Traveling and My Bubble

I found this on Pinterest, and I think its perfect!  Already I have seen this lesson in my time here, as I've begun to see other ways of viewing the world and therefore better come to understand my own.  I've had to change my opinions on what is edible and socially acceptable.  If I was critical of every Chinese custom that was different from my American one, I would go crazy.  I would have a miserable four months here.  That's not to say at all that I think every Chinese-American difference is negative or wrong, just different.

One example is entitlement to personal space.  There are 1.3 billion people in China, and 26 million of them live in Beijing.  This means that homes are not large, the vast majority of people (including me) live in apartments (often high rises).  I often get asked if my American house has a garden, to which I explain what a suburb is and that because there are less people in America we all have more space.  I noticed the personal space thing on my first day here when I was waiting in line at the grocery store.  The woman who came up behind me came right up behind me.  Not the usual 2-3 feet we would give at home.  She was standing about 6 inches behind from me, and I had to very quickly become fine with it.  Same goes for buses, the subway, passing on the street you name it.  I was waiting for the subway with 5 other Americans one day and we were standing in a circle talking (you know what I mean) and people seemed annoyed as they moved around us.  We were all giving each other at least a foot of room and taking up as much space as we pleased there on the train platform.  We realized our error and huddled up some more, but I haven't really seen any Chinese standing in a group like that ever.  I've recognized my own feelings of entitlement towards my space and more or less adjusted, however I still marvel at how there are people everywhere all the time.

So I'm headed up to Harbin with the crew tomorrow and I am SO excited.  I haven't left the city since I got here and the Pacific Northwest in me doesn't quite know what to make of it.  I've been able to adapt pretty well so far though.  I'll be taking my first China train adventure, riding all tomorrow night and getting into Harbin bright and early on Saturday morning and then leaving Sunday afternoon to get back here late in the evening.  I've been looking up different things to do in Harbin (ice sculptures and maybe Siberian tigers?) and I'm feeling that feeling that I love, the hunger inside me that says "go, see, do!"  The desire to be somewhere new and to take everything in and have an ADVENTURE.  Some call in wanderlust.  Its part of who I am.  Its part of what makes me me.  I love going places.  I love seeing how life looks in other places.  I love seeing new things that God has created, eating new food, and entering situations that I might not know the outcome of.  I love the collection of pictures and soundbites that I've collected so far, the feelings that go with each one.  The moments when I said, "wow- I guess life is different than I've always thought it to be."

And if anyone is looking for a pick up line to use on me with a high probability of success, here you go ;)

Day in the Life

Again, copied from the Hope blog...

8:00- Wake up, eat Chinese breakfast.  This usually consists of zhou or rice porridge, a hard boiled egg, and usually something else.  Sometimes I have dumplings for breakfast, I never know until I walk into the kitchen!

8:30- catch the bus to school.  The time of my commute changes drastically depending on the amount of traffic that morning and how long I have to wait for a bus, but it usually takes me about 25 minutes to get to Bei Wai.  It’s a great time to people watch though!  If I have enough time before class, I might pop into the bakery right next to campus and chat with a few friends who also make this a custom.  It feels like the LJ’s of JP’s of my China experience!

9:30- class.  Right now I’m taking Chinese Literature, but my area studies courses are broken into blocks, so we take one class for about three weeks at a time, but at a very intense pace.  I actually really like this method, because I can really focus on the material that we’re learning at the time.  My Lit class has seven students, so we all have to contribute to the discussion!  This has given me the opportunity to really get to know the material and get to know my classmates and their ideas.  I absolutely love it though, to see China from the perspective of its authors, and what this creative outlet can teach us about the culture.

12:00- lunch.  There are a multitude of options from the cafeteria on campus that has meals for one US dollar, to baozi or dumplings of the street, to more formal restaurants.  I could go to every food place within walking distance of campus and never run out of options!  I’ll probably do a post solely devoted to food sometime.  This time might also be spent finishing homework or cramming for a Chinese quiz.

