David and Karen's Blog

Teachers' Tea

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 10:52:25 -0400

Another teammate and I are holding monthly "Teachers Tea" with about 8 teachers. This month's topic was about the supernatural. One woman talked about how in the countryside many people are afraid of ghosts and people have many experiences with ghosts or demons. Another woman said sometimes she dreams that she is being choked and she can't move to fight. It all sounded very scary. We of course also talked about Qing Ming Holiday (Grave Sweeping Day) which was just a few weeks ago. This holiday is celebrated by those who believe that there is another world that people go to after they die. They burn paper money and other items that they deceased loved ones may need in hopes of them taking care of them in this world. The night of this holiday we saw many small fires around the city as people were seeking to make them happy. Chinese beliefs are so complicated. Many believe the spiritual world is very powerful; while many believe there is no supernatural and that people just die. There is a huge range of beliefs all in between too. It is interesting to hear what people think about this subject.

Friends' parents

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:38:57 -0500

Our first year here I taught a great group of girls. Two of the girls I hung out with a lot. Two years ago, we had a group of friends from the states come for a visit and they got to meet these two girls, among others. Now these girls are studying in the states and so our friends who came to China flew them to stay with them for Christmas last year. It was so amazing how they reached out to them and loved on them. One of these friends just came to visit us this week. We told these girls' parents that he was coming and so they went out of their way to thank you to him. They picked him up from the bus station, took us out to lunch and brought him many gifts. They were extremely grateful for him and his family's hospitality. It was a great time of sharing about our lives and learning more about Chinese culture. We love having guests come and love on our students.

Email from a student

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Sat, 25 Dec 2010 02:31:51 -0500

Update

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 19:35:50 -0500

Wow, I haven't written anything for a long time. I'm so sorry. There has been so many great things happening, but have forgotten to take the time to share.

I (Karen) turned 30 in November. It has been a little hard for me to accept I'm not in my 20's anymore but I know that is how I've been treated for a while-which is a good thing. Being a mom of two kids makes younger people look at me differently than I view myself. I know that I have a special role here and I am getting more used to that. I know I can speak into people's lives even more.

In November we had several guests and David traveled a lot for his job. It was pretty busy but we really enjoyed everything we were given. I like teaching for David when he is gone and I always do some special things with students and teammates too.I was able to visit some of my Chinese friends who recently had babies and give them encouragement. It's so great to be able to help them with some of their questions and worries and help them to remember to always lean on their father's arms and his word.

Times with students are going great. We have 5 groups of students coming into our home every week for a variety of reasons. It's such a blessing to be here.

American Dads

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Mon, 8 Nov 2010 02:06:22 -0500

David gave a lecture about Fathers on Friday night. There were nearly 300 students who attended. For many, it could be life changing. David talked about qualities of a good father, a father's influence and importance, a father's responsibility and also what the word says about fathers. He also talked about how children need their father in their lives and want time with them. Time spent with children is more valuable than what you can buy them.

Many fathers here will work so much to provide more money for the family but there are rarely with their family. Many times the father will work in a different city, only seeing the family on the weekends or a few times a year. It is sad to see some family's priorities.

We are able to really be an example here with how important our family is.

Happy Halloween

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Mon, 1 Nov 2010 02:23:55 -0400

We had a very fun Halloween this year. We had a costume party with
our team and some Chinese friends on Friday night. It was great to see
everyone's creativity, and of course Spencer and Mia were so cute. Then
on Sunday, we were invited to a Chinese family's home for a Halloween
Party.

Spencer, Mia and I got into our costumes at home and then walked
to their home-about 10 minute walk through campus. I dressed up as a
purple fairy-purple face, wings, headband. I was anticipating everyone
looking at me strange, since most Chinese don't know about Halloween.
However, I only got a few more reactions than normal, because I am
always stared at. It was very interesting that I could wear something so
crazy and get just about the same about of attention as usual. Maybe
that shows you just how much attention we get here.

The party was fun.
This family lived in England for a few years so their two daughters
really enjoy western holidays. It was really fun to hang out with more
Chinese families and the new family on our team came with us. We told
some stories; the kids played some games and did some crafts. Then our
host took us outside and set off some firecrackers. We also went to some
of the homes of the kids at the party so the kids could all 'trick or
treat'. It was really fun. Spencer had a blast.

David's first long trip of the semester

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 06:59:14 -0400

David went up to Harbin for his first long trip of the semester. He was gone 9 days. It was a little difficult this time because both kids were sick, but thankfully I never got sick and I did have some help. I got to have a lot of students over and visited some friends. I even taught one of David's classes too. It went by pretty quickly. David was really busy while he there. He was spending time with teachers and officials at three universities. He got to speak truth into their lives and give them some encouragement.

25th Anniversary

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 06:54:04 -0400

This weekend we celebrated 25 years of our organization at our university. Most of our top leaders came to see us and we held a very nice banquet for the current and former leaders at our university. It was very special. We cooked breakfast and planned the meals for them. We had lots of great conversations with them. Even an old teammate came back for the big banquet. It was so fun.

Karen's foot

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 03:35:50 -0400

Two Fridays ago, I was coming back home from observing one of my teammates' classes, and I fell and hurt my foot really bad. As I was walking home I thought that it could be broken, but I wasn't sure. I iced and tried to take it easy. Luckily a teammate could pick up Spencer from school (David was out of town) because I didn't think I could make it there.

A few hours later I didn't think it was certain, but two students went with me to a clinic. I thought I should have an x-ray to be sure, but the bone guy just felt my foot and told me it was bruised. He massaged it, pulled and twisted it around. It felt great when he was doing that. Then he applied some Chinese medicine that looks like hot peppers; it was actually some kind of red flowers. Then he wrapped up my foot and told me to leave it on for 24 hours, soak it in hot salt water and come back to him. He told me to rest a lot.

