Bathroom
Desk
My room (bed)
Friday, July 30, 2010
The GREAT WALL
My first view of the Great Wall
My Korean friend Allen (After Allen Iverson, since Iverson isn't good anymore, he's thinking of changing his American name, maybe Kobe he says =)
Ingenious Idea! Why not put a toboggan slide from the top of the Great Wall after you've made such a climb. Yeah, kind of modernizes the Great Wall, but I still absolutely loved the ride!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
The Adventure Continues!!
Hello family and friends!
Well, this trip has been quite interesting. As you can see I've been to the Great Wall and this last week just hit up the Forbidden City. In both places I felt like I was fulfilling a dream and it was such a neat feeling to recognize a childhood and lifelong dream being fulfilled. I only wish that my wife were here to fulfill it with me. But you will be soon Mers.
I'll try to make the next set of photos be pictures of my school life. Contrary to popular believe I'm not an undercover agent with the CIA....sorry to disappoint =) I am an agent for the SDL though... that's secret code for Shawn's Dream Life. And I really do feel lucky to have the experiences I have. It's been incredible and I hope that all of you seek out experiences that allow you to fulfill your dreams, whatever they may be.
So things here have been very interesting. China is a lot to take in. You love it and hate it at the same time. I think once you get past the mahem of the hustle and bustle of millions of people everywhere, it's an absolutely beautiful place. Once you get past the fact that it seems like everyone is always yelling at each other (it's just the way they speak, and since it's a tonal language it can seem even more so ; ) you realize that these are some of the nicest people around, and from my experience, some of the most hospitable people I've ever met.
Once you get past the soaking wet humidity, you realize the culture and beauty of everything around you and you will never be bored here! It truly is a mysterious place. And there is a definite sense that indeed the fullness of the gospel and the Spirit it brings has not yet arrived in this land. BUT, the seeds are definitely being planted and the people being prepared and every once in a while you get a small glimpse of it. And I love it. It's also half the reason I am here, I want to be able to participate when the Church finally is open here. It will be an incredible thing to witness and be a part of.
Anyway, I love you all and hope you are having an incredible summer. Please keep me posted on what's going on in your neck of the woods!
Love,
Shawn
Well, this trip has been quite interesting. As you can see I've been to the Great Wall and this last week just hit up the Forbidden City. In both places I felt like I was fulfilling a dream and it was such a neat feeling to recognize a childhood and lifelong dream being fulfilled. I only wish that my wife were here to fulfill it with me. But you will be soon Mers.
I'll try to make the next set of photos be pictures of my school life. Contrary to popular believe I'm not an undercover agent with the CIA....sorry to disappoint =) I am an agent for the SDL though... that's secret code for Shawn's Dream Life. And I really do feel lucky to have the experiences I have. It's been incredible and I hope that all of you seek out experiences that allow you to fulfill your dreams, whatever they may be.
So things here have been very interesting. China is a lot to take in. You love it and hate it at the same time. I think once you get past the mahem of the hustle and bustle of millions of people everywhere, it's an absolutely beautiful place. Once you get past the fact that it seems like everyone is always yelling at each other (it's just the way they speak, and since it's a tonal language it can seem even more so ; ) you realize that these are some of the nicest people around, and from my experience, some of the most hospitable people I've ever met.
Once you get past the soaking wet humidity, you realize the culture and beauty of everything around you and you will never be bored here! It truly is a mysterious place. And there is a definite sense that indeed the fullness of the gospel and the Spirit it brings has not yet arrived in this land. BUT, the seeds are definitely being planted and the people being prepared and every once in a while you get a small glimpse of it. And I love it. It's also half the reason I am here, I want to be able to participate when the Church finally is open here. It will be an incredible thing to witness and be a part of.
Anyway, I love you all and hope you are having an incredible summer. Please keep me posted on what's going on in your neck of the woods!
Love,
Shawn
Friday, July 16, 2010
Shanghai, China
Yeah, it actually happened, Shanghai Expo 2010!
At the World Fair:One of the Middle East Pav's
China Pav from view of their spaceship arena
USA Pavilion
Hollands Pavilion, they called it Happy Street
Africa Pavilion at Expo
Inside Italy Pav, the orch. is on the wall
The cute little family that Shawn stayed with
in Shanghai. The amazing Zhu family. Really, they treated this boy like
royalty and fed him constantly!
Shawn's tastey dinner!
(I don't know if he actually ate it all though)
I fell in love with the fact that every night, families go out and dance and they all know all the dances
Karaoke with my host family!!
