Pack 88 Campout

This has been a busy weekend.  Landon and I just returned from the Cub Scout camp-out held on the soccer field of Concordia school.  There were about 100 families camping together and it can only be described as organized chaos!  Landon is in Den 11 with 9 other scouts.  His leader is Mr. Martin -Leung and I am sort of an assistant which basically means that I am in charge of trying to keep order while Martin leads the activities.  During the last few weeks Landon earned his Bobcat badge and received it during the awards ceremony around the campfire.  His den acted out a skit called The Ipod Cub Scout in which I got to star as the annoyed Ipod Cub Scout owner.  The boys did a great job and the rest of the evening you could hear various scouts from other dens reciting lines from the skit.  Dinner was an assortment of BBQ'd hotdogs, hamburgers, veggies and corn on the cob!  The evening wouldn't be complete without S'mores which was quite the production as you can imagine with 100s of kids all trying to roast marshmallows over two small fire pits.  Landon also earned his Wood Chip badge and kinfe safety award during the camp-out.  They learned how to properly handle a pocket knife and even got to carve their own arrowhead out of a bar of soap which actually accomplished two things knife handling and hand cleaning!  I got to meet quite a few other dads while the kids played and participated in activities.  We broke camp by 9am on Sunday morning and now we are getting ready to head to Landon's first official football game.  Following the game we will head to church then attend a meeting for a mission trip to Anhui province and then out to dinner with another family from church - whew!  I can't wait to get back to work just to get some rest! 

Shopping with Cynthia

I'm going to ask Mrs. Jin to take me to the wet market to shop for groceries.

It's called the wet market because the floors get hosed down before the market opens each morning.  The Chinese can't believe we westerners eat chicken breasts that are cut up and wrapped in plastic! How could you know when they where 'processed'?  They prefer, the wet market, where you know the food is fresh.  You pick out your chickens, ducks, turtles and frogs LIVE!  In the states, the high end grocery stores bag your groceries ,  provide you with a choice of paper or plastic bags at no charge. You can even have them escorted to your car.  Here the services include: they'll kill the chicken for you!  They'll even de-feather it!  I'm not sure if there is a service charge for head and feet removal.  There is a charge for bags, so most people bring their own. You then either; walk , bike or scooter your groceries home. 

Most people know how much fun grocery shopping is for me.  I could, and do, spend HOURS, not just shopping, but connecting with people.  When I walk into a grocery store I think; Who will I meet?   Where are my new friends?  What's goodies will God have in store (no pun intended) for me today!  This experience has put me over the edge!  This puts grocery shopping on a whole new level.  We're not talking Chinese food aisle, we're talking Chinese grocery store, Disney style!  The sights, the smells, the products, the people, the culture!  It is so hard to not be able to speak the language.  Facial expressions and noises can only get me so far.  Sometimes they only serve to get me misunderstood!  Fortunately, God has provided me with coping skills; humor and a high embarrassment threshold.  All right...enough for now...let me close this note with and invite....COME TO CHINA!   I"ll guarantee memories, adventure, and fun!  And that's just at the grocery store!

Chinese Cooking 101

One of my goals is to learn to cook Chinese food. There are many cooking classes, from which to choose, but Mrs. Jin (our ayi - see yesterday's post) is 48 and she has a husband and an 18 year old son. You know the woman can cook! So I found a menu from a local restaurant that delivers. Their menu is in English and Chinese. I pointed to the spring rolls and asked Mr. Jin if she would cook them and let me be her apprentice. Mrs. Jin loves to cook so I'm taking cooking lessons every Monday. Scott and the boys are thrilled!

Welcome to Chinese Cooking Class 101! Featuring the famous Mrs. Jin and her sidekick ( more like side show,.. more like freak show-Cintia, they don't pronounce the 'th' in my name.) So Mrs. Jin is whipping up a concoction of pork, cabbage, mushrooms and various spices, and sauces. She asks me if I have paper. After assessing the situation, I conclude she needs... paper towels. Now, paper towels in my world are expensive and wasteful. They are a bit of a treasure. However, I did tuck one glorious roll in our shipment and hid it from the boys. When I pulled it out, Mrs. Jin frowned, "No, not that paper."  Okay, okay....I've got other options...I know, maybe she wants post it notes! Ta-da! How about this paper?!.. "No, no....You have cooking paper? ...Ah, cooking paper!...Wait...Yes!.. Oh I'm so sure now! ... I run to my kitchen drawer, and pull out a plethora of cooking paper! I've got wax paper, I've got parchment paper, I've got cling wrap, and aluminum foil, (which are cousins' of cooking paper!) I'm so hopeful that my Chinese cooking teacher will be so pleased! She will smile and bow and praise me, "Oh Cyntia, you good student" Instead she shakes her head in total frustration. She picks up a small bowl of salt and says," Do you have salt and .......paper?!  I know, I know.... You think you'd hear the angels sing!....Come on...For crying out loud I packed wax paper.... Can you believe I forgot my salt and pepper grinder in America!

