My Favorite Things about America

This is not a long list, and in fact it is best said through pictures. The pictures aren't that wonderful, but they will do. My nephews! (I love the rest of family too, but I already knew them). My second nephew was born September 10, 2007. His name is Cole Lloyd Wright. Unlike with Mark, I got to visit Cole in the hospital and help my sister out. Being there for births is something you can take for granted, but I fully cherished this special event.

We also visited lookout mountain in Tennessee/Georgia, where you can see into 7 states. See if you can identify them by the flags.

Tour of the Deep South

Though I have lived only one state over from Southern life most of my life, I have never visited the true South. There are some who may try to say that Texas is Southern, but the part I live in definitely is not. So, two weeks ago I went with my parents on a quick tour of 6 states: Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana! I took the Greyhound from the downtown Dallas station (bad station to start from) and met my parents in Little Rock, Arkansas. From there we drove to Memphis where we ate really tasty barbecue ribs and then walked down Beale street to get apple dumplings at a place that takes pride in serving grease. - The next day we headed to Nashville and stopped into some Civil War famous cites along the way. In Nashville we visited a smokeless bar downtown that advertised no cover charge and open mike Bluegrass. We didn't really know what to expect, but we were not disappointed! Then we headed to Knoxville so that I could visit a friend and hike in the Smoky mountains (I have really missed the mountains). In Alabama and Georgia we visited things that had to do with my ancestors. Above I am beside the grave site of my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather. It was neat to see the history of my family and to see where they all lived and went to school. It really is beautiful country.

Fourth of July 2007 (it takes me a while to get things posted). This was my first American holiday back in the states and it was small but enjoyable. With all the rain Texas had been getting, we did not have to worry about fire work bans! The weather cleared and there was a beautiful sky for all kinds of shows. We spent the 4th at the lake and put on our own Fire work display and watched the displays of our neighbors. It was fun, but I must admit that it was nothing compared to China. The Chinese really know how to put on a show!

Pray

Last Sunday we had a guest preacher do our morning service. During his introduction he mentioned our need to pray for our troops in Iraq and he mentioned that he has a family member serving over there. His family member is actually embedded in an Iraqi squad working with them and training them. When he said this it struck me as to what an amazing opportunity this is for the gospel to reach the Iraqi people. Now I realize that there are probably language barriers and rules of war that would limit these guys from overtly proselytizing, but still, what amazing close and everyday contact Christians get to have with Iraqi soldiers. Of course not all American soldiers in these roles are Christians. Anyway, my main thought was that we need to be praying for the soldiers in these situations that they would live as Christ would live and proclaim the name of Jesus with their attitudes, actions, and words when possible. I pray that the Christian soldiers would realize the opportunities they have and make the most of them.

Missing China

On Friday I will have been back in America for 3 months. Things have been going pretty well. I have been busy and have had many opportunities to make friends with Chinese speakers and speak Chinese with them. Last week I attended debriefing and it was a great time to hear what has been going on around the world and to spend time with people like me. But now I am home. Just a few minutes ago I was standing in the kitchen cutting a nectarine and I suddenly got an image of the streets of China in my mind (strange considering they have no nectarines). It was at that point that I realized that I am not going back (at least not for a few years) and tears started to flow. I loved China, not just a few things, but pretty much everything about it. I loved the city, the sights, the sounds, the smells, the food, the activity, the people. I loved walking down the street and buying fruit and vegetables from roadside vendors. I loved talking to a dozen strangers everyday, learning something new about them and getting to share a little bit of Christ. I am in America now, and that is strange. I have not so much experienced culture shock, but perhaps I am a little homesick.

I look Like My Momma

This is an old picture, but it demonstrates my point.

Although I am shorter, paler, blonder, and my hair is curlier, I look like my mother and there is nothing I can do about. It isn't that I mind looking like my mother- I have always considered her to be a beautiful woman, but after living at college and then in China where no one knows my mother, it has been interesting coming back. I can walk into a place I have never been before and a complete stranger will come up to me and say "You must be Patti Cable's daughter!" At which I respond, "Yes I am. And who are you?" Actually it is a great thing. It reminds me of what it is supposed to be like as a child of God. I may not have His eyes and His smile, but I should be able to go places and have total strangers say, "Hey, you're God's daughter!" I was just thinking about that as I enter back into American culture and materialistic Plano. I pray that I am being a reflection of Him in everything that I do and say, and praise Him that He disciplines me and gives me another chance when I am not.

