Final sprint

Where, oh, where has my life gone? Gone...gone...gone!! But not in vain. Two years have passed since I first settled into the China life, and I haven't regretted it, unless I was sick or something. Some days I feel like living here is so tedious, but I think it's in the daily living when we grow the most and when the Father also refines us the most. It's not really the big, crazy events that end up defining us or the legacy we have on others.

This past weekend was packed full, but really blessed as we say goodbyes and gallop through our final days in Nanchang. Some of the activities included going downtown with friends, and having our usual sister study of the Word. My favorite part was the farewell dinner and party Jodi and I held for about 10 of our closest friends. We cooked them dinner, which they devoured, and then we chatted and played card games. We also had some spiritual conversations, which I am always eager to engage in.

Some of my friends/students told me about jobs they have had or will have. I don't know if I'll ever be able to buy anything in America again, knowing that my baby students labored under crazy conditions for these items we buy. Here are two examples:

My student Talent told me about a summer job he had two years ago at a factory which manufactures clothes for export to America. His job all summer, every day, was to push around a clothes cart with small and medium sized shirts. He would put the small shirts in the "small" bin, and the "medium" shirts in the medium bin. He had to work for 16 hours a day (yes, 16!), 6 days a week, for 2 kuai an hour (about 30 cents).

My former student Karen will be working this summer in slightly better conditions at a factory which manufactures doors for export to America. Her job will be to place peepholes in doors, all day, every day. She will be working for 11 hours a day, 6 days a week for 7 kuai an hour (about $1).

I just hope that my extremely hard-working and intelligent friends can have better futures than that! And I hope that they all can one day trust in the Father, who fulfills all their needs.


Family picture with our friends and students.


Playing Nertz with our friends.


Got a picture with my favorite trash scavenger friend!


An alley picture with Nicl and Reborn.


Zongzi for sale on the street in time for Dragon Boat Festival next week.

Savoring the China life

12 days until America...

I'm still trying to savor everything around me; realizing that I probably won't see it again. Even if I do happen to return to Nanchang in the future, it won't be the same as what I experience now. For example, we are seeing an alarming influx of foreigners in our area. I used to be able to go months without spotting a foreigner on our side of town. Now it is only weeks. It's an epidemic.

I hope Nanchang and China in general never loses its innocence and quirkiness. Yesterday I was walking around a little park with one of my students, Debbie. We were meandering along, when she suddenly came to a halt, and quickly covered her eyes with her hands. I looked all around us, feeling very perplexed. In answer to my questioning look, she pointed a finger to a couple in front of who were walking and hugging each other. She whispered, "We can't walk that way. I'm so embarrassed."

I assured her that THEY were the ones who should be embarrassed, and they certainly weren't going to ruin our walk in the park. I just told her not to look, and we kept walking.

This week I noted other strange things in my classes and around town; things that have become quite normal:

Like my student fainting at the podium during her final exam speech, because of her "stomach pain," and all the girls who carried her out of the room; how I gnaw on chicken and duck bones for lunch in the cafeteria nearly every day; how I actually enjoy gnawing on chicken and duck bones; how we spit the bones on the table; how I fit so well in the crowded 220 bus; how I never have to worry about violent criminals; how one student sits in the front of my class and always peels a random giant piece of fruit with a rather large knife; how my favorite old man in our neighborhood will pause as he's digging through trash cans to smile his toothless grin at me; how we have to walk around the children going to the bathroom on the side of the street; how we use umbrellas when it is sunny outside; how we are always mindful of wearing modest clothes; how we can't say whatever is on our mind whenever we want about politics or spiritual matters; how the Chinese language has seeped into my brain; how we haul our 5 gallon drinking water up four flights of stairs once a week; how firecrackers don't make me jump anymore; how my students shout in unison, "GOOD MORNING, MISS LAURA!!" at the beginning of class...

And the list goes on! Thanks for thinking of me. I'm really starting to feel a great sense of loss. For better or worse, this has been my home, and it will be difficult not returning.


When you look up, sometimes you can see a beautiful, flowering magnolia!


Baking apple bread while communicating only in Chinese with our friends, Hannah and Lisa.


A creepy doll Jodi and I were given as a present from our Chinese friends.

