The Summer Palace

“The Summer Palace is said to be the best preserved imperial garden in the world, and the largest of its kind still in existence” (Wikipedia.com). The Summer Palace was created as a get-away for the Imperial Family during the hot Beijing summers. The beautiful gardens and pavilions was a nice summer from to escape the walled city within the Forbidden Palace. Construction on the Summer Palace began in the late 18th century under the reign of Emperor Qianlong. The palace was used before then, but it was considerably renovated under his direction. Using a force of 100,000 laborers, the Emperor deepened and enlarged the lake to make it take the shape that it is today. Much of the original buildings were destroyed during the opium war, but have since then been rebuilt.

“Empress Dowager Cixi took up permanent residence here for a time, giving rise to some wonderful tales of extravagance and excess” (Wikipedia.com). Selected by the emperor as an imperial concubine in her adolescence, she gave birth to his first and only son. Her rise to power was for the worst, and she ruled with cruelty and selfishness. It is said that she killed many of her subjects just for making her angry. She seized whatever she wanted by any means, surrounding herself with money, banquets, jewels, and other luxuries (Her lavish summer palace was built partially from navy funds). When she sat down to enjoy a meal, she was served three plates of food: one to look at, one to smell, and one to eat. It is also believed that she was once served 150 different dishes at a single banquet. She lived in luxury while many of her subjects were starving. Her greed turned out to be her downfall, when the insufficient military funds led to China’s defeat by the Japanese. Empress Cixi’s final words: "Never again allow a woman to hold the supreme power in the State."
        

            For our brother/sister date this week, my sister and I started out the day in the heart of Beijing at the zoo. (Our favorite parts were the monkeys and panda’s) From there we planned to take a boat which would take us by river to the Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing. It was there my sister and I met a beautiful family from the country where I served my mission! It felt so good to be able to speak Chinese with a Taiwanese accent again, and not have to worry about the “er hua” that those here in Beijing use. As we talked, they told me that back in Taiwan they have often seen the missionaries riding around on bicycles in white shirt and tie. Before we parted, they promised me that when they get back they will ask these missionaries to share with them a message about eternal families! They are such a neat family and I felt that it wasn’t by chance that we ran into them today.

Wow, the Summer Palace was so beautiful! The lake is huge and would take you hours to walk around, so we ended up taking a boat across to the other side which dropped us off on a little island with a Buddhist temple. There was a wonderful view of the Summer Palace in the distance. Connecting this little island with the shore is a long bridge with many circular arcs for boats to pass underneath. From there we traveled along the edge of the lake where there is a covered walkway with beautiful paintings on the wooden beams. When we reached the palace itself, we climbed up a series of stairs to reach the pagoda at the top. Just thinking about the history of this place was incredible! The Summer Palace has to be the most beautiful place in Beijing. Leaving the park, we road to the subway in a rickshaw. It was an incredible day!

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

The subways here in Beijing are almost always packed. In the short moments that the doors are open, hundreds of passengers push their way on and off the subway. Today though, it was even more crowded than usual. As we stopped at more and more stations on our way to the silk market, we found ourselves blocked in on all sides by what must have been over a hundred people jammed into our little subway car alone. There was no room to move in any direction. Our arms were pinned to our sides, and there was little room for our legs to move. Having lived here in Beijing these past couple of months, I’ve began to realize that I no longer have a personal bubble. Personal space is a luxury you can’t afford here.

                Arriving at our stop, we realized that we were locked towards the center of the subway car, far from the exit doors on either end. Leading the way, I tried to push through the throngs of people blocking our way, but no one would let us through. The bells began ringing, signifying that the doors would soon be closing. Realizing that unless something changed, none of us would be getting off this subway before the doors slammed shut, I did what any mature, sensible twenty two year old young man would have done; I began frantically shouting “laduzi, laduzi” (diarrhea). It caused quite the commotion as everyone was trying to scramble out of our way, but the sea of people parted allowing the four of us to escape through the door just in time.

