Saturday Pics

Hi Reader,

Last Saturday I took several photos. They don't really have a great amount of rhyme or reason, but maybe you'll still find them interesting.

 My bedroom. It is a nice quite room. There is a computer desk in the corner, my bed and of course the closet. I am starting to learn guitar again!

 My fix to a broken backpack...the fix will last longer than the original pieces.

 Recently we acquired two little kittens at our home. They will have to grow a bit before they'll be able to take on the rat problem (since the rats are twice or thrice their size).

 The main road is always covered with trucks hauling stuff from factories to the ports I assume.

 A city of 15 million needs many lanes. They plan for growth, so even though these six lanes look a little barren now, look back in 5 years and you'll see plenty of traffic (or just look later in the day :).

 Unsuspecting shoppers. I shot this through a bus window. I want to take more photos of people's faces, but it always feels quite awkward.

 Colored light falling on the church floor.

 The source of the colored light is the sun + these panes of colored glass.

Random shot of the road near my home on the way to school.

2011-2012 Students and Staff

Here are a couple pictures showing our students this last year. Also you can see the American staff that I got to work with. Ryan, Lance, and I are going to miss these kids...they were great.

GIA 1st Grade

GIA 2nd Grade

GIA 3rd and 4th Grades

American Staff

Grandpas Birthday

Last night grandpa (referring to my Chinese family) turned 78. Pictured are: dad, grandpa, mom, mayor from Yangjiang, teacher Chen, and myself.

Reflection of Personal Life

Short reflection I had:

Earlier this year I applied for a bunch of contract jobs in Afghanistan. I never got any replies, but I'm very thankful for several reasons. Firstly, because Ryan and I have been looking at education opportunities in China that could provide a decent income - and this is more fun and innocent income. Secondly, my older brother got back to his base after an R&R trip he had, to discover his base had been hit by a massive semi-truck bomb. Luckily the bomb didn't get placed where Al-qaeda wanted it, otherwise it would have destroyed the whole base and killed hundreds if not more - as it ended up, two men died. My brother found the door to his lodging bashed in just from the repercussion of the bomb and the roof fell in at the building he worked at. Life is to short as it is, so I am looking towards just running a business and staying out of war zones.

I moved in with a Chinese family recently. They own a large plastics company here in Guangzhou. Nice family. They have a couple young children that I sort of tutor, but in a much more relaxed way. Tomorrow I'll be starting some Chinese classes. I can have a very simple conversation with people, as long as I get to guide it. I'm looking forward to learning a lot more! It is very fortunate that I will get to travel to Europe for three weeks this summer. The family I'm staying with asked me to come along with them - so it is a subsidized trip and may not be the kind I would plan, but I have absolutely no regrets.

My grandmother passed away about a month ago. She was 92 years old. I knew her time was running out, but you just never know when. I was thinking about going to the states this summer to see both of my grandmothers, but it would have been to late anyhow. A cousin got married and my younger brother and his wife are going to have a baby (boy). There were a handful of graduations in my family, 8th grade, high school, and college. My sister just got back to the USA and moved into her new home. My parents seem to be doing fine.

And life goes on. I have enjoyed my time in Asia and I look forward to many more years in this part of the world. At the right time I look forward to meeting a nice girl. Delayed gratification is the name of the game. Speaking of that, as of a couple months ago I am officially debt free. I didn't expect to get to that point that quickly, but I'm so happy I did. And my savings is already at a healthy level. I just feel blessed...on such a skimpy salary, great things can happen...of course it helps that I'm living in China, land of cheap everything.