Dinner With Greatful

In December GPiH hosted a group of about 20 doctors, pastors, fortune 500 executives and various business owners in Beijing for two weeks.

The team went throughout the city teaching, training leaders, and exploring all the various opportunities in Beijing.

On a chilly night towards the end of the trip we decided that the team should go out and see the part of Beijiing that isn't in school, or doing business.

Every year about 13 million farmers or other workers put out of their jobs by machinery or modern techniques move from the countryside to the cities every year. Once in the city they usually less then one American dollar for every 12 to 14 hour day.

So what did we do? we split our team into groups of three foreigners and 1 Chinese local to translate and also be involved. The teams were given the task of finding one of these many workers and just talking with them and buying them a hot meal of their choice.

Since i live in Beijing a knew exactly where i wanted to go. I spend a lot of time in Wu Dao Kou, which means i see a lot the same people there asking for money or working. My group quickly found one of these people familiar to me and asked him to join us. he eagerly accepted. we asked he had any friends that would want to join us and our group quickly grew by two.

We took them to a small restaurant that serves pretty basic rice porridges and meat dishes. The eagerly ate what was put in front of them, and while they ate i tried to keep up as our translator spoke to them about their pasts and families.

It was a pretty powerful experience for me. I see people begging for money and just see it as a slight annoyance. something to be dealt with and brushed aside. what i dont think about is that these people are just that... PEOPLE. they have families, worries, they experience joy and they experience sadness. that had never struck me before.

I'll be posting more about the individuals we shared the meal with later on.

JGLC

As i posted before i have an awesome room mate and mentor, Jason Chu. Not only do i really like him, but i also think he is a really interesting guy and is doing some awesome things in BJ.

Aside from leading the F@O group from the last post, he is heavily involved in Hip-Hop and Rap scene in BJ. he writes his own lyrics and mixes his own tracks. he has some pretty awesome lyrics, and since he has set up his own recording studio in his apartment i get to listen to all the different steps it takes for him to produce his new tracks.

Now.... i know there is the stereotype that all Chinese people look the same, i won't say anything about that other then Jason definitely does not blend into the crowd. i just get a kick out of it.

Is that Jason?

If ya wanna see what else Jason is up to you can check out his Youtube, Facebook, and blog pages.

Thanks a ton Jason!

F@O

Since being in Beijing i have become involved in multiple organizations and groups. My favorite of these, and most important is Friday @ the Oasis. I was asked to be a part of the leadership of this group and even though i really didn't know what it was i agreed.

It was one of the best decisions i have made in a long time. 

Basically we are a group the reaches out the NUMEROUS international students in Beijing. we try and create an environment that is relaxed and an easy place to hang and just.... be. our fearless leader, Jason Chu, is an ABC (American Born Chinese) he also graduated from Yale (pretty sharp dude). he has become somewhat of a mentor and role model to me, and is an all around awesome guy. he also found me a place to stay, which also happens to be where he lives as well.

 Our fearless leader

Jason Chu

F@O has provided me with awesome friendships with from all over the world. some that come to mind away are people from america, singapore, germany, macao, and all over africa.

i know it doesnt sound very exciting, but we are doing some pretty awesome things and i just thought i would mention it. i'll be posting more about it later on.