Church in China

A week or two ago, my mom asked what church was like here and if it was anything like Russia. If you don't know, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. You can learn more about this religion here. Church here in China is, in most cultural ways, nothing like Russia. In Russia, church was full of Russians. We sang hymns in Russian, talks and lessons were in Russian, and we ate Russian food at any activities we had. Here, we speak English,  we sing hymns in English, and we eat American food (sometimes with a slight Chinese twist) at activities. Church mostly consists of Americans. We do have one man from (I believe) Nigeria, one couple from Korea, 1 Taiwanese woman, 1  Chinese (who only can go to church with us because she is married to an American),  but the rest of us are from America. Everyone is in China either because their company sent them to China, schooling, or teaching English.

Currently, there are 2 teaching English groups, 2 BYU groups, and a handful of various company families. Before the English and BYU groups arrived, the branch consisted of about 5 families and a few older couples- kids are grown and living back in the states. There were about 30 people then, and around August-early September, the branch grew to about 90 people. This happens every year. In December, the English groups will leave and be replaced with a new group of English teachers. The BYU study abroad group will also return to the states and probably over half of the Flagship students will move to new cities in China. Most of the more "stable" people, have only been here about a year or two and will only be here for another year or two before returning to America.

No one is here permanently. In Russia, the native population was the majority of the church branches. Here we are not allowed to have church with the native population- unless they have family who are not Chinese who are also members of the LDS faith- ie they married a non-Chinese. Every Sunday, before church, our branch president (local church leader) reads a letter from the Presidency of our church. In the letter, we are reminded that we are not permitted to discuss the church, pass out any church materials or in any way share our beliefs with Chinese nationals. Any other expats are free game, but if they have a Chinese passport, we can't talk religion. We stick to that. I'm just glad that the government lets us have church here. It is such a great support system and being at church and feeling the Spirit in the lessons and songs helps buoy my soul for the upcoming week. For me church here feels a lot more like home than any other place here in China. We've already grown close to some of the other members. It is a place of peace and comfort.

One thing that is most similar to church in Russia (besides what is being taught) is that it is a bit of an adventure to get there. Church starts at 10am. We leave the house around 9am. First, we take a 10-15 minute bus ride to the metro stop- Gulou. Chinese buses don't usually pack as much as Russian buses, and the Chinese are very aware about giving up seats for elderly or people with children. I get a seat about 97% of the time. It's awesome.

Then, we take the metro- Line 1, 8 stops, and get off at Zhongsheng. If you look at the far left side of this picture, you see our friend Katie and Trevor on the metro with us. Peter usually falls asleep on the way home from church, and when he's in the pack, it makes for easy times.

When we get off the metro, we  cross a street, walk through a bus parking lot, cross two more streets and come to this building. It's a hotel. We have church on the second floor. The hotel staff are so kind. They open doors, push the buttons for the elevators and always greet us with a smile. 

Here is Jonathan and Peter with two brothers. The younger one absolutely adores Peter and will come and see him as soon as we walk in the room. He is mystified about how Peter can't walk, talk or stand by himself yet. He will proudly declare to us that he can walk and stand by himself. It's funny to me that he is so amazed by this because he himself has a little baby brother who is about 5 months old who can't do any of those things either. Anyway, in these pictures, they are sitting on the front stand in our chapel. All the rooms have carpeted floors- which I love and Peter loves even more. There are also fancy chandeliers in every room. Sometimes if there is a breeze, they make a soft tinkling sound.

In this picture, the boys are having the, "I can stand up." discussion.

So, there you have it. That is a little bit about our Sundays in China. We are grateful that we have church here in Nanjing. It is a great blessing. We are small, but we are mighty. Someday when China allows missionaries into their country it will be fascinating for me to see what happens. 

English Teacher

Last Friday, I was in the elevator coming back from work (teaching English to kids). I had my notebook and papers with me from class. There were two people in the elevator with me, a man and a woman, both Chinese. As we started the upwards journey, the woman said something to me in Chinese. I smiled and shook my head while shrugging my shoulders, indicating I didn't speak Chinese. She then said, pointing to my books, "English tea-cha?" "Yes!" I exclaimed in reply. I told her in Chinese that my husband is at Nan Da (Nanjing University). She asked if he taught there. I forgot how to say student, but we eventually got across the point that he studied there. Then, we both got off on the same floor. She said something to me in Chinese. I responded with my, "Sorry, I don't speak Chinese" phrase. She looked at me and said, "I am ummm living here." motioning to the area around us. I exclaimed, "I do too! Eighteen oh one." She thought for a moment and then said, "Eighteen twenty four." Good. That's cool. I was going to turn to go home, but she was still looking at me like the conversation was not finished. Then she said, "I want to learn to English better. Will you teach me?" Heck yes I will teach you! I brought her to our apartment so she could speak to Jonathan in Chinese and they could sort out the details. Her English is fair, but I figured in Chinese we could get everything sorted out faster and all be for sure on the same page. So, I am now meeting with her once a week for about 2 hours each time. Jonathan negotiated a rate of 150 rmb/hour...not too shabby. She was super excited to meet together which was fun to see.

