Autumn is here in Qingdao. The only way you can really tell right now is that the temperatures have dropped by 15-20 degrees and the wind has started to blow more. I have found that I love the wind because it clears out the pollution. After a good wind, we get clear, blue skies. The leaves don't turn colors until usually mid-November. We don't get as many colors here as we do in Utah. We get green, yellow, sometimes orange and brown, but I still love the fall.
Gary has been wanted to take pictures of our campus from high in a building across the street. We went over and were able to go up pretty close to the top of the building and take these wonderful pictures. As I was looking out the window at this beautiful sight, I could not help but reflect on how wonderful it is to live in this beautiful, kind, vibrant city. I have never really been a city girl, but I am finding that I am becoming a bit of a city/country girl. I enjoy spending time in the downtown area, but I also like the beach and the mountains.
What a blessing it is to be able to live in another country and city and getting to know the culture and the wonderful people of that city. Life is wonderful. Yes, I miss my children, family and friends, but I am so happy to be here.
I am finding that I can do many hard things. I can stand in front of a classroom of 30-60 students and teach, helping them to learn not only English, but about being confident and thinking outside the box. I can explore the city on my own (when Gary is working), I have learned to cook many new kinds of Chinese dishes, I can teach early morning seminary, and have learned to trust the Lord more. I have learn to overcome my fear of heights (well for the most part). I can climb mountains and crawl over rocks, climb steep ladders, the Great Wall, stand on the edge of cliffs without so much fear. I eat vegetables and love them, in fact. I eat all sorts of food that I had never eaten before. I have learned a lot about myself and what I can do.
After we took the pictures, we went to lunch with some friends and then went to see the lab of one of my former students. He is in medicine. His lab has places for them to do medical experiments, but it also has an anatomy lab. He was so excited to show me the entire lab, even the cadavers. I was a bit nervous because I don't like things like that. I decided to go in and see to see how I would react and to make my friend feel good. It was actually not bad. It did not even look like a person really. It looked like old, gray leather. Weird. Again I have found I can do hard things that I never even would have thought of doing earlier in my life.
What wonderful things can happen when you trust the Lord, yourself, your spouse and take the leap of faith and let go of your worries. What a great life I have!
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