Karaoke fun!

All over the Philippines there are Karaoke places. You can rent a whole room for your friends and sing all night long. It was a friend of mines birthday last weekend. A bunch of us surprised her and took her out to dinner and afterward to sing Karaoke. I wasn't sure how open I would be to singing, but I wasn't shy for very long since they had tons of "oldies" and music from the 80's. (as well as the new stuff!) By the end of it, most of our voices were almost gone, but it was worth it for the fun we had!

China: Mongolian Country

Our train pulled up in the morning, which allowed us plenty of time to go to my brother's apartment and get cleaned up.

I really wanted to get an idea of what his everyday life is like, so we first went to a nearby school where many people know my brother. We wound up having lunch with a student that had been a "secret" Christian. For about a year, she wouldn't share her faith because she wanted to join the Communist Party. This would have ensured her a good job after graduation. But, Christians aren't allowed to join the Communist Party. After considering it for a couple of months, she decided that sharing her faith was more important than having a good job!

In this area, some aspects of the Mongolian culture has been adopted by many residents, even though only 5% of them are Mongolian. To give me a taste of the Mongolian cuisine, me and my brother took two of his friends out to eat at a restaurant where you actually sit inside a tent, called a "yurt".

While the four of us dug into the piles of cooked lamb, my brother asked our friends to sing a song. It was, of course, in Chinese, and they explained that it was about the beauty of the area with the blue skies and green grass. In response, my brother and I decided to sing a similar song about our country, so we piped up with God Bless America. After hearing it, they wanted to hear another song that we were passionate about, so we sang the Auburn University Fight Song, "War Eagle!".

Our traditionally-dressed waitress guides us into our yurt for dinner.

Tomorrow: The Growing Church

China: Temple of Heaven

On my fourth day in China, my brother and I went to an Intenet cafe and plunked down a few Yuan so that we could listen to Auburn's football game via the Internet. (It's gonna be a long season...)

Because of the time difference, we were left with a full day to do some stuff. My brother has always wanted to see the Temple of Heaven, which is located in downtown Beijing. Many Chinese Christians believe that this monument actually pays homage to God. We brought along a well-researched (and NOT government approved) book that talked about how China actually has some very deep roots in Christianity.

The main building of the temple, The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.

Scholars believe that the beginning of China's known history loosely coincides with the building of the Tower of Babel. For the first thousand years, the emporers of China worshipped an unseen diety named Shang-Ti. Much like the Hebrews referred to God as Yahweh, and the Greeks as Logos, evidence points to Shang-Ti being the name the Chinese gave to the one true God. In 1420, the Temple of Heaven was built to carry on the tradition of worship to Shang-Ti, even though the meaning of the observances was long since forgotten. In overhearing the prayers of Chistians, you will hear some of them refer to God by the name of Shang-Ti.

Altar where the Emporer would sacrifice a bull once a year. Much like the Jewish tradition, the bull had to be without any kind of flaw.

Afterward, we got some snacks and boarded the night train to the area where my brother works. Riding a "real" train is also on my Top 25 Things I Want to Do Before I Die list. It was great hanging out with other travelers, and the scenery was awesome. We actually saw the Great Wall again as our train passed under it via a tunnel dug into the mountain. Symbolically, this marked our passage into Mongolian country, as the Mongols were the very people that the Wall intended to keep out.

Dude! I'm trying to sleep here!

Tomorrow: Mongolian Country

China: The Forbidden City

If we walk under the big picture of Chairman Mao and continue north, you'll come to the entrance to the Forbidden City. It's called Forbidden because this is an area of temples, homes, and offices that were only open to the Emporer and the royal family during the old Dynasties. Now, it's only forbidden to anyone who can't pay the Y40 entrance fee.

Our Lonely Planet guidebook recommended that we pay extra for the audio tour, which is hosted by Roger Moore. It was a little odd to hear James Bond talking about Ming Dynasty architecture and Chinese eunichs, but it really was a good presentation.

We left there and met up with a friend of my brother's. This lady is a former Buddhist palm-reader who destroyed all of her idols and decided to follow Christ. We walked together for awhile, recorded her story, and prayed together. In her story, she told of how she could literally tell the future by reading people's faces and hands. She became a Christian one year ago, and with that experience, the devil left her, and now she can no longer see into the future. She will be preaching in Chinese churches this winter.

That night, we were supposed to take the train to the town where my brother lives, but unfortunately, the signs in the station pointed us in the wrong direction, and we missed the train. Not a big loss, as it let us spend another day in Beijing, and there is a lot to see here!

These little guys on the corners of the buildings are supposed to ward of lightning. At least, that's what James Bond said.

