First Impressions

We made it to Nanjing, taking the high speed train on Monday.  It was awesome!  Super Super fast!  It takes about 4-5 hours if you drive from Shanghai and we got there in an hour and a half.  I have taken the Amtrack from Royal Oak to Chicago and it takes just as long as it does to drive,  if not longer if you get stuck somewhere waiting for another train to cross.  So it is nice that we have the option to take the high speed train around China to do some sightseeing around China.  Saves on time and gas, because gas is expensive in China as well.

We flew in to Shanghai, so Michael could meet with his HR rep and do some paperwork.  And we were pretty impressed with Shanghai.  A lot of people seemed to speak english and it not as smoggy as we expected.  It seems like a really nice city. 

Then we took the nice fast train to Nanjing and Nanjing is not Shanghai.  It is still a nice city, don't get me wrong.  But no one seems to speak english and the smog is pretty bad.  Sad more than anything.  Because as I was looking out my hotel room, through the smog, I was thinking the people that have lived here and never left might think this is just what the sky looks like or maybe they have never seen the milky way or the big dipper.  We are always amazed when we go to my parents, who live in the country, how many more stars you can see because you don't have the light from the city.  It is amazing and awe inspiring.  Michael and I and my brothers like to just look up and admire how many stars are in the sky.  It is sad to me that there may be someone here in Nanjing who has not had that experience,  because for me it is in those moments that I think how amazing God is. 

That being said, Michael and I both have said that we really like this city though.  There are going to be a lot of things to experience and see.  There is a lot of culture in Nanjing, since it used to be a capital city.  So lots of sight seeing to do.  And I have this friend who used to move a lot and when she moved to Detroit she said people always felt bad for her.  But she lived by that motto that places/things are what you make of them.  And she found great friends in Detroit and rather enjoyed her time in the D.

And that is the attitude that I have tried to go through life with.  Nanjing might not be the "coolest" city to live in.  And for sure it is not cool in the temperature sense of the word.  It is really really really hot or rather it is super super humid.  But when I think about the heat and the smog and anything else that might be challenging.  I realize that Nanjing is going to be what I make of it.  And I know that our situation, thought it might before a few years or more, is still temporary.  We will eventually go back to Michigan one day.  And if people can live a lifetime here.  I can live a few years here.  Because what makes a place is not the weather or how dirty of clean it is.  What makes a place is the PEOPLE.  And we have already experienced the warmth and welcoming nature of the Chinese people.  Even though we cannot speak their language they are patient and kind with us.  I know this may not always be the case, but I choose to believe that if given the chance people will choose kindness over being mean.  I choose to see the best in people.  A lot of times people really do not have positive things to say about Detroit and I have loved my time in Detroit.  I will really really miss home.  God has blessed Michael and I with friends who have become like family and that is something that is priceless.  And even though I am leaving Detroit, I am taking those friendships with me.

What I hope you take away from this blog post is that,  LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.  I believe that attitude is everything.  And if you go into a new, scary, challenging situtation with a bad attitude, that is not going to help the situation.  Even after seeing Nanjing and realizing I might not see a blue sky for a while.  I can live with that because some people have to live a lifetime with it and I do not deserve more than any person I will meet in China.  There are some people who have been given some really hard lots in life, losing spouses, children, cancer and other terminal diseases, going through natural distaster and losing their homes and you always see stories of hope and light in the media of people who have lived and live with tragedies and don't feel sorry for themselves.  And they still have hope in their heart and a smile on their face and I hope to have that same kind of attitude with any challenges that I face, with God's help of course.

So what I hope to take away from Nanjing is the same things I am taking away from Detroit. I hope to make great friends here and form lasting relationships, that I will take with me even when we no longer live here.

sadly this is Smog not fog...but this is my new home for a while and I choose to love it!