A passage from a book I am reading

So, I am reading the Raggamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. Anyways, I really liked this passage so I thought I would share it:

There is one barrier to love that deserves special mention because it is so crucial to the second call of Jesus Christ- Fear. Most of us spend considerable time putting off the things we should be doing or we would like to do, but are afraid to do. We are afraid of failure. We don’t like it, we shun it, we avoid it because of our inordinate desire to be thought well of by others. So we come up with a thousand brilliant excuses for doing nothing. We put off things, waste the energies of life and love that are within us. And the judgment of the Lord High Executioner in The Mikado on the girl who perpetually procrastinated falls on us: ‘She’ll never be missed; no, she’ll never be missed.’

Each of us pays a heavy price for our fear of falling flat on our faces. It assures the progressive narrowing of our personalities and prevents exploration and experimentation. As we get older, we only do thing we do well. There is no growth in Christ Jesus without some difficulty and fumbling. If we are going to keep growing we must keep risking failure throughout our lives. When Max Planke was awarded the Nobel Prize for his discovery of quantum theory, he said, ‘Looking back over the long and labyrinthine path which finally lead to discovery, I am vividly reminded of Goethe’s saying that men will always be making mistakes as long as they are striving toward something.’”

-Brennan Mannning in The Ragamuffin Gospel

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

A classy martini for a classy girl :)

Strike a pose

Here is my mean face

Here are some pics of Jackie and I at the Marriott. The bar is on the 40th floor, so there is an amazing view of the city (even though you can't see it in the pictures). Oh, and this is my straight hair. I really do like it... the change is fun and it's easier to manage than curly hair.

My hair

One of my biggest concerns with coming to China was about my hair and what I would do when I needed to get it cut. To begin, curly hair is hard enough to cut back home and I have gotten some pretty bad hair cuts in the past when people don't know how to cut curly hair and comsidering Chinese women do not have curly hair I admit I was concerned. Oh, and there is the whole language barrier and wondering how the heck I would tell a hair dresser how I want my hair to be cut. Anyways, I am now going on four months of being in China (yes, it has been that long) and my hair was definatley needing to get cut. Since I was hesitant about what I would do with my hair, I put off doing anything until today.

So, you may be wondering how my mari cut experience went in China, and to be honest it went well. I had to call friends to talk to the hair dressers for me to make sure they knew what I wanted. Oh, and what I mean by what I "wanted" what I decided (and I decided this yesterday) was to avoid having to worry about my curly hair in China and I got my hair straightened. So, as of today, I no longer have curly hair and my hair is pretty much as straight as straight hair can be. To be honest, I love it!!!! I cannot wash it for three days or pull it back for a week, but I am excited for straight hair. What's crazy is how long it is now because my hair now goes do to just below my shoulders and above my shoulder blades. And yes, I will send pictures (I just don't have any yet).

Anyways, that is the big news of this week, I know that I am excited. I do admit, I was freaking out a little before I got it done. I had a few phone conversations with my friends for some support because this is a big deal for me. Now that it is done I really like it and do not regret it. Sure I will miss my curls, but they will grow back.

My video from Yangshou

I finally made another video of my pics. This one is from my October break in Yangshou... I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPQtikBAT3Y

Pics of the fabric market

I know that you all have been dying to see what the fabric market is like. Last weekend I went to pick up my coats and they were too big so I had to get them altered, which meant that I had an hour and a half to kill but luckily I had my camera, so like any good Fudge would do I went around and took pictures. I know my skills do not compare to those of my family members, but they do show you what the fabric market looks like.

Shanghai Half Marathon

Today I ran in the Shanghai Half Marathon. I now can say that I have ran one in China (I will also be running another one in May on the Great Wall... yes, I do know how awesome that sounds). Anyways, moving on. For the first time I decided to run a 1/2 marathon with plenty of time to train. Considering there isn't soccer for me to play a few times a week or beach volleyball, I have been running quite a bit since I got here. I usually run between 3-6 days per week for about 45-90 min. I assumed that this would help me to be ready to get my best time EVER. Anyways, the past three weeks I have been fighting a cold and it has been raining, so my running got cut a lot. I think in the past two weeks I ran like 3 or four times not to mention, the week or two before I didn't run too much and when I did I felt like crap, but such is life. Long story short, my "training" didn't go as planned.

