End Credits

End Credits

Firstly, I would like to thank Kojo, obviously.

Please excuse the random lady to the left.

The hilarious organizer of this trip and teacher of our class (and still managing to survive), Kojo keeps his upbeat self with his duck voice and *sometimes* bad jokes. Throughout the trip he planned everything well and even let us enjoy our trip, despite all the work we had to finish. (He planned that too. -.-) This trip would definitely only be a dream if he hadn't made everything work out so well. =) The future kids that leave for China are lucky to have him arranging all this, to the delicious group dinners to the exciting surprises. And to think that he brought everyone back in one piece (or rather, twenty-five pieces). Whoo-hoo Kojo!


Then there's the lovely Posing Group chaperone, Amy!
Amy is easily the best group chaperone ever. Even though she's a grownup she doesn't let any fun escape our grasp. She makes even the scariest situations (example: running for the train) seem like little races or parties that we should enjoy rather than rush through, and she encourages us to take our time and breathe in China. Nothing is hopeless when she's around! I was allowed to use her laptop to write the blog entries when we were staying at Scholar's. Also, Amy takes many pictures--at least 100 each day! (Every picture i've used for my blog entries before this one are all taken by her.) And of course, like any mom, she loves to embarrass her kid. Heh heh. We couldn't wish for a better chaperone!

Self-explanitory? =)
The one on the far left is mine. ALL MINE MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
...
LiDa Middle School Students and StaffLiDa, even in a crucial testing time for all of their students, managed to house every single one of us and take good care of us. Everyone had a story to tell! They let us use and explore their beautiful and very spacious facility, and we made friends and learned more about Chinese culture than we thought we ever would have. I believe we all felt welcome and enjoyed our time in SuZhou.

And readers and commenters...THAT'S YOU!
Hehe! Last and anything but least, family and friends and anyone who cared. Especially you commenters, you made me encouraged to keep posting almost everyday, despite how often I complained about how tired I was and sometimes felt obligated. But knowing you guys all read and enjoy what I write, droopy eyelids and sleeping later don't matter at all. Some of you check daily and that makes me feel like everything is worth it. Who knows--with the words of support and excitement that you guys give me, maybe someday I could be a famous blogger or something, haha! Anyways you don't know how special each one of you makes me feel. =)

With that,
I now conclude my side of the CRR 2009 trip. Of course I will still check every so often for comments and stuff, but I don't think I'll need to post any more. (This makes me sad!) Maybe I'll look back on this years and years from now, and maybe you will too.
But most of all, I really hope that next year, for the CRR 2010 trip, that someone else will blog for the people in America, like I did, so I can see what happened to them when I was sleeping.
I look forward to reading a blog that is better than mine next year.

For now...
~~~Reporter Poh...
...because there's always room for more!

The last two days

The Class~! Well, at least the kids.

Day --. The last two days

Now as I sit at the computer I think back about all of the wonderful memories I share with my friends, who are even closer now because of these two weeks. Everyone's home safe and sound, and if you didn't hear about the last two days (or possibly just came back to hear my point, or see Amy's awesome pictures), you're at the right place.
We all left LiDa in the morning, after saying goodbye to our lovely homestays and taking a class photo (shown above). Then we saluted their flag with the entire school, and walked a bit before loading ourselves (and our luggage) into a tour bus.
The ride was longer than we thought it would be. We were stuck in rush hour and didn't have much to do except snack on some weird tasting chips (cool cucumber) and Oreos (Oreo knockoffs, at least, which tasted horrible), toss around stuffed animals and poke each other with a big wooden sword (Allen's). Kathleen then found two young friendly truck drivers to wave at, and throughout the time we were in the freeway she and I exchanged ecstatic waves with them. We named the two Spenser and Timothy, and they were really one in a million that would wave back so enthusiastically at crazy little American kids. They didn't even get bored--in fact they looked like they were enjoying themselves.
Eventually we sped up and left them behind, and despite our constant begging to slow down we lost Spenser and Timothy. Sigh~!
Just when we had run out of things to do WE ARRIVED AT THE METROPOLE!
=D YAY!
It was a relief to escape from the bus and into Shanghai's...umm...not very fresh air. But anyway it took awhile to get organized, like each pair of students getting room keys, dropping off our stuff, and girls changed their clothes of course. It was definitely in a much nicer condition than Scholar's Inn. Some rooms were bigger than others, like Emily and Angela's room was teeny and Jet and Maya IH had their own little corridor. Me and Kathleen had a room on the larger side, which was nice.
Shortly after we settled in we left for Floor 0, and met up with Kojo (and other chaperones, of course), who got us excited with a SURPRISE at night he said! (But then again, the last SURPRISE at night he said was a boat ride which most of us fell asleep on because we were so tired. Who knew what Kojo would do?) We went to a nearby chinese restaurant for lunch, and pretty much everyone was eager to eat. The kids got their own banquet room with two tables and a perfect amount of seats, and the food was great. Conversation made the waiting time pass and the tea cool. The only downside was the fact that we couldn't get any clean water without paying and some students left to run across the street for soda and water.
Anyway we then walked walked walked to a nearby shopping mall street and got two hours to do whatever we wanted.
*after doing whatever we wanted*
We all met up at the front of a big building, having gone our separate ways. Kathleen, Clare and I had shaved ice, french fries, gelato, cheesecake, and ice cream all the time that we had, and Kathleen bought a bag of candy worth 100RMB (Antonio did as well, but it didn't seem like he got as much.) Other than that no one really spent much. The clothes were much too expensive and we missed crazy bargaining again.
Back at the Metropole some girls changed again, dropped off a few things and then got back down to meet up with Kojo.
A few students got stuck in the elevator for awhile, and it took some more time before they were rescued. From then on no one really dared use the middle elevator...
...anyway, we all climbed into three taxi vans, with one grownup at least in each car. Pam, the vice principal of Cleveland who recently joined us, was monitoring our taxi van. Let's just say that we talked a lot and a bit too loud, and we kept urging the driver to hurry up a little so we could be ahead of the others. Then we shared memories of elementary school and sang loudly.
(I have a feeling that it was a bit too much for Pam and the driver.)
Ahem.
BUT KOJO'S SURPRISE WAS AN ACROBAT SHOW!
It was absolutely AMAZING.
Compliments of our dear Amy, who captured some shots that I can share with you~!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE AMAZING SHOW~!

Those aren't ropes. They're poles, which hurt terribly if you A) jump from each one, B) climb on one without proper equipment, C) aren't holding on with both hands, and D) slide down upside-down.
All of these boy troupe acrobats did the four DO NOTS just listed, and even made it look easy as pie in their performance~!!!


Okay. You see those weird things above her head? Since the lighting is strange, you probably didn't know that THOSE ARE HER FEET!!! It's like she dismantled herself, or is one of those rubber people you see in movies. And she looks only around eight too!


It's the boy troupe again, but this time they're tumbling--through hoops! It's difficult, so difficult that the youngest one knocked the hoop over when trying to get through, but we gave him some slack because the rest of the time he was awesome! This is the highest the hoops got stacked. Note the acrobats' cool pose on the sidelines. We have GOT to learn that!


This was performed when the Titanic's theme song was playing, along with a few clips from the movie. This couple, meanwhile, was dangerously swinging and twirling around on two silk ropes that hung from the ceiling. It was very touching and made everyone gasp at certain points, like when the woman had a rope around her neck that the man was swinging her by.


This particular biker is underneath a swarm of girls, who just so happen to be experienced trick bikers as well. He can't see anything buried underneath everyone, and each girl is standing on the bike, or on him. It's shocking how they can all stay on so well, even when moving at a decent speed and leaning constantly to the left!!


It's the boy troupe's last performance and here they are, juggling hats like little rubber balls. They also ran around tossing them like frisbees, and no one even stumbled while they did so. Every single one of them stayed in sync with the rhythm of the music, and each other. If only we could be so organized.


Finally, the famed and catchy BALL OF DEATH, a metal sphere cage where a motorcyclist is led in one by one, driving around in circles, side to side, upside down. It's like a nightmare rollercoaster where you'd be lucky if you didn't throw up at the end! Look at the picture and you'll count, 1, 2, 3, 4, FIVE cyclists, and one of them being a girl that wouldn't let the men take the show. She unfurled a cape, a China flag, in the end when she was circling about. It was sooooooooooooooooooo coooooooooooooooooool~

Only a few of the performances were left out: spinning plates, standing on stacks of spinning chairs, standing on pipes and diabol tossing. I think that was it, aside from the first performance...i forgot that one. But that was the general summary of the entire show, right on your computer screen! Of course to see the TRUE AMAZINGNESS of the group you'd need to go watch them yourself. I believe they are called "Charming Shanghai"!
We all left in vans again, singing all the way back to Metropole hotel. Fortunately we got to sing and all without being yelled at.

The Next Day...
We headed out for breakfast in the morning, which was continental and very yummy. The fried rice was popular among all of us, and afterwards we got a few hours of free time, because supposedly we were already packed before we ate. During that time it was my last chance to get MANGO MOUSSE POCKY because there isn't any in America!! >< Goodbye, MMP! So we all got on a van and once everyone was in and set to go, we left Metropole and headed for the airport. Except, halfway through the trip the gas line leaked and this weird water stuff started dripping on Clare's head and we had to get out and find a safer bus. And then we got on our first flight, the long one that was going to take eleven hours. We started off a bit late, but by the time we got to the connecting flight we had delayed it by an hour, since we were about half of the plane. Luckily no one was very mad at us, even though we all had to wait for Mitchell who was a victim of the 'random physical check'. Poor guy.
Then we got back and our parents were waiting for us with happy grins and open arms and of course, flashing cameras. =)
And nowww...we're safe and sound~!
...Sorry if that was a bit sudden. But I still have one more post to get done with and my eyes are already drooping, even though it's only 9:30.
It's nice to be home, even though i'm really sleepy right now...must stay awake...to finish up the blog and ohhhhh...
*snore*
~~~Reporter Poh