Mrs. Jin didn't need me in her way. Nor did she need my PEPPER. She danced around my kitchen with grace and finesse, and this Minnesota family ate Chinese spring rolls on an autumn night! I need to learn the Chinese word for delicious! For now "yum" seems to do the trick. Stay tuned for our second cooking lesson.

Cynthia's first blog post!!

Chinese food in China is very affordable.  It is western style food, whether bought at the grocery store or eating at  restaurants, that will crunch your wallet.  For example, cereal is between $10-$12!  Isn't that insane!  Knowing the prices of some of the foods, I did pack as much as customs would allow us to bring in our shipment.  Then again, how long do you think it takes for three boys to polish off a box of cereal? I've requested they eat cereal with chop sticks. The cereal lasts longer that way!

Some things here in China are VERY inexpensive.  For example, I have an ayi ( translates auntie and is pronounced i-ee) don't ask me why, this language is VERY HARD! Personally I rely on my pantomiming skills. (different story , different day).  In any case, for $3 an hour I have a maid!  Her name is Mrs. Jin.  She speaks a little English, for which I am grateful, and she has experience working with 14 western families.  She can clean, cook, shop, iron, babysit, do errands and I'm sure there is more, I think she might  even do magic tricks!  For our family, Mrs. Jin cleans  on Mon., Wed., and Fri. afternoons.  The apartment complex also provides two ayi for an hour per week.  These two, clean all our window and three balconies.  What is so insane, is that we live on the third floor of a 12 story building and they tip-toe around the outside window ledge to clean the windows without ANY safety devices!  NO WAY could I do this,  I'm so afraid of heights......I don't even like standing!  One time I decided to face my fears and get a job painting houses.  I climbed ladders to the third and forth floors, trembling and praying out loud the whole time.  Face your fears... that's a bunch of poo!  I'll leave windows  to the sweet little cleaning ladies that prance around on my window ledges!

Church in China

We have begun attending Abundant Grace International Fellowship (AGIF).  The church meets on Sundays at 3pm in a contemporary but traditional church building much like any you would find in the US.  The service is about 1-1/2 hours and begins with families all together for a time of singing and worship.  After about 20 minutes the kids are ushered out to their programming for the remainder of the time.  The Sr. Pastor is from the US and reminds me of John Russell from our church in Kentucky - he has a deep velvety voice and a very clear and proper manner of speaking.  This is contrasted with the associate pastor who is from South Africa and has a very distinct accent that I thought was at first Australian.  The pastor of Outreach is an Indian and he also has a very distinct style of speech.  So you really have to attune your ears to the accent of the day which at times can be difficult.  The attendees are from all over - US, Australia, UK, Germany, Korea, China, Singapore etc etc.  It is a very unique experience to be attending with people from all over the world and I imagine that it must be what heaven will be like - a kaleidoscope of races all getting along. Imagine that.  (Okay so much for my John Lennon moment)

I would describe the church as contemporary as well as relevant.  They are affiliated with Willow Creek Church in Chicago, they value small groups, outreach and personal transformation.  The most recent 9 week series was all about the family and what makes a family strong.  The two messages we caught were very relevant to our lives at the moment and it was refreshing to know we can still have good teaching and church so far away from the US. 

We are currently considering taking the entire family on an outreach event at the end of this month.  The church supports a small village in the Anhui province and brings them assistance in the form of rice, ducks, goats and scholarships.  The animals as well as some micro-loans help to get people started in a self-sustaining business upon which they can support their families.  

All in all, God has been very faithful to us in our adventure here so far - providing for our needs and keeping us all safe and healthy.  For this we are thankful and also thankful for all you who remember us in your prayers.  Don't forget Cynthia's advice - "Whenever you see a 'Made in China' label say a little prayer for the Smiths"