Luoyang.....

This past Saturday we went on an educational trip to an ancient city about 3 hours from where we live. We went with the resident historian here at SIAS. His name is Gary Todd, he is from Illinois and has taught at both U of I champagne and SIU-Carbondale. His goal is to improve both academia in China as well as learn as much Chinese history as one could possibly know. He is like-minded and could basically tell you anything you wanted to know about chrch history, Bro Rick you'd be impressed... He's usually the guy we go to if we have a question about something in politics, history, etc. He always has an answer and most of the time it comes with an adamant response. He takes it pretty seriously but. he's still a lot of fun! He is the guy who is hard to get to know unless you open the conversation or initiate the relationship. On a typical day, like any historian, you can go to his room and find him reading a book.




Here recently he came upon some ancient coins from about 2000 years ago. I think he dug them up at a dig site somewhere close or received them from someone. Along with the coins he collects artifacts and antiques from the different dynasty's of China. He's got daggers, coins, writings, and many others. He loves to show them to people who are interested so if you ever stop by his room... ask him about them. He lives directly under us in the apartment building so it's a convenient trip down the stairs to talk with him.

Anyway here are some pics from our trip and his web site so you can read more about the histroy of the city we live in and surrounding cities...

http://www.garyleetodd.com/

.bathroom.tailor.propane.tears.english.

lacy:

today was pretty eventful; spending some time with students and friends :) we both had two classes.... which by the way one of my classes was pretty funny! in my sophomore oral english class, we played charades; i gave them phrases that are commonly said... like goodbye, hello, i cant hear you, i need to go to the bathroom, etc.... because when you go to a different country not knowing the language, you find it yourself playing a lot of charades! one of my students ended up with the "i need to go to the bathroom" phrase.... well the way he acted it out was hilarious! he held himself like a 5 year old would if they had to go to the bathroom; then he pretended to open a door and he squatted down! the whole class was laughin! i was laughing because i hate squatties; i dont like goin to the bathroom in a chinese toilet.... i hold it till i find a western toilet :) if i absolutely have to, i will; which so far has only been on a train.... but peter is the one who acted it out and he has pretty good english and is always funny.... its one of my favorite classes!

anyways, i went to the tailor with a student of andy's, jodie.... shes really cool and very good at english! shes a senior and plans to further her study in england, which i think she'll be great there! she had a coat made the same place i did, so i went with her.... the tailor there is hilarious! the way her voice sounds and the way she talks; she always sounds angry and like she is arguing with everyone, but shes not! haha its kinda like if you were to start yelling in an angry voice about how its such a nice day today lol jodie and i just laugh; its almost as if the tailor puts on a show because we are laughing :) sunday night she is taking me to a restuarant with spicy noodles, so thatll be interestin! at the same time, andy was goin on a hike with a student, jim, around the wooded area of the campus.... he said him and jim had a really cool conversation; ill let him tell you more about that since it was his experience :) which i have to say that he has been doing awesome with the "trooth corner"! he has been doing really well tryin to explain truth to the students; because some students are better with english than others, so he has to make sure everyone understands and not just a few.... it is really awesome when you see their face light up because they understand; like a light bulb just went on! one thing i wish we had was a "bble" that was half english and half pin yin.... meaning that the chinese language is not in characters, but written how their words are pronounced; i have been really tryin to learn more of the language.... i can hear and understand certain words in a conversation, but i cant really make out what is actually said; i am getting a lot better and its gets more and more exciting! it would just be cool to be able to read a verse in chinese, but since i do not know characters, that is hard to do lol anyways, all i want to say is that i am proud of andy and please continue to think specifically for this corner because their minds and hearts are thinking!

well later tonight, we had about 14 of andy's students from last year come over; it was a packed house! we fit them all in our little living room; it was awesome! we just showed em pics of our wedding and some of our trips in china.... they didnt stay that long, but at the end they took tons of pics! seriously, i was blind for a while afterwards from all the flash! they all wanted to get a pic with me and andy; my eyes were killing! :) but it was a good time to meet his students from last year!

