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.
Down by the Boardwalk
These shots were taken near one of the public beaches. Most of these photos were taken on the boardwalk restricted to bikes, dogs, and vehicles. Pedestrians can enjoy the ocean view, fly a kite, or purchase street food and trinkets from vendors. While I didn't get a picture of the squid on a skewer, I did get a shot of the biggest fruit cake I've ever seen!
Logan asked me about rickshaws before I left. I haven't seen anyone with a rickshaw, but I see lots of these tricycles around town. I've seen debris, garbage, and even people carried in the backs. A lot of the people that sweek the sidewalks and streets use this type of transportation in their day to day job.
Most of the city is very modern. I've tried to include some of the older areas of town as well. There are a few alley shots I really like, but probably not like anything you'd see on a tourism brochure.
I wanted to get a photo of the little dog. He looks suspiciously like a hundred other little guys I've seen around the city. (Maybe a Cairn terrier mix) These are not dogs like you see in the states. They are completely independent and don't really pay much attention to people. Kyle says all the dogs in the city have an agenda. Every morning you can see them on their way somewhere, and they mean business. There is no time to water trees or sniff. Kyle said they always look like they are on their way to a meeting.
German Town
Posted by: Marilyn
I looks like you don't have to live in Memphis to catch a glimpse of German town. Yantai is a port city and was controlled by the Germans for about 20 years. You can see the influence in the area of the city called Yantai Mountain. The buildings are beautifully constructed and look like they are as solid as when they were originally built. The first time I saw them, I thought it was new construction built in Western-style. We spent several hours milling around last weekend.
A few of the buildings have historical site markers. Shots of the signs are included as well. The area is so beautiful that it is a popular spot for wedding pictures.
There were a handful of bronze sculptures among the buildings. Gentry and I had our pictures taken with my unidentified favorite. I've got a guess who it may be, but will ask around before I post my speculation.
Here is a little more information I copied from Wikipedia.
"The city was nothing but a small fishing village until the late 19th century when it became a treaty port for the British, handed over by the falling Qing Dynasty, which had been defeated in the Opium War. Then with the Germans' power over the whole Shandong peninsula in early 20th century, Yantai was also controlled by Germans for about 20 years. After the Americans won World War I, they turned Yantai into a summer station for their entire Asian fleet. Then the Japanese set up a trading establishment in the town. You may be able to get an idea of the different influences at the western style Yantai Museum, which used to be a guild hall. However, the colourful history has not left a distinctive architectural mark, there has never been a foreign concession, and though you will see an occasional nineteenth-century grand European building, most of the town is of much more recent origin. After liberation, the town's name was changed from the original, Chefoo, to Yantai and was opened to the world as an ice-free trade port in 1984."
For a little more history about Yantai dating back to Xia Dynasty in 2000BC, check out this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yantai
I looks like you don't have to live in Memphis to catch a glimpse of German town. Yantai is a port city and was controlled by the Germans for about 20 years. You can see the influence in the area of the city called Yantai Mountain. The buildings are beautifully constructed and look like they are as solid as when they were originally built. The first time I saw them, I thought it was new construction built in Western-style. We spent several hours milling around last weekend.
A few of the buildings have historical site markers. Shots of the signs are included as well. The area is so beautiful that it is a popular spot for wedding pictures.
There were a handful of bronze sculptures among the buildings. Gentry and I had our pictures taken with my unidentified favorite. I've got a guess who it may be, but will ask around before I post my speculation.
Here is a little more information I copied from Wikipedia.
"The city was nothing but a small fishing village until the late 19th century when it became a treaty port for the British, handed over by the falling Qing Dynasty, which had been defeated in the Opium War. Then with the Germans' power over the whole Shandong peninsula in early 20th century, Yantai was also controlled by Germans for about 20 years. After the Americans won World War I, they turned Yantai into a summer station for their entire Asian fleet. Then the Japanese set up a trading establishment in the town. You may be able to get an idea of the different influences at the western style Yantai Museum, which used to be a guild hall. However, the colourful history has not left a distinctive architectural mark, there has never been a foreign concession, and though you will see an occasional nineteenth-century grand European building, most of the town is of much more recent origin. After liberation, the town's name was changed from the original, Chefoo, to Yantai and was opened to the world as an ice-free trade port in 1984."
For a little more history about Yantai dating back to Xia Dynasty in 2000BC, check out this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yantai
Our Apartment
Posted by: Marilyn
Here are the apartment photos I thought I'd have posted a month ago! We've added a few plants and accessories since then, but it looks basically the same. This is the skeleton and we are still fleshing it out. We still badly need art.
I've got some shots of things that may seem odd, but I thought some of you might find it interesting to see. The light fixtures are not the typical selection you'd find at Lowe's or Home Depot. I think they are charming and really like them. I've got a close up of one of the light switches...try to read the characters.
