The Ride.
It's not pretty or picture perfect but it is exciting, heart wrenching and the ride China has given us is slowing down. The tummy tickles and vertigo have worn off and we're finally able to lift our whiplashed necks and appreciate the views.
It's time for an update! We've been moving at such a fast pace through these last months; life has been stacked with event after event. It all got rolling in the end of January when we went to Shanghai to celebrate Reese's fifteenth birthday. To honor him and his growing passion for basketball we made it to a Shanghai Sharks game to watch Jimmer Fredette play. During half time Reese was brave enough to saunter past a long line of security guards lined up by the railing along the locker room entrance. Action led to luck and he got his jersey signed! (also the guards didn't even acknowledge him—they probably thought he was one of the players.)
The stadium was so small! Image a really big high school stadium with old cushy seats, but it was awesome. Tickets were hard to figure out, (we had to get a Chinese ID number but our friends helped out #identitytheft) thankfully we made it happen because it was our last chance to see them play before the Chinese New Year celebrations began!
Oh, Chinese New Year. We didn't get to experience the culture or understand the history of this holiday as much as I would have liked. Now that its coming to an end I can tell you that Chinese New Year involves a lot of red lanterns, fireworks for a few days straight, and all the good restaurants closing. Everything closed actually. The fruit sellers, print shop, and trampoline park all peaced-out. To join the celebration we hung a paper decoration on our door—I assume it said something like "peace and prosperity in the new year" but I can't read Chinese yet.
We bought some fireworks and shot them off on the roof of our apartment building! Safe. We know. Turns out the kind we got weren't the high arial kind we'd seen the neighbors shooting off. Haha don't worry, everyone's face is intact. Sadly the fire works weren't all that great to look at. Reese lit the fuse for the first one. It sizzled away and after a brief moment of suspenseful silence . . . BOAM! A tiny flash launched a cylinder of gunpowder into the air and it exploded again in what sounded like what I can only describe as a sonic boom. Our ears rang for a few minutes. But we shot off about five more. Then decided that going deaf wouldn't be worth the "thrill" of the last three so we did sparklers instead.
Mom got to take the week off from work (her only paid break along with the rest of the working people of this country) and it was so great to have her home! We rested, Reese and I worked on our online school, Audrey and Paige were relived from their school stresses. That has been hands down the biggest obstacle here. Finding school for Audrey and Paige. The "international" school they were enrolled in was weird. Socially draining and stressful. Academically it was totally Chinese: test based with lots of homework, no recess, talking wasn't allowed during lunch, and the food was very very Chinese. I remember asking Paige what her school lunches were like, "Well, I never eat the meat because, ehhww. But I guess you just have to get used to being grossed out. Even the rice is questionable. Some days its cold or soggy or chewy or dry. I get plenty of variety with just the rice." Divine intervention took a merciful step in. A few weeks before the holiday break a young mother came into Better Kids. She began talking to Mom about a Waldorf school in Hangzhou. We've never heard of the Waldorf method but after a little research it seemed to be exactly what the girls need.
Even through the teasing and bad lunches at Wickham International the girls are being so guided! They had a chance to share the gospel with a foreign teacher the last week before the break and happily left knowing that they wouldn't have to go back. Their first day at Waldorf was February 25th, we are all exited for them to be more immersed in Chinese, make music and art, and be an example of kindness.
After nearly five months things aren't so foreign or strange. I've gotten used to the smells although raw sewage is still a kicker. I love walking into the markets and getting hit by the wave of oriental fumes that simply can not be described in words. It's a good reminder that I am in fact awake and living no matter how weird-dreamy China can be.
That's why sometimes we need a break. A bounce break. A slam yourself into a foam pit and forget everything break. I guess we officially live here now. Because only locals would be bored enough to risk breaking their neck for a few hours of headache inducing jumps at the trampoline park.
It's a great, relatively inexpensive (40RMB on weekdays ~ $5.50) way to get all that compressed holiday-break energy out.
It took trusting and searching but at last I've found an amazing art teacher and studio! I remember being a month into this journey and feeling terrified by the reality that art and creativity seemed practically nonexistent here. Every now and then there's a mural in a restaurant but there seemed to be a complete absence of true creativity.
