2 weeks in thailand!

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

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

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...

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"

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.

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.

2010 recap

I saw this on a fellow teach in China blogger's site so I thought I would give it a go as well. I usually hate little quizzes like these, but eh... why not.

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?

- lived longer than 2 months away from my family, ate soup made of whale, visited a Chinese hospital

-- Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I am horrible as New Year’s resolutions so I don’t make them. I should though. Maybe I will work on that this week. 

-- Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

-- Did anyone close to you die?

My “grandma” Wanda. She is terribly missed and I think of her often. She would LOVE to hear about my adventures.

-- What countries did you visit?

China.

-- What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?

1) Maybe my own apartment

2) My Indiana teaching license

-- What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

August 21^st when I said goodbye to someone and as I walked to the door he says from his car “I love you”.

-- What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Making the decision to follow my dreams and come to China and teach English!

-- What was your biggest failure?

Putting too much money on my credit card (even though it wasn’t all that much)

-- Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nope. Well, if you count having such a sore and swollen throat that you couldn’t swallow your own spit, then yeah… that’s quite and illness. (May)

-- What was the best thing you bought?

My Macbook and my camera.

-- Whose behavior merited celebration?

My mom and dad, for letting me follow my dreams, even if that meant not being able to see me for a long time.

-- Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

I can’t think of anyone.

-- Where did most all of your money go?

China. China. China.

-- What song will always remind you of 2010?

All Taylor Swift songs, Bon Iver’s “re:stacks” (because I am in LOVE with them now), “I like it” Enrique Iglesias haha

-- Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?

b) thinner or fatter?

c) richer or poorer?

Happier (kinda), thinner, poorer

-- What do you wish you'd done more of?

Exercised, been brave enough to stick up for myself, saved more money

-- What do you wish you'd done less of?

Watching tv, spending money on clothes

-- How will you be spending Christmas?

I spent my Christmas over skype with my family and out to dinner with some of my amazing friends

-- Did you fall in love in 2010?

I was already in love.

-- What was your favorite TV program?

Brothers and Sisters!

-- Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?

I’m not sure.

-- What was the best book you read?

Handle With Care – Jodi Piccoult

-- What was your greatest musical discovery?

Bon Iver, The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova)

-- What did you want and get?

I wanted a plane ticket to China… so I bought myself one! I also wanted a Macbook, got that too!

-- What did you want and not get?

A Canon SLR camera… one day….

-- What was your favorite film of this year?

(500) Days of Summer

-- What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 24 and I went to The Camel and out to some bars with a bunch of people from the Shanghai group!

-- What's one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Coming to China was satisfying enough… but I guess I could say if I would have mended some friendships before I left for China.

-- How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?

Teaching style or Nanny style, or trying to keep cool in the Shanghai heat style or trying not to freeze to death in the Shanghai schools style 

-- What kept you sane?

Getting DVDs for about $2 

-- Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Eh, celebrities.

-- What political issue stirred you the most?

Eh, politics.

-- Who did you miss?

My mom!!!

-- Who was the best new person you met?

Mackenzie – my amazing roommate who I am not sure what I would do without her.

Yuvie – she is my Shanghai savior 

-- Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010:

“If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right,

you'll probably never do much of anything” - Win Borden.

-- Quote a song that sums up your year:

 “Because these things will change/Can you feel it now?/These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down” -Revolution Taylor Swift