Today, Wednesday July 1st, we get onto an airplane at 3:55 pm in Shanghai, China. On Wednesday, July 1st at 4:15 pm, we will walk off the airplane in Chicago, IL. POOF! Time travel. Amazing.
See you soon, baboons!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
It's a small world after all
One of the teachers here we immediately became friends with is a Cambodian guy named Dan Khuon. (He's about... Xay's age.) Our first conversations were about lamenting the fact that Chinese people don't do Siracha sauce, lemongrass, limes or qhob poob. We knew he was from Michigan, but when he was really little, his parents actually lived in Chicago.
Well, we met his parents yesterday because they're visiting for a few weeks. To make a long story short, we get to chit chatting and then the dad goes, "I knew a Hmong guy named Mr. Lee." Which Mr. Lee could it be? Xaiv Dang Lee as in these people were Sarah Lee & Douachi's neighbors! What the..?!!? Dan's sisters played with the other Hmong girls that lived on that College Ave. apartment block. So we realize, it is indeed, a small world after all.
Crazy, huh?
Well, we met his parents yesterday because they're visiting for a few weeks. To make a long story short, we get to chit chatting and then the dad goes, "I knew a Hmong guy named Mr. Lee." Which Mr. Lee could it be? Xaiv Dang Lee as in these people were Sarah Lee & Douachi's neighbors! What the..?!!? Dan's sisters played with the other Hmong girls that lived on that College Ave. apartment block. So we realize, it is indeed, a small world after all.
Crazy, huh?
Friday, June 26, 2009
Guaranteed Awesomeness
Go find this song: On Bended Knee by Boys II Men. Blast is as loud as your willing to... (listening in a car or with great headphones would be ideal.)
Guaranteed awesomeness.
Guaranteed awesomeness.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Facebook can be disgusting...sometimes
I like facebook. i'm not an avid user and only check it maybe once every two weeks or so, but today i found it to be totally gross.
in my friends recommendation list i found someone that totally made me laugh and get sick all in one...his name is Soutchai Thor. the FOB hmong guy who macked on Ka all last year and my Ntxawm Yeng's brother. EWWWWWWWWW...Facebook has become....FOB?
grading tests...
Music is back on my list of things to do.
josh out
in my friends recommendation list i found someone that totally made me laugh and get sick all in one...his name is Soutchai Thor. the FOB hmong guy who macked on Ka all last year and my Ntxawm Yeng's brother. EWWWWWWWWW...Facebook has become....FOB?
grading tests...
Music is back on my list of things to do.
josh out
Monday, June 22, 2009
Today
Today was our last day of teaching. And we are happy. Can't believe it's been 1 year. My kids wrote in my yearbook and some memorable comments in my year book are: "I love your fashion."
Something hilarious happend to me. one of my 9th graders came up to me, looked me in the eye and passionately said, "I love you." And I was kind of floored so i looked her back in the eye and said back to her, "I love you too."
We've been watching Eli Stone lately. We finished the 1st season in 1 weekend. the show's great. can't afford to by the second season because right now we're down to our last dollars. They've taken our passports for what feels like way too long so we can get our new visas. problem is we can't go to the bank and exchange USD for chinese reminbi without our passports. so... we've got to make our last dollars stretch till friday.
we're excited to come home. did we say that yet?
Something hilarious happend to me. one of my 9th graders came up to me, looked me in the eye and passionately said, "I love you." And I was kind of floored so i looked her back in the eye and said back to her, "I love you too."
We've been watching Eli Stone lately. We finished the 1st season in 1 weekend. the show's great. can't afford to by the second season because right now we're down to our last dollars. They've taken our passports for what feels like way too long so we can get our new visas. problem is we can't go to the bank and exchange USD for chinese reminbi without our passports. so... we've got to make our last dollars stretch till friday.
we're excited to come home. did we say that yet?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
We wonder...
what everybody looks like. Of course, the truth is we all still look the same. We've all looked the same for the past 5 years. Maybe 10. But still... Especially can't wait to see the kiddies. We've been looking at everyone's Facebook pictures, and it's been so fun.
June has been a fantastic month for us. What to say Lord? It's you who gave me life and I can't explain just how much you mean to me.
China blip of the day:
The drink of choice on the street milk tea. It's found everywhere. Tea plus milk plus giant purple nab vaam (tapioca) balls. You drink it with the giant 1/2 inch wide straws and at the end if there's no more liquid left, the nab vaam balls shoot through the straw like b.b.s into your throat as you suck them up. Like Isiah and his Double D's coffee, Josh will drink this stuff a cup a day.
June has been a fantastic month for us. What to say Lord? It's you who gave me life and I can't explain just how much you mean to me.
