What are the odds

On Saturday, after arriving in Beijing. I went to Tiananmen
to find a hostel for two nights. My hallmate had said there's lots of cheap hostels with single rooms in the area. I eventually found one for 140 yuan a night, which was rather expensive, but I was just so sick of lines and walking around that I settled for the first one I was offered. It was a huge mistake. Although the location was great, in a hutong right next to Tiananmen Road (the direct North-South road pointing straight at Tiananmen). However, the facilities were terrible. The air conditioner on the wall was so old the plastic had turned a yellow brown, and it barely worked. The bed was hard and so used you could feel the metal springs beneath. Worst of all was the smell and the dirt and grime all along the corners of the wall. You smelled must and mildew the moment you walked in, and even after I left after only one night, my clothes still had that soggy mildew smell. I don't know what those cleaning ladies do all day, but clearly they don't clean the rooms because the floor was dirty, especially the corners. I spent Saturday night so disturbed by the smell and the sight of a cockroach that I didn't dare take off my socks or any thing. I even put on a long-sleeved shirt so that less parts of my skin would be exposed to potential bedbugs or mosquitoes. I didn't dare use their blankets because I was afraid they didn't wash it. I just laid down stiff as a board and put an extra shirt between the pillowcase and my head so that I wouldn't catch any potential lice.
The next morning, I woke up really early and checked out. I could not stand another night there. I liked the intimate neighborhood shops selling fresh steamed baos, hot soymilk, and fried Chinese doughnuts, but other aspects were intolerable. I had a very "local" experience with the hutong, but one time is enough.

Chance Meetings
After packing my bags and leaving that wretched hostel on Sunday morning, I decided to go visit the Beijing International Fellowship. I intended to make it to the 9:30am service, but I got lost coming out of the LiangMaQiao subway station. They said to go two blocks east or west, but I got confused and went the opposite direction. Beijing blocks are like 1/4 mile long, so it took me 15-20minutes to go 2 blocks west, then retrace my steps, then go two blocks east. At this time, my feet were also killing me because of all the walking and standing I'd done since Saturday morning. I decided to sit at a nearby coffee shop (Alpha Bakery), and wait until the 11:30am service. The Beijing Int'l Fellowship meets at this big, ritzy looking hotel. The service is held in the hotel's huge auditorium, which probably sits close to 800 people, maybe more. I went into the auditorium from the right door, and looked up and down the rows, deciding where to sit. Looking at the faces all around, I wondered if I'd bump into anyone I knew, but I figured it wouldn't be likely, since this gathering was so big. During the greeting time, I was introducing myself to the person next to me when I heard a loud exclamation of "Nina!" I turned around and lo and behold, Marilyn, Josh, and Justin from New Cherch Berkeley(yes, I am purposely spelling this wrong) were sitting behind me.

I was so surprised and glad to see someone I knew in Beijing. Truly, it felt like divine intervention. Of all the services I could have gone to, of all the places I could have sat, I sat there, right in front of the small New Cherch Berkeley contingent. I happily went with them and another of Justin's friend (I forget her name) to eat lunch and Marilyn and Josh invited me to stay with them for the night after hearing about my previous night's ordeal. Even nicer was Marilyn inviting me to a Mid-Autumn celebratory dinner at her work. It was a really cool artists' commune where several Chinese documentary filmmakers live and work. I got to meet some cool Chinese filmmakers and interns, eat really good homecooked Chinese food,and even get my belly written on in Chinese (in Marilyn's words, to make my impact on the Chinese contemporary art world). It was so nice not to be spending Mid-Autumn festival alone. Since 8/15 is a holiday where you're supposed to get together with family to eat and gaze at the moon, it would have been a little kelian (tragic/pitiful) to sit alone at a restaurant. Sniff, sniff.

So, I was completely blown away by His blessing. He knew how much I needed a familiar face and place to stay in a strange city, and allowed me to bump into such hospitable friends Marilyn and Josh. I am so grateful.