This is it!
Sitting in the hotel lobby in Beijing just thinking back on this year of blogging. I hope it was alright!.. I mean, i feel kinda bad though because there were just so many things i couldn't talk about, so many things i didn't share.. but don't worry, I've got tons of pictures, journals, and lifelong memories coming home with me :)
Looking forward to seeing you soon!
Six. Ten.
Ten days until i get reunited with my friends and family in the US.
The sixth day is bitter.
The tenth day is sweet.
As I'm cleaning my apartment, filling up my schedule with appointments, saying last goodbyes, and taking a million pictures, I'm trying to wrap my mind around this whole experience.. Though, as i spoke with a student the other day she slipped in some valuable wisdom:
"Don't be sad that it's ending, but be glad it ever happened."
Amen.
And i am super glad! I hope and pray that you can sense the extent of my gratitude now and when i arrive back home. Even just a glimpse of that could be overwhelming! I just can't put it all into words!
I've seen lives transformed
I've watched relationships develop and mature
I've rejoiced at seeing broken hearts celebrate life
I've seen frowns turn upside down!! :D
I've witnessed rocks become fertile soil
I've been awed by watching a father come rescue his children
and.. I've felt privileged and honored to be a tool to bring faith, hope, and love.. and true JOY to these that have long been starved of it.
Please be remembering me as i finish this chapter and turn the page. I'm stoked to see what's next :)
...and now i leave you with some joyous quotes from my students:
"in the qing dynasty, the most important transportation was horse and garbage"
"i'm a warm-hearted woman, and i know what people think about"
"if i get married to him, i will form many mixed children and be happy to death!"
We're all still learning :)
Running..
..on fumes sometimes
.."just to catch myself!"
..for my life (on a rare occasion)
..and running, and running
I seem to be doing a lot of running lately! The year just seems to be wrapping up so quickly.. I can hardly believe how ten months has gone by. Looking back it seems like a cool breeze come and nearly gone yet stuffed with memories I don't think I'll ever forget.
Memories like this most excellent weekend!
-a sweet Friday afternoon with recent sprouts.. coaching, supporting, sharing.. growth
-Friday evening with teammates from Harbin, savoring western food downtown.. burritos. delicious
-early Saturday morning filming for a teammate's music video with students.. laughing, laughing, and missing them already
-Saturday afternoon with some students and teammates downtown window shopping, getting lost, hitting the arcade.. having fun with tongue twisters, eating traditional food, relaxing..
-and Saturday night at an internet cafe with (different) students getting destroyed by them in their favorite video games.. playing pool.. getting owned.
-a lovely Sunday morning talking to Rachel, sharing life, love.. enjoying every moment but anticipating the future :)
-recording more of the music video Sunday afternoon, observing more of Chinese culture, seeing friends off, being stared at constantly, riding taxis, reminiscing..
-and this Sunday afternoon having a picnic with an entire class of mine.. fruit salad with tomatoes and mayonnaise, performances, jokes, and TONS of photos.. bittersweet
-Sunday dinner with a few of my closest students and friends.. great food, friendship..
-Sunday night of fellowship with my bros and sisters, always a joy, always refreshing.. renewal
This is just three days. Although my last ten months haven't been as stacked as this weekend was, they've been continually marked with similar blessings. Learning, Loving, Living.. for Him and by Him. It's more than I deserve! Hear my words: He reigns, He can be trusted, He is worthy, He is knocking, You can answer, He will enter, Your soul with thirst no more..
Now it seems He's starting up a light show in the sky tonight, so I'm gonna go enjoy it :)
Peace
Quick Update
Just wanted you to know there will be an update coming this week.. new entry, some pictures from our Youth Retreat this past weekend, and maybe some more interesting facts or humorous quotations :D
Love, Chris
Did you know…?
…that in China, McDonald’s and KFC both deliver? Truth. Imagine the possibilities!
…that my most common form of transportation here in China is a three-wheeled taxi? It’s a little tipsy. (The driver might be too)
…that SpongeBob is starting to really make it big here in China? It took him a little while, but he finally made it to the Middle Kingdom... but don’t worry there’s still room for you too, Backstreet Boys!
…that this weekend is China’s labor day weekend? My students are all calling it “Mayday Holiday”. Did you also know that China has what are called “Golden Weeks” which are annual 7-day (paid) national holidays? “National Holiday” (when I went to Changbai Mountain) and “Spring Festival” (My winter vacation) are both Golden Weeks… and “Mayday” used to be as well until 2007. In the words of my students... “what a pity” but at least I still get a day off!
…that somewhere in each province there is a big old switch that they flip on and off for the heat (north of the Yellow River at least) for that entire province (or at least for each city)? I think they flipped it off in March. It snowed in April. That’s life!
…that there is a chain business that owns buildings packed with private rooms you can rent to sing karaoke all night long with your students to their heart’s content? This wonder of China is called KTV. It might be difficult to imagine… but it’s easier to find a KTV in China than it is a McDonald’s in America. It’s just that popular!
…that I’m going to be in America on June 22nd and in New Jersey in the morning on the 23rd?? Getting excited to see you all!!
…that I’ve eaten dog meat? Yep. Never again. It’s man’s best friend not man’s best meal.
…that I joined the Kite club at my school? Well, they haven’t called me yet, but I’m pretty sure I’m on the roster
…that I’m about to end this post? And that I miss you all very much?? I hope you know that! Feel free to email me anytime! Chris.wichert at elic.org!
It's time to put the wheels back on my skateboard..
