Back in Dayton

For everyone who has asked me, "How is it being back in Dayton?" my answer is this:

Amazing. Difficult, but amazing.

The initial stress of no job/car/money/place to live were overwhelming, but God has been faithful and my people have been amazing.  My family and friends are what I missed most while I was in China, and they are what has made coming home so sweet. My Savior, my constant Companion, is who sustained me while I was in China, and He has been the one who has continued to walk with me since I got back.

My mom has been a wonderful, patient, constant source of support for me since I came back.  She let me stay with her until I could get back into my house.  She drove me around for days searching for a car.  She drove me to job interviews.  Her fiancé has been equally great, helping me move and taking on projects at my house.  They encouraged me when I was so overwhelmed all I could do was sit on the couch and cry.

Then my brother and his family came to Ohio for a visit.  For anyone who is an aunt or uncle, I don't need to explain what that did for my heart.  I just can't believe God chose me to be their aunt.  That's purely God's grace. My sister-in-law asked about China and listened to my stories.  My brother helped me replace the walls in my leaky shower and helped me move back into my house.  I think I speak for all little sisters out there when I say we would never make it without our big brothers.

I had the privilege of seeing some of my China friends in Dayton this month.  I loved sharing Dayton with them and seeing the city I love through their eyes.  I'm so thankful for the friends I made while I was in China and the experiences we shared together!

This past weekend was a "whirlwind weekend" that was full of celebrating friendships and celebrating life. There were surprise baby showers, pancakes, bridal showers, cupcakes, photo shoots, giant balloons, worshiping together, sitting around the fire, laughter, tears and goodbyes.  I walked away from the weekend needing a nap but with a heart filled to the brim with thankfulness and love for these beautiful women.

Something that has made such an impression on me over the past several years is what a gift godly community is.  It's something that is difficult at times and takes effort, but it makes life so much richer.  There's nothing like having a group of people who constantly point you back to Jesus, remind you of the big picture, pray for you, pull weeds at your house, put together dining room tables and bed frames, let you love their children and spend time in their homes, ask hard questions, rejoice with one another, grieve with one another, and genuinely love one another....people who tough love you when it's necessary and listen sympathetically when that's the only thing they can do to help.  

This morning I woke up to puddles on my kitchen countertops.  The drawers were full of water...the cabinets were full of water.  In that moment, all I could do was sit on the kitchen floor and cry.  I was frustrated and overwhelmed.  I was mad.  Mad at this house I love/hate, mad at the rain, mad that I have to deal with homeowner problems alone. So I took a breath, prayed, and sent out an SOS text to two friends who immediately responded with "I'll be right over" and "I'll be there after work."  That's the kind of people I get to call "friends."  

So there you have it.  If you're wondering how it feels to be back in Dayton, that's my answer.  It's hard, but it's amazing.  My house is leaky and my bank account is empty, but I have amazing people put into my path by a gracious God. 

The art of playing dumb

Oftentimes, playing dumb keeps us expats out of trouble.

"What's that? Can't ride my bike through here?  Sorry, I don't understand.  Bye bye!" "Hmm?  I can't take pictures of this?  Huh?  Sorry...don't understand."  *click, click, click*

There are other times when playing dumb isn't quite as effective.  Hitting a pedestrian with your bike is one of those times.

I may not publish this for a while...at least until my mother knows I'm safely back on US soil...so for reference I'm writing this on May 17, 2014, 5 days after my run-in with the Tianjin Police. This past Monday I was riding my bike home from a nearby shopping center.  I had paid my phone bill, gotten some food for dinner, and it was a beautiful day.  There are few things I love more on a beautiful day than riding my bike around China.  On this particular day, I had left school early and I was enjoying a stress-free ride home with very little traffic.

Cue careless lady stepping out from behind a parked car and into the street.

Before I get into the details of what followed, let's review my China traffic record:  2 years and 0 accidents.  Aside from the time I fell in the mud, I have ridden hundreds of miles and had no mishaps. I'd call that a pretty good record.  So fast forward to this past Monday when the woman basically walked into my moving bicycle.

The nice thing about my bike is that it gets me from point A to point B pretty quickly.  The bad thing is that when you hit something you're likely moving fairly fast.  So I was cruising along when I saw this lady step out from behind a parked car a few feet ahead of me.  I don't really know where she was crossing to, as there was nowhere to go on the other side of the road, but she was on a mission and wasn't paying attention to who may be driving or riding past.

Let me stop here to say that YOU SHOULD ALWAYS LOOK BOTH WAYS!  Especially in China!  Always, always look both ways.  No one actually follows the traffic laws, so don't assume you can meander safely across the street.

Anyway. I saw her step into the street, but I was already right on top of her so I rang my bell, yelled, and tried to miss her but it was impossible. I plowed into her and sent us both flying.  Thankfully I was wearing a helmet, but she wasn't so lucky.  She busted her face on the street, and I'm not sure exactly how I fell because I was down and back up before I even had a chance to think about what had just happened.  My injuries would suggest I fell on my right arm/elbow, which was in turn jammed into my right side.  After I scrambled back to my feet, I grabbed my bike and started to move out of the middle of the road, looking down to check on the lady I had hit.  She was sitting up so I thought, phewf, she's okay.  About that time she grabbed my bike and started screaming at me.  We're talking arms and legs wrapped around my bike, top-of-her-lungs screaming at me.  In Chinese.  Screaming. Hanging onto my bike for dear life.

I've heard horror stories about foreigners getting into accidents in China, and from what I can tell they are always found to be at fault, even if they were an innocent passerby trying to stop and help.  So all I knew was I was probably already in big troubs and I shouldn't say anything to get myself into more trouble.  The more she screamed, the more I pretended I didn't speak a word of Chinese.  I just repeated every foreigner's favorite phrase - ting bu dong - over and over.  "I hear but I don't understand!  I hear but I don't understand!"  She screamed louder, yanking on my bike.  I yanked back. All I could think was, "Get off of my bike, you lunatic." She started clawing at my bike and at me, taking out her phone and waving it around, yelling to people walking by for help as if I were attacking her. She drew quite a crowd.  People tried to talk to me and I stuck to my guns - ting bu dong, ting bu dong, ting bu dong.  I have never been so terrified or unsure what to do.  Eventually I was able to get my phone out of my backpack and call a man from work. He happened to be with a Chinese friend who talked to the hysterical lady and calmed her down a scosche, although she still wouldn't let go of my bike and by this point she was pressing her body against me and yelling directly into my ear.  I was going from compassionate and scared to angry really fast.  Too bad I don't know how to say, "Stop touching me, you crazy bat!"

Cue the police officer.

He and I stood there staring at each other for several minutes because he didn't speak English and I was crying and still refusing to speak Chinese.  I thought, "This is it.  I have less than a month left here and I'm going to spend it in Chinese jail. I can't. I'll never make it."  I got the guy from school back on the phone and he assured me that they were looking for a Chinese staff member who could get there quickly and help.  In the meantime, the police man convinced the lady to take a few steps away from me, and the urge to punch her subsided.  Eventually some people from school showed up to help and the crowd of onlookers dispersed.  I called a friend to come and take my bike home lest it be confiscated.  The Chinese women from school negotiated with the police man for a few hours.  There was talk of taking me (to where, I'm still not sure), taking my bike away, making me pay the lady's medical bills (although she was clearly fine), etc.  Finally we decided that it was in everyone's best interest to settle it there and be done with it.  So my friends and I pooled together enough money to satisfy the crazy jaywalker and police officer (who I'm convinced somehow made a profit off of this), and we got the heck out of there.