Yes, there are lots and lots of McDonald's restaurants in China. Kind of surreal, ordering a Big Mac in chinese. And the omnipresence of borscht on fast food menus there is also weird. I'm looking forward to roasted sweet potatoes, shrimp dumplings, and fresh watermelon juice drinks, all available from street vendors. I'm dreaming in chinese again, something that hasn't happened for a long time. Evan asked me what I wanted to do first, and I was overcome with images and feelings; I almost couldn't answer. The thought of being there again is pretty overwhelming.
This place is one of my favorites. It's called Sai Kung, and it's gorgeous at sunset. I watched a man once on P-day as the sun went down. There was a diving platform there and as I watched his silhouette enter the water over and over again I felt such peace. Being a missionary can be exceedingly challenging, even depressing sometimes. I was so grateful for peaceful moments like those; they buoyed me up and gave me the courage to keep trying.
Thanks for the feedback on the sad-face thing. Sorry it was so self-absorbed. Now that I'm 35 (as of Saturday) I'm WAAAAY beyond stuff like that.
Thanks to all of you who sent/emailed birthday cheer my way. I had a great time buying stuff for myself without the inner mom guilt kicking in ("Flash really needs new church pants and you already have 6 pairs of black shoes; what are you thinking?"). We also dropped the kids off at a friend's house and headed to the beach for Italian food and walking in the moonlight (don't get any romantic ideas there, we were joined by about 29 Mississippians armed with bright flashlights and buckets on the search for sandcrabs). It was a nice day.
We're almost set for the great trek across the ocean to the mystical Orient. I say it in jest, but I must add that there is truly something in the air in China (besides smog); incense and mothballs mingled with a definite shrimpy smell and mango undertones. I can't wait!
An informal, unofficial, and certainly not mandatory poll. I've had more than a few people tell me lately that I look sad all the time. These kind of comments come my way from time to time, and I just have to ask, all of you, friends and family... do I really look sad all/most of the time? I think it's just the natural cast of my face (unfortunately)-- what do you think?
