Lots happened in China so let me catch you up. (After reading, take a look at more of my pictures from China on my photos link to the left.)
When in China, I used a squatty potty for the first time. I am just putting it out there; it is something I am going to have to become accustomed to because it is usually the main thing in Asia. I have to admit that I did not use the squatty potty on our first train ride in China. . . yes I am talking 19 hours without peeing. . . I know, I know that was not healthy but you would be a little weirded out too if you discovered that you would be squatting over a hole in a train that led straight to the tracks below. . . Tip: Be sure to not step too far one way and end up with your foot somewhere you wish it had never been (this didn’t happen to me but I have heard the horror stories.)
When in China, I learned that I had to carry my own toilet paper with me everywhere we went. It is not provided in public restrooms. I believe this will be true for a lot of countries we visit.
When in China, I learned how to use chopsticks. During the first lunch we had in Harbin, I was so hungry because we had just finished our 19 hour train ride which came not too long after an 18 hour plane trip and well, let’s just say I was starting to worry that this eating thing was not going to work out this month. Chopsticks are all that is provided besides spoons for noodle broth and during this first lunch I was struggling (as my teammate Stephanie likes to say “I was on the struggle bus”). I was ready to just start eating everything with my hands but . . . when in China, embrace the culture and do like the locals do so I kept at it all month and I have to say I got a ton better. I am not saying that I could compete with a Chinese friend but I did learn how to cut my noodles with chopsticks from our Chinese Mama.
When in China, I conquered a Chinese washing machine! My teammates and I were washing our clothes in the sink for the first week in China because we really wanted to prove we could rough it like other world racers without fine necessities like washing machines. . . not really, we just couldn’t figure out how to use it. Well, come to find out you first have to plug it in. . . I mean. . . wow, that is ingenious right?! Ok, so anyway, after I overcame a blonde moment of sorts and figured out that it wasn’t plugged in, here are the next steps that I discovered to washing your clothes in China:
- The washing machine is in the bathroom and you will need to use the hose in the bathroom to fill the washing side of the machine just enough to cover the clothes and add the soap (for other world racers, you will just need to eyeball the amount of detergent you put in since you won’t have a measuring cup). . . oh yeah, this is important. . . you have to make sure that the washing machine is on the “wash” option instead of the “drain” so all the water you just filled the machine with doesn’t come rushing out of the draining hose and you have to fill it again (yes, I caught myself doing that a couple times and you will definitely notice that the water is rushing out because it is rushing at your feet on the floor of the bathroom – more on that later).
- Select the amount of time you want your clothes to wash and the machine will start to work (especially if you have it plugged in).
- After wash cycle is complete, select the “drain” option to drain the soapy water out of the draining hose into the floor of your bathroom and it will flow across your bathroom to the floor drain on the other side. This is the thing you need to know about bathrooms in China; it will be wet most of the time because not only do you release the water from your washing machine onto the bathroom floor but your bathroom is also an open shower with no shower curtain most of the time so when you shower, you wet the toilet, floor, everything.
- After that, fill the washing machine side again with the hose (making sure it is on the “wash” option and no longer on the “drain” option) to do a rinse cycle and after it is complete, you drain again.
- Then comes my favorite part and I guess you have to have been washing your clothes in the sink for a week, trying your best to squeeze them out successfully by hand so that they don’t drip all over your floor and bed on our makeshift clothing line in our apartment, to really appreciate the brilliance of an invention called the spinner. So, you transfer your clothes from the washing side of the machine to the spinning side of the machine and you let it rip.
- And when you have witnessed the awesomeness of a machine that spins 100 times more water than you could ever hope to squeeze out of your clothes (into the floor of the bathroom of course), then you take them out and thank God for the thing known as a washing machine plug and you hang them on the clothes line to dry (no dryers in China; they hang their clothes up). Ta Da! You have successfully washed clothes in China without “roughing it world race style”!