..and the sun is beginning to come back to the bitter north of China! HURRAY!
In other words, Spring is definitely coming! I can say it for sure this time, especially looking at the forecast. Mid 40's and low 50's by the end of the week!
In some ways Spring is already here. New life is beginning to pop up all over the place:
Hearts are being softened.. seeds sown last semester are beginning to sprout.. rebirth is evident.. broken relationships are being restored..
The grass is growing too!.. well, after the school burns it all.
Oh, China.
Taiwan --> Thailand --> Taiwan. Am I lost?
No!.. wow. Dude, no way! Quite the contrary actually! But it wasn’t without wading through a pretty extensive period of confusion in the proverbial valley, that is for sure.
Let me explain. Buckle your seatbelt.
After visiting Hong Kong I planned to go to Taipei, Taiwan to see Rachel (my lovely ladyfriend ;-) ). I was pretty excited, but I’m not gonna lie.. we had a pretty tough semester.. so, I was anticipating resolution to some issues and clarity on where we were in our relationship. To spare you from a day’s worth of reading, I’m going to flash forward through our week together and just say this: I was walking blindly and acted pretty selfishly and stupid throughout my time there and, even though I felt like I was saying what needed to be said, I was neither resolving any of our issues or receiving clarity for our relationship. So then what was I feeling? What was all of that ridiculousness? A friend put it this way.. ‘you are distracted.’
At first I thought.. “What? What do you mean? I’ve focused so much attention on this relationship, figuring it out, trying to invest in it.. How could you say that I’m distracted?”
Then it hit me.
Sometimes I’m a real idiot.
Sometimes I feel like I can hear something a dozen different times and still it doesn’t sink in (even though I think that I know it).. until I experience and learn it for myself. Maybe that’s just the way it is. Hmm, let me put it this way. You may have heard me say this before, but it’s really becoming quite significant in my life lately.. that is, there is a huge difference between knowledge and understanding. How many times do you think I’ve heard, “apart from Me you can do nothing”? (How many times do you think you’ve heard it?) Yet how many times do I find myself ‘working’ in my own strength? A lot. Unfortunately, at this point in my relationship with Rachel, I think I had been traveling down that road for quite some time already… and had never realized it. The truth is we really can’t do anything apart from Him. I can’t lead a good relationship, I can’t teach a university class with an air traffic degree, I can’t survive in China, I can’t be a good friend, I can’t lead a good life… apart from the grace and mercy that is freely given from the Father. Freely given. But a gift can be rejected or, in my case, neglected. That is NOT good. When I can do NOTHING apart from the One who has freely offered me His guidance and ultimately His salvation, and I choose to neglect it.. well, that’s just foolishness. Yeah, I suppose you can say I was distracted. That’s the nice way to say it.. because when something so significant is neglected.. it’s so much more than a big deal.
Hehe, which leads me to how I just wanna say our Father is just so GOOD! I am and will be eternally surprised by the fact that He is so forgiving and gracious to not only walk us through these times.. but in the end to brush off the dirt of our misdeeds, point us in the right direction, and then.. haha.. He KEEPS WALKING WITH US. Listen, if you don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, and you’ve made it this far through this message.. I want you to please write me an email. I want you to know that this life is a gift, and this Father of mine is extending the same gift to you, and no matter who you are or how over/under-qualified you think you are, you need Him and He is waiting for you.
Phew! Hmm, I think I’ll leave that there. Like I said, you can email me anytime if you have any questions.
So yeah! That’s where I was.
This revelation came during my time in Thailand at our annual conference. [I hope to write a bit more about the conference in another message, or maybe more likely in my newsletter, so keep an eye out for that.] But it didn’t just come and go. Long story short, I had begun to realize how my relationship wasn’t the only aspect of my life being affected by my distraction. The moment I began to intentionally open my ears to the HS again, His peace flooded back in.. and what a peace it was. I ended up being led away from my original plan of going to the beach (where I had originally thought I would ‘sort out all my issues’ (again, neglecting all that I knew)) and instead was led back into the possibility of seeing Rachel again. Peace, peace, peace! If I never knew what it was like to experience peace before, I sure know now! Again, long story short.. (maybe I’ll write another entry just about that story, haha) .. I ended up going back to Taiwan to see Rachel, this time with a totally different frame of mind. What happened? How did it go? One word: Restoration. An abundance of restoration. Undeserved favor for our relationship just poured all over us in such a fresh and revitalizing way. What was the difference? Christ. Center, Vision, Focus.. AHHHH! He is just so good!
I realize that I really didn’t tell you anything about Taiwan or Thailand in this entire post. But then I thought.. well.. I mean you can see most of that stuff in the pictures. I think that this stuff here is what really matters.. This is really what’s going on.. This is what is really significant..
This is my God. He’s the real deal.
We are loved.
I wanted my next blog entry to be about going to see Rachel in Taiwan, my time in Thailand, and then my return to Taiwan, but on my way home tonight.. (yeah, i just got back to Changchun the other day.. sorry, there's a lot i haven't been able to update you with lately for one bad reason or another. will you forgive me?)
ANYWAY
Tonight as i walked home through campus (which is practically entirely deserted at the moment) i was just struck by the silence and serenity of my surroundings. For the last two months I've been running and running and, while I saw many sights all around east China and Thailand, I just gradually began to grow numb to the whole experience. The noise around me was getting louder and louder (spiritually, literally, figuratively, probably all of the above) and it became tiring.
