Category: Simple Living Travel

This month me and the family have been working at the Starfish Project and it has been so much fun!

I have never been able to handle stories about women (and young girls) who are caught in a life of exploitation.   The stories come from everywhere – they are all over the world, and they are overwhelming.  But I am here this month able to work with an amazing organization that is making a difference.

Honestly it has been a bit of a dream come true.

The office is full of women who are pulled out.  Who are healing.  Who are learning, growing, starting their own families and finding hope.  Just being around all of it gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes.  The whole atmosphere is full of changing lives and lives committed to helping others change.  It is beautiful!

Continue readingWorking With Starfish, an Amazing Deal, and a super cute necklace

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In the past three years our family has taken road trips through the US.

Three Years Ago

Three years ago we took three weeks and went and explored the northeastern coast of the US.

Highlights included:

• Wandering through Boston
• Camping next to a civil war bunker
• Climbing amazing mountains in Maine

Two Years Ago

Two years ago we took 5+ weeks and went up into western Canada and then drove down the west coast of the US.

Highlights included:

Continue readingSimple Summer Plans

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I have always loved Chinese food.  Chinese buffets in the US were always a treat and, when we lived there, we purchased rice by the 25 pound bag.  … I remember buying a 25 pound bag of rice in college and walking back to the dorm with it.  Chinese, and other Asian countries have wonderful food.

But, just like any other country you go to, the ‘real deal’ is different.  Real Mexican food doesn’t taste like Taco Bell and real Chinese food doesn’t taste like the local Chinese Buffet.  It is almost like there is another type of food created ‘Chinese-American’ – and it is still good.

Coming to China has been a wonderful (usually) exploration of the ‘real’ Chinese food.

Let me back up, China is huge and the food varies a lot over different areas (just like it does between Washington, Alabama, or New York).  We have been trying different area’s foods, but most of our exploration has been foods from the northwest, where we are living.

The northwest is much more wheat and corn based than rice based.  We still buy rice here (by the big bag) but it isn’t near as common as I thought it would be – turns out it is more of a southern food.

But beyond the rice difference, there are lots of foods here I have never heard of or seen.  I wanted to share them with you.

Chinese food seen in China

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Today I want to share more about life in China.  Last week I wrote about how people in China aren’t all that different from people in America.  I really believe that people all over the world are very similar when it comes to the important things.

But life in China is far from the same as America… there are all kinds if differences

… some we anticipated, and some we didn’t.

Today I wanted to share with you some of the differences we have been surprised with during our past few months.

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Living here in China has helped me understand that the world is small.

Sometimes it is easy to think people are different when they live far away, dress different, look different, eat different, or have different governments.

But this isn’t true

Sure, some of these things are different, but people are the same everywhere.  When we start seeing the people behind the clothes, food, language and other surface differences we realize that we are all just people and the world is small.

Sometimes it is easier to group people based on these surface differences, or by stereotypes, because it just seems easier.  It is easy to only like people who are like us and easy to think other people are wrong…. but that is because we don’t get to know the people behind these little differences.

What are Chinese people like?  What do they think?  What motivates them? Before I came to China I heard many different things about what it would be like here, but now that I have been here, the life and the people seem surprisingly familiar.

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