A Moment Like This.

On Sunday, my friend Wendy and her high school sweetheart got married. It was my first Chinese wedding I attended since moving to China, and I was excited for two things: to share in the happiness that is Wendy & Kevin's special day, and to witness my first Chinese wedding - to see the cultural difference and similarities.

Before going to the wedding, one of my teacher friends told me that this wedding would be on the more modern side when it comes to Chinese weddings. I'd heard stories of other Chinese weddings that my friends here had been to and they involved horses, fireworks, and rescuing the bride before walking down the aisle. There was none of that at Wendy's wedding. It was actually quite similar in ways to a Western wedding at home. 

Wendy wore a beautiful white gown. Beautiful! And Kevin looked quite handsome in a suit. Wendy's dad walked her to the alter where her mom placed her veil on Wendy. I cried. *Surprise, surprise.* Kevin met her at the end of the aisle on stage where the ceremony began. Kevin was very emotional, Wendy was very emotional, and I don't think there were many dry eyes in the room.

The entire ceremony was in Chinese. While I didn't understand a lot of it, I could understand what I saw. They exchanged rings, poured wine down a fountain of glasses, cut the cake, and as the sealed it with a kiss, Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This" was cued at the perfect time. Fairytale-like, and a little like watching a movie. I think my favourite part of the wedding was watching what I think is the Chinese version of the bride throwing the bouquet. Some of Wendy's girlfriends came up on the stage and each took a ribbon that was attached to Wendy's bouquet. On the count of three, each girl pulled on their ribbon and they all broke away except one. My guess is (because again, it was all in Chinese) that the girl who still had the ribbon attached to Wendy's bouquet is like the girl who caught the bouquet at a Western wedding. You're next! 

And then came the food. Food upon food upon food upon food. Literally, people! We had to pile plates of food on top of other plates of food because there wasn't enough room. It was delicious food, too. And I left more full than I had felt in a long time. 

Congratulations, Wendy and Kevin. I wish you all of the love and happiness in this new journey of life. And I am honoured to have been a witness to your special day! xo

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Firstly, in case any of you needed reminding as to how amazing my mom is, please read posts HERE and HERE. 

Today is my Mom's birthday! She will be showered with love, compliments, gifts, and happiness on her day from friends, family, and loved ones all over the place. Including me, all the way here in China! While I can't be there in person to celebrate her special day, I've sent her flowers and all of my love in my absence. 

On Mom's special day, I want to add to the growing list of reason's why she's the absolute best mom in the entire world. Legit!

-- You taught me some pretty important life lessons. How to be independent, how to stand up for myself, and how not to take everything for granted and be thankful for the small things.

-- That time I was scheduled to have surgery and we stayed at a hotel the night before. When we woke up, you couldn't see your hand in front of you because it was snowing so hard. You drove the 15 minute drive (which actually took closer to an hour because of the storm) to the hospital to find out as we arrived that the surgery was cancelled. It wasn't the first time you fought extreme weather conditions to drive me somewhere I needed to be.

-- In times of need, you and Dad have always been there to get me out of trouble. Every single time.

-- When I got my tattoo, I can safely say you were completely against it. It took me a long time to decide to get the tattoo because I didn't want to disappoint or upset you. After getting it, you and Dad came to Fredericton and we spent the day together. I saw you looking at it, but I never brought it up or asked your opinion. When you dropped me off at my house, you rolled down your window as I was walking away and said to me, "Melissa, I guess it's not THAT bad." I will never forget that.

-- You put up with fight, after fight, after fight between Brad and I. While I'm sure you wanted to pull your hair out at times, and you did have to raise your voice quite frequently, you got through it and our relationship never weakened because of it.

-- I've never been afraid to be honest with you. You are accepting and patient, and I think that reflects in the bond that we have.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If I didn't have you as a Mom, I'd definitely chose you as a friend. You are an amazing listener and give the most sound advice. I love you to the moon and back, always and forever!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! With love, Melissa. 

Around My Neck, Always & Forever.

My Grandad remains an inspiration in my life today. He motivates me to take big steps, and I always think about how proud he might be of my strides and what he might say of my successes since his passing. It has been three years since he died and not a day goes by still that I don't think of him. Each day starts with him. Before leaving the house and starting my day, I put on my heart-shaped necklace and he's always with me. 

On the day of his burial three years ago, my Grandmom gave me a necklace in a velvet drawstring bag.

