100 reasons to visit home

Over the summer my friend Stephanie wrote up 100 reasons why we should give up living in China and move back to the homeland.

I carry this list in my pocket, every day. I have more than 100 reasons to go home--but this makes my heart happy.

In 25 days I embark on my adventure home--17 whole days at home. Family, friends, love, comfort, food, English TV, shopping for things that will fit me, hugs, DRIVING!....so many things waiting for me. I can't help but think that there are things waiting for me back in Asia. I am torn on leaving, I know I will be returning, but I can't help but miss my friends when I do go home. China has become a home to me and I have a lot of amazing friends, here in Asia.

We recently took our Christmas photo's together, 16 fantastic human beings, that I get to see once a week. Shout has made China home. God has shown me what it is like to have only a few to depend on and now he has given us an abundance of support and love, to carry out what we need to do. Blessed doesn't even begin to cover it.

We were able to come together for Thanksgiving. All of us sat at a table and enjoyed a traditional Thanksgiving meal. I could not see myself celebrating what to be thankful for in any other way, it was fantastic. Pray for us as we continue to work with students, friends, jobs and everything else that gets thrown at us here. Pray for guidance on future plans, what's next? Who knows, I am just glad I have amazing people to be here in the now as I figure out this big kid life and do God's work.

Prayer requests:
Strength to get through the next few weeks
Speaking at Shout tomorrow
Guidance in figuring out where to go next in my life.
That I can be a spiritual leader to my friends.

With love,
Ashley


The list as promised, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)


1. The Constitution of the United States of America.
2. George Washington.
3. The proximity of Southern California to beaches, mountains, deserts, and other desirable locations.
4. In 'n Out.
5. Frank Capra.
6. Smores.
7. Thanksgiving.
8. Long, hot summers and mild winters.
9. Girl Scout cookies.
10. Baseball.
11. Peanutbutter and jelly sandwiches.
12. James Madison.
13. Cortina's.
14. Cowboy Hats.
15. Barbecue.
16. The Grand Canyon.
17. "The Sandlot."
18. Jonas Salk.
19. Dunkin' Donuts.
20. Mike Tr..Tro...Trout. Mike Trout (agggghhh that was painful. You're welcome Dinkleman!)
21. The U.S.' cumulative 2,549 Olympic Medals in the modern games- the MOST of any country (Russia is in second with 1,204!!!)
22. The Beach Boys.
23. Fireworks. Especially on the Fourth of July!
24. Converse shoes.
25. College football.
26. John Wayne.
27. Apple pie.
28. The frontier.
29. Vin Scully (duh).
30. Watching "Die Hard" during the Christmas season with your Dad! (Ashley Turner)
31. James Stewart (because China has nothing on George Bailey and Jefferson Smith) and while I'm at it:
32. "It's a Wonderful Life."
33. Frank Capra.
34. Sun Records (for that American early rock 'n roll sound).
35. The Empire State Building
36. Vitamin C ("As we go on, we remember...all the times we [STUDIED] together....").
37. The Los Angeles Dodgers (c'mon! I gave you Trout)
38. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (The movie, not the outlaws. Eh- what the heck, the outlaws too!)
39. Route 66 (Road trip!!!)
40. Otis Redding.
41. Tailgating (see #25).
42. Hike to the Hollywood sign.
43. 1966 Ford Mustang convertible (seriously bitchin' ride).
44. Norman Rockwell.
45. NASA
46. Being able to say, "What does that have to do with the price of tea in China?" and be understood.
47. F. Scott Fitzgerald.
48. Nathan's Hot Dogs.
49. Las Vegas.
50. The 1980's USA Men's Olympic Hockey Team (how many miracles on ice does China have?)
51. The Velvet Underground.
52. "Kissing the War Goodbye." (great WWII era photo)
53. Atticus Finch. (greatest character written? possibly!)
54. Homeruns.
55. Superheroes! (What other country has Batman, Superman, Spiderman, etc..)
56. "The Brady Bunch."
57. Walt Disney.
58. "Cool Hand Luke."
59. Oversized food portions.
60. James Earl Jones' monologue from "Field of Dreams" ["People will come Ray..." classic. ](see #10).
61. Monument valley and the American Western.
62. Bourbon St.
63. Scott Joplin.
64. "The Jazz Singer." (You know, the first "talkie" film... No big deal.)
65. "Gone With the Wind." (An epic film. And how about films from Hollywood in 1939 while we're at it! Can China match that?!?! No sir-ree-Bob it cannot. Nor can it rebuttal with such an epically awesome phrase like "No-sir-ree-Bob." Ha!)
66. The Beatles American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. Legendary.
67. Matt Marrujo's Mazda.
68. Disneyland.
69. "Casablanca."
70. "Friends."
71. Herman Melville.
72. Kerri Strug and the 1996 USA Women's Olympic Gold team (becoming the first American Olympic team to place so high in a non-boycotted came after Strug nailed her vault landing on a sprained ankle and was carried to the podium. AMERICA!!!)
73. The Wright Brothers.
74. The Interstate Highway System. (Genius. See #39 and #67).
75. Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, etc.
76. Fireside Chats.
77. Lou Gehrig's Farewell Speech. (This list could really begin and end with this, but I've never been one for brevity, so onward...)
78. "I Love Lucy."
79. "Saturday Night Live."
80. Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics.
81. Ben & Jerry's.
82. Otter pops.
83. Bobby Fischer.
84. Alexander Graham Bell.
85. Victory at Yorktown.
86. "12 Angry Men."
87. Henry David Thoreau (With whom I feel personally acquainted).
88. De Tocqueville was so intrigued by America he wrote some little book about it...
89. Vince Lombardi.
90. Steve Jobs and Apple.
91. "Rocky."
92. Trick-or-treating.
93. The Marlboro Man.
94. In God We Trust.
95. Arthur Miller.
96. Bruce Springtsteen.
97. The American Dream.
98. Louis Armstrong.
99. Matt Marrujo and me.
100. Family. Home.

