The Last Days

Why is it that we don’t fully appreciate what we have until its about to leave us?  My last days in Beijing were certainly ones for the books!  I made last outings with my friends from my program, spent some last time with my host family and just took in the city one last time.  I went back to several places that I went to at the beginning of the semester, and not only do the places look totally different now that spring has sprung, but I’m not the same nervous overwhelmed girl that I was when I saw them the first time.  I can sorta kinda speak Chinese.  I have an idea of where I’m going and what’s going on.

I also stayed an additional five days in Beijing after the end of my program which was a great choice.  Some friends stayed around before they left for a trip to Tibet, so I hung out with them and then had a final full day by myself, which was absolutely the perfect amount of time to process saying goodbye to the city and my semester.  One night, seven of us rented a little battery boat and just randomly went around one of the lakes in Beijing that is surrounded by walking paths and little restaurants with rooftop areas.  I had also been there at the beginning of the semester and watched people ice skate on the lake that we were now boating in, watching the sun go down in every shade of orange and pink.  On my last day, I walked across Tiananmen Square and thought about all of the things that have happened in China just in recent history.  I ate last plates of noodles and dumplings.  It was awesome.  By the end of the day I was a little more ready to head home and be with people again, which I’m thankful for.  I’m going to Colorado in a week to start my summer job, so I wanted to do the best I could for myself to ease through reverse culture shock in such a short amount of time, and staying extra time in Beijing was definitely the best thing I did.

The hardest part of leaving is always saying goodbye to friends you have made.  IES Beijing was 60 students from all over the country (and the world) from all different schools.  I’ve realized how much of my life I’ve spent around people who are very similar to me, and how awesome it was to meet so many different people.  I may have learned more from my classmates than just about anything else that I did.  The last night of the program was surreal, just like all goodbye nights are.  We had graduation, dinner, then China Night (performances) and then we all went to the Cafe, an on campus hang out.  ”Sweet Caroline” was sung.  Birthdays were celebrated.  Laughter was shared for one last time.  There was then the 1:30 exodus of a considerably smaller group to a Chinese fast food restaurant, and one final cab ride back to my homestay.  Beijing is so serene late at night.  Goodbyes are hard.  They always are.  ”How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.” -Winnie the Pooh

I’m going to miss the busy street life of China a lot.

As a diehard Michael Phelps fan, this was above and beyond awesome!

Last stroll across Tiananmen captured by my broken camera

The Forbidden City

Sunset view from a boat! Blessed.

Tibet Overview Pt. 1

This is copied word for word from the Hope blog.  I'll hopefully do another one.  Maybe.  I'm home now anyways.

I got back from Tibet about a week ago, but its been whirlwind of finishing my program, packing, saying goodbyes, and doing last-moment-in-China activities.  A post on this past week to follow!  But, TIBET.

This trip was the bulk of my final area’s studies class about Tibet.  There were 13 of us total, ten students, one IES staffer, one RA and our professor.  We got to Lhasa (Tibet’s biggest city) by two trains with a stopover in Xining in between.  The first train was the same as my previous Chinese overnight train experiences, but the second train is quite something.  We saw some pretty incredible panoramic views of the lakes and mountains of the Tibetan plateau.  It is built partially on permafrost, making it a huge challenge of engineering.  At its highest point the train is at over 16,000 feet above sea level.  This brings me to the less stellar part of the trip- altitude sickness.  There just wasn’t enough oxygen for my sea level lungs up there!  Thankfully I didn’t have to be hooked up to the oxygen in the train (there is a plug in for every passenger).  Definitely not a pleasant day, but by the time we arrived in Lhasa in the afternoon more or less feeling better (and we came down. 

We started our touring regimen the next day- temples, monasteries, nunneries, and hiking! I learned more than I ever thought I would about Tibetan Buddhism.  I won’t go into all of the details, but it was interesting to see people of a different religion than me that I didn’t know much about before.  One highlight was at Sera Monastery, where the monks debate with each other every afternoon, teacher with student so that they can learn and defend their beliefs on Buddhist doctrines.  The teacher is standing while the student sits, and when the student makes a point the teacher does this sort of full body clap motion, palm down for “good point” palm up for “better luck next time.”  It was so entertaining to watch!

We also did six days of camping.  It wasn’t super hardcore as we had a team of cooks with us (thus alleviating the most time consuming chore of  camping with some of the best food I have ever eaten), but it was glorious to be outside!  We visited more sights of Tibetan Buddhism, drove through the Tibetan country side, stayed with a Tibetan family, and even went to some awesome hot springs.  By far my favorite part of the trip was all of the nature that we got to see.  There were mountains everywhere we looked all the time (I’m actually not kidding).  God’s creation at its finest!  The Tibetan people are also on the whole incredibly welcoming and kind.  I’ll let pictures do the rest of the talking!

Some kids we met at a village we camped at!

Classic Tibet tourist activity, yes the lake is still frozen.

Capturing memories at one of the monasteries we visited

Well, I'm up too late and leaving for Tibet in just a few hours!  I won't have internet (and if I do I won't have a VPN to access Blogger anyways), so see you in two weeks!  Please pray for altitude adjustment, good group dynamics, and spiritual protection!  All my love!

The Great Wall and the Great Unknown

Ask anyone the landmarks they think of when they think of China and the Great Wall is guaranteed to be one of them.  This was the IES outing of the weekend.  It might be one of my favorite things I have ever done.  Get ready for a long one!  Trust me, its really worth it.
 

About 30 of us went along with two teachers and two RA's.  We took the bus to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall.  Once we were out of Beijing we started driving through big hills.  My heart was so happy, I could taste the adventure awaiting.  We were blessed with gorgeous weather, sun, blue skies (China?), and not too hot or too cold temperatures.  We started hiking on the wall.  This wasn't exactly a smooth stroll along smooth cobblestones.  This wall is a couple of thousand years old.  Up and and down and around we went.  It was so fun to gaze out at the mountain landscape, to take lots of pictures, to be with my friends.  We were all a little giddy I think.  It was a pretty big moment.  We're at the point in the semester where we're staring to realize the accomplishments that we've made in coming in here, in learning language, in discovering new things.  The group drifted into two, lets call them the mountaineering group and the enthusiastic photography group.

