A Long Way Gone

I just finished reading a book called "A Long Way Gone" by Ishmael Beah. It's the true story of a boy, my age, who survived a life as a child soldier and now lives in the States, educating others on the realities of war and its effects on children.

To give an overview, Ishmael grew up in Sierra Leone, and when rebels invaded his rural village, he lost his parents and he fled with his brother and friends through the jungle and other parts of the country. They walked miles each day, stole food in villages they came to or scrounged the bushes for edible plants and fruit. At one point, he was separated from his brother, whom he never saw again. When he and his remaining friends finally made their way to the coast, where they had heard they could find refuge from the war, they were met by the government's army and told they were needed in defeating the rebels. At the age of 13, Ishmael was given an AK-47, taught to load it and shoot it, then his commander led him and the other children into the jungle to fight the enemy. He watched other boys die in front of him, one only seven years old who couldn't even lift his rifle. He was horrified, but as time went on he grew accustomed to the violence, took enough cocaine to numb the pain, and joined his fellow soldiers in watching war movies, then mimicing what he'd seen when murdering people. Killing came easy to him as he tortured grown men, killed women and children, and watched his friends die around him. When UNICEF found him, he didn't want to be rescued since the army was now his life. At 15, he and some other boys were placed in a center in Freetown where on the first day they killed some of the other boys there, who had been part of the rebel cause. He went through painful withdrawals from the drugs, broke every rule he was given, and burned his school books. After months of attention given him by a nurse who took the time to listen to him and counsel him, he finally began to be the boy he once was. Eventually the war came to Freetown, and he escaped to Guinea, and much later re-settled in New York through a fortunate turn of events.

I was just so moved by his story. It's a relatively short book, written very simply and openly. I had known of child soldiers in Africa, but had always thought they were used by rebel forces and not by the government. I had never so fully visualized how brutal the killings were, how corrupt the government was, or just what heights of cruelty humans were capable of inflicting on each other. Some of the things they did were acts I couldn't have ever thought up on my own, even if I was trying to come up with the most heinous things I could imagine. To experience it first-hand, as a child, is hard to comprehend. And to hear him come out the other side as he has, and be given an opportunity for another life is nothing short of miraculous. I was reading this book in the afternoon, and in the background could hear the kids here outside laughing as they played basketball and chased each other. The juxtaposition of those kids with Ishmael really brought home to me how desperate his situation was, and how he should have been playing with his friends rather than participating in mass killings.

It's a touching and provoking story. I highly recommend it.

Science 101

When I began college, and was was a declared English and Communications major, I couldn't understand why part of my core curriculum included three science classes. I was adamant that I didn't need to learn any more science now that I was headed on a career path in Humanities.

Tonight, I was proven wrong. I decided to bake a piece of chicken in my tiny, play oven (as Maz calls it). I took out a small, white ceramic baking dish I had and placed my chicken in it, which I've done several times before. I set my oven, adjusted the timer and waited. I decided to add a little chicken soup to the chicken to make it a little tastier. Again, I've done this several times before.

However, this time, I waited until the chicken had about ten minutes left and then poured my cold soup on it. Well, this was a bad idea, as some may have already gathered. My hot dish immediately cracked down the middle, and soup began oozing out into the oven. I didn't have a towel or anything to grab the hot dish with within reach, and felt much like I was trying to stop massive bleeding as I pushed the sides of the dish together to keep the soup from spilling out.

I finally was able to spoon out the chicken and soup mixture into another bowl while holding the dish together. And sadly, I said goodbye to this old friend, my white baking dish, which has served me faithfully for so long.

In an effort to see the deeper meaning of this, I've been thinking about the importance of all the little lessons in life. They all form this extensive fabric of knowledge we each have, and and whether we like it or not, this knowledge comes in handy even when you may discount certain life experiences as insignificant or forgettable. All I can say is, I wish I'd paid better attention in my science classes.

Kung Hei Fat Choy! Happy New Year!

Chinese New Year begins on January 26th, and already the country is in full gear getting ready for the upcoming 15 days of celebration. We are closing out the Year of the Rat, and will begin the Year of the Ox. (I also wanted to let you, faithful readers, know I will be offline for several days over the holidays, but be sure to check on me again later!)

Ever wonder just what Chinese New Year is all about? Read below to learn more about the biggest holiday in the Chinese culture.

