Looks like Christmas!

This winter has so far been almost enjoyable here in Beijing. We've had a snow day already! And 3 snowfalls that have each stayed longer than 1 day. That's quite a difference from the previous winters we've spent here, where it snowed once or twice, and quickly disappeared. Granted, the government is helping the snow to fall because of the drought. Still, it's beautiful outside. The city is more sparkly white than dusty grey :)

We've finally made our way back onto this site and others that were blocked, all thanks to a vpn we've paid for. Sorry for not updating in a long time.

Things with that piggy flu aren't winding down, but still going strong here. We still have to get our temperatures checked twice a day, and we're actually receiving the vaccine tomorrow. Unfortunately, the 7 day quarantine is still in effect, which really is hard for students to catch up from.

What else has happened since my last update?? Scott and I trained for and ran 9k as part of the Beijing marathon back in mid-October. It was lots of fun, with thousands of people participating. Since then I've joined a gym and I alternate between running on a treadmill and swimming to stay in shape this winter. Otherwise I'd probably hibernate in the apartment (which thankfully now has heat!) and gain weight during the cold months :)

We did enjoy Thanksgiving with other Canadians back in October...our staff is having a big dinner this Saturday, and then the Americans invited us to their Thanksgiving in two weeks! Funny how we didn't invite them yet they still invited us....hehe

Not much other excitement, except that my brother and his wife are joining us this year for Christmas in the Philippines! WOO!

Well, I'm coming down with a cold and I think I'll drink some Neo Citron (which, did you know, is truly canadian?) and head to bed.

Zai jian!

H1N1 strikes back!

We weren't exactly affected by the swine flu in the Spring, but it's hitting us closer and closer to home now. Another international school has 8 cases, and the chinese school that shares the campus with the middle and high school where Scott teaches also has a case. This has led to the unfortunate decision to cancel next week's enrichment week trips for grades 6-12. What a bummer! 22 students were out from that campus today with some sort of sickness. It doesn't mean they have the flu, but any fever must stay home. The students and staff were all excited about their week-long trips. Scott and the seniors were really looking forward to a week long sailing training. And we're all considering how to keep school going if we have to cancel classes. Our poor nurse is extra busy, having to check the students' temperatures when they arrive, then while they eat their lunch. Supposedly a lot of it is political. The certain country where we reside is getting ready to celebrate 60 years since the founding of the ruling party. They don't want any incidents!

Interestingly enough, we had first aid training this weekend, and the doctor, who's a local, told us that they have decide to immunize all those involved in the massive celebration/parade. This means a lot of military and university students. What's interesting is that this doctor said that numerous countries have been working on a vaccine for years, and some countries have it, but it isn't approved for use on humans. But this country makes it and approves it in a short amount of time for immediate use. You've got to wonder if it's really safe or not.....hence why they're trying it out on only a certain group for now. And things are backwards in many other ways. The elderly would be the last to receive the vaccine here. !

In other news, we are still training for our 9k race. And no, I haven't been running 9k in 45 minutes, but I was working up my stamina to running for 45 minutes. I didn't know my distance. I do now though. Scott and I are up to running for 1 hour and we've done about 9k each time. We've still got a month to go!

Not much else is new....we are 1/8 of the way through the school year, Pepper and Baby Spice are still kickin' around, and Matt and Sarah (from Kitchener) were visiting, which was fantastic!

Ta-ta for now!

Wow! A new post!

Yes, it's true! The beautiful country we live in has blocked all of our favorite sites, including this one. Thankfully, we find ways around the Bamboo Curtain so we can give our friends and family updates.

We had a really fantastic time in Canada this summer. It was filled with great grub, fabulous friends and family, camping in the cold, and working on West St.! Even though the weather wasn't so hot, camping was the highlight for both of us. We were spoiled by Scott's parents who graciously lent us their trailer for the week. We spent quality time with lots of cool people, enjoyed the beach, and ate lots of ice cream at the local shop. It was just plain relaxing.

If you happen to go by our house in Thorold, you might actually miss it because it looks so different! Though we actually haven't seen the final outcome, we watched some of the green siding go up before we had to come back. We're still waiting for Doug to send us some final pictures.

