"We gonna light it up, like it's dynamite!"

Hannah and I took our daily power walk (don't judge me, the air pollution is horrible here) but we went a little further to a kind of park by their man-made lake. It's not the kind of park you picture in your mind, because there is hardly any grass in China. Bless you America. Anyways, so at this park they have the big section that looks like a playground, but it's not! They are devices (not electric) used to work out. I'm sure little kids could play on them if they wanted, but they are there for everyone to get some exercise. So Hannah and I had tons of fun going around and trying everything.



Of course there were many people just standing there, watching us. One cleaning lady was standing like 5 feet away from me, just blatantly staring. But... you can't get too irritated over it because it's not rude to stare here in China. Which is something I really think should be changed immediately. There was this guy probably about 75, who was amazing! Seriously, he was pretty much more flexible than I was, and was super strong. He could hold out his legs parallel while holding onto bars, like they do in the olympics! Over yonder there was another older man doing a bunch of sweet flips on the high bar! What the heck? I could barely do the monkey bars, I don't how I did that when I was a child, those things hurt my hands. But it was fun to mess around, everyone thought we were so funny. One guy even was taking pictures of us with this super nice camera, yes I did some model poses for him.

When we were leaving we went around the corner and both turned on "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, on our ipods and had a much needed dance party by ourselves. It was SO fun. There was a group of 20 people just standing there watching us, but we didn't care, we were just dancin away! It had been building up for both of us for a while. Dance parties really are the best.

What??

Yes I do love it here in China, and I am having tons of fun. But... I'll just tell the truth. I'm ready to come home. Mainly because of all the annoying attention I get. Of course everyone likes attention, but this is gross attention from men and both Hannah and I get so irritated. And it's not just guys, it's everyone. Everyone stares at you like you're a piece of meat, and they shout "Hello!" at you in kind of a cat callish way. It's getting so old.

Today I went out to exercise, Hannah wasn't with me because she was teaching, and everyone passed me just stared and gawked at me. I don't know why, but today I was especially annoyed. I was just annoyed at everyone looking at me. I know that's a bad attitude, but I was. I went even as far as shouting "what?!" to one girl who kept looking back at me. Haha.. sorry. Some people give you really positive attention though, being really nice and genuinely just want to say hello and want to try and talk. I love people like that. The other day Hannah and I were standing at the bus station and a guy came up and asked if he could talk with us. Normally that means the person will start talking to you in bad English and then ask for your "mobile" number afterwards, which is always really awkward because we never actually want to give it to them. But this time he actually just wanted to talk and practice his English, which was pretty good, and he didn't even ask for our cell numbers afterward. Our bus came and he said, "Ok good-bye!" I was so happy with the situation that I even waved good-bye to him on the bus.

So other than that things are going splendidly. But I'll be happy to get home in December (heh heh) and see my family and good friends. But for the time being, I'm still lovin the land of China!

Something that did make me smile today was when I was eating my kiwi. I just love Kiwi's. They are so delicious and juicy here and I love them.

What makes me smile :D

My lovely sister Jillian did a blog post about what makes her smile. So here are just a few things that make me smile:

1. Being with my family

2. Attending a great college that I love

3. China and everything in it

4. Watching people trip (don't judge me, you know you laugh too)

5. Remembering that I've finally figured out what I want to major in

6. Clogging

7. Bike rides with my Dad

8. Cooking or baking something new

9. When two lovers in a movie or book finally kiss at the very end

10. Watching my dogs try and get their ball from underneath our entertainment center

11. Seeing one of my friends that I haven't seen in a long time

12. When my Dad does his dance moves that make him look like a Peanuts character

13. Looking at old pictures

14. When my Mom calls me and asks if I want to meet up with her for lunch

15. Knowing that there are so many people who truly love me and care about me

16. Dancing, singing and performing

17. Quoting lines from movies (especially when someone knows what movie its from)

18. My best friends

19. Christmas

20. Just life in general :)

Life of inconvenience.

I love China but it really is so inconvenient here. If you're confused as to what exactly I am talking about, I just mean everything.