- CNY traditionally starts on the first day of the first lunar months and lasts 15 days, ending with the Lantern Festival.
- Legend has it that in ancient times, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve came, and Buddha named a year after each one. He announced that the people born in each animal's year would have some of that animal's personality. Those born in ox years tend to be painters, engineers, and architects. They are stable, fearless, obstinate, hard-working and friendly. Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Walt Disney, and Anthony Hopkins were all born in the year of the ox.

- Many people will calculate their age based on what animal they were born under, since the animals rotate on a 12 year cycle.

- The lantern festival is held on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Some of the lanterns may be works of art, painted with birds, animals, flowers, zodiac signs, and scenes from legend and history. People hang glowing lanterns in temples, and carry lanterns to an evening parade under the light of the full moon.

- In many areas the highlight of the lantern festival is the dragon dance. The dragon—which might stretch a hundred feet long—is typically made of silk, paper, and bamboo. Traditionally the dragon is held aloft by young men who dance as they guide the colorful beast through the streets.

- At Chinese New Year celebrations people wear red clothes, decorate with poems on red paper, and give children "lucky money" in red envelopes. Red symbolizes fire, which according to legend can drive away bad luck. The fireworks that shower the festivities are rooted in a similar ancient custom. Long ago, people in China lit bamboo stalks, believing that the crackling flames would frighten evil spirits.

- In China, the New Year is a time of family reunion. Family members gather at each other's homes for visits and shared meals, most significantly a feast on New Year's Eve.

- In the days leading up to CNY, it is customary to give your home a thorough cleaning which is believed to sweep away the previous year's bad luck so the new year's luck can be ushered in.

- The first day is for the welcoming of the deities of the heavens and earth, officially beginning at midnight. Many people, especially Buddhists, abstain from meat consumption on the first day because it is believed that this will ensure longevity for them. Some consider lighting fires and using knives to be bad luck on New Year's Day, so all food to be consumed is cooked the day before.

- The second day of the Chinese New Year is for married daughters to visit their birth parents. Traditionally, daughters who have been married may not have the opportunity to visit their birth families frequently.

- Also on the second day, the Chinese pray to their ancestors as well as to all the gods. They are extra kind to dogs and feed them well as it is believed that the second day is the birthday of all dogs.

- The seventh day, traditionally known as renri 人日, the common man's birthday, the day when everyone grows one year older.

- Traditionally, red envelopes or red packets (in Cantonese known as lai see) are passed out during the Chinese New Year's celebrations, from married couples or the elderly to unmarried juniors. It is also common for adults or young couples to give red packets to children. Red packets almost always contain money, usually varying from a couple of dollars to several hundred. Per custom, the amount of money in the red packets should be of even numbers, as odd numbers are associated with cash given during funerals. (already the ATM across the road from where I live has run out of money, and we are waiting for a refill!)

- In addition to red envelopes, which are usually given from elder to younger, small gifts (usually of food or sweets) are also exchanged between friends or relatives (of different households) during Chinese New Year. Gifts are usually brought when visiting friends or relatives at their homes. Common gifts include fruits (typically oranges, and never pears), cakes, biscuits, chocolates, candies, or some other small gift. (We've had a huge presence of cookies on our site this week!)

- Markets or village fairs are set up as the New Year is approaching.These usually open-air markets feature new year related products such as flowers, toys, clothing, and even fireworks. It is convenient for people to buy gifts for their new year visits as well as their home decoration.

- Clothing mainly featuring the colour red is commonly worn throughout the Chinese New Year because it is believed that red will scare away evil spirits and bad fortune.

I hope you feel at least a little more educated about Chinese New Year. Kung Hei Fat Choy!

The Real Picture

This morning, during our team’s time together for singing and sharing, I was thinking back on my time in the States, and how difficult I found it to really give people a mental picture of just how unique a situation I am in here. I think the general mindset when you hear someone serves overseas, is to think I’m in a tiny, rundown room with ancient equipment and practically catching my own fish in the harbor in an effort to survive. Ok, so that may be a little extreme, but at the same time it’s probably a closer visual to what people think of than what actually happens here.

And what happens here, and the people here, so clearly reflect the Father at work. Every single person here works for no income at all, but chooses to be here because they have been called to be in this place. We have people who are highly educated, know the ins and outs of business management, up-to-date design, web, and other programs, and people who are incredibly organized and competent. When we print flyers or invitations to invite the community to events, these aren’t publications made using Clip Art and MS Word (not that there's anything wrong with that!), but rather professional quality products. This often gives people the idea that we aren’t as non-profit as we say, but in reality it’s because the Father has led his kids to be here, and all are very competent, hard-working people.

