The Spectacular SHANGHAI

A few weekends ago, we went to Shanghai, and it was amazing! The skyline was beautiful, you could actually see the sky, and I got Starbucks for the first time since being here. It was wondrous haha. The hostel we went to was definitely the cleanest and nicest I’ve ever been to. And it had an actual mattress! I seriously didn’t want to leave. I forgot what real beds felt like. 

While in Shanghai, we had the chance to go to this wildlife reserve, and it was so incredible! I rode an elephant guys. An Asian Elephant. I could not stop smiling the whole time my dreams were coming true. And THEN. I got to pet and hold a baby leopard! It was seriously the greatest day ever. 

We also went to the Shanghai Underground Market. It was insane. I got really good at bartering, and Meagan and I would just go and barter to practice and not even get anything. One time, Meagan went in somewhere and looked at an iPad cover, asked how much it was, and then left. As we were walking the salesmen went down sixty and then eighty percent. Like, he yelled after us. It was hilarious! She didn’t even want it! But he kept trying to get her to buy it. 

Probably the best thing we did though…was sneaking up to the top of a hotel/mall. Haha it really wasn’t bad, we just thought it was at the time. We just acted like we were staying at the hotel..doing things like that is really easy when you’re American looking. Everyone just assumes that you’re rich and connected when you’re white, its great lol. But anyways, seeing the view from the top of that building...was incredible. It had a perfect view of the bund across the water, and we could see all of the cool buildings and boats on the river. I was so surreal, looking down and seeing ALL of those people. They were packed in, along the streets, in alleys, on the sidewalks. Always moving. It reminded me of 
Seattle, but on a much bigger scale…I guess that’s all I have to compare big cities to. 

On the way back from Shanghai, we went to church in Suzhou. I seriously love the members there. They drive us around, they feed us, they let us bake in their kitchen (that was so fun)…We just have the best time whenever we go to church. And its so great to have my spiritual cup filled too! I love hearing about the gospel, and I’m so blessed to even get to here. 
Overall, the Shanghai trip was a great success, and I’m hoping I can go there again before I leave!


View from the top of the hotel:

I've made some interesting friends here in China...some of them like to climb elephant statues :)

Weekly Update: I love my kids

The week started off pretty hard. Monday is definitely going to be a bad day haha. The kids are insane and just restless from the weekend. I get it. But it got better over the coming days.
I've been doing this thing called ELE where I go into the kids Chinese classroom and teach them something each Monday and then a different class on Friday. Right now I've just been showing them photos of where my family lives! So far I've shown them Idaho and Florida :) it was fun to see their reactions to the alligators and frogs.
That night the Chinese teachers took us out to dinner and it was awesome! I mean, I didn't love all the food but it was fun :) and there were these roll/scone things that were so amazing...I ate so many..but yeah. Good times. Chopstick practice too :)
So I have two groups of students I teach...11-12 year olds and 8-9 year olds. Now let me tell you, those 8 year olds are the cutest things on the PLANET. So sweet and funny and loving. I love them :) we're doing drama this week and I'm teaching them about Peter Pan. It's going to be an adventure. Literally. Haha and I'm doing kitchen with my older kids this week which means making food and talking about it, so that should be a good time for sure. The older kids are awesome too, and it's easier to teach them sometimes. I just have a few groups where there's some naughty kids..but it's alright :) I just think it's more fun haha. 
We figured out something quite intriguing about the first years this past week....when you're scolding them, they have no idea what you're saying. All they pay attention to is tone. Sooo a friend of mine named Colby decided he would say some interesting things to the little kids when he was telling them to stop whatever they were doing, and it went something like this...:
"Mary had a little lamp, who's sheep was white as snow"
"My favorite food is grapes"
"I'm a little teapot, short and stout"
And the best...
"You smell like beef and cheese" and to that the kid said, "yes sir!"
So basically...we're having a lot of fun here :) 
Yesterday we went to this palace and pagoda with gardens and it was gorgeous! So much fun. The statues were so huge and all of the statues looked so ancient and awesome. We didn't go in the pagoda this time because we didn't want to spend a lot of money, but we'll probably go before we leave china. It is the tallest pagoda in china too! So amazing. 
Tonight we went up on the roof and sang and there were actually stars! It was so surreal. I love the friends I'm making here, everyone is so much fun to be around and hang out with. I can't wait for all of the adventures to come and things to do with these rad people :)

