Thanksgiving:Asian Style.

Let me first off and state the fact that Thanksgiving is an American Holiday. So therefore the people here in   Asia don't celebrate it. Crazy Huh? Well you kinda forget those few facts until it comes close to the actual event.

Secondly, This is the time it hits you hard that you are away from family. And for me, that this is the last Thanksgiving I will spend with my parents, and brothers. 

Since we are in a city that have Americans, they of course celebrate and try to go all out (with the limited supplies we have). I am very thankful for that. It made it a lot easier. 

The reality that we are missing all the traditions hit Tuesday. See Its a tradition that my grandmothers side of the family meet each other halfway at the good ole Cracker Barrel. They were there and we were logging on to Skype and this overwhelming sadness hit. It was so good to see everybody and see them all at once, we even got to see my two new little cousin's! But... All I kept thinking is we are not there. As we logged off, we were rushing to get out the door and go to school. It all happened so fast. It was over in 5 minutes. All I could do was cry. It was beginning to be hard. 

On Wednesday, the five of us, had our own little meal. It was a nice meal. My mom made roast, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. She also made some yummy desert, brownies and chess squares. One of our traditions is to go around and each person say at least two things that they are thankful for. When it came to me, I realized that I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a wonderful family that is willing to give up everything to serve HIM. And part of everything is the holidays, and family get together. I am thankful I can call them my parents and brothers. 

Well Thursday was just like any other day, worked at the school, and got to hang out with friends it was nice. 

On Friday afternoon we had a big lunch with a few new friends. It was such a blessing to be able to celebrate with other people. The food was yummy, and the fellowship was nice. I am so thankful we got to do that. 

Well since we are in Asia there are no Black Fridays. So we decided to go to the "city" and go shopping all day Saturday! We got a lot of Christmas presents for each other. Ate McDonald's :). It was a fun day. 

Now another tradition my family has is we have a weekend celebration with my papaw's side of the family. We rotate every other year to three different cities in Tennessee. It is such a fun weekend with lots of food and laughter. Some of my funniest memories are from those weekends. That morning on Saturday we got to Skype with them. And again it was very nice to see everyone and talk to them for a few minutes, but it was a reminder we are missing all that. 

An added bonus is we got to Skype my mom's family that night and see my great-grandparents, grandmother. It was nice to see them and hear their voices! 

And lastly today. We had our last Thanksgiving celebration. A big one to say the least. I got to meet new people, and eat yummy food once again. My mom made this amazing potato casserole. It was a very good meal! 

Thanksgiving has a whole new meaning to me. I have had a lot of things on my mind this week. It was a big week, first holiday overseas, and I got my ticket home. Which has made me really think about my family. I am so thankful for them. I have parents who love me very much, and who are a clear example in my life of giving everything up for HIM. I have two awesome brothers who just brighten up my life everyday. I can't imagine life without them. I love my family. As, we were going around the table telling things we were thankful for, I once again was reminded of how lucky am, and that I am really going to miss them. I can't imagine life without them there beside me.   

I am so excited to see the rest of my family and friends. I just wish I didn't have to leave my family. If I have no chance to visit them before they come back for a few months, it will be a total of 2 1/2 -3 1/2 years till I see them again. It hard to put that in reality. 

Now its time to list a few of the things i am thankful for.

I am thankful that I am here in Asia. Experiencing culture, and a new way of life with my family. 

I am so glad I have gotten to see the way they will be living, and what life is like. And be able to be with them for a few of the firsts. It's totally different here and now I can relate with them when we talk about the culture and stuff. 

I am also thankful for the rest of my family. They have been so supportive throughout everything. I love that we get to talk often and see their face. I love them all very much! 

I am also thankful for the friends I have. Here and there. I love talking to people back at home and telling them all my adventures, and I love hearing theirs as well. I am sooo thankful that HE has given me friends here! I have gotten to do a lot and have lots of fun here!

Once, again my family. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!! :) 

Lastly, I am thankful that HE has been there for me, and will always be there for me. I am so thankful for the gift HE gave, and for the unconditional love HE has for HIS children. I am also thankful that HE has let me see the world from a different angle. I now understand how important that gift is, and it shouldn't be taken lightly. 

So even though I have had some sadness here and there, at the end of the day, I AM BLESSED and VERY THANKFUL!!!

Friends...