We met for the first time last Saturday. She just comes over to our apartment and I play with Peter and talk with her. Her vocabulary is weak and her sentence structure is strange (not really, but she speaks in English like she would in Chinese, which always makes the sentences strange sounding), but I feel that once she starts practicing regularly then she will learn and retain quickly. It's nice teaching her because she wants to learn, so we'll have fun. Last week, we spent about half of the time with her going through pictures on her phone and she would tell me about different Chinese cities she's been too. After she tells me about each one, she would tell me, "If you want to go here. Ask me first and I will tell you the places to play and where to stay." Connections! She has been all over in China. Also, she works with a company named Otis. They make elevators. She showed me pictures of the buildings that are some of their clients. They work with places such as: The Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, the Twin Towers in Malaysia, Shanghai World Financial Center, Macau Tower, CN Tower in Toronto, a really tall one in Dubai, and many others. It's really sweet.

We also talked a bit about families. In China, that discussion is much shorter. It goes something like, "So, do you have any siblings...oh...right. So, where do your mom and dad live? Do they work?" The whole only child policy makes that conversation really easy. I showed her pictures of my family. She thought there were lots of us (which is true), and she pointed out one sister- Carissa- in particular and said, "She is beautiful." Props to you Cridda, out of the picture of the whole family (one of the ones from when we were at the beach 2 years ago, so everyone was in it) she picked you out. They would love you here. (They would love everyone else too, I just thought it was cute story.) She also said that she will teach me to make some food things and help me with this online shopping site I want to use to get some clothes for the baby.

I also learned that it works better to talk with her when Jonathan is gone. Once he gets here, she speaks lots more Chinese and asks him how to say everything instead of just trying it in English. It's completely understandable. I'd do the same thing, but it'll be better if she doesn't rely on that. So, that is my most recent job find. It's exciting and I think we'll have fun meeting together.

Let's Take a Walk

The other day, I was getting some things done and keeping an ear on Peter, but not the closest eye on him. He was in the same room as I was and I could hear his cute baby babbles. Then I looked over and saw this...

Peter decided he really needed the pen and notebook that were in the stroller basket. He had pulled himself up and had a good grab on the pen. I could sense something great was about to happen, so I grabbed the camera and started to document. 

He was so happy and proud of himself. "Look mom, I didn't even need your help, I got it!"

But, he couldn't quite grab the notebook. So close, but he needed just a little bit more. 

"Ah, yes, this is much better, now I can fully grasp the notebook." His little leg pulled up and into the stroller basket. His second little leg quickly followed. 

"Look mom! I can fit in here!" He was thrilled...for about 3.2 seconds until he realized he couldn't sit up. About a half a second after I took this picture he let out a really scared screech, unlike his normal cry, and started thrashing. I quickly went over and saw how he was situated and for a second I was scared I wouldn't be able to get him out. But, indeed he came out very easily. He gave me a scared hug for a few seconds and then went about his playing like normal. He hasn't tried doing this again, so hopefully he learned- lesson for the day- Just because you can fit, doesn't mean you should go in.

Peter's Place

When we were in Shanghai, weeks ago, we did a quick trip to a shopping center that was close to the home where we were staying. We wanted to check one of the foreign stores to see if there were any food items we couldn't get in Nanjing that we missed from America. The complex had some different restaurants, little shops, and a small grocery store. We saw one restaurant in particular that stood out from the others and we knew we had to check it out. 

Behold, Peter's Tex-Mex Grill

I mean, really, what more did I need to convince me to get some food here. It shares the name of my son, it's Mexican food...we are living in China, I miss Mexican food so much. Also, they were having a sweet deal that if you bought a shake then your meal was 50% off, so something to that effect. So, we went. 

Here's Peter with the restaurant card...

 And here is Peter putting the card where he puts everything...in the mouth.

 The restaurant was neat. There were bright colors, light fixtures made from antlers, tile work on the tables, and cool artwork on the walls. 

 We had root beer!  We also got a mint chocolate shake and a burrito.

Peter chewed on the straw like it was his job.

 Ok, this is a weird picture, but if you look over Jonathan's shoulder, you can kind of see 2 Chinese ladies (near the shiny thing). Peter was being really squirmy during the meal and our waitress came, picked him up, and walked around the restaurant with him. We kept a really close eye on them (I always am scared they'll snatch him away), but all she did was show him off to everyone and take lots of pictures of him.

