This is my me

There's few things that can make me laugh more than my kids.  There's only a few things that can make me want to bang my head into the wall more than my kids. 

Exhibit A: 

This week we've spent reviewing for their midterm exam. The two lessons we worked on the past two days were on Abilities and Family. With the family lesson, they have learned father, mother, grandmother, grandfather, and me. And the phrase they learned to go with that vocabulary was "This is my [family member]." So I would put various pictures of family members up on the board and ask "Who is this?" And the kids would answer. So I put a picture of a kid (note: kid is supposed to represent the word 'me') up and ask them "Who is this?"

And what to I get?

36 kids screaming "THIS IS MY ME!!!!!" 

What Meesa Lindsay Feels Like after class some days

Thank you Chinese educational system for making my kids think they can just memorize anything and not use any critical thinking skills!

Unfortunately, no matter how many times I corrected them and told them to say "This is me," it still came out "THIS IS MY ME!!!"

Oi vey. 

These kids basically learn to just repeat, repeat, repeat. And repeat in the order they learned it. So when you mix up the order of the vocabulary cards ... they don't like it. And they get confused. It's freaking adorable. 

And heaven forbid I include various things they learned from different lessons in the same powerpoint. Oh no ... that is not acceptable. 

Hence why I got phrases like:

"Give me a nose please."

"I can grandfather."

"This is my sing!"

Yeah, it's been an interesting week. Meesa Lindsay has come close to banging her head into the chalkboard on several occasions. 

But there's nothing that can lift my spirits up when I'm having a bad day/week/hour more than my kids. 

Examples:

I walk into Class 8 on Monday morning and the entire class erupts in cheers and dancing. "MEESA LINDSAY!!! MEESA LINDSAY!!! HELLO MEESA LINDSAY!!! GOOD MORNING MEESA LINDSAY!!!!" You would've thought I was a rockstar or something. 

Starting to teach my kids the Cha-Cha slide 

One of my little girls had a small bag of Skittles, and she gave me one. She's my new favorite. Don't ask me her name, because she's only one of 50 girls that have a bob haircut. And yes, I am easily won over by gifts of candy. 

We played a race game, where each row had to ask each other "What can you do?" one by one down the row. The last person on the row had to jump up and run to the front of the class to ask me "What can you do?" Oh. my. word. I thought my ear drums were going to bust, they were all screaming at each other and laughing. And then when I would announce the winning row, more screaming and cheering would ensue, accompanied by groans and whines from the rows that lost. Chinese kids are INSANELY competitive and loud [yeah I know, I'm basically a Chinese kid in a white, American body]. It's so much fun to watch them race and actually enjoy using their English. 

The way the boys all made funny noises that I assumed were the equivalent of "ick and yuck" when I showed the picture of my mom and dad. In the picture, dad's kissing mom's cheek. Apparently all six-year old boys find kissing disgusting. What was also hysterical was when they saw the pictures of my two gorgeous little sisters. Almost all of their mouths dropped opened and they swooned. It was HILARIOUS!! So yes, Elise and Emmy, you have many Chinese six-year old admirers. 

My kids drawing pictures of their families

Archie: no matter who is hugging or clinging to me, Archie will shove his way in, forcing all the other kids out of the way so he can hug me. He has the cutest big brown eyes and a deep raspy voice [for a six year old], which makes me giggle inside every time he talks. Anyway, he's a sweetheart and gives awesome hugs. 

My dear Archie

They also love it when I blow my nose. I've had a cold this week thanks to the weather change and the fact that China doesn't have heat inside until November 1. But yeah, I blew my nose in class, and all 36 kids start howling and pointing at me. In class 3 I told them I had a cold, and Dustin (remember, my genius kid) points at me and says "She's cold!" I was like "Close but not quite." 

And on Thursday, I decided to go out and actually dance with my kids, not just stand in the back where they can't see me. Oh my goodness, they were so excited! They kept laughing and pointing at me saying "MEESA LINDSAY!" followed by rapid fire Chinese. I'm pretty sure they were saying "Look even the white teacher can dance!" Yeah, I was able to keep up with most of the steps. Some of the dance steps to Gentleman are too complicated for me. 

