Peggy's Ponderings

Friday, August 26, 2022

Hey Peggy39sPonderings!

Yo --TO
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Thursday, April 28, 2022

hi Peggy39sPonderings

Peggy39sPonderings

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PeggyAppling

Saturday, February 25, 2017

50 Things That Are Different in Mainland China

We found many things to be different in mainland China as compared to the middle of the USA. Here are some. 1. The favorite beverage of most students is boiled water. The water is not safe to drink unless boiled and people develop a taste for it. 2. Water served in restaurants is hot. This is to assure the customer that the water has been boiled and is safe to drink. 3. There will be a pitcher of hot water on the table which will be used to wash your plates, cups and chopsticks. Chinese people fear the plates they are given are not clean enough to be healthy, even when the dishes are wrapped in shrink wrap on the table. The water is then poured into a bucket nearby. 4. Potties are all squatty types. Inland Chinese people believe western style toilets to be unhealthy, even though most of the restrooms are not exactly clean. 5. Everyone brings their own tissues for the toilet and other needs. It is not provided. Special little packets are sold everywhere, bundled in groups of 10 or more. 6. They don't use plates, they use bowls. Plates are an unusual item, considered western. 7. Chinese students will tell you they eat rice but, reality is, they eat more noodles. Noodles in a thin broth was the favorite food of almost every person we knew. 8. Most Chinese inlanders have never seen or tasted macaroni and cheese. That's a western thing. They have also never had a tomato based sauce such as we serve on spaghetti noodles. 9. Chinese women and girls carry umbrellas to shade themselves from the sun and to keep their skin from tanning. An umbrella is a necessity on a sunny day. If you see someone carrying an umbrella on a sunny day anywhere in the world, it is probably a Chinese female. 10. Chinese women want white skin, as white as possible, and use whitening creams to lighten their skin tones. We saw some who were so successful they looked like ghosts. 11. If a building is 8 stories or less, there will be no elevator. Everyone must walk up the stairs. They don't like it any better than any other person but they have no choice. It costs builders less not to install elevators and the law says they do not have to do it. 12. People prefer to live on the higher floors, even though it means walking up the steps. There are fewer mosquitoes up there, there is less noise, there are less street smells, the view is better, and, in some cases, the air quality is better. 13. Bottled water is delivered to homes for drinking and cooking. This is also boiled before using. 14. Tap water is not safe to drink or consume. It is full of heavy metals and pollutants. The water purification systems are not as advanced as in America. 15. Most produce is not safe to eat unless cooked first. The water that it is grown in contains things like bacteria and other such things which is absorbed by the food. Even lettuce is served cooked. Chinese people are afraid to eat raw foods, for good reason, and wonder about those of us who do. 16. Chinese people use whole leaf tea, often grown in their region. They do not use tea bags. 17. Chinese people do not have dishwashers. A few rich people may have them, but not the average person. 18. Chinese people do not have clothes dryers. although the rich might. Everyone hangs their clothes to dry on their balcony or outside of their apartments. 19. Most Chinese people do not have an oven. A few will own a small toaster type oven, but it is not a normal household item. The concept of baking is foreign to them. There are some bakeries, but they are not popular. 20. Chinese people do not recognize lines and crowd ahead of others whenever they can. They seem to be afraid that they will be left out or there will not be enough of whatever. Luckily, while they do push to get ahead, they do not stampede. 21. Chinese children are treasured and pampered by parents plus two sets of grandparents in one child families, and often two child families. They are often spoiled. 22. Only children are under a lot of pressure to perform in school as the fate of the entire family rests on them. They must do well to get into the best schools so they will qualify for the best jobs. The majority of inland families have no retirement money of any kind so the couple must support their parents, and any grandparents in old age, plus their child. 23. In the majority of China, especially outside of cities, boys are valued more highly than girls still. In the case of a two child family, the boy will get the attention and the best of everything while the girl often gets leftovers and negative attention. (There are many families who are not like this, but it is still a major trend.) 24. There are villages in China with only male children, no females. In others, male children greatly outnumber female children. In some age categories, there are 120 males for every 100 females which is why ultrasounds to discover the sex of the child were made illegal over 10 years ago. 25. In China, before a young man can marry, he must own a house and a car, have a good job and be able to give a bride's parents a large sum of money for the privilege of marrying their daughter. Both sets of parents must approve of the future spouse and their family. Parents are interested in the income level of the parents their child wants to marry. If anything does not meet with parental approval, the couple is not allowed to marry and must find someone else. 26. Newlywed couples are expected to have a child immediately, the first year. Parents will raise the child and live in the couple's home while the couple works. 