gehhhhhhhhhh

SUPERSHORT tired edition

Day Thirteen. gehhhhhhhhhh

Nothing too special about today. Well there was, but there wasn't too much to say about it.

But anyway! Yesterday after I posted my entry, Mr and Mrs Shi took me outside into this place where it was really open and it was like a circular stage, and they brought this really big box with fireworks in it. and then Mr Shi ran out into the middle and put it down and lit the firework.

I thought it was going to be one of those little sprinkly ones, the not-so-exciting ones.

IT WAS HUGE!

it was like Fourth of July, only I was allowed to be a lot closer this time, and all around us (since we were in a parking lot too), car alarms went off and it was really noisy. And then a police officer came and watched us (to my surprise, he did not tell us to STOP), and even got us a big flashlight so that Mr and Mrs Shi could get the fireworks lit better.

A few people stopped and just stared at the big BOOMS in the sky and it made me happy because it was all for *me*! =)

And eventually one of the fireworks caught the grass on fire and they had to put the fire out before it caused any damage.

Yup...

...

...but NOW for TODAY!

Oh, gotta make this fast.

SO first we went to LiDa.

Today we were supposed to interview people for our science surveys.

Me Kathleen and Angela were all in the same group and we interviewed 50 students all together.

and then we just hung out.

Like, for the whole day.

We got to go shopping and hang out outside and eat countless popsicles and sing songs until we got sick (of the popsicles). And of course the students stared at us a lot.

it was really fun, but if we got to go into the classes and see what the LiDa students were doing i would like that a lot more.

And then after that we all had a big group picture with everyone!

And then we left for the banquet.

Only Mrs Shi, who was driving me and Katie took a wrong turn into a one way lane, and we went straight before finding that out and we had to reverse drive a really long way. And then we got stuck and then after that a lot of people got mad and finally we got back on track.

The banquet was fun.

We took countless pictures and talked with lots of people and made new friends and ate really good food! But for some reason Mrs Shi was really tired and we had to leave at 7:15, even though the banquet ended at 8:30. i REALLY wanted to stay and got really upset.

(I won't blame anybody here.)

**BLAME GOES HERE**

aaaaaaanyway.

And that's that.

Short and disappointing.

Well actually it's because i'm talking to Mr and Mrs Shi about my family background and yeah. it's late.