"From somewhere to the right of us, a man's boisterous laugh suddenly rang out. Everyone else took that as the signal that it was okay to find humor in the actions of these crazy foreigners, and when we emerged in the nick of time before the doors closed, we left behind a throng of laughing Chinese nationals." (Tina's Blog)

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I was even surprised at how well it worked. When I regained my composure, I realized that I probably shouldn’t attempt to create any more mass panics on public transportation.

On The Great Wall of China...

This weekend we had an incredible opportunity to visit The Great Wall of China with the ward. These are memories I hope to never forget! As we hiked along the Great Wall, the mountain side became so steep that the wall was no longer needed. Instead there were rough steps cut out of the cliff’s face. Climbing to the top of the mountain, we found watch towers that were used for signaling enemy movement and communicating messages. The entrances to these towers were some fifteen to twenty feet off the ground; accessible only if a rope was let down from above. We had quite the adventure, resting briefly at the highest peak, before heading back down the mountain.

Many people can say they have visited The Great Wall of China, but how many people can say they have:

1) Slept on the Great Wall.

Sleeping on The Great Wall has been something we have joked around about the entire time we have been here (we even casually looked up the price of sleeping bags in a street market once), but I’m not sure it was ever something we seriously considered. I mean, is that even allowed? Though we had already paid for a room, sleeping out on a hard stone wall somehow seemed more appealing than squeezing four men onto two twin-size beds… call me crazy. Taking the extra blankets out of the closet, we went out into the late October night air. Walking the length of the wall, we passed several guard posts, before finally coming to a large tower. It was pitch-black outside (we only had the light of a small flashlight and a cellphone), but entering this watchtower we found a narrow staircase that led to the top. Keeping our eyes out for large spiders we squeezed our way upwards. After laying out our blankets, we pulled the warm covers up to our faces. (Someone jokingly remarked that the stone wall wasn't much harder than our dorm beds. haha) It was hard to hold in our excitement as it began to dawn on us what was actually happening; how many people have slept on one the great wonders of the world?

With a blanket underneath us and another one over top of us, we slowly drifted off to sleep. We practically froze to death, but it was a memorable night non-the-less!

2) Ate dog on the Great Wall.

From the time I was about four years old, I was under the impression that everyone in China ate dog. (And you would be surprised how many actually do.) I’m still not sure where this idea came from, but I decided long ago that if I ever had the opportunity to visit China I had to eat dog. I have to admit that I was pretty excited when Tim Ng came up to me this evening, asking if I knew anyone who would be interested going to eat dog. He had found a little Chinese shack down the road (out here in the middle of nowhere) that was willing to serve dog to us. It wasn’t cheap and they needed several hours to prepare it, but for right price it could be purchased.

It was late in the evening when thirteen of us students arrived at that little Chinese restaurant. Looking over the menu, I couldn’t help but notice that dog wasn’t listed. (I can think of a few reasons why it wouldn’t be...) A little curious, I asked:

Me: Where did you get the dog?

                Man: 是这里的。-It’s from around here.-

                Me: You found it on the side of the road?

                Man: 家里的。-It’s from our home.-

                (I thinking: Wow… I think they just cooked up Ole Spot.)

There ended up being a lot more meat than we expected. (I’m pretty sure the entire dog was packaged in those three take-out boxes.) Wanting to add more to our bragging-rights, we brought our portion of the dog back to the Great Wall. It certainly wasn’t a meal for someone with a weak stomach. Picking through the meat we found bones, dog hair, and even the throat. Once you got past all that though, it wasn’t half bad; kind of like pork but a lot more gamy.

3) Attended church under the shadow of the Great Wall.

It was early in the morning, raining slightly, but a beautiful sacrament meeting none-the-less. Surrounding this courtyard on four sides were the members of our ward, wrapped in blankets to block out the chilly, October mountain air. As I partook of the sacrament in this environment, I couldn’t help but think about the far reaching extents of the atonement.  I thought about the millions of Chinese people (including those who have died in centuries past) who have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ or feel of our Savior’s love. While many conventional Christian churches believed these individuals to be damned, we know that one day all will have an opportunity to receive or reject the gospel.

