Happy 2010!

(Some of the glamorous hosts of the New Year's performance).


(The final act of the performance, which was about how the Communist Party has revived the homeland and will continue to do so in the new year).


(With some of my favorite friends on New Year's Eve).


(Launching one of the paper lanterns outside on New Year's Eve).


(Some of the police who soon arrived and confiscated our lanterns).

I'm sorry I couldn't think of a more creative title for this blog, but it is indeed a marvelous new year. I am only 23 years old, but I have lived to see four decades so far! Is that possible? I've experienced the '80s, '90s, '00s, and now the '10s.

The past couple of days have been chock-full of activities and conversations. On Wednesday night the other American girls and I performed our Christmas dance in front of 2,000 people at the school's annual New Year's performance. There were many school officials and some of our students there. Performing in China can be a hassle, because they take it so seriously. There isn't much joy in performing in China, especially when it's so over-the-top and they think national prestige is at stake.

But we tried to change that mindset when we performed our incredibly cheesy but amazing N'Sync dance. Our number was nestled among countless performances about communism, the glories of the nursing profession, glittery national dances, and even more songs and dances about the wonders of their homeland and the Communist Party. The students screamed their heads off when we performed (especially when I did two cartwheels!) It was a wonderful time spreading joy not related to love songs and communist slogans. And I think my students came away from the performance thinking Miss Laura was pretty cool.

New Year's Eve was also quite interesting, especially since I was still teaching. One momentous thing that I discovered is that one of my students is a female... but I thought she was a male all these past few months. I can't believe I thought "she" was a "he." He/She/It has a very gender neutral English name, dresses like a boy, talks like a boy, and sits with boys. It is especially strange in a country which is quite traditional and where girls are quite feminine. Girls are very girlish and boys are very boyish.

However, the rest of the last day of 2009 was memorable and refreshing. In the evening many of our closest and dearest friends gathered in Joelle's apartment to play games and hang out. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else; I was so incredibly content and happy. Later in the night, we wrote wishes on paper lanterns, which we then tried to launch outside by lighting candles under them. It's a very popular Chinese tradition.

We managed to release one lantern in the air, and dreamily watched as the gleaming light soared off into the dark sky, joining other lanterns that other people in the city had launched. We were ready to release another one when some police saw us and decided we were doing something unacceptable. About ten of them marched over in their uniforms and red armbands to break up our lantern festivities in a rather heavy-handed fashion.

They snatched the lanterns and tore them up, while scolding us for practically trying to burn the campus down. They were very surly and demanded to know "who was in charge." Our Chinese friends just started to argue and plead with them all at once. In a very dramatic fashion, one of my precious friends pushed her way through the small crowd and bravely appealed to them to give us the lanterns back. But they just got more indignant and lectured some more in Chinese. (If you have any power in China, no matter how small, people like to leverage it over others). Then they all marched away in formation, after they were satisfied that we wouldn't cause more trouble. (My friend Kelsey captured a photo of some of the police with our wadded-up lanterns. For some reason they were smiling when the photo was taken. Maybe they didn't want everyone to think they were really mean).

After that event, somebody pulled out some silly string and we all ran around screaming and going crazy. I felt so light and carefree, just laughing and nearly crying. It was a wonderful way to end the year. I went to bed in the wee hours of 2010, pretty certain that 2009 had finished well and that 2010 would also be filled with a lot of new, meaningful memories.

Christmas Aftermath

(After our spectacular Christmas performance to N'Sync).


(All of our friends and many brothers and sisters who turned out to celebrate Christmas Eve with us in the rain).


(Lighting some candles on Christmas Eve).


(One of our recipients of our Christmas caroling. This man is poorer than poor, but we are good friends. He looked like he was going to cry).


(Eating lunch with some of my students who are eager beavers).

The past few days have been very special and blessed, although I'm not sure why. I guess I finally feel that perseverance is paying off--my students are attentive and we get along well with each other; relationships are also great; and the end of the semester is on the horizon. There is also never a shortage of activities or things to keep me on my toes. I have hardly noticed the cold weather and rain. (This morning there was terrible fog, though, and at least 10 people died on the roads in our province).

First of all, Christmas was wonderful and simple, although I certainly missed my family! On Christmas Eve we went caroling around the campus and back streets in the pouring rain. The Chinese people didn't have a clue what we were doing, but everyone still enjoyed it. Many of us and our Chinese friends then went to another university to celebrate a very meaningful Christmas Eve together.

On Christmas night, the seven of us foreign teachers went to new campus to audition for the school's huge New Year's performance. Last year our team sang a song and did dismally at the auditions--we were probably the only foreigners in China that were barred from a school performance. (Performing is China's favorite past-time. Remember the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony?)

This year, we decided to dance to an incredibly cheesy song--"Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays" by N'Sync. We wore sparkly Santa hats and busted out our most outrageous moves. In China the rule is the flashier the better. Today we found out that we made the cut and will be performing Wednesday night for the big performance--in front of two or three thousand people. Hooray!

We still have two weeks of teaching before our holiday break, but He has given me a burst of energy to continue. My students are becoming more precious every day. Recently I was reading my journal from the first week of school in early September--I was in despair because I had to teach mostly new, crazy students. I'm just in awe how He has turned my heart around, and how well we get along with each other. I'm sure your constant thoughts have a lot to do with it too!

Another amazing thing that is happening after our Christmas lessons is that our students are approaching us to study the Word. All of a sudden there are almost more students who are interested in Him than we know what to do with. Please lift this up! It's a wonderful dilemma to have.

All right, thanks for everything! Stay warm and well!