3/25/12, 20:15 EST; 3/26/12, 08:15 Beijing Time; 3/26/12, 00:15 GMT; Beijing, China

You’ll be glad to know, I hope, that I make it through the festival alive (but just barely) along with the rest of our group.  Only one person fainted and had to go to the hospital, fortunately not one of ours.  (Going to a Chinese hospital doesn’t sound like a very pleasant experience to me, but I speak in ignorance, thankfully.)  Yesterday we rode the bus back to Beijing, dumped our stuff in the hotel and headed off for the Forbidden City on foot.  I must admit that I didn’t find it as interesting as places like civil war battlefields, which I have more historical context for.  (That is, for which I have a historical context.  Stupid language.)  However, the vastness and ornateness of the place was impressive and it’s good to know that it really does look exactly like the pictures.  We left the Forbidden City via Tiananmen Gate and saw the infamous square.  This had a lot more meaning to me, even though I wasn’t alive during the protests.  After that we walked to walking street (aptly named since they won’t allow cars on it) so that we could walk some more and eat and shop and practice our bartering skills.  After spending around four hours there we walked back to the hotel check in and get some sleep.  This morning we had breakfast at 7am and left soon after for the Great wall, which we are currently on our way to see.

3/23/12, 21:15 EST; 3/24/12, 09:15 Beijing Time; 3/24/12, 01:15 GMT; Tianjin, China

The 21^st was our last day in Chengdu and we didn’t go anywhere except the international school.  While there, we got to see some presentations on things like the earth quake of 2008 and a movement to strengthen families.  We also had the privilege of seeing a spectacular performance on the Chinese banjo (known to some as the Pe Pa). 

After that we ate at the cafeteria and those of us who were chosen to be part of the impromptu CLCHM praise band, myself included, tried to throw something together for a special fellowship time at the school, following the regular chapel, which our team sang in.  Fortunately the kids from the international school did most of the leading, since they did a great job.  I must admit that it was a bit odd for me making up accompaniments for praise songs on the violin for the first time (not to mention being miced).  I don’t know that I prefer it to more traditional styles, but I was extremely glad that I got to have that experience, in China of all places.  After the fellowship session went out to eat as a group for our last dinner in Chengdu and returned to our host families to pack.  The next mourning we said our farewells and left for an uneventful day of travel, with the exception of a unique billboard depicting a small boy urinating from long range into a western style toilet and some nasty illnesses which we have all ended up with now.  When we arrived in Tianjin we had a bite to eat at a plaza with a number of restaurants and checked in to our hotel.  The next day was spent singing and singing and singing and singing some more for the nation-wide festival of international schools which we journeyed here to attend.  After getting back exhausted and sick the sane ones among our party (a small minority) went to bed and the insane ones, myself included, sat in the lobby and sang (perhaps some did neither, but I don't know anything about that).  Today we have another day of grueling singing ahead of us, which none of us are looking forward thanks to the fact that all of us are suffering from varying degrees of illness (except for the ones who don’t have to sing, of course).  Ah well. 

3/20/12, 08:50 EST; 3/20/12, 20:50 Beijing Time; 3/20/12, 12:50 GMT; Chengdu, China

On Monday (I can’t believe Monday was just yesterday) we started the day by visiting a local migrant school along with the choir from the international school and performed a number of pieces for them outside before mingling with their 9th graders and starting a basket ball game.  After that we returned to the international school and ate lunch before leaving again to tour the religious sites of Chengdu. The first was the local Mosque, which didn’t really have any surprises. 

The second was the Three Self Church, government sanctioned church (self-governance, self-support and self-propagation), which was pretty much just a large sanctuary much like one would find in an Episcopalian church around here in the US.

We sang a couple of songs in there, which sounded very nice thanks to the gorgeous acoustics of the room. Finally, we also visited a Buddhist temple, which was a very depressing experience. The most striking aspect of the entire place was its oppressive nature. There are literally angry gods, demons, and other nasties coming out of the woodwork.

