CHINAS CHINAS EVERYWHERE!!!!

can't believe there's less than 3 weeks left...

woooo gooooo china!!!!

so MISSION TWO has been officially over for more than a week and i'm already on MISSION #3 - it's been good times so far. sometimes a little lonesome cuz i'm doing it on my own apart from the rest of the team but things have been okay. i'm teaching kids english now. they're realy cute and fun to be with and i'm learning lots of mando. so i have no complaints...

this past weekend i got the chance to hang out with the team and i totally forgot how great it was it have them with me to go thru everything... ya no... times to talk and to do devos and to P R A. i actualy forgot what it was like. i missed it so much and it was such a great refreshing weekend. lots of balling (which is great!! - chinas are so surprised that a girl can ball) and lots of hiking (seems like sight-seeing = mountain climbing here) ... all of it was good times... haha... LOTS OF SWEATING IN THE HOT SUN!! woooo.... yeah... all the sweat transfer from picture taking and jus having randos being around cramped in small spaces... haha... oh... a new meaning to NO PERSONAL SPACE. weee..... (there's more to tell about THAT!)

haha...
ppl here are jus super duper friendly. super duper touchy as well.. haha... i mean not in a perverted HSL way.. but in a girl-to-girl and guy-to-guy NON-homosexual way. it's jus total friendly affection that 's just not normal for what i've been raised to be used to in my canadian-ness. too much rando waist grabbing... weird leg/arm stroking... bum grabs (oh dear) ... i think it's jus a joke to us now. haha... i mean i laugh at it. (heh ... heh...yeah... moving on)

but no... it's the truth when i say they are jus wicked cool and soooo hospitable to us. we feel like such spoiled canadian kids who ask for stuff and change our food orders at restaurants CONSTANTLY. it's horrible... but they're so nice to us about it. yeh...

so things have been cool... we're all kinda surprised that the time has gone by so quickly... we're all stil having tons of fun. big props to dr. O for getting med school interview... and J Tran for being mando masta... and of course the ever beautiful lil J.C. for knowing all the rando songs that chinas know (it's honestly a little freaky how many songs this girl knows - but we love her for being that big big girl in a big big world).

so yeah.. this might be one of the last times i'll get to update cuz i don't have internet access at the factory where i'm at right now... so please remember all of us and know that we are also remembering all of you guys.

GO RECON!!!! you guys are amazing... i heard the softball tournie went well yesterday - grace and davin i know you guys are doing a great job leading up the team so keep at it, stay strong, and don't forget to go for siew yeh after practice!! WOO! i'll see you guys when i get back... i'll be there for the playoffs i believe. weeeee...

aighty....
must bounce!!

lata!

weeee.... CHINA

hi friends...
i can't read my own blog here. so i duno what i've said or what i haven't said.
but hEY! i'm still alive... that's enough to be thankful for.

yo.. it's crazy... siu yeh... so cheap...
2 yuan for soup noodles...
3 yuan for fried noodles...
it's AMAZING...

i'm getting fat! haha..
it's so bad... we eat so much..
naw... we also play a lot of ball... so it's cool... we're keeping fit... and all the work keeps us on our toes and NOT lazy... it's been pretty good.

i'll post pictures later...
we're gona go and brave the blistering sun now...

Say NO to drugs!

Later!!

new factory

aighty
new factory
dude. the rooms. nuts. bigger than my room at home. my own washroom to diarrhea too. haha.. the big "D"!!!

team's been doing good... i think health is our main issue at this new place. first lesson = a blast... more numbers than expected!! woo!
still haven't made new friends with classes yet (today we're splitting up... so this will be the deciding day... eek/excited!)


i still really miss modmed ppls tho... sigh... the first will always be in the memories. my students are already bombarding my inbox wiht emails and pictures... it's great. i feel so loved.

we had tons of fun...
it's hard to compare...
yet, gota move on and do HIs work for this factory...

Pictures?

aight. so here's the first of the pictures i can post. -----or maybe not - ergh! can't get them up properly...it's getting late and i gota get some Zzzz's before we head to china again tomorrow.

apparently i CAN update in china...
so stay tuned...
and i'll try to put up more pics

Happy New Factory Day tomorrow!!