Inconvenience #1. You can't drink the tap water. Oh do I miss the days where I could just go to my sink and fill me up a nice glass of water.
#2. You can't flush toilet paper. If you don't get that, then just think about it for a while. Luckily we can in our apartment because it's newer, but I swear if our toilet starts flooding because we are I'm gonna get mad! But when you go to public places? Nope.
#3. They don't supply toilet paper for you. Just annoying.
#4. They don't just give you the bags when you go to the grocery store. You have to pay for them. PAY. Next time you go to the grocery store, be grateful you get those things for free.
#5. Don't even think about sitting down to take a rest on a bench. Because they sure don't have those here. I have yet to see a bench anywhere. Even in Hong Kong or Beijing. They just don't have them. If you want to take a rest, you go into that squatting position that they all love. I do not do it because it's extremely uncomfortable for me and I just fall over. Those Asians are just built different.
#6. There are no lines here. You could be standing in something you think is a line and someone will walk right in front of you. So I've had to learn. Today in the grocery store while I was waiting to weigh my fruit, I could see a lady behind me to the right trying to inch her way in front of me. But I wouldn't have it! I don't care if I have three bags and you only have one. Go to America and see what happens when you try and cut like that!
#7. No dryer. We do it the old fashion way here by hanging out clothes up. Which takes about twice as long here as it would in the states because its so dang humid.
#8. Our shower has no curtain or anything to stop the water from going all over the floor. Just a shower head and a drain right next to the toilet. It's not too powerful so it's not too bad.
#9. They must not like couches here because ours is basically a brick with fabric over it.
#10. You can't really walk around barefoot anywhere. Even in our apartment. It's just dirty. And no matter how much you clean it, it just gets dirty again right after. So right when we walk in, we have to put out slipper shoes on. I miss the carpet in my house.

The purpose of this post is not to complain to everyone. Because I'm not. I've already gotten used to all this. I just want everyone to be grateful for how much we all have in America. It really is a life of luxury. People here would kill to go to America. So be happy you live in such a wonderful country.

Huuuuufei.

Greetings from Hefei.

Since China so graciously blocked all of the sites I normally go to, Hannah and I had to figure out some way to get past it all. She found some proxy site, so good news! I can blog now! I actually don’t even really know where to start. The two weeks in Hong Kong and Beijing were wonderful; I had so much fun. I got to climb the great wall (again) but this time I went all the way to the top and made the whole loop around to the other side. It was kinda rough but after I felt like I was on top of the world! I don’t know how the Huns climbed up so quickly in Mulan. Must be those biceps. We also had about a 15 minute paparazzi session with random Chinese, which was flattering. The Chinese sure do love us here. Little do they know that we’re nothing special in America. The only reason people would ever want to take a picture of or with me in America was if a) I was famous (which I’m not) or b) I was making a fool of myself. Anyways we went to all the touristy places and it was fun to hang out with my two good friends Hannah and Ryan. We went to the Silk and Pearl Markets where I did some hard bargaining and got yelled at by pushy Asian lady’s. They’re especially pushy in the purse section. They just grab at you like you’re a piece of meat! I’ve made some enemies there. It was sad to separate into our cites because Hannah and I got close with Ryan and also Jacob, the one who started it all. China Horizons that is.

Anyways, now I’m here in the city of Hefei where I have been teaching little children conversational English. I have mostly been teaching 3 and 4 year olds. A bit tough considering they don’t know much English but they are fun to teach and some are super adorable. Our apartment is very nice, as far as China apartments go. I would put pictures up but this cursed proxy site won't let me do it! Anyways, Hannah and I have just been exploring the city and getting stared at. I find that if you just give them a nice smile and wave then they are happy. :) We've done a little bit of shopping but not too much. No worries though! I'll be coming home with plenty!

