We are the members of Team Harbin, lovingly known as "The Bean Team". Some call us "The Frozen Chosen" due to the incredibly cold weather that we will be experiencing. Because of us, the phrase 'cool beans' takes on a whole new meaning. Being that we are the bean team and being that it is absolutely frigid in Harbin, we are quite literally "cool beans." Here's a deeper look at us.
Laura Baker is our Cocoa Bean on the bean team. Laura hails from the city of Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated this past May from Berry College with a B.S. in Economics. Laura's birthday is on August 11. So far, the top Chinese food has been pineapple chicken. Laura's M&M's of choice would be peanut butter, and cookie of choice would be Snicker doodles [or chocolate chip]. "My favorite movie would be Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants because it makes me think of my college friends. We watched it multiple times a week last year." Unfortunately for Laura, Chick-Fil-A has yet to make it's way to China, so she'll have to wait another year to enjoy her favorite fast food place.
Laura has also been to Kenya, but she is super excited about being in China. She is most excited about meeting the students, growing closer to the team and just experiencing life in a new culture. Laura has an incredible story, especially because how she got here is so "random" {even though we know it's not so 'random' at all}. Laura spends her time doing art & crafts ("I love making things"), swimming, and dancing her butt off. If she was forced to eat any color crayon, she would eat the color 'Macaroni & Cheese'. "Who doesn't love noodles smothered in cheesy goodness?"
Laura says "I want the world to know that I am loud and proud of it! If I had a million dollars, I would buy every song I have ever wanted on iTunes, buy my dad a new house, throw a huge party for all my friends and give the rest to the American Cancer Society." If Laura could meet any person from history she would pick Mother Theresa. "She is awesome and super cool and lived an amazing life and I just want to sit and drink coffee with her."
"I'll never forget. Once when I was a child my little brother, Zac, and I were mad at my older brother, Jake, so we took all his Hot Wheels cars and tried to flush them down the toilet. It didn't work as planned. Needless to say, the toilet exploded with water and toy cars so Zac and I were the ones to really get in trouble." Laura has a wonderful sense of humor and can be sure to put a smile on your face with her crazy faces. My favorite memory with Laura was on her birthday when our whole team celebrated at KTV {Chinese Karaoke}. There was a period of time when Beyonce's "Single Ladies" was played and a whole new being came over Laura. She embraced the spirit [and the dance moves] of Beyonce like no other.
Laura's blog can be found HERE.
_____________________________________________________
Tiffany France is our Mung Bean of team Harbin. Now, you’re probably asking “what the heck is a mung bean?” I’ll let Tiffany tell you: “Mung
beans appear in the basic earth tones (greens, browns, and blacks...
very much like my wardrobe); they have a thick skin (it takes a lot to
'get to me'); and they are found in India where they are used to make
curries and dal (things I loved and have missed eating since my time in
Nepal last summer). Mung bean. That's me.”
Tiffany
hails from Fort Collins, Colorado, but studied at Rhodes College in
Memphis, Tennessee. She received a B.A. is Religious Studies, and her birthday is on September 8th.
Tiffany
is a lover of all punny jokes...yes, the jokes with the 'puns' in them.
Tiffany’s favorite M&M’s are the peanut ones; similarly, her
favorite cookies are peanut butter. Her favorite food so far has been
Baozi (steamed buns with cooked and seasoned pork inside, dipped in soy
sauce), and her favorite movie is 'Sabrina' (the one with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond). “It is a beautiful story, the dialog is fantastically witty, and the soundtrack is soothing to my heart and soul.” As far as favorite fast food, “it's
a toss-up between Taco Bell, McDonald's, Chic-fil-A, and Sonic. Unless
I'm in Texas, where the answer is obviously Taco Cabana.”
“Once
when I was a child I passed out at Disney World after getting my hand
stuck in the metal siding of an escalator. They took me to the hospital
in an ambulance and gave me a Donald Duck stuffed animal. Totes worth
it.” If Tiffany had to eat any color crayon, she would choose purple merely because purple tastes so good.
One
thing that I certainly love and appreciate about Tiffany is that she is
a fellow choir junkie and lover of Eric Whitacre. Thus, we are
constantly found humming and singing. “I love to sing, I love to write, and I love talking with people.” [actually, in reality our entire team loves music which will make for super awesome times…now we just need to find a piano.] Tiffany says “"If I had a million dollars..." is the name of a song I enjoy singing.” When asked about meeting someone famous or fictional, Tiffany replied “in
this season of my life, I would like to meet Maria Jane Taylor. She is
less well-known than her husband, but I would love to sit and talk with
her, listening to her stories, and soaking in the wisdom she accrued
through her experiences following Him with her husband.” Most importantly, Tiffany would like the world to know that
“eternity in the presence of the One who has made us is the opposite of
boring. Words more appropriate than boring include: delightful,
endlessly surprising, beautiful, awesome, breathtaking, overwhelming,
peaceful, inviting,... home.”