The floors in the living areas are giant tiles of 3.5' x 3.5'. The bedroom floors are bamboo. I've got a close-up of the bamboo. The kitchen counter tops are all a hard surface. (Maybe granite-we have granite as the walkways and steps outside the apartment) The counters are so low that it makes prep work painful if you have much to do. I think everyone except Gentry has bumped their head on the vent-a-hood. The rectangle high on the wall in the kitchen is our hot water heater. It is powered by natural gas and heats immediately. I have no idea how this works.
The outside shots in the evening show Gentry peeking out the window in our living room. I didn't get a shot of her bedroom but will try to include it at a later date.
You may notice the radiators on the walls in some of the shots. This is our only source of heat. The heat is turned off everywhere for everybody on March 31. Individuals or buildings owners don't make this decision. This weekend was beautiful. My guess is that we reached the 60's. If the weather stays warm, it should be fine. If we drop down into the 30's as we did last week, we may have a chilly April in the Sneed home.
Here are the apartment photos I thought I'd have posted a month ago! We've added a few plants and accessories since then, but it looks basically the same. This is the skeleton and we are still fleshing it out. We still badly need art.
I've got some shots of things that may seem odd, but I thought some of you might find it interesting to see. The light fixtures are not the typical selection you'd find at Lowe's or Home Depot. I think they are charming and really like them. I've got a close up of one of the light switches...try to read the characters.
The floors in the living areas are giant tiles of 3.5' x 3.5'. The bedroom floors are bamboo. I've got a close-up of the bamboo. The kitchen counter tops are all a hard surface. (Maybe granite-we have granite as the walkways and steps outside the apartment) The counters are so low that it makes prep work painful if you have much to do. I think everyone except Gentry has bumped their head on the vent-a-hood. The rectangle high on the wall in the kitchen is our hot water heater. It is powered by natural gas and heats immediately. I have no idea how this works.
The outside shots in the evening show Gentry peeking out the window in our living room. I didn't get a shot of her bedroom but will try to include it at a later date.
You may notice the radiators on the walls in some of the shots. This is our only source of heat. The heat is turned off everywhere for everybody on March 31. Individuals or buildings owners don't make this decision. This weekend was beautiful. My guess is that we reached the 60's. If the weather stays warm, it should be fine. If we drop down into the 30's as we did last week, we may have a chilly April in the Sneed home.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
What a month!
Posted by Marilyn
The last month has been a blur! We are finally settling into a routine with our class schedule with everyone healthy. Laurel and Gentry both had a couple of rough weeks with health issues. Several of you are aware that Brad's Grandpa Arnold passed away, as well. Brad made a very quick visit back to the states for the funeral. He returned Monday and is still battling the jet-lag. He's had a tough time both in the states trying to function and returning to this time zone after a week away.
Hopefully we will be able to update the blog more regularly for those of you that have stuck with us through the down-time. We miss you all and think of you often.
The last month has been a blur! We are finally settling into a routine with our class schedule with everyone healthy. Laurel and Gentry both had a couple of rough weeks with health issues. Several of you are aware that Brad's Grandpa Arnold passed away, as well. Brad made a very quick visit back to the states for the funeral. He returned Monday and is still battling the jet-lag. He's had a tough time both in the states trying to function and returning to this time zone after a week away.
Hopefully we will be able to update the blog more regularly for those of you that have stuck with us through the down-time. We miss you all and think of you often.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
School Happenings
We are into our third week of school. It all should be routine by now.....but this is an International School with an ever changing student body with ever changing opportunities presenting themselves. The school has had the opportunity to start a pure English as Second Language (ESL) class for students that are 3rd and 4th grade age. They have either no English or a very limited English vocabulary. The class currently has 5 students. The class utilizes all subjects (math, history, etc) as tools for teaching English. Marilyn has been coordinating the ESL program. She has been working with the two ESL teachers at the school. When this opportunity presented itself, Marilyn decided to teach the bulk of the ESL class herself, so that she could have a better understanding of the job involved with teaching ESL students. There was no hesitation on the part of the administration that she would do a wonderful job because she is such a professional, compassionate, and caring teacher (their words not mine, but I fully agree). The only hesitation was that she was taking on too much work considering she was also working on admissions and guidance counseling and teaching 6th grade English, 6th grade Ancient Civilizations, 9th - 12th World History and supervising the Secondary Reading Time . We were able to rework her schedule so that she no longer taught World History (much to her disappointment...she really liked the students and the subject matter) or supervising the Secondary Reading time. I took those two responsibilities from her. Enrollment has grown to 90 students.
