Dancing Under the Starts

Last night was . . . surreal. It felt like I was living out a movie. I'm not totally sure why, maybe its hitting me that my home for the past five weeks (has it really been that long? It feels like 5 days) this home will be someone else's. So what did I do last night?

Well, for dinner, I went out to eat with a roommate, a lady who works here and 3 volunteers who have come to visit and help out for three days - they will be making a short film on New Day. They are all around my age and were so much fun. We went to eat at a local barbeque restaurant - its somewhere I've been a few times already. It was fun eating with them because they have only been in China for a week and this was their first time out of the city. It was funny to see how use to the culture I had become already. When something would happen, I might hardly even notice but their eyes would widen in surprise. It was fun being the "Chinese Expert". Its strange, yet amazing, how quickly we can adapt to new surroundings. (Here is a bunny trail - at new day, especially during the summer months they have a steady stream of interns. Just as one intern has things down they leave, then the person who then has been here the longest becomes the expert for the new interns. Its fun in that we all have a chance to be the newbie and expert guide, but also frustrating because once you become an expert you have no one to learn from anywhere, it is you who is being depended on for help - and now back to last night.)

While talking with the volunteers, my roommate and I knew they would love to visit the courtyard, so we invited them out to see it. (I am totally frustrated with my lack of ability to really describe the courtyard,I don't think community is something you can really describe - its just something you experience) So we went to the courtyard with them. On the way there we kept talking about the "old" people who would ballroom dance to their IPOD blaring through a stereo. They were so excited to see it.　And then we get there and there is no music! There were the ladies dressed up in their dresses and skirts but no music! So, we the foreigners, stood there looking very disappointed. Here we had been hyping up this dance – only to find out they may not experience it. Then a lady explained to our Chinese Friend that they were afraid it was going to rain and they didn't want to hurt the speakers. . . .

Apparently, we looked pretty sad because this man came over to us and said that he would teach us how to dance even without music!!! This man is amazing – he is so into perfect dancing and posture – he has taught us a little before, but usually he is busy dancing. I think that because they didn't have music he came over to help us – it may actually have been a blessing! He lined us up in two rows and began to instruct us. Keep in mind, My roommate and I speak very little Chinese, the three volunteers speak about 3 words and he speaks no English. It was great. He would show us and then expect us to repeat it. If we did not have our feet just perfect he would use his feet to move our feet. But he is also a perfectionist – meaning if we weren't sucking our stomach in or keeping our chin up, he would also move our head or squeeze our stomachs. Of course, everytime this happened we would do our best not to laugh at each other. It was fun because he wasn't being weird about it, he simply was trying to teach us the beauty of his dance. He was also very friendly. Once we got a move down we would show him, thinking fairly highly of ourselves I might add – I mean we are here learning Chinese ballroom dancing from a man we can't talk to – and as we finished we would look for his approval and . . .usually he would start to laugh. Then he would come fix our hands and “refine” our movements. A few times when I looked out of our dancing bubble, I noticed that we had a rather large audience. I'm sure we were a sight. We danced with him for over an hour. By the end we were dripping in sweat – it is still in the 80's and we were dancing outside.

After we had danced to our fill, we decided to walk down to the drum bands. Every night as we walk home, we listen to drums from across the cornfield. The easiest way to explain them is that the men of a “neighborhood” form their own band and practice every night. Once in a while they get together and have a competition. Well last night I finally learned where they practiced. At this point it was just me and the three volunteers. I suggested we go look at them and they agreed. We got there and they were practicing on the edge of a dark road (there are no street lights). There was a big drum, three cymbals and one pair of little cymbals – all being played by middle-aged men. My friends started to kinda dance with the beat (the drummers are really good) and the “band” loved it! The cymbal players kinda started to dance with them. It reminded me of street dancing – on the street in China – how funny! And then, one of the men gave a set of cymbals to the male in our group! He had no idea what the beat was (they continually play and just change up the beat) but he played the best he could by watching them. It was such a cool experience, the way they just welcomed us into their practice. There were already locals watching them, but after we joined in the crowd grew (funny how that seems to happen everywhere I go. . . ).

We didn't stay to long, the gates to my apartments lock at night and we didn't want to cause too much commotion. But walking back we couldn't stop talking about how cool it was. The locals, at least a few of them, had welcomed us into their culture and let us join in – we weren't treated as only something to stare at. I wish I could stay longer and build up more of these relationships.

P.S. I walked into the laundry room today and one of the machines had bubbles starting to come out of the door! I have to admit I was filled with satisfaction that it wasn't I that had caused a bubble overflow . . .

Love,
Kelli
Who will be coming back too soon . . .

Traveling, Teaching and Touring

The other night when we were out on the streets of Downtown Beijing we met a friend. His name is Julian (pronounced as we like to say Hooligan). He is from Spain and was traveling through China alone staying in hostels. He walked around with us for about an hour, just practicing his English and Chinese. As he walked away - I marveled at his bravery. How anyone could travel around the world on their own is beyond me - that would take so much strength and confidence. And then it hit me, I got on a plane by myself and flew across the world to people I didn't know. (Many times I forget that I have only just met all my new friends, I feel like we have been friends for a long time.) And so for this reason, I know you could do it too - you have are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. We tend to look at people who accomplish great things and wonder what they possess that makes them so different. We think that if we only had that missing part we too could achieve greatness. But, i think the only difference between you and them is that they simply acted. That's it. We all could change the world if we simply acted. It's time to stop thinking of all the reasons why you shouldn't help or couldn't do something - and instead just do it. There is no missing component. You, how you are, have everything you need to do whatever it is you have been dreaming about.

