Whoops . . . but Thankful.

How embarrassing...

My China diary was discontinued as a result of lack of internet service and too many fun adventures.  

Also, my down time in China was spent on many more things which I consider important, even life changing.  (So I guess it's not so embarrassing) 

Instead of summarizing my whole six months in China (That would be literally impossible),

I'll start fresh.  

I'm still one little girl, in one {big} world.  

As I lived in China, I realized the world isn't as big as I assumed.  It's a small world, connections are close, and God is watching out for us, always.  

I'm thankful to know God. Even though sometimes we struggle with our relationship (my fault, definitely not His), I'm grateful to know that we do have a relationship and I can improve my part of the relationship each day as I try to be better.  

I'm thankful I was able to live in China for six months, teach wonderful students, and love a culture I was completely unfamiliar with at first.  

I'm thankful for accommodation and assimilation.  

I'm thankful for my sweet husband who face-timed me every single day while I was in China, sometimes for hours on end. 

I'm thankful for all of the sacrifices he made and makes to make our marriage happy.  

I'm thankful he moved from his dream school to come to SUU with me.

I'm thankful he has a scholarship at SUU.  

I'm thankful he still liked me after six months of only face timing, enough to marry me just a month and a half after we got home.  

I'm thankful he proposed to me with an opal ring.

I'm thankful for his kindness, his passion for things, his love, his vision, his testimony, his heart.  

I'm thankful to know we can be a family forever.

I'm thankful to know we are sealed to each other for eternity.

I'm thankful for goals.  

I'm thankful for the opportunity to set goals with my husband which help us improve.  

I'm thankful for love, not the first married or first dating kind of love.  Love that is still there after my overly sarcastic remarks, my failing to get ready for the day (or week), disappointments, and sickness.  

Love isn't really what I thought it was. That was just the tip of the iceberg..and honestly, the tips of icebergs melt quite quickly.  Love is the deep stuff, the stuff that lasts for centuries - forever, the stuff that no one knows about you but the person you love - and not because you told them - because they can just tell.  

I'm thankful for a husband who can just tell.  

I'm thankful for that deep into the iceberg love that only gets deeper and deeper over time.  

I'm thankful I love my life.  

That's enough for tonight folks, but just know, I'm thankful.  And not because it's November.  It's just been too long since I've stated some of the things I'm thankful for. 

As Winnie the Pooh would say, 

TTFN {Ta Ta For Now}

~Mrs. Gish

1.30.2015

Humbled.

I'm continually humbled as I live among the Chinese people. You can feel their kindness as you see them smile and as they try to talk to you in broken English. I love it!

Today, I was able to have a small glimpse into history as we went to the Nanjing Massacre Museum. The museum was very moving. As I looked around at the descriptions of what happened to the 300,000 various victims of the massacre, I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to have been living in Nanjing at that time. The massacre was during World War 2 and the Japanese attacked Nanjing at that time because it was the current capitol of China. Men, women, and children were all killed in horrible ways. Women and young girls were being raped and killed every single day. As I read the few accounts of the survivors, I reflected on their stories and how hard it would've been to see your father, brother, or husband brutally killed and to see your sister, or your mother, raped. It would literally tear me to pieces.

Forgiveable, but unforgettable.

Through all the heartache, struggle, and sorrow, I was comforted by the outlook of the Chinese people today. They had a large sign written in Chinese, but captioned in English, that said, "Forgiveable, but unforgettable."  Although the massacre was extremely scarring on their emotions, culture, homeland, and people, they are willing to forgive. Grudge holding and unforgiving attitudes seem to be rampant in today's society. I don't feel like people have created such a tough and rough culture intentionally, I just feel like things have evolved over time to be where they are today.

