Jessica in the Far East

Bits and Pieces

2009-05-15T08:54:00.002+08:00

Angelyn and I have a current list running of Things to do Before We Leave, from eating crawdads on BBQ street to finally going to the Shiyan sauna. We are also on the hunt for something that is truly "Epic". We feel this need to leave our mark on the city in a big way - it seems like we have gotten close a few times. The discovery of Tribal Leisure Bar was nearly epic...the tree sitting was almost exactly epic. Showing the Passion of the Christ as a classroom movie, that would be epic. When it happens, we will know. But until then we will grab every opportunity, and if it ever stops raining we will be unstoppable. Things that we have done recently:

Our dream of tree-sitting finally became a reality. Last Sunday Barry, Angelyn, Megan and I climbed (with the helpful aid of a few friends) the trees that line the street at the bottom of the hill, and gave the Chinese a reason to stare aside from our white skin. It was childish, crazy, and as great as we thought it would be! We all took sunflower seeds up in our pockets and there was a Sound of Music singing moment.

Angelyn, Katherine and I went to the Chinese dentist (aka, the hospital) and had our teeth cleaned - not at all scary to open your mouth and allow it to be violated by a woman you can't understand when she tells you NOT to swallow the water.

Megan, Angelyn and I went to Cherry Valley to pick strawberries and cherries with two teachers from Megan's school. The locals were just shocked when we climbed our own cherry trees and picked them ourselves. And per your suggestion Heather, I did wear pigtails.

I had a particularly nasty run in with a student that left me a little shaken. After class, Trent worked his magic and cheered me up by taking me to buy turtles! After we rescued 5 turtles from a really rough turtle wrangler, we bought some paint and proceeded to give them some flair. Trent had this dream of releasing them into the pond outside his house with painted shells so we could find them. We painted them perfectly, then proceeded to watch as Kicks attempted to mount Red and then carry pink footprints across the rest of their backs as he made his way through the group.

Trifecta - painted with a tri-color target on his back was the beast of the group
Star - never came out of his shell
Rosie Red - always the lady
Kicks - given a soccer ball pattern on his back because of his constant need to kick me with his back left leg
Giggles - had no personality

It was too late to release them, so I came back the next day to do so. In that time, Kicks had carried paint from turtle to turtle and they had all turned into weird Bubble-Eyed Monsters (see photos) Turns out its a defense mechanism in the turtle's body to protect their eyes, but Trent and I thought they had all gone blind from eye infections! (The guilt was overwhelming, I was seriously questioning our ability to ever be parents) In an attempt to save Kicks - even though he was the instigator of their mutations, he was still my favorite - we cleaned his shell and decided to keep him for a while. He is now lost somewhere in my house.

So when Jessica attempts to read "waterproof" in Chinese, turns out she can't. We released the 4 turtles into the water, which they all immediately left water trails of orange, white and pink behind their sinking bodies. We worried for a minute that perhaps these particular Chinese turtles don't swim and we made a terrible mistake...until Trifecta surfaced and made a desperate attempt to try to get back up to Trent! They were adorable, we had such a sense of pride watching Star make his way out into the scary water world.

Here are some PHOTOS - strawberries, turtles and the UN.

Yes, the UN.

Trent's students are amazing. Last week we were invited to UN Meeting, and we were not really sure what to expect. Turns out, it was a staged-comedy of a United Nations Council Meeting, to which even North Korea was allowed to attend. It was completely organized by the students, not one teacher was present. They did a fantastic job!
Highlights:
*Screaming match between "good" and "evil", left and right side of the table, (America, Britain, France, India, Japan and South Korea) versus (China, Russia, South Korea, Pakistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia)
*Peace speech made by the Saudi Arabian representative to the background tune of Amazing Grace
*Trent's 15 year old student Teddy sitting behind us translating into English verbatim every word said. (Later, he became my favorite person by being the first Chinese to ever ask to see my engagement ring)
*Somalian pirates breaking into the meeting carrying guns of brooms and a squirt gun to hold the United Nations Council hostage.
*The head of the Somalian pirate ring marrying the UN Council Secretary to form a binding peace treaty. You can't make this stuff up!

Build houses and settle down

2009-05-06T19:17:00.003+08:00

I was just looking over my blog and realized how long it has been since I have recorded anything of personal substance. To be perfectly honest, its been hard to find words to put here - so much is happening, at the same time as absolutely nothing.

What I mean by that is, my life in China is exactly that - a life in China. This place is my home, and I exist in a comfortable routine. Aside from the occasional weekend getaway, each new week has looked exactly like the one before it, and I anticipate the next to be strikingly similar. I teach class Monday-Thursday, have weekly dates for Mahjong and my book club, Tuesday night is date night with Trent, and Sunday is family day. I grocery shop and have bills. My point here is not that my life bears an uncanny resemblance to that of a retiree, but that it is normal. I realize it has become hard to blog because in my mind, the usual Wednesday morning of running, study and crunchy rice is nothing of interest. I live here.

Its ironic. From the beginning, when I made my decision to come to China, this place was presented as a temporary home. Much like a new university to attend, or a summer internship, it was a place to be for a while...nothing of permanence. I was told I didn't have to learn Chinese and I could make the decision to renew my contract on a year-to-year basis; basically, that I could do HIS work in China as long as it suited me. I didn't bring many great comforts from home across the ocean, because I knew I would be returning to them shortly. No change of address forms were filled.

I'm reminded of a lesson from Jeremiah that Megan shared with me a while back, 19:5-7
"Build houses and settle down: plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there, do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

How confusing it must have been for the Israelites to invest their work, livelihood and children in a temporary home. (In exile, even!) It would seem that their original intention was to wait out God's timing in a state of transition. But HIS intention for us seems to be different...almost like an investment in our emotional health. Not just to be in a place for a time, but to live completely where you are, in the place HE has made for you to thrive. To give it your heart, to do HIS work in that place, and to allow some semblance of a life grow, even if just for a moment.

...And then to be prepared to say goodbye. I believe the phrase is, "This world is not my home". The same willingness which I have to say "see ya lata" to this world, is the same faith I have to have to go to the next place HE is taking me. I laid down my roots. I built a house and settled in Shiyan. I have a fruit lady. Honestly, its breaking my heart. As I told Angelyn the other day, "Maybe I'm not doing as well with the whole moving thing as I thought."

I have memories of Carol dropping by on a random Wednesday evening, Florance giggling at my front door, and Juice Lady asking me for the upteenth time if I have had dinner yet. This place is treasured, from my bright yellow-walled bedroom, to my roach-infested bathroom with the China smell, and the delicious smelling tree out my frosted window. But I am assured that it is time to move on, that HE is calling me to the next chapter, asking me the leave the house I've built and go in search of a new home. I feel blessed in so many ways, the greatest being that I have a person to be at home with, anywhere. I've got options, and a conviction that HIS work is to be done in the midst of any of them.

Common Misconception Response #6 - Final

2009-04-18T18:22:00.002+08:00

Misconception: All Chinese are clever and study all the time

Dear Lady,
I'm glad tor receive your letter. I am happy you said we Chinese children are clever in the last letter, but it is not because we study in class all day long as you think. I think this is your misconception about China.
The education between our two countries is different. Though for one thing, it may be the same I think, that we study in school for at least 10 hours everyday. Isn't it? The distance between us isn't how long we study, but the way we learn in class. In class, all of us have the same textbook, and what the teacher teach us is all from it. We need to read some important passages many times until we can recite it. We also need to learn the passage wrote by ancient people, which is different from now. Certainly, there are a lot of formulas of physics, math, and chemistry we need to remember. So we must do many exercises. Because everyone wants to enter a good university, we should get a high score in the entrance exams. It's very hard. We must work hard for it, so we spend most of our part time on studying.
I think above is the reason you have the misconception about China. We are all clever the difference is just which concept we express. I wonder if you have desire to learn more about China. If you have, I'm glad to help you whenever you have met difficulties.
Love Monica

Misconception: Asian parents exercise more control and less warmth with their children.

Dear Jamie,
Nice to meet with you! I must tell you, I think the former part of this sentence is right in some cases. In some cases, when children are young, their parents send them to attend many interesting classes like piano, drawing, or swimming, and always make certain decisions despite how their children might think. They think it is good for our future, so we must do it. Although every parent want their children to succeed, but sometimes is what they do to prevent their children from growing up happily.
But the last part, I don't agree with that. No parents don't love their children, oppositely, Asian parent give too much love to their children. But now, the attitudes changing. Many parents try to touch their children the correct way. They ask their children to earn money by themselves so that they children can learn that they should value their happy life and so on. So things are not always the same.
Sincerely, Zoe

***Note: It seems like Zoe may have misunderstood a little, though she reveals a lot here. In the little exposure to the Chinese family I have, the use of control is revealed in constant pressure to succeed. Working hard in school, getting good grades on the college entrance exam, getting into a good college, getting good grades in college so you can get a good job that makes a lot of money. This mentality appears to be universal in all Chinese families, but the children characteristically view this attitude as the parent's expression of love, and attempt to honor them through their success. Many of my students tell me they want to make a lot of money so they can take care of the parents who love them so much. Verbal expressions of love, "I love you" are few and far between in the Chinese family.

Common Misconception Response #5

2009-04-18T17:49:00.002+08:00

Misconception: All Chinese people are in the Communist Party

Dear Jennifer,
I just know that you think we Chinese are all in the Communist Party! I think its really a misconception. On one hand, our population is 1.3 billion, but our Communist Party member's number is only 70 million. These figures show that not all the Chinese are in the Communist Party. In China, there are also some other political parties like Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, China Association for Promoting Democracy, China Democratic National Construction Association, and so on. As we all know, Wan Gang, the Minister of China Science and Technology department doesn't come from the Communist Party, he is a member of China Zhi Gong Party.
On the other hand, if you think that all the Chinese people are believe in communism, maybe you are right. China Communist party is the administration party in China. All the people are influenced by Communism since they are born. So, to sum up, not all the Chinese are in the Communist party, but most believe in communism.
Yours, Eric

Misconception: Chinese people only eat rice and fish every day

Dear Sir or Madam,
I think you have some misconceptions of Chinese food. Now I will show what Chinese people eat. Chinese food can be roughly divided into Northern and Southern styles of cooking. Northern dishes are relatively oily and the use of vinegar and garlic tends to be quite popular. Wheat plays an important role in Northern cooking ravioli like dumplings, steamed stuffed buns, fried meat dumplings are just a few of the many flour based treats that are enjoyed in the north of China.
Representative of Southern cooking styles are Sichuan or Hunan cuisine, famous for their liberal use of chili pepper. Within the whole of Southern cooking, the Jiangsu and Shejang regions emphasize freshness and tenderness, while Guangdong cuisine tends to be somewhat sweet and always full of variety rice and by products, including noodles, cakes and congee.
In Chinese cooking, color, aroma, and flavor share equal importance in the preperation of every dish. Normly, any one entree will combine three to five colors, selected from ingredients that are light green, dark green, red, yellow, white, black, or caramel colored. Usually, a meat and vegetable dish is prepared from one main ingrediant and two or three secondary ingrediants of contrasting colors are then cooked appropriately, incorporating the proper seasonings and sauce to create an aesthetically attractive dish.
In fact, many of the plants used in chinese cooking, such as scallions, fresh ginger root, garlic, dried lily buds, tree fungus, etc have properties of preventing and alleviating illnesses. The Chinese have a traditional belief in the medicinal value of food and that food and medicine share the same origin. This view would be considered a forerunner of nutritional science in China. Notable in this theory is the concept that correct proportions of meat and vegetable ingrediants should be maintained. One third of meat-based dishes should be vegetable ingrediants and one third of vegetable-based dishes should be meat. In preparing soups, the quantity of water used should total 7/10 the volume of the serving bowl. In short, the correct ingrediant proportions must be adhered to in the preperationg of each dish or soup in order to ensure full nutritional value.
Yours, Jerry

***Teacher's Note: I spent time to type out the audaciously copied email above to give you all a little treat! Enjoy my student's shameless attempt at plagiarism and apparent belief in my naivity...it didn't take long in my teaching career to learn that most of my students can't put a grammatical sentance together...and words like ravioli, liberal, medicinal, aesthetic, and adhered are generally forgery flags! Now to determine a punishment...

Common Misconception Response #4

2009-04-16T10:51:00.002+08:00

Misconception: All Chinese are polite and giving

Dear Ragan,
China is known as the country of "ceremony and propriety" since ancient times. Trying to be polite is one of China's fine traditions. In China, parents or teachers begin to teach kids manners in primary school or earlier. They teach them how to call their elders, or have respect for others. And parents and teachers always make a good example for them. In this way, they respect this kind of education at their childhood. And in their hearts, to treat others politely is good moral character. Giving is another character that is above polite. It is a refined accomplishment. It is set up by the way that someone studies in life and tries to be that type of person. There is an old saying in China, if you want to get success, try to give at first. In our daily life, you can be polite, but it is hard to be giving. Only reach a certain level of self-cultivation, then you can realize the beauty of giving.
From Andy and Alex

Misconception: Chinese women must be quiet and obedient

Dear Brian,
It's our honor to write you about the Chinese culture. We are very glad that you are interested in our Chinese culture. But we are sorry to tell you that your saying about Chinese women is a misconception. Let us tell you the truth.
In the past society, the women may have to be quiet and obedient. Because there are many rules for women to obey. They can't go to school, especially go out to be a leader. They have little rights. Also, there is a saying, a woman without intelligence is a respected woman. Under this social environment, women have to obey their fathers, mothers, husbands and families. They have to serve for them, and not speak one nonsense word. So they always give us a quiet and obedient impression.
However, with the development of society, people's views of women and women's social position have changed a lot. In modern society, we advocate that women have equal rights to men. They can go to school to read and write. besides, they have their own careers. Modern woman are very different from the past. They have their own opinions about things. They can express out their views freely. They can sing their own songs from their hearts freely. So they are not always quiet and obedient, they have the right to give advice. They are confident, considerate and intelligent. They can go out of their family to run for their dreams. Some of them are even becoming leaders. If you have any questions, you can write to tell us.
Yours, Grace and Debbie

Common Misconception Response #3

2009-04-15T10:15:00.002+08:00

Misconception: There is a lot of pollution in China

Dear Mary Ann,
We think that what you said is a misconception. Now, let's tell you what is true about pollution in China. In the past, there were many environmental issues. One of these is the serious pollution of the air and water. The polluted air, which mainly comes from factories and cars, and the polluted water, causes some diseases. What is worse, rubbish was increasing with the growth of population.
But now, the condition has been greatly improved. The government has done a lot to protect the environment. Legislative steps have been introduced to control air pollution, to protect the forest and sea resources, and to stop any environmental pollution. For example, in some cities, they have returned land for farming and forestry. More and more trees are planted. More dustbins are fit beside the street. What's more, most people have been conscious of the importance of protecting the environment and the take the lead not to through the litter about.
In our opinion, the government should take even more concrete measures, though the condition becomes better. First, it should let people fully realize the importance of environmental protection through education. Second, much more efforts should be make to put the population planning policy into practice, because more people means more pollution. Finally, those who destroy the environment intentionally should be severely punished. We believe China will become a perfect place to live one day.
Love, Karl and Red
***Note: I live here...this is NOT a misconception. China is extremely polluted. I have never heard more people talk about protecting the environment, and never seen more people throw trash on the ground. A clean strip of land is quite literally a shock to my senses. Interesting note, I asked Karl what a "severe punishment" would entail per their suggestion. He recommended prison, or a 20 rmb fine...approximately 3 dollars.

Misconception: Chinese use bikes and scooters more than cars.

Dear Rodney,
I've heard that you think Chinese people use bikes and scooters more than cars. Maybe you believe that cars can hardly be seen in the street. But the truth is a little different than what you thought, let me explain it to you.
In the past, around 30 years ago, the car industry in China was not developed. Cars were quite expensive to common people. Only those who owned a great property could afford cars, and cars were not so important as they are now. They were only used by big companies and enterprises, instead of individuals. Private cars were the insignia of honor or rank. So at that time, common people rode bikes very often.
However, China has grown a lot. We brought in many skills and technologies from abroad, Also, we have joint ventures and our own car factories now. So automobiles are not that far from common people any more. It is said that by the year of 2009, China has 130 million private cars. The price is reasonable and we become richer. Private ownership of cars in China is not a long shot, owning a car is not a dream to us. Cars become more and more popular to us now.
As for me, I still like riding a bike. Because bikes are environmentally friendly and very convenient in many cases. Bikes can reach some places which cars can't. Therefore, cars may dominate nowadays, but bikes and scooters cannot be sbstituted for the moment.
Sincerely, Kevin
***Note: I asked my class of 30 how many of their parents owned cars, and only one person raised his hand. However, I have lived in China for two years and do not have enough appendages to count the number of times I have nearly been run over. Cars are prevalent, but the sheer number of Chinese in the country makes it so - I would say the average car is for business purpose, not family ownership.

Common Misconception Response #2

2009-04-14T01:10:00.002+08:00

Misconception: There is no difference between Chinese and Japanese.

Dear Beth,
It's normal for you to say that Chinese and Japanese have no difference. But I have to tell you that this idea is totally wrong. We do share the same characteristics in appearance, but we have plenty of differences which you may not know. Let's take food for example. Difference parts of China have different flavors for food. Sweet in south, salty in north, sour in west and hot in east. We eat many kinds of food. Cantonese, Sichuan cuisine and so on. Japanese eat seafood especially fresh fish a lot because of its loction. To make it convenient, Japanese chopsticks are longer and more pointed than Chinese chopsticks. We pay more attention to the taste of the food, while Japanese like beautiful utensils to hold the food. The eating habits, Japanese always do acting appointments, they should decide how much they would spend before the meal, then give the money to the host. In China, except for the banquet, all the payments will be taken into the host's arm, even if it is the dining between colleagues. One treats this time, and another will treat the nxt time.
To be honest, Chinese education is not very successful. Students cope with all kinds of exams everyday, it feels like we are led by the nose. To some people college entrance examination is the most important thing in their whole lives, more than their marriage. In the eyes of public, students in brand-name university are definitely more superb than those from normal ones. Japanese educational services pay high attention to students' comprehensive quality, especially to their competitive spirit, practical ability and interest cultivation. The culture of China and Japan is not the same thing, either. We have Confucious, Mencius and so on. We are influenced by their thoughts so we are friendly to others most of the time. Japan is influenced by many foreign factors, including Chinese culture, but western culture affecs them in a large extent. They have turned those to their own culture. I should say that Japanese are really good learners. That is the brief explanation, I hope it will help you.
Yours, Ferrer

Misconception: All Chinese are born knowing kung fu and other martial arts

Dear David,
How is everthing going? I know you must like China very much, you think that we are born knowing how to do kung fu, or some other martial art. But I want to say that this is a misconception. You say that someone knows how to do Kung fu, or some other martial art. That's true. But not all of us can do it. And we are not born knowing how to do it. If you come to China, you'll find that most of us can't do Kung fu. Someone maybe do it because they want to strengthen their bodies.
So, why do you have this misconception? I think that nowdays many directors like to produce movies about Chinese Kung fu because its mysterious and can attract many people. If you want to come to China, do not hesitate. China is really a beautiful country and all of us like peace and harmony. Welcome to China!
Your friends, Fredz and Daisy

In Other News...

2009-04-06T16:48:00.002+08:00

*The sun is coming out, Shiyan is never more beautiful than in the spring.

*This weekend the foreign women in Shiyan went to Xiangfan and spent 4 hours on a bus driving to A Hot Springs - totally worth the road blocks and rain. We relaxed, were steamed in a giant turkey like roaster, and most importantly...laid in a pool full of fish who ate our dead skin. It was creepy and amazing. Katherine, the animal tamer, was swarmed and beloved...the rest of us cringed and dealt with our 20 fish, while she had over 200 from her hips down!

*Trent and I are playing hookie (okay, I'm playing hookie, he has three weeks off) at the end of the week and taking a boat tour of the Three Gorges Dams. I am so excited about it, its one of the things that I really wanted to see when I came to China. This dam is such a treasured accomplishment in China, but there are so many potential downfalls that its quite contreversial. It endangered or eradicated countless species, the pollution levels are overwhelming and climbing, the 600 kilometer reservoir has flooded 1,300 archaeological sites, and will irrevocably alter the beautiful Three Gorges as the water rises. Erosion is causing sediment slides and they have had to relocate millions of people from homes near the reservoir.

*The men of Shiyan had an awesome retreat this last weekend, which brought tons of seekers together. I am so excited by the answered pr-y-rs this year has brought, there are incredibly inspiring Chinese walking through our doors every week. He is SO good.

*I am exactly half way through the semester...only 8 weeks of classes left!

Common Misconception Response #1

2009-04-06T16:26:00.002+08:00

Thank you all so much with responding to the Teacher's Aid blog post. I compiled a list of all the ideas you had about China...everything from all Chinese men having long mustaches, to all Chinese belonging to the Communist Party. My students were fascinated by the ideas that Americans had of them and their country, and anxious to set the record straight. Here are a few of their responses in Dear John letter form for Mandy specifically...there is more to come...

Misconception - All Chinese are really smart, especially in math and science

Dear Mandy,
Hello! Actually, most Chinese are not smart. Take me as an example. I'm not good at math and science. At the same time, I'm not one of the ones who is very smart. I think if someone have interest in something, he or she will good at it. Besides, hard-working is very important too. Even if you are not very smart, but if only you work hard...the harder you work, the more improvement you will get. In fact, Chinese are just like Americans. Its the same, some people will indeed be smarter than others. But its just a small part in all the people. On the other hand, Chinese people also enhance a passion on other subjects besides math and science. Such as music, nature, history and so on. And they are very good at these.
Sincerely, Jack and Jason

Misconception - All Chinese are short and thin

Dear Mandy,
I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not so in agreement with your idea. I will tell you the truth as follows. Chinese persons' average height may be shorter than American, but that does not mean that all Chinese are short. The famous basketball star, Yao Ming, is much taller than other players. There are many taller persons that come to our eyes in many international games, such as Li Ning, Zhang Yi Ning. There are many people that are short in China, so are there many in America and Africa. The value of an individual is not based on the height. Its based on how much he does for the soceity. Many Chinese are thin, for they eat a lot of vegeatbles. They treat their body seriously. They want to keep fit. They are healthy, but not all of them are thin. Some are fat too. Some athletes are required to be strong and fat. They do a lot and are famous in the world.
Yours, Mory
***Side Note*** I learned recently from Angelyn's research that Chinese women are taller on average than American women. We concluded it may be due to the varying heights in minority communities that bring the American average down, white women on average are much taller than Chinese. Men are actually nearly the same height. Interesting - I compeletly bowed to this misconception!

If you really want to understand what I do here...

2009-03-21T21:04:00.003+08:00

What do the Students think is my Job? When one asks students to describe the foreign teachers job, they reply with one or more of the following:

1. To teach us English

2. To teach us correct English

3. To teach us Oral grammar

4. To tell us about foreign culture

5. To Improve our English

6. To correct our pronunciation

7. To get paid a lot of money for talking talking talking

I received this ARTICLE from Angelyn, my fellow teacher. As soon as I read it, I knew I had to share it with you. I think it will give you a really interesting insight into what I do here, and the expectations our students have of us. (Teacher, what is the secret to learning English?) Sadly, I have no magic wand, and neither does this man. It is obvious that this teacher is more than a little frustrated with what he probably feels is a no win situation...I can relate. I love my students, but there are certainly days...

Meanwhile, I received a lot of wonderful "common misconceptions" from my readers, I will be sharing them on Monday and be sure to let you know their responses. Thanks for your help!

Teacher's Aid

2009-03-16T18:17:00.003+08:00

Please help! My culture class is currently studying common misconceptions that people develop around America and Americans based on the representation of media. Its been extremely enlightening to them to learn things like:

*The majority of Americans are not blonde or blue eyed
*The poverty rate in China is lower than in America
*Americans eat vegetables

The next part of their assignment on this topic requires some assistance from my American friends. I am wondering if you could respond to this blog post with some beliefs you have about China or the Chinese people. Many of you have never visited China, and all the knowledge you have of it is in effect, media driven. Even the reports I give you are tainted by my point of view. The assignment will be for them to take the misconceptions or generalizations made about China and respond - either in defense of the misconceptions, or in expansion of the original assertion. I think this is going to be a great opportunity for them to learn about an outsiders perception of China, and a challenge for certain.

Don't hesitate to make a statement that may seem inflammatory or contrary to the guidelines I have previously given - in culture class, everything goes.

New Term, New Identity Crisises

2009-03-06T09:58:00.002+08:00

Each new semester offers me great amusement as my students pick their English names. Inevitably, my classrooms are full of Bobs, Bills, Amys, and Michael Schofields, but there are always the random, unique, or extremely misguided choices to enjoy. Perhaps it makes me a bad teacher, but I often let them use whatever name they want so that the laughter in my head aides my sanity in a difficult teaching day. Here are some fun ones from this semester:

Jusicate
Bruss Li and Forest Gun...
Cooler Black
Mongo and his partner Jabulani
Muge
July, October, May and February
Toru
Coco, Debbie and Lily...who are all male
Tete
Dobby, and the partner who obviously won the arguement, Harry
Mukhter
David Bush, and his classmate W Bush, and his other classmate Obama

When the Mama came to China

2009-02-27T07:16:00.007+08:00

Two weeks ago, my mother came to China and I saw what life in China looked like through a little emperor's eyes...and it is hard to go back!That's not the point of this story though...

The day that Angelyn and I returned from Paris (a trip to be blogged about at a later date, I promise), my mother and my second cousin-possibly-once-removed-but-its-all-very-confusing Jeanie were also on a plane to Beijing for a 10 day tour of my home. Well, to be factual, Jeannie was on a plane to Beijing, and my mother was on a plane to Tokyo, which would be something to complain about if not for the miracle of flight. (Thanks Lucy, funny!) They both arrived eventually, and began a whirlwind 24 hours in Beijing. We stayed the night in a hostel that looked a bit like a pink light palace to my mind, but delighted them with tiny doors and China dogs. We traveled to the wall, and though Jeannie was incredibly sick she managed to at least sit on it - dream fulfilled. We walked around Tiananmen square, and I got to watch my delighted mother get hit on by a Communist guard. But time was up, and I had a guy I was anxious to get home to, so we boarded the train to Shiyan.

Only my mom story: I had warned my mom and Jeannie that on a China train, and any public restroom in the country, there is no seat to greet you, but a hole in the ground which you have the pleasure of squatting over. These women were troopers, and were all for experiencing China in all its glory. For my mother, that meant nearly peeing in a drainage hole in the corner of an open sinkroom in front of a train attendant! Luckily, she was averted but in her defense, there was "a hole in the ground"!

We arrived in Shiyan to 5 days of rain and cold, not the best weather for everything we had wanted to do, like exploring the city and climbing Wudang mountain. I was disappointed, but it ended up being the perfect excuse to stay inside and spend more time chatting with each other, and having in depth discussions with all my wonderful Chinese friends. They got to meet our Chinese family, my favorite class, friends like crazy Christina, and most importantly to any China experience, Florance. They played mahjong with Mike, got to help teach class at Trent's school, rode a crazy bus, and nearly died in a freak hot pot explosion. They got to spend time with our foreign friends, including Xiangfan Carie, and have their hair and nails done for ridiculously cheap. And my mother finally got the wish of her heart fulfilled when she got to see split-pants in action.

