To start out sorry that these haven't exactly been consistent updates, we have had a lot happening here in China and it has been the best/hardest thing I have done so far in my life probably. I had a performance the Chinese teachers at our school wanted a couple of us girls to make up 5 dances and perform them and they all went really well actually. I also have another competitive dance they asked me to be apart of coming up this weekend representing the school.
Teaching is really hard because I am teaching 3 year old that have never heard English in their entire lives but it is rewarding and so much fun and I love the kids beyond comparison!! They are slowly learning the language and it makes me so happy to see their faces light up when they get a word right and I am proud of them. Leaving my babies is going to be one the hardest things hands down. I wish I could just bring some of them home with me.
My roommate, Jess, and I already have a countdown chain until we go home... I don't know if that is good or bad. We love it here but like they say, "There's no place like home."
My little travel group and I went on a vacation of a lifetime. We went to Beijing and Shanghai for a total of an 8-day vacation. We hiked the hardest part of the Great Wall of China, which is also the second most dangerous hike in the world, it includes free climbing up unsteady rocks at an alarming height, it was exhilarating, then we camped on the wall overnight in 0 degree weather which is technically illegal but hey we are making memories that will last a lifetime. The camping part was a spontaneous decision so all I had with me was my flannel and the clothes on my back. 2 of the girls happened to bring jackets with them but it was probably the coldest I had ever been. All 4 of us were literally laying on top of each other and in the weirdest positions just to retain any bit of body heat we could, which did work out really at all. We were all cuddled up with each other on the stony ground of the great wall when we heard a mans voice and it freaked us all out because no one in their right mind would be on the wall overnight but the man finding us ended up being a blessing in disguise. He spoke a little bit of English and he said he would protect us and that he did about every half hour he would walk around the area we were laying down at and make sure there wasn't anyone lurking. At around 3am we were all miserably cold the wind was hitting us really hard as well and all of a sudden he stood up and said he would be right back and ran off. We didn't know were he was going but when he came back and said there was a cave nearby where we could move to and that way at least the wind would be off of us and he was right it was a lot nicer there. He was a tender mercy sent to us that night to protect us from a situation that could have ended badly. At first light we headed our separate ways. Making memories I guess. The great wall was probably my favorite part. The climbing was actually pretty hard and there were parts where we had to use a rope that we had found on the side of the trail to help us down some parts, but the rest was free climbing. Only one other girl in our group of 4 besides me had ever even been rock climbing besides me and so it was up to me and her to tell the other 2 girls EXACTLY where to put their hands and feet when free climbing up or down many of the walls we had to venture up and down, but everyone is safe and sound so now looking back it was one of the most amazing experiences that not a lot of people get to experience. Not a lot of people get to do that because this part of the wall we did isn't well known usually only the locals know about it and are allowed on it because it is so run down and has had no restoration work done to it (they are starting the restoration work now). Oh and I found a dog and had to take a picture because I miss my dogs an unhealthy amount. The great wall is something I will always remember.
That night we explored Beijing and guess what?! I bought a guitar and am learning how to play. At the hostel we were staying at a couple of guys play and were teaching me how to play and in exchange I was teaching them some English it was really fun staying there and it became our nightly thing where we would spend hours upon hours practicing. Shanghai was our next adventure we rode elephants there and help little baby tigers. It was beyond amazing!!! You all probably know how much I love animals so as you can assume I was in heaven.
I don't know if y'all know this, but one of my nephews that past away the elephant is their symbol or something that represents him. While I was riding the elephant I was not only overwhelmed with amazing joy because well I was on a freaking elephant but I also felt my nephews spirit with me and the amazing love that God has for all of his children and that he has a plan set in place for all of us. It was a brief but unforgettable spiritual moment of reassurance. It was a reminder that we are always under the Lords tender care. I was already aware of that because over the last little bit in China we have been blessed beyond compare and have seen the Lords hand in our life more than I have ever seen. He has helped us in everyday living and adjusting and in our travels when we were in very dangerous situations that I won't even write about to you, but I know that he has been there with me always watching and ready to send mercy and protection into my life whenever it is needed. I couldn't be more grateful for the role the Lord has been playing in my life lately!
Jess and I went to Shanghai Disneyland, they call it the happiest place in the world but that statement has never been more true, it felt like we were in America for a day and it was really the perfect day. I met Captain America, Mickey Mouse and Spiderman!! It was just the day we needed of carefree child like wonder. I felt as though I were a kid again seeing it all for the first time, we had huge smiles on our faces all day and it was just what the doctor ordered. We even met some people who were LDS, which is unheard of here, but the guys came up to us and asked to take a picture with us, which happens a lot because well we are white, and then they saw my CTR ring and the rest is history but it was pretty neat.
