Moments with Matcha - The Naming

We are the worst at picking names.  Think about it, our cat in Moscow was Koshka or cat in Russian.  The cat we got in Taipei is Mao, or cat in Chinese.  Mao was also a controversial dictator whom our cat actually believes she was named after and she is doing everything she can to live up to the name.  We should have just gone with Hitler.

As soon as we decided to get a dog and narrowed down the breed, we began to ask, "what will we name her?"  We needed a head start.  Lot's of time was spent at the dinner table discussing names.  I laid on Elena's bed brainstorming good ideas with her.  

What cities do we love?  St. Petersburg - St. Pete is a great name!  Wellington - Welly!  Luca - LuLu!

I looked through lists online of dog names - There were no contenders there.  

Do we have favorite literary characters?  Anne - no human names.  Sherlock - too trendy.

Spanish words kept popping up - Chica, Ita?  

I thought that when we got our little dog we would be inspired in unison and a name would quickly settle upon us.  Nope.  We struggled.  She is cute with bright blue eyes and a floppy ear.  Patches of black and grey spot her coat.  She has a sweet personality and is loyal and trusting, but nothing seemed right.  The doc. commented that she looked like an opossum.  Mrs. Possum?  Pogo?  Other people commented that she has a pig-look about her - Wilbur?

We sort of wanted an Asian sounding name like Xiao long bao (dumplings), but that really doesn't roll off the tongue.

One night Elena said "That's it!  Tomorrow we have to have a name!"  I don't know, Puppy and Baby were working just fine for me.  We narrowed it down to Pogo (a possum in an old comic strip) and Matcha.

Back and forth we went.  We actually decided upon Pogo, but that only lasted a day.  None of us had ever seen the comic so there was just no sentimental association.  In the end, Matcha stuck.

What is Matcha?  It's a special green tea ground into a very fine green powder.  Think lime green.  Here in Taiwan there seem to be two favorite flavors of desserts - red bean paste (a name considered that just seemed rather clunky when calling a dog) and matcha.  Matcha is bitter and something that constantly surprises us.  Matcha donuts?  Matcha frosting?  Matcha frappuccinos (yes, it's really a Starbucks thing here)?

When we're out an about with our puppy, strangers want to pet her and inevitably ask her name.  Matcha?  Why did you name her green tea?  Even here at work, the locals just don't get the name.  And I get it.  If a foreigner got a dog in London and named it High Tea at Noon, it would make no sense to an English speaker.  But this name achieves everything we wanted.  It's cute and two syllables.  It's unique and most importantly, the name Matcha brings our family's memories right back here to Taiwan. This is where she's from and she's part of a great package of the moments that make these years unique and special.

Moments with Matcha

The house has taken on a rather flat, silent routine.  We work and go to school during the day and at night my daughter studies, the doc reads and I tidy up.  It's a comforting routine, but lacking the spark that Carbon brought to our home.  

Because I'm the one who's not keen on animals, I broke the ice and commented that maybe we should get a dog again.  Within a matter of hours, research had been done and the search had begun.  With a little (or a lot) of help from the nurses, litters of puppies were found down in Kaohsiung.  The timing was right, it was the beginning of the Chinese New Year holiday, so we had a bit of extra time to devote to the dog search and find.  

We decided on a Border Collie.  Not too big, but big enough to run with us and hopefully be a bit of a deterrent as we wander around foreign cities that become our home.  Because this breeder had litters to choose from, born every four weeks, we knew it was going to be more of a puppy mill.  I've always wondered exactly what a puppy mill is.  People talk about them with such distaste.  Now I know.  

We took the MRT to the end of the line then got in a taxi to a medium sized property in a remote neighborhood.  The driver stopped and asked several neighbors where the house was.  I never understand what's going on in these conversations.  Isn't it rather simple?  "Where's the house that has all the dogs?"  Yet we drove back and forth between a stretch of about five houses, with long conversations along the way.  We finally arrived at the correct house - the one with all the empty dog cages in the driveway - duh.  

