Things I've missed...

After being back in America for about a week, I've realized some of the things that I've missed. Here they are...
1. Sitting on a carpeted floor (doing that right now :) )
2. Walking across nice green grass.
3. Speaking in English to everyone and being able to use idioms.
4. Professors and friends from MLC. I was back for a few hours and it was great seeing people!
5. No traffic on the highways and city streets (I haven't really been to the Twin Cities yet, I'm sure I'll meet plenty of traffic there.)
6. My family, however, I haven't really seen them yet since I haven't been home. I've seen my other two "families" and they have been great! I love going back home to Sioux Falls and Sleepy Eye. Next home... Brownsville!
7. Much more.. stay posted.

I'm Back!!!

I made it back to America. I had a few problems with my flights, but it all worked out find. I had a stressful time in Chicago getting held up in Customs (first, my passport wouldn't scan, then I brought in beef, which was a no-no), losing Nicole (we got divided in Customs), getting stopped in security for my mahjong set (apparently it looks bad in the x-ray machines), running to my gate to make it before boarding and NOT seeing Nicole, calling my sister on a stranger's phone to tell her that 1-I am coming home, but my flight was changed and 2-I can't find Nicole :)

Surprisingly, even though they changed my flight and we had some short layovers, we both got our luggage!!!

Now I'm sitting in windy Sioux Falls, SD. Less that 24 hours after arriving in America, I started traveling again! I'll be traveling around Sioux Falls, New Ulm, and Minneapolis for a few weeks before finally heading home to Brownsville.

I'll keep you updated a bit this summer!

HE never changes

A while back I was talking to a Chinese friend about going back to America. We talked about culture shock and how it's more difficult with culture shock to go back to America than it is to come to China. We discussed why that is. At first, I couldn't think of why exactly why that would be. Then... I thought deeper [imagine me with my thinking face]. This is what I realize...

When I came to China, I left my friends and family in America. I was coming to a new place. No one here knew me before (except for the Americans I came with.). While I've been here, I have changed. Not a ton, but enough to make a difference in who I am. As I have been away from America life, people there are also changing. People are growing up, moving, having kids, changing jobs, becoming older. However, I have been away for quite a while. I forget that as I'm gone, life continues for others who are still there. When I come back I jump in where I left off. However, where I left off is no longer there. There is quite an adjustment. I'm excited to come back, but still a little nervous. How will it be to be on American soil again? Life in China and America is so different. How will it be to jump back into the lives of people I haven't seen in so long, even if it's just for a short time.

Last night I told her what I thought about. After we talked about how people changing makes it the most difficult to go back, I thought of a song we JUST sang in our study. The last line is "他不改变 " Ta bu gai bian (He doesn't change). He refers to HIM. I don't know what the rest of the song says, but it reminds me that no matter what happens in this world. No matter how people change, countries change, lives change, HE remains the same. His promises don't change, his unconditional love doesn't change. He is there no matter what. That's pretty cool. :)



In one week I'll be on American soil and HE will be right there next to me.

Bad Air

This morning I was shopping with a student. We found some cool Chinese things. It was a fun, relax atmosphere to hang out and talk with one of my students. As we were heading back home around 12 I received a text saying the follow, "dont go out . stay indoors. air is piosonous." I didn't think much of it because friends tend to tell us stuff like that whenever something odd is going on. However, I received another message from a friend and someone who was in America at the time. So... apparently, it's not just regular pollution, it is special pollution. I guess a chemical plant exploded in Wuhan. People are wearing masks. Don't be too worried about me. I'm hanging out in my place waiting for the pollution to pass...

Here are some pictures of what we see around here.

Looking towards my street. There is a bridge in the distance...

Looking away from my street. You should see lots of other buildings in the background.

So many people...

When you think of China, what do you think of? Chopsticks? Fortune cookies (sorry, but they don't exist here), Kung fu, people? Well, I am here to tell you that the rumors are true. There are A LOT of people in China. I've been living on my street for about 9 months now. Every day I walk up and down the same street. No matter where I go, I pass some of the same places every day.