Thursday night we took the overnight train to Xi'an, one of my favorite cities in China...and not just because they had a Starbucks...where I was spoiled from hostels forever when I discovered there are hotels in China with BATH TUBS. We spent two days there, going to the Terracotta Warriors (no LingLing boys, one pyramid sighting) and exploring the Muslim Quarter. As expected, they went a little crazy with all the bartering, and I was running around like a crazy person, shouting "How much?", "Too much", and "Make it cheaper!". Trent and I received our first engagement present, a coveted Terracotta Warrior Chess set, though at the time I had no idea what it was intended for as I was still wearing my girlfriend label - that came off Saturday night.

You know the story, but what you don't know is how fantastically my mother exercised her acting abilities to help pull off the proposal. She lied about having my ring, convinced me she didn't know a thing, and actually pulled out tears for a fake goodbye to Trent in Shiyan! She got me dressed nicely for night on the town (though still couldn't convince this wanderer to wash her hair!), and then she and Jeannie dragged me through a sea of at least 4,000 Chinese people to stand in a spot where Trent could find me. The woman deserves an Oscar.

It was so incredible to show some of the people I love my home. And I was SO proud of my family! They were the perfect guests, reveling in China's unexpectedness, eating and loving everything they could get their hands on, and really embracing our Chinese friends' personal stories. They were intrigued, full of questions, and ready to experience everything...and giving out hugs like candy to everyone who said they looked young! There was no McDonald's on their agenda, no Western toilet requirements, and no complaints. I was bursting with pride, and so sad to say goodbye! Love you crazy Ladies!

God's Sense of Humor

2009-02-24T09:59:00.004+08:00

As my fiance would say, "He's a jokester"

I know I am far behind on blogging, and there are a million things I would like to catch you up on...my European vacation, the new semester in China, my mother's visit to Shiyan...but all of those things of the "past" kind of fade into the back ground when you are looking at the rest of your life.

Last weekend, Trent asked me to marry him and, of course, I said YES!

STORY
My mother came to visit last week and unknown to me, she brought with her a gorgeous ring that he had picked out for me. (I know everyone says their ring is beautiful and we all think...uh huh...but mine really is...). She and my cousin visited for a week, and at the end of the week I took her for a few days in Xi'an, an ancient city in another province that is one of our favorites. Trent had told me he couldn't come because he had to teach a class on Saturday morning.
We spent two days there, and the last night we were going to this big musical light show that happens every night in front of a pagoda outside of town. There is this enormous square fountain with multicolored lights and water that comes out in patterns to the music playing - I had never been and from what I saw of it, it was really beautiful. We went there, and my mother eventually manipulated me into standing in the middle for a photo. ...and there he was. I was shocked, but managed to hear his incredible words, watch him go down on his knee, and squeak out a yes!
He turned me around, and all of our friends from Shiyan were there - cheering and preparing the champagne...they had all made the long trip from Shiyan to celebrate with us, which was so special to me. To have my mother there, my China family, and the man I love asking me to spend my life with him - it was perfect.
So inevitably, you will all want more details...of which I have none. Eventually I might have some photos of the night from Angelyn (I was understandably preoccupied) I have no news on weddings, life plans, or even location for living - our lives are very up in the air right now! But I can tell you that God has a sense of humor. To take two people, who knew each other in every other way than romantically for years, place them in countless situations together and keep them blind, and send them to the opposite ends of the earth, only to bring them back together in the most unlikely of places...to see something different in each other, fall in love, and choose to stay that way...He's pretty clever. We are very happy, and trust it because you can see His hand.

More Proposal Photos

Pure Exhuastion

2009-02-18T01:55:00.003+08:00

Four weeks in Europe.
Four countries, if you include a touchdown in Russia.
Too much money down the drain.
Too many memories made not to be worth it.
Over 1,000 photos taken.

Less than one week back in China.
One mother in the country.
One cousin in the country.
8 billion water drops from the sky
Too much laughter.

16 teaching hours on the horizon.
16 weeks of repetition ahead.
Too little sleep submitted to jet lag.
1,000 butterflies anticipating something incredible to come...
So much left to be said...another time...

Before I Go...

2009-01-19T09:06:00.003+08:00

Where has the time gone? In less than 8 hours Angelyn and I will board a train to begin our 3 day journey to Paris, France! Finally fulfilling a dream, I will spend the next three weeks traveling through France and Spain. I will try to blog if its a possibility, otherwise, you'll hear from me in a month. When I return, I'll be bringing my mother and cousin back to Shiyan to see my home.

School is on break for another month for the spring festival - the students are gone and the campus is quiet. Friends have slowly been saying their goodbyes and making there way to equally exciting places, from Budapest to Malaysia. China is shutting down, travel is insane as 1.6 billion people travel to their hometowns.

Its been nice staying around town a little longer than usual. We were able to complete a plan two years in the making and spent a few days in Hong Kong with our good friend Carole before she moves back to the states. Hong Kong - expensive, busy, beautiful, and CLEAN. View: On The Island - Hong Kong Photos

Most importantly, I was able to see my darling friend Dacy get married, and experience a little bit of post-Christmas snow. View: Off To A Great Start - January Photos

Its 2009, and this year is already full of blessings, excitement and challenges. Viva La Vida!

Just in case you snobby Americans had any unrealistic expectations

2009-01-18T18:13:00.002+08:00

The following is the booking confirmation email I received after booking Trent and I a hostel in Hong Kong...it just cracked me up so I had to share it with you. If it helps to envision this more clearly, we paid $10 American dollars a night each, to sleep on a plank of wood behind a curtain in a room with 12 other people and 2 laundry machines.

Friendly Reminder: We ask our precious customers to read the whole passage below thoroughly so that you will solve most of the possible problems or have a clearer picture about our hostels, or even hong kong hostel-style.

1. The Hostelbookers.com company does not have the categorization-of-room-ty pe function on their website at present (they are establishing now). We can only sell our standard rooms on their website. So we fail to differentiate our deluxe rooms from other hostels.

2. Foreign customers from America and Europe easily have wrong expectation because the hostel in their country are large with a comparable low price because their country is large also.

3. As above, they always think the rooms of hostels in Hong Kong are very tiny. That's what I always observe form the reviews on the website. They think they should receive similar rooms in Hong Kong as they got in their country with the same price. They don't understand that the land in Hong Kong is among the highest in the world.

4. Customers, after traveling to the mainland China, always complain that our rooms are tiny as compared with what they get in China. They don't understand that China is a still developing country. Their land is a lot cheaper than that in Hong Kong. Though Hong Kong is returned to China, they two own two separate and different systems. This is the famous policy 'one country, two systems'.

5. Customers doesn't know that the room rates are fluctuated and decided by the market. I sometimes come across some customers asking why the room rates at certain period is a lot higher that what he got in the past. I have given up answering this kind of foolish questions (not offending).

When students imitate Ghostbusters for a grade

2009-01-04T09:19:00.003+08:00

Scene 1
Ghost 1: Oh! I'm thirsty. I want to drink some fresh blood
Ghosts 2: Oh! I'm hungry. I think children are delicious. It's time for supper now. Let's go and look for some children.

Scene 2
Child 1: What's wrong? Why are all the lights turn off?
Child 2: Brother, I am a little afraid. Oh! Look, what's that?
Children 1,2: Father, Mother, these are two ghosts in our house. Help!
Father: Don't worry. We will find them out. What did they look like?
Child 1: They are long black hairs which covered their faces.
Child 2: When the wind blowed away their hairs I saw their white eyes and long teeth.
Child 1,2: Oh! That's terrible! We are afraid.
Mother: Oh...my God! I need a cross which can protect us. Ghosts always afraid of it.
Father: Stay calm! I better take my gun. Okay! Lets go and see what happened.

Scene 3
Father: Heads up! I will shoot anyone who moves. Who are you? Where are you from? What are you going to do?
Ghost 1: We are lonely ghosts and live in the underground world.
Ghost : Though, what we look like is terrible, we don't want to harm you if you can afford some fresh blood and meat.
Mother: Oh! I killed a turkey just now, there is some blood and fresh meat. I think you'll like them.
Ghost 1: Thank you! You're very nice. In fact, we are angels in heaven. The God want to see whether you dare to help someone who looks terrible and frighten you.
Ghost 2: Now, our task is over. Your performance is perfect. May God bless you.
Ghost 1,2: May your family be happy forever. Bye-bye!
Family members: See you!

AIDS can't be transmitted by mosquitoes

2008-12-29T21:16:00.004+08:00

Chinese Aids Video-Musical that plays on our K5 bus...
...its hilarious and educational.
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTkPyw7DmiU

Meanwhile, today I saw a little Sharpe dog wearing an American army outfit, complete with a plastic gun on his hip, old people in a square performing a new years dance for each other, and a row of pigs hanging in the street...I love China today.

Tis the Season for Overwhelming Yourself

2008-12-19T11:37:00.005+08:00

(For recent, December photos, click here)
You would think that outside of America, in a country where the vast majority of people have NO IDEA what the Christmas season really entails...that one could enjoy a nice relaxing holiday season. One would be wrong...December is filled not only with holiday happenings, but final exams, spring festival preparations and all the usual day to day activities. Oh yeah, and lets throw in some puppies! Amidst all the craziness, I once again neglected to write on the last three weeks events until the last minute. My apologies are becoming redundant, so lets forgive with the spirit of Christmas cheer and move on.

Three weeks ago, two of my favorite former students (current friends) called me to say that they had an emergency and wanted to see me immediately. They arrived in my home, I left the room for two seconds, and when I came back there was a puppy sitting on my couch! An adorable, shovel faced China puppy! Squealing, I scooped her up and smothered her with love, only to see another little brown ball of fur come bounding at me from across the room. TWO puppies! Turns out, Lawrence and Christina had been plotting the perfect birthday present, and wanted to give Angelyn and I something to attempt to fill the void in our pet lives after the loss of Lucy. So that is the story of how SimSim Bashful and Trixi came into our lives. They have destroyed my house, doubled in size, and kept me up at all hours of the night...and we love them! Angelyn and I are once again extremely proud parents, and developing conniving ways of keeping them, despite the insistence of our waiban that you...and I quote..."Can't have dogs, because their smell is harder to get rid of than cigarette smoke" (Yeah, like 2 packs a day for 10 years smells better than our Pantene Pro-V pampered pups)
The day we got the puppies, we had already broken the apartment code of conduct, so it seemed like a good time to climb the mountain behind our house and illegally cut down the traditional Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. Barry and Trent were our mountain men, and toppled the tree that Barry and I carefully selected. However, our eyes were bigger than my living room, and the Charlie Brown tree became a gigantic force to be reckoned with. After some giggling hysterics on my part, we set to work pruning the beast and she is currently lit and fulfilling her Christmas destiny. Sadly, she is doing it postmortem, as the puppies consistently drank her dirty tree water until she passed...some 10 days later.
Barry and I have had our hands full these past few weeks judging various speech and song competitions. It is the 3rd Annual Foreign Language Cultural Festival, which is a truly terrifying time for the foreign teachers, as its the time our students get serious about showing off their English chops, and the caliber of our teaching is on display for all the world to see. Its hard not to compare yourself to the other teachers by way of your students' skills. Barry and I had some moderately friendly banter on the pronunciation of the other's students, or their singing abilities, and whether or not they waved at us from the stage (and how many times). The Singing Competition was 60 students, singing one minute each of an English song, and sitting there in the front row I could finally see why Paula and Randy love the first few rounds of American Idol so much...it was absolutely delightful to listen to 15 students butcher Yesterday Once More (Katherine, you would have died). We got through it by making jokes with each other, criticizing the other's scoring methods, and unfairly rating our own students much higher than the others. But the real highlight of the event was the finals of the Speech Competition. Oh, if only I had video for you of the opening act...6 girls in "juicy double" track suits bouncing, grinding and shaking what their mothers gave them to "Hollerback Girl" in front of 200 students, 50 faculty, the dean of their college, and the president of the university. The speeches were what was to be expected for the most part...until I heard a voice that made me perk up and feel...at home...that would have been the boy who spent weeks memorizing Barack Obama's entire victory speech and then used it to form 98% of his dissertation on "Flying with My Dream". His intonation was flawless, I was so impressed with his gumption I had to give him a 90. Cheating, plagiarism, these things are nothing in China...and by the time he was finished it was clear no one else had a chance.

I turned another year older. Some of my sisters stayed over the night before and we had a sweet old-fashioned slumber party complete with goodies, hair dying, boy talk, and a photo shoot. My birthday was a day filled with breakfast...mimosas, potato pancakes, bagels and quiche. I got all my birthday wishes: I was not required to do a thing that I didn't want to do, time with friends, a nap, a good book, a Christmas movie, and a full night's sleep with no dogs to wake me (Thank you Breelands!)
Lawrence was one of my very first students, and has since become a friend of mine. A few weeks ago he traveled to Beijing to apply for his visa to America. We spent a lot of time preping him for his interview, trying to form his answers so they could be assured he wasn't just looking for an American wife, or that he wouldn't disappear into the crowd and never return. Luckily, his puppy-dog like excitement and smile won them over and he got it! He left yesterday for Wuhan to catch his plane to Columbus. He has been accepted to Ohio State University's engineering program, and I'm so excited for him. We took him out the night before he left for some classic Chinese food and one last round of KTV - turns out he's wild for it and I think he'll be heart broken to know its not so popular among the Waiguoren. Knowing that he'll probably have to wander into some western bar on a Wednesday night to sing "Man, I feel like a Woman" in front of 30 drunk, ambivalent strangers to get his karaoke fix kinda breaks my heart. He has all the nervousness and unrealistic expectations of anticipating his life in America, so we spent a lot of time talking about what he would find there. We encouraged him to plug into college ministry, or to find a Chinese family to worship with, and to make friends with those who would build him up and love him as a brother. He just recently began expressing interest in the Word, and I am really hoping he finds people in the states to lead him into the light. It was hard to say goodbye to him. I never realize how protective and mother hen like I get over these young adults...until I have to truly put them in the Father's hands.

As of now, I'm in the midst of finals craziness, and have another to give this afternoon. Tonight John, Megan, Trent, Angelyn and I will board a train to meet our Xiangfan friends in Xi'an for a pre-Christmas get together. Hot springs, the Muslim quarter and Starbuck's toffee nut latte's...here we come.

(Although, this trip has a high standard to live up to...and I will be thinking of your dear friend!)

Birthday Musings

2008-12-13T06:34:00.003+08:00

Its way too early on a Saturday morning, still dark and quiet on campus, but the childlike excitement of a day that holds birthday possibilities stirred me from my sleep. As I lay in bed, my mind is turning over a list that I stole from a dear adventurer's blog...a test if you will...taken on the eve of my 24th year to analyze just how full my life has been (according to some people).

True to form, a list of my creating would look a little different: completing a triathlon in lieu of a marathon...climbing a great mountain, like Fuji, instead of just a mountain...traveling to a more exotic location like the Galapagos islands over New York City. The list I dream includes skydiving, but not bungee jumping, writing a book about my mother or the sexuality of a Christian woman, and living in a picturesque town in New England where everyone knows your name and your business and where your children think they are miserable. But I'll bow to their list for the moment, if not for the incredible realization that at 24, (a seemingly, looming, mature age...) my life has been really full.

I followed the Father to China, where I've traveled places I only dreamed about, met life-changing kindred spirits, and fell in love with my G-d again. I've been to college, something I take for granted, and been a part of a community that was full of servant hearts. I have had the love of my family, good friends, and good men. I've gone in and out of valleys in my spirit and climbed to the mountaintop. I've lived in the nation's capital, stood in the Supreme Court, and spoken with the President-elect of the United States. I've ridden elephants, drunk snake bile, and snorkeled in the crystal water of the gulf of Thailand. In one month I will be standing in the Louvre, looking with eyes of saucers at the greatest masterpieces the world has known. I have three homes, where I feel safe and hate leaving every time I move to the next. My life is an explosion of blessings.

Today, at 24, there are moments when I feel my age is a gross understatement. When I stand in the classroom, reprimanding a group of young adults and speaking with clear authority...when I listen to other women my age complain about clothing or immature men...or when I walk alone through a dark street in a foreign country...I feel like I have an old heart. And there are moments, when I'm giggling with the Chinese sisters over couple face...when I'm overly-excited about the next Harry Potter book...or when I get still get nervous talking to that special someone...I feel like my youth and inexperience radiates from my face.

Regardless of my "true age", today has found me with a smile on my face, surrounded by the people I love, not doing a thing that I do not want to do! (The only birthday wish I ever have) As the next year stretches before me, I have absolutely no idea what it holds. I have never had so many possibilities, or been so content with following any path. This year, I want to love better and deeper, with the abandonment and "idiocy" of Christ. I want to worry less about money, and more about the quality of the time I spend with those who need me. I want to be nicer to my mother, because everything that I am and want to be is because of her - I don't tell her that enough. I want to do crazy things for the sake of doing them, and learn when to close my mouth to truly listen. I have a good feeling about this...

Someone's Bucket List

2008-12-13T06:30:00.002+08:00

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (drums)
4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris (give me a month!)
13. Watched a lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (give me a month!)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Canada baby)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (give me a month!)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia (give me a month!)
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I've tried many times)
65. Gone sky diving (see bunge jumping above....)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake (when I was 12 or so and the lake was awesome...)
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a mobile phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

In Hindsight

2008-12-09T16:52:00.004+08:00

I had really been feeling smug and proudish regarding my resolution to blog weekly. Yet in my haughtiness it appears I overlooked an important fact...the blog is only as good as the information given. As I review November I realize that while I quipped eloquently on numerous occasions (as I often do), I neglected to fill you in on the actual going-ons around Shiyan at that time. So, as I hear hindsight is 20/20...better late than never?

First Finer Things Club finished our second book, Jesus for President. The girls and I had some fascinating discussions around the ideas presented, and were convicted by the ideas of community, love and separation from the world's system. There were some low points too, but all in all, by the end of each night we generally felt just as frustrated, just as inspired, and just as assured that our writing abilities could easily lead to publishing according to certain standards. We coupled FTC with a project Angelyn and I "cooked" up, (pun absolutely intended) New Soup November. Thanks to a gift from the mother, we dined on everything from pumpkin bisque to mexican-tortilla soup. A tradition that was so delicious, it couldn't end according to the calendar! FTC has just started The Brothers Karamazov, despite my insistence that two Dostoevsky novels in one year was too much for any person we dove in and I am actually really loving it. Going in with an understanding of the insanity of the Russian naming system, and Fyodor's classic wit, makes a vast difference.

November brought the 3rd World International Wushu Championship...and yes...we tried to explain that you should probably not name anything Third World if you want people to show up but they just wouldn't listen. Well, foreigners came anyway and as a lot of our students were volunteers, October found them in a state of panic, reading up on Liberia or attempting to learn Hungarian in a week. We just sat back and gave pointers on foreigner hospitality and waited for our "honored guest" invites that we had all been promised. Well, they never came, but thanks to the giving nature of Halley (a sister), Megan and I were able to attend one of the last competition. We oohed and aahed at the foreigners, but were generally bored by the whole thing...you can really only watch so many people gather their Chi before you get bored. It did have a slam-bang finish though, when they brought out children with swords and big sticks, fighting two against one - that was the bloodshed we were looking for! Extremely dramatic death scenes and all the kicks-to-the-chest a Kung Fu fight should have.

There was an election...surely you heard about it. Barry had a student who memorized Barack Obama's entire victory speech, and I got to hear him perform it at a speech competition yesterday - plagiarism or not, that little guy really inspired me! (He won too - in China, cheating is nothing compared to passion and a Y chromosome)

The women in the family got some much needed R & R and spiritual rejuvenation in Xiangfan for a Ladies Retreat. Carie and Brittany pulled the whole thing together themselves, and we were really blessed to have a more mature Chinese sister from Wuhan come to lead the girls. She was incredible, and they were thrilled to have the chance to learn from her. So the foreigners and Chinese were able to split and we were really encouraged with a study on prayer, and some much needed lab. HE is really working through the people in Xiangfan, two of their girls decided to follow HIM after the weekend. AMEN

Despite Brian's insistance, some people understand that every day truly is my birthday. After weeks of keeping me in suspense, Trent surprised me with a weekend birthday trip to see a musical! (Yeah, he's really good) We hopped on a train Friday night to catch the Saturday evening showing of Aida, and it was phenomenal. As my roommates from college know, I am a little crazy for musicals...one prime example being that I had the Aida soundtrack downloaded and memorized 12 hours after I found out what we were doing...so it was the perfect gift. We were able to spend the weekend at Andrew and Jamie Hill's, two foreigners who lived in Shiyan last year and are now working in Beijing. On Sunday morning we got to meet with their family, and I was really encouraged by the opportunity to see what a mature, flourishing Chinese family really looks like. In the afternoon we picked up a Toffee Nut Latte and spent hours walking around the 798, the modern art district of Beijing. I had been to the city 3 times, and I had never loved it so much! I recommend this part of town for anyone who goes to Beijing, I will definitely be back myself. The city was going to tear down the dilapidated warehouse district, but instead gave it to the art community and its completely free to visit. They gutted them all and now its city blocks filled with galleries of painting, sculpture and photography that really pushes the boundaries of what we believe is "kosher" in China. Theatre, Coffee, Art, Asians...it was like for one weekend I was home in Seattle and my soul was replenished.

Which brings us to Thanksgiving 1, and yes, there is a part two. We had a small, foreigners only, Thanksgiving this year because the responsibility of so few of us cooking for 60 Chinese people was too overwhelming. The morning held the annual Shiyan football game and this year I got to be on the winning team... which was shocking, since I was wearing a Tech shirt...and also had nothing to do with the unfair team number advantage. We played at a the middle school's field, which literally sits on top of a mountain and we had an incredible view of the city. Trent and John deep fried a turkey, because if you can't dump a bird in a vat of oil in China, where can you? We had way too many desserts and of course everything was fantastic. After gathering the energy to move again, we had a friendly Taboo - battle of the sexes, and my winning streak continued. Truly, its not fair for anyone to stand up against the mind-meld of Jessica and Angelyn. We ended the evening with some Office, and began the Christmas season at promptly 10:00 pm with a viewing of Meet Me In St. Louis.

Thanksgiving 2 is a tradition that Angelyn and I began last year, which was to go to Wuhan on for their big foreigner Thanksgiving that they hold on Saturday. Two Thanksgiving, two days of intoxicating foreign food, two chances to be with people we love - its just too good to pass up. So we made the trip to Wuhan, and convinced some of our Xiangfan friends to come with us. Though this year didn't include a trip to Tom's World...we were able to spend some much needed quality time with our friends and meet some of the other teachers from around China. Being a returning teacher definitely left a different impression on me this year, meeting newbies, giving advice, and reminiscing about faces that we "Old China Hands" were missing.

Wow...I'm shamed by my rambling, but mostly just overwhelmed with how blessed and full my life is here. When I was preparing to move to China, and even this summer as I visited the states, people were constantly commenting on the selflessness of following the Father to a foreign land. But if you follow my life here at all, or if you could see the day to day interactions I get to have with some of the most beautiful people I have ever met, you would know how far from selfless it leaves me. My life has exploded since the day I set foot in China, I have never been happier, more fulfilled, or challenged. As my dear sister Harmony says, "HE is so GREAT".

Photos from November Days - Click HERE
Photos from Beijing Trip - Click HERE

Love is a Choice

2008-12-04T08:07:00.002+08:00

I stole the following from Brad...who borrowed it from Rick Warren. It was just too good not to share with you, as it challenged me in my continued struggle to love more deeply, naturally, and fully where people need to be loved, and not at my own whim and comfort. Its a continued process, drenched in prayer and trust that I'm going to get there by His power.

Meanwhile, I'll be blogging later about Thanksgiving, apartment fires, and two rambunctious puppies given to me and Angelyn...ah November, what a month!

...That you may love the L-rd your G-d, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the L-rd is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers... Deuteronomy 30:20 (NIV)

*** *** *** ***

Love is a choice and a commitment. You choose to love or you choose not to love.

Today we’ve bought into this myth that love is uncontrollable, that it’s something that just happens to us; it’s not something we control. In fact, even the language we use implies the uncontrollability of love. We say, “I fell in love,” as if love is some kind of a ditch. It’s like I’m walking along one day and bam! – I fell in love. I couldn’t help myself.

But I have to tell you the truth – that’s not love. Love doesn’t just happen to you. Love is a choice and it represents a commitment.

There’s no doubt about it, attraction is uncontrollable and arousal is uncontrollable. But attraction and arousal are not love. They can lead to love, but they are not love. Love is a choice.

Likewise, you must choose to love G-d; he won’t force you to love him (Deuteronomy 30:20). You can thumb your nose at G-d and go a totally different way. You can destroy your life if you choose to do that. G-d still won’t force you to love him. Because he knows love can’t be forced.

Request

2008-12-02T15:04:00.002+08:00

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray also that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
(Ephesians 6:19-20)

Things that make me adore China today

2008-11-25T23:52:00.007+08:00

Aida programs half in Chinese

Loose Chinese women eyeing their foreign tickets to the West

Walking through the 798 modern art district in Beijing, looking at things that "shouldn't" be there and walking with people who make you forget where you are - Asians and Art, might as well be Seattle!

Broken couple face leading to opportunities to share HIM

The belief that Avril Laveigne's My Happy Ending is the best therapy for a broken heart

72 Starbucks in the Beijing city limits

Multiple pants and shirts worn on a brisk, sunny, dry day

Major Railway lines changing their generic bed covers from clean white to baby powder blue with hearts galore

The randomness of a Chinese text book poem (courtesy of Angelyn)

Come hither, brother polar bear.
I share your anger with mankind.
You have been bastardized by Coca-Cola...
A Christmas mascot uncalled for.

I have often wondered, given your sheer size
How big your turds are.
Sadly, they are hard to find.
For they are hot, and sink deep into the snow.

Haven't you ever wanted to just get out of the cold?
Maybe hop a plane to Hawaii?
I mean, damn, Of what profit to a bear is it...
To gain the world at the expense of his warmth?

SOME PHOTOS FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT: Everyday IS my Birthday

Don't You Trust Me?

2008-11-18T13:07:00.004+08:00

Last week, I finally completed what G-d (quite unexpectedly) turned into a two year process in my life and submitted eight applications to law schools throughout the states. The first time I began applying, he quickly made clear the path to China, and I put my letters of recommendation and transcripts away, and got on a plane. The second time, I uncharacteristically procrastinated filling in blanks and no words would come to me when it came time for essay writing...and I just knew without say that it wasn't time yet. This year, aside from the expected bumps that my genetic material inserts into my every endeavor, the path was smooth and clear. No hesitation, little reservations. Yet I clicked the submission buttons with a sense of insecurity, questioning not the path I was taking, but my strength to walk it.

I have so many questions, prone to worry and anxiety over the most irrational things. The sense of dread I have at the fact that admission councils in Boston, Chicago and Seattle are judging me...deeming my worth...why should that concern me as it does? My future, my ability as a partner, money, even elections...why should I fear outcomes and results? Behind my fear I hear a voice, almost mocking in laughter, but with an intense, very real underlying pain: "Don't you trust me?"

When I came, why was there no one? When I called, why was there no one to answer? Was my arm too short to ransom you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you? (Isaiah 50:2)

I have been slapped with truth from the Word the last few weeks - has anyone ever proven himself more to me? It seems borderline ridiculous to me that I even have this trouble when I look back on my life, the ways that I can see him gently turning me in directions I never saw myself going, or the blaring road signs that changed my path altogether! Foreign lands, old friends with new roles, the security of my family. He has proven time and again that his arm is mighty and powerful to save, as well as bless. And what a promise I have for my future...In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am... my eternity is secure so how can I not, Trust in G-d, Trust also in [Him]?

