Saturday, May 9, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
May Holiday Trip to Beijing
Long Time No Blog.... Sorry.
It is the last day of May Holiday here. I had great plans of getting videos and slide shows along with informative and entertaining commentary posted all this past week since I had free time. So here I sit with approximately 23 hours and 50 minutes of holiday left and this is my first blog attempt. Mare and I went to Beijing with some friends on Monday - Wednesday of May holiday. A family friend stayed with the girls. While we were there we ate at TGIFriday's, went to Teineman Square, ate at Peter's TexMex; went to the Forbidden city; ate at Grandma's Kitchen; went to an International bookstore; ate at TGIFriday's; went to the mall; ate at Grandma's Kitchen; went to a Chinese Acrobatics show; ate at TGIFriday's. We did not realize how much we had missed cheeseburgers, steaks, american breakfasts, nachos, etc. There is this Jack Daniels B-B-Q sauce that TGIFriday's puts on burgers and chicken....wow! I have to see if I can get that receipe. Here is some video from the Acrobat show:
It is the last day of May Holiday here. I had great plans of getting videos and slide shows along with informative and entertaining commentary posted all this past week since I had free time. So here I sit with approximately 23 hours and 50 minutes of holiday left and this is my first blog attempt. Mare and I went to Beijing with some friends on Monday - Wednesday of May holiday. A family friend stayed with the girls. While we were there we ate at TGIFriday's, went to Teineman Square, ate at Peter's TexMex; went to the Forbidden city; ate at Grandma's Kitchen; went to an International bookstore; ate at TGIFriday's; went to the mall; ate at Grandma's Kitchen; went to a Chinese Acrobatics show; ate at TGIFriday's. We did not realize how much we had missed cheeseburgers, steaks, american breakfasts, nachos, etc. There is this Jack Daniels B-B-Q sauce that TGIFriday's puts on burgers and chicken....wow! I have to see if I can get that receipe. Here is some video from the Acrobat show:
Check Back soon for more information on our Beijing Trip and video from the Forbidden City!
posted by Brad
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Korean Store Open 24 Hours A Day but not in a row....
Good Evening/Morning! I hope that this blog finds you in grand spirits. It is 2126 on Thursday, April 16. In a few hours my baby girl will be 5. It is hard to believe that just 5 short years ago on a Friday night, we were hanging out (as was our very common practice on each and every Friday night) with Randy and Jill Jarman when Mare started having the labor pains. I am thinking that it was about this time 5 years ago that we left Laurel and Aubrey with the Jarman's (which saved Jill a trip to Tulsa) and headed back to house to start our ritual of walking to speed up the labor. Now, 5 years later, I just got back from walking with Mare and Gentry to a Chinese bakery to order her birthday cake.
The Cards and Cubs start a four game series in 4.5 hours. I really don't like the Cubs. I wouldn't say hate because that is such an angry word. But it is close.
So the title of the blog.... well we were out of milk so Gentry and I decided to run down the the Korean Store that is open 24 hours.... we can get ramen noodles whenever we want... or so I thought.... they were closed at 7:00 a.m. I guess they were closed or trapped. Anyway, there was a padlock on the inside of the door. So we had to settled for a case of bagged milk from the corner store where we usually buy trash bags and rice cakes.... yep rice cakes. Aubrey said that the bagged milk tastes like American milk that is watered down. But they drink it.
I climbed a mountain last Thursday. Men night again. This mountain has granite steps in the side that lead up the side to a pagoda from which you can see all of Yantai. There is one granite step for each day of the year (it takes a little over two years of steps to get to the top....at least once the steps start, you have to walk up a road by the zoo before you get to January 1.) They have an important world or Chinese event for each day of the year. I have a picture of me on May 4 and with another American teacher here on July 4. After we climbed the granite steps, we went down the backside (no steps.... not much of a path) to get to the restaurant.
I am so thankful for the ability to share what is happening in our adventure with you. The Internet can be a dark place but I am thankful that it allows me to communicate with friends and family. I am also thankful that it allows to me to have some of the experiences that I have always enjoyed like Mike Shannon on the radio (I miss Jack Buck) and listening to a great friend, Jeff Matthews (and Lisa Fischer, who I am friends with now via Facebook) on the radio (Internet). Check them out at www.b98.com, 5:30 a.m - 9:00 a.m. each morning. You can listen live. I really am thankful for Skype, since it allows me to talk to my friends and family. It was also so cool to see Jerry Yester, formerly of The Lovin' Spoonful, at my favorite coffee place, Uncommon Grounds (thanks Laurie). He was playing on a Friday Night and I was able to see him via skype.
