Quick Update

Hello all! Well not much has happened since the last post... but I know that if I dont write something that momma of mine will say 'you last post was Tuesday' so I decided to write something!
Well the week was good with the kids... Alittle tiring trying to get 13 kids to focus on content they cant understand. And I found out today that my youngest is 5 and the oldest is 11 so its definitely a challenge to keep everyone interested and happy. So far no complaints (so my center director told us good job). Apparently chinese parents like progress right away so its very common that complaints happen. But only nice emails and phone calls saying that my assistant and I are very professional. It does worry me that I might be too happy with parents so I try to just smile and tend to their child which I think they prefer. But overall its a cool experience teaching the kiddos and I definietly can take some of what I am learning back home minus disney property :) And of course the child that I got to name is probably the one student I have that DOESNT listen and would rather talk to anyone who wants to listen.
This week I went to a chinese club! I went with some of my new co-workers and summer campers to a place we were told you HAVE to see! So some went and it was so much fun! It as funny because an american boy band performed and the chinese women loved them! OHHHHHH and btw! I FINALLY used THE toliet! And by THE i mean the squaty potty! it was an experience that had mirrors surrounding it! But I was probably super funny cause I walked in and out of a few because the ground was wet. YUCK! But I guess it was bound to happen!! I know all of you love to read about toliets so moving on.... :)
The past weekend we got to go to a new bar/club opening. It was pretty awesome! As you can kinda see from the pics, it was themed after a plane! And it really felt like we were on one! It was a great time and a much needed night out after a tiring week of work. But it was awesome hanging out and NOT talking about work! Now I did learn that some of the bars and clubs in Asia are called host bars. This is where men can go and buy drinks and have conversations and 'other things' from pretty ladies. I saw a girl trying to get a guy in to their bar she was literally pulling him in (that is when I found out about these bars). I felt like I was a Makos in downtown LOL! :) BUT I DID NOT GO TO ONE OF THESE!! REPEAT DID NOT!!! but I was pretty much the only one who was completely clueless and thought this woman was an overaggressive sales person! oops! ;)
I didnt see any other sightseeing places but have gone to some great restaurants and some other places that my body dont like! I also had burger king deliver! PRETTY AWESOME! I will keep everyone updated on where I go but it will probably be in August (when we get PAID) before the awesome trips occur! LIKE BEIJING!!! cant wait!!! I love the posts but dont forget to put your names! or I wont know who wrote it! Hope everyone is having an awesome time and next time you see a toliet just be thankful you have somewhere to sit! ;) LOVE YOU ALL!

Week 2 of the Adventures in Shanghai

Last couple of weeks have been interesting! Lets start with the lovely medical check! :) Well in order to stay in China you must pass a medical check to make sure you aren't passing on some infectious disease. The whole group got on the Disney English bus (yes there is one) and headed down. When we got there we got in line and filled out a bunch of paper work where a woman insisted I have heart disease (I don't), I gave up and let her believe this. We got to change in to a lovely robe type thing... very flattering. We had to have several things done that included feeling me up and making sure I don't have parasites or kidney disease. So after the lovely but yet very fast medical check (which I assume I passed since they let me out of the building and they have not come to get me at my hotel) we got the day off! :) We decided to fight the heat and go to Yu Gardens. I had no idea what this place was so I had no expectations. When we showed up we were all amazed by how beautiful and how peaceful it was. I think Lauren even said she wanted this built in her backyard :) Yu Garden is a national monument that was built in the 1500's to please someones parents. The garden was designed for peace and tranquility. Besides the heat, it was quite relaxing. It was very beautiful and never ending! :)

On a weekend we went to the Jade Buddha Temple. AMAZING! I really only went to say hey i went ... and plus everyone else was going LOL! But when we got there my mind quickly changed. In my pictures below you see a fire and some people behind it. This was a funeral or dedication ceremony to honor someone who passed. The people threw in money because they believe the man will need it in the after life. We then saw monks praying and chanting. They were doing this for the his soul. They were making sure that his sole was not suffering. Then they threw in all the donations in to the fire because he will need these things in the after life. It was quite interesting to see and I was so fascinated by everything! AMAZING! We saw many Buddhas, including the Jade Buddha... but sorry not pictures allowed! But something about it was very peaceful. It was a great place and recommend it to all! Hopefully you can see a ceremony like we did because it was interesting to see it actually taking place!