If my past proves his control, and my future his promise, how can I have anything but assurance in my here and now. I am His child, he has a vested interest in my pain and my joy. And so much more than that, He has a purpose for me; that my life exudes truth and brings others to know it. My breath, my waking, the very words I speak and the people I interact with every single day - He will be there, because I come from Him. So is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. [So will] you go out in joy and be led forth in peace. (Isaiah 55: 11-12) This is no Aladdin on a magic carpet with an outstretched hand and shaky promises...this is my G-d.

Oh, to teach Democracy...

2008-11-05T23:55:00.005+08:00

I'm not going to spend any time talking about my political views. We are of a greater kingdom, and one of the blessings He gave us was our incredible country. Living in China has left me with such an appreciation for our freedom, and more full of hope for where this leader is going to take us. I have trust in President-elect Obama, and am looking forward to him proving himself to us all. But I have the utmost faith in our Lord, who is so much greater than the divisions we create.

However, I did want to tell you what we did this monumental day because it was just too much fun. We celebrated Election Day with the Breeland's party agenda determined by a vote on hanging chad ballots! We watched Obama speech highlights, including the 2004 DNC speech where it all began and his acceptance speech. We pinned the lips on a pig, played a rousing game of Obama trivia, said goodbye to Bushisms, and watched the movie "Recount". Finally, we ended the night with a prayer for our country, lifting up its newest leader into the hands of the Father. Btw...Spending 45 minutes in class explaining checks and balances and liberal vs conservative, and discussing the economic crises, and Obama's future policies - priceless.

To close, I wanted to post this today. From Barack Obama's 2004 DNC speech:

For alongside our famous individualism, there's another ingredient in the American saga, a belief that we are all connected as one people. If there's a child on the south side of Chicago who can't read, that matters to me, even if it's not my child. If there's a senior citizen somewhere who can't pay for their prescription and having to choose between medicine and the rent, that makes my life poorer, even if it's not my grandparent. If there's an Arab-American family being rounded up without benefit of an attorney or due process, that threatens my civil liberties. It is that fundamental belief -- I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper -- that makes this country work.

Now even as we speak, there are those who are preparing to divide us, the spin masters and negative ad peddlers who embrace the politics of anything goes. Well, I say to them tonight, there's not a liberal America and a conservative America; there's the United States of America. There's not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there's the United States of America. The pundits, the pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue States: red states for Republicans, blue States for Democrats. But I've got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the blue states, and we don't like federal agents poking around our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states and, yes, we've got some gay friends in the red states. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq, and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

In the end, that's what this election is about. Do we participate in a politics of cynicism, or do we participate in a politics of hope? The hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores; the hope of a young naval lieutenant bravely patrolling the Mekong Delta; the hope of a millworker's son who dares to defy the odds; the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. (Turn's Out, It's The White House!) Hope in the face of difficulty, hope in the face of uncertainty, the audacity of hope: In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation, a belief in things not seen, a belief that there are better days ahead.

Oh China, You Win Again

2008-11-04T11:43:00.003+08:00

I promised photos - sorry for the delay Mama. Thank goodness you can always blame China for your short comings!
October Days Photos - including Fall picnics, Xiangfan delights and Absentee voting.
This has been such a whirlwind of a week...it took me a few days to recover and muster the energy to even write this blog post. I met with some of our sisters for our meditation time this morning, and we read about "growing tired and weary"...my sleep-deprived, cold-ridden, spent body screamed "Amen!". But make no mistake - it was arguably the best week of my life. (I will attempt to condense, just for you Dave, and downplay the exclamation points, for Brian)

Halloween
To make up for last year's shortcomings, we filled this halloween with makeshift jack'o'lanterns....turns out, halved gourds work too. Trent showed up the the Great Pumpkin to redeem us all, and Kat made a self-portrait out of hers. It worked so well, that I gave 5 pumpkins to my students, and let them have a competition. They were incredible! My sad little smiling gourd lost a LOT of face... We showed less than frightening classics like Casper, Sleepy Hollow, Ghostbusters and The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown...as the Chinese have low tolerance for fear. I lost major guanxi with my fellow teachers when 5 of my students ran down the hall wrapped in toilet paper, moaning like mummies.
In honor of Halloween, the week was spent with a nightly horror flick. We watched such classics as Poltergeist, the Shining, Halloween, the Night before Christmas, and Dracula. So after many sleepless nights, long days of teaching, and sugar induced comas...we threw a Halloween party. Tradition dictates that Qi Yuan hosts a Halloween party, as it falls on the same day that Angelyn blessed the world. So in honor of her birth, we threw an 80's themed Halloween party. Blue Eyeshadow, Pat Benatar, and China sweaters - as an 80's wardrobe is not all that difficult to come by around here! Needless to say, our Chinese friends were really confused about how dressing in their daily attire made them costume perfect! Good time had by all, and the night ended with the annual showing of "Teenagers From Outer Space" - Brian, we missed you. In your honor, let me just say...That is of no consequence to YOU Thor!
Halloween Photos

Oh China, You Win Again
I have almost no words...but let's be honest, I always have some...the Xiangfan crew is amazing. They composed this song for English teachers around the country, and it is sure to be the most successful China Now recruiting tool ever. For all of you at home, finally, something that can adequately convey life in China. Enjoy the video!

How mean Miss Jessica made her students do service for their midterms...

2008-10-30T19:02:00.007+08:00

It's midterm season here in Shiyan, and this semester I decided to ask my students to use their personal time to go out and serve the "less fortunate" in their community in some way...and bonus points if they could do it in English. For their presentations, they had to show me video or photographs documenting their activities, and then tell me how their world view was changed. I was so proud of them...they went to orphanages, nursing homes and kindergartens. One family even cleaned up garbage for hours after a major campus wide event. They all expressed really great insight afterwards, and there were even promises of continuation of service. It was so refreshing to bring the values of the Father into the classroom, and see how those moments of service challenged them.

So, I have to share one family's service project in particular with you - the Knights. I have to share this, not because it was particularly successful mind you, (actually, they kind of missed the point and I had to give them a bad grade!) but because:
A) Their English is just SO bad, I have to share my downfall as a teacher with you
B) I love these girls and don't care that their English is bad...they are hilarious
C) Andy chases a boy

The Little Things

2008-10-23T12:52:00.004+08:00

This week has been so full of little insights and heartbreak, complete randomness and incredible blessings...as well as apparent adjective over-usage. Anyway, just a few little things to show you how He is taking care of and entertaining us over here.

Rediscovery of the 80's thanks to YouTube. Watch TAKE ON ME, the literal version...I have seen this video 18 times in the past week, and am only slightly exaggerating. Thank you Kat and Trent!
Visit to Xiangfan: Carie's homemade potpie, Amish American survival cookbook with inappropriate tips and complicated breadfruit recipes, and Mexican Twister ala William. (Shiyan representing!) We had a great time, and were able to visit a local orphanage as well. I named three boys John, Mike and Sarah, and showed off my impressive sling shot skills - what a blessing to be around those kids! "I miss having kids around"
Angelyn and I exercised our American democratic right - and BARACKED it!
New author I am aspiring to be like: G0d. We've been discovering his incredible writing style through our morning studies in Isaiah. Hemingway has nothing on him...that's for you Finn. Faulkner...
Wildflowers, turtles and flip books
One of my favorite students, Lawrence, has been working his tail off to get to America and just found out he was accepted into a really competitive program at Ohio State University. I'm not sure if America is ready for this guy, he is going to shake up their world...
Learned that no one should ever, EVER, ask me to explain a participle...you would think by now they would know I am only pretending to know what I am doing as an English teacher
Talked to my top 5 international callers, even got to hear Dane's voice
Had the opportunity to do an English Talk Radio Show with one of our Qi Yuan favorites, Crazy Christina, which hopefully had some value. Educating the girls on campus about self-protection, safety, and wise choices when surrounded by strangers during the International Wushu Festival. There will be hundreds of foreigners arriving in Shiyan next week, and there is already concern that some of them may have come with dishonorable intentions. Please lift up the safety of the Chinese girls over the next few weeks, they are so trusting, its truly terrifying
Old-fashioned Wushu restaurants with meat dish, after meat dish, after inedible meat dish...
Singing nothing but Hard, Fighting Soldier these days. A friend from the Children's Home of Lubbock and an inspirational warrior for the Father passed away last week...can't sing it without thinking of you Billie, bet you are rocking that heavenly choir!

Cool verse of the week: I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with the shadow of my hand - I who set the heavens in place, who laid the foundations of the earth, and who say to Zion 'You are my people'. This verse really impressed me this morning, looking at how G0d holds us close one moment, comforts us and brings us into these safe, comforting arms...then not-so gently reminds us that he is also the ruler of the world and bigger than anything we could possibly imagine. Its like He's saying, "I'm your best friend, your Daddy...and by the way, I am ALMIGHTY G0D" I love that about Him!

Mr 152 insights into my soul!

2008-10-18T08:15:00.002+08:00

Thank you Mama Kat, for what has proven to be a highly entertaining and kindred read... Last week I borrowed a little book called Lost on Planet China: the strange and true story of one man's attempt to understand the world's most mystifying nation...or how he became comfortable eating live squid. If you want to really understand my life here, and get a perspective a little more eloquently presented than this blog, I suggest you read this book. From describing just how disgusting it is to be surrounded by the sound of 1.3 billion people hawking loogies...to pondering why it is that the world's most powerful nation can't figure out how to stop their toothpaste or milk from poisoning people...this guy gets China. Allow me to give you a sampling:

It was after crossing a street that I came to my second observation about life in Beijing [China]: Do not play chicken with Chinese drivers. Even if they see you, they will not slow down. Even if the pedestrian light is green, they will not slow down. So do not play chicken with Chinese drivers. Or you will die.

A moment later I made my third observation about life in Beijing [China]: Do not play chicken with Chinese cyclists. See observation 2. Same applies. You will die.

How does one navigate through the mayhem that is a Chinese city? Very, very carefully. Crossing a street was no straightforward wander from curb to curb. First, I'd dart through the mass of bicycles and mopeds that hugged the road near the curb. From there, I'd cross the street one lane at a time as cars whooshed by just inches from my being, and I'd try very hard not to linger on the noteworthy fact that China has the world's highest per capita rate of vehicular fatalities.

(Note, Shiyanites refer to street crossing as the ultimate game of Frogger. I believe we are all somewhere around level 98 - No Hesitation!)

Kids Say the Darndest Things - quotes of the week

2008-10-09T21:25:00.002+08:00

On Dating Culture in China, versus America:
"In China, you should plan a time to meet the girlfriend. But, if you become to busy, you should say 'I have something important to do', and she will not be angry...in addition...in America, if you invite [a girl] to dinner, you have a better chance of extreme development after, so the first date should be lunch."
...insert Chinese chuckle

On Getting Accosted by a Crazy Waiguoren:
"Oh No"
...insert rolled eyes of 5 year old child

On Getting to Know your Teacher Questioning:
Student: "As you have lived in China for one year, do you find yourself fall in love with Chinese boy?"
Teacher: "hahaha, No, I am sorry, I have not!"
Student: "Oh, will you fall in love with me?"
Teacher: "I don't think so..."

On Irony Completely Lost on your Chinese Students:
"Mouse, why were you so quiet in class today?"
...insert dad dance here

Traveling with the top 5

2008-10-06T06:43:00.002+08:00

I know, I know - chastising completely deserved. My pledge to write less and more often has become an afterthought, and I'll go ahead and apologize now, this post is about to be standard Jessica rambling. So for the faint of heart, and irritated of length, stop here; I have to fill the rest of you in on the last amazing week.
Angelyn, Trent, Finn, John, Megan and I hopped on a train 9 days ago for an October Holiday travel, 4 days in Beijing, 4 in Qingdao, 50+ hours of train rides total. After a potential international conflict with 32 many luggages and sword-wielding (okay, carrying) Hungarians on the train, we arrived in Beijing...China's capital city...in the middle of a national holiday...you get the picture. Craziness ensued, but nothing a little ill-gotten Papa John's couldn't fix. That night we hit up Tiananmen Square and basked in the 30 foot portrait of Mao himself. In other highlights: "I know pipes, my father owns a pipe factory", and "We will find her more handsome man, with many more money".
The next morning we went to Temple of Heaven, my favorite place in Beijing. While the others visited the sights I'd already seen, I spent the morning practicing my Tai Chi, playing Badpong with a grinny old man, being educated on the art of Chinese massage stones, and listening to the most ear-splittingly hilarious music. We met back up to do a little worshiping of our own at the temple, to a much bigger Man. Then we packed up our bags and began the journey up the wall...one that would not end until the next morning because we had a mission. Go BIG or go HOME, we were sleeping on the great wall! So we hiked up Mutianyu, a much less crowded section of the wall, for a few hours - until we were out of sight of as many people as possible - and set up our tents atop guardtower #19. Team Wussy made a handsome showing, we sang songs under the stars, heard some real life ghost stories, learned of our chances of being murdered, and slept on some 1,500 year old stones. Other highlights include an unfortunate chicken pancake choice, and an ill-timed visit from a mule for Angelyn.
In the morning, we woke up before dawn to a haze of Chinese fog and the beautiful solitude of being the only people for miles on the wall. We hiked down the wall to the luge, and then proceeded to luge down the great wall. I feel no need to embellish this with flowery words - its as amazing as it sounds. That night we met up with the Hills, a couple who used to live in Shiyan and have moved to Beijing, for some catch-up time at Peter's Tex-Mex to the complete joy of all the foreign taste buds (Mexican food is hard to come by, lest a Calvillo is feeling kind). It was great to see them, and we spent the rest of the evening wandering around looking for the Olympic Stadium - not meant to be, but who cares when you are wandering around the city for hours with your top five?
The next day we were leaving Beijing, so of course, a Starbucks trip was in order! Waking up with the sun turned out to not be necessary, as China apparently doesn't understand the concept of coffee being used for its caffeine properties, and XingBaKe doesn't open its doors until 9:30...this was followed by the accosting of a Chinese guard's comfort level...and another trip to Tiananmen to visit forMAOdehyde (Megan), Mao's preserved body! Sadly, and for the second time, we were told to go away because they were cleaning...ew...Trent continued in his efforts to secure PLA paraphernalia, but is still looking for someone to give him that belt. We finally made our way to the bus station, to be pleasantly surprised with a sleeper bus for the 13 hour trip to Qingdao. Zaijian Beijing, you redeemed yourself on so many levels...Beijing Photos
While the motto for Beijing was "Go Big or Go Home", Qingdao's was "Qingdao - No Plan". An old German colony on the ocean, this quaint Chinese town of a few million people is east meets west. The city is filled with German architecture, if it weren't for the Chinese street signs and blackhaired people chewing on sticks of squid, one could easily forget where they were. We arrived at 2 am to a hostel in an old church, with lavender-sprayed linens thanks to Mama Kat. The Breelands and the Xiangfan crew had already arrived, and after rousing the troops in the morning, we hit the beach! Now the ocean is generally were I find the fulfillment of my souls...but as you'll see from my photos...Chinese beach life is a little different. Imagine wall-to-wall people wading in the polluted mucky sand in their business suits and high heels, or nakedness, covered with umbrellas lest they get dark, and digging for craps amongst plastic bags and sunflower seed shells. Still the ocean, but not exactly my ocean. Still, we walked around the pier for a bit, then explored the island of little Qingdao. That night, the foreigners trekked across town to seek out Lennon Bar - a Beatles themed hole-in-the-wall bar that turned out to be hiding the most amazing cover band I think I have ever seen! As fun as that was, there was dancing on the agenda, so a few brave souls ended up at Feeling Club - being more or less, but definitely mostly more "felt" by a crowd of Chinese on a bouncy floor, listening to Weezer's Beverly Hill's while black and white Communist war movies played on the big screens behind the DJ. Only in China...
The next day was more "Qingdao-No Plan" fun. Trent, Finn and I spent the day wandering between the pier, starbucks, and grassy knolls - reading, ipod listening, chillaxin. The highlight was definitely when we were approached by the Chinese Mickey Mouse club, a group of adorable little kids from Wuhan who had traveled to Qingdao to practice their English with foreigners they met on the street. There was nearly a group kidnapping effort of "I'm MIKE". That night was more squid on a stick, and more Lennon bar.
Since we were at the beach, an early morning to catch the sunrise was required. We left the hostel around 4:30 am, and arrived at the coast just in time to watch the stars fade. It was peaceful and definitely soul-replenishing, despite the sad fact that we "orb" was not "actually" visualized. Dissatisfied with what Qingdao's beach had offered us, we hopped on a ferry later that morning to go to another beach per Lonely Planet's suggestion. Good suggestion. We found the real beach, miles of red, golden sand fewer people and cleaner water, and we spent the day swimming in the Yellow Sea (check) and sunbathing. It was perfect. As was the night spent watching Qingdao go to sleep from the roof of the hostel...I've been a lot of places in China, but no where has captured by heart like mellow, intriguing Qingdao. There is something in the comfort of just seeing a church from your window in China, of remembering that life can slow down for just a minute. Qingdao Photos
So we are home, more rested and with more pleasant memories than I have ever had from a China trip. This last week has been a testament to Abba, who blessed us at every turn with laid back, amiable travel companions and a system that aimed to please. I have so many incredible memories of moments with those close to my heart, and hilarious stories of sniffing strangers... slapping strangers...poking strangers...generally alienating strangers. As great as the trip was, of course there were the twinging moments of missing you. Mom, you would have loved Qingdao, I thought of you at every interesting architectural turn. Dude, boys, seriously...you should have HEARD this band - you would have loved it. Heather, I wanted to call you so badly from Beijing - if only you had been there with me, to pull away for a classic gab fest over a cup of coffee. But, back to Shiyan, back to the day-to-day. Thanks for the memories, you are all securely in my top five! ;o)

Do Not Fear

2008-09-25T06:44:00.000+08:00

But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from Abraham my friend. I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant; for I have chosen you and will not throw you away. Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your G-d. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.' (Isaiah 41:8-10)

Thanks to a particularly convicting discussion with Barry and Angelyn on the passage above in our morning study, I have spent the last day meditating on the idea of fear. The WORD is filled (I've heard over 300 times, but don't quote me on that) with the plea of the L-rd, 'Do not fear', and as I ponder its obvious importance, I am struck with how I truly live as a slave to fear.

I am often told by my students I am very brave, whether its my ability to have a conversation with a boy, my insistence on following my own ideals, or the fact that I moved halfway around the world and left all familiar things behind. But I realize that the idea of fear they have is so far from the truth; how little they recognize the little girl inside of me who carries a heart burdened with it! The more I think about it, when He says not to fear, HE is not asking me to be confident and unafraid in the face of consequences, but addressing the spirit inside who crumbles at the idea of vulnerability. The spirit who fears abandonment, or crushed pride, or misunderstanding. The spirit that lives in fear of being unworthy, or never enough. How much more this fear permeates and overtakes my life than anything physical. "I will not throw you away" - how directly these words speak to, and refute, exactly what is feared.

People ask me if I am afraid, being here in China, doing what it is I do. In all honesty, fear of "trouble" is nothing compared to the fear of the students and friends I meet never knowing truth. I'm wondering more and more if his call to be brave is not directed more at the things not of this world, than the things in it. Fear not what can destroy the body, but the soul within it, right? Do not fear the evil one, fear a life without ME. Do not fear a broken heart, but fear a spirit broken by sin and timidity. To not be a slave to those fears, but to fear the L-rd. I'm reminded of another word picture in Isaiah, that the same G-d who holds the hollows of the waters in his left hand, cradles me in His right. How can you fear anything with that picture in front of you?

As I continue to meditate on fear, I realize how closely it is linked with learning to love. How can you really love in fear? Abandonment of that fear is the only way to embrace the spirit of boldness I have as his child, the one that is vulnerable enough to cry Abba, and then give itself up to those around me. I am a bow in your hands, O L-rd - Draw me, lest I rot - Do not overdraw me, L-rd, I shall break - Overdraw me, L-rd, and who cares if I break? (Nikos Kazantzankis)

Weekend Update, the short of it

2008-09-20T14:02:00.003+08:00

Studies...We have a large and unexpectedly interested group of seekers - students who have just come out of the woodwork! We have begun studying the book of John with them, and our discussion group a few days ago led to some really wonderful discussions of the HS and "swimming" (hopefully that translates) Angelyn and I will also begin a study with some sisters on the book of Acts, which is sure to challenge. I'm excited to dive into this with them, as it speaks to powerfully as to exactly what WE ARE as HIS children, and what HE asks us to do to spread the Word. HE IS POWERFUL!

Foreigners...There is a new foreigner who joined the team of our college this year - Praise HIM for Barry! His testimony is phenomenal, and his life is so full of joy that all the Chinese are flocking to him like a magnet. He has already been a powerful witness in just the short time he has been here, a complete answer to our "requests". (And, my new guitar teacher) The other foreigners are delightful, from the sarcastic to the hilarious, I'm so blessed to be surrounded with old and new kindred spirits. I have such great memories of each of them already, from daredevil shopping cart antics to electric slide, flashdance inspired moments. Its incredible to see the others discovering China and their purpose here through the eyes of experience, I can see Him working on them as He did on me.

Funding...Brian returned to the states this summer, and an anonymous member of his congregation asked if he could send $150 monthly to another foreigner from Brian's family. Combined with Broadway's aid, I now have $3,400...almost exactly the amount I first requested and enough to provide for all my needs.. HE IS AMAZING!

Lucy...basically, she has not eaten a drop of food in 2 weeks and after numerous trips to the Vet, we learned she had a stomach virus with a 30% chance of survival. But Ang, I and Lucy are warrior women, so we are fighting and after 3 days of 3 shots her temperature is way down and she shows signs of improvement. Which is good, because she is so beloved among the foreigners and our chinese, there may have been a pretty extravagant grieving display. This xiao mao has been pr-y-d over and cuddled more than any other cat in China, and we are so glad she's ours.

Personally...working on law school applications despite my kitten's best efforts to distract me with her cute face. Am still struggling day to day to learn to love to the point of idiocy, though I feel I may be making great progress as have probably been making others uncomfortable with my over the top adoration! Have both failed and succeeded, depending on the day, in my efforts to spend more time talking HONESTLY with my Abba...he is so patient with my fickle heart and rambling words. Finally, I am missing my family and friends this week, I would love to hear from you. All my love.

Mid-Autumn Festival: The Legend

2008-09-15T19:23:00.003+08:00

Happy Mid-Autumn Day! I have spent two of these holidays in China, and so far as I can tell, its a day celebrated by eating gobs of mooncakes and taking the day off class. Today, the family spent an amazing day at the lake, and as we were traveling home I realized that I didn't actually know WHAT we were celebrating....almost like Boxer Day. So I paid a visit to my friend Google...

According to a famous Chinese legend, there were ten suns hanging on the sky. The suns scorched the earth so much that people could not farm. There was nothing to eat. A young man named "Hou Yi" was strong and powerful. He was a very good shooter. He wanted to help people and save their lives. So he shot down nine of the suns with his magic bow and arrow.From then on, people could live in peace and happiness. Hou Yi became famous and honorable for what he did. He married a beautiful girl, whose name is Chang O. Hou Yi was a good husband. He loved his wife very much. He wanted to live with his wife forever. So, he hoped to find the herb of immortality.One day, Hou Yi went to visit the Western Goddess. He told her what he wanted. The Western Goddess was very touched by Hou Yi. She decided to give him the herb of immortality. However, the herb was only good to make one person immortal. Hou Yi never wanted to leave his wife. So he could not decide who should take the herb, his wife or himself. Either way, one of them would have to leave the other one behind.

Therefore, Hou Yi told his wife, Chang O, to put the herb away for the time being. Chang O put this magic herb in a secret place. However, a man called Bu Mo heard and saw everything. He wanted to have the herb of immortality himself. So, three days later, after Hou Yi left for hunting, Bu Mo came to visit Chang O and ask her about the immortal herb. Chang O became suspicious about Bu Mo's ntention. She put the herb into her mouth trying to protect it. But she swallowed it by mistake.After a while, she felt her body become lighter and lighter and start to float up higher and higher all the way to the sky. She could not stop herself, because she did not want to leave her husband. However, Chang O landed on the moon and became an immortal godness.Hou Yi could not believe what had happened; his wife had left him. Late at night, he looked into the sky and saw that the moon was extremely bright. There was a shadow on the moon, which looked like his beloved wife, Change O. this made him miss his wife even more.

According to the legend, Chang O transformed herself into brilliant moonlight. Today, couples would declare their love for each other under the full moon of this mid-autumn day. Separated lovers make wishes for their reunion.

Our kitty is definitely not a Communist

2008-09-08T10:21:00.004+08:00

So Angelyn and I have had a plan since December of last year - the day we met the Sim Garden Hostel puppy in Chengdu - get a China puppy (against the expressed order of our school) and name him SimSim. We decided to go for it when we got back this year, so on Sunday morning two of Angelyn's students went with us to pick out a puppy at the dog market (the petting, not the eating kind). There were SO many adorable puppies, from giant face to baby cockers to beautiful huskies, but no one jumped out to us. None cried "SimSim". So we begrudgingly set out to go home, when my heart called to me to go look at the kittens.Now a kitten was never in our plans, but when the rescuing hearts of two women cry out, what can you do? Amidst a tower of kittens sleeping peacefully in their minuscule cages, we heard a pitiful, hoarse, screaming kitten. There on the ground in front of us was a little orange and white kitten attempting to bite, claw and scratch her way to freedom. We looked at each other and said instantly, "We are taking that baby home!". So practically ripping her away from the evil cat lady (who should be shot, btw...), we put kitty in the taxi and took her home. Our hearts will never be the same again!Now I don't want to be one of those new parents who does nothing but talk about their children...but I just can't contain myself. She is the best kitty ever! We tortured her with a bath, picked all the fleas off her, cleaned her ears with giant q-tips and then passed her between 30 people, and she still loves us best. Well, she still loves Angelyn best, but I'm working on her. She will scream and scream unless she can see us, and bounds around the apartment following our giant feet. She purrs at the same time she screams, and she's already a cuddler.We tossed around a few names: Amendment, Liberty, Harriet Tubman, Madame Bovary, Amelia Earhart, Karen Carpenter and Fran Drescher (for various reasons). For about 24 hours, kitty was nameless. But finally we settled on Lucille Ball (Arnaz). The reasons are multi-fold:
-Red hair
-Constant screaming and crying
-Living with foreigners
-Clingy and needy (we are her Ethel)
-She is definitely not a communist (explanation: during the Red Scare, Lucille Ball was called before the Committee of Un-American Activities...she was cleared, and Dezi was quoted as saying "the only thing red about Lucy is her hair")

On Love

2008-09-02T07:32:00.002+08:00

Each day, I have a tendency to surprise myself with my incredible capacity to fail in love. The number of things I wish I never said, or things I never had the openness to say in the first place...they could fill volumes, perhaps entitled, "Ice Princess" as a rather wise woman once said. I long to love others as HE did, to give freely and without reservation or entitlement.
I recently climbed my own personal Everest in the form of my first Dostoevsky novel, The Idiot. A admittedly fantastic read after the first 300 pages, I was struck by the obvious correlation between the Prince's humble, given and abused love to everyone around him, regardless of their love of him to the point of idiocy - and the love by which HE loved.
I would love to learn to love to the point of idiocy...I ask for the constant strength to love better.

