I have been busy, really busy. I have been doing a lot of teaching and helping Christine getting situated, its a lot of fun. Some would call me a busy bee. I have been trying to re-haul all of my classes, focus on really connecting with the students.
This week I wanted to think of the best way to get the kids excited-super excited. I thought what is something that all these kids happen to have in common and then it clicked! Traveling-and I clearly have that in common with them. So the next few weeks we are working on English around-the-world. I figured we can talk about those countries and then I can give them different phrases that might be helpful when they travel, or at least how to say the things they already say but in proper form! I don't know this might seem lame, but I am excited haha I taught some of it today and it went over really well!
I have been busy with those power points, its quite fun working on them! I love adding effects and random things haha...now I am trying to buy a controller so I can walk around the room instead of being stuck on the computer keyboard pushing buttons!
Christine has been here for 2 weeks and is doing well and its really nice having her here! I have been much more active with going places and starting to feel like the old Ashley. I finally have done an intense cleaning of the bathroom, it had been a few weeks...lets just say all of Christines cleaning sparked this in me hahaha
We got to eat on a pirate ship on top of a hotel, crazy right?! so amazing and great food! we also have had omelet sandwiches...I have been trying all kinds of food and some of it is good, some not so good but thats normal :P I am enjoying the flavors of China...if only I could cook it in my apartment!
I am really looking forward to this weekend! I get to see one of my roomies from my last semester of college MARY ETTNER! in Hong Kong. She is living in Vietnam and will be in Hong Kong and I am so excited to see her and for all the talking and laughs we will be having! I have been counting down for this weekend and am super excited. We are also going to attempt at Disneyland Hong Kong for their halloween set up...hopefully we can!!
ooooh and we started Chinese lessons, lets see if we can work on this language and become some what fluent. I am excited and hope they work and I can really learn Mandarin, I really want to know how to talk to people. One thing you should all know about China is a lot of people don't know english! Like 95%. I got to adapt and I am excited to do so. :D and after lessons Christine and Jessica and I are going to have our own "shout" which is going to be epic, I hope...I know we won't be let down! I am just excited to dive into the word with them!
Overall everything is going well and I am staying busy! Working pretty much non stop, prayers that I can stay focused and do my best here.
Highs:
Staying in the word
Staying active
Around-the-world lesson plan
Getting to see Mary soon
Lows:
Exhausted
Figuring out stuff with the school
Prayers that I am fully committed to everyone here and that I can be the light that I know I can be. I am excited for some of the things that are happening and I hope I can continue doing His work in all things. Staying in the word and focused.
with love,
Ashley
Monday, October 17, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
traveling through Guangxi
I just got back from traveling a week through Guangxi Province, a beautiful place. I set off on a Saturday night with my two friends Christine and Jessica for an 11 hour bus ride. A sleeper bus to be exact, supposed to be much more comfortable-granted it was, but I still got claustrophobic. We arrived at 7:30 in the morning to a beautiful little city where we found Fish Mountain
Now this mountain seemed like it would be the best place to brush our teeth, wash our faces and get ready for the day-since there were no other places to do it after an 11 hour bus ride. We waited about an hour before we were met up with some friends we know in town. We got into a small van, not realizing it would be a 5 hour drive...lets say I slept the whole way to our location. But we ended up going to Sanjiang which is a beautiful area, no sounds of honking, traffic, or people yelling. It was a certain peace- a peace I had been searching for these last few weeks. I got to see mountains and green grass and even rain that felt fresh and re-energized me for the adventures of the week to come. I woke up Monday and had a good me and Him sesh that was exactly what I needed, journaled and really thought about what my purpose is here. I took a picture of the view from the balcony as I did this, it was too beautiful to not share!
Our adventure ended there with street music and a local ethnic group festival. I enjoyed it all and was excited to where I might be going next! We were headed to Wesley's hometown in Ma Ping. We were met with rain, and lots of it and the people were amazing. We got to meet his parents, grandma and uncle and get to spend a couple meals with them. It was nice to really see how one lives in the China Country side. I loved it and love that family, they will always hold a place in my heart.
Top: Wesley, Christine, Wesley's mom, Wesley's Dad, Wesley's Brother and me!
Bottom: Jessica, Wesley's grandma, and Great Uncle
I was also reunited with my beloved game of Mahjong!!!! It had been a month and a half since I had played...I am so glad I got my fix!
I was known in this small town (one street) as the American who knows how to play Mahjong and knows how to win. I instantly became a celebrity and am proud of it! :D
We were in Guilin after that where I got sick and just stayed in the hostel and walked around when I could. I really loved the area and it was beautiful, just very cold and rainy! My favorite Hostel now is the Wada Hostel. They had delicious local tea, and dvd players in the room to keep my sick self occupied. Definitely a win and I had fun talking to the staff and people staying there. Great Lonely Planet pick!
Overall a great trip and a great experience to get to go home and experience a Chinese family. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed it even with being sick and catching a cold! I give Guilin, Ma Ping and San Jiang all an A! I have been really blessed with the people I have and continue to meet here. I can't wait for the next adventure He leads me on!
Highs:
Unforgettable trip.
Rain.
Good tea.
Christine being here!
Lows:
having a cold
exhausted
Prayer requests:
Just enough strength to get through this 7 day work week.
That the cold goes away and that I am back to normal health.
That I start getting better sleep, not feeling rested when I wake up.
