Adventures in China

What a Blessing

2011-09-12T21:58:00.002+08:00

...to have this within walking distance!

The Great Wall, Take 4

2011-08-12T20:20:00.001+08:00

On Wednesday, I made my 4th visit to the Great Wall, this time with all the other new teachers and team leaders. We couldn't have had better weather! Hours of pouring rain on Tuesday night cleared out Beijing's typically smoggy and humid skies, leaving a beautiful blue sky. I definitely think the gorgeous weather and the wonderful company made this most recent visit a great one.


Me with some other team leaders


Jumping on the Great Wall!

Team photo

Inadequate

2011-08-08T20:09:00.000+08:00

Nothing like a new position to make you feel inadequate. Actually, scratch that. Nothing like the voice of the Enemy when you’re in a new position to make you feel inadequate. Since I’ve started my new role as a team leader, I’ve felt cruddier than I have in a very long time. Tons of issues that I’d dealt with long ago are cropping back up in an attempt to stop me in my tracks. Fear, doubt, worry, self-esteem; shouldn’t I be past all these things already? The fact that they’re reappearing only makes me feel even more disqualified for this job. Then when I think of all the responsibilities I have, most importantly to my team, but also to my school and organization, another wave of panic hits me. Remind me, did I voluntarily sign up for this? What was I thinking?

But in the midst of all my inner turmoil and struggle, I hear the still quiet voice that brings peace. He soothes my worries and doubts, while telling me that, yes, I am inadequate for this position. I can’t do this job on my own, nor was I ever meant to. I can’t change people’s hearts, I can’t make my teammates desire a strong team community, and I certainly can’t make them love China. I can foster those things, but expecting myself to do all that on my own is bearing a burden I wasn’t meant to carry.

And so, I continue to feel unprepared for the task ahead, but this time knowing that there is a purpose in my inadequacies. Where I am weak, He is strong. With His help, I do the best I can and leave the rest at His feet.

The Beijing Amazing Race

2011-08-04T20:06:00.000+08:00

My team is here! They and all the other new teachers arrived yesterday at noon. Today, in order to help them get over jet lag, as well as get them acquainted to the city where they’ll be staying for the next several weeks, we had a “Beijing Amazing Race”, a scavenger hunt of sorts. It came out pretty early that our team is not very competitive, so instead of checking off boxes and finding information, we visited the required neighborhoods and just wandered around.

First team photo! (L-R: Drew, Tony, Abby, Elise, me)

Keeping the sun away with umbrellas, hats and sunglasses

Tony enjoying a massage?

While we were wandering around near the Drum Tower, we came across a bunch of clowns doing magic tricks. As it turns out, Drew can also do some tricks, and so the two sides began showing each other what they could do. It didn’t take long before they were drawing a crowd.

So, even though we didn’t come anywhere near winning the Beijing Amazing Race, we had a fun and successful first outing as a team. Hopefully it’s the first of many.

The Hair Conversation

2011-05-20T16:45:00.000+08:00

When I began formal language study, one of the first things I asked my tutor was how to talk about my hair in Chinese. From day 1, people have been asking me about it, and I wanted to be able to describe it in a way they can understand. Everyone always asks the same questions, in the same order and reacts the same way. It turns out, even after I describe my hair, they still don’t fully get it, but I can’t blame them. If all I’d ever seen of black hair was cornrows on NBA players, I’d be pretty curious too.

Here is a pretty good translation of the hair conversation that I have at least once a week. Curious shopkeeper could be replaced by nosy neighbor, interested student or random person behind me on the bus.

Curious Shopkeeper: (after staring at my while ringing up my groceries) Is your hair real or fake? (Or, the more bold ones might ask, “Your hair is fake, right?”)
Me: It’s real.
CSK: Wow, really? I thought it was fake.
Me: No, it’s real.
CSK: Is it permed (to make it curly)?
Me: No, my hair is naturally very curly.
CSK: So when you were born, was your hair like that? You know, in strands like that?
Me: No, this kind of hair doesn’t grow down, it grows out. (Cue hand motions.) This is just a hairstyle.
CSK: So how do you make it like that?
Me: It’s a little like braids.
CSK: So do you go to a hair salon to do it?
Me: No, I do it myself.
CSK: You do it yourself? Wow! How do you wash it?
Me: The same as everyone else. When I wash it, it won’t come apart.
CSK: Wow, it doesn’t come apart? It’s so special! Can my hair do that?
Me: No, because your hair is straight, it wouldn’t look the same.
CSK: (overcome by curiosity) Can I touch it?
Me: (reluctantly, but thankful s/he at least asked first) Okay.
CSK: Wow it’s so hard! Your hair is so unique!
Me: Thanks. (Try to walk away with my purchased goods)

All Grown Up

2011-05-18T15:57:00.003+08:00

There is a remarkable thing that happens to Chinese university students between their freshman and sophomore year.

