Taipei Night Market

The small night market.....apparently there is a much bigger one. Although, this one has lots of shrimp fishing and saucy mystery meat in pots. What more can there be?







Can you tell I am seeing little girls everywhere I look?

Din Tai Fung

The food here in Taipei is outstanding. Chris says that it is "how Chinese food in China ought to be prepared." On Sunday, my peeps and I went to the original Din Tai Fung, which is a famous dumpling house. I cannot, unfortunately, share the food with you. But I do have some pictures.

Here is a shot of everyone waiting outside for their turn to eat.



You order in advance, while you wait, so the food gets delivered almost immediately after you sit down.




When your number is called, you pass your order sheet to the hotstess and then climb up the stairs to your floor and tables. Then come the dumplings and the veggies and the soups....yum.

Battered and Bruised

I am in Taipei for nine days or so. Today was my one weekend day, and a friend and I checked out a spa nearby the hotel for a little sauna and massage action. It all started well, with a nice shower and steam room, followed by some lounging around in a comfortable chair with healthy snacks and a Vogue. There was a lot of nudity, which kind of weirded little ol' American-me out a bit. It was a women's only spa, and they all jumped in the communal baths naked as jaybirds.

But I digress. This story is about the Chinese-style massage, the one that made me almost cry for 90 minutes straight. The massage that hit every single nerve in my entire body. The one where I had to ask a "little" less pressure THREE times.

I should have known better. Chinese massages in China are rough affairs, so I avoid them in Shanghai and Beijing. I was thinking maybe they would be a little westernized here in Taipei. But no. Amber, the masseuse, even took great pride in telling me that she studied for two years in China.

Just for the record, I am not a baby. I like strong massages, unlike my husband. His perfect massage would involve no pressure at all, only a feather. But this - this was a sumo wrestler on steroids. I hurt way more now than I did going into the spa. At least I won't get breast cancer now, though. That's what Amber told me, anyway.

Patchwork Cube!

The fabulous J sent me an email with a picture of the patchwork cube she made with my tutorial. It is precious, so I asked her if I could share it here.


Don't you love the colors? And that is a very cute baby lurking in the corner.

J - Thanks for sharing. You made my day!

Four Seasons, How Do I Love Thee?

When I show up to check in and realize that I left my passport in a bathroom stall in the Hong Kong airport an hour ago, you call your guy at the terminal and he finds it for me in ten minutes.

Four Seasons, I love you.

I will never, ever stay anywhere else again.

Here We Go Again

I have alluded before to certain conversations that Chris and I have been having with the leadership of our church in Beijing. Most of those discussions have centered on the issue of women's role in leadership. We are decidedly egalitarians, while many people in our church are more complementarians – namely people who believe that men and women hold different and complementary roles. Simply put, they believe that women cannot teach men in church. To date, these discussions on leadership and teaching have resulted in more or less of a detente, in which we all recognize that 1) everyone disagrees and 2) the issue has not been decided in a formal, public manner.

This past week, however, the egalitarian vs. complementation debate raised its head again in a slightly different way. The guest speaker at our service spoke on Ephesians 5:22 to 25. His approach was decidedly complementarian, with a central argument that happy marriages are those in which women submit to their husbands, and husbands sacrifice themselves for their wives. My reaction is as follows: the true depth and meaning of Paul's passage cannot be fully understood by simply isolating these three verses and reading them in English. Obviously, these words were originally written in Greek, so English translations may lose or distort some of the original intent. They were also part of a larger message Paul was trying to convey to followers of the Way in Ephesus.

Before I begin, let me say that a while host of bible scholars have written excellent discourses on this particular passage that will put my writing to shame. I am most certainly not an expert, but I do bring the topic up because we HAVE to talk about this. So please, if you have any interest in this issue, I implore you to go read the experts. I will list a bibliography of links and references at the end of this blog entry.

The Passage in Question: Ephesians 5:22 to 25

Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. NIV

Note that I have bolded one English word in this passage: head. In ancient Greek, this word is written as “kephale.” Kephale deserves special attention in the examination of this particular passage.

Several authors, most notably Kreoger and Fee, have established that kephale is probably best interpreted as origin and source, not as ruler. A nice summary of the literature is presented here. This interpretation allows for us to see that Paul is not arguing for hierarchical ordering within families. Male is the source of female, just as God is the source of man. Men and husbands are not "ordered" above women and wives. To further quote Paul: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28, NIV)

Grammatical Structure

It is really important to note that verse 22 is not a complete, stand-alone sentence at all (Fee 2002). In the original, this phrase is part of a longer sentence which begins with verse 18 and ends with verse 25. The NIV, which I quoted above, erroneously inserts a header entitled “Wives and Husbands” after verse 22. This breaks up the second part of the sentence from the first, and incorrectly separates the command given to women from the command expressed in verse 21, which is “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (emphasis added).