Now.. there's a lot in there i'm leaving out purposefully.. and i don't want you to think i consider my entire trip a noisy and tiring experience because that's simply not true. It's just that the contrast between the extent of the noise and the depth of the stillness i experienced tonight was absolutely profound.
The stars.. shining but still, the clean and cool air softly moving by, the serenity of a snow covered campus, the silence.. and yet, even though I was probably the only one out there within a long distance, i didn't feel alone. It's times like these i feel the most clear sense of purpose. Just look around! Who am i that i would be blessed with this simple experience tonight? Heck, who am i that i get to come to China? Who am i that i would have such great parents, such a wonderful girlfriend, and loving friends? Who am i that i deserve anything at all that i've been given? Who am i to think even for a moment that i know what's best for my life? Who am i? And who are we that we should receive forgiveness and grace and love everlasting? Who are we that, in spite of this, we reject the giver? Who are we that, in light of that, we are still offered salvation freely? Who are we? Is this what we rightfully deserve or have earned? No. These are gifts. Blessings. Love. It's grace.
It's in these moments that it's clear.
We are loved.
Shanghai, eh. Hong Kong, AMAZING!
) wasn't that bad.. but it really wasn't that great either. Let me give a little context though.. Bye bye Beijing, Hello Shanghai!
Wow Chris, did you forget about your blog?
Three posts in three days?!
Student 1: when do you sleep
Me: maybe within an hour or so
Student 1: I AM GOING TO HAVE LUNCH WITH YOU
Me: Oh yeah? when?
Student 1: YES
Student 2: it is so late .why do not you go to bed?
Me: i'm waiting up for a friend in america
Me: we are going to have a chat tonight
Me: it's much earlier in america
Student 2: oh it is good to have a talk with a friend from motherland
Me: yes it is :)
Student 2: he he.that's a truth
Me: how are you?
Student 3: FINE,WHAT ARE YOU DOING ? IT'S SO LATE
Me: i know, i'm waiting up for a friend from america to come online
Me: we're going to have a chat
Student 3: O THAT'S GREAT
Student 3: WE'LL CUT THE ELECTRICITY LATER
I love em :)
The two other posts below this one are also brand new! Let me know what you think!!
Not gonna lie, this is a freaking huge post.
Hey! So I mentioned in my last post some things that stuck out in my head from November. I want you to know first and foremost that I WISH I could tell you everything that is happening here… But honestly I either can’t or it would just be too much writing! There are things happening constantly here and it’s difficult for me to select just a few things to characterize my month. In fact, I’m not so sure those previous three things really characterized my month at all. I just want you to have an idea of what’s been happening or what’s been on my mind lately.
With that said, there are three specific events that stand out in my mind when I think of November: The youth retreat, our “university visit” to get a vision for next year, and of course… Thanksgiving!
Retreat
So the youth retreat… man, what an awesome opportunity! It was such a blessing to be a part of. I have a friend named Megan who’s studying Chinese downtown and leading a youth group on Friday nights for kids whose parents are either working here in Changchun or teaching English. Anyway, she mentioned she was looking for someone to lead music so I jumped on it! Now you have to understand that this is not Lake Champion... and we had no format/template to help get us started. Megan literally put together this whole retreat from the bottom up. That included finding a convention center/hotel to stay at, getting food and drinks for six meals for 20’ish people, having a speaker, having counselors for the students, putting games together, having skits, getting everything for a surprise campfire, having a theme and theme verse, making a poster, getting t-shirts, making a devotional book, having music for worship, bring a projector, come up with the money to pay for all of this, and having enough energy to keep up with all the students. By grace alone everything came together perfectly! I have never felt so encouraged with the father’s faithfulness than during that weekend. The entire weekend was also financed completely by donation. AMAZING!
Everything about the retreat went well, but the content was what was really great… a fellow teammate was really blessed in bringing the messages for the weekend. The theme came from Eph 5:1-2, "Be imitators of the Father...” and so the question for the weekend was, "Who are you imitating?" The focus of the four sessions then turned into how we are called to be imitators of Him. Everyone from the youngest kid to the oldest leader was challenged by the word that was brought. Honestly, I thought it was one of the best retreats I’ve been a part of in regards to the student’s actions and attitudes. They were so good the whole time… a group of students between 11 and 18 representing New Zealand, Germany, the US, Korea, and the Philippines got along so well with each other. --- As I write this I’m struck with how this is exactly how fellowship is supposed to work. It shouldn’t matter where we’re from or how old we are… We’re all to be united under One. This youth group was a great example of that truth. (that was the abbreviated version of the retreat, if you’d like to know more just send me an email or Skype me, and I’ll gladly get more detailed J )
Thanksgiving! Awesome! Delicious…
In a nutshell here it goes: Each year people from my organization get together with other people in their local regions for a Thanksgiving festivity of sorts. This year’s festivities lasted from Friday night into Saturday evening… but wait, you observant types are wondering, “well, what did you do on THURSDAY!? You know, ACTUAL Thanksgiving??” I ate Chinese food at a karaoke restaurant, that’s what I did. When’s the last time you had Chinese food at a karaoke restaurant on thanksgiving? Don’t be hatin… we had some good eats. We even had Chinese mashed potatoes. Lol… anyway, so we didn’t really celebrate Thanksgiving on the actual day, we saved it for the regional celebration that weekend.