Today I had my final evaluations for teaching . . . . and . . . .they went great! I received good marks and they had many positive comments about my teaching. All of them agreed that my confidence in the classroom had obviously grown and I was looking very comfortable in the classroom. Most of that is because I have such great students. They are so great! Having taught in China will help me so much in the fall while I am student teaching. For one thing, I will actually have a curriculum to follow so I won't have to make up everything everyday - it will be so easy! :) I have only two more days to teach and then one day to review, bake cookies and play UNO. And then its my final weekend. And then its back to America. And then its back to school. And then I will need a summer break to recuperate from my summer. . . .But it has all been worth it. The thing I love about teaching is that it teaches you to be aware of what messages you are sending. Especially when someone is evaluating you and telling you how it might be interpreted. For example, when more than one student starts to talk sometimes its hard to keep focused on one student. But that is important because they need to know that their effort is being appreciated and be encouraged to try again. In everything I do, I want to make the people I am talking to feel like what they are saying means the world to me - and it does. But if my appearance says otherwise, then it doesn't matter what I feel. By teaching, I am learning to continually evaluate what I am portraying to others - this is a great life skill. I also love to teach because it is always changing. You can plan all you want, but questions will be asked and you will follow bunny trails - and this is good. It just means you need to be able to think on your feet. I love that challenge.

We toured our neighborhood the other night and traveled to the courtyard. This is the place right behind our apartments that comes alive at night with everyone from all ages. I love just sitting and watching. The old people are sitting there talking. The middle-aged people are talking or ballroom dancing. The young parents are teaching their children how to walk. The teenagers are out talking and playing games. The kids are rollerblading and ripboarding (like skateboarding). It is just so cool to me to see such community. I love community. I wish we could spend our nights like this in America. Instead we spend it in front of a TV or computer, not even talking to our family. The people at the courtyard however are getting exercise, laughing and bonding with all generations. I feel that we have lost that in America. Our generations are separated by so much, and when we do get together we don't really talk. I wonder what we are missing. If I were going to live here for a while, I would go to the courtyard every night. I would probably take a journal (okay, to be honest, probably my computer to blog) and then make friends. Soon I would be able to improve my Chinese and really make some friends. It would be a great place for an outreach into the village. Last night we had a man come up to us and try talking to us in English. It was very difficult because his English is as good as our Chinese (aka bad). But we had a great time and I would love to be able to talk to him more. Its amazing what you find you have in common with a person who lives in an environment so different from your own.

Oh yeah, tonight I learned some Spanish dance moves from a woman from New York. Who would of thought that is what I would learn on my last Tuesday in China? haha - I love having new friends from everywhere (California, Illinois, Kansas, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Canada, South Korea, Germany, Spain . . . .) and we all met in Beijing. Someone sure works in mysterious ways. And as sad as it is to be leaving all my new friends (as my Chinese friend says) No matter where you are in the world - you are only half a day away. For some reason, that really helps.

Love,
Your International Traveler,
Kelli Lynn

Beauty

After a day at the *beach* all of us Americans were commenting on how we finally got a tan while in China. The Chinese students however looked at us and mentioned how sorry they were that our skin was darker and some of the girls moaned in pain when they saw that, despite their best efforts, they had gotten a slight tan (people here use Umbrellas everyday to shield them from the sun - some even took umbrellas into the pools!). It was a funny time with us trying to tell them it was beautiful and them trying to reassure us that our pale skin was beautiful. It's funny how cultures value what is rare. Physical beauty is so subjective, different cultures value different things. And the criteria for choosing beauty is typically a feature that is not common. This is so sad. Why can we not just enjoy and uphold the beauty found in all of us? We were all created to resemble our Father and because of that we possess (a small part of) his beauty. When will we learn to look at ourselves and see the beauty that we were created to show?

There is a gardener who works at New Day. His story is a beautiful one and I'd like to share it. His story, for us, starts with a Nanny at the foster home. When the foster home began, New Day hired woman from the village of QuinYinDian to be nannies. They spent a lot of time trying to pick the most qualified and those who could be helped the most. One woman said that her husband had been in a horrible car accident. He had barely survived, but he did. Her husband however, was badly burned and most of his body had been scarred, grafted and rebuilt. While he was healed on the inside, his outward appearance was forever changed. He lost his job and was unable to find anyone who would hire him due to his extremely ,unique, appearance. At one point he was on an elevator and two ladies got on with him. They began to scream when the saw him and got off on the next floor. After that experience (and the countless stares he attracted) he seldom left the apartment. This woman was looking for a job because her husband was unable to get a job.

New Day hired this Nanny. They also asked what skills he had – her husband had worked in landscaping for a while she said. Unbeknown to her, at this time New Day was also looking for a gardener. They convinced him to come to an interview -during it he wore a big hat and seldom looked up, he spoke very quietly. They called him back for a second interview (he was really the most qualified out of all their prospects). This time he looked up a little bit more, though he was quiet – he was shocked that he was getting a chance. As I'm sure you guessed New Day hired this man. The first time I saw him I stared at him in wonder – he was obviously disfigured but possessed a spirit of boldness, joy and laughter. I wondered how someone who had obviously been so much could still retain such a strong personality. This gardeners life has been transformed by the volunteers and workers at New Day who simply saw his beauty (and New Day has been transformed by his gift of nurturing plants and his attention to detail). What more encouragement do you need to go out and look for the beauty in everyone?

Love,
Kelli Lynn

Crab Beach and Spaghetti

Today we went to a water park (rather deceivingly called crab beach I think). We had a great time. The first thing I need to mention is that the men don't wear swim trunks here. Thankfully, most men don't wear speedo's but rather a short, tight, shorts type thingy. It was a rather interesting moment as we American's tried to hold back our laughter as all of our friends and people we work with walk out in swimsuits that most of our American friends would never wear. Even after we collected ourselves, it was an interesting day.

We spent the first half of the day in a wave pool – we had two rafts that we played around with. One thing I can say, boys are boys no matter where they live or how old they are. There was plenty of tipping over of rafts and roughhousing. When the waves started we went up to where the wave machine was. Up there it was totally crowded. We had a few interesting experiences with people pushing us or watching us, we tended to attract attention with our pale skin and my bright pink swimsuit – most the swimsuits were darker colored. After the wave pool we went down a tube slide – it had a hundred rusty metal stairs that felt almost like a death trap. We also played on some sort of water game that was very slippery and dangerous – we saw many things that would NEVER be allowed anywhere in America do to safety issues. Many of the children were also swimming naked – it was so cute. All in all, we had a wonderful day!

