Visitors!!!

Hey Everyone!

It's been an interesting week and a half since the last post. The last post was right after my birthday. Lacy did such a great job of orchestrating a surprise dinner for me with friends. Since then there has been a lot that has happened. So here goes...

Last week was China's official national holiday. It's called October Holiday, I'm sure there is a Chinese name for it, but I don't know what the translation is. The students have the whole week off and are able to return home or travel for the week. It's a little different here though. In America it would be similar to having the same amount of time off for Thanksgiving. Instead the classes that normally would be held on Monday and Tuesday are switched to the Saturday and Sunday prior. This enables the students and teachers to have a full 7 days off to travel. The reason is because travel is so much more difficult and time consuming and it's not as efficient to just have 3 days vacation if the student isn't able to go home. I.E. a student might have to travel by bus or train that may take 20-30 hours. If the student only had 3-4 days then almost 3 of those days would be spent on the bus or train.

During the first half of the week we went with a few friends to a city not far from school. We met up with a Chinese girl who spends time at SIAS but isn't a student. She went to school abroad and studied business and now owns a shoe factory and is beginning another partnership in the inport-export business. We were able to spend 2 days with her and her colleague establishing a relationship. While I was there I was able to discuss a possibility with a man who will come and speak to my classes about life after college. He will help them in their job search and has 11 job openings in his company that he would like to fill with qualified students from my class. In return he wants me to help him with his English. So hopefully it was the beginning of a great friendship!

After we returned to school the following day we traveled with a lot of the new teachers and some returning teachers to a city called Xi'an (pronounced She-ann). It is the home of the famous Terracotta Soldiers. What an amazing place... It is an underground tomb for one of the 1st emporors of China, the same emporor that had the Great Wall built... Over 6,000 clay soldiers are estimated to be found once all the land is finally excavated. These warriors all stand close to 6ft tall. The reason it was erected in the beginning is because the Emporor wanted to have an army in the "after-life" in order to continue his reign after death. Then once he died it was destroyed by the next emporor in line because of the oppression he caused while buidling the Great Wall and this tomb.

We were in Xi'an for 3 days and then traveled back home to SIAS...where we would be pleasantly surprised by two friends, Andre' Dobson and Bill Simmons. We were able to spend two days with them showing them around the univeristy we teach at and city we live in. We were so excited to have familiar faces here with us in our home. A crazy thought becomes reality!! While they were here we took them to our favorite restaurants (which is relative), introduced them to students we spend time with, had them sit-in on our classes, and just shared time with them. Personally it was very emotional to have people we know and love here with us. They were able to see and understand first-hand what we describe and talk about. It's so nice to have that connection and not feel like you have to explain every single detail just to get a simple point across about the culture...

Thats all for now, I hope you enjoyed it... something new coming soon!

We love you all and are so thankful for your pryrs and support!

.past.week.experiences.

lacy:
i just came back from eatin dinner with 2 chinese students who are not my students. lol the story there is that in the beginning of my class; these 2 girls came up to me from the hallway and asked if they could become friends with me.... at first, i was stunned thinking where did that come from; but i was like sure! their english names are tracy and christina! so before october holiday, i met with them for dinner at this pizza place down the street.... and they never had pizza! so it felt nice to not only be able to treat them to dinner, but take them to eat something they have never ate before. they said that they dont go out to eat much because it is too expensive for them.... i talked to them for bout an hour and a half.... just about america, the language, careers.... they are english majors, so they want to be able to practice as much english as they can because the better they are, the better chance they have in finding a job....

i have met with other groups of students and all of them study very hard because it is so competitive.... when i ask them what they did over the weekend or holiday, they always say either sleep or study! (if my sentences seem choppy and simple, it is a habit because i talk to my students like this so they can understand....) so most of the students work very hard in school, but there are some that dont work very hard because their parents can just pay the school to pass them if they fail....

yesterday, i met with a student named Janey; she is very good with english, so i have been teaching her more mature words while we talk.... i was planning a party for andys birthday, so she helped me order a cake and find this gift i wanted to get for andy! she was awesome! since i dont know names of chinese stores, she was able to tell the taxi driver where to go.... there is this new skateboard type thing in china; its not in america.... yet :) i think its called a wave runner.... it has 2 platforms attached together by this rotating rod that allows the platforms to twist back and forth; and its only on 2 wheels that light up when you are rolllin.... alot of kids have one and andy tried it and said he wanted one, so i found a really good deal on one! now all the other guys that teach want one too :) so she helped me get one that was for andys size since hes taller and bigger than most chinese guys....