Friday night I picked up my race packet. It is the best race packet I have ever gotten. Not only is the shirt the cool running material, but we got a Mizuno backpack type thing. In the bag there were also lots of booklets and pamphlets, most of which were in Chinese, our numbers for our shirts, and our timing chip for our shoe. This morning the bus came at 5:30 am to pick us up, yes it was ridiculously early considering the race started to 7:30. I decided to plan ahead and started to get everything ready last night. Soccer taught me that it is always smarter to prepare the night before because otherwise things get left behind. As I was packing my bag with my wallet, banana, watch, Ipod, etc. I remembered that I needed to get my number. I went to the table only to remember that I threw away the race booklets and most likely my number and my chip. CRAP! no number, no race. Just my luck too, earlier yesterday I decided to take out our trash, something that happens about once a week. Considering it was 10:30 pm when I discovered this I decided to not go dumpster diving, but luckily my roommate decided to not run, so I was able to run under the name of "Janai Wallace" (oh and this also means that I would be out of my deposit for the chip).

So this morning I woke up super early ready to go. It was awesome, the start was on Nanjing Lu (one of the big tourist roads) over looking the river and the Pearl Tower. It was not raining, and the temperature was great. This was setting up to be one of my best runs ever. Well, until I started. The full 13.1 miles I never felt like I hit the runner's high and my legs felt heavy the entire time. The good news I finished, but with my second to worse time of 1 hr 59 min and 40 sec. The good news being that anyone under 2 hours got free ghetto shoes, bad news being I was bummed about my time. Oh well, you win some and you lose some. BUT, I can now say that I have ran a half marathon in China, pretty cool! Oh, and about the shoes, luck with have it they didn't have any my size, oh and my time won't show up under my name since I threw my chip away, but I do have a shirt and a bag to prove it (and a couple pictures).

More Hangzhou pics

It was just too beautiful... I needed to add more pics

Hangzhou

Last weekend I went to Hangzhou. Hangzhou is a city about 2 hours from Shanghai via the train. I went with my friend Jackie and other friends from the British International School. Hangzhou is a perfect picture of East meeting West. It is famous for its beautiful lake, and by the pictures you can see how beautiful it is. It is also one of the few places in China that survived the Cultural Revolution so there are many temples and relics from the past that remain in tact. The Lake is know as West Lake and on one side of the lake are the areas that contain the temples, pagodas, etc. and on the other side a city has been built up with high rise buildings, Starbucks coffee shops, Porche and Mazzarati dealerships, and other stores and buildings showing how commercialism has crept into China. However, the lake was gorgeous. It was the first time since I have been in China that I got to actually see the sun set. It made me realize how much I miss sunsets over the ocean. In the morning I got up early and walked around the lake. In the morning the locals wake up early for their morning exercises. The exercises were fun to watch because groups of young and old gathered in groups of two to twenty people and did thai chi, sword moves, aerobic type routines, etc. Also, a few men did water calligraphy where they had these sticks with a rag or brush on the end and they would writed the calligraphy on the cement. I got pictures of one man (I actually kind of made friends with him and he took pictures of me taking pictures of him doing calligraphy and he gave me a tissue with calligraphy on it) but I am waiting to get the pictures back form my friends camera because my battery died.

Over all the weekend was perfect. It was fun and relaxing and beautiful with some crazy moments mixed in. I think the highlights included watching the sunset, going to this crazy dance club that had techno trance music and a bouncing dance floor, and then the next day going to Starbucks and having coffee while just sitting at the lake and people watching. Hangzhou is a place where is anyone visited I would be sure to take them there.

Whipped cream and jackets...

"What the heck is up with this subject title?!?" you are probably asking yourself. Well, the answer is simple... my weekend was awesome due to whip cream and jakctets (or should I say coats?). On Saturday my friends and I tried to go to the Shanghai Aquarium, which didn't happen, so we ended up cruising around the Bund area (you may have eariler seen pictures I posted of the Pearl Tour and this is the same area). Anyways, moving on, it was a perfect day: the weather was warm, the sun was out, and we were walking around. We ended up going to this placa called the City Market whihc sells Western food. There really has not been anything that I have been dying to eat, but when I saw the whip cream canister I knew I has to get it. Sure it was 6 bucks for the whip cream, but the thought of putting whip cream in my coffee made me so incredibly happy. How can whip cream be worth 6 bucks? Oh, but trust me, it is. Now I sit at my computer drinking my coffee with whip cream, maybe tonight I will put some on my hot chocolate... this is so great. I was so excited that yesterday morning I had a coffee/hot chocolate and whip cream party so I could share the goodness. I love simple pleasures.

And coats. No, I did not put whip cream on my jackets. Yesterday was the day that I went to the fabric market to pick out my saving graces for the winter, meaning my winter coats. If you want to talk about feeling overwhemed, try going to a fabric market where they can make just about any coat in any style in any color and fabric. I wanted to get so many, but limited myself to only two: one is black and white w/ toggle buttons and a hood (supposedely a Burberry remake) and the other is is this blueish color with on row of buttons and over sized pockets. Anyways, these words do not explain their awesomeness. I am soooo excited to be able to pick them up in a week or so (and yes, of course I will take pictures).