Our 8-day trip was perfect honestly which was much needed because our trip before to Zhangjiajie was well I don’t really have words for it.
True adventure is when you don’t plan anything and you find miraculous things along the way, true disaster is when the faults of a trip begin overcoming a journey, and Zhanjiajie was very much this kind of trip.
What started out to be a beautiful idea turned into a memorable experience that we still aren’t too sure about. It all began when we arrived in the city at 3 o’clock in the morning from our 14-hour train ride that we almost missed, but made by seconds. We all hopped into a taxi and told him we wanted to be taken to the national park where our hostel was tucked away deep into the mountains. The taxi driver was very kind and took us to our destination, but when we arrived he would not let us leave the car. “Not safe……….closed” he told us as a creepy man walked around the park gates. “Well can we stay here til the park opens?” we asked. “No you cannot” he replied. Confused he took us to a tourist agency after an hour of discussion where we waited in a dingy smoke scented room covered in cockroaches, any bug you can think of, and bugs you could have never imagined all wrapped into one. Some of our girls were leaping onto couches and off again because they looked like ones from a crack house, and also it is very rude in Chinese culture to sit or stand on furniture. Finally a man came who knew enough English to tell us he had a tour guide for us, but we wouldn’t be able to go to our hostel until after the tour. We had been up all night…
Trying to be enthusiastic we met with our guide who we named David. He showed us some of the greatest views when he wasn’t trying to get us to take a bathroom break so he could smoke.
On the bright side the weather was beautiful that whole weekend. We could wear shorts and the slight breezes made it so we could wear our flannels as well. We loved it, and we loved our simple hostel as well. It became the most important place to us by far.
The next day we woke up and realized that our tour guide had ditched us the rest of the trip, so we decided to go out and explore ourselves. The evening hikes and morning walks were a blast. One hike would bring a toll to the whole trip.
So Jess and I decided we wanted to go down the large glass elevator just outside the mountain while the other girls would wait. Down, up, no big deal or so we thought.
At the bottom we realized we didn’t know where to buy a ticket to get back to the top. Some Chinese told us to get on a bus, and after beautiful scenic bus ride around a crystal blue lake and curvy roads; we were out of the park. The gate guard would not let us back in and we told him that “we have to get back to our hostel, our friends are waiting for us, and we can’t stay out of the park away from them overnight or we will get in trouble with our program.
We also have no money with us. We have to get back in.” He still wouldn’t listen. He said, “the park is closed, and the elevator is turned off”. We talked to the man for hours it felt like. Finally it was getting dark, the guard wouldn’t budge, and strange men were pointing and talking about us as we sat on a street curb, so we did what anyone else would do… we called the Chinese police.
When they arrived we had a hard time explaining the situation so they told us to get in the back of their cop car. The translator barely worked because they spoke some bizarre dialect but somehow they told us that it wouldn’t be possible for us to get back to the park, even though we told them we had to. They pulled in front of an extremely fancy hotel where a lady who knew a little English translated that we would have to buy a room. The Chinese people were starting to laugh at us and point. Jess lost it and started to cry. We didn’t have money for this and we didn’t want to spend the night in a prison cell, which they were saying was our other option. I couldn’t calm her down, so from then on it was up to me to try to communicate with locals to figure out our situation, and finally we felt like they were starting to listen. They found a new translator who told us “the government will cover all costs for us and will help us get back in the morning.” Our hearts were finally at ease. I love the Chinese government now.
It was by far the nicest place we would ever stay at while in china. They got us instant Asian ramen and we were off to bed where we called our moms and tried to explain ourselves. Our mom’s was convinced we were going to be taken or prostitutes were going to knock on our door, so we moved a giant side table in front of the door. We didn’t mean to scare them, but the call made us even more worried. We tried not to regret that call and lounged while we watched the Asian voice. As bizarre as it all was it’ll be one of my wildest memories to smile at.
The cop helped us get back to our hostel in the morning and before we knew it we were on a ghetto farm bus going across rocky roads to the train station. It gave me a lot of time to think.
I realized how blessed we were. I realized that even though chaos was happening all around us that we were being guided through and looked after and there was no way it was luck. We were all praying so hard on that trip and God was listening. It was a good reminder to me that he cares about every single person out there and knows him or her individually. Also that he is in control of my life, and that I need to have faith in him to make it beautiful.
I have had experiences here that will shape the rest of my life. There has been so much happening here so unfortunately I can't write about all of it, but I am truly grateful for the opportunity to come here and teach these amazing, beautiful children of god and feel of his love for them and develop my own love for each of them.
I miss you all and love you so much!!
I hope everything is going well at home.
Love always,
Meg
No comments:
Post a Comment