Welcome to this Foreign Land

Welcome to this foreign place where you are surrounded by a different language and look different than everyone else. I haven't quite decided if I am enjoying this or am terrified.

I traveled for 25 hours Tuesday-Wednesday to arrive at the beautiful place. I stood in line to get my visa trying to figure out where to go because no one spoke English. Then I had to get my checked luggage (10 pieces). 

I was so tired I went through customs with only 8 pieces :(. So I had to go back in and get the last 2. The customs agent wasn't too happy to see me go through again with another box of books. But I got all the books for the school through customs! Praise the Lord! 

My principal and his wife picked me up from the airport with two other people from our school. They were all so welcoming. The airport seemed far from our apartments but it was a chance to talk to everyone. 

My prinicpal and his wife bought some groceries for my apartment and let me borrow a set of sheet (because I forgot mine) so we stopped at their apartment first. Then we came to my apartment to unload all the luggage I have brought. The 7 boxes of books were no fun but I am glad they all made it through the trip.  

My first day here I slept pretty much all day. I woke up a couple of time to unload some of my own luggage but I would go back to sleep within an hour or two. I got the wifi password around noon so I was able to call home and respond to messages and emails.  

Then around 5:30 my prinicpal and his wife came to get me to take me out to dinner (and get me out of the apartment). We went about 5 minutes to a shopping center and had some delicious "American" food.

I was supposed to go to the school today but I slept too much. So tomorrow is going to be my first day! Please be praying that I do well and that this nervousness goes away. God is doing amazing things!

Working Saturday

So I just worked my first Saturday here in China. Let me just say I am not a fan! In the United States when you have a holiday (days off of work) you don't have to make those days up on the weekends, I am pretty sure that defeats the purpose of a holiday. Well in China you do. I don't know the logic/reasoning behind this but during some holidays you have to work on the weekend to make up for the days you had off during the week. Yeah. It truly makes no sense!

Anyways... It's back to the grind with work. I am really loving my job. I love the kids in my classes and the people I work with. Everyone is so nice and helpful. Also the kids are well behaved compared to the last school I was at and compared to some of the schools in the States. LOL. I am glad I have an education background, but sometimes the things I want to do with my kids (who are kindergarten level) are too difficult because explain the directions is complicated. Also there days that I want to do something creative for arts and crafts but I can't find the stuff I need because everything is in Chinese (I know I'm in China what should I expect right?). Also the quality of the things here is not as good as in the States. Which is weird because usually everything is made in China. Guess the only export the good stuff and keep the poor quality stuff for themselves.

I am really struggling with the science class. I want to do some fun experiments but explaining what is happening is difficult so really we would just be doing an experiment. I enjoy doing experiments but I come across the same problem, I don't know where to find the things I need. I can ask people at school but it is usually last minute and I don't have time to go to the store or wherever I need to go to get the things I need. This is really just me venting :). I usually get through the week and I look back and I learn what went well and what I would like to change for the next time. So it is all a learning experience.

In my cooking class this week I made the classic American snack, Ants on a Log. If you don't know what that is it is a piece of celery with peanut butter and raisins. The celery is the log, the peanut butter is also the log (must have something for the raisins to stick to), and the raisins are the ants. I remember eating this snack a lot as a child. I would usually lick the peanut butter off and then eat the celery plain. So I decided to try this snack here in China. It was actually pretty funny. First one of the Chinese teachers asked me if you could eat celery without cooking it. She said they don't eat it raw it is always cooked. Then one of the kids in one of my classes saw me putting peanut butter on the celery and she said "that is no yummy". I just laughed and said "you haven't tried it yet". But in my head I knew she wasn't going to like it. So I put peanut butter on all the celery and let the kids add the raisins. Once they added the raisins I told them they could eat it. Many of the kids examined the celery and then closed their eyes to try it. I tried my hardest to hold in my laughter. Let's just say the Chinese kids were not a fan of this classic American snack (I say classic because seriously every time I looked up American snacks the first one on the list is Ants on a Log). So it is funny to see the difference between cultures. The Chinese are very used to eating a lot of vegetables, but they are usually cooked into their dishes. And then there are Americans who don't always eat a lot of vegetables (and those that say they eat a lot of vegetables, I am almost certain you don't eat as many as the Chinese!), but we eat raw and cooked veggies. So the iconic Ants on a Log snack goes over well in America, but is not a hit in China (or at least at my school).