So that is what made my weekend incredibly awesome: being able to get whip cream and my winter jackets. Ahhhhh, life can be so simple yet so good.

Forced Family Fun

So every family has forced family fun. You know what I am talking about, the events that everyone in the family must attend, willingly or not, all in the name of "family bonding." I am not saying that this is a bad thing, in fact good memories come from these events.. Anyways, SMIC (the company my school is under) had one of these events under the name of Company Sports Day.

Now, most of you know that I love sports but this day put a new maning to competitive. Basically there were a couple thousand grown events ready to compete in random events that should be at a fun day at the park and are not really competitive, but people were here to win. Different departments formed the teams (I honestly don;t even know what departments were w/ us except for the CEO). Anyways, the events were quite amusing. There was a tug of war competition where people were more serious than I had ever seen. A race called the Centipede Run which was like a three legged race on steroids. Basically they tied people's legs together like a three legged race but instead of there being two people there were 10. The teams practiced for this event, came out in knee pads, and there was a mattress at the end of the course to catch the forward momentum of teams. Among other events was a 100 M run, jump roping (and yes, tis was with adults), some relays, and other things that I am not sure about.

The day began with the opening ceremonies in which all the departments marched around the track in different formations. Some teams dressed up in cheerleading type costumes and did cheers. Another team dressed up in black and yellow spandex suits and did like modified arobics on the track. There was a group of grown men dressed in camo that did some serious kung fu accompanied by people dressed as bugs bunny, a bee, and something else that I forget (it was a funny combination). There were also serious marchers that has the perfect one-two-one march down and their faces had stern, serous looks to them.

The best though was that my K1'ers represented the school and marched the track. They were so cute and I was so proud. They also did a dance in front of everyone. It was funny, b/c I was so happy to see them do it that I was kind of giddy. Anyways, here are some pics of my kids (they are so precious).

To my friends and family

John Piper in Future Grace writes of a massive oak tree that stands outside his window. While the tree is visibly massive from the ground up “what is not seen is the roots. That’s the way it is with roots. They support everything but they don’t get much attention. The more massive the tree, the more massive the root system. It’s there, and if we could see it then we would be amazed. We would understand why this tree is still standing after decades of wind and lightening and hail and heat.”

Now that I have been in China I have spoken to many people who have told me that I am brave for coming and adventurous and how proud they are of me for making the step and so on. People ask me why I came and how am I adjusting to life and all sorts of questions, and I have recently realized that the answer to all these questions is my support system back home, my roots.

Being away from my friends and family physically has shown me that despite me not being able to see my support system it is there. Like the roots of a tree, I can only stand because I know that I am supported from something so deeply rooted that nothing will make me fall, no matter what comes my way. The reality is that the strength of my support system has gotten me through many hard times and challenging times. Times when I felt so much loss that I didn’t think anything could fill the void; times of confusion when I couldn’t make sense of anything; times when I was scared and times when I needed to be grounded back to reality. I have been encouraged and lifted up and prayed for more than I know and have realized and have acknowledged, and because of this I am able to be where I am today.

And I realize that it is the people who have come and gone in my life that have given my roots to be strong and to trust and to know that no matter what happens someone will be there to catch me and support, no matter where I am, even if I am in China. Despite my questioning of faith and God I have had amazing people to remind me what it is to be a Christian and the unwavering promises of God. I have had people speak louder to me through their actions and their own struggles than any words could express. Without my friends and family I know, without a doubt, I would not be who I am or where I am today. Without the support that so often goes unnoticed and unrecognized I know that I would not have the strength that I do and the sense of adventure that I have.

And so I thank you. I thank you for being my roots; something so deep that I can’t even recognize it or know its depths. And so if you want to know how is it that I am adapting to life in China, know that part of the answer is you. The knowledge of knowing that I have a group of people supporting me and encouraging me along the way makes life here so much easier. And as my roots have gotten me through so much I know that whatever comes my way across the world I will be able to handle it and grow from it.

* Sorry for the sappiness of this post... I am in a contemplative state of mind :)

Links to my videos

Here are links to videos I made...

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om6aODvMOso
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXAc_LD2EzY
  

My hot air balloon ride

While in Yangshou some of my friends (Tarah, Janai, and Laura) decided to go on a hot air balloon ride. We were soooo excited because Yangshou is absolutely gorgous, you've seen some pics now so I think you would agree. Anyways, the day of the ride, which was supposed to be for sunset, it was hazy and cloudy so we debated doing it because we knew the view woud not be that good, but we decided to do it.

We went up in the balloon. It was pretty, but not too much visibility. We reached close to 3000 ft (910 meters) so we were super high up. Being that high is such an amazing feeling. I have not felt that free since I went sky diving. When you are up that high it is so peaceful, well, except for the sound of the gas to light the flame of the balloon.