All the kisses my kids give me. Oh my goodness, I get so many kisses, it's ridiculous. Pretty sure that's why I keep getting coughs and sniffles. But I don't care! I'll suffer the sickness for those sweet kisses and hugs. 

Class beginning

I'm amazed by my kids. They're a complete mess, but so sweet and cute. Most days it's all I can do to keep from just laughing throughout the entire class, but it's good for my soul. Some times I wonder what in the world I'm doing here and how I'm making a difference, but then I get a hug from one of my kids. And it reminds me, I am here to show them love-that's my job. 

Cookies and Uno

So this past weekend we invited several of our coteachers over to make cookies and play games. Well, only two of them could come-and they're both named Jenny [one of them was my Jenny]. But the other Jenny (Who I will henceforth refer to as Jenny #2) brought her 7-year old nephew because she wanted him to meet foreigners. His name was Chenchen (pronounced Chin-chin-not quite sure on the spelling but it's what we'll go with). 

Chenchen was AWESOME!!!! I have never seen a kid with so much personality-we had so much fun making cookies with him. We made snickerdoodles and peanut butter cookies. 

Jenny #2 mixing the dough

He helped us pour in the different ingredients. I let him try the sugar just to see what his reaction would be. His eyes lit up, and he giggled and clapped his hands in delight. Yeah, kids are all the same. They love sugar. 

Chenchen mixing the cookie dough

And he was fascinated by the oven-neither of the Jenny's nor Chenchen had ever made cookies before. So they all were very excited. But Chenchen loved the oven-he stood there for a while watching the cookies bake-it was adorable. 

Chenchen is puzzled by the oven

While Sarah and Anna tended to the cookies, the rest of us played games. We taught them how to play Uno. Chenchen (who by the way could hardly speak any English) caught on to the game real fast. His favorite card was the Draw 4 card, and every time he played it he would laugh maniacally at whoever had the misfortune of sitting next to him. It was hysterical!

Having fun playing Uno!

And we played spoons. Chenchen also loved this game. He stole a spoon from his Aunt and waved it in the air in triumph. We all laughed so hard. 

One really neat thing that happened during our little party was that the two Jenny's became friends. They realized they both went to the same college and had the same major, but never had any classes together. [In China, you're divided into different groups of students (classes) in your same year and you take all of your courses with that same class-or at least that's how it's been explained to me]. So yeah, that was really cool for us to watch as they sat there and chatted about their college. I hope they will become good friends. 

So yeah, even though we didn't have many people come, our first little co-teacher gathering was a success. We had so much fun, and we hope the two Jenny's and Chenchen were blessed. And we can't wait to have another co-teacher party. 

Oh yeah, and we've decided if we invite Jenny #2 again to another party, she's got to bring Chenchen. Or she can't come. 

Sometimes you just gotta bring out your Madea

So this past weekend I had the pleasure of getting strep from one of my students. How do I know I got it from one of my students? Um ... I'm 99.9% sure it came from one of them-I'm around 288 sneezing, coughing, hoarse voiced children five days a week. You do the math. 

Anyway, Gerry, our Foreign Affairs Official, took me to the school clinic and got me a load of amoxicillin and Chinese herbal remedies. 

My meds

Because of my sore throat, I couldn't teach on Monday. So Allysa covered for me, and apparently my students did not cooperate. My co-teacher Jenny called to tell me this and also to check up on me. She's so sweet. 

I'm starting to feel like I should write a book of all my ridiculous classroom stories. Almost every day something hysterical happens that sends me into bouts of giggles. My babies are a hot mess sometimes. 

Exhibit A: Class 6

Oh. my. word. On Tuesday, they were terrible! I had never had so many of my kids get in trouble. Six different kids had to stand up in front of the class because they were misbehaving so much. And that was after I gave each of them two warnings about their behavior. 

One of the kids, Tom, was being particularly naughty throughout the entire class. And after his two warnings, I finally told him to go stand up in front of the class. He shook his head "no." So I picked him up out of his chair and set him on his feet to walk to the front of the class. His legs mysteriously turned into jello. I'd had enough of the misbehaving in my classroom, so I picked him up and carried him to the front of the class where he stood in shame for about 5 minutes. All the kids still in their seats were snickering and giggling most quietly so as not to be subject to the wrath of Meesa Lindsay. 

So yeah I carried a six-year old Chinese kid to the front of the class, which embarrassed him greatly. 