My first year in Hengyang, I had only one freshman class. They were a little unusual among freshman classes, because they were very chatty and highly motivated, but they still fit the typical freshman mold: unsure of themselves and where they fit in, with little experience about anything unrelated to study, wearing unfashionable clothing and awkward haircuts, and giggly at the mere mention of boys and boyfriends.

Fast forward a year and their transformation is nearly complete. Recently they invited me to watch them practice a dance they had choreographed for a competition. The innocence and shyness they had as freshmen had been replaced by a bold confidence in their newfound sexuality. I nearly had to pick my jaw up off the floor as I watched nearly all the girls in the class perform a hip hop dance routine, complete with booty shaking and hip grinding. Where did my cute, innocent little freshmen go?

I suppose it’s only natural that they would grow up and mature into adults. It’s just a little jarring when it happens in just one year.

Sunday Sabbath

2011-05-08T17:51:00.004+08:00

I LOVE Sundays. On Sunday I sabbath: I don’t meet with students, I don’t do anything teaching related, and if the culture’s been stressing me out, sometimes I don’t even leave my house. Sunday is my day of rest, and I rest to the fullest.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not a complete bum on Sundays. Well, at least not every Sunday. During my Sabbath I like to do things that rest me in different ways. Here are some of my favorite things to do on Sunday:

Sleep in. Even though my body typically doesn’t let me sleep past 8:30, there’s just something satisfying about waking up when you’re ready to.

Listen to a sermon. Typically I listen to podcasts from The Village Church, a church in the Dallas area, while enjoying a large cup of coffee.

Journal. Sundays give me a chance to slow down, reflect on the past week, spend extended time in prayer and write down all the thoughts that have been floating through my head.

Be alone. For an introvert like me, engaged in work involves a lot of people time, it’s critical that I get some time to myself.

Play video games. I’m not much of a gamer, but I’ve always been a fan of the Sims. I only let myself play on Sundays, otherwise I waste too much time.

Fellowship with teammates. Usually Portia, Daniel, Amber and I will meet in the afternoon to worship and listen to a sermon together. Afterwards, we’ll usually walk to the front gate of our school and enjoy dinner a “nice” restaurant, one with doors.

Sunday afternoon at the Yellow Tea Shop, which has doors

Now that you know how I spend my time, you can see why I might enjoy Sundays so much. I look forward to it all week, and I’m a bit bummed when it’s over. Now if all the Ten Commandments were this easy and enjoyable to keep, I’d be a lot closer to godliness.

Passover Seder

2011-04-23T16:52:00.001+08:00

Growing up in NY, I probably learned more about Jewish culture at an earlier age than the average American. As a kid, I was the grateful recipient of 2 days off each September for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, enjoyed amazing bagels at local kosher delis, and always looked forward to the reappearance of the Jewish foods aisle in the supermarket around Passover season, but I had never had been to a Passover seder. It never even crossed my mind to think of attending another religion’s ceremonial ritual until college, when I learned that some Christians do this at Easter to remember the Last Supper and the significance of the Easter events.

This year, in China of all places, I had the chance to take part in my first seder. Our team organized one for some students we work with. We used many of the traditional readings and included some explanation to better give context. In a concession to our students’ taste buds, we also swapped out some of the traditional foods for similar Chinese counterparts. Bing (flat, pita-like bread) became matzo, bitter melon replaced bitter herbs and rabbit took the place of lamb. All in all, we gained a new perspective on the holidays of the season and enjoyed each other’s company as well.

The Next Step- Part 3

2011-04-07T16:40:00.009+08:00

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 first.

I got back to Hengyang in late February, and resolved to pour myself into my work there. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be around, but I wanted to make a difference. In those first few weeks, I saw so much growth and fruit in the lives of those I was working with, and was so encouraged about what was happening at our school.