Meditations on Love:

"The desire to feel loved is the last illusion: let go and you will be free. Just as the sunrise of faith requires the sunset of our former unbelief, so the dawn of trust requires letting fo of our craving spiritual consolations and tangible reassurances. Trust at the mercy of the response it recieves is bogus trust"
(The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning)

"Why am I afraid to dance, I who love music and rhythm and grace and song and laughter? Why am I afraid to live, I who love life and the beauty of flesh and the living colors of the earth and sky and sea? Why am I afraid to love, I who love love?"
(The Great God Brown, Eugene O'Neil)

"The way we are with each other is the truest test of our faith. How I trust my brother or sister from day to day, how I react to the sin-scared wino on the street, how I respond to interruptions from people I dislike, how I deal with normal people in their normal confusion on a normal day maybe a better indication of my reverence for life than the anti-abortion sticker on the bumper of my car. We are not pro-life simply because we are warding off death. We are pro-life to the extent that we are men and women for others, all others; to the extent that there is no human flesh that is a stranger to us; to the extent that we can touch the hand of another in love; to the extent that for us, there are no 'others'."
(The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning)

"Reason demands moderation in love, as in all things, but faith destroys moderate love. Faith tolerates a moderate love of ones fellow man no more than it tolerates a moderate love between man and G-D."
(John McKenzie)

"Israel, don't ever be so foolish as to measure my love for you in terms of your love for me! Don't ever compare your thin, pallid, wavering, and moody love with my love, for I am G-D, not man. More pleasing to ME than all your prayers, works and penances is that you would believe I love you"

Welcome Home, in case you were wondering, the Honeymoon's definitely over...

2008-08-28T21:15:00.002+08:00

Just a quick post, because I've promised the Allens to work on that, but mostly because I am jet-lagged and ready to sleep in my own big, unparalleled, envied, comfortable China bed.
Coming to China the second time is a little less glamorous, and a little less nerve-racking, but you can still be thrown for some incredible loops. My trip home included lost tickets in the Hong Kong airport, baggage "probably being on the same airplane you are", lugging around 60 lbs of suitcase (inexplicably, since I only left with 45...) with immense loss of face around the Chinese and their phenomenally tiny packing skills! I had forgotten most of my Chinese, we arrived home in Shiyan to a downpour promised to continue "twice as harder" in the next two days, and I walked into my apartment in clothes soaked to the skin with rain and sweat, in who knows what order. But all of this paled in comparison to the greatest tragedy: missing the DNC speech by the fabulous Michelle Obama, and the Roll Call Coverage selecting Future President of the United States Barack Obama!
But in less important news...I am home, safe and sound, and so happy to be here. Come to find out, I still love China! I can't wait to wake up tomorrow, clean my apartment (cause I am a sick person who finds her happiness in that) and hit the rain soaked streets to fresh my ZhongWen...but for now, my bed is calling, as is the Joe Biden speech on YouTube to diatribe me to sleep...Good night, Wode Meiguoren Pengyou...

My Meditation

2008-08-25T08:47:00.003+08:00

You said "Ask and you will receive" whatever you need
You Said "Pr-y and I'll hear from heaven and I'll heal your land"
You said, Your glory will fill the earth like water to seas
You said "Lift up your eyes the harvest is here the kingdom is near"

You said ask and I'll give the nations to you
Oh L-rd, thats the cry of my heart
Distant shores and the islands will see your light as it rises on us

Giving Out Your Phone Number Online...now that's just desperate

2008-08-09T11:37:00.002+08:00

I realize that many of you tried desperately to call me last year while I was in China, but your best attempts were thwarted and confused by the british chick on my answering machine, and the forwarded international number. (I choose to blame the difficulties of communication, and not the ambivelance of my loved ones) I have faced the difficulties of long distance communicae myself (ask the Heather to tell you a Spain story!), so I am attempting to do my part...and begging for your phone calls...hopefully a culture-shocked American will be thanking her clever self in the future.

SKYPE is an amazing invention.
If you have SKYPE, this means:
*We can talk for free...anytime...anyway.
*We can chat for free...when I am around my computer.

If you do NOT have SKYPE:
*Its free, you should download it
*Check out www.skype.com for more information on what it means.

Otherwise:
I have just shelled out a hefty sum of my summer fund to pay for another 12 months of an international phone number. My phone number is 1-360-566-2881.
If you call this number, you will either hear my sweet, childlike voice on the other end, or a snobby British girl forwarding you on to my cell phone in China. Either way, I will get your phone call! And if I miss you, I have voicemail!
1-360-566-2881, this is a Washington State phone numer, please, feel free to put it in your phone. For my fellow technologically challenged friends, having this is what this means:
*For others with 360 numbers, this is A LOCAL CALL and charged as such.
*For those with other stateside area codes, its your NORMAL LONG DISTANCE. After 7 on nights and weekends...FREE with most cell phone plans!

Please, if you have any questions...well...I'm not sure I could explain it any more clearly. Put check out SKYPE's website, or send me an email. I want to hear from all my loved ones while I am over there, and while I would love to contact you myself, it IS CHEAPER FOR EVERYONE INVOLVED FOR YOU TO CALL ME. So, you know, feel free. Now that's "putting yourself out there" ;o)

Beans A Brewin'

2008-07-25T17:01:00.005+08:00

Contrary to what you may be thinking, I did not fall into the ocean on my way home from China. I landed safely on American soil, and really have not stopped running since. It’s amazing to me how quickly I fell into the pace of stateside life again, the days seemingly filled with nothing, yet blurring past you like you are driving 80 miles an hour down a country road (which I never do…)

I have been in the states for a month now (which I cannot believe), and these weeks have been such a blessing. I made it back to the South, where my kindred, spirited college friends and I blended into our old rhythm, trying to ignore that time was limited and I would be getting on a plane again. I’ve had time with my family, spent mornings walking on the beach, and read, read, read… after a horrifying downward spiral into the ridiculous addiction that is the “Twighlight” series; I have resurfaced to literally gulp down “The Ragamuffin G-sp-l”. After stealing it (yes, stealing a J-s-s book) from a friend’s bookshelf, I have found such peace in the words spoken (read) at the perfect time, when my mind is still reeling from the two worlds that I find myself living in.

“Each moment of our existence, we are either growing into more, or retreating into less” – The Ragamuffin G-sp-l

A few people asked me, “What was the biggest lesson you learned in China?” I have responded with what I felt was my biggest revelation – the revelation that I almost felt ridiculous coming to as I sat in my apartment, 4 weeks into my time in China. After having a talk with a student that flowed in and out of fruitfulness, it suddenly hit me, “What am I doing here that I shouldn’t be doing every single day of my life as a child in HIS kingdom?” It took traveling thousands of miles around the world, to remember that HE is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow – 4,000 years ago, and next week, HE will still be working for the redemption of HIS people, and will still be longing for me to be at his side, wherever I am.

But it’s harder for me here (in the states, that is) than it should be. To be even more frank, it seems likes it harder in the comfortable places than the uncomfortable ones. Why can’t I make my hands, feet and mouth do what my spirit longs to? Enter Object Lesson #1.

Five days after I returned to the states, I pulled up to a little Espresso stand by the side of the highway in town. My friend and I were in the car, talking about denominations, and various dissatisfactions with the way ch-rch-s seemed to display their priorities, a promising topic for a pick-me-up. At that time, reverse culture shock was rolling and I was seeping myself in negativity, even the undertones of my praise were wallowing. And as if the timing could not be more perfect (of course it couldn’t, that’s how HE works), the window slid open, a little old woman leaned out of it and suprised me. There was no discussion of talls or shorts, doubles or singles, 2% or non-fat. The first question that rolled off her tongue was of a different aroma, “Do you girls know J-s-s?”

Awesome G-d, YOU are awesome. It was just the reminder I needed, to see her in her simple act of service and love, naturally oozing with the love of Chr-st and the desire to make Your truth known. That is supposed to be me! How beloved am I that You give me gentle reminders, even in the kind face of a barista, that my heart is to overflow with the message. So constant failures, each day that I let opportunities pass, they will get fewer and farther between…I’ll be that lady in the Beans A Brewin' someday Abba, thank you for your patience with me while I try to get there.

You Would Have Been Enough

2008-06-16T00:22:00.003+08:00

When I moved to China, I fully anticipated remaining in my English bubble. Glancing over those terrifying characters, I felt immediately that I would never be able to make sense of what appeared to be an intricate system of squiggles (Admittedly, over one billion people speak this language, so its not quite as unintelligible as I first thought). But it didn’t take me long to fall in love with the beautiful pictures their words painted. Unexpectedly, the idea of language and words began to capture my heart. Our morning Isaiah study revealed incredible nuances to me as well…how I have wished I took the odd Greek or Hebrew course at university…there is so much more to be found within each sentence than I ever thought possible! Words like 阿巴父 (Aba Fu), 道 (Dao), Abba, Nazar, Veritas…the power of language hit me in a way it never had before. And then, dear YiChang Beth (whose blogs are a constant source of inspiration and piracy to me) posted a note about a word. A fellow closet linguist! When I saw her post and studied the word, I felt there could be no better expression to sum up my first ten months in China.

The word is Dayenu. "Day" in Hebrew means "enough" and "Enu" means "our." The word Dayenu (:דַּיֵּנוּ) means, "it would have been enough for us" or "it would have sufficed." It is used in a traditional Passover song that talks about being grateful to God for all of the gifts he gave the Jewish people. It basically states, had God only given one of the gifts, it would have still been enough. The song appears in the haggadah after the telling of the story of the exodus and just before the explanation of Passover. Here is an excerpt: If He had split the sea for us, and had not taken us through it on dry land — Dayenu, it would have sufficed! If He had taken us through the sea on dry land, and had not drowned our oppressors in it— Dayenu, it would have sufficed! If He had drowned our oppressors in it, and had not supplied our needs in the desert for forty years — Dayenu, it would have sufficed!

I feel like there are no more words…Dayenu Father, Dayenu. How He took care of me! I wish I had time to dive into a list of all the ways he wiped away my fears within my first few days in this country, how He worked His wonders right in front of my face while I was too busy looking elsewhere, or the countless blessings He heaped upon my heart in the strangest of ways. Dayenu Father, Dayenu. YOU would have been enough…yet you gave me a hundred other people to love, to call brother and sister. The life that other’s expected of me, or that I had planned for myself, would have been enough…but you had something so much greater planned. Seeing one person open their heart, abandon themselves and turn to you would have been enough…yet you had so many more to bring into your kingdom - you allowed me to witness it – play a part in it. Being the lowliest servant in your courts would have been enough…Dayenu…but you made me the daughter of the King.

If there had been no beautiful mountains, no classrooms full of endearing students, no exotic places to explore, no incredible dishes to eat around tables with friends…Dayenu. If there had been no songs lifted up to heaven in the blending of many tongues…Dayenu. If there had been no Angelyn and Brian, no Zoe and Dacy, no kindred spirits…Dayenu. You brought me to this place, this country, with no expectations but that you were going with me. The knowledge that you were here…Dayenu. But like the doting Abba that you are, you chose to give me more than I could have imagined or asked for. This year, with its highs and lows, still ended with your child coming to what should not be a startling realization. Her Father longs to bless her. You have, Abba…but may I never spend so much time focusing on those blessings that I forget you are DAYENU, my enough.

The Curse of the Beijing Olympics

2008-06-14T21:02:00.007+08:00

Most of the American ideas of China surround magnificent mythology, the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon legends...these are of course, sadly, not always true. But the one aspect of Chinese cultural that we do tend to get right is the superstition. And never has there been such a shining, ridiculous example as in the Curse of the Beijing Olympics. This is so fascinating, check it out!

Some might disagree but they are the most superstitious people in the world. Perhaps it’s the lack of organized religion, but the Chinese are quick to link natural disasters, accidents and violence to a combination of divine intervention and heavenly anger. Now China’s online “net citizens” are linking Beijing’s Olympic mascots to a string of misfortunes in the run-up to the Games. Four out of the five “fuwas” - literally friendly toys - are being tied in to the natural and human disasters visited on China during the turbulent build-up.

Jingjing - the Panda - an animal closely associated with Sichuan Province, epicentre of last month’s terrible quake.

Huanhuan - the Olympic torch - the round the world torch relay was a PR disaster of awesome proportions.Yingying - the Antelope - native to Tibet, the location of the March riots and the military crackdown. Nini - the Kite - the kite city of Weifang is located in Shandong, scene of April’s deadly train crash that killed 72 people. Beibei - the Fish - a Chinese sturgeon found only in the Yangtze River. Is this the location for China’s next major disaster as many are guessing.

“The scariest part of the message is the question it raised,” said website editor Chen Wei after seeing the postings. “You never know what Beibei (the sturgeon) has in store”. In other words the worst may be yet to come. I won’t say I believe it, but I do feel a little worried about the unknown.”

Now there is also concern about the number eight. It’s supposed to be a lucky number. So much so that China’s Olympic Organizers have chosen August 8, 2008 as the opening date for the Games. But the online doom and gloomers point out that this year’s snowstorm, the worst in a century, struck on 25/01 and if the numbers are added up they total eight. The same applies to the date of the Tibetan riots 14/03 and the earthquake 12/05.

The website reports: “The conclusion: counter to conventional wisdom, eight brings bad luck and untold disaster is in store for August 8, 2008. The very date chosen for the Olympic Opening Ceremony because of its supposed auspiciousness.”

Chinese culture is steeped in superstition, with numbers playing a major role in birthdays, wedding dates and naming. Six, eight and nine are considered lucky numbers. The pronunciation of nine means everlasting, particularly in relationships, while six means things will go smoothly. Telephone numbers, license plates and even residential or business addresses which use any of or a combination of those numbers are extremely popular and often cost more. Conversely, anything involving the numbers four and seven are avoided as much as possible. Four sounds like the Chinese word for death. Seven translates as “gone” which can also mean death, while one can signify loneliness.

Top Ten China Moments...continued

2008-06-06T09:36:00.006+08:00

6. Hospital Exposure
So…there is nothing like getting on a plane and moving by yourself to a foreign country all by yourself…and then having to take your shirt off in front of a bunch of strangers! When a foreign teacher moves to China, they have to undergo a medical examination at a provincial hospital, to ensure the school is making a “good investment”. Let me just tell you…Chinese hospitals are a treat. So here I am in a hospital with my FAO assistant Helen, watching people scrambling in line to get their blood drawn through a window, and suddenly I am being told that I have to follow these three foreign girls (Brittany, Jessi and Sarah – my first memory of you!) into a room, and take my top off in front of them, as well as some Chinese doctors. While there are about 20 Chinese guys on the other side of this partition. Oh, and after that you have to pee in a cup over a squatty potty (your first) with some other foreigners (Priscilla - wink wink) When in china…

7. in the Square
Every city in China has something called People’s Square – a big courtyard in the center of town that is populated by people from morning tai chi classes, to afternoon bazaars, to late night dancing. It’s really the city hub, and basically 2,000 people sit around People’s Square all day to see if any of the other 1,999 people are going to do anything interesting. in our particular Square, we have a fountain that shoots up from the ground at 8:00 pm every night. People will stand around and gawk at it, while children run through it in the summer, trying not to get wet. But where is the fun in that? That’s exactly what Angelyn and I said…So one October night found Angelyn and I parading ourselves through the fountain at an excruciatingly slow speed, taking a few turns around just for good measure. (To the fantastic chagrin of the Chinese – waiguoren fung le!) Soggy and Proud, we then traipsed into UBC Coffee to slosh on their couches and eat frozen ice cream. I knew I would love her forever for doing something just that ridiculous and pointless with me. Another memory I treasure in the square was when the Wuhan crew rolled into town, and we joined in the square dance party…with all the other 60 year olds in the city! They taught us some cool Chinese step, (and those ladies can step!) then carole and I amazed them with our fantastic electric slide abilities! We might not be able to talk together, but the language of dance is a powerful tool! Think I might need to do that again in a few weeks…Carole?

8. Midnight Track Walks
Sometimes you just got to move…and let me tell you the masses will come out to watch a foreigner exercise. So we often hop the track fence late at night and take a few laps around – whether for exercise purposes, or just to enjoy the cool calm that is Shiyan at nighttime. There are always a few scandalous couples laying out in the field, or the rare avid jogger, but usually you can feel very alone there. Especially if it is below freezing outside! One of my favorite track walks happened late one November night. Angelyn, Brian, William, Priscilla and I (was there another person? I am so forgetful!) felt the itch, and had to get out. It was midnight, freezing, and beautiful. Bundled up, we took a few turns around, and then went and sprawled out in the middle of the field. I can’t remember what we talked about now…but I remember the cold ground permeating my jacket, watching our breath swirl up to the sky, the countless stars, and the laughter of friends. And I distinctly remember lying there thinking about how much I loved those people, how my father had kept his promise to me, and how I couldn’t remember the last time I had felt so at peace.

9. The Finer Things Club
Office fans will appreciate this one:” The finer things club is the most exclusive club at qi yuan, so naturally that’s where I need to be” . Not much to explain this one (club policy), But let’s just say I’m glad to have a friend who appreciates the finer things in life, like white wine, baked brie, and poetry.

10. Brian and Angelyn
When compiling my top ten moments in china list, I elicited the opinion of Brian, who immediately said, “The moment you met me, and every moment after that we spent together”. And he was right! We argued about the first time we met (in the hall/on the stairs/in my living room), but I remember he came with a pitcher of water and toilet paper. I remember Angelyn came with a bunch of bananas. Most of my china moments stemmed from the introductions of these two people, who have been my family over the last year. Whether we were stalking a miserably lonely cat, sitting silently in chengdu starbucks (book in one hand, coffee mug in the other), screaming at each other in a particularly feisty game of taboo, sitting on a mountain top on Children’s day, waxing philosophical or just quoting the office – all are favorites. 我爱你们我的家!

*Disclaimer: There were so many moments to choose from, they could just not all be named. Lest you notice a cherished moments absence, take these runner-up’s to heart. My mind can hold so much more than my blog! Runner’s Up: Revenge of the Ice Nerds, Christmas English Talk Radio, Xian Tuk Tuk, Russian Hat Dancing, 1st Culture Shock, Christmas Caroling on the bus, Resurrection Eggs, Tom’s World, Massages with Reike and Helen, Soho and, of course, Sparky at Thanksgiving…wanting to eat his own hand.

Also, due to compilation rules…all southeast Asia moments were disqualified due to geographical discrepancies – may I just say for the record here – PANCAKE!

Top Ten China Moments

2008-06-02T07:10:00.008+08:00

As I am looking at the last few weeks of this year, I have so many memories that I want to share with you. The day to day makes this place great, but the exceptional moments make it so much more. I wanted to share with you a Blog of my Top Ten Moments in China. There are so many, 10 was settling, I assure you. So Here is part One of my Top Ten China Moments.

1. Karaoke Girl
There is a photo forever burned in my brain, of a fantastic moment captured in time that I will forever share with Angelyn and William. The perfect end to a fantastic thanksgiving is of course, KTV. The perfect end to a KTV adventure full of Edelweiss and Pretty Women, it turns out, is spotlighting a rather annoying little girl take a rather magnificent tumble. It’s only funny until someone gets hurt, then its hilarious…William, Angelyn, only you can appreciate my number one moment!

2. Brian, the Manly Man
The story has been blogged, but how can I not reiterate here how Brian, the Manly Man, came to my rescue against the imaginary psychopath invading my home. His catlike reflexes and quick response time, and choice of weapon, will be missed…who will protect me next year? No one else would ever jump off a fourth floor balcony for me. Anytime I hear someone banging on my door, or see a folding chair, I will think of that night and Brian Neal with the greatest fondness.

3. Zoe’s R-v-l-t—n
Not actually being present for this moment is of no consequence to me…the telling of the story itself brought me such great joy that the moment makes my top ten! In short, one of our very wise sisters discovered that you can read a lot of things in the international English news that you just can’t find on a Chinese search engine. When she posted this fact on a Facebook note, and then postulated that perhaps people were keeping things from her (and someone should check this out), she found her post to have mysteriously disappeared the next day. Outraged, she declared (at a whisper) that there needed to be a r-v-l-t—n. She was told, you know, r-v-l-t--n's have to start with the people. When asked if she was ready…YES.

4. Suzy’s Naked B-pt-sm
one of our seekers, suzy, took a very important dip a few weeks ago. Here in China, We refer to that as “swimming”. (Just want to keep you up with the lingo) I took two of our other seekers, Michael Scofield and Kevin to watch, I thought it would be a great opportunity to talk about what it all means. Anyway, we are in the cab on the way over, and I notice they are talking rather animatedly in Chinese…when pressed to tell me what they were saying, Michael Scofield leans in really close and asks me…”Is she going to be naked?” I of course, burst out laughing, and assured her that she would be fully clothed, to which he replied…”I’m a little disappointed”.
When we got to the event, we went into the bathroom to secure our seats (that sounds a little odd to me too). At this point they started to get a little worried…”Are you sure she is not going to be naked?” But as soon as we began, you could see the wonder start to come into their eyes and all thoughts of nudity went out the window. We have a very small “tub” where we hold the swimmings, one that requires the swimmer to get into the fetal position in order to be covered. I was explaining this to them, when Kevin said, “Like in a mother’s womb…she will come out like a baby…with her new body and new life”. And he smiled with such understanding. Wow, YES!

5. Yichang New Years
The Yichang crew is well known for their amazing ideas: The Great Wall Swing out, Carnival, Camping trips on balconies…their daily life causes immense jealousy among other foreigners, so anytime we can take part we jump on that immediately. Tradition now dictates that foreigners from the far reaches of Hubei travel to Yichang for the fantastic Apple Chopstick ball drop! The apple drop of 2008 transcended all previous in greatness, But things didn’t stop there; in fact, they started with a pretty incredible video/picture scavenger hunt! That time spent with Katie, Amy, Jeremy includes many of my favorite moments rolled into one; from a Titanic reenactment to the conquest of the brave Spanish conquistadora.

This One's For The Girls

2008-06-01T14:37:00.003+08:00

For those of you with your eyes tied to the calendar, I am leaving China in 21 days for a summer in the states. This year flew, but I'll reflect on that later. With the end of the year, of course I am spending a lot of time in introspection - successes, failures, growth, digression, etc. The more I think back on this year, the more I am struck with how I was shaped by the incredible women He gave Shiyan, both Chinese and Waiguoren. To say that these women, these powerful daughters of light, have changed me is the gravest understatement. I wish you could know them all as I do, my words are ridiculously inadequate. So this one's for the girls...

Every Saturday the six foreign women get together for Girl's Brunch. I look forward to this time all week, one hour turns into 3 or 4, and it passes too quickly. This week was my last one, and I'm sorry to say I didn't realize it at the time. Had I stopped to think about it, I would have treasured every word. I would have laughed a little harder at all the clever things you said and pondered more deeply the troubles of your hearts...even if they went unsaid. I would have had my hair washed with you, just so we could be together for a little longer!

I should have insisted that you had been there Darla, and told you about how much we miss your selfless spirit when you are gone. Priscilla, I should have put my book down and talked with you while we had our nails done. I wish I had talked less and listened more as Angelyn and I walked to breakfast. I wish I had thought to ask Jaime to share some pearls of wisdom on patience and gentleness, she obtains the spirit that I long for. I should have taken a photo of 50's Megan cause she looked so darn gorgeous, and then talked with her about all the ways we are going to make next year better. I should have taken pictures of the six of us together, so that I could carry it in my photo album and not only my heart. So I could take the picture out and say: These, these are the women who got me through this year. Who challenged me to be vulnerable and loving, and who listened to me ramble nonsensical ideas for hours on end. These are the women I want to be like, and you would be so lucky to know them.

Jaime, Darla and Priscilla - I am going to miss you so much! I'm horrible with goodbyes, so please excuse me if my "tough exterior" takes over. I love you women, you are amazing and 10 others couldn't replace a one of you. You are going to be such powerful witnesses wherever you go, but Shiyan is going to be so quiet without you. (Especially you, Priscilla!)
Angelyn and Megan - If you had tried to leave me, I would have tied you to your apartments and paid CPC guards to keep you from budging. ;o) Next year is going to be another adventure and I can't wait to see the ways you continue to grow and change, hear more of your stories and revelations, and be surprised by the ways you challenge me to be better than I settle for. 我爱你们!

There are six foreign women here, but they fill only half of my heart. Oh, if you could only know the Chinese girls I know. Zoe, Halley, Dacy, Alice, Orange, Sarah, Jasmine, Willie...the list could stretch out for quite a while. I have gotten to watch them continue to grow into stronge and unique "women". (don't tell them I called them that!) Thank the Father that language barriers are no match for His will when He wants to bring certain hearts together. I have seen His Son in each of them. I wish so many great things for them: courage to be bold about their faith, love for themselves, love from the godly men they all seek, and understanding of all their Father has offered them in Him. These next two months are going to be so sad and lonely without their sweet smiles, their individual catchphrases ("HI", "thank you for saying that", "Ni shi fungla!"), and their HUGS. I can't imagine if I were leaving them for good. I'm so thankful that the Father allowed them to love me better than I could have.

Angelyn's Revelation...from God

2008-05-30T03:39:00.002+08:00

These past few weeks I have been finding a particular amount of brilliance in my friends. William even became a vegetarian...piscetarian...flexitarian. Angelyn was struck with a particularly impressive lightening bolt that I just have to share...

Brian, Jessica and I have been studying Isaiah, and, as often happens during our studies, I went way off topic when a sudden realization struck me: the Bible settles the argument for which is more painful, childbirth for women or being hit in the groin for men. This argument is as old as time itself, and I imagine even Adam and Eve engaged in a few heated debates regarding this topic on more than one occasion. Anyway, it’s not necessary to set my point up so I’ll get right to it. The passage we were reading was Isaiah 13:8 – “Their hearts will be full of fear; pains and sorrows will overcome them; they will be in pain like a woman in childbirth; they will be shocked at one another; their faces will be like flames.” It struck me that several times in the Scriptures, we find terrible pain associated with childbirth. In fact, I did a quick concordance search and found at least fifteen references to the pains of childbirth, most prophetically referring to some serious pain about to befall one nation. Another example for the sake of a loaded argument: Jeremiah 6:24 - "The news of it has come to our ears; our hands have become feeble: trouble has come on us and pain, like the pain of a woman in childbirth." So this is the crux of the argument, if being hit in the groin is more painful than childbirth, wouldn’t these serious prophecies of pain be equated to the pain of being hit in the groin? It’s a simple question, but I feel it makes a strong point. As a matter of fact, the prophecies were more than likely aimed at the male gender since they were the ones responsible for leading the nations back in the day. All the more reason being hit in the groin would be better to use than the pain of childbirth - it would be something the men could actually relate to. That is, unless, the pain of childbirth is so much more painful than being hit in the groin. While it’s true I will never understand the pain of being hit in the groin (as men experience it), I feel that the Scriptures make it rather clear that the pain of childbirth trumps the pain of being hit in the groin. That’s all.

