Bamboo Sketches
by Charity Lee Jennings
Falling Behind – Part 2
Have you read Falling Behind - Part 1? “I’ve been here before. I think we have to take a bus,” Brian says. We start down a hallway that, compared to those in terminal one, is narrow and barren. That bus Brian mentioned turns into an escalator, a train, another train,...
Falling Behind – Part 1
Two young men, between bites of burgers, recount recent travels. As one destination piles atop another, their stories swell. They wear a nonchalant freedom and I wish I could don their wings, if only for a day. They are at the table beside us, in the Hong Kong...
My Bamboo Sketch
Travelling With A Friend – Part 2
Have you read - Travelling With A Friend Part 1? The airport McDonald’s is bubbling with energy. People make it through the winding wait with steaming food in hand - they attempt to find chairs and tables in a space overflowing. I find seating for three and arrange...
Travelling With A Friend – Part 1
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” Helen Keller I press the snooze button. 4:40am. My bed feels cozy, blanket soft. I groan. Who gets up at this hour? I let sleep pull me away. “You better wake up.” My husband...
To The Bird And Flower Market
“Mom, we’re out of hamster food.”
“Then it’s off to the Bird and Flower Market.” A favourite stop. We’ve just returned from our three month tour of Canada and are getting settled in again.
Leaving the cloudy construction zone that is home – there has been near-constant construction around us since we moved in three years ago – and stepping into a lush Eden refreshed my soul. We immediately spotted a row of potted trees, any of which would make our space more homey.
read more
Forever Free
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. –Frederick Douglass Packing for our move to China, years ago, I tucked some books into our suitcase for my two little ones. I had no idea the role they would play in our family life. When we stepped off...
Longing for Home
Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests. I have said a tearful good-bye to our families and a nostalgic good-bye to my country. The airplane that I am seated on is filled with people, each with black hair and almond eyes. Canada is behind me, I am once again...
Overflowing Memories
My kids counted down the days for months. It had been two years since they had seen their cousins, which felt like eternity. It’s more than just a trip for them, it is a connection with their family, their home country, their roots. When we finally arrived they were...
Passing on the Good
With two months of our trip behind us it feels like we will soon be on the other side of the world, and Canada, the storehouse of my childhood memories, will once again be far away; nearly forgotten. One of the hardest things about living abroad is that I can’t...
On Acceptance
I never imagined I would be asked to leave the country only days after arriving, even if it was just for a short time. We were driving from Abbotsford, British Columbia to White Rock when we missed a turn. Brian decided to head toward Zero Avenue, not knowing it had...
Nature In, Crowds Out
If you can open your front door and step directly outside, you are more blessed than the millions of people that surround us in China. We step out into a tiny hallway that is shared with our neighbours, then into a crowded elevator, down to a maze of roads and narrow...