Happy Easter

Happy Easter from China.  I woke up this morning and while laying in bed realized that it was Easter and I wasn't home with my family.  It made me miss my family even more.  I am so grateful for technology like Skype.  Even Skype, however, has it's limitations.  There is nothing like being there.  I have always been grateful for my family and can't wait to see them again in person.  I have been gone for 6 weeks now and that is the longest I have been away from Alauna and the kids.  I also thought of the military families that are apart for months and years and that put it in perspective for me a bit.  It caused me to remember flying to San Antonio many years back and driving from San Antonio to Salt Lake City with my older brother Steve.  He was at Army training for months in San Antonio and had just a few days until he had to report to a base in Washington I believe.  I kind of expected a causal trip and taking a couple of days to do it.  The trip was a great trip, but anything but casual.  We only stopped to get gas and we only ate at the place we got gas, which probably gave us both gas :).  I think we lived on hot dogs off of the hot dog roller, Salsa Verde Doritos and Mountain Dew.  We switched off driving for the first 10-15 hours, but then I was getting pretty tired.  The last place I remember seeing was Moab at about 2am.  I think we drove for 22 hours straight.  Steve just wanted to get home and see his family after not seeing them for months and nothing was going to slow him down from seeing his family.  Many years later I can somewhat relate to what he was feeling.  Alauna and Mikayla arrive this Tuesday evening and Tuesday evening can't come fast enough.

Even with being miles and miles apart from my family I had a great day.  For our Church Service we watched the General Conference talks from last Sunday.  For those not of my faith, our church has a General Conference every six months the first weekend of April and October.  In Utah and many parts of the US and world the conference talks are broadcast on the television and are available on the internet.  With the time difference we couldn't watch them last week, so we watched them this week.  It was so uplifting to hear the messages, of hope, faith, repentance, forgiveness, service and most of all of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.  My favorite talk was from President Thomas S. Monson, our Church President and Prophet.  Here is a link to his talk.  http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2012/04/the-race-of-life?lang=eng&format=general-conference&view=sessions&media= .  He really put things in perspective in a world that might not always seem clear.  I really look forward to conference every year and this year was no different.  After Church I took a great Sunday Afternoon nap.  It felt so good.  So overall it was a great Easter.

This week was Tomb Sweeping Festival in China.  http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/qingming.htm
It is a holiday similar Memorial Day in the US.  The holiday was on last Wednesday, April 4th.  To give the people a three day holiday the government mandates that the Saturday and Sunday previous to the holiday are work days and then they get Monday-Wednesday off for the Holiday.  The people don't seem to mind because they get three days off in a row, even though they worked seven previously.  I spent the day with Jeremiah Linder, one of my coworkers and friend, at the Jiming Temple.  It was a really cool experience.  The Jiming temple is a working Buddhist temple.  Part of the custom of Qing Ming Jie or Tomb Sweeping day is to burn paper money (not real money) for your ancestors to have in the afterlife.  They will also place fruit and other food for their ancestors to eat as well.  One of the cultural don'ts is to not stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice.  This is because during QingMing Festival they will place bowls of rice for their ancestors with chopsticks sticking straight up.  To stick your chopsticks straight up in a bowl of rice at dinner is disrespectful to this custom.  As we went to the temple there were a lot of people there to pay respects to their Gods and their ancestors.  As we got to one section of the temple there was a large room with a large statue of a Chinese God, a monk playing a beat on a drum and about 100 Buddhist monks and other followers chanting their prayers.  It was really cool and a very powerful example of these people's faith.

As I have traveled the world, I have seen many people demonstrate a strong faith and commitment to their God.  I have always been impressed with this.  I may not always understand or believe the same way they do, but I always have a deep respect for those trying their hardest to live according to their values and their belief.  I was touched to see people so concerned for their ancestors.  In my religion, our ancestors are very important to us.  One, because of gratitude for the legacy they left us, and two because of the eternal nature of families.  This leads to another lesson I have learned traveling the world.  When it comes down to the basics people have very similar needs and desires.  People want to be loved, people want take care of their family, develop strong relationships, and enjoy life.  This might manifest itself differently in different cultures, but at the root they are similar needs.  People have a yearning to be connected with their ancestors and family.

Jiming Temple.  People burning inscense and smoke from
the burning money rising up to Heaven. 

Chinese God and food.  

Smoke rising up to Heaven.  The money is burned below and
rises up about 20 feet to this level.  

People throwing money at this iron cauldron.
There is a small ball at the top with holes in it
and people would throw coins into it.  

Jeremiah taking pictures in the garden.

Nanjing City wall.  It is over 600 years old.  

Old and New.  Jiming Temple and Greenland tower.
The Greenland tower is the tallest building in Nanjing.
89 Stories tall.  

When I was in Taiwan 20+ years ago I remember thinking when I got there that everything was new and different.  After a while things stopped becoming new and different and just became the way things are.  Then after even a longer period of time, I started embracing and enjoying the differences and they became part of life.  I think I am moving into the phase where things are not new and different but just the way things are.  I still do see some things that still cause me to double take.  I was walking home the other night and a few people were walking into a restaurant.  They stopped outside the restaurant and waited for someone from the restaurant to come meet them.  They pointed to the side of the door.  It was dark so I couldn't see what they were pointing at.  The lady from the restaurant opened up a cage and pulled out a live chicken.  She weighed it and then walked back into the restaurant holding this live chicken by the wings and I'm sure a few minutes later the group was enjoying a nice chicken meal.  This is the first time I have seen this at a restaurant with a chicken.  I have seen it many times with fish, but never a chicken.  I guess you know it has to be fresh.  

I was walking to Walmart to get a few groceries.  I guy in a bike rickshaw stopped to give me a ride.  He said it would be 10rmb, about $1.50.  I jumped in and away we went.  About half way through he turns back and says foreigner cost 50rmb.  We get to the end and start discussing the price.  He said because I'm a foreigner and a big guy that it was 50.  He said he had to work a lot harder to get me there and so he needed to make more money.  I negotiated back and forth with him a few minutes and ended up just paying him the 50rmb.  As I mentioned earlier a crowd attracts a crowd and it was late and I didn't want to attract a big crowd so I paid him off and went on my way.

I hope everyone that reads this is doing well and enjoying life.  I am doing well and am very blessed.  I am grateful for all those that have helped Alauna and kids while I have been gone.  Thank you to all who have helped.  I'm also very thankful for our family that will be watching our kids this week so Alauna and Mikayla can come to look at housing options, schools, doctors etc.  It will be a great week.  Maybe Alauna and Mikayla can post their impressions of China on the blog next week.  One more quick thing.  Many have said that they want to come visit us while we are here.  You are all welcome to come.  This time of year is beautiful.  The weather is great and there are a ton of blossoms all over the city.  We would love to have visitors anytime.  Take care and make it a great week.

Boyd