Out with our friends for that night of dancing :)
Monday, March 31, 2008
spring madness....or is it "March Madness"
Regardless.....I feel like I can barely keep up with everything these days. It seems like the longer we're here, the more things we become involved with, and obviously, the more people we get to know. So our weeks seem full. Not to mention our accreditation this week!!! yikes! I didn't realize how long it's been since I wrote last. Almost 4 weeks! Sorry parents :) I'm not sure where the time has gone. We had a lovely Easter break, just realxing and enjoying some nice weather. I had a great birthday, celebrated with many co-workers as well who have birthdays the same day and two days later. Scott took me out to our favorite indian food restaurant. Such delicious food! And he picked out a fantastic new purse for me! Very bold of him to pick out a purse, and I am still really impressed with his choice! It's perfect for me! Wonderful husband I have :)
This past weekend was spent preparing for our accreditation. I spent far too long at the school on Saturday. We even had to go to work on Sunday afternoon (just for 1 hour) to meet the visiting team members. Just an informal Meet & Greet. Today they were walking around the halls and popping into our classrooms while we were teaching, or just to chat about our curriculum, etc. They have also been meeting with students and hanging out with them in the lunchroom :) My committee meets with them tomorrow. I look forward to the end of this week. We even have Friday off! Then we have to seriously plan for Enrichment Week.
There are lots of interesting things happening here in the city as we get closer to the olympics. Please remember to "lift up" those who are experiencing some difficulties because of pressure from the gov't. They are literally cleaning up the city of people they don't want causing trouble.
We're planning a trip for ourselves for the end of April to Sichuan province. Specifically to go see the Panda bears in Chengdu! Should be fun!
Well I hope the snow is gone now from southern ontario. Trees are in bloom here! We're excited for a hike we have planned outside of the city this weekend.
love to all,
SA
This past weekend was spent preparing for our accreditation. I spent far too long at the school on Saturday. We even had to go to work on Sunday afternoon (just for 1 hour) to meet the visiting team members. Just an informal Meet & Greet. Today they were walking around the halls and popping into our classrooms while we were teaching, or just to chat about our curriculum, etc. They have also been meeting with students and hanging out with them in the lunchroom :) My committee meets with them tomorrow. I look forward to the end of this week. We even have Friday off! Then we have to seriously plan for Enrichment Week.
There are lots of interesting things happening here in the city as we get closer to the olympics. Please remember to "lift up" those who are experiencing some difficulties because of pressure from the gov't. They are literally cleaning up the city of people they don't want causing trouble.
We're planning a trip for ourselves for the end of April to Sichuan province. Specifically to go see the Panda bears in Chengdu! Should be fun!
Well I hope the snow is gone now from southern ontario. Trees are in bloom here! We're excited for a hike we have planned outside of the city this weekend.
love to all,
SA
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
weekend fun in Beijing
This past weekend was great! Busier than usual, but we had some good times here in Beijing! The first highlight of the weekend was going to our neighbour's parents' house. Scott was visiting our neighbour, and his parents stopped by. They invited us over to their place for dumplings. It was a great experience. We actually hadn't been into the home of a chinese family until this weekend. They live in an older building, about 30 years old, and they have lived there for about 20years. It's a tiny apartment, full of their daily necessities. His mom is retired and it seems like she just spends her days cooking and making things. We made dumplings together. They made the dough, his dad rolled out the little circles, then we filled them with the filling she'd made ahead of time. They were so delicious! They don't eat much else with their dumplings except a cold dish or two. I ate a piece of pickled garlic as a side item!
His parents didn't speak a word of English, but Alex translated that we are welcome to go to their house anytime, even after their son moves away to New Zealand. a generous offer, but that would be very difficult since we don't speak enough Mandarin. They were so warm, kind, and generous to us. Even gave us leftover filling so we could make more ourselves (you can buy the wrappers already made in the market). We made them on Sunday with friends, but it of course did not taste the same. We live in a relatively affluent side of town. The more wealthy chinese, and other foreigners live in this area, so it was great to experience what the majority of the population lives like. We know we are greatly blessed.
Saturday night we were invited to ballroom dancing! A friend from church goes every Saturday. it's free! We didn't really go to dance, but to watch and support our friend. We were so captivated by the great dancers. There were 6 of us newbies, and there must have been more new people, because they decided to do a short rumba lesson. Good times trying to dance "properly" with Scott. He can't help but just goof around :) But he's really intersted in learning. We might find some of the local places where they do free lessons and go there with friends.