Pest control

Greetings from Nanchang, which is experiencing beautiful, non life-threatening weather. It is neither too scalding hot nor too freezing cold. It's just right, and I'm so thankful! We are now only affected by things like mold and clouds of dust, dirt, and smog that we can't control. Some days I'm glad that I'm leaving when I am! I'm just tired of coughing for the past 2 years.

Anyways, it's hard to believe that it's June! Exactly 2 weeks until I leave for Shanghai, and then to America the day after that. So now we just have 2 weeks of classes and final exams left.

I'm trying to soak in the cuteness/preciousness/bizarreness of my students while I can. Today, for example, there was a dying roach on the floor of the classroom. Later, I noticed that it was gone--and it was sitting on my student Vika's desk! I couldn't hide my horror very well. It was hilarious and terrible at the same time. She was happily sitting there, while a roach wiggled its legs right on her desk.

It was even crazier, because Vika had put the bug on her desk herself. She felt sorry for it. Noticing my shock, she wrapped it in a tissue and set it back on the floor. Another student jokingly told her, "respect your pet!" Later I noticed that she made a little box out of paper, placed the roach inside, and then set it on the windowsill.

I was also amazed at how calm and normal this seemed to everyone. One student said that they have so many roaches, mice, and mosquitoes in their dormitories that the insects are "like their friends." He said this only half jokingly.

I'm also getting to soak in speaking a lot of Chinese. Last blog post I mentioned how Jodi and I ate hot pot downtown with our Chinese friends who only speak Chinese. Tonight we're having those same two girls over to bake apple bread with us.

And yesterday the Father provided an awesome opportunity for Jodi and me to tag team a spiritual conversation in Chinese with one of our sweet friends Mikey, who also really only speaks Chinese. I was reading an Anne of Green Gables book in the office, of all things, and he asked me what kinds of books I like to read. I couldn't say "fiction" in Chinese, but I could say the "Word" in Chinese. Thus, Jodi, Mikey, and I discussed the Word, the Father, and the Son--all in Chinese for a long time. It was so amazing, and by far the best Chinese conversation I've ever been a part of! It only took nearly 2 years for it to happen...But I'm sure it was His perfect timing.

And despite these wonderful conversations, parts of me will also be happy to leave. I hope it's alright to admit it, but I'm excited about grad school. And I'm excited not to be stared at anymore! :) Today I was buying a watermelon on the back street. A guy was so shocked to see me that he literally stood in the middle of the street and screamed! His jaw was also just about scraping the pavement. It's hard to remind myself that nothing's wrong with me. I'm starting to wonder, though...

Wrapping up May

Life has suddenly sped up very quickly. Some days seem to drag on forever, especially the super rainy ones, but somehow it is hard to believe that I'll be leaving China in a mere 18 days. How are you supposed to wrap up the past 2 years of life in an entirely different country/planet in about 2 weeks?

Everyone and everything is growing dearer to me as the days wind down. This week I had a lot of meals and time to hang out with my friends. On Wednesday Jodi and I headed downtown to eat "hot pot" with "Lisa" and "Hannah," two sweet Chinese girls whose family owns the bustling Nanchang noodle restaurant in our neighborhood. We hung out with them for nearly 3 hours and talked the entire time in Chinese! They don't speak any English. I was so surprised at how well we all communicated. That has been my dream to carry on conversations with Chinese people, ever since I got here. That's just one of the many opportunities I've had this semester to be in situations where speaking Chinese was vital for an extended period of time. Thanks, Father, for helping me!!

I've also had a lot of other meals and conversations with some of my close Chinese friends. One of my friends and I talked about, in depth, what it's like to really be a Chinese believer in China these days. Ask me this summer, if you'd like to know more! It's certainly different than during her parents' and grandparents' generations. Her grandparents spent months in prison for their beliefs.
Thanks as always for your thoughts! I'd like to continue to spend good quality time with my friends, while preparing myself for life back in the U.S.

Lastly, I thought I'd provide you with a link to an interesting article, "16 Items They Only Sell at Chinese Walmarts." I'll give you a few of my favorite items, but you can click on the article to read more about each item and see interesting pictures. :)

1.) Crocodiles
2.) Bulk Rice
3.) Turtles
4.) Rib cages
5.) Assorted Dried Reptiles
6.) Frogs
7.) A large selection of chopsticks
8.) Beef Granules
9.) Dried ducks
10.) Pig Faces

So not only will I miss my Chinese friends and the culture, but I'll also miss the crazy Walmarts!


