Friday Evening...

Been awhile since I have wrote, so let the novel begin! I know DAD that you want me to change the background so you can see it better, I will do that too:) I will break this into sections, since it has been so long..

Last weekend was my first time watching a rugby game, oh my...Never knew it was so intense. The weekend started by me staying in on Friday night. I am honestly realizing I am older now. I don't care to go out all night, I hate being tired, and I like relaxing on Friday's. That is so different for me, as the last 10 years I never missed a beat. I can't wait until Jordan is here, we can do dinners in town, explore the city during the day, and just be together in China.. So, the rugby game! My Asst. Principal Ty plays in a competitive league, after my vb tourney on Sat we made it a fun filled day. It started off with beers on our bike ride home from my vb tourney. There was a grand opening going on right by the school, I have never seen so many black haired people in one place. They loved looking at us drinking beers on our pink bikes..I think they thought we were part of the grand opening. lol. We continued having beers on the subway, then during the game. I enjoyed the game, what is better then watching a bunch of big men holding each other in bear hugs, tackling each other, kissing. HA HA. The game was good, we were invited on their team bus to have more beers after. The bus ride is what made the day. The guys were singing, and we were definitely bonding! My friend Kelsey was proposed to by this Russian guy, he even said the names of their future 4 children! The night continued on until the late hours, good times... Sunday was a lazy day. Hours on Skype with Jordan then a two hour massage. The massage places around here are super cheap. I paid 15.00 dollars for two hours..I was over it at first, they put me in a room that someone had just smoked in. They smoke EVERYWHERE HERE. UGH.


China Trip: The entire school leaves for a trip once a year. Each grade level does something different. The younger kids, my kids, went to a town two hours away called, Suzhou. The point of these trips is to socialize them with reality. 99% of our kids come from affluent homes, live in compounds that are hidden away from the real China. The compound (AKA neighborhood) next to me that majority of them reside in is similar to Scottsdale. The older grades go and live with locals in small towns, they volunteer at orphanages or help out in the schools or farms. Since my kids are still so young, they got to camp for the first time. For me it would've been easy, but the rain poured like Niagara falls! From the moment we got on our boat ride to the island it rained..The island we went to has 280 families that live on it. It was neat to see that they are completely self sufficient. From their goat milk to their chili pepper treas, to the daily fish that sat in the sink waited to be cook, it was all there. The women cooked and cleaned, the men fished. I watched a man one morning grab the closest chicken, kill it, then clean it in the lake..nice hu? It sure did taste good though! We did manage to get a hike in, but most of the day was spent indoors playing card games, talking and bonding. I truly take each moment in with these kids. They all come from different cultures, have different ways of doing things, ways of how others should be etc. The true meaning of International School is finally hitting me. Setting up tents went smoothly, came back after bringing in supplies, looked up to realize the girls might as well just slept in my tent. I was in the center, they were so close I could have tickled their backs:) When I finally got everyone settled in, I laid down with my journal, listened to the rain and relaxed. I have always loved listening to the rain while I fall asleep. Then I heard one zipper, followed by zippers all night. If one wasn't up it was another..Finally I fell asleep, prayer after prayer asking God to let up on the rain, I hear another zipper..Followed by, "UM, Ms. Johnson I have to pee." After a few deep breaths, I said, "Just pee behind the tent." I was finally dry, and my last time I got up I slipped on the mud, flew up in the air, and hit my butt pretty hard. Thank god I have a cushioned butt! I was so out of it, irritated, that I didn't even realize that this young Korean girl probably hadn't pee'd outside..I won't continue with that story, just a bit of it was her tent mate waking up telling me she pee'd in the tent! I think I was able to get a few hours of sleep, I was obviously to sleepy to figure out that my pillow was soaked, so was my bag, but I was dry...

I did like listening to all of them talk to their mom's before bed. 6 different languages, all at once... I am finally adjusting/accepting the language barrier. It can cause a helpless feeling, a feeling of insecurity, a feeling of jealousy and more... To speak a different language would be great. I do realize how many of the locals want to learn English, and I want to learn Mandarin, it is just so hard... If I was younger, not that I am old, I would possibly think about starting an International school in Phx. Imagine if we offered these back home, and they were Spanish only. All the kids speak English at home, but only Spanish at school. We could offer languages of all types..not a bad idea!

Starting to get dark out, going to my neighbors for a glass of wine. They are a family from Michigan with two little kids. Not doing much this weekend, usual pancake breakfast tomorrow am with some friends then off for a bike ride. I leave for Bali next Thursday. Not sure what to expect there, just know everyone that has visited Bali mentioned it is their favorite place. Endless beaches, years of history, hopefully no RAIN. Dad has been, he gave us the name of an English driver, that should help. We are going to backpack, so I am sure we will be island hopping. I will take lots of pics of course. I haven't posted many pics on my blog, it takes forever. As you know blogs/FB and more are all blocked here, the VPN I pay for isn't always a 100%. The govt here is odd! Thank god I didn't book a trip to Tibet with several of the other staff. Just yesterday the govt stopped all travel there for the holiday. Odd hu? To much political unrest during this specific holiday.

Love you all...

China Trip:
Monday morning