Arrived in China

     I arrived in HongKong last night after travelling for about 23 hours. Tess gave me a ride to Peoria around 6:45am, 22nd May. I landed at 6:30pm 23rd. It was actually not a bad for a long trip at all, even though we sat at the same spot for 16 hours. A couple from HongKong who sat by me talked to me a lot when I was on the plane. I watched Mulan, Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Hobbit, Les mis, and read the letter my host mom wrote me. She is the sweetest lady in this world. When I read the letter, all the memories of last two years were thrown back to me. It was such a precious and unforgettable experience in my life. 

    Besides these many things, I took a couple of naps. Then I arrived!! humidified air came to me first. I felt a little bit overwhelmed right away when I saw people all over the places. Being in Midwest for a couple of years, I think I have been spoiled by the relaxing,laid-back, and free style. 

    I found bus station and took the bus for 1 hour then got a cab. I had my first dinner at my aunt's house. She made stuffing tofu, stuffing egg plant, chicken (with bones), pork, fresh vegetables, and SOUP! That was so awesome to have real food. 

    Then I talked with my aunt, cousins, and my sister for a bit last night. Jet lag made me get up at 4a.m...Didn't do much things because the house is very small in HongKong. If I did somethings at that time, everybody could be awaken. 

    So what happened today? My aunt and I took my younger cousin, Kitty, to the bus station where the driver from her school gave students rides. 

    My aunt took me to dim-sum with her mommy's group from school. It was sooo good!! They were the pics on the low right extremities. 

    I thought I couldn't finish this post tonight but appearntly my brain is crushing. 

    Good night from HongKong

done with finals and began summer!

     The most sneaky thing in this world is time. It flew away when I was busy with school. Now looking back this semester, it was very fast and crazy. I am so glad it is done though.
     I survived my first semester of nursing school and I am still in a whole piece (this sounds scary. :P)
     Tomorrow I don't have to get up early and go to school (oh, wait! it is Saturday..Humm...so not getting up early to study then.) It is kind of weird.
     According to my friend, we had 24 exams and 8 proficiency this semester. Actually I think we had more than 8 proficiency. I think I talked about what proficiency is in last post or last two posts. Anyway, basically we had exams every single week except the first week of school. Sometimes, I wonder why people make nursing school so hard here.Sometimes I feel like I am a med student. But it does make sense because this is about human's life.
     Good thing is I do love this major. It is tough, but it is totally worthy and enjoyable.
     I am SO SO thankful that I have Christ. Without Him, I don't even know how I survived this semester. It is not an empty and big word. Through Him, I feel the power to stand up instead of giving up.
     I am so thankful I have my host parents who support me all the time. They always listen to my little things. They always keep their door opening for me. I almost always went to their house for weekends. They are very very sweet. I feel it is like a relaxing and beautiful harbor.
     I am so thankful that I have met so many new friends at school. It is so awesome to live at school. We basically see each other 24/7 so it was hard to say goodbye. But we will see each other after a couple of months. :P We studied, ate, had fun, reviewed exams, and had classes together. They made my life so much more colorful during the semester.
     I am so thankful that I went to this little school which provides unlimited printing, resources, and free food!!! I love how the school and the faculties support us. They want us to succeed.
     Also I am so thankful all my old friends who support me and concern about me. Although I was awfully bad at connecting with friends this semester, I still feel their concerns, which really warms my heart.
     My family in China frequently facetimes with me and tells me they support me. Even though my family barely says the words "I love you", I feel their love and encouragement. You might think it is weird, but this is just how we are...I have never hugged my dad (i guess?), it probably will be weird if I did at home. Probably because of the older generations don't really like hugs or expressing loves in words.
     However, if I have husband and kids in the future, I will tell them "I love you" every day. After being in this country for this long, I do prefer expressing love in words to silence. Some people probably are not good at saying that. But personally I really like saying that. Maybe I am just too expressive? :P
     Five months ago, I bought the ticket to go back to China and sort of counting down. But now?! It is only 4 more days! I am so excited and a little bit nervous. I haven't seen my friends back home for so long. We will see how it goes.
     OOOHHHH!! How I spent my first day of summer break? I finished my last final, had seafood with my friend who I haven't seen for ages, packed stuff at the dorm, moved, cleaned the dorm, movie with two pepsis and popcorn, and night with my friend. Life can't be better than this!
     Have a good summer!! .....night..zzzzZZZZZZZZZZ

