[beijing&baggage]

after a fantastic chinese birthday celebration last night, we left this morning!
i have so much to catch you up on. in the mean time, we've arrived safely in Beijing for our 5 day adventure before returning home. i lost a piece of luggage, but i'm hoping it will arrive.
please pray for:
-our safety in beijing
-our transition back home
-my heart. it is hurting
-all my wonderful friends in Hangzhou. i miss them dearly already.

[joy&bunnies]

again. i'm a slacker. please forgive me :)
so last thursday we had a disaster medicine lecture. basically how to function in an emergency state. super fascinating, but i am still left wondering how they would handle such a dense population in an emergency. i already feel like there are SO many people, i can only imagine what would happen- chaos would surely ensue.

we didn't have chinese class on thursday because our teacher went to cambodia for vacation. it was tomb sweeping day on wednesday, which is a national holiday, so there was technically 'spring break' at school. on friday we decided to have a longer class. i was not so thrilled about the prospect of this, but class ended up being great!

friday was jordan and i's presentation day. it went well for the most part. i speak too fast when i get nervous, which certainly doesn't help to people whose second language is english. but they said i did better this time with my pac, and the content was also helpful. or so they say. 

thumbs up

feedback

my wonderful, cheerful mentor "sandy"

saturday we ventured out to a local lake to go fishing! fishing is old school here. it was super fun, and none of us caught anything. then we ate lunch with the nursing director of the whole hospital and her family. 

pro

oh george!

the crew!

director "jean" her real name is jin

double bubble contests!

then we walked around the lake, to this place roughly translated to 8 diagrams field. basically its a crop circle in a yin-yang style. there were tons of models. and such good picture ops. 

we had a wonderful day. how could the days keep getting better. thank you Jesus for Easter Sunday! With help from two wonderful packages; one from zach's mama and the other from my step mom, aunt, and gramma, i was able to morph into the easter bunny for my pals. i hid eggs and wrote notes and shared candy. so although my church back home had a massive egg drop from a helicopter. we had a mini version in china. here's some easter egg pictures:

all my cards- the packages were too heavy to hold. THANK YOU!!!!

the easter bunny

GO!

the hunt was fierce

and they used their bunny hopping skills also!

we had a blast with this. so thank you to all who contributed to making easter happen! we had to go to church early to help set up. richie and i didn't have to go as early, so we went and got coffee, sent some text messages, and read the gospel of John. in public (well sort of, it was just the two of us talking). also an incredible ministry opportunity happened in our church. the government allowed us to open our service to chinese citizens for the day. this was HUGE! and so we worshiped together in many languages celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. 

i have been helping with the children's ministry with one other member. it is so great, but so tiring. anyway the kids performed 3 songs during the service and then we went downstairs. and i watched 8 kids. way fun. way overwhelming at moments. but so wonderful. i have a picture on my phone- but i can't download it :(

eye center

one of the 4 ortho floors

and on monday we visited the ophthalmology department and orthopedic units. we are learning so much. blessed beyond measure to be lectured and then see such a large variety of cases. 

yesterday, we went to the hematology department and were presented with a leukemia case study. i also learned that the very first patient i took care of here (from the cardiac unit) passed away during this presentation. 

we met a nursing student that had rotated through this unit and had been to our presentations. she was so eager to meet us, that she came in on her day off! her name is "jessica" and she is my new pal. she came over to our apartment that afternoon and she even got to meet zach via skype. she is a gem and a half and i told her i would be glad to host her if she ever came to the USA. she was thrilled. 

in the afternoon we went to the local community hospital. i learned SO much here and i wish we had more time to spend at this type of hospital to really understand the chinese medical system. community health care is fairly new in China, but from what i can understand they have already accomplished a lot. they presented some great ideas to integrate community into health education and learning. i hope i can take some of these ideas home. 

today is a "free" day- we have a BBQ this evening. i've already gone for a run, cleaned up, found a place to live until graduation (YIPPEE), and done a little homework. i still have more to finish, so i better get that done!

anyway, i have so much to be grateful for and i love you and miss you all!

love, 

罗达茜

[dreaming]

wow. i've REALLY slacked off on the blog- in my defense we have been very busy with school. and that's why i watched TV all day today, no shame.
so catch up.
we had a lecture on outpatient medicine and got a sweet book for children by the original author- aimed at educating children about medication. it's in chinese so naturally i will read it to my future children. haha.

on thursday and friday of last week we had chinese class. we were determined to get mexican food we had heard about after class.
on thursday it was sunny and beautiful outside, and we searched (in the wrong direction) for the restaurant and ended up just having a nice walk. it's been sunny for a few days so the trees are starting to bloom and it is so beautiful!

so on friday, we were craving chips and salsa even more than before. we were determined to find this acclaimed place. and naturally it would rain. we walked for at least 45 minutes in pouring rain. serious craving. needless to say, we finally found it and i have never been more thankful for mexican food. and spanish speaking. the sweet sound of rolling "r's" and familiarity! ahh, i am in love with spanish.

excited but soaking.... can't you tell!

honestly, i'm not sure what we ended up doing on saturday. that's pretty terrible that I don't remember. probably worked on some homework. i know richie got a haircut. he loves it. he spent at least 10 minutes straight in the bathroom mirror. 

sunday was april fools. we skipped church. to go on a dream get-away, i was pretty sure it was an april fools joke the whole time. one of the nurse managers and her husband treated us and several other important nurses to a day at this incredible lake/ park, lunch at an elaborate mansion, and a wonderful day. we had to drive about 30-45 minutes to get to this place, not knowing exactly what the day held in store. well let me show you... the pictures don't do justice!

we're on a boat!

blossoms!

bridge

ellen & "ethan"

small bridge

ethan & his dinner creation

sign in the bathroom... haha!

the crew for the day

real life

our wonderful hosts

sabrina. a gem. so intelligent and so kind!

the table set up. two rooms just for us. 

i still can't get over the generosity of these people. it blows me away. 

on monday & tuesday we had clinical and richie & lesly presented their case studies on their units. 

yesterday & today i've honestly done a lot of relaxing. i needed it. but i also did a lot of processing. i can say some things that God has graced me with so far....

-a deep overwhelming sense of trust. and for me this is something that i need, something i have been praying a long time for. i still have a lot to grow, but i am so thankful that my heart is turned toward God constantly during the times i struggle here. it has been comforting beyond belief. 

-compassion & conviction. to dream bigger to worry less. it's so freeing. again, not all the way there but we are all works in progress. 

-love & healing. i have talked to my little sister at least 2-3 times a week since i have been here. that little stinker has been so encouraging and real. i just love her. and i am so thankful for her communication with me, i know she has no clue how much it means. 

-and lots more that i am still processing. 

jordan is going to bed, so i am going to wrap up with prayer requests

-presentation tomorrow. 

-that i can return an ounce of the amazing love that these nurses have showered us with. 

-gratitude for my professor, who has been SO encouraging, caring, and challenged me to push the boundaries of what i think i can do. 

- soaking up the last few weeks of what this adventure has to offer. 

thank you all for your love, prayers, & encouragement. i am SO excited to see you all soon.