FEAR

This week has been a study in fear: those times we have too much, and those times we think we have too little, but actually still have too much.

It all started Sunday. Or maybe Monday. Heck, I'm just glad I know what country I'm in right now, much less the day of the week. Anyway. Apparently, I forgot to inform the bank that I would be in China this summer. As a result, the ATM refused to give me access to my account, other than to let me check my balance. Much like watching "Jumper" on the plane (see previous post), this just made matters worse: "Here's how much money you could withdraw, if you weren't an idiot." Thus, I was left to get by on the money I had brought with me from the States -- 200 kuai, or about $29. $29 goes farther here, but still.

Thankfully, the lesson I learned this week was not about the woes of having no money, but rather about the foolishness of worrying about money in the first place. I have good family members who contacted the bank and took care of things for me, and good friends who took care of me in the meantime -- both of which were provided by a good God. Lilies of the field, birds of the air, and all that jazz.

Also in the department of fear and lessons thereof: All students in our class have been paired off with language partners. We are required to spend an hour each weekday with them, correcting our in-class essays and learning the intricacies of our vocabulary words. Originally, we (by which I mean all of us) feared the awkwardness inherent to such things; there's just something unpleasant about these kinds of forced friendships. Our fears turned out to be unfounded, however. In fact, my language partner and I have so enjoyed each other's company that a significantly widespread rumor has developed that I am "putting the moves on her".

They give me way too much credit, as you all know. I'm not sure what my "moves" would look like, but they would probably scare small children.

In reality, it's simply that Wendy and I have a lot of common interests -- we both write, we're both relatively non-sporty (if that's a word), and so on. Apparently, I have a trustworthy face or something (go figure), and so we've skipped right past the usual formalities and straight to heart-to-heart discussions. I like honest people.

One last point related to fear: Not far from our classroom, there is a cart by the side of the road. They sell the most amazing little breakfast food. It is essentially a pita, wrapped taco-style around a fried egg, lettuce, (optional) spicy pepper paste, and some unidentified brown sauce. Yes, Mom, this is one of the street vendors we were warned about. Yes, I eat there on a regular basis. But it's OK, because I let the other students be guinea pigs first.

Besides, no fear, right?

In other news, we went with our language partners to the beach yesterday afternoon. While there, we witnessed a man proposing to his girlfriend.



A short time after dark, the two of them arrived together and walked down a path lit by fireworks to this heart made of roses, where he popped the question. Unfortunately, none of my pictures of the actual event turned out well. You'll just have to take my word for it: It was very romantic.

Our class was split immediately after we arrived, based on a placement test we took Monday. I was placed into the lower of the two levels, partially because I left the second portion of the test half-blank, mistakenly thinking it was not a part of the placement process. Originally, I was upset by this turn of events. After seeing the homework requirements of the upper level, however, I'm content to stay where I am. I guess it's true what they say: the tallest blade of grass is the first one to get cut.

Now, for questions people have asked me since the last post:


(Ben, pondering the questions. Or maybe just wiping some sweet-and-sour sauce off his face at the Duzi.)

Uncle Rick asks: How has the Sichuan earthquake effected people on the coast? Is it still a major news item?

As far as direct effects, the earthquake really hasn't changed a thing here in Qingdao. It was really too far away for that. However, it is still a major news item -- the university thanked us, at the opening ceremony, for America's help during this time. Also, you can usually see continuing news coverage of the disaster and its aftermath while riding the bus at night.

My classmates have told me, though, that the earthquake has indirectly effected the country's young people (this is according to their language partners and friends they met last year). Apparently, the pervasive coverage of the disaster has somewhat broken through the success-centered mindset of Chinese young people. It has made many people my age become more aware that there is a world out there, populated with people who all need help in one way or another. In a culture that has raised them (much like America) to focus on getting good grades so they can get into a good school so they can get a good job so they can get lots of money and teach their children to do the same, this is a huge difference, potentially the seeds of a revolution in Chinese thought.

Richmond asks: Was "Jumper" good?

In the same way that playing Rock-Paper-Scissors is good -- it passed the time, kept me entertained, but I can take it or leave it.

K'Ann asks: How much KFC have you eaten so far?

None, actually. We went out and ate pizza to celebrate my classmate's birthday, and I've been to the Italian ice cream place twice, and Starbucks twice. That, so far, is the extent of my western eating. (Full disclosure: I'm about to go hit up the McDonald's next door to the Starbucks I'm sitting in now.)

Things to pray about, for those of you reading this who pray:

-My friendship with Wendy, my language partner. These kinds of insta-bond relationships don't happen for no reason. Pray that I would see what that reason is and handle it accordingly.
-Having a little allergy/environment adjustment trouble right now. Pray that it won't last long.
-The Sichuan earthquake's impact on young people here. Pray that this increased awareness of others' wellbeing would flourish.
-We have to take the HSK next Sunday, a test which is used by most organizations to assess your fluency in the language, much as colleges emphasize ACT/SAT results. We took a practice version of it Monday -- it was the section I left half-blank, if that tells you anything about its difficulty. Pray that we would all perform adequately on the test, or at the very least that our heads won't explode from just looking at it.

Drinking an amazing dark chocolate mocha,
Nathan

(P.S. If you guys happen to know where I could find Chinese subtitles for "The Princess Bride", please send me a link. I tried to explain the story to Wendy, and she seemed interested. I have the DVD, I just need Mandarin subtitles to tack onto it.)