Beijing

My first impression of Beijing was COLD.  After balmy sunny days in Hong Kong and Shanghai, we were met with a blast of cold air when the train stopped in Beijing.  It was sunny the day we arrived, but quite chilly and windy.  We visited Tianamen Square in the afternoon, where we definitely felt the government's presence. Quite unlike Shanghai, we actually felt their presence all throughout the city. 

Gate of Heavenly Peace at Tianamen Square

 Beijing had a much grittier feel than Shanghai, less shiny and more "authentically Chinese".  We wandered around some hutong neighborhoods after Tianamen Square and enjoyed the older feel of the place. 

Courtyard we wandered into on a hutong street

 That evening we did what every good tourist does: we went to the movies :)  Jeanie had told us about a movie that was currently showing called Beijing to Seattle and since Holly used to live in the Seattle area we wanted to see it.  Plus, we figured the theater would be a lot warmer than exploring outside.  The movie was a cheesy romantic comedy that gave an interesting look into the culture and how it related to the States- a great blend for us. 

One thing we did that afternoon was book a tour for the next day out to the Great Wall.  We wanted to go to a section of the wall that was further away than the main two over-touristed places. Most Great Wall tours go to those two and also include stops at Jem Factories or Museums where they try to coerce you into spending more money. We wanted more wall time and no shopping.  The first places we tried didn't have trips out to the section we wanted to visit, but we finally found one that did and promised us "No shopping".  We paid a small deposit and arranged for them to pick us up at our hotel the next morning.

That next day, Friday, the high was only about 50F, gray and overcast.  We put on every layer we had brought and waited in the lobby.  For an hour.  Eventually we called the tour company to find out where they were, only to find that the tour guide had been sitting across from us in the lobby, looking like a guest, for the last hour. Why didn't she approach us?  She assumed that my Korean-born yet very American friend Holly was my Chinese tour guide.  And she didn't bother to ask questions.  On the way to the car she explained that they would take us to a different (closer) section than the one we signed up for, was that okay? Ummmm, NO!  And there would be two museum stops.  We declined.  It waas frustrating, but at the same time we are very thankful that all this came out before we even left so we could get our depoist back and take a different tour on Saturday, our last day. 

So there we were, not even 9am, dressed and ready for a freezing cold day.  What to do?  Go see Chairman Mao's embalmed body of course!  A strange activity, yes, but a free one, and quite a cultural experience.  There was a long line of middle aged and elderly Chinese tourists wating in the spitting rain. When we tried to join the line guards were pushing us out of the way. One of them tried to talk to Holly (everywhere we went people assumed she spoke Chinese, which I found pretty amusing). Once he realized we didn't understand a word he was saying, he took her by the hand, and led her across Tianamen Square towards a bag drop area. Ahhhh, it was the backpack.  Still holding her hand, he marched right up to the front of the line, took her, bag, motioned for us to remove our wallets and passports, and then proceeded to drop off our bag for us.  He then took her hand and led us back to the Mausoleum entrance where he asked us for 10 yuan (around $1.50). Hahaha. Always a catch. 

Entrance to Mao's Mausoleum- pic taken the afternoon before we visited. Visitors allowed in the morning only.

After visiting Mao, we went to Forbidden City. It was cold, but at least by then the rain had stopped and there were moements of sunshine.

First view walking into Forbidden City

View from a park north of Forbidden City- give you an idea of how HUGE it is.



View of Beijing from the park.

  Later that afternoon we did our souvenir shopping (putting our awesome bargaining skills to use, except for when one vendor grabbed onto me and WOULD NOT let go) and booked a new Great Wall tour- to the area we wanted, no museums, no shopping, no lies.  One day left in China, and one thing left to see!

Shanghai

Shanghai was not what I expected.  I hadn't exactly heard bad things about it, but certainly not anything good, and mostly along the lines of "just another big city without character".  Boy were they wrong!  I found it walkable, pleasant, pretty, easy to navigate, and modern.  The lovely spring weather definitely helped in all that :) 

With Jessica

Perhaps the highlight for me in Shanghai was having dinner with my uncle and his wife and my little 4 year old cousin Jessica, whom I had never had a chance to meet.  She oozed personality, moving and playing and chatting her way through dinner- holding my hand all the way.  I loved it! 