I love you all and I am praying for you!
Ashley
Now this mountain seemed like it would be the best place to brush our teeth, wash our faces and get ready for the day-since there were no other places to do it after an 11 hour bus ride. We waited about an hour before we were met up with some friends we know in town. We got into a small van, not realizing it would be a 5 hour drive...lets say I slept the whole way to our location. But we ended up going to Sanjiang which is a beautiful area, no sounds of honking, traffic, or people yelling. It was a certain peace- a peace I had been searching for these last few weeks. I got to see mountains and green grass and even rain that felt fresh and re-energized me for the adventures of the week to come. I woke up Monday and had a good me and Him sesh that was exactly what I needed, journaled and really thought about what my purpose is here. I took a picture of the view from the balcony as I did this, it was too beautiful to not share!
Our adventure ended there with street music and a local ethnic group festival. I enjoyed it all and was excited to where I might be going next! We were headed to Wesley's hometown in Ma Ping. We were met with rain, and lots of it and the people were amazing. We got to meet his parents, grandma and uncle and get to spend a couple meals with them. It was nice to really see how one lives in the China Country side. I loved it and love that family, they will always hold a place in my heart.
Bottom: Jessica, Wesley's grandma, and Great Uncle
I was also reunited with my beloved game of Mahjong!!!! It had been a month and a half since I had played...I am so glad I got my fix!
I was known in this small town (one street) as the American who knows how to play Mahjong and knows how to win. I instantly became a celebrity and am proud of it! :D
We were in Guilin after that where I got sick and just stayed in the hostel and walked around when I could. I really loved the area and it was beautiful, just very cold and rainy! My favorite Hostel now is the Wada Hostel. They had delicious local tea, and dvd players in the room to keep my sick self occupied. Definitely a win and I had fun talking to the staff and people staying there. Great Lonely Planet pick!
Overall a great trip and a great experience to get to go home and experience a Chinese family. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed it even with being sick and catching a cold! I give Guilin, Ma Ping and San Jiang all an A! I have been really blessed with the people I have and continue to meet here. I can't wait for the next adventure He leads me on!
Highs:
Unforgettable trip.
Rain.
Good tea.
Christine being here!
Lows:
having a cold
exhausted
Prayer requests:
Just enough strength to get through this 7 day work week.
That the cold goes away and that I am back to normal health.
That I start getting better sleep, not feeling rested when I wake up.
I love you all and I am praying for you!
Ashley
Monday, September 26, 2011
as long as you lock the door
I was at my favorite place to go on a Sunday yesterday and I had to use the restroom. I asked one of the guys there and he said you can use either restroom "as long as you lock the door" it made me giggle. He did not know how to say they were combined bathrooms and not one for men and women, lets just say I made sure the door was locked!
If any of you know me, which I hope you do-since you are reading this blog; you know that I am one of the most emotional people on the planet. Being emotional I have found in my 22 years of life as a blessing and a curse, lately it has been more a curse. So I sit here with the past weeks of emotions behind me, some good, some bad. I had a friend recently send this to me, while we were talking and I found it encouraging...I hope it does the same for you.
"you can't be strong.
He gives strength.
He gives joy.
He is our rock
our refuge...a place of security.
he, only He can satisfy.
it's not wrong to feel lonely or however you feel..that is real. Take it to Him.
Be vulnerable, transparent and honest with Him."
It was a good slap in the face, a moment to rely solely on Him. That it is ok to have feelings but to not let feelings get in the way of what is most important in my life. To not focus on earthly things that make me upset-to focus on what is above and to come and how I can do a better job with doing what I can while I am here. I found that instead of giving it to Him I have been looking and searching for it from people in my life, I need to set my boundaries again. I need to learn what is ok and what is not ok, I thought I had things figured out but I am slowly learning I don't.
I first before I go into what adventures I have been on would like to apologize to the people back home that I have put pressure on. I know that is unfair to you and that it is not something you need to be dealing with. I thank you all for your friendship and your encouragement and you are all encouraging, even if you think you are not.
On to what I have been up to. A whole lot of work! but I have been going off on little adventures by myself slowly learning what is at each metro stop and what is fun. This weekend I spent a lot of time to myself and just wandering around trying to figure things out. I did a lot of praying. I even treated myself to Dairy Queen, where after I realized I was next to a movie theater...I love movies so what would be best then to see a movie! the only american film was captain america and I had already seen it, so no movie! I thought to see a Chinese film but the times were off and I did not want to wait around for 2 hours for the next showing.
I walked over to book city where I bought my new favorite book! I am currently in the process of learning Chinese and bought a lovely textbook to help me along my way. Maybe I can have a conversation with someone in the near future? :)
Sunday started with the normal 8 am- 45 minute subway ride to visit Jessica. I listened to a podcast and my favorite kind of music for a Sunday! hoping I would be able to sing some later in the day when we arrived at my favorite place on Sundays! I got to eat at my favorite noodle place at community seating where 6 Chinese people were just staring at us but did not know much english to talk with us...another hint that I need to learn the language quicker! But we decided to head on our new weekly adventure that we have on Sundays...lets find the building! in Mei Lin!
