Recap/Wrap-up

This post will serve as some sort of a wrap-up for this blog.

tl;dr: got lazy, didn't write. but China was great; experience in China was great. 10/10 would recommend.

Okay, so clearly I stopped writing in this blog for quite some time.

There were several reasons for that.

First, the language program I was in for the 8 weeks following my short visit to Guilin had a strict no-English policy. I felt uncomfortable writing a lot in English after signing a commitment to use only Chinese.

Also, I was busy. I don't know how else to put this, but there was so much to do! The program was definitely extremely intensive so studying, reading, writing, etc. took up a lot of time. We even got to go out and survey students and write up reports on Chinese college student views and opinions twice. But, since I wasn't taking the course on grades (or even for credit), I did have some free time. So what did I do with said free time instead of blogging? I became an expert at using public transportation. Buses and subway - too convenient! I visited family all over the city, ate out with some subset of my family for dinner or lunch on at least a weekly basis, helped make dinner on occasion, visited my grandmother's nursing home and my aunt's workplace, and otherwise chilled with family I hadn't seen in far too long. Plus this time, I could actually have real conversations! It was great! I also had to spend a lot of time doing things that take so much less time back home. I've been spoiled by my college in the US where breakfast is in a kitchen 20 steps from my dorm room, everything in that kitchen is free, and people are free to come and go any time between 7 and 11:30 am. But in the university I stayed at in China, the closest cafeteria was a good 10 minute walk away, only open for a very limited amount of time, and often quite crowded with long lines. And then there was clothes washing. Protip: Chinese washers (especially dryers) can eat your clothes. Rip them to shreds. So... hand washing became my thing. And hand washing takes a long time. On the plus side, there was definitely a discernible muscle difference by the end of the summer!

So, why was I so slow to post this recap? Why not at the end of the program just put up this little note of "China was amazing, I got to talk to my teachers about God and it was basically the most amazing experience ever"? Well, that's a long story. And I'm still sorting through things, but in many ways last summer was the best worst summer and worst best summer of my life. And it's really hard for me to separate the two, so I avoided thinking or talking about the good stuff because the bad is there too. Silly me.

Okay soooooo the good stuff:
- Teachers: most of our teachers (18 of them) are in their early/mid 20s are in grad school / just finished grad school in linguistics/teaching Chinese. These teachers genuinely cared about us and were close enough in age to us that we could actually be friends. We had daily one-on-one talks with our teachers, and I just have to say... people in China are thirsty and hungry. They want to hear about the Living God. It's amazing how often religion would come up in casual conversation with teachers, in a country where that's not expected to be a thing.
- Church: so despite the fact that China controls its churches very closely, international churches are given relatively a lot of freedom. I got to visit several such international churches, and the Holy Spirit is ACTIVE and PRESENT and MOVING!! God's doing great things.
- Family: Being able to speak to them in the language they speak did wonders for our relationship. :)
- Food: the food is so good!
- Friends: new friends. Though I wasn't very socially active... I think I made 3 good friends I'll probably be friends with for a looong time.

:) that's all for now (ever)

Bye

I'm here!

I'm in Guilin! Arrived this morning :D

Experience so far: Mom and me time is cool :) Guilin is pretty; Chinese food is so yummy :D Also, why does every mountain or cave formation have to look like something? Really? I get saying "that mountain is a camel with one hump" but "that stalactite is a ballet dancer's foot, and that one is duck stew"? XD

Even though I'm definitely connected to VPN, I can't access facebook or google stuffs :'(

I'm super exhausted, so... super short post for today.

The Why, and Things to Expect

I want to put Christ first in everything that I do. I want every part of my life, my worldview, my thoughts, my actions, and my desires to be shaped by Him. 

Perhaps the first time I really felt this way was when I was getting ready to go to college. I knew that I wanted more than anything else to seek God during these 4 years.

This summer marks my first real transition since that "big" transition two years ago when I moved away to college (all of 45 minutes away). I'll be in China for almost 9 weeks to learn Chinese in an intensive immersion(ish) program. That's sort of scary. Actually, that's really scary. I've never been away from SoCal for more than a couple weeks. But what this has helped me to realize is that no matter where I am going or what I am doing, I need to put God first. 'need' as in that's my greatest desire. It's always on my mind. I don't expect this to be easy, but hopefully writing about my journey and what I've learned will help me keep my attention focused on Christ.

So, things to expect over the next 15 weeks of summer:
1) Jesus - if I'm not talking about Jesus, I'm doing it wrong
2) mistakes - I'm a sinner saved by grace. I sin. I expect to fall down
3) learning - I sure hope to learn from falling and also from not falling
4) adventures in China (Though, adventuring will primarily be posted on another blog that jams made but she's currently snoring away on the futon so I can't ask for the web link now. Stay tuned!)
5) adventures in Kenya! (Though, money still needs to be gotten... God-willing I'll be in Kenya 10 days!)
6) encouragement - even though I'm largely writing to keep myself focused, I hope to be an encouragement to you in your walk with God too!

Note: I will somewhat be treating this blog as a journal. If emotion-vomit or word-hurtling don't sound fun to you... well, you've been warned ;)

Verse for this post:
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1

I want to live this out and seek the things that are above, namely Christ.

Obligatory First Post

Because any time you start something, you're starting something. And every time you start posting something, you're posting something. And this is one of those times.

If you're reading this, you probably know me. Actually, you're probably my Mom, Dad, or Grandma. Or jams. But in case you don't know me, hi! I'm me. I suppose you're you. Nice to meet you :) although this seems rather one-way*. Ahh well, who says relationships can't be one-sided?

I'm currently in the middle of finals week. I've finished 3 classes, and have 2 left. But that's not interesting. What is interesting is that I'm leaving for China this Saturday! And perhaps even more interesting (infinitely more interesting and worth while) is that I'm seeking Christ. This is a journey that I hope will be the central journey of my life for the rest of my life (and beyond!). I hope to be like the soldier, athlete, and hardworking farmer of 2 Tim 2. To "fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Tim 6:12). To "press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." (Phil 3:12) 

This isn't a journey I'm just now starting, but this is a journey I want to wholeheartedly commit myself to. So, here goes. Join me in seeking Him, the founder and perfecter of our faith, the reason for my everything.

Thoughts from jams

I think I need to learn to be satisfied with Christ and see that everything else is rubbish. How does that happen? Because I think even good things can seem bigger than Jesus, like sisters and cool friends like you and playing guitar. But it makes sense... since I don't think any of those things completely satisfy... they don't last forever. Yeah. 

Theme verse for the summer:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and  

Theme verse for the blog:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Gal 2:20

*feel free to say hi!