I felt at ease because there was no dog stench in the air and I couldn't hear any dogs.  Then the owner walked through the door and a secluded courtyard where the adult dogs were.  He greeted us and pulled out a computer.  No English was spoken, we just waved our hands a lot.  He opened the screen and began scrolling through puppies.  We picked some numbers next to the photos.  We had no clue what we were doing.  He disappeared back through the mesh covered gate.  The dogs began barking. How did the neighbors not know this place existed?  We were not in the country, these were like 1/2 acre lots with large cement homes.  I took this opportunity to peek through the mesh.  Inside the courtyard were 25-30 adult dogs.  They didn't look unhealthy, maybe they needed a bath, but it wasn't awful.  It was clean in there too.  That counts for a lot in my book - the whole "cleanliness is next to godliness" thing.  

The owner reappeared with laundry baskets full of puppies ranging from 1 week to 16 weeks old.  We picked them up and cuddled them.  We watched them to see how they interacted.  Truth be told, my  favorite was the male who walked all over everyone else, and pulled himself up the sides of the crate.  He was an ambitious climber, full of energy.  He had so much personality!  There was a cute one with  a patch of black on one eye.  In the end, we decided on a 6 week old little girl.  We missed the tiny puppy stage with Carbon.  He was 5 1/2 months old when we got him.  We decided a girl would be smaller, thus better for all the moving we do and she was cuddly and quiet - what we need for apartment living.

Her first day with us was rather traumatic I think.  We put her in our cat carrier, took a taxi to the MRT, then the MRT back into Kaohsiung.  I gathered her in my arms and carried her through the city.  The doc. warned me of every curb and bump.  He held my elbow at moments to be sure I didn't stumble.  We had dumplings for lunch then got the train back to Taipei.  Settled back in our apartment, we are a mom and a dad again.  We are looking forward to this next gig!  Welcome to our home little girl.

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

Why do I think it's going to work out getting my hair done by someone who doesn't speak English?  I do this to myself all the time!  Why do I tempt fate?  When will I learn?  I typically take a picture into a salon and then sit there while they do their thing to my hair, fiddling my thumbs and worrying about what's happening.  Typically I walk out a bit disappointed, but able to deal with the cut and color.  The next time I try a different salon.  Yeah, I ask around and try other places that people like but I'm never completely happy with the results.  It takes me at least a year in a country to half-heartedly settle on a place.  Why can't I just bring my stylist from Hudsonville with me?  I've never left her chair unhappy!

My hair has been past the point of needing freshening up for awhile now.  With no trip home in sight to get a proper job done, I made an appointment at a nearby salon I knew others had used.  I walked in with a photo of the color I wanted.  I even picked a famous person thinking maybe a little background in this celebrity's hair history would be helpful.  The stylist glanced at the photo and began mixing chemicals.  I immediately got an uneasy feeling.  How could she know what I wanted with a simple glance?  Wasn't she going to attempt to verify what I wanted?  Two people worked on my hair, folding foil in place and brushing on white goop.  More solution was put on my scalp than I've every had before.  I shifted uncomfortably as the assistant continued to dab at my part with her dripping brush.  The stylist opened a foil, stared for a moment then ran into the backroom.  She returned with her phone in hand and a triumphant smile on her face, and showed me a picture of a color that was silvery white.  You know, the color where all color has been removed then a silvery grey has been added?  It might be fine for the runway, but not for my everyday, mundane life.  Through gasps of astonishment I told here that there was not any dark in the photo and I need dark - like the photo I had shown her.  I felt a mess settling on my head.  She called over another stylist who spoke better English.  No questions asked, he just told me that if I wanted brown in my hair, it would have to be the next time I made an appointment with them.  In other words, my crowing glory was past the point of no return.

The stylist continued to work on my head with a smile on her face.  She kept exclaiming how beautiful this color was, how this was exactly what she had envisioned.  Wait!  What happened to the picture I showed her?  She didn't have to walk around town and go to the grocery store and work and church with this head of hair!  I did!  What about me and what I want?  I don't have the personality or wardrobe to pull off this urban look!

She began to pull the foils off.  It was all I could do to keep breathing as I stared in the mirror at my light bulb of a head.  She was over the top happy - I was not.  I held it together as she started snipping away.  I have to give her credit here - she did a fabulous trim, not too short and something I could manage.  My hair got lighter in color as she blew it dry.

