pan jia yuan is the largest flea market in beijing. i searched for cloth but ended up buying a woven necklace from a girl of the miao minority group. i went back to the stall where i bought my bag last year and the same lady was there. she recognized the bag and smiled.

injured dragonfly.

'Dear Linda,
We are pleased to offer you a place as a full-time student in the C O P (1 Trimester), commencing Trimester 1, 2012.

Victoria International
Victoria University of Wellington,
PO Box 600, Wellington 6140,
New Zealand'

xilingol, inner mongolia.

this is where they used to behead people.

i went to the aviary at the beijing zoo for the first time! i saw so many exotic beautiful birds. it was magical.

children in the US put their fallen teeth under their pillow.children in China throw their lower teeth onto the roof & bury their upper teeth.children in Lebanon throw their teeth into the sea.

my first student :)

i hope when he grows up, he'll remember these days. i sure will remember him.

cherry and i went to the supermarket after teaching today.
i found this leaf shaped dish in the ceramic section! it was 3 yuan!
Blue Earth gave me a jade cicada necklace.
now the buzzing of the insect can always ring in my ears.

i spend quite a lot of time with children these days. although some days i go pretty crazy, overall i really enjoy interacting with them. i've come to the conclusion that children everywhere, are ultimately the same: playful, crazy, entertaining, and say the funniest things.

my 6 year old student said to me: "you draw the animals, and i'll draw their blood veins, okay?"
"my grandma agreed to buy me a squirrel"
"my tooth itches"
"i'm growing a bean sprout at home. i also have a pet crab"
& my high school student asked me: "teacher, what does 'shit' mean?"

every summer, it seems like beijing kids have a new toy fad. this summer is this little device with a LED light and propellers that you launch up into the sky with a rubber band sling-shot.

so after playing with it by the cathedral in wangfujing street, i went home and had a photoshoot with it.

now, i work part time (hehe) so after teaching 2 classes in the morning, i have time to do other things! for example, sew a shirt:

everyday, these ladies (& gentleman) sit here and soak up the sun.
the 3rd one from the right is apparently my great-great aunt.

these days.

"human beings are not born once and for all on the day their mothers give birth to them, but ... life obliges them over and over again to give birth to themselves."
-love in the time of cholera.
(a wondrous, rich, and honest book)

a bowl of bean porridge by a temple
along the yellow river in our lao jia.

old city wall; xi'an, shaanxi province.

beijing had beautiful weather today.
i woke up at 4:00 am, went to the bathroom.
i looked out the window.
there was no one in the streets.
the city looked deserted.
the sky was deep blue with purple clouds.
i wanted to stay up to sit there but i decided not to.

shenmu, shaanxi province.