Niggght!

~~~Reporter Poh

the funnest day EVER

Day 12. the funnest day EVER

First of all I must say today was a blast compared to yesterday, perhaps because I was having a homesick breakdown. Reading all the comments from people that cared made me cry again, but *ahem* I'm back to myself!

This morning was slow and easy. I had to get up early again, but last night I didn't get good sleep AT ALL. I kept waking up from all the bad dreams I had and forgot about, and Ms. Shi (the mom) and Mr. Shi (the dad. I'll have to get used to this but Dad suggested it would be more polite) were really worried about me.

ANYway, at school I got to listen about how my classmates had SOO much fun. Like Kathleen had stingray and snail, Clare ate turtle and had fun at an amusement park, Sean got all these cool gifts from his new homestay...Sigh. Well, just because my weekend wasn't very exciting (well, at least not compared to theirs) doesn't mean that i can't make the rest of the trip better. I just had to look at it from a better point of view.

See, if i did eat stingray and snail I could barf and be sick and that would ruin my trip.

And if i did go to an amusement park I could get lost forever, and that would ruin my trip.

AND if i did get all those cool gifts from my homestay, I wouldn't have room in my suitcase and that would definitely ruin my trip.

That's sorta looking at the bright side, right?

And I did get to go shopping and have tons of fun.

Sooooooo, I suppose I am not jealous at all.

My host family is pretty cool.

Enough of that.

Then I had to listen to...oh, never mind. We waited a long while before all the plans were set, and then we all headed out to go to Suzhou Middle School! (which is actually a high school as well.)

It wasn't far, and then we all ran up several flights of stairs to get to the top floor. (Kojo cheated and took the elevator, which was just MEAN because we were all panting and tired.)

Once we got into room 804 (?), we noticed one side of the room was filled with chinese high school students, who were supposed to be our partners for the day. We all filed into the other side of the room, with nice sofas and stuff and plopped down.

Instructions came quickly. Each of us was paired up with a chinese student who was supposed to take us to play for the day. The chinese kids all got to pick who they wanted based on our english and chinese names, gender, and birthday. I got paired with a tall, thin guy named Steven. The first thing he said to me was 'You have to be kidding.'

well you see, he got my email and decided that I should have some input on where to go play today, but in the end it was just an introduction email. He told me that he had picked me because he liked the sound of my chinese name, which meant 'quietness and elegance' (please, hold the laughter.)..and since I didn't want him to expect too much of me...I told him I was 300 pounds.

...

I guess he believed me until he saw me. =P

Anyway, after a run-around of a small part of the school, we all got in groups and decided what to do first. (Groups weren't assigned, thankfully.) My group was (at least for now) Meghan, Kathleen, Steven (the one with pink hair), and Sean and our chinese partners.

So we set off for basketball (most of our partners were boys, obviously and majority rules) and I stayed out of it, along with two of the chinese partner girls because we weren't wearing the right shoes to play. Sean didn't play either, because he claimed he couldn't. After awhile it was getting boring and predictable, because both Stevens were seemingly the best players on the court. Not only that but Kathleen got knocked over.

So the girls (that includes me too) and Sean left to go shopping for little snacks and stuff. Sean and I left our chinese partners to play basketball, and we set off for the streets.

Well we were looking around for food and stuff, and after being filled with potstickers and bubble tea and popsicles, all the boys caught up with us, and Mitchell and Clayton came too. Steven and Sean left for some reason but Clayton and Mitchell joined us for lunch at a noodle restaurant.

*ahem* now here is something personal. I needed to use the bathroom, and so did Kathleen and Meghan and Mitchell. I went first but the women's bathroom had something clogging it (you weren't supposed to throw toilet paper into the toilet. there was a trash can nearby.) so I waited until Mitchell was finished and...umm...used the men's restroom.

Heh, heh.

Oh, and when I was explaining it to Rena (Kathleen's partner) and this other girl (Meghan's partner), my partner Steven was standing right next to us and listening. i didn't know that. So he laughed at me and probably thought I was some sort of a weirdo...

...talk about his impression of quiet and elegant right?

So once we were all done, we left and hopped into a taxi (or rather, a few taxis) for BIKE RIDING, something i had anticipated for a long time! Yaaaaay!! Me and Mitchell and Kathleen and Steven were all in one taxi, and we were taken to Jin Ji Hu. (Literally, Golden Chicken Lake.) We got there first and then after that we waited for a bit, and then decided to start riding bikes without waiting for them. They were probably nearby anyway, and we could meet up with them later.

We rented two double seater bikes, me with Steven and Kathleen with Mitchell. Steven sat up in front, which made me feel comfortable and safe considering he looked like he knew what he was doing and had long legs. Meanwhile Mitchell sat in front of the other bike with Kathleen, and they had LOTS of trouble. Kathleen screamed like it was the end of the world and Mitchell was having a hard time driving straight. He bumped into poles and stuff...Kathleen was having a tantrum while me and Steven were laughing at them. Steven dubbed her as "Kathleen, the girl that screams".

After that I got on Steven's phone to try and explain where we were to Meghan so she could meet up with us. When I hung up, Kathleen stole my spot behind Steven, so I got on behind Mitchell.

I finally understood why she screamed so much!

It was a frightening, life-threatening experience.

Mitchell was a scary driver.

I was yelling so much for my life that nearby people stared and it was SO SCARY! GEH!

Rena and Meghan eventually found us and i switched bikes right away, getting behind Steven for my dear life's sake and then Meghan got to face death by sitting behind Mitchell. (Meghan's partner went home to change her shoes.) Meghan seemed to be coping better than we had, but she was still making some noise back there. And it was a race between Kathleen and me and our partners.

Anyway, Clayton and his partner and Mitchell's partner were sitting in this cart-like thing that had two bicycles, and then crashed into our bike. The front tire got messed up and then the dimwits took off with our bike, and Steven and i were stuck with their annoying slow cart-thing.

Then I got left behind when they switched bikes and dropped off the cart-thing, along with Rena. We walked to catch up with all the others and met them, all of them sitting on a rock, eating ice cream that Steven treated them to. He taunted me for a while and then Mitchell got me some ice cream, since he was buying a second one anyway. I am forever grateful, Mitchell~!

Then we got bored, and Steven, me, Meghan and Kathleen put on life jackets and climbed onto an electric boat, excited to see how fast we could go! Steven drove first.

WE WENT SO SLOW.

It was boring. we could WALK faster! Steven got out and let Kathleen steer, and we drove backwards for awhile.

I don't remember how it started but in the end Steven was killing all of us with water and we were yelling in protest and splashing him back. We we got back after ten minutes, it looked like we had fallen into the lake.

We were wet and yucky, but it was really fun and we were all laughing despite how uncomfortable we were in wet clothes.

Then we had a long time deciding where to go next, and we took a few taxis again to go to Times Square, where i had went already, and went to the arcade. First me and Kathleen went to a little kid playground and sat on a swing where Steven pushed us REALLY high, and then a police officer told us to get off otherwise we might break it.

Then we ran into the arcade to catch up with everyone else. Most of the time there, we spent our time on a machine that was Deal or No Deal on an arcade machine. It was interesting. We spent our tickets on stickers and an eraser, because it was like Chuck'E Cheese's. It was all we could really buy anyway.

Finally we all took taxis back. This is the funny part!

Okay so we were sitting there, and Kathleen told me she had used my hand sanitizer. So i used some, and gave Mitchell some too. I figured Steven would need some too, and then gave him some. He gave me a look that told me he didn't know what it was, so all of us explained that it was something like soap you used to wash your hands. It cleaned it. he rubbed his hands together quizzically and looked unsure, staring at them and then sniffing them.

After that I saw Kathleen put on some lip gloss, and I had an idea!

We gave Steven some lip gloss.

He also didn't know what that was. He put it on, again confused, and did as we instructed him to. It had peppermint oil so it was good for your lips. and THEN we told him that maybe he should wipe it off, because it made his lips shiny and it was something only girls really used.

...he told us it felt like he had eaten meat and didn't wash his mouth out.

Interesting way to describe lip gloss...

Once we got back to Suzhou Middle School (actually we went across the street and wondered why it looked different, and then Steven told us we were in the wrong building so we had to run back), we went back to room 408 and sat on the sofas again, and talked to everyone about where they had gone and what they had done. (It seemed like we had had the most fun!)

Then I gave out goodbye hugs (Don't worry Mom, Steven is 18 so nothing will happen) and then we all left with big smilesss.

...and Mr Shi just told me that we were going to play with fireworks.

Yay...?

But anyway, today was the BEST day of the TRIP! IT WAS THE BESTEST!

~~~Reporter Pohhhhhhhhh!

Thinking of home?!

Weekend Edition

Day Eleven. Thinking of home?!

Today wasn't as eventful as yesterday. It was somewhat more of a laid-back Sunday, which i needed...now i'll give you the regular three chances to escape this wad of boringness.

Now,

Now, and

NOW.

Okay, so you can't blame me. ^^ Trust me, this will make you fall asleep a lot faster than yesterday's post would.

...so today i got to 'sleep-in' again, until nine. I had breakfast and then got ready to go to TaiHu, a famous lake in Suzhou that was its source for a lot of things and lifestyles.

Once the dad was ready, me, Katie, and him left for TaiHu. (the mom had work to do.)

it was about an hour's drive to a smaller, isolated village that seemed much more primative than where i had been staying. We stopped and came out of the car, in front of a fancy but empty hotel, right in front of the lake where we had a great view of everything, that is, until the sun made us squint. At least me. i forgot my sunglasses.

after a few pictures, the dad offered me some jerky, which i took happily.

The jerky reminded me of Josh (my little brother) because whenever we went on walks or bike rides, he'd take some snacks, most often he'd take some jerky. And of course, because he's so nice he'd share some with everyone.

Then after that, we went back into the dad's car and took us to a small restaurant, where it was quiet, almost empty, and somewhat dirty.

This reminded me of my dad, because he always knew the best places to go and never let the battered condition of places bother him. Dad never judged much by looks.

Inside, the dad kept speaking English to me, which made me kind of annoyed because he said it so loudly. It was like he wanted everyone around me to know I was a foreigner! It wasn't like i couldn't understand any chinese. But eventually the owner of the restaurant asked, "Is she a foreigner?"

"Yes," the dad said. "from america."

And there was some murmuring, and the man exclaimed, "but she's chinese! She's from AMERICA?!"

Not like i wasn't used to hearing that a lot. it made me remember what happened yesterday.

