[luck&lanterns]

ba- the number eight
fa- wealth
the words sound alike and are significant for their similar sounds.
today is lantern festival. its a national holiday. when we were walking back from dinner, at 8:08, or ba ba, fireworks starting going off. I saw one lantern, but because of the rain, people can't do lanterns as easily. the chinese are very traditional in many ways, since eight and wealth sound similar in chinese, the chinese think that these words are important. at dinner, we were supposed to eat eight dumplings to help us have wealth.
so let's play catch up.
the first day here was quite a blur for me, i remember eating a lot of food, and that's about it. i only slept about 4 hours on the plane, so i was fighting sleep all day long. i took a short nap before dinner, and i woke up with bloodshot eyes. NO JOKE. anyway, the food here is incredible and so fresh tasting. because we are still guests, they serve us the food, and its rude to say no. so even if you are full or don't like something, you politely take it and eat it. i realized quickly that i needed to point out my food allergy, or i would politely get sick. ellen & amy, our translators/ nurse advisors/ tour guides, have been wonderful at telling me what to eat and what not to eat. i can rest easy now!
today we got to sleep in (or catch up on the sleep we missed). we ate brunch in the VIP restaurant of the hospital... let me pause for a moment to talk about porridge. i love porridge. its just rice and chicken broth, but i could literally live off this stuff. its warm tasty goodness. anyway, she showed us where the main staff cafeteria was. the menu, of course, is all in chinese. basically, we have to wing it. so here's to eating  God- only- knows- what. and the best part. we stick out like sore thumbs. literally everyone stares at us, even for a brief moment. it's overwhelming and intimidating to stick out so much.
after, jordan left us to pick up the faculty and the 3 of us went back to our apartment. it was nice to have a little down time. but this made me realize, i'm really uncomfortable here. i'm scared, and i don't know why. i'm determined to stay positive, but i continue to doubt my decision to come.
later, in the pouring rain, amy gave us a tour of jiefang road (main street) which is the block around the hospital. she showed us the bank, the post office, the tea road, and the supermarket. it finally stopped raining, so once we reconnected with jordan, the four of us ventured back to the supermarket to buy towels.
tonight we had dinner at a fancy- ish restaurant. at this restaurant, there is a show of a man wearing a chameleon mask, he dances, blows fire, and changes his face color. and people gawk at the sight of him. i mean, i wish i could blow fire. they served us so much food as usual, and they served wheat tea (obviously, i did not have any). i excused myself to the restroom. i forgot that we were informed about this, but the toilet is literally a hole in the ground with a porcelain drain. i momentarily froze and was confused at how to use it. defiantly reminded me of walkabout, and squatting in the wilderness.
the next few days hold lots of meetings with important people, like the president of the hospital, the nurse managers, etc. we will be oriented to parts of the hospital as well. so i'll update you after all that.
missing you all.
prayer requests
-that i would continue to pursue God on this journey, that he would calm my fear and worry, and hold me close.
-that we represent the university, nursing, and Christ during the meetings the next few days.
-language. even some things, our translators can't understand, but they work super hard to figure it out =]
- gratitude for the food situation.
-gratitude for the provision thus far with safety, great translators/ guides, and each other.