update

so agreeably it's been a long time since i last updated thing thang. i've been lazy! i'm sorry! so SHANGHAI! it was so fun! i wish i had more crazy stories from there to tell you, but it was pretty basic tourism. the bus we took there was so cool! it beats a greyhound a thousand times over! only about 30-some people get on the bus and instead of seats they have beds! YEAH! the trip was about 15 hours long so it was NIIICE. however i had a bad bed on the way there and they were bunk bed style so the bed above me was too close so i couldn't sit up at all. after laying down for 15 hours it kinda gives you a teeny headache. and a couple men were late getting on the bus so they had to sleep on the floor.. riiight beside me. so spent most of the way there spooning with a complete stranger. the way back was much better! i got a top bunk! wa hoo!
we saw a lot of buildings and places. we went to Madame Toussauds wax museum it was great! they had people there like princess diana, michael jackson, david beckham.. they had EVERYONE famous you can think of pretty much. we got some pretty good pictures so if you're ever on facebook check out my albums! we went to the people's square which is a really cool block blocked off from traffic (except this little train that takes you on tours around the block.. it look like a little toy train but can fit a surprising amount of people in it!) and the street in lined with shopping areas, restaurants, bars. it's a great place to go at night! the neon lights are amazing! we went up to the VEERRRYYY top of the oriental pearl tower. it's the third highest tower in the world. the inside was incredible! when you are finished viewing, instead of taking an elevator down you go through a bar/restaurant, and two different museums. one if a museum of old chinese culture and the other is a space museum. random. and there is a roller coaster inside. ji hye is scared of things that like so we didn't go. it's no fun to go alone. it takes about two hours to get through the whole thing but you're never lacking entertainment. shanghai was so nice because there were so many foreigners! now when i'm back in weihai and i see a foreigner i don't feel an irrisistable urge to run up to them and introduce myself. that's a good thing :) we met a lot of people.. it was surprisingly hard though to find foreigners who spoke english! we met a group of asian people from australia. i spoke more chinese than they did it was hilarious! we hung out with them for the rest of the week. i went on the super train! it covers (i forget how many miles, but driving by car it takes about an hour) but this super train cover the same amount of ground in a shocking 8 minutes! it was a little scary but so worth it! i think it's the fastest one in the world. so that's kinda cool. we also went to this place called Xin Tian Di almost every night which is a place that is all renaissance style buildings and it's all blocked off from traffic and it's cobblestone streets strewn with fancy outdoor restaurants and clubs. it was really cool to see. i wish my pictures turned out better they don't do most of the scenery justice at all. what else did we do? we went to the Yu Yuan gardens, which was INCREDIBLE! what kind of architecture do you think of when you think of china? i hope it's those curved topped roofs and dragons and things like that. yeah this whole part of the city is buiding upon building in traditional chinese architecture. so beautiful! and there was market upon market! (ANNND a starbucks!) then when you get into the actualy garden it's beautiful! it's so hard to describe. it was buing during the Quing dynasty i believe and it was so cool to imagine all the emporers and other people walking through that exact garden (although a lot of it had been restored so there were very few ORIGINAL parts). that was a ridiculously hot day though! actually everyday in shanghai was ridiculously hot! you take five steps in any direction and you're completely soaked. it was nuts. we didn't do the river cruise.. after so many days of go-go tourism you just want to relax.. so we'll hit that next time. we did a lot of shopping in some of the famous shopping centers.... A LOT. haha. it was a good time. found some good deals. we went through these tunnels.. the brochure made them seem incredible.. but if you ever get to shanghai.. don't waste your time!! really.. i generally like everything i try.. but these tunnels were LAME! but they were in a great location. they were in a place called The bund which is crazily crowded with people. it's a cement path that winds along the Huangpu river, and has the loading dock for the river cruise. it's a nice place, and it's easy to see why it's craawling with people all the time. i got my eyebrow pierced! haha.. did somethign random.. all that heat plays with your mind. i'm lucky i stopped at the piercing and didn't get a whole sleeve of tattoos! we checked out a Buddha temple. it was really beautiful. it was sad.. there were so many idols. and the size of them! there are bell towers and drum towers. most of this is all included in my pictures. people come into the temple grounds and they buy prayer incence sticks and light on fire on these big coal pitts and then they stand in the middle of the courtyard and bow to all four surrounding walls holding the prayer sticks either in front of them or over their heads. it was interesting. when they're finished praying they lay the sticks on the side of the coal pitt and leave them to burn. like i said.. interesting...but sad.
so that's all i can think of as of now for shanghai. getting back to weihai was NICE! the pace is slower, the air is cooler and there's an OCEAN! the day after we got back we went straight to the beach for the day. we bought our rubber water tubes and floated in the water all day. well we stayed in the water until we swam into a HUGE jellyfish. those things feels DISGUSTING!! i was swimming and felt somethign jelly and screamed louder than i have for a long time and looked and it was a little jellyfish, and then the deeper we got the more i saw everywhere and then all of a sudden this HUGE giant mother jellyfish came out of nowhere! we're lucky we didn't get stung. that thing could have killed. we paddled our tubes as fast as we could outta there.
so for the summer prgram we got two new teachers. both are from england. one teacher's name in johnathan and the other is Essy. actually the other WAS Essy.. she was a bit of a princess and when she found out she couldn't have her own apartment she left so we are short one teacher now and so we have an extra week off. ok with with me :) although i am missing some of my students a bit. we found a replacement teacher who is from america, her name is Jenna.. she's coming tomorrow. i guess she'll be my new roommate for a month. either mine or johnathan's... but i'm pretty sure she would probably rather live with me haha but who knows.
today me and johathan went rock climbing! it was SO nice. we climbed up this big mountain and had such a spectacular view. after that we walked through town and stopped for some street food and i showed him around the night market. it was fun. i love china. you see so many random things in a night. you wouldn't believe this place unless you were here. every minute something unexpected is happening. you're never lacking entertainment in any degree. sorry guys i'm never coming home! haha.. i'm ruined! tomorrow we're going out in the morning to see if we can get out on a fishing boat. can't wait! i've been wanting to try fishing here since before i came!

