#3

1. I bought my plane ticket. One way westward. I will be home Thursday, August 13th, at around 10am. I almost cried though when I saw the price. I know hard times are going on worldwide- but honestly I am struggling not to revert to my old self and worry about finances. Trusting sounds so simple, cliche and easy. In reality, it hard to let go of things and remember that I can be confident He has the world completely under control.

2. March. I love March. Spring time. I have been really happy about the weather here and have mentioned it a few times in recent updates. Then China had to go and let me down. It has been raining and cold (okay like 60's) for the past 3 days!! AHHHHHHHHH! I was so upset. I realized that my mood generally is effected by the weather. It has been hard staying awake through the day without wanting to watch TV or a movie- which would put me to sleep and defeat the no nap policy that I have recently implemented in my life. I find I sleep better at nights without a nap.

3. No more mice! The men came and did whatever people do in order to rid the world of rats, mice and other disgusting disease carriers. Cats are still hanging around but I am hoping that by the time I leave they will have moved on to pester someone else.

4. Thursdays. I love Thursdays! It is a tie for my favorite day of the week with Wednesdays. Followed by Sundays and Tuesdays. Thursdays I go over to my American families home for dinner and an English corner hosted in their house. This past Thursday we did a craft activity and if you know me well you know I don't do creative craft making at all because I am not very good. Shockingly I made a very pretty card that I was quite proud of. This Thursday we are not having a get together and I am sad.

5. When Daisy, my roommate and I, started talking about what to do on Thursday we decided to have the group come over to our place. Now our apartment is not the cleanest in the world mostly because Daisy and I are really busy or really tired. So this weekend and Monday and Tuesday our goal is to clean the entire apartment. It's a bit scary...

6. In addition to hosting Thursday night, we will also be cooking dinner. No joke. I don't cook. That's why Wednesdays and Thursdays are great. Because I don't have to figure out how to feed myself. Daisy doesn't cook- unless you count hard boiling eggs. After talking about it for about an hour we came up with a menu. Daisy will teach me how to make Chinese dumplings and I will be making vegetables, cookies and mac and cheese. I feel like a bit like Holly Homemaker and have decided if this is what I want to do with the rest of my life (meaning that I am considering an interesting graduate program and have just about settled on it) sharing, inviting and learning, then I better start practicing now.  It is a blessing to have them because although they are not what I pictured when I asked for friendships, they are very special and play important roles in my life.

7. April 2nd promises to be a good day. It's a Thursday so of course it will be a good day- but I was invited to join with my New Zealand family and my Thursday night group to go see a London Drama Company perform Oliver Twist. I know the story from Wishbone on PBS but can honestly say I have never read the book. It's on my to buy list when I go to Macau on Tuesday afternoon in order to UPS some things to my parents.