Sorry

Hillary's sister here, I apologize for not having pictures.  Yahoo is not allowing me to download them.  I will get the problem fixed and get them up for you all to see soon. :)

OLYMPIC PARK & THE WATER CUBE

I FINALLY made it to the Olympic park!  I have passed by the Bird's Nest stadium here in Beijing numerous times but I had never actually gone to see it up close.  A couple of weeks ago I went with my co-worker Ryan to visit the indoor water park that was built inside the water cube at the olympic park. The water cube is where the 2008 Olympic swimming events took place and you can go see the pools and also buy tickets to go to the indoor waterslides.  The Birds Nest stadium is an amazing and impressive structure.  It looks quite beautiful at night when it is all lit up.  The Chinese are still extremely proud of holding the Olympics here several years ago. They can't really seem to let it go. I see the Beijing Olympic logo all over the place and you can still buy souveniers.  It is a pretty big tourist spot for westerners and especially the Chinese themselves.  

LAVENDER FIELDS

A few weeks ago a big group of us from work chartered a bus and went out to the country to see the lavender fields.  It was very beautiful. We had a chinese bbq lunch and got to walk through the big fields of purple flowers.  We also got to ride tandem bikes and row boats on a small little pond.  Apparantly this is a popular place for people to come to get engagement and wedding photos taken. There were giant letters in the middle of the fields spelling out the word "LOVE" and some nice gazebos to sit in. The weather was really beautiful and it was nice to get out of Beijing for the day and also have some fresh, clear air to breathe!

THE MIRACLE OF THE KEYS

Last month after work I went to dinner with my friend Ryan.  When I got home I looked into my purse to get out my small zipper pouch with my gate card to get into my complex and it was missing. In this pouch I had my condo card, my apartment key, my water card, my electric card, and my bus card.  I looked and looked all through my purse and could not find it. I was surprised how calm I was even though I had lost these items.  Somehow I knew it would all be okay.  I tried to call my realtor and couldn't get a hold of him. I couldn't call my landlord because he didn't speak English. I tried calling a few others that spoke Chinese to see if someone could help but I couldn't reach anyone.  As I was sitting on the ground still looking in my purse for the ump-teenth time hoping to find my small zipper pouch, a Chinese woman approached me with a western looking man.  They were married and lived in my complex. She spoke fluent English and Chinese and she and her husband were able to help me.  They were so nice.  I was eventually able to reach someone to help me get a hold of my realtor and this couple helped me locate a locksmith and even loaned me the money to get in my apartment. They translated for me, helped me with the police and locksmith and stayed with me for two hours until after midnight until I was back home and everything was okay. They loaned me money to pay the locksmith too because it was too late for me to go to an atm.  The next day I was able to resolve most of the issues and get my cards replaced as well as my lock.  There were many other small things that happened during this experience that made a world of difference.  All of these small little miracles added up to one big miracle and something that could have been a horrible and stressful experience turned out to be so positive and was a blessing in a strange sort of way.  I was grateful for the kindness of strangers and was reminded that I need to be kinder to those I don't know.  I was grateful for the calm and peaceful feeling I had - I knew God was watching over me and this situation.  I was also reminded of the importance of being prepared. I had other things with me that I needed and that helped things to get resolved very quickly.  I refer to this experience now as "The Miracle of the Keys" because for me, that's exactly what it was.  

CALLIGRAPHY CLASS

Last month a calligraphy instructor came to my Chinese class to give us all some basic instruction. It was a really fun class and I wasn't that great at the calligraphy but I enjoyed learning more about it and how write.  The teacher was really nice and actually an opera fan and singer too! He sang a song for us and taught us all the different strokes used in Chinese calligraphy. He went through some of the history as well which was interesting too.  The first Chinese calligraphy was actually a form where the writing actually looked like the word.  For example, the symbol for fish looked more like a fish then than what it looks like today.  It was neat to see how the calligraphy had evolved over time.  Part of me is especially fond of the calligraphy style that is a bit more ancient and sloppy looking.  It just looks more artistic and expressive so I think that is why I enjoy it more. I got to practice making strokes and writing a couple of symbols. The instructor said that my strokes were weak and delicate and I shouldn't be afriad to "give strength."  Ha ha!