tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-80193342012762451142024-02-07T12:46:30.839+08:00Blog WildHere is a chance for you to follow my experiences in China over the next year.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-63810640825009676342011-05-14T09:16:00.002+08:002011-05-14T09:23:31.976+08:00DiscoveryI remember as a kid always wanting to be a lawyer. I would tell my parents that when I get older I was going to be a lawyer, make large amounts of money, and take care of them with that money. At that point in my life a lawyer was something anyone could be if they wanted. Unfortunately, I will probably never become a lawyer, and my mom is going to have to live in a nursing home one day. :) (My mom said she would kill me if I ever did that to her.) <br /><br />I recently read a great book for the second time in my life. It is called The Alchemist written by Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer. The book is about a shepherd who lived life by following his heart. He was not a crazy person. He was not rebellious, mean, or arrogant. However, he was thought of as unique and different by the people around him. When coming into new towns he always had exciting stories to tell from all his traveling as a shepherd. See, the shepherd was growing up having the same belief as when he was a child, that anything can happen if you really want it. As he got older he did not let life and the people around influence what he wanted to do. He continued to believe that if he wanted something he could have it. He was given the challenge of traveling to the Pyramids in Egypt and finding a buried treasure. Despite what people told him along the way, or whatever got in his way, he never gave up on his dream. Even a dream as crazy as a buried treasure. He just did not simply believe what people said, he choose to see for himself the truth behind the treasure. <br /><br />I still remember today thinking that way as a child. Like the time I started to build a roller coaster in the field in front of my house. I did not finish it, but it was not because I believed I couldn’t, I just got bored and started to think of the next great thing I COULD do. Now granted, some things I thought of as a child were crazy and probably will not ever happen in life no matter how much I believe it. Like jumping off a shed with a towel on my back and starting to fly, but I had to discover that for myself. <br /><br />Today, as I think back on life I can not think of when all of that changed. At some point in my life I started to believe what people around me told me, what my environment told me, and what my culture told me. I believed that I would never be a lawyer because I was not smart enough in school or part of the right family. I was told that things that sounded exciting to do in life will probably never happen because you will not have the money. I was taught that a certain way of living was right and everything else was unrealistic. <br /><br />I find it amazing how much we let life and things around us influence how we live and how we think. It is natural. Even today, certain things we once thought of as wrong are being considered right because of our surrounding. When I came to China many people told me I was crazy. They were so worried by the things they have heard about the people and the culture. Movies, news, history, and media created an idea of how things are here today. Now granted, some were true, but the people here did no fly in the air or can do 50 karate kicks in one jump. They do not all like rice. They do not all wear silk clothes with the pointed hat on their head. However my culture told me how it was, so I believed. The funny thing is that now I have to defend America against unrealistic ideas the Chinese have about us. I will be honest, Gossip Girls has really not helped. <br /><br />As a Christian or just someone who believes in God, we like to believe things are a certain way because people around us tell us how it is, how culture tells us it is, or we even choose to believe a certain way so we can feel safe or right. Some people blindly believe what they are told or hear without going to the source to see what it really says. Much like how coming to China showed me that it is nothing like we make it out to be. I had to search and seek the truth for myself. <br /><br />I am reminded of Acts 17:11. Paul, the same Paul who wrote most of the New Testament we follow today, was speaking to the Bereans. The Bereans here could have simply believed what Paul was saying, but they choose to EXAMINE the scripture to see if what Paul was saying was true. PAUL!!! Examining the words that PAUL told them!!! This is not any everyday person! This is Paul, the apostle! The same Paul that was blinded by Christ, and then healed! The same Paul that was given the job of taking the Word to the Gentiles! This Paul could perform miracles! Paul was taking beatings for this Word he was teaching!! Who are they to question Paul? They were simply men trying to discover truth and not blindly believing what they hear. Personally, I think if it is alright for men to question “Paul”, then why is not okay to question others who speak about the Word? To simply discover and see what they say is true. And I do not mean to try and prove them wrong but to make sure what you have heard is true. <br /><br />I challenge you not to simply go through life blindly believing everything you are told. And don’t take what I am saying the wrong way, I am not saying don’t trust people or ever believe people. We have many things we can learn from the people around us. However, take additional time to DISCOVER the truth behind what you hear. It could be something as simple as trying sushi for the first time. (I know, raw fish, how can it ever taste good) It could be traveling to a foreign country to really see how other people live. Or it could be moving to a new city despite living in one place your whole life.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-44843402591533855962011-03-31T11:25:00.002+08:002011-03-31T11:43:05.270+08:00My ClassroomI thought I would make a video and show you my classroom. I am really bad about showing people where I live so I am going to try and do a better job with that. <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzCtWvUxICE6SlR5-OOKIQDydMY3Ppry7piCblyqcMbF2_G_EGLycNP4jJYRIpDnOSJ_BvMzaPuv0mAo2DVNQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-19874752807944748082011-03-23T21:26:00.003+08:002011-03-23T21:41:01.657+08:00One crazy adventure! The final chapterThe final chapter<br /><br />So we are on a cold, uncomfortable, and smoke filled bus. The bus station said it will be a 17 hour ride. There is a little baby that is scared of me. Oh, and the worst blizzard in China’s recent history is on the way. <br /><br />Hours 1-5: By time we got out of the city of Wuhan it was already snowing pretty hard and it was dark. By the speed of the bus, you would have thought it was a bright sunny day in the summer. We were on a normal highway for about the first 3 hours. Then we turned down a smaller road that was a little rougher. Kind of like turning down a country road. It pretty much remained like this the rest of the trip. <br /><br />About the 5th hour we stopped to take a break and to get some food. It was around 10PM. I noticed that we have been going up hill over the last hour but did not think to much about it. However when we got to the rest stop I decided to go to the WC (bathroom) before I got back on the bus. Not to go into to much detail, I will just say I was doing #1. The toilet was nothing but a hole in the ground. Something I have grown use to in the country areas of China. The only difference about this hole is that I never heard anything hit a bottom. I thought that was a little strange. So after I finished I decided to walk around the building to see what was going on. Why did I not hear a noise. Well, I could not walk around the building because it was built over a cliff!! As I noticed the cliff, I also heard water. About a 100 feet below was a stream, and that was where “it” went. This also brought to my attention how high we have gotten over the last hour.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyFujPm0-ZUPr433UTxjtoCVBz2gEC6kU6GumjySIBCI0CzorimuXkSirrsKT1Vs187kjB7lGsuMUtzGcMAyfvQZBOYRKd3oVo0v20biWjRMle6_LsoQ66Mv6pIhbAQbIvhU3yzHcX9E/s1600/IMG_1378.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIyFujPm0-ZUPr433UTxjtoCVBz2gEC6kU6GumjySIBCI0CzorimuXkSirrsKT1Vs187kjB7lGsuMUtzGcMAyfvQZBOYRKd3oVo0v20biWjRMle6_LsoQ66Mv6pIhbAQbIvhU3yzHcX9E/s320/IMG_1378.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587266901911542786" /></a><br />Here is the only photo we took. The windows always had moisture on them so it was not the best for pictures <br /><br />Hour 6-13: It was really dark, still snowing, and getting colder. Earlier, every time I looked at the baby it would cry, and it was nice that the baby had finally gone asleep. I was looking out the window when I noticed a light very far away, and way below us. A realization hit me, I WAS VERY HIGH ON A MOUNTAIN!!! I mean hundreds of feet up!!! And next to the road was a straight down cliff to where the cars in the valley were.<br />If you know me, then you know how scared I am of heights. I suddenly found myself hanging on to things for safety and looking for ways to get off this bus if something happens. We were high for a long time. Eventually, I fell asleep.