Merry Christmas

There are lots of things I love about Christmastime -- the lights, the music, the treats, the gift-giving and receiving. But with all that Christmas brings, I can't help but occasionally come back to the simplicity of what it really is all supposed to be about -- remembering the miracle that our Savior came to earth.

Merry Christmas!

Let it Snow!

It's cold and rainy here in California today, so I can't say it doesn't feel at all like winter. But, really, with Christmas coming I must say I'm missing a good, old-fashioned Rocky Mountain snowstorm. So, I've been digging up some tricks to make it feel a little more "snowy" around these parts, including this great snow-falling-on-the-blog trick, and a couple of fun winter pictures from days gone by. So, for anyone else missing snow right now, I hope you enjoy.

Happy happy turkey weekend

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend with my family in town! Here's a recap:
We saw Stanford campus.
We went shopping in Chinatown. Christian was in heaven . . . Kaitlyn was not.

We hung out at the Bay.

And met a long lost "cousin" on the Trolley car.

We went to Monterey.

Christian was in heaven again (a crab and a sand dollar, what could be better!)
That's about it! Oh yeah, we had turkey too.

Things I'm Thankful For

One thing I've been working on lately is being more positive with myself and with others. I truly believe that gratitude is a major antidote for all sorts of problems (real and imagined), and so I've been trying to put that into practice in my life. And, with Thanksgiving coming up this week, I think it is especially apt to make a brief list of things that I am grateful for:

• I'm thankful for having an internship/job where I get to work at something that is both challenging and fulfilling. I'm also thankful that I can go play in kindergarten pretty much whenever I want.


• I'm thankful to live on the fifth floor of our apartment building, and the lovely view from our living room windows -- particularly of the sunrise each morning.


• I'm thankful that we upgraded from the crappy Stanford issue mattress that we started with, to a newer, more comfy mattress.


• I'm thankful for the Stanford campus -- there's lots of open space to go walking and running.


• I'm thankful that our gas bills have gone down since my commute is only 10 minutes every morning.


• I'm thankful that my family is coming to visit for Thanksgiving this year!


• I'm thankful for the Milk Pail and the Dish.


• I'm very, very, very, very, very thankful for an amazingly patient and loving husband who works so hard at whatever he does (including making me happy!)


• I'm thankful for God's love, and the perspective that His love gives me on life and its challenges.

That's the short list, maybe I'll add more this week. I will add that I'm also thankful for you, because if you are reading this that means you are someone who cares about me and who likely has had an influence for good in my life. So, thanks!

Happy Veterans Day!

Okay, I'll admit, Veterans Day generally goes by unnoticed by me. But, this year, school is out here for Veterans Day, which means no work, which means I am totally celebrating Veterans Day this year! It's kind of weird, though, since we had school on Monday, then no school Tuesday, then school the rest of the week -- like this random floating holiday in the middle of the week. But, hey, I'm not complaining!
However, lest this become all about me, I feel I must put a word in to those who made this restful day possible for me. So, now, a bit about the history of Veterans Day (Jon will be so proud!) ... which was actually originally named Armistice Day for the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended WWI (which ended hostilities on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918). President Woodrow Wilson originally signed the holiday into law to commemorate all those that served in WWI, and then Pres. Eisenhower extended it to all veterans. It is always celebrated on 11/11, unless that falls on a weekend, in which case it moves to Friday or Monday.
Well, there you have it, I hope you learned something new today, that you take a moment to pause to remember those who have served our country, and that you have a lovely Veterans Day wherever you are! (Oh, and for a bit of an English lesson as well -- the correct spelling of the holiday is, apparently, Veterans Day with no apostrophe in veterans. Thank you Wikipedia!)

Weekend of Woods, Water, and Will

This last weekend Will came to visit us for a test he had to take. We had a fun weekend exploring some new sites with him.

On Saturday we traveled north of S.F. to a national monument called Muir Woods. This was awesome! It's just north of the Golden Gate, and is one of the few remaining redwood forests. The trees were so tall, and so beautiful. We took a long hike through the woods, and I must admit, it felt good to be back in something akin to mountains.

Along the way, we discovered that at certain parts there were millions and millions of ladybugs all gathered for mating season. It was amazing to see so many ladybugs!

