Too confident??

So last week I found myself in bumper to bumper traffic on my way home from school and many a time I thought to myself...hmm....will I ever get out of this?? Also I was praying to God that I wouldn't get rear ended or that the bus that was trying to creep in front of me would see me. Did I mention that this was all on a bicycle? Yep! I bought a bike at Nanhu market for $40 US buckaroos. And apparently when you start biking around BJ (short for Beijing), you also think that you are invincible. I find myself doing dumb things on my bike here that I would NEVER do in the States. But hey, when you're in Rome do as the Romans do. Right??

This is a pic of my new wheels.

This is me on my wheels. :)

Right now I'm biking in the bike lane but as you can see cars like to park there so you have to watch out for doors opening on you, people, other bikes, electric bikes, mopeds, motorcycles...you get the picture. If there's no bike lane, you have to be gutsy enough to face cars and buses. But no worries, because...............

YEP!! You're looking at a stoplight for bicycles.

Regardless of being in "Rome", there are many a thing that I won't be doing EVER--regardless of how often the natives do it. For example, you will not find this lady doing snot rockets or hear me dislodge phlegm from my throat the size of a baseball; both of which are acceptable here. :) I often find myself looking down as I walk. Not because I don't want to look people in the eye, but because I'm trying to avoid spiddles (puddles of spit). Another thing that I won't be doing is eating chicken feet or pig feet. Sorry...no can do.

I've been super blessed with the Church here and by my school. I've been attending a small group Thursday nights at Bridget and Simon Cheong's apt. Bridget was the music teacher at my school last year, but she left to raise her 5 month old son Nathan. Anywhoo, not only do I get to dig deeper in God's Word with wonderful people, but last week Bridget had a special treat: Chef Wong was there to cook. Now thanks to Ryan and Melissa, I've heard about Chef Wong for over a year. I must say that Chef Wong and the love of God are quite similar. Here's how: You never understand what people are going gah gah over until you experience it for yourself. Yep! The food on the menu was roasted chicken, vegetables, cauliflower with cheese, oven fried potatoes, and an amazing dessert called pavlova. Check out wikipedia says about pavlova: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlova_(food This meal was one of the best I have ever tasted, and unfortunately, he's booked for over a year in advance. Thankfully, God's love is never in short supply, and I can revel in His goodness always.

My school is a great environment. The staff there love Jesus and we're very caring and supportive of one another. This blessing is great, especially when I'm living in a different culture. Last Friday was house shirt day. At International Academy of Beijing, the whole school is part of a house team. We have the Red Bulls, the Yellow Lions, the Green Eagles, and the Blue Sharks. It's almost like being part of the houses in Harry Potter except there was no sorting hat. I'm a Blue Shark and cheered my team to win the first competition: jump roping. Our team jumped over 1200 times total between K-5th grade students. The Sharks have never won, but I'm hoping some new blood will change that. This Friday is Dictionary day at my school. This day is where students and staff pick a word and dress up as that word. I was thinking about picking the word "black" and coming as myself. Not sure that would be appropriate so does anyone have any ideas? There's some things that I'm still not confident about it.

FINALLY.......

I have Internet at my apartment. Let's say it took awhile because #1, I don't speak Chinese; #2, I can't read Chinese, and #3 EVERYTHING takes a little more time here in this great land. By God's grace (that is if he cares about Internet), I was able to install my own Internet by pushing random buttons. Also, my VPN took sometime too, but now I'm back in touch with nature via facebook and blogger.



The next step is to figure out my microphone jack on my computer so I can SKYPE with my family and friends. I seriously can't wait.



Well to whet your appetites so that you'll actually want to continue to read my blog (because let's be honest, what I've written about isn't all that much interesting), I've decided to tell you somethings that have occurred.



First, I had my first day of school on August 12th--2 weeks ago from this Thursday. My first day was weird because I didn't have ANY classes. Thursdays are my prep days and in the afternoon, I'm the library so that I can be full time. I haven't worked in the library since my middle school days, but it is refreshing. August 13th I had K-4th grade crammed in a day. I LOVE teaching and am so glad that I've been blessed with the opportunity once again. Nothing too funny or crazy has happened in the classroom but when it does, you'll be the first to know.



I did have a crazy thing happen at school but not IN my classroom. I was climbing up our stairs from the 2nd floor to the 3rd floor to bring teachers some spaghetti for lunch. Somehow, I tripped and fell on the last stair. As I was falling, there was nothing I could do to break the fall because my hands were full of the bowl of spaghetti. Miraculously, the spaghetti survived--not one drop on the floor. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about me. I had spaghetti on the left side of my WHITE shirt and I hit my face on a vase that was sitting on the stairway landing. Thank goodness I didn't break my teeth out on the vase or have a bruised face. (Been there and done that with a fall once in college, but helium was to blame for that one. It's too long of a story to share at this moment....) I hope that was entertaining for all of you readers. :)



Lastly, if you ever get the chance to come to China, DO IT!! The markets here have the best shopping that your money can buy. Make sure you go with someone who loves to bargain. Mel and I went shopping at a market the other day, and we got away with some deals that even Bob Barker himself would be proud of.

VIP I'M NOT IN!!!

So now that I'm in China I've realized a lot of things. One of which that I do NOT have VIP access to many websites such as facebook, blogger, and skype. Therefore, I will not be on facebook or blogging until 1) I get internet at my apt. and 2) that I purchase a VPN so that it looks like I'm accessing from the States instead of China. I appreciate your patience while all of this is worked out. Thankfully, Mel and Ry have a VPN, and I'm quickly updating. More to come......

100 pounds

100 pounds can seem very little or a lot. It all depends upon perspective. For example, if you saw a 5'8" woman or man that weighed a 100 pounds, your first reaction would be ANOREXIC! But if you had to eat 100 pounds of pizza, you may say YOWZERS!!! (Unless you're like my friend DH who absolutely hearts pizza) I found out these past couple days when you're trying to pack for a 2 year commitment in China, a 100 pounds is NOTHING. Well not NO thing but it really forced me to think about what my wants and needs are. What's important to me and what's not. I can't have everything that I want and in fact, too much of a good thing could be bad. So after packing and repacking my life into 2 checked bags, more and more stuff ended up in the storage unit that I share with Mel. (At this time, I'd like to apologize to Mel for all of my crizap and to Laurie who will probably have to reorganize the storage unit. LOVE YOU!)

Well with the help of my friend Shannon, my 100 pounds (stuff not my personal weight) and I left Minneapolis on Wed. night at 7 pm for Seoul, Korea. I'll be staying here for a few days with my friend Janel. As I write this, it's Friday at 10:00. I arrived here at 5 am. It was a long flight and of course, I slept. ;). As I get closer to Beijing, I'm still amazed at how God provides and answers prayer. I really wanted to teach and wasn't finding jobs in MN. I guess on the other side of that coin is be careful what you pray for: I would have never thought that I would pick China to teach. But He orchestrated it all, and I'm excited to start this new adventure with Mel and Ry nearby.

I'm a jumble of nerves and excitement for the coming year. My goal is to not take another 2 year hiatus and blog regularly. I also wanted to take the time to thank all of my friends and family for their love, encouragement, blessings, and prayers. You all have helped me go through open doors.