<br /><br />Around the 13th hour I was awaken to a sudden slamming of the brakes. The sun had started to come up so I could see what was going on. We were still on top of some mountains, there was an accident in front of us, and instead of any kind of guardrail along the road there were nothing but small poles with a little cable connecting to each one. Oh yeah, and a straight down cliff. Then the scariest thing ever happened. The bus started to slide on the snow and ice towards the edge of the cliff. The next thing I know there were men jumping off the bus and placing whatever they can under the tires to wedge them. It stopped the bus. Whew!!! After that they decided to put the snow chains on. Something I thought would have gone on long ago. <br /><br />Hour 13-17: It took a while to get through the accident. A bus had slid into the mountain edge and stopped traffic both ways. After we got through we started to go down the mountain. I was assuming that we were getting close to Chongqing. We got low enough where they could take off the snow chains. However, I still did not see any signs of a big city. So I started to ask around to see if anyone knew any English when we got to a rest stop. I finally found one man who could speak just a little. I asked him how close we were and all he could say was something about 6. We were suppose to be there at around 10 AM, and it was 10 AM when I asked him this. So I figured he meant 6 PM that night, or in 6 hours. Both were not answers I wanted to hear. Now our 17 hour trip has turned into 23-25 hour trip. After our break we got back on the bus, and it started to happen again. We were going back UP into the mountains!!!! Before we knew it we were back at the top of the mountains. Back to straight down cliffs, snow on the road, and a driver that thought he was in a NASCAR race. I have never gone so fast on snow in my life. We finally got high enough to where the bus started to slide backwards down the mountain, so we got the snow chains out again. <br /><br />Hour 17-?: Over the day I finally got the little baby to warm up to me. I could get him to smile a little at me, but that was about it. Then grandma did something with the kid that haunts my dreams to this day. He had to go #2 and needed a place to go since they do not use diapers here. Normally parents will put them over grass or a trash can to go, but we did not have either. So, grandma opened some newspaper and laid it out on the floor. That is where little man went. Right next to me!!!!! It gets worse. Grandma then just covered it with more newspaper and left it there. Right next to me!!! A few hours later when we stopped to take a break everyone started to walk on the newspaper and track it down the aisle. It was sick!!!! So on top of everything that has already happened, I now had “that” next to me on the floor. <br /><br />It was getting dark and we were still on top of the mountain. It was a sign that we were still not close. Right before it got dark the bus stopped again. There was nothing around but everyone got off. I was tired and cold and did not move. I was in a very dark place at this point and had checked out mentally hours ago. I was not moving until we got there, whenever that would be. I shortly found out why everyone got off. Our bus started to cross an old wooden bridge that I would have not felt good walking across. I figured out why everyone got off. They were not even brave enough to stay on the bus. These are the same people that seemed at ease the whole time in the mountains, but this bridge scared them enough to get off, and here I was on the bus. Oh, by the way, the drop under the bridge was several hundred feet down. <br /><br />After the bridge we started to go down again, it was the last of the high mountain roads. It was probably around 6PM by then. We should be there soon!!!<br /><br />Hour 25-?: We stopped for dinner. I found the guy who knew a little English and asked him again about the time. He said about 6-8. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!! Again, I had to assume it was 6-8 more hours, or 6-8 in the morning. We ate dinner and continued on. The rest of the trip was not that eventful. We went though several small villages and let people off the bus. I was far off in my dark place. We were able to get in touch with the guy who was in charge of our boat trip and told him about getting in sometime over that night and he got us a really good place to stay. Finally around 3 in the morning, 34 hours later, we reached Chongqing. Our hotel was warm and amazing, and even though it was 3 in the morning and I have been traveling for 34 hours, I took the hottest most amazing shower ever. <br /><br />The rest of the trip was great, even though it was very cold. Since this trip I have not traveled on any long distance buses in China. I have been on a few more sleeper buses, but only in hot places, where there are no mountains, and outside of China.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-24489737608537610182011-03-08T21:55:00.002+08:002011-03-08T22:03:21.693+08:00One crazy adventure! Part 3Before I get to the final part of my story, I believe it is key to create the setting for you so that you can truly understand the final blog. <br /><br />So, last thing I mentioned was that we decided to purchase sleeper bus tickets. And like I said, I thought a sleeper bus was an awesome idea... I stand corrected.<br /><br />Side note: 2007 was a unusual year of weather for China. They had a blizzard and cold front that made it as far south as northern Vietnam. The temperatures dropped very low and caused problems all over China. Power outages, train crashes, and loss of lives all happened from this front. We were about to get on the bus the day the front started to make its way into our area of China. <br /><br />When we purchased out tickets we asked about the time it would take to get to Chongqing. The time they gave us was about 17 hours. We left at around 5pm. That would put us in Chongqing around 11-12am the next morning. Keep this in mind!<br /><br />Now to the setting of the bus. I will start off saying that the sleeper bus setup is nothing like I thought it would be. I expected this nice area for you to stretch out. That there would be plenty of room to sit-up and move around. I pictured a step up from a regular bus. Less people, and more room. Well, it was the complete opposite!! Instead there were 3 lines of beds. One down each side, and one up the middle. So, you might think, “hey, you still have plenty of room to sit-up.” Wrong!!! It was bunk beds! I was amazed that so many beds could fit in one bus. <br /><br />Everyone knows that I am a rather large person. Both big and tall. So, I have learned over time that I never get the opportunity to travel comfortably. I have learned to just deal with it. What you may not know about me is that my feet are extremely claustrophobic. I cannot stand to have my feet pinned down or restricted in any way. Sleeping bags are not an option, and I cannot stand when people tuck sheets under mattresses at the foot of the bed. Well, the setup on this bus was my worst nightmare. Not only were the beds small but you tucked your feet under the bed in front of you. So, where my upper body laid was angled up, this allows for the feet of the person behind me to stretch under your upper body part of the bed. I had two problems with this. One, I was not putting my feet into that small area for 17 hours. Two, I was to long to do it even if I wanted too. Instead, I had to stratal the bed. One foot in one aisle, and the other foot in the other aisle. It was not comfortable at all. <br /><br />Here are a few photos for you<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLb8QVIsSl3vHcr8KBtKHgGVKN1Eq-4F1MNeVR3yAxRl8PNXXfd-PYSLlH2D_XywFZCaZ5g7-dAIp4n18KAO5JJht-iI220gYYLBH-c7hSwZM7l_aBl2v4nI6Ky0KOO5YK1rDTXTTJTQ/s1600/IMG_1370.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFLb8QVIsSl3vHcr8KBtKHgGVKN1Eq-4F1MNeVR3yAxRl8PNXXfd-PYSLlH2D_XywFZCaZ5g7-dAIp4n18KAO5JJht-iI220gYYLBH-c7hSwZM7l_aBl2v4nI6Ky0KOO5YK1rDTXTTJTQ/s320/IMG_1370.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581709148500439538" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf4circ1G9yaOA-0WlTvk91VNJ_ZLT1T3CMXBHtwYB20CmhGMNC_a_2KxkgbH9FFl6W02U1oHRsuY0OC89IYdWRvaS1rknXkkF-jUaVuVydFwTUaN0gJhoNxbAn71SCK61Oa2h2FA5uE/s1600/IMG_1369.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFf4circ1G9yaOA-0WlTvk91VNJ_ZLT1T3CMXBHtwYB20CmhGMNC_a_2KxkgbH9FFl6W02U1oHRsuY0OC89IYdWRvaS1rknXkkF-jUaVuVydFwTUaN0gJhoNxbAn71SCK61Oa2h2FA5uE/s320/IMG_1369.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581709141235832082" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQfR6TnGrkPFIg0GjQrozJMmqcfACuMSe12hpR9YPdzLYRkmrQLGooaYKB4cfV9zlnJxafAMoWwGYOOkrl4SAhOENsxZJFR4rE4oXEUQOkwSb41Gj0e3zZtXwdRlWjiThdX_ZjxC5ynrQ/s1600/IMG_1367.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQfR6TnGrkPFIg0GjQrozJMmqcfACuMSe12hpR9YPdzLYRkmrQLGooaYKB4cfV9zlnJxafAMoWwGYOOkrl4SAhOENsxZJFR4rE4oXEUQOkwSb41Gj0e3zZtXwdRlWjiThdX_ZjxC5ynrQ/s320/IMG_1367.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581709139016935026" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0mdv67ud7ThWftrvJH8Hv69yxuuP69PeBlwZisFD6YDjZX-If4VYgsMF8pzN5bPPaUcLw6DuYu2NRx1QHpQ7T7iFLr4guuapvOJmJJ24KQsiTq1K3SXYqlP8Ixn4WQecxY3U2JMW1R0/s1600/IMG_1366.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0mdv67ud7ThWftrvJH8Hv69yxuuP69PeBlwZisFD6YDjZX-If4VYgsMF8pzN5bPPaUcLw6DuYu2NRx1QHpQ7T7iFLr4guuapvOJmJJ24KQsiTq1K3SXYqlP8Ixn4WQecxY3U2JMW1R0/s320/IMG_1366.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581709134612084834" /></a><br /><br />You may have noticed that I still have all my winter stuff on in these pictures. One normally takes things off and gets comfortable on long rides. Well, one normally is not sitting on a bus in 5 degree weather, with no heat on the bus. That’s right, NO HEAT!!! It was COLD!!! And, if you look at the picture again you will see a blanket on me. Yeah, it only is big enough to cover just a small portion of my body. It really did no good. <br />Three more things real quick. In addition to the uncomfortable bed and no heat, we had to deal with smoking. People still do it here with no consideration for other people. So, we had about half the people on the bus smoking all the time. It left a constant haze in the air. Every time Emily opened the window to let some smoke out people would fuss at her for letting cold air in. I vote cold air over lung cancer any day, but that is just me. Then we had two Chinese movies playing on the TV over and over again. They came across as an early 80’s movie in America. A lot of smoking, gun fights, regular fights and half naked women. Kind of like any Steven Segal movie. Just bad acting all around. Then the third thing. A little kid was in the bed next to me with his grandmother, and this kid was scared to death of me. So, anytime I turned that way the kid would just start screaming in terror, even if I was just looking out the window he would start. So, I had to look forward or the opposite way. <br /><br />For the final part of this adventure it will be important for you to remember all of this stuff. Especially the kid, the time to get there (17 hours) and the weather (cold and starting to snow).Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-77114523296341715562011-02-27T09:38:00.001+08:002011-02-27T09:45:18.535+08:00One crazy adventure! Part 2Part 2<br /><br />Okay, now that we got the destination out of the way, let’s now focus on how we got there. <br /><br />Some of you may be familiar with how people get around in China but others may not. So, before I start into the worst, most adventurous bus ride ever I am going to talk about some of the common forms of transportation in China. <br /><br />As we all know, just about everyone in America owns a car. Okay, not every person, but most will own one at some point in time. Most families will commonly have 2 cars. Some kids will get one for their 16th birthday. However, in China, mass transportation is still the way to go. Not saying that you will not see cars here, more people are owning cars each year in China. A car is a huge status symbol. People owning cars is becoming a major issue with moving transportation through a huge city. But, your everyday average Chinese will still use mass transportation. <br /><br />In a city, like the one I live in, taxis, buses, and a soon to be finished subway are the most used form of transportation. Then when you want to travel to other cities you will usually go by long distance buses or train. Side note, I use to like to take trains but have gotten over it since being here. Well, except for the really fast train to Shanghai. It is faster then Nascar. I think we have got close to 220mph on it. Side note ended. Also, airlines are starting to compete with trains as another major form of transportation. A train ticket to Beijing from Hangzhou will cost around 400 yuan and take about 11+ hours. You can usually pay 500-700 yuan for a 2 hour flight. Just a little more but saves a lot of time. At times we can even find flights cheaper than trains. <br /><br />My first year in China I still loved to take trains. And it was still the cheapest way to cover a long distance. When I say long distance, I mean a LONG distance. We lived in the city of Ningbo my first year in China. It is a coastal city, located on the east coast of China. On a map you need to look for Shanghai and then look below it to find Ningbo. Compared to a US map, it might be in the area of Savannah, Georgia, or maybe a little north of it. The city we were heading to was called Chongqing. It is where the boat trip started. Looking at a US map it might be in the area of Utah, not exactly Utah, but just think about the distance compared to where Savannah is.<br /><br />We needed to take a train to get there. But, one thing about traveling with trains in China is that you cannot purchase tickets all the way to certain places. You purchase a ticket so far, then you get to your destination and then purchase your next tickets. This does not always go smoothly. There can be times where you show up to your destination and go to purchase your next tickets, but there are no tickets available for the next 1-5 days. So, you either get standing tickets or you wait. <br /><br />So, we went to the train station and got our tickets to Wuhan. It was a 12 hour overnight train, and was about the halfway point to Chongqing. We were going to have to wait to get tickets to Chongqing after we got to Wuhan. We get to Wuhan, get in line only to find out there will be no tickets for 3 days. It was a Friday and our boat reservations were for Sunday night. Doing the math, you can quickly see that we are not in a good place. After waiting for 3 days, we would then have another 15 or so hours of traveling on the train before we would get there. Making it about 4 days until we get to Chongqing. We talked to a few people around the train station and was told that we could get a bus to Chongqing from Wuhan. We decided that we would check it out. Lucky for us they had tickets leaving in a few hours and it was going to be much cheaper then a train. So, we got the tickets. And we were told that the bus was a bus with beds on it. I have never heard of a bus with beds on it but was super excited about getting to ride on a bus with beds. In my mind, it was the greatest idea ever. Or at least I thought it would be... <br /><br />Next up: The bus rideKevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-51266880735982802492011-02-17T12:48:00.004+08:002011-02-17T13:06:45.407+08:00One crazy adventure! Part 1The story I am about to tell took place about 4 years ago. I have told this story to many people and every time I finish telling it everyone says I should write about it. So, I decided that now is the time to do it. It will be a long story so I decided to write it in several different parts. I will try to post the whole story over the next 2 or 3 weeks. <br /><br />I will begin the story by telling you a little about the culture of China and why we travel for over a month each year. I will also mention something about what we were going to see that caused this adventure. <br /><br />We break up our holidays in America over a 1 1/2 month period. A week for Thanksgiving, then we go back to work or school. Then we get another break for Christmas and New Years. Well, in China they take off for about 1 1/2 month straight from school. It is at this time they have all their major celebrations. Chinese New Year, lantern festival, birthdays, etc. At this time the schools want us to leave their campus. That way they do not have to worry about us and they save money on utilities. It is to expensive to go back to America so we usually travel. (I know, traveling is so bad. Poor little Kevin. :)) <br /><br />My first year here in China, me and my friend Emily decided that we wanted to go to see the Three Gorges before we went south to warmer places. The Three Gorges are one of the many things you should see in China according to the Chinese and all the books on what to see or do in China. They are a series of rivers and canals that run through some mountains in central China. The Three Gorges are connected to the Yangzhe River, Asia’s longest river. It runs from the mountains of Tibet, in western China, to Shanghai, located on the east coast. <br /><br />Here are some pictures for you<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5f3c9DSQoHNHAzTfVdNrnMJKvnzNcV35EVWu9MNogwgUTMCpIonQS_aQ3FK-PUZ77MpGkcgkMwX4Jg4wKdz4COVjqiQ0Scl2ABytSJV0snw3BCZyGwgq0iM-t7dsgR_iXRq3fdKibcE0/s1600/kevin+279.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5f3c9DSQoHNHAzTfVdNrnMJKvnzNcV35EVWu9MNogwgUTMCpIonQS_aQ3FK-PUZ77MpGkcgkMwX4Jg4wKdz4COVjqiQ0Scl2ABytSJV0snw3BCZyGwgq0iM-t7dsgR_iXRq3fdKibcE0/s320/kevin+279.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574518286591408466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_7_HjsOOrae1iSxaULhgjGOkdXHtx4C-jAqrJPV_gBzuSKjGsRbXK1sfg_BxcpXTkEDlbkKgjaD4VtxeIQSIKEY2d0wqMGUK1CPyn4TUZgCURC3D3JDWxgSX8uNAGq_KzpZRMJCAXiw/s1600/kevin+276.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ_7_HjsOOrae1iSxaULhgjGOkdXHtx4C-jAqrJPV_gBzuSKjGsRbXK1sfg_BxcpXTkEDlbkKgjaD4VtxeIQSIKEY2d0wqMGUK1CPyn4TUZgCURC3D3JDWxgSX8uNAGq_KzpZRMJCAXiw/s320/kevin+276.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574518272541434098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdCglR1uE3F3MTQqX4iAikYtmgh8EioAW6Xj-dhMAAIfVK3NN5D-ohdLHrkUP3Z4GplHB2Y6OKZ1WcLxXDyULZEd0uMSSSduGzNMBxUYretIkvapCoPIHiUPpyqqYULuiiX6HkHdKYUU/s1600/kevin+266.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdCglR1uE3F3MTQqX4iAikYtmgh8EioAW6Xj-dhMAAIfVK3NN5D-ohdLHrkUP3Z4GplHB2Y6OKZ1WcLxXDyULZEd0uMSSSduGzNMBxUYretIkvapCoPIHiUPpyqqYULuiiX6HkHdKYUU/s320/kevin+266.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574518262732327138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5JeexWcadldo2PSFj2rMi7J_6T7dmiWOvLOuSFAHKSzZRmq2jy_JegUMtMztZcLb2wO84Ci7hyq0g-BkuJoJ9ZC_I-qOT1ga6fW6F10rLpGEcanjVf4GTIIoFSWxbjPOYJy1PPrqUfrY/s1600/kevin+261.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5JeexWcadldo2PSFj2rMi7J_6T7dmiWOvLOuSFAHKSzZRmq2jy_JegUMtMztZcLb2wO84Ci7hyq0g-BkuJoJ9ZC_I-qOT1ga6fW6F10rLpGEcanjVf4GTIIoFSWxbjPOYJy1PPrqUfrY/s320/kevin+261.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574518258285488722" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHp1KerjnBiuR-kIv0RtGwBdBNVDOC0OQ_ep1B9s_aVYTwNJkWr_wQlrTDmvhFdcts_D6kgiHgG4bCBaaCWSh2WHG1EV_wGnw_aDXGec_idw7MXuRyIu0fssNvgChOQenlEjeI3qhsvlM/s1600/kevin+248.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHp1KerjnBiuR-kIv0RtGwBdBNVDOC0OQ_ep1B9s_aVYTwNJkWr_wQlrTDmvhFdcts_D6kgiHgG4bCBaaCWSh2WHG1EV_wGnw_aDXGec_idw7MXuRyIu0fssNvgChOQenlEjeI3qhsvlM/s320/kevin+248.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574517809269330098" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN48dw-xdDubrJd93FCmw7vCje6HbCX3Z2FeqfYbSE0rchuRYls8gYs89NcBcJto4MN4f9-Tw7gi6SkLCgou1ryMk6cJjz_hayrfSqrYXO11Kjjq4QJ1BVJRVELgHkhb4xNaM8nN9x3ko/s1600/kevin+230.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN48dw-xdDubrJd93FCmw7vCje6HbCX3Z2FeqfYbSE0rchuRYls8gYs89NcBcJto4MN4f9-Tw7gi6SkLCgou1ryMk6cJjz_hayrfSqrYXO11Kjjq4QJ1BVJRVELgHkhb4xNaM8nN9x3ko/s320/kevin+230.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574517804770658482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-9WGSxexvR6p5BaLH5Z56-GLvDk7MRAOglB9ENc9MGc0FIO8_2fl1zneS1TX2VGMXAkkY3x_cGBVofYQIvaSvYbr-PTd_KHhEvx0z2BLPzofs1ssQ7tj7HTpOO7n8HhdRdY_fKZzSxw/s1600/kevin+212.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV-9WGSxexvR6p5BaLH5Z56-GLvDk7MRAOglB9ENc9MGc0FIO8_2fl1zneS1TX2VGMXAkkY3x_cGBVofYQIvaSvYbr-PTd_KHhEvx0z2BLPzofs1ssQ7tj7HTpOO7n8HhdRdY_fKZzSxw/s320/kevin+212.