this is what happened on our adventure to Mei Lin this week:
We got on the bus that everyone has told us will take us there, thinking we were good....we were so very wrong! after 2 bus changes (we were kicked off the first one to get on the same bus number, just different bus) We ended up somewhere very very far away from where we were supposed to be and it was most definitely the outskirts of Shenzhen. It was an area that was poor and had dirt roads in some areas. We walked around for over an hour trying to find the nearest highway in the rain while laughing and wondering why this had happened to us, again. We actually arrived the earliest we have on any previous sunday...thanks to the taxi driver and the 60RMB later! We arrived in time for singing. If you have heard me sing, I apologize! my voice was not meant to sing, it is horrible but I can not get enough of singing songs of praise. It was good to be there for that and has encouraged me even more to make sure I am on time and not 20 minutes late! hopefully we figure out these buses because its getting rough and expensive! :)
But once we broke off into our study groups I was hit with something I was not expecting, questions! and lots of them wanting to know more and starving for information. I really enjoyed giving answers and helping them see where it was in the book that they were looking for things. I felt really at peace and felt like I was doing some good. I felt at that moment peace I have not felt yet here in China. Kinda like I was supposed to be there...what I had been searching for. I am excited for what is next.
I also came across this randomly while reading and it definitely hit home with what I am feeling. Enjoy!
"I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water...I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you."
This has become long enough...I will end it here I hope you made it this far in reading it.
Highs:
Sunday
Lows:
The way I have been treating the people that are closest in my life.
Prayer Requests
To always go to Him first.
Stomach, is not agreeing with me lately...yay upset tummys
Peace
Patience
That I am getting enough rest
That I will be able to answer questions that the people ask me.
I love and miss you all
Ashley
If any of you know me, which I hope you do-since you are reading this blog; you know that I am one of the most emotional people on the planet. Being emotional I have found in my 22 years of life as a blessing and a curse, lately it has been more a curse. So I sit here with the past weeks of emotions behind me, some good, some bad. I had a friend recently send this to me, while we were talking and I found it encouraging...I hope it does the same for you.
"you can't be strong.
He gives strength.
He gives joy.
He is our rock
our refuge...a place of security.
he, only He can satisfy.
it's not wrong to feel lonely or however you feel..that is real. Take it to Him.
Be vulnerable, transparent and honest with Him."
It was a good slap in the face, a moment to rely solely on Him. That it is ok to have feelings but to not let feelings get in the way of what is most important in my life. To not focus on earthly things that make me upset-to focus on what is above and to come and how I can do a better job with doing what I can while I am here. I found that instead of giving it to Him I have been looking and searching for it from people in my life, I need to set my boundaries again. I need to learn what is ok and what is not ok, I thought I had things figured out but I am slowly learning I don't.
I first before I go into what adventures I have been on would like to apologize to the people back home that I have put pressure on. I know that is unfair to you and that it is not something you need to be dealing with. I thank you all for your friendship and your encouragement and you are all encouraging, even if you think you are not.
On to what I have been up to. A whole lot of work! but I have been going off on little adventures by myself slowly learning what is at each metro stop and what is fun. This weekend I spent a lot of time to myself and just wandering around trying to figure things out. I did a lot of praying. I even treated myself to Dairy Queen, where after I realized I was next to a movie theater...I love movies so what would be best then to see a movie! the only american film was captain america and I had already seen it, so no movie! I thought to see a Chinese film but the times were off and I did not want to wait around for 2 hours for the next showing.
I walked over to book city where I bought my new favorite book! I am currently in the process of learning Chinese and bought a lovely textbook to help me along my way. Maybe I can have a conversation with someone in the near future? :)
Sunday started with the normal 8 am- 45 minute subway ride to visit Jessica. I listened to a podcast and my favorite kind of music for a Sunday! hoping I would be able to sing some later in the day when we arrived at my favorite place on Sundays! I got to eat at my favorite noodle place at community seating where 6 Chinese people were just staring at us but did not know much english to talk with us...another hint that I need to learn the language quicker! But we decided to head on our new weekly adventure that we have on Sundays...lets find the building! in Mei Lin!
this is what happened on our adventure to Mei Lin this week:
We got on the bus that everyone has told us will take us there, thinking we were good....we were so very wrong! after 2 bus changes (we were kicked off the first one to get on the same bus number, just different bus) We ended up somewhere very very far away from where we were supposed to be and it was most definitely the outskirts of Shenzhen. It was an area that was poor and had dirt roads in some areas. We walked around for over an hour trying to find the nearest highway in the rain while laughing and wondering why this had happened to us, again. We actually arrived the earliest we have on any previous sunday...thanks to the taxi driver and the 60RMB later! We arrived in time for singing. If you have heard me sing, I apologize! my voice was not meant to sing, it is horrible but I can not get enough of singing songs of praise. It was good to be there for that and has encouraged me even more to make sure I am on time and not 20 minutes late! hopefully we figure out these buses because its getting rough and expensive! :)
But once we broke off into our study groups I was hit with something I was not expecting, questions! and lots of them wanting to know more and starving for information. I really enjoyed giving answers and helping them see where it was in the book that they were looking for things. I felt really at peace and felt like I was doing some good. I felt at that moment peace I have not felt yet here in China. Kinda like I was supposed to be there...what I had been searching for. I am excited for what is next.
I also came across this randomly while reading and it definitely hit home with what I am feeling. Enjoy!
"I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water...I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you."
This has become long enough...I will end it here I hope you made it this far in reading it.
Highs:
Sunday
Lows:
The way I have been treating the people that are closest in my life.
