Dec 2010 - Like No Other

  I'll be sending a newsletter out soon, but I wanted to get some pictures out that have created great memories.  Pictures include our Force Christmas Party in which we sang Christmas songs, shared the Christmas story, played Pin the Nose on Rudolph, and provided gifts that many of you, in the States, bought for them. Other pictures include a Christmas day trip to Shanghai with one of my students and friends and our amazing discovery of a Krispy Kremes Doughnut store.  (Thank you Father)
  Other pictures include a spotting of Garfield while walking to a dinner with some of my students.   Although our family spent Christmas apart, neither one of us were far from our Father.  We hope you enjoy the pictures.

We are soooooo thankful this year!!!!

This past Thanksgiving we had so much to be thankful for.  We are thankful for our health, our family & friends back home, and most of all, our Father.   We are truly thankful for the relationships we have built with the students and enjoy hearing and learning about their hopes and dreams. We had the opportunity to spend two days in Shanghai which, as a city, is very difficult to describe in words.  We also took advantage of the high speed train from Nanjing to Shanghai which was a real treat.  Below are some pictures of the weekend’s activities.  We hope all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and REMEMBER the REASON for the upcoming SEASON.   We love you all.

Picture 1 & 2 are the High Speed Train.

Picture 3 is of Pudong District in Shanghai.

Picture 4 is East Nanjing Road in Shanghai

Picture 5 is Trey at People's Square in Shanghai

Cooking Anyone?

Where has the time gone?  I know I have been slacking on posting updates to our blog, so I apologize. We can't believe Thanksgiving is tomorrow.  We have so much to be thankful for this year which include all of our students.  We recently had a couple friends come over last week and cook us an amazing meal.  Included in the photos below are the shopping and cooking experiences.   We hope everyone back home has a fantastic and memorable Thanksgiving.  We miss and love all of you very much!!!!!!!

Nanjing On-Campus sites

      The first picture captures Sharolyn and Trey, on campus, walking through the wooded area next to time square.  That is followed by the badminton courts in which many students were playing on a nice cool fall day.  The last picture is Sharolyn and Trey playing badminton (minus the net) in time square which always captures an audience.

      Every woman needs a hero.  Esther and Trey have become very good friends however I'm worried that she may find out his true identity.
      Family and Friends, we are sorry that we have not posted more photos lately on the blog however we have had some issues uploading from my laptop.  It appears whatever the issue was has temporarily disappeared.
      We are doing well as now we have been in Nanjing for just a little over a month and a half and to be honest, time is flying by.  After all the September and October holidays we are finally on a normal schedule.  I'm absolutely loving teaching and getting to know my students and their hearts.  These kids are extremely respectful and enjoyable to work with and teach.
      Sharolyn and Trey continue to hit the home school work and Trey is doing a great job reading and has taken to Math.  Sharolyn is also continuing to tutor the two business professionals in Nanjing.  We have made friends with two students who are not in my classes but who are great kids, love and spoil Trey, as well as tutor us in the Chinese language.
     We do miss our family and friends back in America but feel very fortunate for our new friends in Nanjing.  We love you all and will post more pictures later.

Travis, Sharolyn, Trey.

A Blond Gem

If we had a dime for every time someone wanted to touch, hold, or shake Trey's hand, we would be "hundredaires" by now.  We knew he would be adored here in China, but it does take us back from time to time.  Even if it's the ladies on the subway or freshmen who are going through their military training, all of them stop, stare, and try to engage in conversation with Trey.  It's fun to watch and Trey is learning to take it all in stride. 
 I am in week two of teaching Oral English to double major economic and business management students and finding that I love teaching.  Sharolyn has started homeschooling Trey and tutoring two business professionals once a week..  Life is kicking into full gear now and we will be sharing more in our upcoming newsletter.
Below are pictures of Trey as well as one picture of the outside of our apartment and it gives the new term to "gated" community.  Didn't know we needed them on our windows.  Seriously though, we are fortunate as our apartment is extremely clean inside and has everything we need to be comfortable.  Our apartment is up the stairs and first apartment on the left.
Zia jian (Goodbye) for now.

