Sorry it has been so long since my last update! Things have been so busy around here.
I made my first trip to a new part of East Asia at the end of July. I visited the location where I will be moving in January. What an adventure it was! There were so many exciting things that happened on the trip that I want to tell you about them as best I can. We departed Austin on July 27th. Travel plans were to fly to LA on a short flight then to Hong Kong on a longer flight, somewhere around 13 hours. We had a long enough layover in HK that we stayed the night and did a little sight seeing. Not much to see although we did find a McDonald’s! The Hotel we stayed in was rather small. Smaller than the standard U.S.A. hotel room. The size of our room was somewhere around 9x9 with a small bathroom. There was such little space, approximately 12”, between the beds that I literally had to turn my feet sideways to take my shoes off. But it wasn’t too bad. The beds were comfy and the company was great.
The bathroom was rather interesting. It had a glass wall and door that separated it from the bedroom. And the glass wall had some sort of frosted treatment on the middle part of the wall and door. I guess they must have thought that this frosted stuff would work for when you wanted privacy in the bathroom. Needless to say I didn’t use the bathroom much…
We left HK on Sunday morning and caught our last flight to the final destination. We arrived at the KM airport and were expecting a friend to pick us up but we soon learned from someone else that she and her family were stuck in their village because of some major mud slides. This area has received some major rain fall, much like TX, the last few months or so and because of this they are experiencing problems with the ground being soaked and the rain water having no where else to go. So our other friend was called upon to pick us up at the airport. He was such a great help as he quickly took us to the awaiting taxi. We loaded up our luggage, squeezed a couple of people in this van, and hailed another taxi to hold the rest of us and then we were off to our apartment where we would be staying for the next week.
We set up our rooms for the next day then were invited to join a friend at her for dinner. She picked us up at our apartment and we took a leisurely stroll to her apartment. Our modes of transportation there were walking, riding the bus or taking a taxi. I thoroughly enjoyed the walking. It made me feel as if I was walking the streets of New York. I’ve never been to New York but the experience here was like I dreamed it would be in NY. Walking was the best because then we had time to check out the sights, practice our Mandarin (not so good), and get some exercise all in one!
Apparently we were the main attraction in our neighborhood and wherever we walked. Everyone would stare at us like they had never seen a foreigner before. We even had an audience when eating at times. I don’t think I ever got used to the staring. My friends, who have been there for many years, don’t seem to notice it anymore. They must be used to it. Many people told me that I would stick out because of how tall I was. There was one day when we were walking to breakfast and we passed a group of young men. One of the men came over to me and stretched his body to try and see over my head. They thought that was pretty funny. haha
I got to see my friends that I’ve been corresponding with these last 6 months. They gave me their final decision on what my job would be and where I will be living. I will be living far south of the capital and assistant teaching in an international school.
All laughter aside, I truly had an amazing time there. My heart immediately went out to the people of this country and I instantly lost all concern and discomfort that I had before going. I know there will be times of difficulty as I try to learn the language & culture, go to the market, make new friends and live so far from my family and friends but I know that our Father is going to be with me day and night and will never let me go. It became a reality for me when I went in July. Now I can’t wait to go back and I’m so excited to be able to include ya’ll in the journey. Boy is this going to be life-changing!
I made my first trip to a new part of East Asia at the end of July. I visited the location where I will be moving in January. What an adventure it was! There were so many exciting things that happened on the trip that I want to tell you about them as best I can. We departed Austin on July 27th. Travel plans were to fly to LA on a short flight then to Hong Kong on a longer flight, somewhere around 13 hours. We had a long enough layover in HK that we stayed the night and did a little sight seeing. Not much to see although we did find a McDonald’s! The Hotel we stayed in was rather small. Smaller than the standard U.S.A. hotel room. The size of our room was somewhere around 9x9 with a small bathroom. There was such little space, approximately 12”, between the beds that I literally had to turn my feet sideways to take my shoes off. But it wasn’t too bad. The beds were comfy and the company was great.
The bathroom was rather interesting. It had a glass wall and door that separated it from the bedroom. And the glass wall had some sort of frosted treatment on the middle part of the wall and door. I guess they must have thought that this frosted stuff would work for when you wanted privacy in the bathroom. Needless to say I didn’t use the bathroom much…
We left HK on Sunday morning and caught our last flight to the final destination. We arrived at the KM airport and were expecting a friend to pick us up but we soon learned from someone else that she and her family were stuck in their village because of some major mud slides. This area has received some major rain fall, much like TX, the last few months or so and because of this they are experiencing problems with the ground being soaked and the rain water having no where else to go. So our other friend was called upon to pick us up at the airport. He was such a great help as he quickly took us to the awaiting taxi. We loaded up our luggage, squeezed a couple of people in this van, and hailed another taxi to hold the rest of us and then we were off to our apartment where we would be staying for the next week.
We set up our rooms for the next day then were invited to join a friend at her for dinner. She picked us up at our apartment and we took a leisurely stroll to her apartment. Our modes of transportation there were walking, riding the bus or taking a taxi. I thoroughly enjoyed the walking. It made me feel as if I was walking the streets of New York. I’ve never been to New York but the experience here was like I dreamed it would be in NY. Walking was the best because then we had time to check out the sights, practice our Mandarin (not so good), and get some exercise all in one!
Apparently we were the main attraction in our neighborhood and wherever we walked. Everyone would stare at us like they had never seen a foreigner before. We even had an audience when eating at times. I don’t think I ever got used to the staring. My friends, who have been there for many years, don’t seem to notice it anymore. They must be used to it. Many people told me that I would stick out because of how tall I was. There was one day when we were walking to breakfast and we passed a group of young men. One of the men came over to me and stretched his body to try and see over my head. They thought that was pretty funny. haha
I got to see my friends that I’ve been corresponding with these last 6 months. They gave me their final decision on what my job would be and where I will be living. I will be living far south of the capital and assistant teaching in an international school.
All laughter aside, I truly had an amazing time there. My heart immediately went out to the people of this country and I instantly lost all concern and discomfort that I had before going. I know there will be times of difficulty as I try to learn the language & culture, go to the market, make new friends and live so far from my family and friends but I know that our Father is going to be with me day and night and will never let me go. It became a reality for me when I went in July. Now I can’t wait to go back and I’m so excited to be able to include ya’ll in the journey. Boy is this going to be life-changing!