Paul is admonishing all members of the church community, male and female, to submit to one another in mutuality. Immediately after that, in the same sentence, he reiterates the point to wives. So the directive to wives comes as no surprise; Paul is restating a directive sent to the entire congregation – Submit to one another, even at home!

The next portion of the passage – really verses 25 to 33 – go much further in directing the husband. In effect, Paul is saying not only do you, men, have to engage in mutual submission at church (verse 22), but you must go even further at home. You must love your wife as your own body, as Christ does the church. You must love her so much that you will sacrifice everything for her, die for her. That must have been a surprising directive in a Roman society where men reigned supreme over women in all areas of social life.

The Passage in Context

One of the best discussions of the Roman social context for this passage that I have read to date is in Craig S. Keener's Paul, Women & Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul, specifically in the chapter entitled “The Social Situation of Ephesians 5:18-33.” Keener very clearly summarizes the Artistolean foundations of the existing social hierarchy, which emphasized the male as dominant over female. He also makes a great point about the xenophobic fears in Roman society of foreign cults.

Keener's argument is that Paul is encouraging women to be respectful of their husbands, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it is socially expected. To behave otherwise could jeopardize the status of the followers of Christ in the eyes of the greater community. Paul “emphasized the wife's submission because it was an essential part of her witness in that culture” (p148).

In spite of all of this, however, Paul is not arguing that Christian women be subjugated under the authoritarian rule of their husbands as would be expected in contemporaneous Roman society. Keener concludes this particular chapter as follows.

A brief examination of Ephesians 5:21-3...places her submission squarely in the context of mutual submission, and qualifies her husband's position of authority as one of loving service. (Ibid)

Summary

When I was younger, I avoided this particular passage as I ignorantly thought that it was admonishing women to place themselves in subjugation to their husbands. I have been delighted to find that, contrary to my initial reading in English, Paul's writing in this passage is strikingly egalitarian. He calls men and women to mutual submission at home and in the church community. Most notably, he further calls husbands to sacrifice all that they are and have for their wife. I am not angered by this passage; I am empowered.

References Worth Reading

Keener, Craig S. Paul, Women & Wives: Marriage and Women’s Ministry in the Letters of Paul. Hendrickson Publishers: Massachusetts. 1992.

Malone, Mary T. Women and Christianity: The First Thousand Years. Orbis Books: New York. 2001.

English Bibles Blog

Christians for Biblical Equity
- Fee article on Ephesians 5:18-33
- Johnson article on Christian submission
- Kreoger article on "Kephale"

http://www.geocities.com/equalitycentral/writings/6questions.html

http://www.geocities.com/about_biblical_equality/frameset_pages/eph523.html

Grapefruit

I finished my painting last week, the one for my friends who are running a foster home in Beijing. I actually like the way it turned out. All of the Chinese who see it, though, just don't get it.


You see, the three characters in the upper right are Pu Tao You, which mean grapefruit. This was a collaboration, actually. Chris learned how to write these particular characters from his Chinese teacher, and then he taught them to me.

I thought the abstract fruit painting matched nicely with the simple declaration of being. Chris says that I should do a series for the kitchen. You know - apple, grape, etc. The thought of that makes me smile.

I also was interested in experimenting with how Chinese characters can be used in modern art: in oil and as part of an abstract composition. Most traditional Chinese art incorporates characters too, but it is normally done in a water-based ink with very methodical brush strokes. The characters usually spell out a poem that relates to the scene. The work here is a kind of poem too - albeit a very brief and obvious poem.

When our ayi saw the painting with the characters, she said: "well, it WAS a nice painting." Chris showed it to his Chinese teacher, and she said: "Why would you do that?"

But I like it.

And the Winner Is...

Stuckinanofficeinnyc - Congratulations! You have won the little Waldorf dolly. I am not sure how to contact you though, as you posted the comment anonymously. So please send me an email with an address. I'll be sure to send her right away.

Thanks very much everyone for playing along! I really enjoyed reading your comments.


And Chris, don't worry. I did a fair drawing.

A Mini Celebration

Today is a special day. Not only is it my 100th blog post, but it is also the 200th day since our log-in-date (LID) with the CCAA. Since we are on the expedited path for receiving a referral, that means we are more than halfway to meeting our daughter. In celebration of these two small milestones, I am holding a mini* drawing.

