Today was pretty exciting. We started off getting our bikes ready after breakfast. Before we left it started raining, so change of plans. We ended up taking the bus to downtown and caught another bus to some caves that were about 15 minutes out of town. All of the caves that I’ve been to here have these crazy neon lights that make all my pictures crap. Don’t get me wrong the, the caves are absolutely amazing. I think they could just turn it down a notch. I did get some good group shots though, so I am happy about that.
When we got back it was time for lunch. We were supposed to go to another ancient town after, but that was cancelled for reasons unknown to me. We decided to head out to a small beach outside of town on the Li River. We road bikes there and mine was a little less than I am used to in the quality department. It turned to be pretty beautiful. We went for a swim even though I was very apprehensive. Other people were there swimming and they seemed to be fine. I’m always cautious about the pollution here. The water turned out to be great, and we ended up playing card games for a couple hours.
On the way back Hughie had a flat tire and my chain kept falling off. The others road back with out us and we slowly made our way back to the school. After dinner we headed downtown and I got a pizza. I wasn’t really in the mood for rice and veggies tonight, so I just had a small plate at the school. It started raining pretty much right as we left to catch the bus and well, it’s still raining.
Chris and I met a couple at the pizza place and they were originally from Miami, but have been working in the Philippines for the past two years. She was basically a diplomat, but it’s a program that only sends people to embassies in developing countries. We all talked for a while then they went over to Mimosa’s with us to hang out. We also met a group that was at Monkey Jane’s Saturday. They had spent the day climbing, so we all sat together chatting. After talking for a while Chris left and it was just myself and the couple there. They wanted me to show them how to use their SLR camera. I sat with them for about 45 minutes going over all sorts of stuff. I’m to the point that if you don’t have an interest in shooting in other than auto, don’t buy an SLR. Just get a really nice point and shoot. My parent’s for example just purchased a Canon G11 which is a great user friendly camera that takes amazing pictures… Just a little advice. For the record, the did want to learn. After that, the two Swedes met up with me and we got Chris on the way home at the internet café. We walked back in pouring rain. Now there is thunder and lighting, and I’m going to bed…
Chris- Adviser Abroad China
Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com
www.flickr.com/photos/cschave
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
What Did I Just Eat? - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China
Last night escalated fairly fast. It was technically Chris’ birthday even though we had already celebrated the night prior. We had dinner at the school, which is cooked by the same cook that was at the house in Fengyang. She is very nice, but we eat a lot of the same things. Eggs and rice for breakfast almost everyday. Regardless, I can’t complain too much because it’s included in this and already paid for.
After dinner Percy brought out a cake for Chris and we sang happy birthday to him.
Then we headed downtown to go to a place called Mimosa’s. It is a little restaurant that has a large couch upstairs and a plasma TV to watch movies on. We brought along the new girl, Amanda, who flew in this weekend from Africa. She was in Kenya for nine months, but she is from Sweden. The others were going to meet up later. Long story short, we never made it to Mimosa’s. We got stopped by Monkey Jane’s cousin who works at the hostel. She was at Lucy’s, a restaurant a few doors down from Mimosa’s. I had met Lucy a couple times before and she is a really nice lady. She invited us to stay for a beer, and that turned into more. We ended up staying there for the evening and were joined by Hughie from the program, and a random Dutch couple whom I invited to come sit with us. The first time that we came to Yangshou I had the crispy duck at Lucy’s, so I told anyone that walked by and looked at the menu that they should get the crispy duck. I think around five or six people got it, so Lucy gave me a free beer and said I could come back and bring people in any time.
Chris went to an internet café, so Amanda and I walked back to the school after waiting for the bus for about 10 minutes only to realize that the bus stops at 9. It isn’t that far of a walk, but when we got back the gate was closed the school. Next thing I knew Amanda was on the other side of the gate. After I jumped it I looked up to see what appeared to be a guard with a large automatic weapon. It may have been a bb gun or something meant to look scary. I just said “ni hao” and kept walking. Amanda didn’t so him, so now I am questioning my sanity a little. I’m pretty sure I saw it though.
