Sights Around The West Lake

~Inside on a stormy afternoon~


~A beautiful evening to follow~

100th Post! And back where it all started...

There is something inspiring about this place- Xi Hu. Especially on a day like today, when it's a bit overcast, but the skies are clear of smog because of last night's downpour. The lake really lights up and shines it's magical side. This is what I think of when I think of China. I've come back here after a summer of working to relax and meet up with some friends. But I was captivated today by the lake and am feeling a new energy to photograph it and other lovely things in Hangzhou.

So this is where I spent a year of my life. I never thought I'd be happy to be back here, but I have to say, it feels like coming home a bit. I've walked, cycled, sat at the shore of this lake so many time contemplating living in China and how much it changed my life and my outlook and general attitude. If ever there was a life changing experience, coming to China was it for me.

Although I'm excited to go home (FL home), I'm feeling really content being in Hangzhou right now. This was a long summer filled with hardwork, heartbreak and seeing sides of China that I don't really love at all. So it's nice to be in a familiar place that has taught me so much and to remember the parts of China that I fell hard for. Quite fitting for my 100th post I think, the beautiful West Lake.

China Fisheyed

Orphans in China

So I'm out here working with teens from the US who are volunteering with orphans in China. It sounds a bit heavy and emotional. But I have to say, most of the time I remain pretty level and unemotional about it all. But every once in a while I do get overwhelmed with what the situation is and what is happening to these little people who never had any say in their own fate whatsoever. All we hear growing up is that our parents will love us no matter what happens. But what if you're abandoned by your parents?.... Who's responsibility is it to love you no matter what, when that happens?

What's more heartbreaking is that I know there are mom's out there who are agonizing over abandoning their own child. Because they had a disorder or a deformity that would be too expensive for their family to fix, they made the decision to try to give this child an opportunity at a better life. But the reality is, at state run orphanages in China, there isn't much chance at a better life, especially for those kids with disabilities.

Which is where China Little Flower comes in. They take babies with disabilities out of orphanages and get them the medical care that they need. Then they have a greater chance of being adopted.

China Little Flower also has a home for older kids, who have a pretty small chance of being adopted. Our teens have also been working with these kids. They actually have a really awesome setup here. They have 4 of what they call "Group Homes" which the older kids are split up between. Each family has a mother and a father (hired by CLF) who have signed a contract to stay on for a certain number of years, and all the kids that live within the home refer to each other as their brothers and sisters. At first I wasn't sure what to make of this, but we recently had the chance to go and spend an evening in one of the homes to make Chinese Dumplings with the family. I have to say it was one of the warmest family experiences I've ever experienced. The parents are amazing and treat every child as if it were their own. A couple of the families have their own children who they treat no differently from the Group Home kids.

These kids are really incredible and I have such a soft spot for them.









For more information about the China Little Flower organization visit http://www.chinalittleflower.org

A Quote

I was given this book for Valentine's Day this year from Eliot and am only now getting around to reading it. It's called Travels by Michael Crichton, and I have to say, I'm really happy I put off reading it until now, while I'm traveling. It's seems a lot more relevant right now, and I love reading books when they're relevant to what I'm doing in the moment. Anyways, this quote really jumped out at me and put into words exactly how I feel.

"Often I feel I go to some distant region of the world to be reminded of who I really am. There is no mystery about why this should be so. Stripped of your ordinary surroundings, your friends, your daily routines, your refrigerator full of your food, you closet full of your clothes-with all this taken away, you are forced into direct experience. Such direct experience inevitably makes you aware of who it is that is having the experience. That's not always comfortable, but it is always invigorating."

-Michael Crichton

Babies!

Wow, my first blog update from China. It hasn't been easy because now EVERYTHING is blocked here. Even my image hosting website doesn't work. So I've been trying to find some free time (a bit limited) to get through the Great Chinese Firewall.

Just to update everyone. Things have been going really well and we're about to end the first session of the program. Which means we're sending home 8 people on Wednesday and receiving 18 (yes 18!) more on Friday.

I've found a bit of time now just to show you some pictures of what's going on here. Here are some of the babies that live at the Baby Home that is run by China Little Flower. All are orphans, most have medical issues which is why they are here in Beijing to begin with, and some are ready to be adopted out. But all are so loveable, and I've been really enjoying my time with these precious little bundles.

For more information on these babies go to www.chinalittleflower.org

Life Update

It's Saturday night! Woohoo! Actually... I'm home, it's nearly 10pm and my bed is looking really cozy right now. Lame? Maybe to the 19 year old Ashley, but right now I'm loving it. My weeks have been HECTIC, and it seems the weekends are the only time I have to settle down a bit, get to bed early, and work on my own schedule. Eliot has been gone for the past 3 weeks. And although I miss him so much (and can't wait until he gets home next Friday), it really has been a good time for me to get some true, genuine, uninterrupted ME time (also lots of baby time with my neighbor Chantale's newborn). I haven't been able to reflect on this blog about it, but my head is full of thoughts. A lot of my thoughts are about the future, and what going to school is going to allow me to do. I'm loving learning to be creative and surprising myself sometimes with what I come up with. I want to get started on the future right now, and start planning and building upon what I've already learned. But I also know that I need to pace this and soak up everything I can before I make a move.

I'm getting prepared to go to China this summer for what I know will be a life changing experience. I'm so lucky to get this opportunity and I really want to get the most out of it. It's easy after so much traveling to take for granted these things that come up, but I'm viewing this trip as completely different from my previous China trip (life?) and embracing it as a different experience altogether. I also can't wait to get there with my camera and document it. For those who don't know what I'm going to be doing over there, I've been brought on board to head up THIS program.

I'm also working on my divemaster right now. I love being underwater, blowing bubbles and achieving this next level in one of my favorite hobbies. I'm hoping to finish it before leaving for China, but I'm not rushing it by any means. I am however, looking forward to doing a lot more diving in our FL waters.

Just a little post/update about what's going on with me.

Remembering China.......

Because I'm going back! It seems a little crazy, especially when I dig up and read THIS.

I then have to go and find something a bit more positive like THIS, to remember why I loved this insane place so much, and all the things I learned from it.

I'm really excited for this summer.























I'll explain more later as to why I'm going back. It's definitely not on holiday. I've actually been offered a job to work with American high schoolers working with orphans up in Beijing. A bit heavy for this lighthearted post, so more on that later.

Right now I'm focusing on how I'm going to be turning vegetarian again!

Thanksgiving Goodness

Eliot and I realized last night that this is our 4th Thanksgiving together, and in the past 4 years we've celebrated it in 4 different countries and on 3 different continents! Although it is an American holiday, he seems to love celebrating it just as much as the rest of us. This year we were really lucky to also be able to celebrate it with my parents who are in South Africa visiting. We didn't have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (much too hot now in SA to roast a turkey, + we didn't want to spend a whole day of my parent's holiday cooking), but we haven't actually had any "traditional" Thanksgiving dinners for the past 4 years. So I guess we kind of kept up with our own tradition in that sense.

So..... This year I'm thankful for:

Travel! And being able to do so much of it with the person I love the most.

Here's rundown of our past 4 Thanksgivings.


~2006: Cashew Chicken feast on Similan Island #4 in Thailand~


~2007: Snowboarding at Okemo in Vermont~


~2008: Roast Chicken Dinner in Fuyang China with our ex-pat friends~


~2009: Spaghetti feast in Cape Town South Africa~

Can't wait to see what the years ahead bring us, maybe next year we'll do something new and spend it in the states with a proper turkey! Happy Holidays everyone :o)