新年快乐

New Year, New Endings, New Beginnings

Well, we have done it! You should be congratulated: You have made it through yet another year of your life, making it safely through 365 days around the sun, spinning at over 1,000 miles per hour... That is a feat in and of itself and (if nothing else happened to you this past year) you should be proud! 

Yes, technically 2014 ended and 2015 began over two months ago, HOWEVER in China, they like to do things a little different and today (yesterday now that I'm posting it) was the official start of 2015 in the lunar calendar. So, we bid a fond farewell to my year--the Year of the Horse--and we enter into the Year of the Sheep (or goat or ram... I've heard three different names all day today). 

Were you born in 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, or 2003? Then you are a sheep. Sheep are generous, just and kind, and easily touched by other people's misfortunes. They are artists, and are creative. If something goes especially wrong in their careers or other aspects of life, they will become very sentimental and pessimistic, even world weary. 

If you're a sheep, here is some fun tidbits that you might want to remember if this is your year! Your lucky numbers are 3, 4, and 9. Your lucky colors are red, green, and purple. Your lucky flowers are carnation, primrose, and Alice Flower (I don't know where they come up with these things). And a word of caution: your unlucky numbers are 6, 7, and 8 and your unlucky colors are gold, brown, and black... Use this information as needed...

Most of this information I'm sure you already know from the oh so lovely place mats at Chinese buffets but the Chinese zodiac and astrological signs are deeply engrained into the Chinese culture so when it is your year, it is a very special time. 

Your year is a very special time for you--it is meant to be a lucky year. Whether you believe in "luck" or not does not matter--the Chinese love to talk about luck and if it's your year, it's always fun to get to play along. Want to enhance your luck? Try to wear red every single day. Supposedly, your year is already a lucky time for you but if you manage to wear red every day, you just add to your luck. Most people get red underpants for Christmas (it's true!) but I settled on a red bracelet I wore everyday last year and it worked out pretty well... I landed myself a man!! ;-)

Christmas 2012, Olivia got her red undies!!

 I've never actually gotten to spend a Chinese New Year in China (ain't that such a shame?!?)-- in 2012 I missed it by a few weeks, last year I was traveling in Nepal and Malaysia (I think I might have actually been flying back into the country on the new year) and this year I spent it at Roswell Cancer Institute (they did order Chinese food though which made me smile). HOWEVER, you can be darn sure the holiday is filled with eating, drinking, giving money in red envelopes, and fireworks (just like every day in China at 3am). My students have compared it to our Christmas celebrations (with fireworks because it is China and a holiday is incomplete without them). Over the years it has begun to make it's way over to America where we see red paper lanterns, pictures and decorations of the annual animal, and (if you're lucky) you might snag some Chinese goodies (I made sure to eat green tea oreos in honor of the holiday).

With the coming and going of a new (lunar) year, it is always fitting to talk about endings-beginnings. 2014 ends and 2015 begins. The year of the Horse ends and the year of the Sheep begins. It seems fitting that Adam's surprise trip to America came to an end on the new year and he began his last semester in China (the poor guy has been there for three years now). We got to celebrate our last Valentine's Day together before our wedding. And now, we have our final hurtle to overcome--5 months of separation. This is the definition of a long distance relationship with us living in completely different hemispheres (so be aware that if I see you complain that "so and so lives an hour away" or you "haven't seen so and so in a week" I will glare at you through my computer screen)! It is the end of many things but it is also the beginning of even more exciting new things! A wedding! Potential jobs! Babies being born (good god, not mine)! And Henry getting the snot kicked out of him!

We got to celebrate Valentine's Day together (for the first time!!), got to go to a Sabres game (they lost), and I got my engagement ring (it's gorgeous)!

Another thing that is coming to an end before I had planned is my time in China. After being home and seeing what my family has had to go through for the last six months while I was away, I have decided that I just cannot hop back on a plane and go back to China. Adam and I have talked about it and I'm in America to stay... My China adventure is over. It's a bit sad--I wish I could feel like I had more closure but I don't and that's okay... That's life. I know that I am needed here right now. One door closes and another opens. So my adventures in China are over (for now), I will be home until my wedding this summer, and then my husband (crazy to write that down) and I will be winging our way to a new exciting adventure together... When we know where we end up, I'll be sure to share it here with you!