Prayer Requests
To always go to Him first.
Stomach, is not agreeing with me lately...yay upset tummys
Peace
Patience
That I am getting enough rest
That I will be able to answer questions that the people ask me.
I love and miss you all
Ashley
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
one month in China.
To be honest with you, I have been sort of dreading this blog post. I don't really want to accept that it has been a month. It has been the best month and the absolute worst month. A lot has happened and it has been quite eventful, but I can't help but miss home :(
Homesickness strikes again and I have it every day, sometimes I have "good" days and sometimes I have "bad" days...it is strange to wake up every morning to wondering if it will be good or bad. I pray every morning that it is going to be a good day, that I will be strong enough to be the best person for this community, the best teacher, the best daughter and the best friend that I can be, all while some of these things having a gap of 10,000 miles. I have days where I think I am doing a horrible job for both back home and here, but something I try and fix everyday and something I pray will get better.
I love my classes, but they can be a pain, I am grateful that there are only 40 students! I would be dead if there were more!!! I have some great students and I have some that are not so great, a normal classroom! I have been having fun with them though, they seem to be enjoying my classes.
I have gotten close to some families around here and been interacting with them, it is nice to have some kind of family life around and getting to interact with them. I am excited to have people I can call friends here :D
This last weekend I got to see my friends the Geiss family, I met them in Nepal last summer. They were in Hong Kong for a Nepali conference and of course me being so close, I went right over to visit them! It was a much needed relaxing break, I feel as sometimes it becomes a little claustrophobic being here and its nice to run away. We got to Hong Kong pretty late and decided to just sit and visit and talk and that was a lot of fun! the next day was the day of hunting down all over Hong Kong and visiting! We went to Victoria Bay, ate some food, went to a few book shops and just got to interact with each other, it was a lot of fun and it was great to see them. I missed them a lot!
Today I met up with another girl from America and went to dinner and that was a lot of fun, it's always nice to meet people that are going through the same stuff that you are. It was bad sushi but a good talk and fun at an electronics store after haha!
Other than that nothing has really changed too much, I am dealing with a lot from back home that I won't discuss on here, but just pray for that. Pray for peace for me and to be better at patience, and also pray for that when it comes to my family. That there is a plan with the situation that has been handed to us, that they find where they are exactly needed. I have been struggling a lot and have had many days where I just wanted to get on the next flight to California. I am hoping it goes away soon, but it does not seem like it is going to leave me anytime soon. :/
Highs:
Hong Kong and getting to see the Geiss Family!
Skyping my parents more.
Lows:
The stuff going on back home.
Missing friends and not getting to Skype as much.
Homesickness.
Exhaustion.
Prayer Requests:
That I continue to stay in the word and ready daily.
That I can get used to my schedule and not be so exhausted.
I can not be so homesick...it really puts a damper on your day to day activities.
Keep loving these kids and people I interact with
Patience.
I miss and love you all.
with love,
Ashley
p.s sorry this blog post was such a downer, hopefully the next one is better :)
Homesickness strikes again and I have it every day, sometimes I have "good" days and sometimes I have "bad" days...it is strange to wake up every morning to wondering if it will be good or bad. I pray every morning that it is going to be a good day, that I will be strong enough to be the best person for this community, the best teacher, the best daughter and the best friend that I can be, all while some of these things having a gap of 10,000 miles. I have days where I think I am doing a horrible job for both back home and here, but something I try and fix everyday and something I pray will get better.
I love my classes, but they can be a pain, I am grateful that there are only 40 students! I would be dead if there were more!!! I have some great students and I have some that are not so great, a normal classroom! I have been having fun with them though, they seem to be enjoying my classes.
I have gotten close to some families around here and been interacting with them, it is nice to have some kind of family life around and getting to interact with them. I am excited to have people I can call friends here :D
This last weekend I got to see my friends the Geiss family, I met them in Nepal last summer. They were in Hong Kong for a Nepali conference and of course me being so close, I went right over to visit them! It was a much needed relaxing break, I feel as sometimes it becomes a little claustrophobic being here and its nice to run away. We got to Hong Kong pretty late and decided to just sit and visit and talk and that was a lot of fun! the next day was the day of hunting down all over Hong Kong and visiting! We went to Victoria Bay, ate some food, went to a few book shops and just got to interact with each other, it was a lot of fun and it was great to see them. I missed them a lot!
Today I met up with another girl from America and went to dinner and that was a lot of fun, it's always nice to meet people that are going through the same stuff that you are. It was bad sushi but a good talk and fun at an electronics store after haha!
Other than that nothing has really changed too much, I am dealing with a lot from back home that I won't discuss on here, but just pray for that. Pray for peace for me and to be better at patience, and also pray for that when it comes to my family. That there is a plan with the situation that has been handed to us, that they find where they are exactly needed. I have been struggling a lot and have had many days where I just wanted to get on the next flight to California. I am hoping it goes away soon, but it does not seem like it is going to leave me anytime soon. :/
Highs:
Hong Kong and getting to see the Geiss Family!
Skyping my parents more.
Lows:
The stuff going on back home.
Missing friends and not getting to Skype as much.
Homesickness.
Exhaustion.
Prayer Requests:
That I continue to stay in the word and ready daily.
That I can get used to my schedule and not be so exhausted.
I can not be so homesick...it really puts a damper on your day to day activities.
