2 Nights in Phoenix

Thursday night we raced out the door with our sleepy kids, but not fast enough, because we arrived at the boarding gate too late. The train was still there, but the platform is closed four minutes prior to the scheduled departure time. We missed the train.

This incident landed itself a place among the top five Life Moments When You Feel Like A Complete Idiot.

So we spun around and took our children back home, re-tucking them in at 11pm. Bringing your babies to the train station in the middle of their sleep for no reason is not exactly what you’d call a ‘fun family outing’ but they were totally cool about it.

Thankfully the railway allowed us to change our tickets to Friday night free of charge. Whew!

We had a great time playing together for a weekend in Fenghuang (literally, Phoenix), Hunan, China.

welcome aboard the open bunk car

this is the third bunk

mother bear successfully kept her two baby bears from falling off

father bear also succeeded in preventing preschooler bear from falling

hours of actual sleep negligible

then we transferred to an 80-minute tour bus up a mountain road to Fenghuang

the view was spectacular with rice paddies, deep river valleys and rural villages

the roads were under construction

it felt like Minnesota

anyway, Fenghuang, what a gorgeous old city

home of the Hmong ethnic minority

temporary quarters of a zillion Chinese tourists

(I did not expect it to be sooo touristy)

 

ginger candy, the local speciality

it's spicy but so tasty

the other unique local fare is snails and hot peppers in blood soup

declined to try

we did ride boats however

and walk all around that town

the little boys swam naked

all the other kids were swimming naked so we decided to follow suit

or rather, no suit

the water was not what you might call 'clean'

but that didn't stop us from living a little bit

there was some street style BBQ that also must not have been clean

because three hours later our bodies cast it out

and we felt much better after that

hundreds of Hmong grannies sell their crafts to tourists

I do not like to snap pictures of human beings as if they are zoo animals

but we talked with this beautiful Hmong grandma, more than 80 years old

she was so warm and nice to chat with

she reminded me a little of what I remember my Grandma Pauline to be like

I asked if we might take her photo

and I think she felt that we had given her dignity

the return bus ride was amusing or extremely frustrating, it could have gone either way

we decided to go with amusing

remember there was road construction?

a huge piece of equipment broke and blocked the road

the workers spent the rest of the day trying to direct traffic with zero organization

we're talking miles of backed up cars, dump trucks, and tour buses

turn off your engine and get out kinda traffic jam

big jam 2 occurred when a black sports car tried to pass a bus on a narrow bridge

that driver also won a place in the top five Life Moments When You Are a Complete Idiot

killin' some time before boarding the train

first there was lego fire truck assembly at a kfc dining table

then a couple hours at an indoor play area

Drew went nuts

One parting thought for those who are still listening to me jabber. I was unusually snippy with curious strangers. I guess I expected our little vacation to be free from folks forming conjectures amongst themselves about our children, free from folks grabbing our kids for a picture. In Changsha I can handle these situations with grace by engaging the gossipers and grabbers and building a connection based on our shared humanity, community and language. Suddenly we're no longer freaks but friends. However, in the cavalier tourist environment of Fenghuang, people seemed to have no inhibitions in talking about us (they must assume we can't understand...) and approaching us in a way that felt exceptionally rude. And I seemed to have no inhibitions about letting them know how annoyed I felt. I lashed out on a couple surprised violaters...sorry guys. The lesson: Expect increased bombardment while on vacation, and notch up the grace Rach.

Despite that, it was a fantastic time together! We enjoyed each other's company so much as we traveled, played and explored a new place.

Hey, let's go to Fenghuang tonight!

So. It's 9:06pm. In ten minutes we are waking up the kids, hailing a taxi to the station and boarding an overnight train to the old towne of Fenghuang on the western border of our province. The only tickets available this afternoon were open-bunk beds, on the third bunk. Stupid or adventurous? Your call. But no one can repudiate that this is an act of great spontaneity.

Catch up with you on Monday!

As Seen From My Kitchen Window

Sometimes, after the school bell rings, two lovers linger on the concrete slab below our apartment.

She appears almost prepubescent in a baggy school sweatsuit. He's thicker and older, casually dressed for university classes. They sit shoulder to shoulder while she takes supper from a carry-out box. Once she's through, he pulls her over, cups her face and kisses her. She shoves him back, whacks him, scolds him. But he knows she liked it. They linger and kiss, and kiss, with intermittent text messaging.

Among urban Chinese middle and upper-middle classes, it's unusual for a high schooler to date a college student. Any real dating in high school and college is uncommon. Students are much too busy preparing for high-pressure exams. They don't have expendable time, freedom, or cars. The most socially acceptable and common period for this demographic to seriously date is after college graduation. Even so there are exceptions.

She stands up and makes a few steps towards home. He catches her arm, pulls her around, tips her head back again. They advance along the street reluctantly, pausing every few strides for another kiss.

CRACKR phone

Next gen of the RAZR. Introducing the CRACKR phone.

C'mon laugh.
Or at least crack a little smile.
Get it? Crack, cracker...yeah ok. Have a great weekend everyone.

Occupied Tombs and Vacated Tomb

Yue-yue has got to be the nicest little girl in the neighborhood. Such likeable gal! She's about eight years old and stops by whenever. She's kind, polite, playful, great with the boys (she taught them how to play hide-and-seek), and talkative: "I just came back from my hometown. We went to worship Grandpa. We burned incense and things to send him. He died when I was two or three years old. My parents said he had a really tough life; he had to fight in a war even though he was sick."

Many people were spring-cleaning gravesites and venerating ancestors earlier last week for Tomb-Sweeping Festival. Since this holiday and Resurrection Day are both determined according to the lunar calendar, the two always coincide. It's an ironic juxtaposition of two holidays related to tombs, don't you think? 

