wow, it has been a while since i have posted to the blog, but i am going to make it a priority now. well alot has changed since the last post so i will sum it up really quick, we have three new staff members, one from Sweden, one from Roseburg, Oregon and the last from hear London in the UK. they are all really nice and cool. we had the 9th anniversary/ birthday for the school and it demanded a fun day at a waterfall near Guangzhou, the pictures below are of that great day, it was very beautiful and i am glad i went. even thought it was 4,000 steps to the top and 4,000 back down so my legs were really sore the next three days. ohh well no pain, no gain right!

The Mountain trip:
it was with all the western and chinese staff, it was a 2.5 hour bus ride over and back. we arrived to nice meal prepared for us and then we set out for the hike, naturally the western staff took off in front of the chinese, since our legs are a bit longer. we would then pause a few times up the hill to take a few pictures. once at the top it was great views of the land below and the mountains around, we hiked up to this cell phone tower that looked like a tree up close and from the ground it looked like a cell phone tower, it was funny. then we hiked back down to catch the bus back to huizhou where we just relaxed and had a small meal. check out the pictures and i will post here more often now.

Christmas and New Years

Christmas and New Years were quite different here in China, as one would imagine. Christmas came and went with no real deal, we had a amazing dorm dinner that everyone helped cook. the food was great and the company even better, but it just didnt feel the same without snow and the cold weather. we stilled had a great time and exchanged many stories about our traditions we have at home.

New Years was again different but China was able to deliver on the party side of New Years, we went to a great dinner at Tsigntao its a Chinese version of a beer hall, great food and cheap beer. then we watched the count down at Rave Party the largest club in Huizhou, it was fun. we had our shots of beer then went on to a more chilled out club and continued into the new year in grand fashion.

PICTURE 1: count down at rave party
PICTURE 2: Christmas dinner at the dorm

the holiday season in china

Yes the holidays are upon us, and china celebrates christmas too, but in a very chinese way. i will post some pictures i took in the past week around Huizhou of the holiday spirit they try to put out. it just dont feel like the holiday season with the warmer weather, the lack of backing, no real christmas spirit and the non existence of all holiday factors. its almost like they are afraid of christmas here, the decorations are about dollar store clearance quality and there is no winter smell in the air. well take a look at the pictures and mind you these are the best decorations in the city.....

HONG KONG BABY!!

So Lisa and I headed down to the utopia of Hong Kong, on November 17 and came back on the 19. it was a great trip and really easy from Huizhou. we stayed at a great little hostel in causeway bay on the Island. we just really explored around the area, we had lunch near the escalators on central in a Mexican style place and it was great, then went to Mang Kong and ended up in the ladies market, which reminded me of the san lorenzo markets in Florence. then found an H and M in a nice shopping complex and had great coffee and muffin there. then went back to central and had a fantastic dinner at an Italian place called Vino a must try. then we found a jazz club doing a little Monday night jam session so we grabbed a bottle of wine and enjoyed the music. we took a boat tour of Victoria Harbor and watched the light show, it was a great show with music. all in all Hong Kong is maybe my new favorite city and i could see myself there.

Mt. Lofu

So today was our big trip to mount Lofu, that the Chinese staff lovingly put together for us. it was going to be a great trip, but it was poring rain when we left and when we got there, so we went to the temple, and the rain cleared up a little so we started to trek to a little pagoda on a peak. on the way it started to rain really hard so we turned back and went back down and took cover under anything we could, then the weather broke up and we went through the little Japanese vs Chinese war memorial. then had some lunch at a little local restaurant, the food was nice, nothing crazy just the lovely little snails. we came home to have papa johns 10 yuan mini pizzas for dinner and watched some movies. it was a surprisingly tiring day.

update on life...

hey all, i am just getting home from a pretty good day at work. as i was leaving i saw two of my students on a scooter with there mom, it made my day. then i went by the local fruit shop and saw the fruit man sitting in a an empty crate smoking his cigarette, it made me laugh. it sure beats last nights events that included the killing of a live goat on the street and some bbq. we also just had our halloween celebration here for the kids last tuesday, yes our day off, but only in great chinese style. we built all the class rooms up then had about 120 kids come through then tore it all down to have a normal week of classes. Well halloween is huge here and they are having a great big party tommorrow night, so we are all going to dress up and head to that. hope all is well in your neck of the woods.

yes the Big 23

and a few photos of the night...




so i just had the best birthday ever, it all started with all you can eat Japanese food and beer, yes unlimited beer. we took advantage of that part. in traditional Chinese fashion i was given a bouquet of flowers. it was weird i felt like i won a metal or some competition. ohh well just another great story, well we ended up going to bi la men, its a dance club here in Huizhou. it was a great birthday and i love the smell of flowers in my room. well i had a good time and am not feeling very great today, but it was once a year.

here is a video of the bi la men club