A lot happened today. I'm not even quite sure where to start. How about fun first, then business:
In preparation for our first meeting today, Sara and I went out for lunch and then killed some time after finding the meeting place. We spent our time walking around in a bookstore. Now, you have to realize that these books are all in Chinese. So naturally, I made my way to the children's section to find some books I could read. I picked up some learn to draw books and Sara said, "I can't draw. I really can't draw anything." To make a long story short, we bought the books--to help me practice Chinese while she practices drawing. After our meeting (don't worry, I'll get to that), we went home and took a short break before going back out for dinner with Karin (the woman we are staying with) and her 4month old daughter. We ate at a delicious "dong bei" place, where they serve northern food, and 4 month old Annika was the star of the show, turning heads everywhere she went. Now to the business. Today we had our first meeting of the trip! It lasted two hours and went very well. Sara and I came away from it with one major feeling: overwhelmed. It was so much information in such a short time. That being said, it was really good information! We are excited about the possibilities with this organization. Thanks for all the thoughts you sent our way. Tomorrow, we have more meetings. We will be having lunch with a lady who seems to know all the right people. In the evening, she has arranged for us to attend and speak briefly at the Chengdu Rotary Club meeting. Please be lifting us up, we are a little nervous but definitely excited too!
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Ni hao from Sichuan, everyone!
Sara and I successfully made the trek from Beijing to Sichuan this morning. We woke up at 4am so we could get to the airport for our 7:20am flight, and all went well. Of course, when we arrived at 10am, we felt like the day should have been half over. Nevertheless, we had plenty of time to experience and enjoy this city we both missed so much. It's been a long day... at this point I feel like I have had a Sichuan overload: Sichuan food, Sichuan speak, Sichuan transportation, Sichuan crowds. Upon landing, we took a taxi to our friends' place where we are staying (thank you for your hospitality, Ryan and Karin!) and took a little time to visit with them and settle in. By lunch time, we were ready to get out on the town. So we met up with one of Sara's friends and he took us to lunch, for hot pot in a mall food court. The rest of the afternoon, I stumbled through the conversations in my not-so-graceful Chinese (Sara's friend does not speak English) and took in all the sights, sounds, and smells. We shopped along the Quan Xi Lu (Shopping Mall Road) along with thousands of other people, and talked and laughed and wore ourselves out. Despite the fact that there are so many foreigners in Chengdu, I seemed to be just as much of an attraction as the mannequins in the storefronts. In fact, a few people asked to have their picture taken with me, to which I complied. We took our own share of pictures, and I've shared a few of them below so you can get a glimpse of our day. Finally, tired out from an early morning and a few hours of walking around town, we returned to our room and took a nap. We didn't think we would sleep as long as we did... we finally woke up at 8:30pm and went back out to get dinner and a few small things for breakfast tomorrow. All in all, it's been a very full day. I can't decide if I want to try to stop the constant flow of Chinese in my brain--it's tiring me out but probably really good practice too. Hopefully my dreams will at least be in English... Tomorrow we have our first meeting with some community development/local business people. We are excited about the opportunities they might have for us, so keep us in your thoughts. We are so thankful for your support! I am here, it is so surreal, I can't believe it. I keep looking at Sara and thinking, I can't believe she is here right in front of me! On the other hand, it feels like I never left.
Sara picked me up from the airport, and we talked all the way here. I had barely gotten my bags inside when Sara yelled inside and said, Henri is here he wants to see you! It was one of my kindergarteners, the one who told me every day in class, "I missed you!" And then Joseph showed up and gave me a hug, and then Wendy (who actually smiled at me!) and of course, Eric! They all dragged me to the houses where I visited a lot of the kids for a couple hrs. It was so great... I loved it. For dinner, I joined Sara and a group of guests and we went out to get barbecue. So delicious. I have definitely missed the burning taste of spicy food that "hurts so good." Can't wait for a whole month of that. And now I'm sitting in Sara's apartment, trying not to fall asleep. It's only 8:30pm but, I've had barely any sleep the last 48hrs. Hopefully that means I'll sleep through the night tonight and wake up refreshed and ready for a full day. Tomorrow we are taking Joseph out for his birthday -- he will be turning 13 on May 8th. Please be asking for a family for him as he gets closer and closer to the adoption cutoff age... More to come soon! The packing frenzy has begun.
This weekend I pulled out my suitcases and a few boxes of ziplocs--varied sizes of course--and began to pack for my trip to China. It's crazy to think I'll be with Sara once again in just 3 short days. As much as the current chaos of my room makes me cringe, the piles and stacks of stuff paint a pretty good picture of what Sara and I will be doing together this month: Shorts, tank tops, dresses, sandals, heels, rainboots -- I've never packed clothes like this before to go overseas. Unlike the many trips I've taken before, this is a business trip. I have to dress to impress. On top of that, highs there are between 80-100 degrees F right now, and it's only going to get hotter. Add clouds, rain, and high humidity and you have Sichuan weather to a T. Bubbles, coloring books, crayons, stickers -- We are so excited to visit the kids in the orphanage and spend time playing with them! 56 toothbrushes and 144 mini tubes of toothpaste -- Tonka Smiles of Minnetonka, MN graciously donated these items so that we can teach the orphanage kids to brush their teeth, and then keep them stocked with toothpaste for quite a while. Not gonna lie, a ziploc of 144 mini tubes of toothpaste is pretty heavy... Camera, Video Camera, Laptop -- Lots of documentation to be done... Sara and I plan to make a new HS video while we are together. Of course, we will also be taking LOTS of pictures of everything we do. T-shirts, brochures, thank you cards, business cards -- We will be promoting HS everywhere we go, in as many ways as possible. Perfumes, chocolates, lotions, postcards, Minnesota trinkets -- We will be meeting with lots of people, and we will do our best to make a good impression, giving them gifts from my home as is polite in Chinese culture. Dark chocolate M&Ms, honey-roasted cashews, sweetener -- I love sweet things... but the Chinese do not. So I'm bringing my favorite sweets, for my own sanity. I'm flying out on Thursday morning at 5:45. First to Chicago and then on to Beijing where Sara will pick me up. Please be lifting up my trip and our time together in southern China. We are so excited! Stay tuned... |
A note from Rebekah...If you've ever wondered what it would be like to start a nonprofit from the ground up, to open a home for ORPHANS with special needs in Asia, you've come to the right place. Archives
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