We have many things to be thankful for this week:1. Peter’s trip to Hong Kong and his visa issues were taken care of quickly and easily. He returned to Langfang on Wednesday night. The only inconvenience was the 60-hour round trip train ride.
2. Jess and I are both healthier, and it seems like our late winter colds have passed. Other than a few lingering symptoms, we are doing well.
3. We have also made 2 trips to the Philip Hayden Foundation Orphanage in the past 8 days, and both trips have gone really well. We are finding that these visits are having a profound impact on the students we invited.
4. The college seems to have made it through the first evaluation week with no discernable problems. I’m sure we will hear more about this in the coming week if there were any dilemmas. The second evaluation week will be week 10 of the semester.
5. Jess has been focusing on spending more time reading in the mornings, and this has gone really well, and she is looking forward to further growth during this time.
6. We have had many great and enlightening discussions with students this week!
7. Our classes have been going well! The most important time to remember is Friday, 2-4pm our time. That'll be Friday morning 1-3am EST.
Things to continue thinking about:
1. English week in May! We still have not received conformation from the college that we will be able to do this, but many people are planning to come.
2. Peter’s classes begin this week
3. We will have our first English Club on the Western Campus this Friday, March 7th.
4. Shannon has been asked about assisting a student with a poetry club, but that is still in the beginning stages.
5. We are all concerned with time management issues as well. We want to say “yes” to everything, but it has been difficult to define our limits.
6. The four of us have been very concerned about friends & family members that have been suffering with various diseases. Lou Gehrig's disease, Alzheimer's, and various forms of cancer including Brain Cancer, Breast Cancer, Leukemia, and Lymphoma to name a few. Obviously, this has been difficult for us because we are not able to be home with our families during these struggles. Please continue to remember our friends and relatives who are suffering and those who are caring for them.
