Thanksgiving(s)

It is early Sunday afternoon and this is the first time in a couple of days I've been able to sit down and write a blog entry. We've been celebrating Thanksgiving for a million days straight now. And it was so wonderful.

On Friday, we didn't have to teach. In our contract, our team gets one day off for Thanksgiving. According to the university, that day doesn't have to be on the actual Thanksgiving day, of course.

On Friday evening we all cooked numerous American dishes for a big Thanksgiving feast in Joelle's apartment. We invited the people from the Foreign Affairs Office, other Chinese English teachers, and the other foreign teachers from Japan and the Philippines.

It was one of the best meals ever. We all did really well cooking good food with very limited resources. It was about as traditional Thanksgiving could get, even though we didn't have turkey or meat. And our guests loved it! They were taking pictures the whole time, and they were enthralled by everything--even the little paper napkins from America that said "Happy Thanksgiving!" They took some home as souvenirs. It was just a very pleasant evening and we got to serve them in a special way.

Then on Saturday at noon, we went to another university in the city for our international fellowship's all-day Thanksgiving celebration. We gathered in the "Foreign Experts" building on campus for lunch and dinner. In between the amazing meals, for which we all brought food, we played Frisbee, football, cards, etc. There were about 60 people there. The countries represented were America, China, Mexico, Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, West Africa, and South Korea. So we ate food from a lot of different places. There was also good conversation, and I even got to use my very rusty German.

So that is about all we've been doing this weekend--cooking, riding on the city buses, eating, and hanging out with cool people.

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

A Simple Thanksgiving in China

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Here's the scene of my Thanksgiving dinner that I just experienced: I went with my Chinese friend to her "apartment" near the back gate. The temperature was about 40 degrees. We winded through back alleys to get to her apartment, which is just one little room. She shares the tiny room and tiny bed with another girl. There is no heat, and the wind came in through the newspaper-covered windows. She poured some pork dumplings she bought for 40 cents into a miniature rice cooker perched on an ancient desk in the corner. There was one tin bowl and one plastic bowl from which we ate the steamed dumplings. I sat on a little plastic stool while she stood. Both of our noses were dripping from the cold. Afterwards she carefully washed the bowls with a little rag in cold water, but there wasn't any soap to be had.

My Thanksgiving dinner of 2008 was so simple and my host was so gracious. She offered me her best and I could have cried from all the thankfulness in my heart. We didn't have a big meal and there wasn't any table to sit at, but it was one of the best Thanksgivings ever. My Chinese friends don't have much in the way of material things, but they offer so much in their friendship and generosity...

As for earlier today and the past couple of days, I've been teaching my classes about Thanksgiving. I had them draw turkeys by tracing around their hands and listing things they are thankful for. One student drew a turkey with four legs! It was so entertaining.

For some reason they have taken this opportunity of an American holiday to give me tons of presents. And it's all candy. I mentioned that I like candy one day, so all of my students want to give me candy. One boy in my class remarked, "Miss Laura, you like candy so much, but you aren't fat!"

My students have also taken the time to text message me endearing messages on the occasion of Thanksgiving. Here's a sampling:

"I open my wallet, find no money; I open my pocket, find no coin; I open my life, find you, then I know how rich I am! Forever, my friend Laura. Happy Thanks-Giving Day!"

"I really appreciate for you teaching us so exciting class and thank you for remember my name! Finally, wish you have a nice day!"

"Use honesty to love, use perseverance to work, use thanks to your friends love gone with heart. Happy thanksgiving day!"

"Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day! Thank you for teaching me English! And also wish you happy and have a good healthy!"

After class this afternoon (yes, we still had to teach on Thanksgiving), we had English corner like every Thursday. I love my students, because they come out to cluster around me and protect me from aggressive and overly eager kids who aren't my students. Today we stood by the lake, with the wind and cold nearly numbing us. The students had the thinnest clothes on and some were shivering so much, yet they stayed until the end. I guess the teachers said that last year after they returned from the winter holiday, some of their students had frostbite because they couldn't afford gloves or warm clothes. I think I know what I'm buying people for Christmas...

Every week we talk about a million things under the sun and now I enjoy English corner more than most anything else, because we can talk so freely. I just want to hug all of them and be their best friends forever.

In other news, the 30th anniversary of China's "Reform and Opening" is this week, apparently. Thirty years ago, China opened up its doors to the rest of the world and worked to reform its economy. It was pretty successful, and so on the anniversary the students must perform and sing about it for two days straight.

In closing here is a Thanksgiving "poem" one of Jodi's students wrote. I laughed about it for a long time:

"I really appreciate my dog
it can give me a hug
I always bring it in my bag
it doesn't like a pig
because the pig is so big
but my dog is just like an egg"

The Chinese students have the craziest creativity ever. And I'm so thankful for all 190 of my students! Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you'll have a blessed day!

The skies are blue at Blue Sky

It is Tuesday afternoon, and I returned after teaching a couple of classes this morning. I'm pretty busy for the rest of the day, like most days. There's never an opportunity for boredom here!

