Upon my return to the city, life will resume full-swing with Mandarin classes, tutoring sessions in which I want to improve my listening skills, grammar/word usage, and fluency with new vocabulary. Then, my roommate and I are spearheading some new projects together; details will be forthcoming on another blog post once I confirm a few details! Stay tuned for that post in the next few weeks. And, I have a few good stories to share, as well as travel highlights. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the pics.
The following pictures give you a peek into the beauty and diversity of landscape found here in SW/W China. These travels just concluded yesterday and I leave again in the morning for four more days with a few friends. We'll be going in a different direction with more of a barren plateau feel. The National Holiday is in full swing, so the parks and roads are crowded, but the weather is yet favorable. One night reached 37º though as the town we stayed in was over 9000'. I don't have classes til a week from now, so I'm enjoying the opportunity to meet new friends, connect with others I've known for a few years here, and see some new places! Upon my return to the city, life will resume full-swing with Mandarin classes, tutoring sessions in which I want to improve my listening skills, grammar/word usage, and fluency with new vocabulary. Then, my roommate and I are spearheading some new projects together; details will be forthcoming on another blog post once I confirm a few details! Stay tuned for that post in the next few weeks. And, I have a few good stories to share, as well as travel highlights. Thanks for reading, and enjoy the pics.
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I greeted the early morning dawn by donning my pair of neon blue Brooks and heading east on 1st Ring Road toward territory unknown. Eventually I wanted to reach 3rd Ring Road, the middle of 5 roads that stretch outward from city center in ever widening concentric circles. This run started like many others recently—6am, solo (though I need to give credit to where credit is due—Eric Hunt, Aaron Hohn and Brett Guemmer deserve props for getting me out the door many a time in KC when I’d have otherwise resorted to donuts and a chai latte!), and the sound of EVA foam striking the pavement my constant companion. However, 2 blocks into my run I turn right down a road yet unexplored. That’ll be a common theme for quite some time to come as this city of 14 million is host to some number of 1000’s of roads I could conceivably explore as I build up for a potential marathon in the Hong Kong ‘winter.’ I soon found myself dodging electric scooters as I ran under low-hanging branches, each one bound to scalp me if I didn't move my head toward the openings. After a 1/2 mile or so, this side street gave way to a large thoroughfare that boasted newly constructed high-rise buildings and apartment complexes sprawling out for miles before me. With a mixed urban and rural density of about 10,000 people/sq. mile in this city, it's roads like these that usually play host to a cacophony of noise and clamor every hour of every day. But, today was a bit different as it was an early morning following China's Mid-Autumn Festival so some people still had vacation. This area of the city, like many others, is still under heavy development. Once I reached the area of 3rd Ring Road, I made yet another right-hand turn on to Round Branch Ave (translation mine!), where quietness and a surprising lack of souls out and about surprised me. Though there are a lot of other places to explore, I may come back here often to enjoy some 'peace and solitude!' As I ran by the masses of concrete and steel, and remembered similar complexes all across southwest China, I found myself thinking about the well-known quote from Field of Dreams: "If you build it, they will come." China must have this film on continual re-run in all their urban planning offices, for if one could add up the number of uninhabited apartments in China, it'd likely surpass the total number in all of America. I heard from one friend that China wants to lure 250 million more "nong ren" to urban areas by 2025 or thereabouts. That's one mass exodus from the farm, but providing jobs for all those so-called 'unskilled' workers has proven to be a problem in China where an annual growth percentage of 9% is needed just to employ those entering the workforce. But cities are where the Promised Land--not of milk and honey, but of money and Mercedes--looms large, or where at least respectable schools and the chance for upward mobility can be more than a wistful dream. Summer has officially made it's exit til 2014, but as Chengdu lies in a basin at just over 1200', humidity and plain old hot weather are regular attendees. It's taken me several visits to China before I felt comfortable running in what I'd term normal running clothes. In summer, that includes 5 things--2 pairs of 2 items on my feet and a pair of shorts. But as I ran through throngs of people awaiting buses and taxis and others lounging on motorbikes and mounds of newspapers, and then jumped over dogs and side-stepped toddlers who, bless their hearts, are learning well from their parents how not to pay attention to oncoming traffic of all sorts, it occurred to me that running for pleasure's sake is a fairly foreign concept here. Now smoking and mah-jong--those are household activities. Or badminton and tai-chi--those are oft-seen activities in the parks here. But distance running for the sheer enjoyment of it (okay, I'll grant to you that China is actually host to 32 marathons a year, however, none within 150 miles of here) is an uphill