China Archives - Page 9 of 49

Ideas for what to give a person traveling the world in 2017…okay, who am I kidding…a person traveling to China

12.2.16

While Mark is currently packing his bags for a China trip next week, I’m busy prepping a team of 14 to leave for a trip January 6th. And, since all this China travel happens to sandwich this glorious season of Christmas, I’ve decided to make a few little suggestions of things that may be perfect additions to put under the tree for someone who is heading to China in 2017.

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Mark got me a set of packing cubes for my birthday one year right before a trip to China. After using them once, I honestly can’t imagine traveling without them. They aren’t much money and work so well for organizing my packing as well as allowing them to pack way more than I think will fit in my luggage which is always important. This blue set may or may not be under our tree this year.
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A luggage scale is a must have because that 50 lb. limit comes fast and the 44 lb. limit for a domestic flight in China comes even faster. At least one luggage scale for someone on a team of travelers is essential for packing and repacking in China. Here are two of our favorites–this one from EatSmart or this one from Balanzza.

I love Timbuk2 bags in general. I have several. And, this Q laptop backpack (in a funky martini olive color) is my favorite China carry-on bag. I use it on the flight, and I use it at the pearl market, and I use it daily at the orphanage. All that several times over, and it still looks essentially brand new.

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China travelers need a passport holder, preferably one that can hold an envelope of crisp, brand-new-looking $100 bills without them having to be folded. This one from Ideawin for cards, passport, pen, travel documents, and even phone is awesome. I don’t have this one myself, but I really like that it zips shut, has the wristlet thing, and comes in some pretty fun colors.

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Yes, these tags are obnoxiously bright. But, that’s the point. Baggage claim is way easier with a couple obnoxiously bright luggage tags. These colors and the grippy texture are perfect.
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When traveling to China, you really only need a plug adapter (not an electric converter) for your computer, phone, iPad, and camera charger. They can handle the voltage and just need the right type of plug. Trust me when I say travelers shouldn’t bother with bringing a hair dryer and/or flat iron to use with a converter. It’ll probably be destroyed within a day or two because the voltage is just too much (and you don’t want to burn your hotel down or anything).

I know this TRTL travel pillow is kind of odd. But, what travel pillow doesn’t look a bit odd? And, when you are on a flight for 13 odd hours, odd is just fine. Whatever works. And, this one does. I should be getting freebies from this company for how many I’ve promoted and sold. I like that it is cozy and that it isn’t some big fluffy thing that I wear around the airport or have to tie onto my bag that gets filthy.

I have a pair of Yaktrax cabin socks I always put in my carryon for when I want to get a bit more comfortable on that forever long flight. They are thick and cozy and have lots of color options.

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Always a welcome stocking stuffer. A Starbucks gift card is great for the airport before departing and when you only have one more flight to go before home. That decaf caramel macchiato or green tea latte just tastes even sweeter then.
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Bathrooms in China often have sinks but no soap. This mini container has teeny tissue-like sheets of soap that are perfect for such situations when using hand sanitizer just isn’t what you want.

This is also a handy stocking stuffer for the China traveler–travel sized, concentrated laundry soap. Then you can wash clothes to rewear what you need to and spot clean the spots you get from eating with chopsticks.
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I love clever travel solutions. Every China traveler needs something to bring order to plug adapters, iPad chargers, phone charges, headphones, etc. There are lots of them out there. But, this one from Bagsmart looks like a good one to me because I like bold colors so you can spot it easily in the depth of your suitcase or carryon.
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A toiletry bag is essential, and I prefer hanging ones to keep them from sitting in icky water on a bathroom counter. Grab this inexpensive one from NeatPack in a fun color.

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Sometimes you just get tired of drinking bottled water and room temperature Coke. Having a couple of these Crystal Light liquid things in your bag for such occasions makes staying hydrated a bit more tolerable.

Melatonin is your friend. And, it will make a good stocking stuffer that someone thanks you for later.

Amylee Weeks is a talented designer. This journal is one of her designs, and I love it for a travel journal. Check out what the inside pages look like. They are inspiring but leave plenty of room for thoughts and doodles as you go and go deeper.

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Screen Shot 2015-03-14 at 7.21.57 PM Okay, so these are super expensive. I know. And, likely nobody’s buying these noise-canceling headphones as a gift since they have a high price tag. But, I had to share them because we were able to get a pair using frequent flyer miles that were expiring, and they are LIFE CHANGING. Seriously. If you have $250 to spare, get these. You’re welcome.
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Please don’t buy this for your China trip. It’s a post-China trip need. Every hotel room has an electric kettle to heat and clean water (no tea needed, just hot water). And, after China, you’re going to want one of your own. We have this one by Oster in our kitchen, and the blue light is so nice in the wee hours of the morning.
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My favorite gift when we were getting ready to go get our daughter was given to me from my mom–a custom silver charm with our daughter’s Chinese name. I so loved wearing it while I waited and then eventually while we traveled. One of my favorite memories is of the orphanage nanny noticing the charm and touching it as she said goodbye to our daughter. That gift actually led to me helping our friend Helen whose family lived with us a year or so ago to start a business called Jiayin Designs to help provide for their family. You do have to think ahead to give the gift of this charm–they take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to arrive. But, they are really great to wear as you prepare to travel to China, in China for whatever message you want to send, and after China to remember it all.
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Another gift idea I’d suggest would be books about China travel, culture, adoption….

