I went to the grocery store yesterday and stumbled upon a dilemma in the hair care aisle.

I have also used a foreign brand of shampoo while in China since my hair is so different than Asian hair. I tried to use local shampoo for a while but it just made my hair funky. There are a few brands you can buy here: Vidal Sassoon, Pantene, and Herbal Essences are the most common. At the store yesterday, I realized Pantene was the least expensive so I decided on that brand.

Here the dilemma began. Ya know how in the States there are shampoo's for all different kinds of hair types? Such as:
Curly
Fine
More Volume
Treated
Dry/damaged
long and strong

Foreign brands keep that trend when they sell their product overseas. The problem is that in China it's ALL in Chinese characters. Since it's my fourth year here, you might assume that I can read fluenty .. I'll go ahead and shoot down that assumptions. The thing is though, even if I was a wizard with Chinese characters... why would I know phrases that you would find on shampoo bottles?

So yesterday I stood in the aisle trying to decide if I wanted the green, brown, blue, black, pink, or purple bottle of Pantene ProV. I was trying to remember if I had ever seen any of those colors in the States before but I was at a loss. I figured it would be vanity to ask the nearby worker for a suggestion because I wouldn't understand what the different kinds were any (because once again, that is not a part of the language I've ever had to learn).

This is one of those random things you run into when you live non-fluenty in a foreign culture. If I am smart (or really it's just that I need to remember), I'll ask a student sometime when they are in my apartment to look at my shampoo and try to tell me what I'm currently treating my hair for.

I choose the pink one by the way.

I decided to go to Thailand a week before our conference this year. I had two days alone- Note to Self: that's too much time alone! I mostly slept and drank lots of Starbucks during that time. My friend Tanya met up with me after that and we had several days together to just relax and catch up. Thailand was a much needed break. It was great to be somewhere that was sunny and warm. It was about an 80 degree weather difference from school which was a bit of a shock to my body at first. I've been to Chiang Mai four times now, so I'm rather familiar with the city. It was nice to enjoy the things I like there and know what to avoid as well. One of my favorite parts is all the western food. I was able to enjoy amazing Mexican, Mediterranean, Italian, and Thai food. The smoothies are amazing as well!

I think my favorite part of that week was sitting by the pool with Tanya and catching up on life. I don't get to see my closest friends here that often because we work in different cities. It was such a blessing to have time to catch up with people. It was also nice to have time to rest after a super busy semester.


Asia is full of creepy mannequin's, but Tanya and I found THE CREEPIEST one in Chiang Mai this year!

I might be the WORST blogger ever. I just can't seem to keep up with it. Several times I have just thought of giving up because it seems like a task I can't make time for. Lately though, I have decided I need to be better about my communication with the outside world. One of those areas is my blog... so here's to turning a new leaf!


Spring Festival was a very long break this year and a lot happened during that time. I'm going to try and recap a lot of it because it was so wonderful. I think why I've been bad at keeping a blog in the past is because I have too much to share and I can't take enough time to make that happen. So, I'm going to start today with the beginning of the festival time and try to keep these posts shorter.


Yes, this picture is of a loaf of bread in the shape of an alligator. This was wonderfully made and constructed by my beloved, Dan. Right after Christmas, Dan came to my school for a three week visit. This was a very blessed time together. It was amazing to have an extended time together because we usually just get weekends (and not as many as we'd like!). We had so much time during each day to learn about each other and interact in the small things. It was fun to learn some of each others quirks and habits. We are both so thankful for the way our relationship grew and deepened during this time. We had so much fun making meals, writing songs, drinking way too much coffee, and just talking. It was the perfect way to begin my holiday because it really felt like a celebration each day since we aren't used to getting that much time together!


Another highlight from the first few weeks was that I finally made a trek to the Registered Fellowship in our city. I've never thought about going because it's just super far away but Dan was up for some adventure. We took a combination of three buses for about an hour and a half.. got a little lost at that point... eventually found a cab that could decipher my fumbling Chinese... and in the end made it to the location. The main meetings are too early each week for me to go (the bus doesn't leave early enough to get me there since its such a long journey). It was good though to see the building and I was surprised by how big it was! I hope that is packed out every week! This is the only registered one that I know of in our small city (of 2 1/2 million people).

I turned in my final grades a few weeks ago and I've been enjoying all my free time lately with Dan. We spent 3 weeks together at my school and it was fantastic. I'm in Beijing for a couple days and then I'm off to Thailand to bask in the warmth for a little while! It's surreal that it's Thailand time already and it seems as though the fall semester has flown by! I won't be around much for the next few weeks until the semester begins again in March. 

Week one of Final exams is over.. here are some funny/interesting things my students said...

“My mother thinks that being fatter is healthy so she is so happy when I eat a lot”

 

“When you are dating, trust is the most important thing because you cannot be together very much. In marriage, responsibility is the most important thing.”

“If you are new at yoga, you’ll feel a lot of pain- but don’t give up!”

 

“Light music is my favorite because it takes me to paradise”

“The most important ingredient in marriage is harmony and being able to adjust to one another. For example, my mother cannot sleep without my father’s snoring. At first, it would make her upset but now she is adjusted and she needs it in order to sleep.”

 

“In the winter, people become lazy”

“Marriage is different than love. The most important thing in marriage is responsibility”

 

“Time is money- so I think my love language is spending time together”

 

“Music is indispensable to my life. My favorite kind is HipHop because this rhythm is the most beautiful. I think this kind of music expresses freedom.”