My heart was comforted as I reflected on the Chinese people's attitude of forgiveness. They were so willing to forgive the Japanese soldiers and move on from the horror and terror which still haunts their memory. The forgiveness portrayed throughout the museum inspires me to always think to forgive before thinking to be upset. At the end of the museum, you walk reverently through graves and the names of every person and family affected by the massacre. Then you walk outside around a corner and you see a HUGE reflecting pool with a GIGANTIC white marble statute of a woman and a baby at the opposite end from where you are standing. The caption on the bottom of the statue is written in large, bold, white letters and it simply says, "Peace". There's also a sign titled "The Epilogue" and it talks about how all the Chinese people want with the Japanese people now is peace. As you walk down by the reflection pool, you truly do have time to think about how important peace and forgiveness is in this world. I truly am grateful for the peace I feel in my life every day. I know that peace comes into my life personally from knowing, living, and loving the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

But unforgettable.
As I've been writing this post, I've also been thinking about the last part of the statement, "Forgivable, but unforgettable." I firmly believe that everything happens in our lives for a reason and we can learn and grow from everything that does happen. Growing up, I always heard the phrase "forgive and forget." I do believe that we need to forgive, always! But I also believe that we don't always need to forget. I believe that as we forgive, we can detach the hardened feelings we have about an experience, but still remember it so we can continue growing from it. I know that my life has been full of growth and I would never want to forget about those moments of hard, but important growth.

I'm so grateful for the principle of forgiveness and for growth that does come through forgiveness. I'm also grateful for the opportunity I had to go to the Massacre Museum today and reflect on all of these things. Last of all, I know I will be forever grateful for this humbling experience of living among and loving these fantastic Chinese people. They really do teach me so much every day!

1.27.2015

Tender moments.

I love teaching so much! It's definitely an adventure sometimes, but there are always little moments that make everything worth it!

On Sunday night, we were walking home from dinner with our Branch President and his family. I saw one of my students, Annie, wearing huge pink ear muffs and walking with her mom, so I waved and said hello! Immediately, Annie ran into my arms, gave me a huge hug, and said, "Teacha Dani!!! I Annie from your class!!" I replied, "I know Annie!! How are you?!" We continued to talk for a few minutes and she was just so excited to see me out of school and to know I still remembered her. It was adorable!

Monday at school, Annie ran up to me and said, "Teacha Dani! How do you spell 'I like you'? I told her how to spell it and then a second later she slipped a paper into my hand that said, 'I like you. Love, Annie' it was so cute!! I told her I liked her too and I was so glad she was in my class. She smiled from ear to ear all day long!

I also loved Monday because my kids sprinted up to me and all gave me huge hugs and told me they missed me over the weekend! They're so sweet! Ethan actually jumped into my arms and ripped my pants with his coat zipper, but I don't even care because he was just so happy to see me and I felt the same way!

My cute students also told me they thought I could be one of their mom's! Haha they kept saying, "You look like Bien's mom! Can you be my mom?" It was so sweet!!

I love China, I love teaching, and I love hugs! (Especially from cute Chinese kids!) Happy Tuesday!

1.23.2015

You can call me the bargainer! :)

Life is continuing on here in Nanjing and I'm still absolutely loving it! I'm in love with all of my cute Chinese students! On my first day in Nanjing, I looked at all of the students and thought, "wow, they all look the same! How will I ever be able to tell them apart??!" Now I can't even imagine them all looking the same! Each one of my students is so unique and they all look and act completely different!

Yesterday, while my students were lining up, one of them had a question, so I knelt down next to them to answer it. Immediately, four other students were huddled around me touching my blonde highlights and running their fingers through them! It was absolutely adorable! When I stood up, Julie said, "teachah you are bootiful!" Those kids just make my heart melt! :) 

Tonight, after school, we decided to split up and some of us headed back to fashion lady (the underground mall) to do some shopping and adventuring. We had tons of fun and I bargained for everyone because they don't like bargaining! I got hats that were originally 65 yuan for 25 yuan, sunglasses for 30 that were originally 60, a pair of THICK fur lined leggings that were originally 80 yuan for 20, a sweet Native American looking shirt originally 200 for 60, and more!! I've decided I love bargaining! It's such a fun thing to do and it's so exciting!

I have also found a new love for Chinese treats! They have these candies called "White Rabbits" (which are apparently sold in international markets in America and I've never discovered them!)  They also have these bread like things that they call "Manual Tarts." They are delicious!!!  AND red bean ice cream!! Who would've known how delicious that would be!!?? But hey, the Chinese are obsessed with red beans and now, so am I!!

Adventures are out there and good food is too!! Happy Friday!!

1.20.2015

IT’S OFFICIAL!!  I’M AN ENGLISH TEACHER!!! 