Beautiful leafy street in the French Concession area where we were staying.

 Another highlight of Shanghai is also people related- Holly has friends who are living there for a year and we were able to stay with them.  Ken and Jeanie were awesome hosts and we had a great time with them.  Jeanie constantly impressed us with her Mandarin skills and knowledge of great local spots. 

Holly, Jeanie, and I in the Old Town area



Went to the beautiful Yu Gardens

  

Walking the Bund, with Pudong skyscrappers in the background

We were able to go to a few museums, get the world's best dumplings, visit People's Square, watch Shanghai Calling, and enjoy various other noodles, activities, pots of tea, and fun times.   
 

Pudong at night



Last night- a glass of wine at the bar on the 32nd floor

  After just over 2 days we boarded a bullet train bound for Beijing.  We were impressed with the rail system- a new, clean, fast (300km/hr) and punctual train that far outshone Amtrak (not that it's difficult to do so). 


Countryside from the train



Hong Kong

Promenade along Victoria Harbor

 Even though Hong Kong was not on the original itinerary, it was definitely worth the stop. We had a short stay there- a day and a half, but loved the city.  It had so many parks full of people enjoying the spring temperatures. Also, the city center was pretty compact and quite walkable. After months in Bangkok I loved just walking around a city with actual sidewalks and cool temps.

It was a challenge to find this highly recommended Dim Sum restaurant, but it was worth the pursuit, and we enjoyed meandering the narrow streets to find it.

Great job on some of my usual Dim Sum favorites- Luk Yu Tea House did not disappoint.

One of the parks we stopped in.

View of the city at night from the top of the Peak Tram

Another Hong Kong highlight was our mornings. The ground level of the building where our hostel was had lots of Indian food so we would grab pratha and masala tea and walk down to the Harbor.  There, we could sit and eat and read/pray/journal and watch the boats go by.  It was such a pleasant way to start the days!  After our short time in HK we were off to Shanghai!  Post to come soon :)

Refresh and renew

I love watching what God is up to.  Healed bodies.  Healed hearts.  Healed relationships.  Calling some to live, others to stay, some to go, and others home.  Maybe the coolest thing about the work God does in us is that he does it, not us. We don't get to take any credit.  I am constantly inspired by the lives around me here- to live more fully, give more generously, love more completely.  And rest more deeply. 

One more day of work until our long Songkran (Thai New Year) break.  A few days in Hong Kong, a few in Shanghai, and few in Beijing. Planes, trains, automobiles, and ferries in between.  Ten days to refresh and renew my heart and mind, to stand in awe of God's creation, to take a break from my work, to talk with a friend who love to talk deep thoughts.  My favorite kind. 

I look forward to how God will show up and show himself. 

In Defense of "Deciding " to Marry Later in Life

Sigh.  There are several Christian marriage articles zooming around the internet these days and clogging up my facebook. These articles, written by well meaning people, highlight all the great benefits that they have gained from marrying young and all their confusion at their peers who choose to establish their lives and start a career and buy a house before getting married.  They go on about the benefits of growing together in marriage instead of becoming who you are before you marry.

Well, I for one am sick of it. I am sick of the assumption they are making that I sought career over marriage or decided to find financial security before a husband.

Never in the first 25 years of my life did I imagine that I would be where I am today.  I just assumed I would marry in my early (maybe mid) 20's.  But it didn't happen.  Nor has it happened in the 7 years since.  It's nice that they met someone early on, but just because I didn't, don't assume it was by choice.  Don't assume that my marriage will eventually be weaker because we likely won't have to work insane hours while finishing school or live in a tiny apartment with a screaming baby.  Don't assume that just because I know a lot more of who I am than a 21 year old that it will somehow impede my ability to choose a good spouse.  If anything, it will help me.  I am not saying that people who marry young marry "just anybody".  I think they are just lucky.  But I am not going to marry "just anyone" simply to get married young, or at all.

