April 2009

As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said, “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they laid him.”

…Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb… because they were afraid. (Mark 16:5-8)

~~~

“Woman,” He said, “why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”

Thinking He was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have put Him and I will get Him.”

J*sus said to her, “Mary.”

She turned toward Him and cried out…”Rabboni!”  (John 20:15-16)

~~~

…Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet who have believed. (John 20:29)

~~~

Here I am humbled by Your Majesty,
Covered by Your grace, oh Friend.
Here I am, knowing I’m a sinful man,
Covered by the blood of the Lamb.
Now I’ve found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrifice.

Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty-handed, but alive in Your hands.

Here I am humbled by the love that You give,
Forgiven so that I can forgive.
So here I stand,
Knowing that I am Your desire,
Sanctified by glory and fire.
And now I’ve found the greatest love of all is mine,
Since You laid down Your life,
The greatest sacrife.

Majesty, Majesty.
Your grace has found me just as I am,
Empty-handed, but alive in your hands.
Singing Majesty, Majesty.

Forever I am changed by Your love,
In the presence of Your Majesty.
Majesty.

~~~

Wishing you all many blessings today. Happy Easter!

I thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of some of my students! One cold, windy afternoon, the students invited my friend, Shannon, and I to join them for Hot Pot. It was great fun!

I feel really blessed to have found the perfect job to help ease the transition into a new culture. Teaching English has given me opportunities to build relationships with local people, and even make some lasting friendships. I have had students into my home, and Bo and I have been invited into some of their homes (which is a really big deal). My students have helped me with countless tasks, from grocery shopping to figuring out how to keep mosquitos out of my house. They also teach me so much, and are eager to share about their culture as well as learn about mine.

March wrapped up my 6 month teaching commitment, and I considered quitting my job because I have honestly maxed-out my schedule lately. But I just couldn’t give it up completely, because that would mean possibly missing out on future friendships. So as of this month, I am working part-time. Three days a week, an NO weekends!! Yippee!

I just couldn’t abandon these guys…

By the way, the girl sitting down is my Canadian colleague, Shannon, not a student… as if you couldn’t tell!

Bo and I had to go back to BJ for a couple of days so that he could get his shoulder checked out. The report was good, the x-rays showed that he is healing nicely, and we should be right on schedule for his other surgery in August (to remove the metal plate).

We only spent about 30 minutes at the hospital, so we actually got to do some sightseeing this time! We spent a day at the Forbidden City, which was pretty awesome. All of the trees and flowers were blooming, and the colors were amazing. After we got home, I realized that almost all of my photos were of trees. But I couldn’t help it! They were so gorgeous! I told my mom that I when I move back to the States, I want to landscape my whole yard with Chinese plants and trees. Did I mention I love them?

Here are some photos from our tour of the Forbidden City…

After a long day of tourism, we were amazed to find a “real” Texas BBQ restaurant. Of course we had to give it a try. Here is a photo of my meal… ribs, beans, cole slaw, and potato salad …served on a Texas shaped plate… and actually really delicious.

Or maybe it has just been too long since my last meal at Corky’s.

I did not come to China with the intention of studying Chinese, but after a few months of frustration with the language barrier, I decided to start lessons. Out of desperation, really.

Lucky for me, I have the best teacher in the world, and as it turns out, I really love learning this crazy, crazy language. One day, I will write a whole post about my beautiful teacher, Lavender, who I adore. But not today. Today I want to brag a little. Ha!

I find that nothing helps you learn Chinese like riding in taxis. The drivers are usually very chatty, and none of them speak a lick of English. If you don’t understand Chinese, they will usually just repeat the question or comment over and over (and louder and louder) until you understand or just jump out the window. I love it! They are relentless, but I get plenty of practice.

I have officially been here for 6 months, but I have only been studying Chinese (regularly) for 3. I can definitely understand WAY more than I can say, but sometimes I find myself having a real conversation and I admit… it makes me giddy. 

Tonight I got into the car of a very boisterous taxi driver (Shi Fu: pronounced like sure-foo). He was VERY excited to give this foreign girl a ride home, and he talked my ear off for the full 10 minutes. Here is the conversation (all in Chinese):

Shi Fu: Hello!!!!!!!!!

Me: Hello!!!!!!

Shi Fu: Where do you want to go?

Me: Jin Hai Guang Chang, next to the Olympic Sailing Center.

Shi Fu: Where are you from?

Me: America

Shi Fu: (making gesture towards his face) You are beautiful!!

Me: Thank you, sir.

Shi Fu: America is very big.

Me: China is also very big.

Shi Fu: I like America.

Me: I like China.

Shi Fu: Yes, but I like to sing American music.

Me: Do you like Karaoke?

Shi Fu: I like to sing, but my voice is very bad. (and then he demonstrates this)

Me: (pointing to my favorite Karaoke place on the left) That is the Karaoke place that I like.

Shi Fu: Do you want to go there now? (starts to turn the steering wheel)

Me: No! Turn right up ahead!

Shi Fu: Do you live there? (pointing to an apartment building that is not mine)

Me: No! Go straight, then turn left… Okay, stop here.

Shi Fu: 8 kuai (this is the amount of money I owe). You go home now. 

Me: Thank you. Bye!

Shi Fu: Bye!

Did you know that the title of this blog is actually Chinglish? I have used that phrase so many times, but never realized (until I moved here) that it is actually a direct translation from the Chinese way to say “I haven’t seen you in such a long time!” Ha!

Anyway, things have been crazy lately. Busy, busy. With work, language lessons, and a few other balls in the air, I haven’t had much time to blog. Sorry, family!! I will try to do better!

Last weekend was a 3 day weekend for the Tomb Festival, which meant that Bo and I got to spend a beautiful spring Monday doing whatever we wanted. And we wanted to fly a kite.

Bo brought this huge panda kite home a few weeks ago and I died laughing. But it was fun to fly it, and the kids in our neighborhood enjoyed seeing it up in the air… for the 5 minutes we flew it before the wind died for the rest of the day. No joke. We spent an hour stringing the thing up, and 5 minutes flying it. But at least I brought my camera!!