hi readers

hey!
ok i know it's been a LOONG time since i've blogged, but for some reason i've had a hard time signing into this thang. it's all fixed now. clearly... so yeah! not a awhole lot is new... sad i know. as of yesterday afternoon i'm officially on holidays!! so exciting! me and Ji Hye are going to Shanghai for two weeks-ish. it's oging to be SO nice to be a tourist and not a teacher, for a short time at least. i'm sure i'll miss the classroom by the end of the break. i had some before-summer-vacation partied with my classes so the last week was so relaxing! today i went to a korean production play at one of the theatrical theaters in this city. it was fun! of course i didn't understand what they were saying, but i think i got the point of the story. mainly because it was a comedic production of romeo and juliet. asian style. it was really interesting. the costumes were so authentic! it looked like i was watching Mulan. i love this culture! and then after we all went out for dinner. tomorrow we might go to the beach. just because we can. haha.. so nice to be in a weekend and able to sleep in! i wish we were leaving a little sooner for Shanghai, but Ji Hye has her final exam at university on tuesday, but right after she's done we're OUTTA HERE!!! i'll have LOTS to say after i get back. we're going to do EVERYTHING! we're staying in a hostel.. creepy.. but i'll get over it. and we're taking a 15 hour bus trip there :) :) :) nothing new to me haha. well thanks for being patient with me, and i'll have a FULL long update in two weeks!!!! bye bye!

