Saturday, April 6, 2013

Wanna do something crazy?

"Hey, my name is Steve, wanna do something crazy?" was the start of the phone conversation that started my journey to the other side of the world. I guess I should go back even further. 

It really all began with a boy named Derek Scharf. Derek and I have only met in person a few times, and every encounter with him has been a... pleasure. Derek moved from Fort Collins right when I moved in. He was friends with all of my friends and so he calls me his "replacement". I say I was his "improvement". Anyway, Derek and I have kept contact on Twitter and Facebook so he knew that I was staying home for Spring semester. And I knew that lucky Derek was spending the semester in China teaching English to elementary students. So when the opportunity arrived that a teacher in his group needed replaced, he thought of me! Sweet guy, I'll love him forever. 

The group that I'll be going with is the International Language Program (ILP), they send students all over the world to spend semesters teaching English. Usually it costs students quite a bit of mula, but in my case, since I'll be a replacement for a teacher it's all paid for! When this crazy Steve guy first said this to me I thought it was a joke, it was too good to be true! Airline, food, drink, board, everything!? Then Crazy Steve says he would like me to leave next week! I couldn't believe it, I STILL can't believe it, that's why I'm up at 4:30 in the morning, making a beautiful blog and writing about it! 

It was a long day of running around town getting paperwork done. And making a million phone calls to bombard the poor ILP receptionist with my mother's questions. "Is the water safe?" "What vaccinations will she need?" "Oh my goodness! What is yellow-fever?!" And Google Earthing all of Changzhou trying to find robbers and rapists with the satellite photos. 

I can't wait, it is such a blessing and answer to my prayers. This opportunity came at such a perfect time in my life. Thank you Derek and thank you Crazy Steve and thank you God for this experience! 

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