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| Hi everyone, If you're wondering why I never update this anymore, the reason is that Xanga started being blocked in China a long time ago, but I didn't have a chance to come on here and tell you. Right now I'm in Korea visiting my friend, so I can get on to Xanga. I haven't decided yet when and if I'll start another blog...I'd like to. So, if you leave me messages on Xanga I can't receive them, and I can't go onto your Xanga sites either. I do, however, continue to receive the Xanga Subscription Digest via email. I'd let you know when I start a new blog. =) Thanks! Love, Still_in_the_Forest | | |
| I haven't been sleeping well recently. Probably for the past two weeks, except for one night, I've been waking up several times each night. I've never been someone who has had trouble sleeping. It is amazing how much not sleeping well affects all that you do. Suddenly, when afternoon comes it gets a lot harder to pay attention and to be "all there." But, unfortunately, I've found myself saying, "Of course I can't concentrate, I haven't been sleeping well." or "Of course I didn't have a great day, I didn't sleep well last night." No, that isn't a good excuse. Yes, we need to sleep to live. But, whether we wake or sleep we have one purpose, to glorify. When I am weak then I am strong. Is that true? Yesterday I was reading with a couple friends and one person said, "Can we change 'Do not worry about tomorrow, for each day has enough troubles of its own' to make it more positive?" "Make it more positive?" "Yeah, if it is true that each time we struggle it is a chance to trust and grow and experience real Strength, can't we be excited that today we'll have a chance to experience real Strength and tomorrow we'll have more chances?" We all laughed aloud when she finished expressing herself, and I don't really understand where her thought came from, but it still struck a chord with me. I sure hope that I'll sleep well tonight. But if I don't, then tomorrow is yet another chance to be even more dependent on Dad. This morning I read about Daniel's three friends. When they were threatened with being thrown into the fiery furnace, they told the king, "We know that we can be saved from the fire, but even if we aren't, we won't compromise what we know is true." I don't want to compromise what I know is true because I'm tired, either. I know that Dad can make me sleep peacefully tonight, but even if he doesn't, I hope I'll be true. | | |
| i'm becoming chinese. i've been wearing three layers of clothes for the past two weeks although it isn't even that cold out yet. when i was sick, i drank a potion suggested by my chinese mom. i now literally fight with my chinese grandpa about who will sit where at the dinner table until he agrees to sit in the chair while i sit on the stool. if my friends say they aren't thirsty, i still pour them a cup of water. i am very careful not to start a controversial discussion during chinese class because the last thing i want is to embarrass my teacher. i feel successful if i am able to treat my friends to dinner. i deflect every compliment that comes my way. i often prefer speaking chinese to speaking english. i eat animal crackers with chopsticks. this is a great country. | | |
| this morning our electricity and water were both off when i left for school. apparently i had turned on the faucet to see if there was any water before leaving for school, and i forgot to turn it off. and the stopper was in the sink.  my roommate called me just after 2, while i was in tutor time, and said, "um, kristalyn? there's a problem! lots of water!" i could hear water sloshing around in the background. i guess the water came back on while we were at school, and several inches of water covered our kitchen and dining room, and it had already begun leaking down into the apartment of the people below us! oops!! it was an honest mistake, but i still felt really bad. i went to buy fruit for our neighbors and brought it down as a peace offering. they were really nice, and seemed more impressed at my chinese than upset about the ceiling, but they said they would contact us later if their landlord was worried about the ceiling. my roommate and her tutor spent more than an hour cleaning up the mess. i'm thankful for people to help me clean up my messes! | | |
| there is a university in hangzhou that offers a 4 year masters' degree in tea. just think how wonderful that would be! i knew there was a higher purpose to me studying chinese.  (i wonder if they've ever had any foreign students...) students are said to be able to identify most of the 8,000 tea varieties in china (if not their grower, then at least their geography) by taste and appearance! if i'm ever reported awol, those of you who read my blog will know where to look! | | |
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