China

My family went to China for Christmas.

My Dad speaks Mandarin and he has been working In Shanghai this fall so we all went out to visit him for Christmas break. We stayed in an "apart-hotel" where we ate breakfast every morning, and maids cleaned during the day. We mostly toured Shanghai, but one of the most memorable parts was our visit to Guilin, a gorgeous rural area a three hour flight south of Shanghai. I took lots of pictures throughout the trip and observed many of differences in the culture. The language barrier really prevented me from connecting to the people of course, and we really didn't talk to any nationals except those we were paying for food, souvenirs, or transportation. But this short experience abroad was one I will never forget.

21 DECEMBER 2010
Guilin is crazy. Looks like the whole thing is under construction. The floor Mom and Dad's hotel room is on in our hotel reeks. There are lots of bad smells in the streets.



SEVEN STAR SCENIC SPOT (a big beautiful park)



We walked through the busy streets and under bridges and over the river to get there. We're finally figuring out how to walk through the streets without getting hit. See, in China, road rules aren't really regarded, but somehow it works! You just proceed with caution. Honking your horn is not considered rude, its just a way of saying, "I'm passing you," or, "I'm going, watch out."

Guilin Sunset:



On this trip I kind of realized what an American pansy I am. I always thought I would love to go abroad and "rough it," so to speak. But at first I found it stressful not knowing if there would be toilet paper provided in the public restrooms. In Guilin there were bad smells and the beds were hard. Throughout the trip it wasn't always easy to find a PKU-friendly meal either. The language barrier made it difficult to communicate my needs, and the culture isn't as accepting of special orders.



I finally know what "culture shock," feels like. Although I can't really describe it. Its kind of like cognitive dissonance. You see something totally different and you fee like in order to truly accept it you would have to change the way you think.



RIVER BOAT TOUR FROM GUILIN TO YANGSHUO











There were lots of bamboo rafts on the Lixiang River



Trying to sell his wares to the people aboard our tour boat:



BAMBOO RAFT TOUR ON LIXIANG RIVER







Jenni and I shared a raft.



We got to pet the water buffalo




We got double checked in the airport for this.




It was a beautiful ride.








23 DECEMBER 2010
Wow. Today.
This morning was slow as we didn't have any plans. But it was nice. What we ended up doing was renting bicycles and getting a tour from a local. This is Guilin's low season, so there are hardly any other white people around. We rode out of the town along the river and through the farm land. I took tons of pictures of course.


I've always been drawn to farmland - aesthetically, ideologically. This felt different though. It was kind of a reality check for me that this was these people's livelihood. They had almost nothing - but the have the land and bounteous crops. God is no respecter of persons after all. The rain falls upon the rich and the poor. Something told me these people were a lot happier and healthier than poverty line Americans who work two jobs and eat fast food every day.







We ate lunch at this Country Cafe.



The vegetables were from the garden we walked past when we came in. While we waited for our meals we saw them fishing and killing a chicken. It took two hours for our orders to come out. This was FRESH food!



I had a BEAUTIFUL bowl of vegetable soup.


More to come but for now....

30 DECEMBER 2010
Well, I'm back in the San Fransisco airport with Marianne. We're definitely back in America, I have see no less that two men wearing skirts...maybe that's just because we're in California. I had avocado sushi and seaweed salad for lunch! Yum! I think one of the things I missed most about America while I was in China was the Japanese food.

The Fourth Year of My Formal Education

It is my fourth year, but not my last . I have just started the Public Health major and I am loving it! Everyday I learn about all the problems in our country and world and what we can do to help them. I am required to think about ways I could solve these problems and go out into the community and experience things for myself. I want to share my experience with attending an Alcohlics Anonymous meeting. I am just so grateful for the education I am receiving, including my " general education." I have studied singing and participated in choir, I've studied the Spanish language, I've learned about art and history, statistics and human anatomy. I am very happy to have finally found a major that is right for me. I will graduate in April 2012. I am really excited because I figured out my graduation plan and registered for winter classes. Next semester I'm taking Spanish for the first time in a year and a half! I am so happy.

Me and the bike lane
An assignment for my Health 100 class to find something that means public health and put this sticker on it. This is Public Health is a campaign to create awareness about the field of public health and all it does for society.
http://whatispublichealth.org/

http://www.thisispublichealth.org/video_highres.html

The following is my experience at the alcoholics anonymous meeting I attended.

I went to a 12-step meeting at the state hospital chapel. When I arrived on my bike all the people were just getting out of their vans and entering the chapel. I found out they were from a recovery center in Payson. There was actually no program director there. We set up chairs and someone took charge. They didn’t have anything to read, so they just said any topic was ok and started going around the circle.