I guess that is enough rambling for now.... Mare, Laurel and Aubrey are headed out on Secondary Student Spring Trip next week. G and I will be holding the fort down. I am hoping to get more pictures and video uploaded so try to check back the middle of next week. If you enjoy the blog leave us a comment or send us an email at sneedfamily5@yahoo.com.
In the words of the great broadcaster Jack Buck.... "Thanks for your time this time until next time so long."
Brad
The Cards and Cubs start a four game series in 4.5 hours. I really don't like the Cubs. I wouldn't say hate because that is such an angry word. But it is close.
So the title of the blog.... well we were out of milk so Gentry and I decided to run down the the Korean Store that is open 24 hours.... we can get ramen noodles whenever we want... or so I thought.... they were closed at 7:00 a.m. I guess they were closed or trapped. Anyway, there was a padlock on the inside of the door. So we had to settled for a case of bagged milk from the corner store where we usually buy trash bags and rice cakes.... yep rice cakes. Aubrey said that the bagged milk tastes like American milk that is watered down. But they drink it.
I climbed a mountain last Thursday. Men night again. This mountain has granite steps in the side that lead up the side to a pagoda from which you can see all of Yantai. There is one granite step for each day of the year (it takes a little over two years of steps to get to the top....at least once the steps start, you have to walk up a road by the zoo before you get to January 1.) They have an important world or Chinese event for each day of the year. I have a picture of me on May 4 and with another American teacher here on July 4. After we climbed the granite steps, we went down the backside (no steps.... not much of a path) to get to the restaurant.
I am so thankful for the ability to share what is happening in our adventure with you. The Internet can be a dark place but I am thankful that it allows me to communicate with friends and family. I am also thankful that it allows to me to have some of the experiences that I have always enjoyed like Mike Shannon on the radio (I miss Jack Buck) and listening to a great friend, Jeff Matthews (and Lisa Fischer, who I am friends with now via Facebook) on the radio (Internet). Check them out at www.b98.com, 5:30 a.m - 9:00 a.m. each morning. You can listen live. I really am thankful for Skype, since it allows me to talk to my friends and family. It was also so cool to see Jerry Yester, formerly of The Lovin' Spoonful, at my favorite coffee place, Uncommon Grounds (thanks Laurie). He was playing on a Friday Night and I was able to see him via skype.
I guess that is enough rambling for now.... Mare, Laurel and Aubrey are headed out on Secondary Student Spring Trip next week. G and I will be holding the fort down. I am hoping to get more pictures and video uploaded so try to check back the middle of next week. If you enjoy the blog leave us a comment or send us an email at sneedfamily5@yahoo.com.
In the words of the great broadcaster Jack Buck.... "Thanks for your time this time until next time so long."
Brad
Friday, April 3, 2009
Men's Night
by Brad
So we have men's night every other Thursday Night. Each of the men on faculty and staff are responsible for planning a night. So far we have had pizza and a movie ("The Great Escape" Steve Mc Queen is so cool); bowling and pizza; pool and Japanese food; and badminton and hot pot. There are actually indoor badminton courts here. You can rent a court for 15 RMB (a little over $2) for an hour. On a given Men's Night we will have a Korean, a Canadian, 2 Chinese, a Russian, and four Americans (North Dakota; Oklahoma; Missouri/Oklahoma & a Razorback WOOOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOOOIE!). So far after a lot of hard fought competition, the Canadian teacher has won the pool and badmitton. I did OK at bowling during two games but I stunk up the third. I won the first game out right and was beat by the Canadian once and the Korean once. Pool was a mixed bag because we started out playing a round robin, but some people were so bad that their games were taking too long to play so we gave up and just played whomever was available. I think that the only activity that the Americans can have claimed to have won outright was the movie, just because Steve McQueen was so cool. But as I think about it..... he did not escape and the Canadian did.... dang Canadians.
