Checking in: A Daily Life Update

Hi guys! Do you know how much I've enjoyed writing for you here?

This blog has been going for nine or ten months. I had thought that maybe a theme or a style would emerge by now, but so far it remains a pretty eclectic mix of styles and topics. (And I am always open for suggestions on either!)

Most of my posts so far have been either opinion pieces (usually about current events or faith) or entertainment pieces. The opinion pieces have been very helpful for me to write, as they have forced me to sit down and think about why I believe and act as I do. The entertainment pieces have been really fun to write, and I hope you've enjoyed them.

That said, I realized how seldom I write to you in my own voice about my own daily life. So here's a quick update on me!

When I moved back from China, the Lord answered several prayers in specific ways by providing a job, a church, and housemates. Because it seems that God clearly placed me in these settings, I plan to stay in them until He clearly calls me elsewhere.

I'm still working as a speech-language pathologist. My job is to help people who have experienced a stroke or brain injury rehabilitate their communication, cognition, and swallowing function. I have the best co-workers, the best boss, and one of the best healthcare experiences anyone could have. People at my job really care, which makes it a great job even though I don't always feel particularly well suited to rehab.

I still go to a non-denominational church downtown, which is made up of about 800 young adults. I am considering myself a "young" adult for the purpose of that statement. :) I'm involved in English-teaching ministry at my church and hope to become more involved in some cool outreaches to internationals that are brewing at my church. More on that later, probably.

I still live with three girls from my church in the 120-year-old mansion that my roommate bought a year ago. But one of my roommates is moving out, so soon we will lose a roommate. :(  But gain a living room. :)

Most of my evenings are spent with my community group from church, or with people from other countries that I've met through English teaching or the local college's international friendship program. Also this year? Showers. Baby and bridal. Zillions of them. I am becoming the most educated non-mom when it comes to baby gadgetry.

I don't have much travel planned this spring, since three of the half-dozen speech-language pathologists at my job are taking overlapping maternity leaves. Yikes! But come summer, I plan to take a ton of time off so I can see family and friends, participate in international outreach stuff, and burn the American Airlines miles that I have been resolutely collecting all year on my new AA credit card.

Just now, I started and then deleted a few different sentences about things that I've been learning, or ways God has been refining me, or what's new in my spiritual life. But I'm not a skilled enough wordsmith to give you a taste of those things without worrying that I'm over-sharing on a very public forum. Yikity yikes!

So feel free to ask in person, and I'll look forward to getting an update on YOUR life then, too. Have a great week, and thanks for reading.

How Living Overseas Changed Me

Three years ago, I spent three years working as an English teacher in China.  Now I'm looking back with the question, "How did living overseas change me?"

My question was inspired by reading a very interesting post by another American living in China: How Living Overseas Drained the Extrovert out of Me.  She describes how the "rain-swollen river" of relationships flowing through her life eventually eroded her extroverted tendencies.

Since I, too, was a raging extrovert before I moved to China, I was very intrigued by that article.

...Just kidding.  I was, and still am, a non-raging introvert.  So how did living overseas change me?

I wasn't dramatically changed, but I know I'm a different woman than I would have been if I'd lived in Iowa my whole life.  In a word, I've been enriched.

My relationships were enriched.  I met a whole new crowd of interesting and inspiring ex-pats.  I taught hundreds of college students.  I had new colleagues, new leaders, new neighbors.  I had my "go-to" vendors -- my fruit lady and my chicken lady and my water man.

In particular, it was my students that made my time in China so very rich.  They were loving, eager, and enthusiastic!  The Lord gave me a true affection for them, and they blessed me immensely in return.

"Free Talks" were extra English practice sessions that often filled my apartment.

I got to visit this good friend in her hometown.

One of my favorite classes -- all girls!

I don't remember the gift, but I loved getting notes like these!

My mind was also enriched.  Living abroad was a fantastic education for me.  I learned basic skills in a new culture and a new language.  I learned things like how to say "foreigner," how to navigate the train system, and how World War II continues to affect the world today.

Living in an Eastern culture taught me about concepts like shame & honor, "face," and relational webs.  I've learned to keep the Eastern perspective in mind as I read news from the Middle East, try to understand Bible stories, and make friends with internationals on American soil.

Learning about the corn harvest

Learning about Chinese.... or trying to.

Finally, my view of God was enriched.  I've written elsewhere about how living in China gave me a front-row seat to one of the most amazing Christian movements in history.  There's no logical reason that the Chinese church should have survived and grown through the terrible persecution of the mid-twentieth century, and yet there are now millions of believers in China.