What Happened Yesterday

Actors: Alex, Clare, (homestay) mom, Employee

Scene: In a busy mall, Alex is trying on a white jacket in front of the mirror. Clare is standing by and looking around, mom is watching Alex, Employee is standing by.

Red is for chinese. Blue is for English.

Alex: *turns around in front of the mirror* Clare, how does this look?

Clare: *nods* It's cute. I like it.

Employee: Hmm? Why are you speaking so much English?

mom: *laughs* They're both from America.

Employee: Huh?! Well why is she Chinese?? She can't be. i was wondering why she was speaking such fluent English! *leans in and stares awhile at Alex*

Alex: *squirms uncomfortably, isn't sure what to do*

mom: (to Employee) *laughs again* Stop staring! it's rude!

And that is what happened.

Anyway, I sat down and we waited for a little bit while i played Tetris on Katie's cell phone, and after that the food came. it was REALLY good! Except the strange fish, i liked the other two dishes: eggs with silver fish (little ones, like anchovies but much tastier) and this vegetable that I had never had.

Predictably, this reminded me of my mom. I missed her good cooking and laughter and all the fun jokes we have. And even the food, which I knew she could make better if she knew the recipe.

Halfway through the meal, the dad left to do some grocery shopping, and here all the vegetables were farm-fresh and sold by the farmers themselves.

This makes me think of Grandma, who, despite her old age and physical hardships, sometimes went shopping for food that she knew we all liked and would happily snarf down.

After I moved on to my second bowl of rice, a German Shepherd, skinny and desperate-looking, passed by, but not before staring at us longingly.

This made me think of Julia, and her love of dogs, specifically German Shepherds. If she were there she would have made a comment on how bad she felt for the dog, and how she wished she could feed it (and possibly she'd walk over and feed it something). Caring much!

Once I had finished, i leaned back in my chair and waited for the dad to finish up the fish. meanwhile there was a grandpa, holding a baby girl, who was crying. The grandpa yelled at the girl and spanked her several times to get her to stop crying. (how's that for getting a baby to stop screaming?) Naturally she stopped. Just kidding, she cried louder.

Rachel, definitely. Rachel would know how to make the baby girl stop crying instantly, just by holding her the perfect way that she knew how. the baby needed Rachel!!

*sigggh* just writing all this makes me tear up. Oh gosh, now everything is blurry. I'm serious. UGH! Um, hang on.

Okay, i'm back...

...anyway. I was and still am thinking of home. Not that i want to go back and face tests and homework, but really it's just the people i miss, that could be sharing all this fun i'm having and make it even more fun.

Well, other than that, we just drove around and rode our bikes for less than a few minutes. and now i'm back at home, writing an early post just because there's nothing else to do and no one free enough to talk to.

*sigh* I'll get over the homesickness tomorrow, don't worry.

and really, i DO appreciate everyone's comments and emails to me. It makes me feel better and closer to home. I wish I could give you all hugs right now!

Well, don't say i didn't warn you. I told you this wasn't going to be good.

with that said, shoot me an email sometime. =)

I LOVE YOU ALL!!

~~~Reporter...*sniff*

Just Alex. Alex, okay? At least until tomorrow.

Shortstuff!

Weekend Edition

Day Ten. Shortstuff!

It's the weekend, and so, this and tomorrow's post will be about specifically what I am doing. I wish I could get ahold of what everyone else was doing, but it would be stalker-like and straaange...and since it's late and i have a toothbrush in my mouth, I can't talk for long. I will make this brief and painless, with barely any descriptions for time's sake, and your sanity. Please don't give this blog entry high expectations, because it's about, well, me. And if you're not interested in me, you can stop reading...NOW.

...NOW.

...now?

Okay, i gave you three chances. This means you are willing to put up with me, no matter how boring my day may sound.

This morning, I got to 'sleep-in' until eight. Then I had to get out of bed (my homestay mom had already patiently called me several times, and I didn't want to get her upset) and get ready, because we were going to have breakfast! Only, we weren't going to have it at 'home' like we normally did. We were going to go to have it at a restaurant!

(I barely eat breakfast out, so it was surprising.)

Anyway, me and Katie and the mom all walked to the nearby mall, and it was quiet and barely awake, just like me. We ordered noodles, ate them, all that. They were actually REALLY good. Credits to the mom for her good choice of restaurant!

Now that I was all filled up, we went back and I got to use the computer, do some stuff, and then me and the mom were headed out again, and walked to the nearby mall (another nearby mall), that had just opened today!

Once we got there, I had some free bread samples and waited for Clare to come (we had made arrangements) and pretty soon it was just me, Clare, and Clare's very stylish 'mom' in the mall. We looked around for awhile (and i mean AWHILE) and it took some time before we could actually get used to the big numbers on the price tags on the clothes we saw. This was the first time we had actually looked at the price tags before we tried the clothes on.

It took some time before we found some clothes that would be worth it, and plus there was this really cool sale: "Buy 100, get 100!" It's not as bad as it sounds, really. it's just that if you spend 100yuan, they'll give you 100yuan on a card to spend! So it's like an instant rewards card. =D So sophisticated! Clare's 'mom' followed us everywhere (she was very very nice) and wrote down everything that we wanted to buy, because the shopping/paying method was very complicated here. But we didn't know that yet.

Anyway, around noon we took a break from trying on clothes and Clare's 'mom' drove us to a restaurant called MeiMei. (sounds familiar, right Julia?) We went in and had lunch with pink-haired Steven, who seemed surprised to see us. The meal was very fancy, just like the restaurant's amazing interior design. We actually ate lunch with the interior designer. Talk about good connections!

We all chatted away, then Steven left, then we finished our meal with mango pudding, and then we were headed back to the mall again! Whee!

Once we got back, Clare's 'mom' started explaining the method that this mall used to pay.

So first, you'd write down everything you want on separate papers for each store.

Then you'd go to a cashier and pay for everything BEFORE you got it.

They'd give you a receipt and a rewards card with the money you spent rounded down by hundreds. (Say if you spent 375yuan, this sale lets you get 300yuan back on your rewards card so you can spend that too!!!)

Then you'd stop by each store and show them the receipt, and they'll get your clothes.

Simple as that!

Actually it's a lot more complicated than America, but after all the paying is done, you just need to pick up your clothes, and that's all just lovely.

But we had a hard time spending our rewards card's money (which we split evenly in half), because a lot of the things we wanted weren't participating in the event. Still, Clare's 'mom' was patiently helping us and suggesting things and showing us some clothes we might like, which i think was very nice of her!

But when we managed, our legs and feet were aching from all the rounds we had taken on the exact same floor.

*sigh* the pain of shopping!

After all that, we went down and had some DQ sundaes, and then my homestay mom came to pick me up.

THIS IS THE FUN PART!

She was going to take me home, but we weren't going to walk.

Nope! She had a MOTORCYCLE!

In China, the motorcycles are quieter and smoother, and of course there's a passenger seat.

Well I GOT TO SIT IN THE BACK AND IT WAS SO FUNNN!

Except the painful bumps at the end, it was definitely something i'd want to try again soon.

Then, i sat on my bed and finished a large mound of homework, and we had dinner, and THEN we were back outside, and everyone, all four of us went into the car, and the dad drove us to Times Square.

Over here we looked around a bit (I didn't want to shop. I saw all the exact same stores in the department store and i started to feel sick =P) and it was really pretty, with all the lights on bridges and buildings and EVERYWHERE. The dad pointed out a big long ceiling overhead, and i finally noticed how many people there were, at 8:30 at night.

What was going on?

Then a huge flash came from the ceiling above us.

IT WAS A GINORMOUS SCREEN!

Everyone gasped and craned their necks up to look, and after a few advertisements there were a series of lovely clips picturing Suzhou, and then after that it went black. Well, ten minutes of enjoyment.

And just as everyone started to head back, the screen lit up again and revealed UFOs...?! and then aliens playing pool with the planets. man, it was nuts. Then the screen went black again, and lit up, showing ads once more.

Finally we left, and so did the huge crowd that formed to watch. We then went back into the car, and I closed my eyes for a lovely nap.

Goodnight.

(wasn't that totally short? looking at how short it is makes me feel bad...)

