Let's Get Real (China Style)

Last night I was laying in bed wide awake and feeling pretty bad for myself. I got my wisdom teeth out last week and had a few complications, so this was the third night in a row that I just could not fall asleep. I went out to the couch and started thinking about all the different things that I was stressed about and how I wanted to fix them but didn't know how. I somehow got to thinking about how it had been almost four years since I had left to live in China  and I started remembering random experiences that Katy and I had while living there. Before too long I could not believe how many things I had forgotten and how much I needed to remember the things that were really important. Here are the things that I want to remember from those amazing experiences.

1. We really can do anything that we want to do.

One of the most amazing feelings I have ever had was being on the Great Wall and feeling so proud of myself. When Katy brought up the idea of going to China to teach English for 6 months I never thought that it would be something I could do. It sounded like an awesome experience but it was way too crazy for me. When Katy talked to me about it and we made the decision that we were going to go, I never looked back. While sitting on the Great Wall I remember having the thought that we can do ANYTHING that we want to do. It will often take a lot of work but that moment when you get there it is the most amazing feeling in the world.

2. Things don't make you happy, people do.

This was something that I learned the first night I got to China.  When we got to our apartment it was filthy and there were cockroaches everywhere. In the middle of our room there was a pot of rice with a spoon in it and a bag of bread. I remember not knowing how I was going to live in this for the next 6 months. What I soon figured out was that my happiness was not influenced by the THINGS I had at all. We had 2 beds, a dresser, a fridge, and a hot plate and I have never been happier in my life. Everything was simplified and I loved it. All of our neighbors had at least 7 people living in the same size apartment Katy and I were in and they were some of the happiest people I have ever met.

3. It's best to just laugh.

There were so many random things that happened to us on a daily basis. I have so many stories because every time we left our apartment something weird happened to us. Whether we were being sung to in the middle of the street by a Chinese boy band, or being dropped off in the middle of no where at 3:00 AM, we just had to laugh. Not taking things so seriously and looking for the humor in situations literally changed my life.

4. I am happiest when I am serving others.

Chinese kindergartners are some of the wildest children you will ever come across. Almost everyday my voice was gone when I got done teaching. It would be so hard to be patient sometimes but then they would come over and say "I love you Teacha" and you couldn't help but want to spend the rest of the day with them. It felt amazing to volunteer each day teaching them and taking care of them. When we went to the baby classes it was incredible to see how much love these little babies needed and how much they responded to my love for them. I'm totally convinced that these children served me much more than I served them.