Corinne chose the way she wanted to spend her last evening in America. She wanted chicken soup for dinner followed by a family walk around the neighborhood. We finished the night with a drive to the Cone Zone and Corinne treated everyone to ice-cream. One by one as the kids went to bed they came to her and hugged and said their final good-byes and this morning while we slept, James drove her to the airport for her flight back to China.
Last night we sat on her bed together talking and she said that she felt so different than the person who had arrived here a year ago. She talked about how her life had been driven by a single goal - to excel in academics. This year has opened her mind and heart to so much more. She learned how to spend time playing and being silly. She has put up with a huge family from anyone's perspective, let alone a citizen of a "one child policy" nation and that's been good. Corinne had the opportunity to travel and see so much of our country and most importantly she had the chance to meet God. It was no surprise to me that He had prepared her heart to be so open and her last prayer was that she would be able to be closer to God and tell China about Him.
There is a little piece of our family making it's way, right now, across the skies back to her world and we will miss Corinne.
If you get the opportunity, consider sponsoring an exchange student. Start your own missionary training school around your kitchen table!
We love you Corinne.
Corinne, our Chinese exchange student is having a full out American experience this year. She played basketball at the local high school; learned how to ski, roller skate and dance. Her favorite foods are now macaroni and cheese and Lucky Charms. When you ask her "what's up, she now says, "nothing much", instead of - looking up and saying, "I don't know." Corinne has also reduced her home work and study time to a good respectable American short amount of time, although she still won top in her school's math field day.(You can't take the smart out of Chinese students no matter what bad American habits you try and teach them.) She's taken her A.C.T.s and can text on her phone as fast as you and I.
But every now and then we find her on the computer skyping with one of her friends from China, speaking Chinese at a million miles and hour. She'll be going back a very different person!
After hours of cutting, frying, and laughing, these kids produced a fantastic 8 course Chinese meal for us. Neighbors and friends dropped by and everyone ate till they were ready to burst.
There was more than a little homesickness for these kids who have been out of their home country for almost six months now. It did them all good to bring a little China to America.
To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Corrine, our exchange student invited some of her friends over for the weekend. They were busy tonight chopping up vegetables for the Chinese feast they're preparing tomorrow. They are excited to show us what real Chinese food tastes like! (Chinese restaurants are apparently NOT real Chinese food)
It was all very loud and messy and I'm hungry for it already!
Happy New Year!!
