I'm in LOVE!

Dad, today was so tender! There's just something about about having a hand a fraction of the size of yours in your hand. I was walking, holding Lee's hand and he looked up at me with his cute squinty, Chinese eyes and I swear he has four sets of dimples. One on each side in the normal spot and then another pair closer to his eyes. And when he smiles all four are engaged and he sucks on his bottom lip and his little teeth poke out a little. Melts my heart!! I have to bring him home. He's adorable. And the class he was in gave me a kiss on the cheek after following his example. I had a million miniscule, white butterflies surround me. He's so precious, Dad! I hope I can get a picture that captures his cute smile. You've had to have seen it by now, but I have to show everyone back home. I told you before and I'll tell you again, Dad, I'm in love. That little boy has stolen my heart and is holding it hostage. I have no idea how I'm going to leave him.

Mom sent me some pictures of Christ. I hung one up right above my bed. He has a little boy close to his shoulder with his hand on his head. It makes me think of you. I don't know why. You didn't really do that. You gave me hugs, but you never did that exact thing with me. I sometimes feel like you are now, though. I miss you a lot, Dad. I haven't 'seen' you in so long. I know you're there. It's hard thinking I won't see you for a while. I hope you're doing well, Daddy. Stay near, okay?

Beijing-WOW

Our trip here began with such a fabulous day. We got to our hostel with plenty of time to get ready for church and we actually got to attend the branch that we just listen to over the phone. Relief Society was so great! Sister Ricks gave a fabulous lesson. She's one of the most tender people I've ever met. You would have enjoyed the meeting, Dad. The Lewis's then had us over for dinner. They even provided a van to take us all the way out to their house. So generous. And it wasn't just us they had over. There were four groups. Our nine, four from another ILP school, three from a university up north, and a family that just moved here from Brazil.

Dinner was fabulous! Taco soup with cheese, wheat rolls, salad with ranch dressing, fruit salad and then a cake for one of the sisters' birthdays and homemade chocolate chip cookies with ice cream. I had everything. Licked my bowl clean, had two wheat rolls, a salad and plenty of fruit salad. I was so full from that alone but decided to have a small slice of birthday cake and then two cookies with ice cream in the middle. I felt like I needed to lay on the couch and just moan I was so full. But I couldn't just not have some of that fabulous food! It made me miss home with all of the normal food and good company we have there. Afterwards, we got a group picture on the stairs.

As we were waiting for the van to take us back to the hostel, President Lewis told me to put all of my stuff I was holding in one hand and he grabbed my empty hand by the wrist and proceeded to give me multiple high fives with the other hand. It took me a second to realize what he had done and why, and when I did it was all that I could do to not burst into tears. A few glistening tears did streak my face. Okay, so more than a few. Thank you, Dad. Thank you for being there and reminding him of what he had read in the newsletter. It really made me miss you.

Once back at the hostel we just wanted to chill. We had had a full day. We didn't get back until six with all the time we spent at the Lewis's. It was there that we met up with the two girls that stayed behind in Fuqing while we were in Xi'an.

We woke up the next day and went to the Forbidden City and Tienamenn Square. It was so crowded! So many people. And there's this huge portrait of Mao right before you enter the Forbidden City. Weird. That's like hanging a portrait of Hitler in Germany.

The Forbidden City was cool, but I wish I had known more about it before going. There was a Cartier Jeweler Show that we got to see. Crazy expensive jewelry! Then we found a red wall to take pictures next to. We spent a good afternoon there and then we went to a park opposite it on a hillside and could see the city from the mountain. That was cool!

Then it was off to the Olympic Park! So cool! Now that I can relate to. It was cool to do ancient China and then modern China in one day. The Bird's Next and the Water Cube were so cool! I sat in the arena where Michael Phelps won eight gold medals! I got a cool shirt from there, right before I ripped my pants trying to do a runner's start in front of the Bird's nest. Kind of funny.

The next day was the pearl market! Got quite a few cool things there! And for cheap. Can't wait for Christmas now.

Wednesday was the Summer Palace. The place of residence of the emperor in the summer. So gorgeous! The group was a little pooped so we didn't get to see as much as I wanted, but that's okay. We then ended up with a lot of free time and I did something really stupid, Dad. I went to a Chinese hairdresser and got a perm. It pretty much fried my hair and he cut off quite a bit too. I cried so hard! I've since done things to help my hair recover and it's actually looking pretty good now, but the cut is still awful. I'll just have to wait until I get home to fix it.

Thursday was the silk market. People there were a lot more aggressive and a lot more stubborn. It was really hard to barter. I did get some good things for family for Christmas! I'm so super excited to give them out!