On Tuesday I start my TEFL course at the Foreign Expert Hotel in Beijing. I have to leave my apartment by 7:30 in the morning to get on the subway to get to the closest subway station to the hotel and then take a cab to the hotel. I think I am dreading the class because I am dreading the commute. I am hoping it is better than I am imagining. Everyone is saying that this class will help me get the work visa, but I still don't know what I want. There is part of me that still would like to go home in December, but there is another part of me that wants to stay here. I really just want to go where God wants me. I know he has great plans for me and if that means staying in China I will gladly do it, but if it means going home then I will go home.

The thought of going home has had me thinking about what I would do back in the States. Would returning to the classroom be a possibility after teaching here? Do I look for jobs in other countries? Do I look into doing something other than teaching? I never thought I would say that but I am learning things about myself here that I didn't think about when I was home. I grew up always wanting to be a teacher but I don't think it was the teaching aspect that I was drawn to. I love working with kids and seeing them learn and grow. I think growing up I thought the best way to work with kids and see them learn is to teach, but what if that isn't the only way? Just thoughts that I keep thinking about. But they are just my thoughts. God has a plan for me that is bigger than I can imagine and as much as I want to know his plan I am glad I just have to follow and trust him. So I don't know what I am going to be doing in December, but I know that God's plans are better than my own!

**Some random comments**
*The pollution here is awful! LOL. The Air Quality was in the 400s this week which is hazardous and yes I walked to school in it without a mask.
*I am still singing on the worship team at church and I love it! I never thought I would sing on stage in front of people. I truly was content singing into my shower head, but God's plans are better than my own! Glad that it's to worship God because the focus is on him! :)
*I work with some really awesome people and they are one of the reasons I don't mind staying in China. I feel like I live at the other apartment with the girls and just sleep at my apartment. LOL.
*I went to a local market and bought some personal art supplies, like sketch pencils, pens, markers, colored pencils. So I am excited to start doing some drawing and writing :). and....
*I miss everyone back home! :)

With love,

China.... it's getting better

So I started my new school on September 1st. And let me just say that day, in general, was not too great. I got to the school and thought everyone seemed nice (and they still are!). I observed my roommate for the day. Basically everything about the school went great. After lunch one of the guys at the school helped me move all my stuff from my apartment in Wangjing to my new apartment here in Huilongguan. So everything was good but there was still a part of me that wanted to go home. I couldn't put my finger on the exact reason, I was just feeling defeated. Even though I liked the school I just didn't want to be there.

After I was moved in and the work day was over I was headed back to Wangjing for my one to one tutoring. It's not to bad to take the subway there and they pick me up from the subway station. I am becoming a pro at taking the subway (it will be weird to come back to KY where there is no subway and I will have to drive). One-to-one tutoring went good. I really enjoy the boy and the family. I only wish I knew more Chinese so that I could communicate with them better, maybe someday!

On my way home it started to pour down rain :(. This sucked because I didn't have an umbrella. It was like we were riding under a waterfall, there was so much water coming from the sky. When I got to the Huilongguan subway station it was packed because everyone was waiting inside for the rain to let up. Great. I was apart of this crowd too because I had my computer with me and I didn't really want to get drenched. As time passed it didn't seem like the rain was going to let up anytime soon. So I decided to make a run for the bus. I just really wanted to get home and go to sleep. I made it to the bus stop and waited under the bridge (thankfully there was a bridge that you could take cover under). When the bus came it felt like the rain came down harder. There was a really nice Chinese lady that shared her umbrella with me as we waited for the bus driver to open the door. 

Once on the bus I had to figure out which stop to get off at. My roommate had sent me the name of the apartment complex but left out which bus stop I should get off at. :(. And I had only been there once so I didn't remember what the area looked like and it was dark. So I guessed. Well, my guess was 2 stops off. I get off and nothing look familiar. Thankfully, a really nice Chinese couple stopped and helped me. They searched on their phones for my apartment complex and even looked up the bus stop for me. So they told me to get back on the bus for 2 more stops and get off at Ma Lian Dian Cun. So I waited for the bus. There is no light at this bus stop so I don't know how the bus driver saw me but he did and he stopped. Well the attendant however did not and as I am stepping on the first step she closes the door on me. Yes that is right I had the bus doors closed on me! All I could say was "OWWW". I don't know the Chinese word for this but everyone on the bus is staring at me and then the attendant finally opens the doors and keeps saying "Duibuqi" which means I'm sorry. Now I am really ready to just get back to the apartment. 