              

The Lama Temple

Construction on the Lama Temple (雍和宫) started in 1694 during the reign of the Qing Dynasty, and is one of the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in the world. This temple is specifically significant, because the buildings and artwork of雍和宫combine the Han Chinese and Tibetan styles. Following its completion, half of the buildings were used as a monastery for monks of Tibetan Buddhism, while the other half remained an imperial palace.

Sometimes you just need to take out of your busy schedule and spend time with those who mean the most to you. My sister and I have been planning all week to spend the day together, and it was a lot of fun! It is amazing how crazy life can be sometimes, and it just felt good to finally have time to spend one-on-one together. It reminds me of something my Grandma Sandy said to me in a letter while I was on my mission: “If you always wait until you have time, you never get it done. That is why I am making time!”

   

On our way to the subway, we ran into a lady selling cardigans on the street for only ¥15 each (about $2.33 U.S.). We weren’t in a big hurry, so my sister took a few moments to look through them and pick out a few she liked. The funny thing about these people selling things on the street, is that most don’t have licenses to do so. My sister had just picked out three when the police showed up. You would be amazed how quickly these people are able to pack up and get out of there… I know I was. And under these conditions, these street merchants are a lot more willing to negotiate the price. As all the other street dealers are bundling up their goods and taking off down the street, this lady is anxiously pressuring us to quickly pay her the money. When I demanded a lower price she tried to refuse, but looking up the street at the approaching police car, she acquiesced; selling us all three for only ¥30.

Service: Increasing Our Capacity To Love

Every year in China about one percent of the population moves from the countryside to the cities in search of work. In China, that one percent is 13 million people. In most cases, village men head off to cities to find work, leaving their wives behind to raise the children and take care of their land. The men often get menial jobs and send the money back. After a man establishes himself in the city he is joined by his wife and children. The long-term migrants often settle into ethnic ghettos or cramped dormitories that in some cases have two or three men sleeping together on bunks in 10-meter-long rooms crammed with 40 men. Often they move about town lugging unwieldy bundles of bedding and belongings wrapped in plaid-patterned woven-plastic fabric that somehow has become the standard for such purposes. The migrating laborers work for low pay, often under horrendous conditions, in factories, at construction sites, in mines and on railroads and roads. They work in restaurants, die in coal mines, make bricks, peddle bicycle to deliver coal and pick up trash. It's not uncommon for them to follow jobs from city to city.

The schools that are provided for the children of these migrant workers are often unlicensed and substandard, but public schools are too expensive for migrant families to afford. Even if they could afford to attend these schools, most don't have the residence and work permits that the public schools require. As a result, many children are denied access to primary education in their host communities. In the community, migrant children are also frequent targets of prejudice, as many of them speak with regional accents and dress differently than city children (cmc-china.org).

As our driver dropped us off at the school for migrant children today, I was sure he had made a mistake. After leaving the freeway, we had spent the last five minutes squeezing through small lanes and alleys in a very run-down part of town. As I got out of the car, there was nothing that resembled a school of any kind. The driver motioned us towards a gate, in between two buildings, that was supposed to be the school entrance. Walking into the school courtyard, I viewed a very uninviting atmosphere. Everything was cement and brink. There was no grass, nothing warm or welcoming; just run-down buildings. I couldn’t help but feel for these children, and wonder how I had been so blessed to have the life I’ve had. How could life be so unfair? 

 

What we wanted to accomplish today was painting the outside walls of their school. It surprised me that there were so many students there on a Saturday, but where else would they be? As I painted, I tried to take some time to interact with these wonderful children. They were so adorable and eager for the attention they lack at home, as their parents work long hours trying to provide. A group of children gathered by the fence where we were painting:

Little girl: How old are you?

Me: I’m about the same as you!

Little girl: What?? No way!!

Me: Uh huh! Aren’t you about twenty years old?

Little girl: Twenty?!? No, I’m only ten!!!

