Tianjin

Tomorrow I head out on my "foreign" adventure for the summer. I put that in quotes because I've been in China for a few weeks now, but I feel like tomorrow I'm really heading out into China. Living in an expat community with my family makes it super easy to get around and to communicate. Starting tomorrow I'm on my own, in an unfamiliar city, and I'll have to try and make this all work. I think it'll be harder than Paris was last year, because Paris really was so easy. So much of what I experienced in Paris reminded me of living in Europe as a kid, right down to the black currant gelato which reminded me of drinking Rubana at my old piano teachers... but I digress. Paris, really was an easy experience. French and Spanish are close enough that I could fudge my way through reading some things, and the rest of the time we were in touristy enough areas that I didn't worry too much. Also, classes were easy because, with the exception of my harmony class with Mr. Bonet, all classes were in English. The dorms were also easy because it was the Spanish house, so I could fudge my way through that with out too much trouble. Tianjin, well, I think that things may be a little different.

I'm excited to get to see China through different eyes. Living in the dorms, potentially with other students (I'm not really clear on that yet) will be really a new experience. There will probably be some culture shock on my part as I've not lived in a situation like this before. I'm also thrilled because so much of this will be covered by my grant from BYU. For anyone who ever might even think they might possibly have something they'd want to do that an ORCA grant could help fund you really ought to apply. The application is really easy and the proposal you need to write is pretty short and straight forward. I've also been lucky because I really hit the jackpot as far as a faculty mentor goes. Dr. Saville is going to be in Tianjin at the same time as me, and while I don't expect to necessarily see him every day or anything, it'll be nice knowing someone there. I'm also really thrilled to be able to study with Dr. Wang. I heard him perform Fall semester and absolutely loved listening to him, and now to get to spend a few weeks studying with him and learning about Chinese flutes will be so cool. He already has two picked out for me, so I expect I'll be able to get up there and get to work. I don't have a lot of time, and this is really a rare opportunity so I want to get everything I can out of it.

While up in Tianjin hopefully I'll be able to do some exploring as well. I'll miss having a group to travel with like last summer when we went around Paris and explored Versailles and Chartres. However, it'll be really fun to explore around Tianjin and also to go into Beijing. Apparently there is a new train from Tianjin to Beijing that was just opened that cuts the trip down to an hour. That's pretty impressive, and I plan to take advantage of that one. Tianjin itself was heavily colonized by the Europeans, and I've been told it's pretty cool to bike around and visit the different sectors. The architecture in each sector relates to the nation that colonized it, so there should be lots of cool things to see.

The bad news for all of you is that I can't access blogger up in Tianjin, so you'll just have to wait with bated breath until I get home. I plan on writing the posts, because I've found my posts from Paris to be a really entertaining journal, but they just will all get posted much later. I may end up down in Hong Kong for a few days at some point, so if you are all very very lucky there may be a few posts then, but don't count on it. Bigger chances are that you'll get to read far too many posts after I'm back.

I think that makes for most of what I know about what I'll be doing up in Tianjin. I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm excited to get started and I'm sure my time up there will fly.

Here at home things have been busy and fun. I've made two trips to the orphanage; bought a skirt, some watches and some jewelry; played countless games of dominion with the boys; watched more tv than I should; practiced a little less than I should (however, I've spent every minute of that practice on Chant de Linos, and in my mind one good hour of Chant de Linos is like two hours of regular practice, just sayin'); went swimming with Morgan; helped officiate (or something) at the coldest track meet in the history of Suzhou; watched a Living Legends concert and ran into none other than Kory at it (we were both rather surprised to see each other in China); aaaaaaaand enjoyed spending time with my whole family together before Trent goes into the MTC. What a list, and that only catches part of what we've done. The time has flown, I thought I would have all sorts of time here, but boy, it really wasn't very long at all. It's kind of weird to have Trent going into the MTC. As the oldest child I've done a lot of the firsts in the family, and so it seems odd that he's going first for everything with missions. Well, first for now since I'll probably beat him home.

So, there you have it. The events of the last week or so, and something to make you want to come back and see how things go for me up in Tianjin. See you all in June!


Here's an image of the Tianjin news tower, I thought it was pretty, and since I don't yet have pictures of my own, I figured I'd have to settle for swiping them.

Wuge heizi?!

Traveling as a westerner in China makes you somewhat of a spectacle. In a sea of Asians you stick out like a pointy nose (or is that because of your pointy nose... probably both). You stick out even more when you have at least 8 inches on the average population, and more on a whole lot of them. If you really, really want to stick out, perhaps you should travel in a group of seven, and it'd be really cool if you could find a family of seven where one is a blond and five are all six feet or taller. Then you've become the tourist attraction.


(This is swiped from our trip to Beijing but you get the idea.)