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574517795608038178" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHM2eqO-qziYQtyKo0JWRZ8fvc8D4YWwRknYlfZX2hQULAO5nHuFerU37d-hC2IBuqOMd4K-kcNs_qymaDurqWHMN8KiPmL6v-8J1iKGVpDRdmFJqY6AwV6oKSexKaNlKe81ZTzhCPNfI/s1600/kevin+200.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHM2eqO-qziYQtyKo0JWRZ8fvc8D4YWwRknYlfZX2hQULAO5nHuFerU37d-hC2IBuqOMd4K-kcNs_qymaDurqWHMN8KiPmL6v-8J1iKGVpDRdmFJqY6AwV6oKSexKaNlKe81ZTzhCPNfI/s320/kevin+200.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574517792108764450" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_tnmA8iTcLXbJKIdiRjeqICqSV2b5TrfVPMr9XRTXBD4eePbN681Qtd01GxkdTE5FqUWwYw0EQ_pv_nPjuu_uP1p5Vd8krl1ypN7Dx6Yq6cFIklLi9jy6gzdZFuHVp1qtNt2EFYvVR4/s1600/kevin+198.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq_tnmA8iTcLXbJKIdiRjeqICqSV2b5TrfVPMr9XRTXBD4eePbN681Qtd01GxkdTE5FqUWwYw0EQ_pv_nPjuu_uP1p5Vd8krl1ypN7Dx6Yq6cFIklLi9jy6gzdZFuHVp1qtNt2EFYvVR4/s320/kevin+198.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5574517787433123346" /></a><br /><br />I will finish this blog saying one more thing about the Three Gorges. About 15 years or so ago China began to build the largest Dam in the world on the Yangtze River. This dam has caused many debates over safety and the destroying of cultural sites and relics. After the dam was completed, everything before the dam started to rise. Here is a quote from an article I found talking about how much the water will rise, "The river was blocked in June 2003 at the end of phase 2 of the construction project, and the waters started to rise. In 2004, the water was 443 feet above sea level, but will eventually reach 575 feet above sea level in 2009." That is a crazy amount of water being contained by the dam. In fact, some think the Sichuan earthquake may had been caused by all the weight added by the rising water on the fault. We decided to go see the Gorges because of the rising water. We wanted to see some sites before they were buried under. Some of the sites we got to see where just weeks away from shutting down for good. The Gorges are still there but you much less of the mountains today.<br /><br />Coming soon, part 2Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-45948638764231302782011-02-13T00:34:00.003+08:002011-02-13T00:50:44.061+08:00Sugarcane KevinMany may not know this but Vietnam is much like China when it comes to celebrating the New Year. However in Vietnam they call it Tet. Many of the same things that are done in China are also done in Vietnam. <br /><br />The place we are staying at is called Mui Ne, and is located close to a bigger city called Phan Thiet. Phan Thiet is a fishing village for the most part. The few nights leading up to Tet, the city of Phan Thiet hosted a night market and carnival to help bring in the New Year. We were invited to come one night by a Vietnamese person we got to know, and her husband. We jumped on our motorbikes, (we being Stan, Juliane, Justin Hill, Shannon Hill, and their son Conner), and rode to the night market and met our friend Jane and her husband there. (If you came last year with us, you might remember Jane from the Sunset restaurant. Stan got to know her really well.) <br /><br />As we were walking around seeing the sights we came across some people making sugarcane juice. I had it one time in Cambodia and thought it would be neat to have everyone else try it. We sat down and Jane ordered for us, and she paid. Nice people the Vietnamese!! While we were watching it be made I remembered how on one season of The Amazing Race they had to make some for themselves and drink it. I thought it would be cool to try it myself. So, Jane asked for me and this is what happened. <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwwVI95kc6c9QnOFGFDSJN54gz2tjzQjDAlF51sQqgvqMlMULPE4BNU3NbXAteBXh-frNVAEEVQhAv-8UYQ3g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />I became a sugarcane juice salesman.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-75780866300196717902011-02-03T01:27:00.004+08:002011-02-06T10:16:08.244+08:00One Incredible Day in VietnamFive days ago I was blessed with an awesome opportunity. We have grown close to some people here in Vietnam, close enough that some of them invited us into their homes. We were able to meet their families, pets, and learn a little more about how they live life. It was a day I will never forget! <br /><br />We got up early to meet one of them at a restaurant they work at. Only one of the girls, Thuong, was there to meet us. We had to rent motorbikes, (Vietnam's number one method of transportation is motorbikes, and they have more motorbikes then any country in the world), then we had to travel for about a hour and a half to another girls house we had met at the same restaurant, Fie. The motorbike trip was really fun, I now see why people in the states like them. After arriving at Fie’s house we got the chance to meet her family, all which did not speak any English. They were kind and offered us many things to snack on, including rice paper. I mention rice paper for a reason. We had the joy just a few minutes after eating it to see how they make it. <br /><br />The process is rather long to explain, but Stan managed to get some video. <br /> <iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxM0LY5wAdrluGYp1b1ZqTk-IcuI6VUOB2UBKHeXNimGS9anUNi4YAr4gQC1hMPFtAGOTku7jizKAepf0ewIw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br />While we were watching them make rice paper they asked if one of us wanted to try and do it. So I stepped forward and gave it a try. This is what happened. <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyvJTHUfNjPUOHMbaSsAtTXvJiF6PZ07NhCwwDOsx3FsQ9_h2hFdKXsMf8M7y-enf2bgOOccYKeZJKs203M1Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Not my best effort, haha! <br /><br />Next we left Fie’s home and said goodbye, maybe to never see her again. From there we went on to Thuong’s house to meet her family and friends. The only way to explain where she lived is saying that “she is a country girl.” I mean turn off the gravel road to a dirt road country girl. All of her family are farmers and farm dragon fruit. Dragon fruit really does not have a taste but for some reason is very good. <br /><br />We met her parents and her best friend. Then her parents served us an amazing lunch on the floor. It consisted of cauliflower, 2 kinds of meat, carrots, and a soup with tomatoes in it. We also had rice paper yet again. What you did was take everything and put it into the rice paper, like a burrito, then wrap it up. After that you dip it into the tomato soup. What made the experience really neat was sitting on the floor. I have never done that before, but knew it existed in some Asian cultures. <br /><br />After lunch, and a short nap time, we went to meet the rest of the family members and to see the farm. She had 10 uncles that all lived within 200 yards of each other and we had to meet them all. As we arrived at each home we were met with more food. It was some of the most natural and best tasting food I have had in a long time. Fresh dragon fruit right off the tree, coconut shavings that had been sugared and sat in the sun to dry, and my favorite, coconut pancakes. They were like wafers but made with coconut and flour. I could not eat enough of those things. After meeting the family it was time to go back to our resort. I may never see those people again but the kindness and things they showed me will always be in my heart. I learned a great deal about family and kindness from these people.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-83040575807149589072011-01-17T16:05:00.001+08:002011-01-17T16:10:55.296+08:00A Good PersonI have always been told by people that I am a “good person.” There are certain people that I always call a “good person.” It is common for people to call each other a “good person.” We have all heard it or done it in our life. I believe everyone has good in them. I also believe that in some people it is harder to find/see the good that is in them. Some people are naturally good and some people really make an effort at being good. (I can continue with this idea of good but I think you get it.)<br /><br />All this talk of “being good” started when me and some friends were talking last night about the idea of being a good people. I try to be a good person because I am a Christian. I see it in the Bible, so I try to model it. I am told to be that way in the Bible, so I do it. I try to be good because I feel and believe it is right, but is that the only reason why I am good? Does it take following God to be considered “a good person?” I think not. Before I was a Christian I would consider myself a good person. I know many really good people who do not share my faith or even believe in God. I am around them and interact with them everyday. You may even mistake some as being Christians until they tell you otherwise. <br /><br />My question is this to my reader: I am always trying to find ways of telling people about God. One of the things I get most from people here is, “Kevin, you are a really good person. You are always so nice and thinking of others.” An easy answer to it is “I am that way because I am a Christian.” Which is an ok answer. However, I feel that it can come across to someone as “the only way you can be a “good person” is if you become a Christian,” or “Kevin only thinks Christians to be good people.” Which is not even close to the point I am trying to make. The question is “What would be a good way of telling people that I am a good person because of God, but not that the only reason I am a good person is because of God?” I do not want people to think that I am only good because of God, but by having God in my life I feel like an even better person and try harder to be good. I want to leave them thinking about how following God might make them a better person, and not how they are a bad person for not being like me. Or maybe get them to thinking, what is it about serving God that makes people want to be even better?Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-4846549991519130712010-12-18T13:09:00.001+08:002010-12-18T13:12:02.746+08:00Back to JerusalemI have recently started to read a book called “Back to Jerusalem.” Most people may have heard about the book, or at least something about the “Back to Jerusalem” mission that many Chinese believers have committed their lives too. If you have not heard about it, I will give a quick summary on it. <br /><br />In a nut shell, the Chinese Christians believe that they have an access to the East and Middle East that the West does not have. There is not as much tension and hatred towards the Chinese, so they are tolerated much more than if someone from the West would go in with the Word. By not having that tension they are able to open up and communicate with people that may have never been reached by others from the West. Also, Between the Chinese and Jerusalem is three major global religions that they will come across and be able to evangelize. They are Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. I encourage you to read more about this movement. <br /><br />The first chapter talks about the growth of Christianity in China, especially focusing on the last 200 years. While I was reading I came across an interesting quote from a Chinese onlooker listening to a sermon by a Chinese Christian. Before you read it, I want to say something about why this quote was mentioned. This section was talking about what little success the foreigners were having spreading, what was considered, a “foreign religion” to the Chinese. However, the foreigners coming in started to realize that growth started to happen when they started to equip and enable the native Chinese Christians and then got out of their way and let them do the work. What happened is growth started to happen at a faster rate. <br /><br />After all this was said it brought me up to this quote by the onlooker:<br /><br /><blockquote>Once a forest was told that a load of axe-heads had come to cut it down. “It doesn’t matter in the least,” said the forest, “they will never succeed by themselves.” When, however, it heard that some of its own branches had become handles to the axe-heads, it said, “Now we have no chance.”<br /><br />So as long as we only had foreigners to deal with, we were safe, but now that everywhere our own countrymen are enlisted on that side, certainly Christianity will flourish and conquer us.</blockquote><br /><br />I thought this was an excellent quote, and it teaches a great lesson. I hope this encourages anyone who reads this to carefully consider the words of an “onlooker.” It is important to ask the question, “Am I doing what I want to or what He wants me to do?”, or even, “Am I doing what my cultures says to do or His Word says to do?” One of the most amazing things about God’s creation is that He made us all different. Not only did He create us different but He established different cultures for us to live in and to experience, sometimes even within our own culture. What is even greater is that He gave us a Gospel that can be learned, obeyed, taught and applied in any culture, at any period of time. It is our job to make sure that we trust His plan and learn that “our way” may not always be the best.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-61970882009179802152010-11-15T17:07:00.002+08:002010-11-15T22:19:41.244+08:00My happy and safe third placeFor all those who have ever been to Xiasha (the area of Hangzhou I live in) you will know that there is not much of anything out here to do. About the only Western type food you can get is KFC. And if you are like most people KFC is probably the last place you would request as your only foreign place for food. <br /><br />Well, about little over a month ago a rumor of a Pizza Hut started to travel around Xiasha. We have all heard that a Pizza Hut was coming this year at a mall they are building close to my campus, but this rumor was about another mall that is a little outside of Xiasha and that a Pizza Hut was already there. So, me and a few others journeyed out on our ebikes trying to discover this hidden mall in the middle of nowhere with a Pizza Hut waiting for us. <br /><br />Sure enough, out in the middle of nowhere there was a mall. Not any mall, this mall can rival most nice malls found in America. Not that China cannot design good looking places but this mall was out in the middle of nowhere. It made no sense! I could not comprehend what I was seeing. Just think about going out into the country and suddenly coming across a mall that would normally go in the nice part of most cities. I was excited to have the Pizza Hut but I found something else even better “A Starbucks.”<br /><br />This Starbucks has since become my oasis of safety from the culture of China. I go there to relax, study my Chinese, prepare for class, and to mediate on the Word. However, I did not think this place to be a place of outreach. I came here for me time. What I have discovered is that some of my best talks and opportunities are starting to happen here. I do have my days of not talking to anyone but from time to time I have very nice conversations with people I would have normally not talk to in other settings. I also find myself not irritated with the talks. I think it might have something to do with the relax atmosphere and that I am in a good place mentally. My friend Stan made a comment that made sense. Most people that come to a Starbuck’s tend to speak English much better and most have a better understanding of Western culture. This has helped me to quickly get into deeper and more enjoyable conversations then you might have with someone on the street. <br /><br />I have decided to make this Starbucks my “third place.” This idea of a “third place” was discovered in a book I am reading called, Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture by Michael Frost. A “third place” is a place that is neutral to both me and the person I am talking too. A place that has a relaxed atmosphere and people go to get away from work and normal life. In these places most barriers that people put up are temporarily taken down. The exchanging of ideas, even those foreign to you, seem to be tolerated more then in other settings. At times the ideas are entertained or seriously considered. This could lead to more conversations later, or you could at least leave that person thinking about something they normally might have never thought about. I encourage everyone looking for ways to do outreach to discover a “third place.” <br /><br />I really enjoy my down time, but I have come across an excellent outreach that I cannot ignore. Please remember this opportunity and myself in your daily conversations to Father.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-25246296882028845302010-11-03T22:01:00.002+08:002010-11-03T22:19:03.715+08:00LimboI have always wondered what the apostles were thinking after the death of Jesus. The waiting, the questioning if he would return, the anxiety of dying next, or maybe trying to decide their next move. I can only imagine that it was an uncomfortable feeling all around. <br />I have recently found myself feeling the same way about life. This year in China is not going like I thought it would. I feel really disconnected from my new students because of their lack of English (probably the worst ever), for some reason I am missing home more then at any point before, and trails continue to hit me and those around me. I feel like I am in limbo between the past and what is to come. Don't get me wrong, I feel great about life. I have been exercising, I am pretty content with most things, and I have been learning more Chinese then ever before. However my Direction is off. I am not sure what all it takes to get back on track but I pray that it happens soon. I write this with the hopes of connecting with many other people who have felt the same way or feel this way now. I trust the limbo feeling will pass in time but until then I ask that you all remember me.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-79757564023887240782010-10-08T13:37:00.002+08:002010-10-08T14:00:26.528+08:00Something to pray about.This past Sunday a few of us took a look and discussed Luke 10: 1-2. I have studied this passage many times in the past. I was going in with the idea of focusing on the harvest and the being "sent" part. In these two verses Jesus tells all the people he is sending out to “PRAY earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” I have read over this part many times before, but for some reason this time something hit me. <br />1)I do not pray enough.<br />2)Jesus just GAVE me something to pray about. <br />At that moment an idea hit me. I am going to read through the 4 gospels and look for every mention of Jesus giving us something to pray about. I will just read a few chapters a night, so not to get overwhelmed, and write down any mention of Jesus talking about how or what we should pray about. After reading and writing down what I come across, I am then going to pray about those things. <br />For example, Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44 to “pray for those who persecute you.” So, when I pray I am going to focus on people or groups that I feel persecuted by. I will write them down and pray for them individually. <br />In addition, I will take the passages I come across and use it as a kind of measuring stick to see how I am helping the Kingdom.<br />For example, going back to Luke 10:2 that I mentioned earlier. Jesus mentions how we need more laborers for the harvest, and it is so vital that we need to pray to God for it. I need to ask myself “how am I helping with the harvest?” If it is needed enough for Jesus to mention that we need to pray for it, then it is something that must be important to Jesus. We need more laborers. <br />With all of that being said, I understand not all passages will be able to be treated this way and that some may focus on how we pray or what to pray about (Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 is a great example of what I am talking about.) <br />I challenge whoever reads this to do the same. It has given me many things to pray and mediate on, and I find my prayers to be more focused.