27. Women must marry by 25 or are called leftover women. relatives and "friends" will badger them mercilessly until they are married. Parents will work to arrange marriages for their children if the children are taking too long. Inland and rural girls will do as their parents say regardless of their own feelings. 28. It is normal for many parents to choose what their child will major in in college. Children will obey regardless of their feelings or preferences. The obedience comes with a cost though. The students tend to be half hearted, doing just enough to get by to please their parents. 29. Education and medical care are free only in the town where the Chinese people were born and are registered, usually the hometown of their parents. It cannot be changed but it is possible to pay for these things in other places. Prices are too high for the factory workers and laborers who make up the largest percentage of the population. 30. Parents from rural areas and smaller towns will go to the cities to find work as laborers or in the factories. They cannot take their children so they leave them behind with grandparents. They come back and see their families once a year, for one to two weeks, during Spring festival. Children look forward to this time of seeing their parents. If the parents cannot make it some years, the children are very disappointed. They feel the same as any child would anywhere. 31. Middle school students have class 6 days a week from early morning, 7-ish, to evening, 8 pm or so, plus they have homework after that. Middle school is very intense. Middle school includes high school and anything prior to college. 32. Rural and small town elementary schools may have 60 or more students to one teacher. Parents look for ways to have their child sit near the front of the class to give them an advantage. That may mean gifts and favors for the teacher. 33. The national exam, the gaokao, determines the future opportunities for each student, so it is very important. Students are rated against one another and only the top scorers get the best opportunities. It is highly competitive and studying is intense. This is far more intense than our college entrance exams. There are more students competing and fewer colleges and universities of all kinds, especially top quality schools. The better the school, the less it costs. Students from poorer families with less opportunities for good quality elementary school and middle school educations, tend to score lower, so the poorer families pay more for their offspring to go to college. Students understand this reality and are under a lot of pressure to study very hard. 34. Compared to the pressures of middle school, colleges and universities are much easier. It is the opposite of the western world. 35. Health standards are not as high as in the western world so Chinese people often do not trust the food they buy to be healthy. They are ever cautious. 36. In the rural and small town areas, people buy live fish, chickens, ducks and other such things, then kill them at home themselves so they know the foods they eat are fresh. 37. China has high speed trains that are very nice and good public transportation. 38. People in China do not all speak Mandarin, though, theoretically, all are supposed to know it. People speak their local traditional languages, called dialects. While many dialects are similar to Mandarin, some are very different and essentially a different spoken language. The written characters carry the same meaning no matter where people live but the spoken word for that character is not the same. Therefore, Chinese languages are unique in that all people understand the same meaning when they read but they often cannot understand one another when they speak. They read, but not speak on a day to day basis, the same language. 39. While tea comes from one kind of plant, there are thousands of variations in flavor and quality. The location, soil, amount of water or rain, age of the plant, size of the leaf, season harvested and much more cause variations in the quality and taste of the tea. China has a lot of great tea. 40. Pollution levels are higher in many, many areas due to industry and coal burning. They are working on it. 41. During Chinese new year, people burn lots of fake money and other paper representations of things to "send" to their deceased relatives in the afterlife. They do this every year. They also believe the deceased relatives can hear and see them so they make "wishes" of them for their own lives, almost like praying to their ancestors. 42. Chinese people are very proud of their 5,000 year history though most couldn't explain much about it. They just like the number. 43. The young generation knows very little about what happened in their country between 1944 and 1990 but they do study the current politics. Older folks don't talk about that period in history much and very little of that time period is taught in school. Anything that is taught is positive and glorious. 44. There is an internet firewall in China that keeps the people from accessing certain popular media around the world. They cannot use Google, Facebook, Twitter, and other things, plus they cannot access some news sites like the New York Times. Chinese people must use Chinese alternative media (which has been quite lucrative for the owners of that media I'm guessing). It seems to work well enough. 45. There isn't much grass in central China. Vegetables are grown in every place where there is soil, including the medians of roads. 46. The main sources of protein in China are pork and tofu. "Meat" means pork in inland China. 47. Bargaining is a way of life in inland China. Haggling over the price is part of the culture. 48. The Chinese citizens believe Taiwan is just another province of their country, one they need a passport to go visit. 49. The Chinese people have a tradition when going out in a group. One person pays for everything, usually the person who invited everyone. 50. Chinese people do not tip waitresses, waiter, cab drivers or anyone else.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