For those that are curious about me teaching P.E...... I have been teaching the elementary students the importance of warming up before you begin any sort of physical activities such as Duck, Duck, Goose; Balloon Bouncing; Red Light, Green Light or Extreme Hot Potato (I made that one up myself, I am thinking of starting a professional Extreme Hot Potato League, Maybe I could get Pringles or Lays to be a sponsor)..... I will take some video of my very innovative teaching methods and post them to the blog very soon. Since I couldn't run down to the Educational Supply Store or Sports Authority (for those of you in Harrison, a Sports Authority is a store that is like the sporting goods department at Wal Mart except they have a lot more sporting goods and you can't buy milk there or get your oil changed), I am getting 60 bean bags and three parachutes (not for sky diving but for games)made. Once I get them back from the seamstress I will take pictures and tell you about that experience. Once we have the bean bags, I am going to teach the art of throwing and catching. Hopefully, this will lead to baseball. By the way, Spring Training has started. It has to be the most Wonderful Time of the year.
As far as the secondary P.E., we have been playing Four Square & Doubles Two Square. I am working on starting a fitness program with the 8th - 12th grade.
We have taken pictures of the apartment. I have to upload them to the computer and then post them. Marilyn said that if I posted them that she would blog about them. Look for that before May 2010.
Aubrey said that she will blog on Wednesday....
Until next time.
Brad
P.S. Fell free to leave comments about the blogs.
For those that are curious about me teaching P.E...... I have been teaching the elementary students the importance of warming up before you begin any sort of physical activities such as Duck, Duck, Goose; Balloon Bouncing; Red Light, Green Light or Extreme Hot Potato (I made that one up myself, I am thinking of starting a professional Extreme Hot Potato League, Maybe I could get Pringles or Lays to be a sponsor)..... I will take some video of my very innovative teaching methods and post them to the blog very soon. Since I couldn't run down to the Educational Supply Store or Sports Authority (for those of you in Harrison, a Sports Authority is a store that is like the sporting goods department at Wal Mart except they have a lot more sporting goods and you can't buy milk there or get your oil changed), I am getting 60 bean bags and three parachutes (not for sky diving but for games)made. Once I get them back from the seamstress I will take pictures and tell you about that experience. Once we have the bean bags, I am going to teach the art of throwing and catching. Hopefully, this will lead to baseball. By the way, Spring Training has started. It has to be the most Wonderful Time of the year.
As far as the secondary P.E., we have been playing Four Square & Doubles Two Square. I am working on starting a fitness program with the 8th - 12th grade.
We have taken pictures of the apartment. I have to upload them to the computer and then post them. Marilyn said that if I posted them that she would blog about them. Look for that before May 2010.
Aubrey said that she will blog on Wednesday....
Until next time.
Brad
P.S. Fell free to leave comments about the blogs.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Drama Class, Brad Games, & Early Mornings
Hello Hello All-
I am going to do a blog on my first & second days of School. So, the Sneed Family started out their first day of School by waking up at various times. My Dad was the first one up, he then came and woke both Aubrey and I up at around 5:50 am. For those of you who know me, know this was difficult. I got up, and took a 15 minute shower, by that time Aubrey was up and so was my Mother. It is now around 6:15. Aubrey and I have a little squabble over the only mirror in our bedroom. So I retire to the hall bathroom. It is now 6:25. Then I return to the bedroom to retrieve my make-up and discover that the said mirror is now unoccupied. I claim it as my own. I finish my make-up. It is now 6:45. Next thing I know we are out of the door to our apartment at around 7:15.
We arrived at the School, where my parents are going to be teaching and Aubrey, Gentry, and I are going to be learning, at around 7:30 . My Dad, for those of you who may not know, is teaching Physical Education, or in short-Gym. Yes, I have had it. And Yes, we did play Brad Games. Dun-Dun-Dun-Duhhhhh....okay, so it wasn't bad at all, in fact it was fun. We played Musical Chairs in my Gym class of six...at 8 am.
I think that the everyone in the Sneed family, with perhaps the exception of Grandmoney, are not morning people. Not that we are mean or anything. We just function better after 11 am or so. :)
Then around 1 pm they told us that Mr. & Mrs. Sneed were going to be leading a Game Time while other members of the staff worked on the electives for the Secondary students. More Brad games. We played the basics, EXCLUDING the "Put your Hand in the brown paper sack and see what nasty Food you pull out so you can Eat it" race. But I figure that it was because he couldn't read the Chinese on any food labels. BUT we did play the Colors chair game, in which I only fell off my chair ONCE, Thank you. And some like team relays..but it was a good afternoon for us.
Later that day, after school, our family met up with Kyle & Kim Jarman for Coffee at Jusco. I had Cocoa Steamed Milk, which my mother ASSURED me was Hot Cocoa....not the same, but I will take what I can get. Oh, and Aubrey bought herself a platinum blond hair extension. Surprised? Me either. And after my Parents got what they needed from the Supermarket we returned to our apartment to the delicious smells of our dinner that our helper had prepared for us. It was kind of like, well picture Sweet and Sour chicken with Peppers in it..It was
awesome.
