Hi there,

Just a quick, little update on upcoming days. I am excitedly looking forward to the upcoming weeks! First off, we get to see a friend tonight for a movie we haven’t seen in several months. Isn’t it peculiar how relationships work? Some friends you won’t see for months or years and they are still “my friend so-and-so”. Isn’t it fun! We’re planning on steam cooking brownies. (yes, it is possible, and yes, they taste amazing!) Also… tomorrow is my birthday!! Monica and I are going out to a “cultural breakfast”…whatever that means… with some of our friends. FLASHBACK to Christmas: our Christmas gift from Sam was a surprise destination day trip. NOW: I truly know nothing about what is going on tomorrow, and I can’t wait! It’ll be a lively event for certain!

This coming week is also my last official week of work for nearly one month! For those or you who don’t know, Chinese New Year is…monolithic to the Chinese. It is not a trivial la-de-da holiday. Think Christmas in NYC…everywhere. Basically the entire nation is closed for at least two weeks (including banks and some government offices) and most schools have the entire month of February off. I work for a grand total of five and a half days in the whole month of February. The whole vacation is unpaid, and if I make it through the month with my saving mostly intact, it’ll be a miracle. The holiday, however, will be well worth it! So much free time! In this free time, Monica and I are going on a holiday!! Yep! we’re off to Beijing for four days. We’ll stroll the Great Wall, ski learn how to ski fall often while learning too ski, eat at Cold Stone, shop, and so much more! Also, we won’t be alone. Monica’s friend and old co-worker will be taking time out of his busy work schedule to schlep us poor souls around the mammoth city. PTL for that or this trip would be exceedingly difficult.

I know that none of these things have happened yet, but I am just so excited that I had to share! A prayer for safe travels would be extra appreciated. God Bless!

Here I was, just nicely sipping on a bottle of strawberry lemon water when I realized, I’t been over a month since my last post! PTL for Monica or else this blog would just be taking up space on my login page. Thanks Monica! This post for me is a bit of a confession: I had a bad attitude for the first few months I was here. I complained quite often, and vented my frustrations more frequently than I would like to admit! My job and work hours were not what I was expecting, and a 3-4 hour round trip commute was not in the plan either. Still! It was no excuse for my attitude. I am happy to report, though, that the Good Lord woke me up. Nothing besides my commute has change, in fact, some things at the office became worse for a while. God has helped me to adapt to a situation that I assumed would drain the life from me. He taught me many different ways to utilize 7-9 free hours at a desk a day. I have not so thoroughly enjoyed my love of reading this much since high school! I’ve read over a dozen books these past couple months. I’ve also been privileged to read countless articles on a plethora of subjects. (Some of these articles contain odd information that I like to blurt out at random. Talk about some fun times for Monica.) I am learning new gardening tips and my taste in music has expanded in ways that I did not think it would. As an added bonus, He has let me nearly master a couple of techniques of teaching that use to terrify me. I’ve even been privileged enough to have some of the children (even though we cannot communicate effectively) come to love having my classes! I am often greeted by a chorus of “Berney! Berney!” As I walk through on class day. Each class has become increasingly rewarding as both the children and myself are learning something new. I am learning new life skills such as: breaking up fights, pacifying crying toddlers, how to quell the fears of a child who’s never been close to a foreigner, and how to laugh at and make a fool of myself – on purpose – freely.

I do still have my days of, “Nope, I am so done”, but they are swiftly decreasing. So many things learned; so many things still to learn!

Monica has done such a wonderful job telling everyone about Thanksgiving and Do Nothing Monday. I would like to make a quick post as a meaning and thank you to others.

I know many of our readers are in many countries besides America, and some of you may not understand the depth behind the holiday. We have had the privilege to befriend many non-Americans here in China and when we asked them about Thanksgiving, the general knowledge is it that it’s just a holiday for Americans to eat a TON of food. I’m not going to lie, the food is…magnanimous. A feast in every way. Corn, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, cheeses, dips, crackers, vegetable trays, fruit trays, cookies, pies, olives, hors d’oeuvres, assorted casseroles, dressing, gravy, and turkey: each one in it’s own dish, just waiting to be served. But, have you ever heard the phrase “That’s what you do, not what you are”? On Thanksgiving we DO eat enough food for two days, but that is not what the holiday IS.

Briefly, the history of Thanksgiving is the very beginning of American culture. The first year after landing, the Pilgrims had such a hard time that most of them died. The Indians offered their help to the dying men and women from England. Indians taught them how to plant and hunt in the New World. The English were so thankful to God and to the Indians that they set aside an entire day to give Him and the Indians thanks. The tradition was kept up on different days of autumn for the next two hundred years by different colonies and states. It was not until Lincoln’s presidency, and in the midst of the American Civil War, that a steady “day” was set. The official Thanksgiving day is the fourth Thursday of every November.