After the water park we invited the students over for a spaghetti dinner. I think most of them had eaten it before – but only with other Americans. During our spaghetti dinner we also set up facebooks for them all. (Facebook is like myspace, an online site where you can stay in touch with friends). They all have facebooks now and we helped them pick pictures and understand the site. I hope they use them – it would be a great way to stay in touch with our new friends.

Love,
Kelli Lynn

Dinner on a Stick

Alright, so tonight we visited Wu Fung Street a.k.a. the Night Market. It is a very popular place in Beijing and known for its exotic food on a stick. Starting out my roommates were set on eating a scorpion. It is sort of an initiation rite I suppose – when you come to China you've gotta try Scorpion on a stick. I asked some of the students whether they had eaten scorpion (i get the feeling it may be something mostly for tourism). Some of the students had tried them, others hadn't. So going in to the night I was still debating whether fried scorpion was on my things to try or not.

Well . . . the night turned out to be one that will probably stay a record in my book. And since many of you will never have the chance to enjoy the many delicacies that I had the delight to taste – I will do my best to describe them in detail. The first item we ate was . . . fried scorpion. Watching my friends crunch them down, I decided that no, Scorpion was not for me. However, sadly, I caved to peer pressure and they have video to prove that I did in fact crunch on a small scorpion for dinner. What did it taste like? A fried, crunchy bug. Not really all that bad – and we did take the stingers off! After that experience, it was all down hill for my stomach – lol. The next food on a stick was fried squid tentacle – tastes like a tough fish. After these two experiences we continued to walk on and I thought we might finally eat some normal dinner – but such was not to be.

We soon came upon a long row of vender's – all selling various forms of animal and plant products. The first item was a variety of fresh fruit covered in a hardened sugar coating – yes, it was amazing and I'm sure you can imagine that flavor. As soon as I finished that I purchased the bottom half of a pineapple filled with sticky rice. The rice was sorta sour and sweet and warm – it was pretty good, definitely different. This was actually the only thing I purchased all night – our friends bought everything for us, way more than they needed to! This is very typical of their culture, it is very sweet. We actually had one of the student's mothers meet us there – she was super sweet and also bought us many things to eat. We were stuffed like halfway through the row of vender's, but they kept bringing us more sticks!

So after the fruit and pineapple rice we ate (well, to be honest, its kinda all blurry but the order isn't that important so I'll just list them off). I ate chicken heart – it was very tough and tasted like meat. Second, some donut type bread – tasted like an Elephant Ear or Funnel Cake. Third, some sort of vegetable that has no American equivalent – they said it was something like green and red pepper powder, but it resembled a cucumber. It was, (can you guess?) fried and then we put some garlic and pepper sauce over it. It reminded me slightly of homemade potato chips, it was definitely our favorite. Also, some dumplings and normal chicken – that was very tasty. And lastly, a . . .are you ready for this . . . it is the worst! . . . . a . . . .. butterfly cocoon! In my defense I ate it before I knew what it was! And, it was sooo gross. Lol, it had a crunchy outer shell (because of course it was fried) and a real earthy, meaty taste (which, sadly, was a butterfly, or caterpillar – oh so sad). It had a flavor that stayed in my mouth forever – yuck! And for like 20 minutes later I kept feeling little scorpion or butterfly legs in between my teeth (and also had strange sensations coming from my stomach where I imagined all the bugs coming alive and crawling out of my mouth. I have a slight fear that tonight as I sleep they will escape out of my mouth and I will wake up to them sitting besides me in my bed – enough of my imagination).

So that was my adventure in China tonight – can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Love your scorpion eater,
Kelli Lynn

How time flies.

So much to do and so little time. I have no idea if my future will ever bring me back to China and five weeks – which once seemed like such a long time – now seems like a passing breath. I have two weekends left. I have one more week of teaching. I love teaching, but I am frustrated with the amount of planning I have to do when I want to go out and enjoy the people. My body is beginning to feel the relentless pace that I am living while here in China, but with so few days left I will continue. Tonight we are traveling to the Night Market – a shopping center of sorts where you can eat just about anything on a stick. My roommates are planning to try scorpion . . . I am still debating just how local I want to become. Saturday we are going to Crab Beach – a man made beach. I am hoping for a fun, relaxing time. It will be interesting because the Chinese value light skin and will be staying under umbrellas the whole time (its challenging to explain the concept of a tanning bed when they have lotion that bleaches your skin). Sunday will be filled with Church, Italian food and more shopping and also (hopefully) a massage. And then I am down to my last week! Already I have plans for Monday and Tuesday night. . . .

I love the feeling of community here – among the locals. They don't watch television at night – instead they go out and walk, talk and dance. We went to the courtyard for a little while tonite (the place where everyone gathers at night with the funky lights). We stood there watching people ballroom dance, in their skirts and heels, dancing to a stereo with the kids Rollerblading or scootering around, under the night sky. (Why don't we do more of that in America?) One little five year old came up to us and began to teach us how to dance. It was so special! I don't think she was old enough to realize that we were foreigners – she knew we looked a little different and couldn't talk very well, but she still wanted to dance with us. I wish we had caught it on video. She looked like a pro dancing with an American two times her size trying to follow her lead. It was something so simple yet beautiful that I think we will all remember it – I wonder if she will. After I left, one of the dancers came over to teach my roommates how to dance – I admit I am jealous. We plan to go back and see if anyone will teach us again. :)

We had a speech competition the other night – I was one of three judges. It was my students and the beginning class and they were required to give a short speech about anything. Some of the students copied a speech of the internet, but some wrote their own. It was great to hear how much their English has improved – taking classes all morning and then interacting with us foreigners all night has helped them so much. Its a great testament to New Day. Many of them told of how they could barely understand the teachers during the first few classes but now were able to understand so much more and even write their own speech. It was cool to be a part of something so big in these student's lives. Our time here has changed their lives in at least one way – hopefully others too. My roommates were talking about what they would make a speech about and were “making” one up about all of us. They described me as the clumsy one who drops things – guess it didn't take them to long to find out about my graceful side. :)

P.S. My clothes were successfully cleaned and dried – the dryer part was not so intense, but it still took my about 4 hours to get them all dry. The sad part is that most of the dryers are American and I STILL can't figure them out!

