Tomb-Sweeping Festival

Ticket from Wuxi to Xuzhou.  Note the station names.  There are multiple stations in both cities, the East Station ("Dong" in Chinese) in each city is the only one to use for high-speed train travel on this route.

Picture of my gate, with the train number and time

Inactive gate at Wuxi East Train Station

"King-Size" bed in my hotel toom, made by combining two twin beds

"No Smoking" sign in my room, despite the blurry shot.  Good sign, right?

Not so much.  An ashtray with matches, along with the fruit platter.  Perhaps an ashtray alone could merely be provided for convenient extinguishing, but matches?  Clearly the non-smoking sign is not intended to be taken seriously.  This is China, after all.

The shower has a crackle-glass window to the bedroom, with a blind.  But really, why would you ever want to pull the bind up?  (Unless you're a blogger like me.)

Replica of traditional cart in the lobby.

Small statue of a famous general from Xuzhou history

My return ticket.  It was surprisingly easy to get.  Again, note the station names.

On the way home, I saw a drum performance in front of the community center.

Close-up of drum performance.

Not everyone has the holiday off.  At my school, workers wer busy converting some of the grassy area to parking spaces.

April 4 is Tomb-Sweeping Festival in China.  This is a day set aside for Chinese people to honor their ancestors by tending to their graves, and performing pagan rituals such as burning ghost money and setting off fireworks to scare away evil spirits.  Others will simply use the time off work to gather with family.

This festival is always celebrated on the fourth day of the fourth month.  (Not lunar calendar, though most traditional festival dates are set by the lunar calendar.)  In order to give us three days off together, the Government recommends (or requires) employers to move the work days following to the nearest weekend; or, to put it the other way around, steal days off from the weekend to append to the festival, at the cost of working on the weekend and working more days straight.

So, I have the 4th, 5th, and 6th, off (Thursday-Friday-Saturday), but I have to work Sunday through Friday following.  After Sophie had seemingly cancelled our meeting in Xuzhou, I went to the east train station to get a refund on my train ticket, and thought I'd relax by getting a massage.

Just before the massage, I got a phone call from her.  It seems her text message had referred to something else, and she was still prepared to meet.  Well, I agreed to try.  After the massage (nice, but I may try another place in the future), I went home, packed quickly, and set my alarm early.

After an early breakfast and a private car trip to the central station, I found that tickets for Xuzhou could only be had at the east train station.  (This, I'm sure, is due to the way the tracks are laid out.  My prevous ticket had been purchased some days before, through an agent's office nearby, which could not provide refunds.)  At any rate, I had to take a long taxi ride to the east station, and there purchase another ticket.  Fortunately, it was for the same train, so I would arrive in Xuzhou with no wasted time.  Unfortunately, I had already wasted over 100 RMB in car fares and return fees.

After getting to Xuzhou East Station (where all the north-south high-speed trains pass through), I took a taxi to the central train station, near the long-distance bus station where Sophie would arrive.  (Her actual hometown is outside of Xuzhou, about an hour by bus.)  I waited for her in KFC.

After she arrived, she helped me check in to a hotel.  (The first one we went to couldn't help me.  It seemed good enough, but they were not licensed to take foreigners.)  The room had a "King-size" bed (actually two doubles put together with large sheets), a no-smoking sign, and a fruit platter.  It also had an ashtray, with matches.  (Think they're serious about the no-smoking sign?)

However, the strangest feature was a window between the bedroom and the shower.  It had a blind which could be lowered and raised from the bedroom.  I had no idea why anyone would want to raise it except to take a picture, but it was there.

After depositing my luggage, Sophie insisted that we must meet her brother and sister-in-law, and eat together with them.  So, we took a taxi to the brother's university, they picked us up, and took us on a car ride (made quite long by the holiday traffic) to Pizza Hut.  Her brother could not find a permanent parking spot, so he let his wife take us to Pizza Hut.  The pizza was tasty, but too cheesy.  (Two fatty meals in a row.  I paid for it later.)

