China Girl

I'm Still Here!

2009-12-21T20:44:00.000-08:00

Well, its been six months since "The China Adventure" and I am still here! Blessed by a faithful God who is always leading me on to new things. I have a wonderful new job that I really enjoy and am about to move into a very cool, very roomy new apartment right after the new year. Life is so good!
Sometimes we have such a detailed picture in our heads of what we think our next adventure is going to be. Sometimes we figure it all out, down to the tinest detail and we are so sure of what our life is going to look like. And sometimes we are wrong. That's where grace comes in.
I still love China. I think I always will. For me it is a reminder of God's faithfulness and His graciouness. I'm excited to see what tomorrow will look like! Aren't you???

China Girl

Home from China

2009-06-15T18:24:00.000-07:00

Well, about a week after I left for China I am back home in Oregon. A very unexpected turn of events but a necessary one. I left Oregon and went to China on what I very strongly believe was a call from God. And I came home for the same reason. Sometimes the call of God doesn't look anything like what we expect or what we are used to. But the important thing is to recognize it and be willing to move on it ~ even at a moment's notice and even when it seems to make no sense to our earthly minds. Because God is faithful. Always. And He has a plan for us. Always.
So, here I stand, back in Oregon with no job, no apartment, living with family again, no furniture, etc, etc, etc. But the thing I do have ~ the very most important thing~ is a faithful Father who is leading me down a very exciting, adventurous path!

2009-06-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hot Rain & Other New adventures

2009-06-09T00:02:00.000-07:00

Last night I landed in Hong Kong. And my adventure in a world of hot, steamy rain, a contrasting skyline of fancy sky scrapers and dilapitated apartment buildings and more taxis than NYC has begun. Today I am more grateful for air conditioners than I ever dreamed possible :) I successfuly bought a calling card and placed an international call home to the states (to my mom, of course!) wrote about a thousand emails, updated my Facebook page, got drenched in the horizontal rain and wandered, somewhat dazed through an eight story shopping mall. I also discovered that the hotel I'm staying on is not on the same island as the ferry I need to catch tomorrow. Oh, well! That's tomorrow's adventure.

Honestly, though, I am really glad to be here. This has been my dream for a very long time. To taste life as an expatriate on my own in a foreign land. I am feeling a little bit dazed, somewhat hungry, still tired but overall really, really good and excited for the adventure of tomorrow. At about 1pm local time tomorrow I will catch a ferry from Kowloon Island to Zhongshan, Guangdong on the mainland of China. And then, the real excitement begins!
Here's to hot rain and other new adventures!!

Countdown to China

2009-05-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

In exactly 27 days, early on a Sunday morning I will board a plane in Portland, Oregon and leave US soil for a huge adventure. After 14-1/2 hours, 2 airports and 1 layover I will arrive in Hong Kong. There I'll stay for a couple of days (to sleep, catch my breath and adjust to the 15 hour time change) before boarding a 70 minute ferry across the South China Sea to Guangdong, China, my new home for the next 7 months. I'll be teaching English to Middle School students there, as well as working on my langauge skills in Mandarin Chinese.

Hopefully, I can do more for the kids I teach than just improve their English skills. Hopefully I can touch their lives in some way. I think back to my own years in school and remember the hanful of teachers who touched my life beyond the classroom. One in particular comes to mind (and if she reads this she'll know I'm talking about her!!) who was so very kind to me when I was in high school...

What a great adventure awaits...stay tuned for more :)