Campfire Night! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

In the words of Ice Cube, “today was a good day.” Breakfast was interesting, some sort of root like thing and kelp. Honestly, I have had a lot of kelp since being here, and though it is good for me, I still haven’t acquired a taste for it. Out of respect I eat everything that is given to me, even when they give me too much. After breakfast I went back to my room and sent some emails and searched for jobs. Before I knew it, it was lunchtime. Again, we had kelp and some kind of other thing.

After lunch it was pretty hot, so I retreated to my room to look for books on tape that might be interesting. Since I’m not taking a lot of pictures here, I don’t spend a lot of time editing. The kids are just too aggressive with the camera and I can’t take the chance of breaking it.

Somehow, I ended up falling asleep for a few hours. When I woke up it was dinnertime. No kelp! While eating, I was talking with the director of this place and I had told him I was interested in doing something for the kids. I mentioned getting them all new shoes and he said that was a great idea. He told me that a lot of their shoes were either wearing out or just being outgrown.

The director then gave me some insight into the boy that tags along with me everywhere. Apparently, his mother is completely uneducated and doesn’t really speak. I guess she speaks, but no one can understand her. The boy is the only surviving child out of nine. She had lost the rest of them one way or another. This is probably why he doesn’t speak. I am donating 1000 RMB for the shoes and an additional 100 for this child to buy some new clothes. If anyone would lie to donate, email me and I would be happy to give some money on you behalf and I can get the money from you when I get back. A pair of shoes is about 10 RMB. 500 RMB equals about  $75 US.

After dinner, it was time for more basketball. Again my team won, but it was closer.  One of the children on the other team was pretty good and I hadn’t seen him before. He had a sweet Steve Perry, circa 1985 haircut. Now I’m in bed downloading some podcast and getting ready for bed.

Change of plans. I got a knock on the door from one of the young boys and when I answered it, he handed me a quarter of a watermelon. Everyone was downstairs eating watermelon, so I joined in. The next thing I knew, I was teaching the children how to make roasted marshmallows over the fire. After the fire, the director’s wife started throwing candy onto the basketball court and the children scrambled. Mind you it is almost pitch black.

After the kids collected their bounties, she brought out the crackers. I was appalled; we should have brought those out with the marshmallows to make smores, sans the Hershey bar of course. After the crackers came the apples, or maybe they were pears.  I have a feeling these kids will be up all night from all the sugar.

I was also told that we will visit the ice cream factory tomorrow and bring back enough for all the children.

These kids are very happy all things considered. I guess that is one thing that I can take away from this experience; it’s not about accumulating the most objects that brings happiness. Although, you get me a new Audi S4 and I’ll be smiling for quite some time!

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Flashback - 4/16/10 - Bonding Over Bowel Movements - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa

A handful of kids have tested positive for amoebas (parasites). I am pretty certain the amoeba is the cause of the high fevers and upset stomachs. My favorite nurse at Don Bosco, Sister Agnes, recommended we test every child for parasites. I immediately envisioned all 35 kids making the four mile trek to the hospital with me and the other volunteers in tow. The villagers have enough reason to stare at us Mzungos (white person), they don't need a parade. But I figured the humiliation would be worth it to keep the kids safe from disease. If only that was the way things turned out. Sister Agnes handed over 35 containers for us to collect the stool samples ourselves and bring it back the next day. OH KINYESHI! (OH SHIT!)

Bright and early the next day we rang the bell and the kids came running. They were so excited because they thought we were calling them to play a game. Well I guess if you call shitting in a cup a game, let's play!

The rules of the game:
1. Take a piece of newspaper and plastic bag
2. Go find a quiet place to shit on the newspaper
3. Carefully wrap the shit in the newspaper and place in the plastic bag
4. The first one done wins a prize!

I have never seen so many people shit on call. It has to be the way they sit. They squat so low, their butts almost touch the ground which allows for gravity to suck the "kinyeshi" out.

The winner if the game was Little Joyce. Not only did she finish first, she had the best presentation. She had carefully pooped in the middle of the newspaper, folded it into a perfect square, placed it in the plastic bag and tied a knot. When she handed it to me she said "For you". You can see her winners glow in the picture. And that is how you bond over bowel movements.

Hard Choices - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

A couple days ago the coordinator left and brought back a boy, two girls, and their mother. She was giving her children to the orphanage. Most of the time she had a look on her face as if she was contemplating her decision. Then, we would randomly catch eyes and I would smile, then she would smile back. That was about the only time I really saw her with a smile on her face. She came up to me and started speaking, but I don’t speak Mandarin, so I didn’t know what she was saying. One of the men came over and explained that she was explaining how knew she was making a good decision because I would teach them English so they could make something of themselves one day.

Monkey Business - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

I woke up this morning looking forward to another bowl of porridge. To my delight, it was accompanied by a piece of rice bread. As I looked around, I noticed that some of the children had similar rolls, but with meat and vegetable filling. I was a little bitter, but shrugged it off and dipped mine into the porridge. I tried to get some of the kids to play basketball, but it warmed up early and most of them just went into their rooms where the fans were.  Many of them had their end of year exams today, and it will be interesting to see if any of them leave. To be honest, I wouldn’t notice if a few left, unless it’s one of my two lackeys.

This morning I had the chance to Skype with my parents for a while. My dog Madison is looking adorable as ever. They were just getting ready for bed and it reminded me that I will be in rough shape for the first few days after I get back to the states with the time change.

After finishing with them I just hung out in my room for a while and worked on a paper for my internship. Around noon we had lunch and I got a pretty big portion of rice, so that was exciting! A little while later one of the coordinators asked if I wanted to go on a hike with some of the kids. I had no idea what I was in store for. The purpose of this hike was to get firewood for what I am guessing would be a bonfire later??? The kids kept climbing into the trees like monkey and I was a little scared for them. By the end I was climbing in them too. I guess I really am a child at heart. The goal was to climb up the tree and swing until the others could grab it higher up, then everyone pulls it down and tries to break it. Dangerous? Probably. Fun? Absolutely! For the last, and tallest tree, they needed the assistance of a tall slightly under average weight man. I climbed up about 7 feet and started swinging my legs back and forth. I got it to lean down and some others grabbed the top. I was still a few feet of the ground and started bouncing a little. Finally that bad boy snapped and I hit the ground on my knees. The coordinator was pretty concerned that I hurt myself, but after growing up on the hard streets of Centralia, WA, that was nothing.

*Side note- Centralia is not hard at all…

Anyway, we got our bounty and headed back to the dorms. I took a shower and watched Invictus. Good movie… I’m also trying to figure HDR pictures, so that should add to my photo collection nicely.

Dinner was good. It was rice, tofu and potatoes with some sort of stock. After, we played an actual game of basketball. My team won. I pretty much just got rebounds, didn’t let the other team score, and fed the ball to my teammates. It’s nice being the best player on the team. I’m now back in my room and I’m hoping the AC will stop the sweating.