~~~Reporter Poh

It's all my fault

Liu Family Explorations 4

Day Nine. It's all my fault

Sigh. Well, this is the very last episode of LFE, because the group will no longer have any field studies after this one. the best one, or the one that sounds most exciting. SHANGHAI. the LAST one. And today, it just so happens to be all my fault! ><

This morning we all got up bright and early (the majority of us at 5:30am) and then set off for the train station, meeting up at--where else?--the nearest KFC. We all had umbrellas because it was raining nuts out there, just like Portland. Even though it was raining pretty badly, we were still right on schedule! Anyway, we all set out for the station with our tickets in hand, and breezed through everything. the train ride was smooth and easy, so we figured that Shanghai wouldn't be more than a piece of pie.

DUNDUNDUNNN~!

Well anyway after that we got off a long bus ride, we were dropped off near a bargaining shopping center. LOVE! Instantly we all went in, but mostly it was because half of us needed to use the bathroom. And for some reason, there was a man that looked like a police officer, just sitting there and holding a baby, telling us with his extremely soft voice that we were supposed to pay to use the bathroom. Not that the fee was much, but considering that I needed to pay someone else money to do my own business is obvious proof that the economy isn't improving much.

ANYWAAAAAY. Once we met up with everyone else, we all got carried away by the wonderful stuff they were selling, and Maya and Clare apparently tried to bargain for these rings, from 15yuan to 7yuan. the man was stubborn so i came along and fell in love with the sparkly rings too. (Not that i really wear rings, but who says i can't change for something so glorious?!) So we dragged along the two boys and begged them to bargain for us, but the man was too stuffy to budge. What a meanie! He was in a bargain center and absolutely REFUSED to bargain. (the irony kills me.)

Well, we did get a few things and then after that we were on our way through another little bargain center, but we met up with Amy's friend Tom and his little brother! What an extra help. Apparently they knew their way around and heard that Amy was in town. Why not come visit?

With all of us opening up our umbrellas and cowering from the pouring rain, we made it to Kojo's first destination, a bridge. So we stood around, took pictures, and found out a few things about this bridge that made it something more than a zigzaggy bunch of stone all put together.

Then Kojo's paper told us to go find some food to eat, and the first one he already wanted us to get. Xiao long bao!

(ummm...Little something dumplings. Let's call it LSD for short.)

Tom and his little brother took us to the nearby LSD place for famous LSDs, and there was a long line even in the pouring rain. We all just stood there and got drenched and poked each other with our umbrellas while Amy and Tom and his little brother stood there in line for us. Eventually we found out why the LSDs were so famous. THEY WERE SOOOOOOOOO YUMMY! We all went to sit down on the bench under a roof so we wouldn't get wet.

Now since these LSDs were so dang good, you wouldn't be surprised to see old homeless lady dumpling beggars coming our way to get ahold of some LSDs. And whaddya know--just as we sat down old homeless lady dumpling beggars came our way to get ahold of some LSDs! After all, we were kids and we might not be able to finish all twelve.

Well Amy, being Amy, with her motherly instincts and *very* kind heart, just so happened to give one of the old homeless lady dumpling beggars some LSDs, but they still weren't content. So one of them watched us eat intently, and i gotta say i understand now why some people get freaked out when I watch them eat. So we were just eating and Sean found a hair in his food, so he tried pulling it out and then he dropped the remaining four of his LSDs. OH NO! Instantly the old homeless lady dumpling beggar stopped him from picking them up from the floor and said "NO THEY'RE BAD IF THEY FALL ON THE FLOOR" and hurriedly snatched them up and stuffed them into her bag.

...Sean went back to buy more, needless to say. We managed to eat LSDs with the old homeless lady dumpling beggar still watching until she left because we each only had two left and obviously we weren't going to give them to her. So she went to bother some other poor fellow.

Anyway, we went back onto our feet and went to a food court, where we got lunch which was treated to us by Tom and his little brother. it wasn't the best, at least not the ice cream smoothies. But most of us were full (except the grownups and Maya, because Maya couldn't eat LSDs because they had pork inside) so we just sat there until Clayton introduced us to strawberries with sweet stuff wrapped with rice paper on a stick, and we all went outside to get some. (of course i ordered mine without rice paper. Who wants to eat paper when you can eat the good stuff underneath it?) And there's never really a day without at least one accident.

Well, Sean's Coca-Cola spilled all over his stuff, because apparently it wasn't closed.

Maybe it wasn't his fault, but we all needed to help him and today he needs to wash his backpack. *sigh* Actually it was my fault, because I'm the Blamed today. -3- so it was all my fault and I had to say sorry. Groups work in such strange ways...

Then Tom and his little brother left us, because we had other things we needed to do.

Byebye, and thanks, Tom and his little brother! =)

Finally we went through this temple and interviewed a few people to finish our Kojowork! And this time there was yet another accident, when I dropped Sean's paper on the floor. Naturally that wouldn't be such a big deal, except the fact that it was raining like Portland and the floor was drenched. Oops. Well that was actually my fault, and I DID apologize.

So after that, we roamed the streets of Old Shanghai and looked around for things that might be worth bargaining for. Clothes, little tiny things, stamps, and of course an Asian hat for Clayton, complete with the long queue in the back. (Clayton has been trying to sport the Asian look lately, but we all know he's a poser. =P) I didn't find much personally, but there was this store that i passed that sold 'MAMMOTH TUSKS'. Hahaha!

Anyway, we boarded the bus in the end, and this time I wasn't lucky enough to get a seat so i leaned against Amy. Once we got to the train station (we already had tickets), we looked around because i DEMANDED TO HAVE MY POCKY. In all the little stores there wasn't one bit of Pocky, and I was miserable. Miserable, that is, until Maya bought pizza by the slice and gave me a bite. She missed American food so much, that, she bought another piece. Except that because she bought that other piece, we were late.

That was all my fault.

So we all raaaaaaaaaaaan through the train station and through our stop and ran to the train, and finally went inside. But there was only one problem...we needed to be in car 16 and we entered car 4.

With the train about to leave any moment, we all started running in the opposite direction, hoping to get to car 16 in time. We certainly didn't expect a wall blocking us from going to car 9. So, panting for breath, we all ran out of the train and as fast as we could, and went back in through...car 12, I think. Now we were completely at the mercy of the train. We kept running between the aisles, ignoring awkward stares, until we got to car 15. YES! WE WERE ALMOST THERE!

Oh.

Um, there was a wall blocking us to car 16.

Great. Well, there was only two minutes left until the train left, but none of us (besides Sean) wanted to risk getting locked out of the train just to get to the right car. We all leaned against the wall at the end of car 15, which had just enough room to fit 5 kids, and there was a door marked 'Train Crew' next to us. Sitting down and pulling out our binders to finish up Kojowork, Amy explained to many confused-looking men why we were just sitting on the floor and looking terribly tired.

Then the Train Crew door beside me opened up, and the man inside was sitting in a chair, also giving us strange looks until I said 'Ni hao', and waved. He smiled. The man was friendly enough, i supposed. Amy explained to him as well why we were just sitting on the floor and doing work, and he said, "Oh! You need to get to car 16?" and he pulled out a key.

