So it's official. After waiting about two and a half months (since Thanksgiving, actually), I have finally received my entry visa and have permission to enter the People's Republic of China! I have gotten my schedule for the first week of my semester as well as a list of students in my program. There are 23 students, including me, travelling to Harbin for the Spring 2011 semester.
At this point, I should have pretty much everything I need and will begin packing in about 10 days (a week from today I'll be in San Antonio with my lovely Phi Delta Kappa sisters welcoming new baby butterflies!).
For all of you who are praying folks, I'd really appreciate your prayers. God has already blessed me with a multitude of gifts regarding this semester, but I pray these blessings continue! I'd appreciate prayer for:
- safe, preferably uneventful travel
- friendship with my classmates and roommate
- that all the Chinese I've learned over the last two and a half years will be at my fingertips
- that I don't feel completely overwhelmed by a new culture and heavy coursework
- culture shock, and
- finding a strong Christian community and that I remain faithful in prayer while abroad.
Also, because our host school (Harbin Institute of Technology: 哈尔滨工业大学) doesn't begin the semester until about two weeks after we arrive, we won't have internet in our dorms (and I'm not convinced we'll have 24-hr internet access, seeing as they boast quite highly of 24-hr water and electricity but not internet...) or elsewhere on campus. I'll do my very best to find an internet cafe near campus to inform y'all (and my undoubtedly impatient parents) that I've arrived, but I can make no promises!
Until then, God bless and 再见！
Until then, God bless and 再见！