1:00- Chinese class.  I’m in a class with two other students, so we all get lots of chances to talk and practice Chinese.  I’ve already seen myself improve in a month of being here, so I can’t wait to see where I am by the time the program is done!  After class I have my one on one session with a Chinese teacher, and I’m currently doing some extra learning about restaurant words, so that I can learn to order for myself her.

4:00- the language pledge lifts, so I’ll usually hang around and catch up with friends before heading home.  Its been interesting having to think and speak Chinese only during the day.  In a week, the language pledge will go to 24-7 on campus.  With my language level, the language pledge has felt more like a vow of silence than anything else, because I just don’t have the vocabulary for the things I want to say yet.  However, gesturing, pointing, grunting, and inserting English words when needed can be more effective than it seems!  This is the time I might go on random food adventures or catch up emails (I never thought I would appreciate email until I’m 8-11 hours away from the people I love).  Today we had our first Chinese test (and I think it went pretty well), so afterwards some friends and I went to the bakery and had a wonderful laughter filled conversation.

5:30- go home.  While in the morning everyone (including me) is tired and bustling off to work, the evenings are an interesting time to be out and about.  I love hearing the Chinese language around me even though I want more than anything to understand what people are saying, I love the way Beijing lights up with neon as night falls, I love the little street food and bootleg DVD stands that are open as I walk home from the bus stop.  I don’t love climbing five flights of stairs to get to my apartment quite so much, but I guess its getting me in shape for Tibet later in the semester.

6:30- dinner.  This is one of my favorite parts of the day.  Chinese food is awesome.  Definitely not for the picky eater, but I’ll eat anything that’s placed in front of me unless it has an unnecessary amount of spice.  For example, fish here is served totally whole with the eyes, head, tail, etc. still intact.  I’m also improving my chopstick skills, though I still drop things a lot, it’s starting to feel natural to me.  Tonight we had a dish with shrimp in it and that includes the shell, legs, and head.  They’re fried to be crispy, and man are they delicious!

7:00- I usually start homework at this point, or maybe watch some tv with my host dad first.  Its interesting how much you can pick up from a show with only knowing a few words of the language.  Later in the night is a time when friends in Holland start waking up and coming online so I’ve had a few surprise late night Skype chats, which fill me with so much joy.  One challenge I’ve had here is adjusting to not having the Christian community at Hope.  I’ve gone to some different churches and I’m praying for a group that I feel like I fit with!

Random Occurrences

So the internet at my homestay hasn't been working for the past week, but now it is, so I actually have time to sit down and write a post!  I'm going to explain the last couple days in random blurbs of stories, first of all with how my internet situation got fixed.

--So the reason the internet wasn't working was that my host dad changed internet providers.  He had a call into them to come and figure out what was going on.  Anyways.  It's Sunday afternoon and I'm in my room doing homework, when I hear the front door open and close and what sounds like more voices than normal coming from the study/living room.  I venture out to get some water and realize that we have guests- Clementine and Crepo (sp?).  Clementine is Chinese, and is dating Crepo, who is Polish.  They met at school in Finland.  Luckily, both spoke English.  After I had said only a few sentences they guessed that I was from California (not really sure how) and I said no, just go up the coast a bit though!  I was pretty impressed with that.  So we're talking (I'm just thankful to be in a conversation I can actually understand!) and it comes out that Crepo is some sort of software guy, and Julius (my host dad) goes, why don't you have him look at your computer?  So an hour later, with lots of Crepo crawling under the desk to look at the router, Clementine translating Chinese, and me pretty much just standing there, hallelujah I have internet again!  So some random Polish guy fixed my internet.  Julius then says, lets go out to dinner!  So we go to this super good (and kinda fancy) place that I've been walking by everyday to go to the bus and it was so fun!  It was great to have another Laowai (foreigner) there to because the conversation ended up being in English!  And I got to ask about life in Europe etc, and not be the only one having some minor chopstick struggles.  Though I've gotten way better with those.

--Last night I got to share my testimony with my host dad.  Words cannot describe.

--This morning I went to a service that was all in Chinese.  The best I could do was look up the verses that were on the screen using my handy dandy Chinese/English Bible.  It was SO beautiful.  I really can't say much more here.  It was AWESOME.  It was completely random how I found out about it too.  Oh the good Lord is just getting STARTED.  YES.