I attended Asia Fest 2007 in Downtown Plano today and was very impressed by the multicultural turnout. In the Mayors speech she said that approximately 19% of Plano's population is now Asian. In the above picture some Indian American boys perform a Punjab dance. I quite enjoyed the Indian music.

This is just a view of some of the diversity and the green park. It was a beautiful day and the recent rain has made things gorgeous!

I was standing watching some kids do Indian block painting when a two Chinese Lions and a parade of drums came walking past me. I didn't have time to get a front view, but here is the back view. While at the huodong, I also found out about a DFW area Chinese corner type thing for people who want to practice speaking Chinese. I think I may check it out.

A Big Big God

Wednesday night I was sitting in my parents' home all alone, when a storm started blowing in. I must insert here that I love storms. One thing that I missed in China was good spring/summer thunderstorms. Watching the the blue-gray clouds roll in from the West, feeling the wind whipping through my hair... and then God shows off. Lightning dances across the sky to the accompaniment of falling rain and crashing thunder, all under the direction of the master conductor. Oh they are such a wonderful reminder of God's awesome power and majesty.
But, back to Wednesday night. The thunder had been crashing for a few minutes when the power went out (and stayed out until 3 am). Having no connection to the outside world (the phones were out too), I had no idea what was going on in the rest of the area and just enjoyed the symphony of the storm alone with God in the dark of my house. When my parents got home 2 hours later, I found out that most of the city was without power, trees were down and littering the streets, and a house nearby was ablaze after a power line and pole crashed down upon it. In the morning we found out that power was still out all over the Metroplex (35,000 homes are still without it), much damage had been done, but through all the 100mph winds, fallen fences, downed trees, overturned vehicles, and burned houses, there were no injuries or fatalities. And, the house that burned down was vacant, as the owners had moved out two weeks earlier (Praise the Lord).
So what this says to me is that God is big!! I think He often does things to show is power. This spring has been full of powerful storms, and every storm has shown God's power and control. I just think about the way storms work and all the components of it, and I am amazed! I was thinking about this and the the absence of powerful thunderstorms in Southern China, and I see how God shows His power in different ways in different places. Just for example, the mountains I lived near in China were majestic displays of God's creation. Texas is rather lacking in anything but flat land, but the big blue skies, sunsets, and storms glorify God just as much as the jade rivers and karst mountains of Guangxi.
How is God big where you live?

Quick Stress Update

Well, the Mavericks have sadly ended my stress by majorly losing in game 6 of the playoffs. It is sad. Perhaps they can pull it together and do it next year. (sigh)

Stress

I know what you are probably thinking by my title, I am going through readjustment stress or something like that, but in actuality that is not the case. In fact, my adjustment is still going smoothly. It has taken me a month, but I finally have a routine (at least somewhat) and my tutoring jobs are keeping me busy!
So why am I stressed? Have you been watching the Mavericks' play-off games? Some of those games have been just plain sickening and last night was just stressful. Sitting there watching them give up a 21 point lead to have a 9 point deficit made my heart beat quickly and feel stressed! I do not know why I am stressing out over this series (it is just basketball), but when a team that is supposed to win it all stinks up the court, it is stressful. I was relieved as they hung on to win the game last night, but part of me fears another night of stress.

Less to Write about from this side of the ocean

I have been back in America for almost three weeks now and I find that I really don't know what to blog about. It is definitely weird to be back, but I don't necessarily feel like I am experiencing "culture shock". Things about American culture do not bother me now any more than they did three years ago. So what I am going through now is more like life-style shock and transition frustration (just like what I went through the two summers I spent at home during college). I have been a free spirit, traveling and doing things on my own, for 3 years (if you don't count college), and now I am back living with my parents. I also really miss city life. I miss walking downstairs (or taking the elevator) and being surrounded by people, riding the bus and meeting new people, buying fruit and vegetables from streetside vendors, and walking a lot.
Before I came back, I knew that Plano has a high Asian population, but wow! Plano has a high Asian population. I know of four Asian markets within a twenty minute drive from my house, and they are mostly Chinese! There are also a lot of new Thai, Indian, and Vietnamese places. I am still working on how to build relationships with some of these Chinese speakers.
One last thing. Though I may not be working with Chinese right now, I am tutoring four Korean kids. It is a pretty good job before starting back to school.

The back of my shirt says "Foreigner Goes". I thought it was an appropriate shirt for the occasion. My Chinese friends thought it was really funny!

