I wanted to say I’m back in the title, but Back in Black came up. So there ya go.
So I’m back in Hong Kong now and able to get on the internet. The task of writing a blog that encapsulates my experience in China proves to be impossible, so I’ll put some interesting cultural aspects in bullet points and tell a story.
- Babies can be seen frequently releaving themselves on roadsides – their parents supporting them from behind and whistling. (My theory is that the whistling is a calming mechanism. Nobody can releave themselves when they’re so pressured, much less in the middle of the whole city.)
- You’ve seen movies with indians running around wearing not but a loincloth. Well with the babies in China, this is the only area exposed.
- It was COLD.
- The Chinese were the first to invent the noodle. They brought it to Italy.
- The great wall turned out to be pretty great. (I saw where my sister ran into it)
- It was COLD!
Now for the story:
After about a 30 hour train ride team ignite and team Beloved arrived at our ministry location. The next day Aaron and I were told we’d leave for another nearby city to teach English. No problem, we’ve done that before.
Rewind…
Before heading into China we had a briefing on their culture and some potential problems as we minister. “Watch out for government officials!” they told us. “They’ll come up to you and ask you all kinds of questions about why you’re there.” We were told not to say such words as missionary, ministry, Jesus, God, Christianity, and the like. Apparently people are always listening and looking out for missionaries so they can get the governement to kick them out. Yikes!
Back to story time…
So Aaron and I step off the bus and follow a group of three young men whom we don’t know anything about to someplace – perhaps the “Enlish Corner” where we’d teach English. We didn’t know if these people were Christians, missionaries, or just regular students. They took us around the back of a sketchy apartment building and up five floors. We sat down on the couch and asked questions. An exhange of names. Inquiries about this “Enlish Corner” and what we’d be doing the next five days. Many more questions.
The next day Aaron was 2 hours away at another Enlish Corner and I was with two young men and two young women in their sketchy apartment. I was excited. When else would I have such an incredible cultural experience? That night I found myself sitting at the dinner table eating an incredible meal made by the two girls listening to them speak and laugh in their Tibetan language. The four of them turned out to be Tibetan buddists.
Two days later I found myself being questioned by a government official. Why am I here? What do I 
believe? How long will I stay? Where have I been? Where will I go next? After he was fully satisfied that I was just a traveling tourist he invited me to a traditional dinner and dance with the rest of my new friends. Sure I’d go!
The dinner was quite the experience. They had “Tibetan beer,” which is really just liquor, which they poored into three very small glasses on a plate and held as they sang to certain individual. This individual was then expected to drink it all. Being the guest of honor, I was the one sung to most of the time. Fortunately for me, the Chinese don’t hold alcohol too well and so most of the alcoholic beverages are toned down.
After many songs sung they looked to me; I stood up embarrassed and sang “Holy, Holy, Holy.” This is turning out to be quite long so I’ll save the rest for another blog.