Will, of course, couldn't come to California without visiting the ocean. After a day of hiking we went to the beach, and Will talked Jon into doing some wave swimming in the freeeeeeeezing water. Not only was it super cold, but we found out too that we were at a frequent shark attack beach . . . nice, huh. But as Jon and Will's wise scout leader used to say: the amount of brainpower is inversely proportional to the number of boys (aka 2 boys=1/2 brain), and these two boys were not going to be deterred by a little thing like cold or threat of sharks! They jumped in enthusiastically, and were shivering all the way home (I'm pretty sure because of the cold -- not fear of sharks :)

All in all, it was great to have Will around for a few days, and we had a great time!

To Stanford and Beyond

Sorry, all, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Well, for fear that my older brother will call complaining about not having anything new to look at, I decided today that I'd better get around to posting something. We've actually been having a good time starting to explore the sights around Stanford, and I've been meaning to post some pictures of our explorations.

Near Stanford, there's a nature preserve, and we saw on the map that it had a Felt Lake in it. We got all excited to check it out. When we actually saw the lake (a.k.a. practically dried up pond), we did our best to maintain our enthusiasm.

Our ward hosted an activity one Saturday where we took a ferry from San Francisco across the bay to Alameda. It was a fun chance to move a little further out and see more of the Bay Area.

Probably our most exciting outing thus far was last week. It was "Fleet Week" in San Francisco, which means that a whole bunch of the naval fleet comes into the bay, and they host a bunch of events, including an air show. Lots of stunt planes, including the famous Blue Angels, performed, so we went up with some new friends, had a picnic, and enjoyed the show. It was pretty cool to sit right by the Golden Gate and watch the planes come in over - and under - the bridge! This one is likely to become an annual event for us!

Would you like a tour?

Our Sunday activity today (since we don't really have any friends yet to hang out with) was to go and take pictures of places around our new home. So, for anyone who would like to come along, I'm now going to offer a tour of our Stanford home. . . .
Our first stop is Lane History Corner. This is where Jon will be living for the next forever number of years. (I think he looks a little too comfortable, don't you?!)
Next is the Stanford Memorial Church. Unlike other universities, Stanford is allowed to talk about religion, and they even hold church meetings in this building (all churches are invited to reserve time). The outside is nice, but the inside is even better.
We now make our way across the main quad through one of the many archways on campus. They love arches here! The large building seen through the arch is the tallest building on campus, the Hoover Tower. (We're not sure what goes on in there, but there's no windows between the main floor and the tower floor... ?)
Our final stop for today is our apartment. This is the evening view from our 5th floor.
And now we meet up with Jon, tired out from the tour, resting in our living room.

That concludes today's Stanford tour. Thank you for joining us, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

We made it!

Well, our life as gypsies has ended, and we are finally trying to settle into a more permanent lifestyle. We have officially become California residents as we arrived here at Stanford last week. But, more about that in a moment. First, I have some priceless pictures of Jon before the end of our gypsy lifestyle:

Here Jon is after a trip we took up Ephraim canyon on the four-wheelers (there were several big trucks heading in the opposite directions kicking up lots and lots of dust, giving him a cute white nose and moustache!)

Here he is on a sunny day we spent up at the lake with my mom, Christian, and Kaitlyn. He lost his usual sun screening hat in China, so he borrowed this one (I won't mention that it's my mom's gardening hat!:) Isn't he cute!

