†: im baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

last saturday i left for shanghai for my getaway to visit more of mainland china following a tour bus ..it ended on wednesday but the tour consisted of going to a few towns near shanghai

haungzhou
WuXi (rockless, or minerall-less)
SuZhou
shanghai

there coulda been another place but the tour wasn't that much for me coz it was going places more for oldies. Checking out places that sold chinese pottery, tea, silk etc etc. On the plus side i got to really nice chinese food that was different to the food served in Guangdong (southern china). And also taking a lot of cool pics. I was expecting more from shanghai to be a bit like hong kong actually but i spose it has its differences. There were heaps of buildings of european architecture which really suprised me. The main strip of shanghai that ive seen on TV in the past wasn't as 'big' as id thought it be, but still cool to experience.

I think one of the better experiences was when we were in Haungzhou (spelling is wrong i know :P) to watch a chinese play/show on the city itself and how the city came about based on its success flourishing on its diverse culture, structure and aliveness.

Something that always gets me down when going to hongkong/china is noticing the struggle people go through making ends meat. Seeing the beggers in the street and after coming out of the play really got to me, seeing this young girl i think maybe 5 or so running around begging for money, having a plastic cup in hand. It was sad to see her get caught by this guy standing around that could've been security but i really dont know as he was dressed up what my brother jokingly said as 'elvis'. It gets back to me reminding how lucky i am to live in australia and having what i already have, being so blessed and also having God in my life. Some things i hope to improve on when i get back to aus:

being more concious with my money in terms of offering
living more Godly at home with family
having better relationships with family members that don't know God

living in hong kong at times can be pretty hectic and stressful. Maybe its the pace that people flow in hong kong that has made us like this. At times i find it a bit 'arhhhh' dealing with mum and brother. Mum can seem pretty stubborn with her views and i find that she is a bit too simple minded and its something i have to deal with. She tends to see me as the child of 3 that is always challenging her..i just want to give her my opinion and not be a 'yes' man. Brother can come across like an irrate customer and growing up with him ive tended not very willing to socialise with a lot of the time.

Sometimes i come across as a very quiet person..maybe its coz of the slack attitude not wanting to put any input coz i just couldnt be bothered or at times i get mentally run down when encountering such situations when it comes to discussion. Mother has often seen me not willing to be "part" of the family..im often like this when they're gossiping or just having topics that are not to my liking where i label them as being "negative". As christians we've been taught to stay out of ungodly discussions among certain situations BUT also to be speak up in a Godly way to others to show what Christians should really be. Being a christian at home is one of the biggest struggles i think i have..i've even had my brother comment about me hinting to me how i havn't changed after i gave my testimony at CCC in '99. Being a christan has been the toughest thing ive come across in my life but i think its also the best thing i've come across in my life also.. ♥ †

waiting patientially for the trip to shanghai..