| I'm up at a funny time of day again |
[Jul. 5th, 2005|06:31 am] |
Okay, it's now 6:30AM and I've been up since 4am. I slept from 1AM to 4AM and I guess my body just decided that three hours was enough. I don't really agree with its sleeping decisions since I arrived back in Canada. But I don't really feel all that sleepy, my brain has been buzzing non-stop since I got back. I'm just afraid that it's going to hit me pretty hard one of these days...I'm really hoping that it doesn't catch up to me when I'm making the 24 hour drive to Yellowknife in two days!
It's been a great couple of days back in Canada. Right now everything feels normal and in some ways it feels like I never left. I'm not expecting that feeling to stick around for too long, but I'll enjoy how good everything feels for now. Yesterday I went and renewed my license and it was an excellent feeling to be driving again. I've also enjoyed Mom's cooking again. Ahh, yes, there is certainly nothing in all the world like Mom's cooking. It was good to be a part of my Glen Elm Family on the weekend- taking in Sunday morning and then a really good Spark service on Sunday night. One of the best parts about being home so far is being with people who really know you and have known you for a long time. It's fun to reconnect with so many good people. Plus, I've finally got to hang out with Jeremy in real person to person life, rather than email, MSN or Skype...so that has been a real treat, too!
So, it's now 6:40AM and I'm wondering what I should do next. Either I go and track down some gravol to help me get to sleep, or I decide I'm going to be awake for the day on three hours of sleep. Gravol sounds preferable.
I love jetlag. Or whatever this is! |
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| I'm flying home today |
[Jul. 2nd, 2005|10:11 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  chipper | ] |
It's time to go! Well, this marks the end of entries sent from China by yours truly. I'm currently writing from my hostel in Beijing, where Jason, Shannon and I have spent the past four days walking the capital. Emphasis on walking. It's been fun but the days have been pretty full and by the end of each one sleeping has always been really easy! It has been great to meet up with two good friends, Cari and Dale, from home...they've been living in Taiwan for the last year and we just happened to end up in Beijing at the same time! So it's been quite enjoyable reconnecting with those two. We spent Tuesday meandering around the Forbidden City and Tiananamen Square, which was alright, but I wouldn't say it was either all that exciting nor that beautiful. The best indication of that was the amount of time I spent thinking about how much my feet hurt. We were followed incessantly by Mao Zedong watch sellers and Mao rule books, or whatever they are...thanks, but no thanks!
Wednesday was hard on the feet and painful to the head, as we did one last full day of tourist shopping....let's just say I'm sick of bargaining. Ai ya. Bring on the beautiful blue Walmart tags!!!! :)
Thursday was super...we walked again. But this time I hardly thought about my feet and I didn't even notice my calves (until this morning :). We went to the Great Wall. It was great. Yep. It was beautiful, quite picturesque and actually better than I envisioned. It was also relatively quiet, so that was a really good thing too. You've likely seen pics of the Great Wall- you know how it looks all rampy, and maybe you just walk up and down on the ramps...well maybe not so much. It's actually mostly stairs up and down. But that's okay- it was a good workout and we were all soaked cause it was also 39 degrees. Much thanks for the nice breeze that came our way every once in awhile.
Yesterday we went to the Summer Palace, which is quite beautiful and much less redundant/boring than the Forbidden City. Maybe part of it is that I've looked at a lot of Chinese temples and fat Buddhas and pagodas in the last ten months, and everything looks the same after awhile. But Summer Palace is like a monster park with lakes and stuff....it was the Emperor's retreat center. We took some books and read by the lotus lily pads for awhile. Ahhh. How nice.
Oh! I forgot to mention the Kung Fu show we went to on Tuesday! It was AMAZING!!!! Soooo good, so so cool. I think it was one of them most impressive visual displays I have ever watched. Wow! We also went to a CRAZY acrobatics show! INSANE! They just make you shake your head- first of all because what they're doing can't really be possible, and two, I sort of want to say, it's okay, don't worry...you don't need to prove to me that you can bust three metal sticks over your head or be smashed on the chest by a jumbo sized hammer while laying on needles! Yikes!
Anyway....there's my last few days in Beijing. Leaving Shiyan was very tricky, especially that nasty old train station. Did I ever mention I hate goodbyes? Ouch. They hurt!
But, arrivals are a lot of fun in exchange. I'm looking forward to making a return to the Queen City this Saturday, July 2. I think our plane from Vancouver gets in at 4:28pm.