Here's a postcard from the past:

 It is sad to see my adventures in China end... Thank you for going on them with me! I hope you enjoyed celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival and climbing the Himalaya and Yellow Mountains; I hope you loved my students as much as I did and I hope you had fun on the adventure with me. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for reading. Thank you.

Let's see where life takes us next!! Wide Eyed Wanderer will keep on wandering...

Until Next Time,

Amanda

Give Thanks

The holiday season is now officially in full swing. Christmas shoppers are going wild (hopefully you're not a 6pm Thanksgiving Day shopper!!), trees are being tied to the roofs of cars, snow is falling (some places, a bit too much!), and we can finally listen to Christmas tunes without shame! I know I say that Halloween is my favorite holiday (and that still stands) but as I've gotten older I have become sentimental and I have come to appreciate the holiday season for what it is truly meant to be--being thankful and actually appreciating the life that you have been living. Maybe you have money problems hovering over you or you are single and all of your friends are falling in love and getting married or maybe you hate your job or you are just sad and you don't know exactly why. But it is this time of year that you realize that that doesn't matter--having a roof over your head, food on your plate, your health, friends and family to surround you with love... THIS is what life is about, not just Christmastime. In my old age (hey! I'm almost a quarter of a century old!) I have come to realize this just in time for me to be thousands of miles away from home and my family to be under siege from the evil Henry. As we get older, we no longer ask for the coolest new gaming system or the most stylish clothes. We don't care about what we get for gifts... being able to spend time with your family is the true gift this life gives us and our time on this earth is too short to not take advantage of it.

I am finding myself to be thankful for so few things this year. I hope you don't read that wrong! I am thankful--SO thankful for what I have in life--but I am realizing that the things I used to be thankful for just aren't really that important anymore. Getting everything on my Christmas list--at 12 years old, that was certainly something to celebrate! Being able to study abroad or get into that coveted class was what I wished for at 18 years old. Physical things--my books, snow globes, stuffed animals, photos, anime and cosplay, trinkets from my travels--was what I used to enjoy being with (just ask my parents... I don't think they saw me more than a few times when I was 13 [I was too busy reading or acting out The Phantom of the Opera... I know, I feel so much shame]). But now the few things I am thankful for are the people in my life--my parents and brother, my aunt and uncle and cousins, and Adam. It's not so much the quantity of what I am thankful for now, but the quality. I think it was in 2009 that I finally began to stop taking life and my time in it for granted.

2009 will go down in the history books as probably the WORST year of the Woomer's lives. Lots of annoying little things happened (stupid appendix) but we lost my Poppy (grandfather on my mother's side) in May, my Papa (grandfather on my father's side) on November 29th (that's tomorrow), and my Memoo (my grandmother on my mother's side) on December 7th (if you do the math that is basically a week in between those two). All of a sudden, life was very fragile and my family (the Woomers and Gullos) rallied together and clung to one another, realizing that we were the most important aspect of each other's lives and we needed to remember that each and every day.

Seriously, 2009 SUCKED for everyone we knew!!

I like to think that my focus in life went from ME, ME, ME to my family. Your family is filled with the people that God specifically chose to put into your life for a reason, they were chosen specifically for YOU... Why would you not want to take advantage of and appreciate this gift that He gave you as often as you can?

2014 has been quite an interesting year as well, attempting to bump 2009 out of the top spot. But you know what? I don't think it will.

