On Stage

A photo to go along with our previous post!

Lost in Translation...

To summarize this post I could just say that the Chinese idea of speaking about a culture is completely different than the American idea. But you know me, I'm not really good at summarizing. I like going into detail. So if you don't like details you can stop reading now...because this may be a fairly long post. here goes...

Last Thursday evening we got a call from one of our teachers from our University. She asked us if we'd like to attend a class Friday evening to speak on "American life." I asked her a few questions...

Me: "What time?"
Teacher: "About 7 p.m. for about one hour."
Me: "What class?"
Teacher: "A class of students who are studying English and just want to learn about foreign culture."
Me: "Ok. Let us think about it and we'll tell you tomorrow."

We've turned down opportunities like this in the past just because we haven't felt it absolutely necessary in accomplishing our "goals" set out for reaching our city. We also weren't real excited about doing it because we were going to be in language class from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. that afternoon and knew our brains would be pretty fried by the time 7 p.m. rolled around. But, since we'd turned them down so many times we thought it might be nice to agree to "talk about our culture" & to meet some more students at our University.

So the next day we told her we'd do it. She said that at 6 p.m. after we got out of language class we'd eat dinner with all of our chinese teachers and then prepare for the class. So at 6 p.m. we ate some delicious food with all of our teachers and then started to go over some of the questions that the students wanted us to talk about and some of the procedure for the evening. Much to our surprise, this was not going to happen in a small classroom of 20 or so students like how we originally thought. No No. This was going to be in front of about 300 students in an auditorium where we'd be seated on stage with two Korean students as well. We were quite shocked!! But at the same time not at all surprised because it just figures that something like this would somehow be lost in translation!

So we're ushered over to the largest auditorium on campus where they quickly take us back stage, put Britney Spears-type microphones on our heads, & teach us some of the vocabulary we'll need to know for some of the questions they were going to ask us. The big production began with a performance by the Martial Arts students which was really cool. And then we were brought on stage.

We thought we'd be talking about the differences between American University & Chinese University, or hobbies, sports, holidays & family customs. There were a few questions that barely skimmed the surface of those ideas:
"Tell us about April Fool's Day." & "How does an American lose weight?"
First of all...I could not have been more disappointed with the April Fool's Day question because out of every holiday they could have asked us about they chose the one that if deleted from the calendar it would virtually go unnoticed. Christmas? Easter? even Thanksgiving? nope...didn't mention it. Anyhow, we did our best to educate them on this pointless holiday. They didn't really understand the idea anyways and just said, "So basically it's just lying." We just said "yes, pretty much."
And then all we said about Americans losing weight was that we're pretty much the same as any other human on the planet and we lose weight by eating less & exercise. I'm not sure what they were expecting from that question but oh well.

The evening was fun though. They attempted to teach us some Tai Qi and even made us stand up and try some of the difficult positions. As a joke we both posed in the traditional Karate Kid stance...they laughed but we're not sure if it's because we looked stupid or if they've actually seen that American classic. Again...another thing that might have been lost in translation.

One of their favorite things to talk about the entire evening was "tongue twisters." They asked us if we could do one in Chinese...which we've yet to master. The Koreans sure were good at them though. And then they asked us to teach them an English one. So I did the "How much wood could a Woodchuck chuck..." one. They went through it slowly with me and did pretty good! But then they asked me to translate it. When I couldn't translate it they brought a teacher onstage to help me translate it. We seriously spent about 20 minutes just trying to imitate a woodchuck because she had never heard of one and well, we've never had to act out a woodchuck before. So after deciding that it was completely futile trying to translate this tongue twister, they gave up.

The questions were about all kinds of things ranging from food, movie stars, & songs (at which point we sang the first stanza of Amazing Grace...in english of course).
We ended up being there long past the hour limit the teacher said it would last. I think we walked off stage about 9:45 p.m. But it was worth it and it will definitely be something we won't ever forget. Our brains were completely exhausted from thinking, listening, & speaking in Chinese for eight hours straight...with little to no english breaks inbetween (unless you count me looking at Brandon and asking him, "Is it Peter Piper picked a pickled pepper?")

To cap off the "performance" as soon as they dismissed everyone to go home, and the audience lights lit up, some background music came on. And oh yes...it was none other than the Theme Song for Indiana Jones. I mean...what else would you play?! It was great.

April's Birthday!

April had a great first-birthday-in-China. On her birthday we invited over our teammates & some local friends to eat cake & ice cream. It was a great day and will definitely be remembered!
Sorry, we didn't actually get any pictures of her on her birthday but here's Elijah enjoying the food table!