I went to Qing Dao last Saturday with Laurel and Aubrey. We were on a bus with a couple of other families from the school. Laurel was getting some prep work done for her braces and to complete the root canal that was started last month. Aubrey went because..... she likes bus travel. We ate a cool restaurant called "The Diner". I had a cheese burger with french fries. I had been craving one of those. It was nice to have a real burger.
Well lots to do and tell. we have some video to upload. We will try to do that this weekend. We hope that you are enjoying the blog. Leave us a comment if you get the chance. It let's us know that you are reading the blog.
So we have men's night every other Thursday Night. Each of the men on faculty and staff are responsible for planning a night. So far we have had pizza and a movie ("The Great Escape" Steve Mc Queen is so cool); bowling and pizza; pool and Japanese food; and badminton and hot pot. There are actually indoor badminton courts here. You can rent a court for 15 RMB (a little over $2) for an hour. On a given Men's Night we will have a Korean, a Canadian, 2 Chinese, a Russian, and four Americans (North Dakota; Oklahoma; Missouri/Oklahoma & a Razorback WOOOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOOOIE!). So far after a lot of hard fought competition, the Canadian teacher has won the pool and badmitton. I did OK at bowling during two games but I stunk up the third. I won the first game out right and was beat by the Canadian once and the Korean once. Pool was a mixed bag because we started out playing a round robin, but some people were so bad that their games were taking too long to play so we gave up and just played whomever was available. I think that the only activity that the Americans can have claimed to have won outright was the movie, just because Steve McQueen was so cool. But as I think about it..... he did not escape and the Canadian did.... dang Canadians.
I went to Qing Dao last Saturday with Laurel and Aubrey. We were on a bus with a couple of other families from the school. Laurel was getting some prep work done for her braces and to complete the root canal that was started last month. Aubrey went because..... she likes bus travel. We ate a cool restaurant called "The Diner". I had a cheese burger with french fries. I had been craving one of those. It was nice to have a real burger.
Well lots to do and tell. we have some video to upload. We will try to do that this weekend. We hope that you are enjoying the blog. Leave us a comment if you get the chance. It let's us know that you are reading the blog.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Hello There-
I decided to blog again, and I haven't decided what to blog about just yet, but I am sure it will come to me soon. I think I will start with answering the question that everyone has been asking me. "So what does one do in China?"
Well, Aubrey and I tend to have this sort of habit of trying yummy looking Korean candy. Which I have decided is overall noticeably better than Chinese candy. And I CAN tell a difference because Korean characters are more curved and have lots of circles. Whereas Chinese characters look threatening and kinda scary. They are big and squarish and practically scream, "If you knew what we said, you would burst into tears!!" Or, is just the fact that learning to read them seems completely impossible? I will get back to you on that...I haven't quite decided yet. But I digress. Other things one can do in China. Karaoke. Karaoke, for me, is a love\hate relationship. I love going with my friends and hanging out and listening to people sing their musically talented hearts out. Whether that be the Korean rap that a couple of my friends prefer, the multitude of Eagles of songs my Father enjoys, or the Avril Lavigne that Aubrey sings at the top of her lungs. I love hearing OTHER people express themselves through singing. I, on the other hand, am one of those people who, like my father (Sorry Daddy) should not sing in public. Ever. So when your sister asks you to hold the mic for her and then shoves you up from your of oh-so-comfortable sitting position to sing 'Complicated' by our dear friend, the aforementioned, Avril Lavigne. It makes your life, well, COMPLICATED. So, don't get me wrong. I'm not scared to sing, I am just...concerned. For everyone else in my company who would be perhaps SCARRED by a very bad musical performance. Given, It was fun. Although I had to pretend I couldn't hear myself hitting notes that only dogs could hear.
Something else you can do in China...um...JUSCO! You can go to Jusco (Kinda like a chinse mall with a supermarket inside) with your friends and look in the stores at clothing that look like they wouldn't ever fit anyone with curves. You can get tokens and play arcade games and watch people fail\show-off (it doesn't seem there is middle ground) at Dance Dance Revolution. And they recently got photo booths! They are absolutely amazing. You go and tell the lady (or your good friend who speaks fluent chinese, whom I suggest does this part) how many you want, if you want backgrounds, stickers, or weird frames. (I advise you to skip these things, they are honestly really cheesy) and then you go in and take the pictures. The Photo Booths are super fun. You can also go eat at 'CoolCoolLemon' which is like a juice bar type dealie. And they have this juice that is called Lemon Kumquat and I have no idea what it is. But its delicious. It tastes like lemonade only it has these little eyeball looking things floating all in it. They taste sweet and I have no idea what they are. I don't plan on asking, actually. Aubrey likes to get their Mango Smoothies which are phenomenal. Gentry prefers Watermelon Juice. And get this, okay, you watch them make it all. I pointed (I'm not fluent yet so shush it) at the little menu and the cut off a chunk of watermelon and stuck it in the blender and when it was liquidy they poured it into a cup and handed it to me. Crazy Straw is included.
