Security camera footage of a street on an unidentified town in China. There's no sound, but that's probably a good thing.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Quick Note
Please pray for a peaceful resolve to the situation on the Korean peninsula. It could be interesting. South Korea is U.S. backed where as North Korea's economy is almost completely dependent on China....
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Dinner with Joel Hunter
A few days ago an email went around asking people if they would help welcome a pastor in his brief time in China for a symposium. All that would be required is eating dinner and talking with the man. I figured that free food is free food so why not. Today, shortly before the dinner I found out that the pastor is Dr. Joel Hunter, senior pastor of a megachurch in Orlando, author of a couple books and oh yeah, spiritual adviser to one Barack Obama.
As it turns out, Dr. Hunter and Danny Yu, who is my boss, have known each other for the past decade through various seminars and symposiums. Dr. Hunter was going to be in Beijing for a brief while and asked to learn more about TIP, which is how I found myself along with eight other facilitators eating dinner with a man who has the resident of the White House on his contacts list.
Dr. Hunter is a very humble man considering his list of accomplishments and responsibilities. He spoke quietly and mildly, but at length about his relationship with Obama and was able to clear up a lot of questions and mysteries surrounding him. Hunter maintains that Obama is a Christian, however, he is extremely private regarding his faith and bible studies and prayer are held in the utmost privacy, usually just himself and Dr. Hunter, aides and staffers are always asked to leave. Despite his lofty, confident mannerism on television, Dr. Hunter explained that Obama is extremely scared to address the nation publicly and always insists on private personal prayer time before any major address. Every morning, he texts Obama the daily devotional on his BlackBerry. I asked a few doctrinal questions to understand what this pastor is feeding the most powerful man on the planet, and I have to say it's solid. I don't agree with the man on matters of politics and a few other viewpoints, but I can attest that Obama is getting sound doctrine in his daily devotional. How watered down it is, I do not know, but I know the core of the message is good. As the dinner was winding down, I asked Dr. Hunter if he could relay a message to Obama for me. He said that he would, so I told him to ask Obama where my beer is. He laughed quite heartily and said that he would, even making a note of it. His wife looked a little confused so I explained that during the campaign, Obama offered to sit down and have a beer with some of the people who don't trust him, don't believe him and don't see things his way. That is a solid description of myself and I have wanted to take Obama up on that offer (free beer is free beer) since he made it. Now I just might have the chance.
As it turns out, Dr. Hunter and Danny Yu, who is my boss, have known each other for the past decade through various seminars and symposiums. Dr. Hunter was going to be in Beijing for a brief while and asked to learn more about TIP, which is how I found myself along with eight other facilitators eating dinner with a man who has the resident of the White House on his contacts list.
Dr. Hunter is a very humble man considering his list of accomplishments and responsibilities. He spoke quietly and mildly, but at length about his relationship with Obama and was able to clear up a lot of questions and mysteries surrounding him. Hunter maintains that Obama is a Christian, however, he is extremely private regarding his faith and bible studies and prayer are held in the utmost privacy, usually just himself and Dr. Hunter, aides and staffers are always asked to leave. Despite his lofty, confident mannerism on television, Dr. Hunter explained that Obama is extremely scared to address the nation publicly and always insists on private personal prayer time before any major address. Every morning, he texts Obama the daily devotional on his BlackBerry. I asked a few doctrinal questions to understand what this pastor is feeding the most powerful man on the planet, and I have to say it's solid. I don't agree with the man on matters of politics and a few other viewpoints, but I can attest that Obama is getting sound doctrine in his daily devotional. How watered down it is, I do not know, but I know the core of the message is good. As the dinner was winding down, I asked Dr. Hunter if he could relay a message to Obama for me. He said that he would, so I told him to ask Obama where my beer is. He laughed quite heartily and said that he would, even making a note of it. His wife looked a little confused so I explained that during the campaign, Obama offered to sit down and have a beer with some of the people who don't trust him, don't believe him and don't see things his way. That is a solid description of myself and I have wanted to take Obama up on that offer (free beer is free beer) since he made it. Now I just might have the chance.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Message from a Young Adult
Did you know that every college graduate walks out of the classroom and into the work force owing the federal government $117,682 for the national debt? This concerns me, and it should concern you because it will take young adults their entire lives to pay off this debt. For example, they couldn't pay it off even if...