BYE HK!!

p.s.
i ACTUALLY didn't do much shopping these last few days...
BUT... eating there was much of... sigh... here comes that horrid phrase again...
"aiyah wo hun pang le"
.... must be healthy
... or "FIT" as the guys say (...pray...keke).

Mission #1: COMPLETED

i know it's been a while... like more than half a month since i've updated anything. but believe me... i've been meaning to. our team is back in HK now for the weekend (our first break from the motherland) it's been TONS of fun... and very eye-opening - in many many ways.

where to start...

[hmm... well i better warn you, it's been a while since i've spoken normal english.. so if i sound *ahem* ..like... certain engineers with bad grammar... blame it on the chinas. :) ]

Well after we left HK in mid-June, we went to this gorgeous retreat home where we were spoiled with huge rooms, nice washrooms, luxurious living conditions (like better than home!) we ate tsah man tau (deep fried steamed buns?) practically every nite. it was our orientation week and basically we goofed off a lot and planned as much as we could with the little info we had about the factory we were gona work at. it was fun.... we worked out on the first nite - as a team... we ate every meal - as a team... we played "stupid" games - as a team... we did laundry - as a team... what can i say - if ever we were strangers to each other... we are now brothers and sisters. we've been very blessed to have such a close knit team. no conflicts. no arguments. just lots of massages and tons of love (in that friendly platonic way of course).

When we left for the first factory... it was exciting. we didn't know what to expect. we were welcomed by some HK staff that we had met before... but still... we were not prepared for what was ahead. (when i get a chance i will post some pics) at least the girls had a room together... but i think initially we were pretty "eeeek!" about the concrete floor in our room, the squattie toilet, and the bucket showering. the cockroaches running around, the bats swooping above, and the blood thirsty mosquitos were just an aside. i think initially we were all complaining and worrying. but now... 2 weeks later... it's not like that anymore. i feel like such a spoiled brat for thinking those things...

meeting the workers for the first time... was... nerve-wrecking. i couldn't speak the language... didn't know if they'd talk to me... if they'd like me... if they'd even be interested in what we had to offer. we started off with 70 something students. these were split into 3 classes. feebs and i took the advance class (reading writing - good; speaking listening - poor). they were pretty easy to teach. they were eager to learn and willing to try. it was just one of those "no worries" type of class. at the beginning they were a little shy.. but i think feebs and i were weird enough with our random songs (aaaa pizza hut, a pizza hut, kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut... a pizza hut, a pizza hut, kentucky fried chicken and a pizza hut.. mcdoooooonald's mcdoonald's... etc) and our constant laughter that they all loosened up and began to open up to us. we saw such a great progression... and God's work was just amazing. everyday new mercies were given to us. everyday his grace increased for us. every moment his strength was made known in our weaknesses. ya no, it wasn't even what we had to offer to the students... cuz English isn't much, but it was what God was teaching us thru the students.

we were so humbled everyday... from the start we were brought to our knees when we found out that even the most prepared lesson is ineffective if we trust in our own strength adn our own wisdom. we began to commit each day to the Lord. no regrets there. by the end of the 2 weeks these workers were not only our students... they were our friends... true friends. ya no... i spent 4 years at Queen's... met a ton of good ppl... and some i've never even hung out with outside of class or fellowship.. but here... in 2 weeks time... we went out with them.. they bought us gifts.. they treated us to dessert... they took care of us... they loved us like we were one of them.. we loved them like they were truly our friends. it was tough to leave - really. it was like having a little piece of my heart chipped away...and knowing that it will never be replaced. these ppl became our comfort.. our encouragement. it was tough. on the last day of class, all we did was laugh and take pictures... we still went thru our lesson... but we always went overtime cuz there just wasn't enough time to spend with each other. after the lesson they stay after to chat.. or we'd make plans to go out. grad nite was so much fun. i was so proud of their accomplishments... they were courageous enough to use their english skills in front of the whole class... they had fun.. and we just laughed along with their skits and songs.

i will miss them so much.. i already do.

now we must prepare for Mission#2 (aka Factory #2)... who knows what it will bring.. what lessons we will learn... but i am ready and willing to just give it my all without hesitation.

so keep us in your prayers...
and thanks friends for your comments... very encouraging...
(it's been a long blog... so i'll leave it here... )