Mandarin to English Translations

One of the most entertaining things in China for me so far has been all the translation mistakes. They put the English translation on nearly everything but it is seldom correct. I think that some of the mistakes and very funny and take pictures of all that I can see. Most of these pictures were taken around our apartment in Zhongshan and a couple were taken in Hong Kong. I do not hold them responsible for these mistakes. I started Mandarin lessons today and lets say if English is located on the Earth, Mandarin is in a totally different galaxy. It is tonal and like nothing I have ever heard before. One sound can be five different words simply by the inflection of your voice. It is mayhem. I plan to work hard and maybe I will learn something by December! That is the goal! 

Also, I run out of things to blog about sometimes so if anyone has any questions about China, what I do here, the kids I teach, the food I eat, how I am doing or anything else that may or may not be vexing your mind just let me know and I will answer in a blog post. If I do not know the answers I will try to find out! Thanks!

Hello 20th Birthday!

I was lucky enough to get to spend my 20th birthday in China this year! Not many people I know can say that they turned 20 in China. It was easily the strangest birthday I have ever had. It did not feel like my birthday. It was only our 4th day in our new city and the 2nd day teaching in our new school so I didnt know anyone. The school bought me a cake which was really nice of them. It looked beautiful and tasted disgusting. Mom thinks that there is a lesson in there somewhere. So in light of the disgusting cake, I broke out one of my precious packages of pudding that I brought and put some peanut butter cups on top. It tasted delicious. It was not the masterpiece that the owl cupcakes were for my 19th birthday but it had to do. At school I had the kids make owls because it was my birthday and I love owls. That turned out to be a disaster but I got some cute pictures.In all, it was a good day. It is nice to not be a teenager anymore.

The Tale of Tessa's Luggage Hatred

I shall begin with a preface. I have been taught to be a light packer from my infancy. When I went on a 9 day trip back east with Preston I took a 12 pound backpack and that was all. I hate taking big suitcases with me when I travel and do not ever do it unless it is entirely necessary.

 For this 5 month adventure to China, packing a great deal of luggage was necessary. First of all, I had to bring enough clothes and hygene supplies for myself to last the whole time I was here. I also had to bring a suitcase full of supplies for the school that I am teaching at. I was able to pack everything I needed in two 50 pound suitcases, a 35 pound carry on suit case and a back pack. I hated having all that luggage even when I was just going down the stairs from my room in Phoenix but that was only just the beginning. We checked in my 49 and 51 pound bags at the airport and thankfully I didnt have to pick them up until I arrived in Hong Kong. I lugged my backpack and heavy carry on around the Phoenix, San Fransisco, Korea, and Hong Kong. There were 19 other girls that were flying with me to Hong Kong that all had the same amount of luggage as I did. Somehow, we all managed to get our luggage onto a huge bus and into our hotel. All of my luggage was really too much for me to handle by myself. There was about 160 pounds of it all together.

On the day of our departure from Hong Kong, we checked in all of our luggage into security. At this point, we broke up into our group so there were seven of us at this point. The night before we left, Wendy and I got a phone call at 11:30 at night that went something like this...

"HELLO, Tee-sa Smitt? this is John from Zhongshan (zhong-shawn) you head teacher?"

"No I am not the head teacher." 

"Wendy Smitt head teacha?" 

"No Wendy isnt the head teacher" (he later explained to us that he thought we were sisters and so he figured that one of us must be the head teacher. I dont know why.)

"Oh Teesa tomorrow I send man to pick you and group up at hotel. He speak no english. You just follow him. You follow him he take you right place."

"Okay, we will follow him." 

"Good Teesa you do that. I see you tomorrow."