At the meal, we were talking somewhat at cross-purposes.  Sophie wanted me to do what I had to do to make her mother happy.  (This would involve figuring out how to buy an apartment, and promising to stay in China.)  I tried to explain that her mother had threatened me in an attempt to control me, and that such threats come from unsafe people, and an unsafe person like Sophie's mother was not someone I wanted to maintain a relationship with.  It was really hard to explain.

Finally, they took us back to my hotel, where I had some things of Sophie's that I wanted to give her.  They let me take her to my room so we could have some privacy.  There, I had to explain very firmly, that this relationship would not work, and I had to say goodbye.  She did not take it very well, but, in the end, she had to accept it.  I took her back to her brother's car, and said goodbye.

After that, I didn't feel like going anywhere, so I stayed in the room until it was time for shower and bed.  (I did find the CCTV English News channel on TV.)  In the morning, I ate the fruit provided as a first breakfast, then finished dressing and went downstairs for second breakfast.  (It was mostly Chinese breakfast food, but I did find enough healthy food to make a decent meal.)  After checking out, I took a few pictures of the lobby and left.

A taxi ride to Xuzhou East Station, a wait in line at the ticket counter, a train ticket to Wuxi, another taxi ride to Shin City Plaza, lunch, some food shopping, and I was on my way home.  On the way, I saw a drum performance/practice/ritual outside the nearby community center, across from the high school, so I took a few pictures.

As I passed by my school, I found that not everyone was relaxing during the holiday.  The school was using the time to have additional parking spaces installed.  This was probably wise, as car use has greatly increased in Wuxi since the school was built.  But it may have been a bummer for the workers who had to work over the holiday.  But, they may be paid double or even triple for such work, and I'm sure they need the money.

At any rate, that was my short trip to Xuzhou.  Total of about six hours round trip, less than 24 hours in Xuzhou.  But, it was not a pleasure trip.  It was an important (and in my view, necessary) closure to a serious relationship.  I'm afraid Sophie is still holding out hope for us, but as far as I'm concerned, I've said goodbye.  I hope that, in time, she can learn to accept that.

Prayer Requests

Firstly, praise God  for allowing me to meet with Sophie, and protecting me on the way.  My limited language skills were adequate to the task of getting where I had to go.  Everyone stayed safe, my biggest problem was a minor issue related poor dietary choices, two meals in a row.  But that only caused me minor discomfort and inconvenience.

Next, please pray for Sophie, that she would accept this decision, and, in time, come to understand it, and forgive me for any hurt I may have caused her.  If you feel led, please pray for Sophie's mother, that she would learn to love her daughter more, and help her find a suitable mate according to Chinese custom.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.

"Wo yao yi tong shui." ("I need water.")

Well, this week has been fairly quiet.  I continue to spend as much time as possible with Yi Feng.  I'm reminded of something that C.S. Lewis wrote.  He said that if a man loves a woman, he wants to stay with her and never leave her side, but normally the necessities of life (like earning money) keep tearing him away.  But, if he is somehow able to arrange his life so that he has no outside responsibilities, and spends all his time with her, then the fascination grows stale.  I hope I never get to that point.

In other news, I accepted the job offer from Hy-Lite English.  I will continue on my current status until September.  Then, I will sign a full-time contract for one year.  My schedule will also change.  I'll be working mostly nights and weekends, unfortunately.  I'm pretty sure I can get Sundays off, or at least Sunday morning for church.  That's life when you're working with schoolkids in a private education business.

The main thing I wanted to write about was the water.  That is, my drinking water.  For reference, here's my water dispenser:

Water Dispenser

In China, as in Korea, the normal tap water is not considered safe to drink without purification, although we use it for everything else (except brushing teeth).  Most people have water dispensers in their homes, like the one pictured above.  This works fine for me, until the water runs out and the jug needs to be replaced.

I have asked around, and no one seems to know of any place where you can go to purchase these water jugs.  When it runs out, you need to call the phone number on the barrel, tell the person on the other end that you need water, and what your address is.  Then, they send a delivery guy with the water.  Same-day service, apparently.  That works fine for most people here, I guess, but for me (since I don't speak Chinese), not so much.

