To be girls

What a wonderful weekend--what a wonderful week.
My days here have been filled with business but not stress. I think God has really taught me what I am living for. It's beautiful when I don't get caught up in 'pains' and worries. Just living. (disclaimer: I reserve the right to use fragments and any type of sentences throughout my blogs--my 'creative writing' pursuit allows me to break all rules).

On Friday, Yifan and Leong came over to discover downtown Mt. Pleasant with me. I was thinking we would walk into the town of Mt. Pleasant--the cute shops, the places I longed to go by foot. Then it dawned on me that they may not have been in a car since being on campus. They wanted to 1. get in a car, and 2. go places they hadn't been by foot or bike. What was Yifan looking for? Girlie clothes! I was excited for this task.

Though JC Penny is a department store (she wanted to avoid 'mall' stores), I thought this would give her a good idea of American clothes. We didn't have too many stores in our small town that could do that. We walked in, and there were clearance racks everywhere. We had come on the right day. I grabbed shirt after shirt and handed them over the stall, making her try them on even if they would make her look like a "WOMAN"--the dreaded mammal she did not want to resemble.

After Yifan bought her first "girlie" outfit, I took her and Leong (boy) around town to different bagel shops and stores to explain what different things were and show them the insides of the places so they weren't hesitant to enter on their own. Yifan explained that they hadn't ordered tings they wanted because they didn't know the names. I excitedly went around explaining the "must knows"--ice cream shake, smoothie...you get the picture :) They even taste-tested all different kinds of cream cheese from Big Apple Bagels. Ick! But good news, they like 'sweet' cream cheese!

We settled for the night at Grand Traverse Pie Company and had a coffee. Leong (after saying that he didn't like sweets) bought an entire coconut cream pie (for $14!). I laughed, and Yifan reassured me that they would eat it that day AND the next. Ha. I had a nice coffee--a mix of all the ones on the counter. I never know which to choose. We sat there for a good long while, just discussing differences in language, culture, lifestyles. It was a rewarding night.

When I woke up yesterday morning (Saturday), I talked to Gracie, Sunny, Shema, Annie, and Lavanja (all from India). It was a beautiful start to the day. Then when I was in the shower, my friend Dana called me (a student at CMU from Bangalore, India). I was so happy to get together with her and talk about places, foods, and tendencies that we both understood. We also went to get coffee but brought it back to my beautiful porch. It was a nice setting for our couple hours of coffee talk. We are planning a visit to get Indian food soon. Oh, thank goodness. I make my own every day, but it's just not "quite" the same :)

So yes, China, India, America--such love all around. A beautiful weekend/beginning.

I went to church this morning at 8, though I was sure the time was changed. The recording still said 8, so I went just in case. When I got there, the parking lot was empty and the sign said 9. Goodness--how much of my life is run by recordings. I hope to do better next time :)