My roommate and I recently discovered a gym by the back gate of our apartment complex. Apartment complex is a loose term....it's more like a small city. Anyway, we found a gym. We decided to go in and check it out, because it would be nice to have a gym so close to home, right?
Well.
As we were standing at the entrance of the dark, creepy stairwell, we weren't sure if we were going to go through with it or not. There was an elevator that wasn't working, so the stairs were the only option. As per usual, there were no lights or windows in the stairwell, so we speed-walked to the top. Along the way we saw pictures of gross body builders and gymnasts, so we figured we were on the right track. We got to the top of the stairs and there was no entrance into the gym. So we ventured out onto the balcony and saw an open door a little ways down. Not the most convenient place for an entrance. We walked into the lobby to find a pool table and a few men hanging out and smoking. Smoking. In the gym. That can't be good for the cardiovascular system. I asked the guy at the desk if we could look around, and he said sure (I think). Aside from the layer of cigarette smoke, the gym itself was small but seemed pretty normal. There were weights, machines, yoga mats, etc. There was also a studio for classes, although I have no idea what classes are offered.....
I guess we'll find out! :) We're going tonight for a free trial workout. I'm sure I'll have more to blog about later.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
So, I made a chicken pot pie
After a recent visit from a friend, I realized that I've been so wrapped up in my transition into life in China that I haven't been actively looking for ways to bless the people around me. It's easy to try and show a stranger kindness, but I had been looking over the people in my community, trying to get them out of my way so I could see other opportunities to love on people. This was a really harsh reality for me, realizing how selfish my heart has become during my fight to survive and adapt to my new...everything. I started praying for the Father to change my heart and show me ways to serve my brothers and sisters in love.
There is one particular family that has been a.b.s.o.l.u.t.e.l.y amazing since I got here. They have opened their home to me, fed me, given me a place to sit and cry, encouraged me, and loved me. They have been such a blessing to me! Normally I invite myself over for dinner/out for coffee, or somehow finagle an invite out of them. I decided that this time I would bring dinner when I invited myself over. We set a date and time, and I was pretty excited to spend some time with them!
Now, I'm not the most domestic person in the world. I've caught multiple dish towels on fire while cooking, I've ruined instant mashed potatoes, and I've forgotten things in the oven more than once.
With that in mind, this was my pot pie making experience:
First of all, I'm still new enough to China that grocery shopping is an all day event and I usually come back with nothing on my shopping list, but lots of things I didn't know I needed until they called to me from the shelf (in Chinese). It's actually not any different than my shopping trips in the States, now that I think about it. ANYWAY, I decided to go shopping on Monday so I would have everything I needed and I wouldn't have to do it at the last minute. On Tuesday I had some free time in the evening, so I went ahead and cut the veggies and laid out all of the things I would need the next afternoon.
To make a long story not-so-long, I was later than expected leaving school on Wednesday, didn't have any taxi money, phone died when I tried to send a frantic text to the friend whose sweet family was expecting dinner, and had to borrow money from my TA to get home.
Fast forward a 30 minute taxi ride.
I got home about an hour later than anticipated, so I was a little frazzled. I turned on the dinosaur we call an oven to preheat and opened the fridge to grab my nice pre-cut veggies. APPARENTLY you shouldn't cut potatoes the day before, because my once beautiful little white potato cubes were now a really gross brown color. But I thought, "Jai you!" and decided to use them anyway and prayed no one would notice. Oven is preheating...chicken is cooking on the stove...time to roll out the dough for the crust. I thought, "I'll save a step and roll the dough onto wax paper, then I can just flip it into the pan and save time!" So I rolled not one but two crusts onto wax paper and began to mix the ingredients for the filling, brown potatoes and all. The recipe I know in my head uses cups, but all of our measuring tools here are metric, but my phone was still dead and refusing to charge and my computer wasn't handy, so I didn't know how to convert c to ml. Gah! I checked the oven to see if it was heated, not that it matters because there isn't a real dial with degrees on it, but rather a dial with 1-8 and a needle thermometer inside that I don't really trust. I thought 7 sounded good, so I put the dial there and went back to my crust.
Ooooooh, the pie crust. When I flipped it into the pan and tried to shake it free from the paper, I started to realize this might have been a bad idea. When I shook the paper and then tried unsuccessfully to peel the crust off, I confirmed that it was a bad idea. So I scraped the dough off of the wax paper, threw the dough ball into the bottom of the pie pan, and smooshed it around the best I could. Whatever. It's on the bottom of the pan so it's not like anyone's going to see it. The top crust, by some miracle, wasn't as stuck as the first so I was able to cover most of the top with it. Then I used dough remnants to patch together the rest. My students have made many a pie with play doh, and I've never seen anything this ugly. At this point, I was already going to be late for dinner so I threw it into the oven, said a quick "please don't burn" prayer, and went about cleaning up. A while later I decided maybe 7 was too hot, so I tried to turn it down to 5 1/2. Why did I mess with the dial? I don't know. The gas turned off and wouldn't turn back on. What a disaster.
