In Boracay!!!

Just wanted to say hi from Boracay - we're loving the sunshine, sleeping on the beach, relaxing, it is awesome!!! WE went jet skiing yesterday, and i totally creamed tif and joyce - but now i'm the one whose sore all over! We're drinking lots of mango smoothies, eating cheap food, and today we're going walking on the bottom of the ocean with helmets and will feed fish from our hands. I can't wait! Last night we had a lobster, crab, squid, and giant prawn dinner for 43$ usd for the three of us - it was delicious! And the lobster was green - it was pretty cool!!! It's been the perfect relaxing vacation so far, withthe perfect company! Tif, Joyce, and I have been ready ot have fun, but also to just enjoy and relax. Two more days here, and then we're off to Manila on thursday morning. Two days in manila, and then back to shanghai. but i'm not thinking about that yet. i'll post more later! off to walk on the bottom of the sea!

Nathan's visit... and a nose item...

Whew... it's been a month and 1/2! I apologize if it looked like i fell of the face of the earth at times !:) Here is one big apology for lack of responding to e-mails, and if I've been a bit absent - I feel very sorry, friends! March was prepping for Micah's visit, having a blast with him, recouping in time to have Nathan come, and then last week was recouping from Nathan's visit and getting grades done, and conferences were this week(two 12 hour days, and we also teach on Saturday). But, through it all, God was so faithful, and I was able to enjoy it all to the full! I'm looking forward to enjoying Borcay and Manila to the full for the next week as well! :) Beaches, sunshine, flip flops, fresh mangos, relaxing and reading books, I couldn't have thought of a better way to spend May holiday! And I get to go with Tiffany and Joyce(her TA), so it'll be a wonderful time!!!

The crazy thing is i was thinking about the rest of the school year today.. and it's going to fly by! I have a week and 1/2 after may break and then it's the Great Wall marathon, two weeks after that is Josiah's wedding, and then only two full weeks of school after that! In a little over two months I'll get to back stateside again... i'm longing for it in many ways- for the familiar, though China has defintely become home.

So, here's the picture story of the last few weeks for your enjoyment... make sur eyou make it to the bottom, their's a climax!!! :)

He was a good match for their energy... :)

Micah on his last day - the kids had so much fun chasing him around and wearing him out at recess! :)

Sunday Breakfast Club at my apt. when Micah was here -- we did fried potatoes, and the normal pancakes and eggs - fun times!! :) On my way to pick up the next one!!! Darn those brothers -- I had such a wonderful time with both of them, and now am homesick! there is nothing quite like my brothers! they are so wonderful!!!

So not quite sure whey there was a giant mushroom in the restraunt, but it made for an interesting picture regardless! :)

Nathan, Steph, Janai and I went to hot pot on Nathan's first night in town - it was spicy, but good!

Nathan falling asleep in his Strawberry Uugghhh... we made him stay up as long as possible... and when he fell asleep holding his amazing dessert, we decided he probably had reached his limit! :)

Element Fresh - nathan had "chinese breakfast" with rice porridge and a spring roll and the rest of us got western breakfast with eggs, toast, potatoes! It was quite entertaining! :)

Waiting in line to go up the IFC building (3rd tallest in the world)- first day in Shanghai.

At the top of the IFC with the Jing Mao tower behind and shanghai in the distance.

Steph, nathan and i at the top of the IFC!

Nathan gathered quite a crowd as he was attempting to buy his goard instrument thing! :)

We visited a whole street of music stores... nathan was in heaven! He tried out millions of guitars! That's the brilliance of China - they have all the stores of the same type all at the same spot so you only have to go one place.

Nathan with Rachael's name in chinese characters - this guy was an artist! It was amazing!

Sichuan lunch with the gals... always exciting stuff!

Nathan being charming as always! :)

Nathan playing songs for my kiddos during reading... they paid him a dollar for every song as part of our work and money unit! :) They thought he was so talented.

Nathan having shoa lin boa - a dumpling with soup inside...

East Nanjing Road at night...