I eventually found myself alone and between the two, a little bit on purpose.  The feeling of something profound was tugging at my heart.  The Great Unknown was feeling closer than it has before.  The thought struck me.  It was a big one.  It made me smile like a fool to myself.  "If He had never called me here, I wouldn't be here.  If I had never followed that call, I wouldn't be here."  I wouldn't have been hiking the Great Wall surrounded by the most beautiful BLUE sky.  The theme song of this time abroad is listed at the top of my blog.  In the way that God placed this song on my heart, I had the feeling that there would be something that He would reveal to me here as I sought the my limits and the Great Unknown, if I kept my eyes open.  I think I might be starting to figure it out.

So here's where my thoughts get a little less defined.  Maybe, The Great Unknown is simply knowing God Himself.  Maybe the Great Unknown is simply following Him on life's adventures.  Maybe the Great Unknown is simply loving these people, at this time, in this place.  I am here for this season and it is a good, beautiful, thing.  Over thinking it or being overly critical of myself doesn't help.

I walked on the Great Wall, and it was beautiful.  It was good.  I got praise God in His creation.  I don't think I will ever be a city girl, not without the opportunity to escape like that.  My soul needs to see God simply for who He is in the way that His creation quietly allows.  I talked and laughed and took four million pictures with some people who, I must say, are a pretty stellar crew.

Here's the next part of the story.  We stayed overnight at a little Chinese village.  The people made us amazing food and sold us overpriced souvenirs and we bought them.  We stayed in rooms that had giant HEATED beds that could sleep 6-8 people.  We watched the sun set over the Great Wall in the distance.  And oh, bless the Lord oh my soul, we got to see STARS.  There's no lights anywhere around here kind of stars.  We got to stand on the edge of a cliff and look at so many stars.  Even though the Beijing light/cloud/smog was distracting us from over a hill.  This semester has been a pretty big season of doubt for me at times.  This weekend, I had no doubts about who God is.  Bumping along the dirt road to the village in an uncomfortable van reminded me of mission trips, all of it reminded me of camp.  I feel like I got a little bit of myself back again.  And that was only the first day.

We (yes this did include me!) got up at 4am the next day for a sunrise hike.  I was told it would be grueling.  This was not a lie.  I have no idea of height or anything but we basically hiked straight up the side of a mountain to get to the highest point on the wall, Wanjing (view of Beijing).  Here was my thought process that ultimately failed me (kinda): "If I start off at the front of the pack, even if I drop back I won't be as far behind."  Our guide was and elderly Chinese man who must do this for fun regularly.  Up we climbed.  There was no xiuxi (rest) to be had.  I pushed myself and eventually stepped aside for a break.  Too late, for whatever reason I was starting to feel sick.  Water helped.  I climbed some more.  The group had spread out much more by this point, and I was with my friend Jackie (who so graciously carried my water in her pack, thus solidifying my nickname for her of Jack Pack), and one of the RA's Will.

My brain said, "you CAN do this, you WANT to do this, you HAVE to do this."  My body was debating between throwing up and passing out.  Not pleasant to say the least.  Not conducive to hiking straight up the side of a mountain.  Will and Jackie were very encouraging- "I don't think its too much farther!  You're doing great!"  Me: "I'm pretty sure you guys are just saying that but thanks for the sentiment, and I would say the same thing in your situation."  It was frustrating because mentally I wanted to do it, but I was doubting if my body would let me.  My motto of "the view from the top is always worth it" seemed suddenly possibly to disprove.  We kept going.  The last part was more climbing up rocks than anything.  I turned around and saw the world below me and I screamed (joy not fear) at the pink glow that was lighting up everything.  It was so close I could taste it.  I stopped thinking so much about what my stomach felt.  Will: "Scream when we actually get to the top!  Keep going!"

Breaking over the mountains!

I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Your works are wonderful, I know that full well! Ps. 139:14

Check out this golden joy!

"I lift my eyes unto the hills, where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip, He who watches over you will not slumber." Ps. 121:1-3

Jack Pack!  So thankful for her that morning (and other times too)

Holy is the Lord, God almighty, the earth is filled with His glory!

We made it just in time to see the sun peak over the top of the Great Wall and turn the world GOLD.  Yep, the view from the top is always worth it.  I climbed up, and smack, touched the highest point on the Great Wall.  JOY.  We talked and laughed and marveled.  My heart was full of praise.  Glory, glory glory.  I'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking, but here's what the morning hike meant to me.  It was hard, but I did it anyways.  I couldn't have done it without the people that I was with and the God of the universe.  I saw Him even more in that morning.  His glory for the whole world.  We came down with knees shaking but hearts full.  It was the most glorious start to a day I've had in awhile.

"If you never leave home, never let go, you'll never make it to the Great Unknown, so keep your eyes open my love."

