Differences

So, I've been MIA for the past 11 months. I am NOT proud of that and I know when I'm looking back through my blogs, I'll be really sad that I don't have anything posted about my time in Beijing. It was (as expected) another great year in China. However, now I'm back in the States full time and beginning to start my life as not a foreigner. My goal is to make a series of posts about the differences in China and America. These differences will include the food, people, lifestyle, work, and some other culture aspects. By doing this I hope to remember what it was like as I was a foreigner in a land that's not so foreign to me anymore.

A short update on my life now. I got a call to serve as the fourth grade teacher at St. Paul's Muskego. I have pretty much fully moved in (however, still working on getting things on the walls) and working hard in my classroom. Hopefully I'll also include some pictures of that in this series.

Here's a difference... blogger isn't blocked in America. I have no excuse as to why I'm not posting... :)

Trekking soon

Tomorrow Melissa and I start our trekking adventure! It rained a little at our current place so hoping it's not going to rain tomorrow! We are excited to begin even though we don't really know what to expect so no matter what, it should be good. We had a long bus ride today but not much else happened. I'll be out of internet for the next six days. I'll give you an update when I'm back!

Back to a world

I've returned to a world with free access to blogger and Facebook! I arrived in Nepal a few hours ago and am awaiting the arrival of my sister! First thoughts of the city... small! But still crazy. No stoplights or buildings over five maybe four floors. It's cold here too! Without heat. Reminds me a bit of Wuhan in the winter.

They have electricity outages often so it's not very reliable. I got here at 6 and it didn't come on til 10. They also have water shortages and have been told their water is quite expensive. I haven't noticed yet. Enjoy these few pictures I took from the car to my hotel.

School update

        Beijing has been absolutely beautiful the past few weeks. There was a special world-wide conference in Beijing which means they completely change what it's like. Factories are shut down and traffic is restricted so the pollution leaves. Wow!!! We could breathe fresh air for a long time. In addition to that, we got six days off of school. Granted, we need to make some of them up, but... it was a very nice break to have. :)

    The first quarter has been going really well. Sometimes I feel like a real teacher. Yesterday I lead a professional development day for the teachers (I had to as part of my master's class). My students seem to be learning and most of the time the classroom is under control. Here are some pictures of the reading projects we did for the past book. They turned out really well!

Hallway bulletin board

Fourth Grade

Third Grade

 

   Each semester we need to go on a field trip. This semester we went to the Temple of Heaven with the students. The first grade teacher created a scavenger hunt complete with different tasks they had to do. It kept the students involved and allowed them to see a large part of the park. I LOVED spending a whole day with the students outside of the classroom. You remember more and more that they are kids, not just students. They worked together so well and each group had fun!

We were supposed to look scared.

   The holiday break gave me a chance to catch up on homework, do some Christmas shopping, and visit the 798 Art District. Now, a two day week and another weekend!!!

   Thanks for keeping us all in your thoughts. It's great to see my students growing as young chstians. It's great to know that the HS is working here and elsewhere. Enjoy the holiday season!



My group by the Temple of Heaven

10 Things you can do in Wuhan

I decided to go back to my Chinese hometown of Wuhan for the October holiday. I had a lot of fun doing the things I can do there and did there for four years. Here is a list to summarize my trip back "home".

10. Watch "ants" work out and run back to their classes at Becca's high school. We also played a trick on them. That I would be their mean teacher after the break They were afraid!

9. Eat hot, dry, noodles AND Zhou Hei Ya (spicy duckneck),

8. Blind massage AND a massage with Rob all the way from Wuhan!- my timing there was perfect.

7. Lunch with smiley Renner, my buddy (otherwise known as bubby- there once was a misspelling in a text.) Also lunch with Elsie.

6. Ride a motorcycle taxi!- no picture of this one, but I was super excited. They are hard to find in Beijing since the gov regulates them a bit more here.- Maybe that's saying something,..

5. Ahao and Zhang!!! They have been awesome hangout buddies for a long time.

4. Coffee with Mouyee- well, I had coffee, she had wine. :)

3. Drink with Brian!!! Yes, his picture is an advertisement!

2. Hold Linda's baby, have a facial, and afternoon tea with her. What a blessing!

1. See countless friends, encourage people in their Walks with Him, be encouraged in my life, see the overwhelming love and blessings my great DAD has given me. I'm thankful for the time to go and visit.

Week 2 complete!

So, I've officially finished two weeks of teaching. Every day I'm feeling more and more like a real teacher. It's a stressful job, but man, can it be fun! The kids are awesome and surprise me every day. They also challenge me. I'm learning more and more about the important characteristics of a teacher. Consistency is key! Unfortunately, the first two weeks were both only four days. So... this next five day week will truly challenge me!