Yesterday was the first official day of teaching our students!  It was……….INSANE!!!  The students’ Chinese teacher, named Cindy, gave me a note after the class that literally said, “Be careful, the kids can be angels but they can also be devils. Don’t let them fool you!  Don’t think they’re cute!”  She also told me, “You need to stop smiling so much at the students.  You can’t be so happy!” 

Okay, let me back up, the “INSANE” experiences were the 2^nd grade classes I taught.  I taught 3^rd Grade Writing from 1pm-3pm before I taught 2^nd and it was incredible!  My students were all absolutely adorable and they love learning!  In my first 3^rd grade class, there was a boy named David.  When he told me his name, I told him that my dad’s name was also David and he said, “Oh, what a pleasure!”  He was absolutely ecstatic and felt so honored.  It was adorable!  I asked him if he wanted me to take a picture of him and send it to my dad and he said, “YES PLEASE!”  He also asked if I could show him a picture of my American dad, David.  He was so sweet!  I had two girls in one of my classes named Honey and Kitty.  Today, we had a 3^rd Grader named Sweetie.  It was funny because teacher Melissa said, “Sweetie, will you come sit down at this desk?”  When she sat down, Melissa asked, “What’s your name honey?”  When she answered, “Sweetie”, we had to keep ourselves from laughing because Melissa had already nailed her name and had no idea! 

English Class

Back to the sweet, sweet, insane, sweet, sweet 2^nd graders! Cindy brought all of the students into the main room for opening and they were all goofing off and crazy!  We got their attention, sang songs with them, and then split for classes. The students were SOOO bad and misbehaved the WHOLE time!  They were jumping off of their chairs; the kids were grabbing me all over the place; another boy ran up to me and grabbed my hands, then jumped in the air, split his legs, and fell onto the ground into the splits!  It was a wild adventure!  The wildest thing is…I absolutely fell in love with each and every one of them! 

Before you think I’m an awful teacher with no classroom management skills – which I might be, but I’m working on it :), today went much smoother!  We had to be strict with all of the students, but things went WAY better!  We didn’t let them come inside the school until they were all lined up with their arms folded and if they touched each other in line, they had to go back outside, line up again, and restart.  We literally restarted five times, BUT after that, it was all a success!  The students were great, they allowed me to teach them new words and caught on quickly, and they were all so well behaved!  It was AWESOME!  The best part of my day was the very end when we walked the kids outside, back to Cindy, and Ethan (the splits boy from yesterday) gave me a GIGANTIC hug! 

I love all of my students and I love teaching!  I feel soo blessed to be here in China!  Here’s to many more adventures, teaching, and mispronounced English statements which will be corrected endlessly! 

1.18.2015

FIRST WEEKEND = FIRST ADVENTURE!

Saturday was McKayla's birthday!!! She's 20 now!

Saturday morning, Mickey and Belle were kind enough to take us to Xinjekou which is in Central Nanjing! It was exciting to actually see downtown and be immersed in the culture! When we got off of the metro, we were underground. We walked just a few blocks (still underground) and then to our left there was a HUGE opening with flashing lights and mirrors! It was the entrance to the underground mall! Xinjekou has a two floor, underground mall with probably 50+ hallways FULL of stores! It felt similar to an underground ant hill! The mall was exciting because you could barter with the shop owners and get things for way cheaper than they were marked. Jess got giant Pokemon footie pajamas, tons of girls got coats (warm winter coats for only 30 American dollars!), and more!

Mickey and Belle took us to their favorite restaurant for lunch which was on the third, outdoor, floor of the mall! We all had these bowls of chicken, peppers, soup, and rice on the side! When our group of 22 walked into the restaurant manager yelled out the window "backup, we need backup!!" Of course, it was in Chinese, but Mickey translated it for us! :)

Saturday night, we had delicious noodles for dinner and then all of us went to KTV, which is karaoke! We got a VIP room because we had 20 people and it was awesome!  We sang for two hours straight and my voice is still somewhat hoarse! We sang everything from P!nk to One Direction to Shakira to Katy Perry and more! It was so fun!