Day Two was an interesting morning. Interesting meaning that, Aubrey and our Father were up until midnight doing Algebra 1 Homework together. I had not known this as I went to bed around 10:30 or 11 pm. If I had known I might not have messed with Aubrey so much. But Anyways, I woke up around 6:15 am because there was no need for me to take a shower as I had just taken one yesterday. So I got up, got dressed, fixed my hair, fought for my right to (Paaarrrtaaayyyy...kidding) use the mirror, and then went to go eat breakfast. Ever had one of those mornings where you just can't eat or drink anything? Okay, well whether you have or not, I did. I went and got a glass of water around 7ish and then I grabbed a cracker. ONE CRACKER. After I was about half-way through before the previously mentioned cracker I felt queasy. So I went and laid down on our couch. And around 7:15 am I rushed to the bathroom and puked up cracker colored water. Don't ask me why. And I went and laid back down on the couch. After my Parent's questioned me on, "How do you feel?" "Good enough to go to school?" "What hurts?" "Just your stomach?" , You get my point....so my Dad brought me some Coke. I downed about half a can and felt better. I love Coke. It is now 7:30. We leave with Gentry's hair unfixed, Laurel feeling like she has had her stomach pumped, Aubrey tired and worried about math, My Father wearing his tennis shoes with his Khaki dress pants, and my Mother looking for Gentry's hairbrush and scrunchies.
Our school day was pretty uneventful, until Drama. Oh, Drama. You can have fun in Drama. Our teacher Mr. Jarman, yes the same one we drank coffee with at Jusco, is a great teacher. He started out with each of us in the Class drawing a slip of paper out of a bowl and having to act out the person that was described on the slip of paper.
In example, Aubrey drew: A large, hick truck driver
Laurel drew: Frustrated father of an disobedient eight-year old boy
& our friend Josh drew: A very snotty, middle-aged woman
We had to leave the classroom and walk back in as the character we drew. Aubrey was hilarious. She came in and slammed the door obnoxiously behind her and then greeted us with a hearty, "Heyy YA'LL! I'm Pete." But then stopped because she said it was too difficult because she had already lost her country accent. Although I think she was on a roll. Josh on the other hand flounced in with his, I mean HER, back held high. And said, "Helloo Dahhhlings...my name is Cindy."
Then we did an improv, and Mr. Jarman said that we had to be the same characters only now we were all participating at the same time. The situation was that something had happened on Earth to cause everyone in the world to die. Leaving all ten of us, insane personalities, to fight over the only four spaces on the only rocket ship to Mars. Leaving the other six to die. Josh, I mean, Cindy of course had to be on board because she...was...um...Cindy. And Ed, the frustrated father, (AKA Laurel) had to be on board because his child Marcus was "the future". Then Cindy pulled out a gun. And the emo Pizza boy, (AKA our friend, Lizzie) committed suicide in the corner during the fight to plead their case to get on board the flight to Mars.
That was the end of our Drama class. And the end of our second day of School.
After we got home, we discovered that we had nothing, and I mean nothing, to take for lunch the next day. I had used all the bread making Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches for myself to take for my lunch. Gentry had finished off the snack foods for her own personal snack time at school, and Aubrey had taken the last of the Sweet and Sour chicken with Peppers that was so good, for her lunch earlier that day. So about 30 minutes ago my Father left to hit the supermarket across the street. That was at around 8:45 pm. He returned at around 9:00 with a large loaf of bread, some milk, instant coffee, and three Cup'O'Noodles. Only we are not sure what some of the flavors are. It should make for a fun lunch period tomorrow.
Zai Jian (thats goodbye in Chinese :D)
-Laurel- 9:19 pm
I am going to do a blog on my first & second days of School. So, the Sneed Family started out their first day of School by waking up at various times. My Dad was the first one up, he then came and woke both Aubrey and I up at around 5:50 am. For those of you who know me, know this was difficult. I got up, and took a 15 minute shower, by that time Aubrey was up and so was my Mother. It is now around 6:15. Aubrey and I have a little squabble over the only mirror in our bedroom. So I retire to the hall bathroom. It is now 6:25. Then I return to the bedroom to retrieve my make-up and discover that the said mirror is now unoccupied. I claim it as my own. I finish my make-up. It is now 6:45. Next thing I know we are out of the door to our apartment at around 7:15.
We arrived at the School, where my parents are going to be teaching and Aubrey, Gentry, and I are going to be learning, at around 7:30 . My Dad, for those of you who may not know, is teaching Physical Education, or in short-Gym. Yes, I have had it. And Yes, we did play Brad Games. Dun-Dun-Dun-Duhhhhh....okay, so it wasn't bad at all, in fact it was fun. We played Musical Chairs in my Gym class of six...at 8 am.
I think that the everyone in the Sneed family, with perhaps the exception of Grandmoney, are not morning people. Not that we are mean or anything. We just function better after 11 am or so. :)
Then around 1 pm they told us that Mr. & Mrs. Sneed were going to be leading a Game Time while other members of the staff worked on the electives for the Secondary students. More Brad games. We played the basics, EXCLUDING the "Put your Hand in the brown paper sack and see what nasty Food you pull out so you can Eat it" race. But I figure that it was because he couldn't read the Chinese on any food labels. BUT we did play the Colors chair game, in which I only fell off my chair ONCE, Thank you. And some like team relays..but it was a good afternoon for us.
