Things I never knew existed before coming to Thailand

1. Sea lice: you are sitting in the balmy ocean water, basking in the sun, and you feel this acute little sting somewhere on your body. You leap up and swat at it, sure there is some sea creature stuck to your body. But there isn't anything you can see, and there is no welt or anything that forms. So... sea lice aren't so bad.

2. A seawater lagoon surrounded by towering limestone cliffs, where I could actually float (first time in my life!). As I lay on my back in the water, all I could see was a small circle of sky overhead letting in streams of sunlight to illuminate the green water and the brilliant, glistening trees growing up the sides of the cliffs.

3. The hike to get to the lagoon. It was basically freeclimbing over a mountain, up and down (and then up and down again to get back) extremely steep paths with jagged rock jutting out, slimy with mud and water, and red sticky clayish mud that completely coated your body and stuck like greasepaint. It was amazing.

4. Pad thai. This is just basic noodles, fried Thai-style. It's delicious. But it doesn't even stand out compared to Thai curries, chicken with cashew, Thai pancakes, and all sorts of other yummy delights that are mostly mysteries to me.

5. Railay. This is a peninsula that feels like an island because it is only accessible by boat, and has no cars around. There is amazing rock climbing (which I get to try soon!), moi thai (spelling?) fights by locals that attend the local school, very friendly people who aren't trying to constantly sell you things, some incredible hikes (see previous), gorgeous beaches, warm ocean water, and jungle jungle jungle everywhere. And they make good coffee.

6. Random sudden (and short) tropical wind and rain storms. These are fun when you are sitting in a restaurant eating (because all of the restaurants have no walls and the tablecloths start flying around and flinging bits of spilled food into the air, your hair, your drink, etc). These are not so fun when you have just done laundry and hung it on your balcony (because the wind snatches your clothing and carries it far far away to where the monkeys steal it and you never see it again no matter how hard you search).

Highlights of India

I spent a little less than a week in India, and it was not long enough! My biggest impression of India is: warmth! The weather was balmy, the people so hospitable, the food spicy, and the colours vibrant.

I was incredibly blessed to be able to stay with some wonderful people, relatives of my sister Wendy's dormmate. They made sure that I was cared for, looked after, fed extremely well, understood what I was seeing, knew where to go and how to get there, and generally made certain that my time in India was amazing! I also met many people on the way who made sure that I was safe and felt welcome, often going way out of their way to make sure I was cared for. I was so conscious the entire time I was in India of how close God was, how he provides so beautifully for his people through his people, and how secure I am in his hands.

The highlight of my trip (and the main purpose for it) was visiting the boy I've been sponsoring through Compassion Canada for about 12 years. Suhas is now in his first year of an engineering diploma (the process is a little different in India from Canada), and I was blessed to be able to visit with him, his family, and the staff of the Compassion project he has been attending. It was really evident that God is working in that community, bringing people out of Hinduism to Christ, and also changing their lives through the love of the Christians there. The project has made a huge difference in the community: families are able to get out of poverty through the education of their children and even unjust practices are changing because of the power of Christ in their lives. I left the project the day that I visited, tears welling up in my eyes because my heart was so full of God's goodness. What an encouraging and humbling experience to see how God works all over the world, showing his wisdom and strength through foolish and weak people who live to proclaim his glory!

Signs you've acclimatised to being in China

You stare at foreigners

You never wait for the green walk sign at street crossings, and sometimes you even cross before the Chinese people

You return to Shanghai (which you thought was CRAZY at the beginning of your trip) and it seems quiet, dead, and very western

It doesn't really phase you anymore to pee in a stinky squatty potty where the door to the stall is a 4-foot high piece of plywood that you prop up in front of you.

When you are four centimetres from being hit by a speeding taxi and jump onto the sidewalk only to miss a bike by about 2 centimetres, you just dodge the bike and keep walking. After all, you didn't actually get hit, so it's not a big deal.

You taste tea and can tell that it is cheap tea.

You don't feel bad bargaining something down to a tenth of its asking price, and you allot at least 30 minutes for buying anything since it requires a lot of bartering. You see other foreigners watching you in amazement and then they jump in after and say, "I'll take one too!" because they think it is such a great price!

You start to be grossed out by western-style toilets, because people actually sit on them. Yuck.

It seems strange to be somewhere and see less than 10 people around you.

Tones in Chinese don't seem like a complete mystery anymore, and you can hear the emotional inflection when they talk. You can also tell the difference (sometimes) between angry shouting and the normal decibel level of Chinese speech.

You become a connaisseur of air quality differences, and seeing a blue sky can make your day.

You freak out when you see food for 30 yuan (about $4.50 Canadian) because it is so incredibly expensive!

The most beautiful sight in China

We have seen some amazing sights in China. We have seen skyscrapers, ancient imperial palaces, Buddhist temples, immense karst landscapes, rivers and waterfalls winding through cliffs, hills and hills completely covered by rice terraces. What is the most beautiful sight we've seen so far? People. Yes, people. I am realizing that although we have seen some stunning scenery and a lot of beautiful, interesting architecture, what continually surprises me is the beauty of people. China has a lot of them. :) It is so beautiful to see real lives, complete with the messiness of life (especially life in a non-western country) and the complexity of human work and relationships. I think because China is such a densely-populated country, with a more collective culture (rather than an individualistic one), you catch glimpses all the time of life and relationships that you don't get to see often in Canada. As we travel, we drive through small villages and walk down narrow streets. I see a few generations sitting around a little table, playing card games, families working and playing together, old people sitting hunkered down outside buildings in the sun. I see a woman washing laundry in a stream, and another woman washing her hair outside her hut using a plastic bowl. I see men welding an ancient tractor and a middle-aged couple both pulling a motorized bike cart loaded so high with construction supplies that it takes the motor and both of them straining in order for it to move at all. I see children playing games together in a field beside the village, those peculiar and mysterious games that children come up with, squabbling and leaping and making alliances and negotiating. I see people calling to their neighbours, laughing and joking. I see an old man, stooped over, carrying two baskets full of potatoes hanging on the ends of a pole across his shoulders. I see a group of men and women digging a huge ditch, taking turns with the pickaxe and buckets. I see a teenage girl sitting at the front of a small hovel, waving flies off of chili peppers drying in the sun. I see groups of men and women sweeping and bagging up rice that has been drying on a basketball court in the sun, while a little boy plays with his toy backhoe in the pile of rice. I see grandmothers playing with their grandchildren, cooing and glowing at the babies tottering around. And I am so struck by the beauty of human life and relationships, in all its messiness. Landscapes and architecture start to blend together, no matter how impressive, but people are so complex and deeply beautiful that they stir my heart. I want each of these people, these reflections of God's image, to be able to reflect that image more perfectly. I feel twinges of pain and sorrow for those who don't know him, who have never heard the gospel, and I want them to know! I don't want that beauty to be wasted and destroyed, polluted and ruined. I want each person, these deeply marred reflections of God's glory, to be able to see God's beauty and live in his grace in the midst of our messy lives.