orphanage

performance
this girl is learning this big harp-like instument (I don't know what it's called). She doesn't read music, her teacher hums it to her and she catches it and plays it that way.
These two are two peas in a pod :).
Kiddos.
Another performance. You will notice the heart in the background, one little girl's purpose in the performance is to hold the heart with the streamers. She must be very strong to hold it for the whole performance!

traveling around

on the way to turpan
pig truck
in front of the mosque in turpan
inside the mosque
tower at the international bazaar (a shopping experience to be enjoyed)

scenery

**Ones above taken near the An Ning station; a country outpost of the orphanage. Foster families live in this village and take care of the children. The An Ning station is where they go for education and the kids go for the school day.
Urumqi

a few pictures

the group at the windmill place.

as is glaringly obvious, I am the only caucasian and the tallest.

don't you all want to go to china now? can you believe there's worse?!
hungry kiddos
dancing 2-3 yr. olds
looking at the photobooks i brought

more will follow when i find the time.

home

after 27+ hours, 4 international airports, too many security checks to list, and some awful airplane food i made it home.
i managed to stay awake last night till after 930, and i slept till about 730 so assuming i resist all napping temptations, we should be good to go, jetlag free!! yay!
i will post more pix and info later, but i'm still kinda tired and in no way feel coherent enough to post much more... i'm really not sure if what i've posted so far makes any sense, anyways :).

one last day

this is going to be short b/c the internet is slow which means i'm on forever and i'm sick of paying for sitting here.
yesterday we visited a retirement home. 75% of the residents are christian, as are all of the staff. to put this in perspective, all of the residents are over 80 yrs old an the director just turned 70. they have no elevators in the 3 story building, and bathrooms are shared by hallway. this means that these very elderly people walk all over the place! we gave them some $ and learned that they'd been praying for some $ b/c the cost of good fruit is so high that they havent had any for a month.
we've been taking walks everyday which is a great way to (a) burn off a huge breakfast and (b) see some city/do some shopping. it also teaches one to value every moment of this life that you have been given b/c who knows when a car will come careening down the sidewalk and squish you.
this is my last post from china. i will go into more details of what we did and where your donation $ went and get some pix up when i get home.
now it's off for another walk...
best wishes.

orphanage again

i really wish i could post pictures. you will all have to sit tight till i get home!
today was a GREAT day at the orphanage. no touring, just interacting. we hula-ed with the older non-sn kids and talked with them and learned kung fu from the one boy (he's 13). then we ate lunch. after lunch, we got to play with the non-sn kids who are between 3 and 4ish. i really hope these children get on lists, they are so wonderful! they go to daycare at the orphanage and go home with their foster parents at night. the one really sad thing is that everyone is mama. that is the one thing that stands out: no matter they be the severely mentally disabled or totally healthy, all these kids have attachment disorder. the foster parents are called grandma and grandpa, and i think it's human to have to call SOMEONE mama. and that someone turns into the teacher. i didnt notice it w/the older kids, but they have more understanding of their situation.
candice & michelle v- the children LOVED the photobooks!! candice- z.w.t. was so happy to get your card. she has email, so i will send you her address. she is going to hong kong this summer for a visit... she apparently has contacts outside the orphanage. i will email you privately about her when i get home. michelle- i got to spend quite a bit of time w/g.c.c. do you know how old she is? also, w.y.y. is doing very well. lots of personality. she really enjoyed the pix.
the situation at this orphanage is very interesting. they have sibling groups. 3 little boys just arrived friday, and they are of a minority, so they dont speak chinese.
after we left the orphanage, we visited a foster care facility. this place is excellent beyond all description. there are 12 homes. each has a single 'mom'. she takes care of 8-10 kids between 2-14 (boys move to a boys-only-man-run dormitory at 14; girls stay w/mom). there are 2 uygher homes (minority group) w/uygher moms and all uygher kids. they get $ to buy what they need so mom only focuses on the kids. none of these kids are up for adoption; they get lots of love and a good education and encouragement to go somewhere: college, job, etc. also, the kids come from all over china, so i'm guessing this place is pretty well known throughout orphanage land.
well, i had better go so i don't have to pay too awful much :). i am really enjoying myself. my group is stellar. one thing that will be hard when i go home is being with people who are NOT asian (my whole group is. infact, at 5'5", i am the tallest group member) and trying to discern chinese :).
from urumqi-
(ps. father- i had steak, french fries, fruit, good bread and ice cream for dinner at the hotel dinner buffet last night. you would like this place. actually, you'd fit in too... many of the minority people here kinda look like us. have fun moving freezers... dont paralyze yourself too badly, SOMEONE has to come and pick me up at the airport!!)