It's weird though sometimes I forget I'm in China. I wake up and think, where am I? Not home, not school... China? Oh ya! Each day I'm here gets better. The city is very beautiful and we live in a really nice part of town. Most of the people here have been very friendly and helpful. And all of the people who work at our school with us are very, very sweet and always willing to help. Teaching has been good so far. It gets frustrating just because they are little and crazy, but I hope they get used to me and maybe calm down a little. Sometimes I wonder what I'm even doing here. I don't want to be an elementary teacher. But I feel like this is where I'm supposed to be right now. I obviously can't share any of the gospel here, but I really want to be a good example. I felt good last night at our banquet telling everyone that I don't drink. It's just not the norm there and they really notice things like that. Anyways, I'm really loving it. I feel like the next four months will change me for the better. Hopefully when I come out of it I will know what I want to do with my life. I would really love that right now. For now I'll just keeping teaching and having a good time. Peace.

CHINA!!!!

Whats that Hailey? You're in China? Why yes, yes I am.

It's actually pretty weird when I sit and think about it. I'm in China! Surrounded by millions of Asians! And it's awesome. So I flew to LA, then from LA I met up with Hannah (one of my best friends that's teaching in china with me) and some of the other teachers and we all flew to Korea. 13 hour flight. I thought it was going to be hell but actually it was pretty wonderful. I popped in two advil an hour before we all boarded and I was already half asleep by the time I got on the plane. And then I woke up when breakfast was being served. A wonderful meal of hard sausages and soggy tater tots with some OK eggs. But it was better than the Korean option. I couldn't understand what it was called but it sounded like porridge. But trust me, it wasn't. And then from there we flew to Hong Kong which was about 3 hours. And I slept the first half of that plane ride. Which was when they served lunch, of course. I was probably better off anyways. But these airline hostesses are so cute! They looked like porcelain dolls. Curse these Asians and their nice skin and hot bods. Haha.

I know you are all wondering it, so I'll just tell you. I am going to marry an Asian. Probably not one straight from china (you're welcome Mother) but I will marry one. Seriously right after I stepped off the plane in Hong Kong I was overwhelmed by trendy Asian men with nice hair and black rimmed glasses. It's insane. People dress so classy here, I love it. Not everyone, but a good amount. The smell here is a little overwhelming. It kinda makes me sick to my stomach but I guess you would get used to it if you lived here. Some places it's not so bad, but then you turn a corner and almost puke. No worries I haven't yet.

Last night we went to Victorias peak. You take this tram thing up to a really high building on a hill that overlooks all of Hong Kong. It was pretty amazing. The buildings are extremely high and close together. You couldn't even see any roads it was so packed. But the lights were so cool and one buildings lights kept changing colors. I want that for my house. It would be the sweetest thing ever! Don't stop me mom, I'm doing it.

This morning I got to go to the Hong Kong temple! It was pretty amazing. All the people working there were really sweet and courteous. The jumpsuits we're a bit on the smaller side, considering we're not 5 feet tall, but they ended up being alright. I have a feeling it's going to be a bit hard finding clothing that is long enough. But we'll just see, it should be an adventure! I want to come home looking like a Chinese person. Well obviously not LOOKING like one. That's quite impossible, don't be ridiculous. But I love they way they dress here. I've already had about 3 people laugh at me for not understanding Chinese. Laugh it up people, I'll soon be able to understand you. Maybe. And the tram here is super nice! The New York subway doesn't even compare to this one. There's no graffiti on the wall, it has air conditioning down there and inside the tram the map lights up on where the next stop is. Pretty sweet. It gets a bit crowded sometimes.. well actually pretty much most of the time. And I've gotten pretty friendly with some people I would rather not.

But anyways so far it's been great; I'm excited to go the light show tomorrow night and then to Beijing. Farewell my fellow Americans. Until next time.

I miss Rexburg.

Well I'm back in Sacramento now. And I wouldn't be so homesick for Rexburg if it wasn't for the fact that I won't be back there for like nine months! I miss all my friends and I already miss being out on my own. I also miss the nice, breezy weather there, but I know that definitely won't last. Haha. My Dad and little sister Lexy drove up to Rexburg and helped me pack up everything I own. Three things I really dislike in this world: 1. Spiders 2. Climbing stairs and 3. Packing. It took a while. It was fun for Dad and Lexy to meet some of my friends. She thought some of the guys were extremely good looking. Haha but I don't blame her, let's be honest. Before going home to Sac we drove to Provo to visit Morg and Nate and their precious children. And I got to meet my new nephew Bartlett! He is so precious.