This list is most certainly not exhaustive-- just a few thoughts. Not at all intended to entice you home...(or is it?!)

Falling in love again--India

I have been pretty bad at blogging lately, and figure I should bring it back to life. With a new remodel and a positive attitude, I think it will survive this time around.

I recently was on another adventure, I know not again...but my heart was aching for something exciting--familiarity. I ventured back to the "homeland," the place I left my heart. I was back in Calcutta, India. I have not felt that kind of peace since I got on that plane, two years ago. As many of you know, I spent two months traveling through India, back in 2010. I was the crazy kid who wanted to stay and ended back in the states with a heart on fire for travel. I have constantly been battling with these inner demons, where does God want me. I have always felt like something was missing, and have missed the people, the smells, the colors, the life that are, simply put--India. I got a second chance to fall in love. I don't think He gives us these all that often and I definitely took this opportunity to start where I ended--with the people.

This trip started with two of my friends, here in China asking if I would take them to India. How can anyone say no to that? exactly. So I went and I brought along two wonderful ladies, that I am blessed to call friends. They have made my China experience absolutely fantastic and I knew they would do the same with a trip to India. Needless to say it was a great experience, even though there were illnesses, exhaustion and lack of air conditioners, we survived. We survived enough that we have signed up for another trip together in February...yes the next adventure, but more on that later ;)

My first stop was to the local restaurant, Blue Sky Cafe, to see Sam and the other guys that work there. It was so good to be sitting at the same booth, ordering the same food and seeing people that I call friends. Everything was the same, the guys were just as funny and they took care of us while we were there.

I was also able to go back to Varanasi, the holy city to the Hindu's. I had been there before and dreamt of going back. Like before the smells, the people, the ceremonies, the every day life consumed me the minute we got off the train. Two years ago I had jumped into the Ganga, this time I decided upon a sit and watch tactic. We took the 5am boat ride and we took a night ride as well. I had an opportunity during the Puja's ceremony to journal and pray, something I really never thought I would do again.

I got to go back to the Wallaby School to see some wonderful friends! Oh how the kids had grown and were still as sweet as ever. I got to take my friends into homes, the homes of people I spent two wonderful weeks with. It was an experience of its own to sit there and see how they are and what they have been doing these past few years. Here are some pictures of the kiddos :)

India was an exciting reminder of what I feel called to do in life--serve. I was able to open my heart up to friends, I met two years ago, to my new friends I have made in China. It is refreshing to know that there are people all over the world that I have met. I guess the talkative gene my mom gave me, has come in handy ;)

It has been a month since I have returned from India and I am still humbled by that experience. What did I learn? I have a group here to serve, a group of fellow CUI grads and other recent college grads. A group that I love with all of my heart, they make the days not seem as long. They give me that laugh I need, the encouragement, the talking to when I need it. They bring me God, in so many ways. I am 100% Blessed. We are going to be taking a group photo in about a week, so don't worry you will get to see some faces soon!