Keep loving these kids and people I interact with
Patience.
I miss and love you all.
with love,
Ashley
p.s sorry this blog post was such a downer, hopefully the next one is better :)
Monday, September 12, 2011
long four day weekend adventure
So little did I know that Teacher's day was going to be Saturday and that there was a national holiday on Monday, so that meant a four day weekend!
All I wanted to do this weekend was sleep, sleep sounded better than anything else. I think my body finally finished its transition to China time...but that was hard to get.
my adventure started friday with me asking at work if someone could take me to get a massage....little did I know that meant going to a resort place, getting a full body and a foot massage...sounds great? not so great when its 9pm and you do not get home till 1:30 am it was a rough night and it did not help that I was meeting friends at 9 am to go to a local theme park! The theme park is called Happy Valley where you have "Happy Times"
Happy Valley was fun but exhausting..I went with Jessica and our friend from work and luckily I did not feel bad for being soooooo tired, they were both the same! so we did not go on many rides, but enjoyed lunch and walking around talking. I really am exciting to be spending more time with our friend and the opportunities that are being opened up right now!
This picture is of us being dressed up in traditional clothing :P
after happy valley we walked around some and headed back to my apartment where I showed them my area and took them to the delicious Vietnamese food place near my house, seriously delicious and yes I was guilty of eating there 5 times in a week and a half...I don't plan on slowing down either, its delicious! if any of you visit, I will be taking you there!
Sunday, Jessica and I tutored 6 four year olds and whoa was that exciting, they are so cute and it will definitely make me look forward to Sundays! in love with them all already lol and then we were off to find the place we go to on Sundays it was our first time trying to get there by ourselves and we had no luck and got lost! so we will attempt next weekend to find it, wish us luck! we ended up going to a book store and I went for some Pizza Hut I was craving it and Dairy Queen....I know you can all be upset I went for western food, but I wanted it!
Sunday night I got to tutor two kids that are amazing...They are from two families and I love them already, I really enjoy these families and hope to hang out with them more, they already want to take me hiking in a couple weekends!! There is a lot of great talks with them and the kids are awesome, it really is amazing. I want to continue to tutor and hang out with them as much as I can this year.
Monday i got to walk around and see some people lighting lanterns and just enjoying family time, with the celebration of the mid-autumn festival, it made me miss home a lot :/ but I got to Skype people at home and that was really great, its nice to get in contact with people about once a week, it really helps me get through the weeks.
Here is a picture of the city and some lanterns in the background!
this coming weekend I get to go to Hong Kong to visit my favorite people from Nepal and I am so excited so please pray for safe travels there and that we have an amazing conversation and just have fun with the time we get to spend together!
everything is going well, classes are busy, tutoring is busy...I am loving the kids, they get loud sometimes but that is ok, it is expected they are kiddos. They all like me or at least that is what the teachers are telling me :)
I like where I am working, still working on my hours and how much is expected of me to just sit in the office, because right now I sit in the office 5 hours before I do anything and that is really taking a lot out of me and I have things to do but if it is expected for me to do later things, I would like to just be able to come in a little later then 7:30....
I am doing well, missing home though but that is ok and not expecting it to go away anytime soon. I miss you all and wish you were here and wish that I was there, I thank everyone for the emails and comments and everything you have been giving me to help me do a better job here. so encouraging and I really enjoy it. I love you guys.
Highs:
some talks I had with people I am meeting here
He is showing me so much more every day and I love it
Skyping with some friends back home
Lows:
Missing everyone back home
being tired
Prayer Requests:
That I can figure out my schedule
I can be the light to the people who are asking questions
I stay in the word and focused on Him
that I continue to do my best to glorify him
I love you all and miss you terribly
Ashley
All I wanted to do this weekend was sleep, sleep sounded better than anything else. I think my body finally finished its transition to China time...but that was hard to get.
my adventure started friday with me asking at work if someone could take me to get a massage....little did I know that meant going to a resort place, getting a full body and a foot massage...sounds great? not so great when its 9pm and you do not get home till 1:30 am it was a rough night and it did not help that I was meeting friends at 9 am to go to a local theme park! The theme park is called Happy Valley where you have "Happy Times"
Happy Valley was fun but exhausting..I went with Jessica and our friend from work and luckily I did not feel bad for being soooooo tired, they were both the same! so we did not go on many rides, but enjoyed lunch and walking around talking. I really am exciting to be spending more time with our friend and the opportunities that are being opened up right now!
This picture is of us being dressed up in traditional clothing :Pafter happy valley we walked around some and headed back to my apartment where I showed them my area and took them to the delicious Vietnamese food place near my house, seriously delicious and yes I was guilty of eating there 5 times in a week and a half...I don't plan on slowing down either, its delicious! if any of you visit, I will be taking you there!
Sunday, Jessica and I tutored 6 four year olds and whoa was that exciting, they are so cute and it will definitely make me look forward to Sundays! in love with them all already lol and then we were off to find the place we go to on Sundays it was our first time trying to get there by ourselves and we had no luck and got lost! so we will attempt next weekend to find it, wish us luck! we ended up going to a book store and I went for some Pizza Hut I was craving it and Dairy Queen....I know you can all be upset I went for western food, but I wanted it!
