Graduation

"There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserver. This too, I say, is meaningless. So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and rink and be glad. The joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun." Eccl. 8: 14-15

Looking out over Hong Kong from my Uncle's high rise flat in Happy Valley, the clouds swiftly floating by, and the sounds of transit buses and people yelling Cantonese, the sight of buildings growing out of the tropical mountainside of jagged green trees it feels good in this moment to be alive. Going to another country is like being born again, only this time you've got a couple more things learned before hand.
This is good because today I found myself on stage in front of about two hundred complete strangers. My Pau Pau(grandma), and grandpa have a kindergarten and today was graduation. And in the fashion of most Chinese ceremonies this was quite long and very complicated, and well.... totally run, organized, and executed with style by the women. I was told that I'll be handing out some presents on stage and I concurred because it is just rude to refuse the honor. So I walk into this big room full of people and children, decorated beautifully and to the teeth, greeted by the principle (a woman), who says "How are you?" in very good English. She directs me to a seat that is nicely labeled Miss Brenda. Every one else has their proper Chinese name, however this is for my sake because they know I don't understand much Cantonese and figured I could pick out my que if they said Miss Brenda. Let me tell you the level of organization at this thing was dizzying, these teachers could run a country quite efficiently and I’m sure they'd give all the credit to the President or who ever was " In charge". I don't know how they got preschoolers to dance in an organized fashion much less a very complicated choreographed Broadway style dance scene for no less than two hundred children. Goodness me. Needless to say I felt a little awkward and or in a strange dream in which I am in my second day in a foreign country suddenly on stage sitting stiffly and totally out of place. If this was Sesame Street’s which one doesn't belong with the others....the kids wouldn’t have a hard time picking out the odd ball. Strangely enough I wasn't mortified, but I kept telling myself that now is not the time to be timid walk forward and speak loudly. It’s harder to do the speak loudly part. But, I think that will be my mantra for this trip. A lesson in not stepping away because I'm scared and have no clue what to do.
My little cousin Liam is such a sweetheart, he wanted to make sure I was welcome and then was afraid I was lonesome because I couldn't join in conversation with everyone else. I let him take some pictures with my camera and he got really excited and jumped up and down. Then he took a picture of me and said I looked like a princess....whoa girls, those of you around ten yrs old...look out for him when you get older. The look on his face though was that of innocence and pure joy. There was a little girl dancing at the pre-school who was dancing happily waving to her parents and jumping up and down flailing around not caring much what her body did. It was excisite. Pau Pau said I look ho lang, ho gao and tai sao, very beautiful, very tall and too skinny. No matter what I look like, people in Hong Kong always say that about me. Lately I do feel beautiful though...it may have to do with people telling me that I am, and more than that...I feel loved by God and family. In both cases it feels completely unconditionally. I don't really deserve any of this good treatment. But, it feels nice, and all these things falling into place is God incarnate in my life. Even my family’s love, is from him even though not all of them know him. I think you can be Jesus to someone else, even if you don't know him. Where there is love, there he is also.