my chinese family

chinese people are very generous. and they seem to like allie & i, which means that we get to go on lots of real authentic chinese adventure with them.

may is the second grade teacher whose classroom i teach in. monica is her daughter, who is also one of allie's students. they are the sweetest family and they take us to do things at least once a week. 

i could give you a million stories about our times with them, but to keep it short here's some photos and explanations.

1. me fishing at the beach on national day with doug (another second grader)

2. that one time when allie and i biked may, monica, and the father of the family (who speaks no english which means he has a name we cannot pronounce) up a seaside mountain on the tandem bike car thing.

3. beautiful little monica on the swings we rode at the beach carnival.

4. kevin. the most adorable little boy. he is my buddy when we go to do things with the chinese families, but he is too shy to talk to me.

5. me with alex, doug, and their mothers from when we went fishing.

6. classic treats at linhai park: dates on a stick & cotton candy.

1. us at the buddhist temple on weihai's holy mountain, with monica and mary.

2. classic picture. a) the random asian who asked for pictures with us b) allie in her grass skiing gear c) me getting my helmet strapped on by the employee of the grass skiing place, who is either excited enough about me to want to help me with everything, or thinks i'm one of those dumb americans who doesn't know how to do anything.

3. me and my dumpling. we went to the beach with may and a few other families, and the women taught us how to make dumplings.

4. favorite chinese treats: dark chocolate and coconut milk. may knows me so well.

5. kevin & i on our toboggan.

6. my chinese friend whose name sounds like "john wayne" ducking out of the picture of me riding the conveyor belt up the gradual incline which i was about to grass ski down. yeah it's a thing. i could literally be a professional athlete here. and you know how coordinated i am.

china. as good as ever.

i love chinese families. there is so much love for everyone within them. the marriages seem so solid and both parents are completely devoted to their child. of course there's problems here, but aside from everything wrong, they have the most loving, solid, supportive families i've ever seen. the entire society revolves around family. it is the core. so wonderful to see.