Spring Festival

Have you ever been on a unniversity campus over christmas? Its pretty much empty, not many students and still there, but there are still people on campus. The resteraunts and most shops are still open. Spring Festival is the chinese equivilent to Christmas. However here nobody is on campus, no resteraunts are open. You see maybe 1 or 2 people walking down the streets, and all of the lights turned off. When you go into a city it is a completly a different country. The streets are packed with cars, the resteraunts have long lines and the grocery stores are filled with people pusing and shoving to get what they need. All I can say is I'm glad I'm able to see the differences with the way Chinese have their holidays and Americans, have theirs.

Back Again

You know how they say you don't know what you have until its gone? Thats kind of how I feal now. For the last month I have been traveling around Asia, seeing these beautiful cities (most with clean air) and now I'm back in China, and its not the home I was expecting it was before. I guess I'm just going to have to readjust to China again. Hopefully it won't be as hard the next time I come back.

Back Again

You know how they say you don't know what you have until its gone? Thats kind of how I feal now. For the last month I have been traveling around Asia, seeing these beautiful cities (most with clean air) and now I'm back in China, and its not the home I was expecting it was before. I guess I'm just going to have to readjust to China again. Hopefully it won't be as hard the next time I come back.

HALLOO!

I've never hated the word Hello, before now. It is the one word almost every Chinese person knows how to say. So at every foreiner (it seems like) they'll say it to. Even if that person is from like Germany or somewhere. At first I said Hello back to everyone, but after four months of Halllo halloo, (thats how people here pernounce it) I'm likee okay just give them a weird look. I do usually say it back to kids, though. Its usually really old men who shought it to you, and to your back. Its much easier to say something to their back, right? So next time you see me, don't say Hello. Sometimes I think when I'm back in America I think I'll say Ni Hao to every Chinese person. We'll see. I don't think people will get it. So to all of you who arn't chinese, HALLOO!

December in Taiyuan

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, please put a penny in the old mans hat and oh yeah whats Christmas? Being in China for Christmas really makes you miss America. Having the lights everywhere and people shopping like crazy. Here none of that is happening. Wal Mart has some christmas decorations, so does McDonalds and Pizza Hut, but thats pretty much it. However, we did manage to find a 4 foot christmas tree! And thanks for Ikea! We bought Christmas stuff there! The things they do have here are pretty outrageous too! Like a sliegh with 4 horses, and the ugliest santas you'll ever see. Except for the Santa imposter you saw in Miracle in 34th street. It was pretty funny in September I heard Silent Night at Meet Al (our grocery store where I bought chocolate pudding on Friday =)). Merry Christmas To All. Enjoy the santa decorations everywhere! I miss them!

Is that blue sky I see?

Somethings that are as basic to us Americans as blue skies are like a foreign thing to Chinese people. Today there is blue sky, that is the first time in 13 days! When was the last time America saw smoggy skies for more then a day. In the most poluted cities its never so bad that you go for almosts 2 weeks without seeing them. The smog is already coming in. So are blue sky day will only be a blue sky morning. Thats what you get, I guess, when you live in the most polluted city in China. Its very, very sad. Mornings that you just want to go outside and get some fresh air never happens. The air is dirt filled and has tons of chemicals in it! Think of me next time you have a day where the sky is cloudy. Then imagine having that 13/14 days, for your whole life. Thats what people deal with in Taiyuan. Don't feal bad for me. I only am here for another 20 months. These people can't leave. Now look at your blue sky, and be thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Even though as I walked down the streets today it was business as usual. Not anything speical about this day to anyone. But hey I got school off, thats good. Today we spent the day decorating our apartent for Christmas. Yesterday we bought a 4 foot tree at Wal Mart. Its pretty awesome. Latter on we had lunch (I still can't believe i ate chinese food on Thanksgiving)! Then we made pie!!!! LOTS and LOTS of pie. We made two pumpkins and two apples. Its super hard, though because we have an oven that can only fit in one pie at a time. ICK, but at least we have one. The gas went out today. So we only cooked on hot plates. I guess I am really experiencing China now. Well I better go. We are finishing the night with Dinner and Harry Potter! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Two Months In

Wow, These last two months have been so buisy. I'm getting used to living here now, I guess. The language barrior is still pretty hard. I've been learning a good amount of CHinese but how much can you really learn in a month and a half? Mom's students are pretty nice! I went to a basketball game with them a few weeks ago! That was fun. I don't like homeschooling though! I miss all my friends back in America! Even though I have made some friends in China, its like living in LA and your friend living in Houston, not very close. There arn't any other teenagers in Taiyuan. In Taiyuan we have a few american things like a McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and Wal Mart (which carries 3 boxes of cerials, and new this week Heinz Ketchup!!!!) The things that excite me here are crazy. In two weeks I'm going to Beijing for a camp fir teenagers who live in China. I'm pretty excited! Well I think this is a pretty long post! Oh, by the way! Thank you to KS95 for streaming world wide. So I can listen daily!

BYE BYE!

I'm Here!

I'm here in Taiyuan now. I like it here but no one really speeks english here so thats hard. Another thing is that there is noone really here my age so thats hard. Our apartment was the most filthy thing that I've ever seen in my life. We spent like all of our first day cleaning and scrubbing the disgusting floor. The toliet is totally broken still so the caretaker of the building totally has to like take the whole thing out. So we have to use our homeschool apartment alot. Yesterday we went to this Ikea like store thats actually called Fake-kea. They have a few things from ikea actually. Well I'll put more in later. Bye

5 Days

Well, its Sunday and I leave on Friday so. Its getting pretty hard because I've had to say goodbye to a ton of people today. On Friday we start driving to California for a week of orientation (on our way there we're taking a ten day vacation while driving there). This week I'm saying goodbye to everyone. Then I'm off. Well too much to do! Like packing for an entire year. Everone knows what an average fourteen year old packs for a week, but I'm off to pack for a whole year... in two suite casses. Parts of me wants to stay at home in Minnesota and drag the whole five days out, but other parts of me justs wants to go. All the stuff that you have to do before hand is amazing. Expecially if your traveling with a family of five! I can't even imagine what my parents are fealing right now. I have two younger sister, that I'm traveling with, Janine (age 12) and Julia (age 9), plus my parents, Jim and JoAnne. I also have two older brothers, but they are both old and have their own families so they won't be coming with us. I really love the internet because it is a way for me to keep in contact with all of my family and friends back home. Well today is packing day, so I better go!