So Long, 2009!

Dear 2009,
Alas, our time together is quickly coming to a close. And, as with many of the years before you, I feel as if we have not had quite enough time together. Short as you may seem, we sure did have some pretty awesome times together. You graciously brought me many things: adventures galore, excitement, new friendships, joy, challenges, two championship trophies, the cutest nephew, countless train rides and over 30,000 frequent flyer miles. We started our journey together in Langfang, China- and that is also where we'll part ways. That fact alone is pretty amazing! Years ago, I never would have or could have dreamed that we would spend the majority of our days together (almost 10 months!) walking the streets of such a foreign land- teaching college students, bumbling through their language, cooking toaster oven feasts, rediscovering a love for long johns, and eating (enjoying) lots and lots of eggplant. Who knew that we would study the Word together with so many new sisters, learning and growing together in ways that go beyond spoken words? I never could have imagined it, but Someone far greater than you or I had this plan in His mind long before either of us came to be. It's because of Him that I can look back on everything that you and I went through with a smile on my face and a great sense of peace and purpose in my heart. I can only hope that together we brought Him more glory and honor. I'll miss you, 2009- but I won't soon forget you. I dare say that I will never forget you- the thousands of pictures bearing your mark won't let me do that. When I think of you, I will most definitely recall the many sights, faces, sounds, and smells that are yours and yours alone. And I will smile. Thanks 2009!


January: Chocolate-chip cookie party

February: Spring Festival parade

March: Hiking the Great Wall with Hannah

April: The return of all things green and alive!

May: Game break during class

June: Graduating with DanDan

July: Hanging with my China man

August: Fab Five karaoke reunion!

September: Biggest. Cricket. Ever.

October: Jam-packed English club

November: 2nd Annual IECS Turkey Bowl

December: Christmas party with my favorite class!

It's a [dead] MOUSE!!

Warning to all of those who are squeamish and/or animal lovers: you might not like what you see at the bottom of this blog post. But the speculation and accusations have gone on long enough! Is is a rat, or is it a mouse? If you'd like to, you can see for yourself what crawled up from under my sink- definitely not your common, everyday, ordinary AMERICAN field mouse. I'll give you that. What we are dealing with here is a well-fed, super-gross, gargantuan CHINESE mouse. I'm sticking with that. I don't think I could live with the fact that a rat is creeping around my sweet little home here. Besides, I've mentioned the giant cricket down the street in a previous post, so we can conclude that they just grow their creatures a bit bigger in these here parts. Blame it on the rice, blame the MSG- doesn't matter. What matters is that this Goliath has been taken down! Sweet dreams, mighty mouse!

On a lighter note, here's a fun picture of me, Lucia and homemade pizza! Lucia is a transfer student, new at our school this year. The crazy thing is that she comes from the city of Qinhuangdao, from the college that I visited on my very first English week trip to China back in 2007. Even crazier is that she was there back then, participated in that English week, and ended up taking a lot of jumping pictures with me- though we didn't even really meet or talk to each other at all. And now here she is, going to my school and taking my film class! She also happens to be a sister, so she's joined our Tuesday night girls' study. The funniest part of it all is that this picture, from that first English week, has been on my "wall of jumps" here in Langfang since last year:
She's in there-can you spot her? (I know it's kinda small- she's the fourth from the right) It's like I've been waiting for her all along, and we both recognize the Father's hand in our friendship. When I pointed out the picture to her, she said that it was just further confirmation from Him that this is where she is supposed to be, and that He prepared the way for her. I say that it's more proof that jumping pictures are the best! :)



WARNING! HERE COMES THE GROSS PICTURE!!
To put this into perspective, the trap itself is quite large, about the size of a 4x6 photograph. Industrial sized traps for industrial sized rodents.

