Yep. I'm still not disciplined

After 5 months, I think I’m adjusting fairly well to China. When I got to the airport to fly back for Thanksgiving I realized that I wasn’t ready to leave for good. Not yet. And I realized that means there are some sort of roots being grown there, however small. I have developed some friendships, both inside and outside the program I’m with. I enjoy teaching, as well as getting to know the people and the city. Although we haven’t had students, God has used this time to bring new people into our lives and pray for those we’ve met, those we’ll meet, and the programs that are being developed.  Right now I’m back in Indiana, enjoying time with my family. My little brother is now a giant. More may follow, but here’s something so I can say I finally put something…

Diamond

So I'm not to great at this discipline thing in keeping this up-to-date. My apologies to anyone who actually reads this. But here's my second attempt at some sort of consistency. 

This is a multi-faceted journey. One with many sides. The relationship side. The loving people side. The spiritual side The new-culture side. The adjustment side. The language side. The exploration side. The teaching side. And many more.

It’s hard to process it all while in the midst of it, but I’m beginning to be intentional about it. So here’s a thought.

Who knew that the little girl who ran out of the Christmas play because she was so nervous would end up standing alone before 220 teachers, leading classes and prompting discussions, and that without fear.

When I first got here, I didn’t really know what was to come. I was thrown into the sessions without training, and the first class I taught was not the most natural thing. I loved it, I felt comfortable, but nothing like I do now. I got dinner with a former student (a head teacher in a school in Beijing), but she saw me in the classroom for a few minutes first. She made a comment that now I don’t seem as shy. I seem more comfortable, more confident, more at ease. I never really thought about it until she said that.

I’m not sure that I’ll be a teacher forever. Or if I’m even good at it. But for now, in this season, I enjoy it. We’ll see what comes about in the next few years, but I’m going to try to live in the present, at least most of the time J

Another try

I’ve been really bad at this whole consistent updating thing, but I’ve decided that my September’s resolution will be to be more consistent.

I’ll fill in up to this point as I have time, but for now, I’ll start from august 20 until now.

I arrived back from a camp in Gansu province, on the other side of china, and was plugged into the session of 400 people. I helped with that session for 3 or 4 days as it was ending. Then we had one day of rest and on the 20^th a smaller group of 18 came for a session. I got to teach the “MoMo” class (morning motivational), diction, and PE time. It was quite fun actually. I really enjoyed it. I had trouble getting out on time, but it was for good reasons. It was a blessing to be able to share that time with those students (15 English teachers, a dance teacher, and 2 students).  Some awesome conversations happened during dorm visits (where we go up to where the students are staying and say hi or just hang out with them). It was sweet to see how each of the students changed over the short 2 weeks they were here.

            Many came in very shy, hardly speaking, but by the end we were all laughing together and during dorm visits I had to set a time limit. Of course, there were some bumps and some students who didn’t follow one of the rules, but from my perspective it was a great experience. This is the longest I’ve been with the same group and had actual classes to teach, and I’m excited about the relationships that were built. In the classes, we talked about never giving up, about telling people what they mean to you, about forgiveness, value, the power of love, integrity, and more.

            We have our first big break of 10 days and then we start a session of 360 students with 8 facilitators, so that will be a new experience as well.

            Although I still often feel tired, I’m thankful for the time here so far. It’s a journey to get to know the other facilitators (my co-workers), as we all come from different backgrounds and perspectives. I look forward to getting to know them better. I know in such close proximity, conflict is inevitable, but it can bring us closer, too.  I got to rearrange my room when my roommate left, so now I brought a piece of an old couch into it and the other bed out. I’m hoping to do some paintings to decorate with.

            I don’t get to learn or practice my Chinese much since for each 2 week session no one is allowed to speak Chinese, but I’m hoping to make some time to read the book I’m trying to learn from. I’ve gotten to use the little I know, and each conversation is a win. It’s quite humbling (again) to attempt to learn a new language. Most of the food here is great, but some of it doesn’t sit the best in my stomach, so I’m still figuring out what makes me feel sick and what is best to eat. This week I got dinner with a friend, and we went to a place that served foreign food….and real burgers!! We ate burgers  and salad, then got gelato. It was quite fun. Then I went back to the same place 2 days later with the other facilitators. Twice in one week. And my body’s feeling it haha.