The celebration started on Friday as a “welcome to Changchun” type deal where we got together for snacks and games. I was in charge of putting together the games, so I remembered last year or the year before when we played that team Pictionary/taboo style game at the inC Christmas dinner and how fun it was, so we did that using Thanksgiving words instead of Christmas songs. It was a lot of fun but got even better when it turned into charades… imagine doing a charade for something like the Mayflower or Green Bean Casserole. Goooooood times! J
Anyway, Saturday we moved into the real traditional thanksgiving realm. Football is obviously a cultural must whether you watch it or play it… so we decided to play. First we all bundled up in our warmest clothes (I think it was in the 10’s/20’s that day) and then we 20 people or so set out to find a suitable place to play. Well… the field was taken… so we figured the frozen lake was our next best choice! Don’t worry, Mom… we tested it, and look I’m still alive! J The ice was a good choice for space, but not so good for the ability to play football effectively… especially with rubber shoes with no tread. Let’s just say that for me it was more like un-choreographed figure skating than football, although I did manage to catch the ball from time to time before sliding ten feet to a stop. One of my favorite parts was when we got together for a group picture and after a few moments standing together we heard a real deep sounding crack below us... No worries it didn’t actually break, it just cracked a little. I guess putting 20 something adults together in the middle of a frozen lake is a good example of something to avoid when walking on said frozen lake. (ok just so I don’t get a hundred ‘serious’ emails.. this lake was being used as a walkway for students for weeks. It’s also only a couple feet deep and it’s been below freezing for several weeks now)
MOVING ON! This is gonna be the most immense blog post ever. Sorry, thanks for reading though.
The pictures from the feast pretty much speak for themselves. Everyone had to bring a dish of food or contribute in some way to the overall feast. I didn’t end up making anything, but pitched in to help some others get their dishes. I was really happy with how it went… of course, I didn’t really eat a whole lot though because I was leading some music after our dinner and I always seem to lose my appetite before I play. Dunno why… kind of a bad day for that to happen on, right?? Seriously! Oh well, I had leftovers afterwards, and there were plenty J The rest of the night was filled with great fellowship that just really reminded me of home, family/friends, and how grateful I am for all my friends/family from home and my new friends/family here. I felt totally filled that night… physically, mentally, spiritually, emotionally, everything. I’m so thankful that we could still celebrate Thanksgiving even though we were all the way over on the other side of the planet. Ok... last topic, hang in there! This visit was pretty thought provoking and I hope to capture at least a piece of that in this post.
University Visit
Just last week our team got a chance to go visit a local university and Chinese learning program that are both a part of the same organization as we are. The idea is to get an idea of some potential exit strategies out of my current program. Of course, this raises some huge questions about my future… for instance, “will I stay in China?” “will I go home?” “what will I do if I go home?” “what will I do if I stay here?”… So many thoughts with so many unanswered questions. But you know what? It’s ok. Why? Because one year ago today I was in exactly the same spot. I remember asking myself similar questions about life after graduation. I also remember some advice from friends… “You’ll know when you know.” HAH! You read this and think, wow, that’s some pretty lame advice. At first I thought so too, but in retrospect I stand corrected. It’s true! At the point where I needed to know, I knew. That’s it. Now I’m in China and I know that I’m supposed to be exactly where I am right at this moment. These emotions, this state of mind, these circumstances… it’s all been planned ahead of time and I’m becoming more and more confident in the planner as I let go more control and trust that he’s faithful. However, in my human nature I still wish at times that he would just throw down the whole blueprint to my life and I could just get a glimpse … But is that really what I want? Maybe it seems nice in this moment, but when I look back on past uncertainties I can boldly say that I am GLAD that I didn’t know the plan at those moments. Sometimes you know ahead of time what’s up, sometimes you don’t. It’s so much easier said than done… but when walking through a valley I think it’s encouraging to look back at the mountain behind you and remember the flight out of the valley that preceded it. In the same was you were lifted before, you will be lifted again. It’s a matter of faith, and every day here challenges what little morsel I have… but what a blessing it is to know that my amount of faith has no bearing on his faithfulness to his promises.
So where does that leave me? Uncertain about what will happen next year? Sure. But... hopeless, scared, or defeated? No, no and definitely no. Though the waves toss me, I trust in the hope he’s promised. I’m going to follow whatever piece of the plan is put out in front of me, and if there’s nothing there then God help me I’m going to wait on him.
“He, who has called us into relationship with His son, is faithful”
That’s no-shave November in 1,817 words. It could have been longer… believe me. I wish I could capture life here better for you, but you’re just gonna have to trust me when I say it’s been the most challenging and life-changing four months of my life without a doubt. Thank you for being a part of me being here and for providing your thoughts, consideration, and finances.
Anyway, time for December!! Christmas is right around the corner!! J J
I can smell Christmas from here!
Wow it’s December already, and I only posted one blog during November. My apologies! Let me give you a brief rundown of November.
First off, this November was no-shave November for some of us here, so if you see any recent pics of me you’ll notice a little somethin somethin growin on my chinny chin chin. It was a journey for sure.. Take a look! The whole time my students were constantly asking me, “Mr. Chris.. when are you going to shave?” and my response was continually that I was determined to make it to December. Here I am now, December first, and after walking into class today (not having shaved yet) my students immediately felt the need to inform me that it was December and I was allowed to shave now, so why didn’t I?!?? Hahahaha, good times. I don’t think they like how I look with a beard. *shrug* I have no preference one way or the other.
