2 Weeks Into Year 2...

So it has been two weeks since I have landed in China. Things, for me, are going a little slow. I don't start teaching for another week or so. So a typical day for me looks something like this. Wake up sometimes from 10-11, eat lunch at 12, chill (maybe play tennis, download music,read a little, read sports news hang out with people), eat dinner at 6, then hang out more until bed time. On the weekend if the weather permits we play volleyball. We have been playing some really good volleyball over the past few weeks. I have been working on my hitting and its starting to improve.

The first week I didn't really do much. But my second was a little more busy. I was asked to get a 12 man roster for a Faculty Basketball tournament. This is a tournament when we the foreign staff play against the Chinese faculty. Last year the foreign faculty won both the Men and Women tournaments. I have also gotten a couple of massages. One massage was pretty rough...but sometimes I like it when they beat me up a little bit...and the other was a foot massage. I personally love the foot massage because they have this little cut and they spray some stuff in it and light it on fire and stick it to your feet. When it got to your feet it stick and the fire then goes out...and they just roll it around on your feet. Oh it feels so awesome. I was scared the first time because fire was involved. But it'll change your life..

Yesterday I woke up to a text that said to get three foreign teachers to play basketball that night. So I thought it was three on three so I asked the new teachers to play (who will also be in our tournament so they can get a feel of how the Chinese play). So I told the the new guys I would go with them but I wasnt going to play. So we get there and they told us it was five on five Sias Faculty (both foreign and Chinese) against some team. They asked me to play as well...I didnt have my ankle brace or good shoes on but I played anyways...I had 2 points (free throws) and our team won 84-83...its was pretty cool...

But today is Kinahs (a girl here) 15th birthday...so HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kinah...

Blessings

I Made It Back...

Sooo....As you probably already know I, Kerry Bryan, have made it back to Sias International University. I took about 48 hours total to get here and walk into the door of Peter Hall. But I just wanted to share a few things about my trip.

First:
As we (Me, Mom, Aunt Priscilla and Grandma) walked into the airport in Houston I see soccer players and didn't think anything of it. Then my aunt said she thought that was the Spanish National team but I didn't recognize any of the players...then I read their suits and it was the El Salvador National Team. So my first thought was HAHA...cause the day before Team USA had defeated El Salvador...but it was cool to see a National Soccer Team.

Second:
Dubai...I really want to visit Dubai...it looks amazing and the things I have read make me want to visit it even more. But...I had a nine hour layover in Dubai...so since it was so long I was allowed to go into a VIP lounge. I was supposed to only get four hours but the lady gave me five but...she let me stay as long as I wanted...it was awesome because there was free internet and all you could eat and drink....the food wasn't great but it was pretty good...

Third:
From Dubai to Beijing I flew over possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen...The Himalayas. I had a window seat and I was curious where we were so I opened my shade. I could't believe it....About ten seconds later the captain of the plane came on the P.A. and told us where we were and how lucky our flight was because the weather was clear that day and it is really rare to have beautiful weather there. I was speechless...it took a while to fly over the entire mountain range but I kept the window shade up then entire time because I may never get a chance to see that again. I was a little sad cause I didn't have my camera on me to snap a few pictures so just look at pictures online...google it or something just to capture the beauty of The Himalayas.

But just wanted to let you know that I am back and thanks for all the pr@ ying...it's greatly appreciated and please continue to do that for me.

So I Made A List Of Firsts...

I know its been since April since I have posted on here for you guys...BUT...China blocked my blog site. I know I have been home and I have seen a lot of you during my brief time in America, but many of you I will not get to see. I did decide to go back to China for another year. Sooo...I only have three more weeks until I catch a flight from Houston to Dubai to Beijing to Zhengzhou. It's a brutal flight but I saved money doing it that way. That flight to Dubai is extremely long....but the airline I am using (Emirates) makes it much better with the media and technology stuff they have. But back to my post...I was traveling in Thailand and I begun to make a list of all the firsts I did since flying last September until my first year of teaching in China ended. Some you might find really funny, some you might find disturbing...but I am gonna be blunt with some of the things just because I think it is funny....and it could possibly be a conversation starter between us sometime in the future**wink wink**



