Last year on the race China was country number 4 for my squad, and it came just after New Year’s. The first thing that struck all of us about where we stayed in Hong Kong was the silence while we slept. Now, I would not describe where I stayed as being quiet at night – there were always distant honks, occasional fireworks, passing cars, boats on the river, and any other usual city noises coming through my paper thin windows. But I’d forgotten until this morning what particular sound we were all suddenly surprised to be without each morning – the sound of a crowing rooster. No matter what country we were in, or how big a city, there was always a crowing rooster to greet us in the mornings, so after 4 months of hearing that it stood out when it was gone. Even in an airport once, I think it was here in the Philippines, as we waited for our luggage at a turnstyle out came a box amongst all the other suitcases that suddenly let out the most confused and indignant cock-a-doodle-doo I’ve ever heard a rooster make.
As you can probably guess, this morning I woke to the sound of, amongst other things, a rooster crowing. It brought back a lot of memories, and now I’m sitting at a table and on a chair that I helped move in here last December, remembering our coaches talking about brokenness over there by the couches, seeing photos of my squad mate Danny hanging on the wall, and talking with Christie about the inescabable necessity of peanut butter (a common topic for us on the race and now). I’m loving it.
I’m already realizing that God has me here for more than just a visit – already I feel myself debriefing (the act of reflecting, analyzing, assessing, and internalizing the lessons learned) all that’s happened over the last 6 months. Knowing how busy I’m going to be when I get home on Wednesday I’m even more grateful for my time here, for some downtime in between culture shifts. I can’t think of a better place than here for it, as anyone that has been here will attest to.