Friday was the best! Nihao ma Great Wall?! Instead of taking the cable car up from the parking lot like most groups do, we hiked up the stairs. So we really did climb the great wall. Took us a good twenty minutes, but it was so worth it. It made it so much more sweet once we were actually on the wall. We ran into the NBA Pacers. That was cool. I think that was wasted on me though. I don't follow basketball or really even care about NBA players. It would have been better if they had bumped into someone else. But on our way down I saw an old man inching along and I offered him my shoulder. He was so cute! He clung to my shoulder and asked all about me. His name is Bill. He wanted to introduce me to his wife. So cute!

Saturday we finished shopping and then headed to the train station. Another wonderful, very smoky twenty hour train ride. It's good to be back to Fuqing, Dad. I still miss you and home. Don't worry.

ROAD TRIP!

Xi'an

Wow! What a trip! Dad, I'm a little explorer. Can you believe it? I only kind of can. Part of me still can't believe that that's what I came home from doing.

We left September 30th for Xi'an (she-yawn). This time we were smart enough to get a sleeper train. It would have been death on a train if we had attempted to do that thirty hour train ride in a hard seat. Before we left we were under the impression it was only a 24 hour train ride, but the last six hours were do-able, so it wasn't so bad. It was so nice to have my own space. I read my scriptures, listened to my audiobook of Edgar Sawtelle, talked with the girls, got food from some nice Chinese people and actually slept when it was time. Quite luxurious if you ask me. Toward the end, Lauren and I were getting super bored so we started having a little rave. Who says you need disco lights and music that everyone can hear? It was hilarious. (photo number one and video)

The video is of us listening to this song called Sandstorm. You'd probably just roll your eyes, Dad. Once we pulled into the train station we worked our way out to the street and no taxi would pick us up! It was so frustrating. We were already going to be arriving to our hostel later than our hostel wanted to and I was just super nervous. I almost teared up I was so frustrated. Turns out the reason why they weren't picking us up was because that time is a shift change and people were going home. Finally, we did get three taxis and made it to our hostel with almost no problem. The taxi I was in dropped us off on the opposite corner. Good thing we ran into a Chinese man who not only spoke English but who knew where all the hostels in the area were.

That night I was pretty exhausted, but Tina convinced me to go walk around some. Out of the entire week of holiday that night was the actual holiday. Down the street from our hostel we saw some people with paper lanterns that they'd light something in and then they'd float off into the sky. So cute! Tina's exhaustion caught up with mine and we went and showered the train grime off of us and hit our beds. We had to be fully rested for the day that was awaiting us!

The terra-cotta warriors gave us a wake up call. They were a little late. We were supposed to be out of the hostel by 8:30, but I think most of the girls missed their thunderings through the hall. We didn't realize, either, that it would take us an hour on the bus to get out there. But, oh boy, am I grateful that we've figured out public transportation. The bus ride cost us seven yuan, a little more than a dollar, where a taxi would have cost us upwards of 130 yuan. It was so cool to get there and see something I've only studied in a textbook! There were so many of them.

It was while there that we discovered that we can't sit down for an extended period of time without getting mobbed by Chinese people and their cameras. Muslim Quarters were then calling our names away from the herd of Chinese paparazzi. One of the coolest places in China I've been. Alleys packed with people selling awesome things and funky food. On our way there my flip flop broke. So annoying! My nice volcom ones, too. So I bought myself some cheap Chinese slippers.

We then headed to our hostel because it was dumpling party night!! We got to make dumplings! The meat ones were quite good, but the leek ones weren't so much. It was fun making them too. I really want to learn how to make the dough and the filling though. All I did was put the filling in and close it up. While we were eating our dumplings we had some interesting conversations with an English and Scottish guy. They asked about the church and such. That's the only time we're allowed to even mention the gospel. After a long convo, we went to a dance club in Xi'an. It was pretty fun, but not really my cup of tea. You know me, Dad. I enjoy dancing and goofing off, but really only with my best friends back home and not in a place that is bogged down by clouds of smoke. Emily, Katrina and I left early. Fun, but not worth making myself super exhausted for the next day.

And the next day was so fun! We biked the city wall. It's more ancient than the Great Wall. What a bumpy ride! It took us a little more than an hour and was so fun. I whipped out my iPod and was listening to my music while riding a bike in China! The plan was then to go to the museum, but once we made it there we found a line that would take us 3 hours to get through and we had a train to catch that night, so we opted for the Wild Goose Pagoda instead. Not a bad plan B if you ask me.