This morning we woke up and ate here, then hopped on a bus to catch another bus to go to an Huongyao ancient village. It is over 1000 years old. After waiting for a while, a large, bright pink bus drove up. We were all under the impression that this bus ride would be around a half hour or so. It ended up being two hours each way. I felt fine all morning until we got to some very bumpy roads. I started to feel a bit car sick and after the fact, Julie, one of the Brits, told me that I was ghost white and was looking pretty rough. Reminded me of a family vacation to California. I don’t want to go into details, but let’s just say I got spaghetti from the backseat to the front windshield in vomit form. Nothing like that happened luckily and I tried to sleep.
Once we got to the village, which now has a larger town built next to it, we got lunch. The menu was not in English, so I tried to just say chicken, beef and rice. Then Julie recognized a symbol for “people” that had the numbers 6-8 in front of it. We ordered that and it ended up being a feast. The more interesting dishes were very small fried fish, which were a little too strong for my stomach after the ride, and the other dish was what looked like kidneys, livers, and maybe some kind of esophagus. All from a chicken I think. The kidneys weren’t too bad, but they were in a strange sauce with vegetables. My favorite dish was the black bean chicken. It was actually very good. After being about 10 minutes late for the tour, we entered the village.
It was pretty interesting. I took around 375 pictures of which I edited 74 tonight. I guess the photos can speak for the village, but some parts were pretty breathtaking. The mountains around the village are pretty amazing. The Chinese people in the area were very nice. An old man pointed me down a road for a better shot when he walked by and saw me taking pictures. It was a lot of walking and I am exhausted. The internet is back on here, but it is pretty slow at night, so I will do what I can to keep up.
I’m pretty sure I am sleeping on a box spring of a mattress set. Maybe someone should inform the school that that is meant to go under a nice, cushiony mattress… In other news, I’m growing out the mustache. Might take a while for that to start showing up in pictures…Until next time…
Chris- Adviser Abroad China
Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com
www.flickr.com/photos/cschave
After dinner Percy brought out a cake for Chris and we sang happy birthday to him.
Then we headed downtown to go to a place called Mimosa’s. It is a little restaurant that has a large couch upstairs and a plasma TV to watch movies on. We brought along the new girl, Amanda, who flew in this weekend from Africa. She was in Kenya for nine months, but she is from Sweden. The others were going to meet up later. Long story short, we never made it to Mimosa’s. We got stopped by Monkey Jane’s cousin who works at the hostel. She was at Lucy’s, a restaurant a few doors down from Mimosa’s. I had met Lucy a couple times before and she is a really nice lady. She invited us to stay for a beer, and that turned into more. We ended up staying there for the evening and were joined by Hughie from the program, and a random Dutch couple whom I invited to come sit with us. The first time that we came to Yangshou I had the crispy duck at Lucy’s, so I told anyone that walked by and looked at the menu that they should get the crispy duck. I think around five or six people got it, so Lucy gave me a free beer and said I could come back and bring people in any time.
Chris went to an internet café, so Amanda and I walked back to the school after waiting for the bus for about 10 minutes only to realize that the bus stops at 9. It isn’t that far of a walk, but when we got back the gate was closed the school. Next thing I knew Amanda was on the other side of the gate. After I jumped it I looked up to see what appeared to be a guard with a large automatic weapon. It may have been a bb gun or something meant to look scary. I just said “ni hao” and kept walking. Amanda didn’t so him, so now I am questioning my sanity a little. I’m pretty sure I saw it though.
