Okay. I lied... Yangshuo is OFFICIALLY my favorite place in the world

Happiness.

This is the best way to describe what Yangshuo has brought to my life.
And for those of you who know me I'm already a pretty happy guy but after teaching an English summer camp for 1 week to Nanning city's foreign language students my life has changed.

Out here I've never been busier but NEVER been happier.
Daily schedule: 7am wake up, 8am to 1130am class, 12noon lunch with school, 1pm to 2pm prepare lessons for the next day, 3pm to 6pm class field trip, 7pm Breakin class (after school with kids), 8pm Popping class (after school with kids), 9pm to 3am party and breakin practice alll night every night with Bboy stussy. If I started to write some of the stories it would literally take DAYS so I don't want to bore you with words, check out the pictures below.

Stories will come in the next bloggeroo.
This girl made my year.
No wait... actually... maybe she made my life.
I don't know whatever she did... she made me cry.
When we said goodbye for the last time today she showed me something that she had made to remember our experiences learning English together.
You truly CAN make a difference in 7 days. (see necklace picture below)

The kids have finished their classes for the week and gone back to the city of Nanning.
It's been 2 hours since they left. What am I going to do!?!!?!?!?
After taking hundreds of pictures on the last day of class I began signing notebooks, tshirts and ... hands ! That's right, ink poisoning or not I left my mark on these kids.


The newest BBoy crew in Nanning from class # 3. Class # 2 had about 6 bboys as well.
Make me proud guys!!!

I never spoke to this girl much because she wasn't in my class but she had the biggest and brightest smile I've ever seen.
Unfortunately this picture doesn't fully capture it because she's "smiling for the camera" but when you smile at her and she smiles back it could make anyone's day!
Bboy Stussy (yellow shirt) and his MC friend. We hung out EVERY night, went to LOOVE bar, took over the 2nd floor for breakin and popping and partied till the break of dawn. As soon as I met these guys we were family. Some of the coolest guys I've met. In order to teach kids you need to be a kid. I think I fit that role quite nicely.
This kid had NO idea what this shirt meant. I explained it to him. He ran away. I laughed.
This is the CREW. Bboys for life. (notice SMOCH in the middle with the fan. good boy SMOCH!)
This is what it's like to be a foreign teacher in a Chinese English school (lights, camera, action!)
Me and SMOCH!!!! SMOCCCH!!!!! This kid was great. He didn't really speak English at all...but his name was SMOCH!!! Everytime I saw this guy we'd do a secret handshake, yell at eachother in jibberish and laugh like crazy. I think he learned a lot...Try learning 120 names in 7 days.
Now that's a challenge with matching t-shirts, smiley faces, and black hair for all!
That's right folks in China you eat the WHOLE chicken. Bon apetite!
Boiled chicken blood. Yummers in my tummers.
This guy was awesome... he had a speech impediment but I would always take the time for him and smile even when he was struggling. A brave soul this young one and ALWAYS pushing himself to be in the action.
The things that dreams are made of. MMMmmm... My first (and last) pig's brain soup.
(I love how they called it "pigs mind". It sounds so much more elegant!)

Material things are just things. This is my bed in Yangshuo.
Here is the only place in the world I am happy sleeping here. All you REALLY need.

Class # 2 (my 1st group of students, 34 in total.)
A great story that I will never forget is once we switched classes and they moved me to class # 3 I managed to sneak on the bus for class # 2 on the 2nd day after the switch. As soon as I stepped onto the bus the kids started clapping and screaming for joy.

I'm going to miss these little buggers!

False advertising? or Genius marketing strategy? I think we both know it's genius.

Not if I can help it!

Some interesting people I met: Tina, Emily, Willow, Justin, Tai Chi Teacher, Fang Fang, Nina, Mark, BBoy Stussy and ALL of his friends, Julie, Helen, Mr. Lee, a homeless guy who wanted to learn english songs (and I taught him), 5 store owners who I RANDOMLY ended up giving bboy/popping lessons, all the kids, all the teachers, TONS more people that I could name for DAYS!!!! In 7 days you can start a new life.

Yangshuo. I knew a place like this existed.

Peace and UNITE!

- Mikey making Yangshuo home base.