10 Things I Loved about CHINA...

So in order for me to tolerate waiting until we can figure out where our next move is; I have to reflect on what this transient lifestyle has given to Harvey and I. So to keep on with my "love" lists, I now include one I conjured up on China. Harvey and I lived there our first year of marriage. It was by far one of the most life changing experiences I have ever had. I learned more about myself in that year than I have at any other time in my life. I also learned to appreciate the bounty I have around me. We truly are blessed.
10 Things I love about China:

1. The People. They are so generous and kind. We made some incredible friends there. They have this child-like demeanor and they truly taught me what being a friend really is, and what it means to sacrifice for those you love.

2. Garlic. Now Harvey reading this would say WHAT!! I actually hated the smell. You could smell it in their hair, on their breathe, sometimes it was so overwhelming you could find yourself dry heaving. They eat garlic cloves whole, just dip them in soy sauce and yum, yum. However, I did love the smell as you walked down the streets. Fresh garlic growing in their gardens, cooking from their kitchens. When it mixes with ginger and soy sauce, it is divine!

3. Street Dancing. In Dalian, you could go to just about any major roundabout and in the middle you would find people out dancing to music at night. Old and young would be dancing, it was glorious!

4. The countryside. My life’s greatest lessons were learned when we stayed in the countryside for a time. The humility, the hard work and the generosity that we experienced was amazing. I will never forget when Harvey and I took a walk and heard giggling noises behind us. When we turned around there were children from the village following us. Having never seen a “white-face” before. They thought we were so funny, I am sure it was our nose sizes (they think our American noses are big). Within minutes they were climbing all over Harvey and playing with him. An amazing moment for me to observe.

5. The food. Now we had our fair share of squid, pig’s ears, chicken feet, silk worm larvae, etc… but if you can get a good home cooked meal at a friends house, it can be delicious.

6. Chinese New Year! It is impossible for me to describe China on the first day of the New Year celebrations. Let's just say if China were to be attacked on that day, no one would know. It sounded as if you were in a war zone. Our ears rung for days afterwards. There is so much smoke from the fireworks you can't see to far in front of you. It was an amazing experience. Once we got a few floors above the streets our eyes couldn't believe what we were seeing! The skies were filled with the most beautiful fireworks I have ever seen. I was able to go to Savannah's class this year and teach them all about the Chinese New Year. It was so fun to reminiscence as I made Jiaozi, taught them about the Chinese Zodiac and introduced them to their "sign", hung up all my red lanterns, told them the story of the evil "nian" monster, gave them each their own red envelope with Chinese money inside (a tradition that the oldest member gives the youngest member of the family). It was so much and I relished in all the memories.

7. History. The Chinese history is amazing to learn about. It is so diverse and overwhelming. I love to read about it, by reading their history you can understand them more today, and why they think the way they think, and do the things they do.

8. The Language. For those that have ever heard me try to attempt Chinese, just know that this is one thing I love because of the challenge it provides me. I have never had to use my brain so hard when it came to attempting to learn Chinese. I may not have mastered it, but Harvey did and nothing impresses me more than to hear Harvey rapidly speak Chinese. It amazes me how good he is and it only took him a year to learn it!

9. Truthfulness. Now when I was living there this would have been on the 10 things I hate about China list. But I do appreciate that if you ever want to know the answer to the hard questions, like am I fat? Is Harvey smarter than me? Do I talk too much? Am I a good mom? You can always get the truth from the Chinese. But now that I think about it, do we ever really want to know the truth to those questions?

10. A touch of Paparazzi. I realize now how much I would dislike being famous, however, sometimes after a day of hearing Harvey was the smart one in our relationship, etc…it was nice to take a walk and suddenly cameras were in my face. I got a sense of what it was like to be a movie star. Constantly my hair was being touched (it was curly at the time), my skin was being touched, and people dying to take pictures with me or just to hear me speak their language was a thrill. I assume because at the time they didn’t find too many foreigners that could speak Chinese, at least in Dalian. Harvey and I were in movies, commercials, and game shows...embarrassing? Yes. Once in a lifetime opportunity? Absolutely.