What else, let’s see.. Oh, November also began our adventures in the snow! Earlier in the month we had a huge snow that lasted for a couple of days. It was super sweet! This was the first time I’ve seen snow before December since I was in high school (Oh Daytona.. a bit too warm) and because of that it was actually pretty exciting! I’m used to showing up at home and finding a ton of snow on the ground, but I haven’t been able to watch it accumulate for seemingly quite a while. Sounds pretty lame when I say it on here, but it was totally neat to watch all the colors of fall get washed out by the pureness of winter.
Oh yeah, we took the wheels off some skateboards and went ‘snowskating’ too. If I could bruise (I swear, I haven’t seen one on me yet) I imagine that I would have been very bruised after that day :P
One last thing (not event related... my next post will be event related) is in regards to my students. If there’s one significant aspect of growth between my students and I this month, it’s been the authenticity/genuineness of our relationships. The students definitely still see me as their teacher, but I’m also beginning to get a strong sense of the friendship that many of the students would like to have. There’s a least a handful (handful of students? Haha, whatev, you know what I mean) of students with whom I spend a large part of my time interacting whether it be through text messaging, lunch meetings, after class time, or ‘random’ meetings around campus. I think I’ve gotten past the “oh my goodness, you’re foreign so I want to be your friend” stage with most of them, so it’s easy to see the ones who are really interested in who I am as a person rather than just the stereotype identity I was tagged with when I got here. I’m sure it didn’t help the situation that I performed that backstreet boys song for all the students when we got here. I guess I didn’t know any better… but I know that the father has used MY undue ‘popularity’ for HIS purposes, and for that I’m SO grateful.
What I want and what I need
More of him and less of me
Less and less of this cruel world…
… and more and more of eternity
Thoughts
I like it here!
I like riding the light rail downtown, watching the buildings fly by, and trying to figure out what random people are doing. I like the taxi rides that leave you wondering if there are ANY rules on the road at all. I like the “floor-mat” pads they put on the seats in the dining hall... you know, so your butt doesn’t freeze off. I like looking up from what I’m doing only to find that someone has been shamelessly ‘investigating’ me the whole time. I like how KFC, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut are considered so much ‘higher-class’ than they are in America. I like how the air is clean in Changchun, and although the weather is cold, it could be so much worse. I also like living on a team that reminds me of home... and with that said…
I really do miss home.
I miss my parents and their antics (haha J ) I miss waking up to the noise of my brother Pete “fixing” something in the driveway. I miss the smell of exhaust flooding the house (Pete) and the drama that always ensues shortly after (Mom). I miss my girlfriend Rach. I miss every one of my friends.. and all of them for different reasons. I miss VVC and the feeling of belonging there. I miss driving (!!!!) down the road with the windows down, heat blasting, and Hillsong booming out the stereo. I miss Italian food. I miss mowing grass or cleaning the pool at Liebenzel. And seriously, I really do miss my mom! Hehe J but…
I really do love it here..
I love listening to students try to explain something so complex with their limited English ability. I love the “I get it!” look staring back at me when I’m teaching. I also love the “I have no idea what is coming out of your mouth” look as well.. and the challenge that it presents. I love that people here are so inquisitive about who I am and why I’m in China. I love that my students really care about improving their English ability. I love that things are so much different than I anticipated. I love that I’ve been blessed with the ability to teach with so little training. I love that even when I fail, His love is strong, His mercy remains, and His grace is enough. I love that these truths are constant no matter where I find myself.
…
..I also love instant coffee now. Wha??
What a weekend!
I can't wait to see what tops this weekend.. because it's gonna have to be pretty good!
I'm gonna keep it short and sweet for update's sake:
-Sunday was my birthday, but on Saturday some of the ladies took me to get a massage (course, they couldn't resist getting their own as well! :) at this totally legit place. My back and legs felt like jelly when i left. It was beautiful. Thanks ladies!!
-Sunday comes and i wake up to my parents with a cake in hand singing me happy birthday over Skype.. (love you guys, that was awesome).. then my team took me down to the local park (the same one previously mentioned in my blog) and we chowed down, hiked up to the top of a big hill with a sick looking building on top, rang a bell 22 times, did some parcore (the office?), played soccer/ultimate/football, had a private airshow flying overhead, and even had a kid give me a 20ft long tree. It was like he knew it was my birthday!.. no seriously though he did drag a 20ft tree out of the woods and dropped it at my feet as if to say, "hey, this is for you!" Excellent times!
-Also, the Yankees won. I think someone told them it was my birthday! (side note: coming to China has really attracted a bizarre interest in the "great american pastime" known as baseball.. and naturally i gravitated towards the yankees. file your complaints with my secretary)
-Next came dinner! There’s this sweet thing here called hotpot that’s real tasty. Basically you get a mini stove-like thing that has a bowl with some soupy type substance in it that you bring to a boil. Everyone has one of these things. Next you get plates full of uncooked foods (vegetables, meats, noodles, etc) and you take stuff off the plates and put it in your little “hot pot” and cook it yourself. The cool thing is that the soupy substance in the pot can be flavored, for instance, I got spicy curry flavored soupy stuff.. so all of my food had a spicy currylike taste to it. We had mushrooms, potatoes, beef, noodles, cabbage, lettuce, etc etc.. and peanut sauce to dip it all in once it was done cooking. Delicious is all I gotta say. Google it for more info. The best part about the place is that the uncooked food is actually served on little trains that sail around the restaurant. I’m not really too sure how it works, I was too focused on eating.. but we would just take plates of veggies or noodles off the train and then as we finished our waiter would tally up the cost of what we were eating. This is probably a pretty poor description of the whole experience. Truly sorry. What’s important is that it was super delicious!