And so, after spending some good times with the Averett's and the Felt's, we packed up the car and arrived at good old Stanford, California. Yes, the campus is its own city, so our address is not in Palo Alto, but in Stanford. For those who don't know, Stanford is located in Palo Alto, which is on the southwest side of the San Francisco Bay. We are about 30 minutes from San Francisco and 30 minutes from the coast.
We live on the fifth floor of one of several graduate apartment buildings. Basically, the graduate students here at Stanford have their own neighborhood named Escondido Village, full of apartment buildings and townhouses for all the students and their families. There is even an elementary school just for the village. Our apartment is small, but I will admit, well laid out, so that it doesn't feel too crowded. We spent the first several days moving our things in and making it feel like "home," and though I don't feel entirely "settled" yet, we're getting there.
One of the nice things about arriving is getting into a regular routine. I started my internship this week. I feel so lucky to have gotten an internship with the Palo Alto Unified School District, which is the district right here in Palo Alto/Stanford. Not only is it an excellent school district, but both of the schools I work in are very closeby. Thus, my commute has gone from an hour to school and half hour to work in Colorado, to a two mile drive from our apartment to each of the schools. It's so great, and our gas bill is, I think, the only expenditure that will actually be decreasing here in California. I'm even considering getting really ambitious and getting myself a bike, since we can also look forward to a non-cold, non-snowy winter (not that I won't be missing the cold and snow.)
Stanford doesn't start school until Sept. 22, so while I go to work during the days, Jon is still wandering aimlessly, looking for things to fill his time. Not really, he has been getting to know the campus, doing some prep reading, and then getting all of those errands done that come with moving into a new place. We've also been exploring the campus together, and getting to know what will be our world for the next who-knows-how-many years (I'm trying to not think about it in actual numbers, it's just too overwhelming!) Really, the Stanford campus is absolutely beautiful. There are tons of trees and lots of open spaces with trails, and then the buildings are stunning. Today, we visited the beautiful historic chapel on campus. Our camera has been kind of on the blitz, but at some point I'm going to have to spend some time taking pictures of everything there is to see on campus.
That's all I'll report for now, I'm sure there will be more to tell. I'll just close with an open invitation that visitors are more than welcome. We even have a pull-out couch and an air mattress to offer you, along with many sights to visit, and not to mention the pleasure of our company!

Okay, I'll play along

Sarah, I want you to know that I hardly ever get around to actually following through with these when someone tags me . . . so the fact that I'm doing it with your tag must mean that I really like you! So, here goes:

3 Joys

• Celebrating 3 years with my best friend in the world, Jon
• Our phenomenal summer of travel
• Having so many prayers answered this year

3 Fears

• Death
• Not being taken seriously
• Being misunderstood

3 Goals

• Be a mother
• Get a Ph.D.
• Learn to speak Chinese

3 Obsessions

• Jon Felt
• Jon Felt
• Jon Felt (no, he was not sitting next to me dictating what I should say :)

3 Random Facts

• I really want to learn to do Tai Chi.
• Sometimes, I turn the music up really loud at my house and have a dance party all by myself.
• I have a very hard time telling personal things about myself to people! (so if I actually publish this post it will be a real feat.)

And now I know I'm supposed to tag someone(s), but another random fact about me is that while I generally appear to be a social conformist, sometimes my non-conformist side comes out and I am compelled to rebel against expectations.

Our final stop

Our final two weeks were spent teaching in a small town (population 1 million) north of Nanjing named Suqian. The students in our classes were a bit more diverse than our previous class. They ranged from elementary teachers to a few college teachers of English. They also ranged from teachers in the city to teachers from small, rural communities quite far from the city. It was a great experience to get to know a new group of students. They were very fun to work with, and we learned a lot from them. The picture is of some of my students. Another difference for me was that my first class was all female students. In my second class I had about a dozen male students, which added a fun and different dynamic to the teaching.
Our translator in the second district was named Ms. Bao. She spoke English exceptionally well, and she was so good about helping us out but also giving us our space to do our own thing. We had some good conversations with her, and we got to meet her adorable 9-year-old daughter.
After leaving Suqian, we went to Shanghai for a couple of days. We were able to see the Bund, which is a section of the city with large European style buildings. We also spent some time shopping to get the last minute souvenirs and gifts that we needed before going home. On Sunday morning, we flew out of Shanghai home to the US. It was the longest Sunday of my life, since we added 14 hours to it by flying backward through the international date line. We arrived having had little to no sleep, but happy to be back home and with family. Since then, we've been enjoying time in Utah with both of our families. The jet lag has hit hard at times. Slowly but surely, though, we're getting our bodies back to the right time zone.

Where we've been...

Where have we been during the last month since leaving Beijing? Well, let me tell you.  We began teaching English on July 7.  Our first teaching assignment was for 2 weeks with the Pukou School District, in the northern part of Nanjing city.  We loved teaching with this district, and had some wonderful experiences, as well as met some truly exceptional people!

