My International Christmas Part I

Well, I haven't written for a while, and now the advent season is at its peak, it's Christmas Eve!!!
This Christmas season has been quite different for obvious reasons. Last night was the CityWide Christmas Celebration. It is put on by a committee of people and sponsored by business men all over Hong Kong. The goal of the event is to bring together the English Speaking Congregations and the Cantonese Speaking churches. We had 6 kids go plus a one family. It was over on the Island in Hong Kong Stadium. The big event of the stadium is the Sevens. (The Rugby Sevens) About 8,000 people were there, and it was a three hour long program translated in both Cantonese and English. An Australian band did the worship, there was a speaker, and dancers, and also a really cute Christmas program. It's so fun to be in such an international place. I never thought I would hear Mary say, "Hi-ya, hi-ya, the baby is coming!" It was so cute. Again, I just stopped and took a moment to look around at the place I am, and where God has placed me for this short while, and I am in awe, and so thankful. Even though it's not the most convenient, it was fun to need to listen to a message through a translator.
And that was Part I of my Christmas Extravaganza

Cold Weather Warning

Melissa just read me this blurb from the Hong Kong Observatory (weather site), and I thought that everyone might get a quick out of this...PS. the temperature in Fahrenheit is 61 degrees...the humidity is like 30%. Yeah, this is Hong Kong for you....but fyi, I was even chilly today...there's just something about the cold here, it's just different.

COLD WEATHER WARNING

COLD WEATHER WARNING

THE COLD WEATHER WARNING IS NOW IN FORCE.

THE HONG KONG OBSERVATORY IS FORECASTING COLD WEATHER IN
HONG KONG DURING THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD AND TOMORROW MORNING.

AS HONG KONG IS BEING AFFECTED BY A COLD WINTER MONSOON,
PEOPLE ARE ADVISED TO PUT ON WARM CLOTHES AND TO AVOID
ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS DUE TO THE COLD WEATHER. YOU MUST
ALSO ENSURE ADEQUATE INDOOR VENTILATION.

IF YOU MUST GO OUT, PLEASE AVOID PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO
WINTRY WINDS.

The Return of Liturgy

I've decided to start praying before my meals again. I haven't regularly since last spring. It was at that time when I realized (via lectures of a certain professor) that I wasn't bound and sworn to pray before every meal, and that, in fact, sometimes going through the motions leaves out the heart of what we do as Christians. So from then on, I have only sporadically given thanks before my meals. Not because I wasn't generally thankful, but because I was just going through the motions without my heart. Is that a greater sin to pray without heart, or to not pray at all? I'm not quite sure any of us can say. Pastor Ed recently spoke about the freedom we have in Christ. We have freedom from sin, and as Paul says, everything is permissible, but not beneficial
(I Corinthians 10). He talked about how many Christians these days focus most on the freedom aspect than of our slavery to everyone in righteousness.
I am currently reading MUDHOUSE SABBATH, which is a great book, that I highly recommend. That author tells of the richness of Jewish Tradition and Liturgy, and how it can enrich a Christian's life. So I bring back my thrice daily (and sometimes more if we count snacks) liturgy of mealtime prayer. Not because I feel obligated, or that I have suddenly realized that I need to verbally express my gratitude to God. (Which of course, I do), but because eating is something that I do regularly, and praying is something that I should do even more of. Winner, (the author of MUDHOUSE SABBATH) talks about the rhyme and rhythm, and how liturgy brings that into our lives. The regular (which doesn't have to be mundane) pattern of connections that we make with God. So with that, I bring back more of my daily liturgy, and maybe some new. Starting with my mealtime prayers. Hopefully it starts a new pattern of meaningful connections with God. And who knows, I may feel the need to stop the liturgy again for a time, and I may not. But even so, I will try, and I challenge you to as well, to bring back a bit of liturgy, of daily rhyme and rhythm back into your life. Because with, "Great freedom, comes great responsibility." (Uncle Ben--from Spiderman)

Brief Explanation

The previous post is partly the product of introspection and part of procrastination (I was supposed to be writing a paper at the time that I wrote that poem) The words are a bit cheesy, yes, but at least I enjoyed writing them.

Free Verse

Life as we know it,
it's only part of a chorus
of the grand symphony that is being directed
let the music of mystery flood your ears
let the unknown notes fill your page
Let your fingers flow with the unknown rhythm
Of the song

Life as we know it,
it's only a portion of the picture
like a poloroid half developed
let your eyes open to the whole
let them float over the beauty of the colors
over the lines and the texture
soak in the beauty
contemplate the meaning
Of the picture

Life as we know it,
is only a drop in the glass
of the waters that could cover the highest mountain
Let your limbs free flow
Let the air fill your lungs before you take the plunge
and swim in the vast depth
of the water

Life as we know it,
is only a small coal
in the fire that burns and refines
that melts the gold down
Let the heat surround your heart
Let the fire burn your soul and purify
As you slowly become a diamond
A diamond still
In the fire

A Penny For My Thoughts?

Here are some random, unstructured thoughts of mine.

*I like high school band concerts, as long as:

a. They don't go too long (two hours is the max)

b. There is enough variety

c. The chairs are comfortable

d. There is a minimum amount of talking

*Spaghetti House lasagna is the best in the world

*I am really excited for Christmas

*Tomorrow is my day off

*John Travolta sucks

*Starbucks' Peppermint Mocha is the best coffee holiday drink in any coffee shop

*Red sprinkles totally makes anything better

*It is always fun at a social gathering to sit next to someone and comment on everything. Ex. Sitting next to PM at the band concert...so funny. The poor people in front of us probably hated it. We played Peggy Kohl's clapping game. Peggy, I wish you had been there!

*My mom is coming to Hong Kong in a couple of weeks

*I wore an Indian tunic thing today and I felt very Indian

*I have a great new Chai recipe

*Hummus is still the best

*Canadians say "drama" (Draw-ma) like d-ram-a, with the ram pronounce "ram"

*Ballroom dancing is sweet...I wish I knew more dances and had people to dance with

*It's getting "chilly" here, lower 70s, and 60s at night

Here are some random, semi-structured thoughts of mine:

The roof of the Enns' house is one of my favorite spots in Hong Kong, and almost from the beginning, I thought that it would be so beautiful to string white Christmas lights and have a party up there. So I decided to throw a Christmas party for the Enns' last night instead of trying to buy all of them presents that they would like. I had so much fun planning this party: I bought white Christmas lights and strung them along the roof, then I got fake evergreen strands and hung them across the clotheslines, and I got hors d'oeuvres, made a cake with "Merry Christmas" on the top, and I got lasagna from Spaghetti house. Seriously, that is the best lasagna in the whole world. Then we all ate on the roof, it was so pretty with the white lights, the foggy mountains all around, and the Christmas music playing in the background from my computer. I had so much fun throwing it for them, I appreciate them so much.