I’m feeling better today. The kids are just so happy and smile all of the time. Maybe it’s just being around me, but it’s nice to make kids smile. We’ll see what tomorrow holds… Oh and apparently no bonfire : (

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Where am I? - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Day two at the orphanage is going pretty well so far. I had a delightful breakfast of rice porridge. It was all good until I skyped my parents and they were eating crab legs. Oh how I miss eating in excess!

Most of the kids went off to school and the two guys that semi know English went off to visit some families. The rest of the kids are watching a movie on a small computer screen.

I felt incredibly bad a bit ago. I pumped up my soccer ball (football for the Brits) and went out onto the basketball court to kick it around. When I got out there, I noticed a young boy that was missing his foot. His other foot had some toes missing. So basically, I walk out to play a sport that is solely based on have two feet right in front of a one footed kid. I was trying to think of stuff I could do to keep him company. I’m going to start by grabbing my phrase book and seeing how our communication will work out. If I can find him some crutches or a wheel chair I may take him for a walk with some of the others up the road so I can take pictures.

Later that day…

So I just took my phrase book out there, which wasn’t much help at all. I also took a deck of cards and we played a game. Not sure what it was, but I think we just both made up the rules as we went along. I ended up giving the little guy the cards. He smiled really big and said thank you.

After that I helped two older children with their English. I thought that they would have been farther along, but it is hard to say how long they have all been in a decent school.

My emotions are starting to catch up with me. I’m having troubles figuring out this whole situation. For me to be here, I have to sacrifice. No variety in food, kids missing limbs, poor medical care (in China), kids wearing the same clothes everyday, and just an all around kind of depressing environment. For them, it is much more positive. I have grown up a privileged life in the US. I honestly feel like such an asshole for all the times that I complained growing up because I got pancakes two days in a row, or didn’t get something I wanted. I know a completely different life that is filled with consumption. These kids would be in a much worse situation and this is the positive part of their lives. So for me to be here, to have someone else give love, is an incredible experience for them. Two children in particular always want a hug from me or to hold my hand or sit on my lap. And here I am being selfish thinking about how bad they have it. I can honestly say that I have never been in a situation like this. I look at the boy that is missing a foot and all I can feel is sorry for him, but when he looks at me, he just sees someone to look up to, and for no reason other than I am the tallest person here, white, and change clothes everyday.

These feelings are exactly why I couldn’t go into certain careers like social services. I can’t detach myself from the emotion that I feel. Deep down, I know that I should just try to make this week the best for them as I can. Then take that away with me. It’s very difficult. I would like very much to get them all a present when I leave. Something like new shoes for all of them. I need to talk to the coordinator and see what he thinks.

Later in the day…

Just had dinner and went for a walk with the kids. It brought my spirits up a bit. They are the sweetest kids and they surprisingly get along well for kids. It is kind of funny because everyone assumes I speak Chinese. I just smile and shrug my shoulders.

Tomorrow I am going to help some more kids with their English, so that should be good for them. Just downloaded Invictus, so I will watch that in a while.

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave



My two little tag a longs

Snake Day! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Today has already been pretty eventful, and it’s not even 9AM! I caught the bus this morning from Yangshou at 6:45 to Guilin. On the way we stopped for gas, I think. My next assumption is that something was wrong with the bus. We got a few miles down the road and pulled off again at another gas station. Isabella quickly told me that we would have to switch buses. This was an issue because one of the buses that I would have taken was canceled, so I had to make the 8:30 bus. The two stops definitely put us behind. Eventually Isabella chalked it up as a loss and told me that I would be spending the night in Guilin. I thought this would be a good chance for me to catch up on some email and organize my Flickr account. A few minutes after the news she told me that there was another bus at 10:30. This also seemed fine with me. When we got to the bus terminal in Guilin, she took off running and told me to meet her at the gate to the buses. Long story short, I made the 8:30 bus. Isabella is so sweet. She reminds me of a Chinese version of my Mom. She’s also a bit younger. After getting me situated on the bus, she ran into a small shop and grabbed me a Coke, Red Bull, mysterious boxed drink that I think is milk, Oreos, and an apple.

It’s already taken about 45 minutes just to get out of the city. A little bit ago, the woman across the isle from me started throwing up into a bag. Her husband was holding her hair. It’s so cute and disgusting at the same time. They then moved to the seat behind me and I think she is still throwing up. I’m feeling fine, but if I get a whiff of it I might take a turn to sickville. Reminds me of France when Rachel Roy threw up in a bag in the seat in front of me and I almost puked from the smell… Enough about that. I’m just glad to be on the bus.

Two hours later on the bus… Not glad to be on the bus, eight screaming Chinese people. I have no idea what is going on, but they appear to be arguing about the price. This is a funny culture. Now there is a random guy that came on the bus and is yelling. Now we’re back on the road. This bus lady is mad!

I am now at the orphanage and it is very interesting. There 88 kids that live here and they range from toddlers to 16 years olds. Essentially, it is not an orphanage, but more of a year round subsidized boarding school. Local families that can’t afford to raise their children have them live here 10 months out of the year. An American Christian NPO subsidizes it. It seems to work out for the children.

I might also add that I am the only person here that can speak English fully. There are three other people that know some, but every conversation involves a little explaining and gesturing.

Being in China is really making me realize just how good Americans, and westerners in general have it. Some of the things that I complain about at home are just petty selfish banterings. I hope once I become reacclimated to the states I can think back to how I feel now. It’s so easy to get caught up in the world around you. It’s now past midnight and I need to get some sleep so I can keep up with these kids tomorrow.

Oh and I’m really craving Rudy’s BBQ right now!

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Goodbye Yangshou, I'll Miss You! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Today is my final day in Yangshou. I will catch a bus at 7 tomorrow morning and head off to Hunan Province. When Chris left it was kind of a bummer just because it is nice to travel with someone, and he was a great wingman. Now that I am leaving it’s a little sad. I like Yangshou, and though these last few days have been filled with late nights and early mornings, I could easily get into a healthy routine here. I’m not sure how Monkey Jane does it. She meets all these travelers and then they leave only to be replaced by a new group. It’s not a life I envy. At least now days we have online networking to keep in contact with people. That being said, I am excited to get up to Hunan and meet some new people. C’est la vie!

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Battered and Bruised, but Not Beaten - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

To start where I left off yesterday, rock climbing was pretty amazing. Our group consisted of Lee, Vicky, James, Hollie, and myself. The guys at X Climbers in Yangshou were very helpful. They set up two ropes for us with a few different routes for each rope. My favorite part of climbing is when you are completely out of strength and some how dig deep down and make it up.

Lee had a bit of troubles his first climb since he has a big build and has never climbed. The first time he fell, Happy, the guide and person belaying him launched up about six or seven feet. After that we always anchored him down. After a few more climbs Lee seemed to get the hang of it and did much better.

