{Day 1 Or, "Will You Be My Friend?"}

Hello my friends! I'm 13 hours ahead of EST dwelling readers, so it's right about 7pm here and I'm settling down into my room after an information overload of a day. The day was spent stumbling through the introduction to basic necessities of life for the next year. Today we signed paper after paper after paper, opened bank accounts, acquired new phones ( and phone numbers!), navigated our first experiences in the local restaurants, culture orientations, health insurance benefits presentations, and more.
There are so many differences between here and home, that to begin comparing right now would be overwhelming. Needless to say, it's be easier just to go with the flow and absorb what I can from my surroundings. So far, I will say that people are generally very patient and generous with us and our language barrier.
Today there was a group of 8 of us, and from what I understand we will be joined by more this next week. I think we are avoiding the massive effect of culture shock for the time being through the insulating bubble of having people shuffle us through all the processes and having english speaking peers to rely on. It's been a lot of fun getting acquainted with the other people in my group. We are a diverse selection of teachers ranging from the experienced in teaching abroad, to first timers like myself. There are some interesting personalities as well... I can tell there are already groups and likely friendships forming, and a sense of comfort in the camaraderie as a result. When we are done training we will ship out to our different cities, but will keep in contact with one another.
At the end of our tasks for the day we all split off, some to go drinking ( no thank you!), other to sleep and unpack, While "Ronald" and I decided to attempt to find the main source nearby for shopping. He needed to look into purchasing a tablet or laptop, and I forgot a razor and a couple of other creature comforts and needed to look for something to tide me over until reinforcements arrive in the form of my husband.
We found the "Cloud Nine Mall" which is 9 overwhelming floors of shopping. A dangerous place for someone with a healthy shopping appetite. While we were looking at the different tablets, we got in a hilarious conversation with the two sales people of a pc tablet, who thought that we were the funniest people they had ever talked to... It was a fun experience to have four people who couldn't speak each other's language try to understand one another, and to turn to humor as a default.
On our way back we decided to try the Chinese version of Italian... um.... I'm going to miss Italian food. That wasn't it, that's for sure.
And so here I am, safely through the torture of day one. Some small victories ( like successfully finding my way to and from the hotel) under my belt, too much information pouring into my head and oozing out the ears, and a ton of homework to do. Luckily, I have the weekend off to acclimate and relax! I'm ready for this next week to zip by, and for Jeff to join me out here and help me navigate the craziness! And now - Sleep!
-Ashley

P.S. Sorry for the disorganized writing and lack of pictures... I was too overwhelmed to man  a camera. I'll work on it!

{The Gap Between Tired & Sleep}

Hello friends!
Well, after a Looooooong series of flights, layovers, and numb posterior/legs, I am safe and sound in the city  of Shanghai. I have a new found respect for our business travelling friends who do this on the regular. I certainly wouldn't be a happy camper if that experience was a regular occurrence.
That being said, all in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be! Check in and all the flights went smoothly, no delays or major issues with the technicality of travel. The travel arranging angel in charge of me had mercy and put me into premium economy, so even though I was still my fidgety self, I had the leg, elbow, and personal space to do so along with lovely service.
There was a lot to absorb in the many hours that I've been schlepping around. Here were the standouts:
First, meet Titus.