Tonight was the CAIS Christmas band conference. Christian Alliance is the school that Art Enns is the headmaster of, and our church works pretty closely with them. I eat lunch there with the kids once a week, and about 10 of our kids go there. Tonight the 5th, 6th, concert, philharmonic, and jazz bands played. The dance class also did several ballroom dances. It was so fun going. As me and Lori and Mike were waiting in the foyer for the doors to open, and I realized how many people I've gotten to know. I was able to say hi to several parents of kids I know and a lot of the teachers as well. Then when the bands started playing, I was able to pick out kids that I know, which happened to be a lot, and just be excited to see them play. This fall, our main theme in the youth group has been the Jesus Creed from Mark 12(Love God, Love others). I could say that the reason I am here is "for the kids, and to get to know them and lead and serve them" (which I have said before, and it is true, but it's so much more). But what God has called me to is living globally or doing ministry globally (that is my new term for missions or being a missionary). Living as a Christian means glorifying God and loving others. Most often, this means getting into their lives, and letting them get into yours as you glorify God, love them, and serve together. As I was sitting there, watching all the kids, I realized how much I've gotten to know and started to love these kids. And they've gotten to me as much as I have to them. It was so fun to pick out kids and know their personality, and who their friends are, and who they are.

And one more thing:

Last week, Kay, one of our (R)evolve girls asked me if there was going to be a girls' Bible Study, like the one that Mike leads with several of the boys. Of course I said yes, and in fact, this is something that Mike had in mind from the beginning. I will start it after Christmas. But I'm really nervous about this. I know I just need to dive in and do it, but it's new, to lead a Bible study alone, with people who aren't my peers. So I have to find a Bible study that would be appropriate and that would be a good fit for the girls. And I'm mostly nervous about the actual teaching part. Teaching isn't exactly my forte, relationship building is. And I know that knowing how to teach just takes practice, which I will get plenty of this year. And I think I'm partly nervous about the preparation and the personal responsibility it means for me as well. Like I said, I am a relational person, and leading kids that are 3 years younger than me (those are the oldest) is hard. It's hard not to go into friend mode, and I need to remember that I must first be a leader and that their spiritual lives are most important, and friend comes last. So with that, please just pray for every aspect of this upcoming Bible study: That I will know which study to choose, that I would be able to dive in with my heart, and that it would all just fall into place, and that God would lead me and show me how to lead as well.

The Sky Looks like Grape Pop

The other night I was walking on the sidewalk, and it was getting dark. Through a clearing in the skyline, I could see the buildings across the harbour. The sky should have been dark blue or black, but for some reason, with the lights and the pollution, it looked exactly like the color of grape pop. I don't particularly like grape pop, but I liked the look of the sky, and it amused me. I thought to myself, What a great beginning to a blog that would be... so I started writing this. But there is nothing really to follow this great, random thought of mine. So with that thought, I leave you with this: May you see a sky that looks like grape pop sometime in your life, and share a smile and a chuckle with me that is not subject to time or distance.

El Fin

A Plethora of Thoughts

That's right, I used the word plethora. You know you're impressed. Well, I'm pretty sure a lot has happened since I wrote about frames. My last blog that was my update letter doesn't count. So let's see. The next thing that happened was my birthday.
Let me tell you, I wasn't really looking forward to my birthday. Actually, my plan all along was to be very apathetic about my birthday. I didn't have my family (immediate) around, and the fact that I was leaving my teen years behind just wasn't helping me get excited for it. So I decided just to not tell anyone about it. And I was totally OK with it. I was just gonna do some random things to celebrate in a little way. Like ride first class on the train (which I have never done, but I did do on my birthday). It was very fun. But my birthday wasn't at all what I expected. Which was really great. My birthday was on Sunday, 3 december. About a week before, Lori asked what my family usually does to celebrate birthdays. We had been talking about family Christmas and holiday traditions, so it fit, and I really didn't think anything of it, especially since I hadn't mentioned my birthday to anyone. But then on about Wednesday of my birthday week, Lori was like, "So since your family and our family usually does the same things for birthdays, how about on Saturday or Sunday, we have Mike and Melissa over and I can make whatever you want for dinner, and you can pick a cake..." I smiled and was like, "How did you find out?" I guess Brett told her, at that time, I didn't know how Brett knew, but I found out later Mike had sent out an e-mail to everyone about it. How he knew...well, he just seems to know those things.
So I requested tacos, and at her suggestion, chocolate cheesecake. So on Saturday I went to AWANA, and went back to Tai Po with Mike and Melissa (or more like met them there...ha ha ha...). So we walked in the door, and there was streamers and balloons above the counter, homemade tacos with refried beans (oh heaven!), and the table was set all nice with wine glasses (they even got sparkling juice!). It was really amazing. So yeah, we all hung out and talked, and ate, and then Lori brought out this magnificent chocolate cheesecake adn started cutting it, and then the lights went out and all I saw was sparklers and 20 candles, and everyone started singing. It was sweet! I blew out 15 candles, and Caleb was all excited that I have 5 boyfriends. It made me chuckle. So yeah, then we all ate the cake and then presents came out! It was incredible. Brett got me these huge monster slippers (he and his girlfriend have a matching pink and blue pair), Caleb got me a necklace and earrings, and a Christmas CD, Art and Lori got me a polo sweater that is beautiful adn some bath wash, and Mike and Melissa and Izzy got me my first STARBUCKS CITY MUG COLLECTION mug, Hong Kong of course. It was sweet. Actually, it was more than that.
There have only been a few times in these past two decades of mine when I have been really blown away by undeserved love and kindness towards me. This is definitely one of them. The Enns' have been such a huge blessing to me. If you read my update letter, you will remember how I mentioned that God has been showing His amazing love and blessing for me by using other people, and showing me the sufficiency of all that He is. He has been blessing me so much through this family. No body will ever replace my family at home, and I miss them so much. But the Enns' have been so amazing to me. They are my family away from family, and Hong Kong has become my second home.
So think that was amazing? It doesn't stop there (I know right?)! At 12:35am that night, I got a text from Jeronica (she's my mini me...my little Indian twin) wishing me happy birthday. Then the next morning, I got up pretty early to have breakfast with Kay, a girl that goes to (R)evolve on Friday nights, but wanted to try our church for Sunday. I just love this girl, and was so excited to have breakfast with her. The previous Friday, she asked if I was gonna start a girls' Bible study, and I was so excited. (And still am). So that should be starting after Christmas, so if you can keep that in your prayers as me and Mike work through the planning of that. So back to Sunday morning. Kay met me with a ton (actually more like 20) Yellow daisy like flowers, and a pan of brownies that she baked! It was so sweet. Then we went to a local Chinese restaurant, and she had me try a new drink. Tea and coffee and milk mixed together (it's a cold drink). I really didn't think it would be good, but I was pleasantly surprised. Then we went to PCC and had muffins and juice. Then we headed across the street to the church and I did some random things and then to the service. I had to leave suddenly in the middle because I remembered that I was playing piano for the children's church Christmas Program Practice. So I raced out of there and got upstairs. That went OK. Then I had to run to JUSCO before Sunday School to grab some balloons. When I got upstairs to Sunday School, everyone sang Happy Birthday, and Melissa had made TWO (yes two) cakes with Real (yes real) AMERICAN frosting! Wahoo. Seriously, I've been looking for frosting in a tub (like the betty crocker kind) forever. We finally found it the other day at OLIVER's. So yeah, and the cake was complete with candles! Yes, AGAIN! Then we ate cake and played some games. One of the games was a version of Shuffle Yer Buns and when you lose, you have to stand up in the middle and say something. This time it was something that they liked about me. It was so precious (as Jamie Jo would say) to hear what they said. One boy said, "The ride home on the train after (R)evolve is always fun" and a boy in my AWANA group like how I draw him elaborate smiley faces when he finishes a section. Yeah, it made my heart all warm and fuzzy inside. So I guess Mike had e-mailed everyone telling them to bring a present for me. I got some amazing gifts that I will treasure forever. Many of them were hand made (like drawings and sweet notes) and the whole day just made me feel so loved. My friends from home also sent me several video emails! I will never forget my twentieth birthday, and it was a great way to start my third decade of life, it's sure setting a high standard for the rest of the ten years.
Then later, we had the Christmas Banquet at church. That was a lot of fun, but the coolest part of the night actually was brought to attention on Tuesday...If you read Mike or Melissa's blogs, you probably already know. This fall, Mike and Melissa have been getting to know this Canadian couple who have a young daughter. I have been so impressed by Melissa, she has been such an example to me. She is truly living out her faith where she is. Sometimes that's on the play ground, and she has been loving whoever she comes across. So yeah, they have been getting to know this couple, and they started coming to church pretty regularly too. So after the Banquet they didn't really say much, but it turns out that this woman (who is visiting them) and her mom both accepted Christ. Fiesta en los cielos! Ay ay ay! (imagine a Mexican guy doing the "ay ay ay"s and it makes that phrase so much better!) And with that, Adios! Necesito Duerme. (I hope I conjugated that correctly!)

