To those who have made me (of which there are too many to number):

With all my heart, thank you.

I am who I am and I am where I am because you love and support me. Thank you for believing in me! I miss you all so dearly this holiday season. Namaste (I honor that divinity within you that is also within me) and Happy Thanksgiving.


...The above photo is my family in Utah who call me Sunday nights and we webcam...isn't it a great family photo? I am the luckiest girl in China.

Follow this link to see a growing collection of photos I've taken here in Changsha. Oh what a beautiful life it is.

This week I fell in love with teaching.
I've always really looked forward to it, but this week something shifted. I did a lesson on "Problems and Advice" and as part of the lesson I had them write down one problem and put it in my basket. I intended on playing a game with the problems, because I was assuming they'd write silly and fun things down. But these students! They really gave me their biggest problem on paper. I had some really heartbreaking ones ("I need happy.") and some really hilarious ones ("I am too young to build a boat.") but each one was a little window into my students soul. They cracked my heart wide open. And that was when I realized I really am making a difference with these kids.

From class:

"Good advice! What are some examples of good advice? Like, Never Give up!, Believe in Yourself, what else? No pain no gain? Good! What else? Don't worry be happy...great! I'll tell you my favorite:
(very big on chalkboard)
FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS
Maria, what is your dream??
This! Being here with you is my dream. Can you believe it?"
(big smiles all around)

(except for those boys in the back who were throwing paper at each other) :)

My seniors practicing before they took on the juniors. Tie game! The red building in the background is where I live.

The one on the left is one of my "cool" students. He smiled and hid his face after I took this.

One of the many strangers who now has my photo. I'm like a celebrity!

Little girl who lives in my alley. She reminds me of Sophie. Love those shoes.

Scooters outside my school gate, and a glimpse of my alley.

Martyr's Park, the biggest park in Changsha.

Impressive street performer. Soon after he proceeded to juggle on one foot.

Took my camera out with my last Friday afternoon/evening. This is what my "daily" life looks like (minus classroom photos, I really need to get some of those).

My favorite newscast this week: (I gave them the headline and they had to do a newscast explaining who, what, where, when, why and how)

PANDA EATS FOREIGNER AT BEIJING ZOO

"I am Foreigner!"
"Foreigner" tries to get into the zoo but can not. He decides to dress up like bamboo and sneak in at night. "Panda" does an "I am cute!" song and dance and then eats the foreigner, mistaking him for bamboo.
Foreigner: "I am died!" Collapses to the ground.
Newswoman enters scene with her Cameraman (student holding waterbottle and pencil case up like a camera) exclaiming things like "I don't believe!" "Oh what a pity!" She interviews the witnesses who were very distraught over the tragedy and then finally she interviewed Panda, who was very sorry for what he did. He did not know he was eating Foreigner. He only wanted to eat the delicious bamboo.

Some runners up:

62 year old American man is very cold one day. He goes to the hospital and the doctor says, You are pregnant.
(Girl student in class) so happy today she could fly! She flew to the moon and met a beautiful moon man. They got married.
Beautiful foreigner teacher named Maria marries famous pop star Jay Chou, no class! Party on the beach!

Tiny miracles today:
Sunshine and mango green tea
Musing on new art/writing projects leaving me inspired
A bath in my awesome "tub"
Stolen time spent doing dishes, sweeping, mopping, and boiling cinnamon bark
Clean sheets
Custom tailored jeans for cheap!
A fun lesson plan that the students generate themselves (a class newscast) which inevitably ends in hilarity
An incredibly enthusiastic student requesting I help him with his pronunciation during his break
No more fruit flies!
A random job offer doing voice over recordings where I pocketed 500 RMB for 2.5 hours of work

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today is a good day to notice the tiny miracles.

The universe sent me a "bathtub" just when I needed it most.

"Your country chose a new queen today!! It was the black one!"

-"Andy" the (AWESOME) owner of Teddy Bear hotel at the base of Mt. Emei, a sacred Buddhist mountain

I may be off the radar for a while while I do some reconstructive surgery on my future and my heart. Please stand by while the Pheonix is reborn. Pardon my dust.

In the meantime, enjoy this cute panda photo I took this week in Sichuan.

Dear Halloween,
I'm writing to say thanks. First, for the great lesson plan this week. The students loved being blindfolded to describe creepy "human" body parts. They also dug the youtube clip of trick or treaters being pranked. You know what else you did this year? You provided two hundred Chinese students a 2 hour break from their studies to be allowed to party and just be teenagers. That there is a miracle in itself! They work so hard. Thanks for bringing a little fun into their lives. Tara told me that what you wear for Halloween is supposed to symbolize the next upcoming year. I dressed as a tiger and a witch. The tiger is a powerful symbol in China. The power I'm choosing from tiger for this year is illumination. As for the witch, well I'm choosing that to mean magic, of course. So, therefore, this year is going to be magically illuminous! Starting...now! I love it. Anyway, thanks for everything, Halloween. It was fun. See you next year!
Love,
maria


...I told my friend Mallory if I have hundreds of students show up and I still survive the party, it will officially mean I can do anything.
It is now official.
I can do anything.
Feels good. :)

What I look like when I see a cell phone in class.

Happy Halloween everyone!
This was my "costume" today for class. They don't celebrate Halloween here in China, so when I showed up to class as a tiger, my students freaked. They loved it. I could barely teach because every time I got animated my ears would bobble around and they couldn't stop giggling at me.
After a week of teaching Halloween, I'm pretty much over it. In fact, I'm so halloweened out I just may skip it next year. HOWEVER, last week I thought it would be a great idea to invite all 700 of my students to a Halloween party. That I'm hosting. By myself. Have I gone mad??? I'm hoping about 10% of my students will show up but I could easily have 300 or so 16 year olds to entertain tomorrow. I'm currently making ghosts out of plastic bags and lollipops that I am going to hide all over school for them to go on a "ghost hunt." I am so nervous for this party. I will be sure to take photos for you all. Whatever happens I'm sure it will be fun!
I got two awesome Halloween surprises today. First, a package from my family! THANK YOU so much, you have no idea the joy a package brings. The duct tape alone is going to revolutionize my Chinese experience. :) The shirts smell like home...I'm thinking of never washing them. You can't get that kind of smell over here.
Second surprise: ten day vacation! My students have a big mid-term exam next week and so they cancelled my classes so the students can study hard. Making travel plans with some friends. Woo!