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.