            It’s great to be with the students, but it’s also great to be with friends. To get lunch, to just talk, to have a small group together. I look forward to going deeper in friendships and making new friends.

            There’s an update up until now. So many more details left out, but who really wants to read all the pages that would come with that J

Wow.

These past two weeks have been so full. There haven’t been students here, but the July facilitators arrived, we had training, I went to another city to the last day of a kids camp, and my pr ayer was answered to have some people my age.

I’ve met several friends in the districts government Chri stain church just by sitting with them. Jade and Nian are both new Chinese friends with whom we’ve explored with and shared meals with. It’s been so sweet to meet new people and to share life with them.

I’ve learned a few new things and reviewed many things I had already observed from the last session. There are now a grand total of 4 young people and 10 people over age 57. The dynamic is still becoming clear, but I’m so thankful to have a few young people to live life with, to share struggles with, to grow with.

This week I had to say goodbye to the couple who adopted me as their granddaughter, spoiling me and introducing me to a plethora of Chris tian friends. They went back to the states, but boy, was our last small group session with them a riot. Eleven Chinese plus us. Everyone brought some food. And one guy brought a giant cake. We sang together, read part of John together, ate lots of food, and said goodbye to this couple. They inspire me. It is so incredibly beautiful how G od has used them in their short 6 months here. At age 67 and 72, they have made so many friends, cared for so many people, been an encouragement to innumerable individuals, and impacted so many lives. This last small group was just a taste of the impact they had. G od has used them to impact every person there. I pr ay that G od uses my time here to love and impact even one person. He’s already showed me his faithfulness and blessed me with sweet Chinese friends, as well as these 3 Americans who will be here for July.

There is so much more I could say about these last few weeks, and I’d love to share it with anyone who may be interested.

All in all, thank you. For your support, for your pr ayers. I haven’t hit culture shock yet, and I can already see G od’s goodness in China.

Let the journey continue….

A Few Weeks In.

I’m not sure what I expected, so I’m not sure what I should feel right now. But I’ve been here over two weeks and there’s so much to take in.

A couple days after arriving, the students arrived for the TIP session. These ‘students’ are a primary, junior, or senior high school English teachers with a few high school students thrown in the mix. I wasn’t sure what would follow, but the 52 students arrived and we introduced ourselves to the group the first night. In the days to follow, I observed all of the classes and basically followed the students to learn from the current facilitators (my co-workers). After several days of watching, I began teaching a couple classes a day. In the course of the 2 weeks, I taught PE many times, reading time several times, a culture club on American food and manners, a fairy tale class on Sleeping Beauty, a 2 hour class on dreams, graded the students’ 7 minute speeches, helped with their practicum (teaching a lesson using the methods they learned during the session), and grading the lessons they created as they taught them. I was only nervous 2 times that whole time, once from pressure I felt because I’m not an experienced teacher, and once from being so so much younger than these students yet being their teacher/facilitator.

It has been a struggle to figure out where I fit in, what my role is, what’s expected of me, but I’m learning to continue being flexible and learning to be optimistic. It’s not always easy, but I believe it will help me overcome the bumps that there have been.

I’ve gotten to know a few of my co-workers. There’s a retired couple who are incredibly sweet. They’re like grandparents who spoil me like crazy, as well as introduce me to some people who are actually near my age in a Bi bl e study. I have gotten to spend time with a couple and I look forward to getting to know them more! Unfortunately the older couple leaves in a week and a half, so I hope there are some new facilitators coming that can become good friends.

The students were so grateful and so sweet. They really noticed a difference in the facilitators because they are kind and loving and truly care about the students. There were some bumps with rules, but it was so good to meet all of them and get a small taste of their stories.

Hopefully when things slow down and I have some free time I’ll be able to visit the student’s who have invited me to their hometown. They are so hospitable. I got to have Mongolian milk tea with some of the students from Inner Mongolia (along with a few of the facilitators) and it was an incredible experience. They showed me how to make it and gave us some Mongolian cheese (very very different from cheese people eat in America) to try. They also gave me a blue silk scarf they use for festivals, a little wooden bowl you drink milk tea with, and a mirror with a Mongolian lady on it.
I've gotten to have some deep sp iritual conversation with several people, amazed at the trust built in just a few weeks.

Overall it has been a good first few weeks. Yes, there are bumps and hard things, but I’m glad I’m here.

More updates to come (and maybe a highlight reel so far).