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...