Family at home

   I am not very sure if I have introduced my family to you here or not. I am too lazy to look it up now..I would rather write again. :P

   Tomorrow we have Bible study at 8:30, which means I should be sleeping right now. Well, I am technically in bed, but not sleeping yet. Yesterday I facetimed my family in China.It is always good to see them through the timezone. 

   There is grandpa from dad's side, dad and mom, two older sisters, me, and a younger brother in my family. My grandma passed away 3 years ago. She had a brain stroke. Whenever thinking of grandma, I always miss her. She lived with us since very beginning. Grandpa still lives with us. He is 94 years old now. I miss him. 

   This is part of the reason that when I see the older people live by themselves or in nursing homes, it is always hard for me. I remember the first time I saw them, I couldn't speak and I wanted to cry. It is too different here, at least this part.However, there is increasing number of elderly ending up living in nursing home in China as well. In another word, the society is aging, thanks to the One Child Policy. But if they didn't have this policy, China probably would have way more than 1.3 billion of people...But the policy has changed so many things since it was carried out..

   oops..off topic! let's not talk about this..back to my family.

   So I was talking about missing my grandparents...I also miss my parents and siblings. My mom mainly takes care of the family, chores, and helps my dad. My dad has a retail shop. He used to have a huge orchard where he grew lychee, mango, and other tropical fruits. Spending time at the orchard is one of my best memories. I had fresh fruits from the tree. I caught shrimp, crabs, or little ship in the streams. I watched lightning-bugs. I did so many things that city kids would never do in my city. I am so glad that my dad is a farmer. P.S. The farmer in China is completely different from those are here. They do not have the machines people use here. That's why it is not very efficient and costs so many labors. But my dad loved working at the orchard. He loves those trees and new knowledge of growing fruits. I am very proud of him. He didn't get a chance to go back to school when he was dropped out of middle school, which is sad. He is very intelligent. Well, that's why I am here. :P just kidding. 

    I love my parents. Usually a lot of parents force their kids to get very good grades at school and give their kids so much pressure since grade school.I guess this is where Tiger Mom came from. My parents are opposite. Probably they have so many kids and they don't care...Haha. kidding. They care, but they don't want to push us. Luckily, all my sisters and I love schools. My brother doesn't. But we respect what he does. 

    So my big big sister has influenced me most among my siblings. She studies hard, works hard, and takes care of family. She loves books. When I was in grade school, she was already in high school and buying all kinds of Chinese lit and British lit. Then the little library in my family was formed. I started to read and read and read. There was a time that I couldn't stop reading all those books. But apparently I stopped reading after I went to high school, which is sad. However, my big sister has kept reading and pursuing her education all the time, which I admire. I really hope that she will get a chance to start her phd in the near future, if she still wants to. 

    My second sister and I fought a lot. Nice fights though. She always always wanted to be a teacher since I remembered things. She loves animals, kids, and the elderly. Recently she found a job in HongKong working as a kindergarten teacher. I am so happy for her. But working in HongKong is very competitive and stressful..Studying there is also significantly overwhelming. Maybe that's why so many teens tempt to suicide or become depressed. Well...I guess increasing number of people around the whole world is becoming depressed, school? work? or life? I don't know. 

    Hummmmm. that's probably about my family..my brother? oh! he dropped out of high school because he didn't like school, still doesn't like it. He works online now. If you play games, probably you might already bought something from him. 

    So it is bedtime now...

    17 more days, then China. 

    Actually I was going to write my testimony instead of writing about my family, but it ended up this way. It works. 

    Good night.