Out with the old. In with the new.

When I was packing to leave, I kept saying that I felt like I had not enough of anything and too much of everything. Now that I've settled in a little bit, I think I packed just the right amount for this new place - my home. The definiton of home has changed for me a little bit in the last few months. Some would say that home is where your rump rests...and I'm beginning to see that this is true! My old view of home is having a stove and a sink in the kitchen. My new view doesn't have these things; it has a water cooler for sanitary drinking purposes and a microwave. My old home has a bathroom with a shower head enclosed in a tub of some sort. My new home has a shower head that sprays directly on my toilet...no tub. It also has a new rule: thou must not flush toilet paper. My teammates Ryan and Jon tested the validity of this rule for all of us by choosing not to abide by it. Unfortunately, the rule is there for a reason, because they returned to a very flooded room earlier this week. Now we know!

I'm sure all of you are aware of my previous mode of transportation...the classic blue, wood-paneled mini-van. I need to inform you, much to your dismay, that its days have come to an end. However, I have a new mode of transportation now! You might call it an upgrade...I bought it from this place:


Amelia and I bought used bikes today to get around campus a little easier. It will allow us to get to class faster and also to get to places like the market in Baoding, because it's huge. We paid 90 yuan for our bikes, which comes out to around $13. The guy in the red shirt helped us find the place and bargain the price. I will say that every mode of transportation in China scares me to death. So think of me as I ride around on my new purple bike. :) Oh, and about the market...I've never experienced more people or more things to buy in one place before. Everyone on my team had carts loaded up to the brim, which isn't customary in China due to the fact that the market doesn't provide bags for you. So whatever you buy, you carry somehow. This was a wake-up call once we got to the check-out line. We had to have a taxi take us back to the university.


So, out with the old and in with the new. I've learned a lot about what this really means this past year in terms of getting rid of the old self and putting on the new creation that I am. I'm so excited to continue to learn about this in this new place. More stories of new things are yet to come...