I am sore today and I think Hollie and I may go get massages later.

So after climbing we got cleaned up and went to Lucy’s for dinner. As always, it was delicious. Next we went to Monkey Jane’s and watched some of the World cup and played some beer pong. Hollie and I won four of five games. I had to adapt my taunts from America to North America seeing how Hollie is Canadian.

Today has been pretty lazy and I am starting to get ready to go to Hunan Sunday. Staying at Monkey Jane's again tonight...

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

[gallery]

USA USA USA!!!! and england... - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Sweet mother of Mary! I am excited that the US won their game last night. We had a lot of chances to score, and finally made it. I screamed like I have never screamed before. That would have been fine, but I was one of two people yelling, and I am pretty sure I looked like an idiot.  I didn’t care, we won!

Also, a shout out to Brit Chris and his country’s win. We’re both going through buddy!

So yesterday morning we woke up at the house in the village. It was a great morning and the sun was shining. I walked around and took some pictures of the house for Isabella. I felt fine after all the bijou, but Lee was not doing so well. Just a reminder, he drank more bijou than I thought possible the night before.  He got up and got breakfast. After him, Vicky, and myself went for a walk. Lee was hurting pretty good the whole time. He made a couple mad dashes for the bushes. Poor fella getting bullied into drinking bijou. After our walk I took care of some editing and took it easy.

Around three, we left for the town to attend more festivities. On the way it started pouring down rain. We decided it would be best just to get back to Yangshou, so we  got a taxi back. The afternoon was fairly uneventful up until the game.

Today, I am going to do more rock climbing. I feel much better today then I did Tuesday when I went.
Not a bad dinner. Notice all the cups with red liquid, BIJOU!!!
Lee and his drinking partner. Both drunk at that point. Don't worry, it truly is part of the culture.

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Kate and Katie's Excellent Adventure -- Turf

Beach behind, jungle ahead.

To get to the Costa Rican rain forest, we rode for eight hours on a cramped, sweaty bus made for people under 5'2."  Sore and cranky, we unloaded in the underwhelming town of Santa Elena.  

 

Although only 5 kilometers from the nearest rain forest, Santa Elena is a dry, dusty town void of character.  It is a place where low-quality, over-priced restaurants and tourist shops with identical inventories compete for leases and everyone speaks English--just brimming with local flavor.

Eager to get out of Santa Elena and see the jungle, Katie and I scheduled a canopy zip-line tour.  Two hours later, we had our hard hats buckled, and our belts strapped at uncomfortable and unflattering angles. 

Katie was a natural, but I needed a few warm up runs.  The zip line "guides" were no help with their mischievous pranks.  From all corners of the world, each guide came to Costa Rica to work/play on the zip lines all day.

But as it turns out, taking groups of  uncoordinated tourists on the same metal wires ten times a day gets boring quickly.  To entertain themselves, the boys would do flips onto the zip line, ride upside down, or pretend to hit you.  Even though our guides were bored, and probably mocking us in a modgepodge of languages, Katie and I had a howling good time (once I learned how to use the brake). 

Between zip lines, we hiked through the forest, pointed at plants that seemed like they'd be important to botanists, and watched for wildlife.  We heard the howler monkeys, then we saw them!  The two monkeys were hooting and hollering, chatting away while climbing in and out of our sight.

After 16 zip lines and a "superman" finale, Katie and I retired our flight gear and headed back to Santa Elena to eat pizza and sleep.

The next morning, we took advantage of the hostel's free "buffet" breakfast, packed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, laced up our sneakers and set off for the Waterfalls.  The walk was a lot longer--and steeper--than we expected.   The hike that we estimated would be 10 miles round trip, easily became 15 miles with a few wrong turns.

On the way, we passed fields and forests, and took many wrong turns.  At one point, we walked down a dirt road in the general direction of the waterfalls and were stopped by the foaming mouth and burning eyes of a vicious guard dog.  For a little guy, he had a big attitude.

We backed away cautiously, only to encounter two more dogs in our path.  Katie kept a tenacious grip on my arm--the only thing that kept me from running.  We stood there shaking, trying to back away calmly.  The angry dogs followed us until we got to the main road.  With the little monsters out of sight, I laughed nervously while my eyes roamed the road for a taxi.  

No taxis passed, but we did come across a man walking with his horse.  He said that we were getting close, and had only a few more kilometers to go.   We walked over streams and through woods until we came to a sign for the waterfalls.  Three more miles.  Damn it.   

Finally, we reached the San Luis waterfalls.  The falls seemed to pour straight out of the sky.  Far from snapping jaws and private property, Katie and I relaxed (or rather, fumbled) on the rocks and swam in the icy spring water.   The respite would have been lovely if we didn't have the 8 mile-uphill trek back to ponder. 

On our last day in Santa Elena, Katie and I got up early to lead the line of tourists to the Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve.  In this forest, we followed scrawling trails in search of elusive quetzals, waterfalls, and hanging bridges. 

Since we skimped on the tour guide, we missed out on most of the wildlife, but we found a few lizards and many a picturesque landscape on our own.  

Hanging bridge across the continental divide

Are we in the jungle or the secret garden?

Katie, finding her roots.  Si que huevos!

Between seas and trees, Katie and I had a great time exploring Latin America together.  We are planning our next trip, post-grad school--time and resources allowing.  Anyone up for a little ramble through Southeast Asia?

Great Walls of China!!! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Captain’s log, 22^nd of June, 2010

We got back into Yangshou yesterday afternoon and it was good to be back in a familiar place. That is one thing that I like to have when I travel, just a place that slightly feels like home. After getting the group settled in at Monkey Jane’s, I went back to the school to drop my bags off. I was also the owner of a new Monkey Jane’s T-shirt, which I got for referring people. It actually got ruined today, but that’s a whole other story.

After dropping my stuff off, I went back to the hostel to pick up the group. We went to Lucy’s, as usual. It was amazing, as usual. I had the crispy duck and sweet and sour pork, as usual.

This morning I had to wake up early and go rock climbing. Not a bad thing, but I had stayed up late and watched football the night before. It was good for the first few climbs, but then I fell and the harness caught me pretty roughly. My stomach became upset and I came down off the wall. Then, I ran off into the bushes and puked. A little embarrassing, but it happens. The Chinese love to drink and though it can be great, at time it can be too much. After climbing I went back to the dorm and had to figure out how the shower worked. I finally figured it out and cleaned up!

I went to Monkey Jane’s and picked up my buddies. Hollie and James cancelled on us to go to Guangcheng, which was a bit disappointing. Lee and Vicky came with me and it had been pretty crazy thus far. Right now we’re headed back to the village. We had dinner with some local politicians. It was another rice wine fest. Good Lord! That is all I have to say. We saw a few temples that I had already seen. Then we went to dinner and had a full cup of bijou the whole time.  It was very rough, but Lee hung in there and drank a whole lot. I swapped to beer, or pijou . After a wonderful dinner, we went out on the town. I had a pretty good interview with a local TV station. I am a star in China!