Sunday was a great day at church, and hanging out with friends. We've got great friends! It's fun to just relax with them, watch LOST, and play games :) Ever played Nacho Loco??
The time is really just flying by. I can't believe it's March already. This week has been busy with various events at school. They've hired an elementary principal for us for next year and she's been visiting this week from California. We also have our Spelling Bee on Friday! And for all these things I am very grateful! What a blessing to be a part of this school, and to work with such great people.
I hope you're enjoying your week!
His parents didn't speak a word of English, but Alex translated that we are welcome to go to their house anytime, even after their son moves away to New Zealand. a generous offer, but that would be very difficult since we don't speak enough Mandarin. They were so warm, kind, and generous to us. Even gave us leftover filling so we could make more ourselves (you can buy the wrappers already made in the market). We made them on Sunday with friends, but it of course did not taste the same. We live in a relatively affluent side of town. The more wealthy chinese, and other foreigners live in this area, so it was great to experience what the majority of the population lives like. We know we are greatly blessed.
Saturday night we were invited to ballroom dancing! A friend from church goes every Saturday. it's free! We didn't really go to dance, but to watch and support our friend. We were so captivated by the great dancers. There were 6 of us newbies, and there must have been more new people, because they decided to do a short rumba lesson. Good times trying to dance "properly" with Scott. He can't help but just goof around :) But he's really intersted in learning. We might find some of the local places where they do free lessons and go there with friends.
Sunday was a great day at church, and hanging out with friends. We've got great friends! It's fun to just relax with them, watch LOST, and play games :) Ever played Nacho Loco??
The time is really just flying by. I can't believe it's March already. This week has been busy with various events at school. They've hired an elementary principal for us for next year and she's been visiting this week from California. We also have our Spelling Bee on Friday! And for all these things I am very grateful! What a blessing to be a part of this school, and to work with such great people.
I hope you're enjoying your week!
Saturday, February 23, 2008
back at it....
well the holiday season is over for awhile. we've been quite spoiled with Christmas and then chinese New Year holidays. for now we have to work 4 more weeks until Easter break. And then the school year is basically over! :) in April there are so many things going on.....the chinese Tomb Sweeping holiday (one day), parent teacher conferences, SAT testing, enrichment week, and then our May holiday beginning April 30. according to other teachers we should finish our teaching by end of March because it's hard to get stuff done after that! yikes! we've got a lot to do!
travelling to Vietnam was fantastic! our travelling buddies Becky and Daniel were easy-going and we had no disagreements. the Vietnamese people are very friendly and helpful and it's just a beautiful country. There's more color and old architecture....somehow they've preserved the 'ancient' look of the places we went. it is less-developed than China. it's communist, but we saw a bit more of the poverty there. I felt like I saw a lot more smiles though. Maybe the people just know how to welcome tourists better than the chinese. people always said hello with a sincere smile and "Happy New Year!"
we stayed in Hanoi for 2 nights first of all. we walked all over the "Old Quarter", visiting museums, old churches, Ho Chi Minh's masoleum, and other sites. it wasn't too warm. spring weather that required a jacket. because of the French influence there are great bakeries around and good strong coffee! and milk with coffee actually means coffee with sweetened condensed milk! yumm! we often bought baguettes on the street to munch on for lunch. they eat delicious rice noodles a lot.
we then took a sleeper bus to Hue, 12 hours south. needless to say, it was a long, interesting night. the roads are bumpy, the driver honked his horn a lot and the "beds" were not comfortable. I think Becky and I got the most sleep....maybe 5 hours? but the boys didn't sleep much at all because they're so tall. we were glad to get off that bus! But then we had to take another 3 hr bus ride to get to Hoi An, the small beach town we were heading to. we arrived at the travel agency/bus stop and bought tickets.....the bus was kinda full so they offered to put two plastic chairs in the aisle so all 4 of us could go! it was quite a hit with all the foreigners on the bus :) some australians arrived at the travel agency after us. they had bought tickets but there was no more room....or for some reason they wouldn't accept their 'receipt.' he put up quite a fight, even storming onto the bus, swearing his head off that he was going to get on the bus! soon there was pushing and shoving, and even a plastic chair raised over his head when he had stolen the keys! haha, it was quite immature. the mean angry guy definitely and his wife didn't make it on the bus, but everyone else did!