When I was spending all day at Wuxi International School, I just filled my small bottles from their dispensers, and I managed not to use mine very much.  (I did the same in Korea, only with larger bottles and filter machines.)  Thus it was that this week was only the second time that my dispenser ran empty and needed a refill.  The first time, I took the empty jug down to the guard shack and showed it to the guard.  After some protesting in Chinese, he showed me the phone number.  Then, when I asked, "Do they speak English?" and after some more Chinese, he got out his phone and made the call for me.  (I wrote down my apartment number for him.)  Fortunately, I had nowhere I really needed to go that day.  So, I went up to my apartment to wait, and later, the water guy came.  It cost 14 RMB (if memory serves) to replace the water.  More than the 10 RMB I had been quoted earlier, but quite reasonable.

This last week, my water was running low again.  So, instead of having to bother the guard, I asked Yi Feng to teach me how to call for water myself.  She wrote down in my book what I would need to say, and drilled me on pronunciation until I had it right.  On Friday, the water ran out.  Saturday, I planned to leave by 10 a.m. to catch a bus and meet someone.  So, I made a call at 8 a.m., figuring a local delivery shouldn't take two hours if I called early in the day.

The call didn't work out quite the way I planned.  After an hour or so, I got a call back from them.  Someone spoke a little English.  I tried to tell them my address, but it ended up that they said I should find a Chinese friend.  So, I called Yi Feng.  She said she would help.  She said she enjoyed doing something for me.

It turned out that, since I was using the area code on the jug, I was getting the water place in another city, where (I guess) their main office is.  Yi Feng said she made the correct call, and that I just had to wait.  Well, I waited until 10 a.m., but then I had to leave.  However, I had a plan that I thought would work.

I took a rubber band, and a 20 RMB bill, and attached the bill to the neck of the empty jug.  I then placed the jug outside my apartment door before I left.  I figured that if no one stole the money, and if the delivery guy was intelligent, he would take the empty, leave a full jug, take the 20 RMB bill, and maybe even leave my change on the full jug.  That would require both honesty and intelligence on the part of everyone involved; two things that are not always guaranteed in China, apparently.

Well, something went wrong.  Either he didn't show up, or he wasn't sufficiently intelligent or observant to notice the bill on the jug and figure out what he was expected to do with it.  The jug was exactly the way I had left it.  No one stole my 20 RMB, but I didn't get my water refill, either.  (I have a small reserve, so I'm not going thirsty just yet.)

What I really want is a way to buy one additional water jug.  I want to keep a full one next to the water dispenser.  That way, when one runs out, I can replace it immediately, without waiting for a delivery.  Then I would have plenty of time to figure out how to get water delivered at a time when I am present to receive it.  I think I just figured out how (based on my scanty understanding of Standard Chinese), but I'll check with Yi Feng first.

What I'll probably have to do this time is get help.  Yi Feng texted me this afternoon (as I was riding home on the 766 bus) that she is free all day tomorrow.  She has some places that she wants to take me to.  Well, I'll take any excuse to spend time with her, doing anything.  Lord willing, I'll meet her at 8 a.m. tomorrow.  That afternoon, I may have to take her to my place, where I can call for water, with her present to help if something goes amiss.  Then we can sit and wait for the delivery, and I can take her out to dinner after the water arrives.  That's the plan, anyway.  There's plenty we can talk about while we wait.

Prayer Requests
These past few weeks have been a little surreal for me.  Spending hours almost every day with a beautiful young woman, going out for meals with her, holding hands, sharing dessert, etc. never happened to me in the U.S.  Yi Feng actually wants to spend time with me, and even welcomes physical contact.  How could this happen to me?  It feels like I'm living someone else's life.  As one of my colleagues said to me, "It looks like you've got a girlfriend."  Well, she denies it (in both English and Chinese), but I don't really care how she defines our relationship, as long as she continues seeing me, and letting me express my affection for her.

So, thank God for bringing Wu Yi Feng into my life!  For the first time in my life, I have real hope that I'm not destined to live like a monk.

In addition, I just heard back from Jane, the vice-principal at WIS.  She says I don't have to move out right away.  She'll tell me how to pay the rent on my current apartment.  It's about 1400 RMB/month, which, considering the location and quality, seems quite reasonable when compared to others that I've seen.  So, praise God for at least a short-term solution to the housing issue.