after they left, we went to ghetto hotpot for a late dinner.... we took a student named george and our friend kerry who is a teacher here; it was a good time! hotpot is hard for me to describe; andy is better at describing things.... in the middle of the table, there is a huge bowl over a propane fire with water and some spices all heated and constantly boiling..... then you can add different things in there like lamb meat, potato noodles, noodles (they have awesome noodles), cabbage, tofu, sliced potatos, etc.... then you can just wait till its boiled in the water and use your chopsticks to fish it out! you can dip it in either garlic sauce or this peanut sauce.... if you like spicy and some people do not like spicy, they have a divider that divides the bowl into two parts and you can have different flavors..... their spicy is RIDICULOUS! i like spicy, but they have so much ginger in it that it makes your face turn red! no joke! our friend george was eatin it up! i have tried some before thinkin it would be good, but it was unbearable! my tongue was on fire! and after i said that, george said his face was on fire, haha.... he is a sophomore and his english is very good; i would think he was a senior! we hang out with him quite a lot; hes always around peter hall hanging out with the foreigners.... kerry had some of the spiciness and had to back out haha; george kept telling him to come back! it was funny cause kerry was tearing up! it was a pretty good day!

earlier i had text some of my students; girls that i hang out with the most.... sarah, raina, sandra, janey, angel; these girls helped me with double dutch for culture week! they are awesome and so crazy! i always have fun with them.... its hard to find students here that speak good english and understand the kind of humor i have, but these gurls have a similar humor as i do so we click very well! it can be frustrating sometimes always trying to explain and define your words; thats why its refreshing to hang out with these girls because they are very good with their english.... i asked them to come to power hour with me this sunday and 2 of them will go with me; im not sure about one.... raina and i are going for a walk tomorrow around downtown because she wanted to tell me about her job interview last weekend; she said it was funny and had to tell me, so i will ask her if she will go with me then.... keep these girls in mind; its crazy that it has only been almost 3 months and i have become very close to some students! ill have to get pictures with them soon, so i can put em up here :)

Crab Rangoon!

Hey Everyone!

Tonight we had a group of students over for an English Corner! We had a great discussion... and we made Crab Rangoon! I thought I'd show them some American Chinese food... I wasn't sure I would be able to achieve China Buffet status, but we were successful.

Here's what we do. Each Wednesday evening we have students over, invite only, so we're able to discern the one's who are searching or just genuine friends of ours. We have snacks, brief conversation about our days/lives and then we test them to see if they remember one anothers name.

In the Chinese culture it's normal to never talk to a stranger. It's hard to go outside of your circle of friends because of trust or the simple fear of getting to know someone new. The culture is based on relationships and this isn't so obvious to the normal onlooker but, once you cultivate a few relationships you understand deeper. If you are a friend, you are a friend for life. There are two circles or levels of relationships one; is that of being an acquaintance and two; that of deeper friendship or family. If you are on the outer circle then you can count on not receiving much in terms of closeness but, if you are on the inner circle then you would receive the shirt off of someones back if you ever were in need, literally, not figuratively. I've seen so many acts of charity between friends. Some students go so far as purchase computers for each other. This happens all the way to the point of cheating on exams. If a student has not studied then their friend doesn't want to see them fail so they will help that friend pass by allowing them to cheat. It happens in America we just seem to know how to cheat in a more sophisticated way.

Anyway, sorry for rambling... I'm doing my best to give you a window into the culture. Back to testing them on each others names. We just want them to start feeling comfortable with others around them hoping they will build friendships outside of their dorm rooms. There are definitely the exceptions to the rule but, that's the norm.

Tonight we began by having everyone arrive at 730pm. Once everyone arrived we started by telling them what Crab Rangoon was and then showed them the ingredients. They began laughing at me because that's basically what we do all the time, laugh together. they call me crazy because I am always doing something different and trying to show them so many stupid things we westerners do, like make Crab Rangoon in China! Or, buy 20 snickers bars for our visitors (those who came last week all got a snickers bar, they're kind of pricey for the students to buy). Again... rambling... Once we got the stuff all mixed we put it into the wanton rappers (in Chinese HUN DUN PI..."who'n-do'n-pee"). then put them in the oil to fry.