Back to Beijing....they really had a hot summer here. And it was still smoking hot when we arrived. Some weeks it was 35-38 every day! It's cooled off a little now (25-30). School is back in full swing. I have 12 students so far and right now they seem like an easier bunch than last year :) We now have projectors in all the homerooms, which makes my teaching easier in so many ways. We both really enjoy our jobs here. Even though there are challenges that come with being part of a small school, the job is one of the main reasons we enjoy living here in Beijing.

In other news, I am still running regularly and a group of us from church and school have decided to run 9km as part of the Beijing Marathon in October! Someone had suggested it back in April, but I really did think I was capable. Now, I have a bit more confidence because I'm now able to run for 45 minutes. And even more exciting is that fact that all of us are raising money for Alpha Communities. They do long-term development projects all over the country. I've got to find my sponsors now!

The only planned visitors so far this year have already arrived in China, our friends Matt and Sarah. For those of you who don't know her, Sarah was my maid of honour at the wedding. We've known each other since we were infants! They are on a cruise right now out of Shanghai and they join us here on Friday. Can't wait to show them around! My parents are considering coming for another visit. Any other takers??? :)

Thanks for all your support. We do wish we could've seen all our friends this summer, but 6 weeks wasn't long enough!

Sorry, sorry...

I can't believe it's actually been 2 months since I last posted! Time sure flies...

So what's happened lately?? My neck has healed fine from the surgery. I have a tiny scar that looks more like a blemish, and so far nothing has grown back on the inside :) I went to the doctor for about 8 days straight to make sure the wound was totally clean, before he let it close up! I turned 28 in March...had a fantastic gathering of friends at one of my favorite restaurants for Indian food (Ganges).

We had a local friend stay with us for a few weeks because she was basically kicked out by her roommates. It was a challenging time for us, but we knew it was God's plan for us to spend that time with her. She had to move to another apartment because we had visitors coming!

Last week, Scott's parents arrived here in Beijing, and we've already seen them off a week later. We spent a wonderful week together, making sure they got to experience lots of our day-to-day life before they hit the tourist spots with their tour group. They of course loved the local market beside our place. After spending an initial 3hrs. there last Saturday, they went back frequently on their own to shop and just look around. They are now joining a tour group that will take them all over China in the next two weeks.

April is a busy time at the school. Besides SAT testing, the elementary school has Enrichment Week, which is a whole week of field trips and service projects. It requires a LOT of planning. We are going on an overnight trip, of which the details drive me nuts! :) Scott is also busy with high school girl's soccer this season. He has a tournament this weekend in Tianjin, and next week he'll be gone for 5 days to Shanghai for a big tournament.

Less than 2 months now 'til we'll be home for the summer. We have officially signed our new contracts, which says we'll be staying for another 2 years. I've really learned not to hold tightly to any of my own plans. Actually, sometimes I just don't make any long-term plans. I know that God is leading us and he'll show us where and how to go, one step at a time.

Cysts and Contracts

Yes, the cyst on my neck reappeared and just this week (as I was on antibiotics to try to shrink it) it turned nasty. Red and painful. I knew by Thursday afternoon that it meant going back to the doctor for another minor operation, just like last June. Thankfully I had more time to prepare myself mentally. So I took Friday off, headed to the doctor where he immediately took me to the little operating room and cut a hole in my neck. Yes, he did give me some local anesthetic. After a bit of prodding, poking and squeezing he patched me up. Just like last time, it was a giant bandage reaching from my chin to my ear! I think I remember praying earlier in the week that God would break my pride. Well, these cysts seem to chip away big chunks of it every time!

They like to give antibiotics by intravenous here, to speed up the process. So after a poke in the back end, they put a needle in my hand and I quietly watched some satellite TV while I was pumped with medication. THAT whole process was repeated again today (Saturday). He cleaned the hole, patched me up again (thankfully with a smaller bandage), and I got more needles. Except this time I got one free poke in the hand...apparently the veins in my right hand don't cooperate with the nurses...which she soon realized, so she took it out. So after all that, I have about 4 band-aids on me today! Same thing will be repeated tomorrow....hopefully with one less poke.

