The Sprawling Metropolis

Office buildings, shopping centers, apartments, schools, ancient temples, traditional courtyard homes, freeways, subways, railroads, parks, public squares…

The city just keeps spreading out in all directions. With the 2008 Olympics coming up, there are thousands of construction cranes all over the city building apartments, hotels, shopping centers, restaurants, subway lines, and of course, the Olympic park complex.

It is really exciting to be here at this point in history, and I’m excited to see all of the changes as they develop over the next year and a half. The city will certainly not be the same after the Olympics, but one thing is for sure…the urban sprawl will only continue…
Traffic backs up under an urban rail (subway) station in the Haidian District during the evening rush hourMost of the buildings are apartment complexes to house the city's 15 million people

Special Delivery

This morning, as I began Chinese classes, I was pleasantly surprised to hear my teacher say I had a package waiting for me at the front desk. So, after I picked up some groceries after my tutoring session, I went and got my box from my school’s secretary. It was from my parents! They had sent me some items I had requested and some other fun surprises too! This is my first package I’ve received this year! Yeah!

I carried the box home on my bike, as you can see it parked in my patio. Yeah…I know…it’s a “girl’s bike,” but it’s the best one the store had to offer when I was shopping for some wheels to get from point A to B. It only cost about US$23, and it works. So, I’m cool with it. When I got one of the inner tube’s replaced (for the second time), the roadside repair guy said (in Chinese) something like, “This bike is no good. How much did you spend on it?” (I tell him the price...) “Oh, you’ve gotta spend at least 300yuan. That’ll get you a decent bike.” So, next time, I might take his advice…but if I spend that much on a bike, it’s that much more likely to get stolen…like my bike last year…

When I opened my package at home, I was excited to see the stuff they sent me! I laid it out on my couch so you can see what I got too!

Pictures
My sister, niece, and me in the summer of 2005 before I left for Hong Kong, One of my adopted grandmas and me (also that summer) (Yeah, as you can tell, my family is really prompt about delivering pictures. If you know me very well, you have probably discovered that about me too!)

Barley Max (from Hallelujah Acres)
Powdered barley grass drink mix that helps with internal cleansing and overall health
(I haven’t gotten a cold yet this year and my hands aren’t drying out like they used to either! Praise the Lord for carrot juice, Barley Max, and lots of fresh fruits and veggies!)

“Back to the Garden”
Free magazine from Hallelujah Acres (see side tab for their website link, you can subscribe for FREE)

3 DVDs from Lorraine Day, M.D.
An internationally acclaimed orthopedic trauma surgeon and recognized expert on AIDS, she overcame cancer and rebuilt her immune system without the help of traditional/orthodox treatments she and her colleagues were taught to prescribe (i.e. chemotherapy, surgery, radiation)
“Cancer Doesn’t Scare Me Anymore”
“You Can’t Improve on God”
“Diseases Don’t Just Happen”

2007 Calendars
My mom knows I need all the help I can get to keep me on time, on task, and on schedule!

Family Time

This morning, I had a nice visit with my family via the internet and wonderful free technology from Yahoo Messenger. It is fun to see their smiling faces, hear their familiar voices, and "be together" on cyberspace. I can't imagine what it was like just 10-20 years ago, when it was even difficult to make a phone call from a foreign country. It is such a blessing to have such great technology available to us today! When God made us in His image, He certainly gave us creative and engineering abilities! Praise the Lord for great technology that allows me and my family to have "quality" time online!
This is a picture from Father's Day this year. My dad already had surgery and was still using a walker for stability. Now, his walker and cane are collecting dust, as he is doing really well! Praise the Lord!

Pictured: Dad, Mom; oldest sister (expecting a new little one), her husband, and their 4 boys; older sister, her husband, and their 2 girls

A Ceremonial Trip

Last month, I went to Taiyuan, in the Shanxi Province to see some friends I hadn't visited in almost a year. It was nice to be there and hang out with them. The Sunday I was there, it seemed like there was a recurring theme, ceremonies...
On my way to Sunday services, there was a procession from a wedding ceremony at the church coming down the street and people from the church handing out fliers about what the Bible says marriage is all about. Then, a few minutes later, there was a department store having a grand anniversary ceremony in front of their main entrance. It was quite interesting to see the group of percussionists all lined up beating on drums and symbols in an almost hypnotic repetitive rhythm, almost as if to mesmerize everyone "buy our stuff, buy our stuff, buy our stuff..."
The service at the church that morning also seemed rather ceremonial as their liturgy is much more traditional than what I'm used to back home in the States.

You never know what you'll encounter here in the land of ancient rites and ceremonies...

The Great Wall of Camping

A few months ago, I went camping on the Great Wall of China with a group from the international Christian fellowship. It was a really fun time, meeting new friends, singing old camp songs around a bonfire, climbing on a section of the wall that hasn't been repaired for tourists, sleeping under the archway of one of beacon towers , and waking up to an awesome view of the sun rising over the mountains. China is so awesome!