This week I am finishing up my History and Culture of the UK class. To end, I wrote a 2 1/2 hour test to give to my lovely students. Now, I get to grade that test. :) I'm traveling this weekend, so I'll be bringing those little buggers with me. Since I started marking these tests the other day, I can share some of the fun things I get to read...
1. Christmas is about the death of Jesus.
2. Christmas is when people welcome in the New Year and put presents in socks.
3. (My fav) Christmas is the birth of Genius. (Well... Genius and Jes-s do sort of sound alike...)
That's all for now. I'll give you some more when I get them all graded!
Friday, April 27, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
A quick update
I've been quite busy the past week. So here is a quick update on my time last week.
Friday:worked from 2-6, rode my bike to Chinese lesson from 6:30-7:45, rode my bike to a friends house to meet with another friend about washing!!! She gets a little side tracked, so even though we talked for about 2 hours, we only did about 1/2 of the study. We'll continue tomorrow.
Saturday I planned for kids' study and I marked my essays that I have from my History and Culture of the UK class. I have about 40 essays to mark, so it sure tries my patience. Afterwards, I headed out to kids study and then BBQ with a few friends.
Sunday I went to Titanic 3D! Actually, for a small part of the movie it was 4D. You see, Nicole, in all her smartness, decided to splash a little water on us during the movie so make it seem more life-like. However, I was 2 people away from her, so I just got one little drop. I was more confused than excited about the 4D effects. :) I still liked her effort.
Monday was relaxing, sort of, we had a huge thunder storm with winds and lightening and thunder of course. I made Rice Krispie treats!!! I've had marshmallows in my cupboard since I came in August and I haven't gotten around to making them, but finally, I did and I ate too many. I was loosing weight in China, but I think I've gained it all back in the past few weeks. Haven't had as much time to cook for myself.
Time for bed! Night!
Friday:worked from 2-6, rode my bike to Chinese lesson from 6:30-7:45, rode my bike to a friends house to meet with another friend about washing!!! She gets a little side tracked, so even though we talked for about 2 hours, we only did about 1/2 of the study. We'll continue tomorrow.
Saturday I planned for kids' study and I marked my essays that I have from my History and Culture of the UK class. I have about 40 essays to mark, so it sure tries my patience. Afterwards, I headed out to kids study and then BBQ with a few friends.
Sunday I went to Titanic 3D! Actually, for a small part of the movie it was 4D. You see, Nicole, in all her smartness, decided to splash a little water on us during the movie so make it seem more life-like. However, I was 2 people away from her, so I just got one little drop. I was more confused than excited about the 4D effects. :) I still liked her effort.
Monday was relaxing, sort of, we had a huge thunder storm with winds and lightening and thunder of course. I made Rice Krispie treats!!! I've had marshmallows in my cupboard since I came in August and I haven't gotten around to making them, but finally, I did and I ate too many. I was loosing weight in China, but I think I've gained it all back in the past few weeks. Haven't had as much time to cook for myself.
Time for bed! Night!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
A Runaway
She ran-away. From what, I'm not sure. She was angry, she needed out. So she returned to the town where she went to University. She came with one suitcase and a small bag. She had no home, not much money, and no job. But she did have a college friend in this town. This friend "just so happened" to live in our meeting place for Sundays. This same meeting place "just so happens" to host women's study every Monday night.
Monday morning I was privileged to pick her up from the train station after a 21 hour train. She said I was her angel after a long trip of leaving her hometown. I took her to her friends house so she could shower, settle in, and relax. 10 hours later I would return along with 7 or so other women her age.
--Remember she is living in the meeting place, what does this all entail??? Every Monday there is a women's study, every Saturday there are CSI classes from 8:30-4 (they are more in depth studies with homework), every Sunday there is not one, but two Meetings. After each of those meeting is a Study. There is a library full of books and BOOK related books. She has just entered an entire new life. She has been engulfed by Ch-stian people.--
How has this affected her? At first, it didn't matter. She was still angry. She was holding on to something from her past. Something has made her upset and it was hard to let go. BUT it didn't last forever...