Tomorrow is a festival here where they celebrate the birthday of a great warrior. We will go in the  morning to the town and watch whatever it is to watch, but we are the guests of honors, so that is awesome! They even offered to let me carry the statue of the warrior, but I didn’t feel that would be appropriate. Awesome trip! China is Amazing!!!

Goodbye Guilin, Goodbye Brit Chris - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Last day in Guilin. Actually, we’re leaving about 1 or 2, so it’s not even a full day. After the rain slowed up a bit yesterday, we went back to the mall to watch Shanghai with John Cusack. I’m not sure I would have picked him for that part, but he did a good enough job I guess.

Before the movie, we went back to the arcade. It got a little ridiculous. We were on a mission to win tickets so we could buy stupid crappy prizes. It was all about the fans. The fan I won had mugs of beer on it. It’s pretty awesome! We also went back on the bumper cars and I thought Lee about knocked some younger girl out. He hit her straight on. It was pretty amazing, and quite possibly the funniest thing I saw all day. Those Chinese kids are resilient.

After the movie we went back to the hostel to regroup. We met a Canadian girl, Holly, and her English friend, James. They were really cool, so we invited them to go to the Irish bar with us. It was a great addition to our little group. Nothing to speak of at the Irish pub. Just watched the game and headed back to the hostel and watched the next game in our room.

Now it’s morning and I’m leaving Chris here when I go back to Yangshou. He’ll hop on a plane to Mongolia tonight. I have been really lucky to have him on my program here. We were talking about it this morning and both of our trips would have been drastically different without the other.

Now I have to get ready to catch a bus.

Also, my Dad pointed out that I had a sentence that just ended in a previous post that didn't make sense and a misused "than" or "then." Sorry for that, but I can't find it in the blog to change it.

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Guilin Noodles - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Saturday was a little bitter sweet. The girls left in the morning pretty early. I barely woke up to say goodbye. They just got kind of a grunt and wave out of me.

Chris and I ended up hanging out with our new English friends, Vicky and Lee. For lunch we went to McDonalds and I had a chicken sandwich. It was alright, but it’s still fast food. After lunch we went to the underground market that is under the main square in Guilin. It was my second time visiting and it was still strange as ever. Chris tried to bargain with an old woman for a shirt, but that didn’t work out for him.

We all went back to the hostel and I took a short nap. Everyone was feeling a little bogged down yesterday from the night before, so we decided to try and see a movie. Some Canadian kid here at the hostel gave us directions and we hopped on a bus to the mall. When we arrived at the mall, we realized instantly that we had no idea where the theater was and none of the signs were in English. After wandering aimlessly and asking unsuspecting Chinese people, who knew no English, we found what appeared to be a theater. It turned out to be a karaoke thing where you rent rooms for you and all your friends, then sing your heart out. Turned out that it was one floor below the theater, so we headed up stairs. Getting tickets was just as challenging. A nice guy that spoke a little English helped us figure everything out. When he left we found out that he was actually the manager and he was just doing his job. He did however give us 50% off our tickets. The movie that was playing at that time was Prince of Persia (in English). It turned out to be pretty good stuff. We were the only white people in the theater, so I guessed that a lot of the viewers were reading a lot of subtitles. This was evident when we would laugh at something, then two seconds later everyone else would at they read the joke.

When the movie was over we went downstairs to the arcade. I haven’t been to an arcade in about 15 or 20 years. The best part was the bumper cars. At one point Chris and Lee, who used to be a rugby player, played chicken. No one turned and when they hit, I’m pretty sure Chris’ car came off the ground. In total, I spent about $3 US. Not too bad for 45 minutes of sheer childish bliss.

When we came out of the arcade, it was pouring down rain. We ran to a bar a few doors down and hopped inside for a beer. As soon as we walked in, it was like in the movie Animal House when they walk into the “black” bar. With the exception of them being Chinese and not black. Also we’re giants compared to most of them.

When the rain let up we tried to get a taxi back to the hostel, which is across from the train station.  Like always, no English. I tried to act like a train and the driver thought I wanted “boom boom.” I guess my late 1800’s style train reenactment has a lot of pelvic thrusting involved. Finally, the driver pulled out a map. I don’t know why he didn’t do that right away. It took me about two seconds to point at the train station.

When we arrived back at the hostel, we picked up some Guilin noodles and pot stickers… So good! That was about it for my night.

Just a heads up, I left my external hard drive in Yangshou, so I won’t be putting up many picture on Flickr until tomorrow.

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

USA!!! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Got back to Guilin yesterday. It is nice to be back in civilization. I’m not ready to move out into the country and become a recluse. We’ll save that for later in life. Our new friend we met the first night in the rice terraces was on the same bus and sat next to me. His name is Thomas and he is from Ohio, but lives in San Luis Obispo, California. SLO is one of my favorite areas in California. He decided the stay in Guilin last night rather that go back to Yangshou. We went to dinner around 7, and after secretly getting everyone lost, I found my way to where we wanted to go. When we got to the restaurant, there were a couple of French girls that sat next to us. They sat in front of me on the bus from Yangshou to Guilin on Wednesday. I tried to explain this to them in French because they didn’t speak English. It ended up becoming a little awkward. They had no idea what I was trying to say. They had a guy with them on the bus that was also French and that is how I knew where they were from. They didn’t know that and I’m pretty sure I was just some strange American trying to speak broken French to them. For the World Cup game we went to an Irish bar. Things got a little crazy. The US game was second. We played Slovenia I think. It ended up being 2-2, but the US went into the second half with 0, so it was pretty sweet that they came back to draw. Two other Brits and a Dutchy from the hostel met with us and watched the games. They ended up being really cool and made a great addition to Chris, Amanda, Thomas, and me. After the US game, Amanda and I ventured out and tried to find some food. What we found was a group of 15, 40 something year olds that were having a sort of class reunion. Ken spoke the best English, and when we sat down, they ordered a crate of beer. They thought Amanda was my girlfriend and wanted to know how to get such beautiful girlfriends. I told them they had to come to Texas, or get a lot of money and buy them. It was actually a great experience. They all had their shirts off, and insisted that I do the same. I did… They had a bowl full of horse meat and I really wish I had been in the mood to try it. After missing out on the horse steak in Iceland, I have really wanted to try it. I think the horse is much better in Iceland though. Amanda and I eventually broke away from them and made our way back to the Irish pub. Upon our return we were greeted with popcorn because we had all ordered more than 24 beers. I guess that is pretty awesome, free stuff! At 2:30 AM, England play Algeria. Amanda and I ended up falling asleep on the booth cushions, only to be woken by random screaming from the Brits. After the game we took a taxi back to the hostel. On the way back I had to listen to them complain about why they should have won. They ended up drawing 0-0. Good stuff!