Thats all I can really think of that you can do that anyone would find interesting. So I will think of another topic on which to talk about. Ah-another frequently asked question just came to mind. "So how is school going?" And my answer is.....(drum roll here)....well. I enjoy almost every aspect of it. First period is....interesting. Each day isn't the same. It alternates between either Chinese class, (which is very..um...enriching?) or Gym. Yes, the one that Mr. Sneed teaches. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering. I call him Daddy. I will always call him Daddy. None of this Mr. Sneed stuff. In Gym we have started our 'Fitness for Life' program. Now everyday we have to bring clothes to change into because we run\briskly walk for about 15-20 minutes. And I am sure that most of you are thinking, "Laurel? Laurel Paige? Didn't her school activities extend to Quiz Bowl last year?" Yes, Yes they did. And because of that I own not ONE PAIR, NOT ONE FREAKIN PAIR of exercise pants. So I have to wear...my dads. I have to wear his Razorback athletic pants because they are the only pants he owns with a drawstring. Not that I have anything against the Arkansas Razorbacks (WHOOOOO PIGG SOOOIIIIEEE-take that Nathan! Oh, he's my friend from Georgia. Enough said. Kidding Mother!!!) I just wish that I could wear my jeans all day and not have to change in the bathrooms. Oh and FYI it is HARD to change from Nike running shoes to Converse sitting on a closed toilet lid. And I won't even go into detail about changing from pants that are several several SEVERAL sizes too large to skinny jeans. *shiver*
Second period is...um-well- I think I should skip this one. My second period class is Geometry. And for the past THREE weeks we have been cutting, folding, and gluing these little one inch tall paper triangles. I hate them. I hate them with an unbelievable passion. We had to make about 1,000 (no exaggeration I AM DEAD SERIOUS) of these little things. So we could make a giant Sierpinski Triangle that is about 4 feet tall and several more feet wide. It was a complete waste of time, not to mention paper. We probably knocked out several acres of the rainforest for something that I am sure most of the high school population wants to burn. I started that movement.
Third period is Biology! I actually enjoy this class although its probably mostly because of the teacher. Mrs. Coclea is so smart and she has the sweetest personality. You could talk to her for hours about anything. The last chapter we did was the reproductive anatomy. We talked about everything from giving birth to when you start getting gray hair. And EVERYTHING in between. The fact that she was able to teach that to all of high school only strengthens my theory that she can talk about anything.
Fourth period is English. I love my English class. We have an awesome teacher in here too. Mr. Jarman (yes the same one that teaches Drama) recently assigned us a portfolio that requires us to use six of the different text types. You have to choose one topic to cover each one the text types. The topics vary for each person but some of the ones I have heard mentioned by my class mates were: board-games, sleeping, ice-cream, and iPods. I am stuck between the bands Green Day and My Chemical Romance.
Fifth period is History. Which Mr. Sneed\Daddy teaches. We are learning about the Mongols and Samurai's and different Chinese Dynasty's. Its a really interesting class. Our first week we were assigned to partners whom we had to write and act in a talk show with. Guess who ended up being the chinese concubine, Wu Zhao? Yeah, yours truly. Given she did rule the throne and was the only female in history to assume the title emperor but...still. I did have fun by borrowing my dear friend Becca's, she's in fourth grade, big chinese headband covered in flowers to help make me look the part. Because, you know, I totally looked Chinese to begin with. Oh, and once a week we play scrabble as a review game. Fun times, my friend.