On
a more personal note, Tiffany is one incredible woman not only in
faith, but in her ability to relate to everyone, provide a smile, and
reassurance of peace. Have you ever experienced those conversations
where you can do nothing but nod your head and say “me too…me too… me too!” Those have happened a time or two. Tiffany says “I
am really excited to see what happens as the year unfolds, revealing
the unexpected, unforeseeable relationships and events that will come to
shape and define this year for each of us. There is something thrilling
in the mystery of the unknown, and I am currently basking in the glory
and peace that comes with knowing that: He already knows what is to
come, and it will be better and more challenging than I would dare
imagine.”
Tiffany's blog can be found HERE.
______________________________________________________
Please allow me to introduce you to Lauren Ketron, the definite coffee bean of team Harbin. This is not only because she loves the beverage that they are a part of, but also because of her lovable (and endless) energy and pizzaz. Her hometown is Madison, Alabama and she recently graduated from Auburn University (AKA The Loveliest Village on the Plains) with a B.A. in English. Lauren has a three-way-tie between her favorite movies: "The Sandlot", "You've Got Mail", and "Dead Poets Society". "The Sandlot is hilarious and has some of the most-quotable lines in any movie, ever. You've Got Mail has Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan at their best, in my opinion. And the the English major and teacher in me can't help but to love Dead Poets Society! Carpe diem!"
If Lauren could meet any person from history she would choose to meet Elisabeth Elliot. "Her story has had such a huge impact on me, and I would love to sit and talk with her and just garner some of her wisdom!" Lauren says,
"If I had a million dollars, (and I was splurging totally on myself) I would travel to each continent, buy a Barnes & Noble bookstore's worth of books, and a set myself up with a lifetime supply of Almond Milk Tea. Being real though, I would love to donate that money to Compassion International and International Justice Mission, to help get children out of poverty and bring an end to human trafficking."
One
secret skill that Lauren has is that she is really good at impressions!
What a surprise this was to our group when she pulled out this secret
of hers. Lauren also has this bubbling laughter that once she gets
going, one can't help but to laugh along with her. It especially gets
going when shopping for Chinese Chinglish notebooks.
Lauren wants the world (or the followers of this blog) to know that "I now have TWO Kayla Maries in my life... my sister and the fabulous Miss Mini! It's fate, I'm telling you. This and the fact that we have the same birthday means we were meant to be friends! Also, I'm most excited about seeing the Father working in mighty ways... both in us and in our community. Greater things are still to be done in Harbin! On the point of community, I'm also really looking forward to growing even closer in unity and love with the rest of Team Harbin! "
Lauren's blog can be found HERE.
_______________________________________________________
Meet Wesley Parlette, our spicy green bean
on our team. Wes recently graduated from Stevenson University with a
B.S in Middle School Education (Social Studies and English
concentration). His hometown is Columbia, Maryland and traditionally
celebrates his birthday on June 7th [the day he was born].
Wes
is super creative in the classroom, and as we walk around campus as a
group we can already hear students shouting "Mr. Wes! Mr. Wes!" with a
smile. Wes is most looking forward to forming great relationships with
these Chinese students; he's well on his way already!"I want the
world to know that they have more potential than they think! If I had a
million dollars I would put that in the bank immediately
and then take time to figure out how to best invest it, so I can
continue getting more money out of it!"
_____________________________________________________
Introducing, Mr. Michael Spannuth, the garbanzo bean of Team Harbin (that's such a fun word to say...garbanzo!) Michael has lived the majority of his life in Aurora, Colorado and attended Colorado State University. He obtained a B.S. degree in Mathematics and in approximately 234 days we'll be celebrating Michael's birthday (that would be May 12 for those of you who don't want to count all those days.) Ahh yes, Michael's major has come in quite handy a time or two whilst with the team, however we've certainly learned the importance of always having a calculator around just in case.
Oh, and he desperately wants you to know that in his opinion, "Wordpress is better =P". Click the link to the left to see Michael's blog {and the other blogs of Team Harbin as well!}
Michael's Blog can be found HERE.
__________________________________________________
Tiffany's blog can be found HERE.
______________________________________________________
Please allow me to introduce you to Lauren Ketron, the definite coffee bean of team Harbin. This is not only because she loves the beverage that they are a part of, but also because of her lovable (and endless) energy and pizzaz. Her hometown is Madison, Alabama and she recently graduated from Auburn University (AKA The Loveliest Village on the Plains) with a B.A. in English. Lauren has a three-way-tie between her favorite movies: "The Sandlot", "You've Got Mail", and "Dead Poets Society". "The Sandlot is hilarious and has some of the most-quotable lines in any movie, ever. You've Got Mail has Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan at their best, in my opinion. And the the English major and teacher in me can't help but to love Dead Poets Society! Carpe diem!"