days 2 & 3

sorry i never got on yesterday but we were otherwise occupied :). this is going to be short b/c i am tired and it is 8 and never had lunch. i think room service is in order so i can have western food and then take a shower and collapse in my bed BEFORE 1130 (which is too late for 5 days in a row when you have to get up at 730) :).
yesterday we went to the an ning station (outpost of sorts) of the orphanage. it is where we went last year... kind of a foster home center. we got to see not only the desks and curtains we bought them last year, but also the dividers (amongst many other things). they are basically the coolest dividers i have ever seen. if the internet was faster i would upload them now but it is slow so you'll just have to wait.
we also got to visit 6 foster families in their homes; a village around the center. very substinace agriculture. there is no one between age 16 and 56 there. they have all left for the opportunies in the city- there is no way to get ahead in the country. at the same time, it makes for a good atmosphere for the older people to raise the children, most of which have some disability, be it physical, mental or both.
today we went sightseeing in turpan. interestingly, everything was different (maybe we saw different parts) than last year. one of the most interesting parts of the experience was the bathrooms, or lack thereof. i did take a picture of the one restroom; the other highly interesting spot was over a creaky bridge behind this random shed/building that had more mini-creeks running by. uh-huh. fun times. oh how i love squatting in weeds when it is plainly evident that MANY others before me have done the same!
it was a very hot day with lots of walking. we didnt feel safe eating out in turpan so we didn't. it's a good thing i had way too much breakfast.
alrighty, i'm going to try AGAIN to get on yahoo then it's upstairs for the night.
oh! if any of you ever find yourself in urumqi, may i reccomend the yin du hotel? it is excellent!
zaijian and goodnight!

orphanage day 1

to complete yesterday: we went out for chinese here in the hotel. we had pigeon, a coupla veggie dishes, a beef dish and, of course, xi gua. also this good cucumber stuff w/garlic. then we wandered around outside for a while, bought a few things, went to bed. one place we did very well at was kind of a chinese catch-all-dollar-store type place. everything was 3 yuan (= about $.25). mother: i found trace a sword!
this morning i had the most amazing blueberry waffle for breakfast. i am definately going to have one every day i am here from here on out!
today was orphanage day 1. it is so nice being in a small group. besides, we have 2 people in our group who are fluent in both languages, so we dont miss anything in translation. a couple of the older kids and workers recognized me from last year. also, they have a picture from our group's time here on their wall in the conference room. i recognized several of the kids.
michelle v- i saw y.y. and g.c.c. i will bring the photos on wednesday. both 'sightings' were just in passing, though.
we got to play w/the kids and then we went and visited foster homes. there is an appartment complex near the orphanage, and it is mostly inhabited by the elderly (retired). it is full of babies. since the elderly dont have to go to work, they become foster parents. one couple has a 12 month old, 8 month old and 6 month old (when rosa was here last july, the couple had 2 kids under 1 year. one has been adopted, the other- who has a mental issue- is in foster care in beijing). brave, brave people. many couples have 2 kids. it was interesting, b/c by the time we were leaving, lots of the kids were coming home. the orphanage is kinda like preschool. most of the kids have minor-ish needs; needs that will go INSTANTLY on american wc lists. kids generally stay in foster care till they're about 12, then they move into dormitories at the orphanage.
urumqi 2006-ers: remember the little girl who had the sores all over and had to be bathed several times a day w/salt water (her foster mom was the big tall lady w/glasses)? she has been adopted. i will post more on the urumqi group later w/specifics on some of the kids.
tonite we are going out to dinner w/someone from the orphanage, and then to the bazaar. yay for more shopping! now i have to worry on how exactly i will manage to get it all home!!
from urumqi---

first full day

it gets hot in the afternoon here, so the rest of my group wanted to rest. so here i am, online :). i really dont think it's that awfully hot; probably b/c i am used to so much humidity.
we went shopping this morning. i bought a purse made in pakistan and one made in afghanistan, among many other marvelous things. i also bought some raisins- which still taste better than the ones at home by a long shot. our group leader said we will be going shopping multiple more times.
we had a female taxi driver today. she was as aggressive a driver as anyone else :).
i forgot to mention this yesterday, but this hotel gives you fresh fruit (nectarines, pears, banana and cherry tomatoes) and fresh flowers in your room.
there is a wedding in our hotel today. i guess they are dancing b/c their music is loud enough to be shaking the entire floor :).
i think that's about all i've got to say. it's only 2:30, so i havent lived enough of today to write a book :). yet.
until next time-

