I'm back!

HI! I am back in Kalamazoo now, but I might not be updating this very often because you can't access xanga from China anymore. So now i am more into facebook I guess so I can keep up with people here and in China. My facebook name is emily joy if any of you want to check it out!

Hi everyone!  I haven't been able to access my xanga in a long time, I think maybe b/c of the earthquake in Taiwan or something.  Anyways...

My parents left China yesterday after a 16 day visit.  We had lots of fun together!  They definitely were champs while they were here!  I didn't let them have a cushy stay, like most foreigners probably have.  We stayed in some cheap hostels and I think they experienced almost every form of transportation, mostly busses.  On the last day, I even made my dad ride a bike with my mom sitting on the back!  It was cute to see them try to use chop sticks and to say a few Chinese words that i had taught them.  It was also fun to just be with them and see them interact with each other.  I will probably miss them more now after spending so much time with them.

I did something kinda crazy when they were here, though.  I took them to Harbin, which is like the coldest place to visit in China and my mom is almost always cold anyways.  But, we survived!  We should make t-shirts that say "I survived Harbin."  It was worth it going there, though.  We went to a cool siberian tiger park.  We got to ride in a van to go around and see all of the tigers.  It felt like an African Safari, only we were in China and there was snow and we were looking at tigers.  We also saw some amazing ice sculptures!  They had castles and like a whole city made of ice! 

They also got to meet a bunch of my good friends when we were in Shanghai, so that was lots of fun, too!  Every day was packed!  I will need a little while to get rested after being tour guide and event planner for two weeks! 

Peace,

em

I have found something new and awesome in Shanghai!  It is a roller skating rink!  It is super old and super fun and super cheap!  And it isn't even super crowded!  It only costs 5 yuan for an hour or 10 yuan for all you can skate! So, Cynthia, Jessie and I went a couple of weeks ago after church.  I also made two xiao pengyou (small friends).  They were two girls who were so cute and excited to say something new to me every time we passed each other on the rink. Then my seven teammates and I went the following week to celebrate Phyllis' birthday! She is an awesome roller skater!  I was very impressed!  

We had students help us decorate the tree in the office again!  In the picture is Mary, Cloud, Jessie, and I.  We even strung popcorn this year. It was funny because I bought the popcorn from a guy on the street and they always add sugar to the popcorn, so the strings of popcorn got very sticky after a few days!  Jessie and Cloud were so excited to help, so that was fun!

Hi!  For our retreat in Xian last week we got to stay in cabins in the mountains!  A highlight for me was that one morning I woke up before the sun and hiked to one of the highest peaks.  When I got to the top it was just me and God and I sang to Him and only He and the mountains could hear.

This is Sherry and I at the beautiful Yangze River!

Here is a funny story from our trip to Nanjing.  We were going for a low-budget trip so we decided to stay in a youth hostel.  The price was only 30 RMB each night, which is less than $4.  But, I guess you get what you pay for.  The room wasn't that bad, except for the fact that the room had ten beds and on the second night there was an old Chinese man that was assigned to the same room as us.  Don't worry, there were no problems, but it was just a bit strange.  But, the bad thing was that the bathroom/shower room was also unisex.  There were 2 showers and I was in one and it was ice cold.  One of our Chinese friends, Jessica came into the bathroom and I told her my dilemma and she suggested that I go into the neighboring shower that had warm water.  I decided this was a good idea, but I was already wet and I didn't want to put my clothes back on and since I tried to pack lightly, my towel was only a hand towel.  So, the best option was just to quickly run into the other shower.  So, I collected my things and shuffled over to the other shower, but the door was locked.  Oh no!  There was someone in there... so I ran back and hid in the other shower and just waited.  Jessica then saw a guy exit the other shower and the coast was clear for me to streak back into the other shower.  Thank goodness the guy had his shower locked! 

Here we are at Cliff and Michelle's second wedding (the first was in America this summer)!  Congrats to the happy couple!

Happily maiking jiaozi with Apple's dad.  Do you think he looks like Jackie Chan?

Here we are in Suzhou with Michelle and her mom!

The funniest sign we have seen yet!  We didn't see any Cheez-its slipping, but we'll take their word for it.