September 29--Day 84

Who doesn't love class on Sunday? Especially since we had class last Sunday too? And, your class that usually meets once a week, has now met three times? To be honest though, it wasn't bad. I got to see these guys three times this week! And, the students were surprisingly optimistic about it. We had fun. We always do. I do understand much better now, though, why God rested that seventh day. Phew. You need it!

September 28--Day 83

Our one day off! Well, sort of. I still tutor, but those kids are great. Somehow, the Americans happened to run into each other. And, coincidentally, we all needed to go shoe shopping. Convenient. Found the coolest shoes ever. Found shoes that "felt like you just slipped your foot into a cloud." And freaked out store employees by jogging around in the store. Passed up the "mango glutinous dumplings" for mango pancakes (which don't resemble pancakes in the least). Laughed at Josh's experimental hairdo created by the overly-zealous and obviously bored-with-Asian-hair stylist, but found it's apparently a very fashionable style in China. Didn't get to go ice skating. One day. But our shopping mall has an ice rink? Cool!

September 27--Day 82

Today was one of those days that I was just praying for strength. And, what do you know, He always provides. He does more than that. He swoops in to save the day and gives me so much more beyond what I could ask or think. Spent the night with this crazy group. Talked about everything. Laughed about everything. I know I say my students are amazing, but tonight was incredible. Definitely one of the best nights so far on this island. Lilly, Fiona, Jessica, Cathy, Sunny, Bethany. And Helena is the best. These guys make me happy. They are why I am here. God, You are so beyond good to me. Thank You.

September 26--Day 81

Piano. Therapy. Actually, I think I spent more time reading the Word and praying than playing. It was perfect. And, we made a new friend, Lola, who apparently is this amazing pianist. Oh, and while I was waiting to give students a make-up test, I also made another friend. Three minutes after talking with me, then returning to her seat, she re-appeared, handed me a bottle of orange juice, and said, "Here! You need to drink more water!" and ran away. Um... Ok. Thanks! I will drink this sugary juice beverage that is not water because I should drink more water. Got it. Pretty much made my day.

September 25--Day 80

Chinese lessons officially start today! Let's do this! Donna, my student/now-teacher is the best :)

September 24--Day 79

One of the teachers here at the college asked me to edit a speech for him that he had to give at some international conference. That speech ended up being a 10-page, highly-detailed research paper about the cultural distinctions found in three translations of one word found in the Taoist Tao Te Ching (their equivalent to the Bible). Phew. Man, that took forever to edit, but, hey, I learned a lot. Free Chinese lesson! Ha.

September 23--Day 78

The Chinese version of the Boxcar children. Yes, people do live here. Except, this is an abandoned bus on the side of the street. And, this is an official government "building."

September 22--Day 77

Baskin Robbins! There's actually one in Haikou. We found it. Ironically, this was my first time at Baskin Robbins. Such a lovely selection of flavors: Sunflower Power, Beatlenut (which is a misspelling of the word Betlenut, which is a Chinese drug like tobacco), Hokey Pokey Mango, and Here Comes the Fudge. Can't get those in America!

September 21--Day 76

You know those days that everything possible thing that can go wrong, will? And it takes all your willpower to try to muster up the Christlike reaction to everything that's going wrong? That was today. But, God sent me a bright spot today; He knew what I needed. My two little boys, Hansen and Spark, made my day today. They were precious and focused and adoring and snuggly today while I was tutoring them. Lord, how can I doubt you when I can so clearly see Your planning and orchestrating my life to care for me?

On a more pleasant note, we started learning chen-style tai chi! It's so much fun. And, as Simon says, "You can actually hit people with it!"

September 20--Day 75

September 19--Day 74

September 18--Day 73

Since I still don't have textbooks, I've been making things up as I go. This week, we talked about popular American food (with a picture powerpoint and everything. Now, granted, I don't have a powerpoint machine in any of my classrooms, so I had to walk around the room holding my laptop, but it worked...). I wish I could have captured their reactions to all these foreign foods. Pasta, lasagna, meatloaf, enchiladas, mac n cheese. But the best was teaching them about American Chinese food. Oh, the faces they made! So many times I said, "Wait! You guys don't know what this is? But you are Chinese!" Fortune cookies were definitely the biggest mystery. I wish I could have captured the puzzled, frantic, hopelessly bewildered looks on their faces. This shot I managed to snap is far from the best I'm-really-trying-to-figure-out-what-this-Chinese-food-is-because-it's-so-embarrassing-to-not-recognize-my-own-food-in-front-of-the-foreigner look I saw this week.

September 17--Day 72

Finally got to play the piano! So happy. And the Chinese have this awesome idea of making sheet music books extra long so you flip the page fewer times. Genius. Met some awesome Chinese guys who can sing better than any other kids I've heard. Actually, I spent more time talking to the random people who came in to talk to me than I did playing.

Today's class was perfect. What a great group. I did finally succeed in getting them to channel their energy toward something productive. And, when I told them I wanted to hang out with them next week, they freaked out. They acted like they'd won the lottery, cheers and applause and all. It's just milk tea, guys. Ha.

Have I mentioned I love my students? Tonight was a blast. I love these nights of just hanging out with them. According to Dawn's friend, my eyelashes are "too long," and I'm causing quite the stir on campus because people can't figure out why my hair is yellow, but my eyelashes are black. Haha. The multi-colored American...

September 16--Day 71

Today we found a billboard advertisement for the summer workshop! It was so happy to see all the pictures from this summer. Man, I love my students. These guys are the best. Cara and Fiona showed me the billboard. Made my day.

September 15--Day 70

Chinese advertising is strange sometimes. KFC's new slogan? "Beef up." Um, is it just me or does KFC specialize in chicken, not beef. Not much "beefing up" you can do with chicken. But, hey, I guess the whole cow/chicken thing works for Chick-fil-a, right? Also, did you know peanut butter goes great on bread and, of course, on noodles too! And who doesn't love a good amino acids beverage every once in a while?

On a side note, I have tragic new. The "fei chang da de huang ya zi" (giant yellow duck) has disappeared. New mission: Hunt down the fei chang da de huang ya zi. We will find you! (I've made such a big deal about this duck, my students are now obsessed with finding the duck as well. Score.)

September 14--Day 69

September 13--Day 68

September 12--Day 67

Time with the Americans! Pizza Hut and ice cream treat. And what interesting sights: Big Big Egg Roll ice cream cones, strange ice cream toppings, a playboy store that sells only flowery bedding, and a new shop! Teabucks. Conveniently located right next to the brand-new Starbucks. Hey, not a bad thought. It probably would be more popular here than coffee. Ha. Not even an American brand can beat the awesomeness of Chinese tea, right? And! Molly and I got balloons :)