How I Got Here

I don't know if I've ever shared the story of how I ended up in China on this blog, and it helps the rest of the post make sense:
-When I was ten, I heard about the gender disparity and infanticide issues caused by the OCP.  My heart was struck by the injustice of this, and I swore I would adopt baby girls from China.
-Fast forward to senior year of high school, I'm at a missions conference with my youth group and we go to an activity called Firestarters, where we are supposed to read information about several world issues and choose one that we feel called to pray for.  Abortion was the issue that stood out to me that day, while its not usually the issue that I'm most passionate about.  At the end, we got a sticker and were asked to place it on a part of the world that we felt called to pray for.  The Haiti earthquake had just happened, which I was passionate about, yet I knew that wasn't where I was supposed to go.  I walking around the map rather aimlessly waiting for that nudge of where to be.  We had also just been learning about China in AP Gov and the abortion and OCP clicked in my mind.  I looked at the vast country and went in my mind, "well, the Olympics were in Beijing!" and down went my sticker.
-I had been thinking before this about going into missions in some capacity.  I wish I could remember the intervening months here better to know what I was thinking about.
-I had taken Spanish in high school and traveled to Mexico and Honduras, and I was going to continue at Hope but I didn't get into the class I needed so I put off taking a language class.  I wasn't totally in love with Spanish or anything.
-Sometime in that first semester I connected China and missions in my head, decided that I wanted to study abroad in China, and that I would start Chinese at Hope in the fall.  I even looked through all of the available study abroad programs and decided on the IES Contemporary Issues Beijing program.  The whole China thing was continually confirmed.
-I started Chinese sophomore year and was quickly brought to reality.  It's a really, really, really, hard language for an English speaker to learn.
-The study abroad application time came around, and I had a total crisis of where to go.  I still had the idea of China, yet I fell in love with a program in Scotland as well.  Just do a Google image search of Scotland.  I hated learning Chinese and the thought of going to a country where that was the language of choice was pretty frightening.  It was a battle between what I wanted and what God wanted.  I decided to let it rest because I was going to Kenya that summer anyways.  I prayed and thought a lot while I was there, and at 4am one night, I decided to do Contemporary Issues Beijing.  It was where God was calling me to be.

I couldn't NOT come to China, when I knew SO strongly that it was what God wanted me to do.  So amidst fear and doubt, I was sent off with more earthly love than I have ever known, all pointing to the indescribable love of my Savior above.

Four Day Weekend

Here is the much awaited post about my wonderful weekend last weekend.  Well at least one person has awaited it.  Anyways.

Mykhanh and I left campus to grab lunch on our way to the subway.  I'll add here that this is when bubble tea #1 was consumed.  We went to the train station and took a high speed 30 minute train trip to Beijing's neighbor city Tianjin, where we changed train stations and got a train to Shanghai.  There were no tickets leaving from Beijing so this was a doable albeit more time consuming option.  The high speed trains are awesome.  We were going about 180 miles per hour, so it took us about 5 hours to get to Shanghai.  Inside the train itself is like a plane, with bigger windows, more room, and no altitude issues or seat belt sign.  We got into Shanghai and managed to take the subway partway to our hostel before it closed.  Then we tried to get a cab but Chinese people kept out bidding us or the drivers didn't understand where we were trying to go.

This is one of the times where Myks and I shamelessly use our appearances to our advantage.
Getting a cab: Mykhanh.  She is Vietnamese American and looks Chinese.  People are surprised that she isn't and confused that her Chinese isn't perfect, yet if they know she's American they say its very good.  Less conspicuous than a laowai hailing for a cab.
Going into a fancy hotel and asking the concierge how to get to our hostel because they're a fancy hotel and its Shanghai so someone definitely speaks English: me.  Being white, I'm the more convincing poor lost tourist.  We found the hostel.  Cab drivers are nice in Shanghai.

Our full day in Shanghai:
-Bubble Tea #2 and jingbing #1 to start of the morning.  Jinbing is something that I live off of here and there are many different varieties.  Basically its fried dough with stuff in it, usually meat, egg, maybe lettuce and sauce.  Sort of like a burrito but not quite.  The dough can vary in thickness as well as the fillings.
-Shanghai Museum- lots of really cool and beautiful old Chinese stuff.  Free admission.  Yeah buddy.
-The French Concession- fancy tourist hutong area.  Lots of overpriced stuff, some really cool art, and random souvenirs. There was one place with really amazing photography.  It made me remember how photography really can be a true art form.
-Nanjing Road- Bubble Tea #3.  Big laowai shopping area.  The largest Forever 21 I have ever been to, around the size of the Times Square one according to Google.  Lots of other expensive stores and lots and lots of people.
-Meet up with Emily and Brenna (fellow IES peeps) and go see the Shanghai skyline at night.  It was super smoggy so the tops of some of the buildings were lost in the clouds, but it did not disappoint.  One of those "wow I'm really in China!" moments.
-Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).  Be careful or the soup spills all over you.
-Boat across the river with Mykhanh to see the pretty buildings up close.  Consider going up into a tall building   Opt for McDonald's ice cream and getting on the subway before it closes instead.

So we packed it in, but I feel like i saw of the biggest things you have to see when you go to Shanghai.  The city feels much more European and modern than Beijing, there are tons of laowai, and I'd say its a little more modern and polished.

Next day:
-Jinbing #2, train ride to Hangzhou.  We bought the cheap tickets and we found out why.  Not a comfy experience.  We got to Hangzhou and it was cloudy and rainy, yet Mykhanh started singing with the taxi driver and there were so many trees everywhere!  One of Karen's big fails of the trip: our hotel for that night.  At least the room smelled better after we turned the air conditioner on right?  Definitely made me in even more support of hostelling.  And the hotel was not near anything at all.  Oh well.
-Headed over to the shopping street area.  Bubble tea #4.  Met up with Emily, Brenna, Ly and Hong.  Got street food.  I had friend crab on a stick and a little bowl of noodles.
-买东西-shopping.  Lots of souvenir type places and tea stores.

