Sunday

8/28/11

Today was our first day of church in Beijing. We met in the lobby at 9am. Half of us walked to the subway while the other half took taxis. I wasn’t aware that the other half was taking taxis, I just left with the group who was walking to the subway. Bad idea. It’s about two or so miles from our college to the closest subway station. We’ve walked it before, but that was in tennis shoes. Making the walk in heels or flats is much slower and much more uncomfortable. It was really awesome to walk through the park, though. Last time we walked through it, there wasn’t really much going on. But I guess Sunday mornings are the times where everything happens. There were big groups dancing or doing taichi, there was even a big choir practicing. It was all so cool, and everything so Chinese.

We got on the subway and rode it a few stops, then had to get off and transfer, and then ride that one another few stops, and then get off and transfer and ride that one another stop. Oh my goodness.

It was funny though, at the last station, waiting for our last subway, a lady came up and asked if we were from BYU-Idaho. We were like “Yeah!! What? Wow, how did you know?!” She said we looked like BYU-I students. We were like “whaaaaat?”

She was the branch president’s wife. That explained everything, haha.

They rode with us the final way. The entire trip took an hour and a half.

By the time we got to our destination, my feet were basically torn to shreds ._.

It was so weird to get into the church building. At first it was just a normal building, except much nicer than any of the other buildings I’ve been in here. But then we rode the elevator up, and we were greeted by a bunch of smiling white people. It was like WOAAHH AMERICA. The rest of church went exactly like it would have gone anywhere else in the world. I guess the church is exactly the same no matter where you are. It was the most organized thing I’ve been to since I got here.

After church, we all met back up as a group. Everyone was deciding they were going to take that whole subway system back again. I was thinking there was absolutely no way I was doing that again, and thankfully one of the other girls spoke up and asked if anyone wanted to take a taxi with her. So Kirsten, me, Kurt, and Theo all took a taxi back. And then I got to chill out in the dorm for an hour before Abby got back.

Then we just kind of sat around for a few more hours. Aside from the long walk this morning, it’s definitely been the most relaxing day so far. But I guess that’s the way Sundays are supposed to be.

At 5:30 we met in the school’s cafeteria area for our opening banquet. Brother Galer ordered us a bunch of really great food. Again, I forced myself to try everything. Not everything was amazing, but nothing was really terrible. I sat by the group I’ve been hanging out with for most of this trip, and they were all surprised when I brought up that I’m usually a really picky eater. Adam was like “Whaaat? But you were downing everything left and right at that night market!”

I’m hoping that living here for four months will cure me of my food phobias. Adam was saying that he was also a really picky eater until he went on his mission, and now he’ll eat anything.

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