Wo Hen Ai Ni Changle Er Zhong!!

Today marks a significant day in my life!! Three years ago this very day I took off for the greatest adventure of my life! At a young (and crazy..) age of 18, I hopped on a plane with my cousin and we flew around the world to begin a new, short life in the beauty of China! Never, ever did I expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Never, ever did I imagine I would learn as much as I did. Never, EVER would I have thought I'd miss the place, my friends, students, and my life there. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my life over there and the incredible happiness it brought me. I am still growing and learning from that amazing experience I had. It's days like today that humble me and make me proud to have lived my life the way I have. Sure, I'm WELL behind every single one of my friends in school (all of you are graduating soon!!), but I am SO grateful I didn't choose to start college immediately and take some time out for myself to broaden my horizons and change everything about my core beliefs! I gained a testimony that only China would have brought me. I learned a new language (in which I have mostly forgotten), made new friends that will have a great place in my heart (Krissie, Amy, Bryce, Mandi...all of you!), and I taught and was taught by the most amazing 3000 students!!!

I need to document some of my most favorite memories I had there (mainly for me to always remember, but hopefully you'll enjoy!). I'll never forget that first night there...I was so so tired from flying over 18 hours total, finally getting to Beijing at midnight their time only to BREAK MY TOE!! I had to waddle to my next flight with Bryce and catch it to Qingdao to meet our school. They picked us up and we had a two hour drive to the little village I was to spend the next 5 months in. It took forever!! After what seemed like forever (and Bryce requesting to pull over to pee :) ) we pulled up in front of a school. It was glorious. Not because I was excited to live there, but because it was nearly 4 am and I was beat. They took us to our "apartments" which ended up being a CLASSROOM (Yes, I lived in the Physics Preparation Room 1)!!! It was HORRIBLE accomadations compared to what we were told we were going to live in. It had been changed as much as they could to an apartment and it really wasn't too bad. Just the kitchen/laundry room/bathroom. Wait...I didn't have a bathroom in my apartment!! That was the first thing I asked! River (our Savior in China) showed me my bathroom. It was outside...across my apartment and a hole in the ground. No way. I quit. I was catching the next flight out back to the US the next morning. But I needed sleep before I planned it. :) I knew my parents would be anxious to hear from me, so I grabbed my phone and it wouldn't dial out of the school. Crap. So I turned on my computer to email...all in Chinese. Crap. I don't know how, a miracle perhaps, but I was able to find Hotmail and I sent a short message to my dad: "Dad, Save me. I'm here. And its awful" Something to that effect :) Needless to say, it scared him to death. I crashed immediately after (not even unpacking or even changing clothes!) and the next morning, my life in China seemed to be much better looking after that night. I know that wasn't a great memory, but it is fond now!

Another few favorites, I loved starting classes and hearing the gasps and wow's from all of my students as I walked in the first time. They were almost as excited as I was! We quickly developed friendships and had many fun memories and class sessions together. The first classes we all had I taught them "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and I have pictures showing them playing along. I remember the gifts they graciously gave to me all the time. Homemade gifts, old hand-me-down gifts, one of them being my all time favorite. It is a little stuffed pig key-chain that I named "JOOOOOO!!" Or "PIGGGGGG" in Chinese. I still cherish that ugly, little thing today :) I remember traveling with Bryce and our friends to Beijing (that is a story in itself I'll share later...still a little personal) and Qingdao. We stayed in hostels, traveled, shopped and dined. We emmersed ourselves in the culture and enjoyed it to the fullest. I loved going to Church there, our small "branch" of 10 members and traveling two hours to get there. I loved looking forward to the weekends to get our "Chinese Hamburgers" from a street vendor across from our school and taking "sanluancha's" into town. I loved visiting the most beautiful parks and spending hours playing and rock-climbing there. I loved developing a better friendship with my cousin during the short time we were there. I loved going to our little shop on campus and buying popsicles and yogurt (things we literally survived off of!) and going to Weifang to visit our friends who ran a pirated DVD shop! I miss the food, the smells, and the rain of China. I miss being humbled and loved, I miss hearing a completely different language all the time, and I loved when Bryce and I spoke English and everyone shushed in awe to hear a different language. I miss being there most of all...

Thank you to all of you friends and family who supported me through that time. Those who knew me then and faithfully emailed me to keep me sane during those difficult times of China and cheered with me during the great memories! It will be an experience that I will never forget or regret!!!


PS If anyone is interested in checking out the company I went through check out China Horizons on my Links page!