the life of an average girl...: this weekend

We met a girl, Charm, on the bus last weekend. She was so sweet and studying to be a nurse so we instantly bonded. The only problem was that we struggled to communicate with her. To the point where the bus ride got kind of awkward because no one knew what to say. But she was so sweet and wanted so badly to be our friend. It turns out that she told her entire class about us and the next thing we knew was that we were committed to going to their school on Friday. Not going to lie, I was kind of dreading this because I didn't want another awkward situation like the bus ride when we met her. We went anyways, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

Turns out that I actually had the best time ever. I felt like I was in college again and I just have to admit that I kind of miss the college life. (So for those of you that are still in college, don't wish away these days.) We met her entire nursing class and, even though I couldn't communicate with them, I felt right at home. It was awesome. Also, it turns out that when we committed to coming to their school, we committed to spending the night with them. We didn't know that when we left our apartment but we just went with it and it was a blast.

They took us to their English school which was a bus ride away from their nursing school. This English school/Coffee Bar was the place to be. It seems like that everyone just goes there to hang out. I walked in the building and everyone stood up and cheered for me. It was weird and uncomfortable but it was okay. Twenty people grabbed me and sat me down. Before I knew it, I had a crowd of college kids around me dying for me to introduce myself. The rule at this place is, if you speak in Chinese you have to be punished and the punishment in paying money. Good thing I don't speak Chinese so I didn't have to worry about that.

One of the teachers really wanted us to come to their VIP English class. I can guarantee you that this class had never been so well attended before. The crowd of people I had downstairs came with me and the crowd of people that were with Shelby outside joined us too. People were wall to wall standing and even flowing out of this little classroom. It was awesome. We joined in on the class which was pretty much just discussions about different topics in small groups, or big groups in this case. My group didn't want to discuss the topic and just wanted to "free talk" instead. So that is what we did.

Some how I was convinced to sing an English song with Shelby in the middle of this crowded classroom with so many eyes and ears locked on us. I also was volunteered to give an impromptu speech at the end of the class. I am not sure how that happened but before I knew it I was up on stage in front of everyone. If you would have told me that I was going to be singing in front of a bunch of people and giving a speech that I hadn't prepared for, I would have told you that I would rather die than do either of those things. But both of those things have happened and have happened on more than one occasion. And I am actually okay with it. Weird? Yes, but this is only one of the many ways that China has changed me.

There is a chant that these friends of mine taught me. When their classmates are afraid to speak they say, "Don't be shy. Just try. We all support you all the time." I really love it. It is so true about everything in life. We don't have to be afraid to do new things or even try old things that might be hard. We shouldn't worry about what others around us are going to think or say. We just need to try and do our best. If we are truly doing our best, then that is enough. There are so many people around us that really are supporting us, whether you realize it or not. And we all have one big supporter that we shouldn't forget about. Heavenly Father is always cheering us on. So just try. Try whatever it is that you have been wanting to try. Get out of your comfort zone. Trust me, great things are waiting for you, if you will just get up and do those things that might be a little bit awkward or uncomfortable at first. I never knew how much on life I was missing out on until China.

This weekend with these people that I have gown to love in such a short amount of time was great. I will definitely be going back to the Coffee Bar really soon. Also, I don't know if I should admit this or not but I may or may not have caught the Yellow Fever when I was with these guys...

(So. Much. Tai. Chi.)

(Nurses in China still wear all white and cute {or dorky} little hats.)

Last weekend we found ourselves at the zoo. It was awesome and a perfect zoo day. With the help of Charm we were able to get there safe and sound. Here are some pictures...