We also find ourselves faced with wide open doors of opportunity that literally fall into our lap. For example, we have a HUGE piece of land in Hong Kong (well, huge by HK standards), which was just given to us by the government, and what’s more is a prestigious development company has agreed to develop our site (ie landscaping, warehousing, and more) free of charge. In addition to this miracle, we made friends with some influential people in the UN and because of this bond, they asked us to present an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland next week. They flew and are boarding about 12 of our team members there. How crazy is that?! We continuously have corporate groups and other people within Hong Kong who just keep throwing money at us. Some of our more senior members in the organization are invited to high level meetings with people in government, many of which result in huge partnerships and PR for us (which gets us more money, and lots of people within Hong Kong who want to volunteer with us). I can’t tell you how coincidental so many factors are, like when we were petitioning the government to grant us our site in the first place, and it just so happened that the highest government official in Hong Kong’s daughter had recently volunteered with us and gone home to tell her dad how much she liked it, getting him interested and playing a pivotal role in our acquiring of the land we now have. Just so many amazing things.

In addition, we have some very, very creative people on our team, particularly when it comes to music. We have a professional singer/songwriter who writes and records music about world issues, such as refugees and child soldiers. We have a few others who also write and perform songs as a hobby, and are very talented as well. Just this morning we sang a song called Father of the Fatherless that several people wrote as a collaboration. It was a beautiful song, and with it we watched a slide show of photos our own people had taken of orphans all over the world, suffering and destitute.

I don’t know if this gives you any more of a visual picture of the place I’m serving in, but I hope it does. What started off as a small family taking in just a few boxes of clothes to help flood victims in China less than 15 years ago, has grown by leaps and bounds. It is now a team of about 80 people who come from all over the world, have an array of skills, degrees, knowledge, and talents. Each chooses to forgo a ‘normal’ job making a paycheck and instead live in a foreign culture, receive no money, but do so with great joy because they have been called out to serve the poor and bring hope to millions.

If you want to learn more about Crossroads in Davos, click here.

Seeing the Bigger Picture

My pastor in Texas always has a knack for seeing metaphors in everyday things. I always thought that was such a unique gift, and tried to see a little deeper too, looking beyond the physical and seeing the bigger picture and lesson learned from seemingly ordinary events or things.

I had an experience like that last night. I had to head into the city to pick something up, so I boarded the 962 bus that runs from my place in the New Territories directly to Hong Kong Island. I usually know that if I sit on the right side of the bus on my way in, I will get the best view because the shoreline is on the right, and to the left is less picturesque as there are more highways and concrete in that direction. But sometimes you don't get a choice, like last night when many seats were taken so I took a window seat on the left side, on the upper level of the big double decker bus. (Let me just say, too, as a side note that I love the city at night.) So as we ambled on for 40 minutes into the city, I sat with my earphones in, staring out the window. And I was amazed at how beautiful this view from the other side of the bus was. I kept limiting myself to the right side of the bus with its obvious beauty with the shoreline and islands in the distance. Yet on the left side, from up on the bridge I had a bird's eye view of a small fishing village below the highway. I saw the mountains, dark in contrast with the bright city lights. I noticed a massive hotel that has its base on the land below, but it's high top comes level with the suspension bridge to Ysing Yi that we crossed on our way east across Hong Kong.

I feel like I had such a different view, on a bus I take so much I don't even pay that much attention to the view anymore. I was really grateful that I had to sit on the other side, and see the deeper meaning of trying something new and being pleasantly surprised.

I was hoping to do the same on the trip back, but unfortunately the bus was so full I couldn't see much past the mass of bodies surrounding me. However, I do know that I will certainly try for that opposite view again, and not limit myself to familiar and obvious beauty but rather seek new visions.

Suzy Patriot

One thing I've noticed living here, among people from all nations, is that when you are away from your home country you suddenly become extremely patriotic. I see people posting their native flags on the wall in their homes or offices, hear them subconsciously humming their national anthem ... and going on about the many, many, many amazing things their country has or does and how much better than you that they are (Australians, I'm looking in your direction, though some of you admittedly are more toned down than others).

