Everyone, meet Cat.

So I'd like to introduce all of my blog readers (which honestly, can't possibly be that many...) to my best Chinese friend, Cat Zheng. She is seriously one of the funniest people I will ever meet.

When I first arrived in China, Cat and Joyce (another friend) were so excited to show me my apartment. I had no idea what to expect and honestly I was quite nervous. I remember driving up to my apartment and seeing the two happiest and excited Chinese girls. They were so happy to finally meet me and they even insisted on carrying my two 50lb bags up like 5 flights of stairs. Bless their hearts. I'm surprised the bags didn't just topple them over!

They proceeded to give me a tour of my apartment. When we got to the kitchen, they looked at me and said, "We even bought you a toaster!!" Apparently Asians think us Americans are toast fanatics! Shortly after seeing the kitchen, I was introduced to the squatter toilet...

Cat is one of the best friends I've ever had. At times I felt so lost in China, but Cat was always there helping me along. Cat loved to karaoke but mostly loved hearing me sing Lady Gaga songs. When you're the only native English speaker, you'd better believe you'll be singing all of the Lady Gaga songs while they dance around. Cat would eat Thai food with me whenever I wanted. Well, mostly. I would have gone everyday if I had the choice.

I know I've shared this story with some friends, so I hope that you forgive me for re-sharing. My coworkers always knew I was religious because when I first arrived they had to help me get on the bus Sunday morning to Guangzhou in order to attend the International LDS Branch. Because of China's views on religion, LDS members are instructed to not proselyte in any way. This even means that you simply can't tell someone that you are LDS. However if they ask you if you're LDS, then you can say yes. So I'm pretty sure my coworkers thought for months that I belonged to some kind of cult and meeting strange men (just the Branch President) in Guangzhou.

One day after Cat had just come back from training in Shanghai, she said to me, "Nicole I know what religion you are!" My heart dropped. Probably all the way to where Zach is in Argentina. Everyone in the office stopped what they were doing and started to listen. She said to me, "You're Mormon!" I was just so surprised and caught off-guard. Turns out there had been an American Gymboree employee training the teachers in Shanghai and for some reason found it important to share with the Chinese teachers that the interns were Mormons...

So my coworkers BOMBARDED me with their questions about religion. They wanted to know what different religions believed in and mostly what Mormons believed in. It felt like I had the coolest toy in the playground and all the kids were trying to get it from me. Because of the rules set up in China, I could only tell them limited facts about the LDS church like "We believe in living good moral lives" and "We believe in the strength of families". It was such a hard situation to be put in. They sincerely wanted to know but yet I know I wasn't allowed to say anything. After 15 minutes of them begging me to tell them more, I had to stand up and leave the office. One of the hardest things I've ever done.

About a month before I left, Cat and I were hanging out and chatting about life. At one point she turned to me and said, "Nicole, when I have a daughter, I want her to be your religion." This statement will always mean so much to me. Although I was not allowed to teach anything to Cat regarding LDS religion, she knew something was different about me.

I was recently hanging out with a friend who came home from his mission. We were chatting about his mission and my time in China when he turned to me and said, "Nicole, some day you will be a missionary in China." I sincerely hope and pray that someday I will be able to go and teach my dearest friends the gospel of Jesus Christ!

I'm eternally grateful for the experience I had to live in China and for Cat. She is an amazing person and I was amazed that she did what was right even though she had no religious beliefs or a belief in God. Incredible.

Here are some pictures!

At a banquet with Faye

2nd Anniversary Celebration