21 Things I Will Miss About China and 8 Things I Will Not Miss About China

Things I Will Miss About China I wrote this while still in China. Teaching in China is a temporary adventure. They do not like foreigners to stay too long or to work when they are too old. Too old, in China, is often defined as 55 or 60. We are temporary, working guests of the People's Republic of China. Here are a few of the things I will miss about Huanggang and the surrounding area. 1. I will miss the buses that come every 10 minutes and cost about 16 cents USD per ride. 2. I will miss the cards that you touch to a machine to gain entrance to places like subways, buses and more. 3. I will miss the large, peachy orange, Asian persimmons in the fall. They are soft and sweet, mellow like pudding. 4. I will miss the ease of getting cabs to go anywhere. They do not charge much so it is quite convenient. 5. I will miss all different kinds of mushrooms that are sold here. One of my favorites is the King's Trumpet, a large mushroom that looks a bit like a fat stick. Another one I like is called black fungus (or wood ear) and another is called hen's feathers. They are all very good. 6. I will miss Hot Pot. Hot pot is a bit like a fondue but with boiling broth, sometimes spicy. You drop meats and vegetables of your choice in the boiling broth, then fish them out when they are done. 7. I will miss the high speed trains, especially the one from here to the city of Wuhan. It costs about $3.50 USD to ride the train one way. The ride is comfortable and takes less than half an hour usually. Once we get to Wuhan, I like the subway system for getting around. With a Metro card, loaded with some cash, we just have to touch the entrance area and go through. 8. I will miss the sweetened packets of Nescafe instant coffee. They never caught on in the USA. 9. I will miss the light work week, with 16-18 45 minute classes a week. 10. I will miss the college students, full of bright hope for the future. 11. I will miss the call of the birds outside my window, especially in the morning. They call, somewhat like a dove, but with a slightly different voice. 12. I will miss the automatic friendship we have with other foreign English teachers, although sometimes, the only thing we have in common is that we are not Chinese, so the Chinese culture is foreign to us. 13. I will miss the crazy translations that make me laugh. 14. I will miss the peace and quiet of living here and withdrawing to our apartment. 15. I will miss roasted chestnuts in the fall, fresh water chestnuts in the spring, lotus root, fresh pineapple on a stick in spring, roasted sweet potatoes in the fall, and fresh produce in season. 16. I will miss the culture of tea, where tea is the preferred beverage and is available everywhere. 17. I will miss the boiled water that is available for free everywhere, at school, in the train stations and anywhere people gather. 18. I will miss the sweet babies and the grandmas who are so proud to show them off. 19. I will miss the variety of fresh oranges in the fall and winter, especially the tiny, sweet oranges in the winter time. Possibly they are called Mandarin oranges. 20. I will miss my Chinese friends who are teachers. 21. I will miss getting to spend time with other English teachers from all over the world. Things I will not miss about China 1. I will not miss the air pollution which looks like a haze in the sky every day. 2. I will not miss having smokers around me, not matter where I go, causing me lung irritation and coughing spells. 3. I will not miss power and water outages in our apartment. 4. I will not miss the crazy drivers everywhere. 5. I will not miss the hocking up of loogies, and spitting and blowing one's nose on the sidewalks. 6. I will not miss having to step around little piles on the sidewalk where diaperless babies and dogs pooed. 7. I will not miss the dirt that seems to be everywhere, a product of dirty air and water. 8. I will not miss the unheated buildings, classrooms and public places during the cold winter. 9.

Focus On The Best Things In Life

It is so easy to focus on the negative things in our life. Sometimes it's almost like the negatives have hijacked all of our thoughts and conversations. They interrupt our sleep, affect our eating habits, have a negative effect on our relationships and blind us to the good all around us. Things like anger, worry, hatred, fear, frustration, grudges and unforgiveness make our lives a blur of pain, like a camera out of focus. At it's worst, this wrong focus can lead to alcoholism, drug abuse, heart trouble, ulcers, migraines, joint pain, depression, various mental illneses, autoimmune problems, slow healing and many more things. (These things can also be caused by other things, but being negative does not improve the conditions and sometimes being positive does make it a little better)

We cannot change others most of the time. We cannot change many circumstances in life. What we can change is where we focus and how we look at things. We can change our daily behaviors.

