Its a senior thing.

So, I haven't been feeling too well. I get this overwhelming need and desire to just not do anything. It hasn't hit me full on yet but I just know that it's going to creep up on me and one day I will just not want to get up. I've been thinking up names for this new condition (that I'm sure no one else has ever had) and its taken me awhile to really find a name that will catch on. But, nonetheless, I have found its perfect name. I am calling it: SENIORITIS.

Okay, so I know everyone else has had this before (if you haven't you are lying to your self and your parents who had to put up with you during this time) and I know I am not even feeling the worst part of it. But no, being at home doing school work in my pajamas does not help it.

Jacqueleen getting her chemistry supplies! Yay!

School has been in session for a couple weeks now. Jacqueleen and I WERE getting up at 7am to start working, but like they advertise for K12 Admissions (the online program we are enrolled in), we get to decide what time our brain works best at! So, NOW school starts around 8am and I don't usually stop working until about 11pm. The only time I stop sitting is when I walk from my desk to the kitchen and back to my desk where I continue to sit, or from my desk to the gym where my work outs consist of me biking, which yes, is more sitting. But hey, there is a law making us go to school and sit. Can't do much about it!

Since I know you all care about my education and have been waiting intently for me to tell you the classes I am taking, here they are:

Calculus
AP English Literature
AP Environmental Science
AP Psychology
US Government and Politics
Health

Pretty great.

I am sad to say, however, that there will not be a formal graduation for me. I know you were all definitely about to book a flight to come to Shanghai, China this spring, but I will tell you now that the only ceremony I will be getting will be me opening my computer to see that I have finished all my course work! Sooo great.

Jacqueleen and I are still babysitting Claire on Saturdays where we have introduced her to fort making! Best decision Jacqueleen has ever made. Now we get to play "house" which of course involves "sleep time." We are still trying to convince Claire that sleep time is better then chasing her around the house time. Sadly she doesn't seem to believe us.

Also, if none of you knew, my older sister just got older!!! She turned 20 on August 29th and I sent this to her:

I know. I'm hilarious.

And Jacqueleen made her this special "cake and candle" combo:

Yeah, I guess Jacqueleen is kind of funny too.

And in case you might have thought that we lost all of the water inside of our bodies from the heat, I will be happy to inform you that it will be 74 degrees tomorrow!!! Walking to the gym today I almost felt like I needed a jacket! It was just wonderful. I have never longed to wear pants as much as I do now.

We also had to say goodbye to our really only friend here in China. Tim had to go back home for school or something that was apparently more important than helping us look less hopeless as we try to get around. But we all know he enjoyed our weird company as much as we enjoyed his!

Tim and elephant.

That is all for now. I will try to write more often but with school and college applications and my new "condition," they might not be as long and full of pictures since, again, I go from my bed, to my desk, to the kitchen, to the gym, to my desk, to bed. Unless you all want pictures of that!

But I will leave you with one picture of me until next time,

I know I know, I just seem to have a gift.

Love you all!

Christina

Picture time!

So... its been awhile. And since I know I have had the better summer out of all of you, with the wonderful heat, the staring, the shoving in line at the grocery because we can't seem to pay fast enough, and the B-E-A-UTIFUL frowns that seem to be plastered on most of the people faces here!

Besides all that great stuff to brag about, we have started to go exploring! My mom has found the Chinese Sea World. Ocean World! It is actually a very beautiful oasis "just across the street from our apartment" (my mom used that line to get me and Jacqueleen to walk the 20 minute there). As you enter, you immediately see the most important thing that needs to be included in an Ocean World and should definitely be included at Sea World: Smurfs!

In the middle of the park, there is a big river that allows people to rent out paddle boats, motor boats, kayaks, dragon boats and of course, cars!

As we kept walking through the park, there were many little paths that would lead you to little nooks and crannies with more waterways and trees that kept the park as cool as it possibly could. But don't worry, the penguins were all okay.

Penguins being okay.