Love,
Kelli Lynn
Who will be coming back to America on the 4th.

Chinese Laundry Days

Today was a Laundry Day - I mentioned earlier that we bring our clothes to New Day because our wash machine is difficult to use and we don't have a dryer. Well, what I failed to mention was that the wash machine's here are Chinese wash machines. No big deal, right? A wash machine is a wash machine. Well - their wash machines do not look like any wash machine I've ever seen in America, in fact they have three totally unique Chinese wash machines. . they have the basic shape, but that's about it. One has a lid on the top that folds into itself? And then they all have hundreds (that may be a slight exaggeration) of lights and buttons. I mean, I look it at and feel like it is a mini spaceship. However, knowing that all my roommates have on many occasions successfully washed and dryed their clothes, and not wanted to look like a completely inept American, I push a few buttons and voila - water begins to run. I also am using powdered laundry detergent - this isn't so unusual, except that I have NEVER used powdered detergent. As I look for a detergent holder, I find one removable compartment, but as I pull it out I find it has three separate compartments - I fill up the dirtiest one (by dirty, I mean what appears to be some wet detergent goo). Then I move on to my second machine (these wash machines must be sized X-Small), I can find no container. So I pour in about as much as I put in the first machine - but again, I've never used powdered detergent - I have no idea how much one puts in. As I leave the room, having at least, so far, successfully began washing my clothes - I have flashbacks of one of my first times using a dishwasher. I'm sure my mom and sister vividly remember the kitchen floor being covered with big soapy bubbles. Apparently, as I learned, there is two types of soap for dishes, one for a machine and one for hand washing - the latter seems to make more bubbles. . . . Back to China, now I am not a young child - instead I am a responsible teacher and the thought of coming back to find my clothes washed and the floor covered in bubbles, is not reassuring. I am happy to say, however, that I did successfully wash my clothes - and while I may not be washing them with the right speed or temperature or whatever all those flashing lights mean - they are clean. And so is the floor.

-Just thought I'd update you on some of my daily life problems :)

Love Kelli - who will be wearing clean clothes!

Life at a Chinese Center

Life at New Day is challenging, eventful and never the same. We just got a new roommate today - which brings us back up to 6 girls. Living with six girls in a tiny apartment would be challenging in America, in China - where we only have water sometimes and usually have electricity - it is surprisingly easy. We all get along so well - i have only just met our new roommate, but she seems nice. I think this ease in friendship, the way we have all bonded so fast - comes from our common desire, our common sacrifices, our common vision in seeing the students and children be lifted up. We pray that in some way, our time here is making a difference - even if it is just causing a smile on a stressed face.

Living somewhere like this, the people change so rapidly. Even the "long-term" workers may only stay for a year or two. And sometimes, its not their fault, the Chinese gov't has the final word on how long any of us can stay. I admire the people who have been here for years. They have to meet and say goodbye to so many people. They open their hearts and hands to so many volunteers, and they do a great job - coming here I felt like I was home within a day. And it wasn't just for me, they do this over and over again. I pray that I can open my heart and hands to the people I meet in my life. Living here in China, I am constantly thinking about how my actions are affecting others. I think this is a valuable lesson. We really do affect so many people every day, what kind of lesson/impression are we leaving on them? As I interact with my students, I am always wondering what they are taking away from this. They won't remember all the English words and phrases, what will they remember? In what way can I touch their lives in a way they never forget? In what way have I touched people's lives back home - I hope it was mostly for the better.

I had my first evaluation today! (Well, technically second, but this was the first formal evaluation that I will receive a grade from). Overall, he was very pleased with my teaching skills. He says that I have a strong presence that is vital to being a teacher - I have good interactions with the students, they respect my position but also enjoy relating to me. The things I need to work on are watching my English phrases - My students are all Advanced Beginners (I know that sounds like an oxymoron - but I swear thats their title!) If I use American idioms than I need to remember to explain the meaning. Like today I said "you need to get these words down" I wonder WHAT they were imagining with that phrase - words falling down . .haha . . . I also need to try to simplify my commands. A lot of the suggestions were common to beginning teachers - and its good to be reminded of things I learned to do, but just have forgotten. One thing I do need to work on is setting and enforcing boundaries. My students are well behaved, but I have a few guys that need to participate a little more. He reminded me that God is in the details. Just like our bodies, when the little parts work then the big things work together. I need to enforce the little rules so that big problems don't arise. But to be honest - I'm slightly intimidated about laying down the law . . . I mean half of the students are my age and the other half are older than me. And one of my students is this big shot doctor that drives a nice car - even by American standards. And they are all listening to me! What a humbling experience. It's a wonderful feeling to see them studying my worksheets - I feel like maybe I am helping them learn. Lol - well I can do it, tomorrow I will give them some "encouragement" to participate more. (And then on the night/weekends they take me out to Karaoke and eat/shop - its a odd thing to try and balance my role as their friend and teacher . . .but I enjoy the dynamics of teaching adult students as opposed to 8 year olds.)

