How to see my pictures

Sooooo I am sorry that this has been so confusing... If you want to view my pictures you can click on them and click to view it and it will take you to this website to log in. What you have to do is put my email address, ky.thurman.kt@gmail.com


Then the password is 190201


Hopefully this helped. If not maybe I can try explaining it better. Just let me know...


NOW FOR SOME PICTURES!!!

My homeroom! I love my pandas :)

Alley, Ben, Cici and Bill!

J-dog (seriously.), Annie, Katie, Sam!

My favorite. Little Bill :) He is a grumpy old man trapped in a child's body. He reminds me of the old man on up. The first couple weeks I had him he was always frowning. After lots of work and kisses and hugs he is now my happiest little boy. He just hugs on me and kisses my cheeks. I love my little Billy.

Harry!!! I love Harry. He is a little inty bity thing. He has this really high pitched giggle. Whenever he drops something, or is surprised he says "OH MY LADY GAGA!" Hahahaha

I am so sorry......

Hello my dear family and friends! 

Boy... so much has happened, I don't even know where to start. Let me start by just apologizing for not posting sooner. It has been about 3 weeks and I haven't made a post?! I am very disappointed in myself. So this is me promising that I will do better. I will post at least once a week, if not more. Honest I promise. Believe me? Yes? No? Well I will prove you wrong!

I really really don't know where to start. I think that's why I have procrastinated posting because so much has happened and I feel overwhelmed because I really don't know where to begin. I guess I will start at the very beginning...

I woke up Feb 9th, the day that I was leaving for China, and realized that it was probably a good idea to start packing... For those of you who know me well your probably saying to yourself, "Oh, that is typical Kylee!" But in my defense I had some things laid out, just not in my suitcase... You can imagine how much of a stress case my mom was. You see, she has been telling me for weeks that I need to start packing. To me that seemed totally ridiculous, so I kept putting it off, not realizing until a few days before leaving how hard it was really going to be. So I woke up not packed at all and sick and about to move to China. My mom saved the day, and helped me get everything together. I said a sad goodbye to my best friends and my dog Lilly and was off to the airport. It started hitting me on the way that I was actually moving to China. I started getting really nervous, but it would turn into excitement only to be washed away with a wave of nausea from the anxiety of actually living in China. Where they eat dog. It was a pretty dramatic car ride... Well inside my head at least. I finally got to the airport and got checked in and meet up with my roommate Carlie Bean. I kissed my sweet parents goodbye and walked right into the terminal. Carlie and I got our last fix of good ol’ American french fries and headed towards our gate. Flying to China is not for the faint of heart. On the 15 hour flight from LA to Korea I had a lovely Korean woman that would pound her fists on my chair if I leaned my seat back at all. When I would turn around to look at her she would just smile at me. It was really creepy... But more than anything it was annoying. The flight attendants wouldn’t do anything about it, so I just let her hit my seat for a while until she gave up. I would have understood if she was tall and needed leg room, but she had the shortest legs I have ever seen.

After over a day of traveling full of plane and bus rides we finally got to our school. And boy is it beautiful! The school is huge and beautiful. There are so many Chinese gardens with beautiful gazebos. It is snowing and freezing here right now, but I can’t wait for how beautiful it is going to be in the spring! 

So guess what? I actually like the food here! We get served breakfast, lunch and dinner at the cafeteria at the school. I’m not gonna lie, it’s not bad. Maybe that’s because I was expecting cow tongue and dog. I think I might survive this after all!

But my China experience is a roller coaster. It has it’s ups and downs. I am already starting to get homesick honestly.. But I really love the adventures and new things I am experiencing. The other day we were down town and I saw this old homeless man that was shivering and laying on the cold ground outside. It was one of the saddest things I have ever seen. He looked so hopeless and alone. I went and knelt down by him and just gave him hugs and stroked his head. He just smiled up at me while I cried. It might have not been the most sanitary thing I have ever done, but it was one of the most tender moments I have ever had. I still think about that man all the time and hope he is warm and feed. I am going to post this and really be diligent at posting from now on. I will be better about sharing pictures and stories. It will be a lot easier once I get internet in my room!

So this my my first blog post and I am glad that I got it over with. Now I will just tell you stories when they come up so that its not so overwhelming when I sit down to try to blog. 

Bear with me here!

-ky

A lot more pictures to come... Promise!

 Some of my ELE kids!

 A good food day at the cafeteria... kinda. No chicken feet at least.

My roomie Carlie and I! Love her.

Time is running out!

