Making a Difference

It is amazing all of the opportunities that you can get by just looking different than everyone else in a town.

Today - my friends Rani, Jennie and myself were walking in downtown Zhengzhou to find ourselves being bombarded by another laowai or foreigner. It is always wonderful to see another laowai and we quickly got caught up in a conversation.

She asked us all of the normal questions, how long have you been in China, why Zhengzhou and all of that jazz. We in turn found out that she and her husband taught at a middle school downtown and also ran several orphanages in the Zhengzhou area. We exchanged emails and went on our way.

Later that afternoon - I received an email from her saying she loved running into us and hoped that we would see each other around. Rani, Jennie and I talked about it and decided that we wanted to help out and sure enough - after two or three emails, we have been invited to come and help with the children! I am so excited. Mostly we will be going to the orphanage and talking with the kids and taking them around to play. Most of the kids range from ages 3-6. She says that it is also important for them to get used to foreign faces, since it is foreigners who will most likely adopt them.

I know that I do not have as much free time this year, but I am extremely excited to volunteer and get to know these kids. I love to teach and leave an impact on these kids and I know that I will be able to help these kids who are looking for homes. I am excited to start but will most likely have to wait until after the holiday.

Here is the website

I will keep you posted on what is happening. I know I have joked with several of you about bringing home a Chinese baby so I will see if I can put in a good word or two for you guys to get you a little piece of Zhengzhou.

xoxo

Eric's Revenge

I took this photo at the sports meet yesterday for good ole cousin Eric who had to deal with Luke constantly taking photos of the top of his head.

I dedicate this photo to you cousin.

A Few More Wedding Shots

Here are some more wedding shots I have been playing around with.

So excited for my new nano!

I just ordered my new iPod nano today and I am so excited. I ended up getting an older version that was refurbished because it was $50 cheaper. I figured I would go with the cheaper chicken.

It is hot pink and I also bought the Nike + iPod thing so I will be able to chart my runs and be able to train more accurately for my half marathon this summer. So far, I think I have narrowed my race to a half marathon around Crater Lake. It is called The Rim Run and my friend Barbie wants to do it with me.

I would like to thank not only my dear husband for this amazing birthday gift - but my rocking aunt Sandy who is sending it to me. I appreciate it a lot.

xoxo

My dream shoes

Since turning 25 (as long ago as that was... just kidding) one of the goals that I have set for myself is to run a half marathon. As easy as that sounds, it is hard to train in China, especially when I have no running shoes. Seeing has how I have not been paid - I went to Nike.com to dream of what I could have, and here is what came of my dream.



I know that to most people - they think "ew - duck shoes" and I completely agree, but for some reason I am totally in love with the colors and have always wanted a pair of yellow running shoes. I am not sure why yellow, but it just makes sense. I know I can never have them, at least not until I get a real person job. But I wanted to share them with you.

Wedding Photo

I was just playing around online and decided to edit one of my favorite wedding photos. I liked how it turned out so I was wondering what you all thought.

A Nice Day for a Bike Ride

Two days ago - Lili and walked to class and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves greeted by clear blue skies. In China, especially Zhengzhou, it is seldom that there are blue skies - it is even more rare to encounter blue skies with little to no smog...but we were happy to find that there was plenty of blue without the familiar haze of pollution.

After teaching - we decided that it would be the perfect day to go on an adventure and grabbed Rani, Jennie and Luke and headed out on the bikes to Zhengzhou University to check out the sites. We took some photos and had an amazing time.

Half way through - Rani's bike pedal fell off, my knees got hit by a wall and I was constantly attacked by bugs, however, we had an amazing day. It made me think of Oregon for sure with the perfect weather and honestly made me want to be home. I miss hiking and being able to go on outdoor adventures without worrying about smog. Oh well - only eight more months until change.

Bringing in the Quarter of a Century

Another year – another birthday… this year was none other than my quarter of a century old birthday which, I have to be honest; I was not too pleased to be celebrating. However, with the help of all my friends here in China, it ended up being one of the best birthdays that I could remember. It did not start out that way though.

In the morning I woke up around my normal time (645 am (what I am an old lady!)) and went to the computer to read my daily gossip from my BFF Perez Hilton when the computer did not want to turn on. I tried to turn it off and on and was only greeted by an evil blue screen that spoke to me in Chinese. I sighed and called Ru Jing (our new Zelda) but sadly the computer guy would not return until Monday so I was left with no computer. Luckily – I have connections and friends around here so I was able to get on a little.