The Manly Man

2008-05-22T20:36:00.004+08:00

The events that transpired two nights ago must be recorded in history - a tribute to the manly man named Brian B. Neal - who bravely fought for my protection against the evil of an imagined intruder. This is his story (and mine...but my parts embarrassing...so lets focus on the manly man, shall we?)
Some of you may remember that my apartment was broken into in the middle of the night a few weeks ago. Yes, a little unsettling. Not much was taken from my home, and obviously we were unharmed, but it really shocked my unguarded system. I had let all my defenses down, naively forgetting everything I learned as a Criminal Justice major (Dr. Young, Mr. Shewan...I am appropriately ashamed of myself). So jolted from that naive dream land, I have taken to sleeping with a Louisville Slugger and the deadbolt on my bedroom door tightly locked. The only insecurity now resting in me is my overactive imagination...the most dangerous thing I could possibly encounter!
So two nights ago I was locked safely away in my room, working on my lesson for the next day when I heard some rattling coming from my kitchen. I freeze, my mind starts going a million miles a minute. I think my thought pattern went something like this:
Glass rattle -> Rat -> Too big to be a rat -> Burglar in my kitchen -> Burglar stealing all my foreign food -> Burglar actually rapist -> Rapist planning on stealing my foreign self, later using my body parts to sell on the Chinese black market at inflated price -> Panic -> Grab bat -> Should scream -> What if hears me screaming, and instead of running away like normal person, burglar/rapist/black market dealer is high on PCP and will have aggression/super human strength that he will use to break through my dead-bolted door and carry me off into the night-> BRIAN!!!
So in my calm, cool, infinite wisdom, I decide the safest thing for everyone involved was to send Brian a text message explaining my plight. I think it went something like this, "I think there is someone in my kitchen". I sent the message, but then worried that perhaps Brian was in shower/sleeping/already killed by the psycho in my kitchen, I decided to call him. However, I was too afraid to speak (lest the psycho hear me and the afor mentioned scenario happened) so I just sat there silently while Brain sweetly said, "Wei? Wei? Wei?" At this point I hear noises again from the kitchen...assured that intelligent, psychotic killer had spider senses and had heard me punching my cell phone buttons and was now going to ruthlessly murder me...I texted Brian the following message, "GET DOWN HERE!"
Can't imagine why he reacted the way he did...
Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sound of Brian crashing down the stairs. I heard my spare key in the lock (but I had locked my front door deadbolt, you know, for safety reasons!) and the key didn't work on that. So then I hear: FRANTIC DOOR KNOCK, FRANTIC HAND BANGING, FRANTIC DOOR HANDLE RATTLING. Of course, my overactive imagination is too afraid to open my bedroom door, go to the front door, and let Brian in; obviously the psycho has run into my back hallway (frightened by Brian's obvious intention of kicking the crap out of him) and will take me hostage if I come out. So I sit in my bedroom, clutching my bat, and hoping Brian's adrenaline is enough rip open my steel door...suddenly all is quiet. Where is Brian...uh huh...sudden logical thought...Brian probably thinks I am murdered. But am actually alive and sitting in my bedroom...so I decide I should probably take the risk of getting to the front door to let him in so he can pulverize this guy. So I come running out of my room, but in adrenaline rush forget my bat...
Which turns out I didn't need...cause there was no one there. I run to the front door, open it, and find...no one there. "Brian?" Suddenly he is back, running down the stairs with fire in his eyes and a folding chair in his hand. "Are you okay!?!?" "Where is he!?!?" "What happened!?!?" He asked me all these questions as he barreled past me into my kitchen, turning in frantic circles like a wild dog who lost his prey. He was shaking with the force of purely defensive energy. He was magnificent...and I was a total fool. As Angelyn and Trip come running into my apartment, suddenly I was struck by my sheer ridiculousness...and burst out laughing! 4 foreigners standing in my kitchen in the middle of the night, with Brian ready to pummel anything that moved! Turns out that when I finally opened my front door, Brian was halfway to Angelyn's balcony fling himself down one story of our building so he could crash into my living room and rescue me from certain death. What a guy!
So I am a jerk...and countless, profuse apologies can't make up for the panic I set on Brian. Rice Krispie Treats only dull the memory. I don't want to be the girl who cries wolf, but I now know with full assurance that should there ever be sufficient cause for fear, Angelyn and I have the ultimate manly man who loves us to death and will absolutely annihilate anyone who dares to attempt harm. So this poem is for you, Brian B. Neal - Manly Man. You are so much more than the guy who puts our water bottles in, you are my real American hero! I love you, and I promise to cry harder than you when you leave!

The world has room for the manly man, with the spirit of manly cheer,
The world delights in the man who smiles when his eyes keep back the tear;
It loves the man who, when things are wrong, can take his place and stand
With his face to the fight and his eyes to the light, and toil with a willing hand;
The manly man is the country's need, the moment's need, forsooth,
With a heart that beats to the pulsing troop of the lilied leagues of truth;
The world is his and it waits for him, and it leaps to hear the ring
Of the blow he strikes and the wheels he turns and hammers he dares to swing;
It likes the forward look on his face, the poise of his noble head,
And the onward lunge of his tireless will and the sweep of his dauntless tread!
Hurrah! for the manly man who comes with sunlight on his face,
And the strength to do and the will to dare and the courage to find his place!
The world delights in the manly man, and the weak and evil flee
When the manly man goes forth to hold his own on land or sea!
~Unknown
(Angelyn found this poem in an old book she had, perfect)

Bricks Without Straw

2008-05-19T07:59:00.001+08:00

I can relate…you have in your mind the idea of a promise, a grand deliverance, the revelation of His power. You can even see the manifestation in front of you (Moses), yet instead of your salvation…you are asked to make bricks without straw. You won’t, in fact, be rescued. Not only will you be staying where you are, you will be required to maintain your current pace and energy without the help you had been previously given. How disheartened, infuriated, and confused the Israelites must have felt! They were supposed to be moving forward, but for each step there were 8 backwards. Even the man closest to the Deliver turned to the doubts in his heart, “O L-rd, why have you brought trouble upon these people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble upon this people and you have not rescued your people at all!” Poor Moses, not only did he really not trust himself to do this job in the first place, but it is evident he felt (and looked) like a colossal failure. Wasn’t he supposed to be redeeming these people with the help of the Father? No one said anything about making bricks without straw. I understand his bewilderment…they were not supposed to be struggling…where was the promise?

This was not the awe-inspiring deliverance they were anticipating. In this moment, the Israelites weren’t seeing what they expected or desperately hoped for. They didn’t see Him act, but did He ever talk… “Now you will see what I will do…because of my mighty hand…I am the L-rd…I have remembered my covenant with you…I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians…I will free you…I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and a mighty hand of judgment…then you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d!” I read those words and I think…yeah…wow…I can wait a little longer to see all those things happen! Your time is my time Abba, I will wait on the L-rd to renew my strength, to lift me out of the pit. You promised redemption, so I trust that it will come at the perfect time. But I forget that the Israelites were tired. They were tired of waiting, they were tired of words, and they were tired of making bricks without straw…they were too tired to put their faith in His promise. Look at their response, “Moses reported this [G-d’s Promise] to the Israelites, but they did not hear him because of their broken spirits (discouragement) and cruel bondage.”

How scary are those words! As I read this passage and feel the pain and confusion the Israelites and Moses must have felt, that last part hits me like a K train. It’s a giant warning sign; I can see my future…and my present. They did not hear him because of their broken spirits…HIM. These past few months, the demons of discouragement and frustration have been overactive in my spirit. The constant wearing down of enthusiasm, keeping your mind in a state of exhaustion that can leave you barely recognizing yourself…it’s a powerful and deceptive tool. I have found myself groaning and grumbling, crying out to the Father to remember His promise to me...to deliver the relief I have in my mind. I have been entirely focused on the fact that I am being asked to make bricks without straw. I have to stop and ask myself a serious question: am I missing it?

Am I missing the hope that the future promise holds, am I missing the trust in my Father’s timing, am I missing the incomparable power of my Almighty G-d? Somewhere amongst bricks without straw, hardened hearts, and the seemingly miraculous acts the evil one is able to perform…I have missed the promise. The promise that my Abba gives to me: redemption, might, relief, power, glory. And I don’t want to miss it…I don’t want to miss the part where He speaks comfort to me while I make those bricks. I don’t want to miss Him coming down in his eternal glory and annihilating the evil one. I don’t want to miss Him redeeming me, and the people of China. I don’t want to miss the moment after salvation, when He wraps me in His arms and says, “See my precious one, my love, I always said I would come for you.” The Israelites received their redemption…the second most incredible story of redemption in history…and they waited 400 years. I ask only for the strength to wait a while longer – with open eyes and a fearsome spirit that trusts his promise completely. And it will come. Until then, I’ll be the one cheerfully making bricks without straw…

China Declares Mourning Period

2008-05-18T22:43:00.001+08:00

Many of you have been contacting me, asking various questions about the earthquake. I'm sure you are all still checking the daily news reports, but I just wanted to let you know about this most recent announcement. For your information, 2:28 pm would be: 2:28 am Eastern Time, 1:28 am Central Time, and 11:28 pm Pacific Time. Please join in, lifting your hearts and words to the Father. They believe in the power of silence...but I think we can all offer something stronger than that, don't you?

"China declared three days of national mourning for earthquake victims and ordered a suspension of the Olympic torch relay, as the search for survivors of the disaster grew bleak Sunday. The State Council said the mourning period would start Monday and include three minutes of silence observed nationwide at 2:28 p.m., the time the quake struck. Beijing Olympic organizers said in a statement that the torch relay would be suspended "to express our deep mourning to the victims of the earthquake."

In the disaster zone, efforts appeared to shift Sunday from searching for buried survivors to clearing corpses from shattered buildings as the government said the confirmed death toll rose to 32,476. Another 220,109 people suffered injuries, according to a statement from the State Council, China's Cabinet. The government has said it expects the final death toll will surpass 50,000."

Dear Mr President...a foreign perspective

2008-05-09T15:27:00.003+08:00

A few weeks ago, my junior English majors studied the film Across the Universe. I choose this film because it highlights a foreigner looking into the heart of America and its people in war time. As a response to the film, my students each wrote a letter to President Bush expressing their view of war. Their letters were incredible! When I return to the states in a few weeks, I'll be mailing them to the White House. They are all anxiously hoping for a response. The following is a letter compiled from highlights of a few of their letters. I thought you might enjoy their perspective.

Dear Distinguished Mr. President George W. Bush,

I am very honored to write to you. I am a Chinese student from Hubei Automotive Technology University. You have never heard of ir? Well, that'a all right. Actually, this letter is an assignment our teacher gave to us. I'm not sure whether you will read it or not. Anyway, I would like to tell you something I'm thinking, maybe you have guessed what I am thinking about: Wars. Yes, that's the point! (Abby)

Every time, when I read about that we two national leaders visit each other and exchange their ideas on bilateral political and economic relationship, I always feel excited and cheerful to me, as well as my fellow citizens: maintaining peace and becoming intimate friends is really our ideal dream! As we know, the US is the greatest, most developed power in the world. China is a thriving and unified country with 5,000 years history. why can't we speak out our sincere feelings and coexist friendly? (Jasmine)

Could I ask you a question? Do you like your family? The answer could be undoubtedly for a normal person. Although you are President, I believe that human nature takes the same effect on every body. If you love your own family, you would love the people in your country because they are also your family. Is that reasonable? It is well known that the deeper you love someone, the more action you will take to protect them from danger. However, Mr President, in my eyes what you did is to send them to the battlefield...you didn't consider the feeling of your family members...distressed mothers, crying children and solitary wives. (Isabella)

We all know that wars bring death and despair. As a leader, you may say that what you did is for the benefit of your country. But what is the government's first obligation? It is to give his people a peaceful and happy environment to improve their lives. But people don't need wars. People hate invasions. Violence are not involved in a civilized society. It disobeys the will of the people. Wars are not for freedom but for a desire to defeat others who are not obedient to you and to get your own benefits. Not all wars are wrong, some are meaningful only if they represent the will of the people. What a government does must be strictly the will of his people. (Ann)

Undoubtedly, some wars are justice, take World War II as an example, what kind of role my country and your country played was justice, we successfully defended the human rights but at the same time the war cost us a lot, took something unimaginably serious away. Your country is strong in military, and your Honor has strong power too. Your government's strategy would decide the pattern of military affairs, and your actions could change the pattern of the world. (Destiny)

I don't know why you put war in motion so easily. Yet, I heard that you do it just in order to stimulate the economy. That reason really hit me greatly. But I know the only reason is in your heart, Mr President. I don't want to guess what it is. But Mr President, have you ever thought if it is worth? What is like to benefit? Nowadays, America is the only real superpower in the world. Does it mean that America has endless power to invade another country? Or does it mean that America has the biggest duty to safeguard the peace of the world? And that, Mr President, all depended on you. (Dove)

War is a controversial issue. It's sure that war gives rise to both benefit and damage. However, according to the past wars, benefit is just temporary while damage is eternal. Pain always accompanies war. Physical suffering may make a disabled man, which may destroy dreams, but what about mental damage? Soldiers always wake up with a start because of the horrible memory of war they have experienced. The nightmare may go with them all their lives. It's more painful than physical suffering. (Trinity)

I believe all the young men around the world have dreams and all dream for our dreams to come true. But we should know that the most important factor that we need is the peaceful environment. We can imagine that just when a young men is ambitiously striving for his dream, the ware breaks out. Then he has to give up what he is doing and join the army. Have you ever imagined what is the effect he will get from the war? Maybe his dream will be simply a fair forever, I don't think its fair for him. I wonder where his human right is. (Wind)

Michael Jackson has a song, Heal the World: Heal the world, Make it a better place, For you and me, And the entire human race. Every time I hear this song, I feel hurt in my heart. We don't want to see the children crying helplessly. there's a place in your heart and I know that it is love. I hope you will listen to the song Heal the World when you get free. Thank you for your time, God Bless America! (Riley)

Yours Sincerely,
A Foreign Perspective

Can You Ever Really Have Too Much of a Good Thing?

2008-05-08T17:24:00.003+08:00

Sorry for the long blogging absence...my head and life is still reeling from the last one. So just a quip for you:
Active April has been declared a miserable failure...I think our energy for self-improvement months has been stretched to the max and one's heart can only take so much. While we did embrace our activeness, a long stretch of a contagious bug and a chocolate fast left us without the stamina to finish what we started (Don't...). That's all right, that's what May is for.
So May has officially been dubbed "More-of-a-good-thing May". Meaning, we have stretched ourselves too thin in our constant quest for self-improvement, so May is only about more of good things. More exercise, but also more chocolate! More time with friends, but also more relaxation. More color, and more rainy afternoons. More deep conversations, more saying "NO" to unattractive invitations. Only things that bless the soul in May. Let's hope the end of this month finds us in better shape than April 31st did.
So I will keep you updated on the blog. I am officially in countdown mode: 44 days til my glorious return to the states for 2 months of family, friends, and foreign food! The next 6 weeks will fly: finals, trips to Xi'an and Hong Kong, and tearful goodbyes. Things are shifting...thank goodness He is refusing to let me be my neurotic controlling self. Actually, I should clarify. Thank goodness He is not letting my neurotic controlling self actually BE in control...

Here is my documentation of Active April. Check out what we did, lessons we learned, and people we enjoyed time with. I am so blessed.
Photo Album: Could we BE anymore Active? I submit that we could NOT!

An Honest Petition

2008-04-26T07:58:00.002+08:00

I am experiencing 8 different flavors of writer's block right now, so my apologies to all of you. The most frustrating thing about blogging from this side (or color I guess I should say!) of the world is the restrictions on pouring out what your heart really needs to say. I have a point to get across, a spirit to express, and a list of about 100 words I should never use. So I am counting on my poor ability to express a subtext, and your impress power to read between the consonants.
First, I need to answer the probing questions of your inquiring minds. I have informed the inner circle, but now its time to alert the masses. I will be returning to Shiyan for the 2008-2009 school year. I made that decision a few weeks ago, but was hesitant to put it out there too soon. There were grandparents and best friends to console! In all honesty, it was not too hard of a decision for me to make. I am convinced that G-d's purpose for us is to work for the r-d-mpt--n of His people. While its true that we can and should do that anywhere, He has asked me to work for the r-d-mpt--n of these people here and now. We are in the midst of a fierce battle and while it will in no way affect the outcome of the war, this battle ground must be defended, these soldiers are too precious. (I realize you are reeling in allegories, but its a useful deception tool) Angelyn will be returning to this school as well, and we are on our knees, petitioning you and the Father for your sp-r-t--l support throughout the next year.
Which brings me to my next point, the one on which I want to dwell (and the reason many of you have been tagged in this note). If being on our knees doesn't give you enough of a mental picture of our stance...please, imagine us face down, prostrate before our needs. We have a need here in Shiyan, specifically at Qi Yuan, that must to be met. We NEED strong male leadership for our family. Our family is struggling - young Chinese men with no example of how to be a man of G-d, and young Chinese women with no knowledge of the blessing men can be in the ch-rch. This is bigger than gender roles, bigger than Sunday morning doctrinal requirements, and much bigger than a romantic breeding ground within the fold. Its the intention of the Father to have men and women working together to transform His kingdom, and its the lack of that ideal combination that is poisonous to our family and work.
This is by no means a problem exclusively in Shiyan; around the world His family is composed and often led predominantly women. This is a statement that would have shocked me living in the states, though I think the evidence of it is overwhelming there as well. But it is an undeniable truth in the fields around the world. Women are responding to the call, and joining families with incredibly skewed ratios. Our family is full of powerful women who have a hearts of service, but their hearts are tired from carrying the burden alone. They are crying out to be led by the Husbands of the ch-rch - to truly be the Brides of Chr-st that they were meant to be. Its a beautiful picture that they are missing...that Angelyn and I are missing as well.
I was told recently that the expectations I ask men in the ch-rch to meet are unreachable, and unfair. Thinking about that, I didn't feel the shame I think I was intended to (that, oh you little man-eater, whittling away at the measuring stick of a man until he's left sniveling in a corner shame), but anger and sadness. The only expectation I have for men in the ch-rch is for the Father and His m-ss--n to be their number one priority, and to live that out each day. How utterly sad that the bar has been lowered so much in our community of f--th that one would consider that standard to be ludicrous. Are they so content in their complacency? How angry I became, thinking of the young men in our family looking at THAT as their standard and model. And how enraged I become at the insinuation that I am in the wrong for asking a man, any man, to stand up and meet not MY expectations, but his G-d's. I will never stop striving to be the woman that He has asked me to be, and I can't imagine getting permission from anyone to defend my acceptance of myself at less than that.
So I am laying our cards on the table, asking you to look within yourself. We need men with a heart for discipleship, who are on FIRE for the L-rd and long to spend each day fulfilling His m-ss-n for the world. We need couples who can take advantage of the unique opportunity that a partner in this field is, who desire to mirror the relationship of the Father to his ch-rch. China needs this, Shiyan needs this, our family needs this...I need it too. I am asking you to get on your knees for us today, and in the days ahead. Please lift up this incredible need to the Father. If someone pops into your head while you are reading this, forward it on to them immediately. If you feel something stirring inside of you, ask Him if He is calling you to be the one to fill this need. If you don't know what else to pr-y for, Angelyn and I could really use some strength. We are getting tired and discouraged, Satan's demons are using our exhaustion and other extremely powerful weapons.
I know I have gone on and on; I promise I am almost finished. I just wanted to say, that I was told not to frighten any interested parties away by expressing some of our needs to them. Apparently, it could be overwhelming to ask someone to live up to a G-dly standard in the midst of the work. The only response I have is no, ridiculous. We were not given a spirit of timidity, but HIS spirit. One of boldness and ferocity. If you answer this petition, you have been prayed over and longed for - its true that you will face vicious battles every day, but you will not be fighting alone. However, if you are not aflame with the fire of G-d, if you are not prepared to pour your heart out, if you are not willing to step onto the battlefield - then this is not the place for you. We are looking, begging and pleading...but we will continue to fight alone before we welcome more complacency.
Thank you all for your continued support. I feel the power of your pr-y-rs every day, and I am so grateful for them on the many days where my own are so small.

China Daily - not just a newspaper

2008-04-24T12:36:00.004+08:00

Every once in a while, we foreigners are lucky enough to experience what we lovingly refer to as a "China Day". You know you have had a China Day if at the end of it you realized you uttered the phrase, "Such is China..." at least 5 times. I had a particularly potent China Day earlier this week that I would just love to share with you!
*6:00 am wake-up, this unholy hour was chosen as a good faith attempt at getting back on the Active April horse after a nasty cold (from which I was still sniffling throughout this China day) knocked me off. There is a trail that winds up the hills behind our school that offers a little bit of fresh air and solitude in the midst of the city. I had begun running up this trail in the mornings, thrilled with the return to nature and the Father that these morning offered. The day before this China Day, I had been stopped on the trail briefly by a drive by hello-er who just couldn't believe his good luck at an early morning foreigner citing. No problem - a quick hello and I continued on. But on this particular China Day I found that same man sitting on a rock along the trail with an anxious grin on his face. (WARNING - I recognize that grin...that is the grin of death) He jumped in front of me and launched into a 15 minute question-answer session which ended with his intent for our relationship...I'll sum up: I can barely speak English, you run here every morning, each night I will spend two hours preparing my oral English, each morning I will sit here on this rock and wait for you to come, we will have entertaining conversation for me and horrifically-mind-numbing conversation for you, my oral English will improve. Grrrrrr...such is China...
*My China Day moved on from there to my 8 am Freshman English Majors Class, upon which I entered to find 3 imposters. Senior Non-English Majors whom I had never met, who planned to sit in my class, glean wisdom from me, distract my freshman students, attend all of the outside events intended for my students, send me emails, call my cell phone, and improve their oral English. To which I replied...Bu Dui! Such is China...
*By 10 am I stumbled home from class to fall into my bed, exhausted from the 4 hour China Day I had had thus far. I was just about to drift away when I heard a knock at the door. Prepared to landblast whoever was on the other side, I opened the door to look directly into the eyes of the most adorable random puppy I had ever seen! I had been hit with a random Puppy drop off - a student of mine had a friend who needed a favor. Watch her illegal dormitory puppy - heck yes I will! A puppy was just what I needed to brighten my China Day! I fell in love instantly and began to act like a total moron, gurgling I shall call him Gremlin and he shall be mine and he shall be my Gremlin. I mean, he was wearing a sweater for Pete's Sake! His real name is Xiao Bao , which means small cherished thing. Of course...Such is China...
*After they pried Gremlin from my clinging hands, I had a weekly lunch appointment with some former students of mine who I swear to you couldn't stand me at the time of my teaching, but now seem to relish any time we have together. We talked the big three over friend rice: Olympics, Movies and Examinations. (Not the big three I would choose...but Such is China...)
*Priscilla and I made our way to Chicken Strip Market after lunch, named for their to-die-for American-wanna-be dipped slices of ji. The shopping trip was undertaken on a roll mission, but turned into an all out adventure. As a friend of mine says, "Never say I can't get it in China, only that you haven't found it yet". Wise words, as we came upon (ta da!) hazelnut coffee creamer. That's right people, that is cause for celebration. Amid the overwhelming smell of freshly slaughtered meat and pig faces, there can be found shining western lights...such is China...
*Still high on Gremlin and Coffeemate, Priscilla and I went to hail a taxi back with our goodies. We had to cross the street, and at this point I have to preface the story with two points of information. 1) Jaywalking is not only legal in China, but expected, if not required. If one is going to cross the street, we will weave our way through multiple lanes of traffic amidst cars driving in no possible pattern of prediction. "No Hesitation" is our motto! This motto inevitably leads to us standing in the middle of the street like a Frogger scenario, waiting for our next small break. 2) The tune of Shiyan is an ominous sound - an ice cream truck jingle that does speak of creamy delights, but of a truck that spews China water from its tail end. The street cleaner...you can see where this is going. So this moment finds Priscilla and I standing in the middle of a multi-lane street, toting bulging bags of groceries, with that music floating to our ears. We turned our head to see the street cleaner of doom approaching. Picture: 4 lanes. Street sweeper driving down Lane 1, Lane 2 empty, Priscilla and I between Lanes 2 & 3 on the line, Lines 3 & 4 filled with cars. There is no going backwards, there is definitely no going forwards! We analyze the situation, and see that if we just stay where we are the water will miss us by inches. Flooded with relief, we wait it out. Suddenly, the street cleaner driver spots foreigners dead ahead, and in his delight began to CHANGE LANES to get a closer look! He got a front row seat, we and our groceries got a China water shower! It was Christmas for the Chinese gleefully taking in our plight and Tomb Sweeping Day for us. GRRRRR...Such is China...
*Soaked and bitter, I headed to English Corner - the bane of every English teacher's existence. Its a time when we stand in a room full of people who want to ogle the foreigner and have the opportunity to pepper us with questions for an hour or two. Highlights include the umpteenth time you are asked if you know how to use chopsticks (no, I just stare at my food), can speak Chinese (no, its impossible for foreigners to use due to our lower IQ level), what your impression of China is (big, communist), and if you have a boyfriend (no, am hideous to all members of the opposite sex). I usually don't often mind it, but it was a China Day. But China Day's wait for no man, and so 8 pm at night found me standing in the cold next to Communist Joe defending my right to learn Spanish in high school instead of Mandarin. Such is China...
*I crawled home, longing to wash the China day off my body and mind in a hot shower. Another preface: Hot water is a precious commodity here, one we receive at 7:30 pm at night to anywhere from 9:30 to 10:30...you can see where this is going. Soaped up, one shaven leg, spirits beginning to lift...hot water shut off...shivering in the cold... Such is China's - Six, make that Seven
China Day...check...

Protests of the West Spread in China

2008-04-21T21:01:00.004+08:00

So we have had some local excitement (by local, I mean provincial, of course) this week that made national news. Maybe you heard about it? This is an article from the New York Times - a little bit of semi-unbiased reporting (by semi-unbiased, I mean "at least its not Chinese", of course). If you haven't been watching the PRC lately, you really should...please lift up the foreigners in the midst of all this contention.

Protests of the West Spread in China

BEIJING — Nationwide demonstrations against a French supermarket chain spread on Sunday as thousands of people protested what they said was France’s sympathy for pro-Tibetan agitators. The protesters have also been singling out Western news outlets, especially CNN, for what they said was biased coverage of unrest in Tibet.

In a sign that the government was still allowing anti-foreign sentiment to spill over into rare street demonstrations, thousands of people rallied on Sunday in front of Carrefour markets in six cities, including two, Harbin and Jinan, where there had not been protests earlier. Demonstrators carried banners saying, “Oppose Tibet Independence” and “Condemn CNN,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The rallies are the largest public outpouring of nationalistic fury since 2005, when tens of thousands of people took to the streets to denounce Japanese textbooks that omitted any mention of Japan’s wartime atrocities in China. Those protests, in which eggs and stones were thrown at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing and the consulate in Shanghai, ended abruptly after the authorities clamped down on the organizers and blocked the anti-Japanese Web sites and message boards that were fueling the campaign.

In recent days, the government has called on citizens to temper their fury at the West, but it has not acted to halt public demonstrations, which have been stoked by newspaper editorials, Internet postings and text messages sent to millions of cellphones.

On Sunday, the state-run People’s Daily newspaper called for a cooling of passions, although it stopped short of condemning the demonstrations or the spreading boycott campaign against French goods. “As citizens, we have the responsibility to express our patriotic enthusiasm calmly and rationally and express patriotic aspiration in an orderly and legal manner,” the newspaper said in a front-page editorial.

According to the official news agency, 2,000 people, many of them students, gathered in front of a Carrefour market in Wuhan, where they sang the national anthem and waved the Chinese flag. Similar scenes played out in Xi’an, Qingdao and Dalian, as well as in Jinan and Harbin. The authorities maintained a heavy police presence but did not interfere with the demonstrators, according to wire service reports.

The public anger has been percolating since mid-March, when disturbances in Tibet killed 19 people, according to the government’s official count, and Chinese security forces began a crackdown, in which Tibetan exile groups say more than 140 people were killed.

Most Chinese view the unrest as an outburst of hooliganism and wanton violence, and many have been infuriated by Western news accounts that portray the rioting in Tibet as a revolt against oppressive rule. The dismay turned to indignation after the Olympic torch relay became a magnet for anti-Chinese protests, especially in Paris, where pro-Tibet demonstrators attacked a Chinese amputee athlete in a wheelchair who was bearing the torch. The woman, Jin Jing, has become a national hero and a symbol of resistance against those who are seen as seeking to disrupt the Olympics and sully China’s reputation.