Before I ran out the door with my mostly cooked pot pie, I grabbed a potato that was poking through the...ahem....less than perfect top crust and sure enough, it was still crunchy. Of course. Perfect. I grabbed some cookie dough from the freezer (that thankfully a really wonderful cook gave me for Christmas) and figured if the pot pie was a flop we could order McDonalds delivery and eat cookies while we waited.
15 minutes late for dinner, I speed walked to their building. I shouldn't be surprised that I dropped the cookie dough on the way there, but thankfully it was double wrapped. I don't think I could eat even the most delicious cookie after it's touched the ground in China. Finally made it to their building...elevator to the ninth floor....realized I was in the wrong building....facepalm....elevator back down to the first floor.....backtrack one building....elevator up to the ninth floor....
The story has a happy ending. We all had a good laugh about my failed cooking experience, and the pot pie was surprisingly edible. Some miracle must have happened on the way to their house, because the potatoes were done. Their kids even asked for seconds! Phewf! Then we ate cookies, had more fun conversation, and all of the drama was totally worth it. :)
There is one particular family that has been a.b.s.o.l.u.t.e.l.y amazing since I got here. They have opened their home to me, fed me, given me a place to sit and cry, encouraged me, and loved me. They have been such a blessing to me! Normally I invite myself over for dinner/out for coffee, or somehow finagle an invite out of them. I decided that this time I would bring dinner when I invited myself over. We set a date and time, and I was pretty excited to spend some time with them!
Now, I'm not the most domestic person in the world. I've caught multiple dish towels on fire while cooking, I've ruined instant mashed potatoes, and I've forgotten things in the oven more than once.
With that in mind, this was my pot pie making experience:
First of all, I'm still new enough to China that grocery shopping is an all day event and I usually come back with nothing on my shopping list, but lots of things I didn't know I needed until they called to me from the shelf (in Chinese). It's actually not any different than my shopping trips in the States, now that I think about it. ANYWAY, I decided to go shopping on Monday so I would have everything I needed and I wouldn't have to do it at the last minute. On Tuesday I had some free time in the evening, so I went ahead and cut the veggies and laid out all of the things I would need the next afternoon.
To make a long story not-so-long, I was later than expected leaving school on Wednesday, didn't have any taxi money, phone died when I tried to send a frantic text to the friend whose sweet family was expecting dinner, and had to borrow money from my TA to get home.
Fast forward a 30 minute taxi ride.
I got home about an hour later than anticipated, so I was a little frazzled. I turned on the dinosaur we call an oven to preheat and opened the fridge to grab my nice pre-cut veggies. APPARENTLY you shouldn't cut potatoes the day before, because my once beautiful little white potato cubes were now a really gross brown color. But I thought, "Jai you!" and decided to use them anyway and prayed no one would notice. Oven is preheating...chicken is cooking on the stove...time to roll out the dough for the crust. I thought, "I'll save a step and roll the dough onto wax paper, then I can just flip it into the pan and save time!" So I rolled not one but two crusts onto wax paper and began to mix the ingredients for the filling, brown potatoes and all. The recipe I know in my head uses cups, but all of our measuring tools here are metric, but my phone was still dead and refusing to charge and my computer wasn't handy, so I didn't know how to convert c to ml. Gah! I checked the oven to see if it was heated, not that it matters because there isn't a real dial with degrees on it, but rather a dial with 1-8 and a needle thermometer inside that I don't really trust. I thought 7 sounded good, so I put the dial there and went back to my crust.
Ooooooh, the pie crust. When I flipped it into the pan and tried to shake it free from the paper, I started to realize this might have been a bad idea. When I shook the paper and then tried unsuccessfully to peel the crust off, I confirmed that it was a bad idea. So I scraped the dough off of the wax paper, threw the dough ball into the bottom of the pie pan, and smooshed it around the best I could. Whatever. It's on the bottom of the pan so it's not like anyone's going to see it. The top crust, by some miracle, wasn't as stuck as the first so I was able to cover most of the top with it. Then I used dough remnants to patch together the rest. My students have made many a pie with play doh, and I've never seen anything this ugly. At this point, I was already going to be late for dinner so I threw it into the oven, said a quick "please don't burn" prayer, and went about cleaning up. A while later I decided maybe 7 was too hot, so I tried to turn it down to 5 1/2. Why did I mess with the dial? I don't know. The gas turned off and wouldn't turn back on. What a disaster.
Before I ran out the door with my mostly cooked pot pie, I grabbed a potato that was poking through the...ahem....less than perfect top crust and sure enough, it was still crunchy. Of course. Perfect. I grabbed some cookie dough from the freezer (that thankfully a really wonderful cook gave me for Christmas) and figured if the pot pie was a flop we could order McDonalds delivery and eat cookies while we waited.
15 minutes late for dinner, I speed walked to their building. I shouldn't be surprised that I dropped the cookie dough on the way there, but thankfully it was double wrapped. I don't think I could eat even the most delicious cookie after it's touched the ground in China. Finally made it to their building...elevator to the ninth floor....realized I was in the wrong building....facepalm....elevator back down to the first floor.....backtrack one building....elevator up to the ninth floor....