On March 15th, I got an email telling me I had been given the position as a team leader. Surprisingly, the first emotion I felt wasn’t excitement, but sadness. Immediately, the faces of all the people I would be leaving behind flooded my mind, and I was nearly in tears at the thought of leaving them. Of course, I was happy to have the job, but I was also stunned that in a matter of months I had gone from a strong dislike for Hengyang to such sadness over the prospect of leaving. I had grown to love Hengyang more than I had realized.

So now begins the process of leaving Hengyang and moving into my future. Next school year, I will be a team leader in the city of Qinhuangdao (pronounced Chin-hwang-dow), a coastal city about 3 hours to the east of Beijing.

I’m excited by the chance to be part of a life changing experience for other college grads. I certainly realize that it could be a crazy, busy and hectic year, but I also see the amazing potential that the year could have as well. As long as I continue to rely on my Heavenly Father for strength and follow His guidance, this seemingly daunting next step will be a good one, and one that will bring more fame to His name.

The Next Step- Part 2

2011-04-06T12:24:00.001+08:00

I went home last summer looking forward to a second year in Hengyang. During the summer, while taking graduate classes at Wheaton, I found out that one of my classmates was soon going to become a CTF team leader, the very job I had been considering. I had a chance to talk with her about her decision making process and felt very encouraged. That summer I also had a dear Chinese friend and sister visit the States for the first time. I got to show her around, introduce her to US culture, and talk with her about the dreams the Father had placed in her heart. I really enjoyed spending time with her and being a part of her first experiences of America. In some ways, it seemed to parallel what I might do as a team leader, helping young people adjust to life and service in China. I began to wonder if all these experiences were leading to something, so I continued to think over the possibility of taking this job without making any firm commitments.

In late August, I returned to Hengyang, hopeful that the new school year might bring me deeper relationships and more peace about staying there. During the national holiday in October, I had a chance to talk to my Wheaton classmate after her first months as a team leader. She certainly gave me a real assessment of the job, telling me how busy, difficult, and at times overwhelming it was, but also sharing the joys as well. I left that conversation thinking I was crazy for ever having considered this position. Why would anyone want so much responsibility? Yet a week after our conversation, I still felt my heart being drawn to it, even though I knew how stressful it seemed. And so, I sent an email to request an application, knowing that in my own heart, by taking this first step, I was making a commitment to take the job if chosen.

Around Christmas time I filled out the application and I found out that I would need an interview during my organization’s annual conference in Thailand. The interview went smoothly, but I was told up front that there were more applicants than positions and that the decision might come down to the simple demographics of needing a male team leader. I resolved not to get my hopes up. I headed back to Hengyang determined to wait patiently until the 15th of March, when I would hear the decision, and to make the most of my time there, whether it would only be one more semester or many more years to come.

The Next Step- Part 1

2011-04-05T17:36:00.001+08:00

As you might guess, there's been a lot going on in the past month that I haven't written about. This post is the first in a series of 3 to bring you up to date on the biggest development.

I came to China fresh out of college. I was anticipating a 1 year trip, during which I’d figure out what to do with the rest of my life, then go back to America and do it. Well, I did figure out what to do with the rest of my life, and it didn’t involve America in the way I thought it would. During that year I fell in love with China, its people, its culture, its language, its food and more. Not only did I fall in love, but my heart was changed, and I began to see the world the way my Heavenly Father does. My faith was stretched, my worldview shaken and my life forever altered. At the end of my one year “trip” I committed to 2 years of language study and future service in China. After having fallen in love so hard for this country, I was heartbroken when I had to return to America after only one year of study. While my year in America was hard for a variety of reasons, it helped me to see that the Father was directing me towards China for the foreseeable future.

Upon return from my time stateside, I was placed in Hengyang, which to say the least, was not where I wanted to be. I had wanted to return to Changsha where I had studied Chinese and I knew just enough about Hengyang to be worried. When I got to Hengyang, I saw it was not as bad as I had feared, but it also left something to be desired. Whenever I visited Changsha I wished I could live there or anywhere else but Hengyang, but I couldn’t pinpoint why. Was it just because living there would be more comfortable and convenient? Or was it because I wasn’t meant to be in Hengyang very long?

In November 2009, saw an email about job openings within my organization. One of the openings was for a team leader in the program I was part of my first year in China, the one that changed the course of my life significantly. I almost instantly began to imagine what it might be like to be a part of that program again, this time changing the lives of other young college grads. Part of me selfishly wondered if I was only considering the position because it would allow me to get out of Hengyang. At the same time, part of me dreaded the idea of leaving Hengyang so soon. Another move would mean a 4th placement in 4 years in China, my 4th time to move all my belongings, uproot my life, start again learning a new city, working with a new team, building new relationships. And while aspects of the job did appeal to me, the thought of all the responsibility also made me nervous. So after significant thought, I put the idea on the back burner, possibly for future consideration or possibly to be forgotten about.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

How Majestic...