The food at Peter's wasn't the best Mexican food I've ever had, but it was pretty delicious, and considering we were across the Pacific ocean from Mexico, I think they did pretty good. It was a nice break from noodles, dumplings, and fried rice. 

Genetics

The other day, I was out with Peter. We were taking a walk around. A teenage girl began to pass by us and then she noticed Peter. She slowed down and matched speeds with us. She tried getting Peter's attention, "Bebe, sho-ow bebe!" She said he was beautiful, possibly something about his hair and asked me in Chinese how old he was. I responded in Chinese- 8 months old. She then asked something else which I didn't understand. She asked it again and I told her that I was sorry but I didn't understand. She then asked in English, "His father is Chinese?" I looked at her perplexed, then back down at Peter...wha, no, his father is not Chinese, that child has nothing Chinese in him. Look at that white blond hair and those blue eyes. I felt like we needed to have a lesson in dominate and recessive genes right there. (I know that sometimes in rare cases children do follow the recessive genes and look very different from their parents, but still...look at my baby, look at a Chinese baby...nothing.) Instead I shook my head and said, "May-gwo-ren." American. Then I said, in English, "His father is at Nan Da." (Nan Da is the abbreviation for Nanjing University, just like we say BYU instead of Brigham Young University.) She said, "Ohhhh, teacher?" Again perplexed, I replied, "No, student. He studies Chinese." She nodded her understanding and from there we parted ways.

I'm sure she asked if Peter's dad was Chinese because why else would we be living here? But it just struck me as very odd that anyone could question Peter having any bit of Chinese in him. Also, Jonathan has told me that he's been asked a number of times if he teaches at Nan Da. Professor at age 25, that would be neat.

House Plants

Since we arrived in Nanjing, Jonathan has been wanting to get some house plants. Well, today was the day. We went for a walk and passed a little stand we had passed twice before. There was a great variety of plants. Jonathan told me how to ask the price of one and even though I didn't want to, I asked the woman the prices of different ones we liked. Jonathan stood nearby and I checked with him after I figured out each price to make sure I was getting the prices right. I'm slow with numbers, but I can usually figure them out. So, the day was kind of a double victory, we came home with 2 plants and I successfully communicated in Chinese. Here are our plants...

We have this lovely hanging one.

And we have this little tree with neat roots. 

It's nice having plants since we are living in a big apartment building. I'm a little worried about keeping them alive. We only have one window in our apartment and it's in this little alcove in the bedroom. So, maybe everyday I'll take the plants back there to get some sunlight. Hopefully they live long and healthy lives.

Baby Mob

It's been interesting in China to see the love and interest towards babies here. If we leave the house with Peter we are constantly being looked at, pointed towards or talked to. They love Peter. All ages of people love him. Old men, middle-aged women, teenage boys, the man passing out flyers, the kids learning how to ride their bikes in the park, the old lady selling knitting needles, and even our building security guys. Often when we go to one of the nearby convenience stores, one of the employees will buy Peter a lollipop. He's gotten at least 3 free lollipops so far.

Two nights ago, we were waiting for the elevator and there was a group of 3 ladies, probably in their early 20s. They crowded around Jonathan, who was holding Peter. They just talked with each other, took tons of pictures of Peter, including pictures of themselves next to Peter. One of the ladies kissed his cheeks while she was taking their picture...first kiss- 8 months old. They were enamored by him. At one point, they said something in Chinese and Jonathan laughed and responded in Chinese. They suddenly realized he could understand them and then started asking the typical questions about Peter- how old is he, where are you from, boy or girl? But even while they were talking, they were really just focused on Peter. They even waited for the second elevator to come so they could wait with us a little longer.

Another day, we went to the zoo and a man approached us as we walked along, "Hello, my mother...she wants to...ummm, to..." He couldn't remember the words, but I put together, by the camera in his hands, that his mom wanted a picture with Peter and us. So, we stopped for a family photo. I asked them to take a picture with my camera too, so here we are, with the random Asians who loved our baby.

While they were taking a few pictures, we managed to generate a crowd of around 10-12 people who were just standing around us and pointing at Peter. I tried to get a picture of the people watching us, but it didn't work out. This is semi-normal feeling now. I think there are as many Chinese with pictures of Peter as I have pictures of Peter. At first it was hard for me. I would say to Jonathan, "This is just not ok. People wouldn't do this in America. I wouldn't just go up to someone who is black, or Hispanic, or Asian and take a picture of their baby. I wouldn't try to hold some random baby and then walk with it to show my friends...while I'm at work especially not. How is this okay here? Why do people keep touching my baby?!" But now I've pretty much made my peace with it. It's not wrong, it's just different.