Hangzhou is one of my new favorite places in the world.  Myks and I had an interesting morning getting her a replacement train ticket for Suzhou and not finding our hostel.  Bubble tea #5 happened on that journey.  Hostel is infinitely better than crappy hotel, lots of garden space and an adorable little hipster cafe.  And then we went to the lake.  And then I slowly fell in love.  Hangzhou is most well known and earns the reputation as most beautiful place in China for its lake, known as West Lake.  Myks is a fellow Seattle girl.  She loves water like I love mountains.  We spent the first 30 minutes just freaking out at the immense lake before us.  We started walking around and then decided we should walk around the other way.  Glory to God from the depths of my soul.  So beautiful.  Trees, water, hills across the lake.  I have never lived in the city before this semester.  I needed this.  My soul needs this.  We decided to take a boat to an island in the middle of the lake.  We hop aboard this ancient Chinese looking (though very modern boat) and go out the island.  It has some name that I can't remember, basically there are 4 lakes in the middle of this island surrounded by paths, pagodas, little Chinese buildings and lots of trees.  And bridges.  And the biggets koi fish I have ever seen.  Anyways.  No car sounds.  Lots of people, but its China.  There are never not lots of people.  The sun began its descent, first gold than brighter and brighter, and we had to get on the boat because they were closing the boats down and oh.  Glory, glory, glory.  First time I've seen a real sunset in awhile.  Dinner at a Thai place with Emily and Brenna because someone offered Mykhanh an opera ticket.  Bubble tea #5.  A Thai restaurant with no noodles, which is just nonsense if you ask me.  Red curry instead.  Lots of crying and eating fruit and drinking water.  So delicious though.  More shopping.  Tea purchasing.  Snack tasting.

Myks and I got up and headed to Suzhou.  Canal streets.  Hipster postcard store.  Baozi shaped like pigs.  Too good.

I'll put pics in another post or up on FB.  It was an awesome, restful, joy filled weekend!

Things About Today

This past weekend was probably my favorite travel that I've done.  And I'm not going to write about it right now.  HA.

This morning for IR we went to a class at Qinghua University (the best university in China), broke into groups and talked about IR issues between China and America.  I was with my friend Alyssa and three Chinese students.  We made a list of the issues which included trade/currency, human rights, environmental issues, Taiwan, Tibet, N. Korea, relations with SE Asia, media, and more.  It was so interesting to hear the Chinese perspective on these issues.  Most of us agreed that trade and currency are the most pressing issues in China/US relations right now.  Perhaps the most interesting part for me was figuring out how to answer some of the questions that the Chinese students posed to us, including things about gun control and American political awareness (or lack thereof).  I think what it came down to was explaining how Americans in general don't believe one thing universally, because of things like geographical differences and our multi-party system and free speech.  It was an awesome way to spend class!

The other random event of my day was when I stopped in a tiny clothes store by my house to see if they had any fleeces (they didn't).  However, the girls working in the shop struck up a conversation with me and we managed to have a basic conversation in Chinese!  I of course heard their giggles as I walked out of the door, but that's nothing new, and I appreciated that they initiated the conversation with me.  It was pretty fun.

Really, that's it.  Exciting to me and no one else is that a new noodle place opened up right near campus, and I can get a hefty portion of delicious mian for six kuai a five minute walk from campus.

Xi'an

Since I leave for Shanghai tomorrow I thought I should give a brief rundown of my Xi'an adventures before everything blurs together too much in my mind.  And I just put close to 200 pictures of Facebook too!

We (Mykhanh and Marytha and I) took an overnight train to Xi'an.  I seriously love being on the train in China.  There's nothing like it.  If you want to experience humanity just go to a train station in China.  So many people all going somewhere.  Lines are a vague suggestion, its every man for himself in the crush to get on a train.  We got hard sleepers, which are seriously a dream.  For about $50 US one way, you get a narrow bunk with pillow and comforter with 5 other people in your little cabin (which are open to the corridor), and have a chance of being coherently rested by the time you arrive at your destination.  Some other friends were on our same train, so we hung out in their compartment for awhile and played cards.

Without even going to our hostel, we grabbed a bus from the train station and headed to see the terra cotta warriors.  They were as cool in person as in every textbook and photo I've seen.  There are over 8,000 that have been dug up with more still buried.  No two are exactly the same, and there are soldiers with different stances and weaponry as well as horses.  Only one has been found completely intact.  The internet can tell you more history if you want, but as one of my friends pointed out, these guys are older than Jesus (appr. 200 BC).  And they were only found in the 1970s by some peasants digging a well.  Crazy.

That afternoon we found our hostel.  We tried to find the taxi place, which took a really long time, and then since all the taxi drivers wanted to rip the waiguoren  girls off we found a bus that took us there for much less.  We then went to meet Mykhanh's friend and she took us the Muslim Quarter, which might have been one of my favorite places I've been in China.  She showed us a shop where a SISTER sells Chinese calligraphy and painting.  Steven Curtis Chapman was playing.  The rest of the stuff in the shopping area was similar to market shopping in Beijing, but much more relaxed.  Then we went into the main street.  I just love China at night.  It was dusk, and the sky was glowing orange as the neon signs came on, street food sizzled and friend and smelled delicious, and people packed the street.  We sampled random food items and just took everything in.  We found a store that sold 10 kuai scarves ($1.66) when its usually impossible to bargain below 20.  We had spicy food at some random restaurant and it was just awesome.

The next day, we biked the city wall which was probably my favorite thing that we did.  I've spent a lot of time here seeing things, it was nice to actually do something and in the process see the city from a completely different perspective.  The only downside was the ancient cobblestones that made it a very bumpy ride.  We did the 8 mile ride in exactly the time we had rented the bikes for, 100 minutes.  So fun.  

We then went to find the Golden Goose Pagoda which took longer than we intended it too.  Mykhanh and I wanted to get back for church so we just saw it from a distance and called it good and then went back to go to mass (its becoming a tradition in our friendship).  It took awhile to get there and we didn't really know where we going.  Again per tradition, we came late and slipped in the back and left early to make it to the hostel and then to the train.

Since our train left at like 6 we had some time to talk before we fell asleep.  It gave us all a chance to process our China experiences up to that point.  Because of the language pledge that's always on at IES we don't always get to have real conversations like this.  Very thankful for my friends.