Yes, this man was DEFINITELY friendly enough.

He unlocked the door and let us in to car 16, with us all repeatedly thanking him, with 'XIEXIEXIEXIEXIEXIE' and then plopping down into the seats in the very back, eternally grateful. They even gave us WATER.

And in the end, the whole 'getting us late and running for our lives and through the train' was completely all my fault.

And that concludes the last epic episode of LFE. Please leave comments and feedback, because i can never have enough! It would be lovely. Absolutely lovely!

~~~Reporter Poh!

traditions&signatures

Liu Family Explorations 3

Day 8. traditions&signatures

Hello and welcome to the third episode of Liu Family Explorations. Thank you to all who are commenting and following faithfully with this sometimes-dull blog, even though i don't have lovely pictures as I would like!

Okay, now enough with the formalities. ON WITH IT!

So today, my family went to TongLi. Before that though, we all decided on a list of traditions, because our group is the best and totally the coolest like that.

FAMILY TRADITIONS

To always get a popsicle at the beginning

To always cough like Maya does when we pass a nearby smoker

(Maya is our secondhand smoke alarm. =P)

To always say 'SAN GE~!' when we feel like it.

(inside joke.)

To always save lunch for near last.

To always pose in pictures =)

Anyway, the list will add on and grow over time, i'm pretty sure. Interesting huh? Okay. So like i said, we went to TongLi today, and since we did that we needed to ride a bus to this other bigger bus boarding building place, where we got ahold of a tourist bus that would take us farther away than a normal bus would. This particular bus brought us to somewhere near TongLi, and it was somewhat creepy because there was this STAREY (yes, starey) guy sitting a few rows and he couldn't stop staring. Not that a lot of people don't, but THIS guy was like, O________O

Yup. We were so relieved when he got off before we did, and then after that we munched on our signature stuff. Basically, the things that we always brought and pretty much always ate/drank.

'Signature' Stuff!

Clare: Juice of some sort, mostly OJ

Maya: Sprite

Sean: Coca Cola

Clayton: Hi-Chew (fruit chews)

Alex: Mango Mousse Pocky!!

That should be enough lists to last us awhile.

So after THAT we jumped off the bus at the next stop, which was near a normal bus stop that would take us to TongLi. We just sat down while Clare and Amy went to go look at the big board with all the buses on it. Then we heard this really loud karaoke coming from somewhere, and all of us looked around, wondering where it came from.

IT WAS COMING FROM DOWN THE ROAD. A little boy pulling a man on a simple wagon-like thing with a boombox, and the man was singing with a microphone. Instantly i got up and pretended like I was going to help Clare and Amy look for the right bus, and i heard the karaoke music gradually crawling closer, and Maya, Sean, and Clayton followed me, and most of us hid behind the big board.
Right now the music was REALLY loud, and we hoped that maybe we could disappear behind the board, so that man didn't need to bother us. But we were spotted, and the music got so loud i could feel it breathing down my back. The little boy then appeared behind us, and started tugging on Amy, I think, holding out his little metal bowl and whimpering something that wrenched my heart.

Ugh! I hate how little kids can do that!

OW I CLAMPED MY FINGER!

OWWWWWWWWW!!!

*screams inwardly*

But anyway, what really made me sad was his sunburnt head. The little kid that was probably six or so probably had nothing to look forward in life and had to tug his dad (presumably) who pretended to be lame (it was like mistaking a horse as a mouse) everyday. We gave him a few little coins and Clayton gave him a fruit chew, and the little boy was on his way again, pulling his dad down the empty road.

*sigh*

It sounds like a sad story except the fact that it's actually real.

But putting all that sad stuff aside...*throws lists of sad stories into a fire*

We walked down the pretty-much empty streets of TongLi towards the old town, seeing lots of convenience stores and elderly people. (Maya coughed a lot. =P) Finally we got tickets, entered the Old Town, and looked around a bit.

Well it was like yesterday, a place with stores scattered everywhere selling the same thing over and over again. (Sean complained afterward about why we girls had to stop at every single shop, even though they all just had the same things.) We bargained some again, and this time we found some skinny white angel hair powdery things, like chinese cotton candy. There were peanuts in the middle, so i didn't take any. (Contrary to popular belief, i am not allergic to peanuts any more. I just don't understand how people can like them. Yuck!) it was fun to watch the lady make. She had this taffy stuff, and she stretched it and stretched it and stretched it, from this fat taffy size to spaghetti noodles to thinner than hair! IT WAS AMAZING.

We were also supposed to eat pig thighs/muscles? (Kinda tasted like rock-hard pork.) and this little cake thing, biscuit thing...(meh.) and SMELLY TOFU! (ehhh. was okay...)

But I'll get to that later.

We bargained some more, found an AH-DORABLE KITTEN that Sean had a fun time playing with, and then we went into this little museum place where it was basically empty and quiet and looked like all the other old chinese buildings we were in. We interviewed people too, but they were hard to keep on-task. We left as fast as we could.

Finally we had lunch in a tall tea house, where we ordered food that wasNOTvery good at all. My curry was too salty and the tofu wasn't as smelly as it was supposed to be. I didn't like the tofu much but i figured if i went to a better place and had it there, I would probably love it. Who doesn't like deep-fried tofu?

In the end we got more popsicles and hopped on our tour bus, and then a normal bus, and ran into two other groups (Pam's and Woody's) and had a lovely walk back with all of them. =)

The end!

~~~Reporter Poh

the MONK CHASE

Liu Family Explorations 2

Day Seven. the MONK CHASE

Today in our second episode of LFE (Liu Family Explorations, which i forgot to introduce yesterday. Basically it's just our family's field studies), we went to HanShanSi, a buddhist temple. Let me explain.

So today, bright and ready as we were, our family was scheduled to leave last (at 9:30am). we took an early start and headed to the bank where we exchanged some more money (which we would need). (Of course we didn't forget our regular morning popsicle.) We then asked directions to the nearest bus stop and headed there, and then we searched on the big board for the stop that would take us to another stop which would take us to HanShanSi. (we followed these directions diligently.)

We walked awhile, as usual, until our feet started to hurt again, and then we made it to a gate that showed we were on the right track. A sign confirmed this and our spirits were relit. To our surprise, scattered all around the temple was a bunch of little stores with loud shopkeepers and people yelling back at them. What were they doing?

Bargaining!

Instantly we got into our shopping mood and explored a bit, with Clayton already spending some on a string of beads (commonly seen on monks) and Clare and Maya being interested in little peeing monk figurines. All you had to do was pour water on their heads, and as their name suggest, they'd pee. (Very amusing.) Before we started buying more, however, our consciences took over and we dragged ourselves towards the temple entrance, where we purchased tickets and then asked a woman to help us with some of our questions.

Just like yesterday's police officer guide, this lady did help, but of course she costed a lot of time because she kept laughing at just how stupid we were. (I thanked her through gritted teeth and wanted to cackle maniacally at something she wasn't very good at, but i never got a chance.) A few monks passed us by and we all pointed. "Look MONKS!" Then we all went into HanShanSi.

First we read off Kojo's checklist of stuff to get.

Kojo's Checklist of Stuff To Get

__ a HanShanSi ticket

__ a HanShanSi map

__ some incense

__ postcards

__ a picture with a monk

We asked a nice lady where to find some incense, but she looked over our checklist and then warned us that we should find a monk before anything, because monks slept early because they woke up early. (In other words, we didn't have long before all the monks disappeared to bed.)

Suddenly something in us snapped awake, and desperately we all ran around searching for any bald-headed guy with a robe. "HERE MONKEY MONKEY!" we called. Everyone tripped over random things and threaded through various crowds that had their hands pressed together and were furiously bobbing their heads up and down. We barely even slowed down when we passed the interesting little incense burning stands.

