A Happy Time

The other night, I went over to my Turkish friends’ apartment for card playing…UNO card playing that is. My foreign friends here think that UNO is the best game ever invented and often ask me when’s the next time we can play. It’s pretty interesting to me because if I were living in the states, and I invited some friends over to play UNO, I don’t think they would come. But here, UNO always meets with cheer and exclamation points. So anyways, I went over to my friends’ apartment and took the UNO cards, some hot chocolate packets, and half a bag of snickers. As I took out each item from my bag, their eyes got bigger and bigger. They were so excited by the hot chocolate, candy bars, and of course, the chance to play UNO. In addition, I also took them some books that my American team-mate was lending to them. Can you imagine their delight? My dear Turkish friend, Minaya, told me that I was like Santa Claus coming with a bag full of all these gifts. My heart felt light that something so simple could bring so much joy, but I made sure to mention that all these things were not actually from me, but gifts from other people that I got to share. 

The actual card playing was also a lot of fun. Their room-mate, a Korean student also studying Chinese, joined in the festivities. He is funny in and of himself, so explaining to him how to play UNO was also entertaining. Whenever he laid down that second to last card, he did it with a swift motion, and a loud, brisk “UNO,” and then broke out into a huge smile. I never would have thought that playing UNO and drinking hot chocolate with mid-20 year old friends could be oh so fun.

Dragon Dance

When we arrived outside the little village where we were staying the night, the local people greeted us with a dragon dance. The dance was accompanied by loud fireworks. It was very exciting:) Later that evening, we also got another showing of the dragon dance, and us students could also participate in maneuvering the dragon.

more photos

If you will notice in these pictures, we are not really dressed appropriately for this excursion. Some girls had on dress pants, and some teachers were wearing leather shoes. They had told us to wear shoes that could get wet, but they didn't tell us to bring aqua socks and swimming trunks.

Our Hike is Just Beginning. . .

More Photos

After I missed a step and nearly went into the rushing water, I was ready to accept the help of the Chinese workers.

More Travel Pictures

School Travel Group

Let's Just Be Honest!

Okay, I'm going to be honest. Being away from your home country in the month of November just really stinks. I miss pretty much every memory of living in the midwest during Fall. I try to compensate by wearing apple lotion, eating a lot of pumpkin, and talking with friends and family back home. (Is this a healthy coping mechanism?) I didn't really realize how much I was missing home until I wrote these words; they are kind of cheesy.

I am Dorothy,
Clicking my pen
Thinking of my Kansas.
Of muted golden fields,
and the crunchy, dryness of Fall.
Of apple cider and pumpkin pie
after watching football games and playing in pep band.

Here I sit
Thinking of my Aunty Em and Toto
walking together after school,
and taking week-end trips to the city.
Or simply debriefing the days events over dinner
and later enjoying tea with neighbors.
This is my Kansas.
Click, click, click goes my pen.

Animal Street

I was walking down a side street a few weeks ago, and I saw some interesting stuff. These animals are not sold as pets but as fresh produce. I know because I asked the vendor selling snakes why Chinese people buy so many snakes. She said it was because snakes taste delicious.

Animal Street

Animal Street

Animal Street

Animal Street