battle. Awareness of air pollution, food safety and the need for adequate employment have become part of everyday conversations, and perhaps the benefits of physical exercise, even if only of temporal benefit, will soon be touted. If you've ever traveled to Asia--specifically China, in my experience--perhaps you felt like everyone was staring at you. I've met a few Chinese folks who said they only see 1-2 white people/year, and a few teenage girls requested to take a photo of me as I was the first white person they'd seen, and that was in 2011! While these stories occurred as I was simply in plain dress, I need not inform you that I gain a few more curious spectators when running. But, to offset a few thousand curious bystanders, I'd like to share two other occurrences yesterday in which my unusual presence was noticed. One spandex-clad cyclist, as he sped past me, throw out an enthusiastic "props" wave as he made a 'gun' with his fingers! Then as I was enjoying a yak meat and potato pot pie dish late that evening, a man at the neighboring table looked my way, pointed at me, his eyes, then outside, and finally mimicked the running motion with his arms. It took him repeating this series of gestures before I realized he was conveying to me: "Yeah, you're the foreigner I saw running through my neighborhood the other day!" As I was mid-stream in writing this sentence, I decided to check on an expat (ex-patriate; aka foreigners who've moved here) forum for any replies to my inquiry for a training partner. I had one reply, and it turned out to be another American who not only has run a dozen marathons, is interested in training together, but also is co-owner of the first Western-owned bicycle shop (happens to be a fixed gear shop) in Chengdu. So, while car ownership doubled from 1995-2005 and the bike population declined 35% in that period, at least the biking scene is re-emerging in this land among the young and hip teens. Perhaps running won't be too far behind, though if it happens I'd have to call it a running boom, much like America had in the '60's, as I don't think it's ever been popular here. There came a point in my run when it was decision time. Do I continue running down Round Branch Ave. til I see a road I recognize and hope that it takes me back to my neighborhood? Or do I play it safe and do an out-and-back route, the only foolproof way to not get lost (as I'd only made 2 turns at this point to get me to mile 4)? I decided to chance it and keep running til I saw a road name that was familiar. I came up to an intersection that had a name similar to the one I live on. As I ran across metal grates of a construction site before long-jumping over a 6" deep puddle, my hope was that this road connected to the road I lived on somewhat soon. As I ran further, "Hongpailou Lu" appeared on a sign overhead and I remembered back to a supermarket encounter with another foreign couple who told me that this road was home to a bigger market where I could find baking ingredients. Their description of its location and the mental map I made in my head suggested that I could make yet another right on this road and it'd lead me back home. I ran for a while til I happened upon another big intersection... Perhaps you've read that hikers lost in the woods will, in all likelihood, end up walking in a large circle. Well, I'm here to confirm that this is, indeed, true even in the city! You may have counted how many right turns I made up to this point, and it was apparently enough to lead me back to those same metal grates and the same puddle I jumped over! The saving grace here was that I just did a loop and now knew where I was! I reverted back to fail-safe option 1 and headed back in the direction from whence I came. West I went on Round Branch Ave, then I hit the little road with the low-hanging branches, and finally popped out on to 1st Ring Road. I darted past the Muslim noodle shop selling their $1.60 bowls of hand-pulled homemade noodles, danced my way through traff across the street, accrued a few more stares, jumped over one more dog (okay, I made that up) and then I arrived at home, ready to explore a few more streets another day. In the last five days, I've been to all the important places in the city that were needful in order to finish registering at the university where I'll study Mandarin...The local police station, the International Health Clinic, the Consulate/Visa application office, and the ATM several times! Before each day of biking around finding these places, 8-10 hours of sleep has refreshed my body and spirit. And, now I'm but 2 days away from re-entering academia. The Minorities University, or 'Ming Da' as it's locally known--Ming zu, being 'minority' and 'da xue' being university--is the quaint campus I'll call mine for the next couple years far as I can see. I just registered for one year's worth of classes and today found out that I can begin at Level 1 for grammar, writing and reading, and Level 2 for spoken/listening. I'm hopeful that this is the best arrangement for my current language skills being that I can speak some and comprehend more, but have little to no acquisition of characters or ability to write them. I visited Mao Zedong's statue today, more out of necessity than actually seeking it out, as it marked the location of the visa application office I needed to go to to apply for my 1-year student visa. As far as I understand, this will grant me permission to stay in-country for the entire year, though I have tentative plans to visit Hong Kong in the new year to visit friends and my sister, Wendy, and maybe, just maybe, race a half or full marathon. (More on running in China in a future post.)