Here are some highlights of the last two weeks:

A third grader came up to me and said, "Sorry, Miss Gierach I didn't bring you a birthday present. My mom said I didn't have to." She really felt sad about it. I assured her that saying happy birthday was a good enough present.

A fourth grade girl freaked out when she saw my eye. A blood vessel broke so I looked pretty scary if I looked up. She didn't know how to explain to me what was wrong, so she ended up just walking away.

A group of six students spent 10 extra minutes during Bbl time making sure everyone understood the story. I couldn't stop that!

Tonight I plan to get a massage. First one since arriving this year!!!

The first week

Well, I'm two days into my first week. It's been interesting to say the least. I have some very sweet kids that will help me through the year. I have a few little rascals that will challenge my everything. Today I started the day with a little Brain tai qi. The question... "What makes your new school great?" Some of the answers were pretty cool:

I think mabe is the teacher is good. And I think is Gd help the teacher. And Gd help the studens. And the teacher is good teach. - oh yeah, baby! Teacher got two points on this one! :)

I like books. I like the food. I like the teacher. I like firend. I like the plant.

Making new 朋友 will make my new school great. I like my new 老师. I like the books in this school. I like the light in this school. I like the songs in this school.- I like that this student used Chinese in her English writing :)

I thing the student and the teacher. And if the student be great and the school will be great and every one is happy. new fries make the school graet and graet teacher. And the most is Gd made this school grate. It was graet at this school.

He said it! the fries here are great (he means friends) and Gd made it great!

Teacher bedtime is coming up!

I'm Back!

Good morning from jet-lagged Jess! I have been doing supper well lately on sleeping into an ok time. However, today I went backwards... 4:30am and I was ready to go! Today is the beginning of day four so I'm sure I'll be normal again within a week. :)

My trip out to Beijing was pretty smooth. I had a seven hour layover in Chicago which was actually pretty nice. I got to call some people and downloaded things for my class. The best part though... as I was boarding my flight I heard a stewardess say, "He doesn't speak English, he can't sit in the exit row". Then she turned to the line and asked loudly, "who is traveling alone?". Well, I knew the follow-up question to that one, so I raised my hand quickly. I got the exit row! Unlimited leg room! I could go to the bathroom anytime I wanted and never had to stand in line (it was right in front of me, so I could see when it was empty).

However, as we were about to land (over an hour late), we started gaining altitude again. The pilot said that we had to fly around again and try the landing again because we were too close to another airplane. Never had that happen before, but I'm glad it was easily avoided.

My first days in Beijing have been pretty simple. I'm trying to organize my apartment, which will take a while. I'm also preparing for school. I'll take some classroom pictures soon to show you what it looks like! 

Not sure if you can tell, but the Packers were playing as I boarded the plane.

I've never had this much space...

We have a ton of hand-me-downs! Our living room can't hold it all!

Final Days

Here are some pictures from the last few days in Wuhan. I'm now back in America and when I return to China will stop my journey in Beijing!

Quick update

Well, usually I'm much better at doing blogs, but lately my life has been a little crazy. Since May 1 I I've been on at least 14 trains (kinda lost count), 3 airplanes, and lots of subway lines. I finished teaching April 26 and have been traveling pretty much every since. I've made a few trips to Beijing for visa and passport stuff, out east for an amazing retreat, a trip up to Qinghai with my roommate, another trip out east to travel with some buddies for the last time, and I will head up to Beijing again shortly.

I'm very thankful that I was done with school so early so I have been able to slowly transition to Beijing. I've attended one of their studies a few times and have gotten to know some of the Chinese. My apartment is rented, contract signed, bike bought, and visa in process. I've explored the area for food and shopping and have unpacked most of my stuff! My new life in Beijing is waiting for me!

However, before I leave, I have lots of good-byes to say here. I don't think I really understand that my time in Wuhan is so limited. I've seen a lot of friends the past few weeks and it's hard to think that it might be the last time I see them. Yes, I'm still in China, but Beijing is a bit far away and some of them are also leaving Wuhan.

On another note, I'll be celebrating the 4th in America this year! I arrive July 1st in Chicago. :) Grill-outs and fireworks, here I come!

Beyond Expectations

I just got back from about two weeks of traveling and will spend about three days in Wuhan, then leave again for about two weeks (business this time, not all pleasure). So, since I'm here for a few nights, we decided to have a game night. I invited about 30 people to the game night. Only two told me they could come. I figured we'd have a small group since Dan (fellow American) also had only two friends say yes.

The night started at 7pm with... two friends, then it began to expand. It expanded quite rapidly! By the end of the night we had about 25 people! We almost ran out of chairs. And the best part, three of them said they would like to join on Sunday. So, I hope that they really will. HE is still doing great things here. He blesses our work beyond our expectations.

