China Remembering

I realized on last flight back to America 2 days ago that I had just journeyed across the world and all over China by myself. Not really by myself, since God was with me and I had tons of people praying, but basically. I'm just so thankful to know that I can still make new friends, speak some Chinese, live without showers, use squatty-potties, eat lots of rice, not be in control of everything, and be flexible and adaptable. I was afraid that America had made me spoiled...

So my several days in Nanchang were quite challenging and blessed, all rolled up into one brief visit. I got to stay on Blue Sky's "old" campus where I used to live, and Reborn stayed with me, so we got to be together 24 hours a day! And we never got tired of each other. Nanchang and Blue Sky University has changed so much, that I barely recognized anybody or anything. It was unsettling and strange the first day, but then I relaxed and enjoyed the city and people the remainder of my time there.

First, some of things that have not changed in Nanchang:

-The train station is still the dingiest, most crowded and unique one in all of China, from my perspective.
-Our old apartments where we used to live are still old, but habitable.
-Blue Sky's "new" campus where I taught still looks the same, albeit a little more faded and falling apart.
-The city is still inexpensive, crowded, and chaotic.
-The sky is still gray and hazy most of the time.
-The weather is still extremely wet, humid, and hot.
-The food is still spicy.
-My favorite 220 bus to get to most places is still packed to overflowing with people.
-There are still so many beggars all over the city.
-A lot of people remembered me.
-The city still has a very special character that makes it stand out (and probably a character that makes most foreigners not want to live there. Haha).

However, it seemed like there were more changes than not:

-They are building a metro system in the city, so the entire main artery is ripped up, along with most of the buildings I used to know.
-They are even building the city's first Starbucks, which means Nanchang will soon cease to be a backwater, inconsequential city.
-Way more people had cars.
-The fields filled with rubble and pigs in front of old campus are now home to 12 25-story apartment buildings.
-Most of my favorite little hole-in-the wall restaurants had either upgraded, moved, or disappeared.
-Hair washes at the little hair shops are now 10 kuai (about $1.50) instead of 8 kuai (about $1.25).
-Watermelon now costs 2 kuai instead of 1 kuai.
-Sadly, sadly watermelon lady did not remember me.
-People seemed less friendly (for example, one lady on the bus got into an argument with Reborn about how she was sure I looked down on China as a foreigner).
-The lake now has a mile-long bridge over it, which has spurred massive development around new campus area.
-Oh, and Blue Sky University (Lan Tian Xue Yuan) has since changed its name to Jiangxi University of Technology (Jiangxi KeJi Xue Yuan). Sigh... so much less unique!

One main reason for my trip was to be an encouragement to my friends in China, especially Reborn. I definitely think we both encouraged each other. When I left 2 years ago, Reborn was just a baby believer, and now I am in awe at how the Father has grown and changed her. As a senior, she is a leader in her fellowship, takes care of many younger sisters from her fellowship, and has an incredibly strong and vibrant faith. During my visit she probably encouraged me the most in the area of prayer and dependence on God.

It was so difficult saying goodbye to her last Friday night. She bought a 1 kuai ticket so she could go into the Nanchang train station and see me onto the overnight train to Beijing. We hugged and hugged, and then she just stood on the platform in the rain, waving and walking along with the ancient train as it gathered speed. That was when I started crying for the first time in a long time, although I quickly stopped when I realized the whole train was staring at the teary white girl. How could I leave baby Reborn?? But I knew that we were still best friends, even when we are a whole world apart, and that the Father will continue to grow her, love her, and shine a light through her.

The long journey home consisted of many train and plane rides, and I'm currently back in Kansas for a few days! I have severe jet lag and can barely sleep, but it's nice to be home with my Mom, the blue Kansas sky, lots of meat, and not really a care in the world for the moment.

I'd love to share more pictures with you, but my camera (which I purchased in China 4 years ago) is having technical difficulties. Maybe later!


With Baby Reborn!