Teasing these little children and just hearing them laugh made everything worth it! As I interacted with them throughout the day, I was reminded that our happiness in life isn’t determined by our circumstances. I can only imagine the lives these children are living, and yet they had smiles on their faces. They were choosing to be happy.

At one point I was standing on a ladder, painting the side of the building, while there was a line of kids standing beneath me taking an eye exam. I was trying so hard not to drip paint on them, as they viewed an eye chart taped to an adjacent building. As I stood up their painting, I thought about how service increases our capacity to love. How could I feel so much love for these kids I didn’t even know? I couldn’t help but feel that I was receiving more from this experience than what I was giving, and only wished that there was more I could give. 

He Hears Me

A Baptist friend of mine would always say: “I love how God is big enough to create the universe, but small enough to paint a sunrise.”

In my opinion, the knowledge that God is more than just our creator, but literally our Father in Heaven, is one of the most beautiful aspects of the gospel. Isn’t that an incredible concept? An all-powerful being having personal interest in my life.

It has always amazed me how God created countless galaxies of stars and worlds without number; He is the creator of universes! But somehow this all-powerful being listens to a prayer from a little child, asking for help to find a lost toy. He hears the prayer of a young man asking for advice in a decision he needed to make. He saw the tears of a homesick missionary, thousands of miles from the home he knew, and the family he loved. Somehow, all these little experiences matter to our Heavenly Father. He hears each individual pray and answers them with heavenly guidance and comfort. It’s the love of a Father watching over His child.

Throughout my life, I have come to love prayer in a deep and personal way. It doesn’t matter where I am in the world; on top of the highest mountain or at the bottom of the deepest ocean. It doesn’t matter the language I speak or even if I can only voice the thoughts of my heart; He hears me.

As I write this, I look around the library here on CNU campus. I am surrounded by dozens of Chinese college students absorbed in their studies. As I pause a moment and look into the faces of these children of God, I somehow feel a love for them that I can’t explain. God knows and loves them personally; each and every one of them. I reflect on how we would treat others differently if we would only choose to see each other as God does. There is not one child He does not love and desperately hope that they will return back to His presence.

Some Things You Only Need To Do Once

Imagine jogging down the street, and coming out from under a freeway over-pass you see an old chinese man cutting hair with his little cart on the side of the road. How could you not be tempted to have him cut your hair? (Especially when you find out it will cost you only about 80 cents.) Does that not spell b-a-r-g-a-i-n to you? Yeah it was kind of sketchy, but hair grows back. Besides, this had to be at least as good as the beauty college haircuts I have been getting this past year.

I didn’t have any complaints. I just remembered that as we were waiting for our turn in line (and this place was hoppin’), the man before us not only got a haircut but a full shave as well! I’m not talking about with an electric shaver, but with one of those legit single blade barbershop knives, just like you see in old movies. I can’t tell you how bad I wanted to try that out.

This past week we were on vacation, Josh and I didn’t shave at all. Our reasoning was that it would be inconvenient while we traveled, but this was really the major motivator. As I sat down in that chair this afternoon, it was hard to hold back my excitement, and I could hardly wipe the grin off my face. He got out his brush and lathered up my face with his shaving cream from an old mug. This was the real-deal! Then he took out the blade and began shaving my face. Ouch!! That became not fun, very quickly. As much as I wanted to pretend I was enjoying it (partially because I didn’t want Josh to back out. haha If I had to go through it, he was too), I have to admit that it was painful. I had to keep reminding myself to breath. I kept thinking to myself that maybe the man sticking duck-tape to my face and ripping the hair out, would be less painful. I was relieved when it was all over.

 

I had to force a smile when Josh asked me how it was, and responded honestly: “It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be.” He quickly found out for himself. I remember at one point Josh looked up at me, and only half-jokingly said: “I think I’m gonna cry.” He wasn’t as lucky as I was, as later the barber accidently nicked his cheek with his blade, and it started to bleed. That was the last straw. “Tell him I’m done. I am done.” Josh may or may not have been smiling as he paid the man. haha Turning to Josh I summed up the experience in two sentences: “That was one of the worst ideas we’ve ever had! Right up there with smashing my camera and wrecking the alpine sled.” Some things in life you only need to do once.