Not too long ago, I was feeling very tired, so tired my body ached. It seemed like everything I heard or saw was negative. Logically, I knew it was not all that bad, but negativity and all the problems were taking over. I'd been hijacked by them. I decided I needed to withdraw and rest, but more than that, I needed to refocus deliberately and persistently. (Negativity doesn't go away without a fight. It holds on like crazy glue.)

Rest is good. We know that Jesus withdrew to a solitary place to rest. The Lord commands that we rest one day a week. Jesus says to come until him when we are weary and heavy laden and he will give us rest. Elijah was terribly afraid and exhausted and discouraged in 1 Kings 19:3-9 and the Lord provided sleep and food. We need rest and God wants us to have it. Being outdoors in nature has a calming and resting effect on our souls.

Years ago a family member was battling severe depression. Whenever he went anywhere, he would come back and tell me the bad parts, "the thing that went wrong was...", "the only bad part was...", "I didn't like the..." etc. It didn't seem right since he had had a good time normally until he retold about it. I've met lots of other people also who have to tell only the negavatives of any event.

I asked this young relative to do me a favor, tell me his favorite parts and what he like best. When he went somewhere I would remind him before he went to tell me what he liked best when he got back. He resisted and it was very hard for him, but when he succeeded, his mood was better.

Sometimes I find myself doing the same thing and choose to focus on the wrong things. Every event and most other things in our life have a positive and negative side. Since we cannot focus on more than one at a time, we do best if we focus on the positives.

I like to write things down when they happen. It helps me to remember. I also like to say things out loud. What my ears hear my mouth say, my subconscious takes to heart and there is a physiological response that is at least minimally positive. Sometimes I have to say things over and over, but if I am telling myself the truth, my body does respond with a sense of well being. That's a lot nicer than pain and anxiety.

Here are some examples of what I like to remind myself out loud.
I love living in this town. Then I remind myself why. I name my favorite restaurants, stores, recreational areas, scenery, people, church activities, community events, how people help one another and so on.
I love my cats. They give me unconditional love. They do funny things that make me laugh. They are soft and beautiful. I love to hear them purr. They greet me at the door. I am the most important person in their life.
I love going to coffee shops and drinking coffee and reading a good book or talking to family and friends. I remind myself how nice it is to sit out on their patios in good weather and what a luxury that is. Leisure is a luxury. Good coffee is a luxury. The decor of the coffee shops is pleasing. The background music is very enjoyable. The people who work there are friendly and take good care of me. The richest people in the world don't have it any better than that.
I love going to the university campus where I graduated. I love the landscaping and watching the little squirrels, rabbits and birds that are not afraid of getting close to people. I love the youth and energy of the students and the dedication and caring of their professors. I love the community events, the sports events, the music and the free lectures. I love the atmosphere. There are always friendly people. I love getting to know students from other countries and learning new things.
There are many more things, like flowers, quilts, good food, hugs, prayer times, etc. but these are a few.

I keep journals, online and in a bound journal. It helps to try to remember and write down every good thing that happens to me in a day. If I'm grumpy, it can be harder, but I can always come up with at least 5 things. Sometimes it comes down to things like my quilt is still beautiful, the cat still loves me, my car did not break down and I had all the coffee i wanted to drink that day. Here's a possible format for recounting our blessings every day from Phil. 4:8-9
1. whatever is true- (what was true or faithful today?)
2. whatever is noble- (was anybody anywhere noble?)
3. whatever is right- (what happened that was right?)
4. whatever is pure- (who or what was pure?)
5. whatever is lovely- ( this is easy, there's always something lovely)
6. whatever is admirable- ( someone we know or see or hear about, even on the news- those who strive for excellence, who are selfless, who do great things are everywhere as well as those who overcome obstacles or who do not give up- toddlers, kids dogs, cats and adults all do admirable things- it doesn't have to be big)
7. if there is anything that is excellent (service, good food, art, the weather, etc)
8. or praiseworthy (don't be stingy with your praise, many deserve it)
Think about such things.....and the God of peace will be with you.