--On Thursday, we made jiaozi (dumplings) with our Chinese teachers.  It was really fun!  And jiaozi are DELICIOUS so the eating part was good too.  And I totally stole this picture from my RA's Facebook page, because I'm actually in it.  The ones on the right were NOT made be me.  Ha.


--We then went and bought train tickets for Harbin this weekend (a city up North with a famous ice sculpture festival).  I think we majorly annoyed everyone behind us in line.  We had two girls handling the Chinese speaking part of things, and then we all passed our passports and money through the window and the lady booked our tickets all together.  We had all the tickets there all good to go and the woman behind us was majorly starting to push forward.  Alas, impatient Chinese woman, we still have to come back home.  The line was super long by the time we left.  16/18 of us in my program are going on this adventure, and it will be my first time out of the city since I've been here!  Let me tell you, I really love Beijing, but I am soooo ready to be out of here for awhile!  This is one of the parts of my study abroad experience I've really been looking forward to- the opportunity to travel around and experience things and just be free. I'm not planning to have all my adventures in a group of 16 but I figure its a good way to start things off :)

--My host dad went for a walk after dinner and I had the apartment to myself which almost never happens.  I was in such a weird mood of desperately missing Hope yet being so happy to be in Beijing.  My sense of adventure is more than satisfied here every single day (how many times does a Polish guy hanging out in the living room just happen to be able to fix your internet?), yet I miss the familiar warmth and sound of Nykerk on Friday nights, the morning light coming through the stained glass windows in Dimnent, late night chats with the roommates about anything and everything.  I remember the ways that God so totally boggled my mind at Urbana and the sweet times with my best friends at home, since we never seem to overlap for long anymore.  I cherish these moments as I think back on them, considering how much joy I would have to just be in one chapel, once.  Or to be at a worship night for 30 minutes.  To sit with Rachel or Beth or anyone in my kitchen for just one hour and have world rocking Holy Spirit talks.  How I would relish each moment, and how I did relish each moment when these things happened.  I could start wallowing, and it probably sounds like I already am.  Yet, I wouldn't trade Beijing for it right now.  Because the God of Mouw basement and A-4 and laughing late into the night with the joy of the Lord, is the same God that is here with me in Beijing.  And I knew this would be a lesson I would need to know before I even got here, why my first semester was so truly beautiful in the way that it was.  And now God is really delivering the lesson, in each day as He says, "baby girl, I GOT THIS.  You know who I am.  You know what I can do."  And oh yes, He's blessing me here too!

Chunjie

So I'm also writing a blog for Hope's study abroad office (and getting paid to do it) so this post is actually copied from what I wrote there.  My internet has been shaky this week, so I'm actually just copying that post into here.  Next time I'll hopefully edit some things, or whatever.