Hoi An was a nice quaint town with lots of charm. we were able to rent bikes for about 70 cents for the entire day. we rode all around and down to the beach. it was kinda windy and cold, but we did run in and then out of the South China Sea :) we really enjoyed a quiet bike ride by a river through farm fields. after some good food, haircuts, bleached hair and a couple of nights including games of Settlers, we FLEW back to Hanoi where the next morning we took a tour to Halong Bay. beautiful place! there were about 9 of us on our boat, and we spent the night on the boat. 2 days and 1 night, including meals and kayaking it was $46. definitely worth it! kinda cold, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. I'll include a few pictures. but you should definitely check out my (or Scott's) pictures on facebook.
after one last evening in Hanoi we flew back the next morning. on a side note....our flight was early in the morning and the exchange place wasn't open yet so we couldn't change our extra money back to renminbi. so we tried in the Beijing airport and they said no, but you can do it at the bank. I hate going to the bank, so I finally made the trip on Thursday only to be told that they don't take it! no where in China can I exchange it, she told me! this just adds to the list of reasons why I hate banking in China. I don't even have to go far! it's right in the hotel where our school is located! but it always takes so long and everything is vague! I never know what I can or can't do there, or when. and then it takes 10 minutes to pay a water bill because she has to fill out all these forms by hand, and stamp about 10 different things. it drives me crazy.
but in a way it was nice to come home and sleep in our own bed. we bought some new fish this week and we knew right away that the female was pregnant - with her giant belly and all. she seemed stressed though in the tank with all the other fish so I thought we should put her in the "nursery" tank so she can have the babies. sure enough, the next day she had the babies! they are platy's so they have livebirth. we have about 12 little fishies in the nursery now :)
I'm going to go take advantage of my Saturday now and have a nap. I had too much marking so I went to the school for 1.5hrs this morning already. Happy New Year of the Rat!
travelling to Vietnam was fantastic! our travelling buddies Becky and Daniel were easy-going and we had no disagreements. the Vietnamese people are very friendly and helpful and it's just a beautiful country. There's more color and old architecture....somehow they've preserved the 'ancient' look of the places we went. it is less-developed than China. it's communist, but we saw a bit more of the poverty there. I felt like I saw a lot more smiles though. Maybe the people just know how to welcome tourists better than the chinese. people always said hello with a sincere smile and "Happy New Year!"
we stayed in Hanoi for 2 nights first of all. we walked all over the "Old Quarter", visiting museums, old churches, Ho Chi Minh's masoleum, and other sites. it wasn't too warm. spring weather that required a jacket. because of the French influence there are great bakeries around and good strong coffee! and milk with coffee actually means coffee with sweetened condensed milk! yumm! we often bought baguettes on the street to munch on for lunch. they eat delicious rice noodles a lot.
we then took a sleeper bus to Hue, 12 hours south. needless to say, it was a long, interesting night. the roads are bumpy, the driver honked his horn a lot and the "beds" were not comfortable. I think Becky and I got the most sleep....maybe 5 hours? but the boys didn't sleep much at all because they're so tall. we were glad to get off that bus! But then we had to take another 3 hr bus ride to get to Hoi An, the small beach town we were heading to. we arrived at the travel agency/bus stop and bought tickets.....the bus was kinda full so they offered to put two plastic chairs in the aisle so all 4 of us could go! it was quite a hit with all the foreigners on the bus :) some australians arrived at the travel agency after us. they had bought tickets but there was no more room....or for some reason they wouldn't accept their 'receipt.' he put up quite a fight, even storming onto the bus, swearing his head off that he was going to get on the bus! soon there was pushing and shoving, and even a plastic chair raised over his head when he had stolen the keys! haha, it was quite immature. the mean angry guy definitely and his wife didn't make it on the bus, but everyone else did!