I know I know. I hope my children are as cute as him! Anyways it was fun to get to see all of them and chat with my sister. We also watched the movie Leap Year. I'd rate it about a three. Super cheesy. Don't get me wrong I love cheesy movies, but this was a bit much for me. Anyways so we took that long drive home and now I get to spend three weeks with my family and try and find some way to make some extra cash for china. Words cannot describe how excited I am. Since there is not facebook there I will be updating my blog more often and emailing and skyping people. This summer our family vacation is at yellowstone. I'm super excited to go back! I haven't been since I was four or five. There's a picture of me holding a little toy horse my parents bought me next to my brother Joel. I love it. I wish I had it to show you.

Well that's my life right now. It should be a fun little summer while preparing to go party it up in China. Get ready all you awesome Chinese people!

Home Sweet Rexburg

So I've been back at BYU-I now for about three weeks? Maybe more. And I'm already having a blast! I'm so glad to not be living at home anymore. No offense Mom and Dad. I just had no life. Let's be honest. And I had a job I couldn't wait to get out of. Working full time at an Assisted Living home where old people yell at you for not folding their laundry the right way is not exactly a glamorous job. I have some sweet stories if anyone wants to be entertained or grossed out. Just let me know.

Anyways, so I'm taking 13 academic credits and 4 dance. I am in a clogging class with the legendary Gary Larsen and I'm on the World Dance Team!! It's so much fun I love it! Words cannot describe how excited I am to be dancing and performing again. The only thing I don't love about being back is the freaking bipolar weather. I'm not joking, one day it will be snowing and the next it will be totally sunny. What is this place? Where's the Sacramento weather I love? Oh, right. Like, 13 hours away. Sweet.

I'm living in Nauvoo house again (best apartments ever) and I'm in an amazing ward, which I'm the Sacrament meeting Ward Chorister in. Pretty much the easiest calling ever. No, I didn't ask for it. I also have the best FHE group ever. Which I'm really excited about cause last fall semester... well. Ya. And it does help that they are all attractive. No, that is not why they are so awesome. Give me a little credit please. So I guess I should put some pictures up. I'll show you some fun pics of Hilary's 19th B-day party. The guys came over for some cake. When they got there, our apt was completely clean, and when they were getting ready to leave? Well, let's just say it wasn't clean anymore. There's still cake in our carpet. Don't judge.


This is actually from my Birthday Party on the 22nd of April. 19.

Some of the guys.


Hilary and myself


Hilary, Michelle and me creepin in the back

Those are my eyes

Laughter

The 504 girls and Alex

Same, plus Curtis and Sterling


Haha the Birthday girl got her face stuffed with cake by Cody and Sterling

Silly string alllll over our floor

Alex and Hilary being gross and eating the streamer things, which taste really disgusting.

Hilary so grateful for the cake I made her

Cutting the cake

Hil blowing out her candles after 10 minutes of laughing

Can't Get Enough Hockey

Was anyone else freaking out during the gold medal hockey game between the USA and Canada? Well, I was. I was sitting on my couch all alone, yelling at the TV and sweating from stressing so much. I felt like my mom. If any of you have watched a sports game with her, you will know what I'm talking about. Anyways, it was just pure intense hockey playing the whole time! Especially after we made that goal with like 24 seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game. That's when I called my sister Jill and started freaking out. Sadly, we did not win the gold, but we did win silver, which is way awesome. So of course, I had to watch Miracle today. One of my absolute favorite movies. As usual I stress and freak out even though I know that the USA are going to win. And then I cry at the end. It's just how it goes.

Overall I would say that the Olympics were a huge success and totally fun to watch. The winter Olympics have always been my favorite. I just can't get enough of the snowboarding, hockey, and figure skating. Too bad they only last for two weeks. But it sure makes me proud to be an American. Go USA!