China Update!

Hi Everyone!

I am yet again sorry we haven’t blogged in a while. We’ve been very busy with the end of the school year and finals; packing up our things; planning for our end of the year trip; and applying for jobs in the US. Also, Google has been kicked out of mainland China and into Hong Kong. That means they are blocking any websites with English on them and Google is impossible to use. They rerouted all of their traffic into one server in Beijing so they can monitor everything and they’ve really been targeting schools. It’s a chore to even check my email at all. We’ve been pretty frustrated with it but we’ll be home soon with no internet restrictions! I can’t believe we only have two weeks left in China! We’ve got some updates for you as well…

A few weeks ago we celebrated our first Easter in China. It’s not the same as being home but I think we did an okay job of creating a homey holiday event. We got up at a decent time for a potluck Easter breakfast that included my good friend Iain’s famous French toast casserole, homemade bloody mary’s, and white wine sangria (did I mention that Iain gave up drinking for Lent? Hence the various alcoholic beverages at brunch…). We also decorated Easter eggs the night before and hid them the next morning for the only kid in our dorms; a 6 year old Japanese boy named Yuhong. He is adorable and we always try to plan something for him during our western events or holidays. (He even went trick-or-treating in the dorms during Halloween!) It was a lot of fun. That evening Thomas and I made homemade veggie pizza, had a bottle of wine, and watched a movie. There wasn’t a big ham dinner with potatoes and the family head count was small but it was a very nice Easter overall.

Besides being busy and getting ready to head home, Thomas and I stopped by the botanical gardens last weekend and took some really cool pictures. We spend a few hours roaming around the green house taking pictures of the exotic plants and enjoying the lack of crowds. Apparently the botanical gardens don’t attract huge groups of people in Nanjing, one of its many appealing features. We’ve got some great pictures though!

This past weekend I decided it was time I through a little roof party. We were originally going to have this party last weekend but the weather was cold and rainy. But we had perfect weather on Saturday: 86 degrees and sunny! This party was themed: A Party for America… also known as a pre-4th of July/“We Got Him!” (as in Bin Laden) party for nostalgic Americans and their foreign friends. My friend Kris painted a big American flag and I flew my little tiny American flag that you see sticking out of flower pots during the 4th of July. We had a grill going all night long and everyone brought burgers, hot dogs, and chicken wings. I even picked up a bunch of apple pies at one of our favorite western restaurants in town for everyone; it was a huge hit! We only played classic America rock (including such bands as CCR and Crosby, Stills, and Nash) and there was also a fireworks display as well as a fire spinning show put on by, yet again, my good friend Iain. When the fireworks started we all broke out in song simultaneously singing “God Bless America!” It was a great party! Over 35 people showed up. The guards on campus were not very happy about 35+ foreigners grilling on the roof but all it took was a few slices of apple pie and a couple of burgers to change their minds. Success!

Now we only have a 1 week left of school until we head off on our final trip around China! We are leaving school a week early and traveling with our friend DW (Dennis Williams) to Xian, Beijing, Hong Kong, and finally Shanghai. We fly home June 23rd out of Nanjing. We land in Chicago Friday the 24th and are spending the weekend visiting my wonderful family in the area (Thanks Aunt Sal!) Then on Sunday Thomas and I are heading down to Indiana to visit some of his relatives (although we are missing two of his brothers who are both currently preoccupied with their military responsibilities…). We head back to Hudson for the Twins game and my parents big 4th of July party the next weekend. We are so excited to get home and see everyone! I keep telling DW that he is the harbinger of America for us!! Haha… We love and miss everyone! Take care and we will be home soon! And keep reading because we have more blogging to do about final days in Nanjing and our last trip around China. We also have pictures to add! If China will let us… :/