Sunday was the Chinese New Year, or since China now follows the Roman calendar, Spring Festival (Chunjie). Chunjie in China is like the American holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year’s all rolled into one. Life in Beijing stops as the migrant labor force (about half the population) returns home to other provinces. We had Monday through Wednesday off of classes this week to enjoy the festivities. Here’s how I enjoyed my Chunjie:
Saturday- New Year’s Eve is the big day, where we have a huge meal. Some other kids from my program came over to my homestay and our housekeeper actually said that she wanted us to eat so much that we would explode (I think we came pretty close!). Then we watched the traditional New Year’s Eve “talent competition” television event. It involves singing, dancing, and skits. Celine Dion even made an appearance. No, I don’t understand that one either. It would have been better if we could have understood what was being said and sung! Another key feature of Chunjie is fireworks. Not just your average driveway fireworks, but the big ones that could be used in an actual fireworks show. Here they can be bought by anyone off the street. Starting around 5 o’clock they were going off all around the city just about non-stop, culminating in an earth shaking racket at midnight that went on until about three. Thankfully, I’m a night owl!
Sunday- A friend of my homestay family invited me and a friend to go with them to a temple fair, which is the traditional gathering at Chunjie. There were a LOT of people, and stalls to buy souvenirs and street food, as well as sedan chair rides and other carnival games. We walked around the Old Summer Palace (where this temple fair was being held). It was awesome to meet a Chinese family and spend part of the traditional Chinese holiday with them. Their daughter is 14 and speaks English- love for Taylor Swift is universal!
Monday- I went with my host dad to visit his brother and his family. It was so much fun! His sister in law and her daughter were also there and they even have a dog. The girls were practicing their English with me and I got to practice my Chinese with the parents. The warmth of a welcoming and hospitable home is universal. The family sat around the table and laughed and even though I wish I could understand what was being said, I could understand that the family loves each other’s company. For dinner, I met up with a group from my program and we went out to an American restaurant that was way too expensive, but I had a quesadilla and it was magnificent. Cheese is not easily found in China at all. As much as I love Chinese food, its good to have something different every once in awhile. Trust me, no matter where you go, you will miss the tastes of home eventually!
Tuesday- I hung out with the same family that I did on Sunday and had lunch at their house. They heard from my host family about a dish that I really like called tangyuan (rice flower balls filled with red bean paste), and made some just for me! I ended up watching The Hunger Games with their daughter, and it was really interesting to explain the premise behind the story to someone with limited English, and the themes about government to someone who lives in a country with a very different government than ours, and enjoyed a relaxed evening of great conversation with my friends. Every day is something new!
Wednesday- Today I went to another temple fair with some kids from my program. More masses of humanity, more overpriced food, more ridiculous items for sale. I also went shopping with a friend. I must also add that the fireworks have carried on every night so far. I never thought I could be bored of fireworks, but there’s a first time for everything!
I’m so glad that I got to be in China for Chunjie, to see something that is such an important part of their culture, and to experience the family aspect that the holiday brings. I’m thankful for the families that have graciously invited me into their homes and filled me to bursting with delicious food, for the time spent getting to know friends better, and for God’s provision in bringing me here!

Salsaaaaa!!!!

So the title of this post might make you think I'm studying abroad in Mexico or something, but that's just not true.  Beijing is a global city, and tonight I went salsa dancing!  A few of my friends had gone a few weeks ago and talked about how fun it was, and I was really on the fence all day until a friend from home told me I should definitely go and I called my friend Mykhanh (in my program) and made her convince me.  I hopped on the bus to IES and met up with everyone where we headed first to a local place because some people wanted drinks.  My favorite part was belting out Taylor Swift with Mykhanh, who was on the opposite end of the table.  No alcohol required at all for that one.  We then grabbed cabs and head to Sanlitun (Swan-lee-taRR with a Beijing accent), the expat/embassy part of town known also for having a bumpin night life.  When we got out of the cab, the street we were on was lined with huge trees that were totally covered in white Christmas lights.  It was beautiful!  The rest of the group turned around to find Myks and I running figure eights between the trees down the street.  Pretty sure there was some skepticism there, but no worries.  Joy in my soul!  I love that girl.

We then went to Salsa Caribe, the club with the salsa dancing.  There was a dance floor that wasn't too crowded (or awkwardly uncrowded), and Latin music (duh).  No one was grinding, which I appreciated not having to watch.  I told my friend who I was dancing with, "I need the 101 class...actually, make that the 000 class!"  He and the other guys were so patient with my lack of rhythm or physical coordination of any kind, which I am so grateful for, because I was so nervous about looking like a total fool.  As time went on I got a lot better.  The most basic step really isn't too hard, unless you're me I guess.  But I finally did get the hang of it!  One of the guys decided that rather than trying super hard to teach me the steps perfectly he would just dance ridiculously, and it totally worked, pulling me out of my nervous state.  We just sort of stepped enthusiastically around and he would spin me every now and then.  Spinning is definitely my favorite part of partner dancing!  I also danced with a guy from Venezuela who was really nice and really good at helping me get the steps.  The whole night was just so fun- dancing, getting better at dancing, no pressure, dancing crazily with my friends, enjoying life and the fact that we're on break for New Year's until Thursday.

