Back in the USA

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Just landed

3:40 pm. Just landed. 1.5 hrs late. Downingtown at 6:30 or 7 pm

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9 in 6 passenger van

We somehow packed 9 people into a tiny 6 passenger van, but we also had 11 pieces of luggage and 10 pieces of carry on.  The van could hardly go but we made it from the train station to the airport in Kunming in 40 minutes. 

We will be JFK at about 2:15 pm July 4 and back in Downingtown at about 6 pm. Thanks to Paul Smith for picking us up on a holiday. 

We miss our Chinese friends, but glad to be headed home. 

Dave and Linda

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Delay in Shanghai

We are in Shanghai for the night. We leave Shanghai at 11:30 am July 4 and arrive at JFK at 2:15 pm July 4. 

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Time to return home

We leave by 12 hour day train tomorrow July 3 at 8 am for Kunming. Flight to Shanghai at 6:30 pm. Tight connections for sure. 

Sleep a little in Shanghai on July 3. 

Leave Shanghai at 11 am July 4 and arrive at JFK in New York at 2:30 pm July 4. Back in Downingtown at about 6 pm. 

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Class at the bakery

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Final dinner in China

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Teaching

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Crafts

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Teaching

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Teaching

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Classroom with our team

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Classrooms

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Time in class with Nathan

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Last days in China with Nathan, Awesome

 

Thursday morning we woke up early for our meeting. As our trip is coming to a close, we began preparing for re-entry to America. The team grabbed fried rice and bread for breakfast and met Nate and his family at a park by our hotel. We also met a veteran couple from Australia who had been on the field for many, many years. The park had a trail of 2000 steps to walk up one of the smaller mountains around where we are staying. The combination of the amount of steps and the altitude made the hike much harder than it should have been. When we reached the top, the view was well worth the climb.

 

In the park, we ate at a western restaurant and enjoyed more familiar food such as pancakes, burgers, and French fries! After lunch, we headed back to Nate's house where he told us about his future plans for his stay in China. It was a very emotional, tearful meeting as our Australian friends shared their experiences with travelling the world, and also what they plan to do in their hometown. They are a very knowledgeable, wise couple who taught us a lot.

 

We piled into two vans and drove to the tallest building in the city. We rode up to the 23^rd floor and ate dinner with the team. The view was similar to what we saw on top of the mountain (minus the 45 minute hike)! Many of us were feeling a little caffeine deprived, so of course we had to stop at Starbucks! We picked up some mugs and frappaccinos before heading back to the hotel to get some R&R.

 

Friday morning we met earlier than usual and met the rest of the team to drive to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. Legend has it that two hunters were chasing a tiger through the mountains and it leaped across the gorge to get away. The drive there was two hours, but full of amazing views of the Chinese countryside. Our pictures can't accurately represent the things that we saw, but if you can imagine National Geographic times 10, you're on the right track. We ate lunch at a very small minority restaurant where we got to try food from the Na xi people (pronounced Na She), including yak cheese dumplings and Na xi-style pizza. One side of the restaurant was almost completely glass, so we could see the mountains and river while we ate.

 

The team drove back to Nate's house for dinner, where we ate dumplings and chicken. After we ate, we headed over to a small English school for kids down the street. We read two books and did a craft with them. Despite the language barrier, we were able to have some good conversations with them and hopefully, their English improved a bit. The teachers from the school took us out to a coffee house after class which was a nice treat. They were so appreciative of our efforts to help their school that they wanted to treat us. We constantly appreciate the hospitality of the Chinese people and are thankful for all the people we have met thus far.

 

We look forward to seeing everybody in a few days!

 

Katie, Hunter , and the entire CARE team

Last classes with Nathan

Story time and crafts with Elementary school students 

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Team near Tiger Leaping Gorge

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CARE TEAM home for the last 4 days in China

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Still meeting students in China

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Walmart in China

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Guilin last supper

Our team and a few students enjoying a last meal together. We hope to see all the students we met this year, next year when we come back. 

Dave

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Big final party and day in Guilin

 

Today was the longest day we've had on the trip so far. We started off our early morning at 7 am with our meeting, and grabbed breakfast in the hotel before meeting with some students to come with us to the river ride. We invited along some friends we made on this trip, and they brought along a new student for us to become friends with as well.

