to the east!

well...i went for it. i decided to forgo job searching/job applying/seattle residing for now. i will be back. but i don't know when. to be honest, i am not really sure how long i will stay with ricky in new hampshire. all i know is it won't be long enough to wear out my welcome. but he is a pretty patient guy, so maybe i should seek to be a little more definitive about these types of things. but i did decide that it was too great of an opportunity (the whole living with a best friend and experiencing New England deal) to pass up. I got a great deal on my flight out there and i know something will work out and present itself for moving on. being in seattle has been great and i hope to post a bit more about that sooner than later. but for now i will just stick to that little bit of big news in my life.

to the west!

well. i suppose it's time for an update. i am not sure what the future of this blog will be like. i started it so i could document my experiences in china and share with others some things i was seeing. i didn't really stray to far from that over the year, all though i didn't post nearly as often as i intended to. but i think that i will keep it going. it will still track my experiences, but probably in a much different way. last year i couldn't really put much of anything about my faith on here, i couldn't share a lot of the lessons of depth i had been learning. i hope to weave those into my blog a little more and thus, delve a little deeper. using the blog title in the blog...not ok. last time, i promise.

so you may be wondering, where is jake? well, right now i am currently in seattle, sitting on a worn-in gray couch that makes its home at the bethany presbyterian youth house. a couple friends of mine have decided to save me from vagrancy and take me in while i search for a place to live/work. i am sleeping in a small closet-a much better setup than the couch. i might start sleeping in a larger closet here soon. but we will see. that is my living situation at the moment. i haven't found any great opportunities for housing opportunities yet, but i was really hoping to find some kind of job before then so i could get a better idea of where i should be living (since i want to bike and bus and not have a car). but i am changing this theory a bit and i have no priority on the other, i was thinking about loving my neighbors the other day and realized it would just be cool to have actual neighbors to love and a place to rest my head on a more permament basis and that it might be more important to find a community to live in first.*

in regards to the job front...i have been poking around, but haven't found anything that i am really excited about yet. i have found some things to which i have responded, oh, that could work. but nothing that i have felt really fit just what i am looking for. the problem may be that i dont really know exactly what i am looking for, but maybe not. i am going to catch up with some people this week that will give me some more insight in to this and i am starting to realize how valuable it is to just know people who know people. the internet is great for job listings and all, but nothing is as good as a personal recommendation/reference. something i have always known, but not something i have really had to utilize, thus i have not fully appreciated it. so jobs...are coming along. ideally, it would be great to be working in a position where i could gain insight into community/public health. i am really considering this as an area of future work (possibly more internationally, but also in urban areas as well). so that would be great, by my standards. but i am still just praying that i may follow the lord's leading.*

*but here is the asterick to all this. i am really considering moving out to new hampshire for a month or so to live with ricky, hang with ricky, surf with ricky, see the east coast, and study for the gre. i really want to see everyone in seattle that i haven't seen for the last year and try and set some stuff up for now, or for when i return to new hampshire. we will see. i'll keep you all posted on that. but that's whats happening. just a lot of thinking and doing surrounding those few things.

Back home. Home, home that is.

So I'm back in the US of A. The midwest-Michigan specifically. I spent this weekend with my entire immediate family and most of the extended family. It's been great to see them all again and I am just trying to rest, relax, and hopefully chug through some processing as well. Its a little chilly today, but I think I am gonna head out on my uncles jet skis in a minute here. But I'm glad to be home.

In Lauf

All year I have been reading about Lauf, Germany, the home of my good friend Drew, via Drew's blog. I have read about its little nooks, crannies, and intricacies. I have read about adventures that have been had and apartments that have been rented. Well, today I am in Lauf, in that apartment, and gearing up for some adventures-and exploration of a nook or cranny. Life is good. Great places and amazing people. More on this later, but just to let you know all is well.

Standard bush league.

