This Great Work

Where to start on this unreal experience?  President Hu is the president of Waston that the joint venture is with.   He is a very, very, very wealthy man. His only grandson, Alex, got married and President Hu threw the party.  At the gala back in June, we heard they were having the reception in August (they were actually married in May) and hoped that we would be invited just so we could experience what a wedding in China would be like.   In early August, Tom came home from work with this box filled with goodies and treats.  Every employee in the Waston group got boxes.  They were gifts for all to celebrate the marriage. A few weeks later we started hearing about the wedding gift.  We still are not sure how it works, but there is a calculated amount each employee had to pay for a wedding gift. (We later learned that it isn't *required*, but if you want to remain in good standing, you do it.) Tom's calculated amount was $735.  Not kidding.  (If everyone paid the required weddin

 I will say that traffic here in Changzhou isn't nearly the scene it was in Shenzhen in 2004 when I visited.  Cars have only been part of China's traffic system for 20-30 years so 2004 was early in this era.  The roads weren't paved well, not a line painted on the street, very little order, including people walking down the middle of the road going the opposite way of traffic.  If what I saw was indicative of most places, they've come a long way in 18 years--and it's a really good thing.  However, there are still many many issues. 1) Pedestrians don't take precedence.  We've been with Wang Jian while passing people within 3 feet or so of them and he DOES NOT slow down.  (I try not to make too many squeaks of terror from the back seat, but a few do escape.)  This is very common.  Wang Jian is a *very* cautious driver compared to taxi drivers and delivery dudes.  If you are in a cross walk, you are fair game.  Proceed with great caution. Very great caution.  I

I look forward to General Conference more than a child looks forward to Christmas.  I hung my conference lights and I was able to procure a few ingredients for our traditional homemade Chex mix.  I made some homemade pretzels and we found a few American treats on Taobao to order (turns out, only a few showed up....) So we were ready for conference.   The Fruit by the Foot arrived in a See's Lollipoop box.  But as we all know, everything is different in China and this was no exception.  I was totally on board to kill my biological clock and watch it real-time.  However, our branch had regular meetings on October 2nd (no meetings on October 9th) so I knew I couldn't pull that.  I am not 15 any more, I knew it wasn't possible to do both (but trust me, I considered it).   I was up way too late on Saturday night and as I finished my prayers I realized the first session was starting in a few minutes. I couldn't help myself.  I decided to camp in Greta's room (who was up w