Monday, January 30, 2012

Reverse Culture Shock

During my time in China, I did experience some instances of culture shock (culture stress), but they were pretty few and far between.  The most difficult of these was certainly the language barrier.  I have visited multiple countries where English is not prominent, but these trips were a week or two and spent primarily with other English speakers.  Therefore, spending most of my day alone in China where nearly no one speaks English was quite an adjustment.  However, it is one thing to experience culture shock in a different culture...it's another to experience it in your own.

Upon being picked up from the airport I had a bag of Chick-fil-A placed in my lap (which was weird enough since I was in New York) and was rushed to the bakery of bakeries,  Rockland Bakery in Nanuet, New York.  Now I had heard of this place before and had even read about it on my oldest sister Keri's blog, but seeing is believing.  That place is massive, and coming from a country that doesn't really do bakeries...it was a  shock.


I've seen Asian 10 year olds smaller than this loaf of bread...

Back to the land of refrigerated milk...

and bulk packaging (27 packs of crackers!)

and apples the size of your head covered in chocolate, caramel, and nuts.  (Thanks Thomas and Marge) 

There is even so much food that people in America make it into art work...

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Return

 Sorry to my few readers who have been missing my blog posts the past month.  I have gotten your emails, texts, and Facebook messages requesting more posts and have responded.  I planned to continue blogging upon my return, but have just been living on the road or transitioning from one thing to another since my return.  I have now been in New York City a full week today...but we'll get there.

First, I'll briefly fill you in on what has been going on since my last post in late December.

I flew out of China December 29th and headed for my company debrief in Taipei, Taiwan.  This picture documents my final moment on Chinese soil.

After two days of meetings our group of thirty headed to the Taipei 101 building on New Years Eve to see their big firework show.  A few facts for you, the Taipei 101 building is the second tallest in the world standing at 1,670 feet.  It is over 200 feet taller than the Empire State Building and was the tallest until 2010 when the Burj Khalifa building was finished in Dubai.  That building (which appeared in the new Mission Impossible movie)...is 2,723 feet tall!

Anyways, we joined the millions crowded into the streets to watch one of the most impressive sights I have ever seen!  It literally looked like the building was exploding as fireworks shot off it in every direction.



My time in Taipei was a blast and it was great to see all the friends I had made at training six months earlier and hear about all the Lord had done in and through them during their time in Asia.

I'll conclude this post and my Asia chapter by adding the last few bizarre sightings/signs pictures I took over there.

Some of my devoted followers may remember in my I Love Hong Kong post that I included a picture of a few of my friends at the bottom of the longest escalator/travelator system in the world.  Well, I think I may have also found the shortest escalator in the world portrayed in this picture.  If you notice it is nine, NINE steps tall...REALLY people?  I understand knee problems (I've had five surgeries), but if you can't handle climbing nine steps you might better stay at home.

.....does this sign need an explanation?  Yes!  Do I have one?  No!  It was legitimately BILLBOARD size in one of the airports I flew through...I mean what is being advertised here?  (That isn't rhetorical I would really love to know.)

I can't look at this sign without laughing!  Can you?  This may be my new favorite.  I found it while in Taipei.

After four days of debrief I arrived at Newark Airport the night of January 2nd.  Thank you so much for all of your prayers and willingness to be apart of what the Lord did in my life while abroad.

I hope you will continue to follow along as the Father now uses me in New York City.  There are some good stories to follow.