hey it's been a few days since i blogged! a couple random things have happened. neither were particularly great. first... this weekend i suddenly got reallly sick. it was something like the flu, but i was in so much pain i couldn't sleep. and i had to work at 9 the next morning! so after dragging myself through that day of work (pretty much every class was major free time! haha.. lucky kids!) i went to my first chinese "hospital." it was more like a hostel! it had two rooms.. one where the two doctors sat and ate watermelon, and another that had three beds in it. they layed me on a bed and hooked me up to an IV and drained three bottles of mysterious chinese medicine into me. it seriously works like magic! i went in there feeling like i might die and walked out three hours later feeling like i had never been sick! i love china!
today me and Ji Hye were planning on getting up early to take a bus to Yentai.. a nearby city.. just to satisfy our anxiousness for some time off to travel. buuuuuut getting up at 6 just wasn't happening. we opted for a local japanese restaurant and the amusement park. i rode the viking! she made me do it alone though! she was too scared. it's this big ship that swings really high in both directions... we have them at home. i sat in the middle like a chicken.... next time i'll brave a backseat. and tonight... me and Ji Hye had our first pervert attack on the way home from shopping tonight. it was nothing serious.. but i just can't help but wonder what could have happened is Ji Hye wasn't with me. hopefully that's the only thing of that nature that happens while i'm here. tomorrow the first thing i'm doing is getting a keychain pepperspray haha. i'm ok. just a little shaken up. well i should try to get some sleep. have a good day everyone!!! :)

GOODBYE TEENAGER-HOOD!

hey!
so my birthday was SO fun! it was the best one i've had in a couple years i think! my students had a huge surprise party for me when i got to school. there was a cake, and chicken, and lots of candles, and they wrote WE LOVE YOU HAPPY BIRTHDAY! all over the whiteboard. it was so sweet. it of course escalated into an all-out cake fight! initiated by.. me. oops! haha. it was so fun. and then after work i went home and Ji Hye and our friend Mariah were there because we were planning on going out to our favourite club that night. and they had surprise presents for me! it was so sweet! and then we went to the club (it's called 2046... easy to remember.. and pronounce!) and last week me and Ji Hye had made friends with some of the bartenders there, and when we got to 2046 they had a surprise party waiting for me tehre too! they bought this HIGE embarrassing display of flowers, and a cake (which also turned into another minor cake fight) and they got the DJ to say happy birthday to me, and sing an english birthday song! it was so sweet. it really was a great time. i can't believe i'm 20! bring it on! haha. i think these are going to be the best years of my life so far. young. single. travelling. i'm excited!
so i have some EXCELLENT news for all of you who witnessed my really devestating grad performance. yesterday me and Ji Hye and Jerry went to karaoke in the middle of the day, and i saw THAT Celine Dion song.... so i figured today is the day i put that song in it's place! and i did! i nailed it! haha.. so if i died tomorrow i could rest in total peace! well i have some teaching to do pretty soon.. but have a fantastic day!

hey!
so i know it's been a few days.. but it's been a BUSY week! i'm getting tired! haha... but even being tired is NO excuse for an EMBARRASSING mistake i made in the classroom the other day! so.. i took Karen's advice about playing review X's and O's (great idea by the way!) and i thought i would throw in a question that would leave them stumped because they were doing so well. so i asked... "what is the capitol of Canada?" they were quiet for awhile and then a girl shouted "Toronto!" i was like "Wow! that's incredible! you get a huge O for that! i'm impressed!" then this 11 year old boy in the class stood up and said "that's not the capital of Canada! Ottawa is!" so me being the stubborn person that i can...sometimes... be, i tried to argue my point (more trying to save my face than wanting to be right!) haha.. but he was right. we all had a relaly good laugh about it after. so sorry canada! i suck! haha.
ok.. so tonight i tried THE ULTIMATE in food. .. after work Jenny took me and her family out for dinner to this beautiful restaurant in a popular hotel here. so we were eating our sushi.. it was good.. then the Fu Yuen (waitress) brought in these plates and suddenly everyone looked at me. i was like.. huh? then i looked at the plate, and there was a heaping pile of writhing squid tentacles. i can only imagine how my face looked but everyone just started laughing. this is a korean delicacy i guess... and as previously mentioned it's rude to not try EVERYTHING. so... i picked up my chopstick and chased down a crawling tentacle. i accidentally dropped it on my plate and it was twirling around and suctioning itself to my plate. haha.. it was hard to convince it to come off of there! it was like a leech! but eventually my chopsticks got the best of it, and i help it up to look at it. it's suction cups were flaring furiously, and it was wiggling around like a worm. it was so unsettling, but again everyone was waiting for me to put it in my mouth. so put it in my mouth i did. i chewed it as fast as i coul dbefore it could wiggle around in there. then Ji Hye took one and was letting it crawl in and out of her mouth.. haha.. it was disgusting! so now.. having tried that... i think i can handle anything! even the sea cucumber would be nothing in comparison! haha. well anyway.. that's all that's new here right now. if anyone comes to visit they are definately going to be initiated with those things... mwahahahahaha...

