guilin

When I was 18, I decided I was ready to go abroad alone. My first choice was Africa, but as I looked for opportunities in line with what I wanted to do (teach/volunteer) I ended up instead in China.   Africa, China, both big and un-kown, so sure, why not?

I was sent with a group of 6 other teachers to a school in rural South-west China,  in an area ardently claimed as "the most beautiful place in the world" by any Chinese person you will ever meet. Also to a school who had never had guest teachers and without anyone who was able to speak English, including the teachers who actually taught English at the school.

The six of us lived together, taught an immersion kindergarten in the mornings, and classes to every other grade in the school throughout the rest of the day, then went on adventures on the weekend.

I was cleaning out a basket last night and happened across a jump drive with pictures. And oh what a funny thing to look back at a version of yourself almost 10 years younger. Especially since I felt like I was such an adult at the time. And had just shaved my head, and then in an attempt to get it died hot pink (Sydney Bristow style) in Beijing (but speaking thus yet no chinese) ended up with Ronald Mcdonald.

And had absolutely no idea that China was about to become a pretty constant theme in my life.

We brought lots of cake mixes to use in the kitchen part of kindergarten. But ended up making most of them as a Friday treat and eating the whole bowl. Well we didn't have an oven.

breakfast on the street

enough elastics

the bathroom

new chinese shirt

hostile at the hostel

This man just held his baby up to my back as we were taking a picture. really. and to this day I'm not sure why.

This family is my inspiration. They met up with us to have church one sunday. The parents had saved up for years, then both quit their jobs and were taking their kids around the world for a year, homeschooling as they went and making their way slowly around the globe.

our clothes (an in turn ourselves) were pretty much just dirty and stinky the whole time

yum!

our apartment was not tight like unto a dish

I had no idea.

She had just won a medal for being the fastest kid in her grade (beating the boys, which was huge!) Look how thrilled she looks about it.

This is called behavior management. And this is a table.

Doing laundry

Rode across this on my bike. Snake infested waters on either side.

Just you try and teach me english

“Everything is ceremony in the wild garden of childhood.” ― Pablo Neruda

"Do sad seagull face, mama!" So I did, willing my lips into the best beak I could while still maintaining a frown. You try it.  Yes you. Right now, I dare you. Put on your best sad seagull face. It's harder than you may think.

The conversations I get to have these days with miss Anna Louise Chipman are as entertaining as they are unpredictable. Why snails aren't in zoos, what all her friend's moms are doing right now, details she somehow remembers from months before.

You just can't move quickly with a two year old. Unless you are trying to catch a spilling glass of cranberry juice or prevent another injury. Then you're wicked fast.  But if you're really trying to get somewhere, it will take a while. One such morning this week we were walking along, and smiling at our progress (or lack thereof) Eric said something like "Well, I guess we just have to live in the moment!" in a grandma voice. Anna pipped up "We don't live in the moment Baba, we live in Utah!"

Well Utah decided to outdo itself today, and all the beauty fall possesses poured out in one afternoon. I had about an hour between teaching lessons, and I knew we had to get outside again on a day such as this, so the two of us went for a walk in our boots. To nowhere in particular. The sun, so welcome, made happy shadows that bobbed along after us. And every cheesy saying about love or motherhood or living life to the fullest could have been used to describe how it was. All I can say is we, the two of us, were 100% there, and wanted to be or do nothing besides together, cracking open horse chestnuts.

best place in the whole world when you're two: Petsmart

One afternoon it hailed, and we sat in the parked car to watch. She said it was "Kale-ing". Maybe we eat too much of that stuff around here.

In addition to making up new songs about pretty much whatever she's doing, she loves to sit down when we're having band practice or playing music in any form, and add her enthusiasm. But very seriously.

Riding in Heidi Ho (idaho) This place may in fact surpass Petsmart on her favorite list. It is talked about lovingly, longingly, at least once a day.

dressed herself, and happy about it

growing out a pixie, one year later

It has officially been one year since I cut my hair about three feet. Here's what it looks like now when I look out our bathroom window. And here's a brief show of what it looked like through the months. 

I feel completely ridiculous taking pictures of myself, but I did try to every so often so if I ever consider going so short again, I'll have a clear and documented idea of what I'm getting into.  I should have had Anna with me in every picture so I could see the growth she was making right along with my much less significant hair. And I should definitely get around to figuring out how to make pictures on a blog big and even and pretty. Also, I don't have a smart phone, so none of these pictures are square, cute, or filtered. But they do their job, so enough should haves and here's what I did, hair-wise, this past year.

10 months

8 months 

6 months

5 months

4 months

You just sort of have to embrace wings in a whole new way if you're hair is at all wavy.

3 months. Camping hair.

2 months

1 month

day of

For me, or anyone else out there growing out a similarly short cut, the key is mullet control. The uneven/layered growth that just happens when growing out a pixie generally looks just fine, as long as you get the back taken care of every so often. And most hair places will do that for really cheap.