Happy Mid-Autum Festival!

Yes, it's that time of year again when families gather to eat dinner, look at the moon, and eat mooncakes in celebration of the full moon. Too bad it's rainy and cloudy this evening and the moon is hidden. This is our third year to attempt eating mooncakes. I have to admit, I have grown to like the fruit kinds a LITTLE bit but still can't stomach most kinds (especially any of them with egg in the middle). Mooncakes are big-business over here. In our city, we know of one hotel alone that sells over $1 million US dollars in mooncakes each year! Kevin's school gave us these "ice snow purple rice" flavored mooncakes with lotus paste filling.

Mmmmm, Grace thinks they aren't too bad. Maybe she will grow up actually thinking these are tasty!
Kevin took this picture tonight on his bike ride home. Festive dragons are always fun...

some Sunday ramblings

I started brewing my coffee this morning shortly before 8 am... It finally finished brewing at 6 pm tonight. That's when the power came back on. Rewind 10 days: A notice (posted at 10:30 pm the night before) said, "No power tomorrow from 8 am to 6 pm." Ok, at least they gave us notice, right? Well, the power never went out. So for a week or so I would fill up buckets each morning waiting for the power to go out because we have no water when the power goes out. Power outage never happened. Fast-forward to today: 8 am sharp the power goes off. This time, no notice, and no buckets drawn. Rewind to yesterday: I was dead-set on working out since I have been trying to do this faithfully 3 times a week. Do to the major construction project outside our building, bus stops are now in creative places. We spend lots of money taking cabs because we don't really want to walk (with Grace) through 30 minutes of "OSHA-who?, super-dangerous-with cranes overhead-and sparks-flying everywhere" construction to get to our bus stop. But, I digress. I thought I'd try taking the bus this time to the gym. I asked a bus driver if his bus headed to that area of town. He said yes. I was doubtful so I asked him 2 times to make sure he knew where I was talking about, and once again he gave me the official local grunt "uh, uh" to signify yes. I boarded the bus, but several stops later realized I was going in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. I asked the driver again. He said, "oh, you need to go THERE" but it was with a smirk like he totally already knew where I needed to go. He was playing it's "mess around with a foreigner" day! I got off and found the right bus. But it had taken me an hour and a half to get to the gym by this point, too late to work out because I needed to be home around 5:00 for baby switch-off. Oh well, there's always next time. I had waited to wash my hair that morning (hadn't done it in 2 days) but I could do that tomorrow morning, right? I was getting ready to hop in the shower when the power went off today... So, my greasy head and bad attitude went to club this morning. I was in serious need of a heart tune-up. I'm thankful that time before Him and in fellowship with friends can do that. I'm thankful for His patience toward me when I seem to let trivial things get me frazzled. There are so many more important matters in life than lost time, power outages, and greasy hair!

our whole world is often a stage...

Today Grace and I ventured to a part of town known as "5 elephants." You can tell from the statue below why it's been given that name. We happened upon some nice folks practicing for a performance they will be giving on the 22nd.

Next thing we knew, the group took a break and Grace became the main attraction.
Grace enjoyed the attention but got a little overwhelmed in the end...
So we went to her favorite local play-land. Here's a girl who wasn't scared to play with the foreign baby!
And, as a bonus, I snuck a (not too graphic) picture for you of a boy wearing split-pants. Very common in Asia, it is often preferred over wearing diapers. We've read a few articles on how "elimination communication" is getting somewhat more popular in the States, but they've done it here for years!

mini-retreat

Last Saturday we had beautiful weather and spent a few hours at our park on a mini-retreat. It was great to get together with friends and spend time in the word. Here we are at the highest point in our city...

Kevin playing tour guide...

cultural-isms

Before we moved here nearly 3 years ago, we were told to approach our new culture with the attitude of, "not good, not bad, just different." I would say that for the most part, we can agree. We are still learning not to look at our way of doing things as "the only/right way." I do have to say, though, sometimes we still just can't wrap our brains around it. Just as in every culture, there are aspects of this culture that need redeeming. But sometimes, there are simply cultural differences. I won't comment on each aspect, only give you a sampling of some different ways of thinking we've encountered over the past few years and let you decide...