Lauren will be going through a slight withdrawal this year as her
favorite fast food restaurant is Chick-Fil-A. Her favorite Chinese food
so far is yet again another three-way-tie: pineapple chicken, three treasures, and spicy green beans.
Lauren's favorite M&M's are the classic milk chocolate, hand-dipped
in peanut butter. Snickerdoodles win for her favorite cookie.
"Once when I was a child, I got on a really big "Harriet the Spy"
kick. I just recently unearthed a journal of secret "spy" notes in my
bedroom, full of really juicy details like, "It's 4:32 p.m. A car just
pulled up in front of the driveway of my neighbor's house and then drove
away." I think I was onto something... maybe I should have stuck with
my spy gig?" Little does Lauren know that I too did the exact same thing. Immediate friends, I'm telling you.
Lauren's three favorite hobbies include reading, creative writing, and cheering on the
Auburn football team! However most recently a newly acquired hobby of Lauren's [and basically all of team Harbin] is scouting our grocery stores and collecting Chinese journals
with awesome Chinglish phrases on them. {Chinglish (n): a combination of Chinese & English, often comical, and conveys a different meaning than intended.} If forced to eat a crayon, Lauren would choose to eat Laser Lemon "because I love all things lemon-flavored!"
If Lauren could meet any person from history she would choose to meet Elisabeth Elliot. "Her story has had such a huge impact on me, and I would love to sit and talk with her and just garner some of her wisdom!" Lauren says,
"If I had a million dollars, (and I was splurging totally on myself) I would travel to each continent, buy a Barnes & Noble bookstore's worth of books, and a set myself up with a lifetime supply of Almond Milk Tea. Being real though, I would love to donate that money to Compassion International and International Justice Mission, to help get children out of poverty and bring an end to human trafficking."
Lauren wants the world (or the followers of this blog) to know that "I now have TWO Kayla Maries in my life... my sister and the fabulous Miss Mini! It's fate, I'm telling you. This and the fact that we have the same birthday means we were meant to be friends! Also, I'm most excited about seeing the Father working in mighty ways... both in us and in our community. Greater things are still to be done in Harbin! On the point of community, I'm also really looking forward to growing even closer in unity and love with the rest of Team Harbin! "
Lauren's blog can be found HERE.
_______________________________________________________
Meet Wesley Parlette, our spicy green bean
on our team. Wes recently graduated from Stevenson University with a
B.S in Middle School Education (Social Studies and English
concentration). His hometown is Columbia, Maryland and traditionally
celebrates his birthday on June 7th [the day he was born].
Wes' claim to fame so far is his wonderful interpretations of the Chinese language, sure to make us all laugh. ("BOO-yao! Foo-yu-in truhble nah.") His favorite movie-which we'll be sure to find on the street- is Napoleon Dynamite "because it's random and hilarious!"
His favorite Chinese food is Sweet & Sour Pork [which is also a
team favorite too]. Wes' favorite M&M's are the ones with the
peanuts in them, and his favorite cookies are chocolate chip. Similarly
to Laura and Lauren, his favorite fast-food restaurant is Chick-Fil-A.
Maybe in this upcoming year we'll be learning a lesson in taming our
cravings for waffle-fries and milkshakes whilst in China.
Wes
is super creative in the classroom, and as we walk around campus as a
group we can already hear students shouting "Mr. Wes! Mr. Wes!" with a
smile. Wes is most looking forward to forming great relationships with
these Chinese students; he's well on his way already!"I want the
world to know that they have more potential than they think! If I had a
million dollars I would put that in the bank immediately
and then take time to figure out how to best invest it, so I can
continue getting more money out of it!"
"I'll never forget. Once when I was a child I got out of bed after
bedtime,
went downstairs and picked up a penny. After going back upstairs I was determined to get the penny really clean. So, logically I used my moist tongue to do so! But then I accidentally swallowed the penny!"
went downstairs and picked up a penny. After going back upstairs I was determined to get the penny really clean. So, logically I used my moist tongue to do so! But then I accidentally swallowed the penny!"
Wes' three favorite hobbies include listening to music and
singing along, dancing to sweet beats and laughing with friends! "If I had to eat any color crayon, I would like to eat the brown crayon because it should taste like
milk chocolate, mmm!"
_____________________________________________________
Introducing, Mr. Michael Spannuth, the garbanzo bean of Team Harbin (that's such a fun word to say...garbanzo!) Michael has lived the majority of his life in Aurora, Colorado and attended Colorado State University. He obtained a B.S. degree in Mathematics and in approximately 234 days we'll be celebrating Michael's birthday (that would be May 12 for those of you who don't want to count all those days.) Ahh yes, Michael's major has come in quite handy a time or two whilst with the team, however we've certainly learned the importance of always having a calculator around just in case.
