becoming jami

hey there december.

2011-12-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

i can not believe that today is the 20th! this has surely been the quickest month yet! i really thought november went fast but goodness, it's already (nearly) christmas! i accomplished quite the christmas miracle and started and finished all my christmas shopping in two hours the other night!

well, and plus 20 minutes today for last minute gifts.

everything is close to being wrapped. i am still waiting on Tim's gift. i am about to kill the company i ordered it from. you don't mess with me and my impatience at christmas time... seriously.

this month has been great in the classroom! my kids are really coming along with their writing, letters, numbers, behavior, everything! they are growing up! :)

ornaments :)

gift bags we made!

shaving cream "snow" names, words, numbers, etc.

Polar Express Day! the kids wore their pajamas to school and we watched Polar Express and then "Santa" came and brought them all a bell off the reindeer harness :)

i also had a terrific 25th birthday! i went with katie and jennifer to wine and canvas. it is a place where they teach you how to paint a picture and you drink wine. perfect combination! we then went to the cheesecake factory after for more drinks, appetizers and cheesecake.

the original one the artist painted.

my version :)

girls and our finished paintings!

1 day left of teaching until vacation!

4 days until christmas!

6 days until connecticut & tim!

11 days until I move into my apartment in carmel!

loooovvin those countdowns.

now you're in newww yorrrkkkk!

2011-11-30T20:37:00.001-05:00

For the thanksgiving holiday, Tim invited me to spend it with him and his family in Connecticut, and also to spend my birthday in New York City. I was beyond excited and literally had a countdown going as soon as the tickets were bought!

I got to the airport in New York City and was just elated to see Tim again! My suitcase came very quick (surprisingly) , after a few delays in Philly. It felt like I was never going to get there! After he picked me up we drove into Connecticut and I met his brother and Dad. After relaxing for a few, his mom came home from work, we enjoyed some fun conversation and wine (of course). Later that evening we joined his aunt and uncle with their family for dinner. We all sat at the table wearing tissue paper crowns and playing with trinkets from these "poppers" his aunt had gotten. I wish I had taken a picture, but here is something I found on the internet.

You pull each side and inside the middle piece are prizes! It was fun to see what everyone got. Again, I really wish I would have taken pictures. I am sure we all looked silly in our crowns and playing with our "toys" (whistles, ring toss, notebooks, gold watches, dominoes... :)

Thanksgiving was the next day. It was such a wonderful day full of relaxing, eating, drinking and OF COURSE football! Now, I am not a football fan (we all know this) but, I didn't mind :) Tim and I went to the beach and took some pictures. At dinner that night we all sat at one big table and enjoyed each others company. It was a picture perfect moment. I could not help but smile.

the beach behind Tim's house

The next day I met more family and friends. Tim and his brother Ben had a party on Friday night at their house where I pretty much met everyone they grew up with and went to high school with. It was so nice to put names with faces. Everyone was extremely welcoming and nice! I felt like I fit right in :) I am excited to see them all again.

Saturday was the big "birthday" day for me :) We left for NYC that morning and met up with Natalie and Jake downtown. Mini China reunion!! We ate at a place called Hummus Kitchen. Natalie is an expert at finding awesome places. In China, she was always finding great spots. Nat and Jake walked us to the theater for Wicked. On the way someone was moving out of their apartment and they had stuff for free in the street. Jake picked up a dart board set named "The Bandit". Just like China times, Jake making everyone laugh.

Next, and it only takes one word: WICKED! The main reason we came to the city! It. Was. Amazing!! I was totally amazed at everything. I couldn't take pictures inside, but the set, the actors, the costumes, EVERYTHING. I seriously had goose bumps a few times.

I have a great boyfriend. He gets the best gifts :)

After Wicked we visited Times Square, saw the Empire State building and then had dinner at a Spanish tapas place called Mercat. The food, atmosphere and drinks were so amazing!

(Ok, NYC itself is just amazing! I feel like I need new words other than "great", "awesome", "amazing"...)

We then went walked down Bleeker St. and found a cool little bar where we drank, laughed and just enjoyed being together.

It was the best birthday I ever had.

Thank you, Tim :)

My last day we went to brunch with his brother Ben and his girlfriend, saw Serendipity, the cafe from one of my favorite movies (we wanted to go in but we knew the line would be so long), and walked around Central Park. We sat on a bench and talked for a long time. I loved that part. It was sweet and romantic.

ummm, hello? It's the Hotel Empire. Gossip Girl? Chuck Bass?

I won't lie. I pretended I was on Gossip Girl all weekend.

xoxo :)

Coming home was extremely hard. NYC was just unbelievable and being with Tim was wonderful! Good thing I will see him right after Christmas and then he is officially moving to Bloomington to go to IU. Being less than 2 hours away is much better than 15!

Oh and p.s our hotel had an awesome view of the 9/11 Memorial. I had really wanted to see it but there were no reservations open!

There are 2 memorials actually but the picture I took had tons of construction in the way. This picture is much clearer. I stared out the window for awhile at it. It was very moving.

Truly, I <3 NY.

tie dye turkeys

2011-11-30T19:40:00.000-05:00

coffee filters

crayola washable markers

spray bottle

turkey template

turkey sign - idea taken from the Chic-Fil-A ads, "Eat Mor Chikin!"

my kids LOVED it and we had a great time!

we colored the filters so that no white was showing first, or very little white.

next, we folded the filter into eigths.

then, we used a spray bottle and sprayed about 3-5 times.

and, voila! a tie dye turkey that was "too cool for school" :)

"stuffing" (it's kindergarten spelling :)

my favorite one, "mashed potatoes" or "mash batados" :)

"fruit salad"

happy late thanksgiving everyone :)

Lately in the Classroom

2011-11-13T09:17:00.001-05:00

Here are a few things that have been going on in my classroom lately :)

Handprint Bats

Giant graphing of our 3D shapes!

The students thought this was the "biggest graph in the entire world" and they got so excited! Oh to be a kindergartner again.

Learning to make mental images

& some great drawings by my students. This is supposed to be what they see in their head when I read the poem "My Neighbor's Purple Dog" :)

I am so very ready for Thanksgiving Break. Only 10 days away! I am ready for a solid 5 days of no classroom worrying, organizing, planning, etc. I don't know if these next 10 days will go fast enough for me. November surely is flying by already though. Where did October go? It went so fast.

I looked at some apartments last weekend. I'm seeing a move (to Fishers) in my future come January. Hooray!

my trip to annapolis & d.c.

2011-11-06T09:07:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, Jennifer and I went and visited one of our best friend's from college Lauren and her husband, Jeff.

They moved to Annapolis, MD recently. Jen and I had decided awhile back that we should go visit them. Neither of us had been to MD before and I had never been to D.C.! So, we got plane tickets and made the journey over my fall break.

I'll begin by saying, I LOVE the east coast. Everyone (ok, Tim I mean) had said that it's impossible not to love the east coast. I always knew that I would be in LOVE with it if I ever had the chance to visit, and it did not fail me. There is something that changes inside you when you are walking in a town that is near or has water. It always makes me feel happier (even though I hate swimming in oceans or lakes) just looking at water. So relaxing...

The first night Lauren and Jeff took us downtown Annapolis to a Mexican restaurant called El Torro Bravo. Of course we had Mexican :) We had some awesome food and some pretty strong margaritas. Let's just say, their were a lot of laughs and even some happy tears haha

The next day Lauren had to work so Jeff took off work and showed us Annapolis. We went to the mall for a little shopping and then headed downtown.

It was SO pretty. I loved the feel of Annapolis! It's the capitol city but it has a small town feel to it. Little shops everywhere, cute pubs and restaurants and great houses. It's also the home of the United States Naval Academy (Go Navy).

Jeff walked us all around the city, Jen and I bought a NAVY sweatshirt and then we headed back to meet Lauren. We took it easy Friday night and had some wine, pizza, and watched Bridesmaids :)

Saturday, we went to DC! Of course, with my luck, it had to be raining (and later snowing) in Annapolis and DC that day. But, it was still such an AWESOME day. I never thought I would absolutely love DC because I am not much of a history nerd or honestly even interested in history.

DC definitely changed my mind. I wanted to see everything, and read everything! DC brought history to life for me! It was all tangible and right there in front of me. My only wish was that it would have stopped raining, sleeting, icing... etc.

First we went into the Smithsonian (since it was raining and cold) and I was able to see the original Star Spangled Banner. It set the tone for the whole day!

(The real flag was inside, behind this lit up piece, you weren't

allowed to take pictures).

I was literally in awe of it. It was so old and all the history about it was very interesting. We also saw things like Julia Child's kitchen, Dorothy's ruby slippers and... Michael Jackson's hat. Jennifer had a moment :)

miss you Michael... haha

Jen and her umbrella! And notice all the Asian tourists. I can't escape China!

We also visited the World War II monument, Lincoln, Korean War, the new MLK Jr monument, walked by Washington many times and took a peak at the White House!

That evening we went back to MD (in the snow) and has some AMAZING Maryland crab cakes.

"Crab cakes and football, that's what Maryland DOES!" -- Wedding Crashers reference, anyone?

Our last day we went to church with them, walked around Annapolis some more (PERFECT weather I might add, of course...), had a quick lunch and flew back. Typical travel-heading-home-last-day-of-vacay day.

One day (maybe) I will be seeing the east coast in my future as a place to live :) And, in 16 days I will be heading back to the east coast (Connecticut and NYC) to see Tim for Thanksgiving and celebrate my birthday in style. Did I mention that Tim got us a hotel for Saturday night in the city to end my birthday celebration? :) He never stops amazing me.

Disguise a Pumpkin

2011-10-22T10:07:00.001-04:00

Look how creative and fun my students are :)

Their job was to disguise a pumpkin so you wouldn't know it was a pumpkin! This was a family project and the kids and their families did a fabulous job!

the one with the long hair is the character from Tangled :)

the one with the straggly red hair is apparently a "waiter". haha isn't it obvious?

i was having to hide my laughter.

Hello Kitty!

Batman!

Camo Pumpkin!

Pirate!

A hot air balloon! So creative.

it's a KITTY MISS INHOLT! (as Allie would scream it :)

pictures of my classroom, FINALLY!

2011-10-11T19:57:00.001-04:00

I am finally posting pictures of my classroom! Take a look :)

my pencil cup :) I made it with my friend Clara in college.

A "Pinterest" inspired anchor chart I used to help my students find a "Just Right" book to read during Reader's Workshop!

another "Pinterest" project I made to work on spelling color words during centers. the letters were made out of lids of water bottles. i asked my mom to set out a note at her work and SO MANY of her coworkers brought in lids! I still have TONS of them! This folder game cost me NOTHING :)

a big view of my classroom (at the end of the day, thus the chairs on the desks).

where I do most of my teaching

calendar area

& a KWL chart on firefighters :)

news area. it includes class jobs, the season, newsletter, specials and birthdays.

yes, i know. the apostrophe in the "whats" is missing. it fell off...

my messy desk! usually it is pretty clean but I was working on some guided reading projects and it got messy. behind the bookshelf is my wall of students' drawings, calendars, pictures, notes, etc. i also tend to use A LOT of post its! notice the frame of my computer :)

my A.M. kiddos giving me a thumbs up and smile. this was used for my "Goldilocks and the Just Right Book" anchor chart for the sentence "I like it!" haha

I will try and post more pictures of things I do or use in my classroom more often!

the pumpkin patch and more.

