I am so blessed I was lucky enough to be born in the United States with English as my primary language.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Inner Mongolia...6-13-10
So I have attempted to describe to you how pretty Inner Mongolia is, well here just one of hundreds of shots to come when I get back home.
Life, like mowing...6-12-10
Life, like mowing Mongolian grass should be approached and dealt with as so. Remember that which you have already passed because you never know when you have to back up and redo a spot. The key is to keep your eyes forward and aware of all that which surrounds you.
Today a German film crew shot at the Camp to capture why a man would move to Inner Mongolia to start an English camp. As a result I was part of the background mowing down grass that was by no exaggeration a solid 18 inches high. To make things even more delightful, various local camp employees would use the fields I had to mow as a place to chuck random palm sized chunks of brick. So I had to navigate that in grass as high as my knees. All while being filmed by a German documentary crew. Suffice to say, it was so random that this crew of delightful people wanted to shoot us working that it all made for a good laugh at the end of the day.
The funniest part is that they while they were shooting they grabbed some impromptu shots of my mowing; unfortunately for me I looked as though I was ready to kill someone. The icing is that these shots could make it onto the documentary which is showing nationwide in German during the Christmas season. I cannot think of a better way in which I would desire for the people of Germany to see me.
Places we went...6-7-2010
At airport in Beijing going to Inner Mongolia I met a Russian Olympian. He was rude.
Places we went on my first day of my internship
Cops-to get me registered
Security bureau –to get registered –both because I’m a foreigner.
School-to meet with a headmaster to pick up a staff member that would take us to the bank to get cash for students going to SE
Bank 1-to get the money. It was wrapped up in newspaper. Hilarious. 30kUSDx6.8=what I saw
Bank 2 to deposit money. They would not wire it bc it was not to their bank.
Steel store- to pick up sign posts
Sign store to pick up signs-50 of them to be exact
Sheet metal man- to get a garbage for SE
Culinary supplies store-to find garbage can
Plastic random store- to find a garbage
Dinner-for Hotpot with Anna and John and Annas friend
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Bad news
Due to the fact I'm in china the government has chosen to block this website. I will only be able to update it sporadically. I will do my best. Shoot me an e-mail kwerneke@gmail.com if you want me to add you to the newsletter, otherwise keep your eyes peeled for updates.
The first days
The trip.
Flight MSP to Chicago was solid.
Get to the gate for my flight to China and I made conversation with a group of elementary aged kids. I would consider it to be my first legitimate Chinese conversation considering that it wasn't with one of my classmates or teacher. It was so wonderful. It was real. It wasn't just a I will use this language hopefully one day, but a legitimate experience of goodness.
On the plane
I went to stand up after 3 hours of sitting. Talked with some really kind and warm Chinese adults. I held my own in the convo for a good 20 minutes. Again, I was able to realize and enjoy the fruits of my two years of labor.
Later I talked with an American from Notre Dame that was one her way with a group to IBM for a summer long MIS/IT internship. She was nice but arrogant.
Hour 7 talked with a woman from Nebraska named Jo , she was on her way to pick up her newly adopted girl. She knew no Chinese so I was able to create a phonetic cheat sheet of Chinese words and phrases. It felt so good to be able to share my knowledge and bless her as I helped reduce the fear and stress of knowing no Chinese. It was definitely a highlight of the flight.
Hour 9 I talked with two college students. One was a marine and the other a Chinese student about to start school in Iowa. They asked why I took Chinese, I explained that God had put it on my heart. This spurred a great conversation on faith. The three of us were able to lay out what we experienced to be truth and God definitely used it as a means to plant seeds.
北京Beijing
Again I will say the airport is easily the most beautiful I've ever seen. I was picked up by Sherry Yoder; the wife of the couple I'm staying with this weekend before I head off to to Inner Mongolia. The two of us went back to their apartment which is on the 16th floor, and has a gorgeous view of Beijing. The skies and air are gray as can be. It makes me thankful I'm not spending my entire summer under gray skies and pollution. Later Friday night John Sherry and I went to a bible study with various international believers. John is an elder at China's largest protestant church. He's kind of a big deal.
Today (sat) I woke up and watched the sunrise over the skyline at 4 am. I'm not sure what the plan is for the rest of the day but I will keep you posted.
Kelsey
Flight MSP to Chicago was solid.
Get to the gate for my flight to China and I made conversation with a group of elementary aged kids. I would consider it to be my first legitimate Chinese conversation considering that it wasn't with one of my classmates or teacher. It was so wonderful. It was real. It wasn't just a I will use this language hopefully one day, but a legitimate experience of goodness.
On the plane
I went to stand up after 3 hours of sitting. Talked with some really kind and warm Chinese adults. I held my own in the convo for a good 20 minutes. Again, I was able to realize and enjoy the fruits of my two years of labor.
Later I talked with an American from Notre Dame that was one her way with a group to IBM for a summer long MIS/IT internship. She was nice but arrogant.
Hour 7 talked with a woman from Nebraska named Jo , she was on her way to pick up her newly adopted girl. She knew no Chinese so I was able to create a phonetic cheat sheet of Chinese words and phrases. It felt so good to be able to share my knowledge and bless her as I helped reduce the fear and stress of knowing no Chinese. It was definitely a highlight of the flight.
Hour 9 I talked with two college students. One was a marine and the other a Chinese student about to start school in Iowa. They asked why I took Chinese, I explained that God had put it on my heart. This spurred a great conversation on faith. The three of us were able to lay out what we experienced to be truth and God definitely used it as a means to plant seeds.
北京Beijing
Again I will say the airport is easily the most beautiful I've ever seen. I was picked up by Sherry Yoder; the wife of the couple I'm staying with this weekend before I head off to to Inner Mongolia. The two of us went back to their apartment which is on the 16th floor, and has a gorgeous view of Beijing. The skies and air are gray as can be. It makes me thankful I'm not spending my entire summer under gray skies and pollution. Later Friday night John Sherry and I went to a bible study with various international believers. John is an elder at China's largest protestant church. He's kind of a big deal.
Today (sat) I woke up and watched the sunrise over the skyline at 4 am. I'm not sure what the plan is for the rest of the day but I will keep you posted.
Kelsey
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
30 days
Its only 30 days until I leave and the anticipation is mounting. Finishing up school seems like a breeze in comparison to the challenges that I will be faced with next month.
Traveling for a week on a train from Beijing to Chengdu seems exciting enough and is something I know I need to do, therefore I'm going to go beyond the comfort zone I treasure so much and redefine this American girl's limits.
If you're looking for images of what Chengdu looks like there are beautiful pictures on flickr.com >search Chengdu
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)