China - window on the world

Once in a lifetime something happens that changes you, something happens that changes your outlook on life, that changes how you relate to people, to yourself, to one another.

Having been privileged to have the opportunity to travel to China, thanks to your donations, a window opened and I saw with my eyes, felt with my heart and touched by the warmth, generosity, charm, courtesy and spirit of the Chinese people....

From people in the TianTan park ( Park of heavenly peace) at 7am in the morning doing Tai chi, to the Mongolian Wall seller, to the man at the corner shop, to the waiter, to the bicycle repair man on the street, to everyone we met, there shone through the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people.

A blaze of colour, reds and yellows, swept through the countryside, an order, a chaos, a cacophony, a silence, a beauty, a shyness, a fierceness, a tenderness, an unfamiliarity, a friendliness. One stranger meets another.

I dived into China, at the deep end. (I can't swim) I came up gasping for air. I struggled to the side and a stranger said , " you are my brothers and sisters'.

.... to be continued...