Love,
Kelli (Who is NOT gaining weight while in China Dr. Monaghan!) :)

Tex-Mex and Starbucks

Today at Church we had a band from Brazil lead some worship songs-they were very good. I was talking to one of the members afterwards and he said that he thinks they played in DeKalb just before they came to China! It was at a University near Chicago, but his English wasn't the best and he didn't remember the town name. But its still cool that he played somewhere near my hometown at least. I love meeting people who have traveled all over the world. Everyone has such interesting stories, and now I have a story too - and mine is just beginning. My traveling story that is, my life story has been growing for 21 years. I hope you realize that you have a story too. And it doesn't have to involve traveling the world, our stories involve everything we do - all the ways we are able to touch people. Our story is the best when we follow the path our Father set for us - and that is the real challenge and purpose in life.
After church we ate at Peter's TexMex. It was so cute, it was decorated to look like a southern old-time shop. I had 3 chicken tacos - they weren't the best . . . but they did taste a little bit like home. (and no, i'm not sick of Chinese food, I love it!) After our Texan Meal we stopped at Starbucks!!! Stepping into the shop made me feel like I was stepping into America. I was going to take a picture - but it looked exactly like the ones in America so I didn't bother. We stayed for half an hour just talking. If I were to live in China, I would make sure to do that every so often, it feels like home.
Tonight we are going over to a American Couples home - they invited the interns over for Ice Cream Sundae's and to learn some traditional Chinese Games! It will definitely be a fun, relaxing evening.
I have officially passed my half-way mark of staying in China. It is a bittersweet time. The people I have met here will forever stay in my memory - and for most of them, that is all I will ever have to remember them by. They live all over the world - and I can only hope that maybe, somewhere, our paths may cross again. This has been an experience that I will never forget. I hope that you can take something from it too, I hope that you have learned a little more about China - a place filled with beautiful people. Man, I sound like I am leaving tomorrow! Its just that already some people I have met are leaving and the countdown has begun for others and I know that mine is just around the corner as well. I plan to live my days here with as much energy as I can - and when I get back to America I may sleep for a few days, then its time to start school. But such is life and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Love,
Your local Chinese reporter,
Kelli Lynn

Real Life Frogger

Did you ever play that computer game called “Frogger”? It was a game where you played a frog trying to cross traffic – and hope you didn't get squashed. Well, I have decided that using Chinese roads is like playing real-life Frogger – with your life at stake. I actually know of one person who was hit by a bus, and I've only been here 3 weeks. The only rule to drive in China is try not hit anything. The roads are covered with all sorts of vehicles, motor and nonmotor, with all number of wheels (2,3,4 or more) and then there are the people who are everywhere, because there are so many people here. I'm amazed at how well people can maneuver the roads here. And then when we are actually on the buses ( i traveled the public transportation system again) When we Americans are on the buses we look like wobble people (like a wobble head – but are whole bodies) we are stuffed like sardines, touching people in way more places than i ever wanted to and falling into people at every stop. The locals however, ride the bus with surprising ease and very rarely resemble a wobbleperson.

We went shopping today and I spent 400 quay on various gifts, at first I couldn't believe how much I spent. But then I calculated that to be around 50 dollars and I couldn't believe what I got for only that much money! Last night we watched “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” with the students – i think they got most of the humor and appreciated the culture differences.

We just got news that one of the little babies in the foster homes might not be coming home from the hospital. She had a very serious heart problem and the doctors didn't think she would make it through the surgery, but she did. And now, two days later, they don't think she will make it through the night. . . All the children in the foster home have serious problems and/or deformities and New Day is able to pay for their surgeries and keep them until they are adopted. But, the risk with that is that sometimes, the children can not overcome their previous conditions.
***Baby Lui Yi did not make it through the night. She passed around 9pm July 19,2008.****

Off to cook some Chinese Ramon Noodles for dinner with some Friends,
Love, Kelli Lynn

Wo ai Zhong Guo (I love China)

Just finished my Chinese lessons - there were four of us today and we meet MWF during our lunch break. She is teaching us Pin Yin, which is the written form of Chinese - not the characters. We have so much fun learning the language! Its a difficult task because the language is so different. My favorite times are when we try to pronunce a sound that we don't have in the English language. The teacher just kinda looks at us and laughs. I especially seem to have trouble saying certain sounds, but I have trouble saying English words half the time - so no worries. It's only a problem when I am laughing too much to say anything. And during the night we try to use our new Chinese words with the students. So we try to use what little Chinese we know and they learn more English words! I judged an English Speech Competition the other night for the upper two levels - the students in class 3 spoke better than class 4 because most of them have been studying here. The students in class 4 know more words - but they are harder to understand. I think that the level of English students learn here is a great testament to its purpose and their desire to touch the lives of their students.

Today in class we made no-bake cookies. We were teaching about culture and . . honestly, we all just like to make American desserts. I'm thinking about making PuppyChow next week . . .We'll see if I can find all the ingredients. I also thought about making PB&J sandwiches because they don't have peanut butter here - we can only get it in the American style grocery stores in the city. I'm getting more comfortable teaching the students, and lesson planning is going faster - thankfully. Planning takes just as long or longer than the actual teaching! Part of the reason why is because we do not have a book or anything to follow for this summer session so we have to create and think of everything. That's alot of work for anyone - especially me trying to do it for my first time! But, its a great learning experience - Student Teaching in the Fall is going to be alot easier after this!! It is also taking me awhile to get used to teaching adults. Most of my students are University Students but others are graduates in their 20's and 30's. One is even a bone doctor - on the weekends he works and during the week he studies under me! (how strange to have this much authority). In the class below mine we also have a very famous lawyer - and they are both so funny and eager to study! All the students also LOVE to play UNO! It's not something they can get here, so we use it as a treat during class or at evening activities. I used it today because they have been doing so well in class. I think I may be an easy teacher . . . But they are working so hard all week - learning so many English words and talking in English from 8-8 that I think they deserve a little more fun American Culture, and they are still talking in English . . . :)

Well, I'm off to plan some more lessons!
Have fun in America!
Kelli

The Simple Things.