It's easy to say that my singleness is my own fault because I live overseas.  I get that.  But get this: I'm here because God called me to be here.  And if there is someone that God has for me to marry, he's not going to let a little geography get in the way. He's God.  Being in Thailand might statistically lower my chances of meeting someone, but since when has God ever played by statistics? 

So you, article writers, I am happy for you. I'm glad you grew through the years together, glad that you will probably still be young when you become a grandparent, glad that you will get to a 50th anniversary.  But I am also glad for what God has taught me through the days and weeks and months and years of being a grown up on my own.  I will never get to be a young bride or a young mom- a bride and a mom, yes I hope, but not a young one. That's a fact I've had to come to accept, albeit slowly and a reality that I've learned to handle, albeit gently.

So yeah, I'm sure you didn't intend to insult and offend me with your article, but just please remember that life is one part choice for every three parts circumstances. 

Dance Upon Injustice

In college we sang a song in chapel that had a line about dancing upon injustice.  We danced while we sang it, and it sounded real nice, but most of us didn't really know what it meant, injustice.  I still don't, really.  But I'm beginning to get a better picture. 

And before I go any further, I want to let you know that I am fully aware that the problem that came up last week is 100% what we would call a 'first world problem'.  But that doesn't mean I can't learn from it.  It's much harder to be ignorant to injustice when you live in Thailand.  The dictionary calls injustice a "violation of the rights of others; unjust or unfair action or treatment".  We see it every day here in human trafficking, extreme poverty, immigration detention centers, and lack of access to basic necessities like clean water or education.  We see it all over the world in lives around us: a 30-something father with stage four cancer, an unborn child diagnosed with an incurable condition that will limit his life to a few hours, a child who struggles in their new family after years of abuse and neglect.  But still, I never felt it.

And then a Chinese consulate officer decided to give me a 7 day visa for a planned 10 day trip (we had turned in flight itineraries, hotel receipts, and a letter of invitation among other documents that contained our trip dates). And worse yet, there was no possibility to change it. No explanation, no reason why.  Just the way it is. An outside chance that the reason was that I applied outside my home country.But the fact that others at my school had been given two month visas sort of shot down that theory.  It was just a seemingly random decision by some person that would greatly impact me.  We still don't know if we're going to be able to go, and how the trip is going to shake out (the airline will not change the flight dates).

But for me, the learning came in the hours right after I found all this out. It came in my anger and frustration, my desperation, my fury.  There was nothing I could do.  And it wasn't fair.  And boy, did I feel that.  And right about then, it hit me.  This is a bit of what injustice feels like. It helped me to step back and say, the worse case scenario is I am stuck at home for break, sweltering in Bangkok's intense April heat.  I lose the hundreds upon hundreds of dollars I have spent on the trip.  Only money.  This was (and still is) the worst case scenario.  It's not that big a deal.

But it did give me an emotional glimpse of what the song meant, that God will dance upon injustice.  That there will be no more rights violated. No more unjust or unfair actions. No more death and dying or pain and tears.  No more slavery or trafficking, poverty or abuse.  He is a just God and he will reign.  Come Lord Jesus! 

Just another week in Bangkok...

What a week it has been!

A debacle with my (and my friend's) visas to China (we are supposed to leave next Friday... situation yet to be resolved).

Easter Sunday with church and friends.

An overnight with my favorite little people, six month old twins.  The twin I was in charge of for the night only woke up once, but I slept so lightly listening for him all night that I was exhausted!  New respect for motherhood.

A visitor in town for 30 hours- an American that I know from Argentina who currently lives in Switzerland was passing through Bangkok on her way back from Phuket.  So we had a lovely Thai dinner on Tuesday after she got in (and a late night for early-to-bed me) and a fantastic sushi dinner downtown on Wednesday before her flight out (another late night for me).  Great stories, laughs, and catching up. 

Giving the SAT tests at school, eating precious prep periods- blech. And a school laptop being stupid right when I needed to get work done- grrrrrrrr. By Wednesday afternoon when I had our middle school staff meeting I was so tired that I was just on a roll in the meeting, pretty filter-less. The tact button got turned off in the fatigue. Oops. 

And now I am housesitting for a week, watching baseball and being a hermit so I feel more human for this long weekend. I'm sure going to enjoy that holiday on Monday!!