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-24427873381661160262010-09-25T11:05:00.002+08:002010-09-25T11:40:42.544+08:00Tidal Bore of Qiantang RiverEach month during the full moon, and the few days around the full moon, you can see a wave coming up the Qiantang River. This week we had a holiday called the "Mid-Autumn Festival." For some reason this month the wave becomes a big deal to China. Many people come from all over China to see this phenomenon. What happens is when the high tide comes into the Hangzhou Bay it meets with the Qiantang River, which is flowing into the Hangzhou Bay. When the wave meets the water flowing towards it it causes a tidal bore. The river feeds the wave up the river and it can go for many miles. After the wave passes by you the river changes directions just for a short time. <br />Here is a video showing you the event.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy4gN5efEzNcgVkG-mBih85HFqea4viCq36Oq0sSttvt0NfJxMwZC8HHXzxK38lTE7YalaeKxQZ1KHwZkfhLg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br />Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to you all!Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-22978277782346555232010-09-11T09:29:00.004+08:002010-09-11T22:30:20.523+08:00My well known fear.Anyone who really knows me knows that I have a huge fear of flying. I have been around the world several times in my life and feel that I fly more then most people. And even after all of that I still get real nervous the days leading up to a flight. When I am on a plane I am really tense and aware of what is going on at all times. The littlest bit of turbulence has me going for the seat handles right away. I even find myself getting irritated at the pilot for not doing a better job avoiding the turbulence. Not that he has much he can do about it. And every time I land, I make a promise with myself that I will never fly again and will just have to take a boat back. I think you get the picture. <br />With that being said, I would not be here in China today if it were not for me dealing with my fears and powering through. We all have fears in life. Some are worse then others. Sometimes our fear is not really understanding something enough to realize it is not that bad or hard to do. If I let my fear over come me I would never get on a plane and would only live life in the South. Because from there I can drive to beaches, mountains, and all the best theme parks within a few hours. All my family is close and I would feel safe. <br />Today many people have a fear of talking about our Father. The fear of rejection, mockery, or the unknown are usually common reasons. We get comfortable going to our building and meeting with the Family, but the idea of going out and doing something is not for me, "We have specialist that do that." We are all challenged by the Son to go out and talk about Father. Yes, some of us may be better then others at it but who's to say you are not better at it then you think you are. No one is great at something the first time. It takes time to learn and grow. In the end, overcoming your own fear could be the only real challenge.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-30541336966406766472010-06-02T13:19:00.004+08:002010-06-03T00:06:37.760+08:00Seeing the other side of a coinFirst i would like to say that I am sorry that I have not written in the last few weeks. I had a friend come and visit recently and I was very busy getting ready for him. I loved ever bit of it!<br />Recently one of my oldest and best friends in the world, Lane, came to visit me here in China.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81pPQ3XuqxByLieVakKxoVqqVQQoxL_o9HrKLoHxBbaJ2t_XtZSdsoD-m1Zb6uVyVCJEEmCgD3CTurR0cgpkdbcBs_LCU4CB_OsEBMkTX43to5IzUco6P-duGMXnN1_nmmBPkeg6ZDtk/s1600/IMG_1041.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81pPQ3XuqxByLieVakKxoVqqVQQoxL_o9HrKLoHxBbaJ2t_XtZSdsoD-m1Zb6uVyVCJEEmCgD3CTurR0cgpkdbcBs_LCU4CB_OsEBMkTX43to5IzUco6P-duGMXnN1_nmmBPkeg6ZDtk/s320/IMG_1041.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478047339331976786" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIRiaTxOwV06wmfszLPZWcse4qLw1XdSxDWXsLJTorLqRlMyVllTilN3yZOX9a75lQa2PsYbeBhS5qbiM87nPw-zWVDVsXaZ4htC-a7tjf3HIE2pQI11JNyx-RFsVLmANGRdStU4RP0o/s1600/IMG_1137.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqIRiaTxOwV06wmfszLPZWcse4qLw1XdSxDWXsLJTorLqRlMyVllTilN3yZOX9a75lQa2PsYbeBhS5qbiM87nPw-zWVDVsXaZ4htC-a7tjf3HIE2pQI11JNyx-RFsVLmANGRdStU4RP0o/s320/IMG_1137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478204046974712642" /></a><br /> <br /><br />I had been excited for the longest time about him coming and getting to see firsthand how I live life here. It also gave him a chance to see the work I am doing and to even give me some good advice as an outsider. The encouragement he gave me and all of us here was amazing. He also will be posting a blog soon about his trip here and I encourage you to read it. It will be a good chance to see how he seen China through his eyes. His blog page is http://www.ministerlane.wordpress.com/. <br /><br />Since this blog is about my thoughts on life I would like to talk about something I learned when he was here visiting. <br /><br />In the past I have taken many campaigns around the world. Everywhere I have been the people were always so amazing. They would do anything for you. I had always been thankful for those people and what they did for me but I never really understood how much they gave up to make my visit a great one. Now don't read into this the wrong way and think that Lane was a burden to me. He was the perfect guest and was no headache at all. I would gladly have him come back to visit me a 1,000 more times. However I have learned that a great deal of responsibility is in your hands when someone comes to visit. A great deal of time was put into getting things ready before he even got here. I had to redo my class schedules, I had to book tickets, and get hostels ready. I had to plan out what we will do each day and make sure the time he had here was the best I can give someone who came around the world to encourage and see me. I wanted him to feel at home as much as possible. <br /><br />With all that going on I still had to care for my daily responsibilities here. That is one thing I never really thought about when people hosted me on a trip. During the day while I was out doing Good things they were at work and living their life. Then they would come home and do whatever they could in the afternoon to make me comfortable. I just never realized the effort, energy, and love they showed to make me feel that way. <br /><br />After I gave Lane a hug goodbye at the airport and he walked away to get on his plane home I turned and looked at my friend Thomas and jokingly said, "I don't want another person to come visit me ever!" Again, I don't really mean that but I have learned that seeing the coin on the other side is very different. It was something I was not expecting or even thought about. I now have even more respect for the people who take the time to host me when I am visiting or on a campaign. I don't write this because I want Lane to realize how much I did for him but to help whoever reads this to really think about what the people that host you do to make you feel welcomed. <br /><br />I also learned that in return you are greatly encouraged more then the person that is coming to visit you will ever know. Besides him coming all this way I was able to see the love that Lane has for me everyday when he talked to his wife and 2 year old girl on my computer. Each time they talked I was reminded what he gave up to come see me. <br /><br />Though I lost hours of sleep and went nonstop I will never lose the experiences that we had together, the stories that we will have, and the great talks about life we had each day. I also now have someone back home who understands what I am going through and what I am talking about. To have a close friend understand what you are going through is awesome and even after one week I can talk to him about stuff that he did not really understand before.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-9158075999692420632010-04-12T10:18:00.002+08:002010-04-12T11:13:26.709+08:00DNAI heard a while back that when you first start to teach someone about something new is the best time to start good habits. One of the best examples is a parent teaching a child. The parent starts from a young age teaching the child right from wrong. I realized the other day that I like fish but hate to eat it. I have always known that but I never really thought why. Then I realized it is the bones in the fish that I do not like, and the reason why was my mom. When I was young she always told me that you have to be careful of bones in fish. If I swallowed a bone it would get stuck in my throat and I would, in my mom's words, "die." I know now that she was being a little extreme but she was just trying to teach me a lesson when I was young so that I would not eat bones from a fish. Some might say that lesson becomes part of our DNA. A part of who we are. <br />One thing I really wished I was taught early on was just how IMPORTANT reaching out to others with the Word is. Sure I have heard many lessons on Sunday and even talked about it in classes. However I became like the majority and just listened and went on. It was not that I ever thought about reaching out to people but it came across to me as something a old wise Brother or Sister would do. Or maybe those our Family supported doing the work in other countries. It just never occurred to me just how important it was for me to do it. It became my DNA not to do it, knowing I should be doing it. Now that I truly understand how important it is I am having to learn how to reach people. Changing your DNA,like any habit, is a very hard thing to do!