A few friends came with me to the airport to send me off. It is the Chinese way. I rented a van so that they could all come with me. Several of my closest friends could not come because of school conflict. The two pictured above work in my building and we frequently ate dinner together.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."- I thought about that song a lot this week. It was crazy getting everything I needed packed into three suitcases (60kg in all) and then getting rid of everything else, while at the same time saying goodbye to all of my friends and giving final lessons. It was such a blessed week though and so full of joy. This is in my apartment right before I left.

La Mian

This morning at 7 I went to the Muslim noodle place down the street to learn how to make pulled-noodles. The night before I had asked them how to make it, and after they figured out that I wasn't trying to become competition for them, they sold me the special ingredient and then invited me for a special private lesson (I am going to miss being foreign and special). So first the guy poured out a pile of flour on the table and added a little bit of salt. 2nd, make a crater in the flour and pour water in the middle. 3rd, get mix the flour around with the water for a long time, fluffing it, patting it, massaging it... 4th spread the doughy flour out across the table and sprinkle water over the top. 5th, knead some more, and keep kneading and adding water until it is mostly ok. 6th mix together water and the special ingredient (I haven't figured out what this special ingredient is yet, but the word is Peng Hui, directly meaning "fluffy ash". The purpose of this ingredient is to make the dough elasticky. 7th sprinkle fluffy ash (just a little) over the dough, then sprinkle the water+ fluffy ash mixture over the top and knead until it is the proper consistency. I realize that perhaps this is a little boring, it was actually kind of a monotonous process, but then came the fun part, pulling the noodles. And guess what, he asked me if I wanted to do it! They make it look so easy. In fact, one book I read said that it is an art. The guy told me it took him ten days to learn how to do it, but he is sure I can get it in 5. This was truly MAWL in action (for those of you who do not know what that means, Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave). He was such a patient and encouraging trainer. This will be one of my first cooking projects when I get back to America. If successful, I will have a La Mian party and invite my friends over. Sorry no picture, perhaps I will take one before I leave.

Last Trip

I just returned from my last trip to the Asian countryside (at least this go around). It didn't really hit me until I was on the common bus driving up the mountain. It was cold and rainy outside as we wound through the mountains and along the jade river. Reddish-orange flowered trees sporadically lined the river and it made me cry. Wow! It is so beautiful. I never lost that awe and wonder at seeing the God's magnificent creation. What a breath-taking place I have been privileged to travel in for the past two and a half years. I am so going to miss those lush emerald mountains and all that goes with them: fresh air, star-lit skies, hospitable villagers, corn porridge, little old women smoking pipes, pantsless children, telling stories, the reactions of those who hear the stories, rickety bus rides....I am sure that I will think of more things as I am cramped in the city in America. I suppose I will have to let myself escape to the countryside every once in a while.

 

Traditional Photos

It took me a while to get these posted, but they are finally here. After a flood, sweaty photos in a garden, changing clothes in the minority museum, a bad photographer, and lost pictures, here are the few pictures that I thought were good enough. 

In America I am seldom what one would consider tall. I prefer to shop in the petite section of clothing stores and I am the shortest one in my family. But, in Asia I am tall. Everyone is always so amazed when I tell them how tall the rest of my family members are. Though I am bigger than most of the villagers, they are definitely stronger than I am. This week I tried to help an eleven year old village girl about half my size to haul water from the well to the house. Using a bamboo pole, she carried two buckets of water over her shoulders. When I tried, I couldn't even stand up. I have a lot of physical training to do if I want to match up to these LiHai people!
 

Suzhou and Shanghai

For a southerner, the weather was quite and dreary in Suzhou. It is said to be heaven on earth, but that must be in spring and summer. We road on a little boat down a little river inside a park. Actually we did that two places. One of the parks had a place where you could roll around inside a bubble on the water for ten minutes. I did not do it, but two of my friends did and it was quite amusing to watch. I think it would have been fun on a warmer day. 

Traveling Fun

My computer is finally fixed and I can now once again post pictures and comments from my life. So much has happened since I was last able to post, so we will just have to start from here. In Thailand I took up speed racing. I haven't driven a real car in over two and a half years, but I took to the wheel fairly quickly. I was doing fine until I got a little competitive and went too quickly around a turn while passing someone. I fish-tailed and she hit me, but no worries! It was fun, followed by a thrilling game of paintball capture the flag. Hopefully I will get a picture of that soon (from a friend).

This is a picture looking across the Bund in Shanghai. I think the globe is the exhibition center or something like that, but I could be completely mistaken. The weather in Shanghai made all of my pictures blurry, but photo editing does great things.