He was a perfect angel after that. 

Sometimes, all you need is a little tough love in a classroom of Chinese six year olds. 

Note: I'm not sure my kids take me very seriously because even when they're bad, they're so stinkin cute I have a hard time not smiling at them when I'm disciplining them. If I ever become a parent, I have to work on my poker face. 

Even though my kids were terrible in Class 6, we also had a few fun moments. For instance, one of the boys was doing something silly (I still don't remember what he was doing), but it made me laugh. And then I couldn't stop giggling. I was almost doubled over in laughter, and the entire class started laughing at me. It was so hilarious.

Exhibit B: Gus

On Wednesday in class, we were reviewing lessons 1-3 because the kids have their first test next week. My poor babies have their first test ... I hope they do well. 

Ok, this kid Gus in class 3 is so stinking adorable. Actually, pretty much every kid in class 3 is adorable, but that's beside the point. Gus just recently got glasses, and I swear every time I come to class he has a different pair on. This week he's been sporting neon yellow glasses. Hysterical. 

Anyway, I was having the kids volunteer to come up and practice the dialogue with me. They had to bring their book, pencil, ruler, and eraser (rubber) with them to see which one I would ask them for. Most of the kids just brought their pencils, rulers, and erasers.

But not Gus. He's an overachiever. 

When I called on him, he quickly gathered up his book, pencil, ruler, and eraser, and THEN, proceeded to grab his name card and his sticker card. Juggling all six of these items in his little Chinese hands, he sprints up to the front of the class. The rest of the students were laughing hysterically at him, and I couldn't help but chuckle because he was so cute. 

And then as he stands before me with his hands so full he's about to drop something, I'm trying my best to keep a straight face. He just looks up at me through those bright neon yellow glasses like "Aren't you proud of me?! I brought ALL my stuff!" 

Yes, Gus I was very proud of you. 

My sweet Gus. 

Exhibit C: Dustin

Dustin is probably my smartest kid-he picks up the English faster than any of the kids in any of my classes. And he CORRECTLY uses it. Genius. 

Anyway, because we were reviewing for the test today, I went back over their names and how to say "Hello, I'm ..." 

As I'm walking around the room telling each kid their name, I come up to Dustin and he says, "Hello I'm Dustin." I did my happy dance which the kids thought was hilarious. In my mind I was like, "You learned something! You learned something! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!"

Note: As a first-grade ESL teacher, you get excited about the smallest things. If the kid can say one phrase correctly and appropriately, it makes your week. 

But that's not even the best part. After class was over, Dustin came up to me and said, "Meesa Lindsay, can you speak Chinese?" 

IN. ENGLISH!!!!

I squealed with delight and amazement (which shocked him a little bit), and then said with a sad face, "No. I speak English." He sighed and walked away. 

My brilliant Dustin

Exhibit D: Josh.

Last week Josh was absent from classes-I have no idea why. But I missed him alot. He showed back up this week in full blown Josh form. Oh my word this kid is ridiculous. 

I had them drawing pictures of their families, and I gave them a 2-minute warning before it was time to stop. 

Josh looks up from his drawing and holds up three fingers and says, "Three!"

A little conflict happened in my mind. Part of me was like "Oh my gosh he understood that I said two minutes left!!!! AAHHHHHH!!!!" and then the other part was like, "Who does this kid think he is, trying to weasel an extra minute out of me?! Uh uh." 

I told him, "No, two more minutes!"

He said, "Three!" 

I said, "No, TWO!"

He whined and continued drawing. 

When I told them to stop drawing and put away their markers, some of them obeyed. So I went around the room telling the others to stop drawing and put their markers up. When I got to Josh, he was still drawing. 

So I told him to put his markers up. He shook his head at me. 

I told him again. He looked up at me, grinned, and said, "No!" 

I put my hands on my hips in what I thought was my fierce Madea impression and said, "Excuse me?! I know I didn't just hear you say that!" 

He. said. "No!". Again. 

So I took the marker straight out of his hand, put it back in its case, closed his marker case, pointed to his locker, and said, "You put them up. Now. And you do not say 'no' to Meesa Lindsay." 

He just grinned that illegally cute grin of his and sauntered back to his locker and put his markers away. 

Next time he says no to me, he gets to stand up in front of the class.