This morning we woke up and ate here, then hopped on a bus to catch another bus to go to an Huongyao ancient village. It is over 1000 years old. After waiting for a while, a large, bright pink bus drove up. We were all under the impression that this bus ride would be around a half hour or so. It ended up being two hours each way. I felt fine all morning until we got to some very bumpy roads. I started to feel a bit car sick and after the fact, Julie, one of the Brits, told me that I was ghost white and was looking pretty rough. Reminded me of a family vacation to California. I don’t want to go into details, but let’s just say I got spaghetti from the backseat to the front windshield in vomit form. Nothing like that happened luckily and I tried to sleep.
Once we got to the village, which now has a larger town built next to it, we got lunch. The menu was not in English, so I tried to just say chicken, beef and rice. Then Julie recognized a symbol for “people” that had the numbers 6-8 in front of it. We ordered that and it ended up being a feast. The more interesting dishes were very small fried fish, which were a little too strong for my stomach after the ride, and the other dish was what looked like kidneys, livers, and maybe some kind of esophagus. All from a chicken I think. The kidneys weren’t too bad, but they were in a strange sauce with vegetables. My favorite dish was the black bean chicken. It was actually very good. After being about 10 minutes late for the tour, we entered the village.
It was pretty interesting. I took around 375 pictures of which I edited 74 tonight. I guess the photos can speak for the village, but some parts were pretty breathtaking. The mountains around the village are pretty amazing. The Chinese people in the area were very nice. An old man pointed me down a road for a better shot when he walked by and saw me taking pictures. It was a lot of walking and I am exhausted. The internet is back on here, but it is pretty slow at night, so I will do what I can to keep up.
I’m pretty sure I am sleeping on a box spring of a mattress set. Maybe someone should inform the school that that is meant to go under a nice, cushiony mattress… In other news, I’m growing out the mustache. Might take a while for that to start showing up in pictures…Until next time…
Chris- Adviser Abroad China
Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com
www.flickr.com/photos/cschave
Forgot to post - by Chris Schave, CE Adviser in China
Saturday…
Oh Yangshou… How I love you! We arrived last night and are spending the weekend at Monkey Jane’s. It is a hostel that has a bit of a reputation. It is the perfect place to spend Chris’ birthday weekend. Last we went to dinner at a western style place and I had a veggie burger, which is strange. I have stopped craving a steak, though the thought of going vegetarian has not crossed my mind. Maybe I’ll just cut back my American size portions when I get back to the states.
When we got back to Monkey Jane’s we just hung out at the roof top bar here. Most of the people here are from England and are on the same circuit as Chris. They sure like their drinking. I also met a couple of American girls from Georgia. They are veterinarians here studying something to do with rabies. It was pretty funny. One of the Brits was pretty into one of them, and then I pointed out that she was married. He was pretty devastated. Poor bloke.
Today, we woke up and went on a walking adventure around the town. We found some interesting sites. I’ll let the photos do the talking.
I have just tried uploading pictures to my computer and realized that the format I shot in (raw) will not work in my editing software, so I now have to download a trial copy of Photoshop to convert them into jpeg’s. It’s a pain, but I gotta do it. If anyone has any better ideas, let me know. Otherwise I’m going back to shooting straight jpeg’s.
I have just been taken a bit off guard. A white girl just walked in and is speaking fluent Chinese. That would be nice. I’m learning a little, but the phrase dinner is ready is not very helpful.....
Sunday
This weekend has turned out to be pretty fun. We made some friends at the hostel and hung out at Monkey Jane’s last night. We got our rooms at the school yesterday and they are okay. The place we’re staying at is a boarding school for middle school kids. Yesterday, when we got here Chris and I took the soccer ball out to the field and they actually have goals set up. The only thing is the grass is pretty long on the main field, so we used the short field, which was probably better seeing as Chris and I aren’t in the best shape compared to these kids. We played a pick up game with some boys and they were actually pretty good. We beat them pretty bad though.
The Chinese people really value community and it is interesting to see how that comes across in everything. At one point I slipped on some mud and they stopped play and gave us the ball back. They have to keep the harmony. We were told that they really don’t have contact sports here and after yesterday I can kind of see why. It was a lot of fun though.
