A Day in the Life

Last night around 3:00 am, I was woken by the sound of Chinese men shouting at one another as they attempted to empty the garbage with what had to be an army tanker. This is apparently the efficient time take care of things of this nature here in Macau. Efficient? Maybe. Considerate? Definitely not! I guess the men were shouting at one another in an attempt to be heard over the roaring of whatever type of machinery they were using to get the job done. But when one is woken from a sound sleep by shouting, immediately thoughts of doom come to mind. I thought the something had fallen on one of them! This jolted me awake rather quickley, but as I lay there, I figured out that nothing bad had happened. They were just talking to one another very loudly.

So as I am laying there, wide-awake at this point, the thought crosses my mind that this would be a funny episode to blog about. Then my next thought was "I can't believe I am laying here at 3:00 am, after being woken up by this stuff and now I am already thinking about blogging this"!
God has definitely provided me with a sense of humor that allows me to deal with things much more graciously than I ever could on my own. Even some of the more unsanitary habits I have witnessed here in Macau, I am beginning to have fun with. If you want to know more about this topic, then email me, because it is probably not a suitable topic for a blog post.

Anyhow, today was my first official day off. I had the entire day to wander around the city at my leisure and do the whole tourist bit. I first visited the Ruins of St. Paul. This was a cathedral that was ravaged by fire and only the steps, the facade, and a bit of the foundation were not destroyed. Several tombs were contained within the foundation and they also survived. There is a crypt that is part of the tourist attraction, and it contains the remains of several martyrs.

The facade and the steps leading up to the ruins.

The crypt and the tombs inside

I also visited the fort which is located next to the ruins. The fort of perced atop a large hill, and offers an incredible view of the city. I sound like a tour guide, huh?

Altar just inside the entrance to the fort.

The garden within the fort.

This is the view from atop the fort.

The next place I visited was a city park. The park itself is beautiful, however it was the people there that were the most interesting. As I walked into the park, there were several people sitting around talking and children playing. This is also the park where many people bring there birds. The people will bring there birds (in their cages) to the park and hand the cages near other bird's cages so that the birds have a chance to socialize. They even swing the cages back and forth in order for the birds to get some exercise. No kidding! Further up into the park, I think I must have unknowingly entered the men's section. There were men gathered in small groups either talking, playing what appeared to be some type of board game, or smoking. This park was further away from the tourist section, so the fact that I was out of place was readily apparent. I received some of the same looks as when I visited mainland. Especially when I was in the men's section. It was an interesting glimpse into the everyday lives of some of the people.

The entrance to Camoes park.

This are the men playing some type of game. It appeared to be a Chinese type of dominoes.

This is the area where the birds can socialize and do a bit of exercising as well.

One last pictue, this is the park that I walk by everyday on my way to work.

My favorite part of the day though would have to be going into all of the small shops. As I would enter the shops, the store owners would immediately approach me and try to sale their wares. Then the bargaining began. Something that is quickly learned in Macau, the price marked is usually negotiable. This whole bargaining game is such fun for me. I do not know how many shops I went into, a wnd as soon as the owner would tell me the price of something, I would immediately begin bargaining with no intention whatsoever of buying it. I just wanted to see how low they would actually go. I would offer this ridicuously low price and watch their reactions. It was so fun!

Every Friday night, the center hosts a Bible study in Chinese for students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the Bible. Last night, a new English student agreed to stay for the Bible study. After the Bible study was over, Lenny explained that he had never heard of Jesus before. He also said that prior to Friday night, he did not really know what the Bible was and that he thought is was "nothing but a boring book". He has now said that the Bible is very interesting and that he wanted to learn more about it. He has said that he will attend the Tuesday night Bible studies also. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will lead Lenny want to learn more about Jesus and show more interest in reading the Bible.

I know this was a long post, but thanks for reading all the way through. The best part was at the end. Bye for now!

Love,

Cassie