Later that day, after school, our family met up with Kyle & Kim Jarman for Coffee at Jusco. I had Cocoa Steamed Milk, which my mother ASSURED me was Hot Cocoa....not the same, but I will take what I can get. Oh, and Aubrey bought herself a platinum blond hair extension. Surprised? Me either. And after my Parents got what they needed from the Supermarket we returned to our apartment to the delicious smells of our dinner that our helper had prepared for us. It was kind of like, well picture Sweet and Sour chicken with Peppers in it..It was
awesome.
Day Two was an interesting morning. Interesting meaning that, Aubrey and our Father were up until midnight doing Algebra 1 Homework together. I had not known this as I went to bed around 10:30 or 11 pm. If I had known I might not have messed with Aubrey so much. But Anyways, I woke up around 6:15 am because there was no need for me to take a shower as I had just taken one yesterday. So I got up, got dressed, fixed my hair, fought for my right to (Paaarrrtaaayyyy...kidding) use the mirror, and then went to go eat breakfast. Ever had one of those mornings where you just can't eat or drink anything? Okay, well whether you have or not, I did. I went and got a glass of water around 7ish and then I grabbed a cracker. ONE CRACKER. After I was about half-way through before the previously mentioned cracker I felt queasy. So I went and laid down on our couch. And around 7:15 am I rushed to the bathroom and puked up cracker colored water. Don't ask me why. And I went and laid back down on the couch. After my Parent's questioned me on, "How do you feel?" "Good enough to go to school?" "What hurts?" "Just your stomach?" , You get my point....so my Dad brought me some Coke. I downed about half a can and felt better. I love Coke. It is now 7:30. We leave with Gentry's hair unfixed, Laurel feeling like she has had her stomach pumped, Aubrey tired and worried about math, My Father wearing his tennis shoes with his Khaki dress pants, and my Mother looking for Gentry's hairbrush and scrunchies.
Our school day was pretty uneventful, until Drama. Oh, Drama. You can have fun in Drama. Our teacher Mr. Jarman, yes the same one we drank coffee with at Jusco, is a great teacher. He started out with each of us in the Class drawing a slip of paper out of a bowl and having to act out the person that was described on the slip of paper.
In example, Aubrey drew: A large, hick truck driver
Laurel drew: Frustrated father of an disobedient eight-year old boy
& our friend Josh drew: A very snotty, middle-aged woman
We had to leave the classroom and walk back in as the character we drew. Aubrey was hilarious. She came in and slammed the door obnoxiously behind her and then greeted us with a hearty, "Heyy YA'LL! I'm Pete." But then stopped because she said it was too difficult because she had already lost her country accent. Although I think she was on a roll. Josh on the other hand flounced in with his, I mean HER, back held high. And said, "Helloo Dahhhlings...my name is Cindy."
Then we did an improv, and Mr. Jarman said that we had to be the same characters only now we were all participating at the same time. The situation was that something had happened on Earth to cause everyone in the world to die. Leaving all ten of us, insane personalities, to fight over the only four spaces on the only rocket ship to Mars. Leaving the other six to die. Josh, I mean, Cindy of course had to be on board because she...was...um...Cindy. And Ed, the frustrated father, (AKA Laurel) had to be on board because his child Marcus was "the future". Then Cindy pulled out a gun. And the emo Pizza boy, (AKA our friend, Lizzie) committed suicide in the corner during the fight to plead their case to get on board the flight to Mars.
That was the end of our Drama class. And the end of our second day of School.
After we got home, we discovered that we had nothing, and I mean nothing, to take for lunch the next day. I had used all the bread making Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches for myself to take for my lunch. Gentry had finished off the snack foods for her own personal snack time at school, and Aubrey had taken the last of the Sweet and Sour chicken with Peppers that was so good, for her lunch earlier that day. So about 30 minutes ago my Father left to hit the supermarket across the street. That was at around 8:45 pm. He returned at around 9:00 with a large loaf of bread, some milk, instant coffee, and three Cup'O'Noodles. Only we are not sure what some of the flavors are. It should make for a fun lunch period tomorrow.
Zai Jian (thats goodbye in Chinese :D)
-Laurel- 9:19 pm
Let The Fun Begin!
School began on Tuesday, February 2. I (Brad) am teaching P.E. and an elective. I have three secondary classes (Grades 8, 9, & 10 are together; Grades 11 & 12 are together; Grades 6 & 7 are together). I have Laurel and Aubrey in my P.E. class that meets at 8:00 a.m. That is way too early for 8th & 9th graders let alone me. I have three elementary classes. I taught those today. I have 20 Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, & First Graders. Three of which have English as their primary spoken language. There are 15 Koreans and a Russian. I am so glad that balloons speak the international language of FUN! There are 16 2nd & 3rd graders and 18 4th & 5th graders. Amazing how you can teach hand/eye coordination with some balloons, a ping pong paddle and a badminton racket. (Also amazing that no one lost an eye).