This holiday is a holiday that brings people together. Family especially, and also friends will gather together to celebrate. Thanksgiving in my home usually meant going to my grandparent’s house. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and my grandparents (from both sides) all gathered in one house. Some years, there were not as many of us as others (they spent the holiday with their spouses family), and twice the holiday was spent without my grandparents. Try to picture, though, a room full of noise. Laughing, clanking cutlery, pots of something boiling, children happy screaming, small dogs barking, and TALKING. This holiday almost physically embodies the words warmth, love, and joy.

Our first year spending the holiday away from loved ones was, strange. Since we had our good friend Reese over for dinner and since we found a place that cooked and sold American turkeys especially for the holiday, this Thanksgiving still held the same sentiment. All of us knew the feeling of wanting to be with our families, but shared the joy of having someone to celebrate with. It was not just a meaningless reason to eat more expensive food. We could be thankful together, and celebrate America together. We still had a feast, lively conversation, and holiday music.

God has truly been good to us this year (as He always is). He has allowed us to come on this wonderful adventure, allowed us to grow in numerous ways, allowed trials to make us stronger and teach us valuable life lessons. He let us experience a new culture, and life on our own. He allowed us to meet the most wonderful people and include those people as our friends. We may complain and loose sight of our goals sometimes, but every day has been a blessing and an opportunity. He has also blessed us with His wonderful mercy and saving grace. Thank you, Good Lord, for all You’ve done for us. We are undeserving and thankful.

Go. Go. Go!

“So, um, Briney. Could you, on Wednesday, Coco’s friend who works with the Guangzhou TV needs a foreigner.”

“I’m sorry, What?”

“Um, Coco’s friend is filming something on Wednesday and could you…pusht….pusht… you know?”

“Nnnooo?”

“Wait a minute.” a couple minutes later. “She needs you to walk in the scene, you know?”

“Oh! She needs me to be an extra in a scene?”

“Yes.”

“Sure thing. Sounds like fun.”

And that is how I ended up in a taxi on my way to film a TV show on Wednesday afternoon. I was dropped off at a building I couldn’t read at a metro stop I had never been to, and I was waiting for a Chinese person to find me… Well, at least I am easy to find in a crowd here. About thirty minutes passed, and I was getting a bit nervous think she couldn’t find me. Suddenly, two people came into my line of sight, and they were making a beeline toward me. “Are you Breet Chappell?” “Yes, sir. I’m Britt Chappell.” After the initial greetings and standard formalities, I was told that the gentleman who had accompanied the director to pick me up would be my guide for the day. We walked a couple hundred feet up the street to an open area where people were selling artsy things on the ground. Upon our arrival to the filming location, I was told what I was doing. I was not an extra. I was acting. o.o Well, that was unexpected. I had even packed a book in my bag so I wouldn’t be bored on set, but… apparently, something important had been lost during translation.

The director explained that the filming that day was for a documentary on my guide’s life. He had been an art seller on this street and one of his first clients had been an American woman. She had given him a pamphlet to an auction in New Kensington and bought some jade. So, guess what I had to do? Yep, reenactment. I had to peruse the trinkets being sold, select a piece of jade, pay, and hand him the pamphlet. I was told, “stand here” and my cue to start the scene was “Go. Go. Go!” in rapid sequence. “Walk slowly.” “Hold the coins closer.” “You buy a piece of jade.” At the end, my guide gifted me with the jade that I used in the shot; a lovely pendant for a necklace. The director and my guide seemed to like me, and everything went quite smoothly.

The whole time I was just giggling to myself. I love watching documentaries, but I always laugh at the cheesy actors who do the reenactment segments…now, now I am a cheesy actor. Oh goodness. The filming drew quite a crowd and a couple takes had to be re-done because of bystanders standing, crowding, or walking through the shot.  It took about forty-five minutes for my filming segment to be over and I could leave. Surprisingly, for an introvert, I was not nervous in front of the camera. Maybe, because I get watched nearly every moment of my life here, the camera was no big deal. Who knows? But, let me just say, I had fun. My hands were freezing and my hair was a wind-whipped mess, but I and my fellow cheesy actor were laughing together and my guide and the director were so kind. Truly, one of the most off-the-wall experiences of my life. I think it even outranks private yoga classes at work. (more on that subject later.) Have a stupendous day, everyone!

Abracadabra: they vanished!

As I was saying earlier… Once we were back from Hong Kong, we took a much needed rest, from our vacation. haha. oh boy. The next two days were spent sleeping in, reading, talking, playing Blackjack with M&M’s, and wandering the streets of Guangzhou. Then the fish bit. No. Literally. They did.