I have to admit, I have a huge sense of patriotism right now after watching Obama's inauguration (thanks, CNN.com!). It was easy enough to get caught up in just the stunning view of so many people filling the streets of DC (one of my favorite places in America, by the way), and the beautiful music played by people like Yo-Yo Ma. And of course, there's no doubt Obama is a gifted speaker. Even watching his speech, and his passion, I almost wanted to cry, I was so moved. Maybe I wouldn't have had such a strong reaction if I was home viewing the prayer, oath-taking, and inauguration speech. I think the part that moved me the most was, "a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath." Wow. Very true, and powerful statement.

I am a little worried at just how high on a pedestal people have placed him, though. He's got a HUGE amount of hype to live up to. Maybe it's just because I'm viewing all this snowball of Obamania from outside the U.S. that it seems a little overboard to me.

Back to my sudden patriotism, I don't know if it's just because I really love history, and am proud of where my country started, but I was envisioned when he talked about our rough start ("in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people: 'Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it.')... or maybe I just miss home a little bit and this extremely, over-the-top patriotic day made me miss it even more.

Who knows? Maybe I'm just being a sap, and I definitely have never had "Obamania" as I saw it referred to in Time Magazine (a very interesting article on how some people have gone overboard in their obsession with Obama).

I'm interested to see where things go from here, and though I don't harbor any negative feelings against the old administration, I know that change is good. If I've learned nothing else from my time in Hong Kong, it is this.

Oh, and did you check out how very happy and excited Yo-Yo Ma was when he was playing? I don't know if he was happy to be playing on this day, or just happy to be playing (probably a little of both), but I absolutely loved seeing him so smiley! :)

Metrics Schmetrics

It’s been ten months, and I still am very far from getting this metric thing figured out. I remember having to learn the metric system in, like, fifth grade and how teachers would tell us we were probably moving to the metric system, so it was important to learn ... and 15 years later, we are still sans-metrics in America (and I'm ok with that).

In Hong Kong, though, I get people going on about meters and kilos, and I just try to look like I am following, meanwhile taking a mental note of numbers so I can later convert it and actually know what just happened. I stepped on a treadmill earlier (donated, which is verrry convenient … also verrry free), and punched in the number I would normally have as my walking pace, in miles. I thought it was weird it was going so slow … and then I realized it was going so slow because it was measuring in kilometres and not in miles. I had to readjust and just figure it out without a conversion, but I think I did ok.

I don’t seem to have quite as much trouble with cooking, but that’s mostly because I cook most things at the same temp and my measuring cups have mililiters included in them. I usually just eye the grams and tablespoons, and hope for the best.

It also took me a while to get used to driving speeds being posted in kilometres, and even more getting used to using a speedometer in kilometres. I’d be going 110, which to me sounds dangerously speedy, but in actuality is slightly less than 70 mph, which is normal for a highway.

The hardest one for me has actually been measuring temperatures in Celsius. I just never have any idea what temperature it is, unless I go to weather.com where, thankfully, they post the temperatures in Farenheit (though you can switch to Celsius if you really, really wanted to). It’s very weird to hear people say, “It’s 36 degrees!” when it’s hot outside, when my mind immediately hears 36 degrees, and thinks, “that’s almost freezing!” (FYI, 36C is about 97F, whereas 36F is 2C, so you can understand my confusion)

Recently, I had a math nightmare, only I wasn’t asleep. We sent some members of our team overseas to facilitate an event at the World Economic Forum (a very big deal, actually … heads of many world organizations as well as UN officials attend every year). We had created flyers and invitations and banners to the event to advertise among the participants, and I was told the paper type, the dimensions (in centimetres and metres!), and how many of each type, as well as the banners, and had to determine how much this would all weigh, in kilos, so we could make sure those going had room in their luggage. It made my head hurt just to think about, but we got there in the end, PTL.

I just have no concept of how much a kilo is. I was told we had 50 kilos of space available, but no real idea of what that was, other than I had to make sure the amount of kilos I was coming up with for all the paper didn’t exceed the 50. We were weighing it on a big warehouse scale, and at one point Kate stepped on to shuffle some boxes around, looked up, and saw the read-out and said “oh, I guess you know how much I weigh now!” Of course, she’s itty bitty so I don’t think it would be anything embarrassing, but honestly I saw the number and had absolutely no idea how much weight that was.

So, I guess I still have a lot to learn about metrics. I definitely have a better handle on it than I did before (despite what you probably think after reading this post), but I still miss using pounds, miles, and Farenheit. If my fellow Americans reading this ever think about moving out of country, be ready for the metric system. It really does mess with you, despite being a seemingly small thing. I guess you can just chalk this up to one of the many, many new things I’ve had to step outside my box to do in my time here.