Checking in from China!

Greetings! I’m checking in from China! :) Living in China is a very interesting experience. Even within just one week I feel like I’ve already experienced a great deal of personal growth! Let me share some of my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned!


We started teaching the first full day we were here! It was REALLY good for me that first day (as I’ve mentioned). The second day went even better! My lesson was really good, the kids were great for me, and I felt really good about it! I had so much fun teaching that day and I wanted to steal Molly, Coco, and Kyle and bring them back to the U.S. with me! I love those kids! The third day of teaching, however, was a catastrophe! It was a Friday, so of course the kids were rowdy! We couldn’t get ANYTHING done and no amount of discipline worked! It was intense. Oh well! Monday will go better! :)


Teaching these kids has already taught ME so much! First of all, patience. They barely know the language I am speaking to them. Instead of getting frustrated, if i try again (usually a little slower) they almost always realize what I’m saying! They are also a very rambunctious group, so patience is required there, too! Another thing we really try to do is love these kids! These are first or second graders in a boarding school! Their Chinese teachers are VERY strict and they don’t even have a family when they go home. Just a little room, a care taker, and cooks. When we teach with love they respond so much better!! These kids need to feel like they’re loved, and I’m honored to be one to help them feel that way! And in turn, they love us! They give us big hugs and are so excited to see us in the cafeteria or around campus!! :)


It has been raining non stop since we arrived. Today there is finally some sunshine and everyone is SO excited! Anyway... I’ve learned that Utah is really unique weather wise (and in all other ways, too!). For example, if it’s raining you can wait a few hours and then it will clear up and be nice the rest of the day. It’s true what they say... wait 10 minutes and the weather will change! Not here! When it rains, it rains for a good week straight! And it rains HARD! I haven’t been dry since I stepped off that bus!

Around our living areas there are cats. Cats everywhere. We’re not allowed to touch them... One day Cierra and I had our door open and this cat just came into our room! I named it Chinese Cat. Some of the other people in my group named it Spencer, but I think my name is much better! :)



On Saturday we braved the rain and decided to go into downtown Weihai. It’s about a half hour on the bus. It was so fun! Our group, guided by our awesome local friend Kelly, explored the city! We went to the “Happy Gates”. It’s rumored that if you walk on the big brass sculpture you will find your happiness! I’ll let you know if that’s true! :)





We found all these way cool and cheap markets! I haven’t really bought anything yet because I don’t want to over do it my first week! I need to get accustomed to prices and bartering! We got completely lost in the city when Kelly left. Luckily we had Heather who could ask directions from a local and he could guide us where we needed to go!


Before leaving the city we had some dinner. MCDONALD’S! Now, usually I don’t like McDonald’s, but it was amazing! Don’t get me wrong, the food isn’t BAD or anything at the school... it’s just different. It’s hard to get used to. There’s VERY little variety, and it all just kinda blends together. So even after a week it’s getting a little monotonous! But french fries.... YUMMY!!! And to those of you who know me well, this will be no big surprise to you. One of the hardest things for me has been the lack of ice cream and chocolate. There’s a very limited supply, and their versions are just not quite the same (milk ice?!). But a hot fudge sundae from McDonald’s... It was the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted. I ate one... and then got another. Ya, call me fat if you want, but it was worth it! :) It was like being reunited with an old friend!!

Today was the Sabbath day! Even in China there is a special feeling to this day! We are part of the Beijing China International District Branch. We call in on Skype. There are people scattered all throughout China. President and Sister Lewis are already taking good care of us! Today our internet connection wouldn’t hold, so we didn’t really get to listen in. We had permission from President Lewis, so we had the Sacrament. I’m very grateful to have Priesthood holders in our group! We had crackers on a dinner tray for bread, and used the desk drawer as a water tray. It was quite the experience. Afterwards, since we couldn’t really listen in to our meeting, Stuart just gave a quick thought and we had a bit of a testimony meeting. It was a really cool experience! No matter where you are or what you have to work with, the Spirit is the same! The Spirit and unity of that meeting were so strong. I fell blessed to be in this group. There are so many incredible people I’m learning so much from! I am really grateful to have this opportunity. It is so amazing in so many different ways!


