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August 24 life and thoughtsSo my teaching practicum and my classes for the Summer are over! I'm exhausted, but I am really excited by the things the Father has been teaching me during this time. Probably the thing that I least expected, was how He gave me joy in teaching older students! This was something I did not expect because I enjoy teaching kids so much. It reminded me that there may be more for me in Asia besides teaching kindergarten, and that I do not always know what is best for me, only He does :). Speaking of which, please lift me up in the area of my being content with my singleness, as I know this is His best for me now, but it doesn't mean that I'm not a normal 24 yr old in a world with lots of married couples. Thankfully, all the teachers at my school are all single women, so we can all be single together :). I am also thankful for the awesome female relationships He has bestowed upon me in the last month. I feel very blessed!!!
He has also reminded me of the many ways that He can use me if I am open to allowing myself to be aware in all situations. He has reminded me too, that my struggles in the past are useful life examples for helping others in the future. Open yourself up this week, you may be surprised what He brings to you. Encourage others as you would like to be encouraged.
Please also continue to lift up my health. I find that unfortunately I have lost more weight while I've been here (I know, I know a rough problem to have, most women would be thrilled). I want to be sure that I stay healthy, so just lift up that this next month would go well in the area of food, what can I eat, where I can buy it (really groceries are different here!), how to cook it, and that I wouldn't get sick, are all things that I am laying before Him, if you feel led, please do so as well.
Only three more days of training, and then I move into my apartment on Monday!! I am so excited to start teaching, though I have no idea when that will be! Yea for ambiguity!!!!
Also, I promise I'll post some photos soon!
KTVSo last night Helen, my roomate and teamate, and I went with our practicum students to sing KTV. For those of you who don't know KTV is basically Karoke in a private room with snacks and drinks. People here do this all the time for fun, and it is quite popular. For three hours we sang everything from Backstreet Boy's songs to Chinese pop songs. It was a lot of fun. There was definitely a moment where I thought to myself "this is very surreal". I was the only one in the room who didn't know chinese, so the whole time I was mostly nodding and smiling, while the blaring lights,music and chinese were going on around me. Welcome to another culture. Afterwards, Helen and I went with one of the students for dinner at a nearby Korean resturant. For those of you who haven't tried it, I highly suggest Korean food. August 20 His GraceI am reminded of how amazing He is and how he takes care of the little details. At least a week and a half ago while I was in the guome store(they sell electronics) I ran into my former Chinese tutor from while I was in America. It was so awesome, especially since she didn't know I was going to be in China, and I hadn't been able to email her yet. That in itself is totally Him intervening. So this past week a friend and I went on an adventure and tried to take my cell phone to get fixed. Talk about me getting frustrated—maybe it is just the stress of language miscommunication, (the first store told me to throw my cell phone at the wall because it couldn’t work in China and to buy a Nokia instead). I was less than thrilled with this idea (really, why should I throw away a perfectly good phone), so we made the rounds to several stores, all pretty much giving us the same answer. I was able to call my former tutor later and ask her what to do, and she ended up taking me the next day to the first store a friend and I went to and handed them my phone. It took all of five minutes. The next day she went and picked it up for me, unbeknownst to me. As a friend and I are walking down the steps to go for a walk last night, she rides up on her bike and hands me the phone. Talk about divine timing. I am just amazed at the way he takes care of the little details. I am reminded of how I really cannot do things on my own, and I need Him to help me out. Living in another culture is humbling. I guess it just seems that so many people feel like he is only taking care of the big things, but I just see him in so many ways taking care of the little ones. This is just one of them.
August 11 grad classesSo the life of a student is tiring. I've been going to school from 8-3:30 every day and tonight we had another lecture. I have to write a bunch of papers over the next few days, so please lift me up in this area. I sometimes really struggle with this. Tomorrow I'm going to my favorite market in the city with a couple of other people who have never been. It is called Panjayuan, or the dirt market. Lots of people from all over at an outdoor fleamarket/antique market/art market. It is a lot of fun and only happens on the weekend. Well, speaking of doing work, I should proabably get on that...so take care! August 09 Silk AlleySo yesterday I braved Silk Alley which was quite the experience. I don't remember it being so draining, but they rebuilt it twoards the end of my year, so it wasn't quite as full then. In China you have to bargain to purchase items that aren't in a department store or a grocery store, which is almost everywhere. So I had to buy sandals, and I didn't want to pay very much for them, because they aren't worth very much and there's the chance I'd have to buy new ones in a few weeks anyway. So I managed to get what I wanted for a pretty decent price, but it was still quite a shock to be buying things this way again. It was all I could do to remain in survival mode as I was given prices that were 500 times the price it should be just because I am a lao wai, or foreigner. August 06 Max LucadoSo today I went to my fellowship, and lo and behold the famous author Max Lucado was speaking! I was so excited! For those of you who may not know who he is, he is the author of many great books, one being one of my favorite children's books You Are Special. He is a great speaker, and is really great at offering word pictures and explanations of the Father's love. Check out Pslm 23. It was all about how He is our Shepherd. Anyways, I was pretty stoked, so I had to share.
Another random celebrity sighting...when i was in the LA airport on my way to China I saw Melissa Joan Hart sitting one row accross from me. I was totally excited. She is apparently married now with one child.
hair washSo yesterday I got to go get my hair washed! I know you must think, how odd, can't you wash it yourself?! Well here, you can go and get your hair washed and get your head/arms/hands/face/shoulders/neck/and back massaged all for about a dollar twenty. It is so worth it, and after all that travel, I was feeling pretty worn out, so I was able to get my body a bit back into allignment. This is totally something that they need to bring to the states. Really, I think people would love it. August 05 BlessedI feel so blessed by the Father to be back in China. It has been interesting returning to the city that I lived in before. Interesting how I know my way around, and interesting how things have changed in some ways. I went bike riding in the city for the first time ever yesterday. That was an interesting experience. So much traffic!! I only like the back roads. The main roads are WAY too busy. I've been able to connect with old friends, and that has been awesome. Such a blessing. I'm also rooming for the month with my new teamate, and she is a lot of fun. I think we'll have a great time together. Today I'll go to our fellowship and then visit my school, so that will be exciting. The food has been okay. If I eat a lot of rice it is alright. I'll write more later, but I have to run!
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