2011-03-05T19:28:00.000+08:00

Back to the travel recaps temporarily...

When my teammates Daniel, Amber and I began planning our trip to Yunnan province, our main motive was to be able to hike Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is famous among foreign travelers for its breathtaking views. I'm a city girl without any significant outdoorsy experience (unless you count the Chinese method of climbing mountains by walking up paved steps and pathways), so I didn't really know what expect.

Well, hiking the gorge turned out to be an exhilarating and awe-inspiring experience! The scenic views in every direction just blew my mind. I never knew how beautiful this earth could look! I never knew how many stars were visible in the night sky! Seeing and being surrounded by such beauty produced so much worship within me that I couldn't help but sing praise to the Creator of it all.

I could go on and on about how beautiful it was, but I'll just include some pictures instead, even though they can't do Tiger Leaping Gorge justice at all.

At the opening of the gorge

I rode this guy up the steepest parts of the mountain

We stayed and ate at little guesthouses built on the mountainside, like this one

The Day Grandpa Came to Oral English Class

2011-03-03T21:39:00.000+08:00

Last week, on my very first day of class, I was quite surprised to see an older man sitting in the front row of my class of 19 year old freshmen. I've occasionally had Chinese teachers come to observe my class, but this man looked far too old to be a teacher. In fact, he looked like he could be the grandfather of the students he was sitting among. Since I had been running late to class that day, I didn't have the chance to talk to him before class began. He was quiet and respectful during the lesson, and on the occasions when I glanced his direction, Grandpa was just diligently writing notes in beautiful cursive handwriting. He left the classroom just as I ended the first period, so I wasn't able to satisfy my curiosity about the grandpa who wanted to improve his oral English.

Fast forward to this Tuesday, the one day a week that I teach on the new campus. At the end of the bus ride, I noticed an old man sitting in the front, but it took me a few minutes to place him as the grandpa who had come to my class the previous week. We struck up a short conversation and he told me that he was a retired English teacher. He had enjoyed the lesson the previous week and wanted a copy of some of the activities. (I'd love to be prideful about my teaching ability here, but the activities were taken from a standard English curriculum.) I promised to bring him the materials and went on my way to class. To my surprise, at the very beginning of the second class period, Grandpa came in and sat again in the first row. He was still very respectful, but this time was different than the last. This time, he actively engaged in the activities and happily talked with my students, who were impressed that his oral English was better than theirs! He became a bit of a celebrity, and students flocked to him and were really excited to chat with him about books and movies. At the end of class, he again slipped out before I had a chance to talk to him again.

I don't even know Grandpa's name, but I'm really impressed by him. He's of an age where he was probably a teacher during the times when life was hard for Chinese teachers. He might have taught English before China even opened up for development. But for him to speak English so well and still be willing to learn more at his age demonstrated his dedication. I hope he rubbed off on my students and taught them that with hard work, it's never too late to improve their spoken English.

Travel 2011 - Lijiang

2011-02-24T21:04:00.003+08:00

So let's start this massive blogging catch up process with the beginning of my travel. In mid January, my teammates Daniel, Amber and I left frigid Hengyang for southwestern Yunnan province, which we hoped would be somewhat warmer. Turns out it was just as cold, and we even got snowed on a day or two, but at least we had significantly prettier scenery.

Our first stop in Yunnan was Lijiang, a city famous for the architecture and culture of the Naxi minority people. We spent 3 days in the city exploring, hanging out in cafes and restaurants, shopping and renting minority costumes for photos. It was quite a fun way to begin the winter break.

The Old City of Lijiang

A mural of Naxi writing

My travel companions (and teammates)

I'm sure we look like authentic members of Chinese minority groups

Alleyways and rooftop

I'm Back!