Sunday night I got to tutor two kids that are amazing...They are from two families and I love them already, I really enjoy these families and hope to hang out with them more, they already want to take me hiking in a couple weekends!! There is a lot of great talks with them and the kids are awesome, it really is amazing. I want to continue to tutor and hang out with them as much as I can this year.
Monday i got to walk around and see some people lighting lanterns and just enjoying family time, with the celebration of the mid-autumn festival, it made me miss home a lot :/ but I got to Skype people at home and that was really great, its nice to get in contact with people about once a week, it really helps me get through the weeks.
Here is a picture of the city and some lanterns in the background!
this coming weekend I get to go to Hong Kong to visit my favorite people from Nepal and I am so excited so please pray for safe travels there and that we have an amazing conversation and just have fun with the time we get to spend together!
everything is going well, classes are busy, tutoring is busy...I am loving the kids, they get loud sometimes but that is ok, it is expected they are kiddos. They all like me or at least that is what the teachers are telling me :)
I like where I am working, still working on my hours and how much is expected of me to just sit in the office, because right now I sit in the office 5 hours before I do anything and that is really taking a lot out of me and I have things to do but if it is expected for me to do later things, I would like to just be able to come in a little later then 7:30....
I am doing well, missing home though but that is ok and not expecting it to go away anytime soon. I miss you all and wish you were here and wish that I was there, I thank everyone for the emails and comments and everything you have been giving me to help me do a better job here. so encouraging and I really enjoy it. I love you guys.
Highs:
some talks I had with people I am meeting here
He is showing me so much more every day and I love it
Skyping with some friends back home
Lows:
Missing everyone back home
being tired
Prayer Requests:
That I can figure out my schedule
I can be the light to the people who are asking questions
I stay in the word and focused on Him
that I continue to do my best to glorify him
I love you all and miss you terribly
Ashley
Sunday, September 4, 2011
sometimes I forget that I am not Chinese...
I have officially been in China for about two weeks, I am a day early in saying this...but close enough. I still have my days where I see people from a distance talking and my instinct is to think they are speaking english, they are not. I get lots of stares and people looking at me like I am crazy for doing what they do. Everyone I meet asks me why I am here, their responses are always shocked ones when I tell them why I am here and what I love about Shenzhen. I do a lot of walking, a lot might be an understatement. I walk 95% of the time and the other 5% of the time is spent taking the metro and occasionally a taxi (but that is only if I get lost.) The stares I get...I forget why someone would be staring at me, because I am different and I am doing everything that someone who is a native, sees as normal for themselves, not me. But I am learning that the looks just come with me being here, I don't expect them to change or for them to stop, I am enjoying it, all I can do right now is keep smiling. I can't wait until I can learn more Chinese and then really scare the people that stare because I am a foreigner! maybe they will accept me as a "native" that looks different for this next year!
So I still have terrible homesickness but it is nothing compared to the first week, that week I thought I was going to be back in the states in no time and was not enjoying anything about being in China again. I have adjusted and I am slowly enjoying what I am doing and embracing any and all situations. My strength is in Him and I am constantly reminded of that and put him first in all situations and have been trying my hardest to constantly be in the word and to be talking to our Father. It is the one thing that gets me up in the morning and gets me through my day and I love closing my day before bed in His word. I am constantly amazed and all of his wonder and grace and love that he has for us. My strength lies in him and I have seen that time and time again, especially in these last two weeks and I love it.
I got to go to the Chinese Christian Church in Shenzhen (a state registered church) and attend their new foreign service, which was quite a story. I really enjoyed what the two leaders are trying to do and I hope I can be there helping them start a community that the church has asked them to do. I met three other foreigners there who are helping them and really got to talk to them and enjoy their company and I hope that I can help them in any way possible. So I am going to attend for a few weeks and see what they might want me to do or see if there is anything for me to do. I am excited to hopefully build a community with them!
The week has been busy, had my first classes! they went really well and felt really natural and I love the kids already! they asked questions and I showed them pictures of me and family and friends and just my life in general and they really enjoyed that! I even gave them a little bit of homework :) such a mean teacher, I know... :D Work is tough I have 10 hour days with 5 hours of them sitting at the office, so I am working on reading and keeping myself busy. Lessons are done for a few weeks already, its all just a lot of sitting!! but school is going well, just trying to get used to the 6:30 am wake up call. and not to oversleep! I teach 3 classes a day in the afternoon mon, tue, wed and fri and on Thursday I have a after school program where we can do whatever we want, just have to make sure we are practicing english! I am excited for that to start, in a few weeks.
the exciting thing this weekend was going to a work banquet to celebrate Teacher's day! I won a rice cooker! and I got to meet a lot of other foreign teachers and watch a show and watch my teachers and the teachers from this summer go up and sing and dance, it was a really fun night. It did not end there though we went to KTV (Karaoke) after for 3 hours! I thought I was going to die! but the school accepted me as a colleague that night! lots of singing and laughing but I did not get home till 1 in the morning...I feel like an old person now, wanting to be in bed by 8!
I also have been given the opportunity to help some students with english that are friends, so it is kind of like babysitting, but doing it in english. Jess and I will take on 6 four year olds next weekend, I am STOKED! and I have some other opportunities with other kids as well, just trying to figure out times and such. These kids make my heart very happy, their smiles just make me want to hang out with them all the time lol but I can't, I need to make sure I am making time for myself and to be fed by Him and stay in the word and have my day of rest! so staying focused on that but helping as many as I can without being worn out! I can do it!
everything is going well, enjoying who I am meeting and what I have been doing, I miss home very very very much but I am dealing with it and living in the now and embracing the situations I am being handed right now. I know that He is there with me and has many reasons for me to be here and I am just trying to listen and be patient and figure out what exactly I should be doing, without wearing myself out.