The Carlsons

Getting Settled in Nanjing

Wow, the first 10 days in Nanjing have been a whirlwind. I think I'm finally feeling like we're settling in, though. Thankfully, our apartment was in great shape when we arrived. However, we have had to make daily trips to Carrefour and Wal-mart (yes, there is a Wal-mart here) to get household essentials. Each day, we get as much as we can carry home. We're getting there, slowly but surely. Travis' biceps are growing with all the bags he's having to cart around. (ha ha) In addition to setting up house, we spent the first week engaged in team building activities. Much of our time together centered around shopping and food. All you ladies can appreciate that! (ha ha) Each day is a learning experience, but with each day, we seem to be getting more comfortable. I never believed I would feel this helpless, but it's what will motivate me to learn the language quickly! It is absolutely beautiful here - very green and lush. However, green and lush come with a price - humidity. Travis and Trey are perpetually sweaty. I, on the other hand, am in heaven. Below are pictures of us during our campus tour and Trey doing Tai Chi. We will post more as we have time to get out and explore.

Trey's Early Birthday Celebration

Trey's birthday is August 31st, but since we're going to be in transition again, we decided to celebrate it last night. Our whole team from Nanjing, plus several other families hiked to the KFC with a play area. I baked cupcakes at the ELIC office here in Beijing, so we celebrated with chicken, cupcakes, and a little slide. Trey had a blast! We are so fortunate to have such wonderful new friends!

Colorado Friends

What a surreal feeling when I saw Xu in the hall of our hotel here in Beijing! Bill and Xu are friends from Colorado. Bill was my (Sharolyn's) professor at CCU, and Xu grew up in China. Xu was in Beijing for a college reunion, and they made a special trip to the west side of the city to see us. We had such a wonderful night with them! It was so hard to say goodbye! Anyone else want to come visit?

Shopping at WengFuJing

Our goal for Sunday afternoon was to find Trey a toy since we could only bring a small number of his toys with us. Our mission was accomplished - packed full of interesting things along the way. We managed to squeeze into overly crowded buses and Subways (more crowded than usual because it was Sunday), enjoyed McDonald's and Dairy Queen in the same day (I doubt we would do that at home), and even witnessed live scorpions on a stick!. So much to discover here!

Bewilderment look turns into friendship

  Funny how he works.  One week ago Sharolyn and I were looking bewildered at a kids play area, in a mall,  wondering how much it would cost for Trey to play in a specific section.  A man approached us and said Hi.  Sharolyn quickly asked him if he spoke English and of course he did.  To make a long story short, we made an instant connection with he and his wife who have an 11 and 9 year old.  They live in Beijing, however are both from Nanjing where we'll be living. We went to dinner with them last night and hope to continue this friendship.  Again, amazing how he works.

Freeze Tag

We met the sweetest 8 year old girl playing freeze tag yesterday. She watched us for a bit, and then came up to introduce herself. She said hello and told us her name, but that is about all the English she knew. We invited her to play, and she caught on immediately! When Trey fell and scraped his knee, she rushed over to him, helped him up, and led him to a bench. She nurtured him while I (Sharolyn) poured water on his wound. It was a sweet moment. This experience made our entire day!

Crossing the Street

I (Sharolyn) am just fascinated by the ordered chaos on the streets. To get to the WuMart (grocery store), we have to cross a fairly busy street. I took a picture of Trey and Travis crossing a few days ago. (It's hard to see, but they were right in the middle of the street at this point.) It's amazing how the cars just know to avoid the pedestrians, and no one gets hit.

  
     Here are some pictures of the Forbidden City, walking up to Tienanmen Square, and Rock Star Trey being asked to have a picture taken with a local Chinese girl.   I guess they don't like pictures with middle aged, balding fat guys.  Go figure. 

16 Aug 2010

   We have survived our first 10 days in China.  We have only been lost twice, ordered the wrong food once, and have not managed to get hit by a taxi, car, truck, motorcycle, scooter, or bicycle on the roads (as of today).  I'm just starting to blog out so we will have more to write later, but I at least wanted to get the blog set up so we can share our experiences with all our family and friends back home.  We love and miss all of you very much.