A big group of us decided to go on a Sunday walk. We heard about this trail behind our school, and we decided to go on that. WELL... it turned into quite the experience!! About 30 bug bites later and quite the adventurous walk we are back and safe! It was fun though. I just itch. I’ve accepted that I’m just going to itch most of the time here. There are so many bugs!!


Many of the lessons I’ve learned here don’t have a specific experience tied to them... it’s many things combined. For one thing, I’ve learned how good home is. Even the poor in America live much better than many here! I sleep on a board, my bathroom is disgusting... the plumbing can’t even handle toilet paper... the streets are dirty, you can’t drink the water, and so much more! I really do come from a blessed and prospered land! But not matter our circumstance, we can be HAPPY!! And we are! We are so happy and having fabulous experiences! It’s also amazing that we can share our beliefs and are free to do believe and think what we want. I pray that one day the country of China will be opened to the Church and these people I’m growing to love will have the opportunity to have the blessings that come from being a member of the Church!


Well, I hope you everything is well back home! I love you all the way from China! :)

And so it begins...

(As blogspot is blocked in China, my dear friend, Michelle Falk, will be posting my blog for me! THANKS!!!)


Ni hao from Weihai!!!!! WOW! It’s already been an adventure unlike any other! I have no concept of time right now! Let me update you on my experiences thus far!


Saturday night I said goodbye to my friends and family! Madi, Alli, Ben, and my siblings ended up staying up all night talking and playing games! It was so much fun! I said goodbye to my Cheryl, Dan, Nate, and my pets. It was harder than I thought for me. Sunday morning at 6:30 I met my group at the airport. My dear friends Alli, Madi, and Steph accompanied my parents and me to the airport. They are the best!!! I will miss them more than I can say! I checked my luggage... both bags were 49 lbs exactly! WOOT WOOT! That couldn’t have been more perfect...








It was Cierra’s birthday the day we left. Samantha and I tried to make it a good birthday... I mean, at least we got her a Cinnabon! Anyway... first we flew to San Francisco. That wasn’t bad at all. I sat next to a kid in my group named Matt Goodrich on the plane. We were able to bond over lame jokes on our last names (“Bad Poor” and “OH! Like the guy from Monster’s Inc?! Mike Wazowski!)


The next flight was intense. No one is really sure how long it was... it’s still an ongoing debate. But it was LONG! I probably slept for 2/3 of it. The rest of the time I watched free movies! I finally saw How to Train Your Dragon and the Back Up Plan. They fed us two dinners... kinda weird! But I didn’t go hungry! I sat next to a newlywed couple. They were so cute and nice. They helped me with my bags and woke me up at meal times! :) The weirdest thing about the flight was that even though I knew it should be getting later and later in the day, the sky stayed bright as midday the whole time! It’s kind of an unnerving experience! I really liked Korean Air though! The flight attendants’ outfits are SWEET! As we landed in Korea I took my first steps off the American Continent! Still a little strange... It was so hot and muggy in the Korean airport, so we were actually happy to get on the plane again!


Our next flight was from Seoul, Korea to Beijing, China. It wasn’t too long... We got another dinner though. At that point I felt like I should be eating breakfast, but it was just evening there! I had my first battle with food. I’ve decided I want to try as much stuff as possible while here... and some of the stuff in the dinner was testing my will. I tried it all though! Come to find out, I don’t like Bean Curd with Oriental Dressing. And apparently slightly flavored rice stuck together with some raisins in it counts as a dessert in some places. Anyway, I couldn’t get any cool pictures of flying over China because it got dark! We went through immigration, and finally got all our stuff! Not one of the 21 of us lost any luggage, so that’s a miracle! :)


You would think that we’d be there at this point... nope! It was time to hop on a bus. For 12 hours. Luckily I was still exhausted, so I slept most of the time. Toward the end of the drive, our driver started a movie for us. Oh man! It was so stereotypical. Karate, colored hair... all that and more. It was actually pretty entertaining!


We FINALLY got to our school at about 11 AM on the 24th (HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DUSTIN!!!!) It was still Monday night back at home. Still weirds me out. We lugged all our bags up 5 floors... 100 stairs. We counted. You would think they’d heard of an elevator over here, but apparently not. We finally got to unpack and settle in a little. Our rooms are pretty nice. The bed is not comfortable at all. I have sept on more comfortable beds at girls camp. Seriously though. And our pillow is a bean bag. Haven’t the Asians heard of feathers?