We need to be our own best friend. We need to give ourselves small treats every day. We need to do things we enjoy. We need to take care of our bodies and our health. Scripture says we must love our neighbor as ourself. That means we have to love ourselves also. To give continuously to others with out looking out for ourselves is like using a battery without ever recharging it. Pretty soon there is nothing left to give. If those people you are giving everything up for happen to be users, when you are all used up they will throw you away and seek someone else to use. Take care of yourself. If you do not you are hurting somebody the Lord loves (you) and it will make Him sad. If you keep your "battery charged" you have a lot more to give.

The Church Where I Grew Up

While I was in St. Louis over the weekend, I attended the church where we grew up along with my brother Dan and sister Cindy and my parents. It has been many years since we have all been there together, possibly over 30.

The building is still the same and it is still beautiful. The outside is red brick with the arched entry ways and the bell tower on one side. The current building was built in 1923. The original church, started in 1838, was known as the Deutsche Evangelische St. Johannes Gemeinde Zu Gravois Settlement Missouri. It is now known as St. John's Evangelical United Church of Christ.

The old church has kept with tradition as much as possible over time. Growing up, the culture stayed pretty much German to the point of having one of the services in German every Sunday.
The website says they stay with the old evangelical and reformed traditions in worship. Since everything changes, I'm not sure how that translates into practice today except they used liturgy such as responsive readings and printed prayers and the pastor wore a robe and stole. He preached a Biblical message.

The inside of the building has high arched ceilings and beautiful stained glass windows. On the right are 8 windows with scenes from the life of Jesus. On the left are 4 windows, one showing each kind of ground the seed that was scattered fell on. The front of the church has a rose window high up divided into 12 "petals" each with a different picture and symbols representing each of the disciples. The back of the church has a large, colorful window with a life sized Christ in the center beckoning or encouraging those in the church.

There is a large pipe organ with pipes on both sides of the front plus large pipes in the balcony. On Sunday, the organist did not choose to use the full range like I remember Gene playing.

The front of the church is beautifully carved wood. The altar is white marble and has a mosaic lamb on the front of it. The baptismal font has a lid with a lamb carving on it. This church practices infant baptism, which is true to the reformed tradition. Children of believers are a part of the family of God.

The pews, which used to be full, are now only partially filled. There were still 270 people in church the previous Sunday, split between 2 services, so the sanctuary is big. The attendance for 2 services used to be over a thousand, maybe even 1,200 to 1,400. Oddly, it was bigger than I had remembered but the pulpit did not seem as high up or as large. It is possible they changed it since the sanctuary was bigger than I remembered.

We had a ball field, tennis courts, a gym with a basketball court, a large fellowhip hall, an overflow room in the sanctuary for big crowds that was used every Sunday when I was in college and a balcony.

Outside of the church is a fairly large, old cemetery with tombstones dating back into the 1800's. Many of the tombstones are quite large and ornate and have extra things writtne on them. You can go through and see who families died in the various flu epidemics and other sweeping sicknesses.

A janitor, who took care of the church and also took care of the cemetery grounds, lived in a trailer right behind the church along with his family. Problems were taken care of immediately and nothing stayed broken more than a few days, if that long. That is part of the St Louis suburban cultural practice. You do not leave broken things sitting around, you fix them immediately.

The road to the church, called St John's Road, has changed a lot. The old entrance is closed and the road just goes around the back of the church now. It is much harder to find and get to than before because of all the highways and buildings around it. The property is land locked. What was once a predominant landmark is now almost invisible because of everything built up around it.

Years ago, so many people came to the church that they had parking lot attendants to help people park in rows, much like they do at the huge churches and big events today. No need for that today. They just park wherever they find a spot.

It was interesting visiting the church. There was almost nobody there that I recognized and nobody recognized me at all that I know of, although a few did recognize my parents. Other than the people, there was much more the same than different.

I can see how the Lord has been leading me to the ordained ministry (ministry as a vocation in addition to the ministry activities of all believers). Some in my youth group went to seminary and entered the (ordained) ministry, including females. I can see God's sense of humor too. There were 80 of us in my confirmation class. We took oral exams in front of 1,000 friends and family in that congregation. I was the only one who froze up so much in front of the group that I did not speak at all. (With a lot of prompting I did say something quietly) Each of us went around 3 times and I froze every time. I could not speak in front of groups and I barely spoke in front of individuals and small clusters of people unless they were my immediate family or close friends. (Then I talked a lot.)

This is not the behavior that leads people to believe God is going to call that person to preach some day. But the Lord does not think the way man thinks or see the way man sees.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Where is Hell?

