Early Christmas

It has been an interesting past couple of days. Jodi's mom, Mrs. Poon, came to visit on Thursday. She comes to China sometimes for business so she stopped by Nanchang for less than 24 hours. She brought me a package lovingly put together by my own mother, which mostly included a few books and a couple of American snacks! It was seriously like Christmas.

Mrs. Poon also cut my hair, because she is a professional hair stylist. It was pretty fun. (See the pictures). We also went out to eat lunch with her and several of Jodi's and my best Chinese friends. (See pictures again). I couldn't be happier eating and walking and talking and laughing with our friends. They are just so accepting and warm. Most of them are also sisters, so they encourage me in my walk with Him.

On the 20 minute ride to new campus Thursday morning, I saw police officers lining the road. I was really confused to see all of these officers standing guard very seriously and talking on their walkie talkies. Later I found out it was just a crackdown on the illegal breakfast stands that usually set up shop in the mornings along the street. Most of my students didn't eat any breakfast that day. However, the police were gone Friday morning, and all the breakfast students were back in their places serving steaming bread or dumplings.

Then an 18 year-old economics major at our university in "Dorm 12" died from H1N1 on Tuesday. She is the first reported casualty of swine flu in this entire province. (There have probably been more deaths, but they haven't been reported. Officials get in trouble if the outbreaks occur in their "territory.") She apparently got pretty sick last week and only went to the campus clinic to get some medicine. The medicine, which was probably some herbs, didn't do anything. She got progressively worse, and died on the way to the city hospital. She was diagnosed with H1N1 after she had died. I only found this out by students and vague news reports. Nobody higher-up will say anything about it.

However, today the Foreign Affairs Office gave us masks to wear when we are outside and a glass thermometer in case we have a fever. They told us to stay very warm, and to avoid public transportation - all of which is virtually impossible. :)

Then one of my students, Will Lee, wasn't in class on Thursday. His classmates said that "something was wrong at his house." I asked one of his close friends what happened. Apparently Will Lee's 45 year-old mother died last night of a heart attack. It just broke my heart, because he's such a positive, upbeat boy and he's always so respectful. Please remember to think of him!

Many of our students have also had to go to the hospital because of high fevers and H1N1 symptoms. Please also think of them, because they don't have adequate clothing, no heat, and not enough money. Some of them won't seek help, because they don't have any money to spare. (It's probably only a few dollars to go to the doctor's).

I don't mean to be a Johnny Raincloud! He is incredibly good and loving, although it is difficult to understand why these things happen, especially in the lives of my sweet, innocent students. Thanks for letting me share!

How to Prevent H1N1 (Chinese Style)

Not a whole lot happened today. It was really cold again, but I'm starting not to notice anymore! I taught six hours of class, and they were pretty good. I've decided to ditch the textbook for a while and go back to writing my own lessons, because they provide better, deeper conversations. Lately we've been talking about character and morals. It's actually been really interesting and thought-provoking for them.

For lunch I went out with three students, Ashley, Karen, and Karin. Yes, Karen and Karin are best friends and apparently have found the need to have nearly identical names. We went to the student cafeteria to eat together. We chatted a little, but we were mostly shivering too much.

Afterwards I visited their dorm room, because my students like to invite me to their "homes." Every time I go to my students' dorms, I always think about how American dorm life is like living in a palace. Here they live four to eight girls to a very small room with concrete floors.

When they were walking me out of the building, I walked by a communal bathroom, which didn't have any soap, like usual. However, people had just finished painting the foyer walls with whitewash, masking the streaks of black and spots of water damage. I asked the girls why the people were painting, expecting them to say, "To make it look nicer." But, no. They gave me an answer that surprised me, even though I've been living in China for a while now and feel rather immune to surprises.

Very seriously they told me the school was painting to "prevent H1N1." Did I hear correctly? I asked them the same question again. And again they repeated, "It is to prevent H1N1. The paint makes everything cleaner." Wow. I could only look at them in complete disbelief. Then we said goodbye.

Usually I try not to judge the customs or culture in China, but this I will say is incorrect. Painting a wall does not prevent sickness anymore than painting your hands. Where is the soap? You can't find it here. Where are the people covering their mouths when they cough? You don't see it here.

I guess if H1N1 spreads to our campus, which it already has, then the officials will get in trouble, because they did not stop it. So if they were trying to be proactive, which must even include painting walls to ward off swine flu, then they won't get in trouble with the higher-ups.

Sometimes I just have to smile at the things people believe - like it is bad to drink water after a meal (I was informed of that by Karin after lunch), that exercising will help you grow taller (even if you are already 30 years old), and that rubbing your earlobes will help heal a burn somewhere else on your body.

That's all for today! I'll be off painting my bedroom...

(I've included a picture of a cute couple in my class - Karma and Kasha. They were sharing gloves and mittens today).

Feeling a little frosty

October was the most beautiful month of weather for this city. It was a lot milder than normal. Usually it is still about 90 degrees all throughout October. Now it is mid-November, and the weather is more like the end of December. It is still rainy, extremely windy, and really cold. The temperature is about 30 degrees inside and outside with a wind chill of a lot lower.

