Saturday Night Fever

Had a BIG Saturday night out in Beijing.

First went to the Bookworm http://www.beijingbookworm.com/ for some snacks and tea.

Then, we headed to the Village http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/listings/shopping/beijing-market/has/the-village-at-sanlitunsanlitun/ to check out the Adidas flagship store. There were tons of these baby statues which I found quite fitting:


Then we headed to Santilun Yashou market where you can buy fake anything: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/shopping/368687Then it was off to Hooters for some wings.... actually we ate at a nice Italian restaurant.Then we went to QBar for some cocktails: http://www.qbarbeijing.com/en/

And ended the night dancing at Coco Banana http://www.cityweekend.com.cn/beijing/listings/nightlife/nightclub/has/coco-banana/

Today, I'm tired.....

Not Making Any Friends...

Today was immunization day. I gave 30 immunizations and hopefully prevented some disease:

All the vaccines were donated. If you're interested in contributing to the New Hope Foundation, details can be found at this website.. http://www.hopefosterhome.com/needs.htm

Birthday wishes for my brother...

Happy Birthday, Garth!!!!!!

Who's the Baby Daddy?

Daddy Baby Diapers. Lost in Translation.

Hope Foster Home

This is a longer entry than usual, but I wanted to share with you all how truly special Hope Foster Home is.

I start my day in the clinic (which is in the foster home) and the nannies know that they can drop in with their babies if they are having any problems.

This is a baby I saw this morning:

The home is a very organized placed. This is the "board" in the main office which represents what child is in what area, etc:

The rooms are all color-coded and uniquely themed. Joyce (the director) makes all the bedding/quilts for the babies:

In this picture, you can see beside the washclothes each baby's name and picture:

Above each bedroom door is a quote or saying. These were my favorites:

There is a preschool in the home that the children attend during the week where they teach basic English:

There are lots of signs on the walls with instructions for the nannies:This is the Winnie the Pooh time out "jail" - notice Pooh is behind bars:The most amazing part of the place is the beautiful children:

This guy loved the camera:

Activity mats are big here:

This boy always has a smile on his face:Trying to share with me:

So sweet:Showing off the play structure:

Severely malnourished:

Sunday in Ex-Pat Land...and the GW

Well...let's just say Beijing is a little bit different from the towns I had visited in Henan Province.

This morning, a bunch of us (nurses, volunteers, directors) went to church at Capital Community Church in Beijing. It was full of ex-pats from all over the world. Apparently it is a-okay to attend church here if you have a foreign passport. However, they could be shut down by the Chinese government at any time. They introduced a couple from England during the service who have been living in outer Mongolia for 16 years doing mission work and running a small business. Needless to say, they were a unique group. The pastor is from North Texas - also very interesting :-). We went to brunch after church at The Hungry Horse which was located in an ex-pat "village" area. We may as well have been in the USA.

Here are the name badges in the entryway:


A view of the church:

Oh yeah...then we swung by the Great Wall on the way home:

The Adoption

Today was an exciting one for a little boy here at the Hope Foster Home. His new parents came all the way from Ohio to finally pick him up and take him home. They have been doing paperwork for years in order to adopt this little boy. It was truly a remarkable event to witness. He is going to get the best of care at Cincinnati Children's Hospital when he gets to his new home.

For more information about the organization I am working for:
http://www.hopefosterhome.com/

Chugga Chugga Chugga...CHOO CHOO

I made it successfully back to Beijing after a 7 hour train ride from Xinyang. Overall, it was a pleasant and uneventful trip - I had a window seat and was able to see enjoy the view of the countryside. Some of the scenes I witnessed were right out of a diorama - I couldn't even believe they were real. An ox peacefully munching on grass outside the front door of a cottage made of brick next to a lake where an old man fishes - unbelievable.

It is amazing how manners in different cultures can vary so widely. On the train - it is perfectly fine to spit or "farmer blow" onto the floor of the train. It is so odd to see nicely dressed, sophisticated looking women engage in these behaviors and think nothing of it. It is especially disconcerting when you are behind one of them walking and rolling your luggage through their mucous - awesome! No wonder SARS spread like wildfire here.

Anyway, I'm back in Beijing (but the orphanage is actually about a 45min drive from the city) and getting ready for more adventures here during my last week volunteering.

Here are some scenes from the train trip:

A Public Service Announcement!!

Yeah..Protecting CircumStance begins with YOU!!

Zaijian Xinyang

Here's looking toward a future of hope...


Heading to the choo choo train...more news to come!!

Street Scenes

I learned a very important Chinese phrase today: Ting Bu Dong - I don't understand.

I thought you might enjoy some photos of the streets of Henan province:

The Children of Xinyang

While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.

~Angela Schwindt

Surrealism At Its Finest!!

For a surreal experience, I recommend the following:
Go for a mid-morning jog through the streets of Xinyang, China while listening to your usual everyday work-out mix on your ipod. It's worth inhaling coal dust and dodging human waste on the streets. Trust me, you won't ever forget it.

The Aquarium

It was a cold and rainy day in Xinyang as I looked out the window toward the playground and courtyard below:


What a perfect day to visit the local aquarium, I thought:

Then I realized I was in a grocery store:

Yum Yum!!!

My Valentine...

Well, there were no train tickets available - so Linda and her husband Jin drove me 5 hours south to Xinyang today. They only speak Chinese, so it is very hard to communicate to them how thankful I am that they are driving me around China. I am perfecting my charades though - as we mostly communicate through hand gestures. We drove through some mountains and farm country. There were lots of baby goats hanging out in the fields... very cute!! Oh - and I experience a Chinese roadside rest stop, which was actually quite clean and nice.

When we got to Xinyang, I met Krishtel and Erma - the nurses at the unit here. Unfortunately, the water is not working (who knows why) here at the unit, so we had an excuse to eat out tonight for a nice Valentine's dinner. I hope the water is back on tomorrow - it's a little bit difficult to manage a unit with 18 sick and disabled kids without running water. But, it's a new challenge to overcome - haha.

Peter Pan greeted me in Xinyang

I don't think this little girl in the restaurant had ever seen a white person before. She would run up to me, I would smile, and she would run away screaming. She wanted to be my Valentine!!

Chinese Pizza

Linda, Jin, Me, Krishtel and Erma

This soup was tasty - despite all the chicken heads floating in it. It cleansed my palate after eating squid balls.

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!!