Hopefully I will see many of you this summer. See you in the homeland...
A finally goodbye from China...Wo ai nimen! |
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| Time to go |
[Jun. 27th, 2005|09:04 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  weird | ] |
Well, my last day in Shiyan has arrived! Jay, Shannon and I will leave for Beijing at 5pm this afternoon. I'm excited but I will be more excited when I'm finished at the train station today. Yuck- farewells are no fun at all. Yesterday was a really good last full day here. I went out for lunch with five of my best Chinese friends and two of my best Canadian friends and we ate til we were stuffed at a "fish hotpot" restaurant. Apparently the fish come from one of the girls' hometowns, and you can't imagine the pride attached to a bunch of fish. Wow, I've never been so excited about fish before.
Abby and I spent much of the day cleaning our apartment with hopes of leaving it in a happy condition for the next foreigner who is lucky enough to live on the rooftop. I think it's looking pretty good! The rest of the night was devoted to the group of people I love the very most in China. We enjoyed one final night of singing and Asking together- I couldn't ask for a better last experience on the rooftop. Goodbyes feel really painful with this group of followers, but I'm honestly so excited about the really good things that they are going to (and already are) doing for the people in their country. They inspire me! And they sure have become good, good friends.
My suitcases are way too full and that is unfortunate because I've got shopping I want to do in Beijing! Ai ya. I've left quite a bit of stuff behind, but over ten months things to take home have accumulated at a steady pace.
Well, it's time to go to the last Family gathering, and I suppose one final lunch together as well.
I'm excited to spend the week in Beijing, I think it will be a pretty cool finish to my year in China. Bring on the Great Wall! Plus I'll get some Starbucks. :)
Should you be interested in seeing me tired and jet lagged and all befuddled but really happy...we will arrive at the fancy new Regina airport on Saturday (July 2) at 4:28PM. If I don't see you then, we will catch up soon sometime this summer...although I will only be in Regina for a few days before spending the rest of July in Yellowknife (YAAAA BABY HEZEKIAH IS COMING SOON!!!!), and Calgary.
Okay....this is the end of Harmony in Hubei...:( |
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| The power of belief |
[Jun. 13th, 2005|08:32 pm] |
Today was my first day of "oral examinations" for my nursing students. I give them four different quotes, and four questions, and then each student comes to my house and we discuss one quote and one question for about ten minutes to test their "conversational English". I have fifty students and I'm giving them each ten minutes, so it will take the first three days of the week to make it through the class, but I think it's well worth the time. This is by far my favorite group of students, the ones I feel quite close to and feels most difficult to let go of as I prepare to leave China. I feel like we've made some good bonds with each other, especially in the past six weeks or so.
It was easy to sit and listen to them respond to questions like "How do you define success?, "If the whole world was listening, which message would you want everyone to hear and believe?, or "What are you dreams for the future?" As I listen to them, and as I have watched them learn and grow in the past year, I have been amazed at the difference that can be made in someone's life when you really believe in them, and they really believe that you do! It's so much fun to see a person start to believe in themselves, and all it takes is some positive nudging- someone believing that they are capable of becoming better and reaching their goals. When I'm with my girls here, it feels easy to breathe confidence into them, because so many of them have so much potential but feel really trapped by a real lack of self-confidence.
I've been on the other side of experiencing the power of belief, too. My softball coach stands out as one person who played this role in my life. So many times I can remember going up to the plate and knowing absolutely that she had all the confidence in the world that I could get the job done. I knew without a doubt that she believed in me completely, so any shadow of a doubt that I had was evaporated by her believing so strongly in me. She has been a great example to me. It's a contagious thing, and I want to be able to believe in other people like that, too, because it makes such a difference.
It was an enjoyable four hours- I've got another five to go! |
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| The Cutest Email Award goes to... |
[Jun. 11th, 2005|11:06 pm] |
hey harmony!I am sorry that I did not see your email in time ! ^-^ thank you very much.Now I feel much better because I did a operation some days ago.I think I will be fine in a short time, and then I will run,drump again!hehe
oh~~~~~~~~~~~ I am sad today because you will leave us soon! (cry~~~~~~~~~) we will miss you very much ! And I hope you happy erery day wherever you are!And hope you can come back some day ! by the wey,I have a reguestment,that can you send me there photos:one for me,and the others for the two boys who often play basketball with you!(that Bruce)We hope so very much!^-^^-^
Banco
Have I ever mentioned how cute my students are? Sheesh. |
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| The countdown begins... |
[Jun. 4th, 2005|04:39 pm] |
Nearly a month has passed without much more than an entry on the NBA playoffs...an update from life in China is long overdue.