2011-10-09T21:39:00.001-04:00

i survived my first field trip as a kindergarten teacher :) i took all 35 kiddos to Russell Farms. i had help obviously with about 14 parents, thank goodness! i am so blessed to have great parent volunteers for my classroom. i have sooo many who want to help, volunteer, take work home to do, donate materials... it gets tough finding things for them to do sometimes!

the kids had a great time learning about different farm tools, doing "chores" on the farm and picking out their pumpkins. it was the PERFECT fall day as well. almost a little too hot, though.

bus trip to russell farms!

beautiful yellow mums.

two of my PM kiddos working with the little tractors.

putting the corn into the silo

sammie excited about cleaning eggs.

scooping the straw into the wheelbarrow

time for the hayride to the patch

cheesin it up on the ride to pick our pumpkins

hannah and her pumpkin!

pumpkins on the vine

the Ava's :)

now that my camera is up and running, i will take some pictures of my classroom this week.

tim was here this weekend for a quick 48 hours. we had an amazing time at the zoo, eating pizza king, dinner at weber grill downtown and some shopping.

favorite quote of the weekend, came from a homeless man in the city:

"oh i know why you are with her! she looks like she from hollywood. and i know why you are with him! he look like a linebacker for the colts!"

thank you?? haha :)

44 days until i am in CT for thanksgiving with his family and then NYC for my birthday!

did i mention Tim bought me tickets to see Wicked on Broadway for my birthday???

he is so great and an amazing listener! i told him this back when we first started dating that i would LOVE to see it in NYC. well, he remembered and we are going :)

he's a keeper my friends.

pumpkin

2011-09-25T19:32:00.000-04:00

The last few days have felt absolutely fall :) I do not miss the heat at all and am glad to see it go.

I did some cooking today & am very proud of my creation (well, i didn't create it, i found the recipe)

I made pumpkin butter! I found this recipe on Pinterest (my new obsession).

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree, or 1 (29 ounce) can (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup apple cider or juice
1 cup packed brown sugar
2-3 cinnamon sticks
1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (to taste)

Directions:
Combine pureed pumpkin, vanilla, apple juice, spices, cinnamon sticks and sugar in a large saucepan; stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes or until thickened. Stir frequently. Adjust spices to your taste.

My mom also made baked potato soup. I won't take credit for that one. My house smells AMAZING and my belly is VERY happy right now.

Also, my camera is fixed! Now, I can take some pictures of my classroom and post them for all to see. Hurray :)

i'm still alive!

2011-09-01T21:30:00.000-04:00

to my few and far between faithful readers,

i promise i am alive! i have successfully (depending on if i survive tomorrow) survived 2 full weeks of teaching kindergarten! I celebrated this almost there victory by buying a new shirt and boots at Target. congratulations to me!

i hope to post some pictures of my classroom soon! it's very cute if i do say so myself, yet thoroughly still disorganized and a little messy.

i love my students. i love my school. i love my co workers. everyone at durbin is fabulous!
once i get more settled, i will be return to the blog world.

i will leave you with a quote:

when setting my kids up with 4th grade "book buddies" (older students who read with my kids each week), one of my little girls (who got a boy buddy) says ... "ohh so i get a boyfriend now!" :)

love my job!

welcome to the real world

2011-08-10T07:11:00.002-04:00

I think I just might be an adult now.
I have officially entered the real world.
Within 24 hours I went from frustrated graduate who just taught abroad and can't get an interview and has no clue what is going to happen, to...
the new scared, nervous, overwhelmed, excited kindergarten teacher at Durbin Elementary whose class starts a week from today and whose parents and students visit Monday night!!!
Talk about lack of sleep recently.

I got a phone call on Monday from a friend who works at Durbin offering me an interview for an assistant position at her school. This message was sitting in my voicemail, and I had no idea. I see my phone an hour later and there is actually 2 voicemails. I check them. One about the assistant position, and the following one about a position that had just opened up for an A.M. and P.M. Kindergarten Teacher. An all day Kindergarten rule was just passed so most schools will have full day classes and then one section of half day. (Thaaaaat's me ladies and gentlemen.)
So, I went ahead and took the plunge and decided to interview. In no way did I feel ready to interview, or quite ready to start my first year to teach. Hello! I'm Miss Organized. Miss Needs-her-Time to plan, decorate. But, I could not pass up an opportunity like this.
I interviewed at noon yesterday, got a call at about 3:30, and accepted the position right then.

Wow. I still can't believe it. I am so thrilled and excited to be a part of Durbin Elementary. I have heard wonderful things about the school and the staff I have met are SO nice! I've also noticed that all my dreams are coming true.
I'm gonna go ahead and take the liberty since this is my blog to get a little sappy ...

{I have an amazing boyfriend who means the world to me! Who is moving to Indiana for me. Who I know would do anything for me.}
{I landed my dream job!}
{I will soon have my own place!}
{I am achieving my running goals.}

life. is. good.
scratch that,
AMAZING :)

School starts ONE WEEK from today. Parents come MONDAY night and TUESDAY night with the kids.
It's gonna be one heck of a whirlwind week. I better get busy... :)

just because

2011-08-03T19:40:00.001-04:00

who doesn't need their asian babies laugh for the day!

this little girl's laugh is so cute! at 46 seconds i can't get OVER how cute this laugh is and i can't stop laughing.

love the one singing... doesn't know the words.

this little boy is so cute!! i love it.

just can't stay awake. too adorable.

heat wave

2011-07-22T13:24:00.002-04:00

The temperature here in Central Indiana has ben unreal! In the 100s! The kids i nanny for have been stuck inside for the last few days. It's too hot to even go to the pool. We went on Monday and it was miserable. In the meantime, I have been working on a lot of reading skills with Maddie and Trav and letter work with Shawn. We built a fort yesterday and watched movies under it. I also found a theater that does free movies Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays :) Awesome!

The temperature has also made running a little tougher. It's more like the humidity (awful)! In the morning its already 80 or in the mid 80s! Out of the 5 days this week, I ran 3 mornings! I am pretty proud of myself! I also ran about .8 miles without stopping which is huge progress for me! Slowly but surely I am making improvements. It makes me excited about running too.

I didn't this morning... and I have felt guilty all day. that's a good thing!

Also, my friend Jordan gave me the name of a great cookbook that I can't wait to buy and try out! It's called Hungry Girl. There are a few different books but I think i want to get the 200 under 200! She says the recipes are great and really fill you up. She also says they are easy to make, since i am a horrible cook :) I hope I can improve my cooking skills in the next few months. It's always been something I have wanted to do.

China made me realize i CAN do all the things I have always wanted to do. I'd always wanted to teach in China. I did that! I have always wanted to start running, learn to cook and eat healthier. I'm doing it!

I'm giving myself a big HOORAY!

i CAN do it & adjusting back to the USA

2011-07-15T08:55:00.004-04:00

tuesday
i did it! i got up this morning at 7:30 and I ran (and walked, and breathed heavily, and sweat, ALOT)! i went about 1.5 miles which was on the agenda for today. like i said, i didn't run the entire time, but i know i can work up to it.
actually this morning, i had no clue how far i had gone but i ran/walked for about 25 minutes. this evening i used google maps to determine how far the circle is in my development.
just my luck, starting at my house and going in a complete circle and then ending about a block past my house is ONE MILE! it's perfect!

today
no, i did not run wed or thursday morning but i have valid excuses.
ok, so there isn't really an excuse. but, wednesday i had to be at work at 7:30 and 5:30 is just TOO early for me to run.
and thursday i had the day off and i won't lie... had too much wine that night and stayed up too late skyping my handsome boyfriend. 7:30 just wasnt going to happen.

this morning, again success. i got up at 7:45 (i have the day off again) and did 2 miles. i mixed walking and running. i felt a little better this morning so i know that with practice and determination it will all work out and i will be running miles in no time. i'm just excited to run one mile without stopping. when i can do that, i know progress has been made!

maybe some of you are wondering how i am adjusting to being back in america? well, i am adjusted just fine. it took me about a week and a few days to not be jet lagged. i am on a normal sleeping pattern now. getting adjusted back to the food (taste wise) was easy! it did upset my stomach for about a week but now i am doing fine. i have even adopted a "healthy eating" plan. no, it's NOT a diet. i am just eating better foods, and staying away from junk food. its making me feel really good throughout the day!
tim & i have adopted "No Fry July". no fries for the month of july.

it hasn't been too hard, minus when i took the kids i nanny for to Chic-Fil-A and i had to order the fruit cup with my sandwich... lame (yet healthy and tasty).
i hope that i can keep up with my exercise and healthy food choices for life :)

any advice fellow healthy friends for recipes, healthy snacks, running tips, etc?

running: a new adventure

2011-07-11T19:43:00.002-04:00

since my last adventure is now a week and 2 days over, i decided about 2 months before i left that in order to not drive myself crazy, i needed a new goal/adventure once i came back to the states.

something i have always wanted to do (but was too lazy to begin) is train for a mini marathon. i have always admired all of my running friends, and every time i do go for a run i always feel so amazing afterwards. it's a de-stresser for me, i have so much more energy and just an overall good feeling!

step 1: find new tennis shoes. this turned out to not be as hard as i thought. i normally HATE shopping for tennis shoes! i won't lie, the last time i bought a pair of actual athletic shoes was sophomore year of high school for volleyball season. oops.
let me clear something up though, i did buy a pair of tennis shoes 3 years ago but they were more casual. i don't enjoy the "clunky" look of athletic shoes. i guess you can say i am a little bit girly.

i honestly don't even like the look of these. oh well.

step 2: find some type of training schedule because i have no clue what i am doing, and i want to do it right. i used these 2 documents i found off some random running website. we'll see how they pan out.
5k (for dummies)

half marathon (for the "novice")

step 3: first train for a 5K, and do it right! run the whole time!

step 4: (and this is where i have already failed this morning) run. in. the. mornings....
i am by NO means a morning person. as much as i want to be, i don't think it is going to happen. i love the feeling of a beautiful indiana morning. i have ran a few times when i was in college in the morning and again, i LOVED the feelings. my day felt SO much better!
where is my self discipline? my determination?
i know it's in me somewhere? right?

tomorrow is tuesday, i am going to try this again. i'm gonna go ahead and blame it on the 5K PDF i am following. it says don't start till tuesday anyways... :)

america so far

2011-07-05T17:42:00.002-04:00

hello america!! :) i've been home for about 3 days now. here are a few things i have observed that i love, noticed or just want to mention:

1. america is so green! when my plane was starting to touch down outside of chicago, i was amazed at all the green grass, trees and bushes! and the sky was "sky blue", not the weird white-ish tan grey with hints of blue was used to. i love seeing the sunshine and breathing clean air.

2. cleanliness of stores, restaurants, houses, etc. on sunday morning i went to target with my mom and first, i was completely overwhelmed. there was just so much to look at! there also wasn't a sole person in the store which was an adjustment. i am used to there being people everywhere. i also kept running into my mom's heels and following her too closely :)

3. jet lag is the WORST! compared to the last 2 days, i am feeling significantly better. but my sleep pattern is all messed up. i wake up every morning at 4am and am awake till 5 or 5:30. then i fall back asleep eventually.

4. i love driving and singing in the car. and the radio. that's all.

5. my feet are CLEAN! for the first time in about 10 months. i got a pedicure today and it made me so happy!

6. HGTV is heaven sent.

7. i love looking in my pantry and fridge. sometimes i just open it and stare for awhile. there are so many choices!

8. i'm not sure if i can handle living at home for the next few months... or year. what's keeping me here currently? my parents and best friends! :)

9. i think i own the world's most comfortable bed. don't try and challenge me.