Jeff got him for me on one of our first trips together. He's been a good travel companion and is a pretty handy pillow with one cute face. Of course, most people in the Chicago airport thought it was odd for a grown woman to be carrying around a stuffed animal. It's funny though, because as soon as he hit the door of that airplane to Tokyo he has been getting comment after comment about how cute he was. One flight attendant petted him. *shrug* I'm glad cuteness is appreciated somewhere in the world!
Second:
That last flight from Tokyo to Shanghai was painful. It was only three hours, but after a 13 hour flight and a 4 hour layover I was stir crazy and short on patience. As I was sitting waiting on our flight, at the same terminal a flight for L.A. was leaving before ours out of the same gate. The area was pretty quiet and void of crowds. Just as the flight was about to leave Zac Efron and a small entourage of people sending him off waltzed by where I was sitting. I only recognized him because Jeff and I had recently watched "17 again". By the time I thought that I should take a picture just to prove my story I realized that my ipad takes unimpressive pictures, and by the time I reached for a better option he had already turned to board. One of my travel companions that I made during a connecting flight asked why I didn't ask for an autograph. I guess I didn't feel that he was impressive enough to me to do so... not to mention I was having a hard enough time not giggling over his poofy hair and over the top tan. I don't think I could cut it in L.A.
Last, and probably least to everyone else, but it made my day:
That very last and SLOW flight to Shanghai, I sat next to a kid returning from studying abroad in Wisconsin. we got into a brief discussion and he asked me how long I had lived in Tokyo. When I told him I haven't, and that I was moving to china for the first time, he was surprised. " Oh, you just used chop sticks like you've been using them for a long time, usually Americans struggle and use silverware." I guess if nothing else, I can eat like an Asian without sticking out too badly. Now if I could just get language and everything else down, I'll be a pro at this in no time!

Alright. That's all I have for right now. I need to go knock myself out so that I can get  up early tomorrow and start this crazy adventure off right!
Love and hugs from far away,
-Ashley
***Just as a reminder, I can't access facebook right now, so if you leave comments there I won't be able to see them. So if you have something to say please comment here on this blog, and click the follow button so I know who to keep up with !***

{One of Life's Treasured Moments...}

My heart is full today. I have spent the better part of this past week fretting, stressing, and starting many fires that my husband dutifully puts out behind me as I struggle to prepare myself for this tremendous change. Today was unlike any other day this week, and any other week up to this point, for that matter.
Today Jeff and I had the great pleasure and honor of going through the temple for the first time together and were sealed for time and eternity. I was overcome with emotion having my family peaceably assembled alongside some dear and treasured friends that we have been blessed to have in our lives this past year. My heart and mind wandered to thoughts of my brother, so far away and isolated from us in his diligent work, and my grandmother who just recently passed on. I'm truly grateful that she was able to attend our wedding in February, but I deeply missed her today. Still, I couldn't help but feel her love and presence envelop me like the quilts of hers I keep on my bed.



I can't stress enough how truly deeply grateful I am for the edifying, supportive, and overall phenomenal friends we have that were both with us today and were not. I am humble enough to know that I [and Jeff] have only gotten this far in our lives because of the help that we've received along the way from some tremendous people. Thank you.




After a long drive home from Columbus, Jeff and I were treated to a wonderful dinner with my parents, where I may or may have not tried to kill jeff with a tasty bite of scallop ( no worries, he's currently in a benadryl coma, safe and sound).  When we got home, he surprised me with a sweet, and thoughtful surprise.
You see, I love traditions. I love the idea of carrying through an act in respect of those who have come before, and paying homage to memories and events past. That being said, we had a decision to make about cake - wedding cake. Our anniversary is not until February. We will be long gone by then.. and I don't think packing a cake in my carry-on will go over well. My solution? Well, to celebrate our second wedding date... so to speak. While Jeff was less than thrilled to eat frost bitten 10 month old cake, he knew it was important to me, so I pulled it out the night before so it would be ready when we got home this evening from our eventful day.
As we settled in, unpacked, and I went to fetch the cake, Jeff interrupted me with a beautiful surprise. He had taken the time to have another cake made that looked  and tasted pretty darn like ( if not better than) the original cake that we had saved. I still insisted in one tortured bite of the original, but then we delved into the fresh, DELICIOUS [early] anniversary cake.





I have such a sweet, thoughtful, and generous husband. Sometimes I don't quite deserve him, but I intend to spend the rest of my life and more trying my best to fix that.
Love to all,
- Ashley

{Gingerbread Oranaments}

As my time draws to a close at work, Nancy and I have been trying to get as much done as possible together. Over the Thanksgiving weekend we made some gingerbread ornaments. I remember doing these as a kid. They are easy, fun, and smell amazing!

