A place to live and GTC Headquarters

Great news! We found an apartment with an office space that is perfect to start GTC headquarters. We have been very busy moving in and trying to find things needed for life here in Asia.

Language training for Kelley and starts tomorrow. We were told that we will spend a few weeks just listening to the basic sounds of Chinese. We will be dedicating 3 hours each day to language study and then venturing out to use what little we know.

While we have been looking at apartments/offices and getting acclimated to our new environment, we haven't shied away from venturing out. We will often take buses ($.08 one way!) and taxi's ($1.50) to new places. Thank goodness for GPS and Google maps to get us out of jams. There are many times when trying to communicate that we and the Chinese people who are helping us just start laughing. It never fails that someone in the room/store always knows just enough English to communicate for you to others. We have found that smiling a lot and being willing to laugh (with others) at yourself goes a long way in getting people to help you. The Chinese people are wonderful.

Now that we have an apartment, Kelley has been busy going to markets for things like fabric for sheets, blankets, and curtains.  Almost all those things have to be hand made. You bring the measurements, choose the fabric, and then they will sew it for you. It's really a neat culture, however, everything takes a little bit longer (okay sometimes quite a bit longer) than in the states, but, it teaches you to slow down a little.

Our apartment was a "fixer-upper"and so this past week I have been busy with many projects in an attempt to wrap them up before language classes start. Can you believe there is a Home Depot in Xi'an?!








We're on the 10th floor. The owner had new air conditioner/heaters installed. Check out this guy waiting to put the air conditioning unit on the little holder -- on the OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING!




Kelley and I are also getting adjusted to the very "stiff" style of Chinese beds. It's amazing what a 2-inch piece of foam can do to help you sleep better. We are told that when westerners go back to the states, they feel more comfortable sleeping on the ground rather than the ultra soft beds in the US. I'm not sure we'll have that problem....but we'll see.

Isaac is already in his third week of school. He has a bike that was given to us (and in pretty sorry shape), and just tonight he went on his own to the bike store and got the brakes fixed, a new seat, a bell (to warn pedestrians) and tuned up for just 35 Yuan (that's about $5.60). Way to go Isaac! Now he can ride bike to school.

We were excited to learn that our first care package is on the way!! We'll update the care package page soon to let you know if there is something else we could use (that we can't get in Xi'an).

Just this last weekend we learned that in the next 10-20 years there will be a mass migration from the rural areas to the urban cities. All the major cities are starting to ramp up for it. It is estimated that 300-400 million people will be moving into the cities. That's the entire population of the United States! You can only imagine the social needs that will create. We feel privileged to be here at such an important time.

Opportunity...
This summer there will be summer camps held in Fuzhou for the youth. The camps center on drug and alcohol prevention as well as aids awareness. It could be a great time for you or someone you know to come to China and be an extra set of hands to help with the camps. I'll share more info soon.

Our internet will be down for up to 10 days as we wait for our internet service to be installed. We'll let you know when we're back online!

Until then... Have a blessed week.

Feeling (more and more) at home in Xi'an

What an amazing city this is! Over 3,000 years old. More than 8 million people live here. It's an amazing mix of old (as in really old!!) and new. An example of this was brought before our eyes when we were being driven to Walmart (yes, there is Walmart in China) and we passed under a city wall (complete with Moat) that was built in 1390 AD to replace the one that was built in 194 BC. Then we went to Walmart, located in a modern looking building, which was across the street from the 14th century Bell Tower.

Big Goose Pagoda in the midst of New Years Decorations

On another outing we went to a "touristy" area of town called Dayanta, complete with modern buildings and restaurants, but again, right in the middle of this modern area is the Big Goose Pagoda which was built in 652.





Xi'an is in the center of China. It has played a significant role in the history of China, and is now moving quickly toward modernization. The new metro (subway) is opened and several more lines are under construction. It's a great time to be here.

The like-minded friends we are with in Xi'an have made us feel at home. They have allowed us to stay in a beautiful guest apartment while we find a place to settle. Almost daily we have had meals with members of the community. They have introduced us to shopping areas and have helped with visa's and technical needs like computer access and cell phones. There is even a person who is taking us around to see apartments and, when the time comes to make our selection, another member will help us negotiate the best price. All of this would have taken months to do on our own. We feel very blessed.

Isaac's First Day of School

 Being in Xi'an provides a wonderful opportunity for Isaac to go to school, and Kelley and I to learn the language while also meeting people from around the country who also have hearts like ours. In addition, it also provides a great community of like-minded folks for us to hang out with.

Muslim Quarter - near the Drum Tower

Kelley and I went on a date to the Muslim quarters which is near the center of the city. We got our Starbucks Coffee (PTL!!) across from the Bell Tower and walked toward the Drum Tower (another ancient building) and then into what felt like a movie set of an old Chinese movie. Tiny bustling streets with people pressing through to see all the shops.

No words for this one!!

It was amazing....
We saw all sorts of stuff!
Check out this hat!!



More news coming soon!

First leg of our journey... Chiang Mai, Thailand

We left Minnesota to make our way to Xi'an, China. First stop was Chiang Mai, Thailand to attend a conference with other people we will be with in Xi'an.

It was crazy and stressful the last few weeks in Minnesota as we prepared for travel, paring our lives down to six suitcases and a few carry-ons! We were absolutely exhausted when we got on the plane. After a 16 hour flight to Seoul, Korea, to transfer and fly another 8 hours, we finally landed in beautiful Chiang Mai. 

We stayed in a hotel for the conference and had a wonderful time meeting people and taking a short rest. It wasn't all restful however, during our time in Thailand we had to race through the city on tuk tuks (pictured) to get immunizations and other details squared away before heading to China.





One day, we went with some of our new friends to ride elephants. We were expecting a little carnival type experience with a few elephants taking people on rides in a circle while chained to a center pole. Boy were we wrong! This place had 71 elephants. They had a show where we watched them bathe in the river, play soccer, paint pictures, etc...





 ...  and then we took a 2-3 mile ride through the forest. It was amazing

After a week in Chiang Mai, we traveled on to Xi'an, China. We are now here in our new city! Check back to stay up to date on our new home and life in Xi'an (she--on).

Be sure to view our prayer request page.

Bless you -
The Samuelson's