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