January 20, 2008: "Baby It's Cold Outside!"

Hi!

Sometimes Brad and I have to laugh at the number of times our friends at home will ask, “So…how’s China?” The question is so broad, and the answers are even broader! We often stop and think, eventually giving a simple answer like, “It’s great!” We do hope that each of these letters answers your questions in part, and that they will birth even more questions about this broad country.

This week in China has been a quiet one. It was the students’ last week for exams, so most of them went home throughout the week as they completed their exams. Brad and I ran most days in the freezing cold (6 miles yesterday!), all of us finished turning in our grades, and we returned to our pre-holiday schedule of team dinners and student dinners. Brad and I visited a local fast food restaurant that is willing to let us show movies upstairs on their projector, and Brad had his hair cut by a silent Chinese Barber who didn’t even attempt to speak Chinese to him. The man just started cutting, and when it was over, Brad paid him five yuan (less than one U.S. dollar). ;) Mark Ashbaugh (from the Qinhuangdao group) came to spend the night on Monday, and we had a great time reconnecting with him. We gave him a tour of the campus, treated him to dinner, and Shannon made him a breakfast send-off. Mark’s visit was certainly one of the highlights of the week!

Our time with students has been so precious in these last few weeks of the semester before the winter holiday. I had the pleasure of baking three more batches of cookies with three more groups of girls. Mmm… We made oatmeal skotchies, M&M cookies, and sugar cookies. The girls are delighted with the process; most of them have never made any kind of cookies before! On Tuesday, Marian and Coral took me to the Langfang City Center and showed me around a five story shopping mall and the movie theatre next door. Despite the cold, we had a great time window shopping. Then, on Wednesday, we finished the semester with great fanfare! We invited 10 students out to karaoke at KTV---including snacks, drinks, and some crazy English teachers! We had 1 boy and 9 girls singing everything from Chinese Pop, to N’SYNC, to the Sound of Music. The students love to sing, and they put their whole hearts into it! It was a wonderful evening, and a great way to finish our first semester. The next day, most of our students went home, having completed their exams. Brad invited Forrest Gump over, and they swapped digital photos before deciding to watch “Evan Almighty” with Shannon and me. On Friday, I found Joseph in our apartment as he and Brad swapped downloaded movies on their laptops. Both guys had a great time talking movies, music, and technology with Brad.

Now, the weekend is upon us. Brad and I made our “date night” trip to Walmart, and Peter is here to visit. The kitchen is stocked with groceries for making our first attempts at bean soup and tacos…mmmm… Last night we ate homemade pizza, thanks to a delicious instant crust mix (just add water!) and pizza sauce from Kerri’s Christmas gift. Add to that fresh cut pineapple and maple-flavored bacon, and you’ve got Hawaiian Pizza! As we look forward to the upcoming week, we are excited about the arrival of Peter’s parents from Washington state. They have promised to come bearing American gifts, and in exchange the group of us will be taking them to the local sites in Beijing and Langfang. You can keep them in your thoughts as they fly here January 23, and return home on February 3. As always, thank you for your relentless support. Your constant thoughts and encouragement make our work here possible. Thank you!

Love,
Jess and Brad

Jan 6, 2008: Out With the Old & In With the New

Happy New Year!

Brad and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year from China! Our first week of 2008 has been one of saying goodbye to the old, and welcoming in the new.

On Sunday, we had the privilege of being invited to spend the afternoon preparing meat and vegetable dumplings (jaozi) with the students. We were joined by Peter (visiting from Beijing), and Ryan (visiting from Korea). We helped to prepare, roll, and flatten the dough, slice cabbage and squeeze the water from it in cheesecloth, prepare the meat, and then fill and twist the little dumplings for cooking. It was a lot of fun to make traditional food with an entire class!

On New Year’s Eve, we celebrated by taking Newt out to dinner at one of our favorite places, Ming Tien Coffee Language. It’s a two-story coffee shop with couches, and live piano music from 7-9pm. We ate some American favorites, and snapped photos before heading home. We had already shared our resolutions on Sunday, so we celebrated with a glass of homemade eggnog, a glass of wine, and some Chinese snacks. We watched the movie “Amazing Grace” together, and called our families at home to wish them a Happy New Year, 13 hours early! At Midnight, we dropped a soccer ball, and thought of the year past and the year ahead.

Wednesday was a difficult day, as we said goodbye to our boss, leader, and good friend. Newt left amidst a crowd of well-wishing students and faculty, to return to the U.S.A, his wife, and his obligations there. He will be sorely missed! Newt also takes home our Chinese friends Tony and Lily for a month-long visit in the U.S.A. We certainly wish we could go along as they visit family, friends, and even Disney World! I’m sure their trip will be very exciting, but you can keep them in your thoughts as they travel. Since Newt’s absence Peter has been moving his belongings from Beijing into what was Newt’s apartment, in preparation for joining us permanently at the end of January. Although we are very sad about Newt’s departure, we are also very excited that Peter is joining us!

The rest of the week has been spent quietly cleaning and enjoying the calm after the holidays. The Christmas decorations are now put away, and the apartment is clean. The computer and toilet seat have been repaired, and letters have been written to family and friends. Books have been read, final grades averaged, laps on the track run, and laundry hung. We had dinner with kids, Ladies Lunch (Shannon and me), and Date Night (Brad and me). We are trying to set up times to meet with kids as they study for and take their finals. We are also making arrangements to do some traveling during our break (Dec.29-Feb.17). Brad and I are thinking of visiting the Great Wall and other sites in Beijing, his Great-Grandfather’s grave, and maybe southern China. We are also looking forward to celebrating my birthday (Feb.5) and the Chinese New Year (Feb.7) here in China! You can be thinking of us as we try to catch kids during Finals and the break, and as we make plans to fill our free time.

Thank you again for all of your support!
Love, Jess and Brad