<br />One thing I have learned when starting to teach new people is that you should start challenging them from the beginning to go out and tell others what they have learned in a study. Make it part of their DNA. It is something they will be able to do since you just worked with them and helped them to understand what a passage says. Plus teaching is a great way to really learn something. It is one thing to hear it but you learn it even better when you can teach it. <br />I, along with another friend, have been working with someone. We have only met about three times but they have been very rewarding for us. One thing I always do at the end of the lesson is ask who this person can talk to about what we have learned this week. Nothing more, nothing less. I just ask him to read it to some people and ask what they think about it. I am teaching this to him early so that it becomes part of his DNA. <br />There is nothing more rewarding then two weeks ago when he came in and said that he talked to his roommates about what we studied. Most of them did not seem very interested but he said one roommate asked a few questions. I was filled with mixed emotions. I was excited that he actually did it. Then something came to me. He went out with the little bit that he knows and tried to teach someone. I thought about all the years I have been a Follower and have not done what this guy has done in just a few weeks. He is already out teaching others! I know that he is still learning but his DNA is being made. As he learns more from the Word he will see why each week he is doing what he is doing. It will not be a weird thing for him because it will already be something he has been doing and is use to. <br />My challenge to all who read this is to really examine your DNA, and when you have opportunities with new people, your children, or even old Followers that you challenge them to make outreach part of their DNA.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-6251774790254630072010-04-02T00:53:00.000+08:002010-04-02T00:54:42.026+08:00Just Reach Out and Touch SomeoneAbout a month ago I heard an idea about how it takes 40 touches to reach someone. It was not saying after 40 actual touches someone will suddenly decide to follow Him. In fact the number 40 is not even that important of a number, but an idea. The idea is that almost no one is suddenly impacted and changed during a first encounter to completely change who they are. However if a person is continually impacted by something a change may start to occur within the person. The touches do not even have to be from the same person. It may be 3 touches by me, 4 from a friend, and 5 from someone I do not even know. Over time the person becomes influenced. <br /><br />One thing I always have a problem with is trying to go for the big score every play. When opportunities happen I try to take the ball and run the whole length of the field, or try to go for the homerun swing. This will usually not happen. Instead I find my self upset and frustrated that I missed the ball and maybe even want to give up and quit. Lately I have taken on a more conservative offense. Instead of going for the score every time, I am learning to work the ball down the field. This takes much longer but I find myself not as upset because I can see the ball going down the field.<br /><br />I have come to realize that I am playing the game on His field, by His rules, and on His time. I can try to do whatever I want, but in the end, it is His game. I am learning to trust more that I am playing on His team and not my own. When playing by His rules I am happy with giving someone just a little touch when I can. I do not get upset because I do not score every time. Not being upset keeps me from wanting to give up all together. My hope is that over time someone will be influenced by my actions and words enough to want to change. I just have to make sure I am making the effort to touch that person.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-2948020643216261602009-12-25T09:52:00.008+08:002009-12-25T14:34:41.415+08:00Who's my Voodoo daddy?About 2 weeks ago I took a trip to downtown Hangzhou to do some exploring. I went down a famous street in this town I have been down before. It is called HeFung Lu(I think that is the correct spelling). It is a good street to go down to buy traditional Chinese souvenirs, try some different Chinese candies, etc. Here is a picture of what the street looks like. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2u1ZRJxjv0fuwV4yy3WU6LbuQUFFZ6ASb5hBRV6VKNOGpoGeMKd9vwlyD2oQT1ZCzfGedIuO_AJihanS3HoFL5IBYBIwbef3ine_M2zUE9hiZaYNcl-lw_2fGRBL3OtCvcCop3riF0xo/s1600-h/IMG_0599.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2u1ZRJxjv0fuwV4yy3WU6LbuQUFFZ6ASb5hBRV6VKNOGpoGeMKd9vwlyD2oQT1ZCzfGedIuO_AJihanS3HoFL5IBYBIwbef3ine_M2zUE9hiZaYNcl-lw_2fGRBL3OtCvcCop3riF0xo/s320/IMG_0599.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418988528728993746" border="0"></a><br />I was traveling with a few of my friends here in China. Along with us was a Chinese teacher from my friends school. She lived in Arkansas for about 2 years and her English was really good. As we were walking down the street we came across a place I have never noticed before. When we walked in I was reminded of a scene from Harry Potter. The scene where Harry walks into the wand shop to purchase his wand and there are these huge shelves that go all the way up to the ceiling. It looked like this.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniF7-tIUmsR1FWo7TTg15WnCZ9UYVxTLq925XGPndfc0Q1yed8fkU7j_wSXJNnjXjuuWRlzbbfSnl_K5KCxavxoQOfd7PxbA9_HvgBk8_ONI9gHVI2E-EzXozDwI780CW0bQCBuBIcpI/s1600-h/IMG_0589.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiniF7-tIUmsR1FWo7TTg15WnCZ9UYVxTLq925XGPndfc0Q1yed8fkU7j_wSXJNnjXjuuWRlzbbfSnl_K5KCxavxoQOfd7PxbA9_HvgBk8_ONI9gHVI2E-EzXozDwI780CW0bQCBuBIcpI/s320/IMG_0589.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418993948009496066" border="0"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9R0vAaVLCt1gfkgMxB5k3VDH8iYFGvrrt3nu9X7cwqb44fDkj1Qoy0MshQX5Ds1HR-1V32_CKIuMkS7EDWUCEXy1y6JxnltyxMF50n24eGxenWHa6t_d_-CiABdcIG7mnDXwRgmGXawE/s1600-h/IMG_0586.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9R0vAaVLCt1gfkgMxB5k3VDH8iYFGvrrt3nu9X7cwqb44fDkj1Qoy0MshQX5Ds1HR-1V32_CKIuMkS7EDWUCEXy1y6JxnltyxMF50n24eGxenWHa6t_d_-CiABdcIG7mnDXwRgmGXawE/s320/IMG_0586.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418993938894499858" border="0"></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrsSpvUYUbT_jTiozAvOu57p-TEBdB4YekT9J1u0OUE4swnjw3Ue4q60uxIH_lt0_PAyMtclkxSgHtM9gaHVgBgK4gU-nF51vaFpBfRZRBRYKfd_jZISgFNyDhsYW3gRqLzxD59KJPq4/s1600-h/IMG_0587.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrsSpvUYUbT_jTiozAvOu57p-TEBdB4YekT9J1u0OUE4swnjw3Ue4q60uxIH_lt0_PAyMtclkxSgHtM9gaHVgBgK4gU-nF51vaFpBfRZRBRYKfd_jZISgFNyDhsYW3gRqLzxD59KJPq4/s320/IMG_0587.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418993929462748178" border="0"></a><br />It turned out that this place was a traditional Chinese doctors office and the shelves included all kinds of weird things that they will give you to take. Most were flowers, roots, nuts, and strange dried up stuff. The Chinese teacher told us that people come here even when they are well just to be safe. What I heard was, "this could be a cool experience and I want to go see a doctor." So that is what we did. We went upstairs to where the doctors were checking their patients. Now this is not at all like a normal doctors office. There was a long hallway with many rooms. In each room was a doctor sitting at a table. Some doctors, we were told, were specialist. Some were for women, kids, pregnant women, etc. However most were just generalist. So what you do is go into one of the rooms and wait until the doctor picks you to go. I don't mean a waiting room, i mean the same room with the doctor. So, i am sitting there watching other people get checked out, waiting for my turn. <br />The doctor did not do anything that required privacy. I was told that first he would check your pulse on each wrist. It is called the 6-point-test. I have always thought by checking a pulse you could only feel for one thing, a pulse. Somehow they are able to tell other things by this test. The doctor would then give you a number from the pulse test. Anything between 60-100, I was told, was good. I had a nice low 65. While holding your wrist he also looks at your eyes, the color of your skin, and your tongue. I passed all things until the tongue test. When he told me to stick out my tongue I got a noise and small head nod. I could tell that this was not a good nod, but the doctor said I was fine. The only thing i needed was to do something about my dry mouth. Then that was it, I was finished. Here is me getting checked out.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwGO4Qyf50wgpmNt8LlKT4uxATDMcZ9cdBfa8TpgkQbS0Dtc_fM3IxQrmCDM6yRVdLUCTgyhBGdFOK465mNMw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /> <br />The funny things about this experience is what has happened to me since then. I have been joking with everyone that the doctor put some voodoo on me. The next day after I went, I woke up with my first sty ever. Since the sty went away, I have been battling with being sick. I ran my first fever in a long time and got pretty sick for the first time in years. I have been in bed most of this week trying to get all my strength back. I know it is not from the doctor but I find it really strange all this happened since going to the doctor. My lesson is, don't go to the doctor for fun.