{Day 1} And it Begins!

And today is the first full day of the tour! All of the families arrived within half an hour of each other, except for one, and so we were able to make just one airport run and our guide, Jenny, waited for the last family, who arrived about an hour and a half after the others. They were all tired from traveling, but excited to be in Korea!

Even though it can be very difficult, the best thing to do to get over jet lag it to just jump right in. We kept the families busy although as our first day wound down, they were pretty tired. We started the day bright and early and with a visit to a Korean college, Senjong University. This university actually has a high percentage of international students. 

The scenery was just beautiful! The above picture is a museum on campus and gave the story of some of Korean's history.

After our hour long tour at the University, we moved onto our next stop of the day, the 2002 World Cup Stadium. Here are a few pictures and then we will move right along because being a Johnson, having gone to a soccer stadium, is just plain embarrassing.

Moving right along then.... next we stopped a local market which is always quite interesting! I have been to many markets in China that are very similar but it was pretty new and different to some of our families! I found this guy... anyone hungry?

We then ended our first day by attending a cooking class. I observed and took pictures but I did get to taste test some of the Korean dishes. Not too bad!

Day 1 done! I think this tour is going to be a lot of fun. Our families are great and we are going to see some pretty interesting sights over the next week and a half.

What a Weekend

Happy Monday! I had a crazy busy, but fun weekend! Saturday morning we had a group in at the foster home who I had to help host. After that, I had a free afternoon and decided that it was time to use my last pancake mix that my Mom sent me in my birthday package.

Since I am down to less than four weeks in China and less than two weeks until my mom and sister are here (!), I am trying to use up a lot of food and ingredients I have. That included the rest of my pancake syrup.

Oh my.... were they delicious!

Don't worry, I didn't eat them all. Not all at one sitting at least.

I finished off my little brunch with some delicious liche fruit. I am really going to miss this fruit when I leave China. Actually I am going to miss all the tropical fruit here!

Saturday evening was spent out with friends and Sunday I went tubing or "drifting" or rafting.... not quite sure what to call it, with my friend, Katrina. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures from our Sunday adventure.

Today (Monday) I had lunch with other friends, a wonderful massage, and a delicious dessert. Another fun afternoon. Trying to spend time with friends since my time in China is running out.

Praying you all have a wonderful week!

Food & Fellowship

We have a new family who joined us here to serve at the foster home several months ago. They are wonderful and are way better than me at meeting new friends! They have recently become good friends with several young people (I can say that because they are actually younger than me but then again, I guess I'm not that young anymore... hmmm..). We have all gotten together a few times now to eat and just spend time with one another. A few days ago, they wanted to cook us dinner!

A Chinese meal is not compete without vegetables. Especially corn as they love their corn!

This is a very popular dish in China, egg and tomato.

We just celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival and this sticky rice and red bean (cooked in leaves) is a tradition. It's not bad!

Of course, lots and lots of chopsticks.

The spread.

The sticky rice and red bean. Isn't it beautiful?

The girls hard at work.

Of course now that I'm leaving in a month I am making more friends! Oh well, I'm just really enjoying my last few weeks in China!

Sunday Snapshot: Mexican Night

One thing we can't find in my city is a good Mexican restaurant. Tragic, I know. I had brought some taco seasoning mixes back with me after being in the States and a few of us decided to make our own Mexican food. This weekend was a holiday and so we decided this was the weekend to do it. 

Cheese is a real treat in China. As in I never buy it because it's about $7 USD for a block of cheese and just isn't worth it to me. I do like it every once in a while though.

Our spread of food. Yummy.

Mashed potatoes aren't really Mexican (as far as I know) but the resume my friend Joy made, called for you to put melted cheese and salsa on it. It was delicious!

Ground beef is very hard to find here and a special treat.

My homemade salsa. I could eat it by the spoonful. I may or may not do that.

We even found taco shells! They were a little stale but not bad once heated up.

A little piece of heaven.

Obviously I am quite excited about my taco.

Joy's cheesy potatoes.

Pineapple cake for dessert.

Can we have another Mexican night really soon? Cinco de mayo anyone?

Linking up with Ni Hao Ya'll

A Treat

I love cereal. Unfortunately cereal in China is very expensive so I never buy it. Expensive as in $8-$9 USD for a box. No, it's just not worth it. However, what about when I find cereal on sale because it'll expire next month and is only just over $3 USD a box? I just can't pass that up!

Honestly, I'm a Raisin Bran and Shredded Wheat kind of girl but my choices are slim here.

I used to get this cereal as a child for my "birthday cereal." "What is birthday cereal?" you ask? Why, it's the box of sugar cereal I got to pick out when I was younger and had it all to myself. My Mom always bought the "healthy" kinds so this was always a treat!

As I got older though, I can't say I'm a huge fan of the sugary cereals anymore except once in a while. And this, my friends, is once in a while. I've lived in China almost 2 years now and I've never once bought cereal.

Until yesterday. And let me tell you, it was delicious. Sugar and all. Even though it was kind of like having cookies for breakfast, it was scrumptious.

Now the question is, "how long can I make it last?"

Wordless Wednesday: Sprinkles

Dreary Saturday

Today was just a dreary day all around. It was cold (relatively speaking), rainy, and I didn't have much of a desire to do much of anything.

It was a day where it was impossible for clothes to dry, so laundry was out of the question.

What is the best thing to do on a cold, dark, damp Saturday afternoon? Pop some popcorn...

... make a cup of tea...

... and watch a good chick flick.

And that is exactly what I did. Maybe tomorrow will be more productive? Hey, we all need a lazy day every once in a while.