10. unpacking from living abroad for almost a year is a daunting and basically impossible task...

p.s. chicago o'hare international airport is the worst airport ever! horrible customer service & zero efficiency. after landing in chicago and going through security again with 2 lines open and 300 people, i made my flight with only 5 minutes to spare (after the gate being changed and finding a departure/arrival monitor, at least in concourse K and L, to be nonexistent) i landed in Indy 25 minutes late... and no luggage.

saying goodbyes

2011-06-29T05:27:00.002-04:00

saying goodbyes have turned out to be harder than i imagined.
especially a few of those who really made a huge impact on my life and made my time here in china absolutely unforgettable.

one, being my mandarin tutor jack. he was so much fun and put up with the antics of amanda, mac and i, and then once mac left, just amanda and i. we got sidetracked so easily and got him laughing so hard he would cry.

he was patient with us and when we wouldn't study (which was often in the end) he worked with us over and over again on the same material.
we taught him jokes. he taught us cuss words.
we talked about america. he talked about china.
he compared us to the show FRIENDS. we talked about kung fu panda.

on our last tutoring night he brought us a bag of chinese snacks, a nice set of chopsticks for me and a paper cut of the chinese zodiac for amanda.
we also made a music video to "xi shua shua", our favorite chinese song. he taught us the lyrics! a blast!
when he left i said "jack i promise i will try and keep up with my chinese and not forget it" and he said "no matter what, i am proud of you. i just don't want you to forget me"
jack, i will NEVER forget you.

then, there is Ai. my little Japanese girl who started mid year. she has been sick for a few days and missed the end of school. her mom asked me if i would come over to their apartment because they got me a small gift. it was a beautiful japanese purse. i really loved it. she told me how much she appreciated my love for Ai. she is such a kind person and it made me feel really good about myself and my teaching. Ai is such a sweetie, and one of my favorites, or... really, my favorite student. one and only. haha i love her.
she had to explain to Ai that i was going back to america and not coming back... Ai was sad and shy when i saw her. she was also sick, but it made me so sad!! tears definitely came when i was walking away. i had to put my sunglasses on so no one saw...

she told me I was "Ai's Superhero" which made my heart melt.

kindergarten graduation

2011-06-28T01:51:00.002-04:00

my 5 & 6 year old class did wonderful at their graduation! i definitely shed a few tears. i was so proud of them! not to mention i was crying happy tears because all the hard work was finally over! preparing for a chinese kindergarten graduation is like preparing a broadway production. chinese kindergarten graduations are more important than both high school and college graduations in america! they take them very seriously. it's a time to showcase the children's talents in music (playing instruments and singing), acting, memorization skills, public speaking, art, sports and individual talents. there were literally 25(+/-) different items on the roster.

kids posing with mickey before graduation

how bout those uniforms? burberry-esque :)

alvin and his calligraphy

the kids & I painted this as a group :)

artwork throughout the year

the 2 girls in the class posing backstage

getting pumped about their performances

drums & xylophone show

xixi & april's piano duet

kung fu/tai chi

april's dance

reciting shanghai children's folk rhymes and songs

THEY DID IT!

so proud of them! they worked so hard for those little diplomas.

i wish

2011-06-19T19:41:00.001-04:00

i wish that i wasn't wishing away my last 2 weeks here. i still haven't come to terms that i am actually leaving this wonderful journey in about 13 days. i have checked out of teaching. i wish that i could be the happy, fun, quirky teacher that i should be for these kids during our last 9 days but it's so hard. all of the other teachers in our CIEE group have been done for weeks. all my friends back home are enjoying the summer. schools in america have a been out as well.
but... teaching is why i am here. i do love what i do. i need to make these last few days count.
or at least try to.

and i made a fool of myself, again!

2011-06-12T02:50:00.001-04:00

the chinese language is so weird. how many times have i said that? it's confusing and a lot of the time, it sounds the same and you could be saying something totally awful if you aren't careful. remember my pencil v. vagina story ? well, i did it again. but, this time, with my kids...

for about 2 weeks the kids have been calling each other "xiao ji ji" pronounced "show (ow as in ouch) gee gee". well, the chinese word for chick, like a baby chicken, is "xiao ji".

xiao means small.

ji means chicken.

so, i thought they were being silly and calling each other baby chickens. kindergartners are silly,

and innocent.

right?

right!

on tuesday the students had picture and video day (my 5 and 6 year olds) for their graduation ceremony. when they were getting dressed up in their little uniforms some of the boys kept calling each other "xiao ji ji". being the silly and fun teacher i am, i called alvin a "xiao ji ji"when i was helping him with his mini bowtie.

the look on his face said enough. he wasn't sure if he should laugh. i knew right then, i had said something terribly wrong.

i slowly meander over to Mark, who speaks both English and Chinese and ask, "Mark, ummm, what does xiao ji ji mean?"

again, the look on his face said enough. his eyes got kinda big.

then... he pointed down at his pants.

way to go jami, you just called a student a penis.

chinese language fail. again.

help find lauren spierer

2011-06-10T01:55:00.001-04:00

in order to help spread the word, i am dedicating this post to the search for lauren spierer. she is a student at indiana university and went missing on june 3rd. i know that i have a small demographic for this blog and it's mostly just friends and family, but you never know if this could help.
this is such a sad story and scary that it happened in my home state, 2 hours away. i have friends who live in bloomington too. it could happen to anyone. my dad was talking to me about it last night and it really made me sad, but thankful that i am safe. i can't even imagine what this family is going through....

laundry day

2011-06-08T09:21:00.002-04:00

i don't know if you know this, but NO ONE owns dryers in this country. for 10 months i have been air drying my clothing, and it has done quite a disservice to them. most of my clothing i will not be bringing back to the States. some i am sad to part with, but some... eh. i'm over it.

as soon as the sun begins to shine, everyone has all their clothing up in my back alley. and when i say all, i mean ALL!

see the unmentionables? :) they let it all hang out. they hang it wherever they can. and they don't even care who sees.

#1 thing i am thankful for in America? my dryer.
and weirdly... i want some nacho cheese doritos.

children's day

2011-06-05T10:48:00.003-04:00

every june 1st is children's day in china. it's also an international holiday but as i explained to Jane (my Chinese co-teacher) it's not celebrated in the States. she could not understand why because "children are so important and need a special day". in china, they make a HUGE deal of this holiday with a fun program put on by the kids, giving of gifts, and even letting them have the afternoon off (optional). there were discounts all over town even!

here are a few pictures & videos from the special program put on by some of the older local classes!

the welcome dance for the beginning of the show!

these little boys did a dance. i love the chubby one in the middle :)

this next part was my favorite and i wish i would have gotten a video!

these kids dressed up as (left to right) as Xi Yang Yang, Mei Yang Yang and Lou Yang Yang from the show Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf 喜羊羊与灰太狼 and did a small play!

see the similarities?

This show is a very popular show in China amongst the little ones. heck, i even love the characters... as shown on my cell phone. my phone is a big hit with my students! i am so asian, huh? ><

these adorable little girls did a cute dance!

here is a video of a class singing some very popular chinese song. i also caught a few kids really getting into it and then Finley and Ai Jung at the end tattling on each other.

that's children's day for ya ;)

dragon boat festival

2011-06-03T06:16:00.002-04:00

and yet again it's another random holiday where i get a 3 day weekend! i won't complain. thank you dragon boat festival, thank you.
my friends and I have decided to just take it easy these 3 days, get some shopping done, eat some good food and enjoy our last few weeks together.

a traditional dish made during the dragon boat festival is called zongzi. my tutor, jack, his fiancee's (her English name is Flower :) mother made these and he brought them over for us to try! they were pretty tasty! its glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves and then stuffed with either meat or veggies. i had a pork one and amanda had red bean!

they are so intricate looking.

amanda slowly unfolding hers. jack taught us to put the

chopsticks in the bottom while we unwrap.

unwrapping my zongzi

happy DBF! ;)

recently

2011-05-28T23:33:00.001-04:00

sorry for the lack of posts! this last week has been so busy. i am currently prepping my 5 & 6 year olds for graduation which is a frustrating and long process. i am trying to teach them 4 songs as well as memorize lines for a play and poem. all in english. they are slowly but surely getting there... fingers crossed it will all come together before June 24th!

here are some pictures from the last few weeks or so :) sometimes, i don't want to devote a whole entry on just one story, so here are a few mini stories to match the pictures.

.shanghai MIDI festival.

amanda, tim, jacqueline and i went to the Shanghai MIDI Music Festival in Pudong. it was really warm that day and sunny. amanda and i stuck playing cards to our forehead to prove that we were sweating. classy, right? it was totally expat central and had some great music. we brought a big sheet and sat outside altogether playing cards and having fun :)

.jake's visit.

JAKEY CAME TO VISIT from Beijing! he used to work with us in Shanghai but decided that he wanted to solely study Mandarin and moved to Beijing to take some language courses. We had a great weekend with him just catching up and having fun like old times. We took this picture with a self timer (looovee you Amanda). This is half of the "Shanghai 10" as we liked to call it. we were definitely missing Alice, Natalie, Kate, and Mackenzie! (yes, i know it only adds up to 9... anyways :)

*ohhh jake's shirt -- I <3 BJ.

it's a jakey sandwich! and apparently i'm the only one that didn't get the memo to look silly!

.play time with the kids.

adorable Joy laughing like usual. her laugh is contagious. she can make me smile at any time.

these next few are pictures from playing outside that Amanda took when she came to observe my school! it was finally not unbearably hot. perfect outside weather :)

ming ming climbing up the ladder. too adorable.

my girl Jia Jia climbing up too!

this photo makes me laugh so much. ohh rich...

.dodgeball.

tim plays dodgeball with a bunch of other expats every thursday night. amanda and i decided that were were going to go watch him and his friends play! it was a really fun time. tim's team is called "the untouchaballs" and each of their shirts have a nickname with the word "ball" in it. "tinker ball" is tim's. pretty funny since he is a big, tall guy.

i will be home in exactly 5 weeks.
unbelievable.

S.O.D.E - Haiku by Hatsune

2011-05-21T07:00:00.002-04:00

Restaurant: Haiku by Hatsune

for this S.O.D.E, Jacqueline was sick so Amanda and I had a roomie S.O.D.E :)

the atmosphere in this restaurant was really pretty and relaxing. we started off with sake cocktails (of course) since it's a Japanese place.

next, we ordered sushi. i love sushi so much and this was definitely the best i have EVER had. it was so good! i even added some wasabi to my soy sauce. a few times amanda and i could feel our eyes beginning to water due to too much wasabi. we had some good laughs.

i ordered the butterfly roll. it had a few types of raw fish on top with crab and avocado in the middle. a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

amanda ordered some veggie roll. i can't remember what the name was, but since she is a vegetarian it only had sweet potato and avocado in it. she said it was also amazing. i didn't try it because i didn't think it would be fair since she couldn't sample mine. plus, i think we wanted all our own anyways :)

lastly, we ordered two different sake cocktails.

overall, this takes the place of Anna Maya as my favorite so far.

i think Tim and i are going to go on Tuesday!

it's hot. seriously.

2011-05-20T01:14:00.001-04:00

the weatherman is such a liar (ni pian ren! 你骗人!), but we all know this.

every morning i wake up and i look at the weather. this morning i said to myself, and this pattern repeats almost everyday:
"oh, high of 86! that's pretty hot."
thing is, 86 is such a lie! it's not really 86, it's 95, feels like 98. basically 100.

it's just miserable out and it's not even "summer" yet. it's may. where is spring? i don't think i've even experienced a real spring in my entire life. shanghai doesnt have one, neither does indiana. maybe one day i should move to somewhere that does. i think i would like it.

my poor babies just sweat and sweat when they play outside. heck, i'm even sweating and i'm literally just standing there. they say, "miss jami, chase me! play with me!". i just can't do it kids. i will watch you, laugh with you and hold your hand but, running? chasing? climbing?
no. i want to! i promise. but... no.

but look at them! look how happy they are just to be outside!

they run like crazy, jump, play and scream like the heat isn't an issue.

can i be 4 again? please.

another quote

2011-05-18T07:22:00.000-04:00

... but this time, as i like to call him, by my "beer guy".

about 10 steps out my door is a small store that sells all sorts of things to drink, snacks, ice cream, candy, you name it. it's literally a small hole in the wall.
i usually go in there to buy beer, i'll be honest. it's cheap. it's cold. it's within walking distance.
but, i also go in there for ice cream a lot too, gatorade and bottled water.
tonight i go in there for some ice cream and water and the following conversation ensues...