It was at this visa office, though, while I was queued behind 30 other foreigners awaiting their turn, that I overheard 3 European men joking about how France and England don't get along. The British man knew right away, of course, when I spoke that I was American given that I didn't have a similar accent to him but spoke English fluently. I laughed under my breath as I remembered back to the months after 9/11 when French toast and fries were on the chopping block for Merriam Webster's entries. But, now the French-American relationship seems to be on the mend from what I gather, though I won't bet an 8-kuai bowl of noodles on that as I've not read news on that recently! Regardless, I struck up a conversation with them and it turns out that the 3rd man is from Belgium, the 2nd guy from there I've met thus far. (The first is teaching English to kindergarteners and dating a local women whose friend we are visiting tomorrow to see if me teaching her kids English is a good fit.) All 3 men are here studying language for the year, but at a different university from me. When asked how long I was here, I said indefinitely, which surprised them a fair amount. I offered that this was my 7th time in China at which point they said, "O, so you must really like China then! Why did you move here?" What do I say? I got bored with American life...figured a change in scenery was warranted. Or this line: I'm really interested in how globalization and the "Reform & Opening Up" policy of China has impacted Sino-American political ties and foreign policy. Or I could have tried this one: "I heard that's there a lot of money to be made here. Plus, the women are beautiful, right?!" Any of those would've gone over quite well and have given me some credibility. But, instead I replied with this: "I came here to serve, love and bless the Chinese people." "Bless the people? What do you mean?" replied the Belgian man. "Like you're religious?" questioned the French student. Turns out the Brit is an avowed atheist. Their curiosity was fairly aroused at this point. My motivation in moving here was out of the box in their minds, or perhaps a good way to be put in a metal and concrete one indefinitely. But, I was able to share with them the hope that is found in following the Way and that even the Chinese government sees that the values and norms in such Truth and in such a Life are needed in a country where corruption among other woes abounds. It's no secret, especially among the foreigners, that the "why" behind my move is not always welcomed here, but then again it's not welcomed in many places. With my appointment complete and 3 weeks to wait out til I could garner my student visa, I departed that place. I rode swiftly through the formative stages of rush hour from Tian Fu Square, where Mao Zedong proudly stood watch over city center, back to Wu Hou Ci Street where the university is. I swung by the registration office, let them know I can't pick up my student visa til the 27th September, and then inquired about the aforementioned mixed-class arrangement. The registrar asked me to proofread a few documents for their English-speaking foreign students and then I was on my way back home. I approached a little street-side food stand that I've been frequenting and stopped to get a few snacks to tie me over til dinner. I was mid-sentence in asking how much the bread was when an excited Chinese 20-something asked me if I wanted to join him and his friends for a drink. The implication was clear, but the invitation was sincere, and I didn't turn him down because this--building relationships--is why I moved here. It meant I'd be offered less-than-tasty light beer (you all know I don't like any beer, especially Chinese light beer!) on a near-empty stomach. If some in America are averse to stepping thru the threshold of a place of worship, then reaching the Chinese, where there simply are very few buildings of such a nature, requires me to go where they are. However, unless one is given to over-imbibing, a plan must be enacted in short order to have an exit strategy from their drinking games and 'gan bei' (dry glass) cheers. Long ago I'd resolved to be okay with displeasing a new friend so as to to pace myself and be the one who could drive afterwards. A chair was rounded up for me and another for my backpack, and there I was, seated with 2 architecture and 3 interior design students, all of them having moved here from homes hundreds of miles away to attend Ming Da. Talk turned to places I'd traveled and I asked where they'd come from and what they liked to do. Two of the guys are B-boy dancers (via Urbandictionary.com: a b-boy is one who expresses himself through breakbeats (beats that b-boys can break to) using various combinations or sets of breakdance moves...) and dance nightly at the city center square, one lady was present who more or less observed our conversation, and