After that we went back to the hostel and got ready for the evening. For the second hostel in a row, our shower was a little messed up, but they had western toilets, so that was a good thing. Crouching over a hole in the floor is very uncomfortable to say the least. I think we might stay there again next weekend.
Around 8 we met up with some of the people that we had hung out with the night before. I ended up being the center of attention for 5 or so Chinese girls that just wanted me to pronounce words for a while. They also wanted to inform me of the stereotypes that they had about Americans. Basically, it was that we are fat, arrogant, whores, who flaunt our money. I told them that besides the fat part, they were pretty spot-on. But then they kept asking me how much my car costs and how big my apartment is. Basically, making me sound arrogant, but they were the ones asking. They also said that we like to start wars for no reason. I told them that maybe the reasons that some people justified the war aren’t good, but when genocide is happening to a minority group someone should step in. They had no idea who the Kurds were. They then said that it was still none of our business what happens in another country. I then pointed out that other countries got involved when the Nazis were exterminating Jewish people. They said that was different, and I told them the scale may be different, but it was the same premise. I asked them how they would like to be a minority group and a larger government started killing their family. Would they like another country to step in and help them? Eventually I got them to stop talking about it.
I hate talking politics with people abroad, but it is very interesting to see how censored the news is here. I’m not saying that US news is good because I think for the most part it is biased garbage, but we have access to other news sources. One thing that I find to be incredibly funny is how they feel about their government blocking certain websites. They think it is a good thing that the government doesn’t want to have a lot of western influence all at once. Which kind of makes sense in a strange way, but all the kids here have facebook profiles. Not sure how that isn’t hypocritical.
After a couple hours entertaining these girls I made my way over to the beer pong table. I won a game and lost a game. My partner was horrible, and halfway through the second game he disappeared for 5 or so minutes. Turns out he had a case of the throw ups. That reminds me of another stereotype. We drink too much… I agree, but I enjoy myself so I can justify it.
Around 2:30 I made my way to bed. Chris had a great time for his birthday night. He was a typical drunk Englishman, partly due to the shots that I bought him. When I walked into the room he was passed out.
Woke up this morning and felt great! That’s not sarcasm either. Went and got some breakfast, then came back to the school for a little game of soccer… That’s it for now.
Chris- Adviser Abroad China
Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com
www.flickr.com/photos/cschave
Oh Yangshou… How I love you! We arrived last night and are spending the weekend at Monkey Jane’s. It is a hostel that has a bit of a reputation. It is the perfect place to spend Chris’ birthday weekend. Last we went to dinner at a western style place and I had a veggie burger, which is strange. I have stopped craving a steak, though the thought of going vegetarian has not crossed my mind. Maybe I’ll just cut back my American size portions when I get back to the states.
When we got back to Monkey Jane’s we just hung out at the roof top bar here. Most of the people here are from England and are on the same circuit as Chris. They sure like their drinking. I also met a couple of American girls from Georgia. They are veterinarians here studying something to do with rabies. It was pretty funny. One of the Brits was pretty into one of them, and then I pointed out that she was married. He was pretty devastated. Poor bloke.
Today, we woke up and went on a walking adventure around the town. We found some interesting sites. I’ll let the photos do the talking.
I have just tried uploading pictures to my computer and realized that the format I shot in (raw) will not work in my editing software, so I now have to download a trial copy of Photoshop to convert them into jpeg’s. It’s a pain, but I gotta do it. If anyone has any better ideas, let me know. Otherwise I’m going back to shooting straight jpeg’s.
I have just been taken a bit off guard. A white girl just walked in and is speaking fluent Chinese. That would be nice. I’m learning a little, but the phrase dinner is ready is not very helpful.....
Sunday
This weekend has turned out to be pretty fun. We made some friends at the hostel and hung out at Monkey Jane’s last night. We got our rooms at the school yesterday and they are okay. The place we’re staying at is a boarding school for middle school kids. Yesterday, when we got here Chris and I took the soccer ball out to the field and they actually have goals set up. The only thing is the grass is pretty long on the main field, so we used the short field, which was probably better seeing as Chris and I aren’t in the best shape compared to these kids. We played a pick up game with some boys and they were actually pretty good. We beat them pretty bad though.