If you had told me a month ago that I would be salsa dancing in a night club, I probably would have laughed at you.  In stepping outside of my comfort zone, I found something that was really new and fun, and I didn't compromise anything that matters to me either.  I realized I can be more than the ways that I've defined who I am by how I behave, and that those things don't change who I AM as a daughter of the most high God, eternally redeemed and set free.  My life can look like more than I or others expect it to look like. God is anywhere, everywhere, in clubs and bars and conversations and friendships.

And a shout out to everyone who has been praying for me, specifically Hope for the Nations as I know they prayed at the Thursday meeting (which would have been right when I was starting my Friday).  Today has been a glory filled day from beginning to end- staying up way to late to have a wonderfully life giving Skype chat, which led to a morning in which I decided to need coffee, which was followed by the last session of my "Understanding China" course in which God gave me words to concisely give my views on an issue, which was followed by pizza and french fries at one of my favorite restaurants with a great gang of friends for lunch, some quality library time with friends pounding out our papers that are due tomorrow, and a trip to the store with some lovely ladies, an absolutely delicious dinner with my host family, emails from friends at home, meeting some friends of my host family, and ended by a great night out!  Yes, that s a run on sentence because its been a blessings day!  The Lord hears and answers prayers, He really does!!

Lunch at Alley Pizza with the gang.  Sorry to everyone who wasn't ready... we also polished off two of those giant pizzas and three boats of fries (the boats literally look like boats).  American food!!

The trees that Mykhanh and I were running around in Sanlitun.

Chinese Class and Dragon Fruit Juice

As you may have heard, I've recently been working through my Chinese class placement here.  Really, I'm in between two classes.  I spent the first two days in the higher level class, feeling stressed for almost the entire time because I was having a really hard time grasping what was going on.  I've been in the lower level for the past two days, and the material has been easy.  However, I've never really had any work on my tones before, and that is a huge focus of the lower class, so that's part of the reason that the teachers suggested I stay down.  (Mandarin is a tonal language- the same sound can be said with 4 different intonations, and mean 4 different things.  Yep, welcome to my life.)

I've been really impressed with how kind and helpful the staff have been in helping me figure out my best placement and what we can do to help me learn, and listening to my back and forth reasons for wanting to be in either class.  After thinking and praying, I had felt pretty good about staying in the lower level class as of the beginning of the weekend.  However, today in the hour lunch break before class, as I looked over the material for the day, I was strongly attacked and discouraged.  I felt like I was so stupid for having to be in the lower class with how much Chinese I've already taken, like I had just wasted all the time I spent with Chinese at Hope, and like I was never going to able to learn the language anyways.  I'm sitting staring at the pages of my book, with the words "you stupid idiot, how could you mess everything up?"  And I softened the language for you there.  Thankfully, these messages were strong enough that I recognized them for what they were- lies of the enemy meant to destabilize me.  I rebuked them in the name of Jesus and declared His authority over my mind and His perfect plan through whatever class I was in.  

I went to class, still really confused and unsure about everything.  The stuff we went over in class was pretty basic, though I did get to work on my tones, and at least I didn't have the horribly lost feeling of having no idea what was going on like I did before.  I still felt pretty discouraged.  If only I had worked harder on Chinese before, etc. etc.  During the ten minute break that divides our two hour class I popped next door to see my friends in the old class.  Bad idea- "wo xiang nimen...I miss you guys."  The second half of my class was better- there are only three of us in class, and my teacher is really good about making us do things until we get them right.  I then got to meet with my one on one teacher and we discussed the extra material that I'm going to do because I'm above the class level that I'm in, which means I get to pick what I learn based on what I want to know!  And I'm starting with restaurant vocabulary, so I can hopefully one day order without pointing at the menu!  It was disappointing to realize that I wasn't going to be in the higher level class.  I still feel like I've failed, though I know that regret is something that can and will be used against me.  My choice now is to work hard where I am and improve from there.