I have always been very blessed my whole life with wonderful friends.
Friends that I can laugh all day with, ones that I can just call and cry to, and some that help me and encourage me in every way possible. And the thought of leaving them was dreadful. But almost 3 months ago I had to. Boy was it hard! And still VERY hard!
When we for sure planned that we were moving, to be honest I was very upset. I didn't want to leave the life I new for something I had no idea about. I didn't want to give up/or put on hold friendships that I have had my whole life. But whether I liked it or not that was the path my family was going down. The last few months I was in the states I really took every chance I could to spend a lot of time with my friends. Those were very precious moments that were so much fun and I will never forget.
Because of my age and where I am in my life I was very worried that I was not going to have friends.
The first few weeks here were very lonely, and to be honest I was getting angry. I thought if this is how its going to be I am going to be miserable this whole six months!
I think it was about the second or third day of school when a mother of a student introduced her son and her son's friend. They were funny and very nice to me and for once I felt like "Wow, I might actually fit in here!" That was the first time I had had a conversation with someone my age! It was great! I went home so happy!
That next week I started to volunteer at the school, and the teachers just included me right away! I was so happy! There are a group of teachers that are awesome and I just love hanging out with them!
One of the teachers there, Lauren, is the one that I have gotten to know the best! She has adopted me like her little sister! She is very funny, sweet, nice, and even though I am 4 years younger that doesn't matter she treats me just the same! I LOVE THAT!!! We hang out a few times a week and It is just so much fun! I am REALLY going to miss her!!!!!!
Because of volunteering at the school you get to know a lot of families very well. There is one family that I have gotten to know very well. They have two kids here, Abby and Jordan. Jordan is the same age as me and Abby is a year younger. They are both vey funny and a lot of fun! I can talk to both of them forever and they are just some pretty cool people! I am so happy I met Abby. We have so much in common and just have so much fun together. We call each other our long lost sisters!! :) I am going to miss that family VERY much!
There are a lot more people that I could say and talk about how much of a blessing they are but those are just a few!
I am so blessed and thankful. The time I have had here and will continue to have is precious and very valuable and I am so thankful I have wonderful friends here to share it with!
Thank you guys! You have helped make these months some of the the best months of my life! I will never forget you! I will miss you very much when I leave!
And Thank you friends back in Tennessee! You have helped me get through so much!=]
Once again, I am blessed! :D

A trip to remember!

Hello Guys!

Do you know that feeling of overwhelming joy and peace? Oh have i experienced that feeling the past week.  Let me tell you why!

This past week i was given the opportunity to go on a short service trip that some of the High Schoolers go on. I was very excited to travel a little more in Asia. Little did i know that this trip would mean so much.

The intentions of this trip are to teach English and build relationships with the people, but as i was there i learned more about myself than any other retreat or camp. So wanna hear exactly what happened? Lets start from Day one!

Day 1: We left from the school at 1. Then drove 1 1/2 hours to the train station. Then got on my FIRST ever train ride for 4 hours. Then we all got in a car and drove 4 more hours! Needless to say we were so happy to arrive at our final destination! 

Day 2: We got up at around 8, then left to meet a community/family of a man we were working with. Then took a little to trip to a beach! The beach was so pretty! But ha funny story when we arrived it was empty, roped off, with police and military people guarding it. So we were hesitant to go but they told us we could stay for 20 minutes then we had to go. That day was the day the government was taking over the beach. Crazy!! Anyways,  We then went to our first school! Me and My Partner were teaching a class of 14-15 year olds. It was so much fun! I think they got tired of all our songs tho! We then left and Went back to the house to relax and rest! We then had lots of fellowship and ate dinner! It was a fun night! One funny thing about that night was the group of girls all learned a break dance! Yep that's right a break dance! You should be jealous! After dancing all night it was time for bed! 

Day 3: We got up at 5:30 and left for a new city at six! (I loved this City!) We arrived a few hours later and the world nicest families house! As soon as we arrived they welcomed us with love and just were so kind! They just smiled all the time and I miss them! We then left and met another man's family! After that we went to another school and i would totally teach there if i could! This time i got to teach alone. (with a translator of course). I got to teach 4th grade, the kids were so cute and their attitudes about learning were so cool and all you could do was smile! I was so sad when we had to leave! We then left and went to another School where they had a special presentation for us that consisted of martial arts, and the traditional dance! It was so cool! After we left there we went to a medical school to encourage them to learn and practice their English. That was fun! Then we went back to the house! Where we made some new friends and just had a fun time! That night we went to a fair that was a blast! It was so cool and different from any fair in America! It was such a good night! One of the funnest nights i have had in a long time! I went to bed a very happy person.

Day 4: It was time to go. :( I was not ready to leave. I loved this place. And then we journeyed back home. 