Sixth period is either Photography or Reading. Photography is an awesome class where we learn how a camera works, different technical terms of types of photos, and how to edit them. I love it. We also go on field trips to get different types of shots. Last week, in fact, we were each assigned a teacher to shadow and take pictures of without being seen. Guess who I drew? Mr. Sneed. No Joke. Of all the teachers I had to get one I was blood related to. Turns out you can get lots of interesting pictures of teachers without them noticing if they are teaching the 2nd grade PE class. And I also learned that 2nd Graders+Bean bags=chaos. How my Father stays sane, I have no clue.
Reading is a fun class. Well it was. Until my mother gave us a seating arrangement. So now I don't sit between Aubrey and my 6th grade friend Mandy. I sit in the corner between a cabinet and this really nice quiet girl whose name I need to learn.
Seventh Period is awesome too. It switches between Drama and Art. Art is...okay. You know how I mentioned how much I happen to hate triangles thanks to Geometry. Guess what we are sketching in Art? FLIPPIN TRIANGLES.
Drama on the other hand is absolutely hysterical. For those of you who read my previously written blog entry know a little bit of what its like. I actually since then have been cast in a short skit involving three gunmen. Their names are: Mr. Fuchsia, Mr. Mauve, and Mr. Puce. I am Mr. Puce. I hate that word...puce...ew...its kinda like the word pleasure...BLECH...can't stand it...anyway, I'll shut up now. How the heck did I even get on that subject? Whatever-anyway. Its a hilarious skit that involves all three of them constantly having their guns at each other's heads and their conversations while doing so. Mr. Fuchsia has an obsession with blowing up people's brains, Mr. Mauve has to pee the whole time, and Mr. Puce corrects everyone's grammar. Its quite the acting experience. When we have time left in class we play one of the best games ever invented: Party Quirks. Basically someone is hosting a party and three people go out in the hall and decide what kind of quirk they should have. The last time we played, my friend Mary was a woman who suddenly goes into labor, my other friend Christina was a Tae-Kwan-Do (how the heck do you spell that) master who thought the party host was her padawan or whatever they are called, and I was a penguin.
So that is just a taste of what my school life is like..and it took a very long time to explain. And I am out of time for now to continue on this blog. So I bid all of you a very happy St. Patrick's Day and advise you to celebrate it passionately!
So long and Farewell-
Laurel
I decided to blog again, and I haven't decided what to blog about just yet, but I am sure it will come to me soon. I think I will start with answering the question that everyone has been asking me. "So what does one do in China?"
Well, Aubrey and I tend to have this sort of habit of trying yummy looking Korean candy. Which I have decided is overall noticeably better than Chinese candy. And I CAN tell a difference because Korean characters are more curved and have lots of circles. Whereas Chinese characters look threatening and kinda scary. They are big and squarish and practically scream, "If you knew what we said, you would burst into tears!!" Or, is just the fact that learning to read them seems completely impossible? I will get back to you on that...I haven't quite decided yet. But I digress. Other things one can do in China. Karaoke. Karaoke, for me, is a love\hate relationship. I love going with my friends and hanging out and listening to people sing their musically talented hearts out. Whether that be the Korean rap that a couple of my friends prefer, the multitude of Eagles of songs my Father enjoys, or the Avril Lavigne that Aubrey sings at the top of her lungs. I love hearing OTHER people express themselves through singing. I, on the other hand, am one of those people who, like my father (Sorry Daddy) should not sing in public. Ever. So when your sister asks you to hold the mic for her and then shoves you up from your of oh-so-comfortable sitting position to sing 'Complicated' by our dear friend, the aforementioned, Avril Lavigne. It makes your life, well, COMPLICATED. So, don't get me wrong. I'm not scared to sing, I am just...concerned. For everyone else in my company who would be perhaps SCARRED by a very bad musical performance. Given, It was fun. Although I had to pretend I couldn't hear myself hitting notes that only dogs could hear.