Check these out:

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This is Grace

11.22.16

We know the word. We read it. We sing about it. Yet, we struggle to fully understand it. That’s because it doesn’t really make sense. By it’s very nature, it doesn’t make sense. Loving the lovely makes sense. Pursuing not simply a stranger but a rejector makes really no sense at all. Grace is senseless.

There are some days, I think I get it. I seem to be able to grasp grace enough to muster up some words to explain it. I tell my children about the God who desires relationship with us so much that while we were crossing our arms, stomping our feet, and saying “me, me, me” and “mine, mine, mine,” He not only stooped down and came to win and rescue us from ourselves; He bled and died for us so that we could be friends with Him and live close with Him forever and forever and ever.

There are others days, He puts me in a cleft of a rock and says loud and clear dear one, this is grace.

It doesn’t make sense. It’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, sometimes awkward, expensive, both somehow both energizing and exhausting. It’s the presence of beautiful music in the midst of loud noise that somehow transforms it. It’s peace in a place turned upside down. It’s a gentle invitation that is going to be met with fear or anxiety or rough acceptance. It’s wearing your heart on your sleeve knowing the risk that it might break a little.

It’s an imperfect illustration; after all, that’s what an illustration is, an opportunity for a glimpse that makes us sigh and better understand that which is the real thing. We aren’t rescuers. We get tired. We smile and complain. We make judgments that we don’t even see as judgments. And, then, we go home. But, we will go back. And, when we do, we’ll bring others with us, to come and see, to be senseless and leave what feels safe and put themselves in a place where their hearts may get broken. That’s what grace does. And, when we put ourselves in the position to be grace givers (albeit imperfect ones), He gently guides us to uncross our arms and experience His grace in a way that changes us from the inside out.

Day 5 {celebration}

11.21.16

The team looked out of their element. They listened to what I had told them ahead of time: don’t just walk into the dining room and sit down. Wait for the director to tell you to sit. Save the seat facing the door for him; he’s the host and needs to sit in the place of honor. Don’t just dig into the food; wait for him to be presented with each dish and then offer it to us. He told them to sit. He sat in the place of honor. Joan sat flipping through the menu encyclopedia to help him order dishes Americans would like. And, the team sat looking on, admiring the fancy restaurant that had a traditional opera happening in the room next door complete with a live little orchestra.

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The afternoon had been an emotional one as we said goodbyes to children and to caregivers and left the orphanage for the last time. But, we all were rallying, knowing that we weren’t quite done. We had a celebration to enjoy tonight. And, we had a gift to give. We had brought a lot of gifts to give, and this one was the one we most anticipated giving.

The directors have come to anticipate it not all that unlike a child on Christmas morning anticipating some traditional gift. I’ve given them this gift three times now. And, every time, they act both glad to see something they were hoping they’d get again and excited as if they’ve never seen it before. This year did not disappoint.

More than 50 families participated, sending me pictures of their children from their time at the orphanage and then current pictures. Some showed them celebrating holidays with their families, playing basketball, swimming in the ocean, dressed up like princesses. Their mommies and daddies also wrote a few words sharing how their child is doing and thanking the orphanage for caring for their child until they could hand the baton to them.

The directors gathered around the book. Like last year, he pointed to baby pictures and covered the child’s name up with his hand, testing his 40-year-old memory. Not one name did he miss. Together, they marveled at how the children had changed. They nodded in agreement when they noticed that clefts had been well repaired and scars removed. They laughed at how Americans don’t put enough clothes on their children. And, they showed the child who had come with us that family is good and told him we’d be working to find one for him too.

They studied that book of children for way longer than Joan studied that menu. Dishes had come out, had been presented to him, and now sat on our lazy Susan, my team too respectful to dig in while they continued to study that book. By the time we all ate, the food was cold. But, no one cared.

After dinner, we all walked outside to a place I had never been before in all my trips here. Our shoulders were pulled up high in a vain attempt to stay warm as inappropriately clothed Americans. And, we looked out at the city.

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He is there. He is there at the orphanage on the outskirts of the city. He is there working through people who love Him and through those who do not yet know and love Him as we do. He is there in the noise of busy traffic and in the cries of babies and in the conversations between friends and colaborers around lazy Susans.

Beautiful girl

11.16.16

zheng-yaqin-1-2

They told me she was introverted, easygoing, compliant. They told me that she gets sad sometimes but that she is easily comforted when her nanny, who clearly cares for her well, explains right and wrong. They told me that she can write her Chinese characters quite well, that her receptive knowledge is good, that her expression is okay. They told me she is good at math compared to other children in her class. And, they told me she really likes music and dancing and that she is remarkably talented.

I nodded my head and smiled. I believed them. Sure, I’m sure she enjoys music and likes to dance. And, it was endearing to hear her nanny say that she was talented in dancing…so sweet.

And, then they asked if I’d like her to show us.

This little girl hasn’t had her papers submitted yet. She has Down Syndrome, they told me, as if when I heard the words I’d agree that she would not be wanted.

She has Down Syndrome. And, she is beautiful and marvelous in every way. And, oh, how I hope that someone has room in their family for her.

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Ideas for what to give a person traveling the world in 2017…okay, who am I kidding…a person traveling to China

This is Grace

Day 5 {celebration}

Beautiful girl

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Gift ideas for a happy-China-traveler-to-be

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