November 23: Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, but looking at the clock I realize that it is still Thanksgiving in the homes of most of our loved ones. I hope that the day has been full of joy as you give thanks for the blessings of the year.

Our last week was full of the adventures of spending time connecting with kids. Brad had the boys over to play Settlers, and we hosted two English corners. The kids requested slide shows, so Brad shared some of our stories, and Shannon shared her sister’s love story. Newt followed up with a message of love and relationships. On Wednesday night I saw Brad off at the train station. I spent the week eating a lot of Chinese lunches and dinners with the girls. I finally took a student (and Shannon and Maple joined us too) along so that I could buy a comforter big enough for Brad and I. We’ve been sleeping under separate twin-sized comforters (on one bed) since we got here! Shannon and I graded papers together, I played volleyball with seven girls, and two students showed me how to prepare frozen jiaouzi (Chinese dumplings). A week later they also showed me where to find the “sweet bread” on campus. The kids are always so helpful!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and it was such a sweet time for us to be together. Shannon and Peter brought bread, cream corn, biscuits, no-bake-cookies, and ginger snaps. Claire brought gravy, chocolate truffles, cranberry sauce, stuffing, pumpkin pies, and cranberry pumpkin bread. Brad boiled the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and green beans. Newt purchased the chicken and I provided the green bean casserole, sweet potato souffle, and mashed potatoes. Tony and Lily provided the fruit, corn-on-the-cob, shrimp, and wine. It was a feast! And I’m probably missing something too! We ate until we couldn’t eat anymore. There were a lot of leftovers too! Mmmm… After dinner we shared our thanks for our blessings, tossing a small football from person to person as we took our turn to share. Then Newt led us in the Supper. We talked and sang together, then served one another. It was a wonderful time of joy and thankfulness, shared by all.

As I was writing this letter, my family called from their Thanksgiving festivities. It reminded me again of how grateful we are for the love and support of our family and friends. Thank you again for your thoughts, your words, your gifts, and your service. You make our work here possible. Thank you…for everything.

Always,
Jess

November 8: A Brush with Fame

Hi!

These past 2 weeks have been full of new experiences in Chinese culture. Our weekdays have been full of time spent with kids. I had lunch with Vicki on Monday, and she brought me a lovely pair of black and white gloves as a gift. Later in the week she took me to her dormitory room, showed me around their building, and took me out to lunch at the cafeteria. Vivian and Polaris also took me out for lunch to a favorite local restaurant. Joseph and Matthew came over for tea to welcome us, apologizing for their bad manners in not visiting sooner. We even had a random man from India (Hasin) stop by at 9:30 pm last night to meet the “laowai” (foreigners) and speak English with us.

Visiting the college dormitories was an eye-opening experience. I was amazed to find eight girls sharing a single bedroom. There are 34 rooms to a floor, and only two bathrooms for all of them. Yes, that is 272 girls on a floor using 2 bathrooms. The building does not have hot water, so the girls must walk to an outdoor hot water spigot to get water. There are no showers in the building, so they must walk to a nearby shower house, where they pay for their shower on a card. They have no washing machines or dryers. They have no microwaves, or any way to warm up food, and the only phones provided by the college are outside on a wooden shelf. They wash their clothes by hand in the sink, and they hang their clothes to try on their balcony. There are no desks, drawers, or closets. Everything they own must fit on their bed or in a little locker beside their bed. It is no wonder that they often wear the same clothes for days at a time!

Newt returned from the second week of English Week in Qinhuangdao, and no sooner had he returned, then the rest of us left for Christmas shopping in Beijing. Our first stop was Starbucks, which Brad has been craving for some time! On Saturday, we had a great time exploring the antique market, eating “bowza” (it’s kind of like a Hot Pocket) and noodles, and bartering at the Pearl Market.

On Sunday, Peter took us to meet with our Extended Family for the first time since we have been in China. It was so good to sing and talk with so many Brothers and Sisters! We even met a guy from Lancaster, Pennsylvania! Afterward, Peter took us to “Peter’s,” a Cracker Barrel-style restaurant where we ate Hawaiian Pizza and Mexican food. Brad got a German Chocolate milkshake and I got a Mint Oreo milkshake. Mmmm…. Judging by the décor, the place was owed by a Brother as well. Then Peter took us to the International grocery store called “Jenny Lou’s” where we found chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, cereal, and a colander! We were delighted with our finds.

As we were about to leave the grocery store, we noticed one shopper in particular. He reminded us of a Chinese actor that we had seen in a Chinese movie during our drive from Qinhuangdao to Beijing during the National Holiday. The movie is similar to the American film “Click” in which Adam Sandler’s character is given a magic remote control to control the events of his life. In the Chinese version, the man is unhappy with his wife and his life, and is given a magic cell phone that allows him to experience life with many other girlfriends, until he eventually realizes that every woman has her imperfections.

Anyhow, we debated whether he really was this well-known Chinese actor. As we stood there, two Chinese girls walked up to him (and thanks to Peter’s translation) we understood that they were asking him if he was in the movies. He said that he was. Peter decided to be brave, so with camera and Brad in tow, he walked up to the man (whom we now know to be Xu Zheng) and asked him if he might take a photo. So Peter and Brad posed with him, and smiled for a photo. Peter said later that he wasn’t sure if he smiled, because he was shaking so much! After some discussion, we decided that he must have been shopping at Jenny Lou’s to avoid Chinese fans who would recognize him immediately. Who would have thought that we would encounter the star of the only Chinese movie we have seen? Needless to say, our students are very impressed, and eager to see the photograph to prove our adventure.

Well, that’s all for now! Thank you for thinking of us. We love hearing from you!
Love,
Jessie and Brad