I probably should have devoted a whole blog to just that washing machine spill but oh well. . . check out more of my experiences in China below:
When in China, I became a napkin hoarder and plastic bag hoarder as well. Napkins are rarely provided at restaurants; if you want them, you may have to pay for them. This is true for plastic bags at the grocery store too; you have to pay a little change per bag although. .. . interesting fact: In China, if you get soup to-go, they put it straight into a plastic bag. One time, my team went to get vanilla cones from KFC in the mall and they actually gave us two napkins a piece; we freaked out we were so excited about two thin square pieces of paper. Truth be told, I used one napkin and hoarded the extra one for use later. This became a thing for me; if I was given two napkins, one would go in my pocket and I would use the other one and honestly, most of the time I would end of saving the one I used as well in my pocket for use later. When we got back to Beijing to fly out at the end of the month, there was a McDonalds that all of us Americans just had to have after just two weeks of noodles and rice and they gave us tons of napkins and you know it, I hoarded them and still have half of them in my backpack right now; napkins are paper gold!
When in China, I took many photos with random locals. My squad discovered early on how much the Chinese like to take photos with Americans. They would just come up to us with their iphones or photo bomb a picture that we were taking of ourselves. It was so funny and we quickly learned to embrace it. Who knows how many people have random photos of us on their iphones?!
When in China, particularly Harbin, I saw a lot of Russian influence because it is so far North. My team got to go to see a Russian Orthodox church called Sofia. We happened to see it at night and while we were there, it lit up and all the many fountains next to the church began to dance to pop music played from the church. . . so crazy but totally fun.
When in China, some other girls and I played futbol with a group of guys from the college nearby. It was a blast! You all that know me know I love me some soccer and these guys were good. I was sore but it was totally worth it! It is interesting trying to communicate to your teammates when you speak a different language but it didn’t matter; it worked!
When in China, my squad freely worshiped in an open park. I know I mentioned this in a previous blog but it was so amazing that it is worth mentioning again. To know that this used to be something that couldn’t be thought of doing and in many areas of China still is a difficult thing to do but somehow the Lord is breaking down barriers and loosening strongholds in China more so than ever before. In many ways, China was an oppressing place for many of us but the light of Christ is growing stronger in that place and I know that God will never abandon His children in China.
When in China, my team got to help many college students practice their English. They are so excited to practice their English with Americans. One day, I was just walking with my team on campus and a girl just stopped me as we were passing each other and asked if we could be friends so I could teach her English and she could teach me Chinese. . . so fun.
When in China, I shared the word, Jesus, with people that had never heard it before. After being encouraged by our ministry contact, I felt strengthened to be upfront with my purpose for being in China and when I did, I discovered how many had never heard the word even in their own language. The Lord was definitely planting seeds during our time in China!
When in China, I was able to meet a sweet friend who I was able to share the gospel with. Please pray for her heart to be opened to the grace of God. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, she believes that she has to work to be good on her own and make up for her mistakes by her own power. I pray that one day she will know the worth she has in a Father that loves her unconditionally.
When in China, I met a Chinese Christian whose whole family came to know Christ through the faith of his grandmother. We did not meet many Christians in China beyond those that were guiding us in our ministry so when we met John, we were so excited to hear his story and to learn of his desire to be a missionary in Pakistan one day. He told us that the Lord gave him the desire when he last visited the Great Wall of China and he asked us to pray for China when we go to the Great Wall.
When in China, my team was able to visit a slum in Harbin where we passed out clothes that a church had collected. We also played games and music with the kids there while someone made balloon art for them. The kids were so excited!
When in China, a team on our squad discovered a Christian café recently opened by a Chinese couple that studied in England. It is called the Milk and Honey Land Café and it was such a lovely, uplifting place to be. Part of my team got to visit the café on our day off and it was amazing to know of a couple bold in their faith to open a café that encourages the love of Christ in a place where churches still have to be careful of making their presence known. Please keep this couple and their mission in this café in your prayers.
And, we can’t forget the Great Wall of China!
For more fun highlights of China, take a look at this fun video that my teammate, Val, put together and be sure to keep up with my other teammates’ blogs on the links to the left of my page!
