the life of a city slicker

that's what they call me on the streets of beijing, at least. what with my money pouch, my sneakers, my "great wall" ball cap, my backpack, snapping pictures left and right...

ok, so i'm not a real cool traveller, but i did have a great time in beijing! (and i didn't get pickpocketed once thanks to the money pouch- although i did have my watch sliced clean off my wrist with a knife. those people have skill if i've ever seen it.) the shopping, the sites, the great wall! it was incredible. we went to the simatai part of the wall, which is the oldest, least restored, and least tourist-y section. PLUS it had a zip line off one of the watch towers that had me shouting in pure ecstasy while i watched my reflection in the river below. that's my kinda wall! these mongolians took us on an obscure shortcut to the zipline. it was...absolutely picturesque. goat herders, corn fields, and sweeping mountains. the epitome of the asian countryside. i LOVE LOVE LOVE the asian countryside more than any other kind of landscape i've ever visited.

all great wall fun aside, the most memorable part of the trip was easter sunday. in china, since there are so few members, there's one ward in beijing that we, along with other members, skype on sundays. people pray, give talks, and make comments over skype. it's been a really unifying experience to bring all the members together and feel the spirit over skype just as strong as i do in my home ward. i will never forget my sacrament meetings here. since we were in beijing and general conference footage is not released in asia until this week, we were able to have a regular fast and testimony meeting with the ward. the "chapel" is a small room on the top floor of a hotel. there's only a few regular members, most of whom are couples serving humanitarian missions, although they can only refer to themselves as volunteers in china. the hospitality they extended to us meant more than they know. the sisters made me feel like i was home with my mom and the bishop's friendly handshake and charismatic laugh made me never want to leave this little safe haven. after tuning into skype and making a connection with the other computers of members scattered throughout china, the bishop asked a couple other girls and me to bear our testimonies. it was such a humbling experience, bearing my testimony into a little mic in this little room in china. listening to others tune in and bear their testimonies was such a testament that the gospel is alive and well in all corners of the world. the spirit in the room hit all of us like a ton of bricks, it was so strong. it made me realize that the gospel is the same, no matter where you are or who you are with or whether or not you can even see them. after church, the whole ward (all 17 of us) went to the bishop's house and ate the best (AMERICAN!) meal i've ever tasted! after seconds and thirds and an easter devotional, we were laughing hysterically, sleepy from so much food and happier than i've felt since i've been here. we all had the hardest time leaving because it felt like home and we were all so smiley the rest of the day.

my only concluding comment is- just like my favorite brand tells it- LIFE IS GOOD.