The bus comes to MaLianDianCun and I get off. Now where do I go? I start going left and I feel like this is the wrong direction so I turn around and go right. Thankfully I see the entrance that we drove through when we moved my stuff. So I walk through the entrance. Now which way did we go? I should have been paying more attention when we moved my things. So here I am in the pouring rain trying to remember where my new apartment is. I remember we turned left and the apartment was on the right near a fence. So I am walking as fast as a can, thankfully the rain begins to let up. I see a row of apartments that looks familiar but there are two building. So I call my roommate to ask what the building number is, but he is busy and doesn't answer. So I call my boss at the school, he doesn't know so he says to call his assistant. I call hall his assistant and she doesn't know and she tells me to call my roommate. Well, now I am back to where I started. So I walk down the street looking at the doors. I come to the last door and there is something familiar about it. The buttons to call the apartments are blue! I remember that from earlier! So I try my key, IT WORKS!!! Thank the LORD! I am so glad to be in from the rain and know that my apartment is only 4 flights of stairs away. So I walk up the stairs to the apartment. 

I am finally home for the night! Now I am not unpacked but that is ok. I just needed to find some comfy clothes to wear and my bedding. As I am fixing my bed, my boss' assistant calls me. She asks if I found it. I told her yes I did. She said good, if you didn't I was just going to tell you to head north. LOL. Seriously head north. I don't even know where I am and she expected me to know which way north was. I literally laughed out loud.

So my first night in Huilongguan was definitely an experience. I definitely wanted to go home. I didn't know why I was still here. Everyone back home keeps saying they would have left already, so why was I still here? The only answer I could find was that I knew this is where God wanted me. My new question was for how long?

So the rest of the week was hard. The school was nice but there was still something in me that wanted to leave and just get on a plane and head home. I begin thinking of the best ways to get home and how I would be able to get home. I knew that my school is working on getting my work visa so I said that if I don't get my visa then I will just go home in December. I began praying that my work visa wouldn't go through. I was praying that whatever God had me doing here would be over by December so I could go home. I really wanted to come home, even though I felt like if I do go home in December then I had failed here. I want to follow where God leads me so is he going to lead me home in December or is my work visa going to come through and I stay longer? Both options scared me. 

Being scared was a new feeling for me. When I was getting ready to come to China everyone asked me if I was scared. I was never really scared, I was more excited and nervous about what the future held for me and super excited to travel to somewhere I had never been or thought I would be. And once I was here I was never really scared just nervous. But now, I was scared of leaving and scared of staying. This wasn't right. God is not a God of fear. This was the devil trying to get me to feel like a failure. During the week God sent people into my life to speak to me and show me that he is here with me. I know this is where God wants me and that he has great plans for me here. I am still not sure of the timetable for my stay in China, but that is in God's hands and I think he knows that if I knew the timetable I would focus on going home rathering than being here. 

This week has been a lot better. I started teaching on my own on Tuesday, because Monday was a holiday (the Mid-Autumn Festival or Moon Festival). I had a really great day! My morning science class went great and the kids seemed to enjoy it! And my afternoon English class was great! I definitely had a better experience in one day than I did at SmartKids for the whole month! I didn't feel homesick at all this week! That's a major improvement. I enjoyed every day this week! And I got the school address so I could have letters and packages sent to me! That is super exciting. I can't wait to start getting mail from home!

I had to go get my health check done on Wednesday for my work visa. That was fun! Not! I already don't like going to the doctor and now I have to go to Chinese doctors. YAY! So the foreign hospital is an hour and a half away from Wangjing. We got to the hospital around 8:30am and the line was out the door. YAY more lines to stand in! So for the health check they check your eyesight, your height and weight, do a check x-ray, an EKG, draw blood, and do an ultrasound. Yes all of that to check for infectious diseases. I really didn't mind all of it except for the blood. I hate when they have to draw blood because they have a hard time finding a vein in my arm. Well the girl found one but my goodness it was a deep one and it hurt! So now I have a bruise on my arm and it put me in a foul mood for a little bit. And the whole thing cost me 652RMB. 

I think the health check was the only damper on my week. Everything else was great! And I even had some great news from my health check. I have lost 50+ lbs since I have been here in China. I haven't really been doing anything to lose weight but you do walk everywhere here and you sweat everyday. Some of my friends think I am starving myself because I don't eat a lot here, but you eat rice with everything and that fills you up! LOL. 

So things in China seem to be looking up. I know this is where I am supposed to be I just don't know for how long. I know God has great plans for me here and I can't wait to see what they are. I guess right now I am just going to enjoy what time I have here and wait for the work visa. I know that if I don't get it then I am supposed to go home in December and if i do get it then I will be in China for a little bit longer. :)

Thought I would share this video by Jon Jorgenson. About Who You Are. This one is for women. I just think it is great and it has been speaking to me the past couple of days. God has created us! And we are AWESOME!!!