This necklace is similar to a locket, but in a different way. Instead of being filled with a picture, it's filled with a little bit of his ashes. I have one, my Mom has one, and my Grandmom has one. And while he may not be here physically to see me and what I've been doing, he's always around my neck, close to my heart, and on my mind every step of the way. He's also taken some pretty big journey's over the last three years: a move to Calgary, a move to China, vacationing in PEI, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, as well as quick trips to Shanghai and Datong. He's a pretty lucky man!

On two recent occasions with Amanda, she snapped pictures of me laughing. When we went back and looked at the pictures, she said to me that I looked just like my Grandad when I laughed. She had never had the chance to meet him, but she has seen pictures of him that I have shared and posted and she said that I had the same joyful and happy look on my face when I laughed as he did. 

I think Amanda has a pretty good idea as to how much this small detail means to me. It also means a lot to me that someone who didn't have the chance to meet such an important man in my life can see how we are similar and what an amazing, happy, and strong man he was. And he really was that. During his wake and funeral, people I didn't know and had never met would tell me over and over again how much they enjoyed knowing Grandad and what a pleasure he was to have around. Because he was. He was nice to everyone, he was accepting of so many people, and he was the kindest man. And if I can be a fraction of the person he was and inspire and influence people the way he did, then I can say that I accomplished what I set out to in life and in my experiences.

I've written two other posts on the anniversary of his death in 2012 and 2013 expressing how amazing he was and how I've remembered him over time. I still can't believe he is gone. My life has changed so much since he died on May 9th, 2011 and I wish all the time he could be with me and my family. While I know he was proud of me and supported me constantly during the first 22 years of my life, I often wonder and struggle with the ideas and thoughts that he didn't get to see me and know me at my full potential. And I'm still growing. I love the person I am today more than the person I was back then. I am finally doing the things I had always wanted to do, and I am proving to myself and others the potential and talents I have. I know he saw me succeed, I just wish I could show him more. 

And I don't wish this just for me, I wish it for my entire my family. Grandmom, Uncle David, Mom, Dad, Brad, Mark, Carolin, Rebecca, and Rachel. This tight-knit group and the potential, talents, abilities, strengths, and creativity we have as a whole is amazing. It's inspiring. And without Grandad and the influence and leadership he showed us over his lifetime, none of us would be where we are today without him. He was and still is a great man. And I am so thankful to call him MY Grandad. My rock. I love him, always and forever. 

Southeast Asia Vacation - THAILAND

Thailand. Oh, Thailand! How I have fallen in love! The gorgeous sights, the delicious food, the friendly people. Honestly, how someone couldn't fall in love with your charm is beyond me!

Unlike Cambodia, where I entered not really having any expectations, there was a lot of pressure on good ol' Thailand to hold up to the standards that other people have put on it. I had a lot of assumptions about Thailand and I had a lot of hope that it was going to be one of the most memorable and best trips of my life. And boy, was I not let down for a second. 

Originally, the girls and I had planned to go to Bangkok, then on to Chiang Mai, and finish in Phuket. However, in the months prior to our departure, Thailand (specifically the city of Bangkok) was experiencing some political disruption and turmoil. There was to be a fairly important election happening on the day of our arrival, which if things didn't go the way of the people, could end in some serious protests and unrest. Actually, even before the election there were some pretty intense protests happening in Bangkok that were making the daily news all over the world. A few days before heading to Thailand, we concluded that it would be in our best interest to skip over Bangkok and just spend the extra time in Chiang Mai. So, this is where my two weeks in Thailand (AKA - "Paradise") begins.

Chiang Mai is an amazing city. I experienced some crazy bucket list moments while I was visiting here. The two things everyone kept insisting I do while in Thailand was to see the elephants and to take some time to soak up the sun on one of the many, many, many beautiful beaches. In addition to those two activities, I wanted to see and cuddle with my all-time favourite animal: the tiger, to eat all of the curry, and try authentic pad thai, to take a Thai cooking class, and to try NOT to get a sunburn all the while. Well, I succeeded at all of those items...except the sunburn. Oh, the sunburn I got. But I'll get to that later.

The day we spent with the tigers was so surreal. I LOVE tigers. They are so regal and majestic. I think they are the most beautiful, handsome, unique animals on the planet. I had heard that there were places in Thailand where you could get in a cage with a tiger and pet them. I did some research and learned that many of these places in Thailand treat the animals badly, and they are often chained up and given a sedative to keep them calm. As much as I wanted to be that close to a tiger, I couldn't enjoy it knowing that they were being treated that way. However, I got some great advice from other fellow travelers about a place called Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai. They don't believe in drugging their tigers, and they don't tie them up in chains. I was sold! We paid the price to visit the babies, the small tigers, and then the big tigers.