The pagoda and it's surroundings were so pretty. We loved Xi'an because it felt more like ancient China with it's architecture and sites like this. Fuqing is definitely more of the modern China. But the pagoda was huge! We didn't go up in it, but all of the little rooms of worship around it were so captivating. It was there that I first saw people actually praying to statues. Kind of weird and foreign to me. First thing I thought was how personal I feel God is to me compared to a statue that they can actually touch and see. I may not be able to touch and see Heavenly Father, but I know he's there and that he loves me. I just got a really strong feeling of how lucky I am that I know my God knows and loves me individually and separate from any of his other children.

We then had to book it back to the hostel after getting snacks at Walmart for the train. Rendezvous happened as planned and we were on our way to the capital of China.

Cooking Class

Dad, remember the time when I made homemade lemonade when I was 13 or 14? It was back in the old house. That's how I remember. You were really skeptical. I don't think you tried any. At first I was really sad, but then when I tried it and it turned out really, super yummy, I was glad that I had more to myself. Well, I made lemonade for my kiddies today. I'm going to take lemons and talk about them and we'll roll the lemon and squeeze the juice out and pretend to add sugar and water and then I'll pull out the pitcher full of the already prepared lemonade. It turned out so good and it made so much! I'm really quite proud of myself.

Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot! Yesterday was one of the best days in Fuqing! I found cheese at the store! And for class, I made salsa. My original plan was to make guacamole, but they didn't have avocados at the store. I was really nervous for my salsa, too. All it was was a tomato, some cilantro, a little bit of green onion and some seasoning Mom sent me (thank goodness for that, because the stuff I bought at the store did not smell appetizing at all). Wow! It was so good! The closest thing I could find to tortilla chips were Lays potato chips. They did the job, but because they're thinner it was a little harder to pick stuff up. And then for dinner we had grilled cheese and fried potatoes!!! Jessica made the grilled cheese and Nikki made the fried potatoes. We are getting really good at improvising and working with what we have. My belly was quite satisfied.

After dinner we had to teach the older kids. It was hard. I really struggled with coming up with things to say to them. They could understand basic things, but I couldn't carry on a conversation with them. Next time will be interesting. As soon as we were done with that, Jessica invited me to do her pole dancing workout. It was interesting. She takes classes in Sandy back home. I'm glad I went with her because I did something active, but it wasn't as hard as the stuff I would do.

So, conclusion, it's been a good week. A nice kick off for the Beijing trip. We leave tomorrow morning from Fuzhou, the capital of our province that is just a half hour away, for Xi'an. It will take us a little more than 24 hours to get there. We'll arrive in Xi'an on the first, the beginning of the national holiday, and we'll be there until the third. Then we'll be on a train overnight to Beijing and hopefully arrive in plenty of time to get ready for church. We'll be gone until the tenth of October. Should be a good trip. I'm super excited.

I love you, Dad. I'll be thinking of you and the fact that there are no golf courses here, to speak of.

THERE'S AN EPIDEMIC! We didn't teach for three days straight. The first day was because so many of us were sick and the other two were because the kids were too sick. So we had a lot of time on our hands, Dad. The first day, I had a little bit of a sore throat, but I definitely wasn't one of the sicker ones. Lauren and I took that opportunity to deep clean our room. We washed our concrete floor three times. It was pretty dusty and dirty. I attempted to wipe the walls down, but the sheet rock would just come off on the sponge, so I kinda gave up on that. The next day, I was running out of Airborne so I didn't want to use it so much, which may have been a mistake because I was a little worse. I didn't do much that day. We kinda all stayed in an just chilled. We did walk down to the round-about for some yummy yummy dumplings. I really want to see if the people at the dumpling place will teach me how to make them in exchange for teaching them English. How cool would that be?! But then again, maybe I don't want to find out what's in them. We'll see.

Yesterday was a very filled day. We were so sick of just sitting around, so we went on an expedition. There's a temple on the mountain we're at the foot of. We think it's Taoist, but we're not entirely sure. Whatever it was it was gorgeous! But before our trek up the mountain side, a few of us needed to go to the bank to exchange money. It was at the third bank that they finally accepted our cash and my passport. The second we didn't really try. It had a line, and the third one didn't. The lady helping me was so nice and patient. It's funny how much you really can communicate with someone even though they don't speak the same language. I had to keep asking her for smaller bills because we had to divvy it amongst o

urselves. I felt so bad and slightly embarrassed, but she was nice about it. Good ole Bank of China.

From there, we headed toward the foot of the mountain where the entrance to the temple grounds was. We took a cable car up and wandered around the first temple. There were cute Chinese women everywhere. One in particular showed us around and took us to all the different rooms. I wish I could have understood what she was explaining to us. After exploring the first temple, only three of us stayed to explore the rest of the mountain. It only cost us 25 yuan (a little more than 3 bucks, roughly). There were temples scattered all over the mountain!! It was a fun day. There was one part that was like a cave- went straight into the mountain. It was eerie but awesome. Then we ran into some people who loved us. They took like 50 pictures of us. Some with us actually posing with them, and some just of us walking. They were so cute. Leaning on us and holding our hands. Oh, don't worry, Dad, we still have all our money. I just think they were excited to see three American girls. So cute!