Don't be fooled by the fancy two layer cake. It's only done out of necessity! (the largest pan that fits in our oven is 9 inches!)

We spent the day relaxing and recovering from the previous day (see future post). April got a great birthday surprise when we discovered that Silver Plaza (a supermarket near our apt) is now carrying Frosted Flakes & Corn Flakes! In our first visit we bought out all that they had! Hope they get in more!

It has begun...

After the relentless urging of a friend who has mastered the art of persuasion, I'm posting the first "belly" picture. Don't be alarmed though, this is a G rated photo...as they all will be of course, because I can't bring myself to doing those bare belly photos.

So this is the first of belly photos for the next 5 or 6 months. I'm even clad in horizontal stripes because every good girl knows that horizontal stripes accentuate "curves."

preggo belly at 14 weeks:

and to even out the pictage...here's Brandon on our recent trip to a nearby district (because I know you want to see his smiling face as well!)

Go & Row

Many of our friends have pets. Fish, turtles, birds...
But we don't have any pets. Well, until recently that is. Actually I wouldn't say that they are ours so much...but maybe the neighborhood's pets. Our neighborhood has local Dumpster Dogs. Ok ok so maybe not dumpster dogs...but more like Trash pile Dogs. (we don't have dumpsters here just a cement barrier where we throw our trash and it either gets rummaged through or lit on fire and slowly disintegrates.)
So we have these two dogs that roam our alley. You may remember one of the dogs we're speaking of from one of our very first posts upon arriving here. They look identical, we can't tell them apart. We're not sure who they belong to but we often see them playing with the waiters and waitresses from the restaurant across the alley. (consequently, we don't eat at that restaurant any more!)
Because we see these dogs daily and because we indirectly contribute to their livelihood by throwing out old food & scraps in the cement barriered trash pile, we feel like we have some sort of involvement in these dogs lives.
So, Brandon came up with names for the dogs the other day. We've decided to call them "Go" & "Row." Why?
Well, in Chinese, "Gou" (or "Go" spelled phonetically for our non-chinese speaking friends) means 'Dog.' And "Rou" (or Row...) means 'Meat.'
Again, referencing back to the first time we saw Go & Row (if you don't know what I'm talking about you should check it out), we thought they were being scrubbed down for someone's tasty meal. Thus, we've dubbed them Go & Row...or Dog & Meat, if you will. (disclaimer for any PETA supporters...we've yet to see any dog meat actually on display or being consumed)

So come visit us and you'll get to meet Go & Row as well. We don't advise petting them...no telling where they've been. But they seem pretty friendly and content to rummage through the trash pile. Maybe we'll get pictures up soon of them. Despite what may be matted in their fur, they're pretty cute dogs & do help keep the alley cats & rats (same thing right?) at a good distance.

I must become a responsible person

Sometimes I CAN NOT BELIEVE I AM GOING TO BE A DAD. Othertimes, I AM SO EXCITED THAT I AM GOING TO BE A DAD.

These are the two thoughts that continually run through my head all day long and even into the night. I am beginning to realize that I must become somewhat of a responsible person. Most of you who know me would say that I am a responsible person, but also say I still act like a kid sometimes. I usually act like a adult, but my tendencies go toward childhood. So therefore the those two thoughts continually go through my head.

April has been reading a book about pregnancy, thanks to our sister-in-law who has two kids herself, and she suggested that I read one of the chapters. The chapter was called Husbands of Pregnant Women. In it the author puts my thoughs and feelings (or any other guys thoughts and feelings) about having their first child, into words. These thoughts and feelings are also knows as FEARS. I will list the ones that really apply to me.

1. When I become a dad, I can not be the baby anymore
2. I will have to deliver the baby myself
3. When the baby does come, the doctor will insist that I cut the umbilical cord
4. And, labor and delivery will hurt April, and I won't be able to make it better

These points are somewhat of a joke, but somewhat true as well. All I know is in 6 months April and I are going to have a very small little baby, and the truth is that I have never held a brand new baby before, and I don't know if I know how. My friends reassure me that I will be able to do all these things.

So I just wanted to announce that to the public that I am really excited, but I don't know what I am doing. As one of my old teachers used to say, "Can I get a witness?"

A Short History of a Little Bit Less Than Everything

What could easily be just a picture/caption form of a blog I'm going to turn into a lengthy story-telling time just for your benefit! Hopefully it won't be too long...but here goes!

