Updated on May 31, 2011
End of week one
It’s hard to believe I’ve only been back “at work” for a week! There has been quite a bit of activity since I received my class schedule late last Saturday night. This term is looking like it will be a busy one, but I’m also really excited about the schedule I have. This semester I’ll be teaching two sections of junior advanced listening, two sections of sophomore writing, and one section of sophomore oral. I’ve previously taught the students in three of those classes before, which helps with the name learning process! Wednesday morning is shaping up to be one of my favorite mornings; as I get to teach both halves of sophomore class 5. This is my third semester teaching this class and they’re just a delight!
It’s been really good to get back into a schedule and to catch up with friends. Meals have been packed with the latter of those activities. It’s been fun to reconnect 
with old and current students. It was fun to go back to the orphanage to see how big all the babies had gotten in the past month and a half! The young ones forgot us foreigners, which led to a tearful first reunion, but they’re getting used to us again. We continue to be blessed with our relationship there. This week, one of the baby girls will be heading in for her cleft palette surgery. Keep her in your thoughts!
There is much to be thankful for in the past week…but the overall summary is I’ve been reminded of how much I really do love my work!
Updated on May 31, 2011
Chinese hospitality
Today is 2 for 1 day…I’m going to take full advantage of the blog access to tell you a tale from my travels. As I mentioned previously, on my way back to Siping I stopped in Shanghai to visit one of my Chinese friends. Staying in a friend’s home guarantees cultural lessons. My visit to Shanghai was a lesson in the truly wonderful art of Chinese hospitality. One thing I love about China is how much they care for family and close friends.
I arrived early in the morning on a red-eye from Bangkok. After waiting a few minutes, my friend arrived with her boyfriend. They had been riding buses from some unseemly hour in the morning to meet me there. My suitcase was whisked up by her boyfriend and we hopped onto a bus to head out to my friend’s apartment. Soon after arriving, the boyfriend cooked up lunch for us (he does all the cooking when he’s visiting–I need to find me one of these) and then they let me take a nap. I love the Chinese appreciation of naps. It makes me happy.
After my rest, we headed downtown to one of the main shopping streets where they got a box of Shanghai’s specialty tea for me and purchased some “Shanghai” snacks. We had a great hot pot dinner and then walked to the famous Bund to see the skyline of Shanghai. All of these activities were of course their treat, there was no chance I was going to pay a penny. We got home late and I headed to bed. I was given the soul wall heater remote (Shanghai is in the part of China without central heating during the winter), insuring that I would have a toasty night of sleep.
I woke up in the morning to breakfast cooked by the boyfriend and then we headed out on the town again, to a place known as “Old Shanghai”. The buildings here were fashioned in the old China style, although they surely did not date from that period. It was a great photo op for me, especially since it was decorated for the new year. Once again, they treated me to all kinds of special Shanghai snacks. My favorite was a soup filled baozi (bread roll). Afterwards, we headed out to a late lunch at a Guizhou restaurant. Here, despite protests, I was finally able to treat them. Following lunch we had to head over to the bus station to catch my bus to Rizhao (a ticket which they had purchased for me). Here is where hospitality truly shined. They convinced the bus station attendant to let them walk me to the bus (I am of course a clueless foreigner who needs help and guidance). They talked to the bus driver and all was well until they found out Rizhao was not the last stop of the bus. Both of them began to panic, how would I ever know how to get off the bus? The boyfriend began rapidly assaulting the bus driver with pointed remarks like, “She doesn’t speak Chinese, she won’t know when to get off, you’ll have to tell her, will there be taxis waiting where you stop…” and so on. Of course, I understood a majority of these remarks. The bus driver assured them he would wake me up and suggested they write in Chinese where I wanted to go in Rizhao so I could be ushered into a taxi. I already had this written down, so, concern lessened slightly, my friend ushered me onto the bus to make sure I got into the right bed. She also checked to make sure I set an alarm on my cell phone so I would wake up in time for the stop (the bus arrived in Rizhao at 3 am). Sure enough, upon arriving, I heard the bus driver telling the circle of taxi drivers by the door of the bus, “There’s a foreigner here who doesn’t speak Chinese, she has a paper saying where she’s going”…understanding this I got off the bus, verbally told one of the drivers where I wanted to go, and miraculously safely arrived at my destination.
Updated on May 31, 2011
Back on the bike
Yesterday was an unseasonably warm 50 degrees. That added to the fact that it was a sunny day with blue skies made taking the Ragin’ MK out for a ride absolutely irresistible. I pulled a very dusty and dirty bike, whose handlebars had obviously served as a cold night’s snack for some rodent, out of the storage shed and pumped up the tires with excitement. However, it didn’t take long to realize that my winter’s hibernation coupled with gorging myself on pizza and steak in Thailand had resulted in being extremely out of shape. The first leg of my ride went just fine–I was blissfully unaware that a mighty strong wind was helping to propel me far away from campus. That is, blissfully unaware until I turned to go the other direction. That’s when the pain began and questions of, “why on earth did I ride out so far?” began to plague my mind. There were moments during strong gusts of wind where I was quite certain I wasn’t making any forward progress at all. I began to wonder if I would have to hop in a taxi to make it home. However, with the mantra “just keep pedaling” circling through my head (to the tune of Dori’s annoying little mantra from Finding Nemo), I eventually made it home. The soreness I feel today further proves that there is much work to be done this spring…
Still waiting for our class schedules, true to China fashion. Blogger is actually up and running in China today, hence the changes to the blog. It’s nice not to have to edit by way of my tricky back door shenanigans.