Believe me now? Pictures like this are often accompanied by exclamations of "wuge heizi" (pronounced(ish) oo-ga hi-tzsa) which translates as "five children" or other phrases commenting on just how many kids are in our family.

We end up taking photos fairly often with the locals, and you know, it's always fun to feel like a celebrity, right? I came out relatively unscathed, although a speedy Korean kissed me on the cheek... not quite what I wanted, but considering the four marriage proposals I got last year from really awful smelling locals, I figure things are getting better, slowly but surely they're improving. *gag*

For May holidays (think spring break for some non American schooling system... I think the Brits) we went down to Yellow Mountain. It was spectacular.




To look at.


You see that lighter line beneath the tree branch, it looks almost like it could be a stream or something. Actually, it's more stairs. And we climbed all the way down to them and all the way back up. Because we're awesome like that.

Climbing itself, well, I'd describe that more as exhaustive and a little terrifying at times.


Exhaustive for everyone but Trent, who had the heaviest pack and yet managed to be the least sore. Rude.

These stairs were literally just attached to the side of the cliff. I stayed as close as I possibly could to the cliff side, not that it would really help if the pathway decided to plummet, but it made me feel better, so I went with it.

And what goes up...


Must come right back down.


I think this guy had it all figured out... 150 RMB and someone else does the hiking for you. However, in some of the hardest stretches we didn't see any of those chair guys, so I'm guessing they really knew what was going on.


Some of the best views though did come when we had climbed all over those mountains. It was really really incredible. It was like hiking through Chinese paintings.



Basically it was pretty awesome, although I was so very sore for the next few days after. I think those stairs have subtracted ten years from my knees. But really, it was incredible. If you go to China, and are feeling masochistic, or you're like Trent and are a cross between a sherpa and a mountain goat, then this really is a must see. If you're not, you should still go, but perhaps you should train, because it's exhausting.

I'd upload more pictures, but at the rate this is going I'd be here until next week, so enjoy the ones I put up, and maybe I'll post more later.

I was gonna post...

I actually have a marvelous post waiting for you about are escapades as Yellow Mountain, however, pictures aren't working, and trust me, you want to see these pictures. So, here is a short blog post to tide ya'll over.

1. Mission call still M.I.A. We're hoping it will show up really soon, but as yet I've heard nothing.

2. National Flute Convention letters still M.I.A. I'm sensing a pattern here. I'm also hoping these will show up soon. If both letters don't come soon I just might start going a little crazy... just a little...

3. Morgan and I made a fiendishly delicious carrot cake with my sister yesterday. Because it has carrot and raisin it's healthy, so I've eaten it as fast as I can. Plus, junk food, when eaten at your parents house as a college student, should not count.

4. Mom and I are going to the orphanage tomorrow. Should be fun. Those kids need all the attention they can get.

5. I've become a Chant De Linos fiend in the last week. Only I'm waiting for it to decide it likes me... because currently it's just a lot of groveling on my part.

6. The trickiest thing about being home is college has really turned me into a decided night person. I'm a night person living with six morning people. I did okay for the first few days here when my internal clock was still lost back over the pacific, but in the last two days it's really come back and found me. As far as I'm concerned anything before 7am in an abomination. I think I may need to fix this problem pre-mission... we'll see how it goes.

7. BYU's Living Legends is performing here in Suzhou on Monday, we got tickets. I'm pretty stoked. It should be a fun concert. Now I'm just left to wonder what language they'll do all the narration in...

8. I'm gonna call it a night... it's "late" but really it's that family prayer is gonna come way way early tomorrow. So I need my beauty sleep... or something...



This will be me circa 6am tomorrow...

Yikes!

Wow, the last month has flown. I just realized it's been almost a month since I last posted. Sorry. Sooo much has happened in the last month. It's been the best/hardest/fastest/longest month ever. Not that I'm feeling contradictory. Really it has been a crazy month. I'm gonna use that as my explanation for why I've disappeared for so long.

So what's made it such a crazy month? I wish I could list everything for you. But I'd keep you long beyond your endurance and interest. My life isn't that interesting. In the last month I've played tons and tons of concerts, taken a bazillion tests and written soooooo many pages for my classes, spent a whole lot of time with someone tall and wonderful, finished mission papers, quit my job, decided to leave for china early, and took up underwater basket weaving in my spare time. Okay, so that last one was an exaggeration, but the rest, pretty much the whole truth and nothin' but.

This semester has really been an interesting ending because I'm leaving for two years and so many of the people I care about will be gone when I get back. I feel like I've tried to cram in so many things with so many people that I just don't know when I'll see them again. Is that part of growing up? Saying goodbye more, I mean. If so, I'm not sure I like it. Today was the hardest goodbye of all. Yuck. And there are so many people I never got to say goodbye to, I feel bad not having been able to catch all the people I wanted to get.

