Lessons Learned

Our 40 days in the desert have ended – It is April 1^st and the experiment of Meager March has been declared a success...well, a completion anyway… So I want to share with you all the wisdom we gleaned from the lessons that we couldn’t help but learn.

Lesson 1: I am only slightly less inept in the kitchen than I believed myself to be. We began so optimistically…tackling Chinese non-recipes with the naivety that watching someone else make something a few times would be a sufficient tutorial. There were the good, the bad, and the ugly – but in the end we managed to feed ourselves on a number of occasions and there was no food poisoning involved. Turns out Angelyn is still a better girl than I will ever be, and even Brian can wield a mean spatula. Thanks to some angelic students, I can now make a few edible Chinese dishes. However, don’t hold your breath when I return to the states because we all know my inherited clumsiness trumps all.

Lesson 2: People are not often friends with those in low places. There is a possibility this may come across as accusatory – I assure you that is not my intention…I am obviously not one to speak. I am ashamed to admit that I do not have many friends who are below my own economic status. Circumstance may place us in the same sphere, but my own limitations keep me from reaching out. I think the reason behind that is that we rarely engage in relationships we don’t see as reciprocal. We noticed early in Meager March that we received almost no emails or phone calls from back home, and even our Shiyan compadres were less and less visible. Had I been on the other side, there is a more than strong likelihood that I would have acted the same. I guess it just opened my eyes to that particular lesson, and honestly it left me a little sad. Because I now even more know how relationships strengthen themselves when you spend time talking together instead of just being together. Brian and Angelyn were my saviors this month. I honestly can’t even begin to tell you where I would be in this place without them.

Lesson 3: I am an information addict. The thing that tortured me most about Meager March was not the lack of money, missing out on the latest episode of LOST, or even the fact that our friends grew scarce…it was NO NEWS. My name is Jessica Boffey and I am an information addict. Amid Tibetan protests and Obama/Clinton primary fights – we were sans info. It was hard…eventually we broke and began to spend our coveted kuais on a newsbyte here or there. But I have learned that you can take my money, take my television, but don’t touch my free information! Guess I’m an American after all…

Lesson 4: I have never known poverty, and I probably never will. Pretending to be meager can never teach us what true meagerness is. Anything that arose this month that required more than our budget allowed could be pushed to April. Grand plans of travel could be dreamed with the knowledge that we would have the means when the time came. I have been blessed. There were countless students and family members who refused to let us live where we wanted to. They were shoving money in our pockets and bringing food to our homes. I know with full confidence that should the day come when I lose everything I have been given, I know that my family and friends would never let me live in the daily of true meagerness.

Challenges Met…Kinda… You may remember that there were a number of challenges issued at the beginning of Meager March. So in an effort to honor full disclosure…here is the score:

***The No Makeup challenge was passed with flying colors. The first few days I was told numerous times that I must be sick by some well meaning Chinese who don’t understand the American concept of appropriate comments…but we worked through that and save the occasional forgotten face-washes, I spent a make-up free March. The challenge to my vanity was made, and I wish I could say that I woke up on April 1^st and did not think about painting my face. I think I have become less dependent, but the demons that plague my self-love will not be so easily stilled by 31 days. It’s going to be a longer battle that I fully intend on winning.

***The Philippians Memorization challenge flopped horribly. I think I counted 40 verses memorized, some 60 ignored. Luckily, God honors those who don’t bow to defeat. I will keep plugging along, though it may take me a little longer than anticipated…perhaps 2009 is a good goal…

***Happily, Angelyn and I redeemed ourselves by hitting our Olympic Birthday challenge out of the park! I am pleased to report to you that on Brian’s birthday there were 5 students dressed as their respective Olympic mascots reciting a poem they had written in honor of their beloved teacher. I’ll just give you this sound bite: One Brian, One Dream. It was CLASSIC…please, enjoy the video!