The story has a happy ending. We all had a good laugh about my failed cooking experience, and the pot pie was surprisingly edible. Some miracle must have happened on the way to their house, because the potatoes were done. Their kids even asked for seconds! Phewf! Then we ate cookies, had more fun conversation, and all of the drama was totally worth it. :)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Loneliness
There are times when China, with its 1.3 billion people surrounding me, is the loneliest place I've ever been. I know I'm not alone - I have a loving Savior who knows me and loves me and is with me. But sometimes, like most of last week, living here is lonely. I had kind of a scary encounter with a man asking for money outside of Starbucks last weekend, and it reminded me of how painful loneliness can be. I was having an issue with this man, and clearly I'm not from here nor do I speak the language, and no one stopped to help me. In busy shopping area, person after person walked by and no one did a thing to help me. I know there are lots of cultural things I don't understand about this situation, but I still can't wrap my head around why no one would help me. Talk about feeling alone. After that incident, I struggled internally for several days trying to understand myself and my situation better. And this is what I've decided: Although my heart is often overwhelmed, I am experiencing such tremendous growth and seeing the Lord in new and exciting ways, and I wouldn't trade this season of my life for anything.
I've heard and read some really great thoughts on loneliness lately that have encouraged me, so I thought I would share.
"Loneliness is a feeling. Don't confuse that with your position before Christ which is real...which is deeper than any feeling that you and I can ever have." -Rob Turner, "The Kingdom and Singleness"
The rest of these come from Elisabeth Elliot's book Passion and Purity (some of which are excerpts from other books).
"This loneliness itself, which seems a weight, will be far outweighed by glory."
"Pray that you may be an instrument of God's peace, that where there is loneliness you may bring joy."
"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living."
"He has brought me this far, and already my joy is unspeakable."
I've heard and read some really great thoughts on loneliness lately that have encouraged me, so I thought I would share.
"Loneliness is a feeling. Don't confuse that with your position before Christ which is real...which is deeper than any feeling that you and I can ever have." -Rob Turner, "The Kingdom and Singleness"
The rest of these come from Elisabeth Elliot's book Passion and Purity (some of which are excerpts from other books).
"This loneliness itself, which seems a weight, will be far outweighed by glory."
"Pray that you may be an instrument of God's peace, that where there is loneliness you may bring joy."
"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living."
"He has brought me this far, and already my joy is unspeakable."
If it looks like a chocolate chip...
Today on the bus ride home, I was talking to a friend who is also fairly new to China. I told her that I have some guests coming to visit within the next few months, and she said, "Make sure you find out what their expectations are and tell them what they can actually expect it to be like."
So I started thinking...what should I tell my friend and my mom before they come visit?
1. Be careful what you step in. Puddles in the sidewalk may be a variety of things ranging from rainwater to urine to spit to snot.
2. Don't wear flip flops or nice shoes. See number 1.
3. Things in China take about twice as long as in the States. Then double that because you're a foreigner.
4. "Ting bu dong." If you're going to learn one phrase, learn that.
5. Bicycle etiquette. Stay to the right, pass on the left. Bicycles going against traffic stay closest to the curb, as do pedestrians. Car doors sometimes fly open and it hurts if you hit them. There's a bell on your handlebars...use it. Once you commit to crossing the street, go for it. Do whatever the Chinese bicyclists do - they've been doing this longer than you and they aren't dead yet.
6. Sweet potato chips. Yes.
7. The city bus can be a lot of fun, as long as you're willing to surrender your personal space at the door.
8. Restaurants with picture menus, while the food never really looks like the picture, are much safer than restaurants without pictures.
9. People will laugh at you. It's okay... It helps if you assume they are laughing WITH you.
10. If it looks like a chocolate chip, it's probably a red bean.
So I started thinking...what should I tell my friend and my mom before they come visit?
1. Be careful what you step in. Puddles in the sidewalk may be a variety of things ranging from rainwater to urine to spit to snot.
2. Don't wear flip flops or nice shoes. See number 1.
3. Things in China take about twice as long as in the States. Then double that because you're a foreigner.
4. "Ting bu dong." If you're going to learn one phrase, learn that.
5. Bicycle etiquette. Stay to the right, pass on the left. Bicycles going against traffic stay closest to the curb, as do pedestrians. Car doors sometimes fly open and it hurts if you hit them. There's a bell on your handlebars...use it. Once you commit to crossing the street, go for it. Do whatever the Chinese bicyclists do - they've been doing this longer than you and they aren't dead yet.
6. Sweet potato chips. Yes.
7. The city bus can be a lot of fun, as long as you're willing to surrender your personal space at the door.
8. Restaurants with picture menus, while the food never really looks like the picture, are much safer than restaurants without pictures.
9. People will laugh at you. It's okay... It helps if you assume they are laughing WITH you.
10. If it looks like a chocolate chip, it's probably a red bean.
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