If you are at this website, please go back to our other blog… I discovered this website is not any easier to access than our other one.
Again, it’s ohheychina.blogspot.com
Thanks for your patience, this is a learning process for us! Internet is quite difficult around these parts. Love to all.
I can’t believe I finally found a blog that works – not that I had looked that hard because of the whole being in a new country and teaching full time factor, but I’ve been disappointed that our other blog hasn’t worked here. Mostly because when I use a blog, I feel like I am somehow connected to the outside world, and most importantly to friends and family that I know are thinking about us here in China.
I still can’t believe I’m saying that I’m in China. Incroyable! I was telling Chris the other day that we had actually thought and talked to our Father about coming here about 3 years ago and it didn’t work out at the time, but I’d had a feeling that maybe it would happen eventually. And here we are. In the heart of China, BeiJing – the cultural and educational mecca of China. For those wondering what on earth we’re doing here, we are teaching at a primary school (K-9). Chris has 6th and 7th grades and I have 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades. We are both teaching English, though there are three different programs and so three different set of expectations. It’s a good challenge, we’re loving teaching and getting to know our students.
We live on campus in a 15×20 room, including a bathroom. It’s perfect for us as there is also a lounge room on our floor, and 2 other teachers living with us. We consider the lounge our kitchen, living room, dining room, pantry, etc.! One of the teachers is American – Veronica, and the other is Chinese – Petra. V’s heart is in the same place as ours, so it’s great to have like-minded people around. Petra is a lot of fun to have around and she speaks Chinese! A definite advantage! She watches out for us a lot and is our go-to if we need help. We are so grateful for her! Our little community has provided great support and sense of homeness.
As the sense of newness wears off, we are settling into the routine of school. That’s actually a lie because we are just getting back from National holidays – the communist celebration, and are having to work 7 days straight. As one other foreign teacher said today, it’s like we are getting punished for having holidays! So it’s Saturday, and I just finished teaching Thursday’s schedule and my body thinks it’s Monday. I’m confused just thinking about it. So I guess the newness is still very much present, it’s just not as blatant. We figured how to get around on the subway and bus, we know how to get to various grocery stores around us and we’ve even been to Tiannamen Square, Forbidden City and the Great Wall. I will describe those adventures when I have more time.
In the meantime, things that have been a surprise or a shock: the amount of control the government has on communication! FB doesn’t work here, the time difference is a pain, sometimes we have internet and other times we don’t. It’s not as easy as in the States, which can be frustrating. And I think they read a lot of what we say/write, or if they don’t, there is always the fear that they will.
Squatty potties! There is an art to the squatty potties. No flushing your toilet paper down the toilet with these guys, and you’re lucky if you can find toilet paper in the bathroom at all. If it is in the bathroom, you have to grab it before you go into the stall or else… That is a lesson learned the hard way. Also, I would recommend not inhaling when you are in an especially ripe one. Oh man! But now you know why Chinese people are so good at squatting. These were fun when my stomach was having a hard time with the food here – but I won’t go into that one.
The food. That is the other hard thing. The cafeteria food is pretty healthy, but salty and oily. Chris likes it for the most part, but my stomach is not liking it. I could do my meals in my room, but it’s hard to know where to even start with buying food, cooking, etc. I just don’t want to mess.
If you think of us this week, we would appreciate it! 7 days of work is exhausting to even think about and Chris is sick. We really covet your thoughts. Also, we are starting to miss home a little as everything is so different here – it sometimes feels like we are being challenged to think in a completely new way, and it makes feel kind of insecure! It can be fun at times, but sometimes you just want to eat a greasy pizza and watch an american movie. We don’t for one minute question what we’re doing here, but there are times when being here is challenging. Of course, right?! The East is the opposite of the West. I keep reminding myself that it is ok to feel all twisted about, sometimes. The good thing is that He knows how to untwist us 🙂
Well, it’s dinner time here so I best be going. Thanks for stopping, we sincerely appreciate your thoughts!!
ps: I’m publishing this without editing it – I apologize!
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