china family

iv been meaning to do this post for like... errr idk, 4 months now? but im actually glad i am just now doing it. because now that were at the end of our adventure in China, i know these girls better than i would have ever been able to write about them 4 months ago.

we all came from different backgrounds, different struggles, different friends, different interests, and all of us in a different point in our lives. I strongly believe that, at least for me, these girls were placed in my life at just the perfect time. I have learned something valuable from each of them and they each posses qualitites that i want to obtain.

with that being said... may i introduce you to....

my china family

freda:

Of course i have to first start with our Chinese coordinator, freda. Freda doesnt live with us, but she still plays a part in our little family we have here. Freda is here to help us with everything. She sees to it that we are comfortable here in china, that everything is running smoothly in our apartment, with the school, with each other, with our travels, etc. She is basically on call 24/7 when we need her. anything from calling her on the phone 100 times a week to translate to someone for us, to running around the town trying to find us something we need, or cooking us food.

Freda is very... lets say.. professional. she is the ultimate old school, traditional kind of gal. always worrying about what our hair and clothes look like... and making sure we are being polite in public. sometimes it can be frustrating because i just want her to RELAX A LITTLE! and not be so anal about things... but through this i have gained a lot of patience. patience because of the language barrier that can be so difficult, and patience with her crazy requests of us.

annalisa:

Anna is our "head teacher" here in China. she has already done what i am doing now, (she went to china last fall) so she doesnt actually teach our students, but is here to make sure we are being the best teachers we can be and does all the the behind the scenes work that us teachers dont have to deal with. But the kids love her just as much, if not more than us! She definitely has a natural knack with kids and they just adore her.

As do i. i cant picture what these 4 months would be like without her and i certainly dont want to! she has been someone i can talk to about life struggles and also someone that makes me laugh harder and harder every day. anna and i have a heck-of-a-lot of things in common. even our parents are practically clones of each other! She has been a great example to me, and i have learned from her how to stay positive and optimistic during trying times. and it helps a lot that i have a blast with her around! i have learned how to be completely 100% comfortable with myself, and embrace my crazy. Iv learned from her not to fear my future, or stress about little things in life but to put my trust in God and live a life that surrounds him and his will. Most importantly though, i have learned from Anna the hilariousness of "catbuttho"

april:

Ohh where do i start?!

when i first met april she was shy, quiet and reserved. who is that girl?!

APRIL is crazy, loud, hyper, and passionate. i have so much fun with this girl, and 70% of the time its me laughing hysterically at her crazy faces and noises. she tells us all every day how weird we are (which we are) but she definitely takes the cake with that title. And that is one of the reasons that i love her so much. Theres rarely a dull moment with her, and we can always count on her to be down for any kind of adventure. Aprils life cracks me up. she is so innocent and such a girly girl, but come to find out april grew up on a farm.. and knows just about everything there is to know about weeds, tractors, fishin, animals, the FFA (what the heck is that??), and the most important quality... she knows from the smell what animal the poo comes from. hehehe

I love how much april appreciates the beauty of this earth, and that she is a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I have learned from her not to waste a day just going through the motions, but to explore each day with a passionate heart.

bridget:

bridget! the "quiet introvert" she calls herself. although bridget prefers staying in more than going out, she is always happy when we convince her to go out and explore! -- i know you are bridget, dont argue otherwise.

Bridget THINKS april, anna and I are closer with each other than we are with her but shes surely wrong. im gonna quote anna in saying "she has some different interests than the rest of us, but each of us do. but who said that your close friends are supposed to be clones of you? not me!"

i cant think of any time i have heard bridget complain. shes always the one to put a smile on her face and continue eating whatever nasty food is put in front of us, while the rest of us gag and spit it out in our hand. she puts a smile on her face when the guys at the salon accidentally color her hair black instead of brown, and she just rocks it instead. she puts a smile on her face when we drag her around Sanya and have to run after bus after bus trying to get un-lost. i also dont think iv ever heard her talk bad about anyone. Bridget has really good taste in music, and we seem to enjoy the same movies and tv shows too. she has a quiet subtle sense of humor that really cracks me up and she would do just about anything for any of us.. and normally does on a regular basis hahah. I have learned from bridget to go outside of my comfort zone of people i would regularly hang out with, and that by doing so i can meet great, sweet, uplifting, kind, generous, christ-like people that i want to strive to be more like.