Nathan in a great outfit before getting a massage! :)

Nathan with Al at the easter egg hunt! :)

Nathan and Yolotas noodles... he was challenged with getting them into his mouth! :)

Eating the 2rmb breakfast pancake from the street vendor.

The kids refusing to say good-bye to Nathan... and saying good-bye in their own way! :) I finally had to tell the one in the blue and yellow shirt, "Down Fawaz, Down!" :) it was hilarious!:)

Nathan and 3A! :) They loved writing tall tales about him, as well as hearing him share the easter story before our easter egg hunt !It was a great opportunity!

On the subway....

Walking down the street....

Janai getting pierced!

Last picture without a hole in my nose... :)

Tada!!! We did it! :) A lifelong dream of mine fulfilled! And I was only passed out for a minute after seeing blood pouring from my nose while I convulsed with eyes wide open... it was quite entertaining for Nathan and Janai!:) It truly was the creepiest passing out i'd experienced though -- I had these visions flashing in my head and I couldn't control my thoughts - it was way creepy. But now I love it ! :)

Nathan and Janai being themselves! :) Just let me say that they were very familiar by the end of the week ... practically brother and sister!:)

Sleepover last weekend with my small group ! Great times !:)

Memorizing i John chapter 1! :) They had to have the first 5 verses memorized before coming... it was motivation! :)

Taking them for joy rides on scoot scoot - now officially named Danny!

Making cookies!

Micah's awesome stay... and my cool boy! !

He really was here - in all his goofyness and excitement!!!

He left yesterday... I was sad to see him go as we had a marvelous time! I cried when he got here cause I was so excited, and cried when he left... but the in-between was more than I could even have hoped! We got to see shanghai, eat great food - even the best food I've had in China so far! It was worth the two hour train ride to Nanjing just for the food! :) This is the Nanjing group --- notice the ratio of guys to girls... hm... doesn't look to out of place for micah! :) We had massages - three in the week he was here - rode my scooter everywhere! It was the bomb! He love dmy kids, and even one wrote in her thank you note to him that life's boring now that he's gone... I don't know what that says about my teaching, :) but they did love him to pieces!! It was a blast - here's some pictures to enjoy!! and nathan is here in three days -- i have just enough time to catch up on sleep and get ahead on school! :)

Micah and his group at the Science and Tech museum - they were the pandas! :) they had fun - even if he did call one of my students ke ah for the whole day ( her name is KaiYi - pronounced Kie ee :) )

Janai enjoying Strawberry ugghh... we made dinner one night and it was awesome!! We hung out with friends every day - he really got to know my group well - and even got their names pretty well figured out! they all thought he was great - like having a little brother around to pick on!

Almost as awesome as my new scooter - but not quite! this is cool boy - as it's named so far - I love him so much, and he drives very fast - when he has charge. it gives me so much freedom to explore - and to feel indendent! It's like I finally have moved here since I've bought a vehicle! :)

So we took a motorcycle taxi back afte rour trip downtown - there was a que of 20 people for taxis and none there - so we decided a 10 yuan ride on a motorcycle would be adventure as well as cheaper - and it was a blast! I'd do it again in a heartbeat! :)

Wide eyed on the Bund - with the Oriental Pearl Tower! :) We did Yu Yuan garden, Nanjing Road, the Bund, and Blue Frog for dinner all in one night! We were gung ho! :)

Our Nanjing group at the train station! This was right after there was a whole train car of people staring at Micah and I while we were waiting for our train - seriously all 40 people had their faces pressed to the class looking at us - so I did a little dance, twirl, and curtsy - they laughed, a few clapped, and some looked away embarresed that they'd been caught staring! :) I guess my qualms about doing crazy things in public goes down the longer i live in Asia. I was going to chase the train and blow kisses, but our train arrive before theirs left...

Micah taught my kids ASL - and they loved it - it was the highlight of the week !Here they performed for their 1st grade reading buddies.

Korean food! Micah loved kim bob especially! And two Korean parents sent it with us on the field trip on Friday to the museum - we were in heaven!!! :)