One "knows" the world is soooooooo big, but can you really "know" it without seeing it? Without walking it? Without sweating in it?! Hello from the very hot, very muggy city of
Since I've last written, it seems like a month has been lived. Just yesterday we flew from 
The fleet is so new and so nice and the food was delightful ~ the spicy dishes which the Sechaun province is famous. I shared with a member of our team that it was sad for me to see few, if any, smiles from the Chinese.
As we deplaned, fetched our luggage, and headed out of the airport, we were greeted by several people from Hua Mei including our teaching assistants / translators. There were smiles! And handshakes and hugs. Excitement and anticipation. Their joy that we would come to teach English.
At Hua Mei's offices, we met many of the other teachers who had come from
Somehow in this transfer though, we lost Megan's nebulizer which she had so carefully packed with doctor's sign in sheet, medicine, etc. for her asthma. In a step of faith, she chose to continue on ... not wanting to miss the camp and work we were here to do. Please pray for Melissa's lungs!
Taking it all in ~ new people, new culture, new languages, new reponsibilities, new everything.
The realization that we were no longer in Kansas anymore hit me square between the eyes when ... ... ... ...
We had all heard of asian toilets, but the hearing did nothing to prepare us for the reality of squatting... About an hour before our arrival, we stopped at a rest area (think truckstop) along the way to use the bathroom and buy more water bottles. And there, it was right there, that the big over ceramic holes (hard aiming for women!) Even though they flushed ... well, we'll leave it at that. None of the women on our team talked as they came out. No one wants to complain. No one will. So it was simply quiet. A funny kind of quiet between each of us and our God. Good Lord, this is so different, and we are SOOO here! In this foreign land, with a foreign people, squatting over holes. Okay then! (And we are told that the asians find the western toilets to be dirty and disgusting ~ is that just too humorous, or what!)
We are so blessed to have the western style toilets in our hotel!! And speaking of hotels, the LongCheng Hotel even had a welcome banner out for our whole stay:
We had a great welcome banquet in private rooms in their restaurant upon our arrival ~ the Chinese food is here is EXCEPTIONAL. And the love and attention showered upon us by our Hua Mei hosts has been so awesome.
And after a long day, I found so much comfort in the quiet, low light of my room after Megan went to bed, to just unpack, restack, organize, and such. It soothed me to bring a little bit of a sense of control and order to my life by stacking my shoes, putting away those things not needed until we fly again, and put my power cords in neat rows. Funny how most of us (right?) have a need for feeling of control ~ when in fact we have such little control at all in our lives.
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