BG - beer guy
J - jami

*all in chinese i might add.

BG - hello, do you want beer?
J - no, i want ice cream and water tonight.
BG - no, you want 5 bottles of beer tonight.
J - (laughing) no, just water and strawberry ice cream!
BG - i've had 5 bottles tonight. you want 5 bottles too!
J - my health is bad, i just want water!
BG - beer is so good!
J - yes, beer it very good.
BG - oohhhh maybe tomorrow? 5 bottles?
J - (laughing) good bye!

quotable kids

2011-05-17T01:18:00.000-04:00

and again, an oh-so-adorable conversation i heard today between mark and kaelen:

m - what is that on your finger?

k - stop, its just a wart.

m - what's a wart?

k - oh its just a dot on your finger. snipes give them to you. right, miss jami?

j - ummm....

m - what's a snipe?

k - it's just a small thing that bites your finger and then the wart shows up.

sports competition

2011-05-15T05:52:00.004-04:00

MVI_4092 a video by jami inholt on Flickr.

sports competitions in china really differ from what i have seen in american schools. the local classes and my oldest international class practiced for a few weeks for different games, marching drills and what i call "dances". i'm not sure what they call them. the video above is an example of the "dance".

the students all wore matching shirts to differentiate between them. a few children (well, 10 or more) would compete against each other in different sporting events. these events were really bizarre. one of them included wearing giant shoes and walking on a balance beam. not that safe... :) kids kept falling down and hitting the beam. i felt sorry for them! they would get all embarrassed.

they also raced with flags, carried bottled water across more balance beams and threw sticks over a net. all of this was in front of a big audience of other students, PTA members and even some members of the Shanghai soccer team!

my babies had to sit there for an hour and half and not get to participate. they were great sports waving their little red flags :) but after about 30 minutes, they lost all patience. i didn't mind. i just played with them!

jia jia. too cool for school :)

when they grow up

2011-05-14T02:27:00.002-04:00

there was another field trip this week at school, and all the students were able to visit some type of role playing "museum" of some sort. i honestly have no idea what this place was called. it wasn't the cleanest or most fun place i've been with the kiddos, but they did get to explore (basically put on costumes and have their parents take TONS of picture) different jobs they could have one day when they "grow up".

it's crazy to think these little, adorable, amazing, funny, chinese babies will one day be big. i feel like they are my kids sometimes.

will they be policemen/women?

or maybe fire fighters?

un-enthusiastic and nose picking firewomen :)

dentists?

possibly scientists?

who knows. but they can be anything they want to be :) and with my help, have some dang good English!

sprucing things up a bit

2011-05-14T01:40:00.001-04:00

hey-o and welcome to my new and improved blog :) every once and awhile i start getting antsy about how my blog looks. it's been the same since i came to china and i felt like it was time for a change. i found this great background and template scheme and then designed my own header using power point!

thumbs up for PPT!

yeah, i should get photoshop. that will be on my to do list before i leave china, since it's absolutely and ridiculously cheap.

recently i have been really paying attention to the little moments with my kids. i am trying to cherish every moment with them whether its the laughter in class when terry rolls on the ground and then shakes his head and says "no no" when i tell him he is going in time out. or when ai jung wakes up from her nap and sings to me in japanese. the way that alvin always says "ooyyy yooooo" when something goes wrong. mark's kisses and holding my hand whenever he can. jia jia's amazing dance moves.

the list can go on and on. i think it's those little things i will miss the most. and not just the little things in the classroom, but about all of china. i've became comfortable here. it's started to feel like home and then in 7 weeks i will be back in the US, trying to adjust all over again.

i hope i can find as much love and happiness back in the states, as i have here in china.

it's a little scary to think about. all the readjusting. all the changes. i've changed. people have changed. i don't want to be that scared girl anymore who let people stomp all over her and never put herself first. i have had this life changing experience where i feel more strong and independent than ever. my opinions are more honest. i have never been this happy in my life. but, this shanghai bubble is soon popping.
7 weeks.
7 weeks!

xiamen (sha-men) is silly!

2011-05-08T02:15:00.001-04:00

for the May holiday, tim and i decided that we were going to take a trip together. we had thrown out many ideas such as Hong Kong & Macau, Chengdu, Xi'an, etc... we really wanted to go somewhere warm with a beach and i remember a fellow CIEE china friend's blog about Xiamen. so, we did our research and decided it was the place to go. it was also tons cheaper than our other options. the beach sounded fabulous to us and who doesnt wanna be a beach bum?

well, the weather decided to not be in our favor and we arrived on friday night to rain, smog and high humidity. we were still ready to have a good time and go with the flow. we were still on vacation and ready for adventure.

we woke up on saturday morning pretty early and headed out to China's largest Starbucks! we then decided to just walk around the city, and down zhongshan lu which is a pedestrian street right by the water.

i did not know this until i returned to shanghai and was talking to my chinese teacher in my 3 room, jane, that xiamen is known for it's really cheap shopping. she is absolutely right! they had some great street shopping outside and i bought 2 dresses, a skirt and a pair of tennis shoes for less than 200 kuai (approximately $30 USD!). i was so excited! i also got some great fruit tang hu lu. it's fruit with hard sugar coating.

i am definitely going to miss that stuff back in the states. we saw some really random things, like
1. naked wedding pictures (seriously)
2. corn in a cup vendors
3. crazy food streets (with puppies in a cage... i don't even wanna think about that. i am scarred for life)
4. too much seafood!

5. a store called "Playboy" but was actually a bedding store.

after the walking street and getting some pizza, we visited the Nanputuo Temple next to Xiamen University. As we are getting in our cab, i tell the driver where we want to go and show him a picture on the map... he shakes his head and says "bu hao" meaning "bad". we weren't sure why until we got there and realized it was really crowded, beginning to rain, and we were the only white people there. we don't know if that's what he meant, but we decided to make that why :)

we made the best of it and walked around for awhile. there are these pagodas that you are supposed to toss coins into for good luck. the higher place you make it in, the more luck i assume. so, we emptied out all our jiaos (like dimes in the US) and began throwing. we were quite the spectacle. the only white people. a small girl. a tall guy. and we were dressed "like America" we kept saying. haha we were both wearing red, white and navy. i found it super hilarious!
at one point, this lady picks up tim's coin off the ground, stares at him, and then throws it in the first try! it was so funny and we couldnt quit laughing. we also were asked to have our pictures taken with a few people. it became a game eventually, seeing how many asked us personally.
tim is over 6ft tall so, he obviously won most of the time.

that night we went to a really fun place and had pizza (again), drinks and listened a really crazy band called d'extreme band. they played songs from britney spears, shania twain, 50 cent, metallica... crazy.

the next day we ventured out to this island called Gu Lang Yu.

we boarded a ferry to get over there and tim's head was touching the ceiling the whole time :)

we walked around the island and saw some really pretty things and even visited an aviary! bad thing about the aviary... tim got pooped on. his arm. it was funny, but really gross. at this point we had been walking around in the humidity for quite awhile so we decided to just leave the island. easier said then done. it was beginning to rain and basically everyone decided it was time to leave too! we were stuck in a stampede of chinese people for about 30 minutes. it was pushing, shoving, cutting, all out battle to get these ferry tickets! it was awful.

then we had to line up again to get on the ferry. all the umbrellas were hitting tim in the face and he had to wear my sunglasses to protect his eyes. he always says "i live in tiny town". haha poor guy, but it's true, he does.

we took it easy the rest of the trip and headed back to shanghai monday night.
xiamen was very very different from shanghai! i was glad to experience another chinese city and do some exploring :)

she smacked me.

2011-05-06T23:08:00.000-04:00

let me preface this post by saying, it was warm out. almost to the point of saying it was hot, but i will go with warm. and i was wearing sandals...

i was minding my own business, listening to my iPod, reading Lost on Planet China (awesome read by the way for anyone who has lived here!), waiting for good ol bus 96 to arrive at my stop. i just wanted to get home for my lunch break. usually, i just walk, but today i was meeting Tim for lunch and i wanted to cut my time in half (walking = 25 min, bus = 10 min + waiting). of course, i had to wait forever today and the time i waited and rode the bus i could have been back at my apartment. frustrating! but back to the story,
i was waiting for the bus and this old chinese lady (maybe about 60 or so) sits down beside me on the bench. she proceeds to start talking to me really fast in chinese so i take out one of my headphones quickly. i'm thinking "does she think i am chinese? i obviously can't understand her" but before i can even begin to comprehend what's going on... she SMACKS my foot. yes, smacks! i'm so taken aback by this i can't even muster out any words but somehow begin to try and translate what she is saying the absolute best i can. she begins rattling on and on about something to the extent of "it is not warm enough to be wearing sandals" first off lady its about 80 degrees. and "you are going to have bad health if you don't put on some better shoes". i am beginning to laugh. she moves closer and puts her hand on my knee and starts bending it.

side note: in china, they believe you should wear many layers in the cold and then when it begins to warm up, you slowly remove the amount of layers until summer comes. so people are still wearing at least 2 layers or long sleeves and pants in 80-85 weather. it had something to do with your joint and overall health. even the classroom ayi stared at my feet today and laughed. go figure i am also currently sick right now... that doesn't help my case.

the lady continues to go on and on and on but finally says... (in chinese of course) "oh you don't understand what i am saying do you?" but i reply to her "i understand a little of what you are saying. and i think its ok to wear sandals. its warm out!"

she giggles, asks where i am from and we talk a little. she gives my foot one more little slap and gets on her bus.

i shook my head, looked around, put my headphones back in and smiled to myself for another absolutely ridiculous china moment :)

my mom's visit to shanghai

2011-04-28T04:12:00.000-04:00

my mom has been here for the past week (she just left today... waaahhh!) and it was such an amazing time. the time went TOO fast though. I feel like she just got here and she has already left. i have so many adventures with her to blog about but alas, a picture will have to suffice until I get the time.

at west lake in Hangzhou

my mom rocking the chopsticks

having tea in yuyuan

april has left me feeling dizzy i've been so busy with work, chinese lessons, alice's visit, and my mom's visit. but now... my trip to the lovely beach island of Xiamen, China! after a month of nothing but running around and lack of sleep, i am heading out for the May holiday. then, it's back to grind and living up my final 2 months in china. recently, i've been having mixed emotions about my return to america. but, that's another post.

enjoy your weekend! i will enjoy mine hopefully sipping some type of fruity drink on the beach :)

shanghai gongqing forest park 森林公园

2011-04-19T10:22:00.001-04:00

my most recent field trip with my 3/4 year old class took me to the shanghai gongqing forest park about 45 minutes away from the school (or longer). when you have two 3 year olds in a 2 person row of seats, it feels like forever. especially when they wouldn't sit still or stop fighting about who would be where next to the window.

my 2 "children" for the day. i was in charge of these 2 all day, whether it be keeping them clean, feeding them lunch, tying shoes, wiping tears and being used as a human pillow.