Yesterday was one of my roommates 21st birthday. Naturally, we sang her Happy Birthday - in Chinese. She also got two cakes, one from the village - there is a very talented baker here who makes excellent frosting animals and also uses these amazing singing flower candles that open up when you light them (no one knows exactly how long they sing for because after 5 hrs or so someone ends up breaking it or tossing it somewhere far away). At night we had another celebration with a homemade chocolate cake - the Chinese students really enjoyed it - They really aren't that different though, maybe they don't really eat chocolate cake. The party was held behind our apartment complex, in a little "square" that I had no idea even existed. It is so cool! It is simply a small area with these crazy cool lights (they kind of look like a bunch of balloons). But it is the place to be at night. There were kids playing around on scooters and rollerblades. A group of adults blaring music and ballroom dancing (this reminded me of American Teenagers blaring music in a park and dancing - I rather watch the ballroom dancing though) And then the parents and other people were sitting around and talking. However, last night they were treated with a show. An American Birthday Party. First we were playing Frisbee - I don't think many of them had ever seen a Frisbee because they were very interested in it and they would sit there pretend throwing a frisbee. After that we ate cake and played some American and Chinese Games (about 20 students had come to the party). The first game we played was the Human Knot - a game where you get in a circle and grab hands of the people not next to you and then try to "unwind" yourself - theoretically you are supposed to always unwind into a circle again (unless you made two circles). The students really enjoyed it and the bystanders also enjoyed watching us twist and turn. Then we played a game similar to Telephone but with gestures. That was probably a sight to see - all of us trying to act out a monkey, or the sun (yeah that was a tough one). I don't know how well you are able to imagine this - but it was a fun, relaxing time - the students are all still talking about it. I think it is experiences like this that make New Day a great place to learn English and the American Culture.

And as we tiredly, trudged up the six flights of stairs to our apartment, we were greeted with a surprise . . .We had run out of electricity! Yes, at 9:30pm, after a long day, looking forward to showering and journal writing and computer time and air conditioning - we were greeted by hot blackness. And luckily, we did have 3 tiny flashlights. Two of the girls left today though, and they had to pack last night! So instead, they woke up at 5am to pack.Ｉshowered in the morning, luckily we have a gas water heater! The good news is now we do have our electricity back - we paid more money. I must say last night really felt like I was staying in a foreign country. We left the windows open and unfortunately, we let a bee in and one girl got stung!

Thanks everyone for leaving comments! I really enjoy getting your messages, but i dont have alot of internet time so I don't really have time to respond. I usually write my blogs on my computer when I have free time and then upload them whenever I get access. But, I'm touched that so many people are following my journey - I hope you are enjoying my stories at least half as much as I enjoy living them out!

Love,
Kelli

P.S. I had my first evaluation for teaching today with the principle and he said I was doing a great job. He gave me a few suggestions that are common mistakes for first time teachers and I realize I need to fix - but overall he is pleased with my teaching!!! Starting Monday I will be the only teacher in my class. Thanks for all your thoughts!

Traveling Through the City . . .

On Saturday I went to the Summer Palace. By car, this is a 1.5 hour journey, by bus and subway it apparently takes 3 to 4 hours. . . But on the bright side, it only cost me 4 quai (50 cents) to get there instead of renting a car for 180 quai. We are staying in the South side of Beijing and the Palace is on the North side. We had a wonderful time, it was 3 Americans , 1 student and one Chinese Volunteer who is fluent in English. It was definitely an experience taking buses, transferring between different lines and using a subway. That would have been hard in America, this was one reason our journey took soo long ( and we may or may not have gotten on the subway going the wrong direction). We were gone for about 10 hours, and we were at the Summer Palace for 2 hrs . . . we also ate lunch. But, we really did have a good time – on the way there we just assumed that we would be getting there in the next 30 minutes, and then another 30 minutes, and then another. . . .
The Summer Palace is HUGE – it is where the Emperor used to spend his summers. And if you could build any summer house you could imagine, this is what you would build. The entire “Palace” would take over a day to walk through. It is basically a huge garden, complete with a lake, of course, and 20-30 buildings. All of the buildings are intricately painted and beautiful, of course. There are also rock gardens, and pathways (even the pathways are lain with intricate stone designs. This place must have taken years to build. Definitely somewhere that I would like to spend more time at, but I'm not really sure it is worth taking the journey again this month. . . . Next time I build a summer get away – I think I will copy the design.
Today was my first day teaching, my teacher who is mentoring me taught a little bit, but it was all my lesson plan! One down and 14 more to go . . . The day was very fun and went amazing. We were teaching them foods you find in a grocery store, mainly fruits and vegetables. So, in order to make it real for them, we went to the village of Friday and bought one of each. So today we passed them around and talked about their descriptions and then. . . cut them up and tasted them all! Yum-Yum (I have to admit this was my teacher's idea, she has done it before). Of course now that we have cooked cookies and eaten fruit/veggies I bet my students are expecting food all the time! LOL. When we went to the village to buy the produce, I rode a bike out all by myself! This made me feel quite accomplished – even though all I had to do was ride straight and not fall over. All the same, it was my first time being in the village alone. And I have to admit – walking through the village is one of my favorite things. Why? Well, If you ever need a confidence boost, or want to feel important – just come to China and take a walk through the village. Although this village is made of one bedroom “houses” and looks like a tiny place – it has 45,000 people. And most of these people have never seen a foreigner, and if they have only rarely. Therefore, they love to stare at you – especially if you happen to have blond hair and blue/green eyes ;) And in the Chinese culture, staring is not a rude thing. And so stare they do! At times we have walked by a group of people and watched them turn their heads and continue to stare at us. They also take pictures with their phones – even in the city, where foreigners are popular, we still find people staring at us everywhere. I have to admit, I will miss this. And they are so friendly! When we see them staring at us we say hello a lot or Ne Hao (hello). This makes them grin even wider and then say it back to us. . . they also point us out to their children and even come up to us and ask to take our picture with them!! We were joking about how many mantels our pictures must now be up over.
Sunday we went to a sushi place for lunch and I ate raw salmon and tuna. I liked the Salmon, but the tuna was a little fishy. Add that to my list of exotic food!

Love,
Your Local Celebrity,
Kelli Lynn
I will be signing pictures of me if you are interested upon my return . . .

American Cookies and Karaoke. . .