Updated on May 31, 2011
Home sweet home
The more times I go away from Siping, the more I realize how much it has become home. Sure, it doesn’t have the impressive lights and skyline of Shanghai. You can forget the flora and warmth of Thailand. Also nowhere to be found is the seashore and the rolling hills of Rizhao. There’s nothing to be compared to the culinary delights of Krow’s nest in Beijing. It’s small, it’s dirty, and it’s a frozen tundra where life seems to grow only a few short weeks out of the year. KFC is the extent of “western food”. There are hardly any famous sights, unless one calls rows upon rows of cement buildings scenic. As my parents put it, “It’s obvious the Father opened your heart to this place, because there’s not much to love here.” And yet, as I traveled through beaches, walked along famous streets, enjoyed the company of friends, and dined on oft longed for delicacies, I found myself yearning to return. I was itching to get back home. This simple fact is testimony to the truth that the most barren of lands can be the best of lands when He has called you there. I have found that there is no greater delight than following my Father in obedience–wherever that may be.
I will make rivers flow on barren heights,
and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water,
and the parched grounds into springs…
So that the people may see and know,
may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Father has done this.
I’m slowly getting the rest of my pictures up from my travels. Flickr has been acting funny lately, so sorry if some of the pictures don’t come through. Right now I’m in the process of
putting up some shots from Shanghai, where I got to visit one of my best friends and first language tutors in Changchun. Soon to come will also be pictures from my visit at Lana’s in Rizhao. It’s great to be home, but I’m also incredibly thankful for the past six weeks and some of the new lessons I’m learning and processing. The break was refreshing in many different ways, and I’m eager to get the semester started. Classes (which we don’t have a schedule for yet) will begin next Monday, so it will be off to the races before I know it.
Updated on May 31, 2011
Ten minutes in Burma
Thailand gives a thirty day tourist visa free of charge to U.S. citizens upon arrival in the country. This allotted amount of time has always been enough for me in the past. However, when two and a half weeks of classes and a week of conference is tacked on, any sort of traveling after conference means I’m over the limit. There are several options for solving this predicament. One option is to pay 500 baht (30 baht to 1 USD) per day over the limit upon exit. Rather pricey, I think I’ll pass. Another option is to go to the consulate, fill out a form asking for an extension, and pay 1,500 baht. Once again, pricey. Option three is to make a border run–travel across the border into Burma and then come back into Thailand, receiving a new visa. This option seemed to be the cheapest and offered the added bonus of seeing a new country. However, with all costs included the trip ended up only being about 500 baht less. In addition, the trip involved nine hours in a van speeding around curvy, hilly roads. Such a route was less traumatic for the adults drugged up on Dramamine; however, some of the kids’ breakfasts…and then lunches…came back up. Oh yes, good times. But, I made it to Burma (for about 5 minutes, enough time for a new stamp in the passport and a picture) and now have my renewed visa. 
Conference begins Wednesday; I’m looking forward to seeing everyone. Currently, China is getting hammered with winter storms, which makes the warm temperatures here seem that much nicer. It’s going to be a rough transition back to long underwear.
Updated on May 31, 2011
Blessed
It’s been nice this week to relax and soak up the sun around Chiang Mai. After only one week of intensive classes, I hardly feel deserving of the break (especially since most people are still in class). But I have been enjoying the freedom and the leisurely pace. Yesterday, I took the afternoon to wander around with my camera. I stumbled upon two unique Wats (temples), and at one enjoyed a long conversation with one of the monks. He was actually Cambodian and it was interesting to hear about his background. As I walked around I was just hit with how incredibly blessed I am by the opportunity to see and learn about so many cultures different from my own. This job and life is never one I would have chosen for myself, but I’m continually encouraged and surprised by the paths the Father leads me down.
Updated on May 31, 2011
Mission Accomplished!
My first semester of class is now completed! After lots of pre-course work to buy , a long week of classes and cramming, and pushing out a final long paper I’m done. My mind is jam packed with Chinese history and modern day implications, and my intellectual juices are completely zapped. I can now move onto enjoying the sunshine and just hanging out. Not such a bad life at all… 🙂
Updated on May 31, 2011
I’m outta here!
I’ve now accomplished the yearly challenge of packing for two months for multiple climates in a small bag. In a couple hours I’ll be headed to the train, on my way to WARMTH and sunshine. It’s been beastly cold here lately, so I’m quite excited to be back in flip flop weather! After two weeks of alternating between being a couch potato and cramming for my grad class, I’m ready to get moving again. I can only take being lazy for so long. 🙂 I’m looking forward to seeing “old” friends, being in a place where English is spoken by a majority of people, wearing short sleeves again…and I’m even looking forward to being a student again. We’ll see if I’m still saying that in a couple days!
Updated on May 31, 2011
Sad day
Updated on May 31, 2011
Bye bye birthdays
With the celebration of Will’s second birthday yesterday we have completed the long stream of celebrations from mid-December until now. As if the holiday season isn’t packed enough, here in Siping we also celebrate four birthdays between December 15th and January 3rd. That’s a lot of celebrating! Unfortunately, this means some of the parties have not been so elaborate. However, we rounded them off well with the rowdy round-up of Will’s birthday. We all came in our cowgirl and cowboy get-up for some good old western vittles and healthy cowboy competition. Check out my flickr site for a full recap!
I am now at the official one week countdown to departure. I’m hoping the pressure of impending departure will kick me out of “lazy vacation mode” into “grad work & travel preparation mode”. Hmmm…maybe tomorrow. I’m off to watch a movie!
Recent Comments