The last three weeks have been fantastic, particularly the past week or so. I played in the second basketball tournament of the year with my team, the super power combination of the PE teachers and English teachers. Each faculty enters a team into the tournament, and they have both a women's and men's draw. Last semester, Jay and I played and both our teams brought home the big prize money, as well as a bottle of Amway floor cleaner. Best trophy ever! Anyway, it's about the ugliest form of basketball that you could imagine, if you want to call it basketball. I was usually the biggest person on the court, although I had a solid center on my team, so basically the game plan was to allow the other ladies to run the court, heave the ball against the backboard, catch the rebound and then throw it down the court to my Tim Duncan. Repeat this sequence twenty times or so, throw in maybe one basket from the opposition, and a number of elbows and nails, and you've got the average game. The Chinese ladies don't lack aggression anyway!
Okay, anyway...the most enjoyable part was hanging out with the ladies on my team. Though they speak broken English at best, and my Chinese isn't good enough to be broken, it was still fun to get to know a different group of people at the school. I had six of them over for supper last week, and we had a blast, as they cooked some Chinese food for me, and I served chili, biscuits, banana bread, and a victory basketball cake. It was great fun and I think we became quite attached to one another quickly.
I'm not sure if just takes this long to develop strong relationships, or if I have just been slow to act and take initiative, but it seems that as my time winds down in China, relationships seem to be coming to the place where good sharing and meaningful conversations are taking place. I'm thrilled to have the chance to witness His hand at work in the lives of people around me.
Last week we had a second party with some of our students and some of our Brothers and Sisters. After lots of laughter and fun party games, some of our Group took the chance to share parts of the Book with our students. It was pretty neat! They dialogued together for 45 minutes or so, and by that time, it was too late for my three students to get to their dormitories in time, so they ended up staying over at my house. They were so excited- they decided they were so excited that they didn't want to go to sleep. It was a gift to have just the three of them, and I had the chance to have a great talk with a student I have been Asking about for awhile now. She's been pretty attached from day one, and as I played through some of my favorite songs on the guitar, we chatted about the meaning of the lyrics together. She is eager to know the source of my joy in life, and of course I'm eager to share that Source with her. I could tell you much more about this special young lady, but I'll let you ask me about her sometime in Canada. I couldn't have asked for a better night.
Yesterday could have marked one of the best afternoons of my year. Earlier in the week, I asked some of my nursing students the question, "If you could go out for supper with anyone in the world, who would it be?" Well, one of them stood up and said confidently, "JC". "My mother says He is the the creator and I want to know what He thinks of my future and my life". Yikes! How cool is that?! So, yesterday this young lady, as well as three others, ventured over to my house during my "open door" afternoon. It wasn't long before we started chatting about her mother's way of thinking- she's Thought that way for ten years now!!! Apparently people are often at her house for singing, and my student was eager to tell me the joy she felt because of the changes she saw in her mother's life. My student seems to have a vague understanding of things, but she does have a Book and reads it in her free time. It was quite a beautiful thing. It was such a treat to speak so freely and comfortably with these four girls. In an hour, we ended up chatting about all kinds of things, from the whys of me thinking a Creator could be responsible for this place, to the teachings of JC and his biography, and the kindness that we can see from the way He lived and died. I think I stumbled upon some good soil yesterday in my house. Praise Him! It was great fun! I'm looking forward to more conversations in the next couple of weeks.
Tonight my good friend Jason will give a speech on campus titled "The Adventures of Life". I gave my nursing students an innocent bribe- that if they come to the speech, they can come my house for dessert after! That would be 50 students. Yikes! The house is going to be full! So, I've got the brownies and banana bread baked- next step is to stock up on some ice cream. Tomorrow I'm spending most of the day in another student's home, which I'm really looking forward to as it is rare to get into a Chinese home and experience the "real deal". On Sunday, the Family is heading out to a beautiful reservoir, where we'll rent a boat for the day, do some swimming, eating, and Lifting Up together.