Hello friends! So last week I went to ILP training and it got me so excited!! So training consisted of nine hours of sitting there for two days. The first day was miserable! We were learning about the teaching techniques we are going to be using, and it was fine for the first few hours. But after a while all I wanted to do was punch something! The second day was a lot more fun! We all split up into our different countries and learned about cultures. I am probably going to accidentally offend so many people! I hope I get a hang of the culture fast so that I can feel comfortable there. We also talked a ton about culture shock. There are basically four stages-
1. Honeymoon- Everything will be so exciting and new and we will be running around snapping pictures, and be so happy to be there!
2. Horror- This will probably happen once I have no choice but to use a public restroom. There are no stalls so you are just doing your business in front of strangers, and even worse, your friends!
3. Humor- After a while, all the things that horrified you will become comical. I am particularly excited for this stage! Nothing will help more than laughing at how ridiculous everything is.
4. Home- I am really excited for China to become my new home. It scares me too, because I know it is going to be so tough for me to leave. It will be especially hard to leave my kids. There will be some days were I want to strangle them, but I know I am going to love them more than I can even imagine!
So if anyone is interested, it isn't too late to make a donation! I sent this letter out, but I don't have everyone's addresses, so I will post it so everyone can read it! Thanks so much for all of your support, and thanks so much for anyone that has already donated. I appreciate it more than you know!
-ky

Dear Friend,

I am writing to tell you about an exciting opportunity I am about to embark on and to ask for your help. In February, I am going to Changzhou, China to teach kids English through the International Language Programs (ILP). The ability to speak English will greatly benefit these children and their families. Because many of the children who participate in the program come from lower-class families, ILP teachers must pay their own expenses, which includes a $2520 program fee. This fee covers airfare, room and board. I am also responsible for providing my own teaching materials.  

If you can, please send a donation to ILP on my behalf by January 10, 2011. The address is: 363 N. University Ave., Provo, UT 84601.  You call also call ILP at 801-374-8854 with questions or to provide a donation by credit card. Be sure to have them apply your donation to my account.  I have set up a blog to keep you informed of my adventures. You can follow it at www.kythurman.blogspot.com

Because ILP is an IRS qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organization, any funds you donate are tax-deductible. If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to call me at (801) 735-3491. You can also view the ILP website at: www.ilp.org.

I greatly appreciate any amount that you can give to this cause. Thank you for your support!!!

Kindest Regards, 

Kylee Thurman  


p.s. I almost forgot! I am REALLY excited for the funny Chinese to English signs... Talk about lost in translation! Gotta love it :)

Yikes.

So... 

A lovely girl from my group going to Changzhou made a group on facebook so we can all get to know each other a bit before we go to China :) So our awesomely awesome head teacher Whitney added some pictures of our future dorm rooms. The rooms look so cute! So I am going through them getting more and more excited with every picture... And then I came across this little beauty. 

For a while I was just in shock. NO ONE WARNED ME ABOUT THESE! 

Hahahahahaha. This has the be a joke, right?

Nope. This is for reals. 

I was kinda freaking out, and the head teacher was just laughing and laughing. And then guess what she told me?

Not only is this my toilet, this is also my shower.

................

All I have to say is... Wish me luck!!!

Finally got my assignment!

I got my assignment this afternoon and I am going to...... drumroll please......Changzhou, China! YAY! This was such a relief because that was the city that I requested to be assigned to. Why on earth would I even have a preference when I know NOTHING about China and it's plethora of cities? Well honestly, it sounded like the most fun!


I am so excited about my location! It is so close to Shanghai, and Nanjing. Both amazing cities full of so much energy and ancient history. I am so excited to be immersed with culture. I am so excited for all of the great sites I am going to see, but I am most excited to meet my kids. I just want to smother those kids with love! They are 3 and in a boarding school in class all day?! That is just... different than what I am use to. Honestly, it seems really wrong. All of the other teachers for their other subjects are so strict, so they really love coming to english class and getting smiles and hugs. We even get to tuck them in at night! I am also excited to meet my group of young adults that I will be with all semester. The group that goes to Changzhou is the largest group. There will be about 20 of us, so there has to be at least a few people that will be able to put up with all my quirks... right?... right?!


Thank you all for your support and love! It will really help me press forward in this crazy journey that I am about to start. Thanks to everyone that donated money for my expenses I have to pay. I appreciate it SO much!!! And thanks all of you for reading my cute little blog. I will keep you guys posted!


-ky

I got accepted!!!

China, here I come! I got my acceptance letter and now it's time to get myself ready to go. I have so much to do. I need to get my document packets all filled out, get my visa, go to my training lessons, get lots of school supplies, write my fundraising letter and brace myself for culture shock. I am so excited to go! But I am going to be totally honest... I'm pretty nervous too. These pictures show my different emotions perfectly when I opened my letter.

I got in!! I am really going to China! This is going to be amazing! I am going to see such beautiful places. I am going to actually teach little kids. I can't wait to make good friends. This is going to be the best experience ever!

and the craziest... Oh my gosh, what am I going to eat? I don't even know how to say hello in Chinese. Am I going to survive this? Do you really think people are going to try to cut some of my hair off?...

I am leaving in February and I have so much to do! How am I going to pull this off.... And once again, what am I going to eat?!

Here goes nothing :)

Some people think I am crazy for doing this. And I probably am. You see, I'm what my family likes to call dependent. Do I agree with that?........ yep. But this is my opportunity to grow up and be independent! I am really excited to be challenged and pushed to be stronger and better. But I know that it is also going to be really really hard for me. This blog is going to be more like a journal. I am going to tell a lot of funny stories and post cool pictures, but if I am homesick or having an awful day I'm not going to pretend I'm just dandy. This is going to be a journey for me full of ups and downs and I want you all to be a part of it and support me through everything.

I'll write again soon! Wish me luck on getting everything ready. Love you guys!

-ky

P.S. No really... What am I going to eat?!?!