China

China has been hard
for me to put into words. So many things we cannot say about the month, so many
things that were confusing about the month. My teammate, Tommy Sullivan, did a
great job of putting together a five part series on China, I recommend reading
his blogs to get the full view.

Words to describe China:

Censored

Ever heard of the PSB (Public Security Bureau)? They are the
police dressed as civilians who follow foreigners and anyone else trying to ’cause
a public disturbance’. They were the men dressed in leather jackets who would
ask us questions like where are you going, and lean into my conversations when
I was trying to talk to young locals. They made things complicated this month.
You cannot just go around introducing yourself as the Jesus loving missionary
or your visa would get taken. A complication, yes, does it make things
impossible, no. God makes the impossible possible. Girls were loved on, young
students heard and saw His love, just with a different flavor this month. Did I
mention that Facebook, Youtube, and Google are prohibited in China (though those
who are bit more technologically savvy can get around it).

Over-crowded

When I say over crowded, I don’t think you know what I
really mean until you are on a 30 hour train ride where people are pushing
their way on, flooding the seats and the isles to the point where you cannot
even get to the bathroom without fear of your seat being jacked. Finding a
place to even set your foot on solid ground where there isn’t some body part of
your very near neighbor. “How on earth
are there this many people on the train,” your fellow American traveler asks….over
selling tickets to accommodate the ridiculous amount of people in China would be
the answer. The subways…people literally standing on the outside shoving you to
get on. Madness? maybe. Their culture? sure is.

Cheap

China is known for being cheap, so I probably do not have to
elaborate. Street food is the cheapest and my favorite (if you’re wondering if
I got sick or not, the answer is…not yet). You tell me a place where I can get
a delicious wrap and a milk tea for less than 5 RMB (about 0.75$) and I am
there!

Family style eating and the yummiest food

Who doesn’t want to order 10 dishes with your friends and
pass them around so you all get a little something, something from each plate?
You take what you want, leave what you don’t, and eat your fill. I do this with
some of my girlfriends back home, but I think we should adopt this into our
culture full time.

Lovers of the outdoors

All day every day Chinese people are typically outside. We
would wake up in the morning to see them working out…work clothes and all. They
would play chess on the streets, or just sit and talk to their friend. My FAVORITE
part was that they DANCED! In all of the little squares or on the board walk,
dancing! For my birthday (yep, it was my birthday this month…thank you to Woody
and Kimbo for working so hard to make it special) we went and did a little
dancing with the locals. A few of us danced with them during the day, oh yeah
and in the morning too. Was I thrilled to get to dance all month, you bet your
bottom dollar I was! Plus, how could you not want to be outside with all of the
amazing flowers throughout the streets that we pay hundreds of dollars for in
the states.

Lovers of technology

Oh technology. They still have squatty potties, but an
electronic store as often as America has a Starbucks. They still have over-crowded
and under-kept trains, but the latest and greatest phones and laptops
everywhere you look. Children gaming for hours at the internet cafes or at the
arcade playing games that are so technologically advanced they MUST be from the
future…either that or I have not been in an arcade in a while and am getting
old! Yikes.

Fun fact

A fun fact one of my favorite people on my squad, Bethsaida,
points out in her blog:

Chinese people have two ages. An age
of their actual birth date, and an age of their year. They celebrate a Spring
Festival every January, which is actually their winter month, and every January
everyone turns a year older. But when asked how old they are they often refer
to their actual birth date year.