I Made It!

Nia Hao!

Wow. I can't believe I am actually in China. It's kind of crazy. I think it's actually a miracle that I even made it! I had a lot of bad news thrown my way...

First Bad News. My flight from Boise was delayed which sort of threw everything off. The next flight to Hong Kong wasn't for another day...so I ended up flying to San Franciso and spending the night there. Luckily my dear friend Jessi Groesbeck lives near San Fran and totally saved my life. She picked me up and we went and had a grand ol' time in San Franciso! It was so nice to have a bed to sleep in, rather than the airport floor. So grateful!

Second Bad News. I got to the airport a smidge late and had a mini panic attack when I realized there was a very real possibility I could miss my flight. The lines for security were outrageous and there was no way I was going to make it through in time. However, I saw a little Asian man ask a security guard if there was any way he could get through because he had to get on his flight to Hong Kong. So, I just followed him through the 1st Class line and we made it!

Third Bad News. Once I got to my gate they announced that they flight was delayed due to a system wide computer failure.

Fourth Bad News. Jessi called me to inform me that I accidentally left my camera in her purse...This was definitely the most depressing news of all. But, hopefully my family can mail it to me!

Fifth Bad News. On the plane, they feed everyone two full meals. They came around to serve the second meal and I told them I wanted a sandwich. They told me they would bring it to me. So I waited, and waited, and waited some more. I soon realized that my sandwich was not coming. Then the pilot announced we would be landing. So no dinner for Kambrie.

Sixth Bad News. When I finally got to my hotel, I walked into my room and there was already two people in there...Awkward.

Seventh Bad News. I flew out on the 28th from America and arrived in Hong Kong on the 30th which means I totally didn't have a birthday this year! Guess I will be 18 for another year...crap. hahahah!

Eight Bad News. Because my flights got messed up, I totally missed the whole big cool tour of Hong Kong that everyone went on!

Thankfully, through all the bad news that was thrown my way, I never once felt angry. I was able to just roll with the punches and handle the plan B's and C's well! Even though it was a rough journey here there was plenty of good things that happened as well!

Like the fact that Jessi Groesbeck took me in and let me sleep in her bed in San Francico!

Or the fact that I found a sweet new shirt.

Or the fact that I got to watch the avengers (my favorite movie) on the plane.

Or the fact that the little Asian lady next to me made sure I was okay the whole way to Hong Kong, even though she doesn't speak english at all.

Or the fact that my luggage didn't get lost.

Or the fact that I even made it to China at al!

Or the fact that I was able to sleep and take a shower at my hotel!

See, there is so much good!! Now I am here in Hong Kong, getting ready to take the fairy to my school in mainland China, and I'm having so much fun! I've met all of the other teachers in my school and I'm so excited. It will be such a goof 4 months here.

Hope all is well in the United States! Love you all!!!

-Kambrie

Almost There.

So....

I'm leaving in about 5 days and things are starting to feel a bit more real. There are a lot of "kind of's" floating around in my head. I'm kind of prepared, but kind of not prepared. I'm kind of nervous, but kind of not. I kind of know the girls I'm going with, but kind of don't know them at all. Luckily what I know about all of them seems pretty great so I'm not too worried about that at all!

Last week was a bit rough. I had my immunizations done and my body had a nasty reaction. The night after I got them, I couldn't sleep at all. I finally woke up and realized that I was shaking like crazy. Not just your typical "shiver cause you're cold" shaking. My whole body was going crazy. So I got out of bed and tried to kind of walk it off and take some medicine. However I could hardly even hold the glass of water without it splashing around. I started to kind of freak out because I didn't know what was going on. So I woke my parents up. By this time I just felt miserable. My whole body hurt. Luckily my dad was able to give me a blessing and I was able to relax and go to sleep. I woke up and was still very sick, but the shaking never came back. It was kind of crazy. But now I feel great. Ready to take on the world....or at least China!

[I am going to China. I still can't believe it.]

With leaving comes something I really don't enjoy. Saying goodbye. I know I'm only gone for 4 months, but a lot can happen in 4 months.

First off, I will miss my family.

I kind of love them. And by kind of, I mean I REALLY love them. My parents are two of my very best friends. All my brothers have left me for 2 years, but I've never been the one on the leaving side. So it's kind of interesting! And my little sister, well I'm really gonna miss her. She thinks I don't like her sometimes, but the truth is I think she is the coolest person in the world. And I'm not just saying that. She is my best friend no matter what!

Along with my family are my cute neices and nephews. It is these cute faces that I'm going to miss most. 

Braelund 

Paige

Landon

Karter

I just love these little kids SO much.

:]

Second, I will miss my friends

My dear, dear friends. Words can't even explain. I wish I could pack them all up and take them with me!

Rachel, Liza, and Whitney. My roomies/best friends! Love them dearly. Oh so dearly. 