Eating hotpot with Chinese friends.


With Jodi, Lisa, and Hannah. I'm the giant white person, in case you couldn't tell. :)


Our friends Wendy and Karen. This is how they ride their bike to class. Pretty talented, huh?


Fresh, fresh meat for sale at the local supermarket.

Marching on

Hello, America!

It's a brand new, sunshiny day in Nanchang. Things are finally drying up after torrential rains and plenty of flooding. Some of my friends who teach on the other side of Nanchang said people were wading in water past their waists! And there was a landslide just south of our city, which derailed a train and killed about 20 people...

Did you ever think that Americans were patriotic? Times that by about 25, and that's China's patriotism. Sometimes I'm amazed by how much they love their country. One of my classes sang the Chinese national anthem for me, and the words are quite...moving. Here's an English translation of their anthem, in case you were curious: So imagine lots of students singing it with a lot of fervor and passion.

Arise! All who refuse to be slaves!
Let our flesh and blood forge into our new Great Wall!
As the Chinese nation faces its greatest peril,
All forcefully expend their last cries.
Arise! Arise! Arise!
Our million hearts beat as one,
Brave the enemy's fire, March on!
Brave the enemy's fire, March on!
March on! March on! On!

And on that note, I thought I'd talk about how we are marching on in the face of an imminent departure from China. I only have 3 weeks until I fly to Shanghai and then on to America, a land which is becoming increasingly unfamiliar to me. I'm afraid I'll arrive in America and I won't remember how to speak, I'll drop food all over the table, and I'll answer every question quite indirectly in a very China-y way...

But I'm also excited! I'm anticipating a harmonious and happy future, to borrow the words of my students. Actually, I don't really know what the future holds, but I know it's all in His hands!

And we march on...

Less than a month...

I woke up this morning feeling like my days are quite numbered here in China... I only have 3 weeks of classes left, and then a few days after that I'll begin the journey home to America. How do I feel about that, especially since China has become my home? My students insist that now I'm much more Chinese than American. Sometimes my friend, Reborn, will laugh and say, "Laura, you are so Chinese when you did that!" Another student said that when he looks at me, he doesn't see me as a foreigner. Just a friend.

Every Friday I eat lunch and hang out with my friend Reborn for a long time. We are starting to become a bit weepy that we will soon be parting ways. I said that I could call her and email her. But she said that wouldn't be the same; she wouldn't be able to see my smile, touch my shoulder, hug me, or see my face when I always ask her in Chinese, "Zenme le??" (What's the matter?) I almost cried at this point, but I realized I will have time for plenty of crying later.

I'm just enjoying spending time with her. I can't believe how much she has changed. She is absolutely radiant and confident. I hope that she will continue to make the Father her own Father, even after I leave. I hope that He will hold her in the palm of His hands, even if everyone is against her or opposed to her. She is already such a light in this dark place. I don't want to forget her little crimpy, poofy black hair, her sparkling eyes, and how she can be both thoughtful and humorous at the same time.

So now I feel like I'm also trying to encourage, encourage, encourage her. I want to throw out as much wisdom as possible, but I think at this point she needs to remember this: The Son is the only thing or person that can ever fully satisfy her. He is the only One who will never leave or forsake her. I told her this today. It probably doesn't hurt for me to also mull over that truth...

And as my last lessons are winding down, I feel like I'm also trying to impart some last words of wisdom to my students. Even if they don't remember a word of English I taught them (which might be true), I want them to remember that I loved them with His love.

This week we have been talking about honesty and truth. Apparently they think Chairman Mao Zedong came up with the saying, "Honesty is the best policy." When I told them, no, he didn't invent that saying, they were a bit disappointed. I also shared with them from the Word, "The truth will set you free" and who said that. They really seemed to ponder that for a while, especially since they had never heard that.

Despite the rain and our impending departure, I'm trying to relish every moment with friends, students, and even the interesting people on the streets. Yesterday on the bus to new campus, a man started talking to me and we chatted in Chinese for a while. He was fascinating because he didn't seem Chinese at all due to these following reasons:

1.) He was wearing a blue track suit and white sneakers.
2.) He was wearing aviators even though it was raining and 7:30 in the morning.
3.) He had a nice beard.
4.) His voice was a mix between Humphrey Bogart and Sean Connery.

Hope you can also relish life and the people He has placed before you, no matter where you might be in this big, wide world!

