was content to gnaw on it. I couldn't resist a picture of the baby. So when I asked if I could take a picture of the mother and her cute little girl, the mom got up and without a world handed me her baby and took the camera from me to take the picture of us! The two things I was thinking were, 1) What trust to place your child in the arms of a stranger for a picture?!, and 2) This baby is SO CUTE!
I was just looking through the pictures I took on my 9th grade Spring Trip and I found this photo (below). I remember how I spotted the mom and baby sitting on the side of the shopping street. The mother was feeding her adorable baby a gram cracker and the baby was content to gnaw on it. I couldn’t resist a picture of the baby. So when I asked if I could take a picture of the mother and her cute little girl, the mom got up and without a world handed me her baby and took the camera from me to take the picture of us! The two things I was thinking were, 1) What trust to place your child in the arms of a stranger for a picture?!, and 2) This baby is SO CUTE!
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!
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!
