Happy Birthday, Ellie bug!

On December 5th, 1991, arriving three weeks early at 1:04am, my baby girl, Ellen Elizabeth Thalls, made her way into the world.  My little Elliebug turned 23 this weekend, and I couldn't be more proud to be her momma.

This is one of my favorite pics of her....the girl was
born making noise, and she hasn't stopped talking since :)
Maybe it was prophetic that she become a television
news reporter when she grew up- let's hope she doesn't
put her foot in her mouth live on air!

Only 15 months apart, so different and yet so alike in many ways.
I love these two girlies with all my <3

Little sissy was really a happy little girl- always ready and willing
to try something new with no fear whatsoever- whether it was
swinging a bat or barreling down the mountain on snow skis.

Her smile is beautiful; her laugh is infectious.

She navigated the growing pains with hardly a minute's trouble for her momma.

She brought me so much joy in her high school years....
from watching her cheer at ball games,

...to cheering her on while playing tennis...

...to seeing her compete in speech contests through the FFA.  It was
also prophetic that all of her talking won her awards at the State
and National level with the FFA.

Every birthday, like her 17th one here, deserves a special
celebration...because she is just that special...
not only to her momma, but to everyone she meets.

I remember looking through the lens of my camera while taking pictures
of her senior prom, and I was suddenly struck at how beautiful, how
poised, and what an incredible woman she had become.
Where did those 18 years go?

And then it was high school graduation, and she was ready to set off
and make her mark in the world.  She had been one of 1200 selected, out of
 17,000 applicants, to receive a Congressional appointment to the
United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO.

Every night I poured through the pictures posted on USAFA's website,
hoping to catch a glimpse of my baby girl in basic training.  I knew
she was facing the most difficult obstacle ever in her life.
She was being tried physically, mentally, emotionally,
and even spiritually, and I couldn't have been more proud.
I cried every time I found her face in the crowd.

Then to see her graduate from basic, and to earn the title of Cadet Thalls,
it was yet another proud moment for her momma.

At the end of her first semester at USAFA, she made the most difficult
decision of her life, and that was to leave the Academy and go to
school at Purdue.  She struggled with that one for quite some time, but
as her momma, I loved her through it all, and I was proud of her.
Like my other kids, I only wanted her to be happy, healthy and successful :)

Before her senior year of college, she did a summer abroad in Italy.
True to Ellie form, she was hired as a 'dorm assistant' to help offset
the cost of tuition.   She was always incredible at nailing
an interview- the girl was born for talking :)
She also has the wanderlust like her momma; I call her my 'travel bug'. 

The summer of her college senior year,she met her great love,
through her internship at WISH TV Channel 8 news.
It makes me happy to see her so happy :)

She graduated from Purdue with Honors, finishing a semester early, too.
I've always known this girl is going places.

Just a few short months later, she talked her way through several
interviews and two job offers.  She settled on Channel 5 in Fayetteville, AR.

...I think Arkansas suits her well, don't you?

She called this one 'the many faces of Live TV', lol.  I never had any
doubt that she would nail it on camera; the girl was born to do this :)

Working from the live truck, she is right at home.
http://5newsonline.com/2014/12/06/springdale-police-are-investigating-early-morning-robbery/

If you don't believe me, click on the link above.  This was her

live shot from today.  Only nine months on the job, and she's making

her mark in the industry.  This story was written, edited, and aired

on live television in less than twelve minutes.  I told you she's a natural :)

For 23 years and a day, you have made your entire family proud.  You are an incredibly strong, intelligent, and driven young woman.  Very simply, you are simply beautiful, both inside and out. I love you forever, I like you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be.

I love you, my Ellen Elizabeth Thalls, my peaches, my sweet, sweet baby girl.  xoxo

With love,
from your momma
                                                                                                   
                                                                       
     

Day 105 TGIF with the Grinch and friends :)

I love my Fridays....I have just two classes, 3rd and 9th periods.  This Friday was even better- no teaching! I had a number of students out of class on Friday as they were traveling to go take their SAT's on Saturday- IN JAPAN!  I marvel at the expense these kids' parents go through to get them prepared to attend universities in the United States.  It takes both sets of grandparents, and their parents to support their ONE CHILD in private education in high school, and then at universities abroad.  No wonder these kids feel such tremendous pressure to succeed in school- six adults are banking on it- quite literally.