Hoi An was a nice quaint town with lots of charm. we were able to rent bikes for about 70 cents for the entire day. we rode all around and down to the beach. it was kinda windy and cold, but we did run in and then out of the South China Sea :) we really enjoyed a quiet bike ride by a river through farm fields. after some good food, haircuts, bleached hair and a couple of nights including games of Settlers, we FLEW back to Hanoi where the next morning we took a tour to Halong Bay. beautiful place! there were about 9 of us on our boat, and we spent the night on the boat. 2 days and 1 night, including meals and kayaking it was $46. definitely worth it! kinda cold, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. I'll include a few pictures. but you should definitely check out my (or Scott's) pictures on facebook.
after one last evening in Hanoi we flew back the next morning. on a side note....our flight was early in the morning and the exchange place wasn't open yet so we couldn't change our extra money back to renminbi. so we tried in the Beijing airport and they said no, but you can do it at the bank. I hate going to the bank, so I finally made the trip on Thursday only to be told that they don't take it! no where in China can I exchange it, she told me! this just adds to the list of reasons why I hate banking in China. I don't even have to go far! it's right in the hotel where our school is located! but it always takes so long and everything is vague! I never know what I can or can't do there, or when. and then it takes 10 minutes to pay a water bill because she has to fill out all these forms by hand, and stamp about 10 different things. it drives me crazy.
but in a way it was nice to come home and sleep in our own bed. we bought some new fish this week and we knew right away that the female was pregnant - with her giant belly and all. she seemed stressed though in the tank with all the other fish so I thought we should put her in the "nursery" tank so she can have the babies. sure enough, the next day she had the babies! they are platy's so they have livebirth. we have about 12 little fishies in the nursery now :)
I'm going to go take advantage of my Saturday now and have a nap. I had too much marking so I went to the school for 1.5hrs this morning already. Happy New Year of the Rat!
Sunday, January 27, 2008
hidden grief
This Thursday started out as a normal day, except that my computer at school wouldn't connect to the internet right away. It didn't start working until 8:35am, once the kids were already in the classroom. I was finally able to check my school email, and that's when I got the news that my grandma had passed away. It was a bit of a shock and I had to step out of the classroom for "just a moment" I thought, as I left my student's in Jodee's care. But the grief kinda overcame me for a bit. The worst part was wanting to be at home with my family. My staff was kind enough to cover for me for the morning while I went to Jodee's and used her computer to call home. My grandma (Dad's mom) has been living in a nursing home for over a year. In good care under my mom's supervision there. She suffered with Alzheimer's and Diabetes. She's seemed relatively stable there, with bouts of sadness. But she stopped recognizing us awhile back. I still remember 3 years ago when I left for Korea she said "I hope I'm not here when you get back." It was painful to me, but she was 90 at that time. She's been tired for awhile....waiting to go be with grandpa, who's been gone for about 10 years. She's finally at peace.
At the funeral, instead of a eulogy, my family will be taking turns to share various memories. Here's my contribution that my parents will read for me:
"I will always remember Grandma's strong arms. Her strong arms gave countless hugs that always made me feel right at home. Grandma leaves memories of hard work in the garden, pulling weeds from the river at the cottage, delicious meatballs and sweet Peparkakor. But her greatest legacy is the legacy of faith that has been passed down through the generations. She was an example to all her grandchildren of a woman of strong faith that was willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the gospel. I always knew she was in touch with God, praying for each of us. She never said so, but somehow I just knew. I hope I can follow her example in my life, to be a woman of prayer and sacrifice. I'm glad she can finally rest in her Heavenly Father's arms."
to those of you close by, sorry I haven't been so open about this. I tend to just start crying when I talk about it. but soon enough my mourning will turn to joy as I celebrate her life.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
brrrr....
still quite cold here....we even turn on the extra electric heater sometimes in the evenings. government heating isn't warm enough in our building! maybe because we're on the first floor it's colder. we had snow again the other night, but again it's mostly gone.
this past weekend Scott had a final volleyball tournament with his girls' team. we also received a call inviting us to an interview for volunteering for the Olympics! we'd applied awhile ago and hadn't heard anything until now. so I went on my own early Saturday morning to the other side of the city, to one of the universities. there were all foreigners, about 30 of us, and they had us fill out a form that was all in chinese! haha. then I had the first interview since I was sitting closest to the door. they just asked me a few questions: what did I do here in Beijing, how long I'd been here, how I planned on getting to the Olympic Stadium, and was I truly available for the entire period. that was it. they didn't seem completely organized. we'll see how they do with running this big event!!! anyways, we'd like to be involved if we can....though we might have some meeting in preparation for the beginning of the school year during the games. we can only hope that we can get out of them if we get to volunteer!
it seems like everyone at our school is getting sick. one of our teachers found out today she has bronchitis, so she's on I.V. antibiotics at a clinic and will be taking tomorrow off....which throws things off for chapel which she's supposed to do. oh well! we'll manage.
the puppy is still with us. she's doing a bit better. but we're still trying to give her away :) there is a korean family that is quite interested. we'll just have to break the news to our friend Alex, and see if he approves. we had some other neighbours over on Friday for dinner (malaysian), and they have 2 very young kids. the dog was scared of the small humans! it was pretty funny.
