August 8th 2011

Well it's been a couple of years since my last post and a lot has happened.

From September 2009-May 2010 I worked with the Coffee House, Mr. Mai's, where I frequently volunteered the previous 2 years. I also studied Chinese at a local University. I would call myself conversational. I can speak to people around town, buy a train ticket, ask questions and of course joke around! I am also able to read and write about 1,000 Chinese Characters! Crazy, I know. I never thought I would be capable of something that seems impossible to most people. But I enjoy learning the language and putting it to use.

In January 2010 I came home to the states for a visit, and during that time made an alarming discovery that I had skin cancer. I had small surgery and have since been cancer free. I returned to China to finish my contract and school but then decided to come back home to rest and think about my next step in life.

It was rough at first. I was unemployed for 6 months. During this time I was really missing China. I had a lot of time to think about what my future holds. I came to the conclusion that I wanted to continue learning Mandarin so that I can use that to find a job. I am not too sure what I want to do, but I want Chinese to be apart of it. So the only logical decision was to return to China.

I will go back to the school I was at during the first two years in China. They treat me very good. They are always concerned with my health and safety. Back to the same school in the same city with many of the same friends. They pay is really good for China, and pretty good compared with the U.S. Economy right now to tell the truth!

I leave on August 8th from LAX. Stew Bowerman, an old college roommate who went with me the first year, will meet me there and we will travel around China for a few weeks before school starts around the first of September.

I am very excited for what lies ahead. I am also sad to go. Since December 2010 I started working at my home church, The Bridge Calvary Chapel, leading worship and helping in the youth any way I can. I have become very close to many students and people at the Bridge. It will be sad to leave them, but I am confident where the Lord is leading me.


Thanks for reading! I will keep on top of the blog this year! Check out some of my pictures from my last year in China. Comment, tell your friends.

If you are interested in Teaching English in China or know someone who is, check out the company I went with. zrchina.org

2 More Months of School

Well the sun is shinning and there are only 7 more weeks left in the semester. It is always a long winter but we got through it.

If you haven't already heard I am staying another year in China. I will no longer be teaching at the school. I am sad to go but also excited for this change in my life. I am going to be working at Mr. Mai's (the coffee shop I go to) and I will also enroll in a nearby university to study Chinese! I am really excited. It's going to keep me busy but I know I can handle it. At Mr. Mai's I will be helping with expansion of the company. We have already had a couple of meetings with people who want to work with us.

So because of this I will not be coming home in the summer :( BUT I am going to be back for 6 weeks in December and January! I am excited because I get to go home for Christmas!

Last week Our students had mid-terms so we went to two cities Called Zhang Jia Jie and Phoenix Town.
Here are some pics from the trip.

Getting Ready for our long Hike!


If you are tired...you can pay these guys to carry you up the mountain!


The Guys

And the Girls


Beautiful View! We met that lady in the Blue Jacket on the Hike and it turns out she is also a Sister. She is also the director of the most famous TV game show in China! I told her I wanted my own TV Show....she laughed.


Phoenix Town at night.


Traditional Chinese Fishermen wear these hats.


We dressed up like the Miao minority people!


The city was on the River...it was really cool.

There are more pictures of my trip on my facebook...here is the link!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080893&id=56900981

Thank you all for reading and your continual support
Taylor

2nd Semester

Well the 5 week paid vacation is finally over and it's back to the real world of teaching Chinese High School! haha

I went to Russia to see my mom and to travel around. It was a great time. Cold but great. We traveled in Moscow, Volgograd and St. Petersburg. It was quite a shock sometimes coming from China where people would stare at me just because I was a foreigner to a place where I was unnoticed and sometimes thought a local person.

It's good to be back. Some of my Chinese College friends are still on Winter break and will come back at the beginning of March.


Check out my photos on facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=32378989&id=56900981

Happy New 牛(Niu) Year!

This Year is Year of the Bull in China. The Chinese pronunciation of bull sounds like "new". So Happy Bull Year.

We had a great Christmas last week, and we were extremely busy. We got together and ate breakfast and opened presents. Then we went to Aloha for an amazing Christmas meal. After that we went to Mr. Mai's for a Christmas performance. The party at Mai's was Christmas eve and Christmas day. The parties totaled about 250 people who heard the story of Christmas. It was great to tell others about the good news.

We just finished our last day of teaching on the 31st. It's been a long semester and we are ready for our long break. We are planning a short trip to the Chinese city of Guilin next week, and I am going to see my mom in Russia (burr) at the end of January. The rest of the time I have no major plans. I might take a couple small trips to see some friends around China.