  Our teaching positions here were through the Jiangsu (province) Educational Services International Exchange program.  The provincial government here pays each summer for nearly 100 teachers to come from America, Australia/New Zealand, and Canada to come and teach their public school English teachers.  The focus is on improving their English listening and speaking, as well as to expose them to Western educational methods.  It is an impressive program, and we feel very fortunate to have found it and to have been allowed to participate.  

Teaching English all day has been fun, if sometimes draining.  We realized the other day, after we've now been doing it for four weeks, that basically what our lessons consist of is playing party games with a class of adult teachers for 5 hours a day.  The games are all language-based, but they make using the language fun.  It's fun for us, but as most of you know, Jon and I are not party people, so playing these sorts of game on a regular, prolonged basis gets pretty tiring.  But, overall, we have really really enjoyed the experience.  It has given us the chance to get to know Chinese culture on a much more personal and profound level.  Our lessons are also theme-based, in that each day we focus on one cultural theme and share Western cultures related to that theme, as well as get our students to tell us the Chinese cultures related to that theme.  It has really been so fun to be able to get to know the culture so well in this way.

               This is the picture of my class in Pukou -- they are all Elementary English teachers.
            Jon had a class of middle school teachers, here he is teaching them.

    They took us on a weekend trip to visit some nearby sites.  This is a giant Buddha -- the toes were even longer than mine!!
They took such great care of us, their attentiveness and hospitality was overwhelming.  These are pictures of the beautiful hotel suite that they put us up in.


    On our weekend trip, we visited a phenomenal Chinese garden.  Here we are smelling the lotuses (or is that loti?).
We've met lots of great people here in China, but we think our favorite Chinese person we've met here was Mr. He.  He was the asst. principal of the school we were teaching at, and we just loved getting to know him.
   This is the staff (and family members) of the district that hosted us. We all traveled together to Suzhou for our weekend trip.  They introduced us to lotus blossoms!

Thanks, Pukou, for such a wonderful experience!

The Soundtrack of China

Did you know that China has a soundtrack? Yep, it does. And do you know what that soundtrack is? Yep, it's Kenny G.

You know how in movies, the characters go around to all sorts of different places, but everywhere they go, the background music has the same sound -- because of course it was written by the same person for the movie's soundtrack. That's kind of how it is in China. Everywhere we go -- hotels, restaurants, even in people's cars, we hear Kenny G. It's like the Communist government wants to make us feel like we're living a movie here in China -- except then the movie that we're living starts to feel like the Truman Show because everywhere we go the music is the same. It's kind of creepy!

I guess really, though, it's just that people in China really like Kenny G. I wonder if he realizes that. Probably, because I'll bet with 1.3 billion people listening, he's making bank here!

P.S. Pictures

Here are pictures to show a little better what some of the below-mentioned goodies look like:
Lotus pod with seeds

Salty duck eggs -- the white gets kind of clear, with these crystally flower shapes on the outside.

Litchis (also called dragon eyes) -- this little fruit has changed the course of Chinese history!