The Chinese people really value community and it is interesting to see how that comes across in everything. At one point I slipped on some mud and they stopped play and gave us the ball back. They have to keep the harmony. We were told that they really don’t have contact sports here and after yesterday I can kind of see why. It was a lot of fun though.
After that we went back to the hostel and got ready for the evening. For the second hostel in a row, our shower was a little messed up, but they had western toilets, so that was a good thing. Crouching over a hole in the floor is very uncomfortable to say the least. I think we might stay there again next weekend.
Around 8 we met up with some of the people that we had hung out with the night before. I ended up being the center of attention for 5 or so Chinese girls that just wanted me to pronounce words for a while. They also wanted to inform me of the stereotypes that they had about Americans. Basically, it was that we are fat, arrogant, whores, who flaunt our money. I told them that besides the fat part, they were pretty spot-on. But then they kept asking me how much my car costs and how big my apartment is. Basically, making me sound arrogant, but they were the ones asking. They also said that we like to start wars for no reason. I told them that maybe the reasons that some people justified the war aren’t good, but when genocide is happening to a minority group someone should step in. They had no idea who the Kurds were. They then said that it was still none of our business what happens in another country. I then pointed out that other countries got involved when the Nazis were exterminating Jewish people. They said that was different, and I told them the scale may be different, but it was the same premise. I asked them how they would like to be a minority group and a larger government started killing their family. Would they like another country to step in and help them? Eventually I got them to stop talking about it.
I hate talking politics with people abroad, but it is very interesting to see how censored the news is here. I’m not saying that US news is good because I think for the most part it is biased garbage, but we have access to other news sources. One thing that I find to be incredibly funny is how they feel about their government blocking certain websites. They think it is a good thing that the government doesn’t want to have a lot of western influence all at once. Which kind of makes sense in a strange way, but all the kids here have facebook profiles. Not sure how that isn’t hypocritical.
After a couple hours entertaining these girls I made my way over to the beer pong table. I won a game and lost a game. My partner was horrible, and halfway through the second game he disappeared for 5 or so minutes. Turns out he had a case of the throw ups. That reminds me of another stereotype. We drink too much… I agree, but I enjoy myself so I can justify it.
Around 2:30 I made my way to bed. Chris had a great time for his birthday night. He was a typical drunk Englishman, partly due to the shots that I bought him. When I walked into the room he was passed out.
Woke up this morning and felt great! That’s not sarcasm either. Went and got some breakfast, then came back to the school for a little game of soccer… That’s it for now.
Chris- Adviser Abroad China
Cultural Embrace @ www.culturalembrace.com
www.flickr.com/photos/cschave
Flashback - 04/15//2010 - Cerebral Palsy in a Third World Country by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa
We went to Nairobi today to visit Erick's cousins, Mary and Peter. It took three different matutu's and a "private" bus ride to get to their home. The highlight of the bus ride was listening to Jay Z's classic hip-hop rap smash hit "Big Pimpin".
Peter and Mary have a 10 year old daughter, Immaculate, with Cerebral Palsy. Because of Immaculate they have started a movement to fight the stigma of children with Cerebral Palsy in Kenya. In Kenya it is perceived as a shameful thing to have a child with a deformity or illness like Cerebral Palsy. More often than not, kids are abandoned and left to die. Even if their parents do keep them, the child has very solitary life. They are kept under lock and key and treated as if they were an animal. Peter and Mary have gone against the grain with Immaculate and take her everywhere. Their mission is to educate the public about CP, provide services and medical help to the families, and give the children a chance to live a normal life.
