Small Town Auction

For all you team-mates and big city folk who have not seen a small town auction. I took this short video clip 2 weeks ago when I was at home in Freeman. The entire auction was quite a cultural experience for me. I'll explain more in upcoming post.

P.S. Tech help, please. Does anyone know how I can embed the video into blogger so people don't have to go to youtube to watch it?

Awkward Bicycle

So after 4 years of being in China, worldly speaking, I have nothing and am starting to feel, more than ever, that when you get ready to pick up your life and sacrifice for the call, you are not only sacrificing one time on the front end, but two times when you have to sacrifice your China life. And when you come back to the American life you put on hold, you realize that it did not wait for you, and now you are so perpetually behind your peers on so many levels (although living in China might have taught you a thing or two about plumbing). And although there is some excitement, as though you are getting a fresh start after graduating, the world seems less forgiving because you are older now and haven’t been networking with people or furthering your career these past 4 years.

Sacrifice, not only when you are feeling excited and super spiritual but sacrifice, when you come home feeling regretful about not doing all you could have and feeling like a traitor leaving some of your closest friends behind. At least you can rest in the safety of your home culture, right? Shouldn’t re-entry be a bit like riding a bicycle; once you figure it out, you never forget. And yet the bicycle of culture feels awkward and its alignment is off; it keeps veering to the right, but you know you need to steer it to the left, and before you know it, the road has forked and you weren’t able to take the left road, so now you are stuck on the wrong road with a piece of crap bicycle. In frustration, you fall down a lot and say weird things and take your shoes off when you don’t have to and tell people they have acne and lament that kids you taught in swimming lessons are now getting married and having babies before you. And that's also the sting of sacrifice that you didn't consider.

Maybe when I left China, I was hoping my initial sacrifice would be rewarded as fast as my need is to start on cobra insurance. I have been secretly praying that God would give me a pat on the back in the form of an awesome, cross-cultural, teaching job to thank me for the sacrifice. Or maybe I expected a job along the lines of using my imperfect Chinese skills to “help people." And now that those rewards seem out of reach, I’m still expecting just a small thank you from God in the form of a date with one (or two) handsome men just for a little self-esteem booster and encouragement. Ah, but let my dreams be big, my rewards less immediately tangible, and my bicycle ...problematic.

You want some gum?

For me, the answer to this question is always yes. Being a gum-addict, I will never turn down a piece of gum unless I am already chewing some and sometimes, not even then.

So, the other evening as my friend and I were bicycling home from the restaurant, an older man in a maroon Buick slowed way down and called us over with a "Do you girls want some gum?"

"How awesome is this man?" I thought to myself.

This man, I later learned, attends all of Freeman's home baseball and girls' basketball games.
After he gave us each our very own 5 piece pack of Juicy Fruit gum, he asked if we knew anything about the out-of-town baseball game.

"It's supposed to be on the radio, but I can't find it" he said between deep oxygen-assisted breaths.
"Yeah, we haven't heard a report either" said my friend.

"You didn't want to drive there?" I asked somewhat unaware of this man's poor health.

"No, it's too far. I can't handle that" he said pointing to his oxygen tank. "Well, I'll keep searching the radio" he resigned with a little disappointment on his face at our lack of information.

"Thanks so much for the gum" I shouted happily over my shoulder as we pedaled away.

Now, there are plenty of things I really dislike about small towns. But on this particular evening, I realized that this man is one reason why I also love small towns. Because someone you don't even know will give you gum in return for a smile. And because that smile is so much the broader for the simple joy of chewing Juicy Fruit.

New Focus

Now that I am back from China, the contents of this blog will obviously need to change just a bit.
(Where I used to buy eggs and vegetables)

At first, I was planning to just quit this whole blog gig entirely. Not only does blogging take significant time, thought, and energy, but the blogging culture as a whole feels a bit trendy and overdone. From that perspective, I was ready to throw in the towel and "express myself" through some other mediums.

The other day, however, I was talking to a dear lady and pastor in our community. She looked at me sincerely and said, "You're going to keep blogging, aren't you? I read it religiously." And so with her simple words (and my mom's never-failing enthusiasm,) I have been inspired to keep blogging.

Now the big question is what should be the focus of the blog. Since being home, I have considered writing about some comical, small-town things that have happened already in my short two weeks. Simple things like a house auction or having someone ask my mom if she needed to accompany me during my dentist appointment make for good fodder.

Perhaps, I could write a blog about reverse culture shock. I could write about some things that annoy or confuse me about American culture.

Maybe I could write about my research for Teaching English as Second Language Classes.

Or I how my body feels when I try not to eat any red meat or milk or wheat or whatever food group I'm choosing to shun that month.

Or perhaps I could get into fashion blogging by taking photos of what I wear everyday and writing the complete outfit breakdown along with my thoughts and inspiration for each outfit. . . ...yeah, way out of my league and no photographer boyfriend.

or maybe I could start a blog where each post is a list about something. A list of things I want to do in my 30's, a list of indie singers, a list of interesting paint color names, and so on.

Or maybe, some of you have some good ideas of where to go from here. I would love to hear them.
And, here's a nostalgic photo of friends (because I miss them.)

Beijing, Walking Street

Walking street or Wang Fu Jin in Beijing is a popular, tourist attraction especially for foreigners. This narrow street has lots of overly-priced snacks and delicacies including the ever-popular barbecued scorpion on a stick.


Shane and I getting ready to take on Walking Street. (We didn't actually try any snacks minus some fruit at the very end of the street.)

It seemed to me that there were a lot of people eating corn on a stick in Beijing. It struck me as interesting, so I tried to get a photo of it. I wasn't quite speedy enough in this photo as she took a sharp turn.