My Update Letter

Hey Everyone!
Pasted below is my Update Letter that I just wrote. If you want to be put on my mailing list, leave me a comment w/ your e-mail or get it to me some other way!

Dear Family, Friends, and Supporters: December 2006

Merry Christmas! The advent season has officially begun. Hong Kong is in full swing and has pulled out all the stops for Christmas. Every mall (which is about every 5 miles), every train station, and every street is decorated in winter and Christmas gear. It makes quite a festive atmosphere and it’s pretty impressive for a place where most people actually don’t believe in or celebrate Christmas.

I have officially been away from home over three months now, and what a time it has been. I am sorry that I haven’t been consistent with these update letters. I promise to be better at keeping everyone posted. So much has happened that I don’t really know where to start.

September was really just a month full of new things and introductions. I was introduced into the country, life here, the church, the youth ministry, and into this new season of my life. October was more of a jumping in and learning from experiences and making mistakes. I learned so much about being a leader and stepping out. Not to say that I’m not still being introduced to new things, making mistakes, or learning about leadership, I definitely am, and it would be dumb to only categorize those things by month. I will be doing these things until I leave Hong Kong, and after as well.

A lot of October was planning and preparing for two youth conferences, Love Actually, held over Halloween weekend, and Sanctuary, in the first weekend of November. Love Actually is an annual purity conference, focusing on living a pure life--sexually and spiritually--in a world that doesn’t foster or encourage those things. This was my first experience in helping to plan a large event and having responsibilities in it. I was able to have my first teaching experience. Thankfully, it was more of a group discussion with the girls. The other female leaders would interject as well and help the girls to carry the thoughts through. It was so good to have that support! I only thought it had gone OK, and was so encouraged afterward when two of the girls came up to me and told me it was exactly what they had needed to hear. Proof that God is still working, and amazingly, using me! I had my first cabin of girls, and kept an eye on a few other girls’ cabins as well. It was really good to get to know girls from all over the area, and get to know one of my girls a lot better too. I think the kids thought and learned about some important subjects, and hopefully had a great time too!

November started off with the Sanctuary Conference. Pastor Mike went to the states for a youth pastors’ convention. It was good for him to get away for a little bit, and it was good for me to experience the ministry without depending on him. Believe me, I was scared out of my mind. But thankfully, I didn’t sink the ministry, wreck any kids’ spiritual lives, and the world didn’t fall apart. (Silly me, thinking that I could actually have the power to do any of those things.) I learned how to do some valuable things, like making decisions and not doubting them, and know where and when to ask for help.

The second week in November, Mike and I helped out at a middle school camp for three days. Our church is closely associated with Christian Alliance Int’l School (CAIS), and we help them with some events. Middle School camp was one of them. It was at a beautiful camp in Sai Kung National Park. It was one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Hong Kong so far. I learned a lot about middle schoolers that week, and I think learning the differences between the age groups and how they relate to each other and me is a valuable thing to learn in youth ministry.

Over Thanksgiving I had a wonderful opportunity to go to Bangkok, Thailand. The Intercultural Studies Majors (my major) from Northwestern are doing there internship, which is a two month missions trip all over Asia, and were in Bangkok over Thanksgiving. If I wasn’t doing this internship, I would be on that trip. My advising professor also happens to be on that trip, and he invited me to spend a few days over Thanksgiving with them. That was a great short holiday to reconnect with my advisor and discuss the ministry and life in Hong Kong with him, to see old friends from NWC, and to spend Thanksgiving with some familiar faces. November was a month of settling into life and more new experiences. Toward the end of November, I felt maybe a little too settled in, and I started feeling a little “blah” about life.

December has started off very well, and I have gotten a new sense of joy and excitement for life and for the ministry. I can honestly say that I am looking forward to the next six months, and I don’t want them to go by quickly! As I flew in from Bangkok, I looked over Hong Kong and felt happy to be back. It’s always a good thing when you are excited to come back to a place. This is exactly where I know where I should be, and exactly where I want to be. I have been thinking for the last three months about Christ’s sufficiency for me. It has been an ongoing process, with many questions, frustrations, and also encouragements and hope. As I continue to learn about this, I have been actually struck with a new revelation about it just tonight. While sometimes I want a girl to just watch a chick flick with me =), Christ is so much more sufficient for me and His love is so arching over all the small petty things. He has also blessed me by showing this love through people. I have been blessed so much by getting to know Melissa better. She is such a Godly woman and always gentle and encouraging, and I love hanging out with her. Mike has been a constant source of encouragement and wisdom. They always welcome me into their flat, and I have become sort of an extension of their family. Little Isabella is growing so fast, and I am happy to report that she now loves me! It is such a warm feeling to see a little blond kid holding her arms out to you or opening her mouth to give a sloppy, wet kiss! Another one of those blessings comes in the form of the Enns family. They are the family that I have been living with since September. They have been so gracious, hospitable, generous, and kind to me. They have made me so welcome, and have truly been God’s love in the form of a family to me. No one could ever take the place of my family, but I have been blessed with this temporary family while I am away from mine.