Peter wanted us to learn more about the difficulties of having a child with CP in a third world country. So he took us to visit a family with TWO kids with Cerebral Palsy. They live in the Nairobi slums in a one room apartment on the seventh floor. Can you imagine?!? That means they have to carry their 75lbs children up and down seven flights of stairs everyday. Think of that the next time you take an elevator to the second floor of a building carrying only your laptop.
When we walked in to their apartment the mother, Susan, was holding her 8 year old son, Paul, and hand feeding him. Paul doesn't have control of his esophagus, and therefore spits up more food than he consumes.
The other son, Alex, is 6 years old and is a bit more mobile than Paul. He is able to pull himself up to the window and look out at the neighbors. It probably took Alex 10 minutes to get positioned just right, but he was so happy once he was able to look out that window. He filled the whole room with his joyful laugh.
The entire visit I kept thinking how much they must sacrifice for their kids to be in a loving home. The part that I still can't wrap my head around is that they really don't have anything, so they are sacrificing more than what they have.
Both of these families actions and love for those in need, including their own family, reconfirms my belief that God created us to serve, therefore we must.
Think back over the last week. What have you sacrificed for someone else?
Peter and Mary have a 10 year old daughter, Immaculate, with Cerebral Palsy. Because of Immaculate they have started a movement to fight the stigma of children with Cerebral Palsy in Kenya. In Kenya it is perceived as a shameful thing to have a child with a deformity or illness like Cerebral Palsy. More often than not, kids are abandoned and left to die. Even if their parents do keep them, the child has very solitary life. They are kept under lock and key and treated as if they were an animal. Peter and Mary have gone against the grain with Immaculate and take her everywhere. Their mission is to educate the public about CP, provide services and medical help to the families, and give the children a chance to live a normal life.
Peter wanted us to learn more about the difficulties of having a child with CP in a third world country. So he took us to visit a family with TWO kids with Cerebral Palsy. They live in the Nairobi slums in a one room apartment on the seventh floor. Can you imagine?!? That means they have to carry their 75lbs children up and down seven flights of stairs everyday. Think of that the next time you take an elevator to the second floor of a building carrying only your laptop.
When we walked in to their apartment the mother, Susan, was holding her 8 year old son, Paul, and hand feeding him. Paul doesn't have control of his esophagus, and therefore spits up more food than he consumes.
The other son, Alex, is 6 years old and is a bit more mobile than Paul. He is able to pull himself up to the window and look out at the neighbors. It probably took Alex 10 minutes to get positioned just right, but he was so happy once he was able to look out that window. He filled the whole room with his joyful laugh.
The entire visit I kept thinking how much they must sacrifice for their kids to be in a loving home. The part that I still can't wrap my head around is that they really don't have anything, so they are sacrificing more than what they have.
Both of these families actions and love for those in need, including their own family, reconfirms my belief that God created us to serve, therefore we must.
Think back over the last week. What have you sacrificed for someone else?
Friday, June 4, 2010
Flashback - 04/13/2010 - Not so much - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa
The guy volunteer just arrived. I am pretty certain we aren't soul mates. There is nothing wrong with him, just not my type, nor am I his. He did make me coffee, which I haven't had since arriving. He took the beans right off the coffee tree, dried and roasted them, and then used a mortar and pestle to grind the beans. I don't know maybe coffee making skills is enough to build a long lasting relationship :) See YouTube Video blog.
GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.
GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.
Flashback - 04/13/2010 - Match made in a Kenyan Village?? - by Tracy Guthrie, CE Adviser in Africa
OMG! I just found out a guy volunteer is coming today! YAY!!! How romantic would it be to meet my husband at an orphanage in Kenya?? Our love story would be movie material, or at least get us on Oprah :)
I am not ashamed to say I said a little prayer to God about this. I wonder if God likes cheesy romantic love stories like I do?
GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.
I am not ashamed to say I said a little prayer to God about this. I wonder if God likes cheesy romantic love stories like I do?
GOD CREATED US TO SERVE. NO EXCUSES. TAKE ACTION.
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