With friends like these . . .

Pakistan has shown its commitment to harboring terrorists and defeating every purpose of the US war on terror yet again by convicting Pakistani doctor Shakeel Afridi, who assisted the US in determining the location of Bin Laden.  If Pakistan really is "an invaluable ally" as we are encouraged to believe why on earth do they keep arresting the people who help us and allow to remain, or even assisting for all we know, those who are our sworn enemies.  It also begs the question why we are forced, out of necessity, to cut back on our own military budget simply so we can give money to the Pakistanis to enable them to arrest our friends and hold them in prison for 33 years, as it seems will occur in this case.  It also makes one wonder what exactly this money we are giving to Pakistan is doing, since they appear to be willing to do all manner of things against our own interest with little or no fear.  If the money is really securing Pakistan as an ally than where are the fruits of this investment?  It seems that we are only funding them until they finally decide to give up what little pretending they have been carrying on lately and launch an all out war against us, or at least go completely rough like Iran.  I'd like to see someone explain why we have to cut money from our own military so that we can give it to our terrorist-harboring, agent-arresting "friends".

3/27/12, 15:30 EST; 3/28/12, 03:30 Beijing Time; 3/27/12, 19:30 GMT; En route to Lancaster PA from DC

We’re back in PA once more, just over 24 hours after we left the hotel in Beijing.  I think can say that those of us who haven’t been able to fall asleep on this bumpy and uncomfortable bus are all very glad to be back in the good old US of A (and very glad to find that the grass is quite green many flowers have started to bloom in our absence).  We had an uneventful traveling period up till now and are looking forward to being home safe and sound within a few hours.

3/27/12, 04:40 EST; 3/27/12, 16:40, Beijing Time; 3/27/12, 08:40 GMT; 3/27/12, 02:40 Local Time (almost an hour before we arrived at the airport); Over Northern Canada

We’re finally on our way home!  (But I’m getting ahead of myself.)  First off, we did get to see the Great Wall, and many of us climbed a significant portion thereof.  (It was extremely steep in one place in particular.) 

Overall it was amazing to attempt to comprehend the amount of hard work that was poured into this astounding structure.  We couldn’t even get up there without a tram and the builders had to bring all of the stone, food, and other supplies up with them (we were tired enough walking a small portion of the completed wall).  After coming back down the tram and pushing our way through the determined venders, we ate at a nice, touristy-looking place, which had very good food.  Then we took the bus back to Beijing to visit the Summer Palace.  The amount of art and sheer audacious finery in there, even after being pillaged by revolutionaries, is astounding to behold.  Though we hardly experienced the vastness and beauty of the place entirely, what we saw was plenty to get the point across.  The idea that a ruler would indulge in such finery is quite foreign to our American minds, but it also helps me understand why communism and equal distribution of resources have been so valued by the Chinese people in recent years.  After soaking in the sites and doing our best to absorb some of the history of the summer palace being recounted to us by our guide we headed off to dinner.  Finally the last thing we did was shop at the Silk Street market, where the vast majority of our party bought beats headphones for around 200 RMB (about $32.50).  (I didn’t because they don’t sound that great with classical music.)  Most of us didn’t sleep much/at all last night because we had to get up at 3am to leave for the airport anyway.  Everything went smoothly at the airport except that my iPod decided to stay in Beijing and fell out of my pocket without telling me of its intentions and is probably back in some night market in Beijing being sold for 100 RMB (about $16.50).  As we took off we got a fantastic aerial view of the Great Wall and surrounding mountains since we had a fantastically clear day for China.  (This was the only flight in which we could see any part of China from the air.)  Now it’s dark outside and I’m going to try to get a little more sleep.

3/25/12, 20:15 EST; 3/26/12, 08:15 Beijing Time; 3/26/12, 00:15 GMT; Beijing, China

You’ll be glad to know, I hope, that I make it through the festival alive (but just barely) along with the rest of our group.  Only one person fainted and had to go to the hospital, fortunately not one of ours.  (Going to a Chinese hospital doesn’t sound like a very pleasant experience to me, but I speak in ignorance, thankfully.)  Yesterday we rode the bus back to Beijing, dumped our stuff in the hotel and headed off for the Forbidden City on foot.  I must admit that I didn’t find it as interesting as places like civil war battlefields, which I have more historical context for.  (That is, for which I have a historical context.  Stupid language.)  However, the vastness and ornateness of the place was impressive and it’s good to know that it really does look exactly like the pictures.  We left the Forbidden City via Tiananmen Gate and saw the infamous square.  This had a lot more meaning to me, even though I wasn’t alive during the protests.  After that we walked to walking street (aptly named since they won’t allow cars on it) so that we could walk some more and eat and shop and practice our bartering skills.  After spending around four hours there we walked back to the hotel check in and get some sleep.  This morning we had breakfast at 7am and left soon after for the Great wall, which we are currently on our way to see.

3/23/12, 21:15 EST; 3/24/12, 09:15 Beijing Time; 3/24/12, 01:15 GMT; Tianjin, China

The 21^st was our last day in Chengdu and we didn’t go anywhere except the international school.  While there, we got to see some presentations on things like the earth quake of 2008 and a movement to strengthen families.  We also had the privilege of seeing a spectacular performance on the Chinese banjo (known to some as the Pe Pa). 

After that we ate at the cafeteria and those of us who were chosen to be part of the impromptu CLCHM praise band, myself included, tried to throw something together for a special fellowship time at the school, following the regular chapel, which our team sang in.  Fortunately the kids from the international school did most of the leading, since they did a great job.  I must admit that it was a bit odd for me making up accompaniments for praise songs on the violin for the first time (not to mention being miced).  I don’t know that I prefer it to more traditional styles, but I was extremely glad that I got to have that experience, in China of all places.  After the fellowship session went out to eat as a group for our last dinner in Chengdu and returned to our host families to pack.  The next mourning we said our farewells and left for an uneventful day of travel, with the exception of a unique billboard depicting a small boy urinating from long range into a western style toilet and some nasty illnesses which we have all ended up with now.  When we arrived in Tianjin we had a bite to eat at a plaza with a number of restaurants and checked in to our hotel.  The next day was spent singing and singing and singing and singing some more for the nation-wide festival of international schools which we journeyed here to attend.  After getting back exhausted and sick the sane ones among our party (a small minority) went to bed and the insane ones, myself included, sat in the lobby and sang (perhaps some did neither, but I don't know anything about that).  Today we have another day of grueling singing ahead of us, which none of us are looking forward thanks to the fact that all of us are suffering from varying degrees of illness (except for the ones who don’t have to sing, of course).  Ah well.