*side note - the entire trip, i have never heard "waiguoren" meaning "foreigner" so many times in my life. as i walked down the paths with the girls' hands, i heard it every few seconds. some in hushed whispers... some yelling ... "WAIGUOREN!!" and pointing.

yes, obviously i am foreign.

hello!

once we got to the forest, we loaded a big golf cart type thing and headed into the park. all the flowers and trees were so pretty! i didn't feel like i was in shanghai. i wanted to take pictures so bad, but when you are having to hold 2 hands and carry 2 backpacks, it was a little tough. the only thing bad about these kind of trips with the kids here is that i want to do my own thing so bad! but instead of seeing the beautiful tulips and purple budding trees, we rode the train...

little joy cheesing it. she was sooo happy to be back at school for the trip. she recently fell out of a shopping cart (no joke) and broke her arm really bad.

sweet roller coaster!

we rode the merry go round...

we played in the dirt after lunch.

i am an awesome teacher. i let them get so dirty.

i am sure their mom's hated me.

we bounced on the mei yang yang moon bounce...

we rode boats in a small pool?

well, finley and ai played in the water.

i didn't have money like all the other parents and ayi's to let them ride.

jiajia - always the diva in the glittery hat.

the one nature picture i got. spring in shanghai really is lovely. :)

a catch up S.O.D.E post

2011-04-16T03:46:00.000-04:00

S.O.D.E updates
i have been awful at updating about my dinner club! we have had 3 more SODE dinners since my last post about them.

#3
Location: Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant (Jacqueline's choice)
This place had the most AMAZING guacamole ever! between the 5 of us (Kate had been visiting) that guac was gone in about 5 minutes. i think we were licking the bowl :) Jacqueline and I shared some amazing chicken fajitas and of course we all got margaritas :)

#4
Location: Anna Maya Vegetarian Cafe (the vegetarian herself, Amanda's choice)

The food at this cafe was the freshest I have had since I've been here. I'm obviously not a vegetarian but this food was my favorite I have had of all SODEs so far. I had a 3 course meal: mushroom soup, 4 little salads (AMAZING) and then yellow curry and rice. all the food was vegan as well. the 3 of us also shared some organic white wine and then some complementary cake balls. i'm still dreaming of those little salads.

#5
Location: MAYA Mexican Restaurant (Jacquline's choice again. it was my turn but i traded her for when my mom is here)
The atmosphere of this place was so awesome and their tacos were awesome! i had 3: cilantro chicken, lime beef and bean and cheese. we also had guacamole again. i am really in love with guacamole! you guessd it, more margaritas were involved. i tried a tamarind margarita (which is some type of flower) and it was excellent. i am an original lime girl at heart though :)
*pictures soon. i need to get them from amanda*

my mom will be here in 4 days! :) i have been busy planning activities, dinners, day trips, etc. it's gonna be the best. i love my mom and just can't wait to see her. it's been almost 8 months! that's waaay too long.

the singing competition

2011-04-13T08:34:00.001-04:00

so i was approached by yao yao, the chinese teacher of my 5/6 year old class, on a monday afternoon. she was doing her usual filling me in of information, semi-bossing me around altogether just throwing tons of information at me. she decides to throw in like it was no big deal an "oh, by the way, you will be involved in a singing competition on sunday morning at 7:30 am". my reply was a huge "WHAAAT!?" and in my head an "oohhh okay of course, my kids are competing. this is gonna be extra work obviously and super short notice but whatever" china is the KING of last minute requests. no, scratch that, commands. she then goes on to tell me that i will be the one singing, with one of my teaching partners, gene, and another chinese teacher.

again "WHAATT?!"

you mean i have to get up on my weekend and sing at some dumb contest, a song i don't know and attend a three hour practice when i should be at home already? you have GOT to be kidding me. a singing competition for teachers? uhhhh

best part is, she expects me to already know the song! it's a song from the Beijing Olympic games!!! thankfully it's only like 4 lines and it's in English, but this is a complete waste of my time.

and so random.

but mainly, a waste of my time.

i am a little frustrated about this because i have a friend in town, my mom is coming, i have lessons due and crafts to plan, an acting class to plan, music, poems and songs i need to get figured out for the kids graduation, etc etc etc...

but, i keep my head up and say... only in china.

chinglish cheers me up.

HEY GOOD!

cave?

oh ~~ fashion.

my spring babies

2011-04-05T08:56:00.002-04:00

i know i don't tend to use many words when blogging, i just post a lot of pictures. it's hard to blog about teaching because basically the same thing happens everyday. i play with them, i teach them, i help feed them and take them to the potty, and then i play some more. not too many funny things are said because, hello, they barely speak English. i am sure the things they say in chinese are hilarious though, if only i was fluent enough to understand everything. i am getting there though.

here are some pictures from a recent spring play time.
the beauty in the faces of these children make me smile bigger than they do.

jonathan and terry: the roughest boys of the gang.

notice those towels? the ayis (or "nannies of the classroom") shove these towels down the kids' clothing so they don't get all sweaty when playing outside. parents and their personal ayis dress the kids in 2-4 layers of clothing through the fall, winter and apparently spring. it's summer time when the kids can finally being to move their arms again and not be like the kid from the christmas story :)

my new girl: madison

i haven't heard her say a word yet minus the word "book". it's only been 2 classes though.

brandon - so smart

his english is one of the best and he always speaks in very slow chinese for me.

one day he says to me "zhe shi wo de bagongshi!" meaning, "this is my office!" when i came to play with him in the little house. i understood!! :)

eleven - always full of laughter. she is my spunkiest girl with the biggest attitude! she is so fun but also a little brat.

the one and only jiajia of course

my japanese love - ai

barely speaks english. speaks no chinese except "bu yao" meaning, "i don't want it".

conversation is hard but i love her! she is so funny.

nakita and eleven giggling as always

eleven is a bad influence on little nakita who wouldn't harm a fly.

but eleven sure would :)

throwing me the peace signs

it can't always be smiles and laughter.

ohhh joy. joy isn't living up to her name... poor baby. haha :)

xin de tongwu 新的室友

2011-04-02T22:26:00.000-04:00

first night in the apartment.

taking pictures on photobooth like nerds.

sitting in my bed.

skyping our moms.

awesome :)

there could have been a little wine involved as well.

when will you have a husband, miss jami?

2011-03-31T02:04:00.000-04:00

this is a cute dialogue between me and 2 boys in my 5/6 year class, mark and kaelen. both boys are originally from america. mark is 1/2 chinese, 1/2 australian born in Houston. and kaelen is from American parents born in Boston
m = mark
j = jami (me)
k = kaelen

mark

kaelen

m - i am so full look at my belly

j - yes, you look very full.

m - it's kinda like i have a baby in there.

j - only girls have babies mark you know that. you are a boy!

m - you are a girl so you can have babies?

j - yes mark

k - do you have a baby miss jami?

j - no kaelen i dont have a baby.

m - well you need a husband to have a baby. and if you had a baby you can't really do anything like be a teacher or play games.

j - you are right mark (laughing)

m - well when are you going to have a husband? soon?

j - well i don't want a husband right now.

m - well in a year?

j - maybe. you never know mark, but probably not. where do you think i should find one?

m - well in england of course.

j - why england?

m - that's where all the men are. they are proper.

k - miss jami doyou want me to tell you how to get a boyfriend or husband? well at first you start liking the boy. then in 3 days or so he can be your husband or boyfriend. you just have to ask him. or maybe he will ask you.

my mom is coming to shanghai!

2011-03-25T23:09:00.000-04:00

i just found out that my mom officially booked her ticket to shanghai this morning! it was the best waking up present. she will get here april 19th and stay through april 28th i believe. i can't wait to show her around shanghai, i will need to get an itinerary put together because i don't want her to miss a thing! i am so excited! i don't want time to go fast, i want it to slow down, but to see my mom? come on time :)

a picture from this summer of my mom and i!

prior to my mom coming, the one and only alice mcavoy is coming back to shanghai for a week and staying with amanda and i. now that is going to be one crazy week. i am so excited to see alice as well!

my most recent picture with alice. missing her as always (and tim finding it quite hilarious apparently)

i feel like i overuse the word excited. what other words can i use about these future visitors?

i am ecstatic.
i am overjoyed.
i am over the moon! haha
i am pumped up.

not to mention i'm going to be doing some traveling over the next months as well.
chengdu, guilin, beijing to name a few possibilities.

hurray for april!

7 months

2011-03-25T05:24:00.000-04:00

it honestly blows my mind that i have been here 7 months and how comfortable i am living here. i finally feel acclimated to the environment, culture and just my daily life. i love it here more and more every day. july is going to come so soon. i hope the next 3 months slow down a little...

the last week or so has been quite interesting in both bad and good ways. st. patrick's day in shanghai was quite the success and our own dear aussie shaun's birthday was the same day. i busted out the green bow and green glasses from the ever so amazing Qipu Lu chinese clothing and accessory market. lensless glasses will never get old. with so many colors and styles you can have a pair for every occasion. the bow? not so much. but i can't resist a big bow in all honesty.

this is our "da xiao" face - meaning big smile.

happy birthday shaussiieee!

that weekend mac and i hosted another infamous shanghai holiday party. we had a lot of fun wearing green and yes, i even had green tights. i don't mess around :) they were the cheapest pair ever though and ripped about 30 minutes into the party. that's china for ya.

we also had another S.O.D.E dinner at Lange Italian Restaurant. i had some AMAZING lasagna and between jacqueline, kate, amanda, mac and i... of course.... 2 bottles of wine.

a bad thing that happened this week is that Mac is having to head back to America 3 months early. back in january she had hurt her knee really bad in hainan, china but didn't really do much about it. over the next month it kept giving out on her, or she would hurt it, etc. well on saturday night she hurt it again but this time, the worst. she can't walk, its swollen, it's just really bad. :( it breaks me heart that i am losing my best friend here. the girl who has been through it all with me. i have loved being her roommate and i am going to miss her so much. i am so sad this had to happen to her, but she is keeping positive and remembering "everything happens for a reason". and thats why i love her. that and we look ridiculous words up on urban dictionary until midnight laughing until we cry.

mac and i strutting our best model poses. who am i going to pose with now? :(

with spring in the air my kids are off. the. walls. you would think they never get play time! i love my 3/4 year class so much. today was probably one of my favorite days teaching them. it was almost 60 degrees today here and a blue sunny sky. i got to play outside with them all morning. they put out some big fluffy mats and Jane (my chinese teacher) and i laid in the sun. the warmth felt so good and everything in that moment was beautiful. i had these wonderful children just laughing with me, cuddling with me, tickling and pretending they were my pillow and blankets. i wish i would have had my camera. it was honestly a beautiful moment in china. i was laughing and had the cheesiest grin on my face i am sure.

i really am loving my life right now. i love it.

oh and amanda is moving in with me.

it's gonna be wild :)

chinese children's literature

2011-03-17T01:05:00.001-04:00

it's hard to introduce the following post in an appropriate manner. where to begin? well, i will get right to it.

this is chinese book for 3 year olds that talks about pooping.

i happened across this book one day right before i went to wake the babies up from their nap. i had to get my camera out right away and document theses pages. my jaw dropped as soon as i saw them, as i know yours will.

it's quite hilarious, graphic and absolutely ridiculous. if only my chinese character reading was a better. i am dying to hear what this book actually says!

*warning - these pictures are... really too much.

the cover.

somebody's gotta go.