Today in class we baked Chocolate Chip Cookies! We had alot of fun explaining how to cook the American way. Apparently they don't use measuring cups because they had no idea what they were. I spose they just know to add a little of this and alittle of that. . . The students were all very excited to try something new and something we all obviously loved. And most of them ate at least two! However, they almost all ageed that they were Too sweet! I guess that goes to show why there are hardly any overweight Chinese people. . . I must admit - I thought they were just right. Most of them had never even seen chocolate chips before - they kept thinking they were like potato chips or something.
Friday night was a night out on the town! My roommates and I went out with a bunch of students and let them plan the night. They took us to this huge restaurant and of course we always have them order for us . . . so they try to be nice to us, but always order something exotic – this time it was Cow Tongue – No thank you!! Only two of my room mates dared to try that. My one especially daring roommate has eaten chicken heart, chicken bone, sheep tendon, goose and duck egg, pig lungs . . . me? I have eaten duck. :) Anyways, after we ate we went through a back door into a whole another huge dining area (we had eaten in our own private room WITH a bathroom!) This dining area looked like something out of Las Vegas, it even had a show going on. It was way super cool! There were traditional dancers, Kung Fu fighters (I had to ask what they were doing, it looked like a bunch of boys jumping around play fighting . . .)After we watched a show for a while, we went to KTV – otherwise known as Karaoke!
Now when they said we were going Karaoking (?) i was imagining a Karaoke Bar ( not that i have ever been karaoking, but from the movies). Instead we arrived at a 5 story Karaokee hotelish thing - and i guess this was a bad KTV! We bought two hours and received one free hour and a bottle of wine. (there is no age limit to drinking in China). Then we were escorted up to the third floor (and all the workers were saying good morning to us - even though it was 9pm - lol). We were led to a private room with a huge couch, Big screen TV, two microphones and a karaokee machine. We had also smuggled in all kinds of snacks and drinks. We had a great time, we alternated one Chinese song to one English song. And of course we played th most outrageous songs like Britany Spears and Backstreet Boys. Three days later the students are still talking about how they had never seen Americans so crazy before! (Personally, I think the Canadian roommate of ours was the craziest dancer - but whatever). I'll try to post some pictures soon - It's just hard cause the internet connections are so slow here. And the price for this crazy cool Karaoke experience? Less than 5 bucks. It's fun being an American in China.


Love your Karaoke Singer,
Kelli Lynn

Chicken Feet

I just finished a really great lunch (chicken and veggies with a sweet flat bread thingy) . . . but it was slightly ruined by the sight of my friends eating a different chicken option – one that included everything (literally) but the head. And in an effort to be considerate of my obvious disgust (i think my facial expression gave it away) they politely did not eat the neck or feet and instead placed them on the table ( they take things they don't want to eat like hot peppers and lay them on the table). In spite of my relief that I would not be watching them eat fried chicken feet – claws and all – my eyes were drawn to the feet the entire time. I had visions of my chicken family friends who were running around us the other night in the village, now feetless – in my meal. . . .

Last night we had an English corner for the students. All the students are forbidden to speak Chinese from 830 to 8pm (they extended it this year from 830-430!). So for English corner they broke up into groups of 8 with all English levels mixed together and then us foreigners talked with them for two hours. Because there are so many of us this week we had two foreigners to a group. The discussion was on “Love and Marriage”. It was a very entertaining discussion as we were discussion such things as living together before marriage and the wife's/husband's roles. . . It proved to be challenging to try to justify our beliefs without saying exactly why we believe everything we do. There was no “cause I am a . . . “ or “thats what my Heavenly Father says.” And apparently, at night, QuinYinDian smells even worse than during the day. I have no idea why – but that was the worst walk home yet . . . The only way I can try to describe it is by saying it sorta smells like walking through a cow farm – except there are no animal farms around here – just corn and watermelon. . . . So who knows where the smell comes from . . .

Well, I gotta go pick up my laundry – we have a wash machine in our apartment but no dryer so we take our clothes to new day because they have a few for free. My roommates tried to air-dry their clothes the first time they washed their clothes and they dried all right, but with a horrible smell. (Actually I bet all our clothes smell now, we just don't realize it.) So they ended up rewashing their clothes.

Love,
Kelli Lynn

Swimming Through Beijing

I feel like a fish. Every time I pass a good water supply, or the see the New Day store, I get another drink. All day, I feel I just drink and drink. And I would believe it all sweats out of me, except for the fact that I also run to the bathroom whenever I can. Oh well, que sera sera. I am thankful to have an abundance of cheap water. it only costs 1 quay to buy a water bottle at the store, 2.5 for Jasmine Iced Tea. I also enjoy their fruit leather! My roommates always buy lemon flavored RITZ, and they also have Oreo s . . .ice cream bars . . . its a great little convenience store located next to the dining hall. It's on the New Day Campus so its just for workers and students, it also sells some products from the New Day factory. Their factory is amazing because they only allow their workers to work 40 hours a week (unheard of here) and pay fair wages. And despite that, they are very successful. This really says something to the villagers who for years believed that this land the compound sits on was cursed.

Anyways, I just finished writing my first lesson plan for next Monday – my first day to teach by myself (yikes!) It is going to be about American money and grocery shopping. There is sooo much that goes into making a lesson plan, especially because we have no text. We have to make a page of sentences for them to practice that would be used in conversations, as well as a worksheet. Then I have to decide how to present a ton of new vocabulary in a way they can pick up in one day. Since we only have four weeks to prepare them for a possible trip to America, we have a lot of info to present – especially in the lower level classes like mine. The hardest part is thinking of fun games and ways to make the info more memorable and real. But, I'm taking on this challenge.

This morning to start out classes we performed . . . . Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes. This was just a fun way to start them thinking English. At first I think they just kinda thought we were being crazy Americans, but after we began to speed up and make it challenging they were all laughing and enjoying themselves. Our next challenge is think of a fun action/song for every other day. Hmmm – Any ideas?

Off to the village with a native to try some real food - last time i went with my roommate and the only way we survived was cause some of our students happened to walk by. Lol. We also had a family of chickens visit us, they will probably be dinner tonite . . .