Tomorrow: The Temple of Heaven

Mom experiences our everyday life!

Most Filipinos travel by jeepney. This is one of our favorite modes of public transportation. Mom and I took the jeepney to go buy some fruits and vegetables from a small market close to our home. It was a great cultural experience as Mom rode on a typical, crowded jeepney. Some Filipino men gave up their seats so that Mom and I could sit down. (They didn't leave the jeepney, they just rode hanging on the back!) I am really proud of Mommy!!
















At the market there are so many sweet people. Mom and I went and talked to some of the ladies selling meat and vegetables. Here Mom is with some of her new friends! I couldn't get her to buy any pigs feet though! Maybe next trip. : )















If you know Mommy, you know she makes friends with everyone. Here at our condo complex we have guards that keep track of everyone coming in and out and make sure that we all stay secure! (this is typical of most places in the Philippines, just like in many complexes around the USA) We are very thankful for such considerate and kind guards. Mom especially got to know them as she walked our precious Scruffy a lot! : )

This picture was taken on our way home from school. Goats and cows are part of the typical scenery you will see while driving down the road! Mom thought the goats were especially adorable. Here she is trying to make friends with one. He was a little bit shy!!

China: The Great Wall

When I was in middle school, I came up with a list of "The Top 25 Things I Want to Do Before I Die". (It's not as morbid as it seems.) Number 16 on that list is to visit the Great Wall of China. Since my brother hadn't gone there yet, we decided that this would the marquee destination of my stay with him. We had such a awesome time--we even shot some Discovery Channel-esque documentaries. (See my brother explain the differences in wall quality, or you can investigate some mysterious holes with me.) I asked him to be our "guest blogger" and give us his account of the trip:

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"We started on the Great Wall at a place called Jinshanling. There, the terrain is steep and at times a little peirlious, so it is not as touristy as other locations along the wall. Our driver agreed to drop us off there and then pick us up in the next village (Simatai), which was 10 km to the east along the wall.

Like trying to outrun a Sherpa
Some enterprising locals who were laden with goods were eager to sell souveniers to the tourists as they passed by. Occasionally, one would join us as we hiked along the wall with the hope that we would finally be worn down and buy something. I made it clear to one such lady that we were not interested in buying anything now or later. She stayed with us. Dan and I decided to turn it into a game and try to lose her, so we scrambled across the mountainous region as quick as possible for about 1 km. Noting her profession was climbing the Great Wall on these mountains, Dan noted it was "like trying to outrun a Sherpa (of the Himilayas)." We made it to a watchtower, where we hid while resting. She caught up with us after a few minutes. I complimeted her strength, and then reiterated a 3rd time we were not interested in buying anything. This and the last km convinced her, and we were then able to enjoy the rest of our time on the wall ourselves.

Where we were at, the wall was about 450 years old. Remodelling had occured in the 70's at our starting point, but the rest of the wall was in various states of disrepair. With clear blue skies, the view was great and ideal for photos. We took many, and made several observations about construction and defense of the wall. We were most interested in the defense mechanisms we discovered built into the wall. Another interest was the different materials used in construction for different areas: brick, stone, and even sand.

As we neared Simatai, we were greeted by a couple of people that claimed they were security guards (one of them did have a “Beijing Security” patch on his coat). They said we needed to give them money for tickets on the Great Wall. We produced the tickets that we had purchased in Jinshanling, but they told us that those were unacceptable in Simatai. One of them also held a Jinshanling ticket, but I noticed they did not have tickets to give us once we gave them the money requested. We decided they were trying to scam us and told them that we were not going to give them any money. They didn’t like this and physically blocked our way, reiterating that our Great Wall tickets were no good there. I continued to show my ticket, and then realized that the guy with the security guard patch was not holding a ticket like the rest of us. I told him that the rest of us had Great Wall tickets and could therefore stay on the Wall. He did not have one and I would have to usher him off immediately. He laughed. After several other silly antics that made him and his friend laugh, they let us pass through on the wall in exchange for a bottle of water. I was told later by others those guys were really legit! Oh well.

We finished our tour of the wall at dusk where a large lake reflected the mountains and the wall. As we climbed into the van, we saw the stars were brighter than I had seen in years. The Milky Way could be clearly seen. This day trip with my brother was probably the most memorable experience of my 2 years in this country."

Video: Dan investigates some mysterious holes.
Running time: 1 min, 22 sec
File size: 1.8 Mb (Quicktime)

Video: Dan's brother deliberates on the quality of the Wall's workmanship.
Running time: 56 sec
File size: 1.0 Mb (Quicktime)

Tomorrow: The Forbidden City