“Only a marriage of true love will last. Those of political or social advantage don’t work.”

 

In talking about the 5 love languages: “I don’t need my boyfriend’s sweet talk, he just needs to be sincere”

There were also some very cultural things said....

“In a marriage, you should think more about the other person than yourself. For example, in the winter you should tell him to put more clothes on.” 

(They are always telling people to wear more clothes- it's a sign that you care)

“My father, brother and I have something in common- none of us use our chopsticks correctly”

“My boyfriend and I quarrel about petty things sometimes. For example, he does not like to call me because he says the radiation from the phone makes him unhealthy but I want to talk to him so we argue about this.”

“My mother is a very traditional woman”

“He is very lovely” – referring to her mother!

(They have issues with pronouns because there is just one word for both genders in Chinese. They also tend to use the word "lovely" way too much)

“My father is the best man in the world because he doesn’t drink, smoke or play cards.”

 

“My family is so kindhearted”

(I don't know who taught people here the word "Kindhearted" but they use it way too much)

“They fell in love at first sight, like Jack and Rose”

(Yes.. that IS a reference to Titanic... it's been years but they still love it)

“It’s a pity I have no boyfriend”  “It’s a pity for me”   “O that’s a pity”  “That’s a pity”  “What a pity” “Oh you are pitiful” “What a pity”

(I hate this phrase. It must be a direct translation that someone found one day and it spread like wildfire. The tragic thing is when I accidentally use it)

A week ago I was able to visit Dan for the first time. I hadn't been to Changchun before and I had no idea just how cold it would be. It was worth the cold though for the amazing amounts of SNOW I was able to enjoy!! Since I live on the coast, it doesn't snow in my city so I was very grateful to have a few days of that.

I have decided that though I hate the cold, I love the snow. There is a new Christmas song out this year about snow and I wanted to share the lyrics because it's really beautiful...


You Could've come like a mighty storm
With all the strength of a hurricane
You could've come like a forest fire
With the power of heaven in Your flame

But You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

You could've swept in like a tidal wave
Or an ocean to ravish our hearts
You could have come through like a roaring flood
To wipe away the things we've scarred

But You came like a winter snow
You were quiet
You were soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

Oh, no, Your voice wasn't in a bush burning
No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind
It was still
It was small
It was hidden

You came like a winter snow
Quiet and soft and slow
Falling from the sky in the night
To the earth below

I was looking through pictures and found this from a museum I went to a few weeks ago. The room options were as follows and I stood there for a long time trying to decide how to prioritize my limited time.



Sadly I think I chose the Underground Treasure which was a let down-- all about rocks and the crust of the Earth. The real gem at the museum was this:
     I would definitely like to go in that direction....

Until recently, I thought the only thing Mexico sent to China was H1N1. Then I was in Beijing for Thanksgiving and I found an Avocado at a western import store. I was excited because it was only $2 which is extremely cheap for imported fruit. I have been talking about Avocadoes for a long time here because I'd never seen one here and I often crave it. So when I found this gem, I definitely didn't have to think twice about buying it. It was far from ripe so I brought it home and daily checked it to see when it would be ready.

Sadly.... I came home Monday from a weekend away and had missed the window of opportunity.

This was a pretty tragic discovery for me. I had been so excited and eagerly anticipating some fresh avocado and some guacamole in my life. When I came home from my weekend away, I noticed it was a little TOO soft so I decided to eat it immediately. I was able to dig out a few tasty bites that weren't rotted out but it was quite the let down. The death of a dream... It happens.

Here are some things my freshman are thankful for.....


I'm thankful for my roommates because they wake me up everyday.  (my personal favorite)

I'm thankful for my eyes because they help me see the world.

I'm thankful for water because we couldn't live without water. Life comes from water and it gives us energy.

I"m thankful for the seasons. Spring gives us the feeling of happiness. Summer makes us happy. Autumn brings a large harvest. Winter supplies us a silent atmosphere and leaves us a place to think and imagine. All the seasons teach us a lot, especially the true meaning of life.

I'm thankful for trees because they can make the environment clean.

I'm thankful for your teaching because you're so beautiful and teach so well. I like the way you teach. The feeling is similar to the shiny stars in the black sky, put a bright light for me!!

Recently, I taught my students a lesson on music. We talked about genre's and how different types of music make you feel differently. It was a great time and it was nice to do something a little more relaxed in the classroom. The idiom of the day was "Music to my ears" and some of the students responses went like this:

Emily: "A boy gave me a love letter to deliver to you."
Anne: "Oh that's music to my ears!"
Anne: "I heard you will get married during spring festival this year!"
Emily: "Oh really? That's music to my ears!"

(the second half was definitely a class favorite.. everyone laughed and clapped for them)

Tracy: "You're skin is so white!"
Melody: "Thanks! That's music to my ears!"

(Yes... they have a very different outlook here on paleness)

This past week, Dan was able to visit my class on Friday. My students were so excited to meet my boyfriend and to have another foreigner in the classroom. I gave the students a few minutes to ask him any questions they wanted to and here are some highlights:

Why did you come to China? (This is the most popular question of all time)
When you two met, was it love at first sight? (Yes, I taught them that phrase..way to reuse!)
What do you love about our teacher?
When will you get married?


Pretty bold, eh? One of my students also told us that they all thought we were "the perfect match."

Thanks students, you always provide entertainment and laughter!