I have to start by saying, I don't know where hell is and I have never visited hell. My musings are not necessarily theologically sound or theologically based. I am simply musing for fun. The location is known only to the Lord. The Bible says there is a hell and Jesus says there is a hell, so there must be such a place if one believes the Bible and Jesus. As I read some science articles today about some of the characteristics of our sun and universe, a random thought came to mind. What if our sun is the hell of the Bible? It is big enough and hot enough. We know that the sun has a strong gravitational pull and so it is possible for the earth to be drawn in and consumed in the very, very, very distant future. Several science articles I have read say it is possible. Anyone who has ever lived on earth stayed here (except Jesus, Enoch and Elijah), the majority as dried bones in the grave and dust. That means, in some form or another, every person who has ever lived would be consumed by the fire of the sun when it was drawn in. I wonder if that has anything to do with a part of the second death mentioned in scripture? It's not the whole thing, but could it be a part? Nobody knows. Our souls are eternal. We do not know exactly where the souls of those who have gone on before us are, but could they somehow be pulled into this cosmic event along with the living? This theory puts everyone in hell if it stops there. What of those who go to heaven? The Bible does mention being caught up in the air and being with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). We know from scripture in Acts 1:9 that Jesus rose up into the air and disappeared into the heavens as the followers watched. What's that all about anyway? Could it happen? I think so. Continual scientific discoveries are showing that all kinds of things we once though impossible are quite possible. What if there really was a way that followers could be caught up in the air and taken to a new heaven and a new earth? Or a new heaven? Science tells us that there are other planets in other galaxies that they believe might be habitable. What else could be out there in infinity that we do not know? This is only a musing and not based on solid theology. It's probably all wrong, but who knows?

Sunday, April 05, 2015

Beautiful Feet in Romans 10:15

A few months ago, my husband ordered shoes off a popular website. He has trouble getting big enough shoes in the town where we live and work. The shoes came and they were just a bit too small and so were uncomfortable. Rather than go through the hassle of sending them back, John had Ian, a young man that we see every week, try them on. They were a little bit too big, but the young man was thrilled to get them. He wears them a lot and is very proud of those shoes. There may be a deeper meaning associated with this simple pair of shoes. The young man volunteered to show my husband the only local church over a year ago. He went with him to interpret for him, since the services are entirely in Chinese. Ian had to struggle to interpret since he was still a students developing his skills. During that process, Ian started asking a lot of questions and thinking about the Christian faith. His mom and all of her family are active Christians but he and his dad were not. He had never been baptized and had not joined the church. He was asking his aunt, who works with a missions group, his grandfather and his mom many things about the Bible and their faith. After many months, Ian did make a profession of faith, get baptized and join the church. He continued to go with John twice a week to interpret for the church service and a Bible study, all the while improving his English. After a while of talking to his aunt and his mom and spending time with John each week interpreting, Ian felt he might be called into missions or the pastoral ministry in the future. He looks up to John a lot possibly since most of his role models are women and because John has been an ordained minister serving churches in the states. His delight in getting shoes that belonged to John may symbolize following in John's foot steps or literally the desire to walk in his shoes and follow the path John has walked. Those shoes may symbolize the life Ian has been called to live by our Lord. May the Lord bless his steps and watch out over him.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Pickle Scented Sugar

When I opened the plastic bag of sugar this morning, it smelled like dill pickles, strange for sugar. It was very strange because, in this area, they do not have dill pickles and no one uses dill. They don't know what it is. The only thing I can figure out is that a bit of the juice from a dill pickle spilled into the container holding the bag of sugar. The pickles came from the International store in the city nearby. It is not unusual to encounter the unusual here. Strange things happen that we cannot explain and they seem to make no sense at all to us. The local people, if they can speak our language at all, either take it for granted and do not understand our confusion or they have no clue either and have given up trying to explain it. They just accept it as part of their lives. It's a different way of living. I'm not sure I will ever be able to totally accept puzzling things without trying to understand first. I'm just not wired that way. That's for stupid people in my culture, the kind who lack ambition, those who choose not to try. To me, it is important to learn and to understand the world. Sometimes, in my quest to figure things out, I hit a brick wall. Understanding has to go on the back burner for a while and see if it makes sense another day. When that happens, I quote a former expat here, "It's China, baby!" No other explanation needed for expats, just, "it's China."