Something else you can do in China...um...JUSCO! You can go to Jusco (Kinda like a chinse mall with a supermarket inside) with your friends and look in the stores at clothing that look like they wouldn't ever fit anyone with curves. You can get tokens and play arcade games and watch people fail\show-off (it doesn't seem there is middle ground) at Dance Dance Revolution. And they recently got photo booths! They are absolutely amazing. You go and tell the lady (or your good friend who speaks fluent chinese, whom I suggest does this part) how many you want, if you want backgrounds, stickers, or weird frames. (I advise you to skip these things, they are honestly really cheesy) and then you go in and take the pictures. The Photo Booths are super fun. You can also go eat at 'CoolCoolLemon' which is like a juice bar type dealie. And they have this juice that is called Lemon Kumquat and I have no idea what it is. But its delicious. It tastes like lemonade only it has these little eyeball looking things floating all in it. They taste sweet and I have no idea what they are. I don't plan on asking, actually. Aubrey likes to get their Mango Smoothies which are phenomenal. Gentry prefers Watermelon Juice. And get this, okay, you watch them make it all. I pointed (I'm not fluent yet so shush it) at the little menu and the cut off a chunk of watermelon and stuck it in the blender and when it was liquidy they poured it into a cup and handed it to me. Crazy Straw is included.
Thats all I can really think of that you can do that anyone would find interesting. So I will think of another topic on which to talk about. Ah-another frequently asked question just came to mind. "So how is school going?" And my answer is.....(drum roll here)....well. I enjoy almost every aspect of it. First period is....interesting. Each day isn't the same. It alternates between either Chinese class, (which is very..um...enriching?) or Gym. Yes, the one that Mr. Sneed teaches. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering. I call him Daddy. I will always call him Daddy. None of this Mr. Sneed stuff. In Gym we have started our 'Fitness for Life' program. Now everyday we have to bring clothes to change into because we run\briskly walk for about 15-20 minutes. And I am sure that most of you are thinking, "Laurel? Laurel Paige? Didn't her school activities extend to Quiz Bowl last year?" Yes, Yes they did. And because of that I own not ONE PAIR, NOT ONE FREAKIN PAIR of exercise pants. So I have to wear...my dads. I have to wear his Razorback athletic pants because they are the only pants he owns with a drawstring. Not that I have anything against the Arkansas Razorbacks (WHOOOOO PIGG SOOOIIIIEEE-take that Nathan! Oh, he's my friend from Georgia. Enough said. Kidding Mother!!!) I just wish that I could wear my jeans all day and not have to change in the bathrooms. Oh and FYI it is HARD to change from Nike running shoes to Converse sitting on a closed toilet lid. And I won't even go into detail about changing from pants that are several several SEVERAL sizes too large to skinny jeans. *shiver*
Second period is...um-well- I think I should skip this one. My second period class is Geometry. And for the past THREE weeks we have been cutting, folding, and gluing these little one inch tall paper triangles. I hate them. I hate them with an unbelievable passion. We had to make about 1,000 (no exaggeration I AM DEAD SERIOUS) of these little things. So we could make a giant Sierpinski Triangle that is about 4 feet tall and several more feet wide. It was a complete waste of time, not to mention paper. We probably knocked out several acres of the rainforest for something that I am sure most of the high school population wants to burn. I started that movement.
Third period is Biology! I actually enjoy this class although its probably mostly because of the teacher. Mrs. Coclea is so smart and she has the sweetest personality. You could talk to her for hours about anything. The last chapter we did was the reproductive anatomy. We talked about everything from giving birth to when you start getting gray hair. And EVERYTHING in between. The fact that she was able to teach that to all of high school only strengthens my theory that she can talk about anything.
Fourth period is English. I love my English class. We have an awesome teacher in here too. Mr. Jarman (yes the same one that teaches Drama) recently assigned us a portfolio that requires us to use six of the different text types. You have to choose one topic to cover each one the text types. The topics vary for each person but some of the ones I have heard mentioned by my class mates were: board-games, sleeping, ice-cream, and iPods. I am stuck between the bands Green Day and My Chemical Romance.
Fifth period is History. Which Mr. Sneed\Daddy teaches. We are learning about the Mongols and Samurai's and different Chinese Dynasty's. Its a really interesting class. Our first week we were assigned to partners whom we had to write and act in a talk show with. Guess who ended up being the chinese concubine, Wu Zhao? Yeah, yours truly. Given she did rule the throne and was the only female in history to assume the title emperor but...still. I did have fun by borrowing my dear friend Becca's, she's in fourth grade, big chinese headband covered in flowers to help make me look the part. Because, you know, I totally looked Chinese to begin with. Oh, and once a week we play scrabble as a review game. Fun times, my friend.
