Hello,

Amber and Chris are not able to post on this blog while in China, so they have created a new blog. Please go to http://neilsteachingenglish.wordpress.com/ to see all the recent updates.

We made it!

After a 17 hour flight we made it to Hong Kong. The flight was actually great, we had wonderful service, beautiful/good smelling Americans around us and a quiet cabin. From now on out we will be flying with Korean Air, the crew was amazing and we couldn't have asked for anything else.

Hong Kong has been great so far we have:
- Been to the Hong Kong Temple
- Visited Victoria Peak
- Gone to the Big Buddha
- Gone to the harbor
- Ate amazing dumplings
- Been on a fairy ride to see the laser show over the harbor
- Visited the night market

So far our favorite attraction has been the temple of course but then the Big Buddha, we will post pictures soon. It was amazing. Our dining experiences are getting better every time we go out, on Thursday we went out and had our first "Chinese" meals, they were really good. Our only problem is our lack of chop stick skills but we have not resorted to using forks. Hong Kong is a beautiful, busy city it has been a nice trip. Tomorrow we will be leaving for Beijing where we will spend seven days. Don't worry pictures will soon follow!

Thank you!

#1 - Thank you Stacey Pointer for introducing us to China Horizons (the program we are teaching through), for continually giving us support and advice for our adventure! We have loved hearing all about China and have been thankful that you have been around to answer all of our crazy questions!

#2 Thank you to all of our family who have helped us through the summer, have been very supportive and have helped us make our dream of teaching in China become a reality. We have enjoyed spending time with all of you this summer and look forward to giving you wonderful gifts from China when we return.

We are leaving tonight at 8:45 p.m. - keep watching the blog and feel free to email us at chrisjneil@yahoo.com.

Love you all!!

Weird items we are taking

Once we arrive in China we will soon become celebrities, crazy I know. Chris is looking forward to being the tallest white man around and I cannot wait to talk to the kids. Some of the items we have been told to bring include: stamps, pennies, pictures and coco powder. The stamps and pennies will soon turn into prized possessions of the children, since they love anything they get from Americans, especially stamps. Pictures of our families, homes, schools, etc. will be useful for lessons and for the new friends we meet because they will want to know more about our American life. Lastly coco powder, no bake cookies are a hit in China, not to mention Chris's favorite, while in China we'll be able to find all the ingredients to make them except coco powder.

Packing

Packing for four months isn't easy, let a lone the fact that we can only take a 50 pound suit case and one carry on. Luckily we are going to a country that has almost everything we could need, the only items we have to stalk up on are deodorant, mouth wash, batteries and granola bars (Chris's favorite). They suggest that we bring two changes of clothes, two pairs of shoes and the basic hygiene needs, then purchase the other items upon arrival. Well we are going a bit over that recommendation. As of now my suit case only weighs 38 pounds and is only missing a few things. Chris's weighs 52 pounds for reasons we cannot explain especially since I have two more pairs of shoes than him, more clothes, more hair products and a yoga mat. We will soon figure this out for now we are on the look out for a third scales opinion.

p.s. Yes we are both taking our USU shirts : )

The flight itinerary

A week ago we received our flight itinerary, it reminded us that we are really leaving, for four months, to live in China. We are flying out of Salt Lake on Monday the 16th and will take a 22 hour journey to Hong Kong. 17 of those hours will be flying, the rest will consist of layovers in L.A. and Korea. Since that will be a lot of time in the air we are packing snacks, traveling pillows, books, movies and our laptop.

Fundraising is progressing!

Thank you for those who have donated, we still have a ways to go and only have three weeks to do it!

Lessons

So what are we actually going to teach the students? We will be teaching conversational skills so the lessons will be based on a wide array of topics so the students will increase their vocabulary. Some of the topics we have been working on include:

- Define Home - includes pictures from our home towns, our school and families
- Universities in the U.S.
- Slang & Phrases commonly used
- Weddings in the U.S.
- Ethics
- Government System
- Dancing/Parties (a cultural norm that every college student should know about.)

We are continually working on our lesson plans that are focused on cultural topics.

Linyi, Shandong - Linyi Normal University

We will be teaching in Linyi, Shandong at the Linyi Normal University. We will be teaching students from the ages of 17-21. The province is filled with beautiful mountains, flat plains and 94,000,000 people.

Why teach in China?

Many people ask us why we want to teach in China. Amber started learning Mandarin last year and soon fell in love with the language and the culture. Soon she was wanting to visit China to improve her Mandarin and to be submersed in the culture. Chris recently graduated from Utah State University and was interested in having an experience that would benefit his future career and teach him along the way. After speaking with a close friend about her experience teaching in China, we were convinced that this would be a great adventure for us.

We are looking forward to teaching students so they will gain a skill that will influence their lives. We love traveling and this stay in China will be at the top of our list of the great places we have been. We are excited to gain more international experience, understanding the language better and to eat delicious Chinese food.

China Horizions

China Horizions is the agency that placed us with the university where we will be teaching. The founders of the program strive to give people an authentic oversees experience with schools who are looking for English teachers. The program was established five years ago and have placed many students in China to teach English. The agency is based in Rexburg, Idaho however the founders are currently living in Hunan, China where they are working to build more contacts with schools interested in having English teachers.

We have enjoyed this agency because of the hospitality we have received and the continual flow of information. This program has given many students amazing experiences and we are excited to start ours.

If you would like to teach English in China or learn more about this program we suggest visiting their website: www.chinahorizions.org