Hey everyone, and happy new year from Hualian! Last night was "new year's eve," so I got to watch fireworks from our 13th floor apartment window after planning - it was awesome. We also ate a lot of food yesterday and will continue to do so the whole week (that's my kind of holiday!). Apparently my zone leader gained 15 pounds last year during this holiday! I hope it's not the same fo me. Anyway, food - so far I've had a lot of things, including really bitter bamboo stalks, raw fish with wasabi, squid, goose, and this thing I decided I wouldn't ask what it was until afterwards... Turns out it was 1000 dried fish eggs. Yum. Really, though, the food is good here; don't worry about me!
The weather right now is coldish and rainy. It's actually been pretty warm here before (again, think Florida), but I guess it is January. It's really funny - people are terrified of cold here. I'll go running outside in 70 degree weather in shorts and a t-shirt, and people will always tell me that I need to bundle up or that I'll be too cold. My companion is the same way - she has these big coats she'll wear if it's under 75 degrees. :)
I'm just going to be talking about a lot of different random things, just so you know. I'm glad you all liked the talking to the deaf guy story! This week I proselyted to an empty car (I hate those mirrored windows) and also had a small bug fly into my eye as we ran over to the beach (about 10 minutes away) for our exercise. I was also in a small earthquake - my legs were shaking back and forth during study time and I had no clue what was going on, and then my companion said I was in an earthquake. Go figure.
I'm singing a lot of hymns lately - they help me love life even more. :) My favorites kind of change every day - lately I've been singing a lot of spirituals. I don't know why, but it gives me a lot of pleasure to sing like a black person around a bunch of Asian people. :)
My hair and eyes are a pretty big deal here. While that's fun for me since they're not really that big of a deal to most people in the states, they also get annoying a little bit. People often feel the need to talk about it - "She has HUGE eyes!" "What color is your hair?" "Why is your hair like that?" And then I'll respond with something like, "I don't know, why is your hair like that?" Or people will just tell my companion - "She's tall, skinny, and beautiful!" Which I can understand. It's funny - people here talk about you in front of your face all the time. Maybe it's just me since they think I probably can't understand, but they'll say things like, "Your Chinese is good!" and then my companion will speak and they'll say, "...But your Chinese is a lot better." Or they'll compliment me to my companion, which I'm sure makes her feel a little weird - it makes me feel weird just hearing them say it. BUT, I love the Chinese people so so so much, and I'm really enjoying the difference in culture here.
One funny thing about them - they often have English names as well. Apparently they have to be given to them by an English speaker, but I'm not sure that that's true, since I've heard of people changing theirs. So far some of the best ones I've heard are: Elsa, George, Red, Polo, Pedro, Lucky, Chair, Janet, Oreo, Juice (one of our investigators - in her closing prayer, she prayed that my Chinese would improve - she also said it was already really good! So cute), and, my personal favorite, Quinn. :) It's so funny to hear a VERY Chinese person who doesn't speak much English refer to himself as Pedro. But it sticks!
The elders here have started calling me "Sister Dong." "Dong," or "dong tian," means "winter." They all think that it's really funny. I think that it sounds like they don't have enough amusement as missionaries.
I've had this weird thing here where I feel sorry for people, or, even weirder, animals, really easily. Seriously, it's so weird. I don't know if it's just an added measure of love for the mission or anything, but the slightest pathetic-looking thing will make me sad. Like when I saw these cows by the river and they were tied up and the poor things were trying to get untangled from the rope. Or a new all-time high is when I saw this three-legged dog limping down the street. It made me feel so sorry for him! Which is weird, because I'm terrified of dogs here. Before the mission, not too much of a problem. However. there are dogs EVERYWHERE here and I think a lot of them are strays. The worst they've ever done is barked at me, but I've heard too many "dog + missionary" stories not to be frightened. Everytime I have to ride through a bunch of them, I say a little prayer that I'll be like Daniel in the Lion's Den and be protected. :) Sounds childish, I know, but it works everytime!
A lot of you asked about violin. I actually haven't been able to use it to contact yet - we've had too much success with just contacting people on the street on the way to the places where I'm going to play! :) But I have used it a couple of times thus far. I played it at dinner last night, played it at a lesson, and, my favorite, played it at this hospital/nursing home for service last week. They had a New Year's party, and it was so much fun! The nurses gave all of the patients tambourines or little jars of beans to use to keep time. One of the patients started beating the beans against his little bald head since he liked the music so much - again, this new sentimental side coming out in me. My favorite part, though, was when they had these elementary school kids come in and perform. While my companion quickly became a fan of the girl in the middle in the front row who danced every step with exactness (much better than I ever could), my heart was won by this super-tall girl in the back row... You can probably guess why. :) I was so reminded of myself as I watched this girl dance in the row entirely comprised of boys and herself, as she danced not quite as well, but clearly loved being there. She would sing along with the songs too, which was hilarious - the nurse would hold up the microphone to her mouth but she was basically screaming - no sense of pitch at all. :) Violin should be tonight, though! We're going to a busy intersection, and everyone who stops or slows down will be chased down by my companion. :)
Spiritual thought and then I'm done. The beginning of last week was pretty tough - it's way better now but it was still pretty hard at that time. One thing that I was struggling with is why I can't talk to or hear from my family more than once a week during email time or more than 80 minutes for this next year and a half. I mean, I'm talking to everyone on the street why families are important, but I can't talk to my own! But then I knew that I should suck it up, work harder, and then I'd figure it out eventually. :) And I did! I was praying for my food the other day, and then a scripture came to my mind. It was one that I never really understood very well - Matthew 12:46-50. It's where Jesus is with his disciples, and His family is standing in the background, waiting to talk to Him. His disciples point this out to the Savior, who says, "Ye are my brethren!" I never understood that - why did the Savior not pay attention to His family? Weren't they important? The answer is yes, of course they were. However, they weren't the focus of His ministry - they weren't what was most important at the time. I think that as Jesus Christ's representative, the same is true for me right now. Of course I love all of you and miss you all, but you all aren't my focus at this point. And if that's what the Savior did, then I should try and do it, too. :)
Hopefully that makes sense. I love all of you and I'm so glad you're doing well! Please continue to keep me in your prayers - I'll do the same for you.
Love,
Becca
No comments:
Post a Comment