PS. Check out this blog my friend has here! jakebrianbush.blogspot.com

Extended Weekend Adventure

Hi everyone! Teaching has been going much better lately. I've been getting the hang of lesson planning and the different ways to teach the different ages...it's super time consuming, but good. I'm learning a lot. The kids are all so adorable and fun! Of course, there's always troublemakers..but it all good. We all just need more practice.
On Friday we practiced for this opening ceremony that we're going to do in the auditorium. The Chinese teachers wanted us to introduce ourselves in some way...and we decided to do the snl skit that goes(...my name is..I like to..I like to..so check me out). It's so hilarious to hear what people say, and we dance after we introduce ourselves. I know the kids will love it :) It was funny because the teachers kept repeating: make it really happy! Smile a lot! Like it needs to be the most happy/exciting thing ever haha. And the day we practiced we were supposed to have a day off and we were all exhausted so she kept telling us to smile but it was hard haha. It's okay though, I'm sure it'll go much better and smoother when we actually do it in front of everyone next week :)
So that night we went searching for Walmart again, but took a different bus. Overall, not a good idea haha. We got super lost and split up and it was crazy to see so many different parts of the city! So I guess it was good too. Good and bad. It was just definitely an adventure. I was with Meagan for most of the time, and we kept playing different games to make it fun and keep it light and not stressful. It was awesome :) I love being around her and getting to know her better. She just loves adventure and figuring out everything on her own! A lot of it is probably from her experiences that she had in Russia, having to fend for herself a lot. But I know I'm going to learn so much from her, and from everyone while I'm here about being alone and being able to do things for myself.
We went to church again on Sunday and again I felt such a strong spirit there. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to come and take the sacrament, even if its only once or twice a month. It exciting though because Colby and Jake might be able to bless the sacrament if the bishop says its okay...I'm really hoping that works out. The members here are so kind to us..Saturday night we went to sister Curtis' house and she cooked for ALL seventeen of us! And let us hang out and play games and just be there at their awesome house. I can't believe that they did that for us..it was so incredibly kind. Like I said, the members are amazing. 
Saturday during the day we explored some of Suzhou. We went to this silk museum and got to pet silk worms! We saw people creating silk on these contraptions..it was so interesting. There's also a lot of waterfronts to go to, and we sat and chilled at this one that had a pretty cool statue and took pictures. Pictures have been so fun to take here..and we've barely skimmed the surface! There's so many places to go and see and things to do. I can't wait to experience it all. That night we stayed at the coolest hostel Ever. There were cats everywhere, tons of chill places to sit in this open area and this little loft place and a balcony...I don't even know, it was just so fun. So different and cool compared to the places I've been so far haha. I loved it. Hopefully we can go to that one again next time we come to Suzhou.

Tonight Jake and I decided to go get some white shirts for church for him. The owner of the mansion we go to church at has a driver and he took us there! It took about a half hour to get there.. but we saw so much of Suzhou! There's some amusement parks, so many beautiful gardens, and this huge mountain. Suzhou is definitely prettier than Changzhou. So anyways, when we got there, it took the guy about 3 minutes to measure Jake and for him to pick the shirt he wanted. Then we walked out and got in the car, and suddenly this guy's huge cart fell onto the front right bumper. Jake turned to me with his mouth gaping open and exclaimed, "Hannah, like, omg." (Sorry he told me to write that...)The paint came off and there was this huge scratch. So then the driver got out and started screaming at the guy with the cart. And then he did that for AN HOUR. It was crazy. Then this traffic cop came, and he did NOTHING. Haha I couldn't believe it, he just stood there. But eventually, the cart guy paid the driver about 50 RMB and we left.

Overall, I'm getting to know everyone much better. The Lisa and Sydnee are seriously the best time. Haha they're so much fun :) Miriam is so hilarious and Krystal has the best dance moves. I feel like everyone has something fun to offer and to make the whole environment better. It feels like a family. A crazy big hilarious amazing weird family :)







THE WATERFRONT



















EXPLORING THE CITY



















THE MEMBER'S CONDO













SILK MUSEUM





THE HOSTEL!!!















PS. Check out this blog my friend has here! jakebrianbush.blogspot.com

First Times For Everything

I'm here! In china. I can't believe it. It a whole new world over here. I'll seperate a few of the places I've been so far...
So there's the night market. It's smokey, it's dirty, it's packed, but it's so much fun! There's dancing in the streets here, and everyone knows the moves. A few of us went and tried waltzing with them one night and it was so awesome. The food is unspeakable...duck brains really? But there's some good stuff too. A friend and I found some stuff that's basically icecream, and it was pretty good. The escalators are weird because they don't have steps..it's basically an incline. So if you're not careful you can slide down..haha. Everyone wants to take pictures with us! It's like we're celebrities. I feel so special. So anyways, at the market there's a grocery store on the third level of the building so we get most of our stuff from there. And then there's outside and tons of vendors and cheap things, it's so great! Pretty easy to get lost though so you have to stick with others.
We finally got to Walmart the other night, and it was awesome! I have snickers and goldfish now..I'm totally happy. Haha there's things you don't realize you want until all you have is rice, weird vegetables, and undercooked meat. (Don't worry I have jerky).
This past weekend we went to church in a few cities over, and boy was it an adventure! We took 4 buses, a train, and walked A LOT. but it was worth it. The spirit was so strong in the testimony meeting. It was crazy hearing from these people from all around the world..England, Russia, Australia...so interesting. And they're making us food next time so I can't wait for that!
The teaching is so insane. It's much more difficult than I expected for sure..lots of preparing and then a lot of times you don't even finish the lesson because you're talking with them so much. But that's actually the best! It means you did an awesome job. The kids are so adorable, especially my younger ones. They are still warming up to me since I had to be kindof mean in the beginning so they'd respect me..but we're already having fun :) I'm actually realizing the older kids are much easier and fun to teach! I love talking with them and learning about their lives. I'll definitely be putting pictures of them up soon.
The dorms are pretty great. I could definitely go for a regular toilet and easier ways to clean things...but it's all worth it. Because I'm here! And I'm with the most amazing people. My roommate Sam is seriously the sweetest thing. I love being around get and getting to know her. We get along really well. All the girls here are so funny and awesome to be around..and the guys are all so interesting and hilarious! I've been laughing so much while I've been here...we're all getting close really fast. Everyone keeps saying that they feel like it's been weeks or even a month since we've been here and it's barely been a week. It's crazy. But I can't wait for all of the adventures to come. We're already planning our vacations, and there's so many places to see! I can't wait to go hiking, kayaking, see the terra cotta warriors...it all going to be amazing.
But anyways! I'll tell you more about teaching and our trip to Suzhou this weekend next week! Love you all so much :)

THE NIGHT MARKET

ADORABLE KIDS!

JAKE AND MORGAN <3

OPENING

THESE KIDS...LOVE THEM

PS. Check out this blog my friend has here! jakebrianbush.blogspot.com