-After we got back we had fellowship which is always great! My teammates also got me a sweet little Chinese piggy bank and a ton of change to start putting in it, as well as some chewing gum and leftover mooncakes (haha.. so many mooncakes). Thanks guys!! I will treasure my swin.. piggy bank forever! J
-Then last but not least, after fellowship my new friend Dan and I were able to convince the masses to play a game of manhunt on our campus.. it was 10pm, cold, a little wet with lots of tile (slippery) areas, but above all else it was totally fun and definitely worth it! Totally brought back the good old days of playing around the Knob Hill area when I was younger.. Oh man, “those were the good old days” (never thought I’d see the day where I’d say it, but it’s true!) We even played twice which was a total treat. GOOD TIMES!
-After manhunt I slept. And it was a glorious sleep.
I write this today and think.. man, that was a great birthday! Definitely #1 or #2 hands down. It was just amazing to spend the whole day with such great people doing fun things. To add icing to the cake, my students were texting me happy birthday all throughout the day and letting me know how they wish they could be celebrating with me.. So great.
My first birthday in China and it was more than I could have ever anticipated! Thanks so much Team Changchun! And thank you so much to everyone who sent me birthday wishes and blessings. Loved it all!
Part 2: Read, you, these stories two! (read part 1 below!)
I’m realizing that title is some bizarre blend of Monty Python and Yoda.. or something. Strange. I must be hungry! I’ll make this post quick so I can go eat some lunch.
So, like I mentioned in the Intro post, this update serves to detail a couple of stories from the trip to Changbaishan. If you haven’t read the other post yet, hit the back button on your browser, scroll down, and click the post titled “Intro: Over the river, through the woods, and up the mountain!”
…
I guess you’ve read it? K, here we go then.
First, we didn’t really get to see the fabled and mysterious lake on top of the mountain.. well, I did, but only for a few moments. You see, when we arrived at the top after our RIDICULOUS trek to the top (that’s the second story), not only was it -7C but it was super windy, snowing, and cloudy as well. Bummer you say? I say nay. The mountain had some mysterious element about it as soon as we arrived.. and getting to the top of the mountain only to have it shrouded in cloud only added to my first impression. It was actually really exciting to stand on the edge of the lake with a hundred Chinese peering into the thick white, as if watching for an approaching enemy.. waiting.. for that break in the clouds where the mystery would finally be revealed.. And one time it actually did! And what thrill it was!!! As the clouds started fading away, out of the crowd came this excited “oooooOOOOOOHHHH!!!!!!” The sky continued to clear and then, at last, the pristine lake came into view..
Amazing.. That's North Korea on the other side of the lake
..for about three seconds, then it was gone again.
Same view, more clouds
But it was really intense nonetheless! I stood there for another 10-15 minutes “waiting, wishing” for another glimpse, but it didn’t come. Oh well! :D At least I got to see it for a few seconds at all. Some of my teammates missed the chance I was blessed with, which kinda stinks.. so they didn’t get to see much at all. But that’s what the camera is for, right?
Alright now for story number two which actually takes place before story number one. I saved the best for last (in my opinion).
Ok so when you arrive at the mountain.. it looks kinda like this:
The bottom
Yeah, you’re at the bottom. How do you get to the top? Nooop, no chairlifts. Haha, on second thought, I think a chairlift would be quite treacherous. Ok.. so then how does it work? Well, it involves about 100 of these guys:
The ride.
Basically, you wait in a “line” (ala livestock drive, imagine much smashing into one another with pushing just without the animal noises.. at least until I started making them :P ) for about 15 minutes, and then you’re ushered to one of those SUVs which take you up a “mountain road” that leads to the summit where you can see the lake
Now, I say “mountain road” because it’s only that by definition.. but in reality it’s more like a rally course (asphalt hill climb, anyone?). Then again, I only call it a rally course because the drivers treat it as though it were one. At this point, if you haven’t watched the video.. you need to go onto my front page and watch the first two videos on the list (up the mountain: part 1 and 2). That’ll give you a better idea of what I was talking about, but even then it’s just not the same as actually being there. Ok.. I’ve been around some corners really fast (right, Pete? lol) and I’m not exaggerating when I say I doubt you have ever taken a corner like this before. I’ve watched my videos and unfortunately they only really give you a taste of what it was truly like. I’m not kidding. Some of you might be saying, “Eh, I’ve taken some serious corners before,” well let me say, “have you ever taken them around corners where the only thing between you and a 2000ft cliff edge is a short guard rail?” Oh and that’s not all.. Remember, we’re taking these corners fast enough to throw you around in the backseat, we’re in an SUV, AND we’re on a two lane road with no shoulder where there are SUVs doing the same thing in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION at almost every turn. Is it getting clearer now? J
I was just completely shocked that something like this would be deemed safe enough to do day in and day out. One of my friends who speaks Chinese spoke with one of the drivers and found out that they go up and down the mountain on average of about 50 times each day, and it takes about 10-15 minutes to get to the top. It would have kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time if I wasn’t already struggling to stay in my seat to begin with, haha.
So yeah, that’s the ridiculous part. A couple other interesting tidbits:
-It started snowing about halfway up, but that didn’t change our driver’s aggressiveness
-Our driver on the way up had techno blasting the whole time, just like a rally racing video game! Maybe he thought it was a game? He was definitely driving as though it was.. although I must say, he was QUITE skilled at this “game.” Good thing he didn’t lose?..
-I would have paid just to ride up the mountain all over again. Twice.
He even looks pro!
Hope all is well at home J Miss you guys..
