Forever and a Day

It has been a while since I posted but then again I haven't been on any long distance trips... Alot has happened since coming back from China though. I have a new car...

A new boy... who is the absolute love of my life!

and a new sister!

Life has been extremely good since getting back that is for sure. I cannot wait for the adventures that lie ahead!

A little nervous about meeting the rest of the family at Christmas but it definitely will be a fun adventure.

Lots of decisions to make about where to go to school next and hopefully organizing a non-profit for the trips abroad with UCR but it definitely will be exciting!

Snacks on Snacks on Snacks

For the next few days we explored Gunagzhou and my favorite aspect of the city was the city at night! The pictures do all the talking and it was absolutely beautiful!

The food was also very interesting to say the least from whole chickens to whole fish there definitely was not a shortage of food and the presence of American brands was obvious as well!

 Family meal at McDonalds... Notice that you only get one child's meal since the government still is attempting population control.

 Yes that is a Chicken head on the plate

Depeka could not handle anymore faces on our plates... the duck head put her over the edge on our final dinner.

It's All Part of the Experience!

So after a week of being gone I am finally home! Where to start is an intense decision so why not from the beginning!

We landed at Guangzhou Airport around 6:30am and the weather was intense! A typhoon was leaving the area and I don't think I have seen anything like it. It was literally pouring buckets  of rain and the wind was crazy... Thank You Juan for helping load all of our luggage onto the bus for us :)

We arrived at Sun Yat Sen University and the rain was still going, the humidity was killer but we eventually got settled in and we were treated to some egg mcmuffins.  Yes this is the McDonalds man who makes bike deliveries!

 After eating breakfast the rain let up and we began to explore.

 Sun Yat Sen North Gate

Last Week...

Its finals week and I couldn't be more excited! I am through my first month on the Dukan Diet and I have lost 20lbs, 14.5 inches, and 4% body fat! I am so ecstatic, the best part is that I get to wear my little back dress for graduation! I just got finished decorating my cap and I cannot wait to rock it on Friday.

Then it is off to China for a week of exploration and fun I am hoping that I can keep ya'll posted out there, never know about the internet access, have to love censoring.

Crunch Time

Getting Ready for the last week of official lecture for my Bachelors career! So what better way to chill out then to make a cake :) I have a super busy week ahead of me and I plan on taking it head on so wish me luck and may the madness begin!

Dukan Diet! Attack Phase

I am on day 3 of the Dukan Diet and I am feeling so good. I have dropped 5 lbs in the initial period and I am only halfway through my first week. It begins by putting you on a strictly protein phase where you only eat meat and drink water and/or sugar free drinks. So far so good, the next phase will last for a long time but I am so ready for it :). Time to get back to the size I was in high school!

Bright and Early

We finally made it home after a long flight and an extremely long line to disembark the plane and exit the airport. US travel is highly inefficient, bottom line.

Enough about coming home my last day has yet to be documented! On our final day with one another we decided to visit Windsor Castle. Since we stayed out until the crack of dawn the night before we were not too chipper in the morning so we left Worcester College around 10:30am and headed to Heathrow. We checked into our hotel and began our trip to Windsor Castle. Up until this point transportation had not been too bad but this day proved that transportation in the UK is not always peachy. We waited an hour for the bus to come and pick us up from Terminal 5 at Heathrow so we made it to Windsor quite late but it was well worth it.

Once we were finished at Windsor we were starving so we went to the local Pizza Hut to share a pie and then headed back home. Once we got there we were drained, I ate my final dinner of fish and chips and then went to sleep. We hit McDonald's the next day for breakfast then checked out and flew off.

Grateful...

I didn't post it yet but on Thursday we went into London to explore the sights and enjoy dinner. Our original plan when we left the states was to go to London on March 26, 2010, however our group influenced us to go early and we went to discover Windsor yesterday instead.

This was truly God looking out for me. Their are huge rifts here in regard to the financing of public education here which at one point was provided by the state. Students pay roughly $3,000.00  now and the fees are set to increase to around $13,000. This is what caused the massive protest yesterday and Trafalgar Square (Piccadilly Circus, home to big ben, london eye, buckingham palace, etc.) was closed. Over 200,000 people took to the streets to speak their mind and the gorgeous Ritz Carlton which were present at on Thursday was vandalized by anarchists yesterday. Watching this on television exhibits that there definitely was a mighty power at work and He was watching over us on this trip.

Last Supper...

So I pretty much have lost track of the time here and it has flown by way faster than I wanted it to. Today was a long day with 3 lectures and I was pretty tired from being out in London the night before, but I sucked it up and mustered some strength to pull another long night with the group. Today was another gorgeous day where the sky was blue and not a drop of rain has fallen since we have been here. They asked us if we could stay since we brought the rain but unfortunately we return on Sunday. After lecture we had a 3 1/2 hour gap before dinner so Sofia and I went to the Ashmolian Museum which is the university's museum of antiquities. It was amazing and we did not have enough time to see everything but here are a few things one being a statue which I have seen in art books before.

After wrapping up the Ashmolian we went and purchased some postcards from here in town and went to the local shopping center. We came back got spiffied up and then had a cocktail reception of champagne. Our dinner was once again delicious. We began with a fennel and grape salad followed by baked salmon as a starter, the salmon was followed by Duck Margret with cherry sauce and it was all topped off with my favorite part, DESSERT! We were served a chocolate toffee tart which was amazing. I can't get over how hospitable everyone was here and how delicious the cuisine is as well.

After wrapping up dinner we headed to the local night club called the The Bridge, yes the one Sofia and I visited the other night. I went to the back bar and I asked the bartender to make me a drink and he made the most delicious martini (pictured below). It was incredible, a definite work of art as he drew a heart on the top with passion fruit syrup.!We stayed there until closing and then everyone was off to bed to go to sleep and fly away tomorrow but I am lucky enough to not have to leave until Sunday even though that is too soon as well.