“Ba de ya – Say, do you remember…Ba de ya - Dancing in September?
Ba de ya - Never was a cloudy day”
Wow! I cannot believe that we have already been in China for an entire month! The days have passed like the shifting seasons. The team here at Langfang Teacher’s College in Langfang City, China has been dancing joyfully through the first month of the new school year!
Moving In
Returning to Langfang for a second year has not been half as difficult as moving in for the first time. Yet moving in is still a lot of work! Our first few weeks have been full of tasks like unpacking, cleaning, sewing, buying groceries, paying bills, shopping at Walmart, filling our water cooler, setting up Skype, and decorating our apartments. Vera took us out to have our photos taken (twice), took Jess to the police station, and took us to Shijiazhuang for the day for our physicals. We’ve had our printer and our toilet fixed, clogged another toilet, and flooded our kitchen with our washing machine. We’ve met with Wayne a number of times about classes, schedule changes, books, English clubs, and supplies.
Team Schedule
Soon after our arrival, Brad began working on creating a monthly team schedule, including visits to the orphanage, visiting with the other teams, celebrating holidays, running the Beijing Marathon, and IECS English Clubs on our two campuses. We have also established a weekly team schedule, including Sunday meetings, meetings with students, Ladies’ Lunch, and Date Night. This week we are taking advantage of the vacation time to share our individual stories with our team. We’ve had some great times as a team recently:
- September 13—Beijing English Club
- September 14—Mid-Autumn Day Festival
- September 14—Shannon’s Birthday Celebration and Game Night
- September 16—Freshmen Welcome Ceremony
- September 18—Jess Shamblee Welcome
- September 21—Tianjin Day Trip & Corder Family Welcome
- September 22—LFTC English Association Club & Freshmen Welcome
- September 27-28—LFTC Annual Sports Meeting (Members of the team participated in the 100m dash, shot put, and 4x100m relay.)
Each member of the LFTC team has been contributing to making this a great September!
Brad —Brad has been our planning guru for the autumn as he has been busily making schedules and getting permission for various activities. He initiated a free Fantasy Football league for twelve of the IECS team members, which is developing friendships and friendly competition in the team. When he’s not buying coffee ice cream, he’s practicing his guitar, marathon training, and editing Shannon & Peter’s wedding video. His friendship with Wayne continues to bear fruit as they plan English Club dates together. Last week Brad took four boys from his class out for lunch, and came home with a list of new foods for all of us to try. His friendships with Forrest and Pan continue to deepen as they spend time together. Brad also competed in the Sports Meeting this weekend, though his long-distance stamina was humbled by the short-distance sprinters in the 100m dash. He hopes to prove his true strength and endurance in the Beijing Marathon next month.
Me —I have been the China “welcome wagon” for the month of September. I have enjoyed typing up documents, lists, schedules, foods, and tips for the newcomers to China. With the help of my teammates, I’ve had fun welcoming the newlyweds home from their honeymoon, and welcoming Jess Shamblee to the team. I’ve had a great time showing Jess Shamblee around, introducing her to the city and its ways. I’ve been eating lunch weekly with a student named Danielle, who shares my interests in art. We are planning to add weekly art-making together to our Friday schedules. I’ve been doing a lot of reading, writing, drawing, painting, and photography lately. I invited Cassie, Melinda, and Vivian (Forrest’s girlfriend) to the Beijing English Club, and enjoyed spending the whole day with the girls. You can be thinking of me as last Monday (9/22) a heavy metal water bottle full of water on the second toe of my right foot, causing bruising, bleeding, and not a few tears. We are not sure if the toe is broken, but a week afterward the swelling has gone down and the pain has decreased enough to make walking easier. I’ve really felt blessed by the thoughtfulness of my students and team during this time.
Jess Shamblee —Jess Shamblee has been a delightful new addition to Team Langfang! An ardent Steelers fan, she has already decorated her room with Steelers memorabilia, named her fantasy team “The Steel Curtain,” worn a Steelers jersey to class, and taught her students to throw an American Football. Jess keeps everyone laughing, including her students whose laughter, singing, and outdoor activities are already the talk of the English Department. Jess has shared her great games with the Beijing English Club, and shared about herself for the LFTC English Association Club. Recently she’s been eating out with Victory, Lindy, and Danielle, baking pancakes, and getting to know the cats she inherited from Newt. At this weekend’s Sports Meeting, Jess was our team hero, bringing home second place in the 100m dash, and third place in the shot put. Jess and Shannon together also took third place in the 4x100m relay. Jess is also great at being the “welcome wagon,” as she traveled to the Beijing International Airport alone to greet the incoming Baoding team and then traveled with them to their new home to help them get settled in.
Peter —Peter and Shannon arrived in China on September 6, after returning from their honeymoon in the Northwest United States. Peter and Shannon have been busy settling into their new lives as a married couple, consolidating all of their possessions into one apartment. They were pleasantly surprised to find new furniture and a new mattress when they returned—a fitting wedding gift from the college. Peter has been training for the Beijing marathon on October 19. He has made a new Chinese friend, who loves to run as much as he does. Like Brad, Peter’s freshmen classes on the Western campus only began last week, so he has enjoyed getting to know his new students. Peter really enjoyed the Sports Meeting this weekend, as he was the only one of us with real experience in track and field events! Peter took home a second place in the 100m relay, and a second place in the 4x100m relay.
Shannon —Shannon and Peter have been delighted to share their wedding story with their Chinese friends. Two nights after their arrival in China, they hosted the team and some Chinese friends to watch their wedding slide show. At the English Association Club, they were asked to share their wedding story, to thundering applause from the audience. Shannon has been getting a workout keeping up with Peter as he runs on the track, or riding her bike alongside of him as he runs around the city of Langfang. Shannon and Peter continue to meet regularly with Allie and Allen, and Shannon has also met with a new girl who came to our campus from Qinhuangdao and enjoyed a growing friendship with a friend named Sunshine. Shannon has been enjoying her new life as a wife, busying herself with making their apartment a home.
“Ba de ya – Say, do you remember…
Ba de ya - Dancing in September?
Ba de ya - Golden dreams were shiny days.”
-Lyrics courtesy of Earth, Wind, and Fire “September”
Thank you for caring about China! We value your thoughts, and how you have helped us in so many ways. May you be blessed for your partnership in this work!
Love,
Jessie