*whistle whistling...

hahahaha

hmmmm

oh man.

hahahah

apparently some homes have 3 toilets in the bathroom.

and the dog is allowed to go on the floor.

is this not gross? but hey it gave you a good laugh didn't it? :)

"shedding our skin"

2011-03-12T22:26:00.000-05:00

my friend lindsey from college is currently teaching in Samoa with the Peace Corps. she said some amazing words on what it means to live abroad and find who you are.

check out her blog at:
lindseyforpeace.blogspot.com

lindsey, your words really inspired me today!
good luck with everything in Samoa. you are an awesome teacher!
teachers abroad unite! :)

spring & st. paddy's

2011-03-12T21:55:00.001-05:00

for a week now i have been teaching NOTHING but St. Patrick's Day to my kids. i think i'm going to explode soon. it's hard to come up with 2 weeks of material for this holiday which i only associate with drinking beers and wearing green. turns out (through research and talking to a student's parent who is Irish) it's a lot more. haha

no matter the reason, holiday, weather... they just gotta pose!

i love this so much.

spring is also in the air at wunan! i had the kids tell me their favorite thing about spring and i decorated the classroom with green leaves and a new bulletin board (which was not my idea "share a smile"? so very asian).

everyone else said how much they love spring, can play outside, see flowers, etc.

then, there's leo. at least he's being honest.

the school also took us out to another dinner this friday. we ate at a place called the shanghai cuisine variety show. haha there was no variety show in sight though.

from left to right

yao yao, my 6 year teacher

jane, my 3 year teacher

principal annie

and shirley and leanne, jacqueline's teachers.

the food wasn't too bad, that or i am adjusting to the crazy food finally. there was no duck tongue this round, but some type of jellyfish strings. oh chinese food, i will never be used to you.
i got to play with the principal's daughter Judy for awhile. we had tickle fights right at the table and looked out the window at the city talking about taxis. is she not beautiful?

here's to week 2 of teaching about st. patrick's day. yuck. i just can't wait to celebrate this weekend with another imfamous party at Mac and I's apartment. i have a bunch of cleaning to do. lame.
have a great sunday!

april and i :)

second semester smiles

2011-03-10T01:01:00.002-05:00

today is march 10th and i finally feel like spring is on it's way! its 57 degrees and sunny and i have a huge smile on my face. so far, this second semester has been SO GREAT. i am a huge 360degree turn from how i was feeling the first week back in shanghai after vacation. i have a goofy grin on my face most of the time, i feel myself skipping down the streets sometimes, and my weekends are always filled with such laughter. every weekend is more and more fun!

i love saturdays.

last saturday my friends and i decided that we were going to have lunch and drinks... kinda all day.
we played kings at Malone's, watched wacky infomercials and ending up and sitting there for over 4 hours.

shots before 5? oops.

we then went to Windows for awesome bar foods and a high school party (or so it felt like).

amanda and tim.

school is going well too. my 3 year olds have came so far and their behavior is totally improving. their English is improving too! they make me so proud. i love giggling with them and hearing them yell "MISS JAMI!!" down the halls when they see me. their smiles make me light up.
my 6 year olds are starting to get antsy with primary school coming up but they are doing well too. they are quite the challenge.
i feel like i am more dedicated and creative this semester. i am even teaching an English acting class. this wasn't my choice, but i am going to remain positive, even though it's a lot of extra work.

Hong.

(side story about Hong: today i went to move his chair and he didn't notice i was moving it and fell down. he got super embarrassed and started crying. this kid never cries and i actually thought he didn't like me. i pulled him to the side and told him i was so sorry (in Chinese as well) and he gave me this HUGE hug and cried and cried on my shoulder. i don't know why. he then said, "it's okay miss jami. i was just scared and they all laughed. i didn't like it. it not you" :)

i was also told today by mark "if you keep making us jump rope i am going to leave this school!"

hey, mark. not my problem.

nonetheless, second semester.... here... we... GOOO!!!

and of course, alice, you are always with us. :)

S.O.D.E

2011-03-06T08:43:00.001-05:00

shanghai is such an amazing city, let me tell you (as i've said so many times before)! there are so many places to go and things to do that unless you make a point to try new things, it's easy to get stuck going to the same places (which are still awesome!) over and over again.
this semester my friend Jacqueline had this idea that each week we should try a new restaurant or bar in order to really take in the city and live up this semester. of course, i found this idea absolutely fabulous.

therefore, S.O.D.E - Shanghai Ongoing Dinner Extravaganza. great name, right?

each week, between mac, amanda, jacqueline and i, we take turns picking a place to go each friday night. another reason for S.O.D.E was to just see each other more often!

the first meeting was all up to me! i was kinda nervous actually. i wanted to impress. i even lost sleep over it! each day when i walk down yongjia lu i see this same place called The Indian Kitchen. i've had indian food one time and i really liked it. also, hello? curry!

2 bottles of wine. gone.

the place was in a brand new complex on the 4th floor. the atmosphere was pretty fun and funky. the food was great, the service? not so much. a little slow. but then again it was crowded. we didn't mind because we were with great company, conversation, and... wine :) overall it was a cute place and a great start to an awesome tradition. not to mention i got my curry fix. who can really complain about that? :)

amazing dishes!

the girls of SODE!

amanda

jacqueline

mac

oh & to jordan - i knew you would love this idea! my own food adventure in shanghai :)

this ones for the girls

2011-03-03T01:11:00.001-05:00

working at an international school brings to your attention some holidays that you didn't even know existed. today (apparently) is Girl's Day in Japan! my teacher wanted me to research the information and basically "dumb it down" for 5 year olds. Girl's Day, or "Hinamatsuri" is actually a pretty crazy holiday where the parents of Japanese girls set out these "Hina" dolls in honor of their daughters on many tiered platforms. the tradition is, if they don't take down the dolls that night (before the holiday is over) they believe their daughter will take longer to marry off which is a BIG deal. how do you explain that to a 5 year old? :)
i went with just a little information and pictures of Japan on a powerpoint, threw in a picture of Hello Kitty in a kimono and then had them make their own "Hina" dolls. We also told Xixi and April we loved them.
The dolls turned out pretty cute :)

that one is mine :)

happy girl's day to all the girls out there!

saying farewell to thailand

2011-02-26T05:29:00.000-05:00

after the snorkeling adventure, i literally did nothing for the last few days. the beach was the perfect oasis for me where i could just be with me and my thoughts, which isn't always the best thing, but it was a great time to just think about my life and how amazing it really is :)
i spent my time talking walks down the beach, getting a thai massage, drinking fruity cocktails and gorging in too much curry.
the last day i took a long walk down the shore. sometimes i would stop and sit along the sand and people watch, listen to the waves and take pictures.

that night the power went out on the entire island of koh lanta! it was actually very beautiful and calm.

hands down, perfect last night sunset.

candles for light.

we ended up sitting at a table, drinking beers and playing word scramble against each other by candlelight :).

eventually the power came back on and we had a wonderful farewell dinner with....

... of course... more curry!

i did not want this vacation to EVER end. it was sooo warm and sunny and i knew i was heading back into the chilly and polluted shanghai.
i saw the most beautiful sights, had an amazing, adventurous vacation and it was the perfect start for the 2nd semester!

island hopping

2011-02-22T00:58:00.002-05:00

we stayed at nakara long beach resort for just 2 nights and then moved to our next place down the island. jacq and i loved this place way more than nakara! it was really small and felt a lot more personal. it was called anda lay boutique hotel. we stayed there for 4 nights and 5 days. we had a huge room and it was right on the beach.
my schedule looked like this: wake up, eat breakfast and drink my coffee while watching the waves roll in, lay out by the pool all day, maybe take a walk, read a magazine... and i knew it was time for dinner when the sun began to set :)

we did this same routine every day other than one day when we decided to take a tour of 4 islands: Ko Ngai, Ko Chuek, Ko Mah and Emerald Cave at Koh Mook.

we started out pretty early in the morning and boarded a big speed boat. we rode with about 30-40 people to our first snorkeling drop off. i was so excited! the water was so clear and you could see fish swimming all around. for any of you who know me, i am pretty scared of fish. i have been since i was a little girl and got bit by a huge fish in lake! yuck. so, snorkeling for me was conquering a pretty big fear.
i looked out on the water, mentally crossed my fingers and took a big jump! i was so amazed at what i saw. i really did feel like i had jumped straight in to the movie finding nemo! if only i had an underwater camera.

i saw some beautiful fish and swam right through the middle of many schools! the whole time i had to keep thinking "these fish are scared of me. these fish are scared of me" even sometimes when my flipper would touch my leg i would basically jump out of the water and twist my head around to see what it was. i even ran into a few bigger fish in which i swam away as fast as i could and focused on the little guys again.
next, we went to a 2nd snorkeling point where there was a huge underwater drop off. a few times i got the courage to dive deep down into the water and hold my breath. i saw even more fish and literally swam right through the middle of a thousand baby fish.

amazing.
we also got to visit an island and eat lunch, as well as just swim around and walk in the sand. this place had the most amazing views and i also found a hermit crab!

lastly, we went to emerald cave. we had to swim about 100m through this cave to the other side and at least 50m of it was in the PITCH. DARK. we were swimming where we couldnt touch, with 30+ people, in a cave. nuts. i was honestly scared. i kept grabbing jacqueline's arm :)
once we got to the other side, it was like we were in our own oasis. we were surrounded by huge rock faces with trees all up and down. the pictures don't do it justice.

the ride back on the boat was awesome as well! we got to drive by many islands. i know i was smiling ear to ear.
that day tied with the elephant training were the best experiences i've had in my life. i can't wait to have some more, which i know the next 100 days living in Asia will bring.

what happiness means today

2011-02-21T09:15:00.001-05:00

-- getting 2 packages from my mom and dad in the mail filled with american goodies such as cereal, medicine, makeup, toothpaste, candy and poptarts :)
-- finding out my mom did my taxes for me and my return is killer!
-- talking with my dad on the phone for a half hour about the apparent 36% beef in taco bell tacos (curse you fake Mexican food chain that I love and miss still!), the show bizarre foods, alternate routes in indy, new cereals i should try and...
-- THE PURDUE WIN OVER OHIO STATE! boom!!! and the great student section singing Party in the USA whenever OSU would go to the free thrown line because some of the guys from the Buckeyes posted a video of them singing on youtube. way to go purdue! you make fun of people, and that's why i love you haha. seriously i am still so pumped about this win!
-- being sore from yoga on sunday night, which means i worked hard.
-- and... a solid day of teaching where i felt pretty confident in myself.

i am taking each day exactly like it should be, just day by day. i am working hard to get out of the 6 month blues and back to loving my life, living every minute with pure joy and not letting some"thing' get in my way of that. i've been here 183 days now, and i have a little over 100 left. they need to count. and today, i found happiness in those little things and i am about to lay my head down on my pillow with a smile and do my best to wake up with one :)
(which is impossible because i don't know one person who smiles at 6:30 in the morning)

"... i'll learn to get by, on little victories." -matt nathanson

and finally, the beach!

2011-02-19T02:47:00.001-05:00

when we arrived in krabi, we landed on a smaller runway surrounded by beautiful mountains! we got to walk off the plane right onto the runway, and not into the airport. it felt so tropical :) i've always wanted to walk off the plane and down the stairs, it felt very glamorous :)

we got into the airport and had to figure out how to get to koh lanta. there were many options: ferries, taxis, mini busses, busses, taxis & busses, mini busses & ferries. it was a little overwhelming. ferries were automatically out since we missed the last one. we ended up going with a taxi to the mini bus station and then taking a mini bus to koh lanta. the ride was about 2 hours through some beautiful scenery that literally took my breath away. i knew the whole ride i had the cheesiest grin on my face looking out the window.
we then were able to take 2 small ferries. the mini bus drove right on to the ferry. it was also amazingly beautiful! i feel like i use the word beautiful alot but everything was just seriously beautiful! :)
after the 2 ferry rides, we were back on the mini bus where our driver dropped each group on the bus off at their different locations.

the first place we stayed was called Nakara Long Beach Resort. it was a pretty big place and super nice. as soon as we got there we changed into our swimsuits as fast as we could in order to sit on the beach since the sun would be setting in about an hour.

our first sunset was spectacular. it was so relaxing, there was a small breeze, i had a mai tai in my hand and i was staring at the beautiful Adaman Sea. that night we had dinner right on the beach, listening to the waves and talking with Becca. i had mussaman curry for the first time and from then on, i was addicted the whole trip. my stomach is growling just thinking about it!