Corey, Josh, and Archie

Note: Everything I said during this interchange was with grand, exaggerated hand gestures. And I think Josh knows I like him alot so he thinks he can get away with anything. Not. true. Meesa Lindsay don't play like that. 

Sometimes to deal with these first-graders, I just gotta bring out my Madea.

And to Mrs. Shari Hamlin, if you read this, know you would've been proud of my Madea. I'm thinking about teaching my kids to say "Hello-er" just for you. 

Hope y'all enjoyed this. If you can't tell, I adore my kids. They're so little, so cute, so precious, so sweet, so naughty. I can't imagine my life without them ... but a year ago, I couldn't have imagined my life with them. It's amazing how Father can just change everything in one's life. I want to thank all my friends back home for your love and support. Without you, I wouldn't be here, and I'm so, so, so grateful that I am here in Taiyuan. I'm tearing up as I write this because of the amazing grace and love I have been shown by Father and by you all. And a special thanks to my family, for being brave and trusting enough to let me go to the other side of the world. It's been a crazy, wild ride, but I'm loving every minute of it. A note of encouragement: just let go-let Father do what He wants to do in your life. I love that song "Sweetly Broken" by Jeremy Riddle ... it has been my China song, as I call it. Just let go and surrender to Him. 

Friendship

My favorite moment that happened this week was with one of my co-teachers, Jenny. Just a quick note about Jenny-she's AWESOME! She's only a year older than me, and it's her first year teaching too, so we've bonded alot. And she's hilarious. At the beginning of the year, she asked me if I would help her with her English, and of course I told her yes. She said once it gets less busy after holiday, she would bring in topics and "phenomenon" (her word) for us to discuss in English. She also told me I had a "vivid personality." Never heard that one before. 

Anyway, back to the story. I came into the office after my last class on Thursday, and she asked me if I had class on Friday. I told her I only had class Friday morning, then I asked her if she had class on Friday. She said only in the morning and not afternoon. I kind of got this feeling that she wanted to know if I was doing anything Friday night, but because of Chinese indirect culture, she couldn't ask. So I went up to her and asked if she had plans Friday night. She said no with a funny grin on her face. I asked her if she would like to do something with me, and she almost jumped out of her chair in excitement and said "Oh YES! I would love this!" 

So yeah, Friday night we went out to a mall just to look around and hang out and talk. She told me alot of things about China and asked me alot of questions about America. It is her biggest dream to visit America, she says. She told me when she comes to America, she will find me. I told her she will always be welcome to come and stay with me. 

We nearly got hit several times crossing the street as we ran squealing and hanging on to each other for dear life. Just a note about crossing the street in China-there's only one rule: don't get hit. I made Jenny laugh because I started walking across the street even though the crosswalk sign wasn't green. "You have learned the Chinese way," she laughed. 

We had a blast wandering around the mall and just talking about all sorts of things. We compared notes on our college life and what teaching was like. 

We were in one store looking around when all of the sudden I heard a little Chinese voice yelling, "Meesa Lindsay! Meesa Lindsay!" I looked up to see one of my babies dragging her grandmother towards me. It was Kelsey from Class 3-she ran up and gave me a huge hug. I couldn't believe it! One of my kids recognized me outside of school!!!!!!! I was so excited, I was squealing. 

Jenny started conversing with the grandmother and then the mother who came up later. The grandmother started fussing at Kelsey, obviously telling her to say something to me in English. I asked Jenny what the grandmother wanted Kelsey to say, and she said, "She wants her to say I love you, but she is too shy." So I knelt down in front of Kelsey, smiled at her, and said, "I love you." She grinned for a moment, then replied in her sweet, angelic voice, "I love you." 

I about burst into tears right there in the store. She's my first baby to tell me "I love you."

Me and my beautiful Kelsey

We said goodbye to Kelsey, her grandmother, and her mom and continued our mall wandering and window-shopping. 

Oh yeah, and Jenny got hungry and took me to this little fast-food place in the mall. She ordered something for us to share, and when I looked at what she pointed to on the menu, it said "Octopus" in English and Chinese. My heart sank. (Note: I DO. NOT. EAT. SEAFOOD. EVER). What we got were these weird puff ball things with something very slimy inside of them. I ate one to be polite, and it was all I could do to keep from gagging. 

