January 1, 2011
It has been two years since I have been to China, but it feels as if I never left! It is so good to be back! The entire time on the plane, I just felt so strongly that this is what I am meant to do with my life right here, right now. China is my joy and purpose. I have been waiting, and it is finally HERE!
My motto while traveling is to expect the unexpected. Getting to Chengdu, we did not experience any real setbacks. As exhausted as I was, it was fun flying with my classmates—telling them stories of China, teaching them some Chinese words. My friend Devon now knows how to say "do you have a chocolate gift?" 你有没有巧克力礼物？Which I am sure he will find it of great utility in his cultural immersion. I sat by a Beijing guy on the plane today named Song Ran 宋冉 (his English name is Max). He was a grad student of environmental studies who studies tea in China. He was very talkative and insightful. We'll probably try to meet up again once I get to Beijing. He is my 缘分朋友 or lucky friend. I feel more at ease now knowing at least one other person in Beijing. When my J-term ends and my classmates go home, it will just be me. All by myself. On an adventure. It seems like he is the expert when it comes to tea, so perhaps I can discover where to find some of Beijing's best tea.
The hotel that we are staying at in Chengdu is called Xinglin杏林宾馆. We are going to go exploring today to find out exactly where in relation to everything else it is located so that I can get a better grasp of my surroundings. Hopefully I can still remember where things are and Chengdu hasn't changed that drastically. We got to the hotel around midnight and were so tired that we all just kind of crashed—but not before my roommate Liana and I tried unsuccessfully to get all the electricity and heating to work. The hotel staff was very responsive, which was quite surprising based on the schema I had developed from my last visit to China. They came within ten minutes and showed us how to get everything up and running. So far so good. J
So I have some goals for myself during this "adventure" as I like to call it:
1) Speak Chinese as much as possible. This means being outgoing and not being afraid to speak even if I feels like I am about to totally butcher what I am about to say.
2) Try new things. I am not just talking about strange cuisine. Don't be afraid to 入乡随俗 or when in Rome do as the Romans do. I plan on fully immersing myself in the Chinese culture. If I want to become fluent in Chinese one day, then I need to not only take on new Chinese words, but the culture surrounding those words.
3) See myself as a global citizen. I want to break down barriers between me and the Chinese. I'm not naïveté in pretending that I can erase racial and cultural differences, but just try to see myself as part of a bigger picture. No matter where you go in the world people are going to have the same hopes, fears, desires, and struggles. I want to see my Chinese friends on the human level, not based on our cultural differences. While these differences are important to understand, there are more important things. The world is a mission field and my life can be used for a greater good. I know that God has a plan for me in China, so I need to be willing to do His calling and never miss an opportunity.
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