When she asked me how I liked it, I was honest and told her  I didn't.  This is a big cultural faux pas.  You lie to save face here in Taiwan.  You don't hurt any one's feelings.  This may be why when I told her it wasn't dark enough earlier, she didn't believe me.  She finally relented and told me I could return and she would add some dark for free.  She made it very clear that if I wanted my hair washed, I would have to pay for it.  Customer service is a bit different here.  Rather than make an appointment right away, I decided to wait and get a bit of feedback.  Honestly, I wouldn't know how to tell her to fix it and I really don't trust her judgment at this point.

I made it home, had a good cry and began considering how I could get this to work.  Was there anyway this could be fun and doable for a few months?  My hair was so dried out that I didn't need to wash it for a few days which gave me a bit of time to mull this problem over and get some input from friends.  Vintage kept coming to mind.  I love how the victory rolls from the 40's have made a bit of an appearance in hair fashion.  Someone also mentioned to check out Gwen Stefani's hairstyles.  I found that she did an amazing victory roll and contrasted her bleached hair with bright lipstick.

I began playing around and each day I'm trying a new style.  I'm mixing up my wardrobe and have changed my makeup a bit.  It's fun!  Things were really getting in a rut and this certainly has shaken them up!  When I left that shop, I thought I had a disaster on my hands - lemons.  It turns out, I've been enjoying stretching myself - lemonade!

Wherever You Go

Missions tends to "look" a certain way.  You pick a platform, raise money and move to another country to tell people about Jesus.  But if you are a Christian, it shouldn't matter where you live.  You should be intentionally living your life for God.  Hannah uses her own experience of moving to China and having a job where she intentionally lives out her faith in every day circumstances with those around her to develop this story.  

In this book, she created two characters who moved to China to immerse themselves in the culture and language.  Through an email relationship, they encourage one another in the everyday aspects of living as a foreigner.  One character moved to China in response to direction from God and the other  for work experience.  

Hannah does a good job of weaving true to life situations and challenges into the conversation, theological ideas on missions and aspects of being a single, especially a female, Christian into the story.  

The Art of Joyful Living, Pt. 5

It is important to remember that not every minute in the day, week or month is designed to be a "mountaintop high" moment.  Sometimes there are seasons in life where monotony is the status quo.  This describes my summer.  The kids were home.  We all woke-up in the morning and found a good routine for getting ready for the day.  All five of us worked - day in and day out.  After work we came home, prepared dinner and hung-out for the evening until we went to bed simply to do it all over again the next day.  It was hot, so we stayed in our apartment as much as possible.  Weekends presented a bit of diversity, we would visit a night market, go to the beach or explore town.  Weekends were also our time to go grocery shopping, catch up on laundry and grab a nap if possible.  And this was ok.  There were moments of quiet, moments of laughter and the good feeling of being together.

It's easy to get caught-up in the facebook, Instagram, snapchat mindset where the best of the world is having fun, posing for selfies in front of beaches and at great restaurants.  The rest of the world is on vacation while I'm working.  But that's not the way life works.  You have a choice to make.  Am I going to follow the world and get all caught up in wanting fun every moment of the day or am I going to follow God where peace and joy are a constant even when life is mundane?  If you struggle with the need to follow social media and you find you're comparing yourself to others, I encourage you to stop and take a break.  Do a fast from social media.  After a break, you can determine if you are able to handle the world of social media.

Here are some thoughts from a photography blog I like to follow:
"We want better.  But we get them confused.  We want better photographs, so we buy better cameras. We want more interesting lives so we buy more interesting things.  We want to feel significant so we weigh in on significant issues before we listen.  We Instagram the best of ourselves in hopes that it is so, and if we can't convince ourselves, we might at least convince others.  We spend more time on Facebook and various social media, as though our days are without end.  An then to our surprise our day does end.  As does the week, the month, and where-did-the-time-go?  Our best work remains undone.  The legacy of our time not much more than a few social media impressions and half-hearted creative effort made in the margins of our lives."
David duChemin - World and Humanitarian Photographer

I'm going to close this series with some paraphrased thoughts from a friend.