Last night she shared with us her new life. Her new hope for life. As I was sitting next to this new friend, I had to fight off the tears. She shared with the study group the story I just shared with you. How she ran-away, she was angry, but when she arrived she had friends waiting for her. Now, she has peace. She said she doesn't really know how to explain it, but she feels at peace. She said, "I have hope now." There are still problems back home, but it doesn't seem so bad anymore. She has a reason to live. Before she would do things for herself. She did things because it made her happy. Now, it's different.
It's the H.S. That's her peace. She now joins us on Sundays (Usually for both meetings and at least one study), Mondays, Tuesdays, and sometimes even Wednesdays. How cool! To see someone go from anger to peace because of HIS Word.
That's my job, that's my life here. Not all stories go like this, but these stories keep me going. Keep "thinking" of us over here. Amazing things are happening. Keep thinking of her and she continues to learn about the reason for the hope she has and the peace it has given her.
Monday morning I was privileged to pick her up from the train station after a 21 hour train. She said I was her angel after a long trip of leaving her hometown. I took her to her friends house so she could shower, settle in, and relax. 10 hours later I would return along with 7 or so other women her age.
--Remember she is living in the meeting place, what does this all entail??? Every Monday there is a women's study, every Saturday there are CSI classes from 8:30-4 (they are more in depth studies with homework), every Sunday there is not one, but two Meetings. After each of those meeting is a Study. There is a library full of books and BOOK related books. She has just entered an entire new life. She has been engulfed by Ch-stian people.--
How has this affected her? At first, it didn't matter. She was still angry. She was holding on to something from her past. Something has made her upset and it was hard to let go. BUT it didn't last forever...
Last night she shared with us her new life. Her new hope for life. As I was sitting next to this new friend, I had to fight off the tears. She shared with the study group the story I just shared with you. How she ran-away, she was angry, but when she arrived she had friends waiting for her. Now, she has peace. She said she doesn't really know how to explain it, but she feels at peace. She said, "I have hope now." There are still problems back home, but it doesn't seem so bad anymore. She has a reason to live. Before she would do things for herself. She did things because it made her happy. Now, it's different.
It's the H.S. That's her peace. She now joins us on Sundays (Usually for both meetings and at least one study), Mondays, Tuesdays, and sometimes even Wednesdays. How cool! To see someone go from anger to peace because of HIS Word.
That's my job, that's my life here. Not all stories go like this, but these stories keep me going. Keep "thinking" of us over here. Amazing things are happening. Keep thinking of her and she continues to learn about the reason for the hope she has and the peace it has given her.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Traveling with School
I didn't know what to expect. But, I guess here, that is probably the best way to approach things. Don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed. I found out that I would be traveling with 80 people. Hmm... 80 people! How's that going to go?
We set off Friday afternoon around 2:45, arrived at the town about 6:15. We waited at the edge of this small town of merely 1 million people for a moment. Not real sure what we were waiting for, but I've learned not to ask a lot of questions (mostly because I can't speak Chinese well enough to ask). Once we got going again, it was great! We seemed to have hit every red light. We got to the hotel quite quickly. Later, I found out that when we waited outside of town, we were waiting for our police escort. This escort stayed with us everywhere we went for the next day and a half.
There were some great things on the trip. First of all, the hotel was amazing. We had a computer in our room, two nice sized beds, a TV, and a clean western bathroom. The food was also very delicious! We had 6 huge meals. Every time we ate, I got excited for the food. One time, there were 10 of us on our table and they served us 20 different dishes! (That didn't include plain rice.)
As far as the traveling, it wasn't that great. We went to a cave. Nice, but a little boring and A LOT of steps! Next we went to a tomb of an emperor. Also, somewhat nice, but a little boring. We had a tour guide at every place, but, of course, they only spoke Chinese. The second day we went to a rape flower museum... really boring! We also went to the rape flower fields, but the flowers already stopped blooming, so it was just a plain field of green.
As always, I learned a lot more about Chinese culture during this trip with my school. I'll tell you those stories in person. Too difficult to explain via a blog.