It's just so weird. I feel like I just got to Provo, and then I poke myself and remember that I've been here for three years. It feels like just yesterday that I was moving into the dorms, then moving south into my current abode... so many things have happened and I'm not sure how it happened. I don't really feel like I'm old enough to have mission papers in and a mission call coming, yet so many girls I know from freshman year and from around campus are one missions, I just never realized I would get there.

Gosh I'm sentimental today. It's raining and I'm running on only a few hours of sleep, so I'll blame that, or something.

It was interesting though, because today was really really hard, and I decided last minute that I'd run up to the temple, I needed a little extra strength and I was reminded just again of how awesome it is. If my call comes in time I'll get to go through with my little brother. I really, really hope it works out. I can't wait to be able to go through.

I've had a lot of time recently to think, a lot, and I've really realized how our lives our shaped and we are led. So many things that have happened this school year had to happen in a certain order and at certain times. Until last night I didn't realize just how many things had to happen at very specific times, but it was amazing to realize. It makes me excited to see what is in store for the future. If things thus far have worked out so well, and so much better than I could have ever planned on my own, it only makes me excited and curious to see where I'll go.

Speaking of going, tomorrow morning I fly to China with the favorite little brother, so I gotta try and finish packing and getting my stuff moved back up stairs into my apartment from last summer. I'm pretty excited to be living with Tia again, that girl is awesome. So, until June I'll be in China, and then I'll be here in Provo, and then who knows where in the world I'll be. For those of you who wish to place guesses feel free to do so, cause I'm not sure how much blogging there will be before I get my call.

Almost There...

You know it's the end of the semester and you're exhausted when:

~You have to bribe yourself to get out of bed by promising yourself a nap at lunch time.
~You plan your days around cramming in the most practicing and paper writing possible.
~You make fun of those who had spring break because they still have over a month of school left.
~Making fun of people with spring break no longer helps, you just want to be done.
~You are counting down the number of days left in any given class.
~Your professors start sending out "you can do it" or "just hold on" or "I believe in you" e-mails to try and motivate your class.
~Your professor spends an entire lecture making fun of the way Americans speak because he doesn't want to be in class either. He supplements this form of amusement with dancing to the music being studied and telling random stories.
~You start wishing your classes were pass-fail.
~You begin contemplating the viability of getting all your food and nutrients through an IV to save time.
~The highlight of a week was dropping all of your spring term classes, and now your contemplating getting the same level of joy from dropping your summer classes.
~Even after 8 hours of sleep in a night you need two or three naps to function.

The makings of a good week...

Yes, I know, it's not even Friday yet, but this week has been pretty good.

1. No all-nighters, as opposed to last week where I pulled two and wanted to die.

2. I'm running regularly now since the weather has decided to play nice. I feel sooooo much better when I run, but I'm too much of a baby to run in the cold. So if it is cold you can count me out.

3. The favorite little brother opened his mission call. The lucky stinker is going to Manchester England... speaking Mandarin?! I'm really, really, really jealous of the location, the language not so much. It was a little weird to watch him open his call, because I realized that I will be the one opening a mission call in just a few short months. Wow.

4. I went to Evening of Concertos with Tia thanks to getting two free tickets from Danielle. The concertos were awesome, and I loved listening to all of them, however my favorite by far was the Barber Piano Concerto. Love, love, love, love, love. And Jackie never disappoints, she's a fantastic performer.

5. We had scale day in masterclass. The completion of scale day would make any flute major happy. Ode to Taffanel Gaubert #4, how do I love thee...

6. I finally figured out my summer. I received an ORCA grant from BYU this year to go study Chinese flutes up at the Tianjin Conservatory (semi near Beijing). I'd been struggling with when to go, but after talking to my faculty mentor I decided to go at the same time that he does. So I'll be spending two and a half weeks in May running around Tianjin and playing bamboo flutes. If you weren't jealous before, feel free to be jealous now. I am so incredibly excited. Aaaand as the double dose of icing on the cake, I got to drop my spring term classes (excited, moi?) and I'll get to spend some time with my family and my brother before he goes into the MTC. Yep, I'm excited. Can we just fast forward to May now? Pretty please?


I'm gonna get to play flutes like this!!! *cue manic grinning*

Why I love the HFAC

Today I overheard this conversation:

Music Nerd 1: What is that obnoxious buzzing noise? (referring to the gosh awful noise emanating from something near the ticket office)
Music Nerd 2: I believe it is an "E".


Oh how I love this place...

How you are *supposed* to write papers...

Yes, it is five am. Yes, I'm about to go to bed. Yes, I have to be on campus at 7:30. Yes, I have been up all night. No, it wasn't fun.

