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Hey everybody! China has been a truly amazing experience for this team. The scenery is amazing, the food is delicious, and most importantly, the students of GUT are some of the kindest and most generous people I've ever met. Now that we're in the home stretch, we've been trying hard to keep up the energy and seize every opportunity to spend time with our Chinese friends. The next few days offer a lot of free time to do just that, since yesterday we had our last classes. Sunday's trip down the Li River was amazing and we're looking forward to seeing the countryside tomorrow and Seven Star Park on Thursday morning. We also have a goodbye party tomorrow night (time for more dancing!)

As for the team, the swelling in Susan's ankles have gone down, and throats seem a little less sore today. I'm a little more mobile but still trying to take it easy. Dave, Linda, Steve, and Lauren return today, but unfortunately our good friends Davy, Zoe, and Lion have all left. They have been so good to us and we appreciate every time we had together :)Miss and love you all!Joanne

friends...

a few pics from the classrooms...so many warm faces and happy smiles!

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Hey everyone! Hope everything's good back home:) This has been quite the adventure from the start of the trip. We've kept ourselves busy each day and have made many new friends. I was lucky enough to have the experience of turning 17 while here in China. Koons, Tim, and I all had a great time at the birthday celebration Thursday night, dancing, singing, eating, and of course being with our new friends. We broke out in some sweet dances including the sprinkler, shopping cart, went "fishing", and oh so many more. We were even able to experience the thriller thanks to Joanne's amazing dance skills. I have to say I will never forget how i spent my 17 birthday, it was truly an amzing day! Some of the students said it was the best night they have ever experienced while at college.This trip has been a great blessing and learning experience for each one of us. We are excited to see each life be transformed and shaped into the person we are suppose to be.

Today we went to another campus, with freshman students, to do our last in class work. The students were excited to meet us because news travels fast and they heard about the sweet dance party on Thursday. The group split into two, half going to see the local park and the other staying and experiencing Chinese culture. Both were great experiences and of course we wrapped it up with teaching them dances like the cotton eyed joe, bunny hop, chicken dance and more. We've all mastered these dances by now;)

It was a great day and Phil did a great job filling in for Dave and Linda. They, along with Steve and Lauren, went to visit some long time friends for a night. We can't believe time is going by so fast, its already Monday! Thanks all for keeping us on your minds:)

happy chinese birthday!

Happy 25th Birthday Brandon!

Love, Mom

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huge English corner this morning. so many students hung with us all day. the team is getting engulfed in relationships. we had a great time celebrating at gams and cherrys house last night. its koons birthday today. yea. Hey, our good friends toby, zoe and shell go home today.
everybody is doing well
-phil

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Ni Hao,
Just updating you on our time here! We celebrated Tim and Amy's and Koon's birthdays last night with a Surprise Party. The Chinese students did an awesome job of decorating a room and gave them each gifts for their Birthdays! We ended up having a dance party instead for the whole evening! It was a great experience and a lot of fun. It was great for the students to be involved and to learn new dances! One student said that it was the most fun she had had in all of college! We spent time in classes all day today. While half of the team was in class, the other half walked around campus, thinking of the entire campus and all the students who go here!
Jones arrived last night with all 10 of his friends. They are a wild group but seem like a nice crowd! There is beginning to be a group of the same students that we are seeing on a consistent basis. There are have been a few opportunities to share and what seems like more to come!

Everyone is in good health for the most part, besides upset stomachs issues!

Koon's may have sprained his ankle in class today....
Joann had problems with swollen ankles the last two days but they are completely healed!

Tonight Gam and Cherry will have the whole team over for games and food! They have invited many neighbors to come over to visit us!

-- Kate

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Wow...for those of you who know me: you know that I hate to "sweat"!!!! Sweating at the gym is "a piece of cake" compared to 100 degrees at 100% humidity here. Yes, it is very warm here and so are the greetings from all the Chinese students. They receive us with open arms. We never feel lonely. Because the students are learning English, they are anxious to talk and share with us. Last night after a class that we taught on American holidays, Tein (Carrie) invited me out for tea, so that we could sit and chat....she had many questions! We were joined by Brenna, Cherry and Linda.

By the way, it is little cooler today but that 100% humidity is still with us. I am coping pretty well as long as we have our air conditioned hotel to sleep well at night.

I am so fascinated with the culture, independent pace of life and scenery. I am looking forward to some more adventures......there is definitely not a dull moment thus far....

Susan

a day in china...

the best way to eat a meal...chopsticks and a round table!

meat on a stick with friends...

waterfall in the main square

bird guys at the li river
ty chi every morning
bikes even in the rain
fresh fruit
adorable little old ladies...

flowers as far as the eye can see...
want to buy a chicken?
or some oranges?
or a mow-ped?
a great way to get around town with dad...

cars and bike and buses everywhere

our dear gam and cherry!

happy chinese birthday!