A lot of people chose to speak. I thought what they had to say was really interesting and really touching. Over all there was a really good feeling in the meeting. One man said, “There is a difference between recovery and sobriety.” He talked about how if you’re just white-knuckling it, you are going to relapse. I thought that was really insightful. In talking to my friend about it later, it made more sense. If you’re just white-knuckling it, you still want the alcohol more than anything. You haven’t changed. So I suppose we are to understand that without the Savior we can’t change. Many of them mentioned a higher power, and many of them specified that by that they meant Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I think most of them were raised LDS. One lady sounded like she had been married in the temple. She said Satan has known us for a long time. And he knows what will push our buttons. She said he is a beautiful liar. She said she become a beautiful liar until she believed the lies herself. Several people mentioned coming to the point where they were in recovery for themselves, rather than simply the better alternative than jail. Most people were pretty positive. They were very supportive of each other and very grateful to each other and to their higher power. One young man was having a harder day. He talked about how it hurt his pride to realize he needs help. He sort of talked through it and became more positive at the end. He said he needed to remember that he was worth it. That he was worth being happy. The lady before me grew up in a really good LDS family from what I could gather. She was grateful for her experience as an addict because she said she’s become much closer to the Lord than she ever was. She encouraged the young man by saying relying on the Lord is not weakness, it’s a strong person that can depend on the Lord. She said her parents taught her that the Lord wants so much more for us than we want for ourselves. I was really touched.

By the time my turn came around I had been very moved and was truly humbled to be there. I introduced myself and got the traditional, “Hi, Elisa,” response. I was able to thank them for letting me come and say how impressed I was with the things they had said. I did say that while I don’t know what they are going through, I do know what it feels like to be helpless. I testified that no matter who we are or where we’re at in our life, we all need that higher power.

At the end we all stood up and, arms around each other, said the serenity prayer.

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

I feel that anyone would benefit from attending a meeting like that and saying, “Hi, my name is Elisa (or Sam or Jo or Mary), and I need the Savior just like everybody else.”

A Year of Firsts

This year I applied to the dietetics program. I wasn't accepted. But its ok, there is a different path for me. But in doing the pre-requisites for the program, turning 21, and just living life I had an adventurous year, full of many firsts. I don't know how proud I should be of some of them. Exciting or not, school related or otherwise, maybe you'll enjoy reading them.

I did all of the following for the first time this year:

Used a highlighter in my notes on a regular basis
Saw a cadaver and handled various parts of the human body...
Studied for more than three hours at a time
Studied for eight hours at a time
Used mnemonics on a regular basis
Was a member of BYU Concert Choir
Worked during school
Hugged a sister missionary (I saw my friend when I was at work in the MTC cafeteria)
Signed a contract to live with the same people next year
Had roommate prayer on a semi-regular basis
Lived with my sister at school
Jogged to the Y parking lot
Helped someone go wedding dress shopping
Went on three blind dates in a semester, four in the year
Got asked for my phone number within 30 minutes of meeting someone
Fell hard for someone I didn't even know
Gave someone my phone number who sure didn't ask for it (he never called)
Dated someone for two and a half weeks
Tried out for BYU Singers
Tried out for the Spring Opera
Went to Park City
Attended Fiddle Fest and one other bluegrass performance
Had returned missionaries my age around
Got carded (at a swing dancing club that had a bar in it)
Went to a non-alcoholic lounge
Went to a college graduation party (Spencer Pearce's)
Sang pop in public (Dan and Dave's Acoustic Raves)
Had my cousin Caitlin at BYU with me
Took as few as 13.5 credits in a semester
Had choir as my only non-science class
Got a C at BYU
Was ok with getting a C in a class at BYU
Saw HumorU, BYU's stand up group
Went to a Star Party and an astronomy show put on by the astronomy club

a little rant about Mary Kay and Make-up

I hate Mary Kay's philosophy!

On my fridge is a flyer for an upcoming Mary Kay party that reads "sometimes it's impossible to feel pretty." As if to say, we know you have trouble feeling pretty, but WE can help!

Some people that are dear to me have sold these products in the past, and I know it's a really good job for a busy young woman who needs a flexible schedule. BUT, sometimes those consultant ladies can drive me crazy. One of them once tried to sell me a product that would hide my freckles. I told her I've always liked my freckles. She just said, "Oh..." yeah, rude! And that's the other thing, they notice anything someone might consider a flaw and try to sell you one of their products that will supposedly solve that specific "problem". It's as if they're diagnosing your face and prescribing medicine. They give these feel-goody speeches about self worth. That's great and all but what they are saying is that you need their products to feel good about your appearance. It's like a slap in the face!

I'm not someone who is anti-make-up or anything. I love to get dressed up and look good. Usually it feels good to spend a few minutes doing make-up daily. And every once in a while for choir concerts or hot dates its marvelous to go all out. Make-up is great insofar as it accentuates your natural features and doesn't distract from them. (some girls really need to learn about make-up that is beyond the point of beauty, by the way). And I couldn't live with myself if the people I see in every day life didn't know what I looked like without make-up. So I wear it in moderation.