Learning true patience

10/29

Growing as a person is a crazy crazy thing. You know you've started to grow up when you leave your home nest hating rice, and a week later eating it happily for every meal. You know you've grown up when snot used to scare the heck out of you and now you cheer when "your" kids blow as hard as they can into the tissue and make you look to see how much came out. You know you've grown up when they get an answer on their homework right and you get a warm happy feeling inside. I think I'm finally learning the true definition of patience. And that for me is a HUGE accomplishment.

Grandma doesn't really yell at me in Chinese anymore! I think she can tell I have good intentions and we're trying to figure it out together. Even when we break our charades record and make it 21 minutes instead of 14, there are always about 15 minutes in there with straight nonsense and laughter. The laughter makes it worth it. Four months ago I would have no idea that my best friends would be a 4 year old boy and a 56 year old, Chinese speaking grandma. 

I felt an extreme warmth tonight from what was said by my China mom. She was talking about Jerry, and how he worries about everything too much. Then a smile broke across her face as she said, "I haven't seen him like that since the night you got here," and then she mumbled under her breath, "I really like you." What a humbling experience this was. I have finally found one of the reasons I'm here - to help this little boy know how to truly be happy and to laugh.

10/30

Today I was lectured that I need to hate the Japanese by Grandma and her sister. They would both just sit there and pretend they were shooting each other and then say, "We no like the Jap!!" The sister was very impressed with how well I could imitate her Chinese so we're getting somewhere right? But seriously, they're a hoot! I hope she comes around a lot more because she now knows that American's are cool thanks to me. juuuust kidddddddding. 

Grandma finally let me go out and run today, thank goodness! They are super protective and don't like me going outside by myself. I haven't seen one Asian running here. I don't think the Asian's are into that running life. haha they give me the funniest looks as I go by. It could be for a couple reasons…. 
1) I'm a blonde American. 
2) I'm belting out Chris Brown. 
3) Why would someone run for fun? 

I think I have them figured out. :)

10/31

Today I was invited to lunch and to see a temple with one of the girls in my Chinese class. She (Linda) is super nice and way pretty. Linda also has blonde hair so she knows what it's like to constantly be stared at. She's actually from Sweden! We met two of her other friends at a Mexican restaurant which was surprisingly pretty good. In one of the museums I sat on a wooden God and the first thing that came to my head was my mom telling me, "You're going to get yourself kicked out of China so fast." I think sitting on their God's is a really good way to do that. haha Soooo the moral of this story is I HAVE FRIENDS NOW! wahoo! I'm pretty happy about it if you could imagine? They invited me to go out with them tomorrow to find Asian Halloween parties so we'll see if my China mom will let me. If she doesn't then it looks like I'll be doing my first sneaking out in my life.

    

Happy Halloween to everyone at home! I wish I could be partying with all of you but I'll be here cleaning up pee and snot :)

xoxo

BREAKING NEWS: Talking Toilets!

It's weird to think that I'm a 19 year old and play with kids for a living. 
You can think about it one or two ways. 

1 - Kids are gross and pick their noses 
or..........
2 - I get to throw a little boy around. 
Plus Asians drive sick cars. Seriously though, there are four Audi's parked outside as we speak. The people driving them wear the exact same clothes everyday with their pajamas under them, but we can just forget about that part. My China dad drives a pretty dope car, but everything changes when his phone rings and it's Justin Bieber...

I had to watch the most disturbing thing I've ever seen… I think I may have nightmares from it. It was this whole episode about a talking toilet, and it would show different things going pee on it. Like it showed EVERYTHING! and it made the pee drops have smiley faces, and as they got flushed they would giggle. These giggles are horror movie giggles. I think it's time to run.