Sealed in Him

Saturday, November 14, 2009 is a day that I hope to remember forever. There is much that could be said, but it comes down to this: three of our beloved students-one brother and two sisters- confessed their need and love for J, and were b-tized and as sign and symbol of the great work that is being done in their hearts and lives. It was a small gathering, done in the privacy of Carly's apartment, with my boss Newt officiating, but our hearts were bursting with joy and I know that there was a seriously loud celebration going on up in the sky, if you know what I mean! His presence was most definitely with us, and the images of what I saw are forever in my heart. It was truly a special and sacred time.
I wish I could write more, but I must refrain. Instead, I'll tell you about our second English club of the year. Club really is one of the highlights of each month- especially for someone like me who used to do this kind of stuff all the time. No where else to we get to be in front of so many students at once-and so many different kinds of students at that. No where else do we get to have so much fun with students- playing "human musical chairs" and watching them stuff their faces with bananas. And we get to share life lessons in the classroom all of the time, but there is something extra special about speaking to 200 totally tuned-in students. This month the talk is on joy, delivered by yours truly. Students are constantly asking me how I am so energetic and optimistic all of the time, so I decided to tell them: I’ve got joy (joy, joy, joy down in my heart). Not happiness, but joy- something deeper, and something not dependent on mood or circumstances. You and I know where it comes from, and the students who got wet on Saturday most certainly do. The world can’t give it, and the world can’t take it away!

This club was also special thanks to some visitors from home- Newt brought his wife Claire and friends Rick and Beth Barr along to check out what’s happening in China. They came to club and helped out by participating in the “Little Nemo” skit with students. They each stood blindfolded behind a student, stuck their arms through and fed the lucky kids bananas and glasses of water. Here’s Beth, winning the competition with one of my sophomore students, Susan (who still has a mouth full of banana). She'll probably remember this moment for the rest of her life. Joy!

She's back! For real!

Yes, yes I know- it's been forever! But in my defense, this country that I am currently living in has tried its darndest to keep me off of my blog and out of touch with all of you. No, I have not outsmarted said country; I have paid someone else to do that. So here I am- where to begin?? I honestly have no idea. In some ways, it would just be easier to back off of the blog, but I watched "Julie & Julia" the other night and was inspired to get back to it. Cheesy, but true. Great movie, by the way- I recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.
So yeah- it's my second year in China, back in good ol' Langfang. So much has changed, so much is still the same. New teammates, new students, new subjects to teach, but same apartment, same restaurants, same Father over it all. It's been a great start to the year for sure, and as always, China is delivering on the fun/strange/adventurous stories. I have deemed this year "the year of the animals". They seem to be everywhere these days- some good and some bad. There are 2 pet ducks on our street, along with a bunny and a giant cricket (though he's been gone since the weather turned cold). A new batch of kittens was stranded on the roof behind our apartments recently, and I have had 2 housemates of the animal kind. The first was a tiny lizard in my kitchen sink, and the second was a MUCH less welcome guest: a mouse. The story is long and spans almost the entire semester so far, but suffice it to say that he was eating the garbage out of the can under my sink and chewing his way through my washer drainage hose. I naturally did not appreciate what he was doing, so I fed him peanut butter attached to an industrial sized mouse trap. Good thing, because he was also industrial sized. GROSS. But at least I have now solved the mystery of the footprints that greeted me in my apartment when I returned in August...
I could go on and on, but I think I'll let some pictures do the talking now.
I ran and finished the 9K race in the Beijing Marathon on October 18 with my Baoding teammate Kerry. We met our two goals: no stopping and finishing in less than 1 hour! Our time- 59:45! It was such a great experience, I'm thinking that a half-marathon could be in my future...
Guess who? It's Flat Shamblee!! I was gone on a trip and my teammates decided that they just couldn't live without me. So they drew me up and took me around China with them. I came home to pictures of myself doing all kinds of fun things. I love my team! :)
One of the biggest surprises of the year so far: a freak snowstorm that dumped over 2 inches on November 1! It was the strangest sight- green leaves and white snow- and it brought winter here in a hurry. Though it was an extra special treat- I don't think I've ever had it snow on my birthday before!
And speaking of birthdays, can we talk about these awesome cakes??? Almost too beautiful to eat...almost. Did I mention how much I love my teammates?? :)
My birthday was also a great time of celebration with some of my closest Chinese friends. My great friend and sister DanDan (second from the left) rode the train for 7 hours from grad school just to visit for the weekend. We partied it up at KTV (Chinese karaoke) and had a great time singing, laughing, and sharing No Bake Cherry Cheesecake (thanks, Mom!)

Apparently I've reached the limit on picture uploads. More later!

The Finish Line- Finally!