The only thing that's really bothering me right now is my lip.  On Wednesday, I took Yi Feng out to dinner (as usual), at a restaurant that was new to both of us.  The meal involved a boiling pot on a hot plate right at my seat.  Taking something out of the pot, I misjudged the temperature of some mushrooms and burned one spot on my lower lip rather badly.  It's got a scab now that's quite noticeable.  (Yi Feng was very cute about it, wanting to touch it last night, when it started bleeding from trauma.  She doesn't mind how it looks.)  So, please pray for infection-free healing.

Also, Amelie's mother had an accident on her bicycle last week.  (Of course, she wasn't wearing a helmet.  Hardly any Chinese people wear proper helmets unless they're on something motorized, and even then not always.)  She seems to have suffered a rather bad concussion.  (Worse than the one I had when I was 10 y.o.)  She's been in and out of the hospital, and Amelie has been busy helping her.  Please pray for healing for Amelie's mother.

Well, I've got to get to bed now if I'm going to be well rested when I meet Yi Feng.  ("Go to bed early," she would say.  Apparently, in Chinese, it's like our "Sweet dreams," or something similar.)  So, thank you for reading, and thanks for praying, especially for Amelie's mother.  God bless you all.

An Unexpected Gift

Last post saw me rushing off to catch a bus.  Amelie texted me the name of Meiyuan Bus Station in Enlish and Chinese.  I caught the 766 bus, showed the driver, and he nodded.  I texted Amelie that I was on the bus, and she texted me back that it would take about an hour.  Less than an hour later, the driver said something and motioned to me.  I asked if this was Meiyuan Bus Station, and he seemed to indicate in the affirmative.  So, I got off, and looked around.  This is what I saw:

Meiyuan Bus Station

Not exactly my idea of a bus station, but that's what the sign said.

I texted Amelie that I was there, and she replied that she was coming.  Soon, she arrived.  When I got to her car, she kindly inquired about my lunch.  Since I left my apartment before 11, all I had time for was an apple and some peanuts at the bus stop, which I admitted.  She said nothing more about it at that time, but we drove to the church and talked about other things.  The church is in Hudai Town where Amelie grew up, and close to where she still lives with her parents, on the outskirts of Wuxi.  (This was why she had me take a bus to meet her.  Otherwise, it would have taken her far out of her way to pick me up.)  Soon enough, we got to the church.  Since the most direct route was inexplicably blocked,

Closed for construction.  But, the road was in perfect order, so they just haven't removed the roadblock yet.

we took a side road, a one-lane farm road actually, which Amelie knew.

When we arrived at the church,

Jingshi Church
(Apparently, it's a Seventh Day Adventist church, but licensed by the TSPM.)

Amelie offered me lunch.  They were just finishing a communal meal after their service, which seems to be their common practice.  The meal was vegetarian, including tofu, but quite filling.

After the meal, we went into the pastor's office and conducted the English lesson.  Basically, all the kids had laptops (or shared), I read from a theological passage one sentence at a time, the students repeated after me, and at the end of each paragraph, we discussed any terms that they had trouble with.  I don't know how helpful it was, but Amelie said that the students really liked me and wanted me back.  If she asks me to return, and arranges transportation, I will go.

After the lesson, Amelie took me to the church bus which would take several of the sisters to downtown Wuxi.  The driver had instructions to let me off at a particular public bus stop, and I had instructions to take a particular bus which would take me in 5 stops to my apartment.  That worked well, after we got past the aforementioned roadblock.  So, that was my Saturday.  Spent some time with Amelie, got to see another church, met some interesting people.

On Sunday, the translated church service is now in the afternoon at 1:30, to make it possible for more older Chinese parishioners to attend all-Chinese morning services before the day gets too hot.  Since I'm starting work in earnest on Monday, and Andis will be off that day, he asked me to come in on Sunday to get my schedule and clarify the paperwork I need to do for each class.  Accordingly, I arrived at Hy-Lite shortly after 10 a.m.