I thank you for your constant encouragement, without them I would still be a mess.
I love you all
Ashley
High of the week: Mastering the subway system and meeting the foreigners at the church.
Low of the week: being really tired and still being super homesick (I am hoping that can become a healthy homesick in the future, if that even exists!)
Prayer Requests:
Be able to survive 10 hour work days, its hard.
That I can be intentional in the communities that I am in.
That I can figure out how to cook!
Continue to be in the word and praying for you all back home.
that I don't become overworked.
So I still have terrible homesickness but it is nothing compared to the first week, that week I thought I was going to be back in the states in no time and was not enjoying anything about being in China again. I have adjusted and I am slowly enjoying what I am doing and embracing any and all situations. My strength is in Him and I am constantly reminded of that and put him first in all situations and have been trying my hardest to constantly be in the word and to be talking to our Father. It is the one thing that gets me up in the morning and gets me through my day and I love closing my day before bed in His word. I am constantly amazed and all of his wonder and grace and love that he has for us. My strength lies in him and I have seen that time and time again, especially in these last two weeks and I love it.
I got to go to the Chinese Christian Church in Shenzhen (a state registered church) and attend their new foreign service, which was quite a story. I really enjoyed what the two leaders are trying to do and I hope I can be there helping them start a community that the church has asked them to do. I met three other foreigners there who are helping them and really got to talk to them and enjoy their company and I hope that I can help them in any way possible. So I am going to attend for a few weeks and see what they might want me to do or see if there is anything for me to do. I am excited to hopefully build a community with them!
The week has been busy, had my first classes! they went really well and felt really natural and I love the kids already! they asked questions and I showed them pictures of me and family and friends and just my life in general and they really enjoyed that! I even gave them a little bit of homework :) such a mean teacher, I know... :D Work is tough I have 10 hour days with 5 hours of them sitting at the office, so I am working on reading and keeping myself busy. Lessons are done for a few weeks already, its all just a lot of sitting!! but school is going well, just trying to get used to the 6:30 am wake up call. and not to oversleep! I teach 3 classes a day in the afternoon mon, tue, wed and fri and on Thursday I have a after school program where we can do whatever we want, just have to make sure we are practicing english! I am excited for that to start, in a few weeks.
the exciting thing this weekend was going to a work banquet to celebrate Teacher's day! I won a rice cooker! and I got to meet a lot of other foreign teachers and watch a show and watch my teachers and the teachers from this summer go up and sing and dance, it was a really fun night. It did not end there though we went to KTV (Karaoke) after for 3 hours! I thought I was going to die! but the school accepted me as a colleague that night! lots of singing and laughing but I did not get home till 1 in the morning...I feel like an old person now, wanting to be in bed by 8!
I also have been given the opportunity to help some students with english that are friends, so it is kind of like babysitting, but doing it in english. Jess and I will take on 6 four year olds next weekend, I am STOKED! and I have some other opportunities with other kids as well, just trying to figure out times and such. These kids make my heart very happy, their smiles just make me want to hang out with them all the time lol but I can't, I need to make sure I am making time for myself and to be fed by Him and stay in the word and have my day of rest! so staying focused on that but helping as many as I can without being worn out! I can do it!
everything is going well, enjoying who I am meeting and what I have been doing, I miss home very very very much but I am dealing with it and living in the now and embracing the situations I am being handed right now. I know that He is there with me and has many reasons for me to be here and I am just trying to listen and be patient and figure out what exactly I should be doing, without wearing myself out.
I thank you for your constant encouragement, without them I would still be a mess.
I love you all
Ashley
High of the week: Mastering the subway system and meeting the foreigners at the church.
Low of the week: being really tired and still being super homesick (I am hoping that can become a healthy homesick in the future, if that even exists!)
Prayer Requests:
Be able to survive 10 hour work days, its hard.
That I can be intentional in the communities that I am in.
That I can figure out how to cook!
Continue to be in the word and praying for you all back home.
that I don't become overworked.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
the crazy adventure He is taking me on
About three months ago I set off on a new adventure, an unknown adventure, but an exciting adventure. Myself and ten other people set off to come and teach english in China, I had no idea what I was doing, but fell in love with this country and the people that are here, enough to come back and teach.
10,248 miles away from everyone I love and everything I considered safe, and according to google maps a 37 day kayak ride back to America, I doubt that, but who knows :P I thought I was mentally preparing myself all of my senior year for this chance to take a job abroad and teach english for a year, I just want to tell you, whoever you are reading this, there is no preparing for the whirlwind adventure of moving abroad. I thought I would be able to say goodbye, be able to call China "home", it has almost been one week and I am still dealing with those goodbyes, and slowly making my new apartment home in. I eagerly await emails and stories from friends back home, while trying to do everything through out my day, staying connected is one of my goals for this year.
yes I am that many miles away, but still encouraging my friends and family through Him, every chance I get, is all I want to do. Encouraging them and encouraging the people I am surrounded by, helping everyone I can with what He has given me. I was reminded of a verse a week ago, something I took to heart, something I plan on doing all year long. "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” something to live by and strive for with His help and guidance to share his word with everyone.
