Stories and Snapshots

Nihao friends and family! Here are some stories from the past couple weeks and some “Snap-Shots” of living in China.  It’s certainly been a special summer that I’ll never forget.

Preschool Fun:

Sarah and I have been teaching preschool Monday through Friday and it has been such a fun experience.  When we were first told we could take over preschool for the summer I remember thinking, “how can we teach when we know ZERO Chinese?!”  And while it would certainly be easier at times if I did know how to say everything, it has been one of the most rewarding experiences because I have had to figure out other ways to communicate with them through my actions and through play.  The kids have taught me more Chinese and an even bigger picture of how to care and express love.  There’s never a dull moment in preschool and it’s a successful day if none of the kids get the craft all over Sarah and I and if none of the craft supplies are mistaken as a snack!

            Taxi Tales:

            Getting in a taxi here you never know what kind of experience will be had! We’ve had everything from roller coaster ride driving to the driver who keeps trying to talk to us even after we’ve said we don’t understand and can’t speak Chinese.   Our best story though is the night we needed to tell the driver to turn right and I started saying “zo shao! Zo shao!” It was a phrase I had heard a lot and I knew it was also similar to how you say "turn left". The driver laughed and Sarah joined me in telling him “zo shao!” After some pointing we got out the taxi and learned from our Chinese tutor we had been telling the driver “sit down! Sit down!”  It’s a taxi experience and phrase we both never will forget now! And don’t worry; we learned the real phrase for “turn right” for any future rides and it has come in handy during preschool to tell the kids to sit down.  

Outing Adventures:

            One Sunday after fellowship (with the other foreigners) all 15 of us piled into two vans for an hour and half ride to the Yellow River for a hike. It was a pretty clear day and the view was amazing compared to the building, factories, and city life we usually see on a day-to-day basis.  It was fun to get out and SEE the beauty that is tucked away even in China and also an answered prayer that God would show glimpses of beauty behind all the smog because even here creation still speaks of His glory and His majestic works.

The View

Yellow River

 Selfie Successes:

            Sarah and I have kept to our bucklist goal of taking a selfie-a-day about our time here!  I’ll be posting some more later this week!

Day 27: At the shopping center in town and found the only other white, blonde!

Day 28: We helped skewer 20ish chicken breasts for the team BBQ and couldn't resist pretending to eat the slimy chicken "boogers"!

Day 29: An outing to the park! It was a literal jungle gym with lots to climb on and hang from!

Day 30: Enjoyed a meal at Pizza Hut, (it may be our favorite restaurant here!) and thought the chef statue looked constipated!

Day 31: We spent the night punch out construction paper circles for our preschool craft.  We did an underwater theme and the circles were for the scales of their fish.

Day 32: Shao Kao!! Chinese BBQ outside on a huge patio.  The potato slices are one of our favorites.

Day 33: Fun day out to the city's aquarium.  It surprisingly had a lot of fish and most of them were even alive! 

Day 35: Pizza night with everyone at the house! We had a lot of fun getting to help make all the pizzas.

Day 36: What our taxi rides look like after we've been grocery shopping.

            

Day 37: Flower arrangements made by Sarah at a local flower shop!

Day 39: You probably can't tell but we rented Spy Kids for a movie night and were really excited!

Day 40: Girls shopping day!! Who knew there would be an H&M here?! We all had fun finding and trying on new clothes.

Day 41: Hanging out on the roof of Maria's. It's one of my favorites places, especially on a clear day!

Day 42: Took a fast train to Xi'an for the day to see the Terra cotta Warriors and loved all the pretty paths lined with trees.

Day 43: 4th of July!! We got to enjoy a BBQ on the roof with everyone and even had hot dogs and Doritos!

Day 44: A day late, but we went down the street with everyone to set off our own firework show to celebrate!

Thank you for following along with me and for your continued prayers! Our time here is quickly coming to a close with only two more weeks left.  Please continue to pray for good health and that we would cherish even these last weeks be all "here"even as we have to start preparing to head back home. Lots of love and hugs! 

~Emma