If you leave a comment on this post, then I will enter your name into a drawing for this little one.


She is a four inch Waldorf-style doll made from a pattern in Maricristin Sealy's Making Waldorf Dolls. She is a poseable dollhouse doll, so she can sit,



stand and even do cartwheels.



Well, she needs some help with the cartwheels.

Her dress is made from a Liberty lawn fabric. And she has some CRAZY hair.

Shipping is on me. All you have to do is say hello for a chance to take her home!

*Pun intended. Har Har.

Apparently I Didn't Get the Memo

One of my neighbors seemed to be throwing a house warming party this afternoon. That is my guess anyway, as people were walking up with big plants in their arms. As I passed the arriving people and rounded the corner to get to my house, I saw five black Mercedes Benzes lined up in a row. It cracked me up.


For the record, this is my weekend ride. And I love it.

Rag Doll Tutorial

Materials

Body fabric* - 0.5 yard
Embroidery floss for face – black and red
Needle and thread
Yarn for hair
Stuffing
Pattern

* For the example doll shown here, I used plain muslin which was dyed overnight in coffee.

Directions

1) Cut out all doll pattern pieces from body fabric.

2) Sew two arms and two legs together with right sides facing using 0.25 inch seam allowances.


Clip curves, trim, turn and press.


Stuff arms and legs lightly


and place aside.


3) Sew doll torso piece to head two times, right sides together. Press seam down toward torso.



4) Baste arms and legs to the right side of one of the new body pieces. These pieces should be sewn facing inward. When the doll is turned and stuffed, the arms and legs will stick out from the body.



5) Once the arms and legs are basted into position, place the second body piece on the first, right sides facing. The arms will be enclosed within the two body pieces, but the legs should hang out of the bottom. Sew around the body from the lower left corner (next to the left leg) to the lower right corner (next to the right leg).


6) Clip curves, trim and turn. Stuff body.


7) Sew doll bottom closed either by hand or by machine.


8) Use embroidery thread to make eyes and mouth.

9) Add yarn for hair.

Remember, rag dolls are not supposed to be perfect. They are better if they are a little wonky. Made with love.

That's all for this tutorial. I think I'll do a separate post on hair one of these days.

If you make a baby, please show me! I would be so excited to see her or him.

Doll Dress Tutorial

Let's start with a little tutorial for the dress that is included in the Rag Doll Pattern.

Materials

Dress fabric* - 0.25 yard
Needle and thread
Snaps or buttons

*Note that quilting cottons, linen or other light fabrics will be easiest. Heavier fabrics, like denim or corduroy will likely be difficult (or impossible) to turn at the shoulders.

Instructions


1) Cut out bodice pattern pieces from dress fabric.


2) Cut out an additional piece of fabric measuring 8 by 30 inches.

3) Sew bodice front to back at shoulders.


Press seams flat. You will have two bodice pieces. One piece will be the outer top and the other will be the lining.



4) Placing right sides of the two bodice pieces together, sew around neckline and down the two bodice back edges. I am using a contrasting color thread for illustration.


5) Sew left and right armholes.


6) Clip curves and corners, turn and press. When you turn, you are primarily pulling the bodice structure inside out, which involves pulling a lot of fabric through the narrow shoulder opening. You may want to use some tweezers to gently nudge it through. Again, using a lighter, thinner fabric helps this process.


7) Sew sides together. This is the last step to complete the bodice top. If you have never done this before, then take a moment to look at the remaining edges before you start sewing. You will basically start with the two ends of an armhole (sewn in step
5). Open up both sides, with the seam in the middle, and then bring them together - right sides facing - and sew straight across. Turn and press.



8) Prepare skirt. Fold and press 0.5 inches on one long side of the rectangular piece of fabric. Fold and press the same amount again. Topstitch over fold.


9) Sew the two short sides of the rectangle together, right sides facing, from the hemmed edge (step 8) to approximately 2.5 inches from the top edge (the un-hemmed long side). Press seam open and continue pressing up through the 2.5 inches of the unsewn area. If you like, you can cut a bias strip and sew it to the skirt opening. If you have never done this before or are feeling lazy, you can instead top stitch down over both sides of the skirt opening folds.



10) Run long gathering stitches along the unfinished (top) side of the rectangle. Typically, two gathering lines are run in case the first one breaks while adjusting. Run one 0.5 inches from the side and the second 1 inch from the side. If you have lots of experience, you can get away with one line. Pull gathering threads.