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Flashback - 4/16/10 - Hell on Earth - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa

After dinner Zach, the Watoto Wa Baraka orphanage manager, and I had a conversation about the hardships some of the kids went through to get to Watoto Wa Baraka. The more I get to know the staff and the orphanage, the more I realize the significant impact it will have on these children's lives. Watoto Wa Baraka litterally saved some of the kids from death. Each child has a story as to how they got to Watoto Wa Baraka. They are all heartbreaking, but one in particular rattled my faith.

In 2008 the country was in the middle of a tribal and political warfare. More than 200 people of the Kikuyu tribe took shelter in a local church expecting the enemy would not attack in God's home. Unfortunately, they were dead wrong, literally. One woman that was burned to death was a single mom raising an 11 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. Thank God the kids were not in the area during the attack, but they suffered the consequences severely. For more than three days the two children waited for their mother to come home. They were left to fend for themselves and eventually ran out resources, food and shelter. These two children were one of the first to call Watoto Wa Baraka home.

The girl turned 14 this year, and is a leader at Watoto Wa Baraka. She settles the kids down after dinner so they can read bible scripture, she studies while the other kids play, she takes care of the younger kids and out of the all the kids in the orphanage she has the biggest smile and the most intoxicating laugh.

As you read the story think about all the petty things our government fights over. All the verbal attacks from Democrats to Republicans and from Republicans to Democrats, and now the Tea Party. No matter how bad Jon Stewart or Glenn Beck think things are, they just simply are not.



GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

80 children massacred in church fire

Again With the Rain China - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

So we’re getting to the end of the first leg of this journey. Much of the experiences that I have had up to this point will be great memories for the rest of my life, or until get Alzheimer’s. We were asked what our favorite moments were last night at dinner. My answer was pretty vague because it’s all been a blast. Something that Chris and I keep going back to is that if you’re not happy in your life at home, you’ll have troubles being happy abroad. We have seen some of that on this trip and it appears to be true. Chris and I both speak very fondly of our homes and friends, and we’re having a all the time here.

I do see myself in Europe over China, but I guess I’m okay going anywhere in the world for work. I just want to get some international experience.

So we’re leaving the bus station now and it is pretty crazy that these buses maneuver like they do. We’re going down the road with 2 buses to our right and one to the left and it appears to be very chaotic, but we seem to get to where we are going fine. A guy just went up to the bus driver’s window and talked to him for a moment, then grabbed a crate off the back of his bike full of some kind of small birds and put it under the bus in the cargo area. Stuff like that happens all the time here. Just so many things that you think to yourself, “what the hell just happened?” I love it!

Later that day…

We’re in a small village now that is home to the Yao minority and tomorrow we are going trekking through the rice paddies. It’s interesting here. When we arrived there were a slew of woman trying to carry our bags for us. They just wanted our money. When we got to the hotel we were greeted by more of these woman.  This time they were trying to sell us scarves. I’m not in the market for a scarf seeing as it’s hot and rainy right now. They kept bugging Amanda because she was wearing a scarf. Before dinner we got our rooms. Ours smells pretty bad, but we have to keep the window open to keep the room cool. The good thing is I don’t see many mosquitoes right now. Hopefully it’ll stay that way.

After dropping off our bags we went for a short walk up the terraces and it was a pretty amazing view.  I’m excited for the hike tomorrow. I’m also hoping the weather is better than it has been in Yangshou. We’re pretty far north of there, so it should be. We’ll see tomorrow. Dinner was great and we even had some local rice wine.  Very surprisingly, it was really good. I thought I hated all rice wine, but not this one.

We played some card games after dinner, and then I edited some photos. We had a kid from Hong Kong and another from California join us. Now I’m in bed and hitting the hay. Gotta wake up early and get my trek on!

Trekking Day 2…

Last night I had troubles getting to sleep on account of the heat. Once I got to sleep I was woken up by the thunder and lightning. Also, by the smell of the pigpen outside my window. Every once in a while the smell would kick up and wake me. It rained a lot last night and our fate today is still uncertain. It still rains. The place we are staying has no power. We will be having a meeting this morning about what to do. Time to eat breakfast.

Actual trekking

Well, we finally made it trekking! We left this morning and it was still raining. Things keep happening right now and it kind of strange. The door sounded like someone was hitting against it earlier and now my bed is shaking…. Maybe this place is haunted??? I forget to mention the rest of the day. We went on a hike after breakfast for a couple hours. On this particular hike, I met a guy that wanted to talk a lot more than I would have liked. The group left me, but I eventually got away and tried to catch up. I ended up going the wrong way and saw the group a few rice terraces above and made my way back to them. Once I met back up with the group we took some pictures on top of a hill. On the way back down I ran back into the talker and he had a snake in a trap, so I took a lot of pictures of that.

-Bed still shaking and fire flies hitting the screen on the window.-

We made our way back down to the hotel and got lunch. After, there was a bit of confusion, and we went on another hike. I got some good pictures of waterfalls. After that trek we got our stuff at the hotel and left for a new village. Dinner was great and they have cable, so we got to watch the world cup! Chris, Amanda, and I played some card games and I took some pictures for a. There was a massive spider and I got some pics of that too.

Now I am in my room and the only thing in English on TV is the Brady bunch movie… Horrible!!!! Goodnight…

Trekking day 3

Well, not really trekking. The night turned out to be not so favorable to some of my fellow travelers. Chris woke up with a very red eye that seems to be hurting him pretty badly. Georgina’s stomach disagreed with dinner and rejected it. Amanda has a cold, probably stemming from going barefoot all yesterday. Our fearless leader, Dorah, has sore shins from yesterday’s hike, but in all fairness, she doesn’t strike me as the hiking type. Julie has to catch a flight tomorrow morning and doesn’t want to get her boots wet because she has to wear them on the plane. Oh, and it was raining again last night, surprise surprise… As for me, I just have damp boots. Not a big deal, but I know after watching countless Vietnam War movies, keeping your feet dry is very important. The air is very damp here, so nothing dries.

The three girls leave tomorrow and Chris leaves Monday. I will go back to Yangshou Monday and then go rock climbing Tuesday and Thursday. The rest of the time I am going to spend working on the 16 page paper that will be due when I get back for my internship.  YAY!

Tonight we will go out to celebrate Julie’s birthday, which isn’t for another week or so. Then after we will watch the World Cup. US and England play tonight at 10 and 2 respectively.

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Las cosas importantes...- by Caroline McCurdy, CE Adviser in Chile

So, in about a month and a week I’ll be on my way to Santiago. Am I jazzed beyond belief? Yes. Am I in any way prepared? Not hardly. I tend to be one of those wait-til-the-last-minute kind of gals, so it’s not surprising that I haven’t done too much. Starting this week, I’m going to try to pick up the pace a little bit though. That "Culture Kit" that Cultural Embrace sent me contained a fairly detailed packing list, gracias a Dios. I’m sure this will be invaluable for someone as disorganized as myself.