That was something that struck me about Xi'an.  Seeing the terra cotta soldiers.  It was another one of those moments where I went "woah... I really am here!"  Crazy stuff.  I have heard about those things my whole life, and I really got to see them in the flesh (terra cotta flesh?).  We are infinitely more comfortable with traveling now, my Chinese is improving even if its not as quickly as I would like sometimes, I really am doing this. 

One in Him

Happy Easter everyone!  I know I'm horribly horribly behind on blogging, but I'll try and get caught up before the next long weekend, which is this weekend.  Shanghai baby!  And Hangzhou too, but most people outside of China haven't heard of that, so it sort of takes away from the emphasis of the statement.  Also, Myks and I waited to long to get our tickets, so we literally spent 45 minutes at the ticket place trying every possible combination of cities and such.  We're going to Tianjin (Beijing's next door little brother) and going to Shanghai, then on to Hangzhou and then to Suzhou for a couple hours on the last day to get a cheaper train back to Beijing than we could have gotten from Hangzhou.

My Easter was so totally different than any other that I've had before, yet it was awesome because the reason for celebrating was exactly the same- the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in taking the sin of the world granted those who profess His name and believe that He is Lord

Matteo Ricci was one of the first ever (if not the first ever) missionary to China in the 1600's and he helped China make some science/tech cultural advances as well.  I went to mass at the church he started with three friends from my program + one visiting dad.  The church itself is beautiful.  When Mykhanh and I got there, the service before hadn't ended, and people were packed into the courtyard outside watching on screens because the sanctuary was full.  It was so peaceful to just be there.  The service was in English and I knew many of the hymns and the basic service structure from my own background.  I like how much scripture reading is incorporated into the Catholic service, especially the Psalms that are sung.  Since only Catholics are allowed to take the Eucharist, I just stayed in the pew and prayed while everyone else went up.  It reminded me of the Gathering in the sweetest, not homesick sort of way.  Travel weekends have interrupted a lot of my church going type stuff here.  I knew it would be like this, that I was filled to bursting last semester to be poured out this semester.  I haven't really found a Christian community outside of my friends in the program (for whom I am very grateful!), and its been okay.  The fellowship there is is with God Himself.  Bible and journal time is my favorite.  Email has been the most helpful tool.  Opening a message full of love and encouragement and God stories never fails to brighten my day, and I appreciate everyone who has sorted through my rambling thoughts and written beautiful and wise responses to my messages.

For lunch we decided to get Beijing roast duck because a few of us had never had it, its basically a requirement for being in Beijing, and its a special occasion sort of thing.  It was so delicious!  I think the best part of the meal was that there were several different cooking styles, sauces etc. available for the duck so Mykhanh and Jean, the girls with the most Chinese were talking with the fuwuyuan for a good five minutes trying to figure it out.  Bryce (low level Chinese compatriot) and I made mostly unhelpful suggestions and what we ended up getting was awesome, so it worked out.  We also had qiezi (eggplant), these spicy cucumbers that I didn't like, preserved eggs and rice.  The duck we ended up getting came with these super thing wrapper things and plumb sauce.  So good.

I came home and did work/hung out all afternoon.  I bought myself a little bag of Jelly Bellys at the grocery store the other day because its a family Easter tradition and I figured it would be the day for the one time splurge purchase.  No regrets.  And Chinese Jelly Bellys have a green tea flavor that is super delish.  It brought me so much joy to have something that is so much a part of my Easters past to enjoy on this Easter too.

My time is starting to fly so fast.  We leave for long travel (Tibet) in a little under three weeks, and in between is the four day weekend and an overnight trip to the Great Wall.  After Tibet its about five days til the end of the program.  Summer plans still aren't nailed down, which I really want to happen before I leave for Shanghai.  Wow.  Putting me and Shanghai in the same sentence is pretty crazy!  That's it.  I've looked forward to study abroad since my childhood and its been so awesome.  I've had disappointments and bad days, but overall, I'm living the dream right now.  I have fewer commitments than I've had in years, and one of the points of studying abroad is to have fun and travel and be immersed in another culture, all things I love.  And this too shall pass.  I will be forever changed in ways I don't even know yet, but it will only be a memory after May.  I'm so thankful to have had this experience.

Other assorted news: Last night I went with three of my Seattle friends to see a Chinese movie, Beijing to Seattle and it was really fun!  There were English subtitles and it was interesting to see how some of the translations didn't necessarily line up.  We got super excited seeing the skyline and Tillamook products in a fridge shot, but most of the movie was shot in Vancouver anyways.  Oh well.  We also had dinner at a Mexican Vietnamese restaurant.  I had a noodle bowl and it was super tasty.  Then we went to salsa dancing but it was pretty lame this time so we left and ended up at the Cafe, the little on campus hang out which turned into a dance party.  And a group of other foreign students who were unashamedly standing watching us dance.  At least they finally joined, it was pretty awkward to just have them watch.

Also, Marzipan Ritter Sport bars might be the best thing ever invented.  And Josh Garrels is my new musical obsession.  People have been telling me that I would like him for over a year and then five free albums on Noisetrade later I'm in love...  More pictures in the Xi'an post, I promise...

So About the Study Part...

It's not what usually gets talked about, but schoolwork is a significant part of the study abroad experience.  My program, Contemporary Issues in China is fairly intense.  We have Chinese class throughout the semester and Area Studies courses, which are held in intensive blocks one at a time.  Right now I'm in "China in International Relations," already having finished "Chinese Literature" and the intro course, "Understanding China."  I have loved my classes here.  It has been so fascinating to learn about some subjects that I've never learned before, and to attempt to understand China.  I think what I know most certainly is that I will never know or understand everything there is to know about the most populated and most ancient country in the world.  While a lot of my schoolwork looks like it would at Hope, with lots of reading, writing, and learning characters, the study abroad experience does provide some more unique opportunities including cool field trips and fun activities.  My final block class, "Ethnic Minorities in China" means that we get to spend two weeks in Tibet!