We recently went to a Chinese performance with some great Kung Fu and Acrobatics! Here are some pictures from that night....And PLEASE DO TRY THIS AT HOME!!! Hahahaha





Here's a video of me singing at the New year's Eve Party for my school. I am singing 2 of the Chinese favorite songs "My Love" by Westlife and a Chinese Song! Enjoy!

First Semester Almost Finished

Well It's been a long time since my last blog. I apologize. My power chord for my laptop broke, but I finally got the replacement. Much has happened since last time.

It's getting much colder here. It's been averaging 40 at night and 50 during the day.
The students have also been restless. They are all stressed about finals. We have about 4 more weeks of school left. So we will finish right before Christmas. We will have 6 weeks off from school so we are still deciding where to go for a warm get away. I am planning to visit my mom in Russia during the Chinese New Year but that will not be until the end of January. And that will be a cold get away.

Things are going well. I play music at Mr. Mai's every Tuesday night and that has been a highlight of my week. I met some other foreigners who also play music. The last couple of weeks there were about 60 people! They all want to take pictures with me and be email pals with me. It's pretty funny. I feel like I have reached a semi-celebrity status out here. I will be out in the town and someone will stop me and tell me they saw my performance. It's quite hysterical.

We had a good Thanksgiving. We got together with our fellowship and ate turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and all of that good stuff. We played games with the kids and watched a download football game. It's nothing like the states but I will not forget days like that which make up my China Experience. But I could use prayer for this season. It is lonely sometimes when you can't see family and friends during the holidays. Yet I am surrounded by great friends who share the same feelings and experiences. It's easier when there are more people during those time.

I did not bring my camera for thanksgiving(of course I forget it during important times) but here are some pictures of a trip we took to a tourist farm.


An irrigation system in the ancient days. We would pedal like a bike and it brings up the water from the lake below! Pretty cool!



I don't know why they had these stilts here but it was fun.


My Boss Kai and another teacher Jessie at the farm. Haha

"Don't pick the plants" This sign was right in front of the next picture!


I don't think anyone wants to pick these plants!

Vacation in Beijing

Much has happened since my last post. We have started school and have been teaching for about a month. Teaching is going very well. It is much easier the second year for the simple fact that I know what is going on in my students minds! I know how to make the lessons interesting, how to get them involved and how to help them learn.

I have been volunteering a lot more at Mr. Mai's coffee shop. The manger has given me more responsibility with planning events and helping out with other little things. Between school and Mr. Mai's I have been staying pretty busy!

The Chinese national holiday was on October 1st and we decided to take a trip to Beijing. It was lots of fun. It was very very crowded, but fun nonetheless. It was kinda like going to Washington D.C. for the 4th of July.

Since I have been to Beijing before I did not do too many 'tourist' things. The first day we got there Cory and I went to meet our Chinese friend Shane and we all went the the Beijing Open. It was a small tennis tournament with a few big name players. The finals was played between Andy Roddick and some No. 94th ranked player from Israel. It was a good match. Andy Roddick won the match in 3 sets.

I also went to the Beijing Olympic sites. We did not go inside because tickets were too expensive but we were able to get right up next to them. We then went to the Summer Palace where we hike around and marveled at the Qing Dynasty Buildings. It was beautiful. Tiananmen Square was always buzzing with excitement. We tried to see the morning flag raising ceremony but we arrived too late.

That's all that is going on with me right now. Things are going very well. I miss you all and thank you so much for your pryer support.

Ernesto, Will and Myself at the 5th anniversary of Mr. Mai's Coffee House


The Beijing Open


Shane and I watching some good tennis!


The Birds Nest


Me and the Cube. Chinese people love Michael Phelps!


A bridge at the Summer Palace


More of the Summer Palace


Amazing. The emperor's summer get away!


Chairman Mao and Thousands of People! Tiananmen was buzzing with excitement.

Safe Arrival

I had a great time back home this summer. Thanks to all my friends and family for taking time to see me. I had a wonderful time thanks to you.

Well we finally made it back to Wuhan on Monday morning. The flight didn't seem as long this year. Probably because the element of the unknown wasn't there anymore, and because the two Tylenol PM knocked me out like a little baby. The past couple of days we have been seeing old friends and showing the new people around the school. This year there are 5 foreigners teaching at my school and 4 other foreign friends teaching in a city called Huang Shi. We are very excited to have more people this year.

Anyways, I don't have much to say but I just wanted to tell you all thank you for reading, prying, and being interested in what is going on with my life right now.

Taylor