As i was riding in the car on the way home i can not even begin to describe how heavy my heart was. I felt like i was leaving a part of myself there. As i was thinking more and more i realized HE was really trying to tell me this is your future. I really believe that more and more as i spend time here i feel more called to teach but overseas. Each day i am asking HIM if this is his desire. 

Also another thing that i learned was that i need to enjoy and take advantage of the time i have here in Asia! It is a gift and it is such a great opportunity that not really many people get. 

So as i have been back here exactly a week now. I just feel this heavy burden to share His light. I am so thankful to have an awesome gift! I can not wait for more opportunities like this in my future because these are the most life changing!

So there is a little bit of info about my trip. Thanks for reading!

Life in Asia

Two years ago we were planning on moving to Asia. Two months ago we left for Southeast Asia, and the adventures began.

Fact number one, saying goodbyes suck. End of story. I am so thankful that i have such a close family but man has it been hard being away. 

Fact number two,  22 hours in a plane is so exhausting.

Fact number three, I was so glad we finally arrived.

As soon as you step off the plane its culture shock. In case you didn't know not very many people speak English in Asia so it makes for a very stressful adventure. 

Asia is beautiful. It is very different from America, but none the less very amazing. 

The scenery in every area is unique, you never get bored looking out the window.

I remember the first night we arrived, going to sleep was impossible. Me and my brothers talked night and guessed about what was to come. 

That next morning my brothers and I were so anxious to go out, shop and explore.

We were not yet in our final destination but we still had an idea of what was to come. 

A few days later we then arrived to a nearby city of where we would be living, about one hour away. 

That was BIG culture shock. 

One thing though i will never forget is the people that met us to pick us up from the airport immediately treated us like family. They had the biggest smiles and were so sweet to us.

Straight from the airport we went to Pak Chio. It was really good! 

Then we arrived at the guest house. Now i forgot to mention one thing. I hate lizards, and where we are living there are lizards everywhere and i am not exaggerating. The lizards are in your house too. I walked in and saw one on the wall and about died. Now i am so used to them being on the walls i don't freak out like i used to.

The first week was very long. It was hard to sleep and the people say they understand you but in reality they have no clue. By the end of it i was ready to go home. 

One cool thing is i got to have my 18th birthday in Asia which not many people can say! =] 

Now since we moved here alone, we had to find a house. Finding a house is a whole lot different than looking for one in the states. How the process goes is, you go tour the house and say how long you want to rent it then you pay and its yours. Seems simple right? Well for some reason it took forever. Since my brothers were starting school soon we had to find one ASAP! Guess what! We found one finally and moved in ONE day before my brothers started school. Cutting it close right! 

Since i graduated high school in the spring, i will only be here for a short time. So i was left to decide how i wanted to spend my time here, learning language or something. When i return home i will be going to college to be a Teacher. So i thought, Hey, why not ask and see if i can volunteer at the school! 

They said yes! I can not even begin to describe how much i love it and how much it has made me love this city! I work there everyday from 7:40-3:00! I help all over: 1st grade, P.E. , 6th grade math, and 2nd grade! It has been such a blessing and has definitely made me want to be a Teacher more and more!

I have also gotten a babysitting job that happens a few days a week, and that has been good! Needless to say i try to stay busy!

That was definitely very very shortened version of my time here so far but if i told you everything we would be here all day. 

A few last comments i would like to make about what i have learned. 

1. I do not know what i would do without my brothers. With out them this journey would be very different. I have gotten to bond and become so much closer with them and it is just so awesome. As i am getting closer and closer to leaving, i am realizing that i will not be there to watch them grow up and it breaks my heart. I have two wonderful and handsome brothers that are so amazing. I can not wait and see the growth and their stories as they grow up. I am really really really really going to miss them.

2. I never realized how much pressure i put on my parents till now. I always had a bad attitude about moving and even though it has not been easy, It has definitely changed my life for the better! So thank you for putting up with me! LOVE YOU!

3. I am so thankful for skype. Even though i am halfway around the world from my friends and family i have been able to keep in contact. I have gotten to see two new cousins and talk to my best friends to keep our friendships going strong and talk to family members, Oh how i love seeing their faces!

WELL... I think that is all for now! =] 

Thank you for letting me share!

Love you guys! 

Hello.

Hello Guys, 
I decided to start a blog to share all of my memories from around the world. 
I am excited to share all the funny stories and crazy/awkward experiences i have been through!
I hope you enjoy hearing about my life and experiences as much as i have been living through them! =]