P.S. The Church is True! -Shanghai Adventure

Sunday we went to dinner and afterwards when we were outside it was so warm and humid and it was sprinkling.  It felt so good!  It felt like night time in Florida.  I loved it so much!  Monday we have our Chinese class at 8:50am.  Sarah and I did not want to get up.  Class was good.  We learned how to say directions and how to ask for directions.  It was a helpful class for us.  We had a mini meeting about our upcoming trip to Shanghai.  It is to a district conference and some tours of different parts of the city.  I am so excited!  We are split between members houses for the weekend up there so we had to coordinate and stuff.  I have class at 1-3 with my basic reading class.  We have set up a routine for the week and it was the first day we were trying it.  It went pretty well for the first day.  Right after we have a kindergarden class for an hour.  They are still crazy but they are starting to understand out routine and more of them are speaking more English and less Chinese.  Monday night Sarah, Jessica, and I went to Wanda.  Wanda is a nice mall.  Underneath is a supermarket and there is an imax and ktv.  The top floor is all restaurants.  We went to a stationary and journal store.  Sarah had seen these super cute ear buds there and had to buy them.  Then we went down to Tesco, the supermarket, and bought some stuff we needed for the apartment.

Tuesday we didn't have anything till our meeting at noon but for some reason we got up at 7:30am.  The classes are the same as on Monday.  In the middle of our classes a thunderstorm started.  The thunder scared some of the students.  This was not normal thunder, it was awesome!  It shook our rooms and lasted forever.  So cool!  It started pouring just before went to dinner after class.  It didn't last very long.  Around 7pm a couple of us went on a walk/talk around the track at the school.  It was so nice.  I miss the walks I go on with people.  At 12:37am (according to Sarah) the loudest crack sound of thunder sounded.  It woke everyone up. That is when we noticed it was pouring.  The lightning was incredible.  It was like day time, that is how much lightning there was.  We had several strike around us. So super close.  You know when people describe thunder as rolling?  Ya I totally know what that means and sounds like now.  One thunder clap would go like 5 minutes.  So crazy fun to watch. I was talking to Sarah about the thunder. I don't remember anything about that. Apparently if you want me to talk in my sleep talk about thunder.  

Wednesday we have early classes.  The basic reading class is at 8am and kindergarden at 10.  It felt like the longest 3 hours ever.  It was windy and cloudy and rainy all day.  It doesn't get lighter, it looks dark all the time when we have this kind of weather.  It sucks.  

Thursday was kinda stressfull.  We were getting everything clean and ready for Casey.  Friday morning we got up and had our classes.  Casey watched and it went really well.  We had another nice lunch at the school which was delicious! Although you would have to like fish.  We had our interviews after and that was nice and short.  Casey is really easy to talk to. A couple of us went to the store and the bank to get last minute things for Shanghai.  When we got back we went to show Casey the area.  We got some more dvds.  I got Oz and Cirque du Solai.  We went to Lai Wei Tan to the Turkish restaurant and it was still so delicious.  When we got back we had a group meeting kind of thing with Casey and he gave us Reeses!  We packed and planned and mapped out Shanghai so that we would be ready.  

I went to sleep at 1am and got up at 4:30am.  Ya a nice 3 and a half hour nap.  The school had a van to take us to the bus station.    We waited for like 20 minutes for the bus.  It was assigned seating.  I sat next to this nice Chinese girl.  We didn't really talk, mostly just tried to sleep.  When we got to Shanghai we took Metro line 3. (Metro=Subway) to meet with line 2 so we could go to the members apartment that we were staying with.  It was pretty easy to find and the Griffiths have a nice big apartment.  We had our own room with nice beds and a bathroom with a shower that has hot water all the time!  Hot water is a blessing, especially when you get it all the time!  We went to Peoples Square, to peoples park.  It was so pretty and nice.  We met up with Brother and Sister Lindsey and they took us to East Nanging Road which is a major famous road in downtown Shanghai.  It was amazing.  Huge shopping centers and tall buildings.  So awesome!  They took us on the metro to the Science and Technology stop with has this huge underground cheap shopping area.  You haggle prices.  They always started with the most ridiculous prices.  This one lady wanted 188 yuan for a pair of fake Toms and they were so cheaply made. I told her no in Chinese and walked away and she tried to grab me and she said she would do 100 yuan.  At this point Brother Lindsey told her that it wasn't worth more than 20-25 yuan and she yelled at him and threw him out of her shop.  It was so funny.  But I did get some good deals on a scarf and a Buddha necklace.  Talked them down and it was great!  

We went to the Young Da tower for the adult session of District Conference.  It was such a great session!  I felt the spirit so much!  The district members here are incredible.  It is amazing to be in a country where we can't share anything and stay so strong.  If anything it makes it want to be stronger in the gospel.  Everyone is very close knit and wants to help everyone out as much as they can.  Lots of members told us we could stay with them anytime we want to come to Shanghai.  After the adult session all the YSA members went on a tour of the Bund which was awesome! I met so many fantastic people my age. They are here for all sorts of reasons; school, teaching, internships, work.  It is incredible.  It was rainy but it was still nice.  We went on a ferry and saw parks and shops and it was so beautiful.  Shanghai is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen, not really clean but still. We took the metro back to the Griffiths around 9.  We got up on Sunday for the general session and the ysa session.  Sister Griffith drove us which took us about 30 minutes instead of the hour metro.  I sat next to this mom and her three young kids during the general session.  I helped her keep the kids entertained and quiet for the two hour session.  Her husband couldn't come.  After the session the sisters had prepared all this food for the YSA members.  The YSA members were the largest group there.  The food was so good!!!  We had the YSA session after.  We had one speaker.  He used to be the District president for the Jerusalem District.  His talk was mostly on living the gospel in countries were you can't share anything with non members or members who are native to the country.  It was powerful.  He talked about being examples and being kind.  I loved all the sessions so much.  This gospel is so amazing!  I am so glad that I am a member and that I have my own testimony of its truth.  I can't imagine not having it in my life.  I am not just a member of a church, this church, this gospel is my life, is me.  Without this gospel I wouldn't be me.  

Afterwards we went to the underground shopping area for an hour and took the metro back to the train/bus station and came back to Ningbo.  It was too short of trip.  We have a week of teaching and then on Tuesday we have a 6 day vacation.  We are going to a bunch of close places.  At the end of April we are going to Beijing, Xi'an, and another day in Shanghai.  It's a 9 day trip.  

I am getting used to being here.  Things that were strange are becoming normal.  I love the people and the culture. I am definitely glad I decided to come here.  It has been a blessing and a test.  I love it!  Plus I'm picking up a lot of Mandarin!  

I love you and miss you so much!