The Chinese Spirit

Happy 60th birthday, New China!

China is having a huge party, and I get to witness it. The city is bedecked with tons of red flags, and huge banners proclaiming 60 successful years are also everywhere. (See the pictures). I've also seen plenty of potted plants arranged in the shape of "60" with maps of China in the flowers, too. People walk around with fistfuls of flags, and all the taxi drivers have flags on their windows. Sometimes I forget that I'm not Chinese, because I'm swept up in all the patriotism, nationalism, and pride. It is a great time to be Chinese.

And maybe I'm more Chinese than I thought. One sweet boy, who was my student last year, told Jodi he thinks I am "just like Chinese." I have the "Chinese spirit" inside of me and my mannerisms and how I carry myself are Chinese, he said. This just warmed my heart. Maybe that's why I feel more comfortable in China than in America.

So we have a week off for the National Holiday. Today (Thursday) is the THE big day. October 1st is the day the communist revolution succeeded. This morning on TV we watched the huge, two-hour parade in Beijing, which rivaled the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. Every single channel on television showed the parade and has been replaying it throughout the day.

Apparently it was China's largest parade ever. The BBC compared the display of military hardware to the Soviet days, and the pageantry to North Korea's. I can't even explain it. You just have to see it for yourself. I think China wins for over-the-top shows, propaganda, goose-step marching, number of missiles, huge portraits of famous leaders, controlling the weather so it wouldn't rain, and the ability to have hundreds of thousands of soldiers, students, workers, farmers, and children march in perfect unison.

Tomorrow the Foreign Affairs Office is going to drive us around Nanchang, just like last year. Then on Sunday I'm taking the train or bus to the northeastern corner of our province to a famous ancient city called Jingdezhen with my Chinese friend, Amy. Supposedly porcelain was created there. I'm not sure why I said yes to going, since the Foreign Affairs Office advised us to only stay in Nanchang. I think I'm just attracted to adventures and potential for mass chaos. So I'll be there for a couple of days. I don't know how we'll get there or where we'll sleep or what we'll do, but it should be a nice China adventure! Your thoughts are still very welcome!

Closed Doors, Open Doors

This past week was definitely full of challenges and joys. Even in the midst of sleeplessness and teaching extra classes, His presence was apparent. There were some disappointing conversations with students who were following Him or interested in Him, but now have been so distracted and busy that they claim He has no place in their lives. But on the other hand, there have been encouraging conversations with other students about life that I hadn't expected.

I think I'll choose to focus on some of the highlights of the past week, though. Probably my favorite part was the "open house" Jodi and I have weekly. This week half of one of my classes came over. They are students that we call "EGR" (Extra Grace Required). They are intense and awkward most of the time, but He is giving me plenty of grace for them!

It was a wonderful experience. We got to show them fun, love, and hospitality, especially as many of them have never been to a foreigner's home before. We served snacks, played card games, had a hilarious time playing the limbo, and taught them a dance. (See the pictures and video). I also showed them some more pictures of my family and friends. One student was looking at a picture of my sister, Andrea, and said, "She is almost as beautiful as you are!" I thought that was special. :) Overall, it was just a great opportunity to love them. Some of them said it was the happiest day of their lives, and one girl hugged me on the way out, telling me how much she loves me.

Then on Saturday, two of my old students came to eat lunch with me (See the other pictures). We had such great conversations about most everything under the sun. One girl, Adelle, is the best student in her class, but also one of the poorest. Her parents are migrant workers who pick vegetables all day long in a neighboring province. She and her brother, who live with their grandpa, only see their parents once a year. And Adelle's family had to pay a fine of 1,000 yuan when her younger brother was born, because you are supposed to only have one child. This just about broke her family.

Then the other student, Claire, who is much more reserved and lower level, told me about her family. They are quite well off in comparison. Her father works as a government official, meaning he has lots of perks. So when Claire's younger brother was born, they didn't have to pay a fine or get punished in any way.

Anyways, there's a lot going on, so please just remember us for rest and stamina. Starting Monday we have a week's worth of classes in 3 days in preparation for the National Holiday, which begins Thursday.

Seeing Gray

I can hardly believe I've been in China again for almost another month! It certainly hasn't been like what I expected, but that's okay. The honeymoon with this country is over. But I feel like I'm becoming much more engrained in this culture. I can understand quite a bit more Chinese, which helps connect me with people. And the longer I'm here, the more I feel that China, like all countries, has many things wrong and right with it. Mostly there's a whole lot of gray. Sometimes I really can't see the world in black and white anymore.

You walk around the world's most populous country and are amazed at the Chinese people's resourcefulness, stamina, and courage. They are survivors--especially anybody over the age of 40. Survivors of war, famine, floods, earthquakes, fires, long periods of no education... Those stories are in the eyes of the 65 year old woman sweeping the street who probably survived two famines. Those stories are in the eyes of the 40 year old man who didn't receive any education because schools had been shuttered for 10 years when he was young. Those stories are in the eyes of my 20 year old student whose village was swept away by a flood, or the student who feels she must build a "strong motherland" today to make up for all those "lost" years of her parents and grandparents.

So now China is developing at break-neck speed as it tries to shed its past. (There is no economic crisis here). But at what cost? The majority of my students didn't grow up with their parents, because their mom and dad were working at factories in the coastal cities. And people are still only supposed to have one child. Thus, there are millions of more boys than girls. My province, for example, has one of the most skewed gender balances in China. To every 100 girls born, there are 140 boys. Multiply that by thousands, and you can tell there will be problems, which are already being noticed now.

And even though China seems to be quite the capitalist hot-spot, it is entirely still communist, politically and socially. I'm reminded of that, because the 60th anniversary of "New China" (communist China), will be celebrated next week. Beijing will have the largest parade, mostly consisting of thousands of soldiers and military equipment. The parade is supposed to be an even bigger feat than the opening of the Beijing Olympics. Is that even possible?

That's all you can read about in the China Daily newspaper here. There are always tons of articles about the big show. People are extremely proud. Take for example, a quote from a soldier who happens to be from our province and has been training for months for the big day. "The wishes in our hearts to sacrifice for our motherland enable us to endure the hardship," said Gao Teng, a machine-gun toting soldier from Jiangxi province.

I think his quote is fitting for most Chinese. They are willing to endure most any hardship and sacrifice most anything, as long as it is for Chinese unity and their country.

Today during one of my classes, several students had to leave early to attend a big ceremony to take the oath for joining the Communist Party. It is a privilege to be asked to join. You must be smart, ambitious, patriotic, loyal, and have the "correct" ideology. And once you are in, you are pretty much set for life. Your social status and job security are just about guaranteed forever. So as they filed out of my classroom to take their oath, a part of my heart sank. Once students join the Party, they are usually less reachable for Him. But it's reassuring that He still remembers and love them, even if their loyalty is elsewhere.

That's enough stories to regale you with for now! More has happened, but perhaps I'll save it for another post. Things are well here. Your thoughts are still always appreciated!

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.