Now WHERE were they exactly?

I mean, we found some earlier!

Where are they now?!

COULD THEY BE SLEEPING??

(As we ran around i mentioned that i needed to use the bathroom, but Amy said the monk chase was first priority. I'd need to hold it in for the time being, and I was afraid I'd never get a chance to use the bathroom at this rate.)

Eventually we ran into a little room, poking our heads in for a brief second before all standing in the doorway and gasping.

A MONK!

He was a friendly and nice one, which we didn't expect. Monks were mostly quiet and stern we thought. This man answered us willingly and smiled quite a bit, considering he was young and could be out there doing something else with his life.

Relieved that most of our work here was done, we left to check out a gift shop and I went to use the bathroom. =) When I came back we had yet another task to do--whack a bell! We paid an entrance fee to this tiny tower, and at the top there was a ball and a long stick you had to hit against it, specifically three times. Each of us did and then left HanShanSi. We had other things to do.

Outside we hunted for the two things left on Kojo's Checklist of Things To Get: incense and postcards. We asked around and eventually ran into tiny shops that sold them, and got them quickly before looking around some more at the little shops and heading for the next destination, FengQiao, an old bridge. Of course there was also another pestery woman who wanted to be our guide until we finally let her, only when she told us that there would be no extra cost and she needed it for a living.

By now we were starved, and it was about 12. The lady assured us there would be food inside, and when we did go through she talked nonstop about things like the corridor was built using sticky rice between rocks. Of course this was distracting us from our real goal of finding food, and we dismissed her.

Looking around there was actually only one place we could eat at, and at the end of its name it said "XiaoChi", meaning 'Little Eat'. WE DIDN'T WANT LITTLE EAT. WE WANTED BIG EAT!! I felt like yelling at the lady guide. She left us there and the only real thing to eat was little patty things that were about the size of my palm! We each bought one and sat down to finish up some Kojowork, discussed some things, and after that we went to the big pot in the center, which was like a wishing well.

In the middle of the wishing pot was a frog with its mouth wide open, and apparently if you managed to make your coin go in there, you'd have good luck. All of us stood around it and tried our luck with little worthless coins. The only person that managed to make it in the frog's mouth was ME! We all screamed and cheered for joy.

Soon we were exploring again, and we spotted an archery booth. the boys jumped for the bows and each played twice, with them both winning at least one prize each. Clayton was surprisingly good at it.

Finally we were finished with Kojowork, and we all wanted to escape from the roasting sun. Getting out we asked for directions to the nearest bus stop, walked an amazingly long route, and then took the bus, walked some more, and then took another stop. From there we asked how to get to LiDa, and a man showed us, and then we asked a woman, and she told us we were going the wrong way.

*sigh!*

We were already late. Kojo wanted us to meet up with him at 3:30. But what were we supposed to do if we couldn't walk fast enough?! after all we didn't even have lunch yet, and we were running as fast as we could. Then we got to a familiar street and Amy led us to delicious potstickers and pork buns and chinese pancakes, which we snarfed down hungrily on the way. Then there was this silver car that drove by us and started honking like crazy. i snapped back, "WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?!" but then the driver rolled down the window and revealed herself as AMY'S HOMESTAY!

She let us all pile into her little car, with Amy in front and five little kids in the back. We squeezed in and out, and she dropped us off in front of LiDa, where we gasped for air (and relief). We were late, but better late than never!!

~~~Reporter Poh

Americanized, like BAM.

Liu Family Explorations 1

Day 6. Americanized, like BAM.

WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised.

Just kidding.

This was just to WARN you...

...that starting this day and to the 29th (I think), I may not have as much interaction with your child. (Or whoever you're here to read about.)

You see,

field studies are all in different order for each family.

I am only a part of the Liu family

which consists of me, Clare Simmons, Maya Itkin-Hein, Sean Garland, and Clayton Fujino.

Therefore for the next few days,

the families will be separated from each other.

Understand?

So you may not get to read about how your child is doing. (Or whoever you're here to read about), unless he/she is in my family.

Sorry about that.

Hopefully you still want to read about *ME*! =P

On with it, already.

...

Excuse the random title. You'll get it later. This morning was like school, getting up extra early to have breakfast and brushing teeth and washing face. Breakfast was porridge, which I am glad to say Maya had for the first time today, and enjoyed it very much. I got my backpack ready and all the lovely stuff, and waited for the dad to get ready. Except the fact that it wasn't me going to school: It was my homestay, Katie.

Katie is your typical Chinese kid; loaded with homework, is somewhat quiet. More talkative at home than anywhere else. Her parents are pretty normal too--the mom's a housewife and engineer, while her dad is an english university teacher. (Lucky me!) We communicate well, and today I was told during dinner that they think I am a good influence on Katie...supposedly I am polite. ^^

Aaaaaanyway, we went to LiDa and got there just in time, and I entered the classroom, thankfully living to tell the story of my homestay. Everyone else did too. Apparently some people live in mansions, some with eight floors...I felt jealous but then again, at least I talk to my homestay. Most students talk to them as little as they can.

My family planned out the way we'd take to get to the Suzhou Garden carefully on a map, and then we were off! But then our respect stopped us just as we got out of the classroom. the national song was playing, and the entire school saluted the flag. Might as well...we saluted, watched the school run around in their morning laps, and then started for our great journey.

Our Journey

We walked far (not before getting a popsicle for each of us) and started for the bus stop, after asking for some directions. We walked, feeling the cold morning air, and then after another bus ride, we made it to somewhere familiar, like somewhere we had been to on the Great Race. (Forgot what it was called though.) Then we got a good deal on a rickshaw (5 yuan each) to take us to the Suzhou Garden, so we boarded into three. I was so excited!!

And then...they realized. "Oh. the road is longer than we thought. Get off." And we did, me being very upset and wanting to kick the tires off of their sorry little bikes. We walked, walked walked...until we got to a place that we remembered again, bought more popsicles, and then found the Suzhou Garden.

The entrance fee was expensive, and there was a pestery man that wanted to be our guide but we refused. Once we got in we looked around (it was really pretty. LanSu Yuan, or Portland Classical Garden, would turn away in shame. And shrivel to nothingness), looked around some more, and then sat down to do Kojo's worksheet. it's funny how Chinese people are, really. I sat down to start my work on a step, and then a young man stopped to peer over my shoulder, and once he did his friends did too. They helped me with my work and it made me happy. Amy told us to ask people too, but people here are so curious about tourists i think it's cute. =)

Then with all our work behind us, our family ran amok in garden, climbing rocks and running around to random unexplored places. the rocks were the best, and there were so many little pagodas and archways and tall green trees. it was really beautiful, if a little too peaceful for my taste. When we finally managed to get out of the Garden (yes, we got lost in all its splendor), we looked around at their stores, then sat down and interviewed people for more Kojo 'class'work. Again, I sat down on a step, and once more a man came, then another, then a couple, and finally a small crowd that was bigger than the last group of friends. It was overwhelming!

We then found reasonably priced rickshaws, and headed for the museums we were supposed to head to, got all the information from a fussy guide that looked like a police officer and a group of opera-learning women. Then we walked onto a road, PingJiangLu, which looked tired and empty. We interviewed more people, and by this time it was around two. Since we needed to get back to LiDa by four, we were tight on time. Even though we had everything done, our stomachs were screaming at us for LUNCH. We were so caught up in work, we were starving!

We got directions and stumbled, hungry and melting undetr the hot sun, towards a restaurant we all wanted.

Finally. We made it, and we like JUMPED for joy.

KFC!!!

Now's the time you say aloud,

AMERICANIZED. LIKE BAM. =)

Stuffing ourselves to the brim, we boarded a bus back to the school, walked some more, and then made it to the school, meeting up with Bacon's group, and then gradually the other groups started filing in. It seemed like once everyone met up again and started talking away and joking like always, we had to start going back to our 'homes' again.

We cried.

We hugged.

We whimpered, "I'LL MISS YOU" countless times.

And then we left.

I have a feeling this will become a routine soon enough.