The Elective that I am teaching is called "Strategies for Life". I will be teaching about learning styles, personalities, leadership, etiquette, how choices that we make affect us on many different levels. I will let you know how that goes once I teach it and write it. It is one of those things that I will make up as I go along. It should be fun. We will watch some movies and listen to music.
I introduced the students to Brad games on Tuesday. Marilyn and I had the students for about 2 hours while the electives classes were being filled. For those of you that are familiar with Brad games, we played a couple of the standards. I will not bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that the students have played the chair swap game where you call out a color and they have to swap chairs. No one was seriously injured, that I know of.
We get to the school at 7:30 a.m. each day. We have been taking a taxi each morning. We want to start walking to school once it is warmer on a more consistent basis. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk to the school.
Next Blog... I have to tell you about the Girls and I being "Golden on Bus 51". It will be a he said (me) she said (Laurel). Until next time....fyi...11 days until pitchers and catcher report for Spring Training!
~ Brad
The Elective that I am teaching is called "Strategies for Life". I will be teaching about learning styles, personalities, leadership, etiquette, how choices that we make affect us on many different levels. I will let you know how that goes once I teach it and write it. It is one of those things that I will make up as I go along. It should be fun. We will watch some movies and listen to music.
I introduced the students to Brad games on Tuesday. Marilyn and I had the students for about 2 hours while the electives classes were being filled. For those of you that are familiar with Brad games, we played a couple of the standards. I will not bore you with all the details, but suffice it to say that the students have played the chair swap game where you call out a color and they have to swap chairs. No one was seriously injured, that I know of.
We get to the school at 7:30 a.m. each day. We have been taking a taxi each morning. We want to start walking to school once it is warmer on a more consistent basis. It only takes about 20 minutes to walk to the school.
Next Blog... I have to tell you about the Girls and I being "Golden on Bus 51". It will be a he said (me) she said (Laurel). Until next time....fyi...11 days until pitchers and catcher report for Spring Training!
~ Brad
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Happy New Year
January 26 marked Chujie which is the first day of the lunar new year. Chujie or "Sping Festival" is a three-day celebration. It is celebrated with visiting family and friends and lots of fireworks. We had some friends over to celebrate. We had a finger foods that included: homemade mac and cheese, tuna salad sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sanwiches, apple slices, mandrine oranges, banana pudding, pringles (and pringle type chips), and ramen noodle cabbage salad
We took alot of video of the fireworks that were detonated around our neighborhood.
This is a video of Gentry writing her name with a sparkler. The sparkler that we used here are nothing like the gunpowder on a 8 inch piece of burning hot steel that was given to me by my saftey conscious parents when I was a child. They are about 36 inch pieces of wood with at least 16 inches of handle.
These videos were taken around 8:30 p.m. There was a break in the fireworks from 9:00 p.m. until about 11:30 p.m. It picked up from 11:30 p.m. until well after midnight.
~ Brad
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Appeasing the kitchen gods
A week
before the Chinese New Year some Chinese participate in the "Appeasing of the Kitchen god." According to Grace Young, the author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen,
the tradition is to make offerings to the kitchen god as a sort of bribe.
"The kitchen god is a domestic god that resides behind the stove and he watches over everything in your home," Young tells NPR's Melissa Block. "And the Chinese believe that the heart of the family resides in the kitchen. … The family always puts a food offering in front of this little altar that they have right by the stove." The idea is that when the kitchen god goes up to see the jade emperor, his report will be favorable and you'll have a prosperous new year, Young says.
A friend here told us that they also shoot off fireworks as an appeasement to the kitchen gods. This video is of fireworks a few blocks from our apartment building. Marilyn, Gentry and I were watching them being shot off in several different directions. We could not get a clear view of them so we bundled up and started walking around.
before the Chinese New Year some Chinese participate in the "Appeasing of the Kitchen god." According to Grace Young, the author of The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen,the tradition is to make offerings to the kitchen god as a sort of bribe.
"The kitchen god is a domestic god that resides behind the stove and he watches over everything in your home," Young tells NPR's Melissa Block. "And the Chinese believe that the heart of the family resides in the kitchen. … The family always puts a food offering in front of this little altar that they have right by the stove." The idea is that when the kitchen god goes up to see the jade emperor, his report will be favorable and you'll have a prosperous new year, Young says.
A friend here told us that they also shoot off fireworks as an appeasement to the kitchen gods. This video is of fireworks a few blocks from our apartment building. Marilyn, Gentry and I were watching them being shot off in several different directions. We could not get a clear view of them so we bundled up and started walking around.
The funny thing is that when we were out of sight of our courtyard, someone shot off some big ones there. We headed back in time to see some more neighbors getting ready to shoot some themselves. You can buy some serious fireworks here. As you can see in the video below, the fireworks are Fourth of July finale quality. I took the video from mine and Mare's bedroom window.
