Beijing... oh... Beijing...

It's been one week since I came back from Beijing and I miss that city a lot! :'(

I really really really thank GOD for the opportunity to be there *my farthest trip so far*. Honestly, I have never ever imagined myself being there.
The trip itself started when I had a conversation with Mrs. I whose daughter, Z, currently studying there. She offered me her place to stay if I ever had a chance to go there. Well... Why not? Then I thought.
I've got non-budget-airline-but-cheap ticket :) And I've got a free furnished apartment *bonus: house mate :)*
Great!

Well... to provide a brief description of my times there, I will show excerpts of my journal entry written there:

“Lost in Translation” started when I got into the taxi. The driver couldn't speak English at all. Gestures is the language here :) Arrived into the apartment lobby and the people there spoke very little English. They was very very nervous when they knew that I only speak English. But one very good thing that I noticed from them is that they were trying hard to speak English with me, and all the people around them, even though they are not staff, helped them :) Z was having a class and therefore I couldn't call her. So I just decided to put my baggage in the storage room and walked around there.

There is no rules on the road. The roads are so wide and there were bicycles everywhere. Quite dangerous because people drove cars very fast. There was no rules on the road. Some people don't wait until the light is green. And there is high chance that a bicycle will bump into you because bicycle rules here!:)

The weather was awesome! It was cold and windy. Aircon and heater are available,but I don't need it! It really reminds me of good old days in Bandung!

Finally I met Z and we reached the apartment together. It was newly built apartment, very cozy.
Z's parents let me sleep in the only bedroom. It was like hotel room with big flat TV and they let me use the laptop in the bedroom.

I couldn't stop thank GOD for this. I was asking HIM for a getaway and He provided it through the nature which He created and through Z's family.
A weather that I dreamed of. My own private room. Tranquility. It's perfect, GOD. I couldn't ask more. Thank You for everything :)

Today I went Yuan Ming Yuan (Old Summer Palace). It was the place that used by the emperor and the royal family to 'cool down' during summer (as summer in Beijing could be very very hot). It is a huge place with lots of lakes, trees, flowers, and pavillions to enjoy beautiful sceneries. The scenery could have been more beautiful with lots of wonderful building such as palaces, mansions, temples, fountains, huge statues, etc, but the Anglo-French troops destroyed all the buildings and stole some the best statues. So when I was there, I only saw ruins.

I figure out that while it is a very good thing to take time for a while from the hot summer to enjoy Yuan Ming Yuan, it is also important they go back to their own main responsibility to govern the nation. For me, it means that in the 'heat' of life (when I started to feel life as only routines, when I feel burn-out, when things started to get me beyond my control), it is important to stop, to be silent and solitude before the LORD. And this silence and solitude cannot be natural to human. We need to arrange time with HIM, because it is not human nature to seek GOD first. It must be intentional. And another that is not less important is to continue with the 'routines' with the refreshed perspective of it and strength from the Almighty. Most of the times we are unconscious about the benefit of routines. Routines could actually helps us indirectly to move on with life. When we do the routines, it means life goes on and GOD still wants us to be HIS partner in this life. We still have duties and responsibilities to do. Isn't it nice to see routines from a different perspective? But it is not easy to do. Sometimes we need something very unexpected happen in our lives to make us realize the benefit of routines, such as when we lost someone we love and that we are in desperate need to move on. Routines could help us to get a sense that life does moves on.

Z accompanied me to Old Summer Palace and she showed me things that I wouldn't be able to see if I went there alone. She told me that the most beautiful part of Old Summer Palace is not the part the tourist group would stop at. In order to get the best scenery, we need to follow a small pathways (sometimes no pathways). This small pathways was definitely more difficult to follow. It is narrow. It is tiring because we need to do some climbing. It could also be dangerous because if your foot tripped, you cannot find anything to hang on and you would glide down. But the extra efforts really worth it. There was a pavillion in one of the highest point of the Old Summer Palace. I must say that it is the best spot. Very peaceful (you cannot see people talking,only birds chirping). Very cool with the wind breezed among the trees. Great view of Lotus lake and island.
Well... isn't life like that? When we want to get to the highest place, there is extra efforts needed. "

Next... let's go to my to-do-list that I roughly made before I went there:

I want to sing and pray without fear of waking up anyone :p - done
I want to finish "Secure in the Everlasting Arms" by Elisabeth Elliot... - not done
I want more time to reflect... -got
I want to pour out my thoughts in my journal... I missed my hand-writing! -well.. didn't write but typed on notebook
I want to go to the places I'd never been before (definitely!)... - done
I want to enjoy the cool weather and beautiful scenery... -done
I want to eat funny2 foods (scorpio?)... - done :)
I want to take lots of pics and videos (yeahhh!!!)... - done
I want to do bungee jumping (no such thing in Singapore!)... - done
I want to cook (errr... it's part of the plan... but not sure that I would be able to do this)... -done
I want to sleep early and wake up early... - not really :p
I want to take walks in the parks... -done
I want to learn a musical instrument... - done

Coming back to Singapore, I felt totally refreshed!

I started to ponder on what things made me refreshed. Was it being in a new environment? Doing things I never did before? The weather? The apartment? The food? Well... yup, those things helped, but I think what refresh me most is... LOVE... believe it or not! :p
It didn't mean that being in Beijing made me loved more. It's just that I could feel it more intensely as I did not have so many things to distract me in enjoying love from God and from others. Intimate time with Him alone... intimate time with Z...

My love language is quality time. I feel loved most if I spend quality time with the people I love.
I thank God I wasn't totally alone there! There's Z and her church friends...
Together we watch movies.... cook ... had dinner out (and delivery)... had girl talk and serious talk... hang out... play games... shop...
I feel loved knowing that she was willing to spend time searching through the net to find out for me how to get to places, and she even wrote it down for me. She also spared time to accompany me out and translate when I need to bargain.

While I received so many blessings and love, I would also need some channels to share them out with others.
I learnt that Z's love language is 'touch'. She would hold hands, lean her head on me, hug, etc. And I was learning to love her with the her love language. It didn't come naturally for me because I certainly didn't raised in a family that would 'touch' each other. And thank GOD for this opportunity to learn another aspect of love :)

What a give and take! I totally had a great time there! :)