Well, I can officially say, it’s over. We’re home. And for those who only follow this blog, I apologize for the severe lack of updates the last several weeks. We spent the last month or so staying incredibly busy. The last post was from Brittany back in January… so what happened in February?! I know all you adoring fans are just DYING to know! đ
Well, February started off with a little adventure in Beijing! Yes, we finally got to go! We saw the Great Wall, we went skiing, we went to the Summer Palace, we ate  Cold Stone, we got massages, and we went ice skating on a frozen lake! It’s safe to say the trip was a grand success!
Let’s start with the Great Wall of China… I can’t even! Like on a sale of 1 to Even… I can’t! It’s absolutely beautiful. It’s majestic. It’s everything you see in the movies, but when you’re standing at the base of those stairs, there are no words. You look straight up and think, “Wow.” It’s just plain awesome! If it’s not on your bucket list to see the Great Wall, I beg of you, add it to the list! But be prepared.
There’s apparently two ways to go up: one via trolly ($) and another via your own two feet (or in Bieber’s case, your two body guards’ four feet). And lemme tell you something, those stairs are completely vertical! You could actually climb up on your hands and feet like you were climbing a rock wall. So, wear good shoes so you can laugh at all the women climbing down backwards in their heels! It’ll be fun, trust me!
We took a lot of good pictures together and two good pictures with random kids. Poor them, their mother insisted that they take a picture with us. And at this point, being asked for a picture had become so normal for me and Brittany that we just agreed without a second thought. There’s probably around 100 Â pictures out there online that we don’t know about, which would include pictures that people have asked for and those that people have not asked for.
Later that day, we managed to scare the poo out of a little kid. No really, we did…
So we were walking across a large, paved… area… heading toward “The Nest” where the 2008 Olympics were held. (By the way, it’s huge.) As we walked along we came up behind a man with his two young sons. As kids do, one of them was walking kinda funny, twisting his body, swinging his legs and playing with the hood on his jacket. As he twisted his body to the right, he saw us. Then as he turned away, he realized what he had just seen… two white girls. He turned back to us for further confirmation and actually GASPED! It was like he had just seen an Autobot or something. He was blown away and quickly informed his brother and father of the mutants walking behind them! It was definitely a highlight of the trip, very entertaining. I thought Chris was going to pass out from lack of oxygen because he was laughing so hard.
We ended the day with foot massages which were glorious! So relaxing. One thing I’ll say in favor of living in China… spas. Nuf said.
Moving on to the Summer Palace: when we asked Chris which would be better, Summer Palace or Forbidden City, he highly recommended the Summer Palace. And I am so glad he did! Ancient Chinese architecture is so detailed and so magnificent that you find yourself taking pictures of everything, including the ground! There’s paintings everywhere, gold accents, tile work that looks like it drew blood from the fingers of the workers. It’s so intricate in the doors, the crossbeams, the floor, the frames and the bridges! I wanted to touch everything… I felt like a child! The whole place is built around a lake, which at the time of our visit was frozen. We were able to walk out on the ice and see the fish underneath. Then we had the unfortunate pleasure of seeing OLD men swimming in the freezing water. And when I say, “swimming” I mean skinny dipping. Sorry for the mental image, but if I had to see the real thing, you have to imagine it. Sorry to ya.
The temple they built there is gargantuan! And the statue inside could be described likewise. I must say it is also absolutely beautiful. I may not practice or agree with this religion but there’s no denying the attention and  beauty they put into their places of worship. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
I think it took us about four hours to walk around the whole place. It was very cold but absolutely worth it! The sun was setting as we were about to leave which allowed us to get some gorgeous shots!
All-in-all, our trip to Beijing was everything we hoped it would be and more! It was so nice to see Chris and to physically touch all these amazing things we had only seen in movies and pictures! We can actually say, “I have been to the Great Wall!” How cool is that?!
After our Beijing trip it was back to reality for about two weeks. With our surprise return coming up we had lots to pack, lots to plan, and lots to send home. On top of that, we had to say goodbye. Too many times. I know for me personally, it was rough. I had to say goodbye to different people at different times which provoked tears on several occasions rather than all at once! I don’t like to cry and until I moved to China, I didn’t cry nearly that much. Not due to insensitivity but rather due to the fact that I never had to say goodbye! I hate goodbyes. But such is life, right? Three coworkers on this day (cry), one friend on that day (cry), two coworkers on another day (cry) and two more friends on this day (curses… CRY AGAIN)! UGH. But I survived. And on that note I want to say something. The friends I made in China will be my friends for life. If any of you guys read this, I want you to know that you are a huge part of why I was able to leave China with my sanity. I would have lost it without you all! Love you guys!!
On our last week we were able to visit more friends, Caleb and Rochelle Zhang, in Zhuhai. Zhuhai is a beautiful city down on the southern coast and neighboring Macao. On this visit, we were able to take Rochelle out for some much-needed girl time!! It was a nice, relaxing way to end an adventurous year abroad. Furthermore, we were able to help them out by giving them our mattresses and table and chairs! We were going to have to donate them anyway, so why not give them to people we know and love, right?? It was such an awesome trip. Their daughter still melt my heart. She’s so beautiful and always happy and says “please” in Sign Language! I can’t wait to see them again and I hope they can come see us in California!!
Well, that about sums up our last month in China! To all who prayed for us and helped us along they way, I would like to say THANK YOU!!! We could tell the whole time that God was guiding and directing! He helped us to not just survive, but to thrive in those moments when we thought we were going to lose our minds and start talking to the trees or something. It was an adventure that I will never forget and will never regret! Our eyes were opened to they ways of another culture that, again, we’ve only heard about through Hollywood really. Until you take the chance and go to these places for yourself, you’ll never really understand what it’s like. I can write and write and write all day about the styles and the food and the relationships between mothers and their children, but honestly, it’s something that can only be understood when you SEE it.
Living oversees might not be suitable for everyone, but I believe to my core that travel is a great idea for everyone. The plan is to continue traveling! I don’t know if I’d do a whole year again, but I would love to go to more places in Asia and Europe and Africa. Anywhere I can find the opportunity. For starters, we plan to meet up with Casaundra and Tianne in New Zealand in two years! Lord-willing we’ll all the the money and the time off for such a trip.
It has been said… “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu (čĺ) Â Here’s to taking that step!
Peace.
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