After about an hour we saw the other two balloons going down to land, so we figured our turn was next. Well, we were right and the balloon started to descend. Going down was so beautiful because we could see more and Yanghou is so green and the division fo the field and rice patties are gorgeous. As we went down our balloon passed over a village and we couls see and hear the children yelling "Hello" and "Ni hau" to us, so of course we were yelling back. I did not realize it, bu Tarah brought up the idea that maybe we weren't supposed to land here. As I thought about it, the thought made sense since I no longer saw the other balloons and the kids and adults were really excited to see the balloon so close (something they probably don't normally see). Well, tha balloon went down there was a tree. The pilot attempted to get the balloon to go higher but there was no luck and we brushed the top of it. To be honest, it was kind of funny to think we hit a tree in a balloon. Instead of continuing to go up we started to go down into a rice patty. The balloon hit the rice patty and we were soon horizontal in the basket. But, we didn't land here. The balloon picked up and in front of us were some houses. Thank God we cleared them, but on the other side of the houses was a tree that we were not so lucky to miss. And, as you can guess, the basket made a direct hit into the top of the tree and branches. We were ok, in fact we were laughing hysterically at this point. By now we realized that the liot made a wrong turn, but he didn't speak English so we couldn't ask him. On the other side of the tree was a field which we went down in. The landing was not smooth at all. We hit once, bounced up a bit, and landed again on the side.

Meanwhile, through our attempts to land and us hitting the trees the village which we were over ran to see what the heck was going on. As we climbed out of the basket, laughing so hard that I thought I was going to pee my pants, there were about 50 kids, not mention a bunch of adults around us. The kids were so happy to see us, some of the adults were happy too, some were curious as to who the heck we were and why we were there, and others were less than thrilled. However, we really couldn't do anything except stand in their field that we crashed landed into. It was funny because we had some old lady yelling at us. We figured the crops were probably hers, so she was not too happy with us.

We thought it was pretty awesome; definately an experience and it definately made the ride worthwhile (despite the lack of visiblity). I mean, how many people can say that they rode a hot air balloon in China, hit two trees, ran into a rice patty, and landed in some random field in a random village? Not too many I assume.

Finally the bus found us. We found out through a couple that was on the bus that they spent 45 minutes looking for us and some random boy had to get in the van to show the driver of the van where we were. Our hypothesis that we were not supposed to land there was correct, in fact we found out we missed the landing area by about 9 miles. Anyways, here are some pics from the air and from the ground. Enjoy!

more Yangshou Pictures

Yangshou pictures

They are precious in His sight

The holiday is approaching!

Next week is a China National Holiday. I really don't know what it is for, but I kind of don't care because I get the week off of work (woo hoo!). I am super excited because I get to travel around China. I leave on Saturday with 4 boys from our group to Zhang Jie Jia. You should look it up, it is absolutely gorgeous. All for of these guys are definately "manly men" in regards to they have the attitude of "we don't care if we have a place to sleep at night" and "Sarah, you have to make sure all your stuff for one week fits into a carry on bag", so it should be exciting. I did reserve a hostel for us to stay in, so I know I have a place to sleep (and them too if they want to join). Then it is off to Yangshou. Well, we fly into Guilin then take a ferryboat to Yangshou on the Li River. We will meet up with the rest of the group (so there will be 12 of us total) to spend that remainder of our time ni beautiful Yangshou.

Unfortunately for y'all this means no random stories and pics from me for a week. So sorry to all those who waste time at work by readin my blog. BUT (and there is a light at the end of the tunnel) I will be back the following week with pics and stories that are at least somewhat amusing and interesting. I am just assuming that everyone loves to read what I have to say, so humor me and pretend like you do :)

Oh yeah, on a random note... my phone is working now! I know, it took forever to work, but now I can communicate with the outside world once again! Let me know if you want the number.

More pics of the Bund area

Looking over the Huangpu River into Puxi at sunset.

Mc Donald's are everywhere! Good for me b/c I love vanilla frosty cones, but still kind of disturbing.

Walking around Shanghai

The Pearl Tower!

Last weekend the weather was absolutely gorgeous. For the first time in a little while the sun was shining so staying outside was a mandatory. No one else wanted to do anything, so I just decided to walk around and explore a little. I went to the Bund, more exacly Pearl Tower. Shanghai is divided into parts: Pudong (the side I live on) and Puxi (pronounsed Pu Shi) and the dividing line is the Huangpu River. Anyways, the Pearl Tower is in Pudong and side opposite of the River is Puxi.
As I was saying, the day was absolutely amazing and I hope that you can enjoy these pics as much as I enjoyed the day.