Today, we woke up and left for Church at 8:15! It was an hour and a half metro ride with two transfers to get from Yangshangongyuan to An... Church was on the second floor of a hotel and it was great! I love knowing that the Gospel is the same, no matter where you go and it is always true! Our branch has about 40 people in it (we doubled the congregation!) There are three families with kids, five English teachers, and then some other single brethren and three couples. Everyone is really sweet and it really feels like a family! I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to take the sacrament! They're going to give us all callings and home teaching and visiting teaching assignments, so that will be a fun adventure!

Church!

We rode the metro back from Church and stopped in Xuezelu so some of the girls who didn't save food for Sunday could get dinner. We went to a pulled noodle shop and got to see the chef pull the noodles with his fingers! It was incredible! We're definitely going to go back on another day and I'll be getting some!

I love the Gospel, I love China, I love blessings!  & I am VERY blessed!  Hooray for teaching & adventures tomorrow!

1.17.2015 (Flight and Arrival)

So..I forgot to post about my actual arrival to China...here goes! (Most of this is taken from an email I sent!)

The plane ride was definitely not as bad as I expected it was going to be!  I had a two hour flight from Salt Lake to Seattle, a 3 hour layover in Seattle, and then a 13.5 hour flight from Seattle to Shanghai!  I tried to sleep most of the way so I could get on the right sleeping schedule for China and so far...I think it worked!  I actually watched a movie on the second plane....and I do NOT like movies, so that's a big accomplishment for me!  I did have to pause it in the middle and take a 45 minute break though! :) 

We arrived in Shanghai at about 6pm, their time.  The Shanghai airport was HUGE and I assumed it was going to be FILLED with people, but really, there was hardly anyone and the few Chinese people that were there were attempting to sell us stuff and rip us off...some of the 18 year old girls almost got fooled, but luckily some of us saw what was happening and told the Chinese people to leave the girls alone.  A second later, the security (who carry big guns, by the way) came and pushed the Chinese salespeople away from us!  It was wild!  But a great adventure!  We had 15 teachers flying into the Airport on our flight and then 5 others meeting up with us in Shanghai.  Unfortunately, their first flight was delayed which made them miss their flight to Shanghai, so they had to come in on another one and we had to wait 4 hours in the Airport for them to get there!  It was all good though #bonding time :)  After they arrived, we took a bus to Nanjing.  Luckily, the bus ride was only 4 hours instead of 6, which is what they had originally told us it would be!  

When we arrived in Nanjing, we had to lug everyone's suitcases up the stairs to our rooms!  (That's 60 suitcases up 5 flights of stairs...I better get ripped from that!  Kidding!  Kidding!)  We all crashed around 3:30am, and then woke up the next day at 11am.  I've never had a colder shower in my life than the one I had that day!  Apparently, the school we teach at doesn't give their students hot showers and they only turn the hot water on for the teachers during specific times of the day!  SURPRISE!!  It did make me appreciate my hot showers a lot more than I did before though!  (And I've gotten to take hot showers the other mornings- I made sure I woke up during the appropriate showering hours haha, so that's a great blessing!) 

So here at the school, we have a foreign coordinator named Wendy who's supposed to teach us the ropes of ILP and where we will be teaching, but she got "busy" on our first day and didn't come into work, so we had to fend for ourselves!  It was a great adventure!  We gave ourselves a walking tour of the campus and had no clue what anything was, but that's okay! :)  The kids all saw us walking around the campus though and they were ADORABLE!  They'd scream "HHHEEEELLLLLOOOOOO!!!!!"  And then we'd wave and say hi back!  It makes me so excited to teach them!  We start teaching on Monday! :)  We also had two briefing meetings and then at night, we walked to the Golden Eagle Mall!  There is a couple that lives on our floor named Belle (Chinese) and Mickey (American, raised in Chicago).  They've lived here for a year, so they volunteered to take us to the mall and show us where the ATM's were!  They were so sweet!  I got to talk to both of them a lot and they're going to take us to the "underground" shopping where you can get everything for dirt cheap on Saturday!  (I'm going to buy like 20 apples!)  Haha it's random, but there apples here are ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!  I'm ecstatic!  

Also, I think the food is great!  I don't know why some people said it was going to be awful!  It's different...but totally yummy! :)  aannnddd.. I have no idea what I'm eating...but i figured I should just be open minded! :)

Here I am....in China!  Happier than happy!  

Hooray for adventures!