I have only 23 days left in Shiyan. Jason, Shannon and I will leave here and take a train to Beijing on June 26. We'll hang out in Beijing for a few days (where I get to meet my good friends Cari and Dale, who have been living in Taiwan for the year- woo hoo!), and then fly across the pool and arrive in the homeland on July 2. It is hard to believe I will be home in a month. I'm struggling with mixed emotions right now- I feel more sad and emotional everyday, but at the same time, excited and anxious aobut heading home too. It is a strange thing.
Anyway...I know this is too long already, and if you've made it to the bottom of this entry, thanks! Have a good weekend!!! |
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| The Suns have set...the Heat still burns...boo ahh ahh |
[Jun. 4th, 2005|04:29 pm] |
It's a pity the Spurs are so stinking good. I just can't bring myself to cheer for them- they are so annoyingly consistent! Arghhh! Oh well, the Suns had a fantastic season anyway, and Steve Nash was brilliant time and time again. That guy is so fun to watch, especially when he's got guys like Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion finishing things off for him. Ah well, they'll add more depth and maybe a little more defense, and next year they'll be back and better than ever. Purple and orange are cool again!
Since I refuse to cheer for the Spurs, and I'm not interested in watching the Spurs and Pistons grind it out in a defensive battle, I'm jumping on the Miami Heat bandwagon. I'm definitely not a Shaq fan, but Dwyane Wade more than makes up for my ill feelings toward the big fella. Go Heat! |
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| Go Steve |
[May. 20th, 2005|02:39 pm] |
34 points.
13 rebounds.
12 assists.
Steve is the man.
Go Phoenix. |
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| The ideal Chinese spouse... |
[May. 12th, 2005|11:32 am] |
We just started a new unit on marriage in our classes. I got a good kick out of some of my students' responses to the top ten qualities of their future spouse. So, here are some of their answers!
Introducing the Chinese "Mrs. Right":
-the heart is a little wide
-a little beautiful
-silent
-love me
-no temper
-perfect in stature
-simple in life
-smart, but sometimes a little fool
-smile like the sunshine
-know how to let me happy
-not very beautiful but must very patient, kindness
-always know her husband’s opinions
-at anytime she should be good at comfort him
-everything listen to me
-not too perfect
And "Mr. Right":
-know lots of knowledge
-healthy, tall, cool
-take care of the children with me
-only love me forever
-love me, take care of me, accept me
-very high, at least 1.8m
-no smoking, gambling, drinking
-infactuate me forever
-play pingpong better than me
-like smiling
-pure like sunshine
-a little rich |
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| Oooooh, now this is goooood.....very good |
[May. 4th, 2005|04:47 pm] |
Ahhhhh. Here I sit in beautiful Guangxi province. IT IS AWESOME!!! After a terribly long and tiring journey here (in summary, we stood for seven hours on the first train and sat with the rest of CHINA on the next 13 hour ride, while the air conditioners leaked all over the place and babies peed on floors and in general there were way too many humans smushed into WAY too small of a space...on a more positive slant, it was one big train party!), we stayed the first couple of nights in the city of Guilin. Guilin was pretty cool- we checked out some parks, saw the fattest tiger/horse in life, the ugliest lump of a camel (Chinese zoos are pretty depressing), a once really natural and beautiful cave which is now magnificently cheesy with its many neon flourescent lights shining on every stalactite and stalagmite (and highly overpriced at that), sought out some relief from the tourist ridden areas and ladies hounding you with postcards...wandered through the countryside in all of its absolutely natural beauty with girls in straw hats tugging along cows through muddy rice paddies and graves tucked on the sides of the strangely shaped Guangxi mountainsides...
So Guilin was cool, but now that I'm in Yangshuo it pales in comparison!!! Yangshuo is an hour outside of Guilin and it's known as the "backpacker's mecca". Now I see why! It is surrounded by the gorgeously unique mountain rock sculptures known to Guangxi province, and there is a major river that flows gently in and around the hills. In the heart of Yangshuo lies West Street- and to a foreigner living in China for what is now over 8 months, West Street is an awesome place to be!!! It is a walking street packed with cafes and restaurants serving every kind of Western or international food that we could dream of after enjoying 8 months of Chinese cuisine. The foreigner/Chinese ratio is nearly equal here, which is a strange experience after being in a city of 500,000 people and only 15 foreigners in the entire place. There is tons of shopping to do on West Street and beyond into the backstreets of Yangshuo.