In the last month and a half I have really seen my relationships with the kids growing. I have been able to get to know some of the girls so much better, and I love them so much! One thing that I am really excited about, and that you can be praying for, is a girl’s Bible study that I am about to start. Mike leads one with a few of the boys, and I am supposed to start one at some point in the year, once my relationships with the girls has grown. But last night, one of the girls came up to me and asked if we were going to have one. So that will start after Christmas. I am so excited to lead a group of girls and get to know one another better as we seek God together. I seriously have the best “job” in the world right now!

Before I end this letter, I have a few prayer requests that you can pray for:

*The Girl’s Bible Study that I am going to start.

*Pastor Mike-he is really sick, and has been ill for about a month now, pray also that Melissa and Isabella will stay healthy.

*I have quite a few papers that I have to write for school, that I will be able to get them done by the end of the semester.

*I will be starting Distance Education courses through Northwestern online next semester, pray that I will be able to balance and manage my time well.

*Wisdom and discernment as I continue to grow and learn.

*I am starting a new approach to leading the youth worship team, pray that I will know how to lead that well.

*My relationships with the students and that they would continue to grow.

Thank you so much for all your support, prayers, and love!

In Christ,

Hannah

Frames

Frames...I've been thinking about them today. Today me and PM had our review meeting. I actually look forward to these things...strange, I know...most people don't look forward to when their "boss reviews them". I put this in quotes because this isn't how I see it, this isn't how PM sees it, but it might be what an outside observer would say. So anyways, we usually have these meetings about once a week, and this one was the big 3 month review. (Crazy, I know!) Most of the time, we discuss the positive and the negative, discuss books, and usually end up thinking about something new to ponder over for the next few days, or even weeks. I've been thinking about one thing we talked about for over a month now.
Back to the frames, I didn't forget I made that comment. We talked about how each person has their frame of mind, and how each person "frames" an experience or though when they share it with someone else. A positive or negative spin or something entirely different can be placed on an experience. The dumb thing about all of this is that 1. You can't change some one else's frame and 2. Sometimes you don't realize the frame that you are "giving off" or "sharing" with other people.
I might be saying one thing, be meaning something different or slightly different, and the person receiving it might be perceiving it as something different altogether. What a mess, eh? If only we all used the frame that Christ used. The Jesus Creed is "Love God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love others". Perceptions are hard things to change, and also hard things to recognize in yourself, but if we all made Jesus' priority our priority, we wouldn't have this huge issue of frames. I am not excluding myself from this situation, in fact, this whole thought was spurred on by something that I did. This might just be in the intro to this topic, as I continue to think through this issue. So I suggest you read PM's blog (he was planning on writing about the same thing), but his will most likely have a conclusion and be better thought out.
Another thing I've been thinking about is social justice. I really have been thinking about this since last spring semester while I was taking Urban Intercultural Studies (Thanks Dr. Bell). Me and my neighbor Kelly would walk back to the dorms frustrated after almost every class, and discuss for hours. Recently, it has come back to my attention. Hong Kong isn't poor, by some standards, but there are poor people. A few weeks ago I started noticing more things, and started to wonder about what I could do that wouldn't just appease my guilty conscience, but that would help these people in a way that THEY NEED...not the way that would make me feel better, or that I think they need. How can my brief few seconds in their life bring them closer to the kingdom or give them a small glimpse of it? The kingdom is all about relationships, and if I only have a minute or less with a person, what do I do? I also had an interesting experience in Thailand pertaining to this issue. It's really making me wonder what God is up to and where He is taking me... And do you know what? I DON'T KNOW! Me and Mike were laughing about it today, because I can't stand not knowing, so what better way to keep something in my mind than to not give me the answer to it...God is so tricky like that! Well, for my earlier question of how do I react to poor people in need that I see, I actually have come to a conclusion (for a while at least, until I am challenged with a new dimension of this predicament), but I would love to hear what you think...so leave me a comment!

Thanksgiving in Thailand

Thanksgiving. My typical Thanksgiving usually has a Turkey, cranberries, pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, the dreaded green been casserole that my mom makes every year, a football game, more pie, family, and my dad's infamous long pre-meal prayer. This year, I had none of those, but I can still say it was one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had. Without all of the traditional comforts of Thanksgiving at home, it actually made me think more about...being thankful. I have a lot to be thankful for:
*Hong Kong
*My family at home
*My family abroad...the Roses and the Enns Family
*Thanksgiving in Thailand with old friends
*the youth group at AIC
*all of the people praying for me at home
*the assurance that God will NEVER leave me, no matter how alone I feel
*The warm weather
*hello panda cookies
*the friends that send me random notes on facebook
*the internet
*God's provision
*Jeremiah 29:11-13
*flowers
*new experiences
*being stretched
*being broken
*red bean dumplings
*not being hit by a bus (or cab, or tram)
*and so, so, so much more!!!

So back to Thailand...

I got here on Monday evening. My flight was good, pretty uneventful. Things started getting interesting when I got to the airport. I don't know how I missed this, but I totally forgot to get an address of where I would be staying or even a telephone number. So when it came time to fill out my arrival card, I was lost! I had everything else filled out, and the customs guy asked me what hotel I was staying in, and I said, "I'm just staying with friends for a few days" Then he asked for their phone number, and I was like Crap! Hannah...why didn't you get a number!??? So I was so scared...so I prayed quick and then tried to use my cell phone to see if I could call someone to check my e-mail and search for a number. But then my cell phone wouldn't work, and then I started to panic...and the officer wouldn't let me out of line! ARGGGHHH! Right at the moment that I was about to really spazz out, I heard a stamp and he handed me my passport back and let me through...praise the Lord!! So I made it in and was met by two smiling blond girls from NWC...could've spotted them for a mile... =) Yes. After about a 45 min taxi ride and a quick stop at a grocery store, we arrived at Santisuk English Center. Santisuk is an English center that is run by Christians who share Christ through an Christian English curriculum. It was so fun to see old friends and hang out with NWC people...especially people my own age...Hong Kong is a bit lacking in the Christian college-age people department, so it has been so good to just be around them. It was funny because some people had no clue who I was or how I knew some of the team. I was sitting at this table, introducing myself to the people that I didn't know, and I told one guy that he looked really familiar and that I knew I had met him before, and he insisted adamantly that we had never met. And then later I was like, "Yeah, I think I had a class with you first semester!" and he was like, "What?! You're from Northwestern? What are you doing here?!" It was so funny, so clueless!
This week, every Northwestern student has to teach two 2-hr classes a day. So I've just been hanging out with random people whenever they are free. I sat in on one class one day, and was thinking of teaching, but decided not to. It has just been a great, restful, relaxing 5 days. I've seen two films at the cinema (James Bond and The Prestige), went to see the "Ancient City" (a park in the shape of Thailand with replicas of historical monuments and ruins), a little bit of shopping, Dairy Queen, Dunkin Donuts, an amazing Thai Buffet (the restaurant provided the raw meat and noodles and we cooked them over a fire pot thing on the table...it was so cool), a great Thanksgiving dinner-international style, and spending time with friends. I am so thankful for this time that I've had, and so thankful that I get to go back to Hong Kong.