This past weekend we went to see The Shanghai Acrobats! Pretty cool! We all went as a big group for a co workers birthday. Definitely worth my 20 US dollars :)

We started work on Monday! I think my job at home has prepared me quite well for my job here! I think Lauren and I are going to be pros! :) I DID HOWEVER GET TO NAME A CHILD! In china they have English names that they make up. Its basically anything that sounds pretty or cool to them. Some of the names that are ACTUALLY in my class or others include: rainbow, yo yo, dong dong, pee pee, poo poo (pee pee and poo poo were siblings in a class awhile back.. no joke!), my, apple, peter pan and then list went on and on! Some keep their names: tang tang, Qang Qang, tong tong, Xin Xin (all of these kids are in one class... needless to say : I mess their names up alot!) And you have ones who were given a 'normal' name: john, johnny... SO when the mother gave me the honor of naming her child I froze! But I did was any other person would do I listed people I knew! Well my first thought was a disney character but i quickly shot that down. I started with my sisters lovely name! :) and my AT (assistant trainer aka MY CHINESE TRANSLATOR!)helped me pick it out but she vetoed that! I tried April and it reminded her of apple so she again said no... then i tried Julie and she said no then I tried JULIA! and she loved it and so did my student she LOVED LOVED LOVED IT! :) WHAT PRESSURE!!!!!!!!!! but i was happy she liked it! :)

Overall my experience in Shanghai has been awesome. The city is great! There is always something to do. I have to take video of us ordering food because we rely completely on the pictures in the menus and body/hand gestures for questions. Its quite humorous! I am however ridiculously homesick! I miss everyone so much! I know that in the end I will be a stronger person and I will value what I have so much more! But it will be a journey to get there! Anthony has been so supportive and my little izzie loves looking/listening to me on skype. Thanks for all your positive comments and reading my silly little blog! :) Love you all!!!

The Lunch from .... CHINA!

During our first week of training, Disney decided to take us out for lunch. We went down the street for a lovely chinese meal. We all walked in the restaurant anixously awaiting the lovely meal. They bring out the first few things (in China they bring Cold items first then hot) we have cucumbers, an interesting looking mushroom thing, tofu, whole shrimp (with claws and antenna still on them) and some type of root. All of you who know me well enough knows I did not eat much of the first round. But I figured that there would be something else for me after the cold foods. To people from the west (america) we think of sweet and sour chicken/pork, general tso, etc. But in China we get whole fishes, fried eel, whole chickens, and funfetti beef cakes!SOOOOOO the hot foods begin to come out.... We started with some more tofu, then we got some crispy beef, its the picture with icing and sprinkles.... yes sprinkles with beef. To much hestitation I actually tried some and it was actually good! (I later saw it on a menu and was VERY realieved to find out that it was actual beef!). THEN CAME.... PIGEON!!!!!!! YES those are actual heads with beaks in the picture!!! I DID NOT REPEAT DID NOT TRY THIS! :) But i did try the fried eel (that is that picture of me eating). It was not good but it was not bad. I just stuck it in my mouth and went with it. Then came the whole fishes... I think a few vegatarians at the table were done but the fish staring at them finished them off and didnt want the rice when it finally came!
I didnt exactly leave full, but it was quite an experience! One that I probably wouldnt find anywhere else! Thank you Disney!

The Bund and Old Shanghai

During my first week here, we explored parts of Shanghai that were close to our hotel. It was raining for almost all of the first week we got here! So I was super happy that I actually purchased an umbrella before I left! In the video (hoepfully it uploads) we are at the Bund. It is call the Bund SIghtseeing tunnel. I dont know why they call it a sightseeing tunnel because its goes under the river or through and its all these lights that just flash. We were warned that this was very cheesy... but we couldnt resist. We went over to Pudong and went to the biggest mall in Asia called Super Brand Mall (weird name... lol). It was huge! It was also nice to see that China had stores that werent on the side of the street! :) In a previous post I said that I went to the Bund. But on Tuesday, the 29th the rain decided to stop and the sun came out! FINALLY! so we decided to hit the Bund so we can see Pudong (which is across the river). The bund has beautiful buildings that light up at night. And Pudong has alot of big huge buildings that also light up. We went to Old City! FINALLY it felt REAL! It was sooooo beautiful! There were shoppes everywhere! It was soooo awesome and the lights made it amazing! Everyone agreed that we finally felt like we were in China! :)