Big Things

My birthday Is coming up in about a month and a week or so

and this year I am doing something different
I am going to be asking for you help

In a few weeks I am going to be revealing my birthday wish

but until then will you be in prayer for my wish

Its going to take participation from you

and other you know 

so just pray that it will be successful!!

I would appreciate it so so so much

Thanks friends!

Ni Hao

When I was in the 9th grade I decided to take a drama class

why? I HAVE NO CLUE 

I don't like to act, I can't act 

so signing up for a class where you had to get up in front of a class and act

was a BAD idea!!

But there was good things that came from that class

I meet a friend that became very special to me

Wei was an exchange student for China

and we just happened to sit next to each other in class

I loved to sit and learn about where she was from and about her life 

it didn't take long for us to become best friends

we spend that whole year we with each other 

I helped he with her English and she taught me all about China

the year quickly came to an end and we made a promise to each other that 

we would see each other again 

Wei would come back and I would visit her in China

well last year, after 5 years, our promise came true

we came to study in America and during her winter break she came back to GA

and we were able to spend time with each other

and it was during that time that she asked me to come and stay with 

her family that summer in China 

and the rest was all down hill from there

my parents allowed me to go surprisingly

they got my visa for me for my 21st birthday and a few weeks later 

I was at the airport heading to Beijing

I spent the week with Wei touring around every were you could thing in Beijing

the first day we went to

Tienanmen Square, Temple of Heaven, and Tienanmen Street

Dancers on Tienanman Street

Temple of Heaven

this is a place at the temple of heaven
where its said that the heavens and the earth meet

Tienanmen Street

on the Second day we went to the Forbidden City, 

took a bike tour through the city and ended up at a famous shopping street

and then ate a restaurant where I had the famous Beijing duck and
 the BEST sweet and sour Chicken I've ever tasted in my life

we ended the day at the site of the 2008 Olympics 

Entrance to the Forbidden City
this is where Emperors lived for thousands of years
and it had 3,000 rooms in it!

this is the where the swimming in the Olympics was held

here Wei is showing me how to wrap the Beijing duck to eat
by the way the duck was AMAZING

the third day I was there it was the Dragon Boat Festival

in the morning Wei's parents dropped us off at a HUGE shopping mall

if you've ever been on canal street in NYC then you have an idea what this place was like

I was able to get a china doll, and a lot of other souvenirs

after we shopped for a while we headed back to Wei's house and got ready for a family dinner

we headed to her Grandparents house where we ate the traditional foods for the day

one of her cousins spoke English and I was able to sit and talk with her for a while

it was so neat to be able to spend a holiday in China and see the way the celebrate

the Fourth day we spent the day at the Summer Palace 

this was a summer house built by one of the empresses

it set on a lake and has lots and lots of gardens all around and there

is a temple built up on a hill over looking the entire place

after we left the Palace we headed to another mall and saw the movie

Pirates of the Caribbean I don't know what number

the fifth day was my favorite of all 

we went to the Great Wall of China

when I was younger and saw pictures in history books of this wall

never in a million years did I dream that I would actually get to walk on the wall

it was such a surreal experience

on the way to the wall I got to experience the Beijing traffic

we literally sat with the car off for about tow hours 

people were hanging out on the highway walking around talking to people

I couldn't get over how bad the traffic was

people in America would flip out for sure if they had to drive in that

the whole family at the wall

you really wouldn't believe how steep it was!

the back drop to this almost looks fake to me 

it say The Great Wall of China in Mandarin
at least that's what they told me 

the Last day we were supposed to go to a theme park but

Wei called and they told her all the main roller coasters were closed 

so we decided to go to the zoo and aquarium instead

I was so so so excited about this because I love going to the Zoo

and I felt like since I was in China I needed to see Pandas 

the zoo was really big and had lots of animals

but I felt so sorry for the animals people would throw things

to get them to move 

I was just pitiful their cages were full of bottles 

besides that though the zoo was really good and had lots to see in it!!

the aquarium was pretty new so it was very nice 

they had a dolphin show that was really neat and was like the ones at sea world

it was a fun last day in China!!

