Mud Huts and New Visas

We just received word that on Wednesday we will receive back our passports with our visa and resident permit for next year. Each time we hold our breath until it is in our hands. We are many years past the legal age limit for us to continue as expat teachers here. We have peers from our organization who are being threatened with denied return visas because they have turned 60, and they have served here for 18 years! But PKU is the premier university and has pull and thus we are here for another year. Wonderful!

I was recently reminded that many may think that we have spent our lives in mud huts and growing our own food. I was reminded that I should state that yes, we have lived in some remote areas, (no mud huts) but mainly we have lived in very large cities, some that are considered first world countries. Zambia from 1981-1983 was the poorest country in which we served. (It also was our most favorite location: the most fantastic people on earth.) I have written previously about some of the poverty we have seen….and the incredible joy in the middle of it. But Taiwan, Panama, and now Beijing certainly are first world or almost first world locations. We have modern transport, some much better than in the US. Beijing subways compete with the best in the world. Panama was putting in an exceptional subway while we were there. In all of these locations there are fantastic superhighways (which are also first world congested. Haha) International airports are closer to our overseas houses than when we are in the States. We have enjoyed (?) supermarkets and malls. We have fast food, some of which are Stateside franchises. (Did you know that KFC is much more popular overseas than in the US? In some places we did not even bother trying to get in line for KFC because there were too many people.) Our housing has always been very decent apartments or houses. Zambia was the only place where we did not have hot running water. Even Senegal and Ecuador which are not first world countries always provided well for us. We have never really lived in a large city in the US, but we have lived in the huge capital cities all over the world: Quito, Taipei, Dakar, Panama City, Beijing. I say all this so you can more accurately envision our lives and history and pray more accurately for our needs in the next year here in China.