Taking a Trip

Hey! Just wanted to post a quick blog now and I will be posting a longer blog on Monday. In seven hours I am leaving with two teachers from school for a weekend trip to Pingliang to visit my friend that lives there. My friend just left at the beginning of this week to head back for teaching, and I had no intention of visiting her this soon after she left; however, based on both of our schedules the next possible time to go besides this weekend would have been October. And Monday here in China is their Labor Day, so I have the day off from class. I am looking forward to this 2 day visit as my friend's city is mostly villagers and the entire city only has 10 foreigners. I will also be taking lots of pictures to share with you as well. So, until Monday...

New Chinese Friends and Recent Activities

Hey! So, I know it has been a little longer than normal since my last blog post, so for that reason this week I have written two blogs - this one and the one after this titled: 'Such Different Worlds.' Hope you enjoy reading them both.

So, I am writing this blog after a very fun evening with four of the teachers from school, the school director, and my Western friend from Pingliang (mentioned in a previous blog). My friend from Pingliang is leaving next week to return to her town to finish the school year teaching English, so I decided to have her over for dinner and to surprise her by inviting the staff from school to come too. She was definitely surprised and the night continued to get even better after that. I had prepared Mexican food (chips and salsa, chicken fajitas, refried beans, and watermelon) and there was not any food left. After dinner we chatted, watched the movie Hitch (complete with popcorn and M&Ms), and had an impromptu Cha-Cha dance party.

Well, in the past two weeks I have also met a few new Chinese people that I am excited to be able to spend time getting to know. The first person I met is Katie (her English name) and she works at a market in the downtown area. She was a broadcast journalism major so her English is excellent. Katie has asked me to come visit her at her store and has even offered to let me practice my Chinese with her. The second person that I met was Albert (his English name) at the gym one night. The second time that I saw Albert at the gym he asked me if I would be willing to play ping-pong with him since no one wanted to play. I was happy to oblige and I have to say that I kept the game pretty close. Ok, I know what you all are thinking - the Chinese are great at badminton and ping-pong, so how could you have possibly kept it close - let me live in dream world for a minute, ok? :) I am sure that Albert was being a gentleman and not making me look bad, but I had fun playing and talking with him during that time. Albert also knows a fellow classmate of mine (a guy) who has been helping him and going through the Book with him. And the third person I met only gave me her Chinese name, so I will let you know her English name when I find that out. I met her at McDonalds one night and she struck up a conversation with me. She is currently a senior at a nearby university and is hoping to attend a Master's program at a University in the States in the next year or two. She asked me if I would be willing to meet with her once a week, so of course I said yes. I am really excited about my new friends and will you updated on what transpires with these relationships.

Well, that is about it from here for now, but don't forget to check out the second blog for today. Hope that you enjoy your weekend and that your days are blessed.

Such Different Worlds

I told you in my last blog that I would update you on some more cultural things that I am learning from being here, so I wanted to take this time to do that. Here they are:

* Due to the vast amounts of studying by the Chinese (from a previous blog you might remember how much time is spent studying), they are very smart, but you still find that some of them do not know how to "think outside the box", form their own opinions, or even to have dreams / aspirations. Here is an example: I met a Chinese college student one day a few weeks back and as we were talking he mentioned that he had an interest in coming to America to visit. I asked him where he thought he would visit if he came to America, and he said probably Oregon since he knew a friend there. As the conversation continued I gave him the scenario that if money was not a problem, where besides Oregon would he like to visit. His response was that he could not go anywhere else in America because he didn't have money and that he was only allowed to visit his friend in Oregon. I took a different approach and asked if he ever dreamed of going anywhere else in America besides Oregon and his response again was that he could only go visit his friend in Oregon. I realize that sometimes there is a need to be literal and realistic about things, but sometimes I feel like when I ask questions like I did of this guy, that they are like robots spitting out answers, and especially if you ever ask the question of who is their hero, you are quick to hear the answer: Mao.

* Tomb Sweeping Day - on Monday, April 5 (the day after Easter for us) there is a tradition here that about half the Chinese still celebrate. The day involves going to the graves of the families' deceased members and "sweeping the evil spirits away, placing a feast of food next to the grave, and burning fake money so that the deceased will have food, money, and happiness in the afterlife." I am thankful for the people that do not celebrate this tradition, but really feel burdened for those that still do.

* It is not an uncommon sight to see dogs riding on the back of their owner's bicycles. They usually sit on a little flat platform mounted above the tire. It is also not an uncommon sight to see little children going to the bathroom on the street.

* You do not wear seat belts here since in cars and taxis they are covered up by the seat covers or have been removed. You can wear a seat belt in the front seat of a taxi, though the driver usually tells you several times that the seat belt is dirty or that you do not need it. Babies and children do not ride in car seats here either as they are very expensive and therefore the Chinese choose not to buy them, so instead the children are held, and usually in the front seat of the car.