And in this photo, I think I got a bit too close, but you get the idea. People eating corn on sticks. Interesting and probably a lot healthier than us Americans eating weiner winks on sticks.

Our last night in Beijing, we went with Genevieve and her friends to sing karaoke. We had this big, private room to ourselves, . . . and we sang our hearts out. It felt like a very appropriate way to say farewell (for now) to China.

Beijing, Summer Palace

The first day in Beijing, we met my friend Genevieve and went to the Summer Palace. The summer palace is a big park and lake in the middle of the city. Former emporers would go to the summer palace to cool off from the summer heat. It is quite amazing how the large lake and the shade from the trees does make the park feel tolerable on beastly hot summer days.

On this particular day, the park was a bit packed out. We only made it about an hour.

But, we did take some awesome senior photos.


This long pagoda has a different scene from the summer palace painted on each beam. Amazingly cool.

And for kicks and jollies, we discretely snapped a photo of the Beijing belly. (Is the man in the front shielding his eyes?)

Travel Updates

(A view of Changsha's walking street)

Although I am already back in the States, I want to post some more photos from the rest of our travel in China. After Yangshuo, brother Shane and I headed to Changsha (the provincial capital of Hunan) and hung out with the lovely Addingtons and Smiths. The Addingtons are friends of mine from my second year in China when we were on a team together. The Smiths, (Rachel Addington's parents) have also been in Changsha this past month, helping out, experiencing China, and spending time with their family. It's refreshing to hear their positive perspective on Chinese culture.

Drew and Rachel

We all went out to a Xinjiang restaurant. Because a lot of people from Xinjiang (a province in China) are Muslim, traditional Xinjiang food does not have any pork in it. Instead, they cook with a lot of beef and lamb and are famous for their meat kebabs. (I always think of chislic whenever I eat Xin Jiang food.) They also have some special baked bread that reminds me of topless pizza.

On Sunday morning, I went out to play with the Addingtons for a bit before we left. I admire the way they have raised their children in another culture. It is not an "us" and "them" mentality. It is a "we are all at the same place in life, why not learn from each other" mentality.
I felt sad to say good-bye to the Addingtons, but excited for them as they are staying on in China and passionate about the work.

This is their oldest boy Titus. When I said good-bye to him, he gave me a big kiss on the cheek that melted my heart.

For lunch one day in Changsha, Shane and I ate at a little coffee shop / restaurant that one of my Chinese friends introduced me to. I remembered very specifically that this coffee shop had the best ribs I had ever tasted. We ordered some. Do they look a wee bit spicy? Those are Hunan style ribs, spicy and delicious! Although I might have complained sometimes about the lack of variety in Hunan food, I am really going to miss it. As I was eating plain salsa this evening at the restaurant, I couldn't help thinking, "It needs more kick."

Yangshuo, part #2

My new favorite place to visit in China is Yangshuo, a quaint little city located beside the Li river with beautiful karst-like mountains embracing the city and jetting up on all sides of the river. Yangshuo is also famous for its Western Street, a touristy walking strip that leads up to the river from the main road. This street has a lot of lovely cafe's that serve both western and Chinese food, both tea AND coffee. On evenings, Shane and I chose our restaurant based on the number of foreigners we saw sitting inside. After dinner, we walked around and looked for other restaurants that had lots of foreigners inside to determine the next day's restaurant of choice.


At this restaurant, we enjoyed some Italian (ish) food, and sat on the balcony, a perfect place for people watching from afar and imaging the conversations about life we could not hear.

(Shane enjoying apple crumble crisp at another cafe where we sat at for four hours one mid-afternoon.)
On that particular day, a nice couple sat beside us as we were wiling away time reading books and surfing the net. When I went to the restroom, the couple started talking to Shane asking him what we were doing in China and where I was teaching. It turns out that the girl who we'll call Ping is also from Hengyang but has studied in the US and now lives in Hong Kong. She and I were both shocked that we should be in Yangshuo at the same time, at the same little cafe, and both have significant ties to little Hengyang. The friendship felt instant, inevitable, and comfortable. Her and her boyfriend, (Valtyr from Iceland) invited Shane and I to meet them that night for dinner.

We met them at the restaurant and relaxed dinner enjoying the atmosphere of the bustling city street beside us and the pleasant conversation before us. Ping and I sometimes reverted to Chinese when we were talking about some life stuff. Shane and Valtyr talked about engineering stuff and computers (I think). We were both truly blessed hanging out with Ping and Valtyr and learning some interesting things about Iceland and Ping's experiences all around the world.
After dinner, we went with them to a little roof-top bar where they introduced us to some European travelers they had met the previous day in Yangshuo. We hung out some more, and Ping and I talked together most of the time. I really think Ping was needing a friend on this day, a friend that was a girl that could just listen to her process some of her thoughts about life and relationships. Was it mere coincidence that we happened to sit beside each other at the cafe on this day? Nah.
Ping joined us the next morning at McDonald's before we headed for Changsha on the sleeper bus.

Three maxims of China

Why write a post, when you can just link to the expert:
China: Nothing is as it seems

My first year in China, the author of this particular article also gave us a seminar on Chinese culture. I will never forget the three maxims we learned:

1. Nothing is as it seems.
2. Plans can't keep up with changes.
3. If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.

Those three maxims have been helpful refreshers whenever I have become a bit too confident in this culture. Sometimes, even when I am relatively well planned out and think I know what's what, I all too quickly have to turn around and eat some humility pie. "Give us an example..." I hear my wild blogger fans typing away." Maybe next time.