The students thought they were very good( in Chinese TAI HAO CHE... tie-how-cher). They said they were different but approved... mission accomplished!

So now onto the discussion... We talked about relativitism, what's right, what's wrong, and who decides? On the board I drew stick figures in different colors representing different people and different thoughts. "Mr. Green killed Mr. Red because he wanted to... who is right? you'd think the answer would be simple. Nope... "It's okay, as long as he did it for fun." and "It's okay, he didn't know what he was doing." and "Maybe Mr. Red did something to make Mr. Green Kill him?" I thought to myself at that point "I have a lot to accomplish here tonight!"

So we continued, it didn't get a whole lot better but it did progress and we did have good points to discuss. We read the 10 laws that are the standard, and I said "If truth exists, then it is the same for everyone, it isn't different for different cultures or different people." not only do I struggle with the language barrier but also with a people who's moral compass is not exactly the greatest. I love the people so much and I want you to know that they are wonderful people. It's more that there isn't really a standard of morality. So pry for this area especially with the group members.

After all the discussion we wound down and just hung out for about 15 minutes. We talked about usually life things. We planned for the next few days and even possibly planned a trip to a students home. We'll keep you posted.

I want to end with something a student said right before he left this evening. "It's comfortable here, I like coming to your house and spending time with you and your wife. I feel very welcomed." --Casey

And another student said during the cooking time. "You two are so happy, you are always filled with happiness. We love spending time with you."--Joyce

Children...

Like I said... we are really wanting to put more into this site so you can see deeper into the culture and into our lives. Unlike Lacy, I hate to write things, I hate to express my inner feelings. All this on top of knowing that one; my grammar is pretty poor and two; I am not sure I can truly express how I feel through words on a web page.

I mentioned before that it was an exceptionally emotional time when Bro' Andre and Bill Simmons were here. This was because they actually got to see us here as well as seeing the culture for what it is. So they understand deeper than those of you who have not been here. the only chance most of you will ever have to experience China is through Lacy and me. So that is why I am wanting to break the silence! I want to do all that I can to break down barriers, walls of any sort and misunderstandings between the East and the West. So here goes my first feeble attempt.

This past weekend we were able to go with a small group of teachers to an orphanage in a town about one hour away. The town's name is Xin Mi ( pronounced "Seen Me"). We took a small bus that we rented and took gifts along with us. We took things they needed such as bathing supplies, fruit, milk, games/toys etc. A care package was prepared individually for each student and then given to them upon arrival. They were so happy to see us. On our way we received a phone call from one of the Chinese workers as the orphanage who asked us where we were. We were about 15 minutes away and he said that the kids were anxiously awaiting our arrival. And... that they were. They were all crowding the gate with smiles and cheers when we arrived. It was similar to a Christmas morning in America, yet these students love to play with us individually.

When we go we usually take about 20-25 plus a few Chinese students who can help translate if needed. The school/orphanage is an exception to the rule when you think of the traditional orphanage. The care the children receive is phenomenal, really... They have both Chinese women and men who deeply care for them. It was refreshing to see the love being shown to them compared to the daily lifestyle and hardness we tend to see. The orphanage was started 10 years ago or so by an American woman (who kind of looks as if she could be Mrs. Meggos's sister). She's from Kansas so she must have a good heart, right!

I say this place is phenomenal not only because the care they receive but, because they are being taught trooth. According to the "standard" they are being treated extra special and are genuinely cared for. Each child has a heart of gold and that golden heart is filled with a man who will always give them the strength they need in life. When I look at these children I hurt because I know they don't have parents and they have been deserted. Then I really look at them and honestly I could never tell that they are orphans. I can't say enough about the care they receive. It's truly a blessing to be able to love on these kids.