 

The river ride started at 10, and lasted about three hours. We were able to get up close to so many of Guilin's beautiful limestone mountains, and see caves along the way. We admired the culture of families fishing on bamboo rafts, and water buffalo roaming in the river as well. The sights were incredible, and pictures that we took will never fully capture the beauty of this country. At the end of the river ride, we ended up at Yangshuo, a popular tourist area.

 

We were able to shop for gifts and souvenirs, and walk around the town. Nathan took David Price and two Chinese students on a bike ride. They biked on the country side, and saw orchards, lakes, and other farms. The scenery of this country is absolutely amazing. I wish all of you back home could see it here!

 

After walking around Yangshuo, we drove over to the campus to eat dinner in a coffee shop. I'm proud to say all of our chopstick skills have improved significantly too!!  After dinner, we attended the Night of Friendship, a party/talent show that the students prepared for us. The Chinese students performed hip hop dances, and original songs, while our team brought dance moves and magic tricks to the show. This party showed all of us how close we actually got to these students, and made our unity even more special.

 

After our party, we had to say goodbye to some of our closest friends. Friends we met two years ago, and friends we met this week; it was hard to leave so many friendly faces. Because this trip is so relational, driving away from our friends in the bus was the hardest part of these weeks so far.

 

Our time in Guilin is coming to a close, but we are all excited to be going up to Li Jiang to spend time with Nathan and Jessica and family, and also to enjoy some cooler weather. We're loving our time here in China, but of course missing you all back at home too! Thank you for all of your thoughts and support, we love you!

 

Katie

 

Linda's new friend Jemi

Ryan Roe met Jemi last summer on a bus and passed her name on to us. We became instant friends and is now considering things both Ryan and our team discussed with her. She is an amazing sweet young lady,  and is in grad school. 

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Last Going Away Party

The students held a large Going Away party for us. This picture is about half the students that came. Some left because it went from 8 pm to after 10 pm. We are leaving behind many Freshman we will see for the next 4 years. 

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Mountain view of Guilin China

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NOT pain free medicine

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Climbing the mountain

The Care team with little Gabriel ready to climb at the 7 Stars Mountain. I almost died but Gabriel did it by himself. Amazing. 

Dave

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Up on the mountain

We are up on the mountain with our Chinese son, daughter, and grandson. 

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A long day tomorrow but last time with students

 

It is 9;40 pm on Saturday, June 25, 2016. We started early this morning with a team meeting at 7 am. Our team was joined by Nathan, Jack, and Bruce. After the meeting, we ventured out into 106 degree weather to the day market down the street. The vendors at the market sell any kind of spice or medicinal herb you could need. The market is characterized by a variety of sights and smells that can at times be overpowering. While exploring the market we came across a large cave in the side of a mountain. At the cave entrance we were greeted by a group of elders socializing around a small table and stools. One of the men encouraged us to explore the inside of the cave. Inside of the cave there were vegetables being stored to dry. It was much cooler than it was outside and the tunnels wrapped around for what seemed like forever. After the market, we met some students at Seven Stars Park. Some of us climbed one of the taller mountains around the where we are staying and took some great pictures. Jack and Shirley and their 3 ½ year old boy climbed the mountain and never complained. We were so amazed.  The boy is a power house at his age. 

         

We split up and left the park for lunch.  The adults went with Jack and Shirley to the train station and all the CARE team and the Chinese students went out to lunch at a hot pot. All the food goes in a central pot in a certain order and the broth in the pot cooks the meat. After we finished our lunch, we toured the underground called Little Hong Kong. After Little Hong Kong we left get some Boba Tea with the students. Tonight 2 Chinese girls will over and talk about their lives.

 

Tomorrow we will be up at 6 am and meeting at 7 am.  After that we will board a bus with many Chinese students at 8:30 am and head to the Li River were we will take a boat cruise from 10 am to 2 pm to YangShuo.  We will walk the streets of this old town and then load the bus at 4:30 pm to head to the larger campus where we went all week. There we will have dinner.  All the student classes we have met will put on a going-away party for us. The Chinese will put on a talent show and our team will perform their talents.  Keep us in mind that our team will rise to the occasion and perform some talents to entertain all the students. Our main contact, Gam, will be there to ensure thing go smooth.  This might be the last time some of this team will meet these Chinese students.  We hope that is not the case and it will impact our team for the rest of their lives.