Travel Related:
1. Get or even touch a passport
2. Ask for support
3. Book a flight
4. Be in another country ( I have been to the Mexico/Texas border but didn't cross)
5. Exchange Money
6. Speak Chinese (When people jokingly speaking the Chinese Language...they are way off)
7. Speak to a Chinese person (I never did in America or at ETBU)
8. See something we learned in a World History Class (Terra Cotta Warriors)
9. Eat with Chinese people (Students are shocked when I could use chop sticks)
10. Spend a holiday away from home (Thanksgiving, Christmas New Year...)
11. Go to a foreign theatre (The ones I went to in Hong Kong and Malaysia have assigned seating)
12. Go to an internet cafe
13. Stay in a hostel
14. Eat out Christmas Day (McDonalds for Brunch and a Place called Pothouse for dinner)
15. Travel on Christmas
16. See a lady boy (Everywhere in Thailand)
17. Snorkel
18. Bring New Years in on a bus (we were on an overnight bus to get to a boat to get to an island in thailand)
19. Pay to urinate
20. Make an internation call (I called mom cause I needed help getting a flight from Malaysia to China)
21. See the desert
22. See nearly 20 hours of straight sunlight (My flight from Dubai to Houston)


Transportation:
1. Fly
2. Ride in a taxi
3. Ride on the opposite side of a car (Cars of opposite in Hong Kong)
4. Get motion sickness (Riding in a speed boat with 3-4 meter waves...not good)
5. Ride on a raft...a bamboo raft
6. Ride an elephant (but i think i may have done this when i was really little...not real sure)
7. Ride on a train (the train at the zoo is not a means of transportation)
8. Ride a subway
9. Kayak in an ocean
10. Ride a monorail
11. Rent a bicycle


Food/Drink:
1. Eat authentic Chinese food (it's so much better in China)
2. Eat Eggplant
3. Eat Jello (believe it or not)
4. Drink Milk Tea
5. Eat Tofu
6. Drink Hot Tea (Did not like it at first but it grew on me)
7. Drink hot water with meals
8. Eat spam sushi (thanks to my friend Joe)
9. Eat sushi and actually like it
10. Eat Thai Food...and it was delicious
11. Eat cow tongue
12. Eat rabbit
13. Eat pineapple...true story
14. Eat a banana pancake
15. Eat food from a street vendor (we just call it street food)
16. Eat an Kabob...and I have had them this summer twice
17. Eat squid
18. Eat malaysian food...not my favorite
19. Eat caviar
20. Eat brocoli (another weird true one)
21. Drink milk straight from a cow
22. Eat pizza with pineapples on it
23. Eat Mangos
24. Eat bamboo
25. Eat lotus


Work Related:
1. Teach English (English was always one my if not THE worst subject for me)
2. Give an exam ( I student taught PE so I didn't have to do exams)
3. Do a performance/dance (Scottish and Filipino)
4. Wear something a little bit uncomfortable (OK I wore a kilt)
5. Be on a winning team in a football tournament
6. Be on a winning team in a basketball tournament
7. Give the whole Christmas story (I did it nine times to each of my classes)


Miscellaneous:
1. Get an ultrasound (sad..but true....and No I was not pregnant)
2. Watch television or a sporting event online
3. Give my testimony/life story
4. Get tested for STD's
5. Play international rules basketball
6. Play (or attempt to play) a Chinese instrument
7. Bargain
8. Play telephone pictionary
9. Use a squatty potty ( I have an embarrassing story about this)
10. Get a massage (I can't wait until I get back to get more of them....soooooo cheap)
11. Voice Chat/Video Chat....I love skype...if you have skype I would love to exchange my name with you)
12. Buy and use a scarf
13. Decorate a christmas tree by myself
14. Play a Chinese song on the bass guitar
15. See restaurants named after illegal drugs (Names were LSD and Pothouse...Pothouse was really good..i had pothouse on Christmas Day in Shenzhen).....oh...they were side by side too
16. Read a book in less than 24 hours (For One More Day by Mitch Albom)
17. Read a book with more than 300 pages (Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy)
18. Rock Climb (probably the dumbest I could have ever done)
19. See wild crab
20. Get solicited for sex.....yeah....that was not awkward at all
21. See a topless tanner...that was not a boy
22. Pet a monkey
23. See coral (snorkeling is freakin awesome)
24. Get a manicure
25. Watch the presidential inauguration (I was in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia)
26. See a Camel
27. Run a 5K
28. Have my *COUGHpenisCOUGH* get rubbed....i was getting a massage with a friend and it came out of nowhere...i hopped up like she was hurting my leg cause it was really really awkward
29. Win an NCAA bracket challenge (I won 3 of them....GO TAR HEELS)
30. Pick the National Champion in an NCAA Bracket Challenge
31. Climb a water fountain....
32. Wear a Jacket in may