China blip of the day:
The drink of choice on the street milk tea. It's found everywhere. Tea plus milk plus giant purple nab vaam (tapioca) balls. You drink it with the giant 1/2 inch wide straws and at the end if there's no more liquid left, the nab vaam balls shoot through the straw like b.b.s into your throat as you suck them up. Like Isiah and his Double D's coffee, Josh will drink this stuff a cup a day.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
maelstrom pulse?
does anyone have any maelstrom pulses they will sell me before i go online to get them? i need 2.
am i digressing as a person or getting better?
josh out.
am i digressing as a person or getting better?
josh out.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Two Words:
RapidShare. Josh's new friend.
40 new albums later, I think we're thinking of driving to Denver this summer, just as an excuse to listen to music. And to log in our driving hours since we haven't driven for... oh... 10 months!!!
What would really be great right now is to be able to go swimming... agh... *sigh*
Bicycles, crazy taxi drivers, construction and holes everywhere, buses that will drive 4 inches from you... none of these really phase us anymore. The one thing we absolutely can not get used to are the ferocious mosquitos here! NO JOKE. These guys are a step up in the evolutionary chain of mosquitos. They are fast, smart, and will disappear right before your eyes, only to reappear 2 days later! We've resorted to using Glade-plug-in-like mosquito killer just to keep this place safe!
At the end of the day, God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.
P.S. Looks like we are chaparoning the youth for Hlub this year! White Castle run? I don't think we can, since we shouldn't leave the kids. But Josh says we should.
40 new albums later, I think we're thinking of driving to Denver this summer, just as an excuse to listen to music. And to log in our driving hours since we haven't driven for... oh... 10 months!!!
What would really be great right now is to be able to go swimming... agh... *sigh*
Bicycles, crazy taxi drivers, construction and holes everywhere, buses that will drive 4 inches from you... none of these really phase us anymore. The one thing we absolutely can not get used to are the ferocious mosquitos here! NO JOKE. These guys are a step up in the evolutionary chain of mosquitos. They are fast, smart, and will disappear right before your eyes, only to reappear 2 days later! We've resorted to using Glade-plug-in-like mosquito killer just to keep this place safe!
At the end of the day, God is good all the time. And all the time, God is good.
P.S. Looks like we are chaparoning the youth for Hlub this year! White Castle run? I don't think we can, since we shouldn't leave the kids. But Josh says we should.
Friday, June 12, 2009
6 more teaching days and 2 1/2 more weeks!
mai kao and i are counting down the days now. we are genuinely excited to come home for the summer and have been starting to plan for our summer.
some places we'd like to visit other than the BIG 3:
1. the Grand Canyon
2. Mt. Rushmore
3. Yellowstone
4. random trips on the weekdays when everyone is working.
more survivor...
we are in the works of planning survivor challenges for us all. it will test your brains and your brauns. and we are very excited for that.
i still love magic.
i've begun writing music again...
my guitar skills need to improve.
i miss my electric guitars.
terminator has just finally come out here in Shanghai, going to go watch it tonight, hopefully.
peace.
josh out
some places we'd like to visit other than the BIG 3:
1. the Grand Canyon
2. Mt. Rushmore
3. Yellowstone
4. random trips on the weekdays when everyone is working.
more survivor...
we are in the works of planning survivor challenges for us all. it will test your brains and your brauns. and we are very excited for that.
i still love magic.
i've begun writing music again...
my guitar skills need to improve.
i miss my electric guitars.
terminator has just finally come out here in Shanghai, going to go watch it tonight, hopefully.
peace.
josh out
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Plan
Instead of a guys versus girls obstacle course at camping this year, Josh & I are planning on playing Survivor!
We are so excited, we hope most people will play.
People will be divided in to 2 teams and each day, we'll have 2 challenges. At night around the campfire, there will be elimination. (A few people will have to be eliminated each tribal council,) until the last night, where the last few are left. Then all the people that have been kicked off will vote for the ultimate camping Survivor! What do you think? Josh & I are going buy things to make the trophy from here in China. It's going to be the best prize ever!
Well, if people will play, that is. Even if you won't, we'll bother you to play anyway!
MK out.
We are so excited, we hope most people will play.
People will be divided in to 2 teams and each day, we'll have 2 challenges. At night around the campfire, there will be elimination. (A few people will have to be eliminated each tribal council,) until the last night, where the last few are left. Then all the people that have been kicked off will vote for the ultimate camping Survivor! What do you think? Josh & I are going buy things to make the trophy from here in China. It's going to be the best prize ever!
Well, if people will play, that is. Even if you won't, we'll bother you to play anyway!
MK out.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Hail to the...um...Hail
today it hailed hardcore...i got pelted in the head with a piece of hail that was about the size of a quarter. it hurt.
josh out.
p.s. 26 days
josh out.
p.s. 26 days
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Hurricane Shanghai
mai kao is right. when it rains, it pours. it seems like no matter how well prepared you are for the rigors of life, it always has a way of sneaking one right under the chin. today i feel that way.
i got some very disturbing news today concerning two of my students. they were very good friends but someway, somehow they got into a really bad fight and one of them physically beat the other one really really bad. hospitalized bad.
it really hurts me more than i thought something like this would. i know i shouldnt think this way, but because i was the teacher of those two students, i feel as if maybe i could have done something along the way to prevent this kind of thing from happening. maybe i could have instilled some sort of advice or proverb into their life to keep them from doing this?