11) Align the bottom of the outer bodice to the gathered skirt, right sides facing. Pin, baste and then sew. This pattern is drafted with a large allowance on the bodice for attaching the skirt. Your final seam should be stitched 1.5 inches from the edge. If you prefer a narrower edge, just trim 1 inch from the bottom of the bodice and the top of the skirt and then use a 0.5 inch seam allowance. Once your skirt is attached, go back and trim the excess fabric.


12) Attach lining to skirt seam by hand. Topstitch if desired.




13) Finish the back of the dress with buttons, snaps or Velcro.

Rag Doll Pattern

This spring, I taught a doll making workshop here in Beijing. At the time, I couldn't find a free pattern to use that was really built for beginners. So, I developed my own. If you are looking for a basic rag doll pattern, feel free to download and use mine. Over the next week, I will put up two tutorials based on this pattern: one for the doll body and one for the dress. All of the instructions are in the pattern, though, so get started right away if you like.

This is Tiddlywinks. My husband made her in the workshop from the pattern. I think she is fabulous, especially with her luscious green hair.


The basic rag doll pattern also comes with a drop-waisted sundress pattern, as modeled by Miss Tiddly below.


When she is not modeling, however, Miss Tiddly likes to change into her overalls and relax.


Sometimes I wonder about Miss Tiddly, though. She keeps trying to snuggle up to my husband. Not sure if I trust her completely.

My Story - Part II

Last year, I was at a wedding in Shanghai. My colleague (and fellow US expat friend) and I were talking about our upcoming adoption. Another colleague of mine (Chinese) overheard, and she seemed quite shocked that we were adopting. She blinked for a second and then said "Well, in China people think that if you adopt, you must be sick." I think she meant sick as in "infertile," but it sounded pretty harsh nonetheless. Now I really love this particular colleague, so I know that she in no way meant to be mean or rude. She is Chinese, however, and that is a normal response here to the idea of adoption.

For the record, Chris and I are not infertile (that we know of anyway). If we are, then we have spent a lot of wasted time and effort on avoiding pregnancy to date. For us, adoption is a choice, one that I have felt sure of for many years - since I was a teenager at least. There are so many kids in the world needing families. We have a warm home, loving family and enough resources to feed and educate. It seems - to me anyway - an obvious choice.

Now that I am older, I know that it is not nearly as simple as that. I have read books on the difficulties inherent in trans-racial adoption. I listen to people raising children in China and in the United States, and I hear of their struggles with racism and insensitivity in their community. Life is not easy. But even after knowing more about the potential challenges to come, I still feel that this is the right path for our family at this time.

What has surprised me most about this process is the vast numbers of people - American, Chinese, others - who seem genuinely disturbed by our choice. I cannot tell you how many times we have been at a dinner where the subject has turned to adoption and the person across the table has leaned in and said - "but you know, you really should have one of your 'own' too." Chris will tell you that there is just about nothing else in this world that will get me more incensed than that comment. Because I do not believe that our child will be any less our "own" than one that happened to pop out of my uterus. Because I believe that nurture and environment can work wonders in the life of a child. Because our child will be fabulous, not in any way deficient because she doesn't have my eyes.

We may decide to have a genetic child too. We may not. But our soon to be adopted child - who is in this world somewhere as we speak - is our daughter. And she has been wanted and loved for an incredibly long time. May God keep her safe as we wait for each other.

Bad News Bears

I was all excited about packaging up my blanket this week. I tossed it in the wash in preparation, as I have done many times before with these blankets, then took it out to put in the dryer. And then I noticed new, funny little bumps all over the blanket. Weird, I thought. Well, it should straighten out in the dryer.

Hmmm no. It seems that I forgot that our new super duper washer was bought for the express purpose of boiling diapers. And that it is normally set to wash on warm-hot. Which is not so good for cotton chenille. Some threads shrunk in and tightened the weave, but some pieces were left out of the action. They now stick out all over both sides of the blanket like spines on a calcium deficient porcupine.


Long story -> short: I ruined my blanket. The one for poor AIDS babies in Africa. The one that needs to be in the US by June 15. The one that took a month to make.

Before it looked like a calm oasis of cotton, now it looks like a cat scratching pad. For a while, I tried to convince myself that it would be OK if I just wove in all of the ends sticking out back into the blanket, but as you would expect, it didn't really work.


For some reason, I am pretty zen about the experience. After all, it was my own damn fault. I even started a new blanket in hopes of finishing by the deadline. But in the deep recesses of my mind, I know that is just wishful thinking.

*Sigh*