I did it! I actually did it! Last Saturday, I ran my first ever 10K race- The North Face Endurance Challenge Run. I ran with perseverance, and I crossed that finish line!! I've only ever really run one other race in my life, and that was a dinky 5K back in Pittsburgh (I'm allowed to call 5K's "dinky" now). I don't even really know what possessed me to sign up for this race- I just remember Peter talking about it back in January and me thinking, "I should do that". So I found an 8-week training plan online, printed it out and told myself that I could do it. I laugh to myself now as I remember the first day of running back in February- I struggled to run 1.5 miles (10K = 6.2 miles). I remember thinking, "I have to do that 4 times, all at once?? Dang."
But I stuck with it, putting my miles in like Hal Higdon told me to. Then came an interesting and quite puzzling obstacle: my left foot would go completely numb after running about 2.5 miles. Strange how painful a lack of sensation can be. I tried everything I could think of- loosening my shoes, stretching more, switching running surfaces, changing directions, running slower, running faster- but nothing really seemed to help. Some days were better than others, but basically the only thing that would bring my foot back to life was having a seat, literally. I had to stop running and sit down until the feeling returned, which is a major bummer to someone who's trying to RUN. I basically resigned myself to the fact that I would have to stop at some point during the race, but was still resolved to run my best while I could and finish well within the 90 minute time limit.

Race day finally came, and it was so exciting! The race was held in ChangPing, just north of Beijing, at a reservoir where they held the Olympic triathlon. The setting and the scenery were gorgeous- our course took us all around the reservoir, with water on one side and mountains on the other:
I was also so excited to be with a great group of friends and encouragers- there were 8 of us running from IECS, plus one of Peter's Chinese friends. Pregnant Jess and her friend Cassie were there to cheer us on and snap some fun pictures:
(Ladies before the race)

Please notice the whitecaps in the first picture, and the wild hair in the second- it was super-duper windy out there!! 30mph gusts were coming at us, pushing us around and creating waves that were crashing against the side of the dam. Another interesting obstacle, you might say. No matter, my adrenaline was pumping and I was more curious than anything to see how this whole thing would play out. The first 3K were pretty tough- we had hills and the wind in our faces. But I had my running buddy Shannon with me, and we stuck together and encouraged each other for the first 25 minutes or so.
(no, we do not usually run with our arms in the air!)

I managed to pick up the pace a bit when the course flattened out and I turned to run with the wind at my back. After 6K and 45 minutes, I was amazed that my feet were not numb at all!! So I made like Forrest Gump and kept on running. And running. It was such a beautiful place that I found myself just looking around, praising and thanking Him. After 57 minutes, my calves needed a break, and I decided that walking for a bit would be better than collapsing completely. But my feet never went numb!!! A true miracle as far as I'm concerned. When the course finally started heading back downhill for good, I realized that I was actually going to do it- I was going to finish, and I was going to finish strong! I had an awesome song blasting in my ears, and I started to really pound the pavement. I came around the last turn and saw Peter, WanLi, Jess and Cassie waiting for me. Talk about a rush! I think my face says it all:
That is a true and honest look of pure joy. I get chills just remembering! And as if finishing were not enough, I came in faster than I thought possible, especially on a hilly course on a windy day with numb feet to deal with:
One hour, thirteen minutes and 20 seconds!! My previous (and only) trial run took me an hour and eighteen minutes. This is truly an accomplishment and I don't mind saying that I am so proud of myself!! I set a goal, worked hard, and then exceeded my expectations as I met that goal. If you haven't done this lately (set a goal and then reached it), I highly recommend it. I'm already thinking about my next 10K: a flat course on a windless day. Who's with me??


And now for the parallel lesson (there's always one, isn't there?):
I am less than 2 months away from going home. While that thought excites me to no end, my goal is to be fully present here in China while I am here, running the full race and finishing strong. The finish line is in sight, but there is still so much to see and do before I get there. As in the race, when I take a moment to look around me at all that's happening, at all that He's doing here, I find myself praising & thanking Him. I am loving this race!!

The Short List

Just a few fun things I've realized/thought of lately:

You know you're in Langfang when...
...you actually look forward to eating eggplant and tofu (ok maybe you already do, but I never did)
...you vacuum every surface instead of dusting (including the walls & ceiling)
...one bottle of shampoo and conditioner cost more than all of your other groceries combined
...you forget what rain sounds like
...you wash your eggs off before you put them in the fridge (cause they're just that fresh!)

