Nicole's Post

My Time With Natasha

The first 24 hours of my “China experience” was spent in the Beijing airport. I was rather concerned when Natasha first informed me I would have to sleep on a bench with my luggage. “Oh, Don’t worry, I’ve done it a million times. Just try to get as much shut eye as you can.”

It wasn’t as bad as I would have thought, but the thought of sleeping on benches, “a million times” sounds terrible. The toughness that Natasha and others whom travel as much as her impresses me.

When I finally saw Natasha’s smiling face and waiving hand I couldn’t help the joy in my heart from appearing on my face. My sister, gone for months, was now in front of me.

It was strange for me to acclimate to the idea that Natasha didn’t know the area like the back of her hand. In my mind she had been in China for over 3 months. However the reality was that the first 3 months were spent in Hong Kong leaving her with only two weeks in China before I arrived. It was kind of cool to get to know the city with her.

I came to China fully expecting a third world country- like Uganda, which I went to last summer. While many would still say that China is underdeveloped, I don’t think it is in the cities. I felt constantly surrounded by technology, and some systems like their roadways seem even more thought out than those in America. There are things … like smells coming up through the drains and children peeing on the streets that make Chinese cities feel less developed, but still I was rather impressed. I say the cities were exceptionally developed, but the villages aren’t nearly so.

We went out of town for two days to visit an orphanage for disabled children. The disparity between the city and this rural area were astounding. It was almost surprising how similar the area was to Uganda. At first it was rather hard to play with and be with the kids, because we didn’t speak their language, and we didn’t know if there were limitations to handling them with respect to their disabilities. By the end of the first day however, the kids warmed and making funny noises was good enough communication for them.

When I think about it, we are truly blessed to speak a language that much of the world also speaks. Natasha made some Chinese friends from “English Corner” a place where people come to practice their English. We went out with these girls a couple times while I stayed with Natasha. They are so sweet and nice. Except for a few con taxi men, the benevolence of the Chinese people is refreshing. Natasha is studying Chinese but without our friends’ English we wouldn’t be able to have those relationships at all.

We went to a restaurant called Hot Pot on one occasion to eat with 4 other girls. It was an interesting meal, but I have to say I enjoyed watching our food boil in the soupy ‘hot pot’ more than eating it. I loved a lot of the Chinese food that I had, but I found some of it too foreign to my tongue. A lot of the meat was very similar to American Chinese food- I found our “Orange Chicken” from Panda Express very similar to their “Sweat and Sour Chicken.” However there was a potato dish I enjoyed that would probably undergo serious ‘Americanization’ before it was served at Panda.

I think Natasha has gotten a speedy start to making good friends and impacting their lives. While I have often been tired while traveling, Natasha has stricken up numerous conversations that became salty. I now leave China having witnessed that her life here will be anything but a waste.