Highs:
Travel plans.
Bex and Krae coming along on the Feb trip!
Fantastic friends here.

Lows:
Not knowing what I am doing.
Feeling called to other things.


Prayer Requests:
The strength to get through the rest of the semester
Constant encouragement to future changes.
Discerning God's plan for my life. Taking time to listen. To pray.
Being strong.


With love,

Ashley

China round 2

I have finally reached my one year mark in China. Obsessed is only a small fragment of what I have to say, for this place. I moved to China, I hated every part of it and wanted to go home. I went home with the hope of a better situation for when I got back to China and it definitely was.

This year has been fantastic and has had its ups and downs--but when do things not?

Here are a few of my highlights and not so favorite memories of my year abroad.

1. Christine arriving at my old job and giving me a hug, I was SO homesick. Definitely made my year better.

2. Going home to visit one of my Chinese friends parents and traveling with Christine and Jessica and the group last October.

3. Figuring out this city with Jessica and Christine and not being afraid to get lost.

4. Trips back home, Hong Kong, Beijing, The Philippines and random cities in China.

5. Community at BCIS

6. The kids. The joy they bring and the laughs they give me.

7. The many nights of wine

8. Hosting a summer camp and getting to see many CUI grads

9. Getting sick often, was not in my plan...but it happens--all the time.

10. being a witness.

There are many days where I don't understand why I am here and try to constantly figure them out, but that is ok. I really do enjoy it here and the children I work with and the people I work with are a huge blessing.

Here is this years school photo!

This year has started off nicely, I live with wonderful girls and have some great students...even with all their talking!


I recently got to fly up to Beijing for a total of 36 hours and got a nice 7 hours of sleep for the whole weekend. I got to see one of my best friends, Dana! and I got to see Adam, Karen, Ben and Josh and the ATW II semester students. It was SO refreshing and a huge blessing to get to witness what they are doing. They wowed me and reminded me of what I am doing in this world. Here is a picture of me and some of my favorite people in this world!

as for life in China, this is China and I enjoy it. I have a lot of exciting adventures ahead of me and I am looking forward to them!

until we meet again!

with love,

Ashley

Summer in China

First, I apologize for my lack in blogging, it has been one hectic/busy summer!

Second, it is strange to think this is my third summer abroad, I am starting to forget what a California native summer is like. I would have it no other way though :D

I am here to blog for you all and I am excited to share with you what has been happening this summer! I have posted a few times that the school let me be in charge of a summer camp, here at the school...it is in full force and it has been more successful then I even thought it would be! We have almost 100 kids enrolled and the CUI group has been fantastic!

The CUI group has been such a nice taste of home and I feel spoiled having them here, it will be a bummer to say goodbye to them next weekend!

My summer started off with a friend visiting from Vietnam! My good friend Mary lives there and we decided to go on a vacation together. We originally planned on going to Mongolia, but when one misses a train, that becomes impossible. So we ended up staying in Beijing for 8/9 days? I forget how long and it was a ton of fun! I loved getting to see Mary and having time to talk about our times abroad, we both made a leap to move to different countries and she has been a blessing since day one. It is nice knowing one of your closest friends is near by...the next trip is me going to visit her! Hopefully for spring break :) This was country number 5 (I think) for us to travel to together!

Here are some pictures from our travels!

Summer has been mostly uneventful, but exciting! The camp is going well, I love them all and I love the students even more! I am just preparing for next year and the school year that will begin in August and anxiously awaiting everyones arrival back to SZ!
Here is a group pic from the summer camp!!!

oh and how could I forget!! my friends Christine and Sandro and a few others were in the Dragon Boat festival a couple of weeks ago in Hong Kong! It was so much fun to watch and I hope next summer I can be apart of it! here are some pics from that!!

The new school year seems to be coming so quickly! The summer has gone by way too fast! I am preparing to move all my stuff into my new apartment and I am prepping it for the two new teachers, that I will be living with! I am excited about this opportunity to live with two girls that seem wonderful and I am excited for it!!

I also found out that my friend Christine will be staying in Shenzhen a bit longer, so I am glad that she will be around. I was starting to feel a bit lost at the thought of the girl who networks not being here! Still count 3 CUI grads being here teaching and loving life and doing His work.