I ate my first Halloween treat of the season and all it did was reminded me how much I don't like candy. I would happily eat candy at home if it meant I didn't have to eat anymore here (this says a lot). It tastes like stale soy sauce… Actually most things taste like stale soy sauce. Cookies, tarts, everything! China has a distinct taste that never leaves your mouth. Chinese people also have a distinct, gross way of eating. Their mouth is always open while chewing, and they slurp up everything possible while shoveling something else up with their chopsticks. It's actually quite amazing. Today at breakfast we ate quail eggs. What the heck? Who eats quail eggs? What makes me even more nervous is I haven't seen one bird the whole time being here.... so where is this egg coming from?

I found out what the mucusy looking stuff is. Rice and water. haha grandma says it runs right through your digestive system. Watching me and Grandma trying to speak to each other would out do Keeping Up With the Kardashian's. We pretty much are just playing a game of Charades with a whole bunch of Chinese yelling and a whole bunch of English laughing. We get to the point eventually, but the record of the longest game is 14 minutes, and by game I mean one word.

It is so cold here. The government controls the heat systems so there is absolutely no heat coming through this house. They won't turn it on until late November. Stupid communism…. The cold is very wet too. My clothes are always damp which I'm sure you can imagine is miserable. I wish I could build a fire in my room… hmmm maybe I should try that when everyone is sleeping.

Today I had a full blown melt down. I was in the play room watching Sarah with tears streaming down my face and trying so hard to have someone from home come pick me up. The sad moments come so strong and overwhelming here. At times I feel like I'm completely alone and have no idea how to handle it. They always go away though, luckily. 

I've learned one great thing about taking care of kids throughout this week. GET OVER YOUR EGO. You need to learn to get over it and play with Legos and cars, run around like something is chasing you, make vroom sounds while you fly a car around. Just do it. It makes everything way easier for the both of you in the long run.

Tomorrow morning I'm having my first encounter with the bus and train stations. I will admit that I am scared out of my mind. I really am not looking forward to getting lost in Beijing so everyone keep your fingers crossed for me please! I'm so excited though because it's my first Chinese class! I just want to learn the language so I can actually communicate with people. Oh and lets hope that there are cute American white boys in my class too... I'll keep you up to date on what happens with that. 

p.s I'm wondering if it's inappropriate for me to refer to Sarah as Satan? Today she peed all over me… and everyday I have to clean up one or both of her bodily fluids. Someone/something has to take over my cats name? Lets take a vote.

xoxo

Let me tell you bout' it.

Observations I've made in 3 days. 

DRIVING:

First off, if you think driving in rush hour is bad, never come to Beijing. The drivers are absolutely insane! It's constantly like you're driving at 5pm on the way home from work, plus 10x the amount of cars. And those white lines that separate the lanes? Those don't exist here. People will make as many lanes as they want as long as they can get where they are going. There is no speed limit, no cops and I guess the best way to put it is no rules. Boys back home always say that girls are bad drivers. Ha. Come to Beijing.

ALL EYES ON ME:

I'm pretty much a super star. Everywhere I go people look at me like I'm Beyonce. It's weird having this much attention and I don't think I like it. Today we went to a HUGE park where you can ride boats, bikes, roller blades, electric cars, etc. and it was like the people had never seen a white person before. Everyone just stares at me. Haven't they ever learned that staring is rude?

Asian's are weird, man. They wear the most bazaar clothes and the highest platform shoes. I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I'm serious! People will just walk right into the street without looking or stopping, get hit by a car and just keep walking! It doesn't even phase them! I think Asians are made out of steal because they are prone to getting injured.

SCHOOL SYSTEM:
Now I know that I should never have complained about school. Jerry, my four year old, goes to school from 8am - 6pm! And then has English class Friday after school and Sunday. Thennnn gets to come home to my lessons. Now I know why Asians are geniuses! 
Oh, and ankle socks don't exist here. My family always makes fun of me because my socks aren't long. Just thought I'd throw that in there...