The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum

The Rape of Nanjing:
“In 1937, with the Chinese army comparatively weak and underfunded and the Japanese army on the horizon, the invasion into and occupation of Nanjing by Japan appeared imminent. As it packed up and fled, the Chinese government encouraged the people of Nanjing to stay, saying ‘All those who have blood and breath in them must feel that they wish to be broken as jade rather than remain whole s tile.’ To reinforce this statement, the gates to the city were locked, trapping over half a million citizens inside. Nevertheless, thousands of civilians attempted to follow the retreating government by escaping through Xiaguan Gate, the only gate in the city wall that remained unlocked. Leading up to the gate was a 21 meter tunnel inside of which reigned panic and mayhem. In the resulting chaos and collisions, thousands of people were suffocated, burned or trampled to death.

“What followed in Nanjing was six weeks of continuous, unfathomable victimization of civilians to an extent unwitnessed in modern warfare. During Japan’s occupation of Nanjing, between 300,000 and 400,000 Chinese civilians were killed, either in group massacres or individual murders. Within the first month, as least 20,000 women were brutally raped. Women who attempted to refuse or children who interfered were often bayoneted or shot.

“The Japanese, however, underestimated the Chinese. Instead of breaking the peoples will, the invasion fuelled a nsese of identity and determination. Those who did not die – broken as jade – survived to fight back” (Lonely Planet: China).

During our week break away from school, we were able to see many cultural sites in the cities of Shanghai and Nanjing, but none were more stirring then The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Museum. As we walked through the halls of that building, I saw images and displays that broke my heart. A Japanese soldier, with sword in hand, stops to smile for a picture before chopping of the head of a young boy; pictures showing hundreds of Chinese civilians being brutally murdered by the hands of Japanese soldiers; thousands of corpses sprawled out on the ground. One particularly disturbing display is of the uncovered bones of these people who died some 70 years before.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the brutality of men. How could a human being, a child of God, be so past feeling that they could do such a terrible thing to another person? How could that soldier look into the face of the young boy, and do what he did?

It is hard to put into words the feelings I felt, but I walked away from that museum determined to be a little kinder. I never want anger or hate to be a part of my life. Instead I want to radiate love and compassion. My heart reached out to those individuals lost in the world without the comfort and hope that the gospel brings. One day all will have confidence that through the atonement of Jesus Christ, all wrongs will be made right.

Nanjing Highlights:

1)      Temple of Confucius
The 夫子庙 (Temple of Confucius) in Nanjing was originally constructed in 1034, to commemorate the life of China’s greatest philosopher and moral thinker of ancient China.

While I was in Taiwan, I had the opportunity to visit many Daoist, Buddhist, and Confucian temples. Though they have their differences, in many ways they are all the same. Ask almost any missionary from Taiwan, and they will tell you: “If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” (Don’t get me wrong, if you haven’t been to one before, they are definitely worth seeing.)

What made this experience different from all the others? As we entered the back section of the temple, we saw a huge set of ancient bells on display. It was nice looking at it for a couple minutes, but I probably wouldn’t have given it much more thought if it hadn’t been for the fact that everyone was tired of walking and insisted we sit for a while. It was rather boring just sitting there doing absolutely nothing. Staring up at those bells, I just got a sudden urge to play them. Walking up to a man who looked like he was in charge, I asked:

Me: Hey, can I just hit one of those bells? …Once?
Man: No.
Me: Please?
Man: No.
Me: ...what if I gave you an American dollar? You know, the ‘green’ ones.
Man: (A long pause) You know, why not?

Wow, I was totally kidding! Who would have thought that would have actually worked? If I had offered him the equivalent in Chinese yuan, he probably would have been offended. Josh pulled two one dollar bills from his wallet, and we spent the next 10-15 minutes banging out songs on these several hundred year old bells. What a day! 