One day mom and I were searching for a place to eat at a nearby plaza when I saw, in the upper windows of one of the buildings, beautiful paintings!! We walked all the way around and admired copies of famous works. But I wasn't impressed, more depressed with distaste thanks to yet another bad rendition of Starry Night. I concluded that real original art just doesn't exist here. We got food and I completely forgot about the probably lame art studio. A couple weeks later in the courtyard of our apartment complex I noticed dozens of easels set up and displaying colored canvases! I ran home, grabbed a half filled sketchbook, then skipped over to the impromptu art gallery in hopes of making some connections. That's when I met Zhong lao shī (Mr. Zhong) the greatest teacher and artist and one of the best people I have ever known. He invited me to study with him at his 2nd story studio . . . just down the street. Let me just say, it's pointless to make assumptions without adequate information. What I at first thought to be a sad excuse for an art studio is in fact a creative refuge in a colorless and purely academic world. I spend three hours every Friday and Saturday painting with Zhong lao shī and it's the greatest.
This is undoubtedly one of the reasons I am here. It's exciting to think about all the opportunities that might come my way... all the neat people I'll connect with. I am forever grateful for my wildly driven parents and their courage and faith in moving us around the world.
Another defining twelve ounce detail of our life is Pegnut, Audrey and Paige's guinea pig. We bought him online... yep he came in a box, delivered to our door. In spite of his constant squeaking and cage smells (never let your children have a rodent) he's a sign that we just might be here a little longer than previously anticipated.
We made it to Hong Kong to visit the temple for the first time in three months! It's special that the Hong Kong temple was Audrey's (the Chinese speaker) first temple. The two hour flight and long bus ride really made me regret taking for the granted the access we once had to multiple temples (@ all my Utah people: Go on a walk to the temple and get yourself that spirituality!!).
Hong Kong was a nice reminder how comfortable western commodities are. By commodities I mean food mostly. We had burritos. And burgers. And best of all we could order in English and actually knew before the food came exactly what we were getting! That was utter satisfaction. Of course we did some sight seeing as well.
As we hiked to the beach our minds were lifted by the cleansing calmness of nature. Being surrounded by asphalt, exhaust, and stacks of apartments definitely takes a toll on one's wellness. As the weather warms up we are looking forward to more nature outings around Hangzhou.
Earlier this month (3/19) Grandma Sharon came to visit, the first of the family to make the journey and see us! It was comforting to see her again and also shocking to realize how at home we are here. Gran was quick to point out many inconveniences and discomforts that we now live without.
A church Conference was held in Shanghai. Grandma and I went on the Young Single Adult tour of Shanghai. It's always such a treat (excuse me, that's Grandma's vocab rubbing off) to talk to other foreigners. Everyone we chatted with has a story to tell and big dreams for the future. Through the Church of Jesus Christ we have been provided so many connections to the highest caliber people. What a blessing to be a member of such an incredible world wide organization!
Well folks. It's been one heck of a trip for sure. Six months down. Upside down and inside out. We've been pulled and stretched and tied in knots. It's rarely comfortable, although it's getting easier. It's crazy! There are still days I can't believe we did this! There have been days when I've wondered if in twenty years from now when we were all alcoholics living broken lives we'd look back and say, "Darn nab it I tell yea it was September 2018 when everything went wrong. If only we didn't succumb to the psychosis that was clouding our logical judgement and had never moved to China. Then everything would've been fine." There have been days of heart ache and frustration and regret. The unknowns of this journey are terrifying. But I guess we're some sort of mutated adrenaline junkies because the thrill of everything falling into place is worth all the fear and disgust and discomfort.
What I think is most wonderful about changing our lifestyle so dramatically is that although we've removed countless items and tasks from our life it is immeasurably more fulfilling. Change is good. Change is hard. The opposition of structure is a powerful force but it was when we pushed, with all our might, against the grain of stability and normalcy that we are able to experience true freedom. Habits can change more easily. Perspectives have a chance to shift. Life becomes alive! Growth becomes the new normal. And boy, does it feel good to grow.
"The most audacious thing I could possibly state in this day and age is that life is worth living. It's worth being bashed against. It's worth getting scarred by. It's worth pouring yourself over every one of it's hot coals." —Jeff Buckley