(I am going to go ahead and apologize up front about the length and ADD-ness of this blog post... this is just going to be a collection of a bunch of things I have written that didn't get put into any other updates... enjoy :) )
"Yi, Er, Yi" (1,2,1) I hear this all around me on campus as classes of precious children march in lines to class, or to wherever they are going at the time. Our campus is the primary campus, which means that we have grades K-5. SMBS (Shanxi Modern Bilingual School) has 2 campuses, the other goes from 6th grade to 12th grade. There are 3 sections on our campus, each section has grades 1-5. I teach Grade 1 in section 2... confused yet? I know I was for the first couple of days. The campus itself is beautiful, full of trees and flowers and gardens. There is a track and a playground, basketball courts and a gym. There are about 4000 students - just on this campus alone! - so it's to be expected that there is never really a quiet moment.. and when you get home and think that it will be quiet, you are wrong - because that is when the car alarms, the car horns, the fireworks, and the construction noises start.
We arrived at the school on the Friday before classes began. Mr. Gerry, our FAO (Foreign Affairs Officer), came to Beijing to pick us up after our whirlwind trip back to the US to get our Visas fixed - which thankfully went very smoothly. Being back in the States was such a strange experience. Even after just a month in Beijing, America felt so different. We enjoyed the quiet, the wide open spaces, and the CLEAN air - but we all missed China a lot. While there, we were FINALLY able to meet the rest of our team - Allysa and the kids had stayed in TN while Dale had gone on to Chine with us, it was so great to finally be with them.
The first week of classes flew by, I have realized that not only are schools here quite different in the way that the students learn, but that I also have a lot to learn about teaching. But I know that through Him all things are possible, so I hold to that promise and I know that I will make it and I will be ok - no matter what!
Chinese culture and way of life are so different from what I am used to. Regardless, I feel so at home here that I know I am where I need to be. Life here takes more energy than it does in the West - simple things like asking directions or finding food (and then eating eat) are enough to make anyone want to take a nap. And in China, there is lots of time to take naps -- every school day from 12-2:45 is lunch/ nap time - it is amazing!
It's strange to talk about what I've always been used to, because my life is so used to the "normalness" here - as much as you really ever can be. I fall asleep every night to the sounds of a construction site that is right next door (they work 24/7 it seems), to the constant noise of car horns, and the occasional burst of fireworks - which are actually really common. I've gotten used to the fact that there are SO many people and you really get no personal space when you are in public. It's become normal (though also rather frustrating) to not be able to understand anything around me. If you can imagine this, you wake up and go about your day - but you can't speak to anyone or read anything around you. You can't ask where the bathroom is or buy food. You can't get directions or tell your students to be quiet. As frustrating as it is, I know that I will learn some Chinese - and that I will be able to communicate more in the near future.
---
"Barbarians," she says and shakes her head. This comment (translated) was made, not because we were eating the fish's eyeballs (kinda chewy, not much taste), but because we were splitting the bill up at the table. This normal American custom doesn't go over well here, it is actually considered rude. You are more than welcome to pass money and split the bill outside on the sidewalk, but don't do it at the table or in the restaurant. These lessons are learned, often by error.
One lesson that should not be learned by error, is crossing the road. It is often a dangerous task, but only if you don't know what you are doing. You must (at least try to) be aware of all the traffic around you as you step down off the curb. You must push all fear from your mind, because the cars/ bikes/ motorcycles/ semi trucks smell fear... then, you just GO. Sometimes you can hold your hand out to signal that you are crossing - but mostly you just GO. A rule I like to follow on the bigger roads is to just go when the locals do, you really can't usually go wrong when you follow a group of people that have been doing this their entire lives. All that being said, I LOVE crossing the street - it is so much fun. :)
This coming week is Mid Autumn Festival - we get out of school for it. We got gifts for it - a box of 30 apples and a box of 15 moon cakes EACH. Some of the girls on my team (myself included) are going to go to Beijing to see friends and go to IKEA on Friday. I will have to post about that later.
I have started hanging up letters and notes and pictures that people have given me, so if you want to be included on my wall of (I don't have a name for it yet...). Send me mail!!! :)
(Sorry for the extreme lack of pictures... I will fight the internet and put some up next time)