This is a list that I began keeping in January so I think I may have forgotten a lot of things from the first few months...

Meet Kyle...this kid is one of my favorite people in Peter Hall (the name of my building). His mother is a Chinese lady and I have played ping pong with her numerous times. It took me like 25 games to finally beat her and when I did it felt really good...not gonna lie. But Kyle has a name for me every time he see me "gege" (pronounced Gugu). That is Chinese for older brother. Kyles mother has taught him to call me and a few other guys big brother when he see us. It is one of the coolest things ever. Even he calls my friend Becky big brother somtimes...and thats just really funny.



This is a picture that was taken while I was in Thailand with my friend Steve Collins. We were snorkeling here on the island of Koh Tao and Steve has a camera that can go underwater so we were checking it out. I like this picture a lot






So as I said in my last post (over a month ago) I had signed up for a 5K. So here is a picture of me running this thing. The guy with me there is Alan. He is a student here who is a pretty cool kid. He ran the whole thing with me. I completed this thing without stopping and without walking...ok I had to walk two steps once at the halfway mark cause so many people in front of me decided to freeze for a few seconds. But I ran the whole thing in a little over 39 minutes. I was really proud of myself. 3.2 miles is a long way...or so I think.
So since my last post I have had a birthday. In this pic is Me, Amanda and Joel Porter, Lindsay Bryant and Joe Aranas. Becky, who cooked the food (Italian...oh soo good)took the picture for us. So we had a small get together for my birthday with a few of my friends.




I have been trying to get more involved with my students. So here my students wanted to go see a student of mine in the hospital then go skating. It was a lot of fun hanging out with these students. They all have a great personality and are a joy to be around. Oh and yes it was mid-late march here and I am wearing a jacket...in case you were wondering..i hate cold weather.



I have been playing lots of badminton over the past few weeks. So here students wanted to go paddle boating then go play badminton. It was a lot of fun. We went boating first then went to the park to just chill for a while. There is an arcade basketball game and for some reason I always draw a crowd when I play. The joys of being a foreigner.



This is part of the group that went boating. My shy class so hopefully this day will loosen up their shyness.









Soooooooo...in about 40 minutes I am gonna be heading to Shanghai....so hopefully I will post about the trip within the next week and not the next month. Take care guys...

5K and Butt Grabbing

It's official...I have signed up for a 5K...am I stupid or what? I might be stupid but it is another things I can add to my list of firsts. (Yes, I am keeping a list of firsts that I have done since I have come to China.) But I mainly see this as another opportunity to connect with students and teachers here at SIAS. So how am I preparing for this? Well, some of us have bought a membership to the SIAS gym so I have been doing mostly endurance workouts and lots of lower body workouts. I have also been running from time to time to try and make the 5K a little easier. I will still be tough because I have never ran that far before nonstop. But I think I will be alright when it's all said and done.

