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!