Another things the Chinese apparently haven’t thought up yet: showers. That’s right. We have a shower head and a drain. If I were really lazy I could sit on the toilet and shower. Or if I was really efficient I could shower and go the the bathroom at the same time! HAHA!


I had my first legitimate Chinese meal. Yes, we ate with chopsticks. No, we didn’t eat on the floor. I think that’s Japan? (People NEVER sit on the ground here! I’d tell you why, but it’s gross.) It was actually not too bad. Nothing nauseating... But I do like American food 100000000 times better! I could really go for some mashed potatoes. There was also a random pot of boiling water in the middle of the floor. None of us Americans could figure out what it was used for...


Our entire group headed out into the city. Here are a few things I learned:


1. You can hold an umbrella and ride a bike.
2. Don’t assume you have the right of way as a pedestrian.
3. The Chinese aren’t ashamed to stare! They point, too. And when you notice them staring, they don’t look away! They’re shameless! I now know how celebrities AND zoo animals feel! Blonde hair... it’s not letting me blend in at all here!
4. Asians use skin bleach. There were face whitening masks all over the Supermarket. We tan... they bleach!
5. Chinese just assume you can’t understand them. And I can’t. HOWEVER... we have a girl in our group who speaks fluent Mandarin. She’ll translate what people are saying about us... it’s awesome! It’s like we have a spy in the group! Because she’s like the most American looking person you’d ever see! No one expects it. She’s broken into a few conversations in Mandarin. It’s quickly becomeing a form of entertainment for us to see their reactions!
6. Apparently “Blueberry” is a chip flavor. They’re not bad. It’s like eating fruit and chips at the same time. Healthy, right?!

7.The cute little turtles for sale on the street are for dinner... not pets. :(

8. When it rains... it POURS!!! There was literally a waterfall forming at our school! And I had to buy an umbrella. It’s HILARIOUS!!! ... only in China! :)


We’re wasting no time here... We started teaching today! No time to rest! I planned a lesson last night. Way over planned! But they say that’s good. I had plenty of stuff to keep us occupied. The idea behind the method is to engage the children and immerse them in english... kind of like you would a baby! You model the language and they practice it. The kids we were teaching today already know a little english. On monday we start with new kids, so that will be very interesting!! It was really fun though! My head teachers, Amanda and Lauren, said they were very impressed. They thought it would be much more rough, especially on the first day! I was pretty excited about that!


It’s going great here! I’m loving it so far... even though I’m always soaked!! OH! During meal times they play this music over the loudspeaker trying to teach english! It is hilarious! Today they played the Mickey Mouse song, but that’s the first semi-normal one I’ve heard! The rest are like: “May I have a cookie” “Yes here’s a cookie” “MMMM! May I have some more?” “No. That’s all there is. There’s no more.” “No more?” “No more.” “No more?” “No more!” ... then they repeat that with like every food possible. It’s great when that gets stuck in your head.... haha! :)


Well, that’s all I have time for! We’re way busy here, but I’m having fun! I really love my group- it’s like we all bonded right when we met each other! I hope to hear from all of you! Email me at jennislagowski@hotmail.com! Love you all! BYE!!! :)

The Unexpected Adventure

So... at this time next week I will be living in China. I keep trying to wrap my head around that fact, but I don't think I'm going to! I'm pretty sure it won't hit me until I'm actually there! That's how life always is for me at least...

This week has been a blast! I'm trying to get everything in and to visit everyone before I leave! I'm coming to realize, however, that I'm not going to get everything done that I want to... but it's ok!

So what's the hardest part of this adventure (besides leaving my friends, family, and pretty much everything I know, of course...)? PACKING! ... something I wasn't expecting!

I have many friends who have gone on LDS missions. They had to pack for 2 years and they were packing the night before they left! Granted they're boys and all they had to pack were shirts, ties, suits, and then all the other random things. I, however, will only be gone 1/6 of the amount of time, and I've already tried, and failed, at packing TWICE!

