Continued.....

7. There are churches everywhere! Being that I am recently transplanted by ways of Utah, I am used to seeing churches but they are normally Mormon churches. I love,love, love the churches here. Most of them are old but well taken care of. There is one by my house (google it) called The Falls Church and it has a cemetery on it's grounds! Perhaps next Saturday I will check it out.

8. If I lived here my whole life I don't think I could ever see everything or become 100% comfortable navigating around the city. The other day I wanted to explore a bit and I rode the metro to Chinatown. When it says Chinatown be warned...it means it. The only thing I could really read was the street signs, which I followed to an H&M (yay!). I am loving learning about this city, I think I need to spend much more than 6 weeks here. But next time I need friends with me! It's no fun exploring alone.

9. I LOVE the houses here that are done in the traditional Eastern style. They have very broad fronts, shutters, a back yard enclosed sitting area and are very boxy. I need. We just don't see this style all that often in California or Utah. I'm in love. When I was younger I was obsessed with "Gone With the Wind", the book and movie especially. The houses remind me of the big, old Southern plantations, on a much smaller scale. I can totally see myself living in one of these houses with my family. We would sit out on the back porch/sitting area, drink a cool refreshing beverage and watch the kids chase fireflies. Yeah, I'm stretching a bit but this is my blog, I can do whatever I want!

Speaking of fireflies, last Tuesday I was walking home from the bus stop at about 8:30pm, about dusk, and I walked the half mile home surrounded by fireflies. It was surreal and I felt like I was in a Disney movie. I actually felt like someone sent them to me to remind me of how blessed I am, not only to have the opportunity to be here, but also in every aspect of my life.