I leave tomorrow!

There are no pictures today. I have had the hardest time trying to find time to post pics and stories this summer. As you probably already know, tomorrow is the day. I travel to LA for training, and then sometime next week, I will leave for Nanning. I am not sure how often I will post on here while I am in China, but I will try to get some pics up at some point. If you are interested in what Father is doing in China while I am there, send me an email to katie2china@yahoo.com and I will get you on my update list. Zai jian!

hey China friends...I'm on my way! I will see you VERY VERY SOON! I AM SO EXCITED! Apple, Candy, and the rest of you guys, I can't wait to see you! Love you! ~miss texas

Another favorite!

I love this pic....I took it in Guilin. These are the infamous split-bottom pants that the babies wear!

Guilin

I just love this pic...and I love these girls too!

I was trying to think of a "story" to post with the Guilin pictures, but I just couldn't narrow it down to one. I will let the pictures speak for themselves of how beautiful it was. My words can't do it justice. So when I think of Guilin, no story comes to mind, but I do think of how beautiful our Father's creation is and how fun it was to see a whole new side of the students on this trip! Enjoy...

Having fun with the kids on the river boat in Guilin

GUILIN IS GORGEOUS!!!

Closing Ceremonies

Me with one of my sweet friends!

Another sweet friend that I miss dearly!

(Dont even worry...I will bring the peanut butter this summer :)!!)
Beautiful dancers!

Closing ceremonies dance with some of the teachers!

So much fun!

My class at closing ceremonies!

The day of Closing Ceremonies of Camp China is a day that I will not soon forget. It was our last full day in China/day of teaching/hanging out with our students who had become friends over the four weeks we taught them. Needless to say, it was a sad day because it was the beginning of the goodbyes. I HATE goodbyes.

Not only was Closing Ceremonies the beginning of the end of my time in China last summer, but it was also that the one day that EVERYTHING went wrong that possibly could. First of all, my camera was stolen. I was so thankful I had just changed memory cards that morning, and so the only pics I lost were ones of that morning. I was even more thankful that my team teacher, Aaron, was a big picture taker as well, and so I was able to get many of the pics that I lost. Then I was locked in my dorm room and nearly missed closing ceremonies. Someone finally came and let me out. Once I made it to Closing Ceremonies, the music to "As Long As You Love Me" wouldn't work for our performance. We nearly had to perform acapella...I was NOT excited about that one bit!

Despite all that went wrong during the day, it was one of the most memorable days of camp. The kids loved performing, and we had so much fun just hanging out with them one last time. Afterwards, some of the teachers and students went out and had 0ne of my favorite things to eat in China...Old Friend Noodles. I am counting down the days until I get to eat some more of those! We ended up the day by packing and getting ready to leave that next morning. I love China, and looking at these pictures makes me so excited to go back. I can't begin to even to tell you how wonderful the people are. You would have to go and visit yourself to be able to really see it. I have been waiting all year to go back and see my friends.

To my friends in China....only a couple more weeks. I think Camp China starts July 9th. I will be there soon, and I am counting down the days until I get to see you!! I love you guys!

Wo Ai Ni

I just have to post something this cute!

One more thing...

I am putting together my email update list for while I am in China. If you want updates, leave me a comment with your email or send me an email to katie2china@yahoo.com I am going to try and post on my blog while I am there, but sometimes Blogger isn't always working.

I just had to post this pic!

This sweet girl makes me smile!

Saying goodbye

Saying goodbye to the students and teachers at the school was incredibly hard. I don't think that these pictures even do it justice. We said our goodbyes to some of the kids at the school while the rest of them helped us with our luggage to the train station. I sat with one of my students on the way to the train station and we listened to Backstreet Boys on my iPod the whole way. Those students loved the Backstreet Boys. Then as we were getting off of the bus, she came up to me, looked me straight in the eyes, and started singing, "I don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did...as long as you love me!"

As the train pulled out of the station and I had to leave those kids behind, I was so upset because I wasn't sure when or even if I would be back to Nanning. It makes me so excited to know that I get to go back in less than a month and see their beautiful faces again! I love Nanning!

A little background info about Nanning!

WHERE IS NANNING?

Nanning is the capital of Guangxi –Zhuang Autonomous Region (AR) in southwest China. Nanning is surrounded by mountains with an average elevation of 300 feet. The population is 3 million and the main nationalities are Han, Zhuang, Miao, Yao, Dong, Mulao, and Maonan. The average temperature in the summer is 88 degrees. Local highlights include the dragon boat races.

THE SCHOOL

The school was founded in 1952 and is located on the beautiful campus of Guangxi University for Nationalities. The college campus is gorgeous, with a lake at the center, lots of trees and shrubs and winding paths and roads. The middle school is on the edge of the campus and shares the university’s facilities when required. They have standard Chinese classes, with windows on both sides, blackboards front and back, ceiling fans, and a TV set in each room. Most of the students have never had a foreign teacher or even met a foreigner before.

This is the amazing place where I get to spend the last half of my summer! I am so excited!