"baby when the lights... go out..."

2011-02-17T08:56:00.004-05:00

remember that song by Jump 5? i always thought it was really provocative. well, in the case of this story, the song really does mean what the title says... this is what happens "when the lights go out"... in my chinese bathroom.

tonight, i went into the bathroom like i usually do for my nightly routine to brush my teeth, wash my face if needed and, well, go to the bathroom. it's been the case since August that the light in there definitely has a mind of its own. it decides when it wants to turn on. turning it off is easy and i definitely can control that... annoying. anyways, so i walk in and try to turn on the light. i stand there a minute waiting for it to do the usual flicker it likes to do when it wants to come on. i always have my fingers crossed it comes on in general. this time, no flicker.
"great." i thought.
well, i really had to go so i mumbled a few words under my breath and lifted the lid to go.
i sit down and, oh my GOD that was cold!!
"what in the world, the heat is on, the seat shouldn't be cold" - all went through my head in 3 seconds.
... yep. i had lifted both toilet seats and sat right down into the bowl.
... yep. my ass definitely touched the water.
... yep. i had to sit there and go to the bathroom.
longest few (and cold, and dark) seconds ever.

still no light. after this i was furious. i couldn't see anything!
i run out the door and turn on the dining room lights so i can brush my teeth (this is after trying to in the dark and letting my toothpaste lid roll off the sink, and a few more mumbled !@#*%s later).
i then decide, ya know, this is a pretty funny story, i hope someone gets a laugh today out of my embarrassment. laughter is an instant vacation :)

oh and my roommate fell down our stairs tonight, too.
it's been a rough night for us :)

goodbye chiang mai, hello bangkok (for the night :)

2011-02-17T00:17:00.000-05:00

and now, back to thailand!
sappy intermission is now over.

our last day in chiang mai, Jacq and I decided we just walked to walk around the city all day, visit this great antique store again, sight see and have dinner (aka daiquiris).

cool elephants on the river

we visited the antique store first and spent a little over 2 hours there. it was so cool seeing all the antique Buddhas and different idols. the little Thai ladies in the store were the sweetest! i had this little scab on my shoulder and i accidentally scratched it. it started to bleed so i grabbed a Kleenex out of my bag and kept walking around. no big deal. out of nowhere this little lady runs after me and is like "ooohhhhhh come with me!" she pulls me into their little office/kitchen and gets out a big first aid kit including some iodine, cotton balls and bandaids. she stood there with the cotton ball on my scab until it stopped. then she put a bandaid on it and got me another glass of water. it was cute :)
i was able to spend some time doing some sketches of different things which was so relaxing. just laying in the sun in their small garden, drawing, watching their little dog. perfect little moment.
after we got some cool things we decided to have lunch. we sat in our favorite little place called Gekko Garden and had... 3 "extra strong" pitchers of daiquiris.

loved this place!

pitcher #1? :)

they were excellent and needless to say, we were feeling pretty great after that. after that we went back to our resort and went to sleep.
we were really sad to be leaving chiang mai, but super excited to be heading to Bangkok and then Koh Lanta!

downtown chiang mai

my midnight snack :)

Once we arrived in Bangkok we met up with Jacqueline's friend from high school Becca who is teaching through CIEE there. We were able to stay with her and she took us to get some tasty street food. That night we just relaxed and got to bed at a decent time so we could be up bright and early to head to clear water, white sand and soon to be tans :)

some"thing"

2011-02-16T09:04:00.001-05:00

i'm taking a thailand adventure story break, i'm sorry! i promise the next half of my trip will come soon! i have the pictures to help me remember, don't worry.

i guess this last week i've had a lot on my mind about life, my future and love. i've been having one of those weeks where you mind won't let you rest and you can't get something(one) out of your head. my heart and my head are just fighting constantly. my emotions are fluctuating so much within a day i feel like i am bi-polar! i wake up feeling kinda blue, sad, reminiscent, doubtful. i enjoy my morning with my kids equaling happiness. i have my lunch break and sometimes it's sad, sometimes it's happy (depending on where i am and what i am doing aka starbucks makes me happy :). then in the evening... ah. my thoughts get the best of me again and i lay in bed lost in my dreams and thoughts, trying to not think about something(one). (sorry for the thing/one controversy. i am trying to not admit this is a problem over someONE. so, i will say it's a thing. i am in denial obviously.)

and goodness the following song will pretty much give it away that it's a one and not a thing.

putting denial and honestly embarrassment aside... i'm not over this thing. i am not even close to being moved on like i keep telling people. this thing is getting the best of me. i'm laying it all out there. all my thoughts for you to read. does anyone out there know what it's like to lose your best "thing"?

now that that's over with.
i will not promise that a post won't happen like this again, but my happy-adventurous-day to day-stories will return tomorrow :)
i am a happy girl, and extremely thankful and blessed for this opportunity, but that doesn't mean my heart doesn't still ache for something i've lost.

love you all who are reading this and letting me open up my heart and thoughts... all cyber-like :) i hate to be a complainer.

i know i know, you came here to read about china, but i will say it again like i have many times, this is a blog about me, not just china.

this is your life.

2011-02-13T10:02:00.001-05:00

these have been in my mind for the past 2 days &
i wanted to share them.

the trek.

2011-02-13T06:47:00.000-05:00

the day after the elephant adventure, jacqueline and i had signed up for a full day trek. i was really excited to be able to do so many different things in one day:
1st, we went to visit a butterfly and orchid garden. the flowers were absolutely breathtaking! orchids are one of my favorite flowers (after 1. red tulips, my absolute favorite and 2. light pink peonies). I could not stop taking pictures of them. I could have spent hours in there looking around. the butterfly garden was okay. there weren't many in there, but still beautiful nonetheless.

beautiful orchids

*love the lighting and colors on these photos

me in the orchid garden (& something going wacky with my tank top. thanks backpack :)

one of the few butterflies i saw

after there we went on to the mountain where we were going to trek. we started walking in the heat for quite awhile and were able to visit a hill tribe. it was kinda interesting.... i couldn't quite believe they were a legit tribe due to the satellite dish on top of the hut. hmmm...

but at least the monkey was cute :)

after the hill tribe visit we walked quite a ways through some beautiful hills, trees and small rivers. the scenery was just gorgeous. i was missing my good nature pals trey and AJ! i was thinking of them the whole time i did this adventure (you'd be happy to know, boys :) we got see a cabbage field where some villagers were working (after walking basically a straight up incline, rough!).

next, (yes, the trekking list continues, and this is all before lunch time!) we were able to go on an elephant ride (AGAIN!). this time though, we did not have to guide the elephant and we sat on a big metal seat. it was just a relaxing time to see the scenery. we were at the same elephant camp we were at the day before so we felt like pros :)

after the elephant ride we got in van and traveled to the river for our white water rafting and bamboo adventure! there are no pictures of this because i obviously didn't want to get my camera wet by chance. i have been white water rafting before in tennessee a couple times but thailand was just awesome! i would say the rapids were about the same, but, hello! i'm in thailand doing it! that just upped the value quite a bit. i can't knock the mountain view in TN though, it's beautiful as well. after the rafting, we transferred to a bamboo raft. for some odd reason, which im still super confused about, the guide made me get on a bamboo without my group mates (jacqueline and the other people in our tour group)! he also made me steer it and lead the raft down river. so, picture this. I am standing on the front of this HUGE bamboo raft in about 2 feet of water with 3 asian girls, 1 huge German guy, oh ... and Jacq was able to get on last minute. i felt like an amazon woman and the asian girls kept saying "oh, you're our hero!!! so brave!!" it was the best! it was really fun. I even had to get off the raft and get us unstuck. i was seriously the guide.

still, no clue why i was chosen. haha

after the rafting adventure, it was a long ride back on a crowded song tow (open air truck type van-ish taxi :) i was going in and out of sleep. it was an exhausting but great day!

oh and we visited a small waterfall.

ALL IN ONE DAY!

chinese new year

2011-02-11T02:52:00.000-05:00

sorry for the interruption in the thailand posts, but i need to get a chinese new year post in!

what can i say about the CNY... hmm.
1. there is a lot of red lanterns, red ribbons, red firecrackers, red... everything. everywhere!
2. a lot of rabbit decor as well, since it IS the year of the rabbit.
3. the fireworks were out. of. control for about 3 days. lack of sleep and loss of hearing. they were lighting them off at 7am. they were lighting them off at 7pm. and 1am. and 11am. basically 24 hours a day.
4. i got a 3 week paid vacation! you can't complain about that.

i was able to go to yuyuan, one of my favorite shanghai spots, 2 times this week to see all the decorations.
they were a little over the top, but fun!
here are some pics :) enjoy!

the firework aftermath in front of my apartment. no joke, on sunday night, i felt like i was in a war zone!

eating tang hu lu! it's fruit with this hard sugar coating over it. it's AMAZING!

(oh, and sporting the lens-less glasses phenomenon that is taking over China!) it's so fun.

all the crazy blow-ups in the water that i assume tell the story of the CNY

yuyuan all lit up and a big rabbit :)

more weird blow ups :)

I am a certified mahout.

2011-02-09T23:40:00.003-05:00

... and I have the "certificate" to prove it!
No, really. I do! They gave us a printed out certificate that says we passed the training. Then again, I am 100% that everyone gets those at the end. haha

One of my "must do's" for the Thailand trip was getting to see elephants. Whether it be just going on a small ride, or getting to learn more things, I didn't care. I just love elephants and wanted to get close to them. So, Jacqueline and I signed up for a half day elephant training and mahout course. A mahout is just someone who trains the elephants :)
We did it in the afternoon and we are SO glad we did! We were the only 2 in the course, and when we were back at the same place the next day there were so many people in the morning class! Awesome.

First off, they made us change into these ridiculous outfits with just our swimsuits underneath. Obviously they were one size fits all. I am actually glad we had to wear them though because the elephant's skin is super rough and they have very coarse, sharp hair up by their head (I discovered this when I was learning how to climb up on the elephant using their legs and then trunk and the inside of my legs got super scratched up. I could only imagine if I wasn't wearing those crazy pants :)

Next, we learned a few Thai commands of what to tell that elephant. "Yoh ka" means, "lift your leg". "Pai" means "go!" and... I honestly forget the rest... I should have kept that paper... After learning some basic words we were able to just give the elephant some sugar cane, bananas, watermelon and pineapple so she would warm up to us.

on Soo Si :)

feeding the elephant

Then, it was on to learning how to climb up. Goodness! You have to have somewhat of an athletic bone in your body or you were screwed. It was so hard to climb up! After saying "Yoh ka!" the elephant would lift its leg, you grab its skin with your left hand and behind its ear with your right, and step on the leg. Then as its lifting its leg, you basically have to throw your other leg as high as you can (a few feet, like 4!) up and over. Seriously, so hard.
We also learned how to climb up its trunk and it would lift it's trunk (with you on it!) up and over its head. I liked that one better. No climbing and jumping :)

climbing up from the front!

attempting to turn around

We also learned some commands how to "steer" the elephant which was actually very confusing. I didn't understand most of the time and my elephant (ohhh, her name was Soo Si! i forgot that little snippet) just did as she pleased, mostly in reverse :) haha

trying to get the elephant to go left maybe? unsuccessful.

Jacqueline and I both went through all this training and were then able to lead our elephant down some trails and rivers (with a qualified guy following us). Once we went down the trails we were lead to a small watering hole where the elephant laid down in the water and we got to bathe her! It was my favorite part! We sudsed her up and had a water fight. We then mounted her again and finished the small trail back to the camp.

jacq and i down the trail

the beautiful scenery

us with Soo Si, giving her a bath

water fight!

