Have you eaten?

So I have buckled down once again in trying to learn Chinese. My Chinese friend Amy (the one I went to Jingdezhen with) helps me with Chinese every Friday. I am finally starting to improve - very slowly but surely.

When you get over how frustrating the different tones can be, and how every word has its own distinct written character, Chinese can be pretty logical. The grammar's not too complicated, and there aren't a lot of superfluous words. I will give you an example of some Chinese sentences in pinyin and the literal translations:

"Ni chi guo le ma?" Literally: You eat? (Have you eaten?)

"Hao bu hao?" Literally: Good not good? (Okay?)

"Ni you xiong di jie mei ma?" Literally: You have older brother, younger brother, older sister, little sister? (Do you have any siblings?)

"Zhe shi wode nan pengyou." Literally: This is my man friend. (This is my boyfriend).

"Ta you mei you shu?" Literally: He has not has book? (Does he have the book?)

"Ni shi mei guo ren ma?" Literally: You are beautiful country person? (Are you an American?)

"Wo shi zhong guo ren." Literally: I am middle country person. (I am Chinese).

Isn't that really interesting? And it gets more exciting, because each word has its own tone and written character. I am pretty sure if I had been living in Spain or Germany for all this time I would be completely fluent. But I have to remember He has placed me here, even if the language makes me want to run away sometimes. :)

Like I said above, "Ni chi guo le ma," means "Have you eaten?" This is my favorite, because it is the standard greeting across China. Instead of "How are you?" people ask, "Have you eaten?" That greeting alone can give you a glimpse into Chinese culture. In the past, food was quite scarce, and people were doing well if they had eaten a meal.

Today I happened to be reading on BBC how a new "global hunger index" had been published. China has accomplished a lot in pulling many of its people out of poverty, but the hunger situation is still "serious" in China. That is about on par with many African countries. I guess China still has a long ways to go. The greeting, "Have you eaten," isn't likely to fade away any time soon...

In other news, I have started coaching a junior student for the "CCTV Cup" coming up soon. The Foreign Affairs Office at our school sent him to me to work with him. CCTV is the state-controlled television network that has a monopoly in China. The CCTV cup is a prestigious English speech contest held every year. There are first provincial contests, and the winners move on to Beijing for the final.

So this student, "Justin," has probably the best English I've heard at our school. He is pretty intense, but I enjoyed speaking at a fairly normal pace, while using decent-sized vocabulary words. I'm actually really excited to help him. It is something different to do, and it is challenging.

Today he came during my office hours, and I looked over his speech he wrote about science and culture. I offered a lot of suggestions, and we even had lively discussions throughout - about things like nuclear weapons, the limitations of traditional Chinese education, and leaders who speak flowery, but meaningless words. This weekend he will memorize his speech and then we will practice how he delivers his speech. I'll let you know how it goes!

Enjoy your wonderful weekend!

Life on a firm foundation

A highlight of each week is when Jodi and I hold our open houses for students. We invite about 15 or 20 different students to our apartment once a week. They are usually deliriously excited to come. This past weekend we invited Jodi's students over (my old students). It was wonderful getting to hang out with my old baby students and it was great seeing Jodi interact with them. I think they have love in their hearts for both of us. As you can see by the pictures they still seem fond of their former teacher, Miss Laura. They practically suffocated and strangled me from excitement as we took pictures.

And as I learn to love my new students without forgetting my old ones, I've been thinking a lot about boldness. It seems like I suddenly woke up and realized my time is limited here. Yes, I have many more months here at Blue Sky, but then that's it - I'll most likely be going to another part of China next year. Every word and action should be pointing people to Him. Sure, most students seem in love with Miss Laura, but I want them to be in love with the Creator.

People's hearts have been set for eternity, and I don't know if they realize it. Chinese buildings sometime remind me of their mindset. Most buildings are built without enforced building codes. Huge highrises and department stores are hastily constructed from extremely iffy looking, crumbly brick and thin concrete. It is all done by hand.

But then they spend probably twice the amount of time working on the outside of the building, applying glossy paint and fake stone or flashy signs. On the outside it will be gleaming (at least for a few months). But on the inside, it is like a shell that begins to deteriorate almost immediately. Plaster falls down, walls leak, some buildings even collapse. Apparently buildings are built in China with a demolition date already in mind.

And that's somewhat like people. They live only for today, neglecting what's inside of them (their hearts and souls), while taking care of the outside, just trying to keep it all together and running after things that can never truly satisfy. Most of my students seem happy and stylish on the outside, but as I get to know them better, cracks are revealed in their facade. Many of them are discouraged, fearful, anxious, empty, and hopeless. You can't build a house or a life on shifting sand... If only they can know the Father, who is the only sturdy and lasting foundation!

In other news, I'm always fascinated by China's propaganda, which is usually displayed on the streets on red banners. Propaganda doesn't have a bad connotation here. One of the most popular slogans of late has been to build a "harmonious society." I've heard that from my students more times than I can count.

And I was browsing on NPR's website, I found some other slogans that the Communist Party is considering... Which ones do you think are the most catchy?

"Hail the great success of our country's reform and opening-up and socialist modernization!"

"Build a socialist harmonious society and promote social equity and justice!"

"Adhere to the independent foreign policy of peace and unswervingly pursue the road of peaceful development!"

"Adhering to and improving the system of regional autonomy by ethnic minorities, so as to consolidate and develop socialist relations among different ethnic groups based on equality, solidarity, mutual assistance and harmony."