Confucius Park

Just hangin' out with Confucius

Andy, Abby, Mallary, Lily, and Mark

Chip's Chewables: Would you like a wife with that?

Chew on this:  "We can’t think of a better way to throw traditional wedding protocol out the window than to host it at McDonald’s. Hong Kong will be the first city in the world to roll out McDonald’s nuptial packages for couples starting January 1 next year."  (Please click on the link to read the article)

Pixie

I decided I needed a haircut. I asked a few students, Mary and Amelia, to come along to help with translation. I had a photo with me. The students thought it was crazy for me to cut my hair off short. Long hair is a treasure* in China. I convinced them that this was really what I wanted and assured them that if I hated it, my hair would grow and I could wear a hat in the meantime. I asked Mary if she had ever cut her hair short. She said she had not--that she only liked her hair long. Both girls were concerned as the hairdresser snipped away. But then. . .at the end of it all, they both really liked it and said their classmates would not even recognize me. And Mary said she wants to cut her hair off now. :)

A wash, cut, and style, all for the whopping price of 5 yuan (less than $1.00U.S.).

*I found out later that many girls treasure long hair in China because when they young, schools often require girls to cut their hair off to their chin so that it will not be a distraction from their studies (less morning hair prep and less attention from boys).

Cinnamon

These girls made us three kinds of egg plant.  All three were terrible. 

The Cinnamon Chefs

Cinnamon Chefs with Chip

Cinnamon Chef's with Mal (they like taking photos)

Eating our cinnamon dinner

This girl and the one below made us some really good gourds.

One of the better cooks

Chip and I have had a few different students over lately who have wanted to cook Chinese food for us. Some students have been better cooks than others. :) The students that came last night were really curious about the spices in my spice rack. They smelled the cinnamon, were surprised by it's scent, and I explained that I really like cinnamon and often put it in my morning oatmeal. Cinnamon is not a widely used spice in China.  Well, they went on to make egg and tomato (a popular dish in China), eggplant, and bean sprouts--and to my surprise, they included cinnamon in all the dishes explaining that they knew I would like it since I love cinnamon! 

The Hallelujah Church Ladies--Newsletter Supplement

Disclaimer:  These videos are low quality, but we think they enhance the photos and description that you read in our recent newsletter about our Sunday at the Qufu Three-Self Church and the lunch that followed.

Singing songs of our love for the Father in Chinese

Fruit. Lots of fruit. And you better eat it!

Squeezing into the unknown car on our way to lunch

Bridezillas

October 1st is a major holiday in China. As a result, we were given a week off from teaching. Mallary and I decided that we would spend four nights away from Qufu and visit Qingdao. The city of Qingdao, in the words of my students, "is a famous colorful city near the sea." Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Qingdao wasn't the old German architecture or the ultra rich sailing area; but rather, it was the countless bridal shoots scattered along the coastline and in front of the old Catholic church.

                                      See how many brides you can count.

 

Wow Qingdao

We posted some photos of our recent trip to Qingdao over the October National Holiday in China.

Click on the link (or copy and paste) to view the album--no facebook account necessary:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2041433&id=178200954&l=9bfc748fac