I remember that when I was in Spain for 5 months last year, there were some very specific things that I missed terribly from the US (not including my friends and family… that’s a given). Since I only have about a month before I pack up and head off to Chile, I feel the need to make a list of those things so that I can make a point to enjoy them to the fullest before I fly out.

1) Carpet – My Señora in Spain only had tiled floor… and so help me if my feet weren’t cold most of the time. You don’t realize how precious warm feet are until they are taken from you. My sock monkey house slippers just couldn’t compare to some nice warm carpet. I’m not sure what the Chilean policy is on carpet, but I am definitely hoping that they are pro-carpet.

2) Tex-Mex Food – Anyone who has ever had a truly amazing Tex-Mex meal knows what I’m talking about. Sure, Madrid had a few “Tex-Mex” restaurants, but when you’re that far away from the real thing, the authenticity suffers. Now, I’ve not been to Asia (yet), but I’m sure my Tex-Mex problem can be compared to living in China your whole life and then coming to the middle of Texas and having a meal at a “Chinese” restaurant and being served Sweet and Sour Chicken swimming in unnaturally red translucent sauce. Delicious? Yes. Authentic? Probably not… that color of red doesn’t exist in nature. Anyways, Tex-Mex food is something that is near and dear to my heart. I thought about it weekly while in Spain and demanded that my family immediately take me to the closest Tex-Mex restaurant possible once they picked me up from the airport. They did and it was amazing. I’m hoping that since we’re on the same hemisphere, Chile will know a thing or two about some decent Tex-Mex… but if not, está bien… distance only makes the heart grow fonder.

My first Tex-Mex meal back in the States after I left the airport. Sublime.

3) My Weenie Dog – His name is Buddy and he’s the best dog in the world. I know you probably think your dog is pretty awesome, and maybe even the best in the world. However, since you’ve never met Buddy, your ignorance is understandable. His cuteness is only rivaled by his ability to love unconditionally. He’s melted the hearts of many a grown man, and I’m quite confident that no one is immune to his charms. My Señora in Spain didn’t have any pets, but she did have a stuffed turtle named Juanita. Unfortunately, Juanita was not familiar with the art of loving unconditionally. If I’m lucky, my Chilean family will have some sort of pet (hopefully not a bird... I can't handle the squawking). Anything will do really, just something that is lovable enough to lessen the pain of my Buddy withdrawal. At least Buddy has already agreed to Skype with me often…

Two great things in one picture: The Magnificent Buddy and the fantastic carpet from my Grandparent's house.

4) My Car – Don’t get me wrong; I love to walk and, provided that it’s reasonably clean and safe, I’m a big fan of public transportation (global warming and all that…) I didn’t really miss driving during the first few months of being abroad, but I came to find out that there was really no private place for me to belt out singing without there being people nearby to annoy. Bad singing is one of the perks of driving around, although most people don’t consciously recognize its significance. The desire to belt-out only became more painfully strong when I was walking the streets of Madrid while listening to my iPod. Without a car to encapsulate the rocking-out, one runs the risk of blowing the minds of others with sheer talent. Being a visitor to a foreign country, I wasn’t sure of the consequences of mind-blowing, so I refrained from public singing. You can bet that when I got back home to my car (it’s name is Corollatron: by day it’s a mild-mannered Toyota Corolla, by night it’s a Transformer), I used the majority of a tank of gas to perform the highlights from Les Miserables. I’m sure that Chile will pose a similar problem, but I’m not opposed to shower singing if my host family can handle it.

A typical Rock-Out session in the car. Don't worry, I wasn't driving.

Although there were many more things that I found myself missing terribly, these were the most obvious. I’m sure that while I’m down there I’ll start reminiscing over other things that are just as random and I will inevitably talk about them in this blog, so get excited. So, until next time, here’s the philosophical question of the day:

Whose cruel idea was it for the word lisp to have an "s" in it?

-Caroline
Advisor Abroad in Chile

Finally, Climbing!!! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Woke up this morning and rain rain rain!!! Chris and I woke up and got breakfast. I was supposed to go to a traditional Chinese doctor today and have him tell me that I drink too much and eat too much spicy food, but that didn’t happen, on account of the rain. Westerners drink too much according to the Chinese.  After the plans got cancelled, Chris and I went back to the room and he read and I edited photos. That lasted about 5 minutes and we both fell back asleep. We woke up for lunch at 11:30 and were told that climbing was not cancelled… Yay!!!

So we went downtown to the climbing shop and met up with our instructors. We all took a van out to the half cave that we were to climb. Seeing as it rained all morning, most people climbing went to the same spot. When we got there, Alex, our instructor, climbed up a pretty intense spot and clipped in the rope. I went first and got up about 2/3 of the way up. Next went Chris, and he made it almost to where I did. After was Huey and he made it about where I did. Later we learned that was a pretty difficult climb and most experienced climbers didn’t make it past where we were. When Chris was climbing there was an older American guy that showed up. Apparently, he “knows” everything there is to know about climbing, or at least he thought he did. So he started trash talking about Chris. Chris asked what he should do next and the guy said, “go home!” He was quite a dick.

We only climbed two times because it was incredibly tiring. I will go back next week for a few days. It was actually really fun, but since I don’t climb a lot, my strength is pretty much not there.

Tonight Isabella took us out to dinner and it was very good. After dinner we went to a couple Aussie bars. The second had trivia night and my team got second. A little disappointing, but it could have been worse. After trivia, we went to Lucy’s to watch the rest of the Portugal v Ivory Coast game. It was a good game, but ended in a draw.

NEW DAY

Today we woke up and headed to Guilin, where I am now. We are about to leave for the rice terraces as soon as the rain lets up. I won't have internet until Friday, but I am taking my computer, so I can write at night and edit pictures. Friday I should upload a slew of stuff. Until then...

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Rice Terraces or bust! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

I’d like to think that this blog is for the most part an insight into what I am doing here, as well as some feelings that I experience. With that being sad, today is pretty boring. Last night there was a big thunder and lighting storm and we awoke to a good amount of rain this morning. We didn’t have to meet for rock climbing today until 12:30, so I went downtown to pick up some hiking pants and get a quick bite to eat at Lucy’s.

Isabella came downstairs while I was eating and informed me that rock climbing was cancelled because of the rain. I’m really starting to hate the rain and clouds here! Ruined my day! We opted not to make other plans. Mostly because there really isn’t a lot to do here indoors. I used the time to edit some photos and catch up on other random tasks. Hopefully we will be able to climb tomorrow.

Wednesday we will be leaving for Guilin then go to the rice terraces. The weather is supposed to be better up there and I really hope that is the case. We will be hiking for 3 days, so no internet. I will take my computer with me so I can write at night. This weekend I will spend in Guilin. A new group also arrives this Saturday, but I will not be staying with them for long. They will go to Fengyang village and I will be in Yangshou.