* Many Chinese believe that because people sweat that every place you sit needs to be covered up, so it is not uncommon to find covers over couches and plastic still wrapped around chair backs and seat bottoms.

I hope that you find these insights into culture here helpful. It has been and continues to be an eye-opening experience for me, but one that I am thankful for.

Getting Better and Better

This week has definitely been much better than last week. I am so grateful as my friend was able to fix my computer. It took him 8 hours and he had to delete the hard drive and start over, but I have all my programs like Skype loaded again, and my computer works great.

This week I had the opportunity to meet and briefly chat with the author of my Chinese textbook. Martin Symonds is a British man who wrote the five textbooks of Chinese Made Easier as well as a few other books that are intermediate to advanced level Chinese. A few months out of the year Martin travels throughout China to all the universities that use his textbooks to have an opportunity to speak with students regarding his curriculum. I enjoyed my meeting with Martin and appreciated the feedback that he gave to help me improve my learning of Chinese.

Speaking of improving my learning of Chinese......earlier this week both of my teachers meet to discuss the best plan of action to make my Chinese the best that it can be. Both of my teachers agreed with Martin that the area I need some more practice is with grammar. Most people would be able to understand what I am saying with the grammar patterns that I have been using; however, it is best to correct my mistakes with grammar now rather than later. I will be finishing book 2 in class this week, and then before starting book 3, my teachers want me to spend a week to two weeks doing exercises to improve my grammar.

I have some more cultural differences that I would like to share with you next time. Until then, hoping that you are well and that you may be filled with joyous moments and peaceful days.

The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

I first want to say 'Happy Easter!' As I reflect today on the meaning of Easter, I know am extremely thankful and blessed for my life and for where I am. I will share with you in a little bit about how I spent my Easter.

Well, it has definitely been a long week filled with the 'good, bad, and the ugly.' Overall things really are good, and I am still loving being here, but I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say that this week was an emotional roller coaster. I will start with the 'ugly' things of the week and end on a 'good' note.

So, the 'ugly' has been that my computer has either gotten a virus or is one step away from crashing. The first two days of the week it worked like normal, and then by Wednesday my laptop started removing a few programs such as Skype, and will not allow me to download new versions. The positive is that I can use my laptop to check email and update my blog by running it in a temporary mode, but I basically lose anything I try to save to the computer. I have a friend that said he is willing to look at it and see if he can fix it for me, and if not, then I will be waiting until this summer to get it fixed in the States. And luckily, it is still under warranty too.

Now for the 'bad' of the week. The week started out on Monday with me having an asthma attack, which I have not had in awhile, and required the use of all three of my inhalers. Unfortunately I did not make it to class that day as it happened a few hours before class and the air that day was very polluted - not the best idea to go out in when you are having trouble breathing. And apparently I was not done for the week since on Wednesday I chipped off part of a bottom molar while eating a piece of bread (I mean all those years I was told not to chew ice because it could do this, but instead it is a piece of bread? Just have to laugh). Unless something changes and I start to have problems, I plan on waiting until this summer in the States to get this fixed too - dentists here don't use anything to numb before procedures and many places still use formaldehyde for fillings (I am pretty sure the latter is forbidden in the States nowadays). Right now the inside of the tooth is not exposed and I don't feel like I am jeopardizing anything by waiting, so in the meantime I am just keeping an eye on it. Oh, and on Friday a group of us went out for dinner and we all ate cow tongue - definitely did not know it at the time. We were at a Korean restaurant and did not order it, but it was accidentally placed with the other meats we ordered, and after eating a few pieces we asked what it was since it tasted different than the rest. All I can say is green tea really does help with digestion of weird foods.

Now, for the 'good' of the week and the things that make it all worth it. On Tuesday this week I attended a Chinese corner where I had the opportunity outside of class to practice Chinese, and I actually felt comfortable in using my Chinese in a discussion. And on Thursday night I went out to dinner with one of my teachers. We had a great time and I enjoyed hearing her heart on what she feels her 'work' is to look like in the next few years. One thing that she desires is to be a mother and to have 4 children (2 of her own and 2 adopted); however, in order for that to happen she would have to move to another country and get married or marry a foreigner. When I stop to think about it, it seems like a simple thing to want to be a mother and to have children of your own or to adopt, but when you have a government that dictates you can only have 1, and you feel the passion has been put in you to be a mother, than it has got to be a challenge, but one I feel my teacher will overcome.

And finally, to conclude my week: Easter Sunday. Twice a year (for Christmas and Easter) here there is a service called citywide. All the foreigners living in the city gather at a hotel meeting room that is centrally located for everyone (about 40 minutes away for me) and have a time of fellowship and celebrating. There were about 225 people there and this morning reminded me of what many of you were experiencing at home on this day - including many people even wearing spring colors. It was also a perfect day weather wise with a temperature of 75 degrees and the sun shining. I am thankful for the sacrifice, rising, and eternal reward.

I hope that you all have a blessed week.