I obeyed his orders, but it's hard to rest with two small children. David came home the next day and helped a lot and a few days later it seemed to be getting much better. However, our elevator hasn't been working well, so I've been climbing the steps up to our apartment on the 5th floor at least once a day, sometimes two or three times. I have to walk to by my groceries a few times a week too. Now it's hurting more, so I'd love for you to lift this up for me.

Spencer's Chinese

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 03:10:38 -0400

We can tell that Spencer's Chinese is improving all the time. He is definitely more willing to speak Chinese with us at home and when we tell him to say something to those in the community. Tuesday after he came home from school, he was walking around the house holding his ears saying "er duo, er duo" - which means 'ears' in Chinese. I was so excited. Then I asked him how do you say 'nose' in Chinese, to which he correctly said "bi zi." Then I asked him if he knew 'toes'; he said "toes zi" which is just making the English word sound Chinese. It was funny and linguistically very smart.

We are just so thankful that Spencer is enjoying school and loves going now. Thanks for all your thoughts regarding this.

Crazy couple of weeks

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:48:49 -0400

Classes are all getting started now and soon we will start our activities, but we have two major holidays coming up that will greatly affect our schedules. Check this out:

(1) Mid-autumn Day Holidays

Holiday Period: 3 days, from September 22 to September 24

Class Arrangements: Please work as usual on Septembe19 (Sunday) and September 25 (Saturday). There is no class from September 22 to September 24. September 23 (Thursday)’s classes will be given on September 19; September 24 (Friday)’s classes will be given on September 25. The scheduled classes on September 19 and September 25 will be postponed to next week.

(2) National Day Holidays

Holiday Period: 7 days, from October 1 to October 7

Class Arrangements: Please work as usual on September 26 (Sunday) and October 9 (Saturday). October 4 (Monday)’s classes will be given on September 26; October 6 (Wednesday)’s classes will be given on October 9. The scheduled classes on September 26 and October 9 will be postponed to next week.

(3) The 39th Sports Meeting of Yanshan University will be held on September 29 and September 30.

So complicated, huh? It really makes it tough to know when to start having activities, so please think about all of this for us.

First week of class

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 09:18:04 -0400

Since we have returned, we have completed two weeks of planning/team building meetings and a week of classes. Our team is teaching a wide range of classes this semester, including Oral English to Freshman and sophomore English majors, Writing to Sophomore and Junior English majors, and Oral English to Non-English majors masters and PhD students. David is teaching the same group of students he taught last year again this year. It is very rare, so we are excited about the opportunities this will bring. I'm not teaching but plan to be involve in several different activities and groups of students. I'm also mentoring two of our new teachers this semester. We are looking forward to all the new relationships and deepening of relationships this semester.

Spencer at school

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Fri, 3 Sep 2010 20:33:38 -0400

Spencer is doing pretty well at school. The first day he didn't cry when I took him, but was crying when I picked him up. He wanted to get his Thomas bookbag himself. The second day I had to push him in the door crying, but when I picked him up he was very happy. He tells me about the teachers playing the piano, eating cookies and soup. He talks about using the toilet. When we ask him if he made any friends, he says, "No. I don't share." And then he reenacts yelling at some kids. It's kind of funny, but sad that he's not nice. So, we're pretty happy about the situation. They have very good security. The gate is locked and the classroom door is locked. We're just hoping that he will really learn Chinese through this environment.

Preparing for Pre-school

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 07:58:45 -0400

We got back to our home on Sunday and then Monday morning I had to take Spencer to the hospital to get a medical exam to start pre-school. He had to fast before the exam which wasn't until 9 am. Spencer got up at 6 am so it was torture to make him wait that long without milk and food. He was crying asking for food.

When we got to the hospital we had to register him and start to process of going to different "professionals" for his exam. First was the drawing of blood. He didn't not know what was going to happen but he did great. He did cry half way through it but didn't move. He was so thankful to get food and drink that he stopped crying quickly. He said, "That was sharp." They looked at his eyes, ears, teeth, checked his vision and listened to his heart and lungs. He of course passed.

The next day I took Spencer to the Open house, where we paid the money, took a tour and met his teachers. He is lucky number 8 in his class, so his cup, towel and bed are all numbered 8. He is in the same class as our best friends' daughter. That evening there was a parents' meeting where they talked about the school, the rules, the awards, etc. Then we went to the specific classroom and the teacher told us what we needed to send with the child and how to drop off and pick up. The school is in session from 7:45 am to 5:30 pm, including 3 meals and a nap time, but we plan to just send him in the mornings. We are excited about this new adventure, but a little nervous about how Spencer will do. This is an all Chinese environment, and Spencer knows very little now. We are hoping he learns quickly and will enjoy his time there. Tomorrow is the first day!

Moldy Mess

nospam@example.com (Karen and David) — Wed, 1 Sep 2010 07:52:03 -0400

We had a great time in Beijing. Our meetings were encouraging and challenging. We got to really think about this up coming semester and think about ways we can serve the people around us. It was fun to catch up with old friends and meet as a team for the first time. Our bus came on Sunday nice and early and we were able to leave before schedule.

When we got home, we came home to a huge mess in our apartment. There was mold all over our furniture, carpet, refrigerator and many other things. There was a small flood in our bathroom too. It was so stressful and overwhelming. We had to go straight to an official lunch with the university and then we could go home, put Spencer and Mia down for their nap and then attack the mess. One of our teammates helped us a lot. It was so hard to come home to that, when all we wanted to do was unpack and get settled. By the end of the day though, we felt like we had cleaned most of it, but our suitcases and stuff was still everywhere. It was very stressful. After a few days now, we are still finding things with mold on it but the apartment is getting organized and clean.