~ Brad
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Next Top Designer
The last video shows a few of the clothing vendors. We saw the most beautiful dresses. I was told that you can bring a photo of a dress or suit to one of the vendors. Once you've selected a fabric, they will measure you and tailor the outfit. If you are a fan of "Next Top Designer", this would be a dream excursion for you.
posted by Marilyn
Last Friday Jennye and I made a trip to the fabric market to have bedding made. The fabric market is a huge room with thousands of bolts of fabric. You can find cotton, wool, silk & upholstery fabric. After selecting patterns for the three bedrooms, we found a vendor willing to coordinate the tailoring.
Aubrey went with Jennye and me to pick up the bedding on Saturday. The first video is the street we most frequently catch the bus. The second and third videos are food vendors at San Zhan market. The candied fruit was really good. I'll try the bing another day. Once the bing has been cooked, you select the meat or vegetables you'd like inside. It reminds me a little of a chalupa when I saw people eating them.
We will post photos of our apartment in a day or two. It has been challenging to find everything we need and/or want to set up our home. We weren't able to walk into one store and purchase everything at once. Day by day, we find a store to purchase a few items at a time. I did find one store where I found some vases and home accessories that have made our apartment feel a little more like home. We need art on the walls! Maybe we'll purchase some paint and try to create our own masterpieces. If there was a Target here, I think I could have had the nesting process knocked out in a couple of days. There is no jumping in a car and running down the road. Any trip requires a bus, taxi, or long walk to a market. Throw in the language barrier and even a simple trip feels exhausting. This has been a great frustration to me and motivates me to learn Chinese as quickly as possible. If it weren't for the generosity of our new friends acting as translators, we'd be unable to function.
I can't say enough about the kindness of the people we've met. Most people are gracious to try and understand my poor attempts at Chinese. Lots can be communicated with smiles and gestures. The rest, I'm afraid, will have to wait until I've memorized more words and practiced my four tones.
posted by Marilyn
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Jam, File Gumbo & Brad's Underwear
I almost forgot to tell you about jam, file gumbo and my underwear. On Wednesday, the morning after we arrived, Laurel and I are sitting in the living room surrounded by 13 suitcases, a cardboard box, and various other items. I notice a puddle beginning to form under one of the blue suitcases. It was a rather thick puddle. I mentioned this to Laurel. We opened the suitcase to discover that one of the 4 jars of homemade jam that we had attempted to bring with us had broken. There was muscadine jam covering 2 of my shirts and a pair of Marilyn's pants. Luckily, the other three jars were in tact and the rest of the items in the suitcase were protected by the vacuum packed plastic bag in which they had been stored. It was quite the mess.
As far as the File Gumbo, it wasn't actually the Gumbo with sausage, shrimp etc, it was the seasoning. When it was packed it was double zip-lock bagged. When it arrived it had been inspected and was now loose in the suitcase minus the lid. The seasoning which originally had been stored in the bottle was now being stored in about 9 pair of my underwear including my thermal pair. I figured that we could do without the seasoning but I needed the underwear so I decided not to store the seasoning in my underwear but to wash them. That was a mess considering the underwear was not designed to store that sort of item.
As far as the File Gumbo, it wasn't actually the Gumbo with sausage, shrimp etc, it was the seasoning. When it was packed it was double zip-lock bagged. When it arrived it had been inspected and was now loose in the suitcase minus the lid. The seasoning which originally had been stored in the bottle was now being stored in about 9 pair of my underwear including my thermal pair. I figured that we could do without the seasoning but I needed the underwear so I decided not to store the seasoning in my underwear but to wash them. That was a mess considering the underwear was not designed to store that sort of item.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Buying a Slab of Pork
So I, Brad, was shopping for dinner. There is a meat market near the apartment. I noticed several people inside buying meat. So I went in and began to look at the various cuts of meat. I could not identify any of the meat except the chicken feet, which looked rather meaty. Me not being able to identify meat is not something new considering that I only read the labels when in the states. All the other customers were buying slabs of what I determined to be pork, since there was a picture of a hog above the case. So I bought a slab, Woooo Hoooo. My first meat purchase besides the cans of tuna that we bought at Wal Mart.
I brought the meat home and showed it to Mare she laughed so hard. She then determined that I had the makings of bacon and tenderloin. We fried part one night in flour, salt and pepper with steamed rice for dinner. I fried the rest to have with scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast the next day. The tenderloin was baked and eaten with boiled potatoes & carrots (covered with Cavender's...yum yum), stir fried broccoli, cabbage & onions.
The video is of me cutting the pork into strips for the first nights dinner.
I brought the meat home and showed it to Mare she laughed so hard. She then determined that I had the makings of bacon and tenderloin. We fried part one night in flour, salt and pepper with steamed rice for dinner. I fried the rest to have with scrambled eggs and toast for breakfast the next day. The tenderloin was baked and eaten with boiled potatoes & carrots (covered with Cavender's...yum yum), stir fried broccoli, cabbage & onions.
The video is of me cutting the pork into strips for the first nights dinner.
Another One Rides The Bus
We went downtown to buy a vacuum cleaner. So we took our first bus ride....appropriately enough it was the #1 bus. It was a 15 minute bus ride.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
We have just arrived.....a week ago.
We have just arrived.....a week ago. I must apologize for the delay in posting to the blog. There is no excuse why I should not have blogged before we left except that we were preoccupied with packing, weighing (me and the luggage), unpacking, repacking, visiting with family, weighing (again me and the luggage), etc. But now we are here and the time has come to blog and blog hard.
On the way back to the apartment last night after eating dinner (a very nice pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and fresh rolls) with friends, we decided that everyone (even G) would have a blog entry today. I am first because I am up first. I was awake at 0630. I have seen each sunrise here since we have arrived, which is strange because I can't remember the last sunrise I saw in Arkansas. I think that that my time schedule has not had to change much since the 1530 - 0100 shift ("Talking about Shift Work" - Kenny Chesney & George Straight) at Fed Ex Freight is pretty much the China day.... 0530 - 1500.... anyway. Not much change.
Departing Tulsa on Monday morning was not to bad. We said good bye to my parents and some very dear friends that are as close as family. We love them all very much. The 13 bags and one box were checked and the 5 carry-on's, 4 personal items and 1 electric guitar (named "Ivy") were in tow. Off we went.
As we were landing in Newark, I was looking for the Fed EX Freight terminal which is located very near the airport. I have a video that I took of our landing in which I was able to get a few seconds of the terminal. If I can figure out how to edit the video down to just that part I will post it.
The second of the three legs of are journey was the long one.... it was not too bad. Gentry made it the best. She had food to eat and a video screen in front of her with more movies than she could ever watch. I think that I started 4 movies and did not finish any because I kept going to sleep. I almost made it through "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". I forget how much I enjoy that movie. Robert Redford (and Paul Newman also) are just cool. The food was good. Have you ever noticed on the plane when they bring you the food that you have just enough room for all your food and drink but no room for the paper, plastic and foil that comes with the food? I had to eat some things really quick with holding foil in order to have a container in which to place my trash.
We made it through customs and immigration without as much as a hiccup. We were met by some friends. We travelled from one terminal to the new terminal that was built for the Olympics. We were quite the site with all of our bags, box, and guitar in tow. From there it was on to our new home city.
We were greeted at our new apartment by friends and hot Pizza Hut pizza. That's right Pizza Hut pizza. Friends had already made the beds and bought cereal, milk, juice and fruit for us. That is the trip over.
There is much more to tell but I will save that for the next blog. I think that my next blog will be Jam, File Gumbo, and Brad's Underwear.
On the way back to the apartment last night after eating dinner (a very nice pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and fresh rolls) with friends, we decided that everyone (even G) would have a blog entry today. I am first because I am up first. I was awake at 0630. I have seen each sunrise here since we have arrived, which is strange because I can't remember the last sunrise I saw in Arkansas. I think that that my time schedule has not had to change much since the 1530 - 0100 shift ("Talking about Shift Work" - Kenny Chesney & George Straight) at Fed Ex Freight is pretty much the China day.... 0530 - 1500.... anyway. Not much change.
Departing Tulsa on Monday morning was not to bad. We said good bye to my parents and some very dear friends that are as close as family. We love them all very much. The 13 bags and one box were checked and the 5 carry-on's, 4 personal items and 1 electric guitar (named "Ivy") were in tow. Off we went.
As we were landing in Newark, I was looking for the Fed EX Freight terminal which is located very near the airport. I have a video that I took of our landing in which I was able to get a few seconds of the terminal. If I can figure out how to edit the video down to just that part I will post it.
The second of the three legs of are journey was the long one.... it was not too bad. Gentry made it the best. She had food to eat and a video screen in front of her with more movies than she could ever watch. I think that I started 4 movies and did not finish any because I kept going to sleep. I almost made it through "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid". I forget how much I enjoy that movie. Robert Redford (and Paul Newman also) are just cool. The food was good. Have you ever noticed on the plane when they bring you the food that you have just enough room for all your food and drink but no room for the paper, plastic and foil that comes with the food? I had to eat some things really quick with holding foil in order to have a container in which to place my trash.
We made it through customs and immigration without as much as a hiccup. We were met by some friends. We travelled from one terminal to the new terminal that was built for the Olympics. We were quite the site with all of our bags, box, and guitar in tow. From there it was on to our new home city.
We were greeted at our new apartment by friends and hot Pizza Hut pizza. That's right Pizza Hut pizza. Friends had already made the beds and bought cereal, milk, juice and fruit for us. That is the trip over.
There is much more to tell but I will save that for the next blog. I think that my next blog will be Jam, File Gumbo, and Brad's Underwear.
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