So Randi and I got to Chongqing. And of course, no train tickets to Chengdu for five hours, so we opt for the bus. Or, rather, to try and find a bus. On the way to the long distance bus station (that had no buses to Chengdu) we pass a lady with a sign that says Chengdu in Chinese characters. I say "we want to go there" in Chinese. She lists a price, I double check at the bus station to make sure we can't get there a more legitimate way and then we are off. Following two Chinese ladies (who were practically running) who throw us in a taxi, take us to the side of the highway, and sit us down. We managed to escape for a bathroom break, but we werent lucky enough to get breakfast/lunch. Then, a bus pulls up, we hand a guy some money and they throw us on...except when we get on there aren't enough seats and the guy I gave my money to...gone. The two ladies...walking away, trying not to look at me as I am waving them over. No worries, a guy gets up, Randi steals his seat, I slide in next to her, we are good to go-it's good being a foreigner. The other people find another bus or something and then we are off to Chengdu. Sketch...yes, but it worked. Lots more adventures, hopefully I can post them soon. Gotta jet though.

and we're off...and we're stuck...and we're off again

Randi and I have left Guiyang. It was a great last few days there, I left in a fury with some help from my friends to clean up a little mess I left behind (thanks again). From Guiyang we went up to Zhangjiajie, or Wuling Yuan. A beautiful national park with sandstone pillars and some other crazy geological stuff. They supposedly have clouded leopards and giant salamanders there too-we didn't see them, but we did possibly see some leopard scat-the jury is still out, but I am a believer. From there we went to the ancient-style river town of Fenghuang for a night, it was bustling with Chinese Tourists and had some nice sites, but it wasn't worth more time than the 24 hours we gave it. A nice stop over none the less. And now, we are in Huaihua, trying to get to Chengdu, only they don't have any tickets for Chengdu. So...we are going to Chongqing. Which is on the way...and then when we get there, we will try and figure it out, so hopefully...it works. Not quite sure though, we'll see. Hopefully it won't be too painful. Either way, we are having a good time. We have been very fortunate thus far and things are going well. My Chinese skills are getting a workout. I am amazed at how well I have been able to understand and communicate. We are truly being provided for. Well, I am off to find some food and start the next mysterious leg of this trip! Blessings!

did you just say crack?

today i went from "english teacher in china" to "world wanderer." that's right. i am no longer teaching english. i taught my last class today. actually, to be more accurate, i gave my last set of exams. for the past two weeks i have been doing interviews with my students-my 500+ students. i spent a lot, a lot, a lot of time hearing about chinese new year (which is most often referred to as spring festival here) and birthday celebrations. it was...well, it was what it was-twenty hours of listening to chinglish on a limited number of topics-no one's idea of fun. but i would like to share one quote that kind of made it all (ok, not all, but at least that day) worth it. in reference to how chinese people celebrate spring festival- "...families have a large meal and then the parents will give the children money to buy crack." he pauses after i give him my 'slightly confused look.' i have given this look frequently in the last two weeks. he goes on to explain himself, "you know the sssss...boom!" me, "oh, oh. yeah. FIREcrackERs." him, "yeah, yeah, yeah. firecrackers." so rest assured. china's opium struggles continue to be a thing of the distant pass. but i made it through and my teaching responsibilities are done. don't get me wrong, my to do list is still a mile long, but i have officially shifted my life status to "world wanderer, searcher of the next step, one who is seeing the journey as the destination." so that's the big news. i will be in my city just about one more week and then randi and i are off for new places and experiences.

on a separate note. cockroach season is in full swing. two nights ago, as i went into the kitchen late one night i was greeted by a big fella who quickly scurried away out of sight, out of reach. last night, as i went to enter the kitchen again, i was actually expecting to see him again. he didn't disappoint. there he was, middle of the kitchen floor. i still had the slippers from the night before by the door so i went for the "throw one ball high to distract them and hit them with the second ball" trick. only i did it with the slippers and it worked masterfully. i was actually trying to pin him down with the one and gone in for the kill with the other but i missed, he got disoriented, i closed and took care of business. now you may be saying to yourself, jake, really? have you lost it? cockroach killing techniques? but i say to you, have you ever tried to kill these things before? they are fast AND agile. and you need a direct blow here. glances to to exoskeleton won't hack it. but this roach, he was a big one. maybe a PR for my apartment. and so i thought i was safe. but as i was typing an email a few minutes ago i saw one scurry by my feet and under my desk from the corner of my eye. looks like the hunter has another challenge before him.