We visited the babies first. They were the cutest! We were slightly disappointed though because while we were in the cage all set to play with the tigers, all they wanted to do was sleep! Prior to entering the cage, we watched from outside and saw others playing and getting pounced on by these playful creatures. They couldn't get them to sit still long enough for anyone to even get a picture with them. All they wanted to do was play. However many minutes later (probably close to 30/45), we entered for our turn and it was like someone clapped their hands and the tigers conked out. Zzzzz! Nothing. But, we petted them and got our pictures taken anyways, and then moved on to the small tigers.

My favourite and most anticipated visit though was with the big tigers. The papas. The full grown grandaddies! Oh man, they were beautiful. Upon my first pet, I got all teary eyed and could have cried. I don't know why, but all of the emotions just poured over me. I held it together though and took in every minute of my 15 I had with these animals. PS - tigers love getting their bellies rubbed! Pet and cuddle with a tiger: check!

The next biggest thing I needed/wanted to experience and accomplish during my week in Chiang Mai was to pet, bathe, and ride an elephant. Travel tip #1 for all of you wanting to go to Thailand and plan to spend some time with elephant friends: book in advanced. We had a moment of panic when we went to book our day trip with the elephants through the hostel we were staying at. While we were in Vietnam, we got a great tip from some of our new friends we had made to use a specific adventure company for our day with the elephants. We would ride bareback, the mahouts (trainers) were extremely nice, we got to bathe and swim with the elephants, and the price was right. However, we tried that company and there was no space. Neither was there space with the next company we tried. Nor the next one. Eventually, it got to the point where we had to call any and all companies just to find out if they had enough room for three people to spend the day. We ended up with a company named Chang Siam. And we definitely lucked out!

What better way to spend a day in Thailand than with some beautiful elephant friends. We learned their names, had lots of time to interact with them in the sanctuary and feed them bananas. We spent a large part of the time with the momma elephant and her baby who was about a year old. They were adorable, and the baby was so curious and playful. There was one point where one of the mahouts was rolling around on the ground with the baby wrestling and playing. Even though it was a baby elephant, I can't imagine having him lay on top of me at a whopping 300lbs. After spending the morning interacting with the elephants, we had a wonderful lunch of curry, rice and fresh fruit. Then we were set and anxious to take our ride through the jungle and to the lake where we would bathe and swim with the elephants. However, as we waited and paced and began to get worried that they had forgotten about us, we learned that there was a funeral across the field in which we had to wait for to end. You see, in Asia the locals love their fireworks displays. Fireworks are shot off for every and all occasions: birthdays, weddings, funerals, because it's a Wednesday. It's not uncommon in my little village in Beijing to be woken up on a Saturday morning at 6:30am to the bangs and bursts of fireworks on the other side of the gate. It makes me happy that they are so attached to these magical and happy displays, but at 6:30am...really? Anyways, this funeral would most definitely feature fireworks and they would startle the elephants. I was okay waiting for the ceremony to end as I DID NOT want to be on an elephant when it happened to get startled. Nope, that's okay. As we waited, our mahout asked us if we wanted to go to watch the funeral. Some people agreed immediately, but I stayed back and was hesitant. I didn't want to intrude and I thought it would be awkward to have a bunch of westerners gawking at this funeral we had no connection to. But as more and more people wandered towards the ceremony, I decided to go along. As solemn and sad as the ceremony was, at the same time it was extremely beautiful and at times sent chills down my spine. It's hard to explain in writing what I saw and experienced. But what I can express is that even though I had no connection to this young girl who had tragically passed away, the combination of the gorgeous colours of the temple, the offerings of flowers and monetary donations to monks to be passed on to the families, and the fireworks display and burning of the temple and coffin was mystical and it took my breath away. It does now as I write about it. What an interesting experience to see how someone is laid to rest in a different culture. And how different it was.

As we walked away from the funeral towards to the elephants, I was worried as to how I was going to enjoy this adventure now that I had just attended such a sad and solemn ceremony. But, as we got on the elephants and they began to play and trek through the jungle, I was in awe that I was actually having this experience. To have been so immersed in the nature and to be interacting and creating a bond with my elephant (who happened to be the Momma that I wrote about earlier), I got choked up and once again had my breath taken away at the experience I was having. It all felt so surreal. They were the exact same emotions I was having when I fulfilled my dream of interacting with the tigers. I think the pictures will speak louder than these words that I type...