Highs:
All the CUI folk here in China, it has been a huge blessing!
Getting to see Mary for a week!
planning my next set of trips
preparing for next year
Camp being so successful!
buying tickets to go see Maroon 5

Lows:
saying bye to friends at the beginning of summer
missing home
trying to get caught up on sleep

Prayer requests:
That I can go into the new school year fully rested and ready. I don't want to get burnt out!
For my visa to India, I have been having issues getting it.
My friends arrive back safely!
My new apartment and the new roommates!
2 people from the summer trip wanting to get jobs here, I may of found them something!


with love,

Ashley

1 month away from a year

I realized the other day that I will be hitting the 1 year mark in China--give or take. The first time I came to China was on June 9th, so I will count it as a year of being in this country. WEIRD. I forget how fast time flies, but didn't even notice it happening. I have been truly content and happy this semester and love everything I am doing.

I am in the process of finding a new apartment for the next year! A place to call home, I am tired of all this moving around! I am preparing like crazy for summer camps and figuring out what everyone is doing! It is tough work, yet so rewarding. I am counting down the days until they all arrive! It is going to be so exciting seeing them all at the airport! (if I cry, be warned! I just get so excited to see people from the states!)

I have found a community here, something I searched so much for last semester. It puts a smile to my face and I really enjoy this group of people. They are fantastic. It is nice having people that feel like family, when family is 9,000 miles away.

Here are some pictures from our field day we had a couple weeks ago that I talked about during our schools spirit week :P It was a lot of fun and I think the kids really enjoyed it. They really liked tug-of-war!

Rachel, Krista-Rae and I after our field day.

Big things are happening. My trip to Mongolia with Mary is coming up and I could not be anymore excited than I am to see her. It feels like I just saw her in Hong Kong in October but that has been months! Counting down the days till I pick her up from the airport and we start are really unplanned, adventurous trip up north. I still laugh at the though of about a year ago we were laying on the couches at our apartment watching a documentary on Mongolia. We made a promise to each other that day, we would not go there without the other. Weird that it is happening so soon!!!

I am really excited for the opportunity I have been given with these summer camps. I hope they are successful. My worst fear is that they will fail miserably, but I am being hopeful and enthusiastic about all of it. It is weird to think that me, the 23 year old, is in charge of a whole summer program. I guess this big kid life is actually happening. :)

I got to go to Huaiji, China. It is a small village a few hours away. We are teaming up with the school to help them and working with CWEF in the process. It was a lot of fun to go out there and meet everyone. I forgot how pretty China can be--the city life is rough in that way. I miss seeing the green countryside...those rice fields are gorgeous! Here are some pics from my recent trip up there!!

So what have I learned in this year? I am determined in so many ways and learning to accept failure. I am stronger when I actually pray and listen and put God first. I appreciate the simple/easy things we have back in America--so much more. I love service--any type of service. I love saying good morning to great friends everyday at work. I love teaching. I am starting to enjoy math (don't tell my old math teachers that). I think I am supposed to be abroad, for how long? who knows. Just taking it day by day and couldn't be more excited about another year here. The adventures continue and I will keep on smiling during it all--even when it sucks.

Thanks for reading!

With love,

Ashley



Highs:
Good friends in SZ and HK
relationships
family
service trips

Lows:
end of the year slump
unmotivated
finding a new apt

prayer requests:
That I can go out with a bang these last three weeks.
Summer camp stuff gets done, the program goes smoothly
That the Huaiji trip next week is amazing!
That communication with people here and back home continue to be strong.
That I am doing His will.

When it rains, it pours

I have been blessed here at BCIS. There is no other way to put it, no other explanation makes sense. I am someone that should probably not be working here, it is not by chance that I am here. I can't even give you a number to how many blessings I am greeted with daily. We have hard days, we have easy days--it is well worth it though. I am excited to continue to work here next year and to watch the kids grow, I am connecting really well with quite a lot of them!

We have been hit by Spring time in Shenzhen, which means epic thunderstorms. I love thunderstorms and lightning and heavy rain, one of my favorite things on this Earth. It has been great but I am seriously shocked that it can rain non-stop for 6 hours+ it is crazy! My favorite has been teaching in it, the kids freak out and then stare out the windows. I enjoyed my impromptu lesson on lightning and thunder and sharing why we have these things in the world. It has been fun :) But man when it rains, it is seriously pouring!