2011-02-21T21:34:00.000+08:00

As much as I enjoy my current lifestyle of 4 month semesters and 2 month travel breaks, it's certainly not conducive to maintaining any sort of year long routine. I'm noticing a trend that when I'm not in China, I tend not to blog. Who wants to write introspective posts or wait for photos to upload when there are places to see, things to do and people to hang out with? Not I, apparently! But now that I'm back in Hengyang and the semester has begun, I'll settle into a pattern that includes some time for thought, writing and photo posting (and maybe even some photo taking). Stay tuned for a bunch of catch up posts and some new stuff too. Here are a couple photos to hold you over:

Short Sighted

2010-12-15T22:46:00.000+08:00

When I was a kid, I loved playing out in the snow, but despite the pleas of my mother, I hated wearing my winter gear. These traits were a pretty awful combination, because they brought together my tendency to stay outside for too long with a devil-may-care attitude towards taking off my gloves to make better snowballs. When I finally did come inside to warm up, I would rush to the bathroom to run my hands under hot water, ignoring my mother’s warnings that this caused nerve damage because I thought it warmed my hands faster. Now that I’m 26, I’m paying the price for my shenanigans with hands that get stiff in the slightest cold and nearly get frostbitten while teaching in a freezing cold classroom in a southern Chinese university. Who knew as a young child that I would grow up and live in a part of the world without heat where I have the potential to frequently suffer because of my youthful misdeeds? Certainly not my mother, but she had the foresight to know that as an adult I would want hands that are fully functional and comfortable all 4 seasons of the year.

This and many other similar experiences make me realize how short sighted I am in my view towards life as a whole. The time I am on this earth is but a short part of the eternity in which my soul will live, and yet I constantly live for the pleasures of today, enjoying temporary things and avoiding the difficult and costly work that will reap rewards in heaven. Unlike in my childhood, I am old enough to know that my (God willing) 80 years on the earth are compared with the dew that’s gone by midmorning, but I often don’t live in light of this fact. Luckily I have a heavenly Father who has the wisdom that I often lack, and unlike my mother, knows exactly what the future will bring and how I will need to be prepared for it. I just hope and pray I would listen to His words instead of following my own stubborn and short-sighted heart.

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-13T22:44:00.000+08:00

On Saturday I had a class of students come over to make Christmas cookies. Although it was a bit of an endeavor, most of the cookies came out not only edible, but quite tasty!

They had fun playing with the dough

At first they stuck to the traditional shapes

Then they started to get creative

And by the end, everyone wanted a picture with their cookie...

Or with me...

Or with my Christmas tree!

They certainly had fun, and by the end of the night, several of them had stomach aches from eating too many cookies at once. In my defense, I did try to warn them...

Birthday, Part 2

2010-12-05T21:46:00.000+08:00

I have previously spoken of my love for karaoke, so I figured a birthday was as good a time as any to have take a trip downtown, rent out a room and sing some KTV. I invited my teammates and a bunch of Chinese friends, but unfortunately, most of them were busy. Determined not to have a foreigner-only party, I invited a special group of students that we work with who have received scholarships because of their difficult life circumstances. Their inclusion made the dynamic of the party different than I would have imagined, but I still had a great time singing with everyone in English and Chinese!

And here's some video of them singing happy birthday to me in Chinese.

And if you've ever wondered what Chinese students give as birthday presents, I can answer your question: mugs, and if it's a winter birthday, scarves and hats. I now have quite a collection of Chinglish mugs, and more hats and scarves than I could wear in a week if I wore a different one each day! I appreciate their sentiment though!

Birthday, Part 1

2010-12-01T23:07:00.001+08:00

I like birthdays. I always forget how enjoyable one can be until it arrives, at which point I am pleasantly surprised. This year, I taught a freshmen class in the morning, then was free to do as I pleased for the rest of the day. I headed downtown to investigate places where I could hold my birthday party (more on that later), and had some McDonalds fries, just because. In the evening, I had dinner with my team, then went to get foot massages with a couple of my teammates. All in all it was a great day and I felt loved. And to top it all off, I got a gigantic stuffed rabbit from our school’s foreign affairs office!

My life goal of owning a gigantic stuffed animal has been achieved!

Old and New: The New Campus

2010-11-24T20:56:00.002+08:00

Every Wednesday I gather my belongings and catch a bus to the new campus. On a good day, the ride only takes a half hour, but on the worst, it can take an hour and a half. The new campus is on the very outskirts of the city, far from anything except the countryside and other universities’ new campuses. It follows what seems to be the standard pattern for all new campuses in China: some sort of lake or river, short stubby trees waiting to grow into their potential, lots of greenery and walking paths, and a bunch of generic looking buildings. It doesn’t feel homey like the old campus, but after a few months of teaching there, it’s certainly starting to feel more familiar.