* A 22 year old paid $175 per month for 56 years...he would still owe $82.
* A 25 year old paid a quarter every hour of everyday for 53 years...he would still owe $1,612.
* A 23 year old paid $5 everyday for the rest of his life...he would still owe $17,307.
This means that the money you could be spending on a house, a car, a vacation or literally millions of other things, will instead go to the IRS and the federal government to pay off the national debt.
And it gets worse. All this assumes that the federal government doesn't spend another dime...ever, but right now the government is spending $6.8 million per minute.
As young adult, this is my future and regardless of your age, it's about time we did something about it. It's about time we started telling Congress, "Hey, don't put it on our tab!"
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Happy Birthday Ed!
We celebrate birthdays here in a couple of different ways. Most of the time we go out to a favorite western restaurant to eat or have cake here. Chinese birthday cake is far more ornate and beautiful then anything you've seen before, usually entire baskets of fruits and edible jewelry are involved. However, we did none of those by request of our oldest full time active facilitator, Ed, who turns 80 years old today. Ed is a great and patient man who is full of wisdom and the experiences of man who served over forty years in Africa, retired, and then came to Asia because, in his words, "I wasn't quite dead yet." God bless you, Ed. I hope if I make it to eight decades, I can be half the man you are.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Picture of the chair from yesterday as it is loaded on the bike. I tried to get this picture to load yesterday but the internet was being temperamental.
Note the torn apart plastic bags being used as emergency rope. It was fun, let me tell you.
Note the torn apart plastic bags being used as emergency rope. It was fun, let me tell you.
Don't tell me China is safer because there are no guns in schools
May 12, 2010 - 9 people (5 primary school age children and 2 adults) killed by a man with a meat cleaver in Hanzhong. 20 other students, mostly kindergartners, are injured.
April 29, 2010 - A farmer walked into a primary school in Weifang with a hammer, hitting five students.
April 29, 2010 - A 47-year-old unemployed man armed with an 8-inch knife wounded 29 kindergarten students — five seriously — plus two teachers and a security guard in Taixing city in Jiangsu province.
April 28, 2010 - 33-year-old former teacher broke into a primary school in the southern city of Leizhou in Guangdong province and wounded 15 students and a teacher with a knife.
March 23, 2010 - A former community clinic doctor stabbed eight primary school students to death in Nanping, Fujian province.
It's not like any of these places don't have security either. According to the AP, "It was the fifth such major assault on young students in China since late March and occurred despite increased security at schools countrywide, with gates and security cameras installed and additional police and guards posted at entrances." I had to go with the AP because State media did not report the attack today.
In my humble opinion, save yourself time and money on the "gates and cameras" and give each of the guards a .357 handgun.
April 29, 2010 - A farmer walked into a primary school in Weifang with a hammer, hitting five students.
April 29, 2010 - A 47-year-old unemployed man armed with an 8-inch knife wounded 29 kindergarten students — five seriously — plus two teachers and a security guard in Taixing city in Jiangsu province.
April 28, 2010 - 33-year-old former teacher broke into a primary school in the southern city of Leizhou in Guangdong province and wounded 15 students and a teacher with a knife.
March 23, 2010 - A former community clinic doctor stabbed eight primary school students to death in Nanping, Fujian province.
It's not like any of these places don't have security either. According to the AP, "It was the fifth such major assault on young students in China since late March and occurred despite increased security at schools countrywide, with gates and security cameras installed and additional police and guards posted at entrances." I had to go with the AP because State media did not report the attack today.
