2 sad things in China....

In the last few weeks I have witnessed 2 very disturbing and sad things...Now, I am not stupid... I know these things happen in here and they are both acceptable. But--SEEING is different then KNOWING. Kind like "outta sight, outta mind", ya know??

1.) I am a dog lover. I have had 10+ dogs in 30 years of life. I honestly can't imagine not having a dog. I grew up with our family sheltie collie, Brandon. He was my best friend and a member of our family. Joe and I added a dog to our family before we got married. Mason, our border collie, is 4 and is my furry child. I am hoping that Savannah and James get to grow  up with Mason and get to have tons of memories like I did growing up with Brandon.

That being said..... there is no way in the world that I would be able to EAT a dog...yes, that's where this is headed. As we were leaving the fruit market a couple of weeks ago there was a man selling pieces of dog. I know that they eat dog here, but let me tell you it is soooooo different seeing a dead dog. It was skinned and bloody and you walked up and they cut the piece you wanted. Really??? Wow.. I just can't even imagine. Even knowing and seeing horrible areas where people have nothing....I still can't imagine!

2.) I know hitting a child is acceptable here. It is not looked down upon, CPS isn't called if you spank your child. I'm sure a 10 year old isn't going to threaten to call CPS like chidlren do in the US. Some people chose to spank, others chose a variety of other ways to discipline their child/children. Joe and I, are not really for spanking. We are hoping to be able to discipline our children without using that form of disclipline.

A few days ago, I was in the car and we were at a very long red light (seriously, more than 3 minutes at the light). As we were waiting for the light to change, I was people watching (which is one of my favorite things to do). There was a family- I assume mother, father and daughter, and grandma and grandpa (i'm guessing, since they looked older). The mom was carrying the girl-around 5-6 years old I would guess. She was crying, and trying to get down. I have no clue what the situation was, and its none of my business. But-- what happened next is just wrong... The father grabbed the girl, practically tossed her on the ground and the 2 men started kicking and stomping on her. I could hear her screaming.. and it continued for about 45 seconds (which seemed a lot longer while I was sitting there). The older woman slapped her across the face and then the mother picked her back up and then they continued walked. They didn't care who was around... no one stopped and said anything. That is a normal type of discipline here. My heart sank for this little girl, I tried to turn away and not watch but I couldn't. I don't know what the little girl did, but it couldn't have been enough to deserve that... no child deserved that! My eyes filled with tears and I just prayed for her. That's all I could do.... and as soon as I walked in the door I kissed and held my sweet girl.