The school gate

Across the lake

Dormitories

The cafeteria

Old and New: The Old Campus

2010-11-22T21:00:00.000+08:00

This year our team is split between 2 campuses; we all live at the old, but most of us teach at both. The old campus is a little over 50 years old and dates back to beginning of the university. (Chinese universities on the whole are pretty young.) Like most 50 year old things in China, It shows its age, in both good and bad ways. The facilities are lacking, and crumbling in some areas, but it’s got a certain air about it that can only come with age. The trees that line the main walkways provide a great amount of shade during the scorching summers. And it’s in the middle of a neighborhood that has developed around it, housing teachers, cheap off campus apartment rentals, snack shops and hole in the wall restaurants. It might not always be pretty, but it’s home.

The library


The main teaching building

The foreign language building in the center


The main road on campus

Dormitories

A classroom

The foreign language building

Outside the library

Next post: the new campus

NaBloPoMo No Mo'

2010-11-22T20:13:00.000+08:00

Well, as you can see, I did not make it through National Blog Posting month. In fact, if I had realized how busy November was going to be for me, I don't think I would've attempted it in the first place. However, it forced me into some discipline that I could surely use in my writing. I've still got things to post, but they probably won't be posted daily. I'm shooting for several times a week, which seems much more manageable. I like blogging better when it's an outlet and not a requirement.

I Wish...

2010-11-16T17:56:00.000+08:00

Oh, how I would rather be doing this:

Just need to make it through this awful mid-semester period first.

Chinese Test Mistakes

2010-11-15T22:02:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I took the HSK exam, which measures foreigners' Chinese ability. Originally when I signed up for the test, I had the best of intentions to actually study and prepare for it, but because of busyness, it ended up being pushed to the side.

I think the lack of study didn't affect me too much, short of the essay section. For the first essay, I was given 5 words and asked to write an 80 word paragraph about them. The words were: stress, health, happiness, satisfaction, and hushi, a word that I wasn't familiar with. I stared at hushi for quite some time, trying to guess its meaning. I sort of knew the meaning of the two characters that made up the word, and I knew other words similar to it, so I was able to at least figure out its part of speech and usage in a sentence. I still didn't know what it meant, but knew how to use it correctly.

After analyzing the word for several minutes, I saw that time was running out, and so I decided that in my essay, I would use hushi to mean "to value or pay attention to". I wrote, "In today's modern society, people pay attention to earning money, causing a lot of stress." When the test was finished, the first thing I did was to check my dictionary for the meaning of the word hushi. Turns out it means exactly the opposite of how I used it. My sentence actually said "People neglect earning money." Oops! Guess I should've spent a little more time looking at vocabulary lists before the test.

In Which I Document My Love for 2nd Tier Chinese Cities

2010-11-13T12:43:00.002+08:00

I don’t love Beijing or Shanghai or Hong Kong. My students think this is complete sacrilege; how could I not love the shining economic powerhouses of their country? I think part of it is where I’m from. As a jaded New Yorker, once you’ve seen one world class city, you’ve seen them all, give or take some national landmark or place of interest. Lots of people, traffic, shopping, hustle and bustle. Yawn, give me something different.

But after living in Hengyang for over a year, I’ve also discovered I don’t love third tier cities either. While for most of my students, this is the closest they’ve come to the big city, for me at times it feels like I’ve been deported to the edge of the countryside. Hengyang’s not exactly clean, orderly or developed (although it’s working on all 3), but It’s not just the physical characteristics of the city that get to me; sometimes the people make me weary too. Since many here haven’t ever gone anywhere larger or more developed, they lack perspective about their country and about the world, and that often comes out in their interactions with me. As a minority in China, it’s frustrating to have to explain the simplest facts about myself every time I step out the door. Really , you’re going to ask me why my palms are not dark like the rest of my skin?

I’ve decided that the happy medium is a 2nd tier city, usually the provincial capital city. They’re big enough to be lively without being completely overwhelming in scale. It’s got the hustle and bustle that I thrive in, but there are also quieter neighborhoods to enjoy a bit of tranquility. The people on the whole are better educated than their 3rd tier peers and yet not completely lost to materialism like those in 1st tier cities. These cities also provide a decent availability of foreign goods and services, while still allowing for a reasonable cost of living. And the best thing is that I don’t have to explain myself every time I leave my house.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) I don’t get to dictate my own living situation. My life is ultimately not about my comfort and happiness, so I’ll make the most of where I am and serve faithfully wherever I’m called to do so.