Comparing this hope in incense candles offered to enormous scowling statues that look like they’d love to rend you in pieces to the hope I have in Christ almost impossible.  It’s interesting to think that the deep sadness I feel for such people now is not felt by them at all, as they must see it as simply another form of insurance. It’s so clear to see the utter despair, sadness, and hopelessness of anything besides the one true God.  It’s terrible to think that the metaphysical Idols in my own life are just as horrible evil, oppressive, and destructive anything in that temple, if not more so.  After the temple, we went to a dirty little restaurant near by and had some delicious Tibetan cuisine, while being serenaded by a somewhat tipsy gentleman who knew some cool songs and shook each of us by the hand as we left.  After that we returned to our host families and retired to our beds.  The next mourning (today) we went first thing in the mourning to see the Panda reserve.  

Although I don’t seem to appreciate Pandas in the same way that others in my party do, I did see some interesting birds roaming the premises along with the Red and Giant Pandas in there, some of which I was able to identify including Yellow-bellied Tits, Collared Finchbill, and the omnipresent White-browed Laughingthrushes and Light-vented Bulbuls.   After that we returned to the school to eat lunch at the cafeteria before going to another to take part in a cultural exchange, which I found extremely interesting and entertaining (except for the part we did).  There was an oriental orchestra, Tai Chi, an Erhu solo, and a dance called “face changing” which involved two dancers and A LOT of masks.  Afterwards they walked us around some of the local shop and treated us to dinner at a fancy restaurant.  The coolest part was that a guy from the Sichuan TV station filmed us the entire time we were there, which I assume means that we will be broadcasted on province television.  Needless to say, we’re back at our host family’s houses now and I need to get some sleep.

3/18/12, 10:10 EST; 3/18/12, 22:10 Beijing Time; 3/18/12, 14:10 GMT; Chengdu, China

Well, now that we’re here there’s barely enough time to do everything planned let alone write about it, but this is worth a little sleep loss.  Yesterday mourning our group visited an orphanage in a nearby city.  I could say all the cliché stuff that people are wont to say after something like this (which is mostly true judging from my experience), but I think I’ll just sketch a little bit of the scene instead.  (Figuratively speaking, of course, I’m not in the habit of drawing much.)  The afore mentioned orphanage is specifically for special needs children, although there are some children without special needs and some adults with special needs there as well.  The disabilities of the children/adults there vary quite a bit from a repaired cleft lip to some severe mental and physical disabilities.  While we were there we threw around some balls and frisbees and did our best to interact despite the language barrier, which worked pretty well in most cases.  I guess if my writing in this area is a bit stiff and even worse than my other writing it’s because I’m still somewhat over-whelmed by the entire experience more than 30 hours later.  The combination of laughter and play with seeing people in wheel chairs tied to the wall made for a rather confusing and difficult experience.  

After that excursion we returned to the school to play some frisbee until dinner.  My particular group of four accompanied our host family to a local restaurant where I was finally forced to use chop sticks or starve (which I was able to do with some success, as I certainly did not starve by any means).  I personally had pulled noodles, which we were able to see pulled outside the restaurant, submerged in a tasty broth.  After that we took a little stroll and enjoyed the unusually dry weather.  (In Chengdu, if you can tell for sure where the sun is, it’s a clear day.  We were able to see Venus and Jupiter relatively clearly during the night.)  After that we returned home and finished Dolphin Tail with our host families little girls and watched the first half of The Fellowship of the Ring with their boys after the girls went to bed.  Sunday mourning we were able to fellowship at the international school and sang some songs for and with the gathering.  (I personally accompanied on my host families violin along with some other students who played drums, piano, and guitar.)  After that, one of my room mates and I played soccer with some kids, including our host families boys.  Finally, this evening we went to the night market in Xiepoo (I’m not sure if that is an accepted pinyon spelling, but it’s pronounced she-poo).  Probably the coolest things I ate there were cuttlefish and duck intestine, both of which were grilled on a stick.  

The duck intestine in particular tasted a lot like bacon, due to the seasoning, and the cuttlefish was quite tasty.  Another interesting food item we had was sugar cane, which tasted . . . sugary.  The vendor selling it simply lopped off the ends of the cane and the outer shell and hacked it into a number of pieces.  Then we simply bit off a piece, extracted the juice, and spat the fibers out on the street.  (People spit and throw all kinds of things all over the place in addition to having their children relieve themselves on street.  No I didn’t get any pictures of that.)  Anyhow, my “host dad” tells me that “a Christian on his way to heaven goes to bed before eleven”.  Fortunately it’s actually 23:08, but I think I should still go to bed rather than risk my immortal soul.  Bonne nuit.