However, every time I walk outside I see numerous people that I have never seen before. Sure, I know some of the shop owners in my area; the bag lady, the wrap guy, the short mr. fixit guy, little corner shop guy, and the bbq lady, but really, most of the people are still new to me. There are so many people coming and going that the street is never quiet and you don't see the same people twice!

My "hometown" of Fond du Lac has about 42,000 people in it (the same amount of Wuhan University). The city of Wuhan had 4.5 million people in 2002. I have been told it has upwards of 8 million easily if you include all of the students.

I went to a movie tonight and in Fond du Lac we have 1 1/2 movie theaters (the Mall theater only counts as 1/2). In Wuhan there are easily 30 movie theaters throughout the city. It doesn't matter where you are, you can find a theater pretty close. That just gives you an idea of how big this city is. I have a picture of a crowded area, but it's on my phone and not yet on my computer, I'll show it to you later. Right now, it's late and I'm tired!

Test Mishaps

A while ago I wrote and administered a test to my History and Culture of the UK class. We covered topics like family, food, holidays, school, work, class, race, health problems, and a few other topics. At the end we had a written test. This meant I got to correct all of the tests! Although it got a bit annoying by the end, there were a few answers along the way that made me laugh. Also, a few that made me sad.

Question: Describe the typical British family.
Answer: After talking about how they get married when they are a bit older, one student said, "of course, some of them fall in love without any reason and just say, 'let's get married, baby!'"

Question: Tell me everything you know about a holiday (I gave them 4 to choose from, one was Chr-stmas)
Answer: Chr-stmas is the birth of _____- he actually left a blank. At least he knew it was the birth of someone!

Question: Which Catholic would be terrorist is remembered on the fifth of November? (correct answer: Guy Fawkes)
Answers: Hitler, Frank Catholic (not sure if this is a real guy), the building in America (what?????!!!!!! did I teach them anything?)

Question: List three Christi-n festivals
Answer: bread and potatoes, fish and chips, steak

Question: What has happened to Chr-stianity and why? (correct answer- it has become less popular)
Answer: The reasons for this may be the freedom of belief in UK. People are no longer restricted by the religion. What's more, because of the development of science, many people believe in the truth rather than Chr-stianity. (ouch! This is what we are working with over here :( )

I tried to be a light in this class. We talked about a lot of difficult topics. By the end, they all knew I was a Chr-stian. Sadly, some just found out at the last class (I thought they knew earlier...)

I'm hoping to teach this class again next year. We'll see if I get similar answers.

Jumping Shrimp

This food deserves a post of it's own... by the name of it, you know that it is shrimp and that it jumps. BUT did you know when it's jumping? Yes, it's jumping when it's taken out of the boat. It's also jumping I'm sure, when they are transferred to the restaurant. However, the worst time to see shrimp jumping is when they are sitting on the table ready to eat. Yup, this shrimp is served to you jumping...

They put these tiny tiny shrimp into a bowl full of cilantro, peppers, alcohol, and I'm not sure what else. The most important thing is the alcohol. These shrimp are "jumping" because they are drowning from the alcohol. You can wait until they are dead, or you can kill them in your mouth. My co-worker killed it in his mouth and he wanted me to do the same. Hmm... let me see... that would be difficult. If it started to move around in my mouth, I would probably spit it out. However, I did get a video of it, so I hope I can upload it and you can enjoy watching him eat jumping shrimp.

Nicole had one in her bowl (waiting for it to die) and it jumped and splashed soup on my shirt. I almost got a stain because of a drunk shrimp! I couldn't eat mine alive, so I took my spoon and cut off it's head, then it went down ok. They actually tasted quite good. I do have a video of it, but I tried downloading it right now and it didn't work. I'll try it again later. Otherwise, I'll show you all this summer!!!

Looks good, huh??? :)