 We toured Hong Kong all day and then waited around for the mysterious man we couldn't talk to that was to take us to our new home. At the appointed time, a Chinese man came up to Wendy and said "ILP Head Teacher?" She said "no" because she is not the head teacher and then said "yes" really quickly because she is with ILP so the man handed her a piece of paper. The piece of paper said, "Hello, my name is Candice." She was very confused by this because the man in front of us was obviously not named Candice. She kept reading and we came to find out that his name was Banker and we were told, again, to follow him. A bus comes to pick us up. The bus is a small bus that would normally fit 9 people very comfortably but we were not 9 people. We were 9 people with 21 very heavy pieces of luggage. Banker, like a pure ninja, managed to fit all our luggage between the seats on the bus. When we were pulling out of the hotel, the bus hit a huge pillar and dented it. The bus driver didnt seem to mind though because he pulled away. We had no idea where we were going. We really hoped that we wouldnt have to get all our luggage off the bus again but that wish was not to come true. The bus dropped us off at the ferry to go to Zhongshan. We unloaded all our luggage and carried to through the ferry station. I want you to picture seven American girls blindly following a Chinese man that did not speak English with 21 pieces of luggage. It was a little bit like a momma duck with all her little ducks following her. At this point I was laughing hysterically because the alternative was to cry. Thankfully, we were able to check 7 bags onto the ferry, but only 7. We had to hall the rest of the bags onto the ferry with us that was completely packed with people. We were completely exhausted at this point and somehow made it through the one and a half hour trip to Zhongshan. Once we arrived, we lugged all our luggage off the ferry and after all of this, had to have them checked through customs because of our arrival in mainland China. For one final time, we loaded all our luggage into a van. They brought one van for us to ride in and another van for our luggage. We all felt terrible for Banker at this point because he had 7 white girls with hundreds of pounds of luggage that he was in charge of. To this day he still glares at us whenever we smile at him. I do not blame him. We finally got to our apartment and got our luggage to its final home.  It felt like home instantly because of how happy i was to see it. After this experience, I made a vow with myself. I am never going to go on a trip again with any more luggage than just a backpack. 

Hello 10,000 Buddha's

On our second day in Hong Kong we were able to roam the city as we pleased. We went on a ferry across the harbor and then we went in search of a hike on an island that is suppose to be like Hawaii. After a train and a bus ride we found out that the hike we wanted to go on would take 6 hours. There were two problems with this. The first problem is that I do not usually go on 6 hour hikes and particularly not when it is 100 degrees outside with 90% humidity. I quite possibly may have died. The second problem was that we did not have enough time to complete the hike. It was very lucky for me that there was problem #2 because not everyone in the group has problem #1. After our plans were spoiled, we saw signs along the road we were aimlessly walking on that said "10,000 Buddha's Buddhist Monastery". We had no idea what this place was but we decided to try it. We started along a trail that led up to a huge building on the top of this mountain.  We found that the "10,000 Buddha's Monastery" is just that. It is a Monastery that has 10,000 Buddha replicas. While we trudged along the thousands of stairs that led to the monastery was passed thousands of Buddhas. I would venture it say it is somewhere around 10,000 but I cannot be sure since I did not count. Each of the Buddhas were different in one way or another. It is very safe to say that I have never in my entire life sweat as much as I sweat on that hike up the mountain.  I am used to heat but not humidity in the smallest degree. I hope I can get used it before the end of my stay in China. The Monastery and the path that led to it were amazing! It ended up being one of my very favorite things about Hong Kong. I love happy accidents. After we got back from the mountain, dripping with sweat, we found a home goods mall with an Ikea in it that had air conditioning. Ikea saved my life that day. 

Hello Hong Kong Temple

While in Hong Kong, I got the opportunity to see the temple! I have always loved the Hong Kong temple so it was awesome to get to see it. It is one of my favorite temples because it is so different. It was a breath of fresh air to see the temple in the middle of all the mayhem that is Hong Kong. It is also notable that the temple is one of the only free standing buildings that I saw. It was awesome to see missionaries and evidences of the church. The Hong Kong mission home is right across the street from the temple and is really beautiful as well. After visiting, I think Hong Kong would be a hard place to serve a mission but I am sure that those that serve there love it. More Updates to come...

Hello Hong Kong

Hello from China! I have been wanting to blog and I am finally getting around to it. I have to blog from my email so I have no idea what this post looks like. I would LOVE to get comments because I can get them to my email so please comment. 

Early on the morning of August 3^rd I awoke at the beginning of one of the longest days of my life. It took up two actual calendar days and over 24 hours worth of travel time. It was worth it though because at the end of it, I was in Hong Kong!