in urumqi

ya'll, we are officially suffering. this hotel is even more impressive (virtually brand new and incredibly modern) than the white swan! and the beds appear to be softer, too! the only drawback is that the internet is a little slow, so i dont think pictures will be happening. not that i have even tried, much less taken any...
we had a nice morning in beijing. instead of paying for an ok breakfast at the hotel, rosa and i went to mcdonalds. we figured if we consumed enough calories, we could bypass lunch. our plan succeeded. rosa is so great; so like me in so many ways. we could both live on bread and fruit. we both love ice cream, we would both rather skip a meal than eat 3 a day. this is only the tip of the iceburg.
the flight to urumqi was pretty bumpy, but nothing i cant sleep thru :). mother, remember that awful stuff in the packaging they fed us between bj and gz when we got jade? they fed it to us again today w/several other unrecognizable dishes. good thing i ate that big breakfast...
when we got to urumqi we were met by a van from the hotel. and THREE guys (4 of us flew today, we will be joined by one more member tomorrow). two to help us get our bags out the airport, one to drive. this is just an intro for things to come. i have been in this hotel only a few hours and have been very impressed. mark waltz should write a chapter on this place in his first impressions book :).
after dinner (buffet here. i had steak, twice baked potato, fruit, bread and ice cream, all of which were very good). we went for a little walk. i could tell our groupies who had never been here before were a little... shocked? it is much different than beijing. rosa and i like it and have been here, so we take it kinda in stride, but you could tell they were a little unsure about things. anyhoo, there is a raisin stand i'll definately be returning. one thing i kinda forgot about urumqi is that everyone looks like me!! i dont stick out like it do in, say, guangzhou.
i think that's all i have to say about today. oh yes! mother, i found LOTS of fruitsnacks. they also have those milk thingies trace came with, but i dont know if he'd still like them? i would like to have some room for something BESIDES fruitsnacks, so i might have to curb my buying. i'm keeping my eyes open for a sword.
best wishes!

beijing day 1

we got into beijing last nite. it's hazier and smoggier than i remembered. part of this might be the heat and lack of breeze.
today we went to new day creations, an american run foster home. WONDERFUL place. i held this baby (born in march or april) named emma. her special need is a cleft lip/pallate, neither of which is severe. although her cleft is on one side, her nose isn't the least sideways. she also had no problem taking a normal bottle, although it's obvious that her pallate isn't perfect. she will get snatched off a list in no time; i dont think she's old enough to be placed quite yet, though. i bet she's on new day's website, newdaycreation.org or .com or something like that :). it appears that they have a constant stream of help; there were lots of college age groups there, some staying months, some just in for the day (like us). father: new day is located amidst an agricultural area. corn was growing. there were orchards and plots where it looked like wheat or some other grassy something was recently harvested. (i got to see lots b/c we kinda got lost since there are no street names/numbers in this district apparently. hmmm) not a very wealthy area, though... new day also has a factory which employs many of the locals (who are obviously struggling monetarily) they make the stuff you can buy from them onsite (or online i believe). very neat place. their receptionist (who looks like she's about 14 which means she's probably nearing 30) told me that they just got back from fujian province. she asked if i knew jack chang. everyone- even those at new day- love him and think he's just about the greatest thing since sliced bread (or whatever the chinese alternative to sliced bread may be; instant rice, perhaps?). small world.
mother: i got trace a panda in the hotel giftshop today. it has a red shirt since jade's has a blue shirt. also, i found A FEW fruit snacks. maybe 5 that i was able to purchase. i am keeping my eyes wide open for more!
tomorrow we head off to urumqi. we may be able to get some shopping accomplished before that. time will tell.
alrighty, it's almost 11pm and i'm getting tired and am in dire need of a shower. next post will be from urumqi!!
g'night!