It is true: August 6, 2014 will probably always and forever be the worst day of my life (bumping May 22nd out of first place)--the day we all learned that Jed has cancer. BUT I don't think 2014 beats out 2009. I climbed the Himalayas (and then got my phone stolen), I got to visit Adam's family in Minnesota and he got introduced to the insanity that is the WooGulls, I made it through a year of living in China, I got engaged, and got to surprise Jed at graduation (catch up on that epic tale right here)! Yes, we found out that Jed has cancer BUT we also found out just how many people love him and how many lives he has touched in the 18 years he's been around. We found out that family, friends, and strangers were willing to drop everything and raise money, make dinners for us, and even shave their heads! We learned how amazing our little community of Tonawanda is and we were reminded of that incredible quote from It's a Wonderful Life:

So even though this horrible thing happened (and YES it is horrible--I don't want to downplay the crap my brother and every other cancer patient has to go through... the chemo, the pokes and mediport, the nausea, the hospital visits, and just the pure fear of knowing that there is something growing inside you), it has sparked an incredible and awe inspiring chain of events that may venture to overthrow the fear that this cancer has attempted to impose on Jed and the rest of our lives. The Red for Jed movement. Shave Your Head for Jed. Swim-a-thons. The Ken-Ton high school's swing dance night. The TNT pep assembly chant. Go Red for Jed Day. Turkey Trots. And gifts, fundraisers, dinners, and love and support from friends both old and new from nearby and far away. It just shows that the power of love and friendship and the courage of one 18 year old boy can overcome even the most terrifying of circumstances... If that doesn't inspire you and make you thankful for even the very air in your lungs, I don't know what will!!

 Red for Jed!

Get Well Soon cards!

MY elementary school's Turkey Trot raised $5,000 for Jed

 An amazing family friend getting Jed a SIGNED Jim Kelly jersey, a brave, little participant in Shave Your Head for Jed.

Hockey Fights Cancer night at the Sabres game.

I didn't mean to make this into a Jed blog post but he is the one that is in my thoughts and always on my mind while I am putting up my tree or eating my turkey; my students know all about him and ask about him whenever they see me. It is incredible (I know I keep using that word, but it's true!) to see that not only people around the country, but around the entire WORLD are thinking of him, cheering him on, and praying for him.

Family is precious and I learned this year just how precious mine is.

Surprisingly, I have done pretty well coping with homesickness until about five minutes ago when the Kristin Chenoweth song "Home on Christmas Day" started playing and I literally burst into tears, crying, and I had to stop writing (seriously, if you are at all melancholy, have lost a loved one, someone you love is far away in military service, for school, or just living life, or if you are the one that is far away from home do not listen to this song... unless you're a little masochistic, then you can find it right here). My fellow expats in China, Bahrain, and all around the world will understand--one moment you are fine, living an exciting life in another country not even stopping to think about the last time you slept in your parent's house when suddenly, you stop--you hear something, see something, or think of something that sparks a memory and you are suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia and homesickness. This bizarre and sudden wave of emotion is the price we pay for living this adventurous life of ours. Those of you who are able to be with your loved ones during the holiday are the lucky ones--being able to say that I've been to the Great Wall twice or I can hop on a train and be in Shanghai in an hour is impressive but sometimes I want nothing more than to sit at my kitchen table and play Apples to Apples with the rest of my family.

Luckily for me, I have been blessed to have Adam by my side and he has been my rock during my time away from my family and especially during the holidays (funny how this time can bring so much happiness and joy and yet so much melancholy sadness...). If it wasn't for him, I probably would not have come back to China to finish what I started.

Anyway.... Our festivities began a day early with an expat Thanksgiving at our friend, James's house. A potluck of the most epic proportions, this might have been the most Thanksgivingy Thanksgiving I have ever had! Usually with the WooGulls, we have more of an Italian Thanksgiving than an American Thanksgiving with a lasagna pan that weighs about the same as a small child so I was surprised to find that in China, we actually managed to find a turkey where the meat is almost always chicken (and slightly questionable chicken I might add). A friend, Nate, journeyed on a train for several hours to Wenling where they found a turkey breeder and brought Harry to Hangzhou (yes, they named him just to make it that much more awkward when we were eating him).

Meet Harry

I made my mama's amazing chicken wing dip (as best as I could with no bleu cheese dressing) and Adam made stuffing (because what is Thanksgiving without stuffing?!) and we headed downtown to our veritable feast!

The chicken wing dip was gone in about 20 minutes (which is actually pretty long since my cousin, Phil, was not there) and I will take that as a success! We ended up having tons of food--mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, corn bread, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, burritos (because), cranberry sauce, stuffing, apple pie, pumpkin pie, apple and pear pie, cookies, Oreo pie, and (of course) Harry covered in gravy. For Western foods to be near impossible to find in Hangzhou, I would say that this Thanksgiving dinner was QUITE a success!!