If you're getting tired of hearing about me . . .

Here's some commentary you won't find on MSNBC.

http://clearysviewpoint.blogspot.com/2012/03/normal-people-bullies-and-totalitarians.html

http://clearysviewpoint.blogspot.com/2012/03/race-and-justice-in-america.html

http://clearysviewpoint.blogspot.com/2012/03/muslim-tolerance.html

3/16/12, 07:30 EST; 3/16/12, 19:30 Beijing Time; 3/16/12, 11:30 GMT; Chengdu, China

I’m currently doing my best to stay awake as long as I can in an attempt to adjust to local time.  My three room mates seem to have succumbed and I’m not sure how long I can hold out.  Probably trying to write under the influence of jet-lag is about the dumbest thing on earth, but here I sit.  By the time the lines for getting the boarding passes opened in Beijing, we were running a little close to our departure time.  Then we had to switch lines a number of times before we got in “the right line”.  By this time we were getting a little concerned about making our flight, but were able to race through security and make it on the plane on time and with limited loss of property.  Once we were on we settled down and tried to eat some of the airline food provided.  I’m not sure which is more revolting, Chinese breakfast gruel or airplane food, but I do know that the combination of the two was not very appetizing (although I must allow that, due to its bland nature, it couldn’t really be called disgusting either).  Of course, things started to pick up after we landed and left the airport and actually got to see some of China.  (Dawn was just breaking when we left Beijing, and all of China seemed to be enveloped by a large cloud during our flight to Chengdu.)  One of the things that surprised me most about Chengdu initially is the amount of greenery.  Almost every roof is covered with bushes, small trees, and other plants.  After arriving at the private school that will serve as our base of operations for the duration of our time in Chengdu we went strait into rehearsing our music, taking a break in the afternoon for lunch.  After we finished practicing (maybe around 15:00) we were all connected with our hosts, and had the opportunity to take a shower for the first time since Wednesday mourning (about 45 hours and ____ miles ago) which most of us took advantage of.  After that, my room mates and I joined a different family for dinner, since our own host family had another engagement, where we are currently residing/sleeping. 

P. S. I managed to stay awake until we returned to our host family’s apartment at around 21:00.  My room mates slept through the night without much trouble despite their prolonged naps.  

3/15/12, 12:40 EST; 3/16/12, 00:14 Beijing Time; 3/15/12 GMT; Beijing, China

We have arrived safely in China and are over 25 hours into our journey from the time we got on the bus in Lancaster.  We made it through customs smoothly and are now waiting out or very long (7 hour) lay-over in the Beijing airport. Life is really getting tough now.  I can handle a 13 hour flight but a 7 hour lay-over WITH A DEAD iPod BATTERIE is simply humanly impossible.  It should be illegal to build an airport without an electrical outlet at least every 15 ft.  And planes too, for that matter.  (Perhaps my weariness is showing a little.  I’m not only rambling on, a more than usual phenomenon, I’m composing sentence fragments instead of run-ons.)   Anyhow, some of the more creative (or delirious) members of our party found sources of entertainment notwithstanding the afore mentioned hardship.

I would continue rambling on so that I have something to do, but there simply isn’t anything to ramble about right now.  I was unpleasantly unsurprised to find that our party, bedecked in red shirts and hats, draws a lot of stares from the Chinese folks.  Can’t say I blame them.

P.S.  I was able to charge my iPod with one of the chaperon's power strips which he found an outlet for.  While I waited for it to charge, we talked about politics until sparks flew.  Literally.  The outlet blew up during our otherwise mundane conversation.  It was probably made in China.

3/14/12, 16:15 EST; 3/15/12, 04:15 Beijing Time; 3/14/12, 20:15 GMT; Washington International

We’re now waiting outside our gate to board for our flight to Chicago.  We saw the Capital Building, the Jefferson Memorial, and the Air Force Memorial on the way into DC.  Everyone made it through security with limited confiscation and delay.  Boarding isn’t called until 17:40, so we get to hang out here for a little while.

3/14/12, 11:30 EST; 3/14/12, 23:30 Beijing Time; 3/14/12, 15:30 GMT; Lancaster PA

The bus is rolling and our contingent of the Central Lancaster County Homeschool Choir is on its way (hence my difficulty in reading my handwriting).  Nothing to write about really, but I needed something to do.