Hy-Lite English, floor 1 of 4.  (It's a hike up to the 4th floor where I do most of my work.)

When I got there, one of the girls at the front desk politely called me over.  Apparently, a student had left something for me.  What she handed me was this:

Chinese-English Bible

The English translation is ESV, my preferred translation for personal study.  The cover is real leather.  There was a magnifier-bookmark inside, as well as a little note:

To Sean:  God Bless U.  (Chinese writing, smiley)

This was very pleasant and highly unexpected, to say the least.  Clearly, I made a very positive impression on someone.

I waited for Andis to finish his class, met him briefly, and we arranged to meet at noon when he had some free time.  Then, I walked back to the church, intending to use the restroom before looking for someplace to eat lunch.

Well, who should I run into but Victor, an older Chinese gentleman who wants very much to be my good friend, so he can practice speaking English with me.  He was with his wife, and he insisted on taking me out to lunch at a well-known restaurant (one of a chain) kitty-corner from the church.  He insisted on buying me a double portion (the meal was delicious), we discussed the meanings of a few Chinese characters, and he taught me one sentence in Chinese.  Then, I had to go meet with Andis.

When I returned to Hy-Lite, I encountered the student who had given me the Bible, and talked with her briefly before Andis appeared.  I told her honestly how much I appreciated it.  She had noticed the cross on my class ring from SPU while I was observing (and helping) her class, and had asked about it, which was how she knew I was a Christian.  Later, I mentioned the incident to Andis, and asked about her age.  She's apparently a college graduate, therefore in her early to mid 20's.  Definitely eligible.

After meeting with Andis, I went to church, sat in the front pew, and worked on my helmetliner (which is almost finished) until church started.  After church, I spoke with Amelie, who had to go help her mother with something, but would meet me in about an hour.  I told her to call me.  Then, I went to Hy-Lite, intending to get some water to refill my empty bottle.  When I got there, I asked about my schedule, and put my first two days into the calendar on my phone.  I then sat down to knit and wait for Amelie's call.  Well, who should show up, but Vivian, the young woman who gave me the Bible.  She was impressed by my knitting.  She herself had knit at one time, but very little.  We talked about that, and about the church services that she attends on Saturdays.  (There's a Seventh-Day Adventist church, licensed by TSPM, that meets in the same building I go to on Sundays.)

When I got Amelie's call, I told Vivian that I had to leave, and we said goodbye.  (I'm sure I'll see her again at Hy-Lite.)  Then, I went and met with Amelie, and she took me somewhere to buy a bus discount card.  (I tried to find the place on my own and failed.  It's really a hole in the wall at the end of a maze.  I'll need her help to find it again when I need to reload my card.)  Then, we went to find somewhere with cold drinks and a cool place to sit.  The first was my idea, the latter hers, and she found a place that had both.  We sat and talked for over an hour.  Very good talk.  I'm not worried about the dating show anymore.  It's just a game to her, and not her idea.

After that, I went to buy some apples, tried (and failed) to find the bus card place, and caught a bus (using my bus card for the 1st time) to my apartment, where I just tossed some rice in the cooker and sat down to write this all up while it was still fresh.  Today was definitely a full day, and a good one.

Prayer Requests
Apparently, God has been saving up a big heap of blessings to shower me with today.  Praise God for His many blessings!  I won't complain about the timing, either.  God knows best.

I also have a few things I need prayer for.  I'm teaching three classes tomorrow and five on Tuesday.  Please pray that I will do well in these classes, and not mess anything up like paperwork.

I also had pleasant conversations today with two different Chinese girls, both attractive, single, Christian, and apparently very willing to spend time with me.  So far, no commitments have been made by anyone, but I'm reminded of the country song about burning a candle at both ends.  This is a completely novel situation for me.  Please pray that I will handle it wisely.

Well, that's all I have time for now.  It's late, and tomorrow's a big day.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  God bless you.

Thursday at Auchan

Since my friend A. started her new job in the New District (where I live), we've had a little informal standing arrangement on Thursday evenings.  She and I meet around 6 o'clock, we usually have something to eat, and then I ride with her to worship team practice, which is at one of three different homes in Wuxi.  It's been like this for a few weeks now.