The Bloggiest of the Blogs

Isabella fell asleep in the office while I was babysitting

Halloween: I'm a Pirate, Caleb is a super gadget ninja, and Lori is a...uh...Jamaican

View from the ferry

Hong Kong version of a snowman...creepy if you ask me

The first sunset I've seen here...Indescribable in person

Ok, so this blog could be potentially massive, and I mean massive. I realized that I haven't blogged in almost a month. For the past couple of weeks I have sat down several times to blog, and then stopped because the prospect of blogging was too daunting. So, yes, I am writing them as separate posts, and I apologize because I know that they won't be nearly as interesting or as detailed as they deserve. They are as follows: Love Actually, Sanctuary, Middle School camp, Random thoughts...So let me start with the past few days:
-I am leaving for Thailand on Monday
-I need to learn how to use a planner (yes, I made a mistake, and forgot an event...whoops)
-I need to get organized (my desk is a mess)
-I really like the Enns family
-my time here is going way too quickly
-I don't want to go home
-hmmmm...home, interesting concept
-I miss my family
-I have been craving Taco Bell lately
-they served alcohol during an intermission at a school play I went to here...thought it was gingerale, that was a surprise! =)
-I'm not in Kansas anymore
-I can't wait until Christmas
-Lori says I need a life, hahahaa
-Sunday the youth worship team is playing for Service...I'm slightly nervous -There are already Christmas decorations up, Christmas in Hong Kong will be quite fun.
-My brain is a little fried, so I must stop this post, and get to the important ones
-I am tired, I wish my laundry was done
-I hate camp food
-Tomorrow is the youth group's Thanksgiving! Yay for Pumpkin pie, Yay for Turkey, Yay for Lori!
-PS: Mike got to pray with a CAIS student to follow Christ the other night...WAHOO
-Lori told me tonight I need a life. It made me laugh...and think...???
-It would be fun if it snowed once here
-I wish my laundry was done
-I wish I had gotten to talk to my parents longer this weekend
-Isabella now loves me!
-Trick or Treating with Caleb and Lori and Brett was really fun
-Chinese have a different concept of candy
-I am glad I am done with this blog...FINALLY

Fish Balls and Mash Mallows

Two of my cabin girls: Francesca and Angie

View from the pier

View from the upper level of the camp

Pause

So yes. Middle school camp. I am almost done with this bloggiest of blogs! Wahoo! Ok, so every school here has a week where they travel and for the Christian schools, do missions trips or experience weeks. CAIS has Discover days. So I was supposed to go with a group called "Art in Hong Kong" I was so excited for it. But through a series of miscommunication, I ended up going with Mike to CAIS' Middle School Camp. He was the main speaker and had a cabin of kids and I just had a cabin of girls and supervised. So yeah. It was...Interesting. Middle school kids are so differerent! But more on that later. It was in Sai Kung, which is just gorgeous, and I have some amazing pictures which I will proceed to post with this post. It was from Monday to Wednesday. I have come to realize that Hong Kong kids do NOT like nature. It is really sad to see kids run and scream at a BUTTERFLY! I also realized that roasting hot dogs and "mash mallows" (as RBT teahouse calls them) is quite different from home. At home, I can go into the woods, cut myself a green stick, whittle the tip, plop myself on a log and watch as my dad or brothers makes a fire. Then I proceed to poke my hot dog or mash mallow through the stick and roast it over logs from our own woods. Now THAT is the kind of bonfire and roasting that I like to do. The kind where you smell all smoky when it's over with. And not a bad smoky, a nice outdoorsey smell. Gotta love it, especially in the crisp, slightly chilled, autumn air. Oh, how I missed autumn this year. Anywhoo, back to reality. Their idea of a BBQ (not barbecue) but B-B-Q, was a bunch of short BBQs with coal on a cement basketball court with stools and metal pokers with hot dogs and mash mallows and fish balls and meat balls and chicken wings. I'm making it sound better than it was. But to the kids, it was wonderful! And that's what counts. It was so fun to show some of them how to make S'mores, and where the best spot to roast is. It was one of those times when I said to myself, "I am not at home anymore". I realized even more how different the kids are here. Girls in my cabin would shower three at a time, and ask me to come in to fix the water while they were still sudsing up. That was way different from Western girls. They were constantly talking about boys (which really isn't diff) but then they would TELL the boys, right there and then. That was funny. The last night there, I let my girls stay up a little bit later because they kept asking questions at devotion time. It was so great: We went from talking about boys, not gossiping, being careful about whispering and secrets, to the Big Bang Theory, why Jesus yelled at the Pharisees even though they followed the rules more than anyone, what it would be like if Adam and Eve hadn't sinned, etc. It was so good. So camp had its ups and downs, like anything. And now I'm home and I'm going to go with "Art in Hong Kong" group to a museum. Yay!

Oh yes, and....

Sanctuary was the weekend after Love Actually. Sanctuary is a one day conference aimed to get kids from a lot of different schools in HK together. This was the back breaker for me. I had volunteered to teach a session like a month before, and was going crazy. Besides that, Mike had just left for his youth conference in the states, and the idea of a week of being "in charge" was weighing on me. My session was on world religions, and was so cleverly named, "Around the World in 80 Faiths". Thankfully, I did not talk about anywhere near 80 religions. I only talked about 5. But let me back up a bit.
We were supposed to meet a bus in TST that would take us to HKIS, one of the most expensive schools in Hong Kong that is on the backside of the Island. It is extremely gorgeous there, and the outside lunchroom looks over a steep hill at a harbour and sandy beach below. I only had a few kids going that were actually my own, but I had several that had registered with us and kind of attached themselves to our group. Me and Aries raced through TST to get to the bus on time, got there, and there were only like 5 other kids besides ours on the bus. So we got to know them a bit. There were two brothers from Macau and a friend of theirs from Kowloon. Then there were two girls who were probably like 12 or 13. So they all attached themselves to our group, as they were without one. So that was fun. So we got to HKIS pretty early. So I went to "set up my room" and lo and behold, my powerpoint doesn't work. At this point, I almost had a heart attack. It was not good. But one of the boys from Macau was able to help me and we got it so that we could see all of the text, but my cool background that I had worked so hard at, didn't show up. But that was OK. I didn't save that presentation, because I figured if I left it on the computer, it would be OK for an hour or so. Big mistake. I came back with a bunch of kids ready to hear about sharing their faith and the computer was frozen. So after a bit more spazzing, we figured out that we could use the powerpoint, with the cool background, but it just wouldn't project as a slide show, it just looked like the computer screen. So that was that. My first session I had about 12 kids. Which was pretty good. I felt very dumb trying to tell them about Hinduism and Buddhism, when half of Hong Kong practices Buddhism. Actually, more than half probably. There were a few kids that were looking at me like, She doesn't know what she's talking about... but the rest were OK. In the end it turned out I had way too much information than I could cover in 45 minutes. So I didn't get to it all. So for the second session, I had most of my kids that came with me, and a good amount of kids that I had met at Love Actually the previous weekend. It was very encouraging. I think I had 20-25 ish kids there, which was really good for that conference. So I started out by asking what religions out of the five they wanted to hear about (Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Mormonism, and Scientology). We ended up talking about Mormonism for most of the time (which was good because I had read a ton on that because I was curious myself, and was able to talk a lot about it and answer some questions), and then we briefly covered Scientology. So that one was really good, and I had my friend May (a youth leader from another church) there. I love that woman! She is always so encouraging, and she always has her focus on Christ. I felt so relieved after I was done talking. So I enjoyed the rest of the conference. We weren't really part of the planning, but we did some of the prep work for the conference, so after I was done teaching, I could just relax a bit and hang out with the kids. We were supposed to get a bus back to TST and Hung Hom (where the church is) but there was this huge complication and mix up, which was easily solved in the end, just took a long time. It was so surreal, all these kids were asking me where we were going and what we were going to do and if they should get on this bus or that. It's all part of that line I've crossed....Oh well, no going back now!

Love Actually

Melissa, Angela, Me, Izzy

Playing "Shuffle Your Buns" Aries (in the white hat) is sitting on David

Izzy loves her dad!

Dumb Idea Boys! (They are holding 4 chairs off the ground w/ a boy on top)

Our Breakfasts...quite different from Western Camp food

Love Actually Conference was the last weekend in October (I told you I was really behind)!! It was quite an experience, let me tell you. First, it was the first conference that I had seen all the behind the scenes planning of. I will never be able to go to a conference and not be able to think about all the work that went into it. Wow. The first evening we went out to Breakthrough camp in Shatin. This isn't too far from the office, but it is up in the mountains. They had beautiful facilities, and it worked great for what we had in mind. We got everything set up and I was put in charge of rooming assignments and registration and such. I never knew rooming assignments could be so complicated. And then the kids wanted to switch when they got there....yikes. But it went good. We had a main session the first night and one breakout session. The Breakout sessions were divided into boys and girls. An adult leader from each gender would be in charge of a session. I even got to teach last minute because one of the leaders' baby got sick and so his wife wasn't able to teach. So Saturday was filled with a few main sessions and several breakout sessions. And Sunday was the same. The most memorable session was the GENDER SWAP, when Tim and Mike came up to the girls' classroom and had to answer about 150 questions shot at them from a white board filled with questions, post it notes with questions, and teenage girls eager to ask the questions they've always wanted to know about guys! Those girls were super direct, as were the answers that Mike and Tim gave (some of them, I'm sure the girls didn't like hearing). It was a good time. I am drawing a blank on all of the events of that conference due to the amount of time that has lapsed.
Saturday was kind of a crazy day for me. A girl threw up in the bathroom after a game we played as a group. She forgot to mention it to anyone, so I walked into the bathroom to find sprite, banana, and bok choy in a gooey mess. I was not very happy. And then a girl in one of the cabins was having issues with her eyes and I was worried it was an allergic reaction. At the same time, another girl was having emotional issues, and I ended up yelling at her to get to the session when she didn't the first time I told her. It turned out to be a bit of miscommunication on my part, and then I found out later that that was the first youth event she had been to in like 2 years. MAN! So I felt horrible and had to find her later to apologize. I also taught a session on Saturday. My session was on Finding Your Significance in Christ. This was supposedly supposed to go very well, because I have been dealing with that very issue of Christ being sufficient for me, while I'm over here alone, and in life in general. So I ended up talking a lot of the time, which I didn't really want to do, but it kind of happened. It was really good to have the other female leaders there because when they saw that the conversation was lacking, that they could put in a thought or two. So that saved me a few times. At the end I felt it went OK, but not that great. But amazingly, God still used it: At the end two girls came up to me and said it was exactly what they needed to hear. I love when that happens and I know it's totally apart from anything I did.
I learned a lot that weekend. It was a new experience to be a leader in a few things. In the past I have been a student leader, and this transition into a leader, period, has been a hard, interesting, but good, process. I think the main thing I learned as a leader was something that Mike mentioned a few days prior, "Being a leader means thinking, If I don't do this or take care of that, who will? Before there was always some one else, but now, I have become that some one else.
I think the kids learned a lot and had fun too. There were a lot of good questions asked and a lot of good discussion. Hopefully they all learned a little bit more of what it means to be pure and live pure in a world that doesn't exactly cultivate that mindset.

More Random Thoughts from the Office

Blog. Blogging. Blogged. Blogs. Strange words aren't they? Tonight I was walking home and I was thinking about it. Is blog a noun or a verb? I mean, I hear people say, "I have a blog" and I hear people say, "I need to blog" (mostly from mike) =)...and if you add -ing (blogging), it's again a verb. Strange, eh?

Right now I'm at work and I'm listening to "She's that Kinda girl" by DC Talk...I'm having major de ja vous! I'm laughing right now b/c it is taking me back to the days when first Matt, then Luke would turn up DC talk extremely loud all over the house and all of us siblings would have dance parties...good times...ok, gotta go, I'm gettin my groove on!

Again at work...and I check the election results...MN gov looks like it's gonna be close...too bad the dems might get the senate...it's really surreal watching elections from over here...Dang, the first time that I'm old enough to vote and I can't...and it's too late to get an absentee ballot...I'm such a horrible American...speaking of being american...I have realized an interesting phenomenon here. When people ask, "Where are you from?" in MN, it usually means, what nationality are you, so my typical response is, "East Indian" not to be confused with Native Americans, Eskimo Indians, and whatever type of Indian there may be. But here, when someone asks that question, they mean, "Where is your home?" Because no one is really from Hong Kong, at least they think so. So the other day, I was asked that question, and I said my usual, "Indian" answer. But later I was thinking, Hey, duh, of course I'm Indian, EVERYONE can see that by looking at me. But I am not from India, in fact, for most purposes, I'm not even Indian. Man, why didn't I say I'm American, I have the passport and the American way of thinking to prove it !!!! So yes, now on, when I am asked that question, I will proudly say, "American". Hahaha, but then there is the question of what being proud of that actually means...I will save that for another day...

I've Crossed the Line

<----This is me in "ponderation"

So tonight I realized that I've crossed a line. I'm not sure when exactly it happened, or really how. And I don't know what exactly this line would be called, if it had a name. So let me explain, and maybe we'll both come up with a name by the end of this post! Art and Lori are on a holiday right now, so they are gone for 5 days over the long weekend. I am going to be at the Love Actually conference Friday, Saturday, and half of Sunday. So I really am only here to help out tonight, half of Sunday, and Monday. So tonight, Brett had 3 kids over to work on a bio project. So when I got home from work, I immediately made pizza (really nothing fancy, it was actually microwaveable, I just added more meat and cheese), threw some carrots in a bowl, and had Caleb set the table. So not a big deal, right? Then I just made sure it was clean and helped Caleb with his homework and such. (Yes, I do have more respect for moms now) So yeah, but the funny thing was when the other kids would come downstairs and ask me if they could get a drink, etc...and at the end of the night, they all thanked me, like I was the mom or the hostess or something. It was all so surreal. Not that those instances were really a big deal, but it did seem to signify that I've crossed some invisible line. I am no longer just a kid, or even a kid that's a leader, I don't know what exactly the kids here see me as, but it's a bit more, and I've crossed some weird line, and there is no going back. Ahhh, when I realized that, I just wanted to scream, on one hand, it means I'm getting older, and it's cool that the kids see me as "that", but on the other hand, I've lost (or just moved on) from a place I will never be in again. It's funny how you never see the pages of your life turning.

I'm having a moment...

The strange man and the coveted spot

Me in the coveted spot, if you look closely, this blog is on my computer screen

Ok, yes, this is a little bit ridiculous how I've been bloggin incessantly lately. I go through phases, this is definitely one of them. Ok, I want to paint a picture for you:
I'm sitting in PCC. I need to write my lesson that I am teaching at this Sanctuary conference, so I'm planting myself here. It closes at 10, so I will be out by then, and hopefully have completed writing the session. Yes. I have 8.5 hours until PCC closes. So much time, and I know I can waste it, which I won't, so immediately following this blog, and probably a few e-mails, I will get right to work! Hahahha. Ok, so I really like sitting in the huge crimson plush red chairs that PCC has, unfortunately, they are all taken, or the occupants of the chair next to it are very strange. Which is why I am not sitting in a really comfortable chair that I'm looking at right now. The occupant of the chair next to it is a strange middle aged man, who obviously thinks that he owns it the way he is draping himself across it. He is constantly sniffing and is quite strange acting. This PCC isn't exactly the quiet hideaway I was hoping for, it is in the middle of one of the biggest malls around. I have a sneaky feeling it might be the biggest on the Kowloon side. Maybe, maybe not. Ok, I love camera phones, I just took a picture which I will certainly post to here this evening. So yes, I am drinking the new Maple Latte that PCC is so big on right now. It's not exactly the "sweet celebration of the tast of autumn" I was longing for, these people really need to get into Pumpkin Pie. Ok, the strange man has moved, so I'm going to move also. Man, this place is great for people watching...I hope I can get work done. In other news, I think I'm going to buy a plane ticket to Bangkok tonight. It's only like $120 USD and ends up being like $170 in the end. How great is that!? The ICS trip from Northwestern is going to be on their internship traveling around Asia for a few months. In November they will be in Bangkok, Thailand for a few weeks. I get to spend American Thanksgiving with them and stay for 5 days. How cool is that! I'm very excited...as you can tell. Well, I have now moved to the comfy chair, the strange man is gone, thankfully, my maple latte is getting cold, unfortunately, that stupid B-a-n-a-n-a-s song is on (madonna?) can't remember,whoever sings it, she should stop, and not sell her music in Asia, no one likes it in the states either, so she should just stop. Well, I'm going to get work done now...ready, set, GO!

This Day

SNAPSHOTS OF OCTOBER!!!

Me getting my ear pierced

Melissa getting her ear pierced

The Ferry

Sunset from the roof

This is two Fridays ago at (R)evolve, group games

They are actually sitting on bean bags in the elevator. Angela, Vania, Nancy, Kay, Izzy

This picture is worth a thousand words

Speed dating, we play this every week at (R)evolve

My new favorite snack, Cashew Crispies

The closest I've been to the border... ...aside from maybe that time I got lost for two hours

Me, Angela, and Vania

Everyone loves our new bean bags, especially Daniel, Ben, and Aries (top to bottom)

My Sunday School Girls at the Bowling alley: Sarah, Nathania, Michelle

Aloha! Ok, today, I'm in kind of a random mood. I'm in Subdued Hyperness mode. Not sure why. It is now Sunday afternoon. I am quite pleased to find out that the Enns' living room has Sunday afternoon sunshine that is comparable to my living room at home. So nice. Today is a very special day. It is my TWO MONTH ANNIVERSARY!!! Wahoo. I think this also means this is the longest I've been away from home. I think I was like 2 or 3 days short when I went to Guatemala. This is so exciting. Although, to be honest, I really have mixed emotions. On the one hand, being gone on my own, no team members, no family, for two months in a different country, is quite a feat. On the other hand, it is starting to become just everyday life. It's kind of sad that the time is passing by so quickly. I have been waiting to be in Hong Kong for so many months. And now I am here, and it is going by so quickly. I want to make the most out of the time here, but it is also nice being able to finally settle into "daily life" here. I mean, who does this, what I'm doing? Not too many people. It is totally planned out by God, because never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined this year. And I know that I will never have a year quite like this...I want to revel in it, but it's moving so quickly, and the newness is wearing off. So what is a person supposed to do??? Just live, where you are, when you are. (Ok, I'm not saying live for your own pleasure or whatever..that would be hedonistic, and dumb.) Hey Today, bring it on...

Jasmine, Jazz, and Things of the Like

Ok, just a few random thoughts. These are some of my favorite times:
When I come home late and I have to walk through part of the village alone, there are two spots when I can smell nothing but jasmine. This is one of my favorite smells on earth. (This is saying something, because I like to smell a lot of things...yeah, mom, you know what I'm talking about!) So I start walking by three large houses, then I smell jasmine, and almost always stop just to stand there...then I walk through a narrow alley, and late at night, some one plays music through an upstairs window. The first time it was classical I think, then it was jazz, tonight it was traditional Chinese music. It always just makes me want to stop and drink in the moment. Then I keep walking... across a play ground, and down the road...then suddenly smell dog poo, and then 5 steps later...jasmine again. So nice. It's moments like these, that make you go...

Yet Again

Ok, I'm not gonna lie...this blog is kind of a guilt trip...I realized that if Melissa can update her blog...I probably have time to also! This will just be a (hopefully) brief highlight reel of what's been happening since I wrote last:

Lately, my friendships with the students have seem to skyrocketed. And it is so amazing! Last Friday, a few of the girls ended up coming early to church, and we all went to dinner before hand. It was some girls that normally wouldn't hang out together...and they all seemed to talk. It was great.

Then on Sunday, I asked a few girls to hang out with me, and in the end, I went to lunch with 2 girls and one of the girls' mom. Then me and the 2 girls went to get Krispy Kremes and yeah, we just hung out all afternoon...and they want to do it next week! It was so cool.