Remember you can email me at chris.wichert@elic.org if you’d like to talk, or you can add a comment under this post.
I love getting your emails and comments, thank you for sending them!
Part 1 (read me first!): Over the river, through the woods, and up the mountain!
I have returned from the mountaintop! What an awesome experience.. though it was not what I anticipated at all. Then again, what HAS been as I expected while I’ve been in China? That’s right, nothing! Haha J Of course most of the time I’ve been surprised in a good way, the rest of the time in a confusing way... fortunately never usually in a bad way.
Ok anyway, for those of you just reading here for the first time, I recently had a week long holiday break for the 60th Anniversary of the PRC. Naturally, we decided to use our freedom to explore our majestic new homeland.. first stop being the acclaimed and mysterious Changbai Mountain located to the SE. Speaking of location, hehe.. Its so far southeast that half of the mountain is technically a part of North Korea. Interesting, ey? I thought so too! J Don’t worry, it’s safe.. I mean, I made it home right?
“So how’d it go? What’d ya see?”
A lot of things! The trip was PACKED with random little hilarious things (as usual) like the following:
-Our tour guide made group on the bus sing a song over the bus’s intercom system. We sang America the Beautiful and We Will Rock You, Hahaha (oh man, it’s making me cry just thinking of it.. haha).
-We get to the hotel and find out we were given three rooms with two twin beds in each, which would be fine if we had 6 people. ..But we had 12, haha! We also had an uneven amount of guys and girls (7 and 5 respectively) so the five girls were actually planning on all going in one room and sleeping on two twins put together! HAH! We men were going to bite the bullet and double-up in each twin... but just as we’re figuring out who’s going to ‘spoon’ who (hilarity in and of itself), the girls come in and say “there’s no way this is right, we’ve gotta talk to the manager.” Cliffnotes: we end up switching our rooms so everyone got a bed. Good times
-(kind of hilarious, kind of painful) The trip to the mountain, like any other trip to a respectable mountain (I guess), involved about 1 hour of nice highways followed by 7 hours of what’s now dubbed “back-road-bouncing!” Let’s just say that it was common to wake up while you were airborne, only to slam back down on the seat and sprain your butt (possible? Yes), or sometimes the bus would already be bouncing back up to meet you while you’re on the way down from the last launch (ouch?). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like sprained buttage, but I actually had a pretty good time flying around in the back of the bus.
This is where I digress: I feel like so many things happen here that would NORMALLY be pretty annoying or frustrating in the States but, for whatever reason, I find they’re actually quite enjoyable or entertaining in China!
Ok what else. Oh my goodness so many. This might have to have two parts.
But anyway, I’m not gonna talk about too much of the stuff that you can just simply see in pictures or videos. Basically, I’m not gonna talk much about how beautiful, majestic, mysterious, or cold it was, because I think you can kinda get the point from all the aforementioned media that you can find on the front page of my blog on the right-hand side (scroll down past the guestbook, after you sign it of course J )
That’s it for this post. The one that will appear above this one (the next post I submit) will be the one that has two specific stories from the journey in it. Enjoy!!
China 1, America 0: Cell Phones
The First Week of Teaching! A Review
That’s right! I’ve finally started my freshmen classes as of last week! J What a ride... At times it’s been both fun and challenging, frustrating yet exciting, and sometimes even pretty Salty!
I wish I had updated this throughout the week because there are TONS of different stories I’d like to write about. What I’ve decided to do is split some of those stories up into different posts so that the task is less daunting for you to be updated. So stay tuned!! I’ll post one later this evening, and then every day after until I leave on vacation! J Oh yeah… vacation, I think I forgot to mention that earlier. Before I digress too much, I’m realizing there are a couple of things I failed to mention in regards to what in the world is going on with me at the moment. Let me just briefly address a few from the past that have already happened, and a few from the future which will happen soon:
What’s Happened
1. Another performance of “I Want It That Way” (video of first performance on the bottom of my blog’s homepage) for the entire freshman class (mistake? Dan would say so. Why? I’ll describe what “unwanted fame” means to me in a future post.)
2. I was one of the “Question Masters” at an English speech competition hosted at our school.
3. My English Corner attendance just tripled. Literally! Many new opportunities to make friends!
What’s Coming Up
1. October Holiday (60th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China)
2. Sightseeing!.. which I’ll detail a bit below
3. “Some time with the father and a mental vacation” –Toby Mac, Gotta Go
Ok, so sightseeing.. what's that? One week of teaching and then we get a week off! Hahaha, my kind of job… Anyway, “where ya headed” you ask? Well, a group of us have decided to go to this place called Changbaishan (click the word to get more information). In a few words, Changbaishan is supposed to be an incredibly cold yet beautiful place to visit if you ever get the chance… aaaand, we have the chance, so we’re going! :D I’ll be bringing my camera, so expect oodles and oodles of new photos as soon as I return!
I am not a teacher by trade, yet this is where I believe I’ve been called to... and more than ever, after this past week of classes, I’ve seen how the father is using me in my weakness, my inadequacy, to bring something meaningful and new to this campus.
If you’re reading this and you are, like me, letting go of the controls in lieu of someone more creative and wise… be encouraged! He who began a great work in you will be faithful to carry it on until the day we finally meet Him face to face.
Anyway, stay tuned for some fresh stories this week! J
Just a little man trying to fit in the plan..
Chris
...for me!?!?
"Well.. if you give me fifty yuan i'll get you in for free"
"I am the teacher!"
One down, six to go!