for andys birthday, some friends and i got together to make dinner for him, which included grilled spam/cheese, mac n cheese, and cream corn! lol for being in china, thats pretty good! so we suprised him with dinner! then we ordered delivery from this chicken place that has chicken sandwiches..... but earlier that day, some friends and i bought this stuffed santa and had the delivery guy bring it with the food when we called in to order lol.... it was hilarious because when the delivery guy knocked on the door; andy opened it with the guy standing there holding santa and our food! lol it was priceless! then we had the delivery guy sit for a little bit and told him to eat some of the mac n cheese; it was so funny! it was a fun night :)

next week, we are going on a trip with a bunch of foreign teachers (other american teachers) to 'Xian; the place where the terra-cotta warriors are located.... those are the statue warriors! since it is october holiday, there will be no school for a week.... so we will go there for 3 days and be back in time for bro. andre to arrive.... im goin to try and write a lil bit about the classes and a lil bit of what its like living here; then when we get back from 'Xian, i will write about that experience :) theres so much to write about!!

.an.organized.mess.

Lacy:
ok... so i have been thinking about writing a blog almost everyday on how to describe china.... IMPOSSIBLE! i have never had writer's block this long in writing about something. :) there is so much i want to say, but very little words in how to describe china.... one word comes to mind and that is CHAOS! lol i say it in a cute way, not being mean... but china is like an organized mess!

the very first thing i noticed about getting to china is the driving... they love their horns and they love playing chicken.... and the reason why i say "they" is since we dont have a car, we use taxis and buses, so we know how chinese people drive lol they honk 90% of the time when they pass someone walking, in a bicycle, on a scooter, and in a car; they want them to know they are there... most of the time, its not in a mean way, but sorta of their way of saying "im behind ya". they love playing chicken in 2 lane roads AND 4 lane roads! in america, its usual for people to pass eachother on 2 lane roads, BUT NOT IN TOWN OR IN THE CITY! they pass eachother in 2 lane roads where there is traffic all the time.... if they dont make it, the other car coming at them either just slows down or moves over more as much as they can. ok so 4 lane roads??? what i mean is almost every driver drives in the fast lane and when they come up on someone slow, they pass them on their LEFT! they dont pass them in the slow lane, but on the other side lol my theory is that what we call fast lane is their vehicles only lane; and the slow lane is there bicycles, scooters, and vendors only lane... that is my guess but ive only been here for bout 3 weeks :) im not complaining about their driving at all; i absolutely love it! it makes a 10 minute drive much more interesting :) usually, im conked out in the car within 15 minutes. lol thats just one example of their organized mess; what seems messy to us is organized for them...

right now, andy and i are slowly getting settled and in sort of a routine... our apartment is all set up, thanks to andy! he had everything already ready for when we got here, which was really great of him! we just had to unpack. we have already gone through 2 weeks of classes... since then we have met with several groups of students to get to know them. andy has also met with his students from last year and it was really awesome to get to meet with them! to see faces to names :) a couple of my students helped me with my chinese. oh man, it is so hard to learn! it would be easier for me if i didn't have to remember the tones that go with the words :) but i love learning the language... andy is like crazy with the language; i'm finding out that he knows more than he was admitting to. haha he says that he doesnt know much, but he certainly knows more than i understand! well, i don't want to write too much in one blog, so i will have to soon write about my classroom...

theres so much i want to write about to explain... but i have come to the conclusion that no matter how many pictures i take and how many blogs i write, you just have to come here and see for yourself to understand :) ive heard a lot about china this past year and now that i am here, i totally understand all the things that andy was trying to explain to me.... its definitely a different culture, but thats what keeps it interesting....

Settled in...

Hey everyone...

We are finally settled into our apartment and teaching. It's been a crazy few weeks since we arrived, especially for Lacy. She's been walking around "eyes wide open." Our flights were smooth and went without delays, what a blessing. It seems like the past few times I have flown I've had at least a 2 hour delay. So it was nice to leave and arrive on schedule. We arrived in Beijing around 5:30 am China time and then we had to catch another flight to our final destination Zhengzhou, China. We live about 25 minutes from the airport so we got to the school by 10:00 am.