 

Much Love,

Hunter, David, and Dave and Linda

 

More Classes and more Brothers and Sisters arrive

It is 10:19 pm on Thursday, June 23.  We spend the whole day with students on Campus.  Nathan S arrived yesterday at 5:30 pm yesterday and then went to class with us.  Davie (our brother from 2001) stayed 4 days and left today after spending quality time with Nathan S.
 
Then Lucy arrived at 4:30 pm.  She is a Sister and was our travel guide a few years ago and her father was our tour guide before that.  Then Jack, Shirley, and Gabriel (4 years old) arrived at 7:30 pm.  Jack was a class mate with Lion, and they both were students under my daughter Angela in 2005.  Both are Brothers.  Jack was married by Phil C a few years ago. All the years run together so that is the best I can do at 10:30 pm at night.  Tomorrow the team will go to campus and a few of us will spend time with our Chinese Brothers and Sisters, Lucy, Jack, Shirley and Gabriel, Bruce, Gary, and a few others.  It will be great to catch up with them and see what is going on in their lives.
 
There are 4 girls spending the night tonight with us and 2 other guys.  Saturday we will go with many students to Seven Stars Park for the day and have lots of great conversations and make many life long friendships.
 
More to follow later,
 
Dave

Our Chinese class yesterday.

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Update for Wednesday, June 22, 12 hours ahead of you

 Dear friends and family,

 

 I hope you are eagerly awaiting our most recent blog post,  First off, we miss you more than words can say!

Amidst the jet lag, the early mornings, the blistering hot weather and lack of fork, our visit to China thus far has­­ been an experience we will take with us for the rest of our lives. We have witnessed scenery with mountains that jut across the landscape that is reminiscent of a painting, and of which many may only see through photos. We have experienced Chinese culture first hand – something that the United States can only minimally grasp. I can also say with confidence that not everyone walks around with conical hats upon their head while wearing traditional "cheongsam" (which would look odd in any culture, if you ask me).

 As I get older, I am coming to the realization of how much I have to learn, and after coming to China I am furthermore realizing of all there is to know about the world, my knowledge can be compared to a grain of sand amongst an entire seashore. Often times westerners can fall into the trap of feeling as though we are the "elite", and I am no stranger to this ideology. While I have only been in this beautiful country for a week, I have no doubt that there is far more that we can learn from the Chinese culture than I initially anticipated, and to say that westerners are more cultured could not be further from the truth.

The tradition and customs of this country find many of its' roots in selfless servant-hood. Putting yourself before others is not an option. To be quite honest, the shift from the egocentric western mindset to a mindset of humility has been harder than I wish it would be. Humility is shown in so many different ways, such as serving your neighbors during dinner or walking in the sun so another can have your umbrella.

As for today, we woke up bright and early at 6AM to walk around the graduate university campus and reflect upon our time here as well as the many needs of those we have met, and of those we will meet. What is usually a busy, bustling town appeared still and calm which after long days I greatly valued. We then shuffled onto our bus which would take us and hour and a half to the undergrad campus.

Everyday, I personally value these long bus rides. Many great conversations spawn from the trips, and everyday I am growing closer to each member of the team. The community and unity that this team is building has been absolutely wonderful, and I'm sure our friendships will last much longer than the two and a half weeks we are here.

When we arrived at the university, we visited the campus coffee shop which we were graced with air-conditioning (a privilege I am learning I have taken for granted!). Some members of the junior class joined us for a wonderful lunch of rice, potatoes, asparagus, and beef. (Fun Fact – asparagus in Chinese translates back to "swamp cabbage" which resulted in a plethora of confusion amongst our team when our dish arrived).