the two other men said they enjoy playing basketball. The usual questions were posed to me: Do I like China or America better? Do I find Chinese women attractive? Where did I study Chinese? What sports do I like to play? What am I studying here? They didn't ask why I moved, but I let my conversation be flavored with salt so as to speak truth into their lives. Not that I go around telling Chinese women they're beautiful, but when pressed by the men as to my thoughts on the beauty of the one lady at the table, I said that she was pretty. She denied it, perhaps out of low self-esteem or low views by men of low character, or perhaps out of cultural norms (it's polite to refuse a gift or a complement the first or 2nd time around here). So I said it again, adding "Truth/reality" to the end of the sentence, and she accepted. (This may be another blog post sometime.) Now the men were enjoying themselves, the 'pi jiu' doing its part, too. They said they needed to drink more so they could be friendly. "Hadn't I heard about the Chinese habit to drink a lot?" they inquired. I confirmed that, indeed, I'd heard and seen it played out a lot, but assured them that they could be friendly without drinking to excess. A few minority guys entered the restaurant and opened a bottle of foreign whiskey. Strong drink and cheap beer flow more freely here than the great Yangtze and Yellow Rivers that have been bound up with dams and hydroelectric plants. Within a few hours of them occupying a table, it burgeoned with twenty-four 518mL bottles of beer, just under 3L per man, my half-liter not withstanding. They were, in their own estimation, drunk, but I have hopes that they'll one day see that there's more to life than food and drink. Phone numbers were exchanged, and they all rose to walk out with me and see me on my way. As I cycled past stray dogs dodging Mercedes-Benz sedans, shopkeepers mopping their concrete entryways, and the shoe cobbler working his magic on a polished pair of loafers, I had the thought that if in spending time with these new friends leads them to the Way home--into a joyful home with a loving Father waiting to adopt them--then that is why I moved here. There's a desire in each of us, I believe, to feel at home wherever we find ourselves. I'd bet a bowl of 8 kuai ($1.30) noodles that we've all either moved to a new city before or made a new start in academia or the working world. With such a shake-up to all that's familiar and comfortable, there's an immediate desire to fit in, discover your niche, and find your place in your new surroundings amongst new colleagues, neighbors, and peers.
Fitting in--exercising your gifts and passions among those of similar feather--and being comfortable are what drives many a marketing company and advertising campaign. But, making true friends--seeking out people who can be 'family' to you--when you're many miles from your biological family is a pursuit that doesn't just happen by purchasing an iPhone (yes, I'm enjoying mine; thanks for asking), "Like"ing your friend's post on FB or pic on Instagram, or gaining popularity by taking possession of your new pad or BMW. When I departed Atlanta-Hartsfield International and settled into the luxurious business elite bed with flight attendants at my beckon call (can I say that was a much-enjoyed 13-hour flight?), I said goodbye to loving, supportive and dear family in WI and VA (though one sister, Wendy, moved to Hong Kong recently) and many truly wonderful, generous, hospitable, and encouraging friends all across the States (if you're reading this, you're likely one of them!). After three flights, I arrived to my new home some 7300 miles from my Wisconsin hometown. If home is where the heart is, I'd say it's not fully in China yet. Given the significant allotment of years I've spent in 2 homes--WI (22 years) and KCMO (5.5 years)--and 2 other places that have a homeliness about them given the kindred folk that I've had the deep pleasure and joy to befriend--Atlanta and China--I can confidently say that all four of these places that have given rise to family, whether biological, spiritual or in everyday friendships, will continue to be such. But, my investment in and time spent here in the Far East will only continue to increase in the foreseeable future. Of my four homes, for this one have I sold everything off and arrived at its shores in hopes of both finding home here and inviting others into a Family that knows no barriers of geography, ethnicity, language, or culture. As I was enjoying dinner with a couple tonight, feasting on homemade rolls, soup, and yogurt (all 3 homemade!) and the fruit and honey of the earth, we were talking about what my expectations were for my time 'here.' I said that Mandarin language study, seeking out business opportunities and various possibilities along those lines--from woodwork to full-time ice cream production (okay, the latter is a pipe dream perhaps), and eventually finding a partner to share life with were the hopes in the next 2 years. My friend said, "There's no rush for two of these, but with language, rush that! Make it your ambition to study hard; you're a marathon runner. You know how to hurt and how to set goals." And, so as the prospect is to make friends and build up a family here of local people, it's indeed imperative to make language study--especially while single and without another full-time job--one of my top goals. I've already received offers to teach English to a few friends of friends, to build a table and turn out other woodworking pieces, and so it seems that I'll have no shortage of offers to occupy my time. But, making friends and learning the culture, buying food and getting a visa, playing sports and traveling the countryside--these everyday activities require me to know the language of the locals, and that requires time and hard work. While I'm learning language, though, it's neither independent of the above goals nor exclusive to them. For in building friendships where honor, trust, respect, loyalty, and selfless love are displayed, it's in these places where new acquaintances can become friends, and friends become family, and together both the local and the foreigner can find a home of the sort that I knew only in a familiar place and the local may never have known otherwise. I realized I hadn't posted this from my travels to China last year, but here are some highlight pics of the region of China I'll be moving to come this summer. If you're interested in receiving a newsletter sharing about my move to this place, email/message/call/text me with your address...and if I see/talk to you somewhat regularly or moreso, you'll be getting one soon! Enjoy the pics, and if you like what you see, you're more than welcome to visit come this fall!It's been longer between posts than I would've liked, but alas, here's an update before I leave civilization in 8 hours a week-long foray on the high plateau just to the west of here. I'm currently in CD, Sichuan’s provincial capital city, poised to embark on this tour with a few friends who are starting a travel agency here--they speak Chinese and a local minority language, are from Canada and the U.S., and are excited to have us five (two of my friends, Chris and Clint, are from ATL and 2, Jonathan and Katie, are from VA) and a married couple from NYC with us on their maiden voyage. This is my 3rd time in this city; my first time was in 2008 with my lovely sister, Wendy, and others from KC, when we came here just months after the big '08 earthquake that devastated this region. Then, last July I was here for a week to again join Wendy and a group from KC and abroad. And, now I'm here for this tour, but also get to see Wendy and others from KC yet again in a week!
Already a memory are my visits to RL and MS, the two towns where I spent a year from 2009-'10, teaching English and studying Chinese, making homemade ice cream and running with a high school track team amongst other activities. MS is a town of rapid change, but the same is true for perhaps several thousand other towns its size. 50-60,000 reside here, with another 75,000 just 100km away, and not much lies between them. But there is talk that these two towns are poised to become the gateway to international trade, natural resources delivery, tourism on the SW corridor to Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and the rest of Asia. Already, new direct flight routes have been established to Beijing, CD, and Shanghai; new roads are being built day in and day out, and new 20-story buildings line the new highways and main street of MS. Thus, this once-quaint, off-the-grid town is making a name for herself, and the goal of RL becoming a million-person city in the next ten years seems plausible, though nonetheless audacious if actualized. MS is the town where I taught kindergartners to adult students introductory English and conversational English, accordingly. RL is the border town with Myanmar, poised for greatness, or at least the hope is held for it to become such. Golf courses line the river, duty-free Rolexes and goods line the streets by the border, salesmen ply their jade jewelry in droves, 1000's of apartment units await new owners to finish out the units with flatscreens and rice cookers and fill the garages with Audis and BMW's, a several hundred-mile pipeline is being laid to transport an unknown substance (24" diameter perhaps--any guesses?), trees four feet in diameter are trucked out of Myanmar's lush forests into the restaurants and homes of wealthy Chinese as this movement to see this city become akin to Shenzhen in the SE picks up steam. Upon arriving in MS, familiar faces I greeted, familiar dishes I ingested, and familiar streets I strolled (is that acceptable noun/verb usage?!)