Told you it was a short list. Maybe I'll think of some more and add to it later on.

Things are humming along here- it's nice to kinda have a feel for what's going on, especially teaching. Some highlights from the past week or so:
- having 13 people (8 students and 5 teachers) in my apartment to watch the movie "Prince of Egypt"- a meaningful movie that has sparked some meaningful conversations
-visiting our friends Wil and Courtney in Tianjin- we played games, chatted & laughed, and checked out Eric Liddell's old home (bonus points for you if you know who he is without Google's help). Check out all of our silly pictures HERE
-warm weather!! Hopefully I'm not speaking too soon, but it seems that spring has finally arrived, and I've put the long johns away. Yippee!

Happy spring to YOU! What are your highlights??

Jiaozi everywhere!

What the heck is jiaozi, you ask? And why is it everywhere? Well, for those less fortunate who have not had the pleasure of eating jiaozi, they are Chinese dumplings- tasty little Hot Pockets, if you will- similar to (but better than) what you will find in wonton soup in America. And it was everywhere-meaning all over my apartment-when "the girls" came over and helped me make my very own homemade jiaozi (pronounced: gee-ow-zuh). These are the same girls who have come over before to sample pancakes and chocolate chip cookies. After the last time, they decided that they would have to share some of their homemade cuisine with me. So that's what they did on Saturday- and we had a blast together. A delicious blast. Here are some pictures of the process:

First comes the dough-simply flour and water mixed together, then pinched into little balls, then rolled out

Then you add your fillings. We had three kinds: beef & onion, egg & mushroom, and egg & greens

Next you fold it and pinch it together. Much trickier than it sounds. Lisa was also a novice at this, so we had fun laughing at ourselves together (she's from the south where they don't eat jiaozi very often). After they're all folded, you boil them til they float, and voila- you're done!

Victory is an old pro!

Cinderella mixing up some more dough- she needs a touch more flour

These are special flower shaped jiaozi, made with two pieces of dough. I failed to pinch mine enough times, and they all thought it looked hilarious.

Full and happy: Mango, Rene, Lisa, Victory, Cinderella, Lily, and me!

All in all, I think we made over 150 jiaozi. I didn't get any good pictures of the finished product, but that's mainly because we were eating them as we went. Nothing like fresh jiaozi!

Back in the swing of things

Well, vacation time is over and classes have started again. I really enjoyed all of the time we had, and especially enjoyed all of the adventures I shared with some of the coolest folks to be found this side of the Pacific. A brief summary:
1. Shenzhen- a southern city right next to Hong Kong. We had our first ever IECS All- Staff Conference away from the cold and winds of Langfang, and it was glorious! There was plenty of laughter, great lessons, and daily Starbucks runs! The 11 other teachers on the team are all so wonderful, and I truly treasure the times we get to spend together! Amelia, Shannon, me, Emily, Courtney, and Laura on the beach!

2. Shanghai- after the conference I met my great friend Jessie (a college roommate) in Shanghai. She flew all the way to China just to hang with me for a couple weeks! After spending so much time in Beijing, I was wowed by Shanghai's metropolitan feel- it's what they're calling the "new China"- crazy tall buildings everywhere! They call this one the Oriental Pearl TV Tower:
We also made a day trip out to Fuzhou, which they call the "Venice of the East" due to the vast canal system. No Italian food- but some neat sights.

3. Beijing/Great Wall- I had a great time showing Jessie around Beijing. It's fun to kind of feel like it's "my" city- I know my way around and enjoy showing others what it has to offer. We discovered my new favorite Chinese activity: chair ice skating!
Basically, they've rigged old chairs with runners, and then give you some metal poles to propel yourself around. No more twisted ankles! We also had a great day on the wall, and hiked the steepest part I've ever been on. My calves doubled in size!

