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| With my awesome sister, Pearl, at a beautiful lake in SoCal |
First of all, at the airport when I was retrieving my luggage, I had two big ones to snatch and load on to my cart. Thinking that the culture was friendly and willing to help, I had secretly hoped that the gentlemen around me would kindly assist someone as petite as myself as they usually would in Thailand (although there, I'm not really considered petite). So, after being disappointed and grabbing them both from the rotating machine, I was in the process of loading up one of them on to the cart when I noticed the other was starting to lean forward. It seemed like slow-mo. While it was free-falling, I shouted, "Nooo, watch out for the..." and then it fell on the back of a tall man's legs. "Ouch...sorry about that," I profusely apologized. And what did he do? He slightly turned his head to see what was the object of obstruction, saw that it was my pitiful luggage, and stepped forward to get out of the way of its way. Gee, thanks...
Second, I had to translate a lot of my though processes so my conversations always ended with, "Is that how you translate it in English?" for a week. Now I realize that English uses so many idioms! I have to say "be direct" instead of "talk straight straight" as I would in Thai and Hmong. Other times, I'm finding random odds and ends in my sentences and wondering how I got there.
Btw, it also took me a week to get over jet-lag. I would sleep during the day and be wide awake at night. What do you expect for a 15-hour difference?
Third, my heart skipped an extra beat as my sister and her roommates turn at an intersection and get on the right lane.
And finally, while eating at a sushi restaurant, I wanted to speak Japanese to the server but the girls (and my sister, Pearl) advised me not to in case she would be offended. "What's wrong with trying to speak their language?" I asked. "They like it when you try." And Jay, one of the roommates, goes, "Not necessarily. Some get offended." Why? Because the server was most likely Korean, not Japanese like the restaurant. What's more, they may get upset if you don't say it correctly. *Sigh* Thanks, America. It's great to be back.
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| Cooking up a storm in kitchen with sister's roomie, Jackie--here, we're making Vietnamese pbun-sae-yo (how I missed the diversity of American food!!) |
I miss the folks from Thailand SO much and still hear from them quite often. The other day, I called a previous roommate of mine and, while talking to her, I forgot the word for "girl/woman" (phuu ying/ผู้หญิง) when describing that I was currently staying with a few of them. When you get the chance, please pray for the kids at CPS Dormitory--one of the leaders for the girls' dormitory is taking maternal leave, leaving only one staff member available to try and man it on her own. Also, I'm hearing news about the children's severe disobedience. Please pray for wisdom and discernment on the leaders' part, that they may have God's heart for the children and to be a light to them that the children may see God's love being reflected in their lives.
In the meantime, I have been taking care of some business with my university, doing research papers, talking to advisors, registrar, financial aid, and even admissions since I will actually be taking classes on-campus for the first time this Fall. I would also appreciate your prayers in this area as well--that I would have a smooth transition in this process of working some things out right now. My hope to have everything in order to graduate this December. Oh, and in case you're wondering what I'm doing my papers on, it's for a history and anthropology class: "The History of the Hmong Church in Southeast Asia" and "Gift-Giving in the Hmong Culture: Social ties and something or other about its significance" (FYI: not actually it's real title).
Grace and peace to you in the Lord, Jesus Christ. Until next time.