Love, Kelli

School Has Begun . . .

Today was the first day of school! It was exciting to meet all my students - they are all so eager to learn English! They had an opening ceremony and I had to give a short speech! It was horrible, lol. I wasn't prepared and I had to talk through a translator which I have never done before. Oh well, everyone laughed at me which was fine cause I was laughing too. I also am beginning to write lesson plans for next week, on Monday the class is mine - yikes!! It's definitely a learning process, but I think I will survive. I really enjoy interacting with the students, as I mentioned before they are so eager to learn English and American customs, for some this is the first time they have even seen foreigners. During the school day from 830-430 no one is allowed to speak Chinese, this is definitely a challenge for many. They also cannot use a translator/dictionary without asking our permission. It is important for them to be totally immersed in English. And at 430, everyone begins talking Chinese, lol.

I enjoyed the International church on Sunday. The one we went to is one of like 10 and they all speak various languages, ours was English. It was cool cause the worship leaders were from the Philippians and Africa, and the pastor was from Singapore. I think it would be a hard home church though because the people are consistently moving in and out. Yet, the people who working the church are themselves moving around to where ever they are called, so they are used to fluidity.

After church we went to a Pita place and got a lamb/chicken pita(they eat alot of Lamb!) and Mint Lemonade (yum!). Then we went shopping on Woman's street. I bought 3 shirts and one dress for 175 rmb. That is pretty expensive for here, but I didn't bargain cause i am scared to and they were just too cute! But thats only 25 dollars total, so i didn't really care.

Well Im off to learn more Chinese with my new friend!
Love, Kelli

The Great Wall

Yesterday I finally saw The Great Wall! It was very cool to actually see something so famous. We took a ski lift up to the wall and then we walked up and down it. The whole thing is covered in stairs, I was not aware of that! So for a few hours we walked up and down stairs to the different gate houses. And the stairs are not normal size, some are tiny and others take all four limbs to get up . . . we had a great time. It was kinda rainy so it was a little slippery, but I would rather of had that then the hundred degree weather we have been having. Unfortunatly because it was raining we couldn't ride the Tobagans down the mountain side . . we had to take the ski lifts. The tobagan slide looks like a massive slide that twists and curves down the mountain side, so cool. It was here that I finally had my first experience with a "Squatty Potty", basically a flat toilet in the ground. It didn't really bother me, it was like camping.

Our fourth of July party was great, I think most of the people enjoyed an American night. We had like 20 students do all the dances with us so that was a neat site. Of course we were sweating like crazy after that so we all wanted to take showers. However, we didn't have water for a little over a day after that. Just a normal occurance in our apartment - its a good thing we have plenty of bottled water that we drink. We also had a group of students over to hang out, they were all intermediate to advanced English speakers so we could communicate very well (and the advanced could translate when needed). We played the card game "spoons" with them. Except instead of spoons we used chopsticks and instead of normal cards we used UNO cards - they were the only kind we had. Anyways we had a blast and so did they.

Well I'm off to the International Church. Only people from other countries can attend it, and we can not attend the Chinese Churches. After that we are going to eat some Mexican or Itailan food and then go shopping on Women's street and some other places in Beijing.

Have a great Day!
Kelli Lynn

Happy Fourth of July!

Well its the fourth of july here and we are super excited for the party tonite! My first American meal since I got here . . . :)

You know those mornings when you wake up and everything is covered in fog because it rained and the sun is beginning to make it evaporate? Well thats what it looks like all the time here, some days its worse than others. Except its not as pretty cause you know its from pollution and it stays all day. Sometimes it even gets a little hard to breathe when you walk awhile. And then there's the river, its more like a creek and the water doesn't move, instead it grows white and green and blue stuff over the top, its almost shimmery . i bet it is radioactive. And then there is the smell . . .lol, kinda like sewer all the time.

But other than that, it is a very pretty place. The people are amazing. We ate dinner last night with the staff and other volunteers, we had a Hot Pot. It is a large boiling pot and then they bring out a bunch of veggies, tofu and meats and you just pick some up with your chops and drop them in, wait a minute and take out whatever you want. The meals are all shared like that and everyone just eats and eats, they walk around so much they can eat massive amounts of food! Especially the guys! lol. And the Chinese students who have come back to volunteer are already here and they are so funny and happy to be back. Everyone says its like a family here and i can see it. There is love and support all the time - most people have given up a lot to be here and they give of themselves all the time while they are here, so everyone bonds. And despite the sacrifices, everyone loves to be here and is happy all the time. I love it. They are just so eager to learn better English or help out more, its a great environment.

For lunch today they served duck. It was my first time eating duck, and it was alright. The grossest part was that i’m pretty sure they just threw the duck in whole to cook it. My bowl was filled with bones and tendons . . .lol. I didn't eat very much of it.

Have a great 4th of July!!
Kelli Lynn

I am in China!!

Well, I've been here for a little over 24 hours so far and everything is going great! To give you a little update:

The food at New Day is amazing! We had stir-fry for lunch and for dinner they tried to teach us how to make dumplings (dough filled with pork and veggies), the Chinese chefs just laughed at our attempts to copy their folding.

I live in some apartments about a mile from the New Day compound, on the sixth floor with no elevator. Its small, but clean and pretty nice, especially for being in a village on the edge of Beijing. One interesting thing about the bathroom is that the whole thing is tiled and the shower head just pours onto it. Another interesting thing is that you are not supposed to flush toilet paper, you just place it in the trash . . lol.

The students will be coming to register for English classes on Friday so we are currently working on preparing things for the classes. We are throwing a fourth of July party and cooking American food and playing our music. We were teaching the Chinese staff the dances tonite for two hours. I don't think I ever had so much fun doing the Chicken Dance, Cha-Cha, Macarana, Electric Slide and the Hokey-Pokey :)

I am also taking Chinese Classes with my 4 roomates three times a week . . . right now we are working on the numbers!

Anyways, I am having a great time and looking forward to the student's arrivals.

Kelli Lynn