Tiāntiān xiàngshàng

Oct 6 – Oct 11

Gazing at the full moon

October 6 was the Mid Autumn Festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, is one of China’s most cherished holidays. Held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, it celebrates the full moon, family reunion, and the harvest season. People gather to admire the moon, light lanterns, and share mooncakes—round pastries filled with everything from lotus seed paste to salted egg yolk, symbolizing unity and completeness.

Of course we wanted to celebrate, too! We ventured into Nanxiang Ancient Town (an old town area in Jiading). The narrow streets were electric- filled with people of all ages, glowing lanterns, and moon decor! We took several opportunities to stop and admire the full moon in the sky.

While America shuts down, China doubles down

At the conclusion of the 8-day national holiday, everyone headed back to work and school. In China, to compensate for all the lost work time, the weekends before and after long holidays are only one day long. The Sunday before and the Saturday after the holiday were work days. Not sure how this would fly in America, but here, its status quo. They take to heart the saying, “”Every minute you’re not working, your competitor is.”

Badminton and BBQ

Heading back to work after the long break was a jolt to the system. We softened the jolt by joining Matt’s coworker, Yongqiang, and the Autoliv badminton club for their regular Thursday night pickup event. (The company reserves a badminton gym weekly for the club to play.) Matt and I had been playing pickleball regularly at home, but I hadn’t played badminton since middle school gym class, and Matt, while having played more recently, wasn’t exactly Olympic-ready either, as his nephew, Luke, can attest.

The group looked serious—like they knew their way around a shuttlecock. After a few awkward swings and some warm-up play that mostly involved chasing the birdie across the court, Matt and I started to find our rhythm. We were able to adapt our pickleball form and keep the rally going. Still, we were no match for Yongqiang and his wife. Yongqiang, in particular, could deliver the shuttlecock wherever he wanted, and wherever we weren’t. But we had a great time playing with the pros.

Yongqiang and his wife treated us to dinner after badminton at this Chinese BBQ. (Mostly) Yum! (There were a few items that even Yongqiang’s wife wouldn’t eat :))

Blending in

Matt and I never “blend in” here. We’re foreigners and it’s evident we are foreigners everywhere we go. While we stand out in obvious physical ways, we’ve been surrounded by people who stand out in other ways. Matt’s coworker who took time out of her day twice in a week to take him to the bank, Matt’s taxi driver who gives suggestions for activities and food to help us make the most of our experience here, people we meet who want to stay connected beyond that moment, my coworkers who are willing to chat in broken English and Chinese over lunch, church members who reach out during the week, and so many more. In addition to standing out physically, we are determined to stand out in other ways and put our professions of faith, as Christians in a non-Christian nation, into practice by loving and serving those around us, seeing and interacting with others as Christ would. We hope we can share light, love, and kindness by the way we live.

In general we can’t and don’t want to blend in, however, for once since arriving in China, thanks to Matt’s keen eye and creativity, I nearly blended in! 😂⬇️

Back to Jintan

At the conclusion of this week, Matt and I received our residence permits! The permits allow us to work here, get driver licenses, and open bank accounts. It also allowed us to leave Jiading and head back “home.” Check in next time for more adventures from Jintan!