One table played Apples to Apples (and later UNO).

My table played Rummikub. (They LOVE this game!)

This table played Dix It... It's a very fun game, but hard to explain on here.

These people are such a blessing. :-)

Beijing or bust!

Now that it's almost May and the next year's decisions (for most of us) have been final for some time, I've decided that I'll make it blog official as well. This February I was offered a job in Beijing. At first I had no interest but after thinking about it some more I looked into the opportunity. Again, after lots of "thinking" and thinking, I decided to move to Beijing! It was a hard decision and I'll miss my family and friends here in Wuhan, but I'm excited for the next adventure as well.

Year five in China will consist of A LOT of change!

I'll change my city from "small town" Wuhan of 10 million to "big city" Beijing of 20??
I'll change from teaching college students to probably 3rd-4th grade.
I'll change from living with a Chinese friend whom I love to living once again with an American, whom I'm sure I'll love.
I'll change from knowing how to get EVERYWHERE I need to go to asking directions on how to get to the fruit market.
I'll change from being almost the oldest and most experienced in the city to being a rookie, sort of,  all over again.
I'll change from bringing old friends to studies to meeting old friends at studies for the first time.

However., some things won't change..

I won't change why I'm here.
I won't change studying with amazing brothers and sisters.
I won't change growing in love with an amazing country hungry for "food".
I won't change the love I have for my S@vior and the love He has for me regardless of where I live!

Bring on the Jing! Bring on the change and the new opportunities and challenges I'll have. 

Minimum wage

I had an interesting discussion with some of my students the other day about pay in China compared to America. In America, the minimum wage is technically $7.25 (44rmb) with some states higher and some lower. The highest is $9.32 (57rmb). At least, that is what wikipeda told me. In China, I get paid between 100-250 rmb an hour ($15-$40) which is very common for foreigners-it's almost like we have a PhD in English. However, Chinese nationals get paid much much less!

Most of my friends make anywhere between 10-30rmb an hour ($1.60-$5). Those with good jobs could get 50-75rmb an hour ($8-$12). Can you imagine working 8 hours and only making about $25!? They will get bonuses at the end of the year and some get paid more, but it's still much cheaper than the USA. Yes, many things are cheaper here, but it's still quite different.

I could pay a lady $3/hr to clean my apartment! Why haven't I, you ask? Because I didn't realize how cheap it was... and I don't know where to find one of those cleaning ladies... and I should clean it myself... :-(

Another post of thanks

I was rereading some of my past posts tonight and ran across a post where I explained a variety of friends that I was thankful for (click here to see the blog). I wanted to do it again with some of my other friends. I am thankful for...

Leona, who is an amazing roommate and example of complete excitement to know more about HIM. Being able to be with her in her walk with Him has been one of the best parts of China. She is never too busy to help me and makes me laugh. He knew what He was doing when He lead me to meet her at the train station so long ago (click here ) to read about our first meeting.

Linda, who teaches me Chinese and studies piano so that someday she can play on Sunday mornings. She also wants to be the best Chstian mom to her unborn baby and is one of the most supportive people I've met.

Sam, who has grown so much in his knowledge that he can now explain what he knows (and I hope believes) to friends that he personally brought to study.

Renner, who no matter how I am feeling can make me laugh both in person and over the phone (well, Wechat, which is a texting app).

Olli, who can cook ribs like a professional and is always honest about what he thinks and willing to let me correct his English mistakes anytime and anywhere! He also has one of the kindest hearts around.

Vivian, who wants nothing more than to spend her life in service to the One who has given her strength in this life.

Jonathan, who has devoted his life to studying more and more about the Book so he can humbly serve and teach others who know very little about the peace that he has.

Ivy, who will never let you go hungry when you leave her home! and will honestly tell you "you won't like that, so you don't have to eat it" so I don't have to pretend that I do.

Chenjing, who after a little bit of pushing, will lead a Study for future sisters in Him... and does a great job!

I could keep going, but I'll stop there for tonight... again, I'm not trying to brag about my friends, but share the blessings with you that I've been given. Just stop and think a while about all the amazing blessings in your life...

Year 5??

When I first came to China, I was planning on staying for two years. Then, after a fun learning time in China I would return to America or maybe another country to continue teaching. However, my plans are not always HIS plans. I'm finishing up year four in Wuhan and have yet another surprise to my life!

Next school year I will not be teaching in Wuhan. I have truly enjoyed my time here, but it's time to move on to anther place. I know, a lot of you are hoping that the next place is America. However, I won't be going to America, but to Beijing! I will be teaching at a grade school in Beijing this August. I'm very excited about this new opportunity I have.

