Tibetan experience in Xiahe
6 November 2015 The town of Xiahe, in one of the four Tibetan regions of China, has been the most memorable part of my cross-cultural. Only accessible by winding, rarely paved roads, Xiahe (Shah huh) is set back in the ridged steep mountains covered with auburn leaves and evergreen trees. The culture alone was completely....
Host Families
5 October 2015 I was so nervous as I waited to be claimed by my host family. It felt as if I was a young child in an orphanage waiting to be adopted. As my family approached me, I was relieved that the mother was there and they looked fairly young. My first impression was....
On the streets of Nanchong
21 September 2015 The first thing you need to know about Nanchong streets is that they are filled with people, especially in the evening, especially on weekends, and especially at lunchtime. Now, when I say, 鈥淭he streets are filled,鈥� I don鈥檛 mean every single street 鈥� far from it. For a city of 1.3 million....
A divine appointment in the Beijing subway
On Sunday, our second full day in Beijing, we boarded the subway and headed to the Forbidden City. I was standing on the escalator when several people from our group asked for someone who could speak Spanish to join them. I immediately made myself known. A lady pushing her two-year-old son in a stroller asked....
Exploring Beijing
10. September 2015 We arrived in Beijing at about 5:30 pm (5:30 am EST) on Friday feeling very groggy but still overwhelmed at the fact that we were in China. We ate our first authentic Chinese meal, Beijing Duck, and then fell into our hotel beds exhausted. Our first full day was slightly rainy but....
Know where you come from
During the past three weeks, I have been blessed with incredible knowledge, faith, hospitality, love, and strength from all of the beautiful Maori people our group has come in contact with. Our stays have included time at their sacred Marae鈥檚 where we learned about their history and traditions. I was touched to hear about how....
Introduction to the Maori
17 June 2015 Today we visited the Mangere Domain and Auckland Museum. I love learning about historical people and places, so this was right up my alley. It was really helpful to be able to talk directly to descendants of a Maori tribe and hear about their history from their perspective. Practicing the powhiri (welcome....
Where is God?
Where is God in the midst of poverty and oppression? I have asked myself that question many times over the years, always with a healthy dose of cynicism. Why did He allow this to happen? I questioned, clutching my iPhone as I stepped around a woman clutching two dirty faced children to her side, palm....
On the Pacific Coast
18 May 2015 On the Pacific Coast The first day we arrived in Uvita, Costa Rica and we had a more relaxed day on the beach. Many of the students were playing soccer, swimming in the ocean, and walking the beach. Several students had surfing lessons in the morning. After lunch at the Flutterby house,....
Dominical: relaxing and rafting
18 May 2015 After leaving San Jos茅 we traveled down to Dominical, Costa Rica. As soon as we drove into the town there was an amazing environment of a surfing town. Every person was extremely laid back and going with the motion. No one was in a hurry to do anything other than hitting the....