It was honestly one of the coolest and most amazing things I have ever done in my life (tied with snorkeling which happens later in the trip). I kept thinking "Wow, a year ago i would have NEVER thought I would be learning to guide an elephant in Thailand."

Just a year ago, I felt like I was in a really hard place in my life. I honestly didnt like the direction my life was heading and was struggling with some relationship problems, feeling very neglected and not worth it.
Now, it's been a year since then and I feel like I have changed. Traveling has changed me. I am happy the direction my life is heading. I am seeing things some people will never see in their life time, I am living this adventurous life I would have never expected. This is not to say that every day is easy. That every day I am happy. I have my low points. But I am getting there, I can feel it.
I am living my dreams. I have goals that I am actually reaching.
I think that's something to be desired, don't you? :)

Chiang Mai - Sunday Night Market

2011-02-09T00:31:00.002-05:00

We were greeted in Chiang Mai by one of the owners of Mai Siam, the small resort we stayed at the entirety of our stay, and her British friend. They drove us in their car to where we were staying. It ended up being about a half hour away from the city center of Chiang Mai but we loved seeing the beautiful scenery every day on our ride into town.
Once we settled in to our bungalow the staff made us a really tasty dinner and then we showered and headed to the Sunday Night Market, a very popular attraction in the town that only takes place, obviously, on Sunday nights. They shut down some of the roads and there are tons and tons of vendors selling jewelry, lanterns, clothes, paintings, etc! There was also a food square with so many Thai foods!
I got some type of burrito looking thing (i forget the Thai word) and a fried banana with chocolate... oh man. amazing!
I bought a great bracelet, earrings, a dress and a lantern.
It was a great introduction to Chiang Mai and we were so excited for the next day where we would head to ... the elephant camp :)

night market

i got one of these lanterns. i just can't get it assembled... haha

a "wat" or temple in the middle of the city center and Sunday market

the beginning

2011-02-08T00:08:00.003-05:00

Let me start from the beginning of my Thailand adventure...

Jacqueline and I were up and in a taxi at about 7:00, dressed in sandals (her), my TOMS (me), jeans, and sweatshirt with a jacket. We wanted to wear all of our "wintery" stuff on the way since they wouldn't fit in our luggage (especially my backpack, it was stuffed to begin with)!
We got to the Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and began to check Jacqueline's luggage. We went through the security and they began to open my backpack... apparently you can't take toiletries over 100ml in your carry on, and all mine were over 100ml. After a slight panic because I reeeaalllyyy didn't want to check my luggage, in fear of my "fake market" backpack getting ruined on it's way to Bangkok, I ended up checking in. I had to, if i wanted to be able to wash during my 2 weeks :)

Oh, and they gave us these stickers for "international transfer" once we hit Guangzhou, China that we had to wear, but we kept calling them "retard stickers" because we were the only people with them. :)

jacq and her sticker

After a few hours in the freezing cold airport of Guangzhou, and a mediocre meal, we were on our way to Bangkok, and on our way to the warm 85 degree weather! (This is after the plane left an hour and half late...)
Once we arrived in Bangkok we had a few very important matters to attend to:
1. get in line QUICK to get our passport checked.
2. exchange money
3. get jacqueline's bag, again, QUICK! because....
4. We had to figure out how in the world to buy train tickets north to Chiang Mai and get to the actual station.

We were able to use a phone at a tourist desk and call the train station directly. In Thailand, everyone speaks pretty great English and are SO friendly! They are so willing to help you out with anything you need.

Once we get in the cab to go the train station we had to make a game plan. We had found out there were only a handful of tickets left at the train station and they train left in about an hour. They were second class seats, either the sleeper or the seats. We had our fingers crossed for sleeper.

ps. they drive on the other side of the road! weeirrrd.

It was straight out of Amazing Race I felt like, the plan was...
Jacqueline will pay the cab driver and get her luggage, and I will grab my backpack and run into the station for tickets. I ask the attendant for any 2 tickets into Chiang Mai (we HAD to take this train because the last bus had already left, due to our flight being delayed).
We ended up with 2 second class tickets... seats. They were the LAST ONES TOO! Actually, they weren't too bad, minus the whole train being soo freezing cold.

the train station

jacq and i in our seats with our "towel" blankets and Leos

thai sunchips which i think looks like it says "bu tuna" :)

I had read on Lonely Planet that Thai busses like to run their air conditioning extremely cold, but didn't even think about trains.
I was wrapped in anything long sleeved I had brought and a small blanket aka towel they gave us.
We met some pretty fun people on the train! They were 2 Thai couples who wanted to take some pictures with us, and enjoy a Leo (a beer).
I was actually able to sleep a good amount (thanks to some Tylenol PM).
We woke up the next morning in the train, had some breakfast and were getting pretty pumped up for our adventures into Chiang Mai :)

the next morning in my big seat once some people left

welcome to chiang mai!

*more to come this week...

all about chiang mai!

pictures from the land of smiles

2011-02-06T08:02:00.000-05:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiinholt/sets/

here is the link to my Flickr pictures from Thailand!
i will be blogging about my adventures and posting specific pictures later but have a look!

and a few of my favorite shots from the trip ... i couldn't resist.

2 weeks in thailand!

2011-01-21T03:41:00.000-05:00

i'm heading out to thailand in the morning!! got everything packed into 1 backpack and one small duffel bag, which is a HUGE feat for me considering I am the world's best over packer. i am one of those people who live by the saying "it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it!" but when you don't want to check any luggage, those rules don't apply anymore. good thing thailand is warm because shorts, tanks, and skirts don't take up half as much room as sweaters and coats! i'm heading into 80s and 90s with suuuuun! can't wait to bust out the shades.

my flight leaves at 9 in the morning, and i fly into Bangkok. then we will grab a train overnight and arrive in chiang mai that next afternoon. sleeping on the train is gonna SUCK. it's the only part of the trip i am not looking forward to.
after 5 days of gallivanting around in chiang mai riding elephants, visiting night markets, eating fresh fruit, seeing temples, doing some cooking classes and eating crazy amounts of thai food, we will fly back into bangkok to pick up jacquelyn's friend. we will spend the night in bangkok and fly south to krabi thailand for the next week. here we will be beaching it up, snorkeling with fishies, day drinking, getting tans and well... straight just being lazy and relaxing :) (maybe even some rock climbing :)

i won't be on my computer for the next 2 weeks. pray for safe travels! thanks everyone.
you will have many pictures and stories after!

embarrassing moment in chinese

2011-01-19T09:35:00.003-05:00

well, i COMPLETELY embarrassed myself in front of Jack today (my Chinese tutor). as he was walking out the door we were wishing him our "zei wei"s (shanghainese for goodbye) and "xin nian kuai le"s (chinese for happy new year) when i went to shut my book and found his pencil underneath my cover...

dun dun dun....

i utter out the phrase in which i thought was, "Zhè shì nǐ de bǐ ma?" -- "Is this your pencil?" (pencil is bǐ)
but i actually said "Zhè shì nǐ de bī ma?" -- which means "Is this your vagina?" (vagina (vulgar) is bī [as nciku.com states]). *notice the differences in marks over the letter i.

i had no clue obviously that that is what i said and within .342 seconds he is like "wooahhh. ohhh nooo. nooooooo...." and is laughing hysterically, half nervously. he says "this is bad. really, really bad. umm... let me explain. well... ummmm...."
many umms and hmms later he writes the word "womb" on a piece of paper but says "outside womb".
we all say "ooohhh" trying not to explode with laughter as i am slamming my head down on the table.
as soon as he leaves we all explode with laughter.

this just goes to prove to you that so many words are close together that mean TOTALLY different things.
you could really offend someone without even trying.
makes me wanna keep my mouth shut.
:)

ming ming mania

2011-01-18T09:02:00.000-05:00

once i get back from Thailand, and blog probably like 10 posts about it, i am going to start featuring some of my favorite students here on my blog with stories about them and pictures. ok ok i know i shouldn't have favorites, but you all know that is impossible, whether you are a teacher or not.

oh ming ming.
my goodness.
i know i have posted this picture before, but you all needed a visual. again.

ming ming has been quite the terror as of recent, but does that dethrone him from my "favorite boy in the 3 year old class" position? of course not!

the little list:
1. he has started roaring. like a dinosaur. out of nowhere. in lessons, during lunch, while he is using the bathroom, while he is washing his hands, when he wakes up from nap... anytime. anywhere. i turn around and think "what in the world?" every time. you are thinking ... oh how cute right? yeah, i did the first 10 times, but not time 11 to 100. his dad informs me he is not sure why he does it.

2. he kicks me. and hits me. once, in the face. he thinks it's hilarious mind you! this really does irritate me. one day i gave him a little slap on the hand... his face straightened up right away. but, for all those who know me... i have trouble in the discipline section of teaching. so as soon as i saw his face basically looking freaked out and sad... i gave him a big smile and said "now ming ming it's okay, just don't do it again silly!" and squeezed his cheeks and went on with playing. (i'm working on it, ok! don't judge me. scroll up to his face and tell me you wouldn't do the same)

3. he likes to crawl under my legs which is pretty funny, and to get back at all the roaring and hitting, i sometimes trap him in between my knees. haha he doesn't like it. but we both laugh anyways.

nonetheless, ming ming has my heart and every day when he comes in crying i pick him up and wipe his tears away. Yes, one full semester later he still cries every day. its a bit ridiculous actually. its like, now he is used to crying at 8:50 every day. i don't think he even knows why he is crying anymore

he makes me laugh each day though, hard. belly laugh hard.
one of the 874832743 reasons i love china: ming ming.

batman ming ming

bawling ming ming

first meeting ming ming

christmas ming ming

i bet you didn't know...

2011-01-14T05:41:00.000-05:00

what a duck's tongue looks like.

well, ya do now.

sorry for the lack of posts recently. I haven't been up to anything exciting over the past few weeks, just teaching and teaching and teaching... I do leave for Thailand in a week though! i absolutely cannot wait. it's all i can think about!

"that bobo. he's so hot right now"

2011-01-08T06:42:00.000-05:00

meet bobo.

he knows style.

he can rock UGGs.

and destroyed jeans with GOLDFISH across the butt.

he's trendy. he's 5. he's bobo :)

it's cold. i'm not kidding.

2011-01-06T04:08:00.000-05:00

it's officially freezing here in shanghai. i have been hoping this cold weather is just a nightmare i can't wake up from, but i swear every morning my commute gets colder and colder... not to mention my classrooms get colder and colder too! specifically my 3 year old classroom.

for some reason, here in china, keeping the windows open in the dead of winter has some wacky way of keeping all the sickness and germs out of the classroom! say whaaat? yeah, therefore i am working in a room of 17 screaming 3 year olds all while freezing my ass off, wrapped in so many layers I can't lift my arms over my head and tripping over the children because my feet are numb! i can't escape the frigid air either. when i exit the classroom, i can see my breath in the halls. when i take them downstairs to the playroom, the windows are open in there too and the heat isnt on. when i go upstairs to the ball pit the heat isn't on in there either (big surprise)!
now, in my classroom, it's cold. reeeeaallly cold. but not that cold compared to the rest of the school.
thankfully, my 6 year room is pretty nice, window only opened a small crack (still i am wearing a long sleeve T, a wool sweater, my North face fleece, a scarf, a pair of tights under jeans, socks and boots ... i add the wool coat in the other classroom and gloves).
it's also a sweet heat haven in the lunch room. it's yin and yang because the food is awful, but at least i am warm.

this would never pass in american schools, i think this everyday, and can't wait until i can teach in america in a heated classroom and not even imagine a window being open in 30degree weather.

i love you china, but i will not miss your weather when i am in thailand in, oh ... 16 days.