Monday was a good day. I didn't do a darn thing. It was wonderful. I putsed around, cleaned my room, read a book, slept in! Ahhh...heaven.

Then Tuesday night, I wasn't feeling well, so I got into bed at 8:45, and was asleep by 9:30!!!! AMAZING, EH? I even got a picture of it. I'm not going to take it off my phone now, but check back, and I will repost it with a picture! (Ok, I did)

Wednesday was an interesting day. I really wasn't in the office much. Me and PM ran a few errands in TST, and then went to CPK (I guess I'm not allowed to call it California Pizza Kitchen). It was the first time I had been there....so delicious. And it had a beautiful view of the harbour and the island. Then we were craving donuts, so me and Mel jaunted up to SoHo to get Krispy Kremes to bring back to the office. So good. Then me and Melissa saw a movie at the cinema in Whampoa. That place is so ghetto. First of all, we went to see a canto movie, which is an adventure all by itself. It was the strangest movie ever. And for some reason, the two chinese guys in front of us found it hilarious. The humour was lost in translation. So then in the middle of the movie, Melissa leans over to me and says, "Hannah, there is a mouse eating my nachos!" (Which happened to be on the arm rest next to her.) I seriously thought she was joking. But she wasn't. It brushed up against her feet and then she saw it, and it was eating her food! So she moved to the other side of me and we both kept our feet up. Then a few minutes later, I could HEAR it! Ahhhh, it was so horrible.

In other news: MY MOM IS COMING TO HONG KONG! I am so incredibly excited! She emailed me on Tuesday morning and told me to call her ASAP. So I was all worried, even though she said it was good. Then she's like, guess who's coming to HK? I am! We had talked about it before I left, and realized it wasn't possible. Then I guess my uncle was in MN visiting and he asked her what dates I would visit if I could...so she told him, and the next day, my aunt called and told her she bought her the ticket! My aunt is from Japan, so she has frequent flyer miles and happened to want to surprise my mom! So yeah, it is such an amazing gift from God. So great! So yeah, a few days after Christmas, she will fly out to NJ, where they live and visit them for a day or so, and then fly directly here to stay for like 10 days or something! I am soooooooooo excited! Anywhoo. That's all the news. I have to go to bed.

Quick prayer request: The next 4 weeks will be indredibly busy and stressful. We have 2 conferences coming up. The second one, Mike will be in the states during that time. And I volunteered to teach a session. So it's kinda hanging over my head right now. And just also for that week that Mike will be gone...I'm a bit worried. It will be OK though...I know I can't help but be stressed.

Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore!!

Ok, just a warning...this blog will be really random and maybe slightly confusing...I have so many things to blog about and always forget right after they happen...so I play catch up...and you, my readers, get confused. So sorry in advance! This will be in the form of 3 different blogs...

1. It says a lot about a person when...

They can laugh hysterically at themselves, without anyone to laugh with them. This is something that I did yesterday...I had an interesting afternoon. I was at CAIS in the morning, helping with Spiritual Emphasis week, then I walked to another school to have lunch with one of my girls. Well, I ended up being one street over, and was "lost" so I only was able to be with her for like 12 min. Then on the way back to where I knew I could catch the right bus. I decided to take a different bus, that I thought was going to a place where I could easily get back to the office. When I first arrived here, I was warned about the minibuses. Green minibus means good, red means bad. You know you're on the wront bus when: a. there is not an octopus reader b. the bus driver doesn't know how to shift smoothly c. you almost fall out of your seat at every turn d. you do not recognize anything that you are passing e. when you arrive at the end of the bus line, and realize that you are no where near where the sign on the bus said it was going
So I ended up somewhere totally different than I thought. As I got off the bus, I couldn't help but laughing at myself. And I wasn't just laughing inside...I was laughing audibly outside. I couldn't help but have this huge smile on my face. And I also realized that there is something wrong with the world today. I felt kind of dumb that I had this huge smile on my face just walking down the street, so I tried to stop smiling, but couldn't. Then I thought, "Why should I hide my smile? That is the dumbest thing ever!" So then I openly smiled and laughed to my heart's content. It felt good, very good. So I finally got back to the office without major difficulty, but it just took a long time.

2. You know you're doing a good job of blending in when...
You get asked if you speak chinese. Yes, this did happen to me! Aren't you so amazed?!!! I sure am. I was in the market the other night with Kristin, and we were at this store...there were these 2 indian women in there and they were trying to pick out one item of clothing in two different colors and the lady that worked there was trying to find it for them in the right size. So she said (in chinglish...that is my new word for both english and chinese) "Do you want white also?" And yes, she had an accent and half of her words were chinese, but she was pointing to the white one. So they said I don't understand you, and so she repeated herself again, and after failing to communicate, she started to turn away...so I said to the women, "She asked if you wanted the white one also" and they looked at me so impressed and asked if I spoke Chinese!!! I said no, and they were like, are you learning? And I was like no, I just picked that up... It made me laugh so hard. And I was pretty pleased with myself! I didn't think I would ever get that reaction here!

3. You know you're in a different place when you see buddhists in robes and you are choking on incense....
This was my experience last night. Last night was the funeral of the father of a man from our church. Pastor Ed was doing the service and asked me to play piano for it. I was sooooo incredibly nervous to play. First, hymns are NOT my forte, and I didn't have a lot of opportunity to practice because pianos aren't very available to me. So yeah. Me and PM went to this HUGE funeral home, and there are about 20 funerals going on at the same time. Each one has there own great room for the service. Most of the funerals that were going on were Buddhist. There was a lot of incense, and on the way out, we saw several men in robes singing and chanting and half dancing with incense. I love just being slapped in the face with the reality that I'm in a different place. But we were in a different room and instead of smelling incense, we smelled hundreds and hundreds of lilies...which by the way, are my new favorite flower. So back to the funeral. When we walked in, we were ushered down a middle aisle, before a huge "altar" of flowers and a picture of the deceased. We were then supposed to bow toward it, and then bow toward the family, who were seated on the side and stood to bow to us. PM, Pastor Ed, and me actually did it a bit wrong, but thankfully we were ushered to our seats pretty quickly! Hahahaha. So yes. I played the piano. It didn't go as bad as I thought, but not as good as I would've liked. But I made it through it. There was also a pretty famous person there, who was sitting 5 chairs from me. Unfortunately, I didn't meet this individual, because I wanted to respect the fact that we were at a funeral. Oh, something else that they do at chinese funerals is they give you a small packet with the program. In it is a tissue, to dry your eyes, a coin to symbolize paying for the trip home, and a piece of candy, and I forgot what that was for.

Finale:
So that is what has been happening lately. Kind of a lot. But I love it here...still! Last night I slept over at PM and Melissa's and watched a movie with them. And today I am working from home. I bought lillies for my room and now it smells like heaven. I cleaned up my room, swept and shook out my rugs, doing my laundry, and called a dear friend. A pretty productive day, and peaceful too. Although, right now I am craving a milk bun. MMMmmmmm...milk bun.