My adventure in China started with a sorrowful goodbye at LAX with family and close friends (who are family) Jessica my friend is also teaching here, about 20 minutes at the middle school-I taught at this summer. It has been nothing but wonderful to have a fellow sister in Christ and friend here with me. I have had many good cries since before I even left, worrying about people back home, nervous for what lies ahead, where God is taking me, a scary adventure that awaits. We arrived and landed in Shenzhen with no one to pick us up from the airport, the adventure started there, getting to my apartment at 2 in the morning in China, exhausted and sad. We did it! but oh was it exhausting!
Everything has been going okay, my school has not really updated me too much expect for the last day, it made my homesickness worse, I had two days where I was ready to buy my ticket back to America. But the parentals always told me once you have committed yourself to something you have to stick with it, so there is no going back...I must push forward and there is only one person who can help me along that way and that is Him and I am learning every day how much I need to trust him and let him take the wheel.
Some adventures I have had are buying a subway pass, buying a cell phone sim card, setting up a Chinese bank account, all these big kid adventures, all in Chinese of course.
I am slowly starting to understand some of the language, or at least what someone is trying to say to me, I am hoping to find someone to teach me the language soon. That way I can become a little more independent and actually know what someone might be asking me!!
I also was able to visit the school from this summer and visit all of my friends, bittersweet to see them, I missed the China team from CUI but it was nice to see familiar faces in China, friends that will be in my life for a long time.
the adventure continues with this week planning lessons! I got my office spot today and will be making it more home with pictures and other things of home, things to remind me to keep on going. The other fellow teachers were nothing but sweet to me, encouraging and really excited for me to be there, I hope I can deliver whatever they might be expecting. I am excited to get to know each of them.
Thank you for the prayers, the support, the messages, the comments, and the love. I can never tell you how grateful I am.
I love you all.
Ashley
Prayer Requests
That I find peace-where I am and with not being there for events in my family and friends life back home during this year.
Apartment gets set up and I make it more like home, it will help with the transition.
That I can be able to show the light.
Staying in the word daily, and praying, not falling asleep or just not doing it in the morning or at night.
That I can find a good middle ground with contacting back home and knowing my limits of when is too much or when I am not doing it enough.
10,248 miles away from everyone I love and everything I considered safe, and according to google maps a 37 day kayak ride back to America, I doubt that, but who knows :P I thought I was mentally preparing myself all of my senior year for this chance to take a job abroad and teach english for a year, I just want to tell you, whoever you are reading this, there is no preparing for the whirlwind adventure of moving abroad. I thought I would be able to say goodbye, be able to call China "home", it has almost been one week and I am still dealing with those goodbyes, and slowly making my new apartment home in. I eagerly await emails and stories from friends back home, while trying to do everything through out my day, staying connected is one of my goals for this year.
yes I am that many miles away, but still encouraging my friends and family through Him, every chance I get, is all I want to do. Encouraging them and encouraging the people I am surrounded by, helping everyone I can with what He has given me. I was reminded of a verse a week ago, something I took to heart, something I plan on doing all year long. "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” something to live by and strive for with His help and guidance to share his word with everyone.
My adventure in China started with a sorrowful goodbye at LAX with family and close friends (who are family) Jessica my friend is also teaching here, about 20 minutes at the middle school-I taught at this summer. It has been nothing but wonderful to have a fellow sister in Christ and friend here with me. I have had many good cries since before I even left, worrying about people back home, nervous for what lies ahead, where God is taking me, a scary adventure that awaits. We arrived and landed in Shenzhen with no one to pick us up from the airport, the adventure started there, getting to my apartment at 2 in the morning in China, exhausted and sad. We did it! but oh was it exhausting!
Everything has been going okay, my school has not really updated me too much expect for the last day, it made my homesickness worse, I had two days where I was ready to buy my ticket back to America. But the parentals always told me once you have committed yourself to something you have to stick with it, so there is no going back...I must push forward and there is only one person who can help me along that way and that is Him and I am learning every day how much I need to trust him and let him take the wheel.
Some adventures I have had are buying a subway pass, buying a cell phone sim card, setting up a Chinese bank account, all these big kid adventures, all in Chinese of course.
I am slowly starting to understand some of the language, or at least what someone is trying to say to me, I am hoping to find someone to teach me the language soon. That way I can become a little more independent and actually know what someone might be asking me!!
I also was able to visit the school from this summer and visit all of my friends, bittersweet to see them, I missed the China team from CUI but it was nice to see familiar faces in China, friends that will be in my life for a long time.
the adventure continues with this week planning lessons! I got my office spot today and will be making it more home with pictures and other things of home, things to remind me to keep on going. The other fellow teachers were nothing but sweet to me, encouraging and really excited for me to be there, I hope I can deliver whatever they might be expecting. I am excited to get to know each of them.
Thank you for the prayers, the support, the messages, the comments, and the love. I can never tell you how grateful I am.
I love you all.
Ashley
Prayer Requests
That I find peace-where I am and with not being there for events in my family and friends life back home during this year.
Apartment gets set up and I make it more like home, it will help with the transition.
That I can be able to show the light.
Staying in the word daily, and praying, not falling asleep or just not doing it in the morning or at night.
That I can find a good middle ground with contacting back home and knowing my limits of when is too much or when I am not doing it enough.
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