Greetings from Tokyo! They have cheap interenet here, so I thought I'd get online and say ni hao. The flight here was good, a whole row to myself. I was sad to leave hawaii though, i love that place way too much. fortunately, i had a real estate magazine from there to look at thru my flight.
alright, my time's almost up. see ya'll in beijing.
thanks for the comments!!

relax...

sun slowly setting behind a mountain
more mountain/water
me swinging from a vine
view from the pool area at rosa's complex
more pretty-ness

so today started w/laundry (amazingly, i have not been going thru laundry withdrawl) then rosa put me on a bus and sent me to the local mall. granted the mall that is across the street from the beach. we went there to eat at the food court last nite and i kept seeing bags walk by of stores i wanted to visit. this 4-floor wonder has astonished me. stores include: gucci, chanel, hermes, christian dior, etc (all with security guarded entrance/exits) as well as your more normal mall fare: hollister, american eagle, gap, abercombie, banana republic, old navy, pacsun, guess and several uniquely hawaiian joints. and the stores that kelsey dreams about: most notably puma and diesel. i didn't buy hardly anything, but had a fun time walking around. somehow, even after buying million dollar property and nice cars, hawaiians have money?!

then i came home and rosa and i went and layed by the pool. the pool water is too cold for my taste, so i read and looked at the view (pictured above). then we walked to the beach. after the sun set, we walked to a burger place where i got the best chicken sandwhich of all time, and loaded up on american foods such as french fries and a shake (hey, it's gonna be a long 2 weeks as far as food goes). then we walked back. total walking distance: 3+ miles, so there wasn't too much guilt in the fried american fare :).

tomorrow we head off to china. i'm kinda sad to leave hawaii, although i do enjoy being in china. rosa is already making plans for my next visit (i'm still trying to figure out WHEN though) so that's good :).

the next post should be from china; probably not for a coupla days though.

zaijian!

snorkeling

coldstone icecream = lunch
beach for snorkling (see the greyish stuff in the water? that is the coral in which one snorkels)
if i look like i am suffering, it is because i am
a true hawaiian palm tree
another perfect day in paradise closes

(mother: there is an email from janet. she seemed to think my name was cathy :)... ah well)

today we went to coldstone icecream for lunch. it was amazing. may i reccomend cheesecake ice cream with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries?

we went snorkling. i saw TWO SEATURTLES up close in personal, go to swim with them, etc. if i had an underwater camera i would have taken pictures, but alas. i also saw lots of other fishies, but the turtles were by far the highlight.

we went and ate at the foodcourt for the mall here for dinner. i am envious. this mall has not only all the stores we have in our mall, but a diesel store, puma store... and much more amazing shopping. plus it's all there, no running here to old navy, and there to all the other stores. and the food court is just about the most incredible smorgasboard of food i have seen in a long while.

then we went to the beach to see the sunset. so nice. i think i am the most relaxed i have been in a very long while.

i have no idea what we are doing tomorrow, except that i have to do laundry and we have to visit this one store. sadly, tomorrow is my last day here. rosa said she gets homesick for hawaii just by THINKING about leaving. i told her i will be homesick for HER home :).

best wishes from paradise, ya'll :).

we went hiking today

nice view, yeah?
nice hair, yeah?
another nice view, yeah?
coupla nice people infront of another nice view, yeah?
misty islands, yeah?

1. one thing about hawaiians. they say 'yeah' after EVERYTHING. i will come home and you will all be astonished at this new addition to my vocabulary. basically, i laugh everytime i hear it used, until i use it myself :).

2. so we went hiking today. it was rosa, myself, a professor at the university of hawaii and his wife and daughter (age 2.5) and a chinese guy named dustin (mother: ha ha ha) who knows rosa from church. so anyways we hiked up this paved trail up the side of a mountain viewing makapu'u (water, lighthouse, cactus, etc) for a long while. it was fun and the views were amazing and i got lots of great photos. the only catch is that i have to come back in the winter to see the whales. they are seasonal :).

when we were done hiking, we drove to a coupla 'scenic points' and got some good photos, then went out for vietnamese food. it was kinda funny, i'm sitting there eating vietnamese food hawaiian style with 5 chinese people on a deck my a marina in hawaii kai. go figure.

it's interesting... they talk in about half english, half chinese, and they are all very fluent in both. very fun.

rosa and i had ice cream for lunch today. we are going to do the same tomorrow. we are so similar, it is frightening :).

anyhoo- life in hawaii is great. i officially do not want to leave. i mean, yes i am excited to go to china, but go back home? why would i want to do that? (sorry ya'll, don't want to hurt your feelings but i kinda like it here :)...)

oh! i found one problem with this paradise. the pool at rosa's complex was a bit too chilly for my taste this morning when i went to take a swim :). but the atmosphere there is like a relaxing waterpark (waterslide included). little yellow flowers fall into the water and they have a fountain kinda thingie and the pools are fun shapes as well as multiple hot tubs. and they have water running about the whole complex.