Once we were here and unpacked we went for a walk to see the campus. It didn't really set in for Lacy that she was "here" in china, and it was still really strange for me to have her here. I love to see Lacy's face when we see anything that is common to China. The way people dress, eat, cook on the street, and other cultural norms for China and not America. She's just excited to be here.

One of the saddest things I have seen so far was on Lacy's first day. I had never seen this, but I have heard about it from others. We were walking around downtown and a young man smacked a girl as we were walking towards them. Another girl stood between them and he just stood there glaring at her. After we had walked past he began to beat her. He punched her and kicked her and threw her to the ground by the hair. All I could think of was to run and to break it up. I wanted to do more but I was thinking about cultures and what was right to do as an outsider so all I did was break it up and make sure the young man walked away, leaving the situation. It was kind of a downer, arriving to China just hours before and then witnessing this. So we tried to do something to cheer ourselves up.

The first week was just a lot of fun... mainly because I was able to watch Lacy take all the site and sounds of China in. She still has yet to get used to the smells and the food. There have been multiple occasions where she has gotten sick to her stomache from street smells of tasting new foods ;) ! I laugh!!

Other than that she's trying to get used to living in a completely different culture. One that has 0 absolutes; not only beliefs, but also in everyday living. you never know when something will change. you may get an answer for something and then one day later it will be completely different. It's a bit frustrating at 1st....

Well... Another update is sure to come very soon. I just wanted to write a little something for now while I was sitting at the computer. I'll think of something more detailed and post it within the next few days. So long!

We love you all and are so very appreciative of all that you do for us! You're all amazing people!

P.S. Our condolences go out to Pam and Jared Mcbee and family for their loss :( What a tragedy. We love you and want you to know we are lifting you up as you grieve.

Andy and Lacy

.just.getting.things.rollin.

lacy:
so this blog doesnt really mean anything except to get things rolling.... since we are going to be in china for a year, we thought creating a website would give people easy access to keep in touch and know what we are up to.... we are really excited for this coming year!! either i or andy will write some blogs to keep everyone updated.... just know though that we have to be careful what we say on here because of where we are.... we hope this to be an interactive tool, so feel free to post comments on anything! we just ask for you to also please be careful of certain words... and feel free to send this site to anyone you know!! so this blog doesnt really mean anything except to get things rolling.... since we are going to be in china for a year, we thought creating a website would give people easy access to keep in touch and know what we are up to.... we are really excited for this coming year!! either i or andy will write some blogs to keep everyone updated.... just know though that we have to be careful what we say on here because of where we are.... we hope this to be an interactive tool, so feel free to post comments on anything we just ask for you to also please be careful of certain words... and feel free to send this site to anyone you know!!

.trains.arts.and.zoos.

lacy:
So we left alton on tuesday the 19th of august by train to head up to chicago.... It was just supposed to be a 4 hour trip, but turned into an almost 6 hour trip.... I have never been on a train before; so regardless of the delay, it was a pretty cool experience! I usually get excited with any new experience regardless if it may seem dull.... I figure that it will probably be the best train ride compared to china trains I will ride in the next year :) call it preparation!

I have no clue where we were, but we were stopped for about an hour and 45 minutes because a freight train decided to chill on the tracks..... and back up a little bit... and then move forward a little bit.... and then chill, back up some, and finally move forward! I've always wondered what's going on there, but it allowed andy to beat me many times in UNO :) It'll be awhile before I play that game!

we did eventually make it to wisconsin because we have been able to do several things here with my mom.... we went to the milwaukee art museum, which i am suprised and proud that andy went through with it lol standing and looking at things are definitely not his thing! I posted an album up on our website if anyone wants to check it out!

we also went to the zoo in racine.... can we say RANDOM! you wouldn't think there was a zoo there, but it is the cutest thing! there's more opportunity for people to be interactive with the animals..... andy interacted with a lynx.... I took pictures of the progression of how andy was terrorizing the cat lol the lynx is all relaxed in the beginning and the end picture shows a wide-eyed, ears down lynx :) oh andy....

soon we will be heading out to LA! till then..... eat some cake!