During class today my students said, "Miss Laura, your nose is purple!" I was a little concerned, and pictured myself with a bright purple face. Later I found a mirror and was relieved to see that it was only bright red. Too bad I don't have nose warmers! I do have plenty of long underwear on, though, as well as mittens and my winter coat. I brought my extra warm L.L. Bean coat this year and Columbia boots, but I am still feeling cold. So I walk around the freezing cold classroom looking like a big, lethargic bunny. It takes all my energy just to stay semi-warm.

The class buildings here don't have doors to them, and there are gaps between the extremely thin windows. When I'm writing on the chalkboard, I can feel a quite steady and strong wind blowing on me. The plaster by the windows are all soggy with rain that has streamed inside. My students just complain that it is too cold to write or do anything. My heart aches for them, because they don't have any quality clothes and shoes. Jodi said one girl in her class today literally had blue fingers.

This afternoon I had Chinese tutoring, so I took my friend Amy nearby to the teacher's cafeteria for lunch. The food was already like icicles before it even hit our metal bowls.

In other news, it's not unusual for the power and water to be cut off here pretty frequently. Yesterday the water was off for about five hours and we managed to cook a pretty decent meal of noodles and chicken - all without using water! And the power has gone out for the past two nights just as I'm trying to get to bed. Tonight I 'thought' expectantly, "Can You please turn the power on?" At that very second, the electricity came back on! I ran to Jodi's room and told her what had happened. And right as I was telling her, the power cut off again. Jodi said with her usual dry humor, "Next time you should be more specific." Then I 'thought', "Please turn the power back on and leave it on! Thank you!"

Hope you're staying warm wherever you may be!

Stories from Class

Something unexpected happens nearly every day. Some of my students have to be the most precious people ever.

My afternoon class was pretty interesting on Thursday. There is a student named Echo I have hung out with a few times. She is shy, smart, reserved, and pretty. There is also a boy named Armstrong who is a great student and also pretty reserved. Neil Armstrong is his hero. Armstrong and Echo never sit anywhere near each other, so I had no idea they even knew each other.

However, that changed yesterday when I asked the question, "If someone made a movie about your life, what would it be titled?" Students had random ones, such as "A Leaf Drifting on the Sea;" "Sometimes;" or "A Beautiful Life." When I called on Armstrong in the back of the classroom, he stood up to answer the question (in China, students are respectful, so they always stand to answer a question). Very sweetly and innocently he said, "For Echo." I paused for a minute, because I was a little confused. I pointed to Echo near the front row, and said, "like this Echo?" He nodded very seriously and went on to explain.

He looked right at the back of Echo's head several rows in front of him, with big mournful eyes and said, "Echo is becoming more meaningful to me every day. This is not a joke; I am serious. I want to know her better." At this point the class was buzzing with excitement and confusion. The only thing that came out of my mouth, was "Do you like her?" Again, he nodded quite seriously. I looked at Echo who was turning pink, and trying to hide behind her long hair. Then the whole class applauded. It was a very strange, unexpected moment in class, just like most every day. But it was also a really cute and innocent moment that made me very happy.

Shortly thereafter, Will Lee, one of my students in another class, and one of Armstrong's many roommates, came trudging through the door during the middle of class. He was all wet and cold. (Yesterday it was only about 40 degrees, with strong winds, and icy rain. And there's no heat in this part of China). Armstrong had left his homework in his dorm, so Will Lee walked through the terrible weather for at least 15 minutes to deliver Armstrong's homework that was probably worth only two points. I felt really shocked, because Will Lee was shaking like a leaf. He hadn't come to my morning class because he had a really high fever. It was another dramatic moment. Hopefully Will Lee hasn't died from pneumonia.

Earlier in the class I had made it clear that I wouldn't accept late homework. But what can you say when a very sick student risks his life just to hand in his best friend's homework?

So, yes, it is very cold here now a lot earlier than last year. I'm off to put on some more long underwear!

(The picture is of some of my dear students in class).

Veteran's Day/Single's Day

Happy Veteran's Day in America! (That's you, Grandpa!!) And Happy Single's Day in China! (That's me!)

Lately the Father has really been pushing me to love people and be more sacrificial with my time, money, and energy, especially with the outcasts of society. This year I have students who are a lot more difficult to love, because they are really aggressive, super awkward, etc. These are the students, of course, that He has been putting on my heart to invest in.

I have also been going downtown once or twice a week for fellowship or other activities. I still can't believe the amount of beggars, especially in a supposedly "socialist" country. Most of these people have severe deformities, and literally sit in dirt and filth. Everywhere you look or turn there is someone begging you for money. He has been teaching me to give to them with more generosity and love. And instead of feeling irritation when they tug on my arm or tap on my leg, He is filling me with compassion.

There is also a student at our university who is a bit mentally and physically disabled. There are a lot of students like this at Blue Sky, but this student has sought the foreign teachers out, although he barely speaks any English. Sometimes he visits our office several times a day, and it's pretty difficult to communicate at all.