Sixth period is either Photography or Reading. Photography is an awesome class where we learn how a camera works, different technical terms of types of photos, and how to edit them. I love it. We also go on field trips to get different types of shots. Last week, in fact, we were each assigned a teacher to shadow and take pictures of without being seen. Guess who I drew? Mr. Sneed. No Joke. Of all the teachers I had to get one I was blood related to. Turns out you can get lots of interesting pictures of teachers without them noticing if they are teaching the 2nd grade PE class. And I also learned that 2nd Graders+Bean bags=chaos. How my Father stays sane, I have no clue.
Reading is a fun class. Well it was. Until my mother gave us a seating arrangement. So now I don't sit between Aubrey and my 6th grade friend Mandy. I sit in the corner between a cabinet and this really nice quiet girl whose name I need to learn.
Seventh Period is awesome too. It switches between Drama and Art. Art is...okay. You know how I mentioned how much I happen to hate triangles thanks to Geometry. Guess what we are sketching in Art? FLIPPIN TRIANGLES.
Drama on the other hand is absolutely hysterical. For those of you who read my previously written blog entry know a little bit of what its like. I actually since then have been cast in a short skit involving three gunmen. Their names are: Mr. Fuchsia, Mr. Mauve, and Mr. Puce. I am Mr. Puce. I hate that word...puce...ew...its kinda like the word pleasure...BLECH...can't stand it...anyway, I'll shut up now. How the heck did I even get on that subject? Whatever-anyway. Its a hilarious skit that involves all three of them constantly having their guns at each other's heads and their conversations while doing so. Mr. Fuchsia has an obsession with blowing up people's brains, Mr. Mauve has to pee the whole time, and Mr. Puce corrects everyone's grammar. Its quite the acting experience. When we have time left in class we play one of the best games ever invented: Party Quirks. Basically someone is hosting a party and three people go out in the hall and decide what kind of quirk they should have. The last time we played, my friend Mary was a woman who suddenly goes into labor, my other friend Christina was a Tae-Kwan-Do (how the heck do you spell that) master who thought the party host was her padawan or whatever they are called, and I was a penguin.
So that is just a taste of what my school life is like..and it took a very long time to explain. And I am out of time for now to continue on this blog. So I bid all of you a very happy St. Patrick's Day and advise you to celebrate it passionately!
So long and Farewell-
Laurel
Kickball, Barbed Wire, and Cujo
Posted by Brad
As you all should know by now I am the P.E. Teacher for Pre K - 12th grade. It has been my desire to provide a quality program. I have also wanted to find the next Albert Puljos to sign for the Cardinals. I mean I would settle for a power hitting second baseman but I digress. I know that there is a left-handed hitting/right-handed throwing first basegirl in the pre-kindergarten class but I want to expand my horizon's. Since it has been cold I have been using the time to develop arm strength and throwing motion by using bean bags, that I had made, inside. Well, spring has sprung (at least it was warm today). I have taken the students (6th & 7th grade) outside for KICKBALL. I figured that it was a great introductory game for my ultimate goal of baseball. I figured that I would have the normal problems with first time gamers (running from the ball instead of to the ball; running to third from home instead of first; etc) Not a problem. The main problem is that we are playing on a dirt (really small gravel and dirt) soccer field. Even that is not really the issue. The real problem is the spear shaped fence posts topped with barbed wire and protected by Cujo (in various Chinese manifestations). If you kick the ball foul, well, you are fouled up. Today, we were playing and the ball was kicked high and deep. To quote the immortal Harry Carey (R.I.P.) "It could be, It might be, It.....is punctured by the spear shaped fence post". So the kickballs that we have (three to be exact; two I brought back from my recent hurried trip to the states and the other belongs to a student from Georgia, which by the way gives me someone to talk SEC smack to, which with the way the Razorbacks have been playing may not be much..but hey how about that Track Program WOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOIE!) are very precious. The game was called in the bottom of the fourth due to lack of air in the ball. But do not fear! I asked our business manager if he though we could get the ball patched at the bicycle shop. He said he would check and two hours later...... there was the ball with a black rubber patch... as good as new!