So on friday afternoon one of my classes wanted to go Roller Skating. So I gladly said yes because this class is a lot of fun for me cause they like to joke around (a huge plus cause some students don't understand joking around). So I met one of the students, Jennifer, and we walked to the skating rink to meet the other class mates. What a great time it was. I had not skated since high school so when I first started a couple of my guy students tried to reteach me but all the did was pull me around but I quickly got the hang out of it. One bad part happened though, one of my girl students fell while skating and she hurt her leg and had to go to the hospital and was not in class this week. So lets hope she gets better very soon. But there was this boy and girl (not sure if they were dating or not) but they are students of mine from another class who just happened to be skating that day. So the girl was alone watching everyone skate so I rolled over to talk to her. So I tapped her on the opposite shoulder and she looked but realized noone was there and that I had done it. So she was holding onto the bar on the side of the skating rink then she leaned over touched my butt the squeezed it. WHAT THE CRAP??? She giggled about it...I said to her that I would see her later then slowed skated away. What was I supposed to do? It was really awkward oh well...its all good I guess...or is it?

But this past weekend I went to the birthplace of Kung Fu. This place is about two hours away from here in a town called DongFeng. The place in this city is called Shaolin Temple. It was a really unique trip cause we got to see some beautiful scenery and seem some really cool kung fu stuff. I saw a guy throw a needle through a piece of glass to pop a balloon and saw a guy to push ups AND a hand stand on TWO FINGERS...now that strength.

But it was a cool trip and the best part about it....it was F-R-E-E

But everything is going really well here with me but keeping pr@ying for me guys...

I love you guys and I miss you and I will see you sometime in June

Happy Birthday Mommy

So today is the anniversary of my mothers birth. She is now 43 years old and has a twin sister..here is a picture of her...

Mom,

Just wanted to say that I love you and I miss you very much. I hope 43 is a great year for you so go out and treat yourself to some awesome fun because you deserve it. Remember, if you start to feel old, my students would say "HUH...YOUR MOTHER IS YOUNG!!!"

See there you have it...I told you you were still young ;)

Love you,

Kerry

ps..thanks for the package too...the granola bars and honey buns are freakin awesome

Sooo...Update from ME!

So..things at Sias have been kind of hectic for many teachers here....but not me. If you are a fan of NCAA Basketball and March Madness in America..then let me tell you about CUBA. CUBA, said one letter at a time (C-U-B-A), is basically just like the NCAA Basketball tournament. So, Sias is hosting one of the regional tournaments. They had a new gymnasium built for this occasion and it actually looks pretty good. But they have asked us, the foreign teachers, to do a performance for the opening ceremony so some of the teachers helped out and did the performance. Me, I happily declined and I am really happy I did because some of the teachers were bitter and angry cause of the practice times and all the busy stuff that was crammed into the last week or so, along with teaching....so I am very happy I did not participate. But, along with bitterness, angryness, whatever you wanna call it, I do get angry but I try to stay away from getting angry cause I hate it...I hate the way people act when they are angry/bitter...so I avoid it as much as possible. But I have been playing games for the past 22...almost 23 years of my life...and game are extremely fun...I love games...but there is a line between fun and competitiveness. When competitiveness overpowers the fun..thats what I shut down from the game. Dont get me wrong, I wanna win, but I wanna have fun while trying to win. But all my life there is always someone/something who robs me, sometimes others, of that joy of having a good time. If you know me, then you know I love to smile, joke around and I enjoy making people laugh. So please...be considerate of others when you say things. In fact, when you are playing a meaningless game, dont get some serious. Anyways, sorry about that had to get that off my chest.
But, the past week I was invited to join a facebook group by a good buddy of mine, Andy Frazier. The group is reading three chapters of the GOOD BOOK ;) each day until we finish it. We are currently on the 28th chapter of the first book and I have read things I had never read before...strange things. Also, I have joined a study on the Song of Songs...so maybe I can actually make sense of the book...even thought most of it is talking about body parts and stuff like that. But I hope I will get a better understanding of what its about. But...I have finished two weeks of teaching so far...our lessons so far have been 1) Back from the holiday and 2) News and Issues....next week our lesson is I Love This Machine....and I have no idea what to teach...itll work out im sure...I just hope it doesnt suck.
But this weekend and next week I will hopefully get to watch some CUBA games during my free time and hang out with some students and get some reading done.

Just a little update on me....hope you enjoyed...

Happy Everyday (as my students say to me)

Love you guys