I don’t know why, but when Monica and I saw that there were tiny fish that would eat the dead skin off your feet we thought it would be something fun to try. In the seven-ish months that we’ve been here we never got around to it, that is until last week. We were walking through an underground mall when we passed a skin eating fish stand. This is what it looked like: three large tanks full of fish, each tank is divided by glass long ways down the middle, there are two chairs on each side of the tank facing each other. My grandpa, when he saw this set up, stopped and said “that looks interesting.” When we walked back by after dinner, we said why not?! We paid $3.00 a piece for twenty minutes in the fish tank. After our feet had been sprayed with alcohol, the nerves kicked in. Papa had no issue, he put his feet in and relaxed. We women, on the other hand…were in great distress. It feels exactly how you think it does, and then some. They get between your toes. They get the underside of your foot. They get your leg. Tears. So. Many. Tears. Laughing and crying. Twitching and shivering. Twenty minuets stretched on for, what seemed like, an hour. We were the entertainment for all the Chinese sitting by and passing by us. Papa, however, was completely relaxed and enjoying himself. That was…something else.

Their second to last night was a little extra special. All of our close friends (our China family) came to the apartment for dinner. Casandra, Tianne, Reese, and Sam all came and ate with us. All of the stories we’d been telling them finally had faces and personalities. Our friends here are unbelievably animated, waving their arms in huge circles, laughing loudly, talking, talking, talking… We love them so much and it was such a pleasure to see them interact with my family so well. Such a blessing!

The last two days of their stay here, I unfortunately had work. They did, however, get to come to my office and see where I work. We had lunch together both days, and on their last night here, they took Monica and I to a nice Italian dinner. Then, GBDay. 4:30A.M. saw the three of us standing in the street, flagging down a taxi. By 5:45 they were checked in and I had said goodbye. I won’t lie, there were more tears. My poor cab driver must have been uncomfortable. Their whole visit went by way to quickly. As if someone said “poof!” they were already gone. Every day they were here, Monica and I were so spoiled. They paid for every meal out, bought our groceries, and brought us delicious American treats. I can’t believer it went by so fast, but I am incredibly grateful that they were able to experience my life here for a moment. They saw my commute on a busy train, they were stared at and approached by complete strangers, they experience first hand the frustration of not speaking the language, and so much more. Thank you, Mama and Papa for taking the time and spending the money to come all the way to the other side of the world for a visit. It meant so much to me (and Monica.) I love you guys. I miss you guys, and I can’t wait to see everyone again!

               One time there was a blond woman who walked into a hair salon. She looked at the stylist and said, “ I need my hair cut, but no matter what, you cannot take off my headphones.” The stylist thought that was strange, but agreed. After a short while in the chair, the blond woman fell asleep. The stylist was having great difficulty cutting her hair with the headphones still on her so the stylist thought, “Well, she is asleep and what she doesn’t know won’t hurt.” An hour later the stylist was finished with the cut and put the woman’s headphones back on. The stylist tried to shake the woman awake, but she wouldn’t wake up. She had died. The stylist was very distraught and thought the headphones might have a clue as to what happened, so she picked them up and listened to what they said. She heard this: “Breath in…Breath out… Breath in… Breath out…”

                Lately it has been feeling like the stylist took off my headphones. One thing after another was coming down the line and big and small stresses were threatening to cut off my air supply. God, however, knows me and loves me so much! This past week He put my headphones put back on…so to say. My mom and grandpa flew to China to visit! After everything that happened with the apartment, my job, and trying to balance sleep, a social life, a fitness routine, and chores with work, I was starting to get a bit helter skelter, this visit is just what the dr. ordered.

                    They flew in on Sep 30th. I’ll admit, I did the sappy run-to-them thing you only see at airports. Happy tears and lots of hugs later, it was time to get them home to rest. We had a rather smooth trip through the metro, not too much snuggle time with complete strangers. Once we were all safely at the apartment, it was time for presents! I ma such a child when it comes to presents. I was practically sparkly from the sugar rush. The next three and one half days saw us three plus Monica traipsing through Hong Kong and Macau. We had so many adventures! Including, getting caught outside in a monsoon, eating dinner at Victoria Peak, seeing beautiful museum pieces, and spectacular casinos. We got a little lost, had problems with our transportation, and I think my mom and grandpa walked more in those four days than in the last four months combined. We ate copious amounts of food… Oh my word so much good food. So much western food. The trip back to Guangzhou was quick and painless, and after taking no less than three modes of transportation, we were finally able to sleep at our apartment.

                   These last few days have been so fun. Monica and I get to show them so much of this culture. Much of it comes as quite a shock to them, they can hardly handle it for very long. They are not use to hordes of people flooding a tiny doorway, sharing backside space with someone you don’t know, and having to use toilets that are flush with the floor (see what I did there…). I think the way my grandpa phrased their visit so far was perfect. He said, “It’s been startling, but fun.” More to come after I’ve had to send them home, for now, have a wonderful day!