As I'm just about to head off to bed tonight, I hear the thunder. The rolling thunder. Its somehow comforting. I don't think I have ever said this before about the thunder. It usually seems so startling and I wait in fear of the next big crack. Sometimes, its really scary.

In China, the thunder and lighting is honestly the most powerful I have ever experienced. The rain falls so hard that even your insides feel wet, and the sky lights up so bright that your eyes feel like they have just been opened for the first time! Traffic goes slower, people run to find shelter, others press on through the storm.

But, then at times, the thunder just comes in the distance. A quiet rumble. Reminding me that it is there. It looms. Sometimes, it reminds me that its not so scary after all and that I don't have to fear it.

This got me thinking that sometimes the things that a foreigner experiences in China, can make you want to hide or turn the other way or run or maybe cover your eyes. Maybe this is like any new experience we have at any point in our lives. Then there are times where this place just quietly reminds you that its not an experience meant to be feared, but one that just causes reflection.

Its quiet now. No thunder. I wish it would come back. I just want to think a while longer.