Master and Commander of Small Talk

2008-04-16T19:26:00.002+08:00

As I was walking home last night from a particularly enjoyable dinner with one of my freshman students, Marilyn, I was struck with a thought - the most unfortunate and unenchanting aspect of my personality has begun to melt away. Yes, the girl who once viewed unnecessary conversations as just that, unnecessary, has become the master and commander of small talk.
To analyze myself, I think my aversion to small talk grew out of my insecurity. I almost never had conversations with acquaintances that did not serve some purpose, and that was probably due to the fact that somewhere in my self-conscience I believed my presence to be undesirable to them less it aided their needs in some way. Perhaps if I came to them with a reason for my blabbering, it was less offensive and gave them cause to welcome me! I was a hit-and-run communication assailant. I kept phone calls under 3 minutes, ending them as soon as the 2 second pause became unbearable. I wrote emails when I could have spoken face-to-face. I invented excuses for absences when there were none. I was an individualist's darling. As exhausting and unfulfilling as that was, I rarely knew how to behave otherwise!
Then yesterday...break through! China has cured me. I am now the Supreme Pontiff of unnecessary communication. I don't even know how it happened, I just realized that the Chinese have created this monster who can have the same mindless conversation a dozen times and feign the same level of interest in each one. I hardly recognize myself. I can now sit on my couch and talk to a student for an hour and accomplish absolutely nothing. We will just run through the cycle of America-class-family-America-friends-movies-America-Chinese food-QQ-America until we reach then end, then run through it again. I would have found this impossible in the past, now I find it merely mind-numbing! I am both terrified at this realization, and reveling in it.
The run-ins on the street are glorious as well. In the past, a quiet "hey" and wave to each passerby got me through the day - but no more! Now each run in has a routine to follow as well.
Let me give you a glimpse into an Zhongguoren - Waiguoren conversation:
Z: Oh Hello
W: Hey, how are you?
Z: Fine thanks, and you?
W: I'm good!
Z: Where are you going?
W: I am going to eat.
Z: OOOOOOHHHHHHHHH
W: What about you?
Z: Oh yes, I am so busy. I have much class today
W: How is your class?
Z: Very boring!
W: Like my class?
Z: Oh no, your class is so interesting! I like your smile very much
W: Oh thank you! So...
Z: I have something important to do.
W: Oh, okay. I'll see you later!
Z: See you later. Buh-bye!

So for all of you at home, be prepared. I am now fully able to sit in front of you with a big grin on my face for hours on end...talking.

Did You Know...

2008-04-14T10:25:00.003+08:00

I read this on my friend Beth's blog the other day, and you can ask anyone - I have not shut up about it since. I just think its a need to know, so I have copied this from her blog. Thanks for keeping the masses informed Beth! (Hong Kong 08)

The other day Brad (another foreigner who lives in YiChang) went to lunch with one of his 4,000 students and noticed that the kid pulled out chopsticks out of his bag. They said "Greenpeace" on them and when Brad asked about it, the student told Brad that he carries them so not to waste disposable chopsticks. Each time we eat at a restaurant, 9 out of 10 times we use disposable chopsticks. We have all pondered the problem this could cause, but it was not until the student said something about it that we looked at it a little closer. After Googling, Beth found this from the Washington Post

"China now produces and discards more than 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks every year, cutting down as many as 25 million trees in the process, according to government statistics. Another 15 billion pairs are exported to Japan, South Korea and other countries. At the current rate of timber use, environmentalists warn, China will consume its remaining forests in about a decade."

A Window into the Chinese Education System

2008-04-09T23:36:00.002+08:00

If you're a fellow Dave Barry fan, you will appreciate - this one's for you.

Very rarely do we foreign teachers make use of the textbooks we are given for our courses. They are illegible and brimming with grammatical errors at best; at worst, they are 208 pages of the most incredibly glorious propagation you have ever seen. Every once in a while, we crack one open and are given a treat into the mind of the party. Once you read what I have copied below, you will be racked with the same questions I have. Mainly, "How DID people who grew up in THIS education system lead this country into world power?"

I just could not resist sharing this with you - I only wish you could have heard by debate class actually arguing this point. Perhaps if you pay very careful attention, you can guess the gender of this extremely "experienced" writer. Phenomenal...

Debate: Who is More Intelligent - Men or Women?

Part A (Men) - Women contradict themselves much of the time. Perhaps this is why men question women's intellect and reasoning. For one, women have fought so long to achieve equal rights. But, women don't want to be treated equally. Women still want those perks that they've enjoyed before being "liberated," such as a man opening a door, a man paying for a restaurant bill, and so on. Men, does this make any sense? And, how often do women complain that they can't find nice guys? If they really want a nice guy, they should stop dating good-looking jerks. Another thing that surprises men is, if a woman gains weight during a relationship, why does she decide to lose that weight after her man leaves? Also, she complains that you are looking at other woman. As if she never looks at other men, especially ones that look better than you. Finally, here's common sense advice from some guys to the rest of the guys: never flatter or praise her. If you flatter a woman, she'll convince herself, "If I'm all that, then what am I doing with a loser like you?" Then she'll go off to find someone better.

Part B (Women) - Men are basically simple creatures. Or, do they just have simple minds? For example, women contemplate and ask questions about the inner secrets of like, "am I in love?" Men ask simple questions like, "Honey, can you get me a beer?" Many women believe men will never grow up. Since childhood, men have always loved toys. As adults, the more beeps and buttons it has, the more it is treasured: computers, TV's, digital cameras, and so on. Has your man ever forgotten your anniversary or Valentine's Day? Men have such short memories. This is why they need so many replays when watching sports. Other times it seems that they don't seem to have a mind at all. If you're tired and your boyfriend doesn't want to help with the housework, he's not being thoughtless. He just doesn't care. That's not his job. but what puzzling is, men construct skyscrapers, rebuild engines, yet can't separate white colors from red when doing laundry. And what probably puzzles women the most is, why a guy does not call after your first date, even though he said he would.

Introducing...Active April

2008-04-05T20:36:00.002+08:00

You may have noticed that I have been an overactive blogger this week. Its true, I have been bursting with news and unable to speak with you the last few weeks, but that is only a partial reason. The reason you have been hearing so many of my lovely thoughts as of late is in fact our latest alliteration month: Active April. (ta da! I felt the need for a ta da there. Too auspicious? It felt a little auspicious.)
We thought of Active April a while back. We thought it an appropriate follow-up to Meager March; once our bodies were emaciated, they would be easier to heave around the track on a midnight jog. In Active April, we will do something active everyday. So far, AA has been a success. Days 1-3 we played badminton (The unofficial sport of the Chinese, badminton is a war of Def Con 5 proportions which I am now fully addicted to), day 4 we climbed a Niu Tou Shan, and today dragged my poor defeated body on a crosstown trek. So now that we are fully, physically active... we have of course decided to evolve the idea further.
We are now actively tackling EVERYTHING. Here is a short list:

Actively sitting in a tree
Actively spring cleaning
Actively studying chinese
Actively speaking chinese at least once a day
Actively getting our hair done
Actively pursuing new relationships with students
Actively purchasing a ladder so that we can actively have parties on the roof of our building
Actively securing our financial situations
Actively planning another family vacation
Actively and systematically eating all the expired items in Angelyn's pantry
Actively writing home more often
Actively having a poker party
Actively seizing new opportunities that come our way
Actively meditating (which seems like an oxymoron now that I look at it)
Actively remembering to take my medication every day
Actively developing my plan B for when the chinese government kicks all the foreigners out and we have to return to the states for reading Tibetan news
And...actively blogging more often!

So you can see...we can do nothing simply, but thats the way we like it. So we here
in Shiyan challenge you to take control and actively pursue some course of action this month. We are also taking early suggestions for May. Right now, my personal favorite is "More-of-a-good-thing May" Thoughts?

And if you are wondering how we passed a meager days, check out my photo album below:
Album #1: Meager March

A Fresh Start

2008-04-03T19:48:00.002+08:00

I got down and dirty today, spring cleaning my dust-bunny filled apartment. I thought I had left that immovable filth behind in Lubbock, but turns out China might actually be worse. Anyway, this sweeping away of the old filth made me think of fresh starts, and I wanted to share with you all some of the new approaches we are taking to the same-old, same-old here in Shiyan. You know how we feel about constant improvement…

I came back from Southeast Asia really feeling renewed and vigorous. I had spent 4 days learning about CPM, and read Rivertown, so I was ready to get serious with my students. It makes me crazy to keep falling more in love with them, and then being constantly reminded that they are lost. I feel more and more convinced that we have been too careful in the past, to wary of toeing some imaginary (and I often think exaggerated line). So I decided that with my English majors especially, I was going to do my best to speak truth at all times. Regardless of the circumstances, this is what I believe, and I have the right (and according to His word, the duty) to say it. I am really striving to be more open with my students. I have made a promise to myself that I will bring Him into the conversation each week, in some way. Whether it is with the constant reminder that I am in fact a Chr-st—n, or that couples wed in Ch-rches, or even that r-l-g---s high schoolers may pledge not to have sex before marriage. Anything that gives me a reason I can tell them WHY is a small ray of light. Easter brought a particularly great opportunity for me, because Megan’s mother brought Resurrection Eggs from the states! I thought this was a staple in r-l-g---s households, but I have found out they are not quite so common. Anyway, it’s a carton of plastic Easter eggs that holds inside each egg a symbol of the crucifixion so that as you open each egg in a succession, you reveal the story of the resurrection. So I was able to take that carton of eggs to class and tell the story of J-s-s to my students! AMAZING. I had such a high, and watching some of them smile, gasp, and drop their mouths in awe was indescribable. I wish I could spend every minute I have with them revealing more and more of the mystery. I have had more fruitful, revealing and thought provoking conversations in the past few weeks than I had in months of the fall semester. I also have them keeping journals now so that I can see more clearly who may be open to hearing the truth. I feel a new spirit of boldness thanks to the conviction of the Father and I am anxious to see what He will do next.

I usually love my students, and I always love my coffee…so when an idea formulated around the two, I had to jump on it. In the spirit of continuing openness, I have begun a tri-weekly discussion group with my English majors in my living room that we are calling “Coffee Talk”. After the first month, there are only a few standing strong with me in the arena of “caffination”, the others have reverted to their old “hot water” staple, but we are all really enjoying the time to just be together. We have had some great conversations, and I am thrilled as I discover more and more how amazing some of these kids really are. I also have really wanted to learn more about the city I call home and the people in it, the culture of Shiyan. So I am forcing my students to spend even more time with me, like the evil Miss Jessica I am, and have instigated an out-of-class activity we are calling Seeing Shiyan. (You know how I love my alliterations) My freshman families are taking me out in the city each Saturday. The Hopper’s showed me all the cool places to shop in Wu Yan, the Clarks rented a car and took us out to Moon River Valley for a day of zip lines, boat trips, and nature walks. This week the Bells will be introducing me to a local temple. It’s awesome getting to hear them tell me about China in English, sinisterly awesome!

Our family is undertaking some new approaches as well. We have begun something I stole from Jingzhou called All Day Sundays. It’s been fantastic! We have a meeting in the morning, go out to lunch together, play sports or games in the afternoon, cook dinner together, and then having a singing or study in the evening. It’s a l-o-n-g, eventful and rewarding day each time. Some days we have 5 of us, some days 15. They have been inviting friends to come and spend time with the family, and that has led to some interest. Angelyn and I have also been able to invite some students we know love singing, and they were really intrigued by our family – and natural accapela talents! We are continuing the weekly seeker study, but now I am meeting with the family members before hand, and they are teaching our seekers in an all Chinese study. (This is the ideal situation, though we have had some troubles getting this moving) I think it’s going to be great for them, both the family and seekers. The way that the Word moves when it’s spoken in their own tongue is so far beyond anything we can do, regardless of the passion we may preach with.

Please keep lifting me, the other foreigners, and our family up as we are all in the midst of difficult decisions, and new paths are being made before us. Please also keep my students and our seekers on your heart. We know He can do all things, and his timing is perfect. But it can be hard to see them so close to the truth, and so desperately in need of a salvation we know is right there.

Oh yeah…it only took me 7 months, but I finally woke up one day and realized, “Hey, I actually live here” and perhaps I should begin to take my Chinese studies a little more seriously. After being left in the dust by my language school attendee friends, my pride was in need of a boost as well. So thanks to the God-send that is wode Zhongwen laoshi, Di Cui, I am now studying Hanyu for an hour a day. It’s been fantastic; I am actually learning to WRITE. The language is opening up to me, its excruciatingly difficult, but so rewarding when I take that bus down the street and can recognize 2 characters out of a sign. Glorious Victory!

Meager Memories

2008-04-01T23:28:00.000+08:00

Meager Memories

Though many of you believed me dead from an earthquake that occurred some thousand miles away in Xinjiang (ironically: we experienced an earthquake here in Shiyan last week, which we all felt and were anxiously awaiting the inevitable justified phone calls from the states…of which none came), I survived both earthquakes and the meagerness of March. I come to you now full to the brim of stories that I have been holding in my cheeks like a chipmunk anxiously anticipating the moment when I could release my store…enjoy!

Angelyn’s Cat: For weeks we have been plagued with the sounds of a cat so miserably searching for her soul mate that we have all begun to lose our fragile minds. Somehow…this cat got the idea into her poor demented mind that Angelyn is the love of her life. So each morning we awake to her calls, and each evening we go to sleep with her mournful song the last things on our minds. Well, it appears that meagerness drove me to the brink of insanity and so I found myself stalking through the bushes with a sling shot and dried dates in hand – plotting the sinister end of her misery. I thought myself a humanitarian, she needed release that Angelyn could not bring and the only way to ease her spirit would be sweet death. Looking back on that moment, and the photos that prove my madness, I can’t help thinking that there were days in my past where I was more logical/mature/intelligent/choose your adjective…and believed myself to be a pacifist…

Gobbling Goodies: Brian often touts these words of wisdom: Don’t gobble your goodies! Goodies being defined here as the American treats our loving mothers send us throughout the year. We hoard chocolates and coffee bags in our cupboards, trying to make the sweetness last. Well, turns out there is something to be said for gobbling your goodies – as the pantry grew scant we began to open saved goodies in desperate moments. And we learned that if one would only gobble their goodies before the 2 year expiration date, you would not find yourself eating moldy packaged mashed potatoes. You would also be saved the embarrassment of dragging January 2007 Starbucks Coffee beans across town with a note scrawled in Chinese, “Please help these pathetic weiguoren ground their expired, bark-like coffee beans”.

Baseball: From time to time, we foreigners experience a little something the experts call Culture Shock. Symptoms include hatred of pictures that are supposed to be words and the overwhelming desire to punch anyone in the face who has the audacity to say Hello to you. Though Brian and I have both come close in recent months to clothes-lining hello-offenders, we held our arms at our sides, and were finally rewarded when William’s mother brought us two baseballs from America! We took to the school grounds and wacked heads-masquerading-as-baseballs until we felt such delicious relief. Thank the good Lord for the great American sport that is baseball!

LOST & Pizza: There are few things that we foreigners hold sacred here in Shiyan. The first is LOST, the second is arguably pizza. We are a six hour train ride away from a supermarket where you can purchase cheese, so you guess how we crave the gooey deliciousness that is a slice of pizza. I tell you this only so you can consider how serious an offense it would be for any foreigner to eat pizza without inviting another foreigner to join in. While LOST, the addictive television show that is a cult favorite among us, is something that we watch as a family. I do not want to go into detail, or name any offenders, (John, Megan, Andrew, Jaime, William, Priscilla) so I will leave it at these two words, LOST & Pizza, and allow my own memory to conjure up those painful moments where friendships were severed forever.

Liars: We recently celebrated April Fool’s Day…in the span of just a few hours I was told that Hillary Clinton had died, and that Barack Obama had chosen his running mate under my radar… As I was born with more than a shred of intelligence, I will not believe such atrocities. Just as I did not believe these outlandish claims, I would not and will not believe that Beijing creates its own weather, that Chinese babies get mischievous moods and begin winking, and that some dogs pee while doing hand stands (yes, hand – not hind legs). The point here is: Mama didn’t raise no fool.

Wink, wink, nudge, nudge – know what I mean?

Lessons Learned

2008-03-31T13:22:00.003+08:00

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!

Meager March...a month of challenges

2008-02-28T17:15:00.004+08:00

You may recall that a few months back I spoke to you about Shiyan's love for alliteration months: No Shave November, Destination December, Jovial January, Focused and Festive February. Well, Meager March is upon us and because she is the words smith in the family, I am going to let Angelyn explain our latest alliteration month to you.

Last semester I [Angelyn] was doing some research into the beggar/homeless situation in China and found an article entitled "China extends cost of living benefits to homeless, beggars". According to this article from August 2007, the government will offer a basic living allowance to those begging because of poverty. The basic living allowance for those living in urban areas has been set at 169.6 yuan ($23.75). So, if someone living in a city makes, say, 100 yuan each month, the government will give that person an additional 69.6 yuan to reach the aforementioned basic living allowance. I was both immediately struck and convicted by this insanely small amount of money the government has stated to be sufficient for basic living costs. This article was the inspiration for what has become known as "Meager March". Originally the idea was to challenge ourselves to live only on 169.6 yuan for the entire month. However, the specifics of Meager March are very much hazy as a whole because there's no right or wrong way to participate. The most important thing is for the people who participate to discover their own purpose, their own motivation, and their own need for becoming involved.

However, Meager March is an imperfect challenge for a variety of reasons. First, we don't pay for our apartments, electricity, water, television, Internet, and phone. If we were in poverty, we wouldn't have these "perks" and 169.6 yuan would be, in my opinion, wholly inadequate to cover all the basic costs one would encounter daily, monthly, etc.

That said, 169.6 yuan is still a small amount of money, and there are several things we will be changing about our daily lifestyles to accommodate this decrease in funds. For example, the majority of our monthly expenses probably goes towards food. We eat out for nearly every meal (which is still very economical since food is so affordable here), but for the next month we will be pulling our community funds to purchase cheap vegetables and other foods to cook things like porridge at home. Another very small yet, for the month of March, significant cost is bus fair. It takes only one yuan to ride the bus, but that's two yuan round trip which adds up quickly. Therefore, we will be walking a lot more.

The second reason Meager March is an imperfect challenge is because we have responsibilities here that cannot and should not be ignored. For example, we often use the Internet to prepare for classes. Previously, I mentioned we will charge ourselves for Internet usage, but that only applies to personal entertainment and unnecessary activity. I consider using the Internet for school something unavoidable and quite necessary so we will not be charging ourselves for time spent in class preparation. We are also here working for a specific purpose which involves a lot of relationship building. If there is a need to spend money to further the work here, then we will not hesitate to spend liberally.

Meager March has evolved into a beautiful event with participants from other cities in China creating their own purpose for and method of becoming involved. I've heard that some friends in Wuhan have modified Meager March: for every yuan they spend on themselves, they will spend the same amount on others.

Me again...I hope that gave you some insight into our latest self-improvement venture. I am really excited about what these next 30 days will hold. A chance to look at the community we live in with a more realistic view, more time to be focused on the purpose for our life here in Shiyan, and growth in the One who has blessed us with so much that we could not even begin to fully understand the meagerness so many live in each day.

Because we just can't get enough of Meager March, the idea arose to challenge ourselves in more ways than one. So while living on 169.6 kuai may be considered a sacrifice, it may be considered insignificant compared to the fact that I will not be wearing any make-up for the entire month ;o)

The Challenges:

Brian to Angelyn and myself: Convince five students from one of his classes to dress up like the five Beijing Olympic Mascots and sing "Happy Birthday" to him on his birthday - March 11th.

Brian to Angelyn: Get two people to buy him the two remaining Beijing Olympic Mascot keychains he hasn't acquired merely by hinting he would like to have them (no asking, begging, or bullying shall be allowed in this challenge).

Angelyn to Brian: It's a secret, but it involves my freshman class.

Angelyn to Me: No make-up for the whole month!! (Except for class, as my students would think nothing of saying to me, "What a pity, you used to be very beautiful)

Me to Angelyn...and than her back to me: Memorize the book of Philippians

And should you choose to accept it...
Me to You: Find a partner, and devise challenges for each other. The challenge should be something that would bring you joy, but at the same time convicts you and leads to personal growth. Be creative with each other!

So I'll be seeing you...in Active April!

Wake Me Up Before You Go

2008-02-26T18:24:00.002+08:00

Admission: Wrote this blog once already, but sadly my computer fritz and all was lost. With the loss of those words went all my energy, so this will be less detailed. Sorry for myself, that my future self will suffer from my current apathy, but excited for you all that you will be spared my usual wordiness!

Thailand - Day 32-38
The purpose of our visit to Bangkok was to attend a conference will fellow workers, so the majority of our time was spent in a classroom emotionally and mentally draining ourselves. But it was a great experience! I felt both freed and challenged by what I learned throughout the week and returned home eager to change my current path. Its difficult for me to express what I would like because of certain restrictions...just please lift up the team in Shiyan as we begin to look at making some drastic changes to fulfill our purpose.

Highlights of Bangkok:
* We were able to meet with the Thai Ch-rch in Bangkok, and we met some of the most incredible people there! Aka and Gone were a young couple who took us in and were constantly wandering around the city entertaining us all. Jess and I also fell pretty madly in love with a Thai Military Man - Wayne Brady - Buddhist...the separation was difficult, though I think Jess took it the worst
* Going to the Siam Center, a ludicrously expensive mall to watch P.S. I Love You with Nelda - I am calling it the night of 6 times (bursts into tears)
* A river tour through the choppy channels where I met Aka, Gone & Ja-lan (our military man) for the first time...as well as the priceless entertainment from Jeremy
* Meeting Jeremy, the infamous elephant man. Many of you may remember the person I asked you to pr-y for, a fellow teacher in China who was attacked by elephants and recovering in the Bangkok hospital. He had been released a few days before we arrived and we were able to hang out with him. He completely honored me with what was both the most terrifying and hilarious story I had ever heard!!! I would love to regurgitate some of that for you here, but I promised to hold it in, he is planning on writing a book (his second) on his experience. I was blessed to meet him and excited to hear (or read) more of his incredible testimony.
* SHOPPING...you know me, enough said

Thoughts on My South East Asia Adventure
*This was the first time that I had actually traveled...I know that statement is probably puzzling, but in my mind I don't consider China traveling anymore. China is home, and I definitely felt the difference between the whirlwind movement of those 40 some days. It was amazing to expand my world view in such a way - to be reminded of extreme poverty and the resilience of overcoming war. To hear languages I had no hope of understanding, and the various smiles that spoke volumes. It definitely wet my thirst for more and renewed my desire to spend my life doing SOMETHING
*The amount of selfishness, flippancy, and general disrespect that permeated the culture of many of my fellow travelers was constantly shocking to my system. Even here in China, I am living somewhat in a bubble of people with high morality...the constant barrage of drugs, sex and more drugs that cycled through the day to day of others was devastating to witness. It was a wake-up call to me that renewed my vision from the conference. The vast number of the lost seems overwhelming...how much more so then should we be active and engaged, living in the midst of the world to transform it!
*40 days is a hideous figure...I could have spent that in one province alone. I finally understand why Europeans spend years at a time traveling - there is too much to see!
*Asians make incredibly good western food that does not a healthy budget make...
*Despite its disorder, transportation nightmares and less-than-lush scenery, Cambodia stole my heart. Of all the countries it made the greatest impression on my mind. I was empowered by the people there - the beauty of their spirit in the midst of poverty and the aftermath of war. I know my path will cross with the Khmer again, and I can only hope it is soon.

Finally...PHOTO ALBUMS! (Thanks for your patience, hope you enjoy it)
Southeast Asia #1 - Vietnam
Southeast Asia #2 - Cambodia
Southeast Asia #3 - Cambodia...two
Southeast Asia #4 - Laos
Southeast Asia #5 - Thailand

To sum it up, I have been woken up. When I moved to China, the first months were a constant challenge that left me feeling that I had changed beyond recognition. It is an amazing testimony to the Father that when we think we can't go any further, He informs you He has only just begun. I realize more and more that each day is filled of revelations, and the woman I am in the morning has failed, learned and laughed herself into a new person by the time my head hits the pillow. In travel, you feel that transformation at warp speed and it shakes you. I am anxious to hold on to the feeling I have at this moment of the world and who I am in it. I have a purpose to fulfill, his purpose, and if I spend even a minute thinking of something else, I have lost something irreplaceable.

Feeling Lao-sy

2008-02-16T09:44:00.003+08:00

Laos - D23
We woke up at dawn to the incessent crowing of no less than 16 roosters (which we discovered was soon to be a trend!) No worries, move from the bed to the hammock and let the rising sun and gentle wind slowly lure you back to sleep...when we felt that we had enough energy to move, Graham, Jess & I rented bicycles to ride across to the neighboring island of Don Khong where they boasted 2 waterfalls, one the biggest in South East Asia. Sarah, the fearsome woman that she is, set out to make the trek on foot due to the unfortunate oversight that she never learned to ride a bike! And surprisingly she did not believe me to be an adequate teacher ;o)
***The islands of Don Det and Don Khong are two of the 4,000 islands in the Laos' Mekong River. The islands ranged from about 20 km around, to patches of bushes that appear and hide with the whim of the water levels. Only Don Det and Don Khong are connected by bridge (a half-hearted attempt by the French at a railroad line), the rest are accessible only by boat or a rigorous swim***
We biked to the first waterfall and admired the view, then headed to the beach area for a swim. For some reason we were scared out of the water by the following sing "Danger! People have died here! Don't go past the rope" and the undeniable fact that there was no rope to be seen. We resolved to bike to the next waterfall, but misleading maps only led us further into the island and through what I percieved to be a nudist monastery. So we headed back to Don Det for indian food and a night of spades where the Jessicas brilliantly conquered!

Laos - D24
The R&R was proving too much for Sarah and Graham's adventurous spirits, so they left that morning to head north. But after weeks of traveling, Jess & I were not ready to give up our hammocks and island life. There were probably only about 40 foreigners on the island on any given day, and nothing but a strip of restuarants and bungalows to keep us inside. So we spent the afternoon lounging by the water in the company of a water buffalo we promptly named Cebu.

Laos - D25
After a day of lounging, our muscles were aching to move again, so we signed up for a day of kayaking up the mekong, including visiting the waterfalls again (both big and small), some rapids, and swimming with the freshwater dolphins that populate the area. Jess ws smart enough to snag the kayak with our "attentive" guide, while I put my trust in the "highly skilled hands" of the German Ewan McGregor (think his name was Derek, but must call him Ewan) who had been kayaking for 15 years or so. It became readily apparent that he must have been speaking hypothetically, because all I gleaned from his 15 years of experience were sore muscles from steering from the front of the kayak (lest we crash into the rocks and die) and a sprained wrist (which I got from saving us when we almost crashed into the rocks and died). Yes...Ewan McGregor sprained my wrist, and he managed to do all this in the tiniest speedo I have ever seen. Amazing.
But The scenery was beautiful! We could see the dolphins from our viewpoint, but sadly they were in Cambodian waters, which our guide said we could not cross without a reentry visa :o/ Here is where Ewan came up with the grand plan to strip down again to his glorious speedo, dive into the water, and persist to DO the dolphin (he informed me that we Americans refer to this as the butterfly) in order to lure the dolphins to us. So to add to my sore muscles, sprained wrist, and rapidly enflamed skin from over exposure, I nearly added a hernia to my ailments from uncontrollable laughter! (Mostly at, rarely with)
Good time had by all

Laos - D26
Spent the day tubing back and forth on the river (backside up, so to even out the horrendous mishap of the day before...8 hours in the sun, on the water, sans protections is never a good idea). It was wonderfully relaxing and only slightly painful...
That night Jess and I had two on one time with the King, singing our hearts out in the hammock, breaking indian naan, and remembering the sacrifice with a laos wine cooler. We found it to be one of the best, most refreshing and certainly authentic services yet!

