Dear friends and family,
School is now in full swing. Classes have more or less straightened out and clubs and sports teems have started up again. I survived rugby practice from a not so unreasonable 11:00 pm to a questionable 12:30 am. The practice was very good, things just started going downhill when I had to ride home on my bike in the torrential wind and rain. Even more not good was not getting to sleep till 1:30 am, and then getting up at a glorious 6:45 the next morning for math class. Boy, you’ve just got to love college *grimace*.
As far as classes go, I just realized that I have had only one “american” teacher for the past three quarters. All my teachers have been Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Malaysian, Moroccan, Yemeni, and one from Ghana just to make things interesting (Ghana is on the Ivory Coast in Africa by the way). What does this mean? It means God has blessed me with many different cultural perspectives to observe. I’m trying to learn some Korean from my math teacher, but since I don’t write it down, I’m not remembering it very well. Of course, it might also have to do with all the other language vocabulary I’m supposed to be memorizing that sort of drives it out of mind.
I’m sure most of you have heard that I am going to China this summer, hopefully to Qingdao but maybe to Beijing. Well, every time I get tired of practicing Chinese, I think “ok, in 6 months I’m going to be in China, on my own, and I had better be able to take care of myself.” It is certainly a motivator. I’m also trying to figure out if I can manage to stay in China two weeks longer than the program runs to do some traveling, but that depends on how much scholarship money I get and what the program schedule is. However, if any of you know anyone in Qingdao or Beijing (or anywhere in China really), who might be willing to put me up for a week or two, I would appreciate being introduced. I don’t want to stay in a hotel because I will be in China during the 2008 olympics, so not only will there be NOTHING available, but in the rare chance that I do find some vacancy it will be astronomically expensive.
I had another wonderful night at the IFI potluck dinner (international friendships inc.). I met more new people, and said hi to people who’s names I remembered (yeah). About 70% of the people there are asian, mostly Chinese but also some from Korea and Singapore. There are also about 4 Indians, and a spattering of people from spanish speaking countries. Then there are the Americans who are there to make friends with and minister to the international people. I’m becoming good friends with a Chinese girl named Vanessa (or Cong Cong), and I think this is an opportunity that the Lord is giving me to witness to her. I’m very excited and I think I’m going to be pretty involved in IFI.
I miss all of you (yes, all of you! even if I haven’t seen you for a while and your thinking “oh, she’s not talking about me” I am talking about you), it’s pretty boring in the friends and family department around here, not that friends and family aren’t here, and not that they aren’t wonderful, but there are not as many and I’m so busy I can’t enjoy them properly. If anyone felt like calling me *glare, emilie, lauren, julia, ben, ali, grrr* I would be delighted to take 10-15 minutes to chat. I don’t really want to call anyone since I don’t know if they are busy, but here is an open invitation from me. I call my family all the time of course, but that is because they have 18 years experience of being bothered by me, so they don’t mind too much ;)>
In Christ
Lydia
Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you: Jesus Christ and the American G.I.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.
Go figure.