Happy Birthday Tim and Amy!!! We are so proud of you!!! We love you and hope you have a great day!!

Love, Mom and Dad

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Greetings! This trip thus far has been more than we could ever expect. Besides the heat and an occasional stomach ache, the team is holding up great. Please keep thinking about us in regards to health.

Last night we were invited to an English corner at the college. We sat around and had free talk with many of the students and also people from the town. This is a wonderful time to take advantage of using the gifts we are all provided with. The talks that some of us had were awesome and we hope to continue this with the students. Our father is taking care of all the details with our trip and he has been making our interaction with the Chinese students a memory that will last a lifetime. Johns and his friends are coming in on Friday along with 3 or so others we have met in the past.

Our thoughts before coming to China were of team unity and thankfully everyone is getting along great and I can really feel the LOVE, ya know!! The literature we brought has been going fast and is something we are are psyched about. Thanks again for the thoughts from everyone the team can def feel the power coming from him who strengthens us!

Koons

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and

"We had 42 wonderful traveling hours to get to Guilin ;) We made the best of it and had a lot of fun on the planes and in the airports. Many of the students greeted us when we arrived in Guilin. It was wonderful to see them! We collapsed into our beds late on Sunday night around midnight...ready for some sleep before our first day!

On our first day in China (Monday) the team was spit into two groups. The first group taught some classes, while our group went to play some games with some of our new Chinese friends. After that we went to lunch at the university cafeteria. The food was great! After lunch, we went to Cherry's school to give them the elementary school readers that we brought with us - over 1,100 books! Then came dinner, and afterwards, our much anticipated welcome party (the one that was reschedued because of our flight delay). We met so many wonderful students and had a delightful time putting on skits and talents and watching our new friends do the same.

On Tuesday morning we went to a class who taught us all about Chinese tea traditions...it was so interesting! After class, the students took us out to the street to get famous Guilin noodles. They were delicious! No wonder they are so famous :)

We have been talking to many students and learning about their lives and telling them about our lives in America. They are very eager to talk to us. Keep these things in mind as we spend more time exchanging culture.

Our friend Winnie arrive today and we are enjoying spending time with her.

More to come soon!"

team update:

i just got off the phone with the team...they are all doing great!

it is tuesday morning in china right now...crazy to think that they are a day ahead of us!

if you haven't gotten any emails or phone calls yet, don't dispair. they have been very busy since the moment they arrived...no time to even unpack their suitcases. their schedule has kept them doing all kinds of fun stuff (of which i am sure we will hear about soon) and they are having a blast.

they also said that no one has gotten sick yet! and they are all feeling better after getting a full night of sleep.

it was VERY hot on their first full day in Guilin, but last night they had a big lightning and thunderstorm and things cooled off a bit.

one of our best friends, winnie, arrived today to hang out with the team. she is such a delight! also, jones is scheduled to arrive soon and he is another of our best friends. everyone is really excited to spend time with both of them.

they are going to try and hit up the internet bar later today, so we may have some more updates soon!

they have arrived!

the team arrived safe and sound in Guilin!

travel update

i got a voicemail from the china team at 7am this morning (7pm china time)...sounds like their travels have been extended :)
the message was a little confusing, so i will try to summarize:
they got into China to catch their connection flight to Guilin, but due to a delay, they sat on the runway for a few hours. once into the airport, they got flagged at security and had an extensive bag check on one of their bags. the team was then ushered into a line of over 1,000 people to get on their plane...after all of this, they nearly made it on their flight, but at the last minuet, the plane was full.
SO, they were scheduled to get on an 8pm flight (their time) and arrive in Guilin around 10 pm and to their hotel by 11 pm (11am sunday morning our time).
they missed the welcome party and meeting the officials as planned, but hopefully the welcome party will be rescheduled for monday.
i will let you know when i hear from them next.
china. it's always an adventure!

jfk airport

our awesome friends nate and melissa hendrickson (who are seasoned china trip veterans - they even fell in love while IN china!) surprised the team at the jfk airport and hung out with them until they went through security...(even taking a few pics at the security station and getting in trouble :)
here are some fun pics courtesy of nate and melissa:

and we're off!

China here we come!
at 6:30 pm tonight the team left downingtown, pa for the other side of the world...
the logistics are a bit mind boggling. here are some of the numbers:
25 team members
25 smiling faces
38 suitcases

1,100 children's elementary school books

300 magazines and buisness books

68 suitcase zip ties (thanks dave :)
50 cocolate chip cookies (thanks sharon :)

50 water bottes
25 carry-on bags
36 hours of travel
2 buses
3 airplanes
2 continents
4 time zones
countless laughs and giggles of anticipation
china, we are coming to you in a matter of hours...
a lifetime of friendship awaits

en route to china TODAY!

a few pics as the team prepairs to leave and friends and family come to say goodbye

our next blog will be in chinese! or at least on chinese soil :)