In Honor of Thanksgiving!!

I want to share with you all some things that I've been thankful for this semester. Some are things that I'm thankful I have while I'm here in China, and some are things that I'm thankful I have in the U.S., and some are universally applicable:

 - Showers with tubs and shower curtains (in other words, somewhat separated from the rest of the bathroom)

 - Family and friends all around the world (to those not here with me - I miss you!!!!!)

 - Technology that allows me to stay in contact with people

 - Clean air

 - A room that I don't have to share with 8 people (this is the typical number of roommates a Chinese student has - I'm grateful to only have to share my room with 2!)

 - Microwaves and ovens

 - Food whenever I'm hungry, as well as water whenever I'm thirsty

 - The people who have warmly welcomed me into their country, not caring that I can't speak their language fluently but helping me practice what I know

 - Teachers who love to teach and care about their students' well-being

 - The ability to travel

 - Skype!

 - Wonderful, loving, supportive parents

 - The beauty of the natural world

 - And most of all, my Father, who has shown me grace and love.

(感恩节快乐!) Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Eat lots of turkey for me! :D

好久不见!!

Long time no see! I know I know I know....

Let me explain:
Week 1: Sickness, studying for midterms
Week 2: Midterms
Week 3: More midterms
Week 4: Trying to get internet to cooperate (in case you couldn't tell, that didn't work so well. Much frustration ensued...).

So, since the internet is a tad bit finicky, and pictures take a while to upload and text can just be copied and pasted, pictures are just going to have to wait till I return to the U.S. and to a more reliable internet connection. I can't wait till I can show you some of the places I've been and people I've seen!

I've been sooo busy these last few weeks, I'm not exactly sure where to start! Here's an overview of what I've been up to:
 - Chatting with people from all over the world, some of whom are in my class, some of whom I just run into, like the people from New Zealand I got to meet this last weekend!
 - Exploring Beijing. I've gone to an acrobatic show, the National Museum, the Museum for Nationalities (it's more like a park), hiking in the mountains, Wangfujing's international bookstore (made me sooo happy - over 7 floors of books!), the CCTV building (just the outside, not the inside), and I've done quite a bit of shopping and bargaining. I'm quite happy with my purchases!
 - I've tried a few new foods. The most memorable was stinky tofu. It's not quite as bad as it smells, but a few bites was plenty for me.
 - Practicing my Chinese (of course!)

Overall life is good. These next two weeks are going to be busy for me as well, so please don't expect much, but I will try to keep you updated as much as possible. I'm now off to read a book and write a paper for my class on the ethnic minorities, so until next time!

P.S. Thank you all for being so patient! And for being so supportive!