Today is our first full day here and it has been a great one so far!! We rented some mountain bikes and headed out into the magnificent surroundings. I love riding bikes and riding through a place in the world like this is such a treat. Everything is just so green, so lush- it's beautiful. We rode for awhile, checked out a 1400 year old banyan tree, continued riding, until we found a sideroad and a few others that eventually led us into a field of green, muddy rice paddies, surrounded by mountains. The next part of the journey was really cool- we came across a handful of rock climbers and they let us have a try at rock climbing!!!! This was the real deal and I didn't want to waste my chance, so I went for it. It was fun, and though I didn't get very far at all (I fear I severely lack the "lean" quality of the typically succesful rock climber!), it gave me new insight as to the meaning behind those motivational posters you see with people plastered on the sides of rocks!!! Perseverance, strength, believing in yourself, and trusting in the guy holding onto the rope below!!!
Tomorrow we will set off to enjoy a river experience, on either a river raft, an inner tube or maybe one of the long bamboo rafts...we'll see!
Well, I'm sweaty and roasting like a tomato, as are the rest of my comrades. We're thankfully not going to scare anyone off with our blinding white arms and legs anymore, but we're sure feeling the burn from the sun!
Later skaters! |
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| To Yangshuo We Go! |
[Apr. 29th, 2005|02:00 pm] |
Just a quick note- we're about half hour from leaving for the train station. After a bit of a whirlwind week, six of us are taking the train to our long sought after destination: Guangxi province. It's been a hectic day or so and we were almost certain that Plan B would be thrown into effect...but somehow, we have wound up with tickets and we're on our way!!! We're excited!!! Guangxi is in the south of China, and it will take us close to 20 hours to get there by train. Our first leg of the journey, five or six hours, will be without a seat but the rest of the way we have seats, so that is a very good thing!!! I don't know if I could handle 20 hours standing on the train with a million other people packed in.
We are going to a hot tourist spot called Yangshuo, as well as the nearby city Guilin. The scenery is supposed to be fantastic and from the pictures, I think it's going to be a wonderful and relaxing holiday. Do a quick image search with the keywords "Yangshuo" or "Guilin" and see for yourself...or just wait until I get back and post pictures of my own!
Anyway, it's time for me to stand on the hot, crowded, loud train for five hours. It's gonna be awesome!!! |
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| Xi'an was quite a nifty place |
[Apr. 27th, 2005|12:22 pm] |
So last weekend, Jay, Shannon, two good Chinese pals and myself traveled to the ancient capital of China- Xi'an (pronounced "shee-an", not to be confused with our city, Shiyan, which is pronounced almost the same but with more of an "r" sound- "sure-ee-yan"). Xi'an is the ancient capital of China and as such is rich in historical treasures. It's so neat to be in a country that boasts 5000 years of history to its name, as compared to the historical infancy of Canada (at least that which is recorded and known).
Highlights of the weekend included taking a bicycle ride atop the 1500 year old wall that encircles the centre of modern day Xi'an, walking through the popular Muslim community and enjoying tasty new foods (particularly a special noodle/bread soup and mutton on a skewer, which the Muslims are known for in China), oh, yes, and watching a Chinese Muslim chow down on a goat's skull like it was tasty as ice cream, watching a fantastic light/music/massive fountain water show with thousands of other Chinese, shopping (as always!), and of course, the most memorable experience was visiting the site of the Terracotta Warriors. Now there is a cool place to go!
What an incredible discovery- I can't imagine what it would have been like to discover these archaelogical gems 30 years ago. I guess some farmers were digging a well and stumbled across a 2200 year old tomb of over 6000 hand carved warriors. They are known as the Terracotta Warriors, and they were created by the first Emperor of China as a way to guard his tomb located outside of the city of Xi'an. It was amazing to see the entire set up. There are three massive pits that have been found so far, and they have built buildings around each of the sites. The archaelogists are continually digging and excavating in each of the buildings- discovering new warriors, chariots and horses, as well as doing a lot of putting Humpty Dumpty back together again! Lots of restoration work going on. Anyway, it really is a historical gem and it was neat to have the chance to see it. Check out my pictures for some visual help. There were so many foreigners there, too, wow!! I'm always so amazed when I see foreigners- I'm always wanting to hear where they come from and what they are doing in China (uh oh, that sounds exactly like what Chinese people ask me everyday!).