FUN FACTS:

The sky isn't blue. There seems to be too much pollution so it's always kind of a grayish color.
I haven't seen one bird.
The food is weird. Their hamburgers are gross. (very sad moment of my life)
You have to wear flip flops and socks inside or you get yelled at.
I get made fun of a lot.
My two kids love to pick their noses.
I'm afraid for my life when I walk in the street.
My China dad, Peter, is a heavy smoker.
The shower only stays hot for 5 minutes and I'm not even sure what I'm washing my hair with.
I can't do my hair because the plugs back home are different from the plugs here.
I'm ten hours ahead of you guys so I'm living in your future and you're all in my past.
Annnnddd my bedspread is pink. I hate pink. 

My brain is tired.

love you,

xoxox

Arrival in Beijing, China.

Truth or dare: Dare

- I dare you to have a bundle of Chinese people all speaking to you at the exact same time in a different language while pulling your hair and touching your face. Oh ya, and you have to sit on an airplane for 13 hours first.

Truth of dare: Truth

- Did you cry? ----- sure did.

I knew I was going to get attention because of the blonde hair and white face, but never in my life did I imagine to be looked at like a Victoria's Secret model. Every single eye is on me. 

Morning one - Panda Express should be illegal. This is the weirdest food I've ever seen, touched and tasted. I pick something up that resembles a sausage. NOT a sausage! They had two normal foods - bread and eggs. But wait, I hate eggs. I'm not looking to starve here, so I suppose I will have to plug my nose throughout my meals. After breakfast I locked myself in my room and unpacked into the tiny "closet" I was provided with.

Afternoon one -  China Dad, Peter, took me to register as a "citizen." This is where i got my first glimpse at the way driving will be like. I may or may not be dead by this evening. Wear your seat belt, kids. 

Second try of Chinese food was mostly unsuccessful. Lunch was a mucus looking substance with cut up pears and lettuce in it. Chinese are HUGE on their tea and if you're not a kid, you don't get a choice of what you want to drink. You have to have tea. But here there are no such thing as tea bags. They just dump it in boiling hot water and watch you drink it with spices and all!

It's actually been a pretty entertaining day. When I have no clue what they're saying I just laugh and try to say it back to them. One word I had to try like 25 times before grandma finally started clapping. The grandpa is great. He's always smiling and everyone always laughs when he says something. I'm sure they are always making fun of me because I can't understand them. They also make fun of my clothes a lot.... 

China is a completely different world. Outside is different, inside is different. I haven't seen one thing that reminds me of home. This is a good thing. I just want to dive into this culture and learn it all.
As the old Chinese woman that I sat on the airplane with said, "You are a brave, brave girl."
I just want to prove her right. 

I love you all so much and can't wait for the day I see you all again. I can't get on any social media sites yet so that's why I'm not posting anything on those. I'll keep you updated as much as possible!

xoxo

Peace out America!

And here I am, finally on an airplane on my way to Beijing, China.

Well, actually I'm on my way to Tokyo, Japan right now (10 hour flight), but then I'll get on my third and last plane to be "home."

The first flight I had the pleasure of sitting in between a really nice man and a REALLY grumpy, old lady. When I asked if I could squeeze by her to get to my seat, she looked at me as if I had killed her cat. Please, for the love of all things holy, if you love me, don't let me be a grumpy old lady. But on the other hand the man, Jim, taught me all about the mountains we were passing :)

Leaving the fam bam was rough. They are just too cute to not be sad about. I will miss them more than anything.

This was the sunrise over Tokyo before we landed.
Once the wheels hit the runway, and the plane doors opened, all chaos punched me right in the face and words became symbols. Not kidding, everything was in Japanese. It's quite confusing if you can imagine. Apparently there are like 5 different flights going to Beijing and I picked the only one that was in English. I went up to board and the flight attendant didn't know English, so she kinda just shooed me away and waited for me to disappear. NOTHING IS IN ENGLISH. Once I finally feel like I've arrived at the right gate my thoughts are, "If this isn't the right gate and I get lost again, I'm turning around and going home." Crazy to think that not understanding anything is going to be my world for awhile.


I already am missing you guys and thinking about your cute faces. I wish you all luck in your days and keep your fingers crossed that I don't get lost again. xoxo