a family reunion

the past 3 days i have been extremely blessed to have my family (and "cousin" jason) come to visit!! it was a packed-non-stop-action-fun-filled-tiring-but-good 3 days indeed! it was like christmas in March with their presence and goodies they brought (thank you to all of those for the notes, cards, drawings, food! nothing but goodness and love- thank you thank you!!) they also brought sunny southern california weather with them too!! yay!! there's nothing quite like good ol' sunshine when you haven't seen it in a while and when your clothes are able to dry in a day as compared to a week in the cold damp weather here...

the first day we went skating with several of my teammates and students... skating in China is just an experience in itself. the shoes barely fit the asian american boys- poor things.. people hold hands while skating, guys with guys, girls with girls, everyone with everyone... several of our students have never been before so they were clinging onto us for dear life hehe.. my favorite was when random skaters from the skate crew wanted to hold hands and skate with my mom. hahaha... it was awesome- i think they thought she was pretty cool and had cool long nails. hehe
my roommate and i. holding hands awkwardly. we're just tryint to embrace the culture hahaha...then frances and amy wanted to cook chinese dishes for my family... so we slaved in the kitchen and prepared 9 authentic chinese dishes (mainly vegetables of all kinds.. my family never ate so healthy before. hahaha) hao chi! (how chir- taste good!)on sunday we went to fellowship in downtown, did some walmart shopping and ate some greasy chinese fried chicken bought IN walmart and ate at the KFC in walmart. haha.. like america- but not. what's a sunday afternoon without playing some bball of course! we had some friends from another team come and play too... i felt bad though, we pretty much took over a whole court and played a few games of knock out, then 4 on 4... i was definitely winded and exhausted for i am NOT a professional baller in any way. but it was fun... while the chinese people stared and watched from the sidelines, i'm sure they were very confused about we were.. chinese people that play like americans, WITH americans.. haha.. later they played with and it was good times.
oh, this is one of team's regular dining at the Upper Room (we really don't know the real name of the restaurant but we often eat in the upper room hehe)... cheers to my two families!on monday, they came to my two morning classes and THEY were my lesson plan that day. haha i broke my students up into groups so they can talk to each family member and ask questions and get to know them better.. my first class was especially estatic and excited... the whole class was filled with "ooo's" and "ahhh's" and clapping, laughter, taking pictures with their cell phones, and practicing a whole lot of English- which was great :) My dad did a few magic tricks- i don't think chinese students have ever seen magic tricks before, they were a GREAT and gullible audience hehe... jason did some hip hop pop and lock moves... jonathan showed some self-defense actions... joni displayed her long long hair.. my mom showed them her nails and gave them lots of mom hugs... justin- he was just his cool self and people loved him. haha.. it was awesome... VERY tiring for all of them i'm sure but it was quite an experience.. i'm a lil nervous that my students will never be able to focus in class again! haha.. now they're on their flight back home :(... the apartment is empty and silent but the noise of basketball players and chinese music continues to go on outside... it was a GOOD weekend with bittersweet feelings of seeing them again in 3 and a half months but also knowing that my time will be done at this school... please be asking for fruitful opportunities and for me to be wise with my time and future decisions! i'll try to post some classic videos and more later! thanks for tuning into to this REALLY long blog. sorry. hehe