I had a brilliant idea for a paper for my English class. To save time, sort of, I decided to write our paper that is due today on a topic I thought I already knew. I'd done a project on it in high school, and read a little here and there on it since then, so I figured I was more than qualified. I'd write the paper, and then find a hand full of sources, prove myself right, and voila, the easiest paper of my life.

Next time I'm finding all primary peer reviewed sources and writing on the mating calls of the extinct dodo bird because that will be waaaaaaaaay faster. Yeesh. Trying to prove yourself right is just too much work... Hence why it is 5am.

long time... no post...

With the completion of my recital I decided to drop off the face of the earth. It was highly enjoyable, there was much chocolate and Disney princess movie watching. Sadly, all good things must eventually come to an end and with the arrival of midterms I'm back to school. Honestly, I'm not sure the break did quite what it was supposed to as now that I'm back about every few days I've begun contemplating dropping out of school to watch Disney full time... just kidding... but it's a little tempting.

The recital went well for those of you who were curious. Tons of family came into town which was really cool and fun to see everyone. I felt a little bad because I was incredibly stressed before and then really exhausted after so I'm not sure quite how much fun I was. Alas.

Other points of interest... I cut off my hair. Now it's up by my shoulders with the shortest layers being up by my nose. Words cannot describe how excited I am. I used to looooooooooooooove having long hair, but then I came to college, discovered I don't like getting ready in the mornings (as if I got ready in high school...), and then promptly discovered that when my hair is really short I can get ready just as fast as any boy (well, almost as fast as any boy). True story. Long hair prep time = wash hair+towel dry hair+comb hair+debate about leaving it down or up+fixing hair = up to 10 minutes on week days, and up to 30 minutes for church. Short hair prep time = wash hair+towel dry hair+run fingers through hair while dashing out the door = 3 minutes regardless of the day.

The hair cut was a stress management technique. Flute related stress doesn't bother me, I'm pretty used to it and cope pretty well. School related stress, not so much my thing. School related stress results in me doing stupid/random/not-quite-fully-thought-through-things. Things like burning a book with Tia sometime between midnight and one in the morning. Would you believe the smoke from a burning book hurts way more than camp fire smoke? Maybe it was just because it was the middle of the night, but I think it does hurt more...

And before I head out, I'm going to Reno this weekend!!! Woo hoo! Well, it's not as cool as it sounds, Wind Symphony is going on tour. We're playing for CBDNA (College Band Directors National Association)and we're one of the final groups playing, so either they think we're really good or they're hoping everyone will be headed home before we play. Take your pick. Speaking of Wind Symphony, usually I have very few good things to say about anything band related, but our final concert will be amazing. You should come. We're playing Maslanka's 7th symphony for wind band, and it's so cool. And we're being broadcasted live (was that a word?). So not being able to get to Provo is no excuse. Be there, or forever regret missing this one.

Well... I'm all blogged out... see you, like, in another month...

Wasn't I cute!

So, last night long after I should have been in bed, I instead was making recital posters. My aunt sent me some incredibly cute pictures from when I was little, and that in combination with an old senior photo with my flute were what I decided my monetary and time budget could allow. I'm actually pretty proud of myself, I did most of it while shamelessly picking Megan's brains for her artistic opinion (so really I was mostly a lemming while she supervised my designing of the posters... but I helped!).

Other points of interest from the week:

1. I got into a disagreement, which I lost, with my teacher about the location of medieval Burgundy. However, in class I was sure I was right, because I had actually been reading my history book and looking at medieval maps that morning and I remembered seeing Burgundy. But what are you supposed to do? Look like a prat and say "actually, this morning as I was perusing maps of medieval Europe I distinctly remember Burgundy being farther south, but in your defense it did migrate farther north over time." Yeah. That'd work great.

2. I saw Avatar. I can understand the rave reviews it got, but I don't think I shall see it again. For me it seemed to be a show of what cgi and computers could accomplish, and other parts (like the lack luster sound track) fell short in my mind. However, the animation was INCREDIBLE, and I really want to know where they came up with the ideas for all of the plants and animals in the movie, because they were really really cool.

3. Week two of making my own bread went well. It's my goal for the semester to not have to buy bread, because American bread is nasty, and half the time when I do buy it I don't eat it all and then it goes bad and suddenly I'm stuck buying nasty bread agin. So, now I'm making my own bread, and actually, it's pretty fun. Last week I was boring and just made wheat bread, but the week before I took half of the bread and made cinnamon raisin bread to eat for breakfast. It was marvelous. I think this week I'll split the dough in half and make some wheat bread and some cinnamon raisin bread, because it was really really good.

Okay, and now here are the posters, because I know they're really all you want to see:



And for a little sophistication:



Well, are you coming?