The weekend was a little harried, but the Father's hand was in it the whole time. There are so many days when I just want to sit down and cry, not because I'm miserable, but because I'm so thankful for His love.

It's not always a party here, despite what the pictures may show you... :) It's still China-- foreign, Asian, communist, and still at the developing stage. But I've never been so content just teaching and loving and growing and learning.

So maybe it's too early to announce anything, but I'm seriously considering returning to China in the following school year. We just have to decide in the next couple of months. Perhaps you can lift that up?

I told some of my students about Grandma, and they seemed crushed by the news. I had mentioned her a couple of times in class and I had shown her picture. They had also been very impressed that she was born in 1913.

One of my students, with whom I've had some deeper conversations, came up to me after class with a very serious face and said, "I know that He is blessing her right now."

In other news, I've been choreographing a dance for the talent competition our team will be a part of in December. It isn't mandatory to participate, but we are "strongly urged to." Basically, it's mandatory. So I've been working on a ballet piece, and now the FAO of our university is adamant that I put Jonathan, one of my teammates in it. It was declared that "there must be a hero in your dance!" Apparently a hero can only be male and 6 feet tall and very American looking. Jonathan doesn't know how to dance, but I choreographed a couple very simple things for him at the end so he can look like the "hero." :)

Well, there's not much else to report from southeast China, but I've added a few more pictures to this entry. These are some more pictures of the sports meet that you can find on our university's website. It looked more like a national day parade than anything. Can you spot the flag-wielding foreigners? The pictures are courtesy of http://www.jxbsu.com/news/show.php?itemid=4196.

Have a blessed Tuesday!

A final letter to Grandma

Evelyn Harmon Freeze
1913-2008

Dear Grandma,

I'm so glad that you were surrounded by Andrea, Mom, Guy, and Aunt Dede when you went home just a few hours ago. You even got to hear my last blog entry I wrote to you when they read it. Andrea told me that today you faded from earth into heaven as peacefully as possible.

And now you are finally home, where you were truly meant to be. You are probably surrounded by a crowd of people, many of them you know, and they are welcoming you. I bet the first person who ran to you was your mother, whom you've missed since 1929. And then your daughter, Laurie, whom you haven't seen in over 50 years... The list goes on.

In that joyful crowd there are probably also countless people you don't know. But now they're sharing their stories of how you touched their lives with grace and love and kindness and encouragement while they were on earth.

And the biggest welcome of all came from the Father and Son. Your constant hope in Him has now been realized and I bet it's more glorious than you ever imagined.

Back here on Earth, there are also scores of people who miss you. There are scores of people who loved you and who have been loved by you. There are scores of people who were quietly and kindly directed to the truth and true hope by you. There are scores of people who were inspired by you to live a life worth living.

The Father's light shone through you in this fallen, broken world. And there are huge patches of light that will remain here on earth because of you, even as you reside in your amazing heavenly home.

I'll miss you, but I know we aren't separated forever. I'll see you again! I love you!

Love, Laura

One last conversation

Last night I called Mom and she held her cell phone to Grandma's ear. As far as I know, she's still in a coma and continues to slip away. I was so grateful for that one last opportunity to talk to her, though. I just told her again what a wonderful friend she's been and how much joy she's brought to everyone's life. It was impossible not to cry, like I had been doing for four hours prior to that. I don't remember what else I said, but it doesn't matter. I got to say one last time how much I love her.

Mom said that Grandma's shoulder twitched and her breathing quickened when I was talking. She also moved her mouth a little bit. I believe she heard me and that means more than anything. I was devastated that we hadn't talked recently, but the Father was so gracious and provided that special opportunity.

Overall, today was a little rough. I went to bed really late last night and barely slept. I taught my one crazy class this morning, and I was close to snapping. Thankfully I didn't. It is an impossibly large class and it always seems to be on the brink of chaos. I gave them a midterm today and I was constantly patrolling. They were moved so that there was a seat in between them, but that didn't stop them from trying to cheat off of each other in really obvious ways. I warned people, but many of them wouldn't stop, so I just took their exam away saying that they must be finished if they're talking. I should have just ripped it up. But I wanted to stay calm.

However, I've been having some super encouraging interactions with several other students lately, especially at English corner yesterday. I can't really write about what happened, but I just want to say that pieces are starting to fall together. Some students are starting to ask some very meaningful questions and I've been able to connect a couple with fellowship.

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I'm sort of struggling lately, but I don't walk through this valley by myself.

To Grandma

I got back from a wonderful day teaching late this afternoon. Life has been so good. When I checked my email I saw an email from my Mom to call her. Then I saw another email from a woman who said she was sorry about our grandmother passing away. It sounded like my grandma Freeze had died. I was in shock and immediately started crying a gallon of tears. Grandma was on my list of people to call for the past several days and I've either been too busy or too tired to call her. I had written her a letter from China, but I hadn't called.