China-ing

I've been back in China for a good 10 or so days and I think I've adjusted back to the culture and food pretty well. The latest development is that I've been reunited with baby Reborn! As you faithful blog readers may recall, Reborn, is my best Chinese friend and became a sister while I was in Nanchang. She is not such a baby anymore, but a beautiful young woman with an incredibly strong faith. I have been so encouraged to see that her faith is truly her own and how she loves sharing about the Father with everyone and anyone.

So after I left Harbin, I headed south to Shanghai and Wuxi, which are both amazingly developed cities along the coast. Reborn and I stayed with her older sister, Liu Jia, in her little apartment in Wuxi. Liu Jia is a year older than I am, and such a hard-working, cheerful person. You can tell Reborn looks up to her a lot. Liu Jia could remember some of the English she learned in high school, so with my Chinese and her English and Reborn's periodic translation, we all communicated quite well. She was the most wonderful host, and probably spent her whole month's salary buying us tons of food and tickets to random places. She only let me pay for icecream one day, and became insulted if I tried to pay for anything else.

Last night Reborn and I arrived here on the fast train from Shanghai and went to stay on the campus of Nanchang Hangkong University (Literally "Nanchang Airlines University"), where they train flight attendants and plane mechanics. My American friend, Christine, picked us up on her motorbike at the front gate, just a mere 10 minutes before they'd close the gate for the night. We piled my baby luggage and the 3 of us onto her motorbike, and sped off across campus, which is huge and scenic. It's interesting to experience a quieter side of Nanchang, since I lived right in the thick of the city.

I'm currently waiting for the possibility of running water. I forgot that Nanchang's water and electricity is spotty. I definitely need a shower after 3 days, but it looks like I may just have to do another day with no shower. So you probably won't be seeing any pictures of me from today! :) I don't really mind too much, though, because I get to see all my old Nanchang friends and eat at my favorite hole-in-the-wall back alley restaurants.

Hopefully when I return to the U.S. in a few days I can share more pictures with you! Hope you are having a blessed week so far!

Reunions

The past couple of weeks since graduation have been filled with so many wonderful reunions that I about want to bust from sheer joy and thankfulness. And with each reunion, I have slowly traveled west, until I somehow made it to the Far East and am back in China!

Florida:

I spent a week with my grownup baby sister, Andrea, in Daytona Beach. I used my frequent flyer miles to get a ticket down there to see her and sort of as a reward for my past 2 years of working somewhat diligently in grad school. Although I only went to the beach once and had a cold the whole time, it was still worthwhile visiting Andrea, laughing, and realizing that we can still be close even though we are growing up, live far away from each other, and have different lives now.

California:

After saying goodbye to Andrea, I got on a plane for Los Angeles, where I stayed for a very brief night and a day. I got to stay with my old team leader and friend in China, Joelle, whom I hadn't seen in almost 2 years. It was like we had never been apart, although I knew that we had, because we seemed like we both had changed and grown and learned so much since the summer of 2010. We also got to chat, laugh, and reminisce about China, mostly while experiencing The Huntington, which contains gorgeous gardens in Pasadena that cover hundreds of acres.

Korea:

After then saying goodbye to Joelle, I got on yet another plane, which stopped in Seoul. The nearly 13 hour flight was filled with Koreans, who all seem extremely polite and orderly. The Seoul airport is also similar--everything was super clean, modern, and orderly. Although I can't judge all of Korea based on the airport, it seems like Korea and China are two very different places.

China:

I hopped on my next plane in Seoul, which was bound for Beijing. You could tell everyone on the plane was Chinese, because everyone was very boisterous, didn't really pay any attention to the flight attendants, and basically had the grandest time ever. We finally arrived in Beijing after zig-zagging all over the map to get there. I also knew that we were in China, because the sky was extremely yellow with pollution, and you could see miles upon miles of high-rise buildings.

