Found Them!

Wow, that went by fast. I can’t believe that I have been in China for 25 days and that tomorrow I will be hopping on a plane headed back to Chicago.

Through this blog I have been able to share most of my trip: the different places, most of the people I met, the things I did. But because this website is public, I was not able to share a couple parts of my trip that I found to be the most exciting—the people that I met associated with these experiences have asked that I did not share information about them. So, if you are interested in hearing about this part of my trip, please hit me up when I’m back in the States and I would be glad to share ;)

The title of this blog is called Searching for Dragons, and ironically I haven’t posted anything about dragons this whole time. You may be even wondering if I found any dragons. Even if you weren’t wondering this, I am telling you that I FOUND THEM!

In Shenzhen:

In Guangzhou:

In Hong Kong:

In Beijing:

In Tianjin:

In Shanghai:

Now these pictures of dragons are great and all, but they aren’t the dragons that I am talking about. In my first blog post I mentioned that I was looking (searching, if you will) to gain a greater knowledge of the Chinese culture on my trip; I considered this knowledge and the experiences associated to be my dragons. Here is a list of some of the dragons that I found while living and traveling in China:

1. When living in or visiting a foreign country, it is vital to learn how to adapt to the culture and become a part of it: learn what is polite, what is inconsiderate, and other social queues.
2. (Something that I’ve learned this whole past year, but was only amplified while in China) Every person in the world has the desire to be loved and cared for. I saw this in various forms from waaay too much cutesy-PDA in public to grandparents taking care of toddlers (family bonding).
3. There is a lot of importance on success: you must provide for your family (including your own parents when you have kids), if you live in rural China you must study your butt off so you can make your way into a bigger city, and even if you graduate from a University you will take just about whatever job you can get and work as hard as you can at that.
4. So many people haven’t even heard of Jesus.
5. The culture can be lonely. If you don’t know someone walking on the sidewalk there is no need to smile or even acknowledge the person. At lunch, if you are sitting at a table with someone you don’t know you will probably not talk to that person.
6. There is a lot of national pride and pride for their heritage and family.
7. If you are a guest and a family takes you out to eat, they will make sure that you are well-fed, even if it is at the expense of them going hungry.
8. It is OK and not considered rude to ignore street vendors when they come up to you and try to pitch their products.
9. If it is hot outside, it’s more than acceptable to lift up your shirt to cool off your exposed belly.
10. “Squatty-potties” are the norm. If you are a kid under 10 and you need to pee, if you are outside you can pull down your pants and have at it! In front of the mall, in front of the Forbidden City—it’s all good!
11. Fast-food restaurants have jobs which have the specific purpose to clean up your table after you are done eating. When you are done, leave your tray at the table. And don’t tip—that is their job that they are paid for. If you clean your tray with the staff nearby it is considered disrespectful to them and you are implying that they are not needed.
12. Foreigners are prime targets for scammers. Taxis without meters, people with nicely laminated cards that describe in English they are deaf and are asking for money , people who are artists or college students studying art that come up to you and coax you into buying their art (not exactly scammers, but people with hidden agendas!).
13. People love Yum! Brand foods. KFC and Pizza Hut are HUGE over here!
14. Construction is everywhere. Skyscrapers seem to appear in cities overnight, and consequently some of the newer cities are ghost towns with a lot of new big buildings but with no one living in them. Foreigners invest in the property, but the rooms are unoccupied.
15. Every move of yours is monitored. Don’t think you are never not being watched.
16. Advertisements are centered on Westerners. Blonde is beautiful. Pretty is considered tall, thin, and pale (delicate) skinned.
17. If someone is wearing revealing clothing, it is totally OK to stare. By wearing revealing clothing you are asking for people to stare at your bare skin.
18. Foreigners should take an interest in the locals and their culture! It’s fun for us and the locals get happy that you take an interest in their lives!
19. For the most part, the people over here are soooo kind.
20. It’s crazy cool how God provides for and strengthens individuals who earnestly seek Him.

Those are some of the dragons that I encountered while in China.

I am so glad that I was able to go on this trip and experience the Chinese culture. It has been so eye-opening.  I wanted to thank my Dad for urging me to spend this month in China—this is an experience I will never forget. Thanks Dad, I love you. Thanks to my family for putting up with me not being home; it seems like every break off from school I am away doing something else. I love y’all. And thanks to everyone else who has been reading about my adventures! I hope that you enjoyed reading about my trip, I was glad to share it with you.

One of the questions I am prepared to answer for when I get back to the States is the question, “how was it like traveling alone for almost a month?” I was able to get in contact with quite a few people over here, and meet some randos; but it’s true, a lot of my time was spent with just me. But I didn’t really see myself as being alone. Jesus says in Matthew 28:20, “and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” I have had some of the best intimacy with God in my life on this trip. In those moments sitting alone looking over the river, or walking down a street surrounded by people who don’t take notice of each other, Jesus was with me. In those moments, I was comforted with a peace that only God could have provided. You notice that He is with you and moving in your life when you see a beautiful landscape and don’t say, ‘Wow, that’s so beautiful!’ but rather, ‘God, you are soo good!’

And it’s true, God is good. Sooo good.

-Alex