Last week

Hello whoever might frequent my blog!
So this is my last week in China, and amazingly enought the guy I'm staying with for this last week has good enough internet to get my vpn working! So I thought I would get on this thing and write some... I have one week left in China, and then I come back to finish my last term in college. I'm beginning to think that the bigger thing is not that I'm leaving China, but that I only have one semester left in this slice of life called college. The greatest days of my life, where God has grown me in UNBELIEVABLE ways, are coming to a close... now what? I think the only thing I have going for me is that I like Chinese enough to keep studying it, and it's easy to be a teacher in China... The thing that really gets me, if it's not obvious, is the unknown. I can take hard things, as long as I know they're coming... But I can't even handle easy things I don't know about.
Anyway, China time is coming to a close for me... and I'm ok with that... I think this was a perfect time for me for the time... I plan to come back, but I definately don't mind getting to see home again, and getting back to the U of A.
Anyway, small update, no pictures, unfortunately. Can't wait to see you all in America!
Jeff

Birthday and Such

Hello everyone! This is probably one of my last posts before I come home! I have a week of school left, and then a week more in Chengdu. After that I go to visit my friend outside Shanghai for a week, and then from Shanghai fly home!! This month I've had some adventures that I'll show you via pictures. It's hard to believe it's been almost 6 months since I came here, and even harder to believe I'll be home in less than a month! Enjoy, and can't wait to see you guys!

This was the first real celebration I had with foreigners in Chengdu!  A friend of mine planned a surprise party for me, and we went out to this absolutely AMAZING international buffet!

This is what happens when you're a foreigner in China... They brought this place of sushi flowers out to, without an explaination as to why... They said they just wanted to give us a gift!

So on the way home, I saw an Eiffel Tower like statue on top of a really tall building. Being in China, we decided to go up to it. After 3 different elevators and 3 different staircases, we got to the top.

On the top

Sichuan Province is known for pandas, and thus we had to go visit them... This is one eating.

These are some babies sleeping

When you're a panda, all you really do is eat and sleep. This is what half the pandas in the park looked like.

These are called red pandas... They're like really really cute raccoons.

Some pandas walking, probably to find a place to sleep

This was a camping trip a had with some Chinese brothers and sisters (Sorry, can't really show their faces)

As is Chinese custom, we had a giant roasted buffet the first night of camping.

Right before we left, I decided I wanted to show my friends how to bend a tree to the ground by climbing it... I tried it, and ended up just tearing the tree out of the ground... A pretty dumb last thing to do...

Ｃｈｉｎａ

So my friends computer is where I found some good internet, and she also has lots of awesome pictures of China! So, here is another dose of China, or rather our city 成都（chengdu)!

The front gate of my University, pretty impressive at first sight

My university is pretty gorgeous

A pretty average street in China, during afternoon, when no one is out

A more common look at an average street

One of the many nooks of China

China has a forced retirement age (I think it's 50), meaning there are a lot of old people around town... just looking around, with nothing else to do...

The Chinese hold on to their children close... For them, they are the most important commodity they have, assuring them a future of earnings.

With the lack of work, there comes a lot of games. This is Chinese Chess, and although only two people can play, one game will easily attract 10 people. I think it's just as good to watch as to play in many Chinese people's thoughts.

The Chinese love Ramen noodles just as much as Americans. The most common are these noodles from Taiwan.

One of the many residential buildings of our university.

One of the best parts about Chinese meals is that almost every one is a buffet. Chinese like to order a bunch of dishes, then eat a little from each.

Contrary to popular belief, China has a lot of trees... most of which are surrounded by concrete. My University's campus is really old, and as a result, we have a ton of beautiful big trees, which I love!

He's a gangster

Sorry for the delay in pictures. I hope this fills you in a little about what I've been seeing... Only 7 weeks left for me over here... I'm excited to see you all soon!