The act of joyful living is to keep choosing what is right.  Even though I am anxious about the future, I put one foot in front of the other.  There are happy moments in the day, but it's the forward momentum and all the choices that keep me pushing forward that make for joyful living.

The Third Son

Set in Taiwan, this novel made the history of this country come alive.  Through the story of Saburo, I began to understand some of the history I've heard bits and pieces of.  Beginning during the Japanese occupation, through the invasion of Chiang Kai Shek and into the transition of Chinese rule, a boy, Saburo, grows up.  He meets his wife and leaves her behind to pursue a rare opportunity at University education in America.  Eventually she is able to join him and begin a new life.  Through their stories I began to understand some of the culture and historic events that have formed the people of Taiwan.

I highly recommend this book if you live in Taiwan.  You will visit sights you've seen, food you've tasted and events you've heard about will come alive.

The Art of Joyful Living, Pt. 4

This is the Day the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Make a choice to be happy.  We have separated happiness and joy.  We have taken them apart as if they are two different things.  But really, happiness is the emotion of joy overflowing into smiles, laughter and pleasure with life.  God created all things good for us to enjoy.  It's Satan who has twisted these things into sin but God created happiness for us.  Don't let Satan deceive you that happiness is bad.

Joy looks to the future with adventure and happiness.

Proverbs 31 is known as The Virtuous Woman chapter.  Adventures in life are adventures with God.  I have a feeling that a great number of people in this room know about taking a risk in life and trusting God to sustain you.  You can play it safe and have no bumps or bruises along the way, or you can throw open the door of possibility to God and let the joy of discovering His faithfulness and provision be the vehicle on your journey.

A wife of noble character who can find?

This is worth far more than rubies...

She is clothed with strength and dignity; 

she can laugh at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:10, 25

I can imagine the prophet, Samuel, writing the account of Ruth.  Possibly he sat down with Jesse, the father of King David, and listened to him tell stories of his grandmother.  Jesse probably reminisced about the grandmother he knew and the family story that had been passed down about how his grandmother came to Israel and met his grandfather, Boaz.  Samuel probably found this story fun and inspiring to record.  As he listened to Jesse, the phrase "a woman of noble character" could have run through his mind until he chose those words to write down as an everlasting description of this foreign woman who would become the great grandmother of Kind David and mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus.

The only other place in the Old Testament that we find this phrase is in Proverbs 31.  Yes!  The chapter we all turn to when we want to have a bit of guidance on the sort of women we are to be, the "Woman of Virtue" chapter.  The book of Proverbs was written by the wise King Solomon.  Ruth was Solomon's great, great grandmother.  This is so exciting, it just gives me chills!  By using this phrase that would have been familiar to the people, it's as if Solomon is saying, "You want to know what a virtuous woman is like?  Look at my great, great grandmother, Ruth."  As I read through Provers 31, I see glimpses of the girl Ruth, who earned a solid reputation in a short time in Israel.  

She brings him good, not harm, (vrs. 12) 

works with eager hands. (vas. 13)  

she gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family (vrs. 15) 

She sets about her work vigorously (vrs. 17)

She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. (vrs. 20)

Her husband is respected at the city gate (vrs. 23)

She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. (vrs. 25)

All of these phrases remind me of the girl Ruth, I have studied.  And then my favorite part.

Charm is deceptive,

and beauty is fleeting:

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

Ruth, the girl from Moab, whose husband died, who lived with her mother-in-law (who doesn't sound like an easy soul to endure), left her home, walked a very, very long way to change cultures and customs, who had every reason in the world not to laugh at the unknown future, who turned to her mother-in-law and said, your God will be my God, left all of her former religion behind, and with her whole heart, embraced the one true God.  She passed the truths of who God is down to her children, and they to their children until a king, sitting on the throne, picked up a pen and began to write about his great, great grandmother and said "This is what you want to be like."  As she grew into a woman, these characteristics grew and matured into being a solid woman of virtue.

Her children arise and call her blessed;

her husband also,

and he praises her:

Many women do noble things,

but you surpass them all.

Proverbs 31:28-29

Among all of his memories, Solomon remembered that his great, great, grandmother laughed.