can't take it in...

Just went I feel myself getting comfortable with my surroundings here, I am confronted with the reality of this country. On a recent day trip to the city of Foshan, about 50 minutes outside Guangzhou, my friend and I visited the main temple there, Zumiao. Having visited temples before in Japan, I was expecting something similar to come my way. As we approached the gates of the temple, sun beaming down, there was a young man sprawled out in the middle of the crowd of people, begging for money. This is not an uncommon thing in China. But, he had open sores all over his body, clubbed feet, and was slowly trying to make his way around using a board with wheels on the bottom. I have been faced with poverty before, but the image of this young man has been burned in my mind for the last week. Maybe its not even the sight of this man, but others reaction or lack there of. I include myself in the "other" category. This is the most ambiguous thing I find myself faced with here. Its as if you find every piece of your heart unraveling into many small pieces. This is always a sobering reminder for me that we often take our lives of comfort for granted, and it teaches us about the things we value and what we spend our time on. I realized today that my starbucks coffee can literally feed a family of four here...it makes me think twice about every sip I take...