One thing you need to know about Michael is that he is in love
with spicy food. Luckily for him, the Chinese enjoy adding large
amounts of cilantro to a lot of their dishes adding some nice flavor and
spice of which Michael's taste buds approve. His favorite Chinese food
thus far is from one of our favorite restaurants in Beijing self-titled "Fannies" [as the owner always wears a fanny pack]. The dish is called "spicy pork and cilantro". His M&Ms of choice would be peanut butter ["of course"] and the cookies that take home the prize are chocolate chocolate chip. "My favorite movie fluctuates depending on the day, but 'Kung Pow! Enter The Fist' is always good." Michael's favorite fast food place in the states is 'Spoons'. "It is a great soup, salad &
sandwich place in Fort Collins, CO that has soup. I imagine the Soup
Nazi soup from Seinfeld tastes like it."
Michael wants the world to know that "if you play with fire, you don't always get burned." Michael has a hobby of playing with pyrotechnics and performing some really cool stunts with them too! Michael says "if I had a million dollars I'd have to invest wisely and turn that million into 10 (or more)."
In my 49 days of knowing Michael, my guess would be that fair
percentage of that 10 million might end up being spent towards
fire-related objects. :)
If Michael could meet any person from history, he'd like to have a chat with CS Lewis. "I think we'd get
along." Also, Michael says "I can't deny
that I'm looking forward to seeing the ways in which I'm going to grow
through this year in Harbin." And just for the record, he would only eat a crayon if I was forced to do so...except if it was
aquamarine. Three of Michael's favorite hobbies include fire poi, anything frisbee-related ("especially frisbee
golf"), and organizing things. "I'll never forget. Once when I was a child I broke a finger and had to get a cast. I thought it was the coolest thing ever."
Michael's Blog can be found HERE.
__________________________________________________
Well, if you’ve made it this far, I’d like to wish you a
congratulations! I [Kayla Mini, the author of this mighty blog] am the final
member of the Bean Team. Chances are, you know me, and that’s awesome. I
probably know you too. If however, you don’t and are looking for some
background info about the person who writes this crazy stuff, I can provide
that for you. You can imagine me to be as crazy or as normal as you want me to
be; chances are your pre-conceived notions will be fairly accurate.
Nice to meet you, my name is Kayla. I’m the red bean of Team
Harbin. I recently graduated from Messiah
College in Harrisburg, PA
with a B.S. in Music Education [I was a voice major…I’m one of those people who
sing to myself basically nonstop]. My hometown is Rochester NY.
I celebrate my birthday on June 26th, which is the same days as
Lauren Ketrons, which is the same day we return to the United States.
My favorite movie is Invictus, mainly because the soundtrack
is absolutely incredible and I absolutely love South Africa. So far, my favorite
Chinese food has been di san xian, which means “three treasures”. It’s
comprised of eggplant, peppers, and potatoes, and is basically heaven on a
plate. I’m a major fan of those M&M’s with the pretzels inside, although
peanut M&M’s will always bring a smile to my face. Oatmeal raisin cookies
are my favorite. Unlike everyone else on my team, my favorite fast food comes
from Wendy’s. They got this apple walnut chicken salad that is absolutely
ballin’.
I’ll never forget, once when I was a child my first grade
class was going to put on a “play” of Pocahontas. This “play” was being
organized by fellow 1st graders and we were going to perform it for
the whole school. Turns out, I was the only girl in our class who didn’t get
“cast” and while the rest of my class had rehearsal after school I had to go
home on the bus all alone. My teacher hugged me as I cried. Turns out, they
never ended up performing it. Don’t worry, I have risen above!
If I had a million dollars, I honestly wouldn’t know what to
do with it. I’d pay the taxes and then most likely end up giving it most of it
away. Actually, all of it away. If I had to pick a color crayon to eat, I’d
choose turquoise. It’s such an awesome color and the color you’d least likely
expect to see in a toilet. If I could hang out for a day with J.K. Rowling or
Helena Bohem Carter, that would just be awesome. Just for a day, just to talk
to them and to try to figure out how their minds work; I think they’re both
brilliant women. In my free time I really enjoy reading, creative
writing/drawing/composing, and laughing with people I love. Seriously, you
can’t beat that! There are so many things to be excited about in this upcoming
year. As of now and this whole just-getting-started thing, I’m excited to build
relationships with my students and with my team. I’m excited about learning
Chinese and being functional on my own in a new language. I’m excited to get
myself lost in this city and to try to find my way back “home”. Crazy stuff
like that. Makes sense comin’ from a crazy chick like me. Thanks for reading!