Thanks to my Amazon Prime account, and my VPN to get around the Great
Firewall, I was able to show them one of the Christmas classics (in my
book, that is :)  They love all things American, and they LOVED this cartoon!

They are naturally curious about American culture and customs.  Christmas is not really celebrated here, as it is a Christian holiday.  China is largely Buddhist, and if not that, mostly agnostic.  Before I showed the film, which was made in 1966, I told them the story of this show and A Charlie Brown Christmas would play on TV, typically the night of December 1st.  These two shows signaled the start of the holiday season for me as a child.  I couldn't wait for the Sears and JC Penney's Christmas catalogs to arrive in the mail so I could mark all the toys and clothes I wanted from Santa Claus. (What I didn't mention to the kids is how the stores nowadays are decorated for Christmas before Halloween- but that would make no sense to them, as they don't really celebrate Halloween, either.)

It was so funny watching these Asian kids watch this show.
They were embarrassed by their fits of giggling, covering
their mouths to hide their laughter :)))

They especially cracked up at Max.  The harder they laughed, the more
I laughed.  I was crying, I was laughing so much :)))

It was so much fin watching this show for the umpteenth time, but this time through the eyes of Asian kids who had never seen such a thing.  They had never even heard of Dr. Suess.  When I asked later what they thought of the show, one boy commented that he "admired the clever use of rhyming words."  Another girl said, "The artists were very creative, weren't they?"  Now, there really was a good reason why I showed this cartoon, not just for a blow-off Friday in Psychology class.  

We just finished our unit on psychopathology, or the study of mental disorders.  I asked them to watch the cartoon, and see if they could properly diagnose the Grinch with an Axis I and Axis II disorder.  They had to substantiate their diagnosis by indicating which symptoms they believed were exhibited by the Grinch.  After our discussion, I then showed them a clip of a psychiatrist from UCLA.  In this clip, she offered her psychoanalysis of the Grinch.  By golly, THEY GOT IT!!! Asian kids love it when they are right about something, lol.  (Believe me, they've tried to correct me a time or two in class already this year.)  The kids had so much fun, they wanted to watch another cartoon and diagnose somebody else.  I would show them 'A Charlie Brown Christmas', but everybody already knows that Charlie Brown is suffering from a major depressive episode, perhaps brought on by the winter season :)  In the meantime, ain't nobody got time for such foolishness; we have an exam on Monday!

Though it was still cold on Friday, the air was clear, the sun was out, and
the wind had died down.  After lunch, Zuong, Santosh, Carlos and I stepped
out to the alley market to run an errand- and to get some cotton candy!

At 7pm, a group of us met on the subway platform for a night out on the
town.  We were headed to the Chaoyang district on the east side of
the city where there's a large ex-pat community, complete with
 Western luxuries (as in shopping, restaurants, and bars :)

As usual, our friend Adam was running late.  The boy
is always a day late and an RMB short, lol.  Even on the
train, he didn't move fast enough for a good seat.  So funny.

Zuong, my Vietnamese girlie, and I were hungry for some BBQ :)

This was a beautiful tree in front of a hotel.
The streets on this side of town are decorated for Christmas :)

Me and my hiking buddy, Hank- long time, no see!
Or in Mandarin, "Hao jiu, mei jian"

We had dinner at the Home Plate. OMG!!!  Where has this place been all of
my China life?!  My pulled pork sandwich with Kansas City BBQ
sauce, fries, slaw, and a Coke was TO DIE FOR :)))  I ate it ALL.
We were there to support our friend Rob, who was performing that night.
Rob is from NYC and teaches music and guitar at BNDS. 

Carlos is my office buddy who teaches English.  He's a former Marine
paratrooper, and taught ESL in Texas before coming to BNDS this year.
He and Rob are part of the group of ten bringing in the New Year
in freezing a** cold Harbin.  I think some of the group plan to stay
drunk for three days, so as to not feel the pain of the -36 degree temperature.

And this is my buddy Santosh, who teaches physics at BNDS.  We had just
figured out that we will be travel buddies the end of January.  We
both are planning to return to the States for our extended break and
we are on the same Qatar Airways flights from Beijing to Doha
(Qatar), and Doha to JFK.  From there we'll part company, as he heads
home to his wife in Orlando, and I will travel on to Indianapolis.
I leave Beijing on January 28th for 30+ hours of flying.  The funny
thing is, I am flying the OTHER way around the world, and I will
land in Indianapolis at 6:42pm, STILL on January 28th!
Now don't that beat all??