1st Days In Bejiing!
-funny point of the day: trying to eat with chopsticks with a broken ring finger. could have been a funniest video clip
-when it started to rain today it was crazy. i've been in foreign countries before, where it seems to rain harder than in the us, but this was crazy. we had the wipers on full blast and still couldn't see a darn thing. also, i thought it was funny that almost every single person had an umbrella. it was funny to watch them get off a bus one by one, first sticking their umbrella out the window, opening it up, and then finally stepping off the bus, not before
-there seem to be no rules for driving here, and (The first family I stayed with, Len and May)
everyone is ok with it. no one gets upset with the
other drivers. you can flip a u turn in the middle of the busy road and everyone will wait for you, well kind of, at least they won't get upset about it (i know because we did it ; ) and I saw others do the same. funny.
-conversing with jenny through the computer translator. I've realized really how little Chinese I know. I'm starting my mission all over again, except maybe less, i can't recognize any writing whatsoever. Crazy, but i'm up to the challenge =) (One of the people who stopped me and asked if I would take a picture with them ; )
Love you!
Shawn
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
...a late night
It's getting close to midnight. The windows are open and the air is cool with the sense of a storm approaching. Both of us are writing at our computers. I love moments like this, side by side--just simple and sweet.
Tonight we drove down to see our new little nephew--only his second day in this new world. Shawn took this little boy and held him close to his chest gently swaying back and forth. There was a softness, a pure love that surrounded these two--a special moment to spectate.
The rain is now tapping against the leaves and the thunder rolling around in the sky--the ideal bedtime lullaby.
so it is, until tomorrow.
Tonight we drove down to see our new little nephew--only his second day in this new world. Shawn took this little boy and held him close to his chest gently swaying back and forth. There was a softness, a pure love that surrounded these two--a special moment to spectate.
The rain is now tapping against the leaves and the thunder rolling around in the sky--the ideal bedtime lullaby.
so it is, until tomorrow.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
~St. Nicholas Eve~
Tradition. Never had any strong feeling towards them until now...now that it's my turn to continue them. At this point they become exciting and explain in a way why you are the way you are. St. Nicholas Eve is a tradition filled with traditions that begin with my dutch heritage and have now continued with Shawn and I.
The eve began with a trip to the Christmas tree lot. We had hoped to go up in the mountains and cut one down for our first Christmas together, however, due to the fact that I recently had the infamous swine flu and now laryngitis, the idea of making our way like lumberjacks in the freezing cold, through the woods to hack away at a tree with our little hatchet (Shawn's favorite wedding gift :) wasn't going to win a healthy Mary back. So the nursery it was!
The nursery down the street was our winning ticket. It was an easy pick for us...past all the beautiful trees we made our to the very back and saw there, lying on its side, our little Charlie Brown tree and knew it was for us. We threw it in the back of our borrowed truck, stopped by Wal-mart (
Before we began our decorating festivities we energized up with pizza and a little bit of Santa Clause 2. Yes, the movie was a little cheesey but sure did get us in the Christmas spirit:) We began putting up the lights and decorations around the house and then left the tree for last.
Our little home felt warm and cozy, with homemade hot chocolate on the stove. After a little visit from Shawn's old mission friend, Larry and his wife, we ended the night singing Christmas songs and admiring the beautiful lit up Christmas tree.
The eve began with a trip to the Christmas tree lot. We had hoped to go up in the mountains and cut one down for our first Christmas together, however, due to the fact that I recently had the infamous swine flu and now laryngitis, the idea of making our way like lumberjacks in the freezing cold, through the woods to hack away at a tree with our little hatchet (Shawn's favorite wedding gift :) wasn't going to win a healthy Mary back. So the nursery it was!
The nursery down the street was our winning ticket. It was an easy pick for us...past all the beautiful trees we made our to the very back and saw there, lying on its side, our little Charlie Brown tree and knew it was for us. We threw it in the back of our borrowed truck, stopped by Wal-mart (
Before we began our decorating festivities we energized up with pizza and a little bit of Santa Clause 2. Yes, the movie was a little cheesey but sure did get us in the Christmas spirit:) We began putting up the lights and decorations around the house and then left the tree for last.
Our little home felt warm and cozy, with homemade hot chocolate on the stove. After a little visit from Shawn's old mission friend, Larry and his wife, we ended the night singing Christmas songs and admiring the beautiful lit up Christmas tree.
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