I gave my testimony at church on Sunday! it went well I think. of course everyone gave me positive feedback later....they wouldn't really say otherwise, would they? :) as long as it encourages one person along the way, it was worth it :)
well I better get set for chapel tomorrow! figure out how to do worship without our guitarist.
zaitian!
this past weekend Scott had a final volleyball tournament with his girls' team. we also received a call inviting us to an interview for volunteering for the Olympics! we'd applied awhile ago and hadn't heard anything until now. so I went on my own early Saturday morning to the other side of the city, to one of the universities. there were all foreigners, about 30 of us, and they had us fill out a form that was all in chinese! haha. then I had the first interview since I was sitting closest to the door. they just asked me a few questions: what did I do here in Beijing, how long I'd been here, how I planned on getting to the Olympic Stadium, and was I truly available for the entire period. that was it. they didn't seem completely organized. we'll see how they do with running this big event!!! anyways, we'd like to be involved if we can....though we might have some meeting in preparation for the beginning of the school year during the games. we can only hope that we can get out of them if we get to volunteer!
it seems like everyone at our school is getting sick. one of our teachers found out today she has bronchitis, so she's on I.V. antibiotics at a clinic and will be taking tomorrow off....which throws things off for chapel which she's supposed to do. oh well! we'll manage.
the puppy is still with us. she's doing a bit better. but we're still trying to give her away :) there is a korean family that is quite interested. we'll just have to break the news to our friend Alex, and see if he approves. we had some other neighbours over on Friday for dinner (malaysian), and they have 2 very young kids. the dog was scared of the small humans! it was pretty funny.
I gave my testimony at church on Sunday! it went well I think. of course everyone gave me positive feedback later....they wouldn't really say otherwise, would they? :) as long as it encourages one person along the way, it was worth it :)
well I better get set for chapel tomorrow! figure out how to do worship without our guitarist.
zaitian!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
sucky cold week
basically this week sucks so far :) it's very cold. even a few minutes outside and you feel the nipping at your nose. but I'm thankful for the warm home I have. also, my teaching partner is away on holiday, and the guy subbing for her doesn't like to chat too much. I'm used to talking about everything with Jodee.
the puppy is alright. cute, but taking her sweet time getting adjusted to our home. still using our living room floor as a toilet. and her former mom came to say goodbye today as she flies out tomorrow. she had tears in her eyes as she took a few last pictures with her. they have really treated her like a baby. she even came with her own suitcase of things!
thankfully tomorrow is Wednesday, which means Cheap Chinese! a weekly gathering for a cheap meal with some friends after work. we also usually walk over to IKEA after for a 1 kuai ice-cream cone (1/7 of a dollar).
this weekend I'll be giving my testimony at church. Scott did his about a month ago. so I've got to plan for that. and I've got too much marking to do! plus plans for chinese new year, spelling bee and brain bowl. this semester really is going to fly by.
Scott is doing a chinese lesson, while I've just finished preparing songs for chapel tomorrow. Joy and I usually take turns. but she always plays the guitar :) the piano is in an awkward spot in the auditorium so I haven't played it yet.
bye for now!
the puppy is alright. cute, but taking her sweet time getting adjusted to our home. still using our living room floor as a toilet. and her former mom came to say goodbye today as she flies out tomorrow. she had tears in her eyes as she took a few last pictures with her. they have really treated her like a baby. she even came with her own suitcase of things!
thankfully tomorrow is Wednesday, which means Cheap Chinese! a weekly gathering for a cheap meal with some friends after work. we also usually walk over to IKEA after for a 1 kuai ice-cream cone (1/7 of a dollar).
this weekend I'll be giving my testimony at church. Scott did his about a month ago. so I've got to plan for that. and I've got too much marking to do! plus plans for chinese new year, spelling bee and brain bowl. this semester really is going to fly by.
Scott is doing a chinese lesson, while I've just finished preparing songs for chapel tomorrow. Joy and I usually take turns. but she always plays the guitar :) the piano is in an awkward spot in the auditorium so I haven't played it yet.
bye for now!
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