Today (Wednesday), I had a really great day. It was a little crazy but tomorrow I will start in the classroom and hopefully get in a routine.. but today I learned A LOT of new things and got to know some new people as well.
Started off by going to an all staff meeting at the school where I had to introduce myself and explain why I was there. Everyone was so curious why I chose Kunming and honestly, I didn't have a very good reason! But when I said that it was where God called me to, they understood perfectly. Being in the presence of Christians makes life a lot easier :)
I then got to spend some time in the classroom, about an hour and a half. Then went to have brunch at Solveig's apartment where I got to meet basically all the stay at home mom's whose husbands work at the school, including all their kids that aren't old enough for school yet. They are all so welcoming and loving and ask me tons of questions and since today I wasn't as tired and not as 'out of it' as yesterday, I really enjoyed getting to know them and learning how they got to Kunming.
After that, one of the ladies, Crystal, took me all around the city to help me get groceries, a Chinese cell phone, and just help me learn how to get around. For 138 Qui (that is what they call the money here, not Yuan) I got some hangers, 5 chicken breasts, I think a 10 pound bag of rice, coffee and pretzels.. which translates to about $15 in. So I got it pretty good here! Everyone also gets their fresh fruit at just a little tent/vendor in the street so I got a whole pineapple and 5 apples for 15 qui which is about $2.50. How awesome is that?? I'm gonna try and cook so we shall see how that goes... haha.
She also took me to a shopping center.. like a mall but all open and outdoors. That is where I got my groceries and a phone. There was a Mcdonald's, Dairy Queen, Starbucks, KFC, & H&M. So that is where I will go if I'm needing any Americanized stuff. Or if I really need to go on a shopping spree haha! I'm curious if H&M is more or less expensive than the states.. hmm..
I think what I love most so far is the community of it all. Mostly all the people who work in the school live in the neighborhood and it's like one big family. In the states, you plan to have dinner with people like weeks in advance but here you see someone at school and say "hey want to go out to dinner with us?" or "want to come over and have dinner?" It's just so friendly here and it is completely safe for me to ride my bike around the neighborhood by myself if I need to go to a convenient store or get dinner. I am really enjoying the freedom to do what I want but also knowing that I can call anyone and they would help me with whatever.
I can't wait to learn even more about the school and my class the next two days and share that with you guys! The people I love! Continue to keep me in your prayers.. although I am adjusting well, doesn't mean I'm not homesick. I love you all so very much!
Things I've learned:
3. No one carries around purses or anything. Cell phone and money- that's all you need.
4. When you buy a cell phone in China, they give you a long list of phone numbers that you pick from. The numbers with less '4s' are considered better so they are more expensive. Something I will never understand!
No comments:
Post a Comment