KOREAN SAUNA

i just had the best night of my chinese life! me, mariah, nancy, and ji hye went to a korean sauna. i have never felt so good, (or so exposed.) These sauna's however are not for the faint of heart, the weak of stomach, and MOST DEFINATELY not for the shy!
so as soon as we got to the sauna, we removed our shoes, got a key and went up a carpeted staircase to the locker room. (that carpet by the way is the only carpet i have seen since i've been here so it only made the stay all the more luxurious) as soon as you get to the locker room, you leave your inhabitions at the door and strip down. haha. i feel really close with my new friends now. they know more about me than some friends i've had all my life! when you're 'prepared' you step into the shower roomand bath room. there is a wall lines with open showers, and opposite that wall is three large square pools. one is really hot, one is mediocre, and one is verrry cold. when you're showered and clean you go into the first hot pool, then proceed your way to the cold one. when you're finished with that you dry off, and go back to the locker room. there you're given funny little outfits to wear. then wen you have your funny little outfits on you go out into a little restaurant and sit on the floor indian style. then you have some dinner! i was soooo hungry by this time. we went straight to the sauna after school. when you're done eating you go into a large room, and the floor is covered in straw mats and there are people lying around on them. there area few small tables that you sit indian style at again, and some people were playing some chinese board games, and others were watching the huge screened tv's. all were wearing this weird robe-out fit things we were given. this was the only co-ed room... for obvious reasons. it was the only room people weren't naked! then at the back of the room there are caves. yup.. those are the saunas. when you get inside, you sit on the straw mats, and use sandbags as pillows if you want to lay down. it felt sooo good to sit in there and just sweat. it reminded me a little of the crazy heat in guatemala! when it gets too hot to stand you go and sit on the sloor at one of the little tables. when we sat down , one of the waiters brought a plate with four eggs - shells and all- to our table and a plate of salt. i guess they burn the eggs in the shells on the same stones they use for the sauna. when you open the egg it's either dark brown or black. it looked gross but it was good! smoked egg.. yummy. then they bring you this AMAZING ice cream thing. it's literally ice and cream. crushed ice with beans, and rice cake on top of sweet cream. it was sooooo good. and then you get some bubble tea. felt so nice after that hot sweaty sauna. then we played a chinese board game. it was similar to x's and o's, but you use coloured stones. (i'll show you when i get back!) then after that we went back to the locker room, gave back our robes and went back into the shower room. after dipping in the three pools again you go and lay down on a massage table. but instead of a massage a woman with a pumice mitt on comes and scrubs alllll of the dead skin off allllllll of your body. i really think i lost a pound there! haha. that took about half an hour. they oil you all up then just go to town on you. we all got to lay in the same room together so that was fun. less awkward. then after that you go and shower for a final time, and then you're done. and you even get to keep the pumice mitt!! wa hoo! at least that way you know they use a new one on you every time! i have never felt this good ever i don't think. i feel so smooth and so relaxed. i've never been to a spa before, but this really felt like it! i will most definately be going again!

oh sooo niiiice

well today was Jenny's birthday!! wa hoo!... it was fun. we all went out for dinner.. ate WAYYYY too much again..(story of my recent life).... and then all of the girls (me, nancy, Ji Hye, and Jenny) went out for massages. wow it was sooo goood. i put some pictures up on my facebook. it was hilarious... me and ji hye got girl massagers and then in walks this young handsome chinese guy to massage her mom. it really was her special day! they were intense foot massages (next time we're doing the whole body thang!) and ji hye is really ticklish so she just laughed through the whooole thing. my feet have never felt so happy. it was so fun. tomorrow night me and mariah, and ji hye and nancy are going to a korean sauna. i guess they're really neat. although it's the bare all type.. o well! i'm here for the experience! haha. i'll be sure to have a full detailed report tomorrow ;) alright... i'm going to bed.. keep smilin :)