I can think of several moments when I sat with Chinese believers and got goosebumps.  My favorite one was when a young Chinese woman shared her vision that God wanted to use China to reach the Middle East, and that she was actively training to go as a foreign worker to share good news in a dangerous country there.  My second favorite moment was when I sat at a kitchen table with two Chinese believers and an American friend, and we had an amazing hour of worship and fellowship with our Bibles open.  Experiences like that have given me a great appreciation for God's work in his global church, as well as a lingering dis-taste for the materialism and showmanship of many American churches.

My time overseas also gave me greater confidence in God's provision in my own life, as he provided finances, safety, vision, opportunities, and joy during my three years abroad.

The line for a Beijing church popular with college students.

The registered church in Qufu, where I first lived.

An impromptu lunch with church ladies we barely knew - One of my favorite Qufu memories!

In conclusion:

Sweet memories did indeed go with me when I left China.  But I'm not 100% that a clean environment was left behind!

This post is part of a (very) short series on "How Living Overseas" changed me. AKA, a two-part series, unless any of the rest of you want to chime in! :) 

See the first installment from Lisa Shunk, on the impact of living in Haiti during her teen years.  How about you?  Have you lived overseas?  How did it change you?  

How Living Overseas Changed Me: A Guest Post by Lisa Shunk

Today I'm so happy to welcome Lisa Shunk to the blog! She was kind enough to befriend me when I was the new kid in seventh grade, and we've been friends ever since. Here she shares about how living overseas as a teenager in Haiti changed her.

As an aside, it's been my privilege to watch these changes in real time over the years that we've been friends. Lisa really does live simply, and beautifully! Here she is:

***

Moving to a third world country shortly after I turned 17 messed me up. That is, messed this Midwest girl up in some of the best and hardest ways possible.

If I'm honest, my experiences there are still messing with me 15 years later. And, hopefully it won't ever go away. I don't want to return to the self-centered, perspective-less teenage girl I was (and not just because the teenage years are weird), mostly because the change I see in my life is for the better. Let me explain.

I care more. After I experienced land ruined by trash, deforestation and overpopulation, I care about the environment. Haiti made a tree hugger out of me! After I saw rejoicing over what seems to me like a simple rainfall, I appreciate every drop that comes from the tap: doing dishes, washing clothes, taking a shower and (most importantly!) that act of filling a glass with clean water and drinking until I am no longer thirsty. Knowing that I will probably never wonder where my next meal would come from, I realize how incredibly blessed I am. Completely without reason. I own more than two pairs of shoes, can find a job rather easily with my experience and degree, can hop in my car, fill it whenever needed and drive across town ... I am filthy rich and please do not forget that, self.

I live more simply. Living overseas launched me into the simplicity movement and towards a minimalist lifestyle. The thrust of success and ownership in our American culture is meaningless when viewed from the perspective of the overwhelming majority in the world. Needs versus wants are redefined. I can live in solidarity, give more, and get caught up in the rat race less. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoy decorating my house and I like fashion (very insignificant on the needs vs. wants scale, but I love it regardless). I indulge in lots of "unnecessaries". But it's not a contest (for more, better, best) and I attempt to live my life purposefully. I also recycle, eat more whole foods, shop less, handmake more and even dream of homesteading sometime. (Complete with goat, chickens and garden ... if only I liked to be outdoors more than I actually do! Still working on that.)

I have a healthy unhealthy large dose of skepticism toward charities. This is one of the not-so-good things I've gained since living overseas. I rarely give my money away if I'm not sure of where it's going as there is SO much corruption in the process. Everywhere. I'm still not quite sure what to do about this as I'm not in the position (having two small children) to actually go and do something about the injustice in the world. But I have too much experience with corruption to be confident in putting my money where my mouth is.

In every season, I'm still figuring it out. As a college kid, as a college grad and volunteer living in Europe, as a newlywed, and now as a young mama, I've had to grapple with what it looks like for me to live with perspective, live with gratitude and live generously in our unjust world and self-centered society. I'm confident this will keep evolving, I'll keep learning and it won't be a perfect process.

***

Find more of Lisa's writing at lmshunk.blogspot.com -- you can start with her work on Simplicity.

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What about you? Have you lived or traveled far away? How did it change you?

[In the Style of Dave Barry] Night at the Caucuses

Hey Mr. Barry, I've been a fan of your writing since way back in 2000, when you published the following memory trick for spelling the word "millennium":

Two 'n's and two 'l's, you've spelled it quite well. One 'l' or one "n", you're a big fat stupid hen.

I use that trick to this day, and I'm proud to report that no one in the last sixteen years has ever had reason to call me a big fat stupid hen.