 Hong Kong, China was an interesting experience. We arrived at the Hong Kong airport at 11 pm at night. We were exhausted after a flight to San Fransisco, a flight to Seoul, Korea and a flight to Hong Kong. There were 20 other girls from ILP flying with me. That means that there were about 60+ bags to load and unload when we were at the airport and then when we were at the hotel. Matthew was our tour guide. He picked us up from the airport and then he took us on our tour of Hong Kong the next day. It was pure mayhem. The first sight of Hong Kong I had was at night with thousands of blaring lights. In my opinion, Hong Kong is at its most beautiful at night. You cannot see the smog at night and there are not as many people massing the streets. We finally got to our hotel and I tried to sleep. It was a semi-fruitless affair because it was around 10 AM for my inner anatomical clock but I did manage to finally get some sleep. The next day we got up early and got some breakfast at a local bakery that we ended up eating at 3 times in the 2 days we were in Hong Kong. It was the first purchase I made in China. After breakfast, we went on a tour of the city on a bus. He took us by the Hong Kong temple so we could get some pictures and forbid us to cross the street that we ended up crossing about 20 times later on that day. He then he took us to Hong Kong island which is where all the huge skyscrapers are, Victoria Peak where you can get a sweet view of the city and other islands surrounding it, a fisherman's village with hundreds of boat houses and their peeps living on the water, and Stanley market which is a huge market with really great cheap things. The tour was fun but it was a tour so it was nice for it to be over as well. We then got to do what we wanted in the city for the next day and a half. After the tour, we split off from the rest of the group and the seven of us, who live and teach together, did our own thing. We went to the temple, went on the Star Ferry, and ended up going to the 10,000 Buddha's Buddhist Monastery.

 Hong Kong was very interesting for me. It is very tropical and humid but it is also a crazy gigantic city. I had a very hard time breathing there. Turns out that the humidity and the pollution is not a good combo for my asthma. Our friend John from our school told us that Hong Kong is a concrete Jungle and that pretty much covers it. I enjoyed visiting but I am so happy to be living where we are living. My favorite part of Hong Kong is getting to see the lights at night. It is very beautiful.  It was an awesome beginning to our adventure. There is nothing more adventurous than 7 white girls frolicking around China among millions of Asians and I love it. 

Jude's Painting

 Ever since my nephew Jude was born I have been wanting to paint something for his room. I finally consulted with Mindi and painted him something. I like how it turned out. I think it looks great in his room and although he does not care about it now, hopefully he will enjoy it in the future. The scarf is my very favorite part.

 I also painted this little painting which is very similar to the one I painted for Jude. I like this one as well. I now just need to find a home for this one!

I made Jude a headband last week with his Superhero name 'Ninja Toe' on it. He loves it and by that I mean he does not know it is on his head. He sure looks cute with his headband on. I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to live so close to Jude, Preston and Mindi. It has been so fun to watch Jude change and grow for a couple months. I am not sure how I am going to survive 5 months without seeing him. Please excuse this picture of me. Just focus on very cute little Jude.

Weather System

I finished a new painting today. This is a rather big one. It measures about 40 inches by 16 inches. It took a while but I feel that the finished product is worth it. I love that this girl is in control of her environment. She embraces something that some people think is a negative part of nature and makes it help her and things around her grow. My favorite part is the umbrella, her boots, and the highest yellow flower.

Jude was very helpful with this painting. Thank heavens he was here to help me.

Leafy Headbands & Giveaway Winners!

The idea for this headband has been swirling around in my head for a long time. I finally tried it out and I would say it turned out to be quite the success. I feel one with the trees when I wear it. That is actually a lie, but I do love it. To make them, I sewed the leaves together, sewed them onto ribbon, and then put a little bit of elastic on the back so it fit tight to my head. My sewing skills need a lot of work but I do my best. What do you think of the new headbands?

I know I said that there would only be one giveaway winner but I could no resist. I have decided to give two necklaces away. The winners of the giveaway are... JOANNA & LUCY! Congratulations ladies, I will get them off to you soon!

Happy Trails...

Happy Superhero Day Square Knot!

Happy fathers day to a superhero, chef, doctor, poet, humanitarian, hunter, movie lover, traveler, husband, friend, and most of all my daddy! If I become half the person you are then my life will be a success.