Has it been a month already?!?!

As of yesterday I have been gone from Auburn for a month and as of tomorrow I will have been in Chengdu for a month.  Today is the month anniversary of that day that I lost whilst in the air.

I thought I’d write a quick list of the things I’ve learned since coming to Chengdu, so here you go:

1 – Food in China is incredible…but, if you’re ordering Western food, don’t expect a steak to be a steak that you’d get in the States or a burger to taste just like Red Robin.  This morning at McDonald’s, I order the egg biscuit and got an egg burger.  Then I got the egg biscuit and had ketchup and mayo on it.  Yipes!

2 – Always plan on things taking a little longer than they would back home.  If you think it’ll take you five minutes to get to school, plan twenty.  “Why?” you might be wondering.  Well, you might have a flat tire, or run into someone you want to talk to, or forget your computer at home.  All of these are things that will elongate your commute and cause unnecessary tardiness.

3 – Homesickness comes in waves.  I haven’t really missed home all that much, until I realized I hadn’t been there for a month and I won’t be there for another two years.  It’s the little things that remind me of the life that I lived back in Auburn: from someone looking like a Chinese-version of an American-friend, or the smell in a store, or a picture of Facebook, or another million little things.  I had it really good back there, and I have it really good here.  *sigh*  Oh the life of a TCK…

4 – I have been blessed to work at and attend incredible schools.  Every one is different, but each brings a unique twist on a familiar tune.  I am learning something new every day, and teaching something new every day.

5 – Tones are so much more than something you hear in music.  Mandarin Chinese is hard, and when I say hard, I mean H-A-R-D!  I knew it would be, but I’m overwhelmed by the complexity of it at times.  Most languages I can pick up at least the accent quickly.  This? Not so much.  If/when I have children, they will be learning Chinese a.s.a.p.  If they can learn that, they can learn anything!

6 – The sun still rises and sets every day.  It might not be the sunsets that I am used to in Kenya, Auburn, Ethiopia, or Spring Arbor, but it is a beautiful painting by a wonderful Creator all the same.

 

The sunset last night (Tuesday)

Hope you are well, wherever you are.  Happy one-month, China.  Here’s to many more…

Location: Chengdu, China

Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 2:27 p.m. (9/5/2012)

Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 11:27 p.m. (9/4/2012)