So yeah, I ate octopus. 

And I lived. 

Lindsay: 1 ... Gross Chinese food: 0

Fortunately we got ice cream afterwards, so that helped clear my mouth of the fishy taste. 

We talked alot about marriage and family. That's one thing I love about Chinese culture-they truly value the family. I think Americans could learn alot from the Chinese when it comes to valuing family. 

I'm so thankful for the good friends I have made here in China. Father has blessed me with an amazing team of friends. And now I have a new friend: Jenny, a wonderful, smart, sweet friend and co-worker. 

Me and Jenny 

Mouse and Booka

So this has been a very interesting week of teaching. Everything has gone topsy turvy. My naughty classes are now my angel classes, and my angel classes are now my naughty classes. Apparently this is what happens after a long holiday. Between the complete personality switch and the new uniforms, I'm utterly confused. 

This week the kids were learning about their abilities. The phrases they learned were "What can you do?" and "I can sing/dance/read/draw." The way they say dance cracks me up-it's the British way. The videos that the Chinese English teachers use were made by people with British accents, so the kids are learning how to speak English with a British accent. 

And then I come in to class. With my very American speech and mannerisms, and I completely throw them off. I say dance very differently from them, but they think it's hilarious. I tried to explain to them that in America (Mei guo) we say "I can dance." Not "I cahn dahnce." All I got was blank stares. And then I tried to get them to say dance the American way ... nope. So now everytime they say "I can dance," I feel like I'm in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice ... with my Chinese babies. It's ridiculous. 

Chinese kids also tend to add an "ah" on the end of any word ending with a hard consonant. So book is "booka" and read is "reada." No matter how hard I try to get them to say book and read, it still comes out "booka" and "reada." And don't even get me started on trying to teach them to say "mouth" instead of "mouse." The "th" sound is almost impossible for them. I even have them stick their tongues out between their teeth to say the "th" sound. It doesn't work. Mouth will forever be mouse. 

We had teacher observations/reviews this week. Which means my team leader came and watched me teach a class twice this week. She watched Class 7 .... and the first day she observed was AWFUL!!! I have no words to how bad it was. It was a combination of me being nervous and of my kids just completely misbehaving and not participating in the activities. It was the worst class I've had in China ... normally my kids are a little noisy but it's manageable ... not that day. It was chaos. 

And of course Class 1 (which I  taught right after Class 7) went perfectly. Go figure. 

Random side-note, class 5 isn't the only class that is now saying "Yes sir!" when I give a command. Three other classes have decided to follow suite. It's awesome. 

My babies drawing pictures of themselves singing, dancing, reading, or drawing

One of the best moments of this week was when I heard the new class song playing over the speakers. The kids are now learning to sing "I got no strings" from Pinnochio. I'm sitting in the office, and I start hearing Disney music, and I was like "What in the world?" Yeah, they're singing a song from Pinnochio. And my co-teachers told me I'm supposed to teach it to them. I was like "Um ..... ok?" I like the song, but the grammar in it is atrocious. So my kids are learning terrible grammar ... thanks Disney. 

I've discovered something ... Chinese kids are just like American kids. Granted there are some cultural differences, but I'm constantly amazed at how kid behavior is universal. I like to watch my kids in the hallway, interacting with each other. And even though I can't understand a thing they are saying, I can pick up on what's going on via body language and facial expressions. My kids laugh, they cry, they pout, they get angry, they scream, they fight, they hug, they smile, they frown, they play, they learn, they study, they race, they sing, and they love. 

Pat, Elaine, Shanae, and Katelyn visiting me in the office

That's one thing I'm always amazed at-how much love my kids have in their hearts, not just for me, but for each other. I watched with tears in my eyes as one little girl stood crying about something, and her little friends immediately swarmed her, comforting her, hugging her, wiping her tears. They walk down the hall to the bathroom holding hands or with their arms around each other's shoulders. It's the most precious, beautiful picture. 

This happened Thursday morning; about 18 little girls all swarmed into the office to say 'hi' to me.