Laos - D27
By this time we were feeling extremely Lao-sy (Laos it or leave it, Peace and Laos, the puns are endless) and felt that if we didn't leave soon, we may never. So we booked our bus tickets out of Don Det for the next day, and had an afternoon of bittersweet goodbyes: the hammocks, Cebu, Jasmin's Indian Restuarant, the bicycle's built for two....and the churkeys! Have I mentioned the churkeys? Things you should know:
A) I hate all birds...they have beady eyes, attack unexpectedly without mercy, make nests in your hair, and are the general spawn of Satan
B) I am a vegetarian, but have no qualms about others eating chickens. The only good bird is a dead bird
C) Laos is the land of chickens.
D) These are not normal chickens...they are churkeys. Half bald, game hen sized, braver than the average fowl, and extra beady
E) The churkeys were a happy goodbye (or so we thought)

Laos - D28
We left Don Det that morning and headed to the small village of Tadlo northeast of Pakse. Sadly, due to time constraints and our lounging in Don Det it was to be our only other stop in Laos. It promised more laidbackness, waterfalls, and bungalows. Right up our Lao-sy alley.
When we arrived, we were dropped off at a shopping post and told to walk about 2 km north to actually arrive in Tadlo, so we began our hike. The only indication that we had reached it was a lone sign that said Tadlo Lodge -->. So we crossed a bridge over a trickling stream and found a resort! Feeling we had earned our own beds and a hot shower, we treated ourselves to a $7 bungalow (a steep expenditure, I assure you) and enjoyed a night listening to the distant waterfall. Lovely

Laos - D29
Assured we had had enough pampering, we left the resort for an equally pleasant $2 bungalow in someone's backyard, and hiked up the river to the 2nd waterfall ***Tadlo is basically a river with 3 waterfalls: Big, smaller and small. Between these lie various pools for swimming, sun bathing, and the spalshes of dozens of naked Laos children. Because if you are not naked, you're not Laos!*** Spent the morning reading there, and answering the never ending mimed questions of various children that "No, you can not keep my Ipod", "Yes, that is Michael Jackson you are listening to", "No, I will not give you money", "No, I will not give you money", "No, I will not give you money", "Yes, you can keep my pen".
Finally, Jess and I got brave a dived into the COLD, but pristine waterfall pools. Rocks and untold dangers will not stop us, we have become fearless women of the Amazon! Or those stupid women you are always telling on the movies..."Don't go there, don't do that, these writers are ridiculous because no intelligent person would ever be so careless"...
Spent the night swapping traveling horror stories with a Canadian and eating incredible Pad Thai!

Laos - D30
We had heard that the 3rd waterfall was sans water due to the dry season and therefore just a giant rock face. Well, we thought we had better see for ourselves! So we set out on the hike to the big waterfall. We were quickly met by some young Laos boys who graciously offered to lead us through their village to the "water. fall. big" and put our trust in 9 year old Kai. He, another boy and 2 girls became our traveling buddies as we jumped boulder to boulder up the rock river. It was a beautiful scene, massive rocks and surfaces warn by years of water rushing over its tops, it felt like walking on the moon! The kids were great fun, we traded names, laos/english words, and jokes. They kept trying to convince me to jump off this ledge into what appeared to be about 3 feet of stale water, but were eased when I told them I was just not as strong as they were!
The sweetness soon came to an end though, as they started to demand the inevitable payment for the pleasure of their company. They finally agreed to be paid in oreos, but that didn't stop the refrain of "Saibady! Money! Pepsi!" all the way back to the village. After 15 minutes we were fed up and told them to go away. Our frustration was only added to when Jess fell in the middle of their village and sprained her ankle. There were people sitting all around, smoking weed, watching and laughing, and doing nothing! We were livid, I had never wanted to yell so badly for just the mere satisfaction that I would be making myself heard! Their understanding ws of little consequance....this was when we decided the culture shock must finally be setting in and perhaps we were getting ready to go back to China. We locked ourselves in our bungalow for the rest of the night with some good English books, but for some reason were unable to focus. May have been teh death ritual of chanting and drum beating that went on from 10 pm to 6 am next door...hard to say...

Laos/Thailand - D31
Despite the day before, we were sad to leave Tadlo. The little village was home to some of the most delightful and sweet people we had met in Laos. We had breakfast and waited for our bus at Mama Phap's; an adorable woman whose two page menu was hand crafted with love. She tied bracelets on our wrists and told us "good luck" then kept us company with stories of her poorly producing pig and flandering husband. She about killed us when about 30 minutes after ordering, she proudly marches out of the kitchen with the biggest (and probably most disgusting) crepe we had ever seen and shouted through her smile, "PANCAKE!". We concluded that had Jess fallen in front of Mama Phap, she would have come running out of her restuarant with a giant pancake and ace bandage. We definitely recommend her giant cup of coffee and warm company for fellow travelers.
We arrived in Pakse where we intended to spend the night, but the Big Guy was pushing our culture shock buttons and telling us to move fast, so we grabbed the afternoon bus to Bangkok and hit the road! 14 hours on a bus seat...no problem... Saibady!!!

Thoughts on Laos
*Everyone thinks its pronounced with a silent "s"... but Laos was a french colony and all the the french people we meet pronounce the "s"...good indication of the correct way
*"Saibady!" is the refrain of Laos people. We probably uttered this phras no less than 88 times a day. It encompasses a myraid of meanings: Hello, Where are you going, How are you, Pay me now, What's your name, Do you find me attractive, Goodbye. Fun to say, fun to interpret ;o)
*Everyone we met in Laos thought I was English; turns out its because I (direct quote) "don't talk like I have a potato in my mouth like other Americans". Thought this was excellent news and plan to use this on my students!
*Laos is a place where life seems to slow down. At first the pace was frustrating to me...if you know me at all you know I am usually set on wharp speed. But I quickly fell into the rhythm here; up with the sun, spend the day with people, not things, sleep when the stars awak. Its really lovely, and infectious. The perfect place to find peace
*I found something else in Laos; with all of the relaxation comes meditation, and I have been constantly kept pondering the mysteries of our Father. Its amazing what has been revealed to me here, and the questions that are circling around in my head. I can't wait to be back in China, diving into the meat of the gospels with my friends.

Such is Cambodia...

2008-02-08T18:41:00.000+08:00

Cambodia - D17
Due to some (ahem) miscommunication on a few fellow traveling parts, we spent this day in Phenm Penh. None of us felt up to tackling the city, our heads were still reeling from the graphic nature of the day before. As such, Day 17 was treat day - we selfishly indulged ourselves in luxuries that unselfishly benefitted the Cambodian community. In the afternoon we had a Seeing Hands Massage - massages given by blind Cambodians; their handicap gives them a heightened sense that makes their touch flawless, and their talent keeps them living comfortably in a way that many cannot. I would give it a 6 on the pain scale, but for the next 3 days my body felt fantastic...which as you will see proved to be a blessing!
For dinner we hit the FRIENDS cafe - a tapas restuarant that teaches children and young adults the restuarant business. Many of these young people go on to work in high class hotels or restuarants in Phenm Penh. I can see why, it was the best meal we had on our travels by far! It was barely within our control not to order the entire selection from the first bite. Friends is an amazing organization too, they have had over 100,000 kids pass through their school, and over 500,000 women and children through their shelters. Definitely an excellent addition to the Cambodian community that we highly recommend!

Cambodia - D18
Today marks the beginning of what we are merely dubbing "such is Cambodia". In this tiny statement there is a wealth of inuendo - we can't possibly do things the simple way, you never know what is going to happen, sometimes you just have to eat the fried spider, etc etc etc. We boarded our morning bus to the far reaches of Eastern Cambodia where we were promised authenticity and elephant wildlife among other pleasures of less touristy places. We rode for about 20 minutes sans air con and the tough were outwhined by the pampered. Our bus pulled over by the side of the rode and we spent 1 hour in the heat waiting for a new bus to pick us up: Such is Cambodia.
We rode the new bus for about 2 hours to a transfer point called Snoul. Nothing as far as the eye can see but red dirt. We spent a dusty hour there waiting for another bus to take us to Sen Monorom, our destination. The road was described by one Khmer as "barely there" so our expectations were high! The bus arrived and we loaded on. Passanger count: 4 Americans, 2 Swedes, 2 French, 3 Canadian/Khmer, 4 Chinese, 20+ Khmer, 1 Indian and his Khmer concubine, 8 billion mosquitoes and a partridge in a pear tree. We rode the bumpy path for about 6 minutes, when we pulled to the side of the road by a makeshift water stand, another bus and about 15 foreigners. We were told "Everybody out! Take bags" so we all loaded off and the great switch commensed. The foreigners loaded on our bus and drove off, we piled on to the shifty looking bus left behind and awaited movement: Such is Cambodia.
But none came...our driver had been inwittingly fooled by the other, albeit more clever, driver into giving our fully functional bus to them and leaving us with a shell that hardly contained an engine: Such is Cambodia.
6 hours by the side of a dusty road later, long abandoned by the more intelligent Khmer who had figured out we were going no where, the foreigners stopped arguing and agreed to spend the night in Snoul at the lone guesthouse standing. The only option for getting back into town was two foreigners to one Moto, bags squished in front with the Khmer driving through the dark sans headlights: Such is Cambodia.

Cambodia - D19
We woke up early, anticipating paying a taxi driver to take us to Sen Monorom, but were pleasantly greeted with the news that the bus company had finally acknowledged our plight and agreed to pay for a pick up to take the remaining foreigners (4 Americans, 1 Indian and his Khmer concubine) to our final destination. We loaded into the 4x4 pickup with about 15 Khmer, plus all our bags. Squished but grateful, we were ready to go...until the bus driver demanded payment. Turns out they had put is in the wrong pick-up, this was not our free ride. Everybody out: Such is Cambodia.
The new pickup arrived, we loaded into the (even smaller) pickup with (even more) Khmer and pulled out of the bus station...and drove approximately 25 feet...where the driver informed us that the bus company had decided that they were not responsible, but the Snoul division was so they should be required to pay, not the company. The Snoul division felt differently, and since both companies were refusing payment our pickup was going no where: Such is Cambodia
As we negotiated prices ($100 American dollars for the 6 foreigners) we all decided Sen Monorom could not possibly be worth it! So we made to leave the truck, when suddenly the Snoul division renigged (could be easily assumed that they just wanted us to pay and save themselves the trouble) and we were on our way! Graham linking arms with the Indian friend atop a tire, Sarah straddling the side of the truck, Jessica riding the luggage with a television set in her back, me tucked in the cornor at an angle with no less than 3 sharps objects in my side, and no less than 20 Khmer claiming approximately 7 inches of space for each of them. To sum up: 4 hours on a unpaved, red dirt road...sleeping legs, broken butts...entire body surface, crevices and orvices coated in red dirt: Such is Cambodia!

Cambodia - D20
Having arrived in Sen Monorom in tact, we were thrilled with the small town and authentic feel. It was one of the first times we had spent a day without hearing "Lady! Buy! Tuktuk Lady?!?" and it was a welcome respite. But we had come to Sen Monorom with a purpose to be fulfilled, and fulfill it we would! Jessica's (the other one, not speaking in the third person) great love in life is elephants. So we woke up early to begin our day of elephant trekking and all its wonders.
We were given a sack lunch and moto-ed out to a smaller village, where we were greeted by two adorable elephants! Their names were yet to be revealed (because obviously you cannot name an elephant until you take in its personality), but Sarah and I claimed the elder, more broken in elephant while Jessica and Graham took the younger. We rode on top in little baskets and our elephants were guided by a man and his sons (names also yet to be revealed). The ride was beautiful! We suantered through this barren wasteland, similar to an African safari, and were suddenly making our way down a mountian into the jungle. The ride down proved a bit precarious, as there were many moments we had to dangle over a ravine while Carla stopped for a bite to eat or a toe scratch until Carnie beat her into submission. (Explanation: We named our elephant Carla because she was an EATER! We named our guide Carnie, a proud nod to Connie and Carla, and the fact that he was an evil mistreater of animals...like a carnie) There were branches in the face, making me feel right at ease with my constant fear of reptiles, but the fact remained: we were riding through the Cambodian jungle on an elephant! We lunched at a river were we released our elephants to roam. We indulged in a jungle swim (wink wink) and some trekking where I proved what an Amazon woman I truly am (nudge nudge). Finally, we had to hunt our own elephants for the return trip home! Bella came willingly, and she was rewarded with a bath from Casanova and Jessica (Explanation: Jessica named her elephant Bella, because its cute I suppose, and the guide Casanova because he picked her a wild jungle flower). Carla proved that she cannot be controlled and she came in her own time. Much like the trip home, which she made in her own time! No longer afraid of the bamboo cane, Carnie had to resort to fire to scare her into movement! Despite the fact that there were a number of times Sarah and I faced our death down the side of the elephant, and my comfort level in that tiny basket was rivalling my ride in the pickup, we had an incredible experience!

Cambodia - D21
We left that morning praying for a smoother day. We volunteered for another day in the pickup (because lets face it, we had no other option!) but by that time had found the joy in a dirty road trip. So we headed back to Snoul and caught another pick up to Kratie. This time we became even more native, riding the 2 hour road to Kratie on top of the pick up instead of in the truck bed....we felt truly Khmer. There were even tourist taking pictures of us, so we will be gracing some photo albums in the near future.
We arrived at the river town of Kratie, but only for the night. Sadly, Sarah was ready to get another country under her belt so we were to leave for Laos in the morning. Kratie quickly revealed that there was tons of fun to be had there and will remain my one regret on this trip. Cambodia as a whole was nothing short of delightful...I LOVED IT. I highly recommend it for any world traveler and I will be sure to make a return journey in the near future - there are still wonders to be found here!

Cambodia/Laos - D22
The border crossing was fairly uneventful. Truth be told, because a bridge was out it took us 2 hours to cross a 200 meter river, but in comparison to the Sen Monorom trip, we were perfectly accepting of our circumstances. The border crossing at Voen Khamn is unofficial, so we were forced to pay ludicrous bribes of $2 usd's to cross, but corruption is a part of life here. Once across, we borded a boat to take us to Si Phon Dan, aka: The 4,000 Islands. In one word: paradise
Our stopping point was Don Det, probably the second largest island in the chain and nothing more than one great strip of hole-in-the-wall restuarants and bungalows. The weather is perfect, the water pristine, and the locals laid back. There are maybe 50 foreigners on the island at any given time (probably because the electricity only comes on for 4 hours each night) and there is no agenda. Just R&R to the tune of $5 dollars a day...wonderful!
I spent the evening enjoying an authentically Italian dinner, prepared by an older Italian woman (or man, to be prefectly honest I could not tell) named Paulo and her lover, and an older couple from Belgium. It was a truly hilarious affair, and the food was inredible. I was soon joined by the others, as well as my Polish stalker and his eerily silent traveling companion (another story for another day). Never fear, Graham stepped up and safely carted the girls to bed before the Paulske and Adam could do too much damage...

TukTuk Lady?

2008-01-31T17:49:00.000+08:00

Cambodia - D11
I am in love with two things...snorkling, and snorkling instructors! Though I think the first love is the one meant to last. Today we woke up early and caught a boat ride two hours into the Gulf of Thailand for a day of snorkling around some more secluded reefs. It was awe-inspiring - as soon as I figured out how to breath you couldn't pull my head out of the water! I loved being so close to His incredible creation, feeling completely at home in a world where I so obviously did not belong. I wish had more words to describe it, but I felt like I was living Finding Nemo (save the frightening first scene for M audiences). Sadly, there were no sting ray or shark sightings, but the hope kept the day exciting. We docked for about an hour on an island out in the gulf and it was the first time since I had been in South East Asia where I got to interact with the kids here without having to take out my wallet. They wanted to touch my face, not my money! I walked with 3 of them around the beach for a while, where they challenged me to a barefoot game of coral chicken (which I promptly lost). The boat ride back was an adventure all in itself, I just kept waiting for George Clooney to appear from below deck to help me ride out the waves, but life just disappoints sometimes...

Cambodia - D12
We were not ready to leave our beach haven yet, so the morning was spent at the beach. ***Admittedly hiding under the umbrellas because our poor skin couldn't take much more*** We took a few last dips in the crystal sea, before heading for the comfort and air conditioning of a little black market theatre in town. They were showing their biweekly run of "The Killing Feilds", a movie from the 80's about an American and Cambodian journalist during the Khmer Rouge takeover. Though less distrurbing than some of the books I had read on the subject, and a little too focused on the poor guilty American during the mass genocide of the Cambodian people...it was eye-opening none the less. Its amazing how little we are taught about the Cambodian plight, but I will get to more of that later. Our last night on the beach was spent partaking in coconut curry *my current addiction* and the realization of my dream! Drinking coconut milk, from the coconut, with my toes in the sand. Euphoria.

Cambodia - D13
I woke up to the loudest rooster known to man (or a loud one period to this city girl) but I welcomed him because I had a sunrise to kiss. So I crawled out of bed and hit what I expected to be a disserted beach. I had forgotten that the rest of the world is not lazy and often up with the sun, so I was in good Cambodian company. There were even a few Americans still high on the previous night's "happiness" who were walking off the jitters. One such charming Aussie pair even stopped to saronade me with this lovely tune: "Writing on the beach, oh this girl is writing on the beach...bet she's quite a peach...hope her boyfriends not a leech so he won't care about my speech of LLLLLLLOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEE" (Think its destined to be a hit myself). The rest of the day was spent on the bus to Seim Reap, in which I devoured a pack of oreos and 2 Paulo Coehlo books. Thanks to Sarah's abundant literary collection I have found a new favorite, luckily he is available all over these towns, cause the Khmer love their Coehlo.

Cambodia - D14
Seim Reap did not give us much time to adjust, because we were up early to beat the crowds to Angkor Wat. Our trusty tuktuk driver Poah was on strict orders to take us anywhere we wanted to go, and we quickly dubbed the little cutie Bobble Head Poah.
The Temples of Angkor is the largest religious ground in the world, the town of Seim Reap is actually inside of the official boundries itself. Sadly we did not have the time to see everything, so we explored the select few that were not to be missed. Angkor Wat, Ankor Thom, Pat Thom and Pat Keo. Angkor Wat was the grandest and most impressive, but as we moved down the list we found the relics less crowded and more interesting. Pat Thom was like a scene straight out the the Jungle Book with its winding trees and beautiful delapitation. The crazy girls singing "I'm the King of the Jungle"? Need you ask? Sadly, we were not rewarded with the promised monkey sighting, so the wait continues.
That night we found the most incredible restuarant where we treated ourselves to $5 meals (a splurge, trust me). Don't let the name deceive you...Dead Fish Towers was something straight out of Seattle's cooler districts. It looked like a lodge, with pulleys and hidden staircases taking you to various eating levels. Elton John tracks interrupted by the occasional Khmer dance, and about 15 crocodiles under the floorboards. This was the day I decided to marry a gourment chef and open an exact replica of this place in Seattle - as would be the only true road to happiness.

Cambodia - D15
You are probably as sick of reading about days spent on a bus as I am of spending them. Synopsis: Bus from Seim Reap to Phenm Penh - Another Paulo Coehlo book - Lao visa application in - exhausted foreigners out

Cambodia - D16
Which brings us to today...sunburned, mosquito bitten, growing poorer by the second, and extremely happy still! I am feeling so overwhelmed by my blessed life, and challeged every day to be worthy of it. Grace is too sweet a gift. We spent the day at the various cultural sights around Phenm Penh related to the Khmer Rouge genocide. For those of you whose history classes neglected this subject as much as mine, here is a breif history:
Throughout the early 70's the Khmer Rouge, a communist militia in Cambodia, was at war with the current government, attempting to overthrow what they viewed to be an oppressive regime. In 1975 they succeeded, and marched into Phenm Penh proclaiming their victory. The next four years was one of the worst Communist takeovers in history, where the Khmer Rouge systematically waged genocide on the educated, wealthy, elderly, or artistic. Anyone who was at one point in their history tied to the defeated government, or could have possibly had any positive feelings about said government, or who was less than thrilled about their new system was killed without a second thought - man, woman, child. The entire population of Phenm Penh was forced out of the city, and the Khmer people spent the next four years starving to death in forced labor camps or dieing at the hands of teenage killing machines in various prisons. In 1979 the Veitnamese overtook the Khmer Rouge and the genocide was finally ended. It estimated that over 3 million people died in that four year period. Its said that this Cambodian genocide is worse than the Holocaust, because never before had so many people been killed at the hands of their own countrymen.
So this morning we visited Tuol Sleng, a high school turned prison in 1975 to house the "enemies" of the Khmer Rouge. In a word, it was devestating. We walked in and out of prison cells stained with blood, containing photos of the victims as they were found in the rooms after the Khmer Rouge had deserted. We walked through rooms absolutely covered with the mug shots of the "dangerous prisoners" - old men battered and brusied, women holding their infants, children. There were torture devices and shackles still in the makeshift cells. Over 20,000 prisoners went through Tuol Sleng in those 4 years, 7 survived. We had the privilege of seeing one of those survivors because they were shooting a documentary about him at that time. The cameraman was showing us the exact cell he stayed in - amazing.
Then we made our way to The Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, not just a name of a movie. The killing feilds is the name given to the places where they would take prisoners to die, and be buried in mass graves with thousands who had shared their fate. There are killing feilds all over Cambodia, but this particular one was the dumping ground from Tuol Sleng. Mass graves have since been unearthed there, and we could walk the ground, still finding clothes and bones sticking out of the earth around us. It was horrific, but at the same time so incredibly poigant. Here we were walking in the same place where men and women begged for their lives, and the ground was littered with butterflies. We could hear children laughing and playing at a near by school. There is life here in Cambodia, and I think today I fell in love with this country. When I was walking the halls of Tuol Sleng, I was so struck by the faces of the thousands of prisoners. They did not look defeated nor afraid, most of them stared boldly into the camera, a few even smiled. They stared death in the face and had the most incredibly resiliant spirits. 30 years later, the children of thise massacre live a life of poverty, still under a communist government. But they have forgiven and are so full of love. I feel inspired and challenged. I'm breathless.

Thoughts on Cambodia
*Coconut Curry - addicted, can't get enough, must learn this magical recipe and bring this joy to others
*Cambodia is a land of propositions. Since entering this country, I have been constantly bombared with propositions: tuktuks, motos, pineapple, mango, coconuts, water, water, ice water, opium, marijuana, 4 hand massages, island boys, island girls...the list goes on and on. They are offering you every imaginable deadly sin or comfort, and its amazing to me how the lost and hurting have found an outlet for their pain here.
*The symphony of the city is the following: TukTuk Lady? TukTuk Lady? Lady! TukTuk! I wish I could write the sound of their voices, but trust me...its hilarious
*I already talked about the history of this war-ravaged place, but let me revisit it. Its shameful how little I knew of this land and its people. What they have survived is nothing short of amazing, and reading books like "First They Killed My Father" or "Pol Pot's Regime" only begin to brushthe surface of the reality that plagued these people. Their capacity to survive and to forgive are beyond what I can comprehend. They still suffer so much with painful memories and lasting fear of land mines or government persecution, I hope you will all keep these people in your PRYRS.
*My two personalities are at home here. The lover of all things western comforts has been rewarded with espressos, veggie burgers, book stores, tour guides and air conditioning. I have followed the older European tourists around various "required tourist activities" and have been perfectly happy inside my travelers box. My darker, more adventurous side is leaping out though, and Cambodia is offering the perfect outlet! Tomorrow we will leave the city *finally* to make our way north to less touristy venues with promises of elephant treks and secluded waterfall dives. I am ready to be free of these western restraints...bring on real life!

Jeremy Update
He is stable, and catagorized as in serious condition, but expected to make a full recovery. He was transfered to a hospital in Bangkok, and his family is there now. Hopefully we will get to see him when we get to Thailand! Thanks for lifting him up, please continue to do so!

There's Nothing Here Now That I'll Miss, Why Send Me Now A Night Like This?

2008-01-25T18:12:00.000+08:00

When I last wrote you, I was in Ho Chi Minh City - attempting to prepare myself mentally for the craziness that appeared to be Saigon. Sorry it took me so long to write again, but you will tell I have been busy. Hopefully my mother will forgive me my forgetfulness...

Veitnam - D5
After a stay in a fairly seedy hotel, I woke up early to check out of there and hit the city! I spent the morning having breakfast with an American couple who were biking through the Mekong Delta region. They were SO refreshing after the constant throng of Europeans, just so much more down to earth. And they were even Northwesterners! So on that high, I moved onto the next which was morning mass at the Notre Dame Cathedral. AMAZING. Filled with faithful from all walks, it was incredible to be in a place where He was openly exalted. My first in months and I had no idea how I missed it. The whole morning was so beautiful, I couldn't leave! I stayed in the pew until they kicked me out (which I still think there should be some kind of rule against, what happened to sanctuary?)
The afternoon was an extreme test of my mind and stomach. I visit the Reunification Palace and the War Remnent Museum - both tributes to Vietnam and the American Invasion(as they called it). It was really eye opening for me to see the war from the "other side". Granted, the propoganda was blatant and should have been taken as so, but the facts of that time remain the same. And the lasting effects, Agent Orange and others, are visible in the people here. It is hard to put into words how I felt, being somewhere where my people are looked at as enemies, and seeing how the rest of the world viewed us at that time. It really made me question how we will remember the Iraq War, and the last few years of American history. What will we say, and what will they say? It also amazed me, how warm the Veitnamese were too me, and how they have forgiven what they lived through. I am still wondering how to put into words that experience.
We spent the night laughing away with some soccer players we met in Backpackers Alley - a "confident" Kenyan and a delightful Jamacian/American who tested our football knowledge, as well as our gender differences ;o)

Veitnam - D6
The Day of Frenchie. Graham had heard about some work that was happening in the city, so through various connections we were picked up from our hotel Monday morning by Frenchie, the code name for the French Laotian who is leading the work there. After a thrilling motop ride through the city (you haven't lived til you have straddled a Saigonese stranger in a skirt) we arrived in the outskirts of town to his home, where Jessica & I got to coo over his baby, and we all heard about the movement in Vietnam. Frenchie spoiled us with stories and lunch, he was hilarious if you want the truth. Then we spent the afternoon in the hotel they rent out to teach the country kids English and then where they come together to worship. I can't share much with you - just that they have a huge ministry with the poor children of the city, many who have come to know the Father and have gone on to a better life because of it. They have to work under even more "delicate" conditions than many others and have thrived - please keep them in your thoughts.

Vietnam - D7
Jessica & I booked a 2 day-overnight boat tour through the Mekong Delta as our route to Cambodia. It ended up being an excellent decision, despite the significant dent in our pocket books. Our "family" was led by Thai, the fearless Veitnamese Island Boy, and we spent the morning touring various island communities in the Mekong Delta. We took little boats powered by the intense muscles of a young woman who only hit Jessica in the head twice with her oars! And yes...there were triangle hats...I would say the highlight was coconut island, where we could sample various coconutty goodies to our hearts content. The horrific occurance that met us on this trip though, was a shot of Snake Liquor. Lets just say, we drank from a jar consisting of 50% proof alcohol, dead cobras, and a fully-feathered crow. Not my, or my stomachs, finest moment...but when in Veitnam!
The night was spent on this amazing boat with the most incredible beds - I have never slept so well. But it was great - we saw the sunset, had political conversatoins with Kenyo & Monique (the people who brought the Dutch back to me!) and learned to play Yatzhee German style (Hershoc!)