So what do we do when we go, you ask? As you see in pictures we play with them, we love them and just give ourselves to them for an afternoon. Because there are so many of them and not enough workers to have one-on-one attention daily we help by giving them that one-on-one or one-on-two attention they need. Last year I was able to go and spent time with two boys Donnie and Charlie. I always think of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for some reason... I just wish I could be his "Golden Ticket" to a family... Tonya Duke maybe?????? I don't know, I just wish I could bring him home with me. this year I asked Charlie if he remembered me, but because his English is as good as my Chinese we weren't able to have a deep conversation. I asked him this "Ni jide wo ma?" (pronounced "Knee gee duh woe mah") Ni=you, jide=remember, Wo=me/I, Ma=question form.

Charlie shook his head and smiled and gave me a hug, amazing! At first it was difficult to recognize him because I hadn't been there in a year and he had grown up a little. funny how boys grow up in a year. Now he has braces, along with so many other children at the orphanage. Like I said... thy receive super care! Most students don't have the resources or opportunity to have braces in order to improve their teeth. A lot of children will grow up with a few extra teeth that we would have pulled in order to straighten our mouths out. The simple things we never think about or just take for granted because it's an everyday thing.

I said I spent time with two children last year Donnie and Charlie... Well this year Donnie spent time with another teacher who is new and I had an opportunity to get to know another boy, Zack, who's English is pretty good. Not spectacular but better than average.... He was funny because he walked with me everywhere I went. He gave me his name tag and said I could have his name and he wanted my name. Whenever we would walk up to someone else he would introduce himself like this "Ni hao, wo de mingzi Andy, Wo shi er shi ba la" in English... "Hello, my name is Andy and I am 28" so then I would say "Wo de mingzi Duan Zhi Heng" in English... Hello, my name is Duan Zhi Heng (or I would say Zack).

The whole day we spent time playing basketball, or for those who know, we played "knock-out", Chinese Duck-Duck-Goose, ping pong, badminton, and/or hacky sack. It was really fun and a change of pace for us.

Finally, When we were saying our goodbyes, Zack looked at me and said "we are forever friends" and I responded "I love you...." We are planning a trip to go back again sometime in December.

Pry for a girl who is in their care who was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia and put on a lot of hard Rx's. She was taken to another Dr. and he is taking her off of those Rx's slowly to keep her from experiencing a lot of shock or withdrawals. She went for 3 days with no food, water, or sleep... causing her to hallucinate. Therefore the Dr's thought she had schizophrenia...

.a.cleaner.and.a.cooker.

lacy:
ok so i'll admit that i have been horrible at keeping up with this; i am going to try and write in this thing at least 4 times a week... that might be expecting too much of me and i apologize in advanced if i mess up! i really do love writing and blogging; i just dont know what it is that makes me stare blankly at the screen wondering where do i start....

anyways, saturday we did this really fun thing called a progressive house warming party; similar to a progressive dinner only it was more like progressive snacks and drinks (drinks meaning hot cocoa and the sort). this was a way for us teachers to get more acquainted with eachother and check out eachothers' places.... alot of people opened up their home including me and andy; it was a blast! if you dont know, we live in sort of like an apartment dorm hall; its called peter hall.... so i cleaned all day and andy headed out to zhengzhou to get some supplies for what he was going to make for that night; he made what he calls amazing meltbombs! he got the recipe from a friend and you take crushed oreos mixed with cream cheese into a ball then dipped in melted dove chocolate, and you chill them till the chocolate gets hard.... they are the most amazing things! i was pretty proud of him :) i would say that as a team; i clean and he cooks.... i love to clean and he loves to cook! (side note to my mom: see i told you that if i pryed for a husband that cooks, jay will provide; i wasnt worried)