Another highlight of the weekend was meeting a group of Seekers, and some Followers too, in Xi'an. We met and stayed with a wonderful American Sister and it was joy to share stories and encouragements together over the weekend.
Now the trip home...that was the best part!!!! Ha, ha! We had seats for the first five hours of the journey, and then we were not so fortunate for the last 2 1/2 hours. Once we finally managed to squeeze ourselves onto the train (after warding off the 70 year old woman shoving with all of her might to push me into the door that 20 other people were also trying to force their way into at the same time...she was strong!!!), we realized we would be standing for the journey. It was a pretty full train- I guess this is just a reality of a country with 1.3 billion people. I could accept that reality, but what I couldn't appreciate quite so fully was the woman slumbering comfortably over three seats...while so many stood for the journey, and women with babies sat next to the bathroom, or inbetween seats. THAT is not so easy to understand!!!
Anyway, I'll chalk that one up to another good experience, and hope that this coming weekend we don't end up standing for 17 hours to get to our destination!!!! I'm afraid, though, that since we don't even have tickets yet, I could be in for some great character building experiences in the coming weeks!!! Right on. Okay, I gotta go to class...there's the report on Xi'an!
New pictures are linked above (Months 6/7). |
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| Want to come to China? Here's what you should know... |
[Apr. 20th, 2005|01:10 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | amused | ] |
I just finished teaching a unit on cultural differences, and to conclude the topic I had my students brainstorm "the top ten things a foreign teacher coming to China should know". We imagined a young Canadian fellow named Sam was planning to come in the fall, and we had to come up with a list to email Sam in hopes that he would be very prepared upon arrival. Here are some of my favorites, you can decide for yourself what some of they say about perceptions of North America:
1. We have many different food while you used to eat some tomato jam.
2. What the red and green light mean at the crossing and how to go across the street.
3. How to separate salt and white sugar.
4. The sign of men's toilet.
5. When you on foot, there may be somebody stare at you, that shows they welcome you.
6. Our traffic is heavy and the air is not fresh at all. But you can climb.
7. Change your lifestyle as soon as possible. Because the seasons are opposite between the two countries.
8. You must take your lectures all the time.
9. We all use chopsticks for meals. Before you come to China, you'd better have exercise with using chopsticks.
10. People are not allowed to have guns, knives or bombs in China.
11. You must play basketball and very well.
12. You must have strong strength of will and be kind to around people.
13. Chinese food is very delicious, so when you feel hungry, eat enough.
14. Take your own computer because here it is different to surf the internet.
15. When you eat, you can laugh loudly and nobody'll feel unusual.
16. Know about the changelation of currency.
17. Know how to say "Xia Ke" (Class is finished!).
18. In warm, you'd better wear less. The less the better! |
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| Still alive and kickin' here... |
[Apr. 19th, 2005|10:54 am] |
Greetings to anyone still checking this page! My apologies for not updating very consistently of late. Life continues on here in China and most days seem quite ordinary yet still very enjoyable.
The weather gets better by the day, and lately I've enjoyed a couple long afternoons of hot, sweaty basketball, which is quite a good thing. Most days I'm likely to be found in some kind of pick-up game on the "playground", as they call the sports area with 16 basketball courts. Sometimes I try my best to shoot on my own for at least 15 minutes, but without fail, 5 minutes into my little practice session, there will be a Chinese kid with a toothy grin asking me if I want to play. Sometimes the basketball is quite good, sometimes it is not, either way, I meet at least a handful of new people everyday. It's also been fun to play with a number of my students on a regular basis.
Highlights in the past month have included one trip to the River and one trip to a nearby Bathtub, where two more of our community here went for a Swim! Both are very good friends, and observing them on their journey to making this commitment was quite a joy and certainly an encouragement to me.
Last week we had a birthday party for one of my very good friends here, and I think it will be a fun memory to look back on. We did some balloon stomping in the dark on our rooftop, played "Pin the Tail on the Big Beaver (she loves Brother Bear...if you've ever seen that movie you'll know what I'm talking about..."Gee eh? You're one big beaver! Yes, we have our own Bob and Doug Mackenzie wannabe here in China! HA!), and of course, ate some cake and ice cream! It was fun night!