I also teach an elective entitled "Strategies for Life". It is about things that a teen and pre-teen should know to help them succeed in life. Since it was so warm today I determined that playing kickball was a very valuable skill for teens and pre-teens. So off we headed for an afternoon game. All was going well until a foul ball crossed the fence into Cujoland. It bounced once and was bitten by a very large dog. The dog turned out to be rather friendly but we are not sure what language he speaks. We asked him in Chinese, Korean, English, Dog and Arkansan to give us the ball back and he didn't. I am thinking that he is adding it to his collection of things... chewed plastic bowl, shredded mattress, poop (dried); heavy metal chain (attached) and various unidentifiable articles. So goes it. We still have two kickballs left.
As you all should know by now I am the P.E. Teacher for Pre K - 12th grade. It has been my desire to provide a quality program. I have also wanted to find the next Albert Puljos to sign for the Cardinals. I mean I would settle for a power hitting second baseman but I digress. I know that there is a left-handed hitting/right-handed throwing first basegirl in the pre-kindergarten class but I want to expand my horizon's. Since it has been cold I have been using the time to develop arm strength and throwing motion by using bean bags, that I had made, inside. Well, spring has sprung (at least it was warm today). I have taken the students (6th & 7th grade) outside for KICKBALL. I figured that it was a great introductory game for my ultimate goal of baseball. I figured that I would have the normal problems with first time gamers (running from the ball instead of to the ball; running to third from home instead of first; etc) Not a problem. The main problem is that we are playing on a dirt (really small gravel and dirt) soccer field. Even that is not really the issue. The real problem is the spear shaped fence posts topped with barbed wire and protected by Cujo (in various Chinese manifestations). If you kick the ball foul, well, you are fouled up. Today, we were playing and the ball was kicked high and deep. To quote the immortal Harry Carey (R.I.P.) "It could be, It might be, It.....is punctured by the spear shaped fence post". So the kickballs that we have (three to be exact; two I brought back from my recent hurried trip to the states and the other belongs to a student from Georgia, which by the way gives me someone to talk SEC smack to, which with the way the Razorbacks have been playing may not be much..but hey how about that Track Program WOOOOOO PIG SOOOOOIE!) are very precious. The game was called in the bottom of the fourth due to lack of air in the ball. But do not fear! I asked our business manager if he though we could get the ball patched at the bicycle shop. He said he would check and two hours later...... there was the ball with a black rubber patch... as good as new!
I also teach an elective entitled "Strategies for Life". It is about things that a teen and pre-teen should know to help them succeed in life. Since it was so warm today I determined that playing kickball was a very valuable skill for teens and pre-teens. So off we headed for an afternoon game. All was going well until a foul ball crossed the fence into Cujoland. It bounced once and was bitten by a very large dog. The dog turned out to be rather friendly but we are not sure what language he speaks. We asked him in Chinese, Korean, English, Dog and Arkansan to give us the ball back and he didn't. I am thinking that he is adding it to his collection of things... chewed plastic bowl, shredded mattress, poop (dried); heavy metal chain (attached) and various unidentifiable articles. So goes it. We still have two kickballs left.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
The Yellow Sea
Posted by: Marilyn
Here is a short video and bumpy video of the beach near our apartment. Apparently I needed a tripod while filming.
It was taken one afternoon at high tide. In the mornings you can walk out a way on the rocks. Many people will walk out in search of crustaceans. Seafood is well-loved in the city. You can find lots of fresh fish, squids, and shrimp sold by vendors along the street. We had the best oysters I've ever eaten just before the Spring festival.
Our apartment complex is across the street from the area where this was taken. You may notice a large orb at the end of a pier. I've heard this is some type of observatory, but haven't visited it yet. This orb is at the end of the street leading to our apartment complex. It can be seen from google earth if you search Yantai. If you look it up, our apartment is to the left of the road that leads to the pier and orb. We will try to post the coordinates in the future.
Here is a short video and bumpy video of the beach near our apartment. Apparently I needed a tripod while filming.
It was taken one afternoon at high tide. In the mornings you can walk out a way on the rocks. Many people will walk out in search of crustaceans. Seafood is well-loved in the city. You can find lots of fresh fish, squids, and shrimp sold by vendors along the street. We had the best oysters I've ever eaten just before the Spring festival.
Our apartment complex is across the street from the area where this was taken. You may notice a large orb at the end of a pier. I've heard this is some type of observatory, but haven't visited it yet. This orb is at the end of the street leading to our apartment complex. It can be seen from google earth if you search Yantai. If you look it up, our apartment is to the left of the road that leads to the pier and orb. We will try to post the coordinates in the future.
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