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-73934456498568185802009-12-11T03:16:00.003+08:002009-12-11T11:09:12.663+08:00Student Spotlight "Computer"I have been thinking for a while about posting one of my students on here to give people back home an idea of who we teach and live around everyday. When considering who to use, this young man did not come to mind at all until the last 2 weeks. <br />I am teaching Japanese majors this year in my school. Their English is not great and they spend all of their time outside of class learning Japanese. Basically my class is a required class that you have to have but is not that important overall to their degree. Like Economics to a Social Work major. I cannot do many things that you would do with English majors. It takes me longer to get them to understand what I am trying to say. They are not really motivated to learn anymore English so I have to find creative ways to keep them excited. So over the last two weeks I have been doing random plays and short class speeches that are meant to be fun. That is when the heavens opened up and a light came down on Computer. <br />Computer has been a pretty good student from the start. He has always been good to speak up in class but never really tried to be funny or anything. Well, that is until I started to give him the spotlight. I am going to show two videos of Computer being himself. I hope you enjoy.<br />The first video came from my Thanksgiving week lesson. I told the story of the first Thanksgiving, then asked them to break into groups and act out the story anyway they would like. I allowed them to add or take away anything from the story. The only thing I required were pilgrims, Indians, and a turkey. Here is the clip of Computer. He is the shorter kid. He will be playing the role of an Indian.<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyZSr5ME34kLc32nqVjf53fqz7yu3ATyEYfSJwr657V0tExDbgr_KWuNMIxryOlncu9jY-efx0Rno-WPrV2gw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The second video happened a week later. I brought random things to my room and had the kids take one and write a commercial about it. After that they had to go up in front of class and advertise their product. Computer drew out my hat shaper thing you can buy for the bill of your hat. After explaining to him what it was he went to work. The video was taken by one of my other students on his mobile phone so the sound and picture is a little messed up. This is basically what happens. He starts off as a TV salesman who talks about the product. Then after introducing the product, he turns it over to the scientist who discovered and created the hat shaper thing. Some of it may be hard to understand but I hope you catch what he is saying enough to enjoy.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwBIBYJjozt7ZmP4s3cNVxX9joWgVuO_ya4WSoOk99ili4yu9bSMCCsM3BKib8CCbPm73yVtQwJV1NmymQo6A' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-22695883487719126952009-11-22T10:14:00.002+08:002009-11-22T13:22:59.817+08:00I'll take the lady on the second row.This being my second year in China a lot of the "Whoa" factor in things is kept to a minimum. I have seen the pig and chicken feet in food. The man that is relieving himself on side of the street like it is no big deal, or occasionally a women doing the same. I could keep going but I have to share a "Whoa" moment I had yesterday. <br /> Yesterday I took a much needed trip to Shanghai. It was good to get back to a city that made me feel like I was in America. The way the people live is very different. The Super Brand Mall can easily be compared to, if not better then, 95% of the malls in America. Inside you can find Tommy Hilfiger, H&M, Best Buy, and of course a couple of Starbucks. The ratio of people you see in Shanghai is maybe 70% Chinese 30% Foreigner, so it feels good to be able to see other Americans. Basically, in Shanghai I retire my "Whoa" factor meter for a day and just relax knowing that I will not be needing it. Then it happened.<br /> After going down East. Nanjing Rd. I came to the area called People's Square. It is kind of like Times Square in New York with Central Park right next to it. Myself, Bethany, and Bonny decided to take a nice walk through the park. The park was amazing. It had a nice calm feel to it. I was enjoying the unique feeling of walking in a nice quiet park with massive buildings still surrounding me. Suddenly we came to an area with many older people walking up and down the street. Some were just looking and others were balled up into small groups discussing something. I could tell it was something serious because the groups had a look of deep discussion. Kind of like someone trying to sale something and the others were really interested in knowing more about the product. Also in this area were a couple of hundred pieces of paper. Some were laying on the ground and others were taped to a fence going down that area. There was nothing formal about the papers. They were all hand written and some even had a picture taped to them of a young man or women. For the most part they all looked to have about the same information on it. One thing that did stand out on almost every paper was dates from the early 1980's. So our first assumption that they were job openings was shot down. <br /> Suddenly I turned around and noticed Bonny was talking to a young Chinese couple. I walked back to hear what the conversation was about but it ended before I got there. So I had to ask Bonny what was going on. She explained that this event happens every Saturday in that same area. Grandparents and parents come here to advertise their children and grand-children. Kind of a dating service. We quickly put together that all the dates were early 1980's because all these kids are now at a age where they are suppose to be married. Since they are not married the parents and grand-parents have taken things into their own hands. The groups I were seeing were people trying to draw more interest in their children. Needless to say this event brought my "Whoa" meter out and nearly topped it off. I don't know if it was because I assumed something like this does not still happen or the fact that I was actually seeing it happen. It was amazing to see the seriousness of the conversations going on around me. These were parents with a mission to have their child married. I know these parents love their children but this was something more then wanting to see their kid happy, it was about tradition. <br /> After walking through that area we sat on a bench overlooking what was going on. My first thought was a usual Kevin thought "I hope none of the parents got the wrong idea about me going through there." I could easily see I mom brushing off her group to tell me, the foreigner, about her amazing daughter who really is ready to get married. After I pushed away my funny thoughts I usually have I started to think of the seriousness of tradition in this country. I guess I can relate a little being in the early 30's myself and always hearing from my mom that it is about time for me to get married and give her some grand-babies. However here it was much different. I wondered some about what the young adult being advertised must have felt. I am sure they did not like it at least a little. But tradition always trumps individual feelings here. That's what made this so unique to me. The parents were so professional and the ones listening did not laugh or cut up but were just as serious. It was all about honoring the tradition of those who were before them. They did not do this to be mean to their child they were just trying to help their child honor tradition and maintain their face in society.In a very different way I was seeing love from a parent.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8019334201276245114.post-82721266597750586712009-11-20T00:37:00.003+08:002009-11-20T00:40:18.369+08:00Why am I back?I wrote this post about 2 months ago. It may be a little old but it is a start.<br />I have to say it feels real good to be back in china. if you asked me this question about 2 weeks ago when i got off the plane you may have received a different answer. see, I have felt really confident and sure the last few months that I was ready to get away from the comforts I have grown up with and get back to a country that is still a mystery to me. However when I got off the plane and stood in the airport custom lines all that was going through my mind was “what in the world am i doing back here?” <br /> Back to a place where the comfort of traveling to the store and back in your own car does not exist. In it’s place you get to travel by bus for 30 minutes to a hour one way. When you get at the store you can only buy so much because that same bus route you took to get to that store you will take again along with all the bags of groceries in your hand. along with that comes the possibility of having to stand and hold all the stuff you just bought. I will not lie to you, plastic can cut into your hands after holding it for so long. <br /> Why am I back in a place where my bed is about the same as taking 20 pieces of plywood and stacking them on top of each other and putting a little fabric around them to keep the wood together? In this same bed my first night back here i was welcomed back by a tickling on my neck in the middle of the night from the antennas of a roach in bed with me. Look at your middle finger to get an idea of how big this roach was. R.I.P. my little friend.<br /> Why did I come back to a place where you have to point at food you think you recognize on a picture menu just to get a plate of noodles, chicken feet, and a big chicken head looking right at you? or to walk down the street and get hit with a good smell of stinky tofu? <br />Why did i come back to a place where i have no idea half the time what i am doing because i have no idea what in the world anything says or what people are saying? I promise you, going to another country where you cannot communicate with people brings out the caveman in you. There is a whole lot of grunting, shaking your head, waving your hands around, and rejoicing with more grunting when they discover that you have been trying to tell them for 5 minutes that you wanted fried rice. <br />I can keep entertaining you with hundreds of “why in the world did i come back to this stories”, but none of these reasons matter one little bit to the one reason why i did come back. I love my neighbor.Kevinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00642784283664113980noreply@blogger.com0