2)      Zhongshan Mausoleum (中山陵)
The Zhongshan Mausoleum was built in 1926 to reverence the death of one of China’s greatest revolutionary and political leaders: Sun Yat-sen. I find this man particularly interesting not only because he is often referred to as the “Father of Modern China,” but also because he is widely revered amongst people from both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

It was unbelievable how many people visited this site during the holiday, especially individuals from the Xinjiang province. If you saw these individuals in the United States, you probably wouldn’t have guessed they were Chinese at all. (Most of them are of Arab decent; their ancestors coming from the Middle East to participate in the ancient Silk Road.) Many of these people had never seen foreigners before in their lives, and dozens of these northwestern Chinese people asked to take pictures with us. We probably took pictures with over a hundred random Chinese people that day. Seriously! 

3)      Nanjing City Wall
The city wall of Nanjing was designed by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang after he established Nanjing as the capital 600 years ago. It is among the largest city walls ever constructed, taking 21 years to complete and 200,000 laborers moving 7 million cubic meters of earth.

  Visiting the ancient Nanjing city wall was a cool experience. The wall, was huge, and there were several cool statues soldiers lining the stairs. As we reached the top of the wall, we saw a booth that offered an opportunity to rent bikes to ride on top of the wall. It was an interesting idea, but several people in our group weren’t really up to it. There was also a tourist cart, but being bussed around the wall didn’t sound overly appealing either.

Me: I think we’ll just walk along the wall.
Lady: But its 7 km. How about you take our tourist ride?
Me: Nope.
Lady: Why? It’s only ¥20 a person. That’s really cheap!
Me: Not really interested… but if you let me drive the car, I might reconsider.
................(long pause)
Lady: Fine. But the driver still has to come along to supervise.

Once again I was shocked. I was totally kidding about the driving thing. After arguing with his supervisor for a few minutes, the driver got inside the passenger seat of the tourist cart. He wasn’t very happy about the whole situation. The first thing he said to me was: “Do you even have a drivers’ license?” I really don’t think he believed me when I told him I had been driving since I was 15 years old. (People begin driving much later here in China. My 汉语 teacher is in her late 20s, and she barely took her drivers’ test a couple of weeks ago. I probably offended her when I laughed… I thought she was kidding!) Driving that cart on top of the city wall was a definite highlight.

 4)      Room and Board
 Staying in our youth hostel was a really good experience. Our beds weren’t super comfortable (we were pretty much sleeping on a piece of plywood) and we shared our room with a random Chinese kid (the ‘Korean’ haha …don’t ask) but it was good. There was writing all over the walls, and we took the liberty of changing inappropriate words and phrases. (Later visitors might wonder about some artist’s obsession with hockey pucks. haha)

Our first night in Nanjing we all went to eat out at a restaurant. When we saw ‘wolf’ on the menu, we couldn’t help but give it a try. (Checked that off my list of ‘strange foods to eat in China’) It seemed to be mostly bones, with not a lot of meat on them. It wasn’t too bad though. Later I was talking to a Chinese man about the experience, and while laughing he voiced his opinion that it was more likely dog we were served that night. I guess we will never know.

 

 5)     Riding Trains:

Traveling to Shanghai was a twelve hour train ride, and coming back from Nanjing is about the same. Only having a week off from school, we wanted to make the most of our time, so we decided to take both of these trips during the night. Our sleeper train to Shanghai was so comfortable! There were individual compartments with bunk beds, and Josh and I got a great nights rest! Fell asleep leaving Beijing, and awoke just outside Shanghai. Our ride back from Nanjing wasn’t nearly so comfortable. Instead of a sleeper, we had hard seats in a train booked to twice its capacity with standing passengers. (No one can stand for twelve hours straight, especially not during the hours we traveled.) The restroom on this train was particularly entertaining, as it was a squatter toilet equipped with a metal water bucket and spiket to be used for flushing. I don’t believe any of us slept much, but we arrived back in Beijing early in the morning!

Shanghai Highlights:

1)      Running Through The Fountain On People’s Square.