Top that all off with the Peanut's Thanksgiving special (complete with sarcastic commentary) and I would have to say that this was a pretty darn good Thanksgiving away from home.

Thanksgiving Day started off a bit bumpy--Adam had to teach... Boo.... After that necessary evil was out of the way, we attempted to make french toast because we found syrup, glorious syrup! With food in our bellies, we decided to do something constructive and put up the Christmas tree!

Now before we start off, no judging please. I know (technically) we put up the tree on Thanksgiving Day and that is a big no-no BUT in the Woomer household, we always go out and get our tree the Friday after Thanksgiving and then that Saturday, we decorate. Adam and I celebrated Thanksgiving on Wednesday and since we already had our tree (oh how I miss my real trees!!) we decorated the next day. At least that was my logic behind it and Adam stood beside me! MWUAHAHAHAH!!!!

Shamelessly blasting my John Denver and the Muppets Christmas album, we dug out the tree, lights, garland, star, and ornaments and put together the WoomPert Christmas tree!

 Last year, I found generic but pretty ornaments--red, gold, and purple. I got a Hogwarts ornament from Phil and Chanel, a couple cute ones from my mom, and Adam bought me a beautiful tin owl one. This year, we searched for an ugly ornament that just screams CHINA that our children will have to fight over someday and for 12元 ($2), we got a grab bag filled with some of the ugliest ornaments I have ever seen.

Seriously, I have no idea. The one on the left is a bear with antlers in a bag. CHINA.

We finally decided on a nicer one. It's cute and cartoony and just looks very Chinese... We'll probably keep the bear/reindeer hybrid just because it makes us laugh...

A very Cangqian Christmas!

Our tree was almost not big enough to hold all of our ornaments. As Adam said as we sat back to admire our handiwork, "We already need a bigger tree!" It isn't much and it's nowhere near as much as my mother decorates our house (it seriously looks like Mrs. Claus lives in our house and I LOVE IT) but it is something and it helps bring some Christmas cheer to a country that basically has no idea what Christmas is all about. 

After the tree was up, it was time to start cooking our own Thanksgiving meal. I was a bit nervous. I know and everyone else knows that I am no chef. I can make cereal and maybe toast. If I'm lucky maybe chicken wing dip and cookies. So this was the first time we really attempted something other than ramen, fried rice, or chicken wings in our kitchen. And I have to say, we did pretty darn good!

Adam fried up some of the left over corn on the cob, we made cheddar bay biscuits (so gooooood), brownies, heated up the chicken wing dip, and we made delicious mesquite encrusted boneless chicken breast. It was amazing the building didn't burn down and so yummy. It was my first time cooking a meal and I would say it was a success!! Of course, our Thanksgiving would be incomplete without watching It's a Wonderful Life... All we needed was some eggnog... Mmm.... eggnog, how I miss you so.

Not too shabby for my first Thanksgiving!!

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that really isn't too important when you first think about it. My students and fellow teachers always ask me about Thanksgiving games, songs, and activities and I always tell them, it's really not that big of a holiday--Halloween and Christmas and even Easter and the 4th of July seem so much more important and exciting--but I always find that it is the one holiday that always takes me and my emotions by surprise. It's a reflective holiday that makes you look at yourself, your life, your year, and what you are thinking and feeling. Was it a good year? Are you where you want to be? Are you happy? What do you want to be doing a year from now? A year ago, I never would have thought I would be where I am now--engaged and planning a wedding, looking to moving to another country, and living with the fact that my precious little brother has cancer... Who could ever see that coming?

I may be a bit pensive and melancholy but I am doing really well being away from my family at this time of year (all things considered). Like John Green says, "It hurts because it matters." I wouldn't feel like this if my family wasn't so important to me. "We hurt because we love... but loving someone is so worth it. How sad would life be if we had no one to hurt for?" Wise words from none other than my mama. So if you are homesick or feeling nostalgic, if you are blue or sad, remember it is because of one of the most beautiful things in this world--it is because you love someone and you are loved deeply in return. Never forget that.