Last week for IR we went to the Old Summer Palace, where the emperors would live until the place burned down.  I've been here before, but it was so cool to learn more of the history with my professor along, and chuckle at all of the attention that 15 waiguoren in a group attract anywhere that we go.  I love that this was class for the day!

Listening to fascinating history while perched on giant rocks with my friends? I'll take it!

Old Summer Palace ruins

For Chinese last week we went to a market and had to find items (we only had the word in Chinese), pick out a gift for someone else in our class, and talk to random people.  It was a much needed break from sitting in a classroom.  We're at the point in the semester where people are staring to get tired and the novelty of being in China has definitely worn off in many ways.  Usually my class starts at 9, but we were told that today we had a mandatory meeting at 8 to talk about our long travel trips.  Our program director starts talking to us about shopping for hiking clothes and I can't help but notice how distracted he is.  He says, "You need to make sure you have good hiking shoes, but we can worry about that later, today we're cancelling classes and everyone's going out into the city!"  Deciding in our still-tiredness that this was probably true we went downstairs to find all of the teachers and RA's holding signs to different locations in the city.  This was Crazy Day!  A day meant to be totally fun and give us a break.  I went with two IES teachers, one of our RA's and seven other students to Fragrant Hills Park, a large hill that we climbed on the outskirts of Beijing.  I am a Pacific Northwest girl and the constant being in the city/not being outside in nature has been getting to me.  God gave me exactly what I needed today.  Everyone was so happy to have classes cancelled, and it was a beautiful hike, even when the smog got the best of the view.  We then went to a restaurant that some kids in the group knew for lunch and it was one of the top meals I've had in China.  We ordered several veggie dishes, chicken, shrimp, and of course rice.  We were literally silent because everyone was so focused on eating and savoring the food.  It was incredible.  It's these experiences outside of the classroom that I will always remember.

Getting ready to go out for Crazy Day!

The view from the top is ALWAYS worth it!

Beijing, Beijing smog. The hills on the left are the retreat center for the Communist Party.

Remnants of an awesome meal!

Unexpected & Beautiful: Chengdu

This past weekend was a long travel weekend, so we had Friday off of classes.  On Thursday night, I flew with two of my friends to the city of Chengdu (成都) in the Sichuan Province of western China.  We originally decided to go there because it is the only place in the world where you can hold a panda, and there are other awesome sights as well.  It turns out that holding a panda is $300 US dollars per person.  Our flights cost less than that.  Needless to say, I decided not to do what I had gone to Chengdu to do, however, it was the other unexpected things that made the weekend so awesome!

My favorite moment of the weekend was one that was totally unexpected, not usually considered at all desirable, but absolutely spontaneously hilarious.  Three friends and I were riding back from the Sichuan Opera when our car broke down.  Straight up stalled out in the middle of the road.  Out we got to push.  If the sight of four laowai pushing a van down the street wasn't enough, a bus pulls up beside us and stops at the intersection.  There were probably about 30 Chinese people on board who were all staring at us, some of them literally, with mouths wide open.  We could not stop laughing.  They all looked so confused, and the absurdity and adrenaline rush of the situation made everything that much funnier.  Then the bus is sitting there waiting for the light while we just roll on past.  I will never forget that, totally unexpected or planned, yet hilarious nonetheless.  Marytha has a super infectious laugh, we were still trying to believe what was actually happening, I will never forget the moment. 

--Three things I appreciate about flying in China: free food, free checked bags and you don't have to take off your shoes to go through security.  Meet Marytha and Alyssa!  We had a great weekend together, and its not the first time Alyssa and I have been flight buddies!  We talked about pandas when we met in the Seattle airport and who would have known that the conversation would have been prophetic (so to speak)?

--We got in the car to go on our day tour of the Leshan Buddha (the largest Buddha in the world) and the pandas to find some kids from IES Shanghai and one couple.  What are the chances of that?  They were a fun group to spend the day with.  The Buddha was pretty magnificent, and the pandas were oh so fun to watch even though I was bummed about not holding one.  They're just super lazy and they kind of just roll around eating.  I could have watched them for hours.

 
--One of my friends at Hope, Yijun, is from Chengdu.  I got to meet her parents and they treated us to a delicious dinner with true Chinese hospitality!  It felt like being at home with family, they were so kind!  It was a very unique experience that I wasn't expecting to have, but it might even have been why I came to Chengdu.  I'm so thankful that everything worked out.

--Wandering random shopping streets with no goal or time frame in mind.  Sichuan is known for SPICE.  The one spicy dish I ate I also managed to get in my eye.  (When you eat noodles with chopsticks, you slurp.  Its just what you do.  And then the tentacle noodle of death splashes la into your eye.  Needless to say, I'm still a spice wimp.

--Something that I LOVED about Chengdu was how many green trees there were (Beijing basically has none right now).  We also checked out a monastery that had some beautiful gardens away from the city.  It was interesting to observe some Buddhist religious practices and I definitely want to learn more about Buddhism as it is a belief system that has greatly influenced Chinese culture.
--On Sunday, Marytha and I were going to go to a nearby mountain but train tickets were sold out by the time we got there.  We decided to explore some parks in Chengdu and had an absolutely awesome day!  We paddled a canoe (a midst many greetings of "Hallo!" from our fellow Chinese mariners), danced with Chinese people (including to "Gangam Style"), and rode this suspended bike ride at the part of the park that had a mini amusement park.  It was so glorious to be in such beautiful creation and to enjoy it with many Chinese people as well.  Some sort of white puffy pollen was floating in the air, like snow, which only made everything feel more like a fairy tale!  We even managed to run into Alyssa and her friend without planning to at all.   
Chengdu was an absolutely beautiful city, and I'm so glad that I made the choice to go, even though I didn't hold a panda, train tickets were sold out, the car broke down... it was still an awesome weekend, with the best memories in the unexpected & beautiful.  Next stop is Xi'an!

