A Year Ago Today...

A year has passed since we arrived here.
Sometimes it's hard to believe that we've been here for a year.
It really has gone by quickly.
And other times it's hard to believe we've just been here for one year...
because it's gone by so slowly.
It's a strange thing to describe.

And though we'd like to say that we've changed more than words can describe, that's one of those things that is hard to judge for yourself I think.
But we know we're different. That's to be expected I think. We're proud to be different now...after all, that's what He's called us to be.
When you see us again I hope you notice that we're different.
I hope you think it's a good different, and not just strange different.
I hope you'll tell us that we're different...in a nice way, and not just label us as freaks.

I promise we'll control our differences.
We won't laugh at you when you think that a dollar is a great buy for a Dasani bottle of water.
We won't get frustrated with you when you complain about the "horrendous" traffic.
We won't correct you when you think riding a bike is just a hobby.
We won't judge you for thinking your home is a little dusty.
We won't roll our eyes at you when you get disgusted by the thought of mama's home-made chicken fried steak leftovers.

Things we might do:
--Remind you to be nice to the non-English speaking Asian woman in Wal-Mart who is confused by the vegetable sacking process...been there. done that.
--Punch you in the ribs if you mumble under your breath, "psh, learn the language" at the Hispanic woman in 7-11.
--Force you to try some Chinese food at the local China Dragon you've yet been brave enough to eat at.
--Speak chinese to each other so you can't understand us. :) Hey, we have to some how give you a feel of what we've been experiencing!

And though we're really different in a lot of ways...we're still pretty American too.
We'd give anything for a big Dr. Pepper from Sonic right now.
Accompany that with a Beef n Cheddar melt from Arby's for me (one strange pregnancy craving that has yet to subside)
We can't wait to go shoe shopping at places that have shoes in our sizes.
We can't wait to see previews again and know what movies are "must sees."
and Ok. So riding a bike does seem more like a hobby still to us.

And then there's obvious differences:
We're bi-lingual.
I know...add us to the short list of Americans who are bi-lingual.
Not by anything official really...we're not THAT good. But it's coming along.
It's neat knowing another language and on most occasions being able to communicate just about anything we need to. It seems like a huge accomplishment...that is until our friends remind us that they can speak 2 dialects of Chinese, Korean, & Japanese. Then we're reminded again of just how limited our world view really is.

Every meal we eat out (with the exception of McDonalds & KFC) we eat with chopsticks. They are pretty convenient. And we drink hot tea with our meals instead of sweet iced tea.


and of course...we're expecting another family member. a change we're still not sure we're ready for, but regardless...it's coming.


So all that to say...we're different. But after one year, that shouldn't surprise you.