• Relationships here work on a quid pro quo basis. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. (And I may not "pay you back" in the way you expected.)
• Similarly, a common Confucian thought is translated "stand in the light." Meaning, those with the money or influence need to help others in their relationship network. We have seen examples of people here giving half their month's salary to help out a friend, knowing that said friend would and should do the same if they needed it. One is expected to take care of family and friends, but anyone outside of the relationship network is not a responsibility. (Which, in a mob of people, translates into everyone for himself! Lines are hard to come by here.)
• Our friends tell us to use eastern medicine for small health problems, but western medicine is ok to use if you have a big health problem. Once, when I was sick, a dear friend brought me some eastern medicine cough syrup containing snake bile. She was just watching out for me! :)
• Pregnant women must not use computers or cell phones or it will harm the baby. Also, for one month after a woman gives birth, she shouldn't wash her hair, bathe, or go outside for long periods of time. She can only eat certain foods such as chicken or eggs. However, it seems younger women these days rebel against some of this, especially the no hair-washing rule!
• Some foods are considered "hot" foods, and some are "cold" foods. Not temperature-hot, but hot in that they can upset your body's "balance" if you eat too much of it. For example, mangoes are considered hot foods. (Ok, so is beef and dog meat!) Kevin and I love mangoes, and they are so cheap here, but most of our friends say they won't eat them because they make them feel hot inside and give them sores in their throats. The "hot foods" idea is very complex and I still don't fully understand it...
• "Face" is a huge aspect of this culture. You try to save your own face and the face of your loved ones. Losing face is shameful. And, doing certain things can help your friends or family gain face. Often, matters are settled via friends or talking around a subject rather than confronting a situation head-on. However, there are some aspects in a conversation that are not "face" situations. For example, it's common to call someone "fat" or compare someone's ability with another's right to their face. It's not considered rude, just stating fact. (Although some of our friends tell us that those who call someone fat have no manners.)
• We frequently are told by people we meet on the street that we're the first foreigner they've ever met (particularly if we travel outside of our city into rural areas.) Grace is especially rare in that she's a foreign baby. So, there are instances when we scare small children because we look so different. Grace and I have made kids cry no less than three times in the past week. It's kind of funny (not that I enjoy making kids cry), but yes we are still the freak show from time to time. Of course Grace doesn't understand yet. She's learning to count and has many words in Asianese now. She still prefers Asian faces and thinks she is Asian herself. So, she was a little bewildered by this little girl's reaction today:

Grace went over to shake this little girl's hand, but once she touched her you can see what happened. Grace was just a little confused.
Oh well, no worries! Let's just go for a ride!

being silly

I was going to write something, but I'm feeling a little lazy on this Sunday evening so I'll post some pictures instead. Until next time, here's our girl being silly...

daddy/daughter time

Kevin has started a tradition of taking Grace on a weekly date to have some bonding time and give me a little break. Today they returned from their date with some lilies for me. Momma's loving this new tradition!

In this picture, Grace is saying one of her favorite new words..."cheeeeese!"

we're back home

Ahhh, it's good to be home, even though we did have a great time in Thailand. We saw friends, had some encouraging get-togethers, and got lots of business taken care of. We didn't do many "touristy" things like we have done in times past. But, to us, any time you can get Auntie Anne's pretzels, Mexican food, and Starbucks galore, that's a trip worth taking. Maybe someday I'll post pictures from past trips to T-land.

In this particular city in Thailand, we have 2 options for transportation. Above, you can see Kevin bargaining on a price for a song tao. We prefer to take these because they are cheaper, and we can lift the stroller into the truck bed. But, equally as fun are the little tuk-tuks (see below) that can seat 3 people or more, depending on how comfortable you want to be.

On one trip our song tao driver took a back road and consequently had to stop for a while to let cattle cross.

Grace really enjoyed kicking back and relaxing in her stroller while Mom and Dad did all the walking! In the background of this photo, you can see a picture of the king and queen of Thailand. Pictures of the royal family are found all over the country. They are highly revered here. One day we discovered police had blocked traffic to allow the princess' caravan to pass through. I wanted to take a picture of the princess' caravan but was promptly told it was not allowed. Too bad my mom wasn't there because I bet she could have gotten a picture somehow! :)
Grace made several new friends across the city. This little boy was also waiting to see the doctor and get his shots. He and Grace followed each other around and shared snacks, hugs, and kisses. I do believe we have an extrovert on our hands.