Please pray for summer discernment right now, options are on the table I just have to make some decisions!

Fruit Shopping and Life Thoughts

Random adventures of the day (some of these happened yesterday, when I started writing this post):

I'm going to Xi'an with my friends Mykhanh, Marytha, and Colin two weekends from now.  Us ladies, (with Colin's money and passport,) headed to the ticket office with our handy dandy travel vocabulary books and all of our train choices written down.  I'm proud of us.  Tickets are booked baby!  Between the three of us (really that means the other two) we got the tickets we wanted, with beds (we're doing overnight trains and getting sleeper beds) near each other.  Can't wait for the adventures in store!

We learned in class today about shopping words and getting fruit from a fruit stand, and part of our homework was to go find a fruit stand and get the prices on a few different items.  There's a fruit stand literally 10 feet away from the gate to my apartment building, and since I walk by it everyday (and stopped a few times to get things) I've wanted to get to know the people who run it at least to the limited extent that I can.  I felt bad for asking how much all the things were, so I bought a satsuma (which come individually wrapped, nope I don't get it either, though it does give you a place to put the peel) to make up for my duo shao qian-ing.  (Ing added by me).  I also decided to walk down the opposite side of the street that I do.  Its so good to change perspective!  This was the smallest change to my normal routine, yet it was awesome to go exploring somewhere I see everyday but I've never really been to.

So then today, we went and with our teacher and practiced "shopping" at little stores near campus.  We had to ask about different things and how much they cost if they had them etc.  In this adventure, I ate dragonfruit, two different types of jinbing (fried dough with stuff in it), peach candy, some sort of flower tea that I'm not totally sure what it is, and I have an apple that is supposed to taste like an apple sitting in my bag.  Then Irene and I split a yam from a street vendor when we were walking to the bus.

A huge part of my experience thus far has involved not only learning about China but learning about others and myself.  It has come from me realizing that things are not always what I assumed they were, from seeing with new eyes and having new perspectives.  In my program, we all come from different schools and backgrounds, from the Ivy Leagues to big state schools to small private schools (go Hope!) and everything in between.  Family background and geography is different.  Some of my classmates went to private boarding high schools.  Yet, we all chose to come to China.  Even if you come here to mess around, you still have to do work, cuz heck, you're learning Chinese!  For whatever reason, something about this unfathomably populated, puzzle language, polluted, historic, undefinable country intrigued us.  That's something we have in common, and something that I think sets this crew apart.  We're in it together.

But I digress.  I didn't expect that all of these people would become my China family, and I love them so much.  My view of community was defined by the Hope community, which is an incredibly stellar community.  But Hope is a very this-is-the-way-we-do-things place.  And I think that many of those cultural values and habits are a good thing, and I love many of the traditions that we have.  I could not have asked for a better place to spend "the best four years of my life."  But its only one way.  Community can look like laughter and conversation on a smokey night at the cafe (and there's no LJ's coffee to be the beverage of choice), it can look like loading up a train and going somewhere for the weekend, it can look like the frantic, laughter filled, chopstick shoveling, character cramming lunches, in building relationships in spite of a language pledge.  Its in sharing this incredibly unique experience- seeking adventure, and learning lots.

And yet, God is still God, no matter what, no matter where, no matter who.  The biggest culture shock has been that I'm not in an environment like the one that I've had for the past two and half years from school to camp and Kenya.  That not everyone is like me.  And He loves them just as He loves me.  And I love them too (not that I didn't think these things, I'm just realizing it in a very beautiful way!).  And because of that I see myself differently too.  And in that, I'm learning more about who I am, what I think is right and wrong, what I believe, and where I'm going to fit into the world.  My worldview is being seriously redefined as I have to make decisions for myself, out of the context of a community to make them for me or tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing.  And in the midst of all of this I have never been more certain of who God is, because He's the only thing that doesn't change.

Cheesecake, Pandas, and Men's Apparel

Lets see.  I feel like I have lots of random updates to make.

Last week I got to visit an orphanage!  The biggest downside was that it took me over three hours to get there, however, I loved every minute of getting to be with the kids.  All of the kids at this place have special/medical needs of some kind, and may be transferred back to another orphanage after they've received some sort of surgery or treatment, or ideally, adopted.  I loved to be with them for the short time that I had there, to play with them, smile at them and love on them.  I'm realizing how much compassion and caring are part of who I am, and how much joy I'm filled with when I use the gifts God has given me!

Not this weekend as in tomorrow but the weekend after that is our first long travel weekend!  My friend Alyssa and I met in the Seattle airport, sat near each other on our 12 hour flight, and in this time had a discussion about our enjoyment and appreciation of panda bears.  In our first days at IES we discovered that there exists such a place where you can hold, yes as in your arms, a baby panda.  After lots of scheming and planning, we (along with our friend Marytha) will be heading to the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province to hold pandas (and do lots of other cool stuff).  I am really, really excited.  I just love to travel more than just about anything.  Can't even explain it.  Besides seeing the pandas, we're planning to see the world's largest Buddha, maybe do some more hiking and visit the sights around the city.  I'm hoping to meet up with one of my Hope classmate's family as she is from Chengdu.  It will also be our first time flying domestically in China!

Since holding a panda will probably be on the list of coolest things I have ever done, I just can't let the travel vibe die out right?  Tickets aren't booked yet, but the following weekend is going to be Xi'an, where the terra cotta warriors are.  Time for another China train adventure!  And maybe this time I'll actually take some pictures of that...

Tonight I checked out a small group through the international church I have been going to.  I didn't really know what to expect, I just chose the group on the list that was closest to me!  Countries in the room were: the Ukraine, UK, Guyana, Barbados, India, China, and the USA (including three of us from Washington... say what?).  Most of the people were older adults besides two guys who were also students, yet community in Christ is community in Christ.  We talked about Romans and prayed for each other.  I got to encourage one of the women, and that encouraged me!  It was so good to be in an atmosphere so familiar and away from campus for a few hours.  AND THEN WE HAD CHEESECAKE.  Yes, the hostess made homemade cheesecake and it was delicious!  I feel like I found a piece of what I've been looking for this whole time, and my travels will conflict with the group a lot, I would definitely go again.