This weekend a few of us are making a trip to Xi'an, one of the ancient capitals of China. Xi'an is home to the Terracotta Warriors- regarded as one of the top historical tourist sites in the country. The Warriors are hand-carved stone statues that were created over 2000 years ago to guard the tomb of a Chinese Emperor, and discovered underground in 1974. There have been 8000 soldiers found, and each one is said to resemble a particular warrior! Anyway, I will tell you more once I've seen it with my own eyes! It should be a fun time. If you're into history, or you want to know more, here's a site with some pictures and history on the Warriors. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/shaanxi/xian/terra_cotta_army/
I will be back for another week of classes, but then we will be traveling again for our holiday in the first week of May. We're not sure where we are going yet, but I'll let you know when we decide! I'm excited to see more of China in the next few weeks.
Anyway, badminton calls... |
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| Things that made me smile this year, 1 for each of my 22 years… |
[Apr. 6th, 2005|10:50 pm] |
Inexhaustive and in no particular order- a list of things that made me smile this year...(clearly, there are so many things everyday that make me smile, both at home and here in China, but here are a few that come to mind)...just thinking about the good stuff that has filled the days...I'm thankful!!!
1.Strolling across the stage in the Harry Potter suit to become a real teacher! (And, my excellent teacher friends that I shared that day with...I miss you gals!!)
2.The good feeling that comes with learning new things- like Chinese, like badminton, like learning how to use chopsticks and learning to eat whatever is put before you!
3.A fantastic two weeks with the entire Ray and Ellen tribe of McMillan’s- a warm summer memory that just gets sweeter and sweeter.
4.The cutest nieces and nephews in all of Canada!
5.The very exciting news that I will have two more of the cutest nieces and nephews making their arrivals this summer!
6.The wonderful students that I teach in China, and especially my nursing students, who just walked in the door with a beautiful arrangement of flowers and chocolate, but more than that, their sweet, sweet smiles!
7.Jeremy Olson.
8.Amazing places on Earth that still make me shake my head in wonder and awe- the highlights being Wudang Mountain, Jiuzhaigou, Aizawl, and Hong Kong.
9.The very happy day of arrival in Aizawl at the airport, and all the days that followed in the hills of Mizoram.
10.All of the very special kids that I met and interacted with when I worked as a Special Ed. Assistant from January to June.
11.Making the post-surgery return to the ball field and having a blast playing with long time teammates and friends, especially at Nationals! Good times!
12.Watching with joy as four of my new Chinese friends made their Life Statements down at the river, and the gang of friends chasing after new life together. This one gets a whole bunch of smiles for sure!
13.Beautiful Chinese children, especially the ones that live in the little store below my apartment and I’ve started to teach, and beautiful Indian/Nepalese children, namely Angita, Anjena, Elijah and Sristi!
14.The life-giving goods in the very Good Book- things that I have discovered for the first time, and things I have discovered anew!
15.My grandmother's letters.
16.Xi hong shi chou ji dian. Translation= eggs and tomatoes! Mmmm, they make me smile everytime. Ha, ha! I know you can’t understand!
17.The oh so relaxing and enjoyable two weeks in spent in Hong Kong. Awesome.
18.Loud, really loud and disgusting spitting noises, grandfathers holding babies as they pee on the street through holes in pants, men who yell “Hullo!” and then think they are the funniest and most clever human beings alive, random people who ask if they can be your friend and play with you (like as in adult size people), bargaining at restaurants after you’ve already eaten, bargaining at banks, bargaining anywhere…okay, this was more than one thing, and I could go on forever, but in general, China makes me smile a lot!!!
19.Caramel Frappucinos. :)
20.The graduation celebration my Mom organized- so many special and good, good people were there that night. When I look at pictures of that night, smiles come quick…
21.The Rooftop Crew- seven, and soon to be ten months of sharing life in good ol’ China means a whole bunch of smiles…
22.The heaven on earth buck fifty Chinese hairwashes.
And something that will make me smile soon...looking ahead to the 23rd year...
23. The Regina Airport in early July!!! :) |
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| Oh the things they say... |
[Apr. 4th, 2005|05:15 pm] |
A couple dialogues that have made me laugh in recent days…
After class last week, one of my “very interesting” girls approached me with great concern. This young lady has a colorful past on my blog- she can be credited for saying such things as “Sometimes when you take off your jacket, we can see your meat” (check the archives is you missed that one- you may need clarification!!), as well as giving me decorated oranges for presents and frequent suggestions on how I can improve my teaching strategies (so much so that she went to the library to conduct research and returned to demonstrate for me!).