Another time, Jonathan was interviewing random people on the streets for a class project. He talked to a group of 4 guys- again early 20's- about the holiday we were celebrating. After he was done talking to them, they asked if they could have their pictures taken with Peter. We said sure. I snapped some while they were.

It's fun to walk about 2 steps behind Jonathan when he has Peter because then you get to see all the faces as people do double takes and sometimes run into other people because they start paying more attention to Peter than to walking. It's great. Sometimes when we get babysitters for Peter and just Jonathan and I go out, I'm surprised by the lack of attention we get and how quickly we can get things done because people aren't trying to get Peter to smile or to hold him. So, we don't get attention just because we are white, it's because we have a baby, who is white.

One time we were on the elevator, without Peter, but there was a Chinese mom with her daughter, probably about 2 years old. I was interested to find that people gave her lots of attention like they do Peter. There was an older man in the elevator who would make little noises to try to get her attention and to get a smile out of her and he patted her on the head before leaving.

Peter does get more attention, due in large amounts to the difference in his appearance her; he stands out like an elephant in a strawberry patch. But the Chinese really do love all babies and little kids. I feel like this could be in large amount due to the 1 child policy. Most families only have one baby. So, that baby gets all the attention in the world. But then it gets bigger, and no more little baby. So, people just love all the babies. Someone from back home asked me if we saw many babies here. We do. I see little ones every time we go out. I also frequently see pregnant women. There are 2 maternity clothing stores across the street from our apartment and there are at least 7 baby clothing shops withing a 5 minute walk of our home. But, we also live in a city of about 8 million people, so I don't know if there are actually a lot of babies here or because there are so many people here we are bound to see more babies too.

Anyway, people love our little guy. They love to touch his hair and squish his feet. They frequently squish his legs and then tell me I'm doing a good job keeping him strong and big. Everyone says he's beautiful, cute, lovely or precious. They comment on his two teeth and love his big blue eyes. If Jonathan is with us, they will talk with us for a long time. If it's just Peter and I we go through the questions I can answer in Chinese, but once we reach the point I don't understand anything else they usually just give me a thumbs up and say, "Good, good." as they point to Peter. We understand each other. He's a pretty great baby. We're getting more and more used to being mobbed here.

 Peter with his lollipop. We don't take the wrapper off, but he sucks on it just the same.

My big-eyed baby ready for bed with his little duck.

Feeding the Beast

Peter loves to eat. We have been working on finding things he can and will eat since coming to China. He had just started to love sweet potatoes and cheese when we left the states, but so far we have yet to find any sweet potatoes. We can find cheese, but it's pricey cheese. So, we've found other things.

Peter loves crackers, banana, cantaloupe, dragon fruit, carrots, and bread. He'll sometimes eat whatever food we are eating, but he doesn't love rice- I think because he can't mash it with only 2 front teeth. He'll eat noodles if I give it to him on chopsticks, but usually not if I put it on his tray.

We recently bought a sweet high chair from IKEA. It is fantastic. We can sit him down and let him eat to his content without trying to wrestle him away from any "toy" he sees to keep his focus on eating. He eats a lot more in his chair and will stay happily munching away as I eat my food. Also, right before we got this high chair, Peter had decided that he no longer wanted to be fed as much as he wanted to feed himself. If I tried to put something in his mouth, half the time he would refuse. If I put it in my hand and let him pick it up, he would always eat it. This chair makes that much easier.

Cracker time.

Cracker on your nose.

The other night, we had some friends over for game night. We ended up just talking, but it was still nice to have them over. One of the other couples has a 2 year old daughter. They brought a pack of Oreos with them. Their daughter passed out oreos to everyone. She gave one to Peter and he knew right away what to do with that. 

Cookie Monster.

Mom, can I have some more?!

This is a dragon fruit. This is another thing Peter loves to eat. We discovered these gems when we were in Shanghai. The family we stayed with had some for breakfast and Peter ate as much as we would put in his mouth. So, I bought one when we got back to Nanjing. It tastes sweet, and has the texture of something between a kiwi and a melon.

The only downside to this delicious fruit is the seeds. As you can see, there are many of them, and they are really really sticky. Sticky in a strange way. I try to brush it off, it sticks to my hand. I try to flick it off my hand it sticks to my fingernail. I put Peter's shirt in the wash, a shirt with dragon fruit seeds on it, and when I pull out the laundry, I find a bunch of dragon fruit seeds stuck now to other clothes. But, on the plus side, the seeds are pretty small, so it's not really a big deal. 

But because of those seeds, you always know when the little man has been eating his dragon fruit. How that one seed made its way to his forehead, I'll never know. 

So, there you have it. Those are some of the things Peter loves to eat here in China. He's growing and growing. We love the blue-eyed baby.