峨眉山

ok, so after a long drought of two months, I finally did what I had to to find a real source of internet in this place called China. I wanted to show you some pictures of a trip of my friends and I as we traveled to 峨眉山 (e mei shan, e mei mountain), a 10,000 foot mountain that we climbed in 13 hours!

Us at the bottom of the mountain

A rediculously awesome caterpillar that we found along the trail

This mountain had monkeys... lots of them... our first experience with them was finding this big one, who ran up to my friend and stole his water bottle.

We saw a lot of these... And with the fog on the mountain, I was always thinking we were almost there...

Looking down from the top of the mountain... There's a reason this mountain is one of the most famous in China.

Also on the top

The top of the mountain has a giant statute of Buddha, as well as golden and silver temples

Giant Buddha

Other side of the mountain, with lots of prayer flags... Somehow Tibetan prayer flags are found all over, even in places not dedicated to Tibetan Buddhism

This guy was there to greet us right before we left the mountain... if you'll notice on the lower right corner, he's also explicitly disobeying the rules... what a rebel.

They had a lot of strange statues along the way on the mountain... here's a very happy family of monkeys.

A Fayetteville Update

Disclaimer: This entire post is done by a non-Jeff guest blogger, and is mainly an incentive for Jeff to get onto his blog and update from China! You're welcome world. Here are some pictures from around campus of all the beautiful trees. Also, in the middle there is a recent picture of us, in case you are forgetting what we look like! We miss you Jeff, and we hope you will update this blog soon!

A tree

A tree

A tree

Railroad tracks and a tree

A statue and some trees

A tree

Trees

US!

A tree

China-isms

Here are some things that I've learned while being in China... Maybe this is a little pessimistic, but I think it's a healthy way to fume

Police can drive on the sidewalk when needed.

MSG is to China as Salt is to America, Chinese add a little of it to every dish to make it taste better! (In the kitchen it looks like salt with long thin grains)

Chocolate is to America as Red Bean paste is to China

I never knew how much of an animal we Americans don't use, until I've seen a piece of pork meat here, with one third of it being meat, one third being fat, and the other third being the skin.

Cleanliness inside the home is a virtue... cleanliness on the outside of the home is not.

In China, you don't eat the skin of the grapes.

Police cars are not only for policemen...

Slapping yourself is good excersise, and is the regular morning practice of most old Chinese people.

Air conditioners are unhealthy. If they use them, they will often also open the windows.

It's not impolite to stare... starring contests can happen anytime, anywhere

In case of traffic confusion, stick to one rule: The biggest vehicle has the right-of-way

In China, the dressing room areas are co-ed...

I think they have more KFC's in China than in America.

Fruit is very easy to open in China... with all the growth hormones in them, sometimes they open themselves (some bananas I buy are partly peeled because the peels are too small for the bananas inside).

Sunshine Camp

Finally! I found some good internet!!! This is amazing, and I'm going to try to take full advantage of it! Here are a bunch of pictures for you guys to see of our time in Xi'an! This includes our wonderful time in Sunshine Camp! Enjoy

Part of the team behind the terracotta warriors

We found swords

We also found one of the greatest things I've found in China... a backalley skating rink, filled with pro-college age skaters.

This was one of the stunts these guys did, having 2 guys skate on top of each other

We, of course, wanted to attempt this too...

But failed

This is me trying to fit in with the Chinese guys

2011 CEO International Sunshine Camp

A couple of people in my group, oddly in a window

More friends on top of a statue in the campus we were at

Throughout the camp, groups had to complete different tasks for points... this is the human pyramid

We also had a photo scavenger hunt... This one was my idea, representing the evolution of love

A lily pad

We're pandas

Butterfly mask...

Working with some groundskeepers

And now... finally I am caught up... I have been in Chengdu for one month now, and I start school in 2 days!! So exciting... I have many stories to tell, and will try to get some up soon!

p.s- Totally comment if you would like! I think I enabled them, just realizing that I had them disabled