Lauren, Tina and I had been at it for about five and a half hours when we decided to head down the mountain to find something to eat. Lauren had to pee so bad. I had peed up on the mountain at the temple in a nice little trough. That was a first. But Lauren did not heed my warning when I said she should go. She ended up going in a wall of bushes off the side of the road while Tina and I kept watch. It was hilarious! We were laughing the whole time. As soon as she came out, Tina pointed at her hands and said, "You better sanitize those babies." She's hilarious. Love her.

Our stomachs were on the verge of collapsing when we made it to Martin Luther King's. It's this place called MLK. I actually think it's MKL, but we call it what we want. It's a chicken sandwich place. Talk about yummy! No dark meat, just good quality chicken. On our walk home, Tina and I got some milk tea. It's this really milky, creamy drink with tapioca balls in the bottom. Filled us the rest of the way up. Lauren got the Chinese version of shaved ice. And then we saw our faces all over the city! Our school put of posters with a picture of our group on it all over the place! It was so weird. So Lauren stole one and now it's in the supply room.

It was a good thing we left when we did, because twenty minutes after our arrival we were on our way back out to the city center. Sixty years of communism!! Wahoo! It was a rehearsal that we went to see. Lots of people singing loudly in Chinese and waving different flags. It was interesting, but not our choice of entertainment. There was a little boy totally enthralled by two nearly deflated balloons. We started playing with him. He loved it, and so did we.

A long day finally came to an end and I was able to take a shower. Never felt so good! Nice and warm, too. But little did I know that this was not the end of my evening. We ended up having four other girls in our apartment until 2 a.m. just talking. It was fun! Good day.

That was my day, Dad. How was yours? I love you.

Beach Day!

We went to the beach today, Dad. It was a little overcast still from that big storm last night, but it was still pretty warm. It took us an hour and a half to get there. We almost had our driver just give up. We were super frustrated with him. In addition to getting us lost and taking so long to get there, he also became a dog killer in the process. Lauren, Katrina and I were in the back seat and turned around after we felt the van run over something. Oh, how we wish we had not turned around. Needless to say, the driver did not get lunch like we had planned to give him.

Once we got there, I was so excited! There was this real funky lighthouse that we walked to, but the majority of our time there was spent on the sand and in the water. It was so cool! I was on a beach in China!!! As cool as it was though, it was so frustrating, Dad. There was garbage in the water and on the beach. I could have hit someone. Biggest pet peeve right there. But I still had a blast. We would see if we could jump over the really big waves. Jeshua tried to launch me and Lauren over one, but it didn't really work. I've never had more fun at a beach! Because it was overcast, I was forced to just play in the water. There was no laying on a towel. As nice as that would have been to just lay in the heat, I'm glad it turned out to be overcast.

Lauren and I were also buried in the sand up to our waist! We got so sandy. It was a really fun day trip. Once I got home I was in the shower. I felt so gross. And then we watched Earth. The happiest movie ever! That movie makes me happy to be alive. And it more than testifies that we have a Heavenly Father who created this beautiful planet and us as well. It makes me excited for life and what's ahead of me. I just get giddy thinking about it, Dad. I'm so excited to be going to BYU this winter. Hopefully the college life will be fun there. It'll be interesting dating there. I remember that I didn't want to go there straight out of high school because I didn't want to get married right away. I was a little silly. I'm also very excited to go back to school! Now that I'll be back at a big university I can take all sorts of classes! I already have some in mind. I can't wait, Dad. Tell Mom "Hi" and give her a kiss for me.

TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR!

Lauren and I made a playlist thus named to prepare ourselves for a night like tonight. I've never seen I rain like this before, Dad! I la la la LOVED it! We were all in our room talking about our trip to Beijing when we saw flashes out the window. Next thing we know, it's coming down like lions and wolves--not just cats and dogs. Despite the fact that I had just showered, I went and danced in the rain.

Within a minute, I was soaked all the way through! It was so much fun to dance in the rain. We've been waiting for weeks for it to rain like this! Today definitely felt like the most humid day we have had so far, and now I know why. Rain was on it's way! We ran down to the track and ran around a little bit until the lightning scared us. It was so funny, Dad. We're all standing in a circle and we decide to take our pants off and just start running! It was hilarious. My pants were really hard to get back on because of how drenched they were and then a car was coming so we all laid flat on the ground. One of the most fun nights ever!