On a scale of rough weeks 1-10, this week has been a 5 or 6. As you may know, both of our Giant bikes were stolen on the same day. The first day was surreal. I was even thinking that someone was pranking us. I mean, we've gone 9 months with the bikes, so why would anyone want to steal them now? The second day was very much so an "I hate China" day. If you're American and you've ever lived in China, then you know what I'm talking about. We were ready to go home on the spot. The third day was a little better, but we were still sad, and just about every daily activity reminded us of our stolen bicycles. It is also hard because growing up in a Christian home with strong morals, you have a hard time understanding why people can be so cruel. However, today rolls around and we are feeling much better. It has helped to hear our friends' stories of their bicycles being stolen as well, in China. Mind you, these friends are all American, too. In addition to this process, we've been trying to remind ourselves of the good things that come from this event. We no longer have to find someone who will buy both of the bikes before we leave. We no longer have to worry about finding a place to park them and lock them up. We no longer worry if they will be gone when we go back to get them.. because they're already gone! We no longer have to ride through construction on Bin Wen Lu (as I am typing in our office, I am listening to the jackhammers tearing up the road).
Did I mention that we have some pretty awesome friends here that let us borrow 2 of their bicycles in the meantime? Not all is lost.
Ironically, ever since this happened, we've been pretty early to our classes this week. It's also been a pretty okay school week. My classes have been giving Powerpoint presentations on U.S. states and we have been playing Insect Bingo. I've learned that candy is a really good motivator for the students, so the winners of Bingo got to choose one piece of candy.
These are the flashcards, Bingo cards, colored squares for the Bingo cards, draw pile cards, and candy that is now almost gone. What a fun lesson!
To end this note, how does one overcome their bicycle being stolen and still have a good week? Well, it helps to have encouraging friends, a Father that is there to talk to, a spouse to lean on, and the Bible to calm the nerves and gain wisdom from. I'd say that's a pretty good combination. With that said, we hope you guys have a good weekend! zài jiàn!
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