Veitnam/Cambodia - D8
Father Thai soon lost his magical luster when he woke us up at 5:00 am to see the sunrise in Chau Doc harbor...but it was a beautiful sight. The rest of the day was uneventful, Thai said "bye bye you" and we went from boat to boat - border to border - and suddenly we were in Cambodia! The naked island children were a sure indication. We glided up the river, soaking up the sun and the new scenery. But all good things must come to an end. The rest of the day was a virtual disater! Phenm Penh Synopsis: cramped/smelly bus ride - overpriced/mosquito infested guesthouse - accosting by cracked-out old Dutch poet. I will spare you and my memory the details. Needless to say we were on the first bus to the beach and Mama T in the morning!

Cambodia - D9
Hitching the early bus out of town, Jessica and I were headed to Sihanoukville, Cambodia's only beach resort. After missing the white sands and crystal ocean in Veitnam, it was time for us to be beach bunnies for a few days. Sarah (our fourth) was already here, so she convinced us to add it to the iteneray. We definitely made the right decision! We are on the most beautiful beach! This town is fairly laid back, not much night life, just people relaxing their way through the days. (Granted, their relaxation is highly due to the "happy" cuisine most are partaking in, but there are a few who are coherant for the stay) We have Bungalows not 3 minutes off the sand and as soon as we could drop our bags, we were there! Pleasant surprise - we had been on the beach for maybe a minute when I ran into Dan, a fellow Shiyan teacher who found his intended visit to Veitnam lacking and made his way to the beach. Small worlds get smaller! So it was wonderful catching up this him, it made us both think about the highs and lows of Shiyan life (Highs - the Chinese, Lows - no beach access). That night the four of us spent the night on the beach in papsan chairs, happily taking in the night breeze, crazy westerners making fools of themselves, and the cheap cuisine. Loving it...

Cambodia - D10
Which brings us to today. Not much can be said - morning, noon, and night on the beach. Lobster-like sunburns, wave surfing, beach volleyball, banana boat rides, tongue twisting pineapples, ice coffee and the constant presence of children trying to sell everything from bracelets to leg shavings. They keep walking up to me and telling me I have hairy legs! Not the quickest way to earn business kid! We keep telling them we don't buy from kids who don't go to school, hoping the lack of business will encourage their parents to pull them from the sand and give them more of an opportunity at something greater. I have been fairly put off by their sales methodologies as well, guilt and constant annoyance do not work well with westerners!
Tonight holds various beach parties, promising everything from glow-in-the dark disco to free t-shirts. The night life here is pretty dead, but we are interested to see what a Friday night can hold. We are really just itching to hit the dance floor! But early to bed for us, cause we have a 7:00 am date with some snorkeling gear!

Will try to keep writing, just know that I am safe (always careful!) and loving every minute for this whirlwind experience! Please keep a boy named Jeremy in your thoughts - he is a fellow teacher who was trampled by an elephant in Southern China over the festival. He is in critical condition, and keeps moving in and out of danger. May the great Father show is wonders!

A Song Played On A Solo Saxophone

2008-01-19T21:25:00.001+08:00

If you have been watching the news, the reason you have not seen 3 foreigners protesting at the Vietnam border is that China finally released its vice grip on us and we crossed the border on Wednesday afternoon - so after almost a week of traveling, I finally entered Veitnam! What the next few days held could only be described as a whirlwind and I apologize now for the probable length of this choronicle. Please remember, I blog not only for your reading enjoyment, but for the sake of my own poor and failing memory!

Vietnam - D1
First Stop - Pho! Not 30 minutes over the border we stopped at a roadside cafe for our first authentic Vietnamese Pho! Jessica and I were estatic, and Graham was quickly won to our side. Pho is basically top ramen, but with overwhelming amounts of cilantro and basil - delectable. With happy bellys, we climbed aboard again. We arrived in Hanoi midafternoon, a city known for its European-like quarters and its (supposedly) wide streets. We quickly decided that whatever we were looking for, Hanoi was not it, so we decided to leave that evening for Hue. With a few hours to kill, we washed the grime of China off our bodies and hit the streets. It didn't take us long to discover that if we stayed in Hanoi we would either be run over or go broke! So after a nutritious dinner of Mint gelato and Vietnamese donuts (I know...) we caught the overnight sleeper bus to Hue. I am linking these sleeper buses to what we will probably be traveling to the moon in some day, little pods for your feet, lined up in pretty little rows like sardines. Close quarters, but an excellent place to meet new friends with delicious accents. The ride was wretchedly bumpy at best - but nothing 2 Nyquill couldn't cure!

Vietnam - D2
At the first pit stop of the morning, Jessica & Graham were shanghaied into a tour of some underground tunnels that required them to stay a day behind. They ended up being worth it to them, but I had been in the cold and wet for too long and was headed SOUTH to warmth! So we parted ways, and I headed to Hue to catch yet ANOTHER lovely bus (notice a pattern develops quickly). I had a few hours to kill in Hue, which I spent exploring Veitnam's equivelent of Beijing's Forbidden City (which even shares the name). I rode a tut-tut, nearly fell in a lake, and learned that according to ancient customs, goats have the ability to predict the fertility of a woman! Hue still didn't have the special something I was looking for, so I put that city behind me to take another 3 hour trip to Hoi An. I arrived late and without much of a glance at the city, hit the hotel. Only the joy of finding BBC News on the television (my first english news program in 5 months!) kept my eyes open for long.
***Note: It may seem that I am flying through Vietnam - truthfully I am! Am supposed to meet Sarah in Phenom Phen on Monday morning, which because of border troubles left less than a week in the country. Was sad about this at first, but am finding that the other countries are probably more my style of vacation. I am less about European shopping and more about elephant riding!

Vietnam - D3
I woke up early to take a tour out to My Son. My Son is the Vietnamese Angkor Wat, a religious site that was the center of their worship culture. Sadly, the American B52's obliterated it so all that is left is moss covered relics. It was raining, and we treked out into the jungle along carefully laid pathes (so as not to meet the same fate as the dogs that followed us around - they were missing limbs from wandering into mines). Say what you will about Americans, but no one can say were are not thorough! There was not much to see, but our guide had lots of interesting information for us. Like the fact that because Galileo was a few thousand years too late in recognizing the earth was round, all religious monoments that represent women were flat squares (women = mother = earth = flat = square). Our guide felt the need to share with us that of all the women he had seen, and he had seen a lot (!), he had never seen a woman who had a square...and if only the original architects had consulted him, he would have set them straight. Yeah, he loved to share!
I headed back to town to meet Jessica & Graham, who had traveled the Hoi An that morning and we bicycled out to nearby Cham Nam Island. It was a little terrifying manuevering those things through town, and I was significantly out of practice, but as soon as we hit the island it was wonderful! It was raining, and we sang rain-themed showtunes like complete loons - it was the first time I felt like I was really on vacation. We hit a local restuarant, far away from the tourist district and ate mixed mess (Vietnamese specialty of various vegetable).
Biking back through town, we entered into the old quarter, which is basically just street after street of shops, most of which are tailors (Hoi An is known for its clothing, they make it to your size exactly in one day guarantee - sweatshop central). Jessica & I mused about the excessive spending habits of these Europeans, spending thousands of dollars on tailor made clothing items. We stopped at one store to admire a dress and we were goners. Turns out those Europeons knew what they were doing - designer dresses made to your size for $20 American dollars! I am ashamed to say I could not help myself...I splurged on 2 dresses, and Jessica & Graham had some clothes made as well. We plan on celebrating our last days on the beach in Thailand in them with Mama T.
I ended up being a big fan of Hoi An after all - I like the french feel of the small city streets and it was just crowded enough to hold interesting company. Sadly, I didn't have enough on the agenda to keep me for another day so after some banana shakes at Retreats, I bordered yet another overnight bus - headed straight for Saigon (24 hours!)

Veitnam - D4
Woke up to a lady telling me to get off the bus. We had arrived in Nha Trang, a stopping point for a number of people who were headed for beaches, but everyone who was carrying through to Saigon had to check in at the counter. No problem, so I cleared the sleepies and got off the bus...
Enter another episode of: This Could Only Happen to Jessica
So the night before the entire bus was in a bit of emergency. We had run out of gas, and the bathroom on the bus was broken. When we finally recieved some petroel, we stopped at a gas station and nearly everyone rushed off the bus to the two stalls at the cafe. We only had 10 minutes, and in my hurry I had forgotten my handy-dandy package of paper. So...get to the bathroom, and of course there is none. I reached into my pockets (in the dark mind you), looking for anything that is paperlike ***Note: I share this storY with you for a variety of reasons. The first is that apparently I have no shame, and the second is that these sort of things that happen when you are a traveler can be appreciated by all and understood by any others who have been in similar predicaments. The third is that if we are not close now, we will be after this!*** and finding something that fit the requirements, I did what any girl must do. Come to find out this morning, when I was digging through my pockets for my ticket to Saigon, that one shoud choose more carefully when looking for toilet paper subliments! SO, Jessica got delayed 2 hours, and Jessica got to pay 8 American dollars, because Jessica used her bus ticket as toilet paper. Well done.
Despite that disappointment, the day on the bus was quite pleasant. The weather was beautiful, and we spent the whole day along the coast. Sand dunes, blue water, palm trees...good conversation with witty Englishman that almost led to a detour in Mui Ne! But Sarah owes me big time, because I was a good girl and stayed on the bus in an effort to get to her (and I do mean big time!). So I have arrived in Ho Chi Minh city (bka Saigon), and will be crashing shortly. Tomorrow promises a tour around the city of various Vietnam/American war sites, and hopefully a chance to go out to the tunnels where Veitnamese soldiers spent years hiding underground. The closet history buff in me is loving this, and the travelers around me who are more interested in shopping and western food are finding me quite strange! Tomorrow evening Jessica & Graham will arrive in Saigon (because of the early seperation, they have been continually behind me one day), and Monday we will spend the day with some workers here in the city, looking at the way they are serving the Father here and helping out any way we can. Originally I was going to miss out on this part of the trip, but I am excited to get to see how these servants are MNSTRNG here! Tuesday morning Jessica & myself (and possibly Graham?) will take a tour up the Mekong Delta into Cambodia, and another stamp in the passport for me! PRYRS, please, that I do not have a repeat border crossing experience!

Thoughts on Veitnam:
*THE COFFEE - AMAZING. I can't descibe it, I can only say that its so strong it bites and at the same time its smooth and sweet. I have been drinking at least 3 cups a day and am not looking forward to leaving it behind...
*Have found surprising comfort in signs with letters in them again...even though I cannot read them, its a little like going home
*Had such severe culture shock when we arrived in Hanoi and was completely surrounded by white faces! Europeans, Canadaians, Australians, Americans everywhere! I couldn't even remember how to talk to them and have found myself inadvertently speaking with a mix of their accents each time I open my mouth. Have horrible fear that they believe I am a ridiculous American mocking them on purpose, but it cannot be helped.
*So far, Veitnam has the most beautiful countryside of any place I have ever been. We have seen mountians, jungles, coasts and deserts all in this small strip of land. The architecture is liken broken Mexico, but the vibrant colors are so refreshing compared to grey China. I have actually enjoyed the multiple, exponential hours on the bus, just staring out the window admiring his handiwork.
*Its easy to imagine this beautiful place teeming with soldiers and warfare. There are makeshift cemetaries everywhere and they are still rebuilding each day from the destruction of bombs 30 some years ago. I am anxious to learn more about this countries history, and at the same time preparing myself to face even more earth-shattering history in Cambodian. Its a little difficult to balanace these facts with the idea of a "vacation"
*All in all, I actually am looking forward to leaving this country for the next. I have made most of this journey alone, in which I discovered the joy of meeting new people, but also the frustration of enjoyment that fits my ideas of appropriate. I am ready to get to Sarah in Ho Chi Minh! Veitnam is also a popular vacation spot for Europeans, and its been a bit too touristy for my taste. I am ready to spend less money, fight fewer crowds, and enjoy more of a relaxed, adventerous trek. Next time I post, you will be hearing of Angkor Wat and Elephant treks!

THS (The Terminal) - "You No Go Vietnam!"

2008-01-15T20:07:00.000+08:00

"You no go Vietnam!" These words will revirbirate through my mind with a giggle and a shudder for the rest of my life. These were the words spoken forcefully to me by the border guard at the South Chinese border crossing today...witness a day in the life of Tom Hanks...
Backstory:
Nanning is the largest city north of the Veitnamese border where foreigners can secure passports, other than that its only claim to fame is dog hotpot and the largest brass drum collection in the world. I have been in Nanning since Saturday evening, waiting for Monday morning to come so Jessica, Graham and I could go to the consulate. We got up bright and early Monday morning, found the consolute with our newly aquired Spanish grandmother Rosa, and applied for our visas. We were told we could pick them up that afternoon! Exciting, only one more day in China! So we bought bustickets to Hanoi, Vietnam for first thing Tuesday mornings. Visas check, bus tickets check, happy foreigners check check.
Main Plot:
We caught the bus this morning, delighted to be on our way with everything going so smoothly. The scenery to the border was beautiful and we were even given lotus & mixed bean congee (congealed soup that smells of stale communion bread) on the bus. We arrived at the border to a near empty crossing, and I approached the passport checker with happiness radiating from my heart, thinking of the land of warmth and magical coconut drinks on the other side, when I heard it..."You No Go Vietnam!"
Heart stop beating, rage clouding all judgement, highly-illegial border jumping scenerios crossing mind! Shenme??? What do you mean...no...go vietnam? Have visa! Have golden ticket! Ting Bu Dong!
Come to find out, the amazingly talented staff at the Vietnamese consulate have put the followin entry date on a number of passports yesterday, 20/02/2008, a computer glitch caught by some but not by the distributors of Jessica, Graham or my visa. Goodbye Veitnam, hello 8 hour wait at the Chinese border crossing.
Long explanation short:China can't let us out, Veitnam won't let us in. No phone calls or faxes from the Nanning consulate can fix. So Graham, being the chivalrous gentleman that he was, went all the way back to Nanning (3.5 hour bus ride) to have our visas corrected. There was hope that he could be back in time for the border closing so we could cross tonight, but the Veitnamese consulates idea of "full reimbursement and transportation back to the border" turned out to be 200 rmb and some maps. So Graham is stuck in Nanning for the night. A few games of Phase Diez (which turned out to be the awesome game I predicted) and border guard pengyoumen later, Jessica and I were escorted by Communist officials to the nearby town of Pinxiang for a night in what appears to be an abandonded brothel/haunted house. Highlights have been witnessing blackmarket Vietnamese visa transactions by our escorts (to which we said, "I thought we were friends!"), congee video diaries, and mystery vegetables. Needless to say, if Jessica and I make it through the night, we are out of here as soon as possible!
Alternate Endings:
According to Xiansheng Fan, we are to meet the bus "letter" at "hui" thirty in the morning to get back to the border. If all goes according to plan we will meet Graham at 11:30 (and shower him with appreciative hugs) and be in Veitnam by noon with annotated visas. My frostbitten toes and dirty hair will be grateful. If you see a post from me soon, you will know I outran Stanley Tucci...If you not, figure I am permenant limbo because Krakozhia is no more.
Sequel?

Nanning

2008-01-12T16:31:00.000+08:00

Update: Am in Nanning...its hot and boring...and they eat dog here...

Jessica & Graham will arrive tomorrow, until then I will be at Chao Fang Fandian, watching Chinese cartoons and reading my wares from the Foreign Language bookstore! Because the consulate is not open on Saturday or Sunday, the three of us will probably not get our visas for Veitnam until Tuesday or even Wednesday. Please lift up Sarah, as she is trying to work out a way to get down here to meet us. Travling in China is nothing short of evil during Spring Festival, and she is having difficulties figuring out how to get out of the country on a dollar she can afford!

On a side note just for Angelyn...its official. Wuchang is the 5th circle of hell! Words cannot do justice crawling through the construction, mudholes, and spring festival travelers in freezing sleet with a broken umbrella for 45 minutes. Was almost run over by a bus. Lets just say that January 11th will forever be remembered as the day I severly voilated the principles of jovial January and felt vindicated for every second that I didn't eat sugar. Totally worth it!

Another Suitcase in Another Hall...

2008-01-10T14:26:00.000+08:00

In the words of the great John Denver ;o)
All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go. I'm standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say goodbye...

I am about to leave my apartment and begin a whirlwind 6 weeks of travel. I know I have already informed you all of this, but as I learned from a recent conversation with my distraught mother: perhaps there is a need for me to be more specific! So please pay special attention to the following announcements:

Fact: I will be traveling in China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos & Thailand
Fiction: I will be traveling in areas of civil unrest and untold dangers such as Myanmar or the Bermuda triangle

Fact: I will not be reachable by telephone
Fiction: I will have fallen off the proverbial edge of the planet, laying torn and bleeding in a gutter for the few short days of life I have left in my ragged body

Fact: I will be posting updates of my whereabout and safety on my blog
Fiction: I will be posting updates of my whereabout and safety on my blog every day...therefore if there are multiple days in a row that you do not hear from me you can be assured of my prolonged and painful demise

If there are any bases I left uncovered, please be sure to let me know so I can rush in with an array of assurances. ;o) I hope you will check my blog often, I will try to entertain you with our adventures as much as possible. Please lift me up to the Father, as well as the the millions of others who will be traveling in China at this time. We need strength and safety, and I need to courage to be a powerful witness at all times and dispel the darkness that will be all around me. Zai Jien!

It's Gonna Be A Happy New Year...

2008-01-06T13:48:00.000+08:00

*2007*
Ever the restless travelers...Brian, Angelyn and I welcomed in the new year with a 24 hour trip to Yichang. I was informed that a New Year's spent in China could not be experienced elsewhere. The foreigners there have developed a tradition, so the Shiyan crew and our Wuhan buddies traveled the 6 hours to watch an apple drop on a chopstick. The night was a whirlwind: it began with a video/photo scavenger hunt that included reenacting the Titanic, creating a western, or grabbing a photo with the infamous Da Shan. Check out the photos for a little view on how our team laid it down. We followed it by a dinner at Pizza Hut, then back to the school for some more delectable treats, judging of the contest, and general merriment. We celebrated the turn of midnight in style, but I will let the video tell the story. Finally, we closed out the night with a group singing that was so incredible. I hadn't heard good 4-part harmony in 5 months and it was quiet literally music to my ears.
Photo Album: Dick Clark's Rockin New Years Eve!
Video: The Ball Drop

*Alliteration Months*
Perhaps you have detected some illusion of these in my past posts, but Angelyn and I, in an endless quest for self-improvement, have been practicing a serious of months aimed at better our selves. Others have jumped on the bandwagon and we feel this movement could spread like wildfire, perhaps even lead to a best seller in our names. So it all began with No-Shave November, at disgusting tradition to say the least, but an excellent discipline in focusing more on inner beauty! Destination December featured a variety of weekend excursions to combat cultural shock; including Wuhan, Chengdu and finally Yichang. Jovial January has been the most challenging exercise, but one we feel is crucial to our mission. No negative remarks about a person may pass our lips. If bitterness comes out, sweetness is not allowed in so failure to compile results in a sugar fast! In the future, Focused/Festive February will require intense dedication to our Chinese studies, followed by the final week spent celebrating random holidays. But we are most excited about what awaits us in two months: Meager March. After running across some disturbing research on the Internet, Angelyn issued a challenge to discover what it is like to really live under the restraints of a Chinese citizen. According to her research, the Chinese welfare system believes that a city resident should be able to survive on 169 rmb a month, roughly the equivalent of $23 American dollars. Even by Chinese standards, this is a ridiculous expectation! But there are many who live accordingly, and we will try to do the same. This will be a challenge for us, we do not pay for things like hot water, heat, or other amenities supplied by our university. But we will be budgeting out blessings like the internet or television. If you are as shocked as we are by these figures, and intrigued by such an idea, we would welcome partners across the ocean in such an endeavor. More information on this alliteration month to come in the future!

*Travel Plans*
The glorious thing about China is the importance of celebration - its practically the 6ht precept of Buddhism. Their equivalent to Christmas is Spring Festival, the 40 day celebration of the lunar new year/excuse for an extensive vacation! The Chinese all leave the city, traveling to the country to visit their hometowns, while the foreigners head off to explore exotic locations. Our university's supply us with travel stipends, as well as a salary despite our absence from work, for this exact purpose. I will be leaving Shiyan on Thursday night and taking a three day journey to the Nanning in the southern point of China. The other foreigners I am traveling with (Jessica and Graham) will meet me there, and we will cross into Vietnam! The three of us will spend about 10 days explore Vietnam while we wait for Sarah, our fourth, to meet us in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). Then we will spend 2 weeks in Cambodia and Laos, filling our days with boat trips, elephant treks, and swims in volcanic craters! For the last leg of the trip we will meet Angelyn in Thailand (yeah!) and finish out the trip on the famous Thai beaches. We will end the trip in Bangkok, participating on a CPM conference which we are all looking forwarded to getting excellent insight and fellowship from!
I wanted to give you the run down for 3 reasons:
#1 - I will definitely be out of reach for the majority of that trip. I will try to check into a hostel weekly that will allow me to post on my blog to let you know I am still alive ;o)
#2 - I don't want my grandmothers panicking and my mother alerting embassies when I am suddenly unreachable and they have difficulty recalling why in the midst of their hyperventilation
#3 - Perhaps to make you feel small jabs of jealousy...

Here's hoping you are all well in the states, and breaking your New Year's Resolutions with a fervor!

GWG ~ Jessica

What A Fine Chap You Are!

2008-01-02T09:13:00.000+08:00

Over the last week I have been immersed in a book that has been
floating around the Western RLGS circuit for a number of years:
"Jesus Freak" (Not just a song by the greatest hiphop/rap/soul
CHRSTN band of all time featuring Kevin, Toby Mac & Michael T -
three men who held my heart for ransom through most of the 90's)
I picked the book up in a bored whim, attracted by the tattered pages
 and the promise of an easy read post the mind-numbing confusion
that was Stein's "Three Lives".  But I was instantly surprised and
challenged by the contents of this "JSS Freak" phenomenon's child. 
The stories of those persecuted and murdered in this book took on a
whole new meaning to me when my mind put faces to the names of
 these martyrs.  The Chinese child killed for her mother's devotion was
 Rose, the two Chinese girls who PRYD for their PSTR'S conscience
seconds before he betrayed and murdered them were Zoe and Halley,
 and the boy who smuggled books across the Yangzte on his back
was David.  I was blown away.  There are people back home in
America who are constantly praising my efforts, talking about the
things I have given up to live here in China.  Honestly, who am I? 
What have I done?  How does only having hot water for 3 hours a day
compare to watching your children die for their own small FTH? 
Its true, we cannot all die for our FTH; we are called to different things
 by the Father.  What I do envy and what I can glean from these shining
examples, is the joy.  There is joy in suffering, there is joy facing the
barrel of a gun, and there is joy in the discovery of a passionate SVR. 
There is joy to be had and I love this story I included below.  I hope it
will challenge you the way it challenged me: to remember the joy that
we have in our GD           

"CHRSTNTY has become dramatic with us," wrote PSTR Richard Wurmbrand, a
leader of the underground CHRCH in Communist Romania. "When CHRSTNS in free
countries win a soul for CHRST, the new BLVR may become a member of a
quietly living church. But them those in captive nations win someone, we know
that he may have to go to prison and that his children may become orphans. The
joy of having brought someone to CHRST is always mixed with this feeling that
there is a price to be paid.

"When I was still living behind the Iron Curtain, I had met a Russian captain.
He loved GD, he longed after GD, but he had never seen a BBL. He had never
attended RLGS services. He had no RLGS education, but he loved GD
without the slightest knowledge of Him."

"I read to him the Sermon on the Mount and the parables of JSS. After hearing
them, he danced around the room in rapturous joy, proclaiming, 'what a
wonderful beauty! How could I live without knowing this CHRST?' It was the
first time that I saw someone jubilating in CHRST."

"Then I made a mistake. I read to him the passion and crucifixion of CHRST,
without having prepared him for this. He had not expected it. When he heard how
CHRST was beaten, how He was crucified, and that in the end He died, he fell
in an armchair and began to weep bitterly. He had believed in a SVR and now
his SVR was dead!"

"I looked at him and was ashamed that I had called myself a CHRSTN and a
PSTR, a teacher of others, I had never shared the sufferings of CHRST as
this Russian officer now shared them. Looking at him was, for me, like seeing
Mary Magdalene weeping at the foot of the cross or at the empty tomb."

"Then I read to him the story of the resurrection. When he heard this wonderful
news, that the SVR arose from the tomb, he slapped his knees, and shouted
joy: 'He is alive! He is alive!' Again he danced around the room, overwhelmed
with happiness!"

"I said to him, 'Let us PRY!'"

"He fell o his knees together with me. He did not know our HLY phrases. His
words of PRYR were, 'O GD, what a fine chap You are! If I were You and You
were me, I would never have forgiven You Your sins. But You are really a very
nice chap! I love You with all my heart'."

"I think that all the angels in heaven stopped what they were doing to listen
to this sublime PRYR from this Russian officer. When this man received
CHRST, he knew he would immediately lose his position as an officer, that
prison and perhaps death in jail would almost surely follow. He gladly paid the
price. He was ready to lose everything."

I'll Be Home for Christmas...

2007-12-28T19:44:00.000+08:00

...If only in my dreams...
And my dreams were full last week: of you all back in the states. My first Christmas at home approached quickly and I was admittedly dreading the day. I could hardly imagine how the most beautiful day of the year could be filled with joy without those I loved near to me. But my Abba takes care of me always - He gave me a great peace in my heart. I spent the day surrounded by people who love me and were even willing to appease all my Christmas wishes for my happiness. They are too good to me ;o)
I had the pleasure of playing Santa Claus and hosting the singletons for Christmas morning. We had delectable cinnamon rolls & quiche (I am my mother's daughter) and stuffed each others stockings with goodies. Highlights included William's re-gifts and Jessi's "I-Love-You" Rats (its the year of the rat after all, who doesn't need a pink stuffed rat?)

My American family heard our desperate cries for culture, and because of their attention I spent the afternoon introducing Brian and Angelyn to the great Christmas Classic Musical, Meet Me in St. Louis. Highlights included mocking Judy Garland's love interest and learning the lyrics to "I was drunk last night, dear Mother"

Then I hit the crazy streets for a last minute desperate attempt to secure the tackiest Christmas sweater China had to offer. You would think this would have been a simple task...but you try fighting off 200 90 lbs girls who all want thing you do (though they are searching for a fashion statement and you for a hideous prize) and are skilled at the art of Tai Ji...so my search was unfruitful. Sad to say I disgraced the Tacky Christmas Sweater Party I so desired. Luckily Brian's sweet Pharaoh-chest-hair-stripe-fest more than made up for my downfall.

That evening we held the first annual Tacky Christmas Sweater-themed Shiyan Progressive Dinner. It began with egg-nog & rotell (White Trash Christmas), followed by soup (Christmas a la John "my dad was born in a Mexican prison" Calvillo), moved to Min's amazing feast (Chinese Christmas) and finished with Christmas in a pan (Sugar Coma Christmas) We worked off the calories by walking from place to place and serenading the masses with Christmas Carols the hour we spent stuck on the bus. Sadly, despite our best efforts to pace our selves and eat through the pain, I felt fairly conquered.

Thanks to my kid brother, I got to see the faces of my wonderfully crazy family on SKYPE - the greatest Christmas present of all. Its seems they were able to celebrate Christmas despite my absence, and I am glad that our Father gave them that strength. ;o) My Christmas was complete because of them. They are with me always, I carry them in my heart. I carry all of you - Thank you for all your Christmas wishes and for always lifting me up to our wonderful Abba above. I hope you all had the Happiest Christmas!

GWG ~ Jessica

Here is my Christmas Album: Been An Awful Good Girl, Santa Baby...