This Wednesday, she told me that she had some special shopping to do for her new apartment and her family the next evening, and wouldn't be able to meet me.  So, I e-mailed another friend who works in the New District, at whose house we were going to meet, and asked if he could help me, as he had before.  Not having heard from him by Thursday afternoon, I texted him with the same request.

Then, just as I was starting my workday at Hy-Lite (downtown) at 2 p.m., I got a text from A., telling me that she didn't need to go to the market that day, and inquiring how I would get to the fellowship that evening.  (Her English was a little rough, but I understood.)  When I got a break shortly before 3 p.m., I texted her back, asking her to meet me.  She replied immediately that she would pick me up at my place before 7 p.m.  I replied shortly in the affirmative, because I was about to start observing another class.  Then, when I was in a VIP class for training, I got a text at 3:09 p.m. (which I thought was from A.) offering to pick me up at about 6 p.m.  It didn't quite make sense to me, but I replied shortly in the affirmative because I was busy.

When my last training class ended at 5 p.m., I hurried out of there, pausing only to visit a street vendor to buy some tomatoes to include with my dinner, because I was low on vegetables in my apartment.  I got on my bike as quickly as I could, not even changing out of my work clothes, but just strapping the cuffs to keep them from getting soiled.  I arrived at my apartment at about 5:30 p.m., quite literally dripping with sweat, and set about immediately cleaning the lunch dishes (which I had left soaking in water), tidying up my apartment (good thing it's small), and preparing to start dinner.  I knew that if we drove straight to our destination, we wouldn't have to leave until 7 p.m., and I expected A. to come to my apartment around 6 p.m., as she usually does.

At 3 minutes before 6 I got a text from A., suggesting an immediate departure and a rendezvous at her usual parking location between her workplace and my apartment complex (on the same road).  Something was different this time, but I grabbed some fruit and some peanuts, and left.  I arrived at the hotel parking lot about the same time she did.

It turned out that she needed to visit Auchan on the way to our destination.  Auchan is a hypermart, kind of like Carrefour.

(This is on my route downtown, and not the one we visited this time, but they look quite similar.)  She still had some shopping to do for her family.  She kindly inquired about my dinner, and I told her truthfully that I hadn't had any yet.  She had eaten at her factory canteen, but suggested that I get something to eat at Auchan, which was quite agreeable to me.  The Auchan store that we went to this time was closer to our destination on the other side of Wuxi.

However, before we got there, I got a phone call at about 6:25 p.m. from the other friend I had requested a ride from.  It turned out that the text I got at 3:09 p.m., offering a 6 p.m. pickup, was actually from him, and not from A., and I had replied to him.  He was on his way from his office to my apartment to pick me up.  I told him about the confusion, that I was already on my way there with A.  So, we cleared up that issue.  Then I told A. about it, and we approached the Auchan near our destination.

This time, she needed to get some milk, which she purchased in two case-boxes containing small sealed bags.  (I've never seen milk sold that way before, but okay.  It apparently doesn't need refrigeration immediately.)  She also needed to get some fruit.  In the produce section, I saw something that I'd never seen before, even after two months in China:

U.F.O.'s (Unidentified Fruitlike Objects)

Anybody know what this is?  It looked like alien fruit to me.  A. only knew the Chinese name, which I forgot.  Later she looked it up on her electronic dictionary, and said it was called fire dragon fruit.  Sounds appropriate.  Anybody have any experience with this fruit?

Anyway, she didn't get any fire dragon fruit.  She was interested in another Chinese fruit which I've had once or twice, a smaller fruit called "li jiu" in Chinese.  (Don't know if it even has an English name.)  There is an old story about these fruit, concerning an Emperor's wife, which A. told me about.  Anyway, I had plenty of time to take this picture, because it was right next to the bin of li jiu:

And A. took some time selecting her li jiu fruits.  She was so absorbed that I don't think she noticed where the camera was pointed when I snapped this last picture:

This isn't a great picture, but it's the only one I have right now.  I will try to get a better one later.  Her English name is Amelie, and you can pray for her, too.

