The Great FireWall of China

So in case you're wondering why I never post...  anything with the word blog in it is blocked in China.  I'm using a friends VPN right now to break through... so if you want to say "Hi" you can e-mail us.  Sorry!  Maybe I'll stop being a cheapskate and buy a VPN already... we'll see.

First Day of School

Ahhh!! It's the first day! School starts in an hour and I'm trying to get ready and I'm so nervous! I really hope it goes well... I'm terrified... kids think they get first day jitters, try being the teacher. Wish me luck!

Church

So we went to church here for the first time today. We have it in one of the member's houses. Luckily it's HUGE so it works really well. Our ward here is larger than our one in Grassy Lake was! Everyone in our ward is very kind and have let us use their drivers several times for various shopping trips and for a ride home from church today. I think we will be very well taken care of and maybe even a little spoiled. :)

Sorry there are no pictures so far... for some reason the post picture button isn't showing up... I'm hoping it's temporary.

Hooray!

A lady turned in our wallet yesterday complete with cash and cards! I'm going out today to get her a massage/manicure/pedicure gift certificate as thanks. I went yesterday for what I thought was going to be a pedicure but was a deep tissue foot and leg massage... man they can cause pain! But I feel amazing today so they must know what they're doing. It was 45 minutes long for $10. While I sat there about six ladies sat around me trying to talk to me. They had about as much English as I do Chinese so it wasn't very successful, but we laughed alot. I then got my nails done for $1.50. This is a cheap place to get pampered! Our DVD drive on our computer hasn't been working lately so we bought a DVD player for $30. I also bought 4 movies and 17 seasons of various TV shows all for a little over $20. Who needs English TV... we don't even have to watch comercials! Tami tell Tyler we got the first season of Merlin to watch.

So obviously my mood today is terriffic... especially compared to 24 hours ago. I even had Lucky Charms for breakfast! Sure they cost me $10 for the box, but man were they tasty! :)

Luke however is not doing so hot! He made himself oatmeal for breakfast yesterday but forgot and used tap water so all day yesterday and still this morning he is pretty sick. Not super bad but has to stick near the house because we actually have a toilet (doesn't want to risk the holes in the ground bathrooms). I'm sure he'll be better soon, he's already looking perkier.

Frustration

Luke and I had our Visa medicals the other day and are feeling slightly violated! They did full body x-rays, ultrasounds, ECGs, eye tests, blood pressure tests, blood tests and urine tests. The eye test was brutal because they made me do it without my glasses and I couldn't even see the biggest letter on the top. For the blood test you made a long line and at the front you stuck your arm under a window and they drew your blood right there. It was hard for me not to pass out watching all the people in line in front of me getting it done. For the urine test you step into this bathroom stall that was just disgusting and reeked of urine and squatted over a hole in the ground attempting to pee in a little cup. Because this is China... no toilet paper provided and I'd forgotten mine at home. Then they give you a tiny vial and you had to transfer your sample into it overtop of a bucket full of everyone elses pee and try not to get it onto your hands as there were no sinks nearby to wash at. Anyways, it's definately an experience!

Then most frustrating of all I lost my wallet while out grocery shopping last night. It wouldn't be so bad but my bank cards are in there so I have no money and can't get anymore money and can't get another bank card for a while. Luckily on September 15th some of our paycheque will go into a Chinese bank account so we'll just have to live off our current groceries until then, which we probably can do. I'm really hoping someone finds the wallet, keeps the cash, and turns it in. That would make life much easier, even if we didn't get the 2400RMB back that was in there, at least we wouldn't be so stuck with banking and I wouldn't have to get a new birth and marriage certificate.

So today, I'm not feeling so happy with life, but I'm trying to be positive and hoping someone will turn the wallet in at the grocery store. Please, please, PLEEEEASE!

Arrival

Well, the trip went as smooth as can be! Most of the flights had personal headrest TVs and we just watched a whole bunch of movies and the time flew by. Tokyo was beautiful and I definately want to go back there when we can spend some more time.

We tried some wierd Japanese delicacy candies... they wer nasty... gooey and tasted a little too much like sushi.

So we're here! Our apartment is pretty sweet! It is roomy, brand new, and has huge windows in every room. We even have a bathtub which is unheard of in China. No A/C though and the heat is taking some getting used to... actually I should say the humidity. It's not all that hot, but I am constantly dripping with sweat. It's only 23 right now but I am drenched. We have a half hour to write e-mails before we head into Ikea.

Yesterday after our flight got in and we saw our apartments we went to the market and it was pretty crazy! Fresh fruit, baking (you can get it here, but it's wierd stuff) and fish laying out everywhere. There were also little electronics shops where we bought a hairdryer, hair straightener, alarm clock that talks to us in chinese, and some fans.

Later after some unpacking we all went out for supper and DANG THE FOOD HERE IS GOOD!!! It was unbelievably tasty! Luke ate everything except for one salad with cilantro in it cause he hates cilantro. Some of it is similar to Americanised stuff and some is totally unique. 25 of us went out for a HUGE meal with over 30 dishes of food, drinks, dessert and tons of left overs and it cost 824RMB which is about $125 canadian.

Fireworks go off all the time here. They say they set off fireworks when someone is born, married, or dies and there is the show at the theme park at night. Oh, there go some right now... in the middle of the day... wierd.

Haven't been to the beach yet but I can see it from here because I'm on the 5th floor of the school building. They were saying it used to be very pebbly but about 5 years ago the world volleyball championships were here so they trucked in a bunch of sand and now it's perfect.

They've been talking alot about trying to keep everyone from getting too homesick etc. and I'm realizing how lucky I am to have Luke along with me. These other kids are here with no family nearby, that would be rough. With Luke here it feels like home already. There are a few guys here and Luke is making friends fast, which he hasn't done since we were married so I think this is going to be really good for him. There is another husband who came with his teacher wife so Luke will have someone to hang out with during the day and I'm really glad for him. They want him to join the staff hockey team and asked if he would be interested in coaching.

Anyways, they're pulling us off because we have to head to IKEA so I'll write again soon.

Two More Weeks!

I cannot believe we will be gone in 2 weeks! This is so crazy! We fly out of Medicine Hat at 5:35am on August 18th. In the mean time I will be stressing out trying to get everything ready. I know I'll forget something, but oh well... as long as it's not our passports or something, we'll survive. :) Check out this picture of last years graduating class and their teachers... it's a big school! The picture's grainy, but you get an idea of the size.

This is a picture of Dalian City. Man we're getting excited!