...But, a few things were distinctly different. A KFC was undergoing renovation, occupying the first floor of a flashy, new 20-story building, a new temple complex was arising out of the tropical woodland atop a mountain adjacent to the existing one, and traffic more resembled downtown KC than the 3-year old memory of water buffalo and bicycles meandering through town. It was great to see many of the expats (foreigners living abroad) I came to know while there, and I also spent an evening over dinner with a former student of mine. One lady, especially appreciative of my patience and teaching style, was excited to hear I was back in town. It was a blessing to see her and her friend; though Annie’s English has improved since I’ve left, we resorted to Chinese; I had a hard time at some points understanding their inquiries, but for the most part, conversation was unhindered as we ate a 'hot pot,' which is a smorgasbord of different veggies and meat that are cooked in a boiling broth right on the table we sat at. Just so no misinformation goes forth, Annie is about 50 years old;) The past week was full of short bursts—meals with friends, a dip in the RL River and skipping rocks with children, my first soccer game in 15 years, several basketball games that quickly reminded why I took up running instead, a couple massages which more resembled a comedy show, a Sunday gathering with families whose “quivers are full of arrows,” loading a moving truck with a friend’s possessions so they could move down to the southern tip of China near the Thai border, and a couple 12-hour overnight bus rides that epitomize the transient state of China’s residents. And now I'll head down a rabbit trail on diet and dress; I originally wrote this just to convey a bit of what is on the minds and palates of the people here, so here's my take on it. There are a few classic dishes that have become staples in my diet, and as I've found them in about every restaurant in the southern half of the country, I'd say they're pretty popular all-around. Egg and tomato (with plenty of oil), eggplant and pork in a tasty sauce (with plenty of oil), fried pork rib pieces, creamy potatoes with chives and hot peppers, sweet and sour pork or chicken, bok choy (in plenty of oil), and last but not least, steamed dumplings or buns filled with various things…one would think that after eating the dish itself there wouldn’t be much oil left, but one can actually pour off about 1-4 oz. of oil! As most Chinese don’t consume dessert, soda, or candy, though (as they’d much rather chew on some spicy tofu or chicken feet!), I tend to think that they are, overall, fitter than the average American. But, as smoking has made incredible inroads, I wonder how that’ll effect an ever-increasingly aged population. Much has changed in this country in the past 10 years; Western fast food chains now dot every major road in big cities, NZ ice cream is not hard to find, Dove chocolate and Snickers can be found most anywhere, Coke products lag only behind green tea and cheap, light beer, and Western-style bakeries waft tantalizing aromas down many streets. As far as communication and transportation, smart phones and iPads fit the bill where radios and bicycles no longer suffice, and foreign car manufacturers are having a heyday in China currently. Lastly, but perhaps even the biggest index of Western influence, the fashion styles and dress have made about every place in China look akin to West Hollywood…the places we’ll travel to this week out on the plateau have retained some semblance of conservative dress, but for the most part, the women in my generation and younger are into saving as much fabric for the next dress as possible! Sadly, though, that's resulted in a culture where identity and value is misplaced, easily (mis)shaped, and acceptance is thought to be gained by giving oneself away. But, may we who know the Truth be part of the wave that turns the tide to see not only the women, but moreover the men, know who they were created to be--sons and daughters of One who gives freely abundant value, endless love, faithful promises, and friendship and intimacy with others in this family to those who have gone searching to and fro to have these needs met and come up empty, wounded and disillusioned. May restoration, redemption, reconciliation, and new life spring up out of the deserts, so that out of their dry places a river of Life may run through them! Without writing about the first 2 weeks, suffice it to say that I've been to 5 cities, seen friends dating back to my first time in China in 2005, met up with others who've I've seen every year since 2008, met up with a high school friend who I hadn't seen in 10 years (and she helped show us a wonderful rock-climbing area that we spent a day at), ate delightful meals with these friends, traveled via boats, taxis, buses, subways, planes, bikes and muddied running shoes.
