Dear Readers, If you are a frequent visitor on 10,000 Smiles you might have noticed this past week I haven't regularly posted. Life has been chaotic. I thank you for your grace and your frequent checking on this blog. We drove from Illinois to Arizona, our car died...
The urban assault vehicle is terminated. Around 8pm our transmission died in the middle of Kansas in a town called Goodland. Jimmy passed in style with 300,000 miles under his belt. When your old car dies in the middle of nowhere it writes a story of it’s own. Our...
“Out here, you find out that the city fools you about how things really work.” Quote from The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld This guy is handsome! Another Utopia... Does our government look out for our best interest or theirs? What ugly lies do we believe to be...
I don't want the 9-5 job or to feel tired and bored with the same happenings each week. "What's new in your life?" "Same old, same old. There's nothing new." Maybe that response is adequate for you but I want to dream bigger. I want to say I spent the day drinking a...
1. Handsome You can park on the street. It’s located in a sketchy area of town that’s being revitalized but don’t let that stop you. Near the shop there’s a lot of beautiful street murals and in the neighborhood some authentic Mexican restaurants. This shop has good...
Updates from Denny and April: Denny and I have country hopped from a year in China back to the United States. It's been about a week of traveling. We flew from Qingdao to Shanghai, China. We visited for a few days and enjoyed the international city's elite third wave...
In the United States life is comfortable, clean and (sometimes) crazy stressful. On the other side of the world, in China life is a slower pace of life and, at times, not as comfortable. This not so comfortable way of life can actually be beneficial and you would be...
Do you love your freedom? Have you ever been told on how you are to look? Well in China at many of the public schools from elementary through high school they enforce a strict hair policy. A Chinese woman, Ripple, informed me firsthand of her experience and knowledge...
Do you Dream of Traveling the World? Do you have the desire to travel the world? If so, teaching English in China is one way of accomplishing this dream. For the last year my husband, Denny and I have been teaching English with a private academy, Kings English for...
Are you a rebel or rule follower? Most people fall in one category or the other. I tend to lean on the rule follower but when there are rules/guidelines that I don't think make sense I break them. Yep, I April break rules. Most cities in China, except for Hong Kong,...