*EDIT - We've updated our Shutterfly account with new pictures of our vacation & elephant adventure if you'd like to check those out! ----->

We've had a heck of a past three weeks! And it's been wonderful almost every step of the way. We had so many creative ways to announce to the blogging world about our most exciting news...but alas I may just resort to just saying it. I'm pregnant! That's right. Preggo. I begin my second "trimester" today. How exciting! So visiting a "qualified" doctor with an up to date ultrasound machine was one of the things we did in the last few weeks. Upon hearing that we're scheduled to deliver in Bangkok, Thailand, we quickly asked around for recommendations of doctors at the hospital there (rated among the top 10 hospitals in the world!). So we made a pit stop in Bangkok amidst all the other travel around Thailand and got to see a doctor. This hospital amazed us. Their efficiency was incredible. Maybe we'll include more detailed stories about our visit there in later posts. But for now we'll just say that we're so thrilled to be delivering there. If only our parents happened to be residents of Thailand...that's the only thing that would make it more convenient.

So, while in Thailand we got to do all sorts of stuff. Our first couple of weeks we got to see Shane & Shane perform just about every day. That was one of our most favorite things ever.

After eating lunch with them, seeing them roam around our hotel, & hearing them play for four days in a row...Brandon really started to feel like they were best buds. Another fun friend was in this picture also...that's whose hand is resting so delicately on Shane's shoulder, but sorry friend, we cut you out just to be a little safer. :)

Brandon even pulled a ridiculously romantic stunt and requested from Shane B that he play the song that my sister sang in our wedding (by Shane & Shane). It was great. I mean, it was no Bekah, but it was great. :)

While there we ate some great food as well. Turns out that our stomach may have adjusted too well to Chinese food though, because each time we ate some tasty American food we got the not so fun diarrhea afterwards. But that usually didn't stop us from digging into Outback, Tony Roma's, or Burger King. And one time we even spotted lunchables in a grocery store so we stopped and had those for lunch!

Another favorite of those two weeks was of course getting to spend time with some wonderful friends we met just before coming over here. I could post a million pictures all day long of their beautiful faces, but for their security and your sanity, I won't.

Another thing we did...and I'll refrain from saying that it was a 'favorite' also because it definitely was not...was ride elephants.

You might be thinking, "Can you ride elephants when you're pregnant?" Well, I have no idea if you're supposed to or not, but I wouldn't recommend it, not because it made me sick (it seems hardly anything has made me 'morning' sick the last three months) but because I'm not sure I'd recommend it for anyone. I mean, it's one of those things we're glad we did because it's cool to say, "Yes, as a matter of fact I have ridden an elephant." But it's not one of those things you'd want to do everyday. Maybe riding on the elephant's head, or actually sitting on it's back rather than up on a stool strapped to the things back would have been more comfortable. There's really no good way to describe how rough it was, but again...at least we can say we've done it! And hey, after the ride we got to stop and eat some fruit for awhile and it was the BEST pineapple we've ever eaten in our lives. So that made it totally worth the jostling about.

After our couple weeks of meetings and such we headed to Bangkok for a night where we did all the medical stuff at the amazing hospital there, and then began our week long vacation/anniversary trip of Tropical Thailand Paradise. The first night we spent in Phuket with some friends from a neighboring country. It was great to catch up with them, swap culture-shock stories, watch a few episodes of Lost, & get a tan. Then we headed over to beautiful Phi Phi Island by ferry. There are two sides to Phi Phi Island. One more public, partying-scene, type of vacation...or one more private, serene, secluded side, with private beaches type of vacation. We chose the quiet side since we live in the land of 1.3 billion people. It was so wonderful to get to see the stars at night, watch the sunrises and sunsets, & feel the warm tropical breeze. We stayed in those cute little bungalow style houses. It was so beautiful. This is a picture of our hotel's little private beach with all the long tail boats that took us in and out to the ferries.
This part of the island wasn't damaged too much by the Tsunami but much of the other side was. It's incredible how much they've already built it up in just a few years.
We went on a snorkeling day trip and got to see some amazing fish & also some beautiful islands.

Here's Brandon way out in the water with all his snorkeling gear on.

It was a wonderful vacation...a place I highly recommend.

After leaving Thailand we got to stay a few days in Hong Kong to meet up with my sister who happened to be traveling through with a group from her University. Our families did an awesome thing and sent us all sorts of goodies to bring back with us. Mostly maternity clothes, but there were a few food items that were much appreciated, and some birthday gifts! Thanks fam! It was so nice to see her, jet-lagging and all!

We returned this past saturday...the day before our anniversary. And we were so tired from all the travel that all we did to celebrate was to eat cereal for dinner. Sounds strange, but that's quite a celebration for us here! We brought back four boxes of cereal with us (we would have brought back more if our suitcases had room). So we celebrated by eating some Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Kellogg's Blueberry Delight for dinner!

It's nice to be back in our home!