She celebrated her 95th birthday on Monday. Then I guess she had surgery on Monday or Tuesday on her infected foot, which I found out a little bit ago. I got a hold of my mom, even though it was only 4 a.m. her time. Apparently grandma was feeling fine afterwards. How many 95 year olds can have surgery and feel totally fine? She's always like that. Just always amazing. But I guess her blood pressure went up and she had a stroke that night. Now she is in a coma and on oxygen at hospice. She isn't gone yet, but she is currently on her way to heaven.

Andrea flew home to Kansas from school in Florida. I'm so glad she can be there to say "see you again soon, Grandma!" And tonight, I'm going to call my Mom's cell phone. She will hold her phone to Grandma's ear, so I can talk to her like I had wanted to. Thank you, Father, for that opportunity!! She isn't awake, but I'm hoping she can hear. If she can't hear now, then she'll hear about it when she reaches heaven.

My grandma, even at 95, was still the sharpest, wittiest, and most charming person. Her faith in the Father and His Son was undying. Her faith and hope shone through in her kindness, encouragement, wisdom, humor, joy, and beauty. Before I left for college, she moved to Topeka, and I'll remember all the many hours we spent together talking, laughing, and just soaking in each other's company. And I'll remember the few summers and holidays when I came home from college, and how we were always so happy to see each other again and hug and hold hands.

And I'll remember the last time I saw her. It was a couple days before I left for training for China. We spent a while with each other in the afternoon. When I was leaving, we hugged and hugged. We said numerous times how much we loved each other. As I walked away down the hallway of the nursing home, I kept waving and saying I loved her. She sat there with her pretty smile waving back at me, saying the exact same thing.

Soon she'll be reunited with her family and old friends. Soon she will be age-less and whole again. Soon she will gazing upon the face and glory of the Son. It's hard to feel sad about that. I guess I just wish I could have seen her one more time. But I guess we'll have all eternity to hang out together in heaven!

I love you, Grandma!!!!!!!!!!! You were always one of my dearest, closest friends! And here are some pictures of you, Grandma, to share with everyone. You are so beautiful. The first is a recent one, where you still radiated joy every moment. The second is of you holding your first grandbaby (me, of course!). The rest are of you in your younger days. I have the black and white picture of you laughing taped on my wall right here in China. That's how I picture you laughing in heaven.

And lastly, Grandma, I know you've been reading my blog every day, because Guy has brought you paper copies of them. Thanks for reading about life here and about my passion and heart for China. I know that if you had been 22 in 2008, you'd maybe be doing the same thing I'm doing. China wasn't exactly open for you as a 22 year old in 1935. You may not be able to read a copy of this blog, but I think that's okay. In heaven you'll be able to find out the rest of the story... And I'm sure it has a happy ending.

Let's play pictionary!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures lately. The first one is of our drive back to old campus. It looks like this every day. There are millions of people on bicycles and everyone's driving in a hundred different directions. Those are some of my dear students working diligently in the classroom. The third picture is just one I like because I look extra sophisticated. :)

I'm not sure if the videos will ever work from my last post. They uploaded fine, but then they won't play. Are they playing in America? I wasn't sure if they were blocked because I'm trying to look at them from China.

Anyway, today was a pretty enjoyable day. I reviewed for the midterm exam for two classes in a row today. It feels sort of strange to be creating the midterm and have the grades of 190 students in your hands. For the review we played jeopardy and pictionary, which they have never heard of before. They loved the games and it was a good review. However, I had been warned that Chinese people as a whole cannot draw creatively. I brushed that off thinking it couldn't be all true. But I've discovered that it indeed seems to be true. Perhaps they just haven't had many opportunities to draw and doodle. They had the most difficult time even drawing stick people, or vocab. words like "ship" and "skyscraper." Their drawing skills are at about a 3 year old level, and I'm not saying that unkindly.

Later today I went to the market on the corner to buy some food with Shannon. Usually they have some good, basic things like eggs and bread and yogurt. I was browsing in the tiny dairy aisle, when a worker came up to me trying to suggest what yogurt I should get. I just nodded, because I know what kind of yogurt I like and it's not the really expensive kind. So I was standing there looking at it, when she starts picking up the food I had in my basket on my arm. She looked at everything out of curiosity, I guess. She wanted to see what kind of goodies I got. It was sort of awkward though, because I was thinking, "Um, this is sort of strange. How long is she going to look at the cookies in my basket and pick through everything?" Sometimes I've noticed that the Chinese are really curious to see what the foreigner is buying and they'll steal glances at my basket or cart. This woman was just more forward than others.

And this is going to scare people I love at home. I'm sorry. Today we walked with the other Chinese pedestrians across the busy intersection to the supermarket diagonally. I think it was peer pressure from Shannon. Or maybe we hadn't had enough excitement that day. I plastered myself next to a group of 4 Chinese girls and moved through the traffic when they did. Okay, that's my only scary story for today.

Last night I started a study of the word with a girl on campus. I can't really say many details, except that it went fine and I managed to connect her with other Chinese sisters. She is seeking and she really needs to be around other Chinese who can support her and explain things to her in her own language.

Thanks as always for lifting us up here!