As far as contracts go....since it's that time of year when teachers are thinking about the next school year....We have decided to continue teaching here in Beijing. There are many reasons to love living here. But the biggest reason would be that we feel alive and in touch with what God is doing. It's also easier to stay in touch with the important things in life. We don't know how much longer we'll stay....but we'll take it one contract at a time, just trusting the Lord. We will be going to the land of maple syrup this summer for 6 weeks! From June 17 to July 30....those are the dates right now, but no flights booked yet. (Still looking for a good price!)

Thanks for reading :)

New Year Break

Just a few pictures from the few days we spent with our friends who live outside Beijing.

Feb.

The days grow longer and warmer
We wait with anticipation for bright days that were former.

Goodbye to mitts and hats
And it's not longer the year of the Rats!

The noisy fireworks have come to an end
It lasted two weeks! Big fire downtown might change this trend.

The rabbits run and play
Baby Spice (now an IT) saw the vet for a day!

Students for a basketball tournament arrive
3 nights they'll make us a family of five.

A cyst on my neck has appeared again
More antibiotics, shrinking we will attain?
Otherwise surgery will soon be down the lane.

We strive to hide God's word in our hearts
We know He alone takes care of all life's parts.

Suspended?!

The constant bickering and petty fights between the boys in my class came to a breaking point yesterday. Imagine two boys who have a love-hate relationship. They can have fun and play together, but can also easily upset one another. And now add a new student to the bunch, who seems to egg each of them on. Well they went to art class and they were out of my hands. When I picked them up, I heard from other students that there was a big fight. Apparently the boys had been rolling on the floor fighting. I said "that's enough, I've had it with you too, we'll be talking to the principal about this." Of course they just said "Oh sorry JW" and "It's ok"...."Ok teacher, no problem now!" But that's what they try to get away with.

Anyways, I won't ramble too long....but, I told the principal what happened (and she knows what goes on between them, and she's dealt with them before), so she decided to suspend them for the rest of the day. They could not believe it! At least they know now how serious we are about this, and that we won't tolerate it. Unfortunately one of the boys took it so hard he was hyperventilating! When he wouldn't calm down for almost 1 hour we had to get the counsellor to talk to him. Part of the problem is that his parents are both in Korea (Dad is sick in hospital, mom visits him), and the two kids are here beging cared for by a driver and a nanny! So yes, he's unstable. That family needs to be together. It's actually quite normal here for families to be separated. Dad's working somewhere else, kids studying here. But somehow, it still seems better than all the divorce and broken families in N. America.

Well China is gearing up for it's New Year celebrations. Fireworks are already going off occassionaly. Most chinese schools are already out on holiday. We don't have any big plans. We'll just try to help the rabbits survive the fireworks :)

Happy new Year of the Ox!!!

to Manila and back

Another perk of being a teacher: 2 weeks Christmas break. A perk of being an international teacher: work 3 more weeks than take 1 week of for chinese new year! And we enjoy the perks as much as possible. This year we again joined my filipino family for Christmas. Again there was too much eating, but we were stronger this time. Our "No, I can't eat anymore!" was a little bolder, and we made a point to swim and walk places as much as possible. We also left the luxurious homes for 5 days to travel with a cousin and her husband to the mountain province up north of Manila. Great trip! Besides the driving through twisty, bumpy, winding roads, we had an awesome time. There was hiking, 3 hrs. of caving, climbing Mt. Pinatubo (volcano that errupted in '91), and even a stop in a beach town where we did a jungle walk (very light compared to everything else we'd done). Overall, a very satisfying time.

Back in Manila it was a few more days of shopping and eating before we left for Shanghai. We flew in and out of Shanghai for a cheaper flight and also took the chance to visit a cousin of mine I'd never met before from my swedish side. Really great time with them her and her husband.

The bunnies have grown while we've been gone, and the city is getting geared up for Chinese New Year. Most schools here will be off for almost 1 month! We only get a week off. We think we'll stay around just to save money....but we'll see what happens :)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!