Kids say the darnedest things...

As my taxi pulled in to my city, I had a rush of excitement in my heart. Familiar signs, characters, places and people were all around. Ok. In a city of 1.5 million, I wasn't really seeing familiar faces. But the swarm of Asians was comforting. I was anxious to be in my apartment again and unpack.

My super awesome friend, Sarah was waiting for me. She's the sweetest. She had bought me dinner and a drink and anxiously awaited stories and hugs. We chatted and caught up as I scrambled around unpacking.

After she left, I settled into the silence around me. After two months in America, it was soothing to hear...nothing. My apartment felt SO small after living in the giant homes of the USA. I decided to cuddle with my beloved Edith to detox from the stress, anxiety and hours of traveling (33 hours to be exact). I popped in The Avengers and tried my darnedest to pay attention and stay awake. I told myself I would stay up until 9. Half way through the movie I told myself 8:30. By 7:45, I was hoping to make it just 15 more minutes. But at 8:00 pm, I was cozy in my bed and fell asleep before Harry even blow up his aunt Margaret (I fall asleep to Harry Potter movies, among others).

Monday morning was rough. I took an hour nap, even though it went against all my jet-lagging beliefs. I knew I needed some Z's if I was going to make it through afternoon classes. And boy am I glad I did.

Here are gems from Q&A time this week talking about American taboo topics: politics, religion and sex.

Is sex great?
Have you had sex before?
Did your boyfriend pressure you to have sex?
How did you become a Christian?
Are there special requirements to pray?
Do you think anything happened between Obama and Beyoncé?
Are there witches in America?
Have you even been in a demonstration?
Have you been in the White House?
How would you feel if your husband has a lot of sex experience?
Will you have sex before marriage?
Have you ever supported a war?
How do you feel about America monitoring other countries' Internet?

I'm also teaching an English freshman class. Here are some quality comments from them:

You like cooking. I like eating.
I am so lucky to have a beautiful, cute, elegant teacher.
I hope we can be friends.
Modern Family is one of my favorite shows.
Do you have QQ?
Are you married?
What about a boyfriend?
Do you want to find a Chinese husband?

Ignorance is not bliss...

I bought a puppy yesterday. She is an English Bulldog. Her name is Edith. She's quiet fiesty. But I think that is the young puppy in her. I hope and have read on blogs and in books that puppies are all kind of rambuncious, but later calm down. Or at least some breeds. But that's not the point of this post. My friend Sarah went with me to the nearby city to buy her. I was telling her about the Cesar Millan "How to raise the perfect dog: from puppyhood and beyond." I told her about how the book tells people to have CALM-ASSERTIVE ENERGY. Dogs don't understand human language. So, when you say, "No," "Stop," or something to that effect, they just don't get it. A mother dog uses her attitude and energy to teach her young pups the do's and don'ts of life. So, we should to.

Several times in the book, he says you should NEVER hit a dog. He talked about how people's instinct or reaction is spanking a dog for bad behavior. But it's better to reward and praise good behavior. I told her about how I've seen people do most of the bad things Cesar says not to do in America. And I've seen people do them here in Asia. Sometimes, we just let the anger get the best of us. Or maybe the worst. I love Sarah so much. I can ask her any question and she doesn't tell me the cover-up answer to make her country look and sound better, but tells me the truth. And she's not offended when I make observations and helps me learn so much about how people think here. So, I asked her about hitting as discipline for children in Asia. She told me there is an old proverb about how if you don't hit your child, his faults are your responsibility. She explained that with boys especially this thought is strong. Don't get me wrong, if I ever become a parent, I think spanking will be on the list of disciplinary actions. BUT spanking is a scary possibility in the hands of broken people. There might be a language barrier, but the word Asians use to describe what their mother and father did when they were younger is "beat." Maybe there is no word for spanking. But it just breaks my heart to think of what happens behind closed doors. She told me it's very possible that most children in Asia are being beaten. In the West, I think we have come to understand spanking is not always the best option. There SHOULD be discipline, so I'm not saying let your kid run wild. But if that doesn't work, try something else. Sarah told me, that most Asian parents will just keep going with the same old thing because it's what they know. I don't care what you say or think, I truely believe that abuse will have an effect on who you are. Yes, I know you can make lemons into lemonade. But lemonade is sour and so tart sometimes...I wish they knew what kind of effect this has on their kids later in life. Sarah also told me about her friend who has a sister who is now a lesbian. The mother of these two girls beat them pretty badly when they were young. Sarah thought that the sister that chose the homosexual lifestyle chose it because she admired her father. Her father was a sweet, kind man. She desired to be like him. To be the protector in the relationship and she had no desire to be like her mother. I'm not saying this is true for every case. But I hope and pray, the people here will see that their actions have consequences...

For a friend I would...

What would you do for a friend?
Would you humiliate yourself to save their face(respect)?
Would you sacrifice your happiness for theirs?
Would you do something you don't like to do for them?
Would you put on a brave face for them even when you're shaking in your pants?
Would you do your best to make them feel special?

Some friends and I went to a mutual friend's birthday party. Her name was Sarah. But when I got there, I found out it was a joint party. It was three girls I knew, Lucy, Sarah and McClever. The host of the night promptly told Natalie, Jess and I that we were supposed to bless the birthday girls in language later that night.

I immediately became nervous. I have never spoken to 30+ people in the language. Maybe like 5 or 6. But the thought of all eyes and EARS on me for even the briefest moment made my heart race. Along with that, my mind went completely blank! I forgot all this vocabulary I had just studied and couldn't think of any sentences to form, even on the simplest level. On top of that, I don't know how to BLESS someone. What does that mean?

When the time came, I volunteered first, so I wouldn’t look as stupid compared to Natalie and Jess. Their language is much better than mine. And this is what ended up coming out in the language:

“My chinese is really bad. Really, truely. I don’t know what to say. Read your Bible everyday. Pray everyday. Wear…Wear? (Checked my pronounciation with the audience) Wear pants. I love you all! Happy Birthday!”

Everyone burst into laughter. I think they were expecting me to say something else in place of WEAR PANTS. I knew even if I couldn't fully express my feelings yet, I could make them laugh. I was proud of myself.