Hello from China!

One of the first lessons you must learn when you come to China is flexibility...and the journey of this blog is no exception. Without recounting the pathway to arriving here, I will just say that it has been frustrating and humorous and that I am grateful to finally have a place to assign these thoughts. :) Anyway, we are doing fine.

Beijing has been such an interesting city and I will be glad to have another day or so here after we finish teaching. The hotel where we have been staying is similar to a north American hotel, with a few differences (which can be big or small, depending on your perspective). The beds are very firm...no, scratch that...they are hard. The pillow has some kind of hulls (buckwheat?) but it is surprisingly comfortable. The room has been clean--like really, no complaints in that department! And although we can't drink the water (no one can here, actually), they provide us with a hot-pot for boiling, which has worked out nicely. We have done laundry in the sink several times, which has been rather cathartic and gratifying...and much less labor intense than laundry sessions back home :) Dryers are non-existent here, so everyone has clothing drying in their windows or outside. It takes about three days for stuff to dry fully. A major difference here is the number of people who smoke. After living in a clean indoor air state for a long time, you forget what it is like to be in a smoky environment. My lungs have been doing a double take :) They are in shock...Anyway, we have seen only a small chunk of the city, as we have been in training much of the time. But the piece we have seen has been so neat--I love just seeing the everyday...what people are spending their time doing when they aren't feeling on display for the foreigners. Lots of alfresco dining here...and people are always outside, together, laughing, playing checkers, mah jong, cards...and children are all over the place. Several have stolen my heart. We are the ones on display and it is fun to watch people's tactics for staring...some are subtle...some don't even try and they drop what they are doing or bump their bike into a parked car because they have to crane their neck all the way around to watch you...but they usually smile. We're curious too, aren't we? I will say that Chinese hospitality has America's beaten by a landslide...they are meticulous in their graciousness, in remembering that you asked for soy sauce the last time you ate at their restaurant and when you come again they place it on your table before you have even sat down. And the food...dirt cheap and delicious! Our team--that's 7 of us--has eaten out this whole week for about $100--lunches and dinners...and we are stuffed and it is amazingly tasty! And as for some of the deeper, more meangingful things that are happening here, I am so encouraged. Houses are being built--and although they may not look exactly like our houses in the US, there are many brothers and sisters who love the father and their faith is vibrant and growing.

We have experienced things here that I could not have predicted and many times, as we are singing a song about our father or petitioning him, I have to pinch myself and remind myself where I am...I have so much more to share about this when we return home. We are off now to the Forbidden City and some other sight-seeing...more to come! Please continue to remember us during your quiet times...we covet those thoughts and will need them in the weeks ahead.