I am supposed to rock climb a few days next week, then do tai chi. I may pass on the tai chi and try to do some extra climbing. After that I go to an orphanage for a week in Hunan province, then to Chengdu for my final week with Greenway. After that I am going to Yantai in the central east part of China. It is on the coast, so it will be good to see completely different scenery.

It’s a funny thing, I really like to keep busy all of the time and when I’m not, I get really bored and a little lazy. That being said, time to eat!

Also, my friend, and former girlfriend, Lauren is leaving for Africa in 7 days for the Peace Corps. Good luck to her!!!

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

20 Yaun Bills Y'all!!! - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

I want to start this post with some of the new music that I have downloaded and listening to on my trip…

Miike Snow. He’s from Sweden

Laura Veirs. Very relaxing voice

Crystal Castles. I accidently double clicked buy on I-tunes, and after listening to it a few time I really like it.

Ratatat. Their latest release

Stornoway. A few guys that went to Oxford in England… Very talented!

World Cup time! We went to Lucy’s last night and watched all three games. Argentina probably played the best. US tied with England, which is absolutely amazing! Brit Chris was not happy at all! When we scored he stormed off to the bathroom. In all fairness the ball should not have gone in. Those Brits take their ‘football’ very seriously. It was a lot of fun watching the games, but we had to stay up until 5 in the morning. Today I am extremely tired…

Between games Chris and I walked around and I took some pictures of him. I have wanted to take night portraits so I can practice using my flash. Besides getting harassed by multiple tuck tuck drivers soliciting us for ‘women company,’ it went well. I think I got some good stuff, but we will see.

Today, we all slept in until around 11 because of the late night. After a quick brunch, we went to Xingping and took a bamboo raft ride. It was a lot of fun and the clouds complied and nestled into the hills very nicely. I will let the pictures speak for the boat ride. Basically, we rode out to this island then road back. On the way we saw the scene that is on the back of the 20 Yuan bills.

When we got to the island there were many people waiting to sell us random crap and food. All of the food was out of the river, so I figured I would give it a try. First, I had deep fried shrimp that was good, but I just ate the whole thing, head and all… Apparently, I was supposed to take the head off. Next was baby crabs. They were very crunchy and nothing like the delicious Dungeness from home in Washington. After that I went for the shrimp cakes. They were good too. Finally was fried fish. These really didn’t have much of a flavor. It was like chewing on scales and fish bones, delightful!

Along with the local river food, there were cormorant birds, which fisherman train to hunt fish for them. The one thing that took me by surprise was the massive snake with a shirtless man dancing around with it wrapped around him.

After the island we just rode back in the boat and it was pretty bumpy, but we survived.

On the way home we caught a bus and it was packed like sardines. I sat on a bucket. Right before we left an old man sat next to me. He said something and everyone started to laugh. We had about a 20 minute conversation. He would tell me something and I would say dui, which means okay (not sure on that spelling). People around us thought it was hilarious that we were just going back and forth. They had no idea what I was saying, especially the old man. I ended up giving him a yellow Livestrong bracelet and he gave me a big rotted tooth smile. He was pretty happy about that. It is funny because the Chinese people that I have met really don’t accept gifts very easily, but this old man just grabbed it up and put it on. I was pretty happy about the whole thing. He invited us to his house to have some bijou, which would have been great, but we had to pass unfortunately. Now we’re back and I’m exhausted!

Tomorrow we start rock climbing and I am really excited for that.

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

The picture is a little blurry, but this is the old man.. Sweet guy

Captain's Log- June 11 - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

Still raining... We were suppose to ride bikes out to Dragon Bridge today, but that has been cancelled. We may go this afternoon. It is actually pretty nice because I have to catch up on editing photos. In other news, Percy, our Chinese guide’s grandma is sick and probably not going to make it much longer so he is going home for three weeks. He will leave today and this will be the last time we see him. This means that the trekking week that was planned for next week has been pretty much cancelled. We will still go see the rice terraces, but we will be rock climbing Monday and Tuesday. No complaints from me on that one. I really am just taking everything as it comes on this trip, and I think that is the best attitude to have.

Last night I went downtown to get a better internet connection, which ended up not being the case. After struggling to load any pics, I decided to talk to a few French guys that ended up being tres cool. One of them was named guillaume de Raffin. He was the most French person I have ever seen in my life. They were from Paris and living in Shanghai for 5 months working on a management master's degree.

I was suppose to meet Chris and Amanda there, but they were MIA. Eventually, I went to see if they were at Lucy's and when I walked out I saw them walking towards me. We all went back upstairs and rejoined the French guys. Along with them, there were 3 Irish girls upstairs, so we all moved to one table and had some good conversation. The Irish lasses ordered dessert and I think Chris ate more of it then they did combined.

Chris and Amanda left, but I stayed for a bit longer. The French guys wanted to go to a club and dance. I was pretty tired and said I would pass. They weren’t having it, so I said I would go. While they were paying their bill I used the men’s room and when I came out I told them that a girl had just texted me and I had to go meet up with her. I think they were more excited than I would have been. Just to be clear, there was no text, or girl. There was however a bed waiting for me, and this fictitious girl was an easy way to get out of going to the club. All in all, it was a good night. Now I’m going to edit photos and listen to the new Ratatat album that I downloaded a few days ago. Until then…

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Rain Rain Go Away - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China

The past two days have been pretty tiring. I might even add Monday in there too with the bike ride. Yesterday morning we went to Cherry Blossom Paradise. Unfortunately, the massive amount of rain from the night before made them close the cave. Then again, I have been to two others, so I’m probably not missing out too much.  We took a boat ride around the area and it was fairly interesting. They would drive the boat close to these shacks and they all had different themes. One was a jungle tribe from Hunan Province. It was basically a bunch of 18-year old kids dancing around with animal hides on. It was a little cheesy, but I did get some good pictures there. The cool thing was that they had all these different shops set up with knick-knacks from the minority tribes. After that we went back to the house for lunch.

When we finished eating we took a bus to a small village outside of Yangshou to see hand made silk fans be made. The lady there was very nice and I did want to buy a painting that her father had made, but we were trekking back and I didn’t want to ruin it in my backpack.

The trek back was interesting. It was about 7 or 8 miles on country roads. We also had to cross a river on a boat. Half of the time it was raining, and the rest of the time it was misty. It was really good though, and even though I probably didn’t get many good pictures, it was very beautiful. It is hard to capture a lot of this stuff because you can only use one of your senses when looking at photographs. It has been so cloudy here that it ruins a lot of the pictures. Needless to say, I was exhausted when we got back, and I’m still tired. We ended up going to Lucy’s last night to use the Wi-Fi, but it ended up being pretty slow. I’m downloading Animal House so Chris can see what a real American University is like.

When we got back last night I had a email from Hannah, one of the English girls that was here when I arrived. She is in Tanzania working on a community-building project. It was interesting to hear what she was up to.