I pray that through the power of Jesus that their physical and emotional wounds would be healed. and that somehow through all this, He would make way into their lives.
when it rains, it pours.
josh out.
i got some very disturbing news today concerning two of my students. they were very good friends but someway, somehow they got into a really bad fight and one of them physically beat the other one really really bad. hospitalized bad.
it really hurts me more than i thought something like this would. i know i shouldnt think this way, but because i was the teacher of those two students, i feel as if maybe i could have done something along the way to prevent this kind of thing from happening. maybe i could have instilled some sort of advice or proverb into their life to keep them from doing this?
I pray that through the power of Jesus that their physical and emotional wounds would be healed. and that somehow through all this, He would make way into their lives.
when it rains, it pours.
josh out.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Super doses
When it rains, it pours!
RAIN:
I made quite a yummy chili the other night. After one spoon, he said, "Does your food taste funny?" I kept eating... no it didn't. It was acutually pretty yummy. So he started trying the other dishes, and he said they seemed to taste good, but to him it was really bad. I got him a new spoon, but he said it was still bad.
I was like, "Alright!" I took his spoon and gulped a big mouthful of his chili and WHAT THE..?!!?? Of course his food tasted bad! It tasted like a whole lot of DISH SOAP!
Have you ever really taken a spoon of dish soap? DON'T. I think it's gotta be some of worst stuff in the whole wide world. I was throwing up in the sink, while Josh was in the bathroom gagging and washing his mouth out. It's terrible because the soapy taste stays!
Funny thing is, couldn't Josh tell it was soapy? How could he even eat more than one spoon? Crazy guy!
It was strange, because I swore the bowl was clean and dry. It wasn't till the day after that I was getting ready for dinner again. I grabbed a bowl from our shelve and put some squash in it. Then I was confused. The whole bottom of the bowl felt greasy. In short, there was a puddle of dish soap in our cabinet, where we store our clean, dry dishes! How it got there, only the ghosts know...
POUR:
I remember how we prayed that God would give Josh the opportunity to serve in the church. As we get ready to leave, so many needs have come up in the house of prayer. That basically comes down to meaning that Josh is leading worship in prayer twice each week till we leave.
They also asked him to lead service, but he had to decline. Sometimes it's hard to encourage Josh, because I don't what it's like to lead worship. I also don't know what it's like to play the guitar for over an hour straight, and then some. I think God is really refining Josh right now. He's giving Josh a new perspective of serving in a church, and leading his people, and I'm thankful for that. Not living around a strong, supportive Christian community has changed me because I've been around the church my whole life. I think I'm seeing who I really am, and God is really testing both of our faithfulness.
RAIN:
I made quite a yummy chili the other night. After one spoon, he said, "Does your food taste funny?" I kept eating... no it didn't. It was acutually pretty yummy. So he started trying the other dishes, and he said they seemed to taste good, but to him it was really bad. I got him a new spoon, but he said it was still bad.
I was like, "Alright!" I took his spoon and gulped a big mouthful of his chili and WHAT THE..?!!?? Of course his food tasted bad! It tasted like a whole lot of DISH SOAP!
Have you ever really taken a spoon of dish soap? DON'T. I think it's gotta be some of worst stuff in the whole wide world. I was throwing up in the sink, while Josh was in the bathroom gagging and washing his mouth out. It's terrible because the soapy taste stays!
Funny thing is, couldn't Josh tell it was soapy? How could he even eat more than one spoon? Crazy guy!
It was strange, because I swore the bowl was clean and dry. It wasn't till the day after that I was getting ready for dinner again. I grabbed a bowl from our shelve and put some squash in it. Then I was confused. The whole bottom of the bowl felt greasy. In short, there was a puddle of dish soap in our cabinet, where we store our clean, dry dishes! How it got there, only the ghosts know...
POUR:
I remember how we prayed that God would give Josh the opportunity to serve in the church. As we get ready to leave, so many needs have come up in the house of prayer. That basically comes down to meaning that Josh is leading worship in prayer twice each week till we leave.
They also asked him to lead service, but he had to decline. Sometimes it's hard to encourage Josh, because I don't what it's like to lead worship. I also don't know what it's like to play the guitar for over an hour straight, and then some. I think God is really refining Josh right now. He's giving Josh a new perspective of serving in a church, and leading his people, and I'm thankful for that. Not living around a strong, supportive Christian community has changed me because I've been around the church my whole life. I think I'm seeing who I really am, and God is really testing both of our faithfulness.
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