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| Here was our police escort. |
There were some great things on the trip. First of all, the hotel was amazing. We had a computer in our room, two nice sized beds, a TV, and a clean western bathroom. The food was also very delicious! We had 6 huge meals. Every time we ate, I got excited for the food. One time, there were 10 of us on our table and they served us 20 different dishes! (That didn't include plain rice.)
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| Delci and Nicole enjoying the food. |
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| Here was one of our smallest meals... 10 people, 15 dishes (usually you order 1 dish per person) |
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| Best part of the cave. :) |
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| What kind of caption do I put on this photo? |
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| Behind Nicole is the actual tomb of the emperor. |
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| Our Students' adviser, Lisa, and us. |
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Going for a trip
This weekend I'm going on a trip. Where? you ask? I have no idea! My school is taking all of it's employees on a company trip. I guess there are 80 of us going. So, I'll jump in a bus and off I'll go!!! We'll see if it's any fun and what we'll do.
After this weekend's trip, I have two normal weeks, then I'm off on another adventure. My school also gives Nicole and me 2000rmb (about $320) to travel around China. We will fly to Qingdao which is a city in China known for it's beer. We will stay there 3 1/2 days and then fly back to Wuhan. I'm excited because it's on the ocean and is supposed to have a great mountain. I was also told they sell beer in a bag, so I'm curious to see how that works.
Before I leave for Qingdao, I have to write a study guide, write a test, correct 45 essays, and correct 45 tests. We'll see if I actually get the last two done before going out on this exciting adventure.
Speaking of traveling... I'm coming home this summer on June 18th! I'll return to China August 23rd. Over two months at home... what will I do????
After this weekend's trip, I have two normal weeks, then I'm off on another adventure. My school also gives Nicole and me 2000rmb (about $320) to travel around China. We will fly to Qingdao which is a city in China known for it's beer. We will stay there 3 1/2 days and then fly back to Wuhan. I'm excited because it's on the ocean and is supposed to have a great mountain. I was also told they sell beer in a bag, so I'm curious to see how that works.
Before I leave for Qingdao, I have to write a study guide, write a test, correct 45 essays, and correct 45 tests. We'll see if I actually get the last two done before going out on this exciting adventure.
Speaking of traveling... I'm coming home this summer on June 18th! I'll return to China August 23rd. Over two months at home... what will I do????
Friday, April 6, 2012
Tuesday of crazy week
Tuesday morning started off early again. I left my place around 9 (which is early for me) and headed out to a university. Some friends from ch-ch work there and they wanted to throw a party for their son and show us around. I didn't realize until I was on the bus that this was the same university I was at just yesterday. Going to see the same flowers I just saw. :) all well, I'll enjoy the company. That I did!
There were about 20 people from Chu-ch that joined. Some Chinese, some American. We walked around by the flowers, took some pictures, and eventually made our way to an area for a picnic. The family provided a great meal for us to enjoy. Pizza, noodles, fruit salad, chips, bread, and some other snacks that are hard to describe. They also had soda, water, and beer (which was very similar to the water) to drink.
The weather was amazing and the fellowship was great. The movement was slow. :) We didn't see much for being there for over 4 hours. That's what it's like moving 20 people around.
Afterwards I went home and chilled for about 30 minutes, realized it was way too nice outside to be inside, so I took my bike for a ride. I went towards the lake, seemed like a lot of people had the same idea. Since it's the holiday, many people were off of work. I ended up flowing the flow of traffic to Meiyuan 梅园 (Plum Garden) and Moshan 莫山 (Mo Mountain). People everywhere!!! Then, recognizing the bus stop names, I realized this is where I was going tomorrow. Oh no! we will be fighting the crowds. Must be a good place if so many people are here!
The night ended with a relaxing dinner with a few friends and a movie with Nicole. The next day was also expected to be full of activities.
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| Bill walking with Luther |
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| David just didn't want to smile. |
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| Phoebe and Jonathan with little Luther. (Jonathan is one of the Chinese leaders) |
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| Here is all of our food. |
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| Picnic Lunch |
Afterwards I went home and chilled for about 30 minutes, realized it was way too nice outside to be inside, so I took my bike for a ride. I went towards the lake, seemed like a lot of people had the same idea. Since it's the holiday, many people were off of work. I ended up flowing the flow of traffic to Meiyuan 梅园 (Plum Garden) and Moshan 莫山 (Mo Mountain). People everywhere!!! Then, recognizing the bus stop names, I realized this is where I was going tomorrow. Oh no! we will be fighting the crowds. Must be a good place if so many people are here!
