How to Replace a Microwave in China

A couple days ago I decided to heat up something in the microwave. I opened the door, and it promptly broke. I don't know why, but its long life suddenly came to an end. The "laoban" of the building helped me drag the dead microwave downstairs. She gave me an unused microwave from an empty apartment on the second floor, which was still in its original box. Jodi and I took the "Galanz" brand microwave out of the hefty box, plugged it in, and.... nothing. It also didn't work. Who knows why.

So now the Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) is in the process of trying to buy us a new one. That will take a few days or weeks, however. First the FAO assistant came to make sure the microwave was really broken. She doesn't own a microwave, and has never used one, it seems. Microwaves haven't quite yet hit the mainstream in China. I had to demonstrate that it actually didn't work and wasn't doing a single thing for a few minutes before she was satisfied that it really didn't work. The laoban also tried to turn the microwave on with our TV remote.

Next, the FAO has to "fill out a report," which then must be signed by the university's vice president and president before a new one can be purchased. Is that called micromanagement or red-tape or something? And it's rather difficult to believe that the president of a 50,000-student university and one of the few appointed representatives in China's People's Congress will have to sign off on a microwave purchase for two random foreign teachers.

In other news, teaching has been going better than I expected, although I'm pretty worn out because of classes and the 95 degree heat in the classrooms. I've been hanging out with some old students, and the Father is already putting some new students on my heart. For example, He put a girl named "Echo" on my heart to talk with. Her English is the best in the class, but I notice the other students never talk to her. So this afternoon we went to eat bamboo rice for lunch together in one of the student cafeterias on new campus.

Although Echo is initially reserved, she quickly opened up. I discovered that she doesn't have many or any friends, because she studies so much and is afraid of being abandoned. She has a difficult time trusting people. I asked her why, and she explained that her parents divorced when she was a child, and her mother got a new husband, had a son, and basically forgot about her. She has felt abandoned ever since. On the outside she seems confident and extremely smart, but on the inside she is lost and lonely.

Wow, I got a little shivery when I heard her story. My story isn't the same, but it is similar, and I got to share it with her. I also have divorced parents, and I used to put on the same facade. On the outside I seemed confident and was a top student, but on the inside I was hurt and couldn't trust very well. And what is stranger, is that maybe only one student out of 150 ever has divorced parents in China. It is pretty rare, at least in comparison to America. And He happened to put a burden for her on my heart before I even had known anything about her.

It's a lot like what happened with my student Reborn last year. I hardly ever noticed Reborn last year until she was crying in class one day. You know the rest of that wonderful story! So perhaps you can also remember Echo.

Today I also had Chinese tutoring with my friend Amy, and I didn't feel quite as discouraged this time. That is my biggest obstacle in China - learning the language.

Then there is a teacher on campus, a young Chinese man with the English name "Mark," who teaches engineering or something on the new campus. I had met him randomly on a city bus last year, and somehow he has managed to track me and my class schedule down. He seems to be an admirer. His English is worse than most of my students, but he loves to sit in on my classes. Hopefully he will get tired of sitting in on my classes and will stop coming.

Anyway, I've included a picture and a video with this blog post. The pictures are when I ate lunch the other day with some of my dear old students, Wendy, Peter, Karen, and Sophia. Peter is the boy who was so painfully shy in my class last year. He would stand totally hunched over his desk when he had to answer any question. By the end of the year he stood nearly straight up, and could speak in complete sentences without looking like he was going to melt into the floor. That was one of the proudest moments for me. :) And the video is of Peter singing a very popular song called, "One Night in Beijing." It is so funny, especially at the end.

Boot camp

Hi, folks! I hope you had a great weekend!

This weekend was pretty blessed. We hung out with our Chinese brothers and sisters for a fun game night on Friday. On Saturday, I got to hang out a lot more with the new team of girls here at our school. I'm enjoying getting to know them. Sunday, we went to fellowship, where I got to "think aloud" with a wonderful group of students from Indonesia. They also told me of crazy stories in Indonesia how their fellowships were burned down by Muslims, etc. They probably feel a lot freer in China, which is also crazy to consider!

After fellowship, Jodi and I hung out with Christine and Sarah, two girls on another Nanchang team who have also returned for a second year in this fair city. We ate lunch, chatted about what's going on with our campuses, and walked around the massive Ba Yi Square downtown. It is chock-full of revoutionary history - just like most squares in China. (See the picture).

Last night Jodi and I had the first of our series of "Open Houses" for our students. Each Monday night we are inviting half of a class over to our apartment to socialize, eat food, have fun, and discuss things in English. It was pretty successful, and I'm excited to continue it. It's a great opportunity to be hospitable and available to our students.

And teaching continues... I have one old class of sophomore Business English students, and three new classes of sophomore Business English students I didn't have last year. I've felt like I can pick up right where I left off with my one old class. We have good discussions, and they are pretty diligent. Then there's my other classes...

