Jul23
At the end of my missions trip to Manila last summer, I wrote down one of my prayers and stuck it in my Bible. Here’s a piece of it.
My God, I confess that I turn a blind eye when I buy clothes or food, not thinking about the wages of the people making the clothes in sweatshops. Give me discernment to know where to shop and where to buy things to better support them rather than supporting companies which [do the opposite]…help me to steward my money wisely, give generously, and use it to the support the poor in their situation.
One of the verses that really stuck out to me was James 5:4 – “Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the Lord Almighty”. There were a lot of things that God taught me that summer, but one thing that I really took home was how to better steward my money to further God’s kingdom.
So, how does this have anything to do with being a Steazer? And what is a Steazer anyway?
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Apr29
I remember my first introduction to bubble tea was when I visited my brother for the first time in Houston. I was amazed at the list of different fruity flavors I could choose to mix with black or green tea and large black chewy tapioca balls (called boba or bubbles). When I returned to Maryland and Nashville where the bubble tea scene is severely lacking, I was disappointed in the lack of selection and the outrageous prices.
Little did I know that there is so much beyond even the best bubble tea shop in Houston. Oh, so much more. Here in Taiwan, you almost literally can’t go an entire street block without walking past a tea shop. In more crowded areas, usually even more than just one tea shop.
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Lately, I’ve been checking out a lot of new coffee shops. When I’m not in school, I like to study Chinese. Unfortunately, if I’m anywhere near my computer or in my bedroom, I get absolutely nothing done. So, I’ve been trying to find some good coffee shops where I can study Chinese and sip on some deliciousness.
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Jul7
Ahh yes, I return to writing boring posts about what I’m doing. Haha. Well, I guess they’re more exciting, now that I’m in China. Today I went to this huge marketplace where you can bargain for clothes. My Chinese friend helped me to bargain, and I bought a silk traditional Chinese shirt for 90 kuai (or about US $11). It was a little annoying listening to them bargain down prices and trying to not get ripped off, especially when their English was so good and they were experts at complimenting and bargaining with customers.
Yesterday night, I visited a 24-hour tea house that offers for 18 kuai (US $3) all-you-can-drink tea, coffee, milk tea, yogurt smoothies, fruit juices, sorbet, ice cream, and other snacks for 2 hours. It was a sweet deal and in that short amount of time, I drank taro milk tea, mango sorbet ice, pearl ice, and raspberry juice. It was great that we just randomnly stumbled upon this place! Hehe. While at the restaurant trying to order a drink:
Me: Wo yao yi ge zhe ge (I want one of these)
My Friend (as if translating for the waiter that clearly spoke only Chinese): (in plain English) She wants one of these.
I guess we’ve just been doing so much translating back and forth, we can’t get it straight!
Later on that day, one of my Chinese friends was saying that Chinese people do not say “Thank you” or “Please” to their friends because it is not right. In fact, it almost insults their relationship, resembling a sort of distance between the two people. In Chinese culture, it is supposed to be the responsibility of a friend to do anything for their friend: taking care of them, treating them to dinner, etc. Thus, to say “Thank you” means that you do not consider them such a close friend and did not expect them to fulfill their duties as a friend. I just thought that that was an interesting cultural difference and it made me treasure the Chinese idea of friendship.