P.S. Here's an excerpt of an email from one of my dear students:
"I'll never forget you ,Mrs Luara ,my first foreign teacher .And I hope you 'll remenber us forever ! In China ,there's a little Nancy who hold you in her heart."


(Sweet friends! How can I leave them?)

Learning to let go

First a shout out to my wonderful mother. Happy Birthday, Mom!! I'm sorry you have to spend it on airplanes, but I'm so glad you could come!!

So where to begin? The past several days have been incredibly blessed with my family here in China with me. As I write this they are on their long journey home to America. My family got to experience daily living in Nanchang. My students absolutely loved them, and I know my family also loved them. Mom and Andrea helped me see everyone here in a new perspective, especially since I feel a little jaded after 2 years. They met my students, helped teach some classes, and got to hang out with some of our fellow Chinese brothers and sisters.

This past weekend we traveled with my Chinese friend Reborn by train/taxi/bus/foot to northern Jiangxi province where we visited a famous mountain, Lushan. I've never seen such a beautiful, natural, trash-free place in China. Apparently it is the "Switzerland" of China, minus all the white people.

The journey to Lushan was almost more exciting than the scenery. It turned out to be a lot more work to get there than I realized, even though we traveled with a Chinese person. First we had to travel to Jiujiang, a dirty little industrialized city a couple hours away from Nanchang by train. It had an earthquake five years ago that killed several people. I think pollution, however, is more likely to kill you than anything else. After leaving the train station, Reborn had to haggle with about a dozen curious taxi drivers who looked like they had never seen a foreigner in their lives. Somehow we got a taxi driver to take us the foot of Lushan, which is really a series of mountain peaks.

It was dark by this point, and there actually weren't any hotels at the foot of the mountain. So after haggling with the driver some more, and in between bouts of Reborn getting car sick on the side of the road every so often, we winded our way up the mountain in the pitch black. It took an hour and 400 curves in the road to get there. We were so thankful to arrive in one piece. Our taxi driver, who ended up being quite nice and helpful, dropped us off at a Chinese hotel, which was only $10 a night.

At first the lady at the hotel wouldn't let us stay, because no foreigners had ever even tried to book rooms there before. Apparently the limited amount of foreign tourists prefer to stay at the posh resorts. Finally she relented, and we got to sleep. I was too excited, however, and slept only about an hour.

In the morning we hiked and trekked around Lushan, taking in some amazing scenery. We were above the clouds, and the mountains were encased in fog. We saw thousand-year old trees, visited spots where Chairman Mao apparently had been photographed, and enjoyed a lot of lakes and waterfalls.

On the way back from Lushan we took a rickety old bus down the mountain, and then boarded a train that was even more interesting than the last one. Most of the passengers looked like migrant workers, and were very poor, but sweet. They sat and stared the entire time. There was one elderly man in particular who stared. He was precious. He had a shock of gray hair that stood straight up. He never moved his smiling eyes from us, unless it was to rub his feet, which were in very hole-y old socks. He had the thread-barest suit on ever.

So we managed to have plenty of adventures with Mom and Andrea even up until their last hours here in Nanchang. I called a bread van driver to take us to the airport so they could catch a plane back to Beijing and then America. I wasn't sure we were going to survive, just like usual in China. It was pouring down rain, and we were on extremely muddy, unpaved roads in a tiny little vehicle. We were following behind huge construction trucks which threatened to careen off the road at any moment. I practically hit my head on the ceiling every other minute, and watched as I saw other vehicles get marooned in seemingly bottomless pits of mud.

Thankfully we arrived there safely, but their flight to Beijing was delayed for a long time, causing them to miss their flight to America. They ended up having to buy brand new tickets back to the U.S. I was so upset yesterday when I discovered this. I kept thinking of "I should have..." and "If only I had..." But I realize that as long as they're safe and well, that's all I can ask. It's a reminder that life isn't in my control, and I just have to trust Him.

Please think of my family as they are finally on the way back to the U.S. and had to unnecessarily pay a lot of money to do so... And if you ever see my Mom, make sure you say "happy birthday!" :)


(Taking sticky pics with my family and good friends).


(Andrea, Reborn, and Nicl and their new t-shirts).


(One of the mountains at Lushan).


(Beautiful Lushan).


(We were above the clouds!)


(Misty lake).


(Train from Jiujiang).