she's almost 30

today my little sister laura turns 26! so she's not actually close to 30 but 5 years ago when our older sister turned 26 laura, then a mere 21, called her to wish her a happy birthday and remarked that she was now "almost 30." and tonight i got to repay the favor because my little sister is herself now "almost 30." :) laura, i can't believe you are 26. but then again looking at your life and all you have done i can't believe that you are only 26. i love you and am so proud of you. enjoy the next 4 months of being only 1 digit away from me :)

monday morning

mondays are our saturdays and this morning jarred headed out with our friend mark for a four-hour bike trip up in the mountains out here. he told me it probably wouldn't be my cup of tea (mountains, not my thing), but for him it is an extraordinary day off. he came back caked in mud, exhausted, and smiling. and then he helped me out by cleaning the bathrooms. what a guy!

jarred with his new-to-him mountain bike he bought from josh since his was stolen a few months ago. and then this one was 10 seconds from being stolen last week when jarred walked up on the thief who had already cut all the way through the lock just before he took off with it.

throwback movie time

7:21 pm

last night we ended our easter day celebration watching the mighty ducks. not sure how that happened, but it was as great as i remembered.

Happy Easter!

7:48 am - my easter basket from jarred!

11:52 am - jarred and me; me, lindsey & lydia

easter lunch & table at lindsey and lydia's house

6:57 pm

today it rained! never before have i been so thankful for overcast skies. hoping the drought here could be over soon.

this is where we live

Thoughts from natives

The last couple of days, I have heard some interesting things from locals here. Most of the people I know well:

• Teacher: "Did you know Lake Dian used to have dragons? And mountains used to have gods." Me: "What about now?" Teacher: "Oh no, not now. They were only there during ancient times because they only believed that in ancient times."

• (While looking at my house in Charlotte on Google satellite) "Oh now I really want to go to America. Look at the trees! In East Asia people are so many, and the trees so small! In America, the people are so few, and the trees so big!"
• Teacher: "You can use this term to refer to East Asian minorities." Me: "It's okay to say this. Like, I can say 'he is a term for minority.'" Teacher: "Yes, yes! That's exactly how you say it!" Me: "So if I said to a person from a minority group, they would not be angry?" Teacher: "Oh no, they would be furious with you." Me: "So this is a racist term." Teacher: "No, there is no racism in East Asia. Since we are all equal, we can say offensive things about other people. Like, if I was talking to an East Asian about a person from a minority group, I would say, 'that person is a term for minority now understood as an ethnic slur.' But if I was talking to that person, I would never say that." Me (not wanting to get into a debate over logic and racism): "hmmm, okay..."
• In a text message: "Jarred, today I have some great news. Our group performed a concert. Now I am so tired. Thank you."
  
• "Jarred, do not be nervous. When she (his wife) goes into labor, I will wait 4 hours, then I will call you. Then you can come and take us to the hospital. But whatever you do, do not be nervous."
  
• "Tibetans can easily murder people."
• "At first we heard 5 were kidnapped and 1 killed. Then we heard 4 were kidnapped and one found alive. Then we heard 11 were kidnapped and 5 killed. But now the police have figured it out. A person fell on the mountain and hit their head on a rock and it killed them, so no problem."