Reflection

Our day began today at 8am so that we could catch our 11:30am flight from Chengdu to Nanjing. Everything about today was not as exciting, but was really necessary. Our flight was on time and pretty basic. We ended up back in Nanjing around 4 and ended up hanging out around here. We walked around the city some and ran a few errands that we had been planning to do before we head to Beijing. One of those errands we had been planning on was going to see Karate Kid in the theatre, but they ended up not having an English showing of the movie. Instead we went to the bootleg DVD store and bought it on DVD, mind you this movie is still in theatres, so we could watch it back at Max’s house. Max’s mom cooked us a home made dinner tonight and it was delicious as usual. We are all still kind of adjusting to the food, but right now our systems are completely flushed with this new fuel. Besides the hanging out and walking around the city some, we really just chilled and relaxed which was much needed.

This point in our trip is a little over half way and seems like a pretty good time to just reflect. All of the blogs so far have just been lists of the things we have done with a little commentary on each event. Overall though, our trip has been amazing. Its tough to have time to just sit and think about all the amazing things that we are just being flooded with, but the moments it really does hit you are breathtaking. Sometimes it is still hard to believe that I am half way around the world right now with 3 of my best friends. It is really weird to think that back home in NC it’s only 1pm not 1am, and yesterday. It’s pretty ridiculous to think back 3 years ago, before Hill, and ever imagine being here today. I am so thankful, and I know George and Gordon are feeling the exact same way, to have this kind of opportunity in my life. Thank you, Dad for allowing this trip to happen. Thank you, Max and the Zhang’s for having us here and setting up this whole trip. After spending time in the big cities as well as the villages, being in the US and being in China, its very easy to see that there are people so much less fortunate than I am, and I just want everyone to know that I am grateful for these opportunities that I have been given.

There are all kinds of people out there in the world, but the characteristics that make people likable are all the same. Generosity, consideration, respect, and love are all things that people even half way around the world can communicate with even if you don’t use your mouth to do it. It’s very easy to become consumed by daily life and not think about these things, but when you have no other way to communicate you can actually see these thoughts in people’s faces. I may not speak Chinese but its almost like I can still talk with Max’s mom because when she gets worried when she thinks Gordon doesn’t see a step in the street and thinks he is going to trip, Max, George, Gordon, and I, can all look at each other, smile, and say, “All moms are the same.”

We still have 10 days left here in China, and I know they will all surprise me as much as these past 13 have. It seems like it has all gone by so fast. I hope everyone is still enjoying the blog. We love you all so much and will be back before you know it, bringing all these stories with us. Tomorrow Max and I are waking up early to play ping pong with the old people at a local ping pong pro shop so I need my rest. Hope everyone has an amazing day!

Marty