After lunch, we met with the freshman class and enjoyed a great afternoon of exchanging talents and cultural games. We played some traditional Chinese games and we also attempted to play "Whisper Down the Lane" or "Telephone" – which you can only image the laughter shared amongst the group as Chinese and English phrases became jumbled through translation. Hunter and David were dressed in traditional men's garb, which is honestly better described as a dress, but for their manliness sake we'll call it a robe. Cyrus astonished us with his piano skills, to which we were pleasantly surprised as his talent appeared to come out of no where. We enjoyed hearing the Chinese students entertain us with the ukulele, and we returned the favor by singing classical Elvis Presley.

Each day we begin to build stronger relationships with the students, and I am so very grateful we have the opportunity to form friendships with those that have an entirely different outlook on life. This world is truly a small world after all, and despite living 7,000+ miles apart, friendliness, kindness, and selflessness is universal.

 

Love,

Jasmine

Gam, our University contact

Gam is the Associate Professor, Deputy Dean of the College of Foreign Studies. We have been friends with him since 2001 and are best of friends. 

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Time with new Chinese students and Brothers from previous trips.

Dear Family and Friends

 

China has been totally amazing and more than we expected.

 

Yesterday, we traveled on the bus to the university. There met up with a smaller junior class and hung out with them all day. They spoke much better English than the students yesterday, which led to more productive conversations where we could really get to know them. We visited one structured English class in the morning and then went back to the coffee shop on campus to eat more frozen yogurt with the Chinese students. Most of our time with them is just open conversation where we can share about ourselves and our families. The photo albums that we brought are great conversation starters. While we talk with all the students, our goal is to find a few that we really connect with and focus on building a good relationship with them.

 

At the coffee shop, we sat with the students that we were focusing on, ate snacks with them, and had good conversation. Throughout our trip, we have noticed a large amount of interest in the NBA and basketball as a whole (they always ask if we know Yao Ming). There are always pickup games going on when we walk through the old campus. A few of us walked over to 'indoor' basketball courts on the new campus with some of the students and had a really great time playing with them. Even the girls at the university have taken an interest in basketball, maybe more so than the guys. Things like playing basketball have been great tools to grow closer with some of the students, while having fun at the same time.

 

When it's time to leave, all the students gather around the bus and wave goodbye to us. We went back to the old campus across from our hotel to eat dinner as we do every night.  After that we talked and spent time with our Chinese Brothers, Bruce, Gary, and Davie.  The girls also spent time with a new friend Jemi. 

 

This morning, we woke up early and did a walk around the campus at 6 am thinking of the students we will meet today and for our conversations. We thought of the hearts of the students that we come into contact with and that we would have the right words to say to them. After that we have our normal meeting at 7 am, breakfast at 8 am, and then board the bus at 9 am and head to the new campus which is about 1 hour away.  We usually stay there until 4 or 5 pm meeting with students. Supper is always at 6 pm and we invite anybody we meet to have dinner with us. Dinner time has been an awesome time of bonding for the team.

 

Much Love from China,

 

Sarah and Hunter

Making new BMW friends in China

We were standing in front of the hotel this morning and a guy pulls up on a BMW R1200GS Adventure bike.  These bikes are very expensive and very rare in China.  With my interpreter Cyrus, we become friends and Davie finds out they are in the same motorcycle group.  The guys say I can ride his bike and I take it for a ride around and even jump it off the hotel lobby entrance ramp.  Not safe but fun.  )).  Don't worry parents, the team was on the bus and did not see me.  Davie was so happy to meet him and introduce us Americans to his new friend.  This will give Davie an opportunity to build a relationship with him after we leave.   

New friend on BMW R1200GS

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Update from Katie and Cyrus

 Dear friends and family,
 
We started off our morning with our regular team meeting, and we were lucky enough to have our Chinese friends, Davie and Gemi here with us.
 
Linda took Jasmine, Sarah, David, Hunter and I to the new campus today, (a very long, bumpy bus ride) where we met with a group of freshman students. They took us for a walk around campus, which was quite the hike in 90 degree humidity!  We ate lunch with them at the university's dining hall, where we were able to learn a few new Chinese words and get to know the students better. With freshman, it is especially hard to communicate with them because they haven't had the English speaking experience that many juniors and seniors have.
 