i took a walk around the neighborhood this morning and there were flowers everywhere. unfortunately, the homes (mostly 2-3 bedrooms, 2ish baths) run about $1.3-1.5 million. a little out of my pricerange, yeah?

until next time----

view

this is the view out rosa's front (living room) window. it is basically the only all in the front of her appartment. that is the ocean way out, touching the sky.

surfing day

me on the beach (doing a standard hawaiian hand sign)
that's me surfing!
the beach (a picture doesnt to it justice)
paddling out
(rotate) yup, even the traffic cones here rock :).

today we woke up bright and early and rosa took me to the beach. her church has an SURFING OUTREACH! so she dropped me and a bag of chips off and went onto a seminar for her job. basically, the leaders pair off with you and take you out and give you pointers and get you all in line for a nice wave and whatnot **highly reccomended!!!**.

i kinda hooked up with a girl who is 13 and has lived in hawaii for 5 years. she hadn't gone surfing yet, so we kinda stuck together. i talked with her and her dad for a while, they are camping on the beach for the summer.

needless to say, surfing is amazing. i wanna do it again tomorrow! acutally, the guy that taught me was surprised i lasted as long as i did, b/c there's a lot of paddling against the current involved. he also said (he read this in a surfing magazine) that they do surf a little on lake michigan. also paddling surfing is a growing cool thing to do. at any rate, i enjoyed it immensly, got complimented on my ability and have determined that it is something i would like to persue in the future if the whole graphic design thing falls through :). and gcc definately needs a surfing outreach too.

so that's basically all i've done today. it is about 4:15 and we are going to saturday night church at rosa's church and then i am going to crash :). rosa told me what we are doing tomorrow, but i dont remember :). oh yes! we are hiking up a mountain. i am going to have a good physique when i get home after all this demanding physical activity!

i love it here; i think you ALL would too!!!

hawaii!

sorry rotation didn't happen... tilt your head :)
the beach!!!
this is right outside the airport
punchbowl street! yes!
my first lei!

1. my father is the bestest driver ever. i almost missed my flight, but somehow we made it. praise, hallelujah!

2. hawaii is awesome. oh my. i dont think i ever wanna leave. if i didnt have friends, family and gcc at home, i simply wouldnt come home.

3. rosa is awesome! you know you're in good hands when she drives up in an immaculate sky-blue brand new mercedes. and she gave me the lovely lei above...

4. did i mention that hawaii is amazing?

5. i sat by an older man who is from idaho (go figure) and has lived in hawaii for 5 years. his wife does real estate and though i didnt catch what he does, he travels all over the pacific rim islands. he filled me in on just about everything hawaiian which was great.

6. get this. from rosa's appartment, i can see this mountain AND the ocean. her office is across the road from the beach (about a mile from her appartment). they have an amazing pool area at this complex. there is the most amazing wholesale shopping center not to far away, plus restaurants and botique-swimsuit stores and whatever else. we saw baby ducks w/their mama while eating at this nice italian place (owned by vietnamese, go figure. our waiter was asian, too) that sits near a marina with a view of the mountain rosa kinda lives on.

(if you haven't caught this, rosa is the lady i'm staying with. i have only spoke with her on the phone and via email till today.)

7. bright and early, i am going surfing! this is what rosa's church does for 'outreach' (get this. they have 4 or 5 services, saturday nites are also in chinese, 1 or 2 on sunday are korean, 1 or 2 sunday are for japanese. if you speak english, you pick whatever works. kinda sounds firmiliar, huh? they have a couple thousand who attend. oh. and churches here are on the beach. gcc has a nice facility and all, but honestly, would you rather be airconditioned or enjoying a balmy hawaiian breeze? big screen or the pacific ocean?) so anyways, they do surfing as like an outreach/hang out event. i think our youth/merge should take note. surfing will draw the masses, even the masses from the otherside of the country....

alrighty. kelsey is tired. it has been a long day. leave your comments and i will tell you all about surfing tomorrow sometime :).

june 2 already?

we're getting really close :).

maybe i should start thinking about maybe packing? nah, i'll put it off a little bit longer...

itinerary

i got my itinerary today.
june 15- on my way: ohare to minneapolis, minneapolis to honolulu
june 20- honolulu to tokyo, tokyo to beijing
june 22- beijing to urumqi
july 1?-urumqi to beijing
july 2- beijing to tokyo, tokyo to minneapolis, minneapolis to ohare (yea, it's a mess)

i am taking monetary donations to the orphanage. if you are interested in giving, please let me know.

best wishes.