Anyways, he came into our office before I was going to eat lunch with my friend Reborn today. It was raining heavily and freezing cold all day. I was hungry and extremely tired when he came in, and I didn't feel like trying to figure out how to communicate with him at the moment. I wasn't rude, but I also wasn't gracious to him. He pointed to my umbrella sitting on my desk and asked if he could have it, because he didn't have one and had to travel somewhere in the city today. I told him, no, I was sorry, but I needed it.

I then watched as he limped out of the room into the cold air with his very thin jacket. My heart was all twisted up inside. I was reminded how the Son cared for the lowest and most downtrodden. And how could I be so selfish with an umbrella, of all things? I pondered all of this as I walked downstairs with Reborn to walk the long way to lunch.

Right then, I spotted the student again near the crowded doorway. I immediately walked up to him and handed him my umbrella. I freely smiled at him, and he also smiled from ear to ear, while clutching my hands in thanks. I wonder how many people ever show him kindness. I am thankful that the Father gives us second chances, especially in loving people more like Him.

Then I happily walked into the wild weather outside, huddled under Reborn's half-broken umbrella. It was a great, blessed day. :)

The pictures I've included are some random ones. One is a picture of Reborn. The others are of slightly creepy posters the students have designed to warn against the spread of swine flu. I don't think anyone actually reads them, but I enjoyed taking pictures of them. What if you saw these posters in your local college classroom?

P.S. Can you think of me and my toe? It has gotten pretty infected since I got an ingrown toenail removed this summer. It has been highly suggested that I travel to Beijing or Shanghai soon to get it checked out...

A World of Walls

Did you know that the Berlin Wall fell 20 years ago? Modern European history (including Germany) was one of the topics I studied the most in college. I studied German for nearly six years and even went to Berlin twice - in 2004 and 2005. Each time I visited a section of the Berlin wall or Die Mauer in German. (See pictures).

It was amazing to be standing next to a piece of history that had literally formed the "Iron Curtain" during the Cold War. In 1989 the divided city became one again. I think most people in the world were pretty thrilled that this symbol of oppression had crumbled.

I loved Germany and all things German. Hmmm... I wonder how I ended up in China? Now I'm in a country of the Great Wall and the Great Firewall (so called because of the government's fondness and ability to block numerous websites). There are many other "walls" that you can't even see.

In other news, the heaven's opened up and torrential rainfall began today. It was like the whole earth breathed a sigh of relief. I think it has only rained once in the past 2.5 months. I was pretty glad for it, even though I got drenched running around campus and on the city bus.

This afternoon I had Chinese tutoring with my friend Amy. We always eat a big lunch and ice-cream together. No one has to worry about me starving here. Then we headed over to the dance studios on new campus. Amy was my translator and we won over the hearts of the building supervisor and dean of the fine arts department. I brought them oranges and tried to charm them.

In China, people who have any amount of power (even holding the keys to a dance studio), like to leverage that power. If, for example, you want to use a dance studio, you can't just go in and start using it, even if nobody else is using it. You have to go to the top of the power pyramid (like the dean), which is what we did. We visited the dean and the secretary and sat down to chat, while they debated the matter. Then we worked our way down to discussing the matter with the man who holds the keys. It is a time consuming process, and you can't demand your way. But that's a little picture of how you go about to get things accomplished in China. China is all about relationships.

Anyways, everyone conceded and agreed to let my use one of the dance studios for ballet on Monday afternoons. It was a wonderful accomplishment.

That's probably all for now. We are in the midst of giving midterms. I'm leaving you with an additional picture of me with one of my students. They all have red fans for a performance coming up soon.

Nothing profound

It was 88 on Saturday and then it was 48 today! All of a sudden painful memories of the past winter are filling my head. It's not cool seeing your breath inside. I am thankful, though, that we had a glorious month of record-breaking wonderful weather.

Today there was a rumor that you could access Facebook through a certain proxy server. Facebook, like many other time-wasting and foreign websites, have been blocked until the end of time here. Intrigued, I decided to check it out for myself. I've gone without checking Facebook for over two months, so I was excited about the idea. I indeed managed to get on, although I couldn't write or add anything. I just browsed for a little while...

So I decided I'm glad Facebook is blocked for a while. I often feel isolated here in China, and Facebook didn't help. Wow, people's lives go on without me? I guess so! :) And people get married? And have children? And that cute guy I liked has a girlfriend?

Thank you, China, for blocking Facebook for me. Then I don't have the temptation to compare myself, think about a country that might as well be on a different planet, and keep tabs on people that I haven't spoken to for 2 years.

In other news, I think I'm becoming Chinese. My Chinese language skills are actually improving and I'm starting to think like Chinese. Who needs lines, order, cleanliness, or individuality? And did I ever drive a car? Go to college? Live in a two-story house? Dance ballet? Care what my hair looked like? Understand conversations on the street? Eat a piece of meat bigger than a button? Maybe I have Alzheimer's, but it's amazing how quickly you adapt to a new culture and your old one seems to fade away in about five seconds.

Okay, life is good and I'm grateful. Here's a couple pictures from this weekend. Enjoy your week! P.S. Feel free to email me! I miss you!