Today was a lot of work too. We road bikes out to Moon Hill in the pouring rain. We ended up going to Big Banyan National Park first. It’s basically a tree that has multiple trunks coming out of the ground and joining a massive tree in the middle. It was something I had never seen, but it was pouring as I mentioned so the camera stayed in the bag. We walked across a bridge that had water flowing over the top of it from all the rain that has come down in the past few days. I thought it was a horrible idea, but a lot of people were doing it an they seemed to be making it across fine. Horrible logic in justifying why I could make it across, but I’m here to tell about it.

We had lunch after and it was another typical Chinese lunch. A whole fish, a lot of vegetables, eggplant, rice, and tea. As usual it was good. The best part was just getting indoors and drying off a bit. The woman there gave us directions to Moon Hill and we were off.

Did I mention that our guide, Percy, is horrible with directions and he is always asking other people along the way? It always works out fine in the end. The lady did give us bad directions this time though and we went about a half-mile out of the way. When we got to Moon Hill an older lady who was trying to sell us waters greeted us. We had full bottles so were weren’t looking to buy, but it didn’t stop her from following us the hill, the whole way. It was a hell of a hike and I was really impressed that this lady didn’t even break a sweat. She said that she was a farmer and pointed out her farm from the top of the hill. When we got up there it was very impressive to learn that there are 16 different climbing routes over the archway.  Moon hill is essentially a 150-foot open arch at the top of a hill. I was proud to learn that the first person to make it over was in fact an American. Not surprising! It started to rain pretty hard again on the way down, so the steps were pretty slippery. When we got down I slipped the old lady 10 Yuan, which isn’t even a dollar, but I think she really appreciated it.

The bike ride back was good. We took a different route through the countryside and it rained off and on. It was quite stunning as usual…

When we got back to Yangshou, we were riding through town and I looked over to see a guy fishing a man's wallet out of his pocket with a pair of chop sticks. He got it and turned around then ducked into an alley. I really wasn't sure what was going on until after the fact. I thought the two of them were friends just messing around. I kind of feel bad that I didn't go back and point the guy out. They were both Chinese, and I thought it was funny that the guy would target another Chinese person.

Now we’re back and I’m showered, and exhausted…

Chris- Adviser Abroad China

Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com

www.flickr.com/photos/cschave

Flashback - 04/15/2010 - Dog Bites - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa

Today Priscilla and I took a trip to a private hospital, Don Bosco, to help one of the sponsored girls, Mary. Mary was bitten by a rabid dog on her leg three days ago (April 12) and hasn't received any medical attention. The reason she has not been to the hospital is not because her mother is neglectful, but because they don't have money to pay for the immunizations. The good news is that the orphanage pays for the sponsored kids medical needs. Mary and her mother walked five miles (10 miles round trip) to the hospital, and have to make that hike four more times over the next two weeks to complete the immunization. I am not a doctor, but I am certain walking 10 miles to and from a hospital with the excruciating pain and numbness in your leg from a dog bite is no walk in the park.

Makes you appreciate the things we take for granted, like immunization shots.

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Flashback - 04/16/2010 - Shaking Hands, Kissing Babies - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa

Erick and I spent five hours in the field today visiting some of the kids sponsored by the orphanage. It was hot, treacherous, and fun! All the kids we pass along the way run behind yelling "Mzungo!Mzungo!Mzungo! How are you?" Then they run up smiling and giggling to touch my hand. It is delightful to see pure bliss from a simple wave, hand shake and respond to their greeting in Swahili "Haburi Yako! Jina langu ni Tracy. Jina yako ni?" (How are you? My name is Tracy. What is your name?). Once we get past the formalities, we hold hands and skip down the path as far as they can go.

Have you skipped with anyone today?

GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.

Kate and Katie's Excellent Adventure -- Surf

Since a week of bliss in Belize wasn't enough relaxation for me, Katie Dowd and I started our epic  adventure at the beach.  We beach-hopped from Costa Rica to Panama before heading towards the jungle.  First stop: Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.

On the south eastern Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, Katie and I rented bikes and rode up and down the long, hot, and humid coastline until we found a seemingly uninhabited beach: Punta Uva.

We looked up and down the coastline and there was no one in sight. We were thrilled to have our own private beach until we saw warnings posted on the coconut trees.  Apparently looters and thieves also enjoy sand in their toes, wind in their hair and a casual lurk in the woods.  Who can blame them?  For fear of losing our beloved digital cameras, we took turns in the ocean and vowed not to fall asleep.

But of course, we slipped into sun-infused comas.  We woke up abruptly, not to looters rustling the bushes, but to chunks of sand pelting our faces.  Two huge grey beasts were thigh deep in sand tunnels with no regard for our presence.  As we stood up and gathered our things, the identical dogs looked at us curiously before galloping into the waves.

The combination of sun, salt, and a long, sweaty bike ride sucked up all of our energy and we were ready for bed by an undisclosed, embarrassingly early hour.  To avoid the gringo-hunting mosquitoes, we bathed in repellent and wrapped ourselves in gauzy nets.   In our little cocoons we slept, dreaming of our next stop: Bocas del Toro, Panama.

We hopped on a local bus at 6 am and made our way to Panama.  Customs was...shall I say lax?  The bus dropped us by a decrepit bridge.  We looked around for a building, a sign—anything—but all that lay ahead was a long, narrow bridge.  We followed other passengers over the patchwork of wooden planks, minding the gaping holes that led to the river of phlegm below. 

On the other side of the bridge there were more taxi solicitors than border patrols.  We presented our passports to a tiny little man in a tiny little office and moved along.  After a few minutes of unbearable harassment form the taxi men and no signs of local transport, we agreed to accept a ride to the boat launch, an hour away.  We drove through/around/below/over hundreds of acres of banana plantation before we reached the dock.  From there, we were quickly shuttled into a lancha, or water taxi, that chugged along until we reached Bocas del Toro.

The first two days in Bocas del Toro were beautiful: sunshine, white sand, jade water, etc.  We took water taxis to far away, deserted islands and tanned our hides.  But too soon, our luck turned.  By day three, Katie and I were stuck in the hostel with nothing to do except play poker and drink.  So that we did.  Thanks to my unreadable poker face and a little bit of luck, I won the first round of poker, emasculated the men in the hostel, took their money, and went out on the town.

In a nearby hostel, Mondo Taitu, there was a hopping bar, free hookah bongs, lots of travelers and tropical drinks.  Katie and I had a few too many Cuba Libres and spent most of the next day in bed, not missing much except for more rain.

On the third day of rain, we joined a snorkeling tour with our witty, charming, and may I dare say, adorable, English friend, Simon.   Simon rivals Nick for "favorite person met while traveling." He had the same kind of modest, unassuming nature with an open mind and a great accent.  So, yes, on our last day in Bocas we went snorkeling. In the rain. It was terrible. 

Cold, miserable, and more than a little bit pissed at Panamanian weather, we hung our suits to dry and gave up on the beach.  Next stop: Cloud Forest.