My friend Alyssa and I decided we need a snack to hold us until dinner, so we went to try a new bubble tea place that didn't actually have any bubble tea.  It was more of a fruit juice thing.  There were no pictures and no English on the menu except for section headings- "milk," "fruit" and a few other things.  Alyssa employed an old "I have no idea how to order anything off this menu trick" and asked the waitress what her favorite drink was.  What she said sounded a lot like mango, so Alyssa decided to go with that.  I decided to go with the more foolish choice of randomly pointing at something on the menu.  I picked from the "fruit" list and chose the 8 kuai option over the 10 kuai option (6 kuai=1 USD).  It turned out to be dragon fruit juice, which was pretty delicious I have to say.  I got to vent to Alyssa some, and she was really encouraging in affirming me in making the right choice.  We talked about all the benefits of me being in the lower level.  I am very thankful for my friends here.  Not my favorite day ever, but my class drama is finally solved, I have friends who encourage me, and hey- the point at the menu trick actually worked

Just Know You're Not Alone, We're Gonna Make this Place Your Home

So, I'm moved into my homestay now!  I live with Julius, an elderly man, and he has a live in housekeeper who is here as well.  His daughter Irene is 24 and works in Beijing, so I got to meet her at dinner last night, (and yes, they've asked me to call them by their English names, but they call me Kai Lan).  I didn't know anything about them until Wednesday night when I walked into the room with all the other homestay students and was handed a piece of paper with some basic information.  I had been super nervous all day... I'm moving into these people's house for three and a half months!  Julius is the sweetest old man you will ever meet, and I'm not the first IES student to have stayed here.  He does some translation work, so his English is really good too!  I can't wait to hear the wisdom and stories of a man who has seen all the recent history of China.  I live on the sixth floor (no elevator) in an apartment (its Beijing, everyone lives in apartments) with a view of more apartments that are even taller than this building.  The food is to die for, and in China you have to tell someone that no you don't want anymore and yes you really are full a few times before its accepted.  Not that they don't believe you, its just polite to offer more times.  I have my own room and I love it.  I haven't had my own room for more than three weeks at any given time for the past 2.5 years, and I'm hoping this will help me focus on God time and get my work done.  Too bad my computer is also in here.  Hmm.  I take the bus to get to school, and its easy (now that I've done it a few times).  The first morning, the bus I got on was super full, and I was surprised that the door didn't crush my backpack.  I stayed squeezed into the very front corner of the bus for the 15 minute ride.  Not exactly what I would call comfy, but hey.  I was super nervous the whole time because my transit card was empty, and there was no visible cash slot of any kind, but the bus was so full that no one noticed that I didn't pay.  The city of Beijing will be getting plenty of my money this semester anyways.  

It looks like I'm going to be taking a language class level lower than I was placed in or hoped to be in.  The teacher noticed I was struggling and was incredibly kind in talking through my options and questions with me.  I really am in between the two levels.  It sounds like I will be able to learn some extra things in this level and solidify my foundation and work on pronunciation.  Since I want to be in China long term, both of these things are very important.  Its not an easy thing to do, but I think its what is best for me, and I don't have to be stressed out by Chinese class everyday this semester.  My Chinese will be improving no matter what, I'm living in China my goodness!  I knew before I even came to China that language would probably be the biggest mountain I would be climbing here, but that God would get me up it and I would learn new things about His provision in that.  I feel like by moving down I might be interrupting that or something, yet who am I to limit His power or to doubt the practical knowledge of a group of people who make a living teaching Americans how to speak Chinese?  Please pray for this, that I can be content in the class I am in and that my language skills would grow supernaturally this semester!

Praise God the air was clear today.  The sky was actually blue.  What is that?  When I crossed over the road after getting off the bus I could see all the way down the road to the hills outside of Beijing.  Imagine, something natural amidst the cloud of smog we've been living in!  I've had a cold thats not even a cold for the past week, and its gone now after one.  I'm hoping to get out of the city soon.  Though I'm still pretty content I know my Pacific Northwest never lived in a city heart is going to need some fulfillment soon.  There's also a park near my homestay that I want to check out soon.  

The title of this post is from "Home" by Phil Phillips.  It was stuck in my head all day on move in day, and is full of truth and comfort.  And if you haven't checked out Rend Collective's new album yet you totally should!  

From our Summer Palace Expedition last weekend.

This was he view out my window today.  THATS RIGHT FOLKS, THE SKY IS BLUE!