So... year 5? Yes! I will be in China for another year and after that HE only knows... I trust that he will continue to guide me in what he wants me to do. HE has been so good to me so far, I can't wait to see what else he has planned for my life!!!

My old complex

My window is facing the walkway in my complex. Compare it to a driveway but shared by about 1000 people. As I sit in my room I hear children playing and old ladies talking, cars leaving and garbage people shoveling up the garbage. I also hear people yelling, not out of anger, but advertising. I never really understood what they say and didn't really care much. Actually, it was more annoying than anything. But, then today, I discovered what this old man has been yelling for the past 6 months.

I was walking home from school and heard the familiar voice. Just before I got to him, I heard a lady say "Oh, do you have eggs?". He responded, yes, two different kinds. Eggs!! Really!? all this time he has been yelling to us that he has eggs for sale? That's where I live, people come around my complex selling eggs from a little basket. They yell loudly and walk slowly so we have time to come down and buy what they have. Now I know if I need eggs, I can get them from the guy with the strong voice.

Welcome Back

I never thought I'd be the one to have such a break in the blogging. I was doing so well with it and then, bam... silence. Here is a small update on my life.

I had two months off of teaching which resulted in lots of traveling and no routines. I went to America, Guangzhou, Bali, East Java, Jakarta, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen.

This past week I started teaching for the second semester. I have 50 days of class altogether and just finished 5 so only 45 to go!!

Coming back to Wuhan is a bit of a shock since it's still pretty cold inside. Currently it's warmer outside than inside which makes it a little frustrating ;)

Next week we'll start studies so it'll be nice to see friends again and catch up on their winter holiday breaks.

Besides that, nothing to fun, crazy, or exciting has happened (well... Indonesia was pretty fun, crazy, and exciting). I'll try to keep updating more and putting on pictures.

I'm Back!

I made it back to Wuhan without any difficulties. I arrived in Shanghai Friday night and after dropping my bags off at a fellow FoCer's house, I met up with an old Chinese friend. She didn't realize I was arriving from America, so she was a little surprised about how tired I was. Man, was I tired!!! I tried so hard to focus but sometimes when I was talking my words began to slur and I couldn't always focus on what she was saying. It was still really good to see her though!

Coming back to Wuhan was great because my friends Adam and Linda picked me up with their car. It was soooo nice to have them waiting there for me once I arrived. The ride back was great and I made my way into my apartment. Yikes, is it cold here! I don't like it at all, not after being warm in my house in America. I miss heat in the bathroom and living room. I spend most of my time in my bedroom now with the heater on, it still isn't as warm as I'd like, but.... BALI here I come!!!! I leave again on Saturday, I'll try to  keep you updated on my traveling! :)

Wuhan Traffic

Everyone in Wuhan will tell you how terrible the traffic is. I'm sure I've mentioned it before how traveling by bus or taxi there are headaches.  Buses are crowded, taxis are hard to get, traffic jams happen at all times of the day/night. However, regardless of the frustrations of crowded buses, the transportation system is awesome. You can get anywhere in the city for under $2 (usually about $0.30) And... the third subway line opened!!! Wuhan's subway is continually growing!!!

Enjoy these pictures of the impressive bus system in Wuhan.

The bus line outside my house before school. I'm very thankful I can bike to school every day.

buses looking the other direction

The "sidewalk". The actual sidewalk doesn't exist right now so we walk through here. Don't worry, the cars aren't really moving anyways.

More of the sidewalk

Christmas Time

Year four in China has surely been a blessing. The past week I got to see a friend I studied with for over two years get washed. She mentioned it a few weeks ago and I was shocked. I didn't realize she was ready and I was so happy to hear! She has surely has grown in her life over the years.

Then, about a week later my good friend and roommate Leona was confirmed! I was so happy that I fought the tears (I later gave in a little). Such a blessing to see these "lost" friends find the truth about life. It reminds me that living half way across the world is worth it. However, holiday times are hard. It's hard to see and remember what's happening in America and know that you aren't able to be a part of it.

This year is going to be different. About nine months ago I bought a ticket to America. I would fly from Shanghai to Milwaukee on December 19, six days before Christmas!!! I wasn't about to miss another year! One catch... I wanted to surprise my Grandma, so, after keeping it a secret for the past months, I'm finally able to say hi to my grandma in December! I'll let you know how it goes... right now it's December 23rd, I'm sitting on the couch with the tree lit and the fire going. Outside the snow is falling and we are enjoying a very white Christmas!

I started this before Christmas, now I'll finish it.

My grandma came over for Christmas and was surprised so see me in the kitchen! It was fun to see her for the second time this year. She was a little sad though to know that I will have to fly back to China after Christmas, but she would enjoy the time for now.