To be fair, I've only had the other students for 2 weeks now. They probably still have to warm up to me, but I feel like they are a lot lower level than my old class I have, even though they are the same class level. They are used to chatting in class, and the teacher will only talk loudly over them. That's not going to work for me. I cannot bellow over them.

So we are currently in Miss Laura's Boot Camp. Every day we discuss "RESPECT" and not sitting passively in class to receive information. I've become an expert at taking cellphones they are texting on. And one guy had his headphones on in class. He took them off quickly when I called him out by name, but he didn't see what the big deal was. (It's helpful to learn everyone's names early on).

In addition, a big part of an oral English class is to have THEM share and do the talking, because they don't have much experience with this. Usually their teachers do 90% of the talking. My old class can nearly effortlessly discuss things and speak in front of the class - maybe because I made them do it every day for the past year. It was painful for them at first, but now they've really grown. However, I don't think my new students did this often or ever. It seems to be a very foreign concept. There are a handful of really smart students, but many of the other students are nearly unintelligible when they are speaking, although they've been studying English for at least 6 or 7 years, and are in their second year at college. So speaking in front of others in English seems highly uncomfortable and strange for them.

That will be another important aspect of Miss Laura's Boot Camp - pronunciation, enunciation, speaking in complete sentences, and gaining confidence in front of others. It seems like a daunting task to do with 150 new students, but I'm appreciating the challenge. Thoughts are still always welcome!

Happy Teacher's Day!

Yesterday was a fun day to be a teacher in China, because it was Teacher's Day! All day long I saw students walking around both campuses, carrying carnations or gigantic fruit baskets or other odd gifts for their teachers. The Japanese foreign teacher, Takao, who shares the office with us, was given the craziest stuff. Someone gave him four knock-off Eddie Bauer shirts. He also received a huge wooden ship, gigantic origami flowers sprayed with perfume that he promptly tied in a plastic bag, because the smell was so strong, and a beautifully framed cross-stitch of cherry blossoms. I was given a bobble head cow and a very blue and feathery wind chime by my students.

I also received several emails from students, such as:

"Tomorrow is Teacher's Day . A day for you , a day for all the teachers . It's the time we give our thanks to the teachers who have worked so hard . We chinese regard the teachers as candles . Because they always care so much about the students but pay little attention to themselves just like candle burning himself and giving lights to othe people . Teachers are very great and hard . You did a lot of help to us and you will still help us in the future even though you don't teach us ,because we are friends . Please accept my benediction and regard!"

"Miss Laura Freeze
Today is Teachers' Day in China. i stand for 08BE2.Send you our everlasting feeling of gratefulness and thankfulness on this special day.We all like having you as our teacher. You have our respect and gratefulness. and i think It is the most appropriate time to show you our thanks."

Teaching is going a lot better, not just because it was Teacher's Day recently. I still see my old students, but I don't compare them with my new students. It's sort of fun and challenging to see how well I can love my new students, even or especially when they are being extra difficult. During nearly every class I have to lift my thoughts up, but that's probably how I should live all the time.

On Friday I also officially started language learning again. I'm meeting with my Chinese friend, Amy, in my office in the afternoon. So I'm still trying my best to engage the culture and people. It's just taken a week or two for me to get my feet wet again.

Now I'm off to dinner and then a game night with some students and friends! Have a marvelous, blessed weekend!

(The pictures are from teacher day, a couple of my students, and the military training at our school).

I feel that after writing in my blog all last year about China, a lot of the newness and unique little stories I'd write about aren't really new or unique anymore. I certainly haven't experienced everything, and am nowhere near a "China expert," but it seems to me that there isn't that much to write about anymore. Maybe I'm getting immune to things that would only happen in China: propaganda posters; preparations for the upcoming celebration of 60 years of communist China; being able to lift up thoughts to Him only behind closed doors... Even quirky scenes like one of the front gate guards grabbing my hand and kissing it don't seem out of the ordinary.

Anyways, I think I have my work cut out for me this year. Last year, as a whole, I had the sweetest, most loveable students. This year I have the edgier, rowdier, lower level kids. There is no way I can do this on my own.

Thankfully I'm feeling a lot better! So Jodi and I had our three Chinese friends over to eat some little pizzas we made. It was quite refreshing being with our good friends again. (See the picture).

At the same time, a boy (he looked about 16), came to look at the air-conditioning unit in my room. I haven't used it for the past several days, despite it being over 100 degrees, because it leaks bucketfuls of water. Of course when he was looking at it, it wasn't dripping any water. So he said there was nothing to fix.

Then I had moved my big bed that takes up most of my room, so he could look at the air conditioning. When I was trying to move the wooden bed back, I managed to break it. One side that holds the mattress collapsed, so now it is propped up with old books and magazines. Also during that same time, we had a couple more power outages, because there were rolling blackouts all day. So quite a bit of the evening was spent just sitting in the dark.