The Great Wall of China!
What an awesome experience! It's more than a week later and I’m still in awe that I was on the wall! Where to even begin... Well, here's a start! You MUST go to my gallery at http://picasaweb.google.com/ZWisto and view the Great Wall album immediately. As they say, pictures speak a thousand words, and I don't have nearly enough room nor do you have nearly enough patience I’m sure to read my descriptions of all of these photos... You'll find that they speak volumes for themselves.
As far as my own reaction goes... I was incredibly surprised by the fact that the Mongolians would even try to cross a mountain pass so steep! As you look at my album towards the middle/end you'll begin to get a better idea of what I mean... These guys must have been pretty determined!! So determined that the Chinese knew they needed to build a wall all the way up the side of the freaking mountain, haha! Around picture number 32-34 or so you'll get a clear idea of the angle at which the wall is scaling the mountain. I'm not sure exactly, but it had to be about 40 degrees of an incline +/- a few degrees at some points. Absolutely ridonkulous!! Then, as soon as I’m totally in shock about how steep the thing is, I think back to those crazy Mongolians who were trying to get by this wall a couple thousand years ago! I suppose that's why they just ended up bribing the Chinese guards to get through... Sweet, sweet irony.
Anyway! I’m done getting upset at the Mongolians of old.
Oh, here’s another interesting tidbit! If I remember right, it took us an hour and a half to climb to the top of this particular section! – Ahhh, speaking of which... In case you were wondering, the wall isn’t connected across Northern China... It’s actually divided into many sections, some able to be accessed officially and some not... I can’t find an exact number, but between the tourist sections and the non-tourist sections I’m sure there are at least a few hundred. Some of the sections have been rebuilt for tourists... but at some sections, like the one we visited, you can actually climb to and walk on the original wall built in like... the time where they didn’t have cranes and other machines that would have been REALLY handy 2000 years ago when they made this thing! Anyway, so it took us over an hour for sure to climb to the top without stopping too often other than to snap a photo, so it’s a serious climb for sure! It probably was no more than a mile or so? I’m a bad judge of distance. Maybe you can tell by the photos?
My goodness, you just need to see the pictures... Actually, you really just need to come to China to see this for yourself!
Sorry for the super long read. I could say so much more about that experience though... if you have any particular questions definitely email me.
Remember, pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/ZWisto and you can email me anytime at my ELIC address! I'm an open book, ask away! :)
Words and pictures won't do it all justice.. But it's better than nothing!
WOW!
SWEET!
Sooo cool!
^^ Those are the words that come out of my mouth every few minutes here in China. It is AMAZING!.. and it's not only the fascinating sights we see.
Let me break it down a little.. The sights, the people, my team, this organization, and the Guy who put it all together are all so great!
Let’s talk about the sights though for a little bit. First off, you MUST look over to the right of this message where it says "View My Gallery" and click on that! So far you'll find two new albums called 'Beijing-First Day' and 'Great Wall.' In the Beijing album are pictures from the Temple of Heaven and Tienanmen Square.. because we totally went there and it was INCREDIBLE! The Temple of Heaven blew my mind.. The architecture there is amazing, but beyond that is even more interesting! The area actually functions as a state park, which means that people come from all around to just hang out in the temple grounds! When I say hang out, I don't mean sit in a lawn chair with an umbrella and read a book like you’d normally see at home :P. I'm saying these people are having FUN.. and most of the time in groups! FOR INSTANCE!
-As we walked in there were people playing hackysack (not with normal ones though.. they were flat-bottomed with two plates of metal separated by some springs with a large feather hanging off the end. Basically more like a lawn dart with a flattened tip) and as you walked by them they would invite you over to play with them. Invite is the wrong word.. they’d try to convince you that you wanted to play, haha! Then when you were done they’d say, “Two for ten! Two for ten!” So the whole thing was just a way for them to try to sell their product. Pretty smart if you ask me!
-A little further in and there are just massive amounts of people dancing. I’m talking at least 40 couples dancing all to the same music blasting. The thing is though.. that was probably just one group of at least 5 or 6 different areas where people were dancing, and in some places there were MORE people! WHAAAAAT! (There might be a video in the album that gives you a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about) (the reason I’m not sure is because I can’t access my own web album over here.. but I can upload to it.. I know, it’s confusing, but I’m rolling with the punches!)
-As you stroll along the covered walkways towards the main temple you’ll see many people singing or playing instruments. The cool thing about it is that there’s probably one person every 30 feet playing/singing, and they’re always surrounded by a group of at least ten who are sometimes even singing along!
-After passing through the temple areas and moving towards the outside walls of the park you’ll begin to see less people around. The people that you do see will be tucked away within the serene landscape (you’ll see a picture of the area I’m referring to in my album where there’s lots of trees and grass) doing Tai Chi or other martial arts, meditating, painting, or even playing soft music.
That’s really just a glimpse of what we saw/experienced at the Temple of Heaven.. I could go on and on and on and on... I really wish you could have been here to see it.
Next we went over to the center of Beijing where Tiananmen Square is located. One word for this place.. Ok maybe a bunch: HUGE with LOADS of people! …There’s really not much else to say. You can get a better idea of the hugeness as well as see some pics of the outside of the forbidden city in my album.
Gotta head off to a meeting with my group, so I’m gonna hold off on talking about the great wall till my next post. Remember to check the web album to the right by clicking the “View My Gallery” link if you’d like to see pictures!
Hope all is well whoever you are and wherever you’re at!!
Keep your eyes on the sky.