Luke left shortly after I woke up which shocked me, seeing as how Luke is the supreme sleeper. He said that he was going to grab some breakfast and then head to class early. I smiled and went back to reading my book, which was getting very good and didn’t think anything of it.

Lili and taught together and I was surprised several different times with different birthday gestures (the kids breaking in and singing happy birthday, having it screamed at me in the hall and so on). I outwardly hung my head low but was very happy that they kids seemed enthusiastic about my age… 25 – they were all jealous.

In the middle of my lessons I got a call from Luke saying that he had failed. He left early in the morning to attempt to get me an iPod Nano for my birthday. I was so happy because that is what I really wanted. He said that he found one but it was more expensive and not the new one that I wanted. He gave me a choice that we could order the new one and someone send it over to us with a care package or get the older more expensive one. We talked about it and decided to wait but I was giddy anyway that I have such a wonderful and thoughtful husband.

After the day was done a group of Chinese and foreign teachers met at our apartment and then we went to dinner at the lamb place. It was great and so wonderful to see all of my friends. Many of the teachers are busy so to get everyone together is a rare occurrence. Sadly, little Henry Li, Jenny and Lao Lao could not make it out to dinner because of some ‘doctor’s orders’. He still owes me a birthday song whenever he learns to sing.

After dinner, a group of us went out dancing to close the evening. It was more than anything I could have asked for. I kept complaining about feeling old but I am choosing to embrace my mid-twenties and planning on making the best of them. My goals for twenty five include:
Sky-diving
Running a half marathon
Getting into grad school
Naming all of the countries in the world on Sporcle.com


Thank you for all of the birthday wishes and I miss and love you all!

Family Shot

It has been some time since the Martins have taken a family shot so I thought I would share it with you all. The dogs are not as excited about photos as they used to be but oh well. Wan Tzu will still do anything for a treat and Tofu has learned to just not react when Baba picks her up. Hope you all enjoy it!

Luke's 1,000 Paper Cranes

About one week ago, I came home to Luke sitting on the bed, folding paper cranes. This wasn't too abnormal to me - as Luke tends to fold them when he gets bored, which is a lot of the time. But what was strange about this was the box that was quickly filling to the top of at least 60 paper crances.

When I asked him what he was doing, he informed me that it was his goal to fold 1,000 of them in order to get a wish. He proceeded to tell me all about the different stories of folding cranes and how if you fold 1,000 it is supposed to give you one wish. I smiled and went about my business thinking that after about 100 he would throw in the towel.

But the next day I came home to the same thing and another full box of cranes. It was then that I knew he was not joking around and intended to finish this project.

Yesterday, he hung one of many strings of cranes. This photo shows 200 cranes hanging from a kite that I purchased for his birthday last year. At least I know he is using it. I will keep you posted on his progress. Now if only I could get him to finish that graduate school application...

Your Daily Dose of Henry Li

Last night was Henry Li's first bath at home and I decided to take the time to take some photos. He wasn't too happy about the bath but dealt with it.

After the bath Jenny and Erick were feeding him and I thought that it would be a perfect time to take a photo. I am amazed at how at ease Jenny is with the little thing even though he is only 9 days old. She seems like an old pro with him and knows exactly how to get him to stop crying.

I have officially been named the baby photographer for the Pickton's and have my first appointment with them to do a baby fashion shoot this weekend. Happy birthday to me! I don't mind - I need my daily dose of Henry Li time.

I downloaded Photoshop and am trying to play around with it. If anyone has some good tips, let me know. I am going about this blind but liked how this one turned out. Hope you enjoy.

Henry Li Pickton

It seems that we are starting out the year here right with plenty of changes. Our good friends Erick and Jenny Pickton had an addition to their family last week. Henry Li Pickton was born on September 8th around 3 am. He was born via c-section and is very healthy.

He quickly became famous at the local hospital, as he was the first mixed baby to be born there. All of the nurses and doctors would come and visit him saying he looked "very American". He has dark hair and dark eyes but I guess they say his face is more American than Chinese.

He and Jenny stayed at the hospital for about 5 days and they were finally able to come home on Monday. Both are doing really well and he is super cute. Here are some photos for you guys to see.