Mind Bender/Amazing night!

I write this blog for two reasons. As you can see in the title above, it is split into two equal parts. You can figure out the rest. :) I realized the other day that I look directly at the ground when I walk. I mean, I was walking to our cafeteria the other day to get a drink and I looked up. I didn’t even recognize the buildings around me and in front of me because I always walk through there with my eyes looking at the ground. If someone showed me a picture of that place, I wouldn't be able to tell you where it was located. I started to notice I did it everywhere. It's weird to notice something like that about yourself because you thought you knew yourself well enough and then bam! You're in China and realize you walk everywhere with your head down. Well, it's not exactly like that. haha, I think I came up with an explanation to this phenomena. Being a foreigner in China, I get stared at a lot. A lot! Our whole group of friends gets stares all the time, just because our faces look so different. I realized I was looking down as to not be embarrassed by the stares right in my eyes. They are not bothered by staring. They do not see it as rude or jerk their eyes away when you make contact with them. So, as to avoid the awkwardness I feel, I look down. I figured this out because after I noticed myself looking down at the ground while I walk, I changed things. I walked with my head up, looking around at everything around me, and I remembered the feeling of awkwardness when my eyes would meet a Chinese person's staring right back at me. It was strange though, because I changed the way I walked and held myself, unconsciously. I didn't figure out why until that famililiar feeling came back. The mind is a fascinating thing.


Tonight we had a lot of our students over to our house to help them with their spoke English. Our friends, Kyle and Rebecca Hooper came over and it was a group effort! It was wonderful. We had refreshments for them, coke and sprite, but they did not partake in them very much, because it is winter and they must drink warm things, not cold. (Room temp.) Anyway, it was so uplifting and fun! We played a name game and answered some questions about ourselves as American's. We got to know they whole group and gained some friends. We shared a wise saying with them. This wise saying came from the wise King Solomon. It goes, "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." They liked this saying and repeated a Chinese saying which was similar to it. We had them act out a scenario in which this would apply. They had fun with it and so did we. We challenged them to tell someone about this wise saying and to try to follow it in the coming week. We invited them to our house next week, and they seemed excited. :) We are very excited about this and can't wait to gain more friends. We know He was with us. Please keep this activity, which will happen next Tuesday night at 6:00 China time, in your thoughts. Thanks for reading, I love you all!