4. Qian Xi- After saying goodbye to Jessie, I traveled with Shannon and Peter to visit Sunshine and her family in their home. She is one of our students and a fellow sister. The visit was a true adventure into the life of Chinese villagers- it is completely different than city life. Her family was very gracious, and fed us constantly. Here is her mom making us some homemade bao-zi (steamed dumplings):

I have posted pictures from all of these adventures on Facebook. Click on these links to see them if you haven't already:
Conference in Shenzhen
Shanghai
Beijing/Great Wall
Visit to Sunshine's

Throughout all of these travels, I realized a couple of things about myself. I was reminded that I really do love adventures- going to new places, seeing and doing new things. I hope to be a lifelong traveler and adventure-seeker. Yet, at the same time, I love and even crave routine and schedules. It's nice to know what to expect sometimes, especially here in China. And it's nice to have classes to plan for and tasks to complete and students to hang out with again. I am truly blessed to be in a place where I can experience both the adventurous and the routine sides of life. Come to think of it, we're all in that kind of place. You don't have to be in China to experience the adventures He has planned for you. But, if you do want to have a Chinese adventure, I have a bed with your name on it! :)

Back by popular demand...

I must say, it is nice to know that people out there want to know what's going on with me! Many of you have left subtle (and not so subtle) messages that you'd like a blog update. Thanks for caring! There has been a lot going on here, so much that I can't even think of everything. So I'll highlight a few of the "firsts" that I've had lately.

My first fake Christmas tree:A Langfang Wal-Mart specialty, this beauty stood 5 feet high. It was actually kind of fun to unfold it and design my own tree for once (this is the OCD in me speaking). The decorations were modest (only on the front side), and the presents underneath wrapped in pink Disney princess paper (which was hard enough to find, forget red & green), but it definitely lifted my spirits during my first Christmas away from home and family.

My first donkey burger:

This is not some kind of metaphor or analogy for some other food. I straight up ate a donkey sandwich. It wasn't so much a burger (they call all sandwiches "burgers") as it was like a roast beef sandwich from Arby's, which is what I was telling myself as I ate it. Honestly though, it tasted pretty good, even if I was eating it for breakfast at 8 in the morning. This was part of my visit to Lindy's house in Da Cheng, and the whole experience was pretty fun. I even got to share some Good News with her :) After the donkey burgers, we hit up the local photo booth shop- a very popular thing for friends to do here. Though I'm pretty sure most people don't get 16 pictures taken like we did. We picked out the different backgrounds, and then cheesed it up. Towards the end, I was running out of creative things to do, but I think they're all pretty funny:(keep in mind that these are pictures of pictures-glittery pictures)

My first Paula Abdul experience:

I got to be one of the judges for our department's talent show! Ten students made it to the final show, which was a lot like the Miss America pageant: they introduced themselves, answered different questions, and then showed off their talents, which ranged from singing and dancing to designing clothes out of plastic bags and acting like Obama and Kobe. One of my freshmen, Sherry Carter, did a great job singing "Waiting For You" by Bryan Adams- and she ended up winning the whole thing. But probably my favorite part was the GIANT banner that was made for this occasion, with the ten participants' glamour shots all over it. Here is Sherry singing (on the right), with her giant glamourous self in the background:

My first failures:

It's still hard for me to believe sometimes that I am teaching college students. I guess it's because part of me still feels like I could be one of them, sitting there taking the exam, rather than the one creating and grading exams. My Oral English classes all had interviews for their final- it is Oral English, after all. Though it was exhausting to listen to all 120 of them answer many of the same questions in the same way, I was happy to hear most of them do well- especially my freshmen, who showed marked improvement. My film students, on the other hand, got a written exam- 15 questions about the movies we watched, and most of them multiple choice. Soo easy! Yet they seemed to do worse, and one girl outright failed the exam with a 43%. Due to her lack of participation in class, she subsequently failed the class. I also had to fail two others on account of their attendance. That was my policy, and I had to stick to it, even after the one girl cried in front of me. I'm such a people pleaser, and I hate being the bad guy. But I'm a huge believer in doing what you say you'll do. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that again.

My first Chinese haircut:

Don't read too much into this; I do not have some crazy, assymetrical Chinese hairstyle. But I did have to submit myself and my hair to someone who does not speak English and thinks American hairstyles are boring. I get stressed out enough getting a haircut in my own country (weird, I know), so this was a special test in faith and letting go. When I told the guy (through my student interpreter) that I just wanted a little bit cut off, and that I wanted all of my hair to be the same length, he actually looked a tad bit sad. Some random lady jumped in and said that my hair would look just the same if they did what I asked. EXACTLY!

I'd say that's about enough for today. Now: please, Please, PLEASE tell me what's going on with you!! It is only fair, you know...