Who doesn't love impromptu vacations?! Anyone?! This past week I had the opportunity (thanks to Mom's airline miles and family hospitality) to take a quick two day trip over to Portland, OR!! It was such an unexpected treat and I loved it! Anywhere I can find Voodoo Doughnuts, Winter Hawks hockey, amazing restaurants, tons of bakeries and coffee shops, some of the most environmentally contious people in the planet, Chinatown, and lots and lots of rain all in the same place is okay by me!
Well, I flew into PDX on Tuesday where my friend Weston collected me and we got our mini adventure underway! You may remember Weston from a previous post (The Oregon Coast), but what I did not mention in that post is that he is somewhat of a hockey fanatic. He had gotten his hands on a pair of tickets to see the Portland Winter Hawks game on Wednesday and invited me to join. As a slightly less fanatic fan I agreed and before we knew it, there we were in the biggest city in Oregon. 
My Aunt Jenny and Uncle Carter were kind enough to let us stay at their house which was perfect seeing as their house has a fantastic view of the city and a #17 buss stop a block away ready to take us everywhere we needed to go. Thanks again!! You guys are amazing!!.
After dropping our stuff off and busting out the umbrellas, we had a late lunch at Rogue Brewery and followed it up by wandering all over downtown until the weather got too rainy and we called it a day. The next morning we headed over to Lan Su Gardens in Chinatown and OMG that place is really something else I gotta tell ya...It is an entire city block built up into a Chinese style garden with multiple courtyards, walls, bridges, ponds (complete with giant goldfish), waterfalls, stone carvings, and tons of traditional vegetation. It may sound silly being in the heart of the city like it is, but it is truely and oasis. If I lived in Portland I would definately invest in a membership just so I could go there all the time!! There is an amazing teahouse on the left side of the garden where we stopped in to warm up and have some Jasmine tea. I was really shocked at how authentic the whole place was. Every aspect right down to the tea cups reminded me of China and made me remenisce about how much fun I had in teahouses just like that one when I lived in Chengdu. So wonderful.
Next we were hoping to take a tour of the Shanghai Tunnels but because Feburary is considered "off season" for tourists the next tour wasn't scheduled until Thursday evening. Boo Hoo!! Oh well, I guess that just mean I will have to go back another time.... ;)
We met my cousin Jack for lunch at a super cute little soda shop/diner were they serve the best grilled cheese with tomatoe soup probably in the whole world, and milkshakes fit for a king. Thanks Jack for meeting us and for all your directional help!! We never would have made it without you!! After lunch we trotted up the street to Voodooo Doughnuts to see what all the fuss was about. It was nearly impossible to choose just one, so we got an assortment to take home for dessert later that night (I now understand why they are famous for their Maple Bacon Doughnut...YUMMO!!). 
Wednesday night was the hockey game against the Calgary Hitmen. It was a fabulous game even though the Hawks lost (just barely!) and I even got a cute tank-top with the team mascot on the back. Upon leaving the game we got lost for about an hour in the pouring rain and finally made it back to the house soaked to the bone and freezing cold!! Tea was made and doughnuts were eaten and the day was ended as pleasantly as it began.
Weston dropped me off at the airport the next day on his way out of town and I made it to Boise with time to spare. It was quite a whirlwind trip but we packed as much fun into it as we possibly could. What a blast! Good luck in Virginia Weston!!
In other news, I got a job!! It looks like it's for real this time too (oh boy!). I will be working for an organization called LanguageCorps (http://www.languagecorps.com if you want to read more about it) as an English teacher. They operate in countries all over the world but for now I will be working in their TeachChina program. I am still choosing where in China I would like to teach (and where I am needed), but my visa process is officially underway and I leave April 8th!!! Yes!!!! A real date, I can hardly believe it! However before starting work, all new teachers (that's me!) are required to go through a four week teacher training course together in Phnem Pehn, Cambodia which I have to pay for myself. It is fairly expensive but in the long run I think it would be very beneficial to have some real classroom training before the real thing. Plus, I'm sure you could have guessed I am so pumped to go to Cambodia!
To help with the cost I set up a profile on GoFundMe.com, which is an online fundraising organization for people and their personal educational endevours. No pressure to donate! I just thought I would post the link on my blog to help get the word out, and if anyone has any other good fundraising ideas I would love to hear them!! Every little bit helps! I have a reward system and there is a description to the right of the page. Wish me luck and I will keep you all posted on any new developments!!
Well, I think that is all to report for now. Following tradition, here is yet another picture of my little guy. I love and miss you all and hope everything is well!!! Please e-mail me and fill me in all about what you are doing! I want to be in the loop! xoxox
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