Today after class, I went out to eat lunch with a couple of my old students. It was wonderful seeing them again, although I've forgotten how these two girls like to talk about a lot of things I don't like to talk about it. It only took them about four minutes to inquire about my boyfriend status. Then they also commented how my "skin looks much whiter and more beautiful than last year." They also said that my clothes were "much more beautiful than last year." So, on the outside, they thought I had improved greatly over the summer.

As I walked to catch the city bus today, there was a girl walking in front of me with an umbrella, which had a picture of Mickey Mouse on it and big English words, "The Lovely Rat." So apparently Mickey Mouse is really "The Lovely Rat" in China.

That's about all I can think of for now. I hope I didn't bore you. Life is good here, and I hope yours is also.

Having Zero Expectations

Things haven't turned out like I expected them to. And you would have thought I learned that lesson by now. Don't come to China with expectations. Plans are 98% guaranteed to be changed. For example, I expected to settle back into Nanchang life quite easily, and to pick up with my students right where we left off. Barriers and walls were finally starting to come down by the end of last year, so I imagined great things happening with those students this year.

So filled with lots of happy thoughts and expectations, I returned for another year... And then I got really sick. And then I found out I wouldn't be teaching my old students - my roommate would. And then I remembered that it is difficult to live in China, which I had already forgotten during an absence of just a few weeks. And I remembered what it felt like to teach in a classroom that is 108 degrees. And I remembered what it was like to literally fall on my knees, only being able to cry out to Him. In China, I usually feel at my worst and weakest. And somehow, He is glorified in the midst of all this.

I don't have much else to report. I've been reunited with some of my dearest friends, and I've managed to teach a couple of classes. And my health is a lot better than it was, although it still has a ways to go. I'm regaining my strength at the speed of molasses, but I'm thankful.

Thanks for all of your many thoughts!

Clinging to Him

You've probably heard that I've been pretty sick lately - just confined to my room and not trying to draw too much attention to myself in a country that can be a bit heavy-handed when it comes to things like this. But I've finally started to turn the corner on this illness, and I'm coping with the fact that I won't have my students again this coming year.

In the midst of all this "struggle," I've been reminded of His faithfulness through your support. I received tons of emails pointing me back to Him, and encouraging me to keep looking toward Him, while not being mired in my circumstances.

Before I got sick, Jodi and I started to adjust to our new lives as a mini team here at our school. Speaking of Jodi, she is also not feeling so great. Please remember her. And she was assigned my old students, so it is honestly difficult for me not to be bitter or envious.

I had also been wandering around our old "haunts" in the neighborhoods when we first arrived. It is so wonderful to see old Chinese friends. And between Jodi and I, we can communicate rather freely with our friends. My friend, "Kate," said the watermelon lady asked about me all summer, wondering when I'd return. The watermelon lady also said I had treated her like my grandmother. But I have yet to see her. Maybe she's on vacation for the week. One of my favorite guards also said he missed me. The picture people said they were so glad we're back. The Nanchang noodle family hugged us warmly. The little babies gave us high fives. The grandma of the building couldn't stop smiling. The rice and flour people gave Jodi free rice and flour. The foreign teachers never return for a second year, so it is very strange for them to see a couple of us again. And it feels like coming home.

Since I've been confined to my apartment, however, the only thing I know of the outside world is literally a small army training under our windows.

That is a sight to behold. From sun-up to sun-down, a few thousand freshmen march all over the campus in little squadrons for their mandatory military training. They don't even go to class for the next couple of weeks. They all wear army fatigues and green shoes, which make them look like communists from the 1950s. They are whipped into shape and molded into comrades as they drill, march, and chant revolutionary songs at the top of their lungs just about every waking moment. Our apartments reverberate with these sounds.

I guess ever since that infamous "incident" of the late 1980s, all university students are required to participate in military training. One of the big reasons is so that they will not take for granted their status as students, which is a privilege in a country where the majority of people are peasants, workers, and soldiers. As students, they are to learn and contribute to the country - not cause trouble through demonstrations, like the one in Beijing a long time ago.

Supposedly I'm to start teaching on Thursday, but that's not really possible. My fever's finally died down, but I still feel like I just got run over by a truck. I don't remember ever feeling so tired. So somehow I have to find someone willing and able to cover my classes...

Thanks again for your thoughts! I'm leaving you with some pictures from the neighborhood and the military training students.

When sorrows like sea billows roll...

This is Andrea, Laura's sister, filing in for the moment. The blog is blocked in China so I will be her little assistant until things open up - if they open up. Right now Laura is very sick - feeling terribly and quite alone. As her sister, it is very difficult to be on the other side of the globe when I want to be right by her side.

We understand the power of lifting all things up to the Father and have faith that He will carry her through these next few days and weeks. Most often, it is in the very rough times in our lives when He is most glorified. No matter what goes on around us, He is still the same and worthy of all praise!

Thank you for your thoughts - we know our Father hears!