While the natives to this land were all busy beating them selves and making tones from their "inner bodies" (something to do with Qigong Jacqueleen and I were doing what any other non native would be doing at Ocean World: failing at the attempt to look seductive and taking pictures of it.

Epic fail.

I would like to say that I have much more to tell about Ocean World, but since I know you all love seeing our (my) beautiful faces I might as well just let you see what we did instead of trying to describe it without you loosing faith in my writing skills!

Yesterday we were able to visit the City God Temple with Tim which is a huge people attraction, so of course, the sacred temple is surrounded many shops. My mom, Jacqueleen, Tim and I had been there before but never quite made it to the temple... yes yes we were distracted by all the wonderful merchandise being sold. This time, we did make it to the temple and my dad was able to come along! This time, however, was a little different. Not only were we taking pictures, but a few people asked to take pictures of us!

About an hour later while we were sitting on steps eating lunch and drinking boba (delicious by the way!), my mom told me someone was taking pictures of me and with a mouthful of sandwich I look up and sure enough a Chinese man is standing directly in front of me taking a picture, no shame at all. Once he realizes I can see him (there was no one in between us, of course I could see him) I smile which automatically means to take more pictures. I realized I should have said for 10RMB I would take my hair down!

The City Gods Temple was actually quite beautiful. Not as peaceful as I would have thought it would be but, there were still many statues and essence burnings and "No Tourist" allowed areas, how beautiful. 

However, China would not be China without the woman sleeping against you on the subway ride back home...

School starts on Wednesday so wish Jacqueleen and I luck! And according to the advertising for the online schooling we are doing, if you think it wont be as hard as regular school, you are much mistaken. It is much harder then you will expect and will take awhile to get used to... yaaaay, thats just what I wanted to hear! Thank you K12, I am so much more relaxed now about starting school! Claps for you!

Hope you are all having a wonderful rest of your summer! We miss you and can't wait to see you all again! 

Much love,

Christina

Settling In

Well as much me and my siblings may fight and dislike each other and can't ever wait to get away from each other… oh wait… we are all actually very awesome and love each other dearly, and I miss having us all back together. And as much as traveling with your parents is awesome… I can't wait until my siblings and I are able to travel together.

Awesome People

On that note, no one has siblings here! Its all only child house hold families (not that any of the only child families I know are bad, they are all very very wonderful people that I miss)! Jacqueleen and I have the pleasure to babysit for them, or since there are no babysitters here, we have the pleasure of being paid to be the kids perfect friend!

Last Saturday, Jacqueleen and I babysat Sarah for four hours where we visited the fish (She found a bag and tried taking one home. She didn't quite understand that they weren't hers), took some funny pictures…

Sarah hiding in a bag

played hide and go seek, played hide and go seek, went outside and played hide and go seek, and came back inside to play… hide and go seek! She was very good at hiding in all the highest and smallest places. Again. And again. And again. And again. She had me count the whole time which wasn't so bad, I got to lay down on her couch, face down, eyes closed, in an air conditioned home, counting to my self. Of course I didn't fall asleep!

Me and Claire

On Monday, I watched another six year old girl named Claire. Or Princess Claire (she would probably prefer that) for another four hours. This time was pretty much the same as on Saturday. Although we were also able to draw a butterfly, play with her Leap Frog, empty out all her scarves on the floor and then walk away, play pretend store for an hour, trace our hands on paper, danced all the Ballet dances she learned from her class, play "Guess Which Instrument Is Making Noise Behind The Door," dress her up in her Cinderella dress (although she does have Snow White, Ariel, Cinderella when she was not the Princess, and two Fairy dresses), play on her Leap Frog again, play hide and go seek (apparently she knows a different version where she tells me where to hide and then acts as though she can't see me and then, SURPRISE! She finds me!), and then she went through all her Chinese flash cards. Suuuuuper easy.
I ended up riding on the Subway home by my self… "OH NO! BY HER SELF?!?!" Yes, by my self. And I made it back home alive. Like all the other millions of people do.

