Yep. We had a party! Finally had the opportunity to invite our friends and coworkers over for a housewarming party. There was music and laughs and, oh, so much FOOD! Seriously I have the best coworkers ever. Each time we invite them over, they bring all kinds of food and drinks with them! Last night they brought two kinds of juice, fruit, and chips; and ordered two pizzas! How awesome is that?!

We had eleven of our closest friends here and it was awesome! It’s so fun to mix foreigners with locals. The outcome is always entertaining. Our Georgian friend, Reese, took it upon himself to teach people how to Tango… poor Chris was a little confused as to what was happening… 🙂

It’s been so nice for us connect with people here as much as we have. When you move so far away, one of the natural tendencies is to worry about whether you’ll be able to make friends and how long it will take (especially in a wildly different culture). Another factor in that situation is that we are somewhat introverted people. I know in my own life, it’s sometimes difficult for me to make a lot of friends and get close to people. I’m a little bit hesitant… always trying to make sure I can trust a person before I let too much of my strange personality show. But when I do find those people I can trust and relate to, I become rather connected to them. They become a very important part of my life. So I came here wondering how it would go. Would it be just Britt and me, chillin at home all the time with nothing to do? (Two teacher shut-ins who stare at the ceiling night after night and drift slowly into madness…?) Would I be able to make one close friend with whom I could stay in contact? (Frankly, that would have been a huge accomplishment for me and I would have been very proud.) What would it take to become close to people here? (I’m weird… and I know it. I can’t imagine what I must seem like to the people here, with my strange interests and sense of humor…)

And here we are with eleven people in our home and having a BLAST with each of them! What?!

We have been blessed with amazing friends, foreign and Chinese alike. And the best part is that they all get along so well even though they are from entirely different circles. My coworkers are very comfortable with our STL teacher friends. They’re so eager to ask questions and tell their own stories. I love it! It will be a monumental task, emotionally, to say goodbye to everyone. March 15th is coming and I am looking forward to it with both dread and exuberance.

PEACE