Real Chinese Food

Are you kidding me? Have we had real Chinese food yet? We're up to our ears in real Chinese food, and some days I would die for a decent non-Chinese meal. I've discovered many things that I quite like in real Chinese cuisine, along with many things I do not like. Number one on that list is that we really are not fans of Chinese breakfasts, and we think that when we get back we may need to have at least 3 days worth of breakfast at every meal to make up for all of our breakfasts here. The main reason for this is that Americans like sweets of course -- the Chinese do not like sweets. If you think about it, that really gets in the way of a decent breakfast!
But, if nothing else, eating in China is definitely part of the adventure of being here, and thus part of the fun. So, for the sake of impressiveness and to tell a good story, we've been making a list of all of the new foods that we've tried while here thus far. (Complete with a 5 star rating system 1*=Hide it under you napkin 2**=I can choke it down if necessary 3***=Take it or leave it 4****=If given a choice, I'll say yes 5*****=It's become a staple)
1. Duck -- including duck meat ... depending on the preparation, this ranges from 3 to 4 *
duck tongue ... 2**
duck egg ... our one experience rated a 1*
2. Squid -- for me ... 2** -- it looked really scary, but we were at dinner with the administrators of the school district we were going to be teaching for, and so I had to choke it down.
3. Many kinds of fish, and if you know me, you know that fish is pretty low on the scale , but I will admit I've had some decent experiences with fish here, so maybe I'll try harder to like it in the states.
4. Pig ear -- yep, you got it! It was a definite 1*
5. Whole chicken served up in the bowl of soup -- they keep telling us that the meat just comes right off, and it really doesn't taste bad, but something about seeing the head peeking out at you from the bowl changes the experience! 3***
6. Jumbo shrimp -- I'm going to have to go with 2** on this one too -- sorry seafood lovers of the world. (as an aside, we've also been served lots of regular shrimp also, which is nicely served with the eyes and antennas smiling away to enhance your eating pleasure!)
7. Lots of kinds of fresh-squeezed juices, including (but not limited to) watermelon juice, corn juice, and cucumber juice -- they can be kind of different, but all in all, I'd give them 4****
8. Litchis -- a strange little fruit that has a long history among Chinese imperial concubines, but missed the American scene for some reason. This one gets a 4****
9. A whole meal with various servings of mushrooms, a pretty hearty 2**
10. Tofu jerky -- you never knew that tofu could be made into a convenient, easy-to-carry travel snack! It may be convenient, but I'm going to have to go with 1 1/2*
11. Tea-flavored pumpkin seeds -- also a fun snack, kind of like sunflower seeds, which are also popular.
12. Goose meat -- this one was not a bad experience 3***
13. Fat loaf -- kind of like meat loaf, only comprised entirely of fat -- you guessed it ... 1*
14. Soy sauce eggs -- I don't know how they do it, but soy sauce is sucked into the egg by some process of osmosis, and the whole boiled egg is black and reeks of salty soy saucey goodness ... sorry to disappoint you soy sauce fans, but you can have too much of a good thing 1*
15. Steamed bread -- it kind of comes out rubbery on the outside, but bread-like on the inside. If they served it with some sugar, it could be all right. But remember, we're in China, they don't do sugar. I'm going to go with 3***
16. Sugared tomatoes -- oops, I lied, they do serve sugar on some things, like tomatoes. It's not exactly what I had in mind, though, when I wanted sweet. 3***
17. Bayberry -- hard to describe, but quite good 4****
18. Lotus -- a famous flower in China, also with a long history. We were taught that you can eat the seeds, and they're not bad. They also slice up the pod that they seeds are in, and it's not so great but it's supposed to bring good luck, so we try it for appearances sake. 3***
19. Hairy meat -- that's Jon's nickname for it, we really don't know what it is -- some sort of dried meat, but it looks kind of scary. 3***
20. Cowpea -- read it out loud and it sounds more interesting than it really is! 4****

I hate to make eating here in China sound like it's not good -- mostly, I've loved getting to try many great Chinese dishes. The variety of dishes they have here is phenomenal! At a single meal, we have been served up to 25 different dishes, each of which we had never had before here, and many of which we haven't had since. American Chinese food really doesn't do their cuisine justice, and I've really liked many of the new things we've tried. However, I would be lying if I said I didn't relish our trips to get ice cream and oreos (5*****) at the local market!!