Thursday morning, per the usual, the kids and I were at moms & kids group. We hunted eggs, it was rad. 

Saturday morning Drew was home and the sun was shining, so we explored the mountain. Why oh why did it take us eight months to appreciate the fact that there are acres of woods and miles of trails only 300 yards from our door? Magical wilderness, free of cars and filthy urban rubbish, our children love you and we will be back often.

Quarter-way up the mountain there's a watering hole. Folks fill empty plastic cooking oil jugs with mountain spring water, to go.

Tombs: first, wealthy person's tomb; below, middle-class tomb.

Everyone fell apart Saturday night. Drew was out all afternoon and evening for seeker English corner, then went directly to a late-night singing contest that two classmates were appearing in (somehow these things are unofficially required). Meanwhile Jonathon was regurgitating supper, Michael had diarrhea and refused to sleep until oh, 2am or so, Titus woke up screaming, everyone (that includes me) was crying, my sinuses were ready to blow. 

So I guess the Father didn't have it in mind for us to make it to celebration on Sunday morning. Drew was compelled to attend, for the Saturday English group always performs a song at Christmas & Easter, but the rest of us parked it at home. Bummer, cuz we've all grown to genuinely love the community at this place. But it's alright, we'll be together again next week.

p.s. everyone is ok now and the family has resumed functionality.

Searing Loss

Most -- meaning 'bridge' -- is a short Czech film. It's the story of deep love between a father and a son, and the agonizing pain of sacrifice. Two years ago Drew and I first saw a clip similar to the one posted below. Most has haunted me ever since, burned with the anguish and grief the Father experienced that day. 

how deep the father's love for us

how vast beyond all measure

that he should give his only son

to make a wretch his treasure

how great the pain of searing loss

the father turns his face away

as wounds which mar the chosen one

bring many sons to glory

- Stuart Townend, 1995

Dimes

All week Titus had been carrying around a pouch of Chinese dimes. He was gleeful when he first found them in coin tray high on the bookshelf. He and his dad calculated that he could buy 5.4 popsicles or 2.7 turns on the drugstore kids' ride. This morning on the bus Titus held the pouch with expectation.

There are many varieties of beggars. Some work the city buses in pairs. One person sings through a portable speaker while the other stumbles around entreating passengers for change.

Titus frowned at my suggestion, reticent. But his own eyes observed that Nai-nai was tired, hungry, worn, sick and bent. He knew that God had always given him more than he needed. He was confident that God would continue to care for him. He understood that helping somebody can mean that you suffer. Troubled, he considered everything. 

Then, Titus willed it; he released the pouch of dimes.

It is deeply fulfilling to coach a small child's heart.

Solomon Social Theory

A couple weeks ago a friend asked a friend asked a friend asked us if Titus could join other kids to make a short video for a popular variety show called Tian Tian Xiang Shang (天天向上). We agreed and took a cab out to the provincial TV station on a Saturday morning. Titus was more agreeable and relaxed than I expected. The blinding lighting was his biggest problem!

Click here to watch Titus. He appears at 2 minutes 50 seconds. Don't blink or you'll miss his one line, "I want to eat ice cream." And eat ice cream we did. We took the USD$32 paid to our small actor and promptly spent 25% of the earnings on a McDonald's lunch.

The next day we came across Lozzi Donuts opening day event. Coupons for free coffee abounded, so Drew happily seized the opportunity. The owner boss man saw our kids and had one of his minions pass on a message, "If we give you a bunch of free donuts, can we take pictures of your boys for our promotions?" It was a mutually beneficial situation, we agreed, and the boss and his minions did the paparazzi thing.

We're thankful for a chance to be on national television, thankful for McDonald's lunch and free donuts. Very thankful.

On the other hand, there's an unjust social phenomenon at work. This is postcolonial China. Western caucasian people are still treated with higher status. We are the 'haves'. We are the rich. We are the educated. The beautiful. We are sought out. We are idolized. Because we have, we are given more.

The 'have nots' labor and can't get ahead. They are poor. They are uneducated. They are ugly, if only because of their skin color. They are hidden. They are exploited. They have nothing, and what they do possess is taken from them.

Solomon social theory: 

The poor is hated even by his neighbor, but those who love the rich are many. (14:20) 

Wealth adds many friends, but a poor man is separated from his friend. (19:4) 

All the brothers of a poor man hate him; how much more do his friends abandon him! He pursues them with words, but they are gone. (19:7) 

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave. (22:7)

About one year ago, Drew and I began a transformation in attitude towards the poor. It was largely inspired by this lecture by Tim Keller. I would recommend listening to this recording more than any other piece of media. Listen! And listen twice or three times because it will require significant contemplation. Some of you may have read Generous Justice also by Dr. Keller; the content is similar.


I welcome your response to Tim Keller's lecture or my observations.

Hiking

Hi everyone. As promised, pictures and stories will resume in April. I'm looking forward to sharing some stories from March, beginning with a mountain hike from last week. Our campus is nestled on the south end of Yuelu Mountain -- a giant hill or small mountain that we have climbed many times before, but only from the main gate, never from the many small trails on all sides. A handful of Drew's classmates met near the student dorms, the gateway to a staircase leading all the way to the top. I suppose the hike took about 40 minutes, and Titus unexpectedly walked the entire way. Jon was on my back in a carrier, and Mike got passed around between Drew's and others' arms. At the top we walked another 40 minutes along the crest, finally pausing for lunch at the north end. It was a beautiful day and just the right degree of physical exertion. 

That's it for today! Another story next time.