~~~Reporter Poh

From your not-so-everyday perspective

Day 5. From your not-so-everyday perspective

We get so many of them each day. Not like that changes our schedule. So let's get on with it!

Directions to be a Hosford kid on April 20th, 2009!

1. Jump out of bed. Brush teeth. (Shower if you didn't last night.)

***WEAR HOSFORD T-SHIRT!

2. Finish packing your stuff. (All of it.)

3. Lug your suitcase down the stairs. (Or take the elevator.)

4. Snarf down breakfast (like there's no tomorrow)

5. Wait in the lobby for those slowpokes who haven't finished.

6. Get ready!

7. Get set!

8. GO drag your suitcase (and yourself) all the way down to LiDa Middle School~!

Now let's see. As the greatest first impression, we seemed to have arrived early. So we wait and wait and wait until--what? Oh. We were supposed to come in through the other gate? no wonder no one was taking us inside! Okay. We drop our stuff off in a classroom that has a bright yellow banner, and the words in red paint, "Welcome Horsford Middle School from USA!" (No, that was not just a typo.) Then we head for our class.

It's an art room with tons of desks...OH! QUICKSNAGASEATBYYOURBUDDIES! Good. You managed not to get left out. Huh? An innocent looking box in front of you, and paint? There's a clay mask inside the box...I wonder what we're doing?

Hmm. There's a powerpoint that tells us about opera masks...we can't have anything to do with this, can we? Now she's explainig what all the colors mean...this is so irrelevant...OHHH! I GET IT! We have to PAINT the masks!!! Ha! I'm genius. So we all do that, and most of them look like masterpieces. *stifles a cough* And then we use this funky smelling spray stuff that dries it, like varnish and makes it all shiny!

Okay. next class...It's a big room with mirrors and tons of stools and clothes on the stools and papers on the clothes. How odd. Once we sit down we notice pretty fans and start to experiment on them! And just then, the class begins...we have to sit down and learn a song. We watch an video of two women dancing and singing and stuff...and shortly after we're expected to look at a paper with numbers and understand exactly what those weird symbols mean. Hmmm.

After we all struggle with singing, we put on longsleeve silk shirt things and try to mirror the teacher's movements and trip (well at least i did). We struggle with all of that too. Even opening the fan, which has a specific way. Ugh!

Then lunch. We're still isolated from the kids, although we do poke our heads out the window and wave. Most of the time we get weirded-out stares, but occasionally we get a sweet little smile or a wave back. For lunch we have rice and chicken and hashbrowns and veggies. Yummy!!! And then we run outside. Students from Hosford (wearing black t-shirts) face off on soccer against the Asians, with Kojo at their side. Meanwhile we cheer and scream for our team, and we also spot out some kids that visited Hosford just a few months ago.

And then we went back inside. We waited and then after that we had a kung-fu class in the gym, which was basically just a 'follow-me' session with a routine that we had to memorize. So was the yoga class after that.

Okay. Then we got separated into homestays and slowly but surely people melted away from our group...i felt like i was going to cry!

I'll talk more about my homestay tomorrow.

Someone wants to use the computer...

Goonight!
~~~Reporter Poh

It's Tonio's Birthday!!

Umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh...It was raining like nuts!

Day 4. Tonio's Birthday!

Today I'm not very tired for some reason, so i'll write more for your enjoyment! =)

Truthfully, today was all Portland-style. Of all the days too--Antonio's fourteenth birthday! (But I'll get to the details later.) First of all, right after breakfast we hopped onto a private bus and rode a few hours to HangZhou. We sang a horribly off-key Happy Birthday to You in Chinese, then English, and Kojo then had the 'Zoo version' solo. Antonio was optimistic enough.

Dropped off in front of a large hiking area in the rain, we walked so much, as in hiked up a hill (that reeked of horse poo) and tons of stairs to get to a Daoist monastery. Everyone complained. But then, we got lunch. Yum, lunch! Noodles for everyone~! We were all so exhausted and we got inside just as it started to pour buckets of water. Oddly enough Antonio didn't complain that his birthday was dripping and wet.

Afterward we went down, which was much easier than going up, except the fact that the rain was coming down harder now. I borrowed Mitchell's umbrella, since he had a raincoat (THANK YOU MITCHELL!!!), prayed that i wouldn't die of hypothermia, and then began our lonnnnng lonnnnnnnnnng walk. We walked so much that water squelched under my feet, and again everyone started to whine. Not all of it was bad though, just most of it.

Amy managed to capture a wonderful scenic picture even in the rain; something that only moms can do.

Walking around XiHu (literally West Lake), we saw tons of couples and tour buses and people eating corn. It was a big soggy mess. The rain was pouring, we had no idea where we were headed, and it seemed we were going in circles. Our feet hurt and most of us were drenched to the point where we wanted only to go home. Personally I was very upset because we were SUPPOSED to be riding in bikes and having a fun time, but the rain always ruins everything, and we walked. (Dad, you're happy right? ;P)

Finally we made it to a parking lot, and Kojo rescued us by calling up our bus, and by cutting our trip short. (For once we were happy to agree.) Sadly enough we also had to walk to the bus, so we trudged on. It was a time of celebration when we saw it though, and everyone cheered. Inside we quickly hung up our jackets, took off our shoes and wrung out the rainwater from our socks. Sweaty sock juice, as Antonio called it.

Yuck! What an icky, soggy, slippery, soaked mess!

Even worse, we waited in the bus for about an hour and a half before Kojo realized WE HAD DRIVEN AROUND THE ENTIRE LAKE IN A CIRCLE! THE BUS DRIVER HAD GOTTEN LOST!! We all wanted to scream and tear our hair off, but it was too wet for us to complain even more. It wasn't going to make things any faster anyway. Most of us managed to pass the time by taking naps and chattering away like we did on the way there.

When we got back I jumped into the shower for a few minutes and came back out, surprising myself with one of the fastest showers i had ever taken. But Kojo had warned us not to be late for dinner. All this time, some of us had planned to get Antonio a birthday cake and most of us chipped in. We told him it was going to be a tiny cupcake with a dot on it and Mitchell and I had the job of stalling him while the main planners, Kathleen, Steven and Sean got things running.

He wasn't very surprised because everyone talked so loud, but he smiled a lot and we all got delicious cake for dessert!

Antonio and his dangerous knife, ready to cut cake and enter his 14th year in life. Whoo Antonio!!! =)

Okay, so now i'm feeling tired and this is the latest i've been up. I'm afraid this will also be the last time that I'll be able to post any pictures, because tomorrow is the day we leave the hotel and go to our homestays. I'm so nervous! =P I'll try to figure a way to work things out, but if I can't then you'll just have to settle with the Slideshow at the top of the page on the right.

THANK YOU to everyone for faithfully reading this blog and giving me supportive comments! I could never do this without you keeping this alive. I actually didn't want to post today until I read everyone's lovely little notes to me~! I love you all!!

(By the way Dad, I like the haircuts here better. =D)

Until next time!

~~~Reporter Poh

This is Mitchell, who tried to steal my cookie. Bad Mitchell. (Don't worry, his mom gave us permission to do this to him. =P)