My trip to China was something I will remember for the rest of my life

I am so grateful that my friends family so graciously 

allowed me to come and stay with them

they did everything they could for me while I was there

from taking me to dinner to driving us around 

they were the best host I could have ever asked for!!

If you ever have to chance to travel to China GO!! 

it will be a experience you will remember forever

Summer In a Week

this summer is different from past

my friends Katelyn, Holly and I were only home for about 

a week and a half together

so we decided to try and make the best of our summer together

now we are not the coolest people around

we like doing puzzles, reading, and basically just sitting around the pool 

we do do other things but usually we just resort to the above

so our last week looked a little like this:

Monday we decided to go back in time to the 4th grade

and do science experiments!!

this one was the favorite out of the few we did

all it is is milk, with four drops of liquid food coloring 

and then one drop of dish soap and then it does the rest for you!!

we also did mentos and coke

made our own foam

and then tried to make glow in the dark mountian dew

but that didn't work at all!!

also that evening we made cookie cutter cookies 

we decided that we were going to be Celtic fans so we 

made some for the game that night

I thought they were really good 

but the others did this so!

tuesday

was rainy so we started a new puzzle

we worked for about 3 and a half hours on that sucker

it was a 100th anniversary Titanic 

it was really hard!!

 Wednesday 

i spent this day with one of my good friends 

we went to Stevie Bees pizza and just hung out with each other

I never even made it over to Douglasville 

I just stayed and hung out with my mom

thursday:

I went up to the 4-H office in the morning and 

then headed over and 

we hung out at the pool most of the day

reading a book that we love 

called Pretty Little Mistakes

the stories are not the best but its a fun book

you get to decided the fate of the characters 

so we take turns picking the story and reading it!!

Friday 

was a fun day we went to the 

Braves game

with Katelyn's parents

it was so much fun

although i really couldn't tell you what went on at the game

I love going and just being in the crowd and eating

all the yummy food that comes along with

a baseball park trip!!

We were all sad to say goodbye this morning

were all starting summer school in the next couple weeks

but I guess the sooner we start the sooner were finished!!

First ER visit

every Wednesday I volunteer at MUSC children's hospital

I play with the little ones for a couple hours a day

we do crafts and play with toys 

and just have fun!

well last week I had to wear a mask while I was there

after about 30 minutes I started not feeling very well

so I told the little one I had to leave 

and as I was walking out the door I passed out 

I don't know how long that I was down but I woke up and they were 

just staring at me and asked if I was okay 

I got up and shut the door to the patients room and as I was trying to walk

away I passed out again but this time a nurse had walked around the corner and saw me

I don't really remember falling on the ground or anything 

but I remember the nurses asking me If I was okay and not being able to respond

once I realized what was going on I tried to sit back up 

the nurse was helping me and got me to stand up but I just wanted to sit

back down so they one of the other nurses went and got a chair 

and as I was going to sit back down I passed out a third time 

so at this point the nurses called a Med Code (think that is what they called it)

basically a doctor and a nurse with all the machines came to where I was at

they hooked me up a machine that took my blood pressure and heart rate

they asked me a bunch of questions and pricked my finger to check my blood sugar

I kept trying to refuse them taking me there 
one of the nurses told me that If I didn't want all this attention for passing out
I should have passed out at the Burger King cause they would have just let me go

they eventually told me that I had to go to the ER and they were going to take me

on a stretcher but I just refused to go on that so a pediatric wheel chair it was

my legs were way to long for it I had to hold them out in front of me 

I'm sure I looked like a doof riding through the hospital

but I got to the ER and had to sit in the little room for like 30 minutes

just for the doctor to come in listen to my heart and lungs, 

ask me to resist him pushing hands out 

and to tell me I probably just wasn't getting a lot of fresh oxygen 

in the mask I wearing.

I've passed out like one time before but never long times like this time

during this whole thing I couldn't quit laughing at myself

something like this would happen to me 

the rest of the day I felt really weird but I have been fine ever since