This week in particular I've been very frustrated at the language barrier. I can tell my babies have so much they want to say to me and ask me. But they know I'm the stupid foreign teacher who only knows how to say "Ni hao," "Xie xie," and "Wu ting bu dong" (I don't understand). On Monday, Wilson came up to me after class, and I could see in his big, beautiful brown eyes that he had so much he wanted to say. He kept standing there saying forcefully, "Meesa Lindsay ... Meesa Lindsay." Almost crying, I told him, "I know baby. I know you have something very important to say, and I'm sorry I can't understand you." 

Although one redeeming thing about the language barrier is the kids roll their eyes at me when I say "wu ting bu dong." It's so stinking cute. I can tell in their minds they're thinking "stupid foreign teacher. She can't understand anything."

I had to say goodbye to my kids for the weekend on Friday. Their parents all came to get them, and it was the first time I got to watch my kids get picked up by their moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers, etc. It was quite the event. 

My favorite moment happened when I went to say good-bye to class 4. Tanner (who by the way is named after Tanner Dean because the impish grin constantly on his face reminds me of Tanner) was in the classroom talking to his mom. I went up to say goodbye, and his mom immediately starts talking to me in Chinese. I was able to figure out she was asking me if I was his English teacher, to which I responded yes. Then she started pointing at Tanner and asking something in Chinese. My best guess was that she wanted to know if her son was behaving in class and if he was learning his English. I told her yes and gave him two thumbs up. She smiled and said something to her son, probably saying "good job" or something like that. I didn't have the heart to tell her he had gotten in trouble that day, and I certainly didn't want him getting in trouble with his rather fierce looking mother. 

My hilarious, cheeky Tanner

Uniforms

So one of the ways I would tell my kids apart was by what clothes they were wearing. In China people wear the same outfit several days in a row, so it was easy for me to remember which kid I was talking to by what outfit they had on that week. 

But then ... uniforms. My first graders got their uniforms this week. 

Pat, Sharon and Becca

Those blasted uniforms have messed up my system!!!! Granted the kids are so adorable in them, but that's no excuse! 

Me and Ashlin (right before she gave me a big kiss on the cheek)

And that brings up another point: Where is the individuality? Where is freedom of expression? I know China is a collectivist society, but seriously! I propose we get rid of the uniforms so these children can freely express their personalities through their clothing!

But that's not even the biggest issue.

HOW IN HECK AM I SUPPOSED TO REMEMBER WHO IS WHO NOW THAT THEY ALL LOOK THE SAME?!!!!!!! 

I honestly could care less about the whole freedom of expression junk-I was just saying that to make myself feel better and less self-absorbed. 

I even have twins in one class. Now I'll never be able to figure out which one is Toby and which one is Parker. 

Side note: I totally should've named the one twin Tony instead of Toby. Because then they would be named after my favorite point guard in the NBA. But alas, I'm not that smart. 

Back to the uniform thing: I'm severely annoyed by them. But my babies do look so stinkin' cute in their little blue and white track suits. 

Aubrey, Me, Ashlin, and Kelsey

Aren't my babies the cutest things ever?!

In other news, I got my first full body massage this week ... by a guy. Believe it or not, it wasn't as awkward as it sounds. And I discovered guys are much better at massages because they have stronger hands. My back feels fantastic! My favorite part of the whole experience was when he massaged my head. I almost fell asleep. The part where he massaged my gluteus maximus was a little strange, but I didn't feel violated or anything. But oh my word, when he got to my feet .... 

I'm extremely ticklish. And my feet are one of the worst places. So the dude drapes the cloth thing over my right foot and starts rubbing it. My whole body immediately tensed up, my foot curled, I started giggling uncontrollably, and it was all I could do to keep from kicking him, jumping off that table, and running out of the building. After 15 seconds of rubbing my foot, he stopped and moved on to my lower back and he never touched my feet again. 

See Mom, this is why I can't get a pedicure. And note to my future husband (if you even exist), I will never ask you for a foot rub because you'd lose all your teeth in about 30 seconds. 

And in other news, my kids are learning a new dance. During exercise time, they all go out and line up and dance. Their last dance was to some boring Chinese song. But the new dance .... it's to Psy's song "Gentleman."

IT'S AWESOME!!!!!! 

My co-teacher and I went out there and practiced it with them today. SO MUCH FUN!!! Videos will soon be coming.