Upon arriving in Beijing late in the afternoon on about 4 hours of sleep over the past 48 hours, I had a lot of errands to accomplish. I quickly remembered how surviving in China = complete dependence on God. I probably prayed more that afternoon than I had in the whole past month. People who speak English even in Beijing are virtually non-existent, so a lot of my Chinese language skills came back out of necessity. I was able to exchange money, buy a new phone card for my old Chinese cell phone that still works, take a taxi to pick up a train ticket, take the subway all over the little city of 20 million inhabitants, find and order some dinner, and find my hotel. The hotel was the most challenging part. It was a Chinese hotel in the thick of a residential area filled with hutongs, which are old traditional neighborhoods consisting mainly of a complex maze of narrow, winding alleys. The alleyways are then filled with tons of children, bicycles, animals, trash, laundry, food, and everything else you can imagine. So I quickly lost my way, and had to rely on the kindness of multiple strangers to get me to my destination. It takes a village to get Laura to her inn for the night! It was fun, but tiring being so over-stimulated by all the noise, chaos, smells, sand and pollution blowing in my eyes, the stares, and suddenly feeling like I was in a place that was so foreign and familiar all at the same time.

The next morning I woke up at 5 a.m. to head to the subway and then the train station. A guard at the hotel was impressed with my willingness to speak to him in my butchered Chinese, so he offered to take me all the way to the subway station on his bicycle rickshaw, which saved me a 20 minute walk. Thank goodness I had really limited luggage with me! So I managed to also get to the Beijing train station, find the train in a crush of people, and hang out on the train heading far north east to Harbin.

My teammate of two years in Nanchang, Jodi, lives in Harbin now. She picked me up at the train station, and it was such a wonderful sight to see her! And she had just gotten engaged the day before, so she was beaming. Congratulations to Jodi and Samson!! So the past few days we've been going to her classes, hanging out with her fellow teammates, exploring parts of the city, and eating lots of good food. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be here!

Growing and Graduating

I'm sitting in my sister's little green bedroom trying to reflect on the milestone of graduating. On Tuesday I flew down to visit Andrea for a few days before I head to China for a visit next week!

Last weekend I wrapped up graduate school and earned my Master of Public Affairs at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). Basically, I'm more qualified for public service now. I can't name many specific things I learned, but my perspective and knowledge about a whole host of things has been greatly expanded. Plus, I got to develop some wonderful friendships, grow as a person, and mature in my faith. I'm incredibly thankful for the past two years of grad school--even all the trials and challenges. Hopefully I have also reflected the Father's light in the classroom, at work, and with my friends.

I've left you a few nice pictures from the big weekend! Thanks for all your encouragement and support over the past many years.

With my mama.

With my dad and Marilyn.

Some of my closest Btown friends!

Life changes

Forgive me for not writing or updating this blog for a long while now (or at least a long while for me). There's been a whirlwind of change and decisions with work, school, and people that have kept me on my toes. It's great to know that the Father is in control and knows what's going on, even when I don't!

Academic Status

Last week all my grad school classes wrapped up. Thankfully and mercifully I somehow don't have any finals, although I did have huge projects and papers to work on--like editing and formatting a 187 page group report... So my academic career has come to a close, but I'm not too sad. I've learned tons, met great people, and accomplished my life-long dream of getting a master's, but there's still a lot to look forward to. Oh, and this Saturday I'll graduate!

Job Status

Last Friday I wrapped up my 2 years of work at city hall! I do officially officially have a job starting in July doing the AmeriCorps Vista progam at United Way here in Bloomington. I will be getting paid less than minimum wage, but I'll have a steady 40 hours of work a week and will be working with a wonderful group of people. I was definitely frustrated that doors weren't budging even a tiny bit in D.C. or with amazing companies. However, when I interviewed for the United Way position, I knew it was the perfect fit, especially with the meaningful and challenging projects I'll be working on. I'm so thankful that the Father's timing and plans are way better than my own!

Travel Status

I talked with dear Reborn last week on Skype. Upon hearing that I have a job in the States, she commenced sobbing, and I joined in. She said that meant we'd probably never see each other again, especially once she forgets her English and I forget my already minimal Chinese. So... it looks like I'll be heading over there in mid-May for a visit! I'll also get to hang out with Jodi in Harbin and a Chinese friend from Bloomington in southern Jiangsu province.

That's all for now folks! Happy May!