Jacqueleen and I went back to babysit Claire Wednesday and Saturday where we found out that Claire has a huge imagination! We played Princesses again, Claire being Snow White, Jacqueleen being Sleeping Beauty and me, of course, being Cinderella. Neither of us new each other but we all knew the Prince ;) We all ended up coming together to play with one of the Princes’s balls (although he was not allowed to play with his own ball).

 
On Saturday, this pretend game continued with dolls and a new character emerged in to the story: the Stepmother. Claire decided that because she was the Stepmother, she must fulfill her title and, well, step on people. Although there was a new twist to this Princess story. Not only did the Stepmother step on the princesses’s, she ate them. I have no idea how canabolism ended up in Claire’s story, but it did. The magic seahorse did end up coming to save the day and the Princess’s who were eaten were brought back to life, so no need to worry.

 

Food!

We have also discovered our favorite restaurant (in the 3 mile radius from our home) that we have gone to three times, called Ann's Pantry where you can either order off the Vietnamese menu or Pizza menu (apparently its INSANE to order off of both, but being insane, we did).

Although I am sure people have come back to Ann's Pantry more then once, for some reason Ann (the owner of course) has always recognized us every time we go. I still can't put a finger on the reason for why she would remember us out of all the other Asians… However, because she can recognize us she gave us free home made popsicles! So if you ever come visit us in China (please please please please please), we will bring you to Ann's Pantry and you can try her banana and peanut popsicle (there is a whole banana in the middle of it).

RAIN!

It rained! It rained! And yes, we were the only fools who went running towards the lightning which happened to be by a river! It actually got to a chilling 95 degrees! It was one of those times where you realized there was hope and even though it took lightning and thunder to scare the shit out of us and water to slosh around in our shoes, I think Jacqueleen, my mom and I gained a little hopefulness!

Speaking of sloshing in our shoes, sadly Jacqueleen has been the only one to find a decent pair of shoes. Apparently mom and I have big feet… Although, after searching high and low through a crowded and hot 9.9 RMB store (or my mom likes to call it a 99 cent store), I had found a pair of shoes! They may make me look like a maid, however we do need one in the house. Maybe its a calling… Soooo if you ever want to send us something, I am a 8.5 or 9 and my mom is a 9 in shoes! :)

Rowing.

Sunday we were able to go rowing again! Although, since it has been about 106 degrees (just imagine your self working out in a sauna), we decided to go an hour earlier. Surprisingly, the sun was up and it was still hot at 5:30 in the morning! Because of this hour earlier nonsense, only four people came to row (those who didn’t come are called smart), however we were able to take out a lovely quad (look it up) with my dad, a french guy who drives us all, Tim, and me. We beat everyone else!

Race Course

Nobody else was there.

But, it was still a good row for never having rowed together before!

Jacqueleen and I will most likely be starting school August 21st and then I will be starting the “most incredible journey” (or thats what everyone else says): college applications.

And thats all I have to say about it.

We all miss everyone terribly and hope you are having a great summer! And yes, we know, San Diego is heaven on Earth and its a wonderful place to be during the summer, fake fall, fake winter, and spring. We miss home, but we know some day we will be glad that we are here in Shanghai... some day.

Much love,
Christina


PS. I will try to write more often! It is just hard with this whole thing of being here in China and all and them not liking the website I use for my blog. But I will try harder for all of you!

Still here.

Yep. We are in China. Definitely China. My parents took me to China. I guess I can't say it will be a forgettable summer. And the people here are very "homey." On the street people stare at us as if we are just passing in the hall way at home,bumping in to you and not even acknowledging that you are there. They play games in the street like "See if you can hit the people crossing" and "How loud can I honk my horn that doesn't do anything anyways," it's just an on going game that they play every day. Silly Americans, why don't we understand? :)

About to cross the street!

 But in all seriousness, China has been fun (although I have only been here for two weeks). It has not been an adventure every single day (sorry to those who thought it would be), however it has been a learning experience. My mom and I try communicating with people at stores and in the taxi cab, although it usually just ends up in us smiling and nodding and then walking away or silently sitting as the driver mumbles to himself.