A super cool God story from tonight: the Bible that I have here with me is super awesome and in Chinese and English, yet its pretty big and heavy (because of the multiple languages).  Therefore its just not practical to travel with, and its in King James too.  I was planning to head across town to the Foreign Language bookstore at some point and look for a little Bible.  However, we were gathered around the table and our host says, hey, by the way, we have this stack of Bibles we just don't use anymore.  Right on top, sat this adorable TINY  little bright blue Bible, that I quickly made mine!  THANKS JESUS!!!!!!

Oh and I went shopping on Wednesday, and I am not built like a Chinese person.  I bought two shirts.  At H&M.  From the guys section.  Yep.  Not my most successful venture, though they are super soft and will probably hold up better than girls shirts anyways.  Shopping in China can be done at markets or at a mall.  Markets are super cheap and malls are expensive, there's really no middle ground, not to mention I do not have the coloring or proportions to pull of a lot of the clothes.  I wish I could have a Goodwill or Target here!  H&M's prices were at least the same as at home so I don't really feel like I'm overpaying too much.  I might start liking scarves even more than I did before this trip.

Anyways, this is whats been up recently.  Thanks for reading!

Brrrrr, its cold in here!

I know this is a long one, but last weekend I went on my first travel weekend out of Beijing!  15 other students from my program and I went up North to the city of Harbin, which is closer to the Russian border than to Beijing!  We took an all night train Friday night and arrived bright and early on Saturday morning and OH MY GRACIOUS IT WAS SO COLD (negative temperatures Fahrenheit) .  I unwisely didn’t put on all my underlayers on the train, so I was shaking as soon as we got off!  One thing about traveling with 15 other people is that you end up waiting around for each other, and we were all on different parts of the train.  I was still groggy from sleeping, and we were trying to find each other to get cabs together to our hostel and I was under dressed, but fortunately this was the most unpleasant time of the trip for me.

I went into the bathroom to change at the hostel and left my backpack and such right outside the door, to come out of the stall to see an unfamiliar woman digging through my stuff, like had my wallet open and was thumbing through everything.  Chinese utterly failed me.  ”What are you doing?  That’s my stuff!  You can’t do that!”  I then yelled for my friend who can speak Chinese and she thankfully came in right away.  It turns out I had left my pile of stuff in the place where guests leave things that they want to give away (there was no sign explaining this that I saw), and the staffer had been seeing what was up with it.  I then felt really bad for overreacting and we both apologized profusely to each other.  The sight of an unfamiliar person going through your wallet is a lot more unnerving than you would think!  However, the day only got better from there.

We split up into groups, and I and seven others went to Snow and Ice World, the largest snow and ice park in the world.  Its most famous lit up at night, but we decided to save some money and see it in the day.  I was not at all disappointed.  There were so many ice sculptures and we basically had the park to ourselves because it was daytime.  There were ice slides, tubing, ice biking (exactly what it sounds like) and a Chinese thing where you basically sit on a chair that’s mounted on a sled and push yourself around on the ice with poles.  Running around doing things and taking pictures with the ice sculptures helped us stay warm too!  

Ice hallway

All bundled up with the ice temple!  Note the KFC in the background 

Incense and ice Buddha
We headed back to the main shopping street in Harbin and walked around the shops and had some lunch.  I really wanted Russian food but the only place we could find was way too expensive and people needed food so we had Chinese fast food, which is pretty tasty though available in Beijing.  No complaints though.  The Russian influence was really clear in this part of town, for it definitely felt very European to me.  Buildings weren’t skyscrapers which was a nice change from Beijing!  We then went to St. Sophia’s Cathedral, which was gorgeous!  My favorite part was the flock of birds that kept flying around the top and then landing back on the roof, over and over again.  It was captivating!  It was really neat to see a testament to God’s work in China over the years and the beautiful way that He made those birds to fly around.  There's something about being starved of seeing nature that makes me appreciate it a lot more.  Matthew 6 comes to mind.

We went to see another park’s sculptures all lit up, and the student rate was really cheap (like 1/5 normal price).  Highlights include admiring the craftsmanship of the sculptures, falling off of a sculpture (because I'm just that coordinated), and the wonderful meal that we ate afterwards.  We had a girl who is nearly fluent in Chinese order for us and I had the best eggplant I have ever had in my life, along with some Helongqiang province dishes.  The eggplant was cooked in some sort of savory soy sauce thing… I will never forget that meal.  It was a great group of people and the restaurant gave us a private room with a giant round table with the lazy susan so we can all take from each dish.  Everyone just grabs with their chopsticks.  It really creates a sense of community that I absolutely love, everyone sharing rather than just having their own plate.  We talked, laughed and ate some awesome food before heading back to the hostel for a chill night of talking and hanging out.

The next morning my friend Mykhanh wanted to go to Catholic church and I said I would go with her.  There were three churches on the same corner!  The first one was an Eastern Orthodox church which we basically just walked in and out of.  Then we went to the Catholic church and ended up going to mass in Korean… why not right?  It was the first service that we found and they welcomed us warmly, not that we could understand a word.  Then we went to the second half of a protestant service in English.  It was such a fun morning and God delighted us with an adventure seeking Him!  It was time to head to the train station and go home after one last walk down the main street for our favorite street snacks, but it was a great weekend!
I love the thrill that comes from seeking and finding adventure.  I love that God is who He is no matter where I am, and I’m learning more and more about walking in Him wherever I go.  I love that I am so free here, to just buy a train ticket with 15 friends and go explore somewhere, to laugh and enjoy and slide down ice slides and expand my view of the world just a little bit more.