In my humble opinion, save yourself time and money on the "gates and cameras" and give each of the guards a .357 handgun.
You Might Just Be a Beijinger if...
...you have carried heavy furniture on the back of a bike across the city.
My favorite restaurant, The Cove, closed down a week or so ago, and seeing as how I was pretty close with the owner I was able to get a chair from the place. Now you see, The Cove had a bit of a
'pirate haven' theme to it, so this is no ordinary chair, it is a pirate captain's throne. Everybody knows that pirate captains like their thrones to be tall and ornate with deep red felt as this one is.
It's also skillfully carved including a pirate ship that was sandblasted into the back. It really is a beautiful chair and would look great in my room. My only concern was just how to get it there. Some moving guys wanted 75 RMB to move it the mile or so to campus and knowing the quality of moving guys in Beijing, I would more likely find Al Capone attending a Tax Ethics seminar. So myself and the former chef of this place tore apart plastic bags to create rope to tie this chair to the back of my bike and then I walked it back to campus. Foreign guy walking a tall fancy chair strapped to a bike alongside the road.....you would have stared too.
My favorite restaurant, The Cove, closed down a week or so ago, and seeing as how I was pretty close with the owner I was able to get a chair from the place. Now you see, The Cove had a bit of a
'pirate haven' theme to it, so this is no ordinary chair, it is a pirate captain's throne. Everybody knows that pirate captains like their thrones to be tall and ornate with deep red felt as this one is.
It's also skillfully carved including a pirate ship that was sandblasted into the back. It really is a beautiful chair and would look great in my room. My only concern was just how to get it there. Some moving guys wanted 75 RMB to move it the mile or so to campus and knowing the quality of moving guys in Beijing, I would more likely find Al Capone attending a Tax Ethics seminar. So myself and the former chef of this place tore apart plastic bags to create rope to tie this chair to the back of my bike and then I walked it back to campus. Foreign guy walking a tall fancy chair strapped to a bike alongside the road.....you would have stared too.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Chengdu
Last week I went down to Chengdu, in the Sichuan province where the earthquake was in 2008. I stayed with the Monger family who were incredibly hospitable hosts which reflects well on their Southern roots. I really enjoyed my stay in Chengdu, especially since it was the first time I have traveled to and from a different province in China by myself. Sichuan's culinary reputation did not live up to what I had previously heard, however the other things it is known for exceeded expectations. We went to go see the pandas at a large "nature reserve" as well as visiting a remarkably quaint art market.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
A year in...
I've been in Beijing for a full year now and today I paused to reflect on the things that have happened in that year...
In no particular order...
-We moved campuses from ChangPing to YuanMingYuan.
-I was stranded in South Korea for nearly a month.
-I did seven days in isolation inside my room due to H1N1 scares.
-My Chinese has improved (if only slightly)
-I mastered the Beijing mass transport system from the overcrowded buses to the far-reaching subway lines.
-I've had dinner everywhere from a grand State Dinner at the Great Hall of the People to a tiny apartment deep in the hutong that also served as a unregistered house church.
-I've seen roughly 3,000 Chinese teachers and lived at one time or another with over 100 Americans who also came for this purpose.
I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to more growth and experiences in the next year.
In no particular order...
-We moved campuses from ChangPing to YuanMingYuan.
-I was stranded in South Korea for nearly a month.
-I did seven days in isolation inside my room due to H1N1 scares.
-My Chinese has improved (if only slightly)
-I mastered the Beijing mass transport system from the overcrowded buses to the far-reaching subway lines.
-I've had dinner everywhere from a grand State Dinner at the Great Hall of the People to a tiny apartment deep in the hutong that also served as a unregistered house church.
-I've seen roughly 3,000 Chinese teachers and lived at one time or another with over 100 Americans who also came for this purpose.
I am very grateful for this opportunity and look forward to more growth and experiences in the next year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