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| The lake I found |
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| The people I found |
The night ended with a relaxing dinner with a few friends and a movie with Nicole. The next day was also expected to be full of activities.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Bike ride with Jess, Jess, Julie, and Dan
You know what it's like when you are on vacation... You love it, you love not going to work, for teachers, not planning lessons, or facing the people you don't enjoy seeing. BUT, by the end of a vacation you are so tired that going back to work seems like it would be easier. That's how I feel about the past 3 days. I've loved them, but I'm tired! :) This might become a long post, but I have pictures to include too! Here it goes...
Monday: We moved our Sunday to Monday (since we worked on Sunday this week) so we had our normal "Sunday meeting" with the foreigners and then with the Chinese. I left after the English study to meet a friend for a bike ride. Julie and I rode our bikes for about 1 hour to meet our friends.
We ate lunch, had a rest, then rode our bikes to the Agriculture University. This University has many flowers to look at. We parked our bikes and walked around.
Our friends didn't know exactly where we were going, so we got a little lost. That's ok, we found the "Student Center" It was equipped with a Karaoke room, game room, kitchen, bathrooms, and hang out areas. I'm sure it's not a real student center (you'll see what I mean from the pictures) but it could be. :)
After exploring this university, we headed back to our friend's University. However, since we still had an hour bike ride home, Julie and I left and went back. We took a pit stop at my school and I showed Julie around.
One of my students was still on campus, so she showed us her dorm room and accompanied us to supper. On our way, I passed a hair salon.... Julie, wanna get a haircut with me??? SURE! My student translated for our beautification process. My guy loved it. He asked me lots of questions (of course, most had to be translated) Questions about the NBA, Chinese food, and how are Chinese people and Americans different-that was a tough one.
After our hair cut we jumped on our bikes back, then Nicole and I jumped on a bus and I went back to the same area as this morning to play games. Finally, I was home and in bed around 12:00. Fun, busy, exciting day. Day 2 was just as busy, but I'll tell you about that one later.
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| Long bike ride across town. |
Monday: We moved our Sunday to Monday (since we worked on Sunday this week) so we had our normal "Sunday meeting" with the foreigners and then with the Chinese. I left after the English study to meet a friend for a bike ride. Julie and I rode our bikes for about 1 hour to meet our friends.
We ate lunch, had a rest, then rode our bikes to the Agriculture University. This University has many flowers to look at. We parked our bikes and walked around.
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| Jess, Dan, Julie, Jess |
Our friends didn't know exactly where we were going, so we got a little lost. That's ok, we found the "Student Center" It was equipped with a Karaoke room, game room, kitchen, bathrooms, and hang out areas. I'm sure it's not a real student center (you'll see what I mean from the pictures) but it could be. :)
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| "Student Center" |
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| more of the student center |
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| Student center bathrooms. NEVER complain about dirty bathrooms again! :) |
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| Trying to find the yellow flowers, we are confused what these are. |
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| Rape flowers |
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| Julie, boy Jess, Dan, girl Jess |
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| Stopped for an ice cream break. Julie and I had chocolate, Jess and Dan had pea flavored. |
After exploring this university, we headed back to our friend's University. However, since we still had an hour bike ride home, Julie and I left and went back. We took a pit stop at my school and I showed Julie around.
One of my students was still on campus, so she showed us her dorm room and accompanied us to supper. On our way, I passed a hair salon.... Julie, wanna get a haircut with me??? SURE! My student translated for our beautification process. My guy loved it. He asked me lots of questions (of course, most had to be translated) Questions about the NBA, Chinese food, and how are Chinese people and Americans different-that was a tough one.
After our hair cut we jumped on our bikes back, then Nicole and I jumped on a bus and I went back to the same area as this morning to play games. Finally, I was home and in bed around 12:00. Fun, busy, exciting day. Day 2 was just as busy, but I'll tell you about that one later.
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