So I’m just adding this to the pile of classic conversations with this young lady…
“Teacher, I think you have an unhappy feeling today. I don’t think your “inner” is very well. (Looking at me with great seriousness). “We” think you are having some problems with your boyfriend!”
Ha, ha!!! What a girl she is! I laughed pretty hard and tried to tell her that my “inner” was quite okay, and my boyfriend and I are quite okay, too, thanks!!! What will say she next? It used to annoy me, now it makes me laugh more than it annoys me…
“Freedom of Speech”
There is a different brand of freedom of speech here in China. Here’s an example, with a what I found to be a pretty cute intro…
Student: “Teacher, can you sing “Country Roads” for me?”
(And a John Denver Chinese/Canadian duet ensues)
Student: “Ohhh, how wonderful! Now we can be close friends?”
Harmony: “Sure!”
Student: “Harmony, you like ice cream so I’m going to buy you the most expensive ice cream and bring it to you.”
Harmony: “Oh, you don’t have to do that! I need to lose weight, anyway!”
Student: “Oh, teacher, keep your weight! I think fat girls are lovely! I keep my fat because I think a little fat is lovely”.
(This girl is no bigger than a size 3 :)
Haaaa...what a great attitude, hey?! Ha!!! Yeah, different rules (wait, I mean, no rules) apply when it comes to some things... |
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| Rhythm |
[Apr. 4th, 2005|05:04 pm] |
Some words from old Screwtape (a contrived character working for the Devil in "The Screwtape Letters")...
"The horror of the Same Old Thing is one of the most valuable passions we have produced in the human heart- and endless source of heresies in religion, folly in counsel, infidelity in marriage, and inconstancy in friendship. The humans live in time, and experience reality successively. To experience much of it, therefore, they must experience many different things; in other words, they must experience change. And since they need change, the Enemy (being a hedonist at heart) has made change pleasurable to them, just as He has made eating pleasurable. But since He does not wish them to make change, any more than eating, an end in itself, He has balanced the love of change in them by a love of permanence. He has contrived to gratify both tastes together in the very world He has made, by the union of change and permanence we call Rhythm."
C.S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters |
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| Why don't you call it "Wester"? |
[Mar. 25th, 2005|01:20 pm] |
So why don't we call it "Wester", rather than "Easter"? A clever question from one of my students, after I shared the Easter story this morning. Even more clever was the response given by another student, who informed us that it has to do with the rising of the sun in the East. This was preluded by a fun scene- 50 Chinese 19-year-olds squealing with delight as they searched up and down for treats left behind by the Easter Bunny. :) It was good fun. I was quite impressed with my students this week as they listened very intently, and responded actively to the telling of the new life story. Some had heard it before, and one even told me later that her Grandmother believes the same thing and meets weekly with fellow followers. She is a gal who gave me a crucifix at the the beginning of the year. Originally I referred to her as the "nose-picker", as I'm afraid that was the first distinct image I got of this lovely young girl. Ha, ha- I have better images now. :)
I'm teaching four groups of kids now. Sometimes I like it, and sometimes, like this week, I don't! This week one of my eight year old girls decided to be wonderfully stubborn. No, she would not share her book, and no, Harmony was not in the mood for dealing with a strong willed child such as this! I was quickly reminded that it doesn't work to have a power struggle with an eight year old, and it REALLY doesn't work when you don't speak the same language! My Chinese vocabulary allows me only the unhelpful "I'm the teacher, please listen!" Definitely not effective management...
Last night I had a new group of nine year old boys, and the parents decided they should stay for the class too, so I had four very, very sweet boys and four very, very, ummmmmm, "patience-requiring" parents! They put so much pressure on their kids and it is frustrating to watch. One of the boys was busy doing his work, and his mother was continually adjusting his body posture. You can't say they don't care, anyway! Next week, I think the parents are going to have to go! I appreciate their concern, but I can't function very effectively when they're hovering over their kids, and me, for that matter.
Tonight I will gather with some friends to watch The Passion. It should be a good weekend here, though I will certainly miss my Mom's Easter dinner on Sunday!!! :( Mmmmmm....I'm getting dangerous whiffs of the mashed potato and ham goodness! I know I will miss my family, too. I love you guys!
Have a great weekend, friends. Happy Easter from China! |
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| Video Clips? |
[Mar. 25th, 2005|01:19 pm] |
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Does anyone know a good (and free) site for posting video clips? |
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