The last week of our four week adventure was spent on the island of Phuket in Thailand. We specifically planned this part of our vacation for the very end for a reason: the only thing we really intended to do was to bum around on the beach for an entire week. To relax, to put our feet up, and enjoy the sun before coming back to Beijing and getting back to work. To breath. And that's exactly what we did.

Phuket is beautiful. The water is so clear with beautiful colours of blue and green. The sky is as clear as glass, and you could see for miles. A nice change from the smoggy winter days in Beijing. It was extremely hot, too (not complaining!). And of course, my fair-skinned ginger self got sunburnt quite badly despite 4 layers of sunscreen. Chinese sunscreen though. Very unreliable. I spent one day in the hotel room sponging myself with cold water and staying under the air conditioning and out of the sun. However, regardless of that day in the hotel, the week in Phuket was probably one of the most relaxing weeks I've had in as long as I can remember. Take me back?

I have completely fallen in love with Thailand. HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE, guys! It is the most beautiful place I have ever been and I'd jump at the opportunity to go back. There is so much I haven't explored. And in all honesty, I'd go back just for the food. Curry, pad thai, sticky rice and mango, spring rolls, curry, Tom Yam soup, more pad thai, and more curry. Drooling.

Thank you for the memories, Thailand!

A Saturday at the Park.

This weekend was one of those relaxing Beijing weekends. One of those weekends where it felt like I actually lived in this place and wasn't just a visitor or tourist. It felt routine and kinda like home. 

It sort of reminded me of some of my favourite weekends while I was living in Calgary. Waking up on a Saturday, grabbing a coffee, and spending the day outside reading/running/exploring in some of my favourite parks. This weekend, I checked out Yuyuantan Park in the western part of Beijing. My friend Amanda "went" to this park last year. I use the term "went" lightly because she didn't actually go INSIDE the park, but spent her day outside the park frolicking in the lilacs. Unknowingly. Until going home and talking to her boyfriend, she really thought she was in the park the whole time. So cute. And innocent. I remember Amanda telling me this story vividly over a Skype date last year, so I was really excited to go with her this year. 

We drank wine, we played cards, we ate so much food, and we napped. The sun wasn't really shining brightly as there was the usual light layer of smog covering the sky in Beijing that Saturday. But it was still a nice spring day, and I wore a dress, and I felt refreshed. I breathed easy. We honestly didn't really explore or walk around the park that much. We found a perch and we just sat and relaxed and laughed. 

Honestly, the park was kind of grey and worn down. Probably because of China air and because of all the people trampling around. And it definitely wasn't quiet between the karaoke beside us and the people everywhere. But it was nice to see different sights. And drinking wine in a park is just fun all on its own! It felt routine, and it felt like Canada...but then a Chinese family would run up to us and ask us to have a picture with them and I would quickly snap back to reality and remind myself that I'm the minority in this country. I'm a walking tourist attraction somedays. I stick out like a sore thumb. Someday, I want to run up to them and do the same...but I think the thought of it is more funny in my head then it would be in reality. Right? 

86.

I think I'm one of those people who gets homesick the closer it gets to actually going home. 

Summer plans are starting to be made, countdowns are on, and the excitement is building. 

But I have a feeling that the next 86 days are going to CRAWL by. 

Are we there yet?

PS - I'm okay! Between sentimental gestures from family and friends this weekend, to making plans for my time at home this summer, I'm just having one of those weekends. It's okay to miss home, sometimes...

...and breath. 

Happy 27th Anniversary, Mom & Dad!

Today is my Mom and Dad's 27th Wedding Anniversary. Now, technically their anniversary has almost come to end here in China where I am living. But it is only just beginning in Canada. I've written on this blog before about how incredible and amazing my parents are. On their 25th anniversary, I wrote 25 things that I love about them that make them the best support system ever (if you need reminding, check it out here) and all of those amazing things still apply today. 

They still continue to support every single one of my decisions - even moving to the other side of the world. 

When something good happens at work or in my life, they are two of the first people I always tell. It's their support in so many ways that has let me experience these worldly things and accomplishments. They deserve to know their hard work has paid off. 

And everyday, I am thankful to have been gifted with two of the most amazing, hard working, kind hearted, supportive, loving, incredibly generous, and beautiful parents anyone could ever have. They provide for me in so many ways. They are an amazing example for me as to what a loving, supportive, honest, and committed relationship is. And for that, I want to say thank you!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. I love you, always and forever. 

Enjoy your day. And see you in 94 of them. 

xo