The students took us to a small restaurant where we played bonding games such as whisper down the lane, in both Chinese and English. I'm sure you all can imagine how the Chinese version went! :P They treated us to mango frozen yogurt which was so yummy, and such a treat in today's hot weather. Our last activity was paper cutting, where they taught us to make snowflake-like designs, butterflies, and dragonflies.  These students are so hospitable, and everyday I know I personally strive to be as giving and loving as they are.
Much Love,
Katie
 
As for Dave, Davie and I (Cyrus)' group, we visited factories to do business with their Maintenance Manager's.  Davie is a salesman for Wurth, a German tools, fasteners, chemicals, safety products corporation.  We accompanied him on his trip to two factories, one a paper factory (for cigarette packages), and one a very large beer manufacturing and packaging plant.  After almost having our car ran over by an industrial truck at the paper plant where we delivered 94 bottles of spray lubricant, we safety arrived at the beer factory, which was astonishingly large.  The entire plant was almost the size of Exton, Pennsylvania!  Dave, Davie and I had a great time at the plant where we witnessed fermenting, bottling, and packaging of the beer.  When Davie had lost his I.D. card (similar importance to a passport in China!), we walked around the entire plant many times, and in the end, our Father helped us find it in the midst of thousands of workers.  As the fruits of our laboring at these two factories, Davie was able to successfully sell a large volume of lubrication oil, drill bits, and other various industrial tools and supplies.  Though the day was hot and the walking was laborious, we had a great time traveling with Davie and taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit a Chinese factory of such size.
Thanks for thinking of us daily,
Cyrus
 
We have already witnessed so many wonderful things happening here in Guilin, but your thoughts for our safety and purpose here are always so greatly appreciated. We miss you back and home, and I'm more than sure we will have so many stories for you all in a few weeks!
 
Much love,
Katie and Cyrus
 
 
 
 

Today's visits with Brother Davie

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Sunday 6/19 Our Third Day in China

Happy Father's Day to all the dads back home, from the CARE team in China!!
 
The weather here in Guilin is heating up - it's very hot and humid with crazy, random downpours that sometimes last just five minutes or so.  We bought everyone an umbrella today, which comes in handy for rain or for a shield in the hot sun.  There was much flooding here the week before we arrived.
 
This morning, 21 college students arrived in our hotel lobby, to take our team members around Guilin. They had a great time getting to know each other, spending the whole day together.  There were a few girls in the class that we had met two years ago when we were here, so it was good to reconnect with them.
 
Our Chinese friend, Lion, left this afternoon to go back home to his family, and our friend Davie, arrived this evening.  Davie is one of our oldest brothers, who we met back in 2001.  His story is interesting - ask one of the team members to tell you about him when we get home.  Davie will be with us for three days.  The only difficult thing is that his English is very limited, so fortunately we have Cyrus Guo on our team.  Cyrus is an amazing high school student who is fluent in Chinese and English. In fact, every Chinese person who hears him speak, comments on how perfect his Chinese is!!  Dave and Cyrus will accompany Davie tomorrow as Davie makes deliveries for his job.  Cyrus will be the interpreter so that Dave and Davie can communicate.  It will be a great day to catch up, and encourage each other.
 
Linda will accompany the rest of the team as they go to the University.  It will be a long day - over an hour bus trip each way, talking to Chinese students in their English classes from 9-5, and dealing with the heat. Evenings are typically spent with our Chinese friends who are not students.  One of them is Gary, who works as a tour guide in Guilin.  He has been an amazing friend to us over the years, and always expresses his appreciation for the influence of the CARE team in his life.  The other is Bruce, who sacrifices two weeks of his time every year while we're here.  He helps us in many ways, from ordering food, to getting our phone to work, to taking us places, or finding the best places to eat that are cheap but clean and safe. 
 
We love and miss you all back home!!

 

Love Dave and Linda
 
 

Bruce is a faithful Brother

Bruce is from 2008 trip and has been faithful to be with us every trip since then to help and translate. He is a faithful friend. 

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Gary from 2008 continues to grow

Gary is a brother that continues to grow each year and spends quality time with us. 

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Our oldest Brother in China from 2001

Davie is our oldest Brother we met in 2001 and continues to grow and come back to see us each year. 

Cyrus was our translator all the time to help us communicate. The Chinese say Cyrus has perfect Chinese language, better than them. Amazing. 

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