The People’s Square is the largest public square in the city of Shanghai, and the site of Shanghai’s municipal government headquarters:

“We came across a fountain on People’s Square, like the one at the Gateway that little kids run through, except for there were no little kids running through it. I jokingly said to Adam, “Hey I dare you to run through it.” He in turn dared me. I don’t know what happened, but five minutes later we were saying, “One, two, three,” and we raced through the fountain as fast as we could. About halfway through, there was a whistle blown at us, but there was no turning back, so we finished running through. The next thing you know, 200 Chinese people are starring at and applauding these two soaking wet Americans that are laughing their heads off! The rest of the afternoon I was wet, but it was great” (Abby’s Blog)

After walking around a museum for a while, it felt great to spice up life a little. Sometimes you can’t help but run through a fountain. The security officer who blew the whistle at us probably would have scolded us, if it hadn’t been for the approval of everyone else there. ( In addition to the applause, several people were even taking pictures of us.) Besides, the sign only said we weren’t allowed to shower in the fountain. It didn’t say anything about running through it.

2)      Walking Along The Bund.

The Bund is the most remarkable part of Shanghai! On one side of the river are old European style buildings built in the early 1900’s, and on the other side of the river are some of the tallest skyscrapers in the world! It truly is a breath-taking site, especially at night.

3)      Riding Motorized Boats In A Park.

You may have noticed that I wrote: “motorized boats” instead of “motorboats.” There is a difference… a major difference. I mean it had a motor, but I don’t think we reach 5 mph. This was a beautiful pond, with wonderful brooks flowing underneath beautiful bridges… but there is only so long you can enjoy riding around in a boat at that speed. The next thing you know, we are cruising around trying to smash into other boats! It’s addicting! Within minutes, this pond turned from a peaceful, serene atmosphere, into a demolition derby. What a great way to start out the day: ramming children and old people in motorized boats. And in our defense, they were as obnoxious as us. (An old lady T-boned us!) Once things got going I was sure we were going to get kicked out of the park.

4)      Taiwanese Drink Shop.

Do you ever have those “tender mercy” moments, when you know it didn’t have to happen, but you are so glad it did? Although China and Taiwan are very similar, there are just a few things that I loved from my mission that I haven’t been able to find here in Beijing. The top of that list would be 冬瓜茶 (Winter Melon Tea). Walking down the street I saw a tea shop that had recently opened, and a man was handing out samples. I usually ignore these places, but I’m glad we stopped. The samples they were giving out was the drink I have been craving!  It turned out to be a Taiwanese drink shop, and the guy who opened it happened to be from Taichung, a city I served in for a significant amount of my mission. It made my day!

5)      Dance Party In The Park.

Our last night in Shanghai, we were walking down the street and saw some old people dance in a park. We were rather surprised by the upbeat tempo, and thought we would join the party.

Our dancing was rather different from theirs, but you would have thought we were celebrities by all the attention we were getting (I’m guessing they don’t have white people come dance very often). There were old men trying to imitate us from the side-lines, and the funniest thing was trying to teach a bunch of old ladies how to do the macarena! It was ridiculous!

6)      Hotel On The 35^th Floor.

Have you ever slept in the 35^th floor of a hotel? The view was amazing! Emily’s dad who is doing business in Shanghai let us stay with him. I don’t think I have ever slept in a more comfortable bed in my life… except for having to share it with Brett. A woke up during the night with his arm spread out across my chest, and his leg over-lapping mine. I wasn’t gentle as I pushed him back over to his side of the bed. (I’m not sure how he didn’t wake up.) He’s lucky it didn’t happen a third time, because waking up the second time in a similar situation, I decided I was pushing him completely off the bed if it happened again. Josh fell asleep on the couch that night, using a towel since there wasn’t an extra blanket. Freezing cold he came and crowded onto our bed.

7)      The Turner Family!

I love that no matter where you are in the world, the church is the same. Jared and Heather Turner are a young married couple in the Shanghai Branch, who have two adorable children with a third on the way. I know that they have busy, busy lives and yet they let us stay at their house for three days. Heather cooked us some of the best food I have had in China, and Jared took us around to see the city! I love that family!