4. Beijing

Hi all. I'm back, are you ready for more?? So after Xi'an, we boarded another overnight train headed to Beijing. We again tried the hostel thing, and were impressed once more. Hostels are good!
The first day in Beijing, we went to the Temple of Heaven complex, which has three temples from the imperial cult of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The temples are very colorful and impressive. In one part of the complex there is a circular wall which is built so that if you and another person stand at opposite points in the circle and talk, you can hear one another. It's pretty cool!
Our second day in Beijing, we decided to try being true American tourists, and we hired a tour guide and van through the hostel to take us to Ming Tombs and Great Wall. The plus side of this was that Jon got to sit back and follow someone else's lead, rather than having to guide us everywhere. The down side of having a tour guide is that they give cheap rates by subsidizing their tour with commissions from various shopping spots that they take you to along the tour. We were warned about this in advance by the hostel, and we actually opted for it because it meant it cost us less money. We visited three different places during the day in addition to our desired destinations. We stopped at a jade factory, a pottery factory, and a Tibetan Medicine hospital (that was the funniest, because it was an actual hospital with a real Tibetan doctor that came and listened to our pulse, asked us questions about our health, and then gave recommendations about which Tibetan medicines would solve all of our problems!! They made it look so official, but it kind of felt like getting your fortune told.)
Anyway, the Great Wall was obviously the highlight of the day. The part we visited was very steep, and a great workout! Apparently it is famous because there is a famous quote by Chairman Mao about that section of the wall. He said that if you could climb to the top, you were a "real man." I'm happy to report that by the end of the day, we were all "real men!"
That same evening, we went to an acrobat show, which if you've never seen Chinese acrobatics, you've never been truly impressed! If you want a taste, check out this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeOb3ZiXRQ4
Our last day in Beijing, we visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City or Imperial Palace, and the Lama Buddhist Temple. The Forbidden City is where the emperor of China used to live (it's also the famous one you always see with a huge picture of Chairman Mao on the front -- but Chairman Mao has nothing to do with it, I'm not sure why they put him there). It really is a whole city inside of Beijing that is isolated from the rest of civilization. It is huge, and there is tons to see!! Really, I'm pretty sure the castles of Europe have nothing on China when it comes to royal living!
That evening we boarded a train for the final time to head to our teaching city in Nanjing. We had to pay extra for our spots, because the cheap beds were full, so we got to go first class in the soft sleepers. We had our very own compartment, and it was practically like a hotel with a complimentary toothbrush and washcloth -- the works!!
Real men at top of the wall!

Tiananmen Square

The Temple of Heaven

3. Xi'an

Yay Xi'an (pronounced She On)! This was one of our favorite stops.  We were pretty beat after a very long train ride, and then a very long hot day visiting the caves (there were lots of stairs!), and nerves were getting pretty frayed by the time we made it to the end of 2 (or was it 3 -- do you count traveling days, and if so how? that time change throws it all off!) Anyway, we arrived in Xi'an very tired, and kind of cranky.  Luckily, though, we had the good fortune to have found an amazing hostel to stay in.  I had never stayed in a hostel before, and this was a very good introduction to the experience.  First, they had air conditioning, a definite plus.  Second, the staff spoke English, which alleviated some of the load that Jon had been carrying solo since we could finally do some things for ourselves (like ask where the bathroom was).  Third, we had our own space (the four of us had our own room) where we could drop our bags and breathe for a few seconds without being surrounded by millions of Chinese people (it's surprising how that really gets to you after a while).

Our first full day in Xi'an we toured the city by taking a bike ride (tandem style) around the top of the old city wall (see pictures from a couple posts ago).  No, riding a bike on a tandem bike doesn't get drafty, at least not when it's nearly 100 degrees out with over 90% humidity! Though there is the problem of riding up your leg as you pedal, and exposing white lines from beneath the white skirt! This particular problem came up later, because as we were riding around the wall, two other bikes came up next to us with three foreigners.  They turned and asked us if we were from Utah.  Chrisy (also wearing a skirt) and I thought for sure they had noticed our exposed lines! But, come to find out, they were old friends of the Felt's from Sandy.  Five of their family were in China touring for a couple of weeks.  Doesn't that just make you want to break into a nice long round of "It's a Small World"?! Our coincidental meeting led to spending the day with them to go to see the famous Terracotta Warriors, and then a great fountain show that evening. 

        (The outside of our hostel.)
     (The city wall which we biked around.)

The next day we went to see a very large pagoda, and to the Xi'an museum.  They were both interesting, but sorry, not many stories to tell. Suffice it to say, Jon was in heaven surrounded by so much ancient Chinese history!

On our third and final day, we got up and went to the Great Mosque in Xi'an.  One of the oldest and largest Muslim communities is in Xi'an, and they have a large mosque there.  It was so fun to see the Chinese style mosque in the middle of the city, as well as to see the Chinese Muslim people with their Chinese appearance with the traditional Muslim clothing.  I found it absolutely fascinating! That day we also went to see another, smaller pagoda.  This one we actually got to go into and climb, which Jon thought was even more great.  After that we went to the drum and bell towers of the city, and heard a short concert of traditional Chinese instruments.  

      (Jon in his seventh heaven at the base of the pagoda.)
At the end of the third day in Xi'an, we braved the crowded train stations again to get on for another overnight train ride to Beijing.