We have met some new people though! For the past two Sundays we have been rowing with a group of about eight or nine people. I met a girl named Joey from South Africa the first Sunday, who has plans to take me out (or how ever far my parents leash will let me go) and see some cool places while she is here in Shanghai. On the second Sunday I was told I was going to row in a double with  boy named Tim. First look at him and I must admit "SHIT!" was what went through my mind. He was Asian and I had no idea how I was going to be able to communicate with him. In one boat. In the middle of the water. For an hour and a half. However, to my surprise, a British accent came out of his mouth and it turns out he spoke English quite well. What a relief!

We ended up not rowing a double together and rowed singles instead. Half way through the second lap he stops and says "You row very well!" I look at him and from across the water yell "No shit!"... Just kidding. I said thank you and kept rowing past him :)

My dad has also put me on a work out plan to get me in erging (look it up) shape and to get my 2k score down (look it up). And where will I be training you might ask?? Well of course at the FULLY EQUIPPED OASIS RIVIERA GYM!!! Its fun. While I bike and do my thing all the Chinese 

Gym

come in and do their prancing and dancing thing.


Ballet Lee

Speaking of prancing and dancing, Jacqueleen has started ballet classes! Its a beautiful studio called Ballet Lee (how perfect) and her teacher is none other than Mr. Lee! My mom asked her if she made any friends and she replied with a simple "Yes, but I do not understand them." But she is still enjoying dancing and has been working back up after being injured and not dancing for four months.

One of our favorite places has been Golden Street. A street filled with shops on either side and a big walk way in the middle with water fountains and trees. Even though we haven't been able to (or wanting to) spend so much time there because of the heat, it is a more relaxing place to be then on the other busy streets filled with people and drivers who like rubbing against you. During the day there aren't too many people out on the street, but at night the kids come out to play and run around. Even though there is no change in temperature from day to night.

Golden Street

Sadly, Jacqueleen has gotten sick but that has not stopped my mom and I from going out! We have gone to the store, and then to the shop, and then across the street to the store again! Don't worry, we made it without getting hit. We found out that there is a woman's only  meeting at the City Shop at 5pm where they all line up at a counter and wait to pick up a... wait for it... chicken. Yep. They are rude in line for a cooked chicken.


Gathering for chicken

Our apartment is coming along as well. We got our three person couch and Jacqueleen and I got our beds! I have come to a conclusion that the reason why they make their mattresses so hard is to give chiropractors jobs. And sorry for not having many pictures of our place. I will put pictures up when I can. However I do have a picture of our incredible view. Yes its incredible. And yes, there is actually water!

View

I have also been able to find a job here in China. I am already lined up to babysit for two different families, each of them with a six year old girl. Sarah (who I have mentioned before) and a new girl, Claire, whose mother would have hired me for the rest of my life (is that a sign about the kid?), but she only has me booked for Monday and Wednesday for now.

And since I know you must all miss us terribly, to get rid of the stress being caused by it, I suggest visiting SurfIndian Yoga with Janalyn Yanover in Pacific Beach! She is the most beautiful yoga teacher you will ever find! And there is live music! Even if you don't like yoga. you'll like it once you get there!

China has completely turned our world upside down and we miss you all terribly.We may not have adventures every day but we do keep smiling and trying to find new ways to keep ourselves busy.

Keep us in your prayers!

Much love,

Christina





We are here! We are here! We are here!

July 3rd, first day, 11:35am (China time), Jacqueleen sits on the couch and casually says to my mom and I, "I can't wait to get out of here." My mom and I start laughing uncontrollably (honestly, how else are we supposed to react) and remind her kindly that we have not even begun our first day and, like every other single person we know has said, this is an adventure! YAY!

I know you all want to know how the flight was and Ive spent some time thinking of one word to describe it. Long. That's about it. (But yes, my mom did stretch in the middle of the aisle.)

 

Mom in the aisle.