Jessica, Kelli, and Kaycee. My best friends since forever! I can't imagine life without them.

I've had to say goodbye to my family a lot, when my brothers all left on their missions. However, I've never had to say goodbye to my friends. And once again I realize I'm only going to be gone for 4 months. However when you consider that some of these girls I haven't even gone 2 weeks without, it's kind of a big deal! I just feel so lucky to have 6 of the best girls on earth as my best friends! 

I can't wait to bring all of these people back some Chinese yum yums!! 

China is almost here!!!!!!!!!! In fact, the next time I post on this blog will probably be from Hong Kong. So stay tuned (hahahah that made me feel like a TV announcer). But really. This blog is about to get 10 times more exciting. 

CHINA HERE I COME!

-Kambrie

2 Weeks Till Take Off.

So,

I don't know if it's quite hit me yet. But 2 weeks from today, I will be chillin on a plane, flying over the ocean, probably listening to Adele, or Ingrid, awaiting my arrival in China.

CRAZY!

Seeing as I will be gone for almost half of those two weeks, I started feeling a little bit of pressure to prepare. After spending WAY too much on random little necessities that they don't have in China (medicine, American shampoo and conditioner, hand sanitizer, deodorant, razors, mousse, hairspray, face wash, etc...), scheduling my immunization appointment/sending off my deferment papers for school (procrastination at it's finest), and gathering some teaching supplies, I finally feel a little bit more prepared. But just a little bit...I'm pretty sure packing might be a total nightmare.

The thing that is stressing me out more than anything is work. I may or may not have had a small emotional break down over my workload... Let's just say I am so ready to be done with my job. Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful to even have had a job, however I'm just ready for something new. Which is China.

Also, I ordered my new camera today!

Also, I tried learning some Chinese...learned nothing. I'm done for when I need a bathroom. Great.

Anyway, that's all for now folks.

-Kambrie

An Introduction to Another Blog

Ni Hao!

Welcome to my new blog. Most of you are probably thinking, "Kambrie made another blog? She's already made two and they are the worst blogs I've ever visited." While that might be true, I promise this one will be better.

Why??

Because it is on this blog that I will be recording my entire adventure in.....CHINA!

Yes. China. I am going to China. I still can't believe it. I'm sure if I've come in contact with you at all in the last 3 months, I've told you all about it. But in case I haven't, let me tell you here.

You might be wondering why on Earth I'm even going to China so lets start there. Well, Last fall I got a letter in the mail inviting me to an info meeting for a program called International Language Program (ILP). Usually I would just throw these sorts of things away and think to myself, "Kambrie you will never be able to do that," but this time I actually started reading through it. It explained that if I went to the info meeting, I could learn more about volunteering to teach English abroad. So I  thought about it and then shoved the idea to the back of my mind. However, it just kept coming back to the front. I couldn't stop picturing myself in China, teaching the cute little Chinese children. So I went to the info meeting. Then I was hooked. I begged my parents to let me go, and after they thought about it for a very long while, they finally agreed to let me go.

So, I'm going to teach English to little Chinese chillens for a whole semester!

At the end of august I am shipping out. After 17 hours in a plane, I will finally land on Asian ground in a little city call Hong Kong (hahaha). We get to spend 2 nights and one full day in Hong Kong where I'm hoping to meet up with some family. After Hong Kong we will head to the schools where we will be teaching.

The school I am going to is in a place called Xiaolan, which is a township in Zhongshan, which is a city in the province Guangdong. Brain overload? Basically I'm going to a town in south east China.

If you're still confused, let me make it really obvious.

It is at that red dot that I think it will set in. When I smell the smoggy air of my new home. When they plop a big ol' chicken foot on my plate and expect me to munch it down. Eek...we will stay away from those topic for now.

People are always asking me how on earth I'm going to teach children English if I don't know Chinese. That is a very good question that I was wondering as well. Then I went to the training and it all made sense. You see, if I know how to speak Chinese, the children will use it as a crutch and they wont be forced to use their cute little Asian heads and speak the language their parents are paying for them to learn. The teaching method we use is actually really cool. We basically come up with fun activities for the children, and then we make them talk talk talk all day long. There is a lot more to it, but I don't feel like going into great detail. The method has proven to be very effective though.

Another thing people ask me is if I will be able to travel outside of my teaching city. The answer is YES YES YES! That is one of the main reasons I chose to go through ILP. As long as we are there to teach the kids, and we have our lessons planned, we are allowed to go roam China as we wish. Everyone I've met who has gone to China through ILP has told us that they were able to travel ALL over china. From the very top to bottom, east to west. I can't wait!

I think that about sums it up! If you can't tell, I'm pretty excited. Make sure to check up on this blog every once in a while if you want to know what I'm up to because I wont be on Facebook.

19 DAYS!

-Kambrie