My first problem is a simple fact of life. I am a girl. Like most girls, I want a variety of clothes, cute (but sensible) shoes, pictures of friends and family, stuff to do on my free time... all that! And I'm having a hard time deciding what stays and what goes on this adventure with me! As my roommate found out last year, I have a lot of "stuff", and I tend to think it needs to come with me!

My second problem is that I only have 2 suitcases... one of which is filled with supplies! That leaves me with one bag! And as anyone who has been on vacation, to girls camp, or even just a sleepover with me knows... I tend to OVER PACK! I am like a boy scout. I like to "Be Prepared". So sue me if I'm WAY over-prepared! At least I'll have my Princess and the Frog coloring book (thanks, Alli!) to entertain me while everyone else is BORED!

An then there's the supplies themselves! I am so grateful to everyone who donated!! I need 4 months of lessons... that's a lot of supplies! I am just starting to wonder how I'm going to fit it all! Oh well! It will all work out, and I will have the best prepared lessons the Chinese have ever seen! I just may have to shove a few boxes of crayons in my pockets. :)

The last problem is very interesting... (if you're an immature boy, skip to the next paragraph) They do not sell tampons in the stores in China. I've been told by multiple volunteers that you can search the whole country and you won't find a single box! As if I didn't have enough to pack, now I have to pack 4 months worth of those...

Ok. enough complaining! I'm sure I'll figure it out! I just may have to learn to live with less... Which would be very good for me! :) Once I get through the unexpected adventure of packing I'll be off on the adventure of a lifetime! I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity! As it gets closer and closer I feel even more sure that this is the right thing for me to be doing at this time in my life. I love you all and hope this next 4 months is an adventure for you, too!

Getting ready...

Hello everyone! It's Jenni Slagowski here! I'm assuming most people who will actually read this know me, but for those who just stumble upon this here's a synopsis of who I am! Slagowski is pronounced "slug" "ow!!" "ski"... it's really quite easy, yet it's always slaughtered! I am 20 years old and the youngest in my family. I think I have the greatest family on earth and I love them very much! I am a proud member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (www.mormon.org if you have questions). Yes, I know this is true. No, I'm not brainwashed OR ignorant of the "real world". And yes, it truly does bring more peace and joy into my life than I could have ever asked for!

Moving on... I love to dance, and burst into song at random moments. I also believe I have the best friends in the world! This would include, but not limited to: my family (my second families the Simcox's and Nelson's as well), JAMS, the "Psyche 6" (I'll include Dustin and Matt and their families in this), my INCREDIBLE roommates, those girls (and coaches and families of both) I spent my life with as a Cardinelle, my old Ridge Crest YW crew, and many more... I love them all and don't know what I'd do without them!!

This is my first attempt at a BLOG! I'm starting it so I can keep people updated about the adventure I'm about to embark on! :) On August 22 I will be leaving the wonderful country of the U.S.A. and going to Weihai, China. I will be there for 4 months. I am going with my good friends Cierra Schang and Samantha West! :) We have met a few of the other people we will be with and we are so EXCITED! We are going to teach English in a boarding school. No, none of us know Chinese! The method we use to teach does not require us to know the kids' native language. (If you want to know more about it go to ilp.org) While we are there we will also have the opportunity to do some sight seeing and exploring! :) I've had three friends go to foreign countries with this program: Hilary Stout, Emily Petersen, and Katie Workman. They all said they felt very safe and that the program took great care of them... so don't worry about us! I mean, it's not like Cierra, Samantha, and I could cause ANY trouble whatsoever! ;)

I am getting everything packed and ready to go! I asked my home ward and family for donations of supplies I need to teach over there. I am overwhelmed by everyone's response! They have been so giving... I'm starting to wonder how I'm going to get it all there! I just want to thank everyone who has been so generous to me! I am so grateful for the support! It's really taken a load off my mind and I really appreciate it! Thanks again!!!! :)

While I am a LITTLE nervous about going, I'm mostly excited! It's going to be crazy and we most definitely will not fit in there! But I think it will be exactly the experience I need in my life! As I'm getting ready to leave I'm really grateful for my incredibly supportive family and friends! I am also so comforted to know I have the gospel! I have a feeling I will be relying heavily on prayer and the Spirit! I'm so grateful for these blessings in my life.