Lots of words...

Some things about China:


I am still in the honeymoon phase. I kind of feel like I am on vacation. The reality of staying here for 8 months until we go home for a visit has not hit yet. I’m sure it will. The Brittons, in our branch, have a website about the various phases of culture shock and how to deal with them. I will be using that resource.



While in Hong Kong I just enjoyed being in one of the world’s premier cities. It’s amazing. I knew when we got off the plane from the US that it would be a while before I make that loooooooong journey again. Right now I am okay with that. Ask me again in a month.



On Saturday at the activity I kept thinking – “This is my life for the next 18 months. This is beautiful.” There are many moments that feel poetic and romantic. I feel like I am living a dream. But not the dream I ever thought I’d be a part of.



Had you told me 5 years ago that I would be married to Daniel and living in China after my 4th anniversary, I’d have thought you were crazy. I wasn’t even dating him till the June of 5 years ago. God has a plan for us and I am trusting him so much. He has given me so much good and has never messed up, so what the heck, can’t hurt to trust him, right. So I do. I trust in him with gratitude. Gratitude for letting me be part of something big.



Now, on to some other business.



Let me dispel some misconceptions and tell you about China and me and Daniel.



#1 – We will NOT be adopting from China. I know people have hopeful intentions when they mention this to us, but contrary to common thought, China does not have a surplus of babies. In fact, in order to have a second child in the cities, it’s a $35,000 fee. So there you go. My generation is more concerned with jobs than with having families.



Also, there are government requirements that Daniel and I just don’t meet. End of story. And then there’s the whole money thing. It’s like $40,000 to adopt internationally. I don’t know what kind of money you all might think we have, but we don’t have that.



#2 – Chinese food is good. Hah. Each province in China has a difference in their cuisine similar to different countries in the rest of the world. In Fujian, the province in which Xiamen in located, has mostly seafood. I don’t mean like king crab legs and poached salmon. I mean like sea worms and sea cucumber, whole fish on your plate and weird unidentifiable things. There is good food, but it’s not what America thinks is Chinese food. The stuff you get in Utah from the restaurants is an Americanized version of the Sichaun province and the Beijing area food. We’ll take pictures of our dinners from now on.



#3 – Having a maid is awesome. Sort of. It’s nice that she is doing things for us, but that means I have less to do and things are not done my way. Think about it women, would you trust another woman with the way she does things, without any knowledge of English, to run your house for you? It’s hard for me. I’m a control freak.



#4 – We will have a good time. Thank you for all the encouragement to enjoy things. We will. Don’t fear on that score. Nuff said.



#5 – We have an 801 number. It’s ….. Like I was going to tell you all. Hah. (I’m in a sassy mood, can you tell). The people who need it have it. So we do have an easy means of contact with our families in the states.



#6 – Mandarin is not the language of the people. It’s the official language of China, but each province area has their own dialect. It’s almost as diverse as the languages of Europe. Here is Fujian they speak Ming. They understand Mandarin, but at home in the country they speak Ming. It’s like the deep south where you know it’s English, but you can’t really understand what people are saying to you.



#7 – China smells funny. Sometimes it’s B.O., sometimes it’s fish, sometimes it’s sewer, sometimes it’s durian fruit, sometimes you don’t have a clue what that funny smell is. The air almost always smells. Sometimes good, sometimes bad.



If you have further questions about things, just let me know. Leave a comment or e-mail me and I will address other questions you all may have.



Thanks for reading!