China-ing

I've been back in China for a good 10 or so days and I think I've adjusted back to the culture and food pretty well. The latest development is that I've been reunited with baby Reborn! As you faithful blog readers may recall, Reborn, is my best Chinese friend and became a sister while I was in Nanchang. She is not such a baby anymore, but a beautiful young woman with an incredibly strong faith. I have been so encouraged to see that her faith is truly her own and how she loves sharing about the Father with everyone and anyone.

So after I left Harbin, I headed south to Shanghai and Wuxi, which are both amazingly developed cities along the coast. Reborn and I stayed with her older sister, Liu Jia, in her little apartment in Wuxi. Liu Jia is a year older than I am, and such a hard-working, cheerful person. You can tell Reborn looks up to her a lot. Liu Jia could remember some of the English she learned in high school, so with my Chinese and her English and Reborn's periodic translation, we all communicated quite well. She was the most wonderful host, and probably spent her whole month's salary buying us tons of food and tickets to random places. She only let me pay for icecream one day, and became insulted if I tried to pay for anything else.

Last night Reborn and I arrived here on the fast train from Shanghai and went to stay on the campus of Nanchang Hangkong University (Literally "Nanchang Airlines University"), where they train flight attendants and plane mechanics. My American friend, Christine, picked us up on her motorbike at the front gate, just a mere 10 minutes before they'd close the gate for the night. We piled my baby luggage and the 3 of us onto her motorbike, and sped off across campus, which is huge and scenic. It's interesting to experience a quieter side of Nanchang, since I lived right in the thick of the city.

I'm currently waiting for the possibility of running water. I forgot that Nanchang's water and electricity is spotty. I definitely need a shower after 3 days, but it looks like I may just have to do another day with no shower. So you probably won't be seeing any pictures of me from today! :) I don't really mind too much, though, because I get to see all my old Nanchang friends and eat at my favorite hole-in-the-wall back alley restaurants.

Hopefully when I return to the U.S. in a few days I can share more pictures with you! Hope you are having a blessed week so far!