Homeward Bounding

The big event I've been involved with for the past 2 years as the PR spokesperson and assistant is Bloomington's annual Homeward Bound 5K Walk, which benefits 12 local nonprofit agencies working to end homelessness. This year's walk that we've been planning months and months for kicked off yesterday. It's a great feeling to see everything and everyone come together. Although we didn't raise as much money as last year, over 800 walkers came and we raised about $40,000, which isn't too shabby at all. It was also a really warm, sunny day, and I felt blessed to be a part of the event! It also made me fall in love with Bloomington again. I'm excited I get to stay in this special town next year! Here are some pictures, although they definitely don't quite capture the spirit of the event.

Some of the walkers returning from the walk route for food and live music at the park.

The Vallures--a cool girl band which plays 1960s music entertaining the crowd.

5 of the 8 walkers on our IU Graduate Faculty Ministry Team. Forgive me for the awkward look.

Eastering

Last week was a blur--a blur I don't really want to relive and am happy to leave behind. Having a pretty intense course load as a final semester graduate student, combined with a fairly intense job and looking for another job once I graduate makes for a challenging season of life. Last week everything seemed compounded and even busier.

I had to consciously stop myself, breathe deeply, and ask God to help me get through the next moment and hour so I wouldn't literally break down and disintegrate in the middle of class or on the side of the street. One vivid example was in my capstone class, which is the largest, longest project I've ever worked on. I had just been singled out to lead a specific component of the project that really seemed impossible. After a few minutes, I quietly walked out of class and slipped into the bathroom just so I could pray.

I've had difficult papers and projects every moment of the past 2 years, but everything seemed piled on at once. All I could ask for was Jesus' help to get through the next hour, the next day, the next weeks. The task/s before me still seem rather formidable, but I know that they are not impossible, and I will get through this with His help.

By the time I got to the end of the week, I felt like I had run a marathon! Thankfully there wasn't any work Friday because of Good Friday, so a friend and I got to hike around one of the many state forests/parks around here. It was quite pleasant and no animals ate us.

Good Friday turned into a Good Weekend. My good friend Jennifer picked me up for an event at her church called "A Night of Remembrance." I'm not sure why I said yes to going, but Jenn is always supportive of me, so I wanted to support her. I didn't know anyone, but all 80 of us had a wonderful time eating dinner and reflecting on God's faithfulness. I even met a born and raised Topekan! It is indeed a rare find, and we were thrilled to meet each other and compare notes about our unique hometown.

On Saturday I played tennis with my friend, and managed to get a sunburn on a perfectly sunny, 60 degree day. Then Easter Sunday I went to church with my friends to celebrate Christ's resurrection. The weather that day was also perfectly beautiful, and I just about melted from sheer happiness singing amazing hymns to God in the light-filled sanctuary with hundreds of other believers. After the service, I took my rather lopsided deviled eggs (they really should be called something else on Easter), and went to my friend's little house from GFM. She invited about 10 of us orphans over to her house for an awesome lunch. We ended up just sitting around the table for a good 5 or 6 hours, laughing heartily and enjoying each other's company. That same day my 30 minute radio interview aired twice in Bloomington.

Today started a new week, and although it seems a little crazy already, there have definitely been some highlights. I was in the city newspaper today, identified as the "spokeswoman" for the big event I'm working on for my job. Another highlight was walking over to a radio station for yet another interview. The guy who interviewed me was way too cute for his own good. It wasn't very fair. Our interaction was so funny and entertaining now that I look back. We chatted a while before the interview, as he told me about what he would ask me, etc. He seemed nervous, and I also started feeling nervous. When he switched the mics on and started talking, I just started getting tongue-tied and then he got really tongue-tied. I really hope nobody in Bloomington listens to the radio this week, because they might just hear a really nonsensical, awkward conversation.

Another highlight was going to ballet class, and then finding out that I will be able to stay in Bloomington next year! It looks like I'll be doing AmeriCorps with a really high-quality organization once summer rolls around. Although I wanted to end up in D.C., the doors were definitely not opening, and this seems like a way better fit than I could have imagined or planned on my own. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers over the past several months! Enjoy your week!