So you've helped me a lot, Mr. Barry, and I was thrilled to see that you were coming to my town last week to cover the Iowa caucuses.

"Finally!" I said to myself. "Here's a hard-hitting, truth-telling reporter who won't stoop to the same old tired jokes about pigs and corn."

Then I read your column, "It's the Iowa Pork Congress!" (Key quote: "Even as I type these words the Iowa Pork Congress is going on here at the Iowa Events Center, with a 'Manure Applicator Training Session' scheduled Thursday.")  You seem to think there's something funny about an event that features a "Swinecast."

Not only do you "poke fun" at our agricultural events, in another column you make frequent references to how well-mannered Iowans are, suggesting in your "tongue-in-cheek" way that we wouldn't last a minute in South Florida. (Key quote: "They are incredibly polite, these Iowans. If they ever come to Miami they will wind up naked in the gutter.")

Enough is enough, Mr. Barry. We Iowans are made of more than just corn, pigs, and politeness. For example, did you forget that we are also a leading producer of soy beans?

True story: My co-worker Kelsee, who grew up in small-town Iowa, surrounded by bean fields, did not realize until she was an adult that those fields contained soy beans. She had spent her whole life wondering who was buying all those green beans.

As this true story illustrates, we are not all farmers. In fact, I am an Iowa native whose primary agricultural achievement is telling people that my mom grew up on a dairy farm.

But putting agriculture aside, what really irked me about your coverage of caucus week, Mr. Barry, is your insistence that we Iowans are all nice.

Oh yeah? You think we're nice?? Well guess what -- I think your haircut may be slightly unflattering, although it's probably just the lighting. Sorry, it's probably just how I was looking at the photo. My fault.

Anyway, to prove that we Iowans have just as much "edge" as anyone else, and could beat any one of you in a street fight in the inner city (if only we had inner cities) (which would require having cities), I'm going to tell you about a night that Iowans weren't so nice.

That's right -- Caucus Night.

I arrived with my two friends to a local elementary school, where at least fifty people were lined up outside the door. The caucus was set to begin in twenty minutes, and it was becoming clear that the line was not moving nearly fast enough to get everyone settled by 7:00 p.m.

After a few minutes, a volunteer poked her head out to the door to announce that the line for the Democrat caucus was actually inside the building, and dozens of people streamed out of the line and into the warm indoors.

A few Republicans grumbled.

Unfortunately, the caucus organizers had vastly underestimated the projected attendance, and they had run out of all the necessary forms, including registration forms and the little ballots that would be used to cast our votes. Someone was supposed to get photocopies, but it sure wasn't happening quickly.

Once we finally got everyone into the gym, we expressed our strong disapproval of slow line and the late start by stating they really should have planned ahead better, after which we continued our silent protest by making small talk with our neighbors and catching up with friends from church.

The organizers had set up chairs for only about a quarter of the attendees, forcing most of us to stand.

As you can see, we were fuming.

The climax of our Not-so-Niceness came shortly after, once the caucus had finally begun.

Several well-spoken representatives stood up to speak in support of their candidates. We showed our disapproval of the candidates we didn't like by smiling and clapping with one percent less enthusiasm than we gave for the candidates we liked.

When it became clear that no one had come prepared to speak on behalf of Donald Trump, a very nice suburban-type woman in a Trump T-shirt stood up and said that she hadn't planned to talk but she wanted to make sure someone spoke for Trump, because he was against politics as usual and he was doing all of this for us -- to help our families and to Make America Great Again. Listening to her talk, you would have thought Trump was a proper presidential candidate instead of a condescending egomaniac bent on self-aggrandizement at anyone's expense.

Woah, sorry. That wasn't very nice.

Anyway, several small children had been playing in the back of the gym throughout the evening. With the terrible acoustics of the gym, the adults were having difficulty hearing the speakers. It didn't help that three of the kids had noisemakers. ("What'll we have the kids do at the caucus to keep 'em busy?" I imagined their parents asking themselves. "I know! How about make noise? Bob, hand 'em the drumsticks.")

Finally, we could stand it no longer. A middle-aged woman in a Rand Paul shirt stood up halfway out of her chair and called over her shoulder, "Someone leash the kids!"

And there you have it: A true Iowa Rage.

The rest of the evening was uneventful. We took the vote (Rubio won; Trump trailed him by a vote), said goodbye to our neighbors, and all went home.

I hope you'll come back to Iowa one day, Mr. Barry, so we can show you what we're really made of.

But don't forget -- you'll have to pass the Manners Test before you come.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/elections-2016/article57500448.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/elections-2016/article56902063.html#storylink=cpy