G'nite, y'all!

Day 102 Yin and Yang

The symbol above signifies 'yin and yang', which is popular in Chinese culture and philosophy.  We hear of it often, even in our faculty meetings at school.  Yin and yang expresses the duality in life, light and darkness, man and woman, fire and water, and such.  While these may sometimes be opposing forces, in the Chinese tradition, they are complimentary.  It is what brings balance to the world.

I've been experiencing a bit of my own yin and yang lately; feeling happy and full, and at other times feeling a bit sad and lonely.  The change in weather here (winter is definitely upon us) has also brought yin and yang to my days; from bundling up and feeling hot, to stepping out in the frigid cold air and freezing.  The air here is SO DRY, I apply lotion at least three times a day.  I'm eating blistex and vaseline off my chapped lips, and I can't get enough leave in conditioner or moroccon oil on my hair.  Did I mention that it is windy like Chicago?  Even that, brings a bit of yin and yang to the picture.

Now that the country's heat has been officially turned on for
the winter season, the factories are pumping out black coal
smoke.  The smog has been worse than ever.  I saw it climb to
489 last week.  However, with the cold north wind, it blows
all the smog away.  We have had gorgeous blue sky
days for about six days in a row.  The AQI has been down
in the 20's consistently, which is so nice. Yin and yang.

Now I have to wear my mask, not for the smog, but to keep the biting wind off my face.
It's the kind of cold wind that has your eyes streaming tears and your nose
snottin' in a matter of minutes.  It's the kind of cold that just makes me angry.
I am so thankful I brought my down ski parka with me to Beijing,
but I need to invest in a warmer hat and wool scarf.

While the temperature reaches 30 during the day, with the
wind chill, it is down in the teens and sometimes even colder.
Two days this week it was blowing steadily 15-20 mph,
with gusts even higher.  We came back from lunch on
Wednesday only to discover that one of the glass front
doors to the school had blown open and shattered.

It's only a ten minute walk to and from work.  Even with my heavy mittens on,
I still have fingers that go numb from the biting cold.  Geesh...
I sure am missing the Florida Keys and Marquesa these days :(

So I come back to my cozy apartment and thaw out
in front of my 'fireplace'.  It's not the log cabin, but it works.

Well, all the talk of cold left my friend Jeanette and I dreaming of warmer days.  The International teachers get four days off at Christmas (the Chinese teachers and students will still be in school), so we naturally booked a plane ticket outta here!  We are headed to Sanya Beach, South China on Christmas Eve.  I didn't want to stay alone in my apartment at Christmas anyhow, as what is typically a happy occasion is likely to be a sad one this year.  More of that yin and yang.

Sanya Beach is billed as the Hawaii of the Orient.

Doesn't it look lovely?  And there's another buddha statue
just waiting to be discovered by me :)

Sanya beach is the southern most part of Hainan Island in the South China
Sea.  It is known for its white sand beaches, and clear blue waters for scuba
diving.  Jeanette and I are both divers, and we can hardly wait!  Have
 backpack, will travel :)  We're staying on the cheap, in a hostel on the beach!
If you want to know more about this popular vacation destination, see the link below:
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/hainan/sanya/dadonghai.htm#bay

This past Tuesday night, a group of us got together for pizza at Jeanette's place to plan our next travel adventure (well, next, next travel adventure for me :) over the New Year's holiday weekend.  Keep in mind she and I will have been on tropical sandy beaches just days before.  We come back to work for just four days, then we will hop a plane again.  We'll be heading north this time, WAY north...as in near the Russian border, where the cold Siberian winds blow all winter long. More yin and yang, and just plain crazy talk, if you ask me.  What am I, nuts?!

We are booked to fly to Harbin, China, very near the Russian border.  I honestly
have wanted to go there since I found out I was moving to China.  Because of
it's location, the city has a much more Russian influence in it's architecture
and cuisine, so I am looking forward to seeing that. I wish I had taken a
picture of all of us sitting in Jeanette's living room with our laptops and
 IPads, booking our plane tickets and accommodations.  It's how we roll!

The biggest reason we are going there is to take in the Harbin
Snow and Ice Festival.  It is an annual event that brings
visitors in from all over the world.  It seemed like the perfect
place to bring in the New Year.

Is this seriously cool, or what?  

I am so excited to go see these amazing snow and ice sculptures.
Check it out: http://www.harbinice.com/

Another reason I want to go to Harbin is to see the
Siberian Tiger Sanctuary :)  I hope to 'waller' a tiger again!

Maybe I'll even get to see a white Siberian tiger!! Fingers crossed :)))

If (and that's a BIG IF) I can get a day of sunshine, with little wind, and the
temperature is a balmy zero degrees (the average temp in January is -36 F),
I may brave the elements for a half day of skiing at Yabuli Resort.
What I really want is to be served a hot toddy in the heated chairlift, lol.
No, for real- they serve hot toddies in heated chair lifts at this ski resort :)

Otherwise, my plan of attack (and survival) for the bitter cold of Harbin is to dress in as many layers as is humanly possible, wear double mittens and socks, with warmers in my mittens and boots.  I shall dart outside to snap a few pics of the nearest churches or snow and ice sculptures, then I will dodge into the closest coffee house or bar to thaw out!  There will be ten of us on this grand ice adventure, and though I hate the cold with a fiery passion, I am secretly looking forward to it.  It's just another place for me to cross off the list of 1,000 Places to See Before I Die!  I just hope I don't freeze to death and die in Harbin.

To get back to the yin and yang, there's nothing that tastes better, or feels
better to my cold bones than a crock pot of homemade chili with peanut
butter and honey sandwiches... just. like. home.

G'night, y'all!

Day 99- working to find my happy place :)

As I left for the subway today, I saw this old fellow in the courtyard.
He was practicing his Chinese characters with a large 'paintbrush'.
If you look closely, at the top of the pole is an attached water
bottle.  It's kind of like playing with sidewalk chalk, only different.
No mess to clean up!

There are two things guaranteed to make me smile. Every time.
One is seeing the beautiful Chinese children, especially the
little Chinese girls with their lopsided pig tails.  The other one
is to see the elderly Chinese- whether they are gathered in the
courtyard of my apartment complex in the afternoon sun,
playing raucous card games on the stoop outside of Walmart,
or like this elderly couple, pedaling along in their three
wheeled bicycle across the crazy Beijing traffic.  I look at
this elderly couple and I see love, plain and simple. In my
mind, he has spent the better part of his adult life loving
this woman.  They looked like poor peasants, but rich in love.

I must admit, it was been a rough week for me.  It was my
first Thanksgiving that wasn't, and I was far, far from home,
my family, and all the traditions that began with Thanksgiving.
I've been fighting the blues, for sure.  Add to that, and I am now
back to being alone in my apartment again. After a twelve
hour sleep last night (I have been worn out- physically,
mentally, and emotionally), I woke up with the attitude
that I needed to change my attitude.  It was time to find my
happy place.  First, I had to find the salon I went to nearly
two months ago.  An hour subway ride and a twenty minute
walk (with only one time turning around!) I found my way
back to Ken who gave my dry, dry hair a deep conditioning
treatment.  Navigating my way across town once again
by myself, was a moral victory, and it had me smiling.
(And my hair feels fabulous :)

After my salon treatment, I treated myself with a trip to
Jenny Lous, a Western grocery store.  It's a bit pricey
for sure, and though it is small, I can get some of my
much missed comforts, like microwave popcorn,
brie, black beans, avocados, pickles, and corn meal
for making tortillas.  There was lots more I purchased,
and was I ever weighed down for the twenty minute
walk to the subway, an hour on the train, and another
twenty minute walk home.  Though it was cold, raining,
and the AQI was over 300, I worked up a sweat...

And an appetite :)  Dinner was my version of a Greek salad
(maybe?)  Tossed greens, carrots, cucumbers, salami,
black olives, feta cheese cubes, olive oil and balsamic
vinegar.  And not one, but two, pretzel rolls :)

While I should have been grading this evening, I worked on getting my flight home changed.  My flight back to Indiana was to leave late on January 30th, arriving on the 31st.  Now I am getting in on January 28th instead.  This will allow me two full weeks to visit the girls, see my mom, brother, and his family, visit a few friends, and get to Arkansas and back before I continue on to Florida. I leave for the Keys on February 12th, and will fly out of Miami to return to Beijing on February 28th.  We have the month of February off here in China.  Many are planning travel to warmer parts, but since I have already been to Thailand and the Philippines, it was more important for me to get back to the States.  With that settled, the countdown is on...60 days until I am back home in Indiana :)  Seeing my family again is sure to bring a smile to my face; even more so than little Chinese girls in lopsided pigtails.

G'nite, y'all!