What I am most thankful for  ♥

From all the way on the other side of the planet, I want to wish you a very happy start to the holiday season. Stay warm, stay safe, be happy, and keep those that you love close to you.

感恩快乐！！

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I love you all.

Until Next Time,

Amanda

There is a Season

Those of you who know me personally have most likely heard the shocking and unfortunate news that my brother, Jed, has been diagnosed with cancer. It has been a whirlwind of events and emotions over the last few weeks but I think we are starting to find our footing and map out the best course of action that will lead to a speedy victory.

Many people have asked if I will blog about my brother's battle with this tumor just like I blog about my time in China. To that, I will give an official NO. It is difficult when someone has cancer and they are not a child. Many parents in the pediatric ward have Facebook pages and blogs dedicated to their child and updates on them; a few months ago, a young boy from the Buffalo area named Ben Sauer was battling a tumor in his brain and his mother blogged about it all along the way making his story known to the masses. It's a lot harder when your child (or, in this case, my brother) is not eight years old, but 18. He wants his privacy and I will give that to him.

So, this will be the only post on my blog about Jed and his fight.

For those of you who do not know Jed personally, he is 18 years old, an Eagle Scout, and a life guard who dreams of joining the Coast Guard someday (or running his own fishing charter down in the Florida Keys). He is one of the sweetest, most kind hearted people you will ever meet and he never thinks badly of others (he has yelled at me on many occasions when I bitch and moan about people I don't particularly like). He is a giant and yet so gentle and he will always be my baby brother. So to have someone like him--someone who is so GOOD and so HEALTHY--be diagnosed with cancer was a bizarre and cruel slap in the face.

When this all started and we began piecing the unfortunate puzzle together--there was a mass growing in his chest, then it was cancer--it was amazing how alone we felt. No one could ever possibly understand what we were thinking, what we were feeling--we were an island unto ourselves... No one could possibly know what was happening to us... No one. But then the messages began to come in almost instantaneously--the texts, the emails, the PMs, the phone calls. Suddenly, we realized that we were not alone in this--we were not an island, drifting lonely through the sea. The news of Jed having cancer affected our friends just as much as it affected us.

I speak of friends and phone calls and suddenly not feeling so alone; I speak of support. The amount of support that we have received is overwhelming. In this whirlwind of thoughts and events and emotions, my exhausted mind goes back to one of my favorite classic movies, It's a Wonderful Life. In the story, Jimmy Stewart's character of George Bailey learns in his most crucial hour of need just how many lives he has touched in his forty some-odd years. I am amazed that in just 18 years of his life (and let's be honest, most of that time was spent with him running around with band aids on his knees, playing with bugs and Hot Wheels), Jed has been able to touch the lives of so many people around him--family, friends, and even strangers have rallied behind him. He has been able to touch the lives of more people in 18 years than many of us will do with the 40 years that George Bailey has. At the end of the movie, George's guardian angel (second class), Clarence, says the words, "No man is a failure who has friends," and this rings true for Jed and his story too. No man--or 18 year old boy--is alone when he is surrounded by so much love. Love from his family, love from the Ghostlight Theatre, love from his classmates, teachers, and staff at Tonawanda High School (that's including the freakin' school superintendent), and the love from the entire community of Tonawanda.

Today, August 19, 2014, was officially Red for Jed Day (no lie! The mayor actually declared it so!). Even though Jed was in the hospital with a fever, he was still loved and supported by so many people donned in any article of red clothing we could find (if I'm being completely honest, my dad and I had to run out and buy red shirts today because neither of us own anything red!)--my dad and I were there to accept the proclamation in Jed's honor, our aunt and uncle were there, friends from all over where there, and strangers who had heard of Jed and his story were there... all dressed in red and all there for Jed.

During times like this, people always say, "Let me know if there is anything I can do to help." If I am being honest once more, no one ever knows what to say in response to that. There is so much that we would like to ask for but we never will. During times like this (for anyone) you are in need of so much that you don't even realize--food, money, someone to go grocery shopping, gas, someone to do laundry or clean, or just someone to pass you the tissues. People never want to ask for these things so you simply smile and say thank you... what more can you do? However, despite the fact that we don't know how to respond, we have been blessed with people bringing over fully home cooked meals, gas and grocery store gift certificates, and most importantly, prayers.

