No Pictures

As we have been walking around Beijing, we have seen so many things.  The architecture is beautiful.  Many of the buildings are hundreds of years old with detail and colors that are steeped in tradition.  Along with these buildings are the high rise modern buildings that make you feel like you are in Times Square in New York.  They are tall and have thousands of windows and lights on them.  The modern buildings also have television screens on them that play advertisements continuously and the music is loud and upbeat.

The fashion here is very different.  There are people that look like they have stepped straight out of a Vogue magazine; high heels, fancy accessories.   Then there are those that dress for the weather;  not a piece of their clothing matches, but they are comfortable.

The smells are different too.  They have street vendors that make and sell many kinds of foods, making the aromas strong.  We bought fried dough this morning.  Think of a churro.  It made us feel like we were back down south were you can get anything fried!  We also bought some dough with an egg cracked on it and then fried.  They added some sauce and lettuce.  It was like a fried egg sandwich, very good.  They also eat a lot of fish and fruit.

In the open areas around the city they play music and the people come out to exercise.  It is actually quite fun to watch.  It is a form of Tai chi to upbeat music, with very smooth, fluid movements.  I really wanted to join them, but the girls were not at all happy about that.

These sites are wonderful and will make this trip to China memorable, but the sites that stay in my mind are these:

A little old lady who was collecting the items from the recycling bin.  She had several bags, one that held plastic water bottles, one that held plastic wrappings from other containers, and one bag that held aluminum.  She was not very tall and hunched over which made her only a slight bit taller than my seven year old.  She dug through the recycling bins and carefully placed the items in the corresponding bags.

A man who was sitting right at the corner of a busy street.  He was waving his arms in the air and saying "Hao ren hao ren, xie xie, xie xie", which means "good people, good people thank you, thank you".  I do not know how he was going to pick up the money that people were throwing on the ground to him.  His arms only went down to his forearm and he had no hands, just stumps.

A man who was laying on a wheeled cart with his feet exposed.  His skin was leathery and dark from being outside all of the time, but his feet were black.  He had white scabs all over his feet and he was missing all of his toes.  

These people were so thankful for just a smile in their direction.  They were amazed that someone would actually interact with them or give them a gift.

I wish that I had pictures of them, so that you could see the desperation and hardships that they endure each day.

I pray that God does not let me forget these people as we leave this city.