neeehowwww!

We are now in day 5 of our home stay and I could not think of a better family to spend our home stay with. They are a young couple with a beautiful 4 year old girl. I’ve already been challenged many times in our short stay here. They are so full of wisdom and so humble. I look forward to spending more time learning from them and the experiences that have shaped them into who they are.

I have also made it a goal to become an expert at cooking Sichuan cuisine. Our host mom is assisting me in this undertaking. I bought a cookbook yesterday and have already learned a lot from watching our host mom in action.
We have had a lot of food that looks and tastes wonderful… and some that leaves much to be desired.
I consumed my first chicken foot this week. It wasn’t quite as bad as I expected, but I still prefer that good ol’ white meat chicken breast (which they do have here, but you have to wade through the liver, heart, etc. to get there).

Some of my favorite times of the day include meals with the whole family, drawing and watching Winnie the Pooh with YoYo, walking around the apartment complex (there is a little river with many trees and great walking paths), and hanging out with our host mom.

I feel so fortunate to be with such a great family. I am learning a lot and am soaking up every minute of being with them.

I am feeling a little anxious for school to start in September. Not only will we have our requirements for SBU, we’ll have requirements for our other program AND our language load at the university we’re attending here. The teachers in the universities here expect a lot out of you and from what I’ve heard… our plates will be more than full with the work they assign. I am asking Papa to help me be diligent now with the work I can complete so that when school starts in September it won’t be as much of a burden.

Alright. I’m on the front end of my third week here and I’m starting to feel more settled. We were able to take some time to go shopping yesterday to begin to replenish my lack of wardrobe from the missing suitcase incident….

…and I thought I hated shopping in the states. It was one of the most stressful experiences I’ve had since I’ve been here. There are at least 1000 workers for every customer who walks through the door (or so it seems) and they all know exactly what you need (or so they think). I made it out with 2 purchases (for the price of one… I am my mother’s daughter) and a headache. Maybe I’ll brave the madness again, or maybe my minimalist dreams will become a reality and I’ll stick with the 3 outfits I have now.

We started meeting with our language tutor on Friday. The first couple of lessons were pretty discouraging but today I felt like I picked up much more than in previous lessons. A few more and I should be fluent… J

I’m starting to get used to the spicy food they eat here. We haven’t been too brave with the spice yet, but I’m sure we’ll work our way up that ladder.

We got to spend a day with our home stay family last week and it was delightful. They are a young couple with a 4 year old daughter who just might be THE cutest Asian child I’ve ever seen in real life. Her English name is YoYo. I know that Papa prepared our way into this family’s home. I’m sure I will learn so much from them.

On Friday we went with our supervisor’s family and our new friend Stacey to Caribbean Water Park. We had such a great time. It was so good to get to spend time and unwind with our new friends and the kids had a blast. AND, Stacey and I made it into the background of CQ TV segment. A day well spent.

One of my favorite things about our city is the fact that there is ALWAYS something going on outside. In the evenings you can walk outside through the square and find older women and men ballroom dancing, kids taking rollerblading lessons, gymnasts performing their routines, badminton games, and much more. I love that people are outdoors and spending time with each other.

Okay, that is enough for now…

Thanks for reading and thanks for continuing to lift us up as we’re getting settled in a new place.

Anna

okay. here we go.

I know, I know... I'm the worst at updates. I'm a journaler, not a blogger... so bear with me.

Where to begin???

In the last 2 weeks I've gone from living in a town of 10,000 people to living in the most populated square mile on earth, to living in the largest city in the world.
Overwhelming?
Yes.

Actually.. for the sake of my lack of thought organization skills and so you don't have to endure the way my brain REALLY outputs info... I'll use some bullet points.

Things I have enjoyed:
- The HK skyline at night.
- Walking... everywhere.
- asian fashion. I anticipate returning to the USA and being 5 years ahead in fashion. Just wait and see... Sarah and I found a store today that only sells clothing in various shades of brown. It felt like I was looking at my own closet... but prettier.
- talking to Papa. not even 2 weeks in and I think I've had more conversations with Him than the last 2 months combined. I am learning a lot.
- touring the campus of the school we'll attend in September. Its next to a mountain with a zipline. Thats what I like to see.
- learning that there is an entire city underneath us here. You can walk down stairs all over the place and get to the underground shopping. Such a good use of space.
- spending time with our supervisor and his family. They have 3 beautiful children who have made us feel right at home.
- SPICY food.

Things I have NOT enjoyed:
- having my entire suitcase (with my copy of the Book, my favorite stuffed animal and the quilt my momma made me... along with a majority of the other stuff I brought inside) stolen from the trunk of a taxi. There is still a tiny chance our (sarah had a bag in there too) bags will be returned but chances are they are gone for good.
- the lack of western toilets.
- the negative effects of said SPICY food....
- the lack of stars. We did, however, see three... yep... THREE stars in HK the other night.

Although I haven't enjoyed the things on the 2nd list... I can absolutely see Papa working them out for good. I am learning to trust him more every day, and learning to see that he is faithful even in the less enjoyable times.

I'll try to be be a better blogger.
Thanks for lifting Sarah and me up while we're here.

AB
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