A lot has been happening, staying busy with teaching and summer camps. I am planning two different camps, yes two. I don't know how people do this for a living--seriously you rock. I am stressed, confused, discouraged and so many other things but I am so excited for these graduates to come and visit Shenzhen and to do His work here. I have been putting in "long" hours, getting up early and going to bed late--gotta love time differences. I have been making calendars, I have been making packing lists, budgets, so much! All you trip planners out there got so much more respect from me, SO much. I can not wait to see everyone at the airport, this summer. I am counting down the days to see some amazing groups!

This week is our Spirit Week. Monday-Crazy dress day. Tuesday-Crazy hair day. Wednesday-Character day. Thursday- Pajama day. Friday-Sports day/hat day
The kids are getting a kick out of it--which makes it fun. We had a rough start on Monday with not as many doing it, but they stepped it up today. We had all different kind of wigs, hair colors, hair clips--all cute. I look forward to field day and getting to play some sports with the kids--sports are the best kind of medicine. Plus I really just want some friendly competition with them :P

Other news is that I bought a ticket back to Calcutta, India. I feel like I am going home, it is such a weird feeling! I can not wait to walk those streets again. I am going with my friends Rebecca and Krista-Rae and it will be their first times to India. I hope I give it enough justice and can show them what I fell in love with, two years ago. I really do have a heart on fire for India and can't wait to see what I can do while I am there. I have missed it for way too long now!

I also have a study that I go to once a week. We decided to pick up the book Radical, I am excited to read it with a group of amazing ladies. Please pray for us as we dive into the book and into His work! I love this group :D

I love it here. I look forward to the last few weeks of school and to the summer. I am excited for the adventures with my friends and with the students coming to visit. It will be well worth it--I hope. :)


Highs:
Thunderstorms
Visa stuff went smoothly
future trips
Friendships

Lows:
a little discouraged with summer stuff

Prayer Requests:
That summer stuff goes smoothly.
For our future Head of School--that they pray hard about the offer and that it is His will
That I can find a new apartment soon, want to move before the summer rush.
Friends with different colds/allergies/sickness
For friendships

with love,

Ashley

The Philippines for Spring Break!

Hello everyone!

I apologize for being MIA from the blog world, it has been a hectic last few weeks to say the least. I have been traveling and teaching non stop...or at least it seems that way!

Where to begin...so I was offered a spot to join a service team that would be going to the Philippines for a week. It happened to land on my Spring Break and I had been praying that something would just fall in my lap--it did. I am now a heart on fire for the Philippines and absolutely loved my time there. I went with 7 other people and we got to work with an orphanage while we were there. We got to play with babies in the morning, lead a VBS type camp for street children in the afternoon and paint a room in our spare time. It was a fantastic adventure and it was so nice to get to know the people I interact with in Hong Kong more. I fell in love with one of the little girls there and if I could, I would adopt her. She was the cutest and had such a touching testimony at the age of 14 months old. I couldn't believe how happy and excited she was to see me every morning.

This is Rachel my new little best friend in the Philippines and she has stolen my heart. Of course that is me and my weirdo self :)

The street kids were a great opportunity to open up to them about vulnerability and what it is like to live where they do. Most of them live in squatters, another name for slum, and have a family with more than 5 kids in it. A lot of them told me they had at least 11 other siblings, I couldn't even imagine that! We did a lot of games of interacting and talking about our favorite things and what they like to learn about. My favorite was getting to pray with them at the end of the day. These are some special kids with big dreams, I loved it. Continue to pray for them as I am! They were sweethearts and I miss them a lot and hope I can go back in the future to interact with them again!

Here is a group funny shot of us all.

We also got to be tourists for awhile and go see different things that the Philippines had to offer. We went to the only WW2 memorial in all of Asia and it was absolutely beautiful. I love going to cemeteries and this is definitely in my top 5.

Don't even get me started on the food. This is the first country I have been to where I have loved every single piece of food I ate. I was raving about the food and I am slightly obsessed. It might be because the food was pretty much just seafood :) I can't get enough seafood so this was the perfect place for me to visit!

One of the prettiest sunsets I have ever seen!

after the rest of the group left I got to fly to another island and spend a couple days on the beach. A nice little break before coming back to teach, the water was beautiful.

just a little taste of paradise....now to plan the next time I will visit there :)


Highs:
Meeting some amazing people that are changing my life
God.
Traveling

Lows:
A tad homesick

Prayer Requests:
I have a nasty sunburn and just pray that it heals nicely and that the peeling is not too bad.
Get through these next few weeks, just getting a little tired.
We are hiring a new head of school so pray that He guides everyones decisions and that the process goes smoothly.

With love,

Ashley