And now it's good to be back in this beautiful mountain-laden town in SW China; tourist crowds abound, but beyond the jam-packed streets and 1000 shops selling the same wares, lies a gorge with 8000' vertical feet of relief from snow-capped peak to (a once) turquoise-colored whitewater river. The Tiger Leaping Gorge is the name, and while the wooden tigers lining the street and adorning the cafes give some semblance to the name sake, I think the beauty of this place draws more visitors than the folk story behind the name. A friend I met up with here shared that in 2004 an estimated 4 million tourists meandered through the winding streets and shops of this town; in 2010, that figure topped 10M! The pictures within this note are from the Gorge. 6 of us hiked it for 2 days, and met up with an Italian man, Andrea, who joined our gang. To visit this city again 2+ years after my original visit in the winter of 2010 has been good; to be here with friends is doubly enjoyable. And, even with my language being a bit rusty and having forgotten plenty of words, I've found that communication has been, in large part, doable and even encouraging. Polite to a fault, a few times a day I hear the saying "Your Chinese is without mistakes." Now, I appreciate the compliment, but all I can do is laugh when a few minutes later the same lady offering the above commendation sends her husband to get pad and pen so I can write my question in characters because she can't understand what I'm saying. He returns quickly, and while the pad and pen are being offered I reiterate, "I can't write Chinese." They laugh heartily, having missed the first 2 times I said the same! If my friend here whose inn we've stayed at for the past several days had one story about language learning that will forever stick with me, it was this one. He said in his first year or two in the South of China, his attempt at the language in the form of a question was met with the reply, "Sorry, I don't speak English!" Hanging his head, he slunk back to his apartment to double back on his study efforts. My language is by no means worthy of any sincere compliment, and yet I hadn't had that happen...til yesterday! Chris, Clint and I were in search of a big supermarket where we'd rendezvous with a couple to hear about their life and work here in LJ. I knew we were in the general vicinity, but wasn't sure which direction to go...so I started asking. The first 2 women I asked got us started in the right direction, and we turned down a side street after passing a stoplight, which was to be the marker for where to turn. But, seeing no market, I approached a construction laborer. He stopped long enough from heaving concrete and bricks to say, "Sorry, I don't speak English." I gathered my wits about me, and said in a more pronounced tone (if I'm lazy in English, that will not suffice in Chinese where a lack of attention to proper pronunciation of tones will sound like gibberish), "Do you know where Likelong Supermarket is?" He directed the question to his friend across the rock pile, and we were on our way down to the correct stoplight where we, in the end, found the market and my friend awaiting us! Language-wise, my desire is to one day be fluent in Chinese to the point where I can freely and easily communicate with friends here. But in the meantime, some of the most encouraging (and personally challenging) times have been with friends, new and old, who also have made China their home after moving abroad. Whether from Europe, S. America, USA or elsewhere, the stories are vast and numerous, but they all have as their foundation One who has led, provided for, and shown His great love for them, that the people here--and, indeed, all those from every tongue, tribe, nation and language--would see that He offers the same. Many well-meaning people throughout history said that Paul, Moses, Abraham, Job, David and Jesus were not living very wisely and should just give up on their obedience, love and faith toward their Father; the story is the same with many here who have left homeland, family, and friends--all that is familiar in a sense--to follow the One whom they know called them here. Please don't misunderstand, though. It's not because any of the above people didn't love their homeland, family and friends, but love for the One who created us and calls us each to a different work calls us to also love Him more than these; the choice is to be lived out daily and the way it plays out is different for each of us. For some, it means moving overseas, acquiring a new language (or two), customs and culture. American I will always be, even if I happen to hear what some have heard after being here for 10-20 years---while in a meeting, an American friend of mine received this compliment, "It's like there are no foreigners here among us." His diligence in language study, acquisition of cultural norms, and even his ability to eat "hen lade zhong guo cai" marked him as a local person in the eyes of those he's befriended. But, inasmuch as I'm American, I strive to "become all things to all men, so that I by all means may save some." Tonight, Chris, Clint and I board an overnight train ride; 9 hours later we will awake in a city of 5 million; this provincial capital city acts as our transfer city for these 2 months of travel; it's bustling with universities, a new airport and subway under construction, and skyscrapers aplenty (as large as can be safely constructed anyway in an area prone to earthquakes). It's in this city where we will again meet up with a few friends we saw last week when our group numbered 6. Since then, 2 men returned to GA, and a 3rd, Jonathan, picked up his girlfriend, Katie, today in Hong Kong. We'll meet them at the airport tomorrow, and the 5 of us will be together for nearly 3 weeks when that couple leaves for other travels, and I then meet up with my sister, Wendy, and other friends from KC in another capital city of Sichuan province, the province that suffered the massive May '08 earthquake. Until next time/zai jian! |
AuthorMusings from a sojourner from the "Kingdom of the Son"about life in the Middle Kingdom--a land of change amongst hopes of the same. Archives
August 2017
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