well i cleaned everything cause im a clean freak like that :) im the kind of clean freak where if i clean the shower, i wish that it wouldnt have to be used for a couple of days so it keeps looking awesome.... the reason why i say that is our shower has clear walls around it and it so clear when its clean, i love it! when it gets used, you can see the soap scum and the water spots.... agh, i wish i had a squeegie to just clean it everytime i take a shower haha ok i know a lil ridiculous, but those are my thoughts.... of course, i am laid back about being clean; but when i get to cleaning, i am hardcore! andy is pretty similar; hes laid back but he likes to keep things clean.... although, he is horrible at throwing wrappers away; ill find them randomly somewhere but thats ok cause hes much better bout it now :)

well we had a lot of people come in and out of our place, which they enjoyed the coziness of our home and the amazin chocolate goodness of andys creations.... it was really fun hosting and showing off our place! i took some pics of our apartment, so you can see where we are living....

FRONT DOOR
OUR OFFICE

3 TURTLES/3 GOLDFISH
OUR SINK
OUR SHOWER/WATER HEATER

OUR LIL KITCHEN

OUR LIVING ROOM

OUR LIVING ROOM
DOORWAY TO KITCHEN/DOORWAY TO BEDROOM

OUR BEDROOM

.where.did.october.go?

lacy:
whew! october october= craziness! we were so involved in the month of october.... we had midterms, taught extra english prep classes for a test, taught extra classes for people who have not arrived to china yet, and we were involved in culture week, which just finished!

Midterms weren't that bad, but preparing for it was time consuming because we had to get tons of pages for the test to be printed.... andy and i together have a total of 350 students, so thats a lot of trees! THEN we had to grade them all :) fun fun.... its over now, but only to look forward to less than 4 weeks for the final exam! whoo hoo :) the last day of the semester is Dec 19th, so its coming up quickly.... the reason why we taught an english prep course to help students on this big certification test was to make some extra money for our winter break trip.... we are saving up as much money as we can to help pay for our trip to Thailand for the winter since students will all be going back home... its a 9 week winter break!! a little ridiculous, but we won't begin traveling until after christmas or december, so we aren't spending too much money. With what we get paid, we have to save up almost all of it. we basically use money to help students, take them out to dinner, or for toilet paper that we arent allowed to flush down the toilet.... (brings me back to ecuador) andy says it gets really cold here and they turn the heating off, so most of the foreign teachers here travel to thailand or other places where it is warmer.... andy has been looking into places where we could do some "work" to spread some certain "good news" :) i hope you got that.... there is this place in phuket where they are wanting to develop a xtian university and right now they are spreading some news to the muslims.... andy received the article from a friend he knows, so its an option that we are lookin into.... OH! i am getting this really awesome wool coat made since i didnt bring one; it wouldve taken too much space... i took a design from the internet from a coat that costs between 100-150 dollars and im only payin 25 dollars!! whoo hoo! and its real wool with a silk lining inside and it fits only for me :) im excited! i get it this week hopefully.... (sorry, i a lil off topic)

this past week was international culture week.... each day is about a different continent; monday they usually start out with China day, which is sponsered by the students at SIAS... then tuesday is Asia day, wednesday was Africa/Latin America day, thursday was Europe day, and friday was North America day.... andy and i were more involved in North America day..... all the foreign teachers participate in culture week. During the day, we set up billboards about different places in each continent and also involve some activities that portray their culture. Then at night, there is about a 2 hour show that involves drama and singing because china loves their shows! this past month all the teachers have been busy setting up and getting their performances prepared, so its been crazy.... where we live is like an apartment building, similar to dorm halls only our apartments are bigger; each floor includes a lobby, so down the hall from me is a big lobby to just chill or whatever.... well, seriously, for an entire week, people were painting tons of things in the lobby.... the first night, i thought i had gas leaking in our room and i started to get a headache; well it wasn't the gas, it was the paint!! china has no regulations against toxic paint; seriously, this stuff is lethal! haha.... for like 2 weeks, i had tons of headaches and felt very sleepy and drowsy.... andy and i live at the very end of the hall, so i felt worse for the people who lived right next to the lobby! it was horrible, but now its over and i actually feel normal :) the whole thing was pretty fun to watch the other shows and to be involved in it; im just glad the craziness is over with....