We filled our day by immersing our selves in the brand new culture of China: shops, stores, malls, tiendas, boutiques, and buildings that sell things :)

And yes, Jacqueleen, my mom, and I did have quite an adventure! We were able to exchange money, go to a restaurant for lunch (yam greens are surprisingly delicious), and found a massage place for my mom where I fell asleep on Jacqueleens lap as we waited.

Everyone walks or rides on motorized bikes and mopeds and if you like yelling at drivers and bicyclists for not stopping for pedestrians, then Shanghai is the place for you!

It has been a comfortable 98 degrees with a nice hot breeze, perfect for walking outside all day. Nights get to a chilling 90 degrees, however, if you choose to stay in an air conditioned apartment (why would you do that when there is so much heat to be absorbed in your face), you might do what Jacqueleen does...

Moving on.

Jacqueleen and I have become the perfect teenagers (or so I think), falling a sleep around 7:30 and waking up at 6:30. Hopefully our sleeping pattern will soon go back to normal and we will be back to our normal rotten teenager state that everyone has always seen in us.

Dads apartment right now

We have been staying in my dads one bedroom and one bathroom apartment and will be moving into our new three bedroom and two bathroom apartment tomorrow. Jacqueleen and I are already lined up to babysit a 6 year old Japanese girl who has told all her friends about the new American girls who she will soon befriend.

I just cant wait to meet my new 6 year old friend! I'm sure we will have sooo much to talk about.

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! Even though it is not celebrated here (surprise surprise) I thought I should have some spirit!

I hope you are all having a wonderful United States of America summer! We all miss you!

And remember, man who streaks is unsuited for his work.

-Christina

P.S. Please pray for my good friend Nathan Jacoby. He has been at the Air Force Academy boot camp for a week and I'm sure he would love some prayers or good thoughts!

 

 

 

I hope everyone will miss us while we are gone! As my uncle Brian always says, we are going to "F**king China!" We leave tomorrow morning for a 17 hour and 40 minute flight (please pray for the other passengers, as we all know my mother will be walking and stretching up and down the aisle!).

I would first like to thank all of our family members and friends who have helped us with the packing and put up with our crying fits and sarcastic remarks as we put our life in boxes. I know you are all probably relieved that you are not having to go through this, but we thank you greatly for all your love and support as we go through this!

In case you did not know, the reason for our move is that my dad, Glenn Schweighardt, got a job at a new hospital called Delta Care. He is now the sorcerer  of cardiology in all of China! Here is a link to the hospital he is working at: http://www.deltahealth.com.cn/department/cardiac-rehabilitation

Also, if you did not know, Jacqueleen and I will be doing online schooling with a program called K12 Admissions. If you have any answers to the Calculus exams, please email me them now at christina.schweighardt@gmail.com :) Jacqueleen will be a sophomore and I will be a senior (yes, I am applying to college. No, I do not want to talk about it.)

And if you did not know this, Stevie is leaving San Diego July 5th (yes she has a ride to the airport) to Austria for a 5 week program where she basically does a little class work and a lot of "adventure timing." She will then be going to India for a semester abroad program (don't worry, I don't even know what she is doing there either), make her way to Shanghai for our fake Christmas celebrations (apparently China does not exactly celebrate it, hence the title of this blog), and then go back to Gordon  College (if you still did not know where she is going, congratulations, you just found out) for her second semester of junior year.

If you still don't know more, Grant is living in Pacific Beach, Life Guarding, surfing, yogaing, eating, Rickarooning, and making us all feel soooo much better about our lives.... He is actually doing too much for words and is the best older brother anyone could ask for.

I hope everyone of you will at some point be able to come visit us. All you need to do is pay for the flight! We will have a place for you to stay!

Remember, man with one chopstick go hungry! (If you do pray, please pray for me)

-Christina

IF YOU ARE STILL INTERESTED, P.S.
The first Chinese character in the blog title means water and is pronounced Shway. The second Chinese character means heart. Sooooo, put together, its Shwayheart (THAT'S OUR LAST NAME!)