After getting fruit, she suggested that I get something to eat while she got milk.  I looked around, but I didn't really see anything appropriate, and I didn't know where to look, or how to ask, or how to find something that I could eat in the car without utensils or a big mess.  So, I found Amelie, who was just finishing getting her milk with the assistance of a store employee.  I explained my problem and asked for her help (I seem to be doing that a lot), and she said that she didn't know what I liked.  I said I'd try just about anything.  She suggested a sandwich or something.  I thought, "They have sandwiches here?  I haven't seen any," but I said okay.  It turned out that we found a few things of the steamed bun and dumpling variety, which together made a quite passable finger-food meal, and very inexpensive as well.

When we got to our destination, before we got started with our worship practice, Amelie made an announcement about which I had mixed feelings.  She said that her cousin had been nagging her about finding a boyfriend.  (They do that in China.  Big pressure on girls to get a boyfriend, and make progress toward marriage.)  Because of this, and because of some connections of said cousin, she has an interview a week from Saturday in Nanjing with a blind-date reality TV show.  When she said the name of the show, all the Chinese girls in the room screamed.  From the description, it seems more like a meat market than a blind date show.

So, here's why I have mixed emotions about this.  On one hand, it confirms that she doesn't have a boyfriend.  One source said she did, but I hadn't seen any evidence of one, and this proves that his information was false.  That's a good thing.  On the other hand, I don't really know what the expectations are for this show.  But whatever they are, I know I won't like them.  Is this jealousy?  O.K., then, I'm jealous.  Can you blame me?

I did talk to Amelie after the worship practice, before we left.  I told her that I wanted to spend some time with her, to get to know her better, and I asked when she had time.  Saturday she's going to a church in another town to teach English, but we could get together after church on Sunday.  That seemed O.K.

Then, when I got home, I had an idea that must have been late in coming because I was tired.  Why didn't I go with Amelie to teach English?  They'd probably appreciate the help of a native English speaker.  When I e-mailed Amelie about it, she was very appreciative.  She said she'd check with the pastor.  A few e-mails later, she hasn't been able to contact the pastor, and she doesn't feel right going ahead without permission.  (I won't second-guess this one.  Anything like unauthorized religious activity here is dangerous, and she knows the rules much better than I.)  Hopefully, I will be able to help her at a later time.  For now, we have a date on Sunday afternoon.

Prayer Requests
Obviously, I need prayer.  I prefer to start off this section with a praise request, so you can praise God for my continued good health and safety, and all the things I'm learning, and pray for more of the same.

Based on the above, I probably don't have to ask, but please pray for me and my relationship with Amelie.  Since I'm new in this country, and I don't have much experience with girls of any nationality, I was just going to take it slow, be friends first, get to know her with some friendly, low-pressure (and inexpensive) activities, and see where that led.

However, I don't like this news about the blind-date reality TV show, whatever it's called.  I don't know what she expects from a date, or, for that matter, from a boyfriend.  Dinner?  We've had that, in my apartment.  Conversation?  We've had that too, in English, which she is pretty good at.  A movie?  Haven't done that yet, but it can be arranged.  A car?  Well, I can't provide that, but I hope it's not necessary.  She has one, after all.  Why would I need one?

I'm afraid I'll have to openly declare my intentions this Sunday, when we get together.  I haven't met her parents yet, which I would prefer to do, but transportation and language barriers make that difficult.  I'm planning to tell her that I'm interested in developing a serious relationship with her, that I was planning on taking it slowly, but she forced my hand with this news of the reality TV show.  Can anybody tell me if that's a terrible idea?  She does have a good sense of humor.

As well, please pray for Amelie.  I don't know her very well yet.  She is personable and considerate, she has a good sense of humor, she speaks English pretty well, I think she also speaks the Wuxi dialect in addition to Standard Chinese, she's a good cook, and very helpful.  She is only two or three years old in the faith, very recently baptized.  Her mother, from what she's told me, attends a Christian church regularly; her father, "not so much."  I'm concerned that she doesn't understand how important it is to be equally yoked.  I don't think I would be the right person to bