An American Girl in a Chinese World

Picture 3 Americans in a sea of Chinese students. That is English Corner. We use this time to help students practice English but also to build relationships and deeper conversations with them. The past few weeks have been somewhat over-whelming because of the large group of people that are coming to "see the foreigners" but tonight was so much fun! About 6 of my students, one of Jeremy's students and 2 like-minded girls were in my group tonight. We had great conversations about their families, beliefs, and what they wanted to do after graduation. Then at the end they offered to show me their dorm rooms. After telling them I would love to....they literally jumped to grab my hands and arms and all 9 giggling girls walked me across campus! I love Chinese culture when it comes to friendship. They all held my hands and wrapped their arms around me....so excited that I would come to their room. It was humbling to see their small closets, mosquito nets covering their beds, and t...

Do you like me? Did that impress you? Do you need approval from people? I have always struggled with this. In times when I feel lonely or lacking self- confidence, my reaction is to turn to people. I was reading in my study this morning about what the son of the Father was teaching about. In his teaching, he used the word poor. The meaning of poor, didn’t mean, “without money” but it meant “utter helplessness”. I wanted to share with you what Beth Moore said: “… Like beggars we go from person to person with our empty cup crying “Can’t you add anything to my life?!” They may thrown in a coin or two, But when you shake the cup the tiny echo reminds us how empty we remain. Pretty soon the Father will bring us to confront the poverty of living on the alms of others, so that we may learn to feast on him!” In reading this, I was convicted and challenged to not look to others but to the Father. My hope is that you to will join my in learning to turn our empty cups to the father and feast...

I recently re-read the story of the Ark and I remember the rainbow being a sign that there with not be a flood destroying the earth again…..but it didn’t say anything about my bathroom floor! Today was a normal Tuesday. Team meeting in the morning, made lunch, kissed Jeremy good-bye as he left for classes, and then began to clean the house and prepare to go grocery shopping. Just as I was about ready to go, I decided to check on the laundry. The washing machine is in our hallway, but we hook it up to our bathroom sink and then the water drains into a drain next to our toilet. I know, I know…it’s the dream set up. Well, to my delightful surprise, the water hose was not in the drain. In fact it was floating! In those situations, where your feet are under water in your bathroom, all you can do is laugh and hope you get everything dry and clean before the husband gets home! Lol Four towels, a broom, and few paper towels later the bathroom floor was nice and clean. When Jeremy got home, he...

I am proud to tell you that my nails….are still long and strong! One of my first blog entries was about my journey to quick the habit of biting my nails. It has been so exciting to be here and have pretty nails. I have not found one bad thing about them until….today while teaching. Yes, oh yes, the dreaded chalkboard and nails! Let me tell you that sound and the feel of that on my hands made me want to immediately bite my nails off! I trimmed my nails. Other than nails on the chalkboard, teaching has been wonderful. I get most of my lesson plans from Jeremy or other teachers that know what they are doing. However this week I decided to add a little bit of Tama to the classroom. Our lesson was about time and money. In trying to think of something we could do, I immediately thought of the show minute to win it. Oh, and that light bulb began to shine brightly! I used the game show to have to students not only do silly tasks in one minute, but also review the previous lessons. It was a hit...

When we first got married I told Jeremy that my goal was to cook such good food , that he would never want to eat out again! This was partially because we couldn’t afford to eat out, and because I wanted to learn to cook. Our 2 ½ years in Evansville I couldn’t get enough cooking, I really enjoyed trying new things, making things taste good, and getting a feel for what ingredients can be mixed with others. Now we live in China. My love for cooking never changed, but I hit a brick wall when I stepped foot on foreign soil. A lot of the ingredients that I used in the states aren’t here. If they are here, I wouldn’t know, because I can’t read Chinese. After having Chinese food every night for about a week, I began to get motivated and…got my cooking on. Cooking in China is a lot of fun! It has put a new challenge, but I have loved it! I have made so many things homemade! This takes a lot longer, but it tastes better, is healthier, and you get the satisfaction of knowing you made it! Sour c...