Rockstars and Light

So this week was October Holiday. We had 9 days off because October 1 was National Day, which is basically the Chinese version of 4th of July. This day is celebrated as the day Mao founded the People's Republic of China, so it's kind of a big deal here. 

During our 9 days off, Anna and Chesney hopped on a train for 26 hours to Sichuan province. Craziness. Hailey, Sarah, and I stayed in Taiyuan to try and become more familiar with the city. 

Our first day out, we went to a park in the middle of the city. It was so cool! There was a lake, a ton of amusement rides, flowers, it was beautiful. And it was crazy crowded. My favorite thing I saw there was the double decker carousel. 

Double Decker Carousel

Lake at the Park

And we felt like rockstars. As we walked into the park, this group of teenage girls-at least I think they were teenagers-it's so hard for me to judge the age of Chinese people because they all look so dang young. Anyway, back to the story. As we walk into the park, these girls say hello to us. We turn and say hello back and wave-they freak out. Laughing quietly to ourselves, we keep walking and they follow us. They say hello again and we turn around and say hello back. More freaking out ensues. Then one of them has the courage to come up to me and asks to get her picture taken with me. I say yes, which inspires more freaking out and giggling. You would've thought we were One Direction or Justin Beiber. So yeah, here's me getting my picture taken with the one brave soul. 

Me and the cute Chinese girl

They then all wanted pictures with all of us. And yeah this happened multiple times this week. Almost everywhere we went we got lots of stares, pointing fingers, pictures taken, etc. Just standing at a bus stop, another group of teenage girls wanted our pictures. Craziness. My favorite episode of picture taking was when we went to one of the Buddhist temples in the center of town-we were just standing outside the temple and this old man just walks up with his smart phone and snaps a picture of us. We were all in shock-normally Chinese people try to be sneaky about their picture-taking, and when you catch them, they look really ashamed. Not this guy. And when we went to the south side of the city, oh my word. Pretty sure no one down there had seen foreigners up close before. So many stares-I thought we were going to cause an accident because so many people in cars and on bikes were turning around to look at us and didn't watch where they were going. 

So yeah, I felt like a rockstar wandering through Taiyuan this week. 

We went a couple of really interesting places. Our first day we just hopped on a bus to see where it took us-the more I travel around Taiyuan, the more I realize it's not as big as it seems. We went to that park I talked about, and we visited Chongshan temple and the twin Pagoda temples. We got "lost" trying to visit Jingci park, meaning we got about halfway there to the point where we were supposed to transfer buses, but couldn't find the bus we were supposed to get on. And Chinese people don't exactly give the best direction. So we gave up and just rode back into the city and messed around. 

We went to the Chongshan temple in the middle of the city. It's a Buddhist temple dedicated to the Mother Buddha with 10 thousand arms. Not gonna lie, it was strange going into a temple. We walk into one of the buildings and there right in front of us is a huge statue of Mother Buddha with all her arms, and there was incense burning, and pads where you knew people had been bowing down before the statue. And there were flower offerings and other statues all around with places where people could kneel and worship. I'd never seen an idol up close and personal like that before, and it overwhelmed me, just thinking about the bondage people here live in. 

As we walked around the temple and its courtyards, it was quiet-the most quiet I've ever experienced in China. It felt peaceful, but it was not peaceful. Only Father can provide true peace, not the statues. As I wept inside for the people, I looked up and saw the rays of the sun peaking out from behind the clouds, shining down on us. And that's when I remembered why I am here. I am here to be a light to the nations of Father's true love and peace. Looking at this picture of His light before me, I am hopeful that this nation will soon find the way, the truth, and the life. His light is shining down on China, and I am so blessed that I get to be a small part of that.  

Light of the World

And we went to the twin Pagodas in the middle of the city. They are each 13 levels, and were built in the early 1600s. We got to climb the west tower and look out at the city-it was AMAZING! Except for the part where my knees were sore because the stairs in that thing were so steep. 

The Pagodas!

Me at the Pagodas

Pagoda Gardens

I conquered the Pagoda

I live in a crazy city, a dirty, crowded, beautiful, amazing city. Every day I am here I fall more in love with this place-it's nothing that I ever would've imagined and it constantly surprises me. I never thought I would love a place like this-so dirty, strange, crazy, crowded. But I do. It's home for this year ... and who knows? Maybe some day I'll get to come back. 

City view from the Pagoda