(simplified from a recipe from Martha Stewart. She has great recipes, she just gets so carried away with details!)

1 cup ground cinnamon

1/4 cup applesauce

Craft glue

Rolling pin

Utility knife, or cookie cutters

Baking sheet

Length of thin ribbon for each ornament

Prepare Dough

Step 1

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup ground cinnamon and 1/4 cup applesauce using a rubber spatula.

Step 2

Stir in 1/2 cup craft glue. Stir the dough until consistency is smooth and dry. Let stand 1 hour. Applesauce gives the dough pliability, glue makes it firm, and cinnamon imparts a lovely fragrance and a gingerbread color.

Step 3

Turn out one-quarter of dough onto a cool, flat surface; flatten with your hands.

Step 4

Flatten with a rolling pin to 1/4 inch thick. If dough becomes too dry, spritz with water. If it sticks to rolling pin or work surface, sprinkle with additional cinnamon.

Step 5

Cut out shapes with cookie cutters and set aside.

Step 6

With a straw, poke a hole in dough. Air-dry ornaments on a wire rack lined with paper towels for 24 hours, turning them over every 6 hours or so to keep them flat. Alternatively, preheat oven to 200 degrees. Transfer ornaments to a baking sheet; bake, flipping once, until dry, about 2 hours. Once dry, decorate using beads, glitter, or paint.

Enjoy!

-Ashley

{Do you Skype?}

I do! So will Jeff, he's just still working on getting his set up (slacker). If you don't know much about Skype, it's a nifty messaging system that will allow us video an voice chat for free from our electronic devices( ipad, iphone, laptop, etc). If I choose to pay, I can also make calls to cell phones from it ( I'm looking into it, that sure would be nifty! )

Anyway, if you have one, you should most definitely add me ( and Jeff when he gets around to it) to your list! If you don't have one, you should think about it!

skypename: ashley.a.mclemore

{Strike a Pose}

Well, I tried out an experiment by attempting to post this through my email. So far nothing has shown up, but I'll be keeping my eye out just in case there is some ridiculous delay. This would be pretty handy and crucial if it works out because of the unpredictability of the internet in China. While I'm not overly concerned about the censorship, I do like to be prepared for things and I want to be as ready as possible for the change in culture as it applies to technology before I go because let's face it, I'm definitely a product of our era. I'm going to deeply miss social media, and it's versatility.

That being said, I got an early Christmas gift today!


That's what I'm calling it at any rate. I really wanted a new camera to help document this upcoming year. Jeff wasn't exactly as enthused as I was but he was supportive none the less ( Thank you dear!). Nancy spent the afternoon with me striking poses and giggling as I played around with the different features. She's an awfully good sport.






One month tomorrow before I head out, and I'm more excited, terrified, and overwhelmed than ever! Thank goodness for Jeff and his knack for task-managing. :)

Stay tuned!
-Ashley
P.S. Make sure to follow this blog to keep up with the latest updates! It's easy as pie - all you have to do is sign in through your facebook!

We've Moved...

Hello fellow bloggers!

As my previous post mentioned, I've been struggling to find compatible sites to blog from ( That DON'T cost an arm and a leg) while I'm in China. Unfortunately Blogspot is not one of them. So, I've set up shop over at typepad instead.

The McLemores go to China <--- click it, bookmark it, enjoy!

I've honestly loved the blogging experience here of sharing my thoughts, following yours, and the interraction that comes from this community. I don't want to give it up, especially with such an exciting year of adventure up ahead!

I hope that you choose to take the extra little effort to check in on me over at type pad every so often. I promise I'll do my best to make it worth your while.


Happy blogging!

P.S. It should be easy as pie to comment and keep up with this new blog of mine, as I believe all you have to do is have a FB account to comment!

P.P.S I'll hopefully be able to post it straight to facebook even though I won't have access to facebook itself.

P.P.P.S I'm still sending emails and addresses just in case, so if you are looking forward to the handwritten communication, make sure I have your address(es). :)

Ashley :)