Whether you believe in God or not, lifting up a single person in your thoughts and wishing healing, strength, courage, and blessings upon them is a mighty powerful thing. Team Woomer is a firm believer in the wonders that prayers can do and we were so blessed when we learned that there are hundreds of people praying for Jed all around New York, all around the country, and all over the world (no lie--I have friends in China, Japan, Germany, and Nepal praying for him). We believe that God is healing Jed. He is healing Jed through the doctors and their knowledge and the medicine (even if it will make him lose his gorgeous hair). He is healing Jed through giving him a peaceful sleep at night. And He is even healing Jed through miraculous wonders that our minds cannot even fathom. How do I know this?

1. The first few days of Jed's hospital visit, he was connected to a bag of morphine 24/7, giving himself a concentrated dose every 15 minutes. On a scale of one to ten, his pain was an eight. After his first day of chemo, he was off the morphine and his pain was down to a one.

2. Less than a week after his first batch of chemo, Jed was back in the hospital because of a strange pressure on his chest when he was lying down. The doctors were a bit concerned and took an X-ray only to find that the chemo had already begun to substantially shrink the tumor.

3. Over a week after the doctors were supposed to call and tell us the result of the bone marrow tests, leaving us all tortured and concerned, they told us that his bones were healthy and completely clean... Ewings Sarcoma, which is a bone cancer, was nowhere near his bones... making it a much easier cancer to treat!

So you see, those prayers--those quiet little well wishes that you whisper when you're alone or as you fall asleep at night or as you drive to work in the morning--are already working... keep them coming!

One thing that I find interesting is that along with the prayers and messages and support shown, a campaign called Red for Jed was started. Now we all know that the color red was chosen because it rhymes with Jed and everyone loves a good rhyme, but colors do have a special meaning all their own. In America, red can be connected with two different things--blood and violence or romance and seduction. However, in China, the color red is very lucky; it is believed that your year (like this year, 2014, is the year of the Horse... my year!!) is very lucky but it is even more lucky if you wear red everyday (which I am proud to say I have thus far!). But for the rest of my life, when I think of the color red, I will not think of blood or love or even luck. From now on, red is the color of courage and determination and strength. It's the color of Jed... it's the color of a hero.

I don't throw that word around lightly--hero. I have very few people in my life that I consider to be a hero. Jane Goodall is my hero. The Dalai Lama is my hero. Walt Disney is my hero. Poppy is my hero. And I am now thrilled to add a fifth person to that list--Jed is my hero.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Like I mentioned earlier, this is the only time I will write anything about Jed and his battle with cancer on this blog in order to respect his privacy and his wishes. If you are interested in staying up to date on Jed's story or if you would like to get involved, there are two Facebook pages that have been created.

The first is called "Go Team Woomer" and it is a personal page that gets updated fairly regularly and it can be found right here. 

The other is called "Go Red for Jed" and it is more focused on fundraising efforts and that is over here.

Cancer is exhausting physically, mentally, and (unfortunately) financially as well. Please consider visiting Jed's fundraising page at Give Forward right here... no seriously, click the link and check it out! As of midnight on Red for Jed Day, $525 have been donated to help lessen the burden and defray the cost of the medical bills. We have a crazy, ultimate goal of $5,000 and we can only reach that with your help! Please consider donating... $50, $20, $10, even $5 can help! I know it's not as exciting at the Ice Bucket Challenge but you can help out a friend and someone that you know personally--you'll be able to directly see the effect your money has on Jed's battle! I don't know what could be better than that.

I want to thank everyone for their help so far. People who have come to visit Jed, people who have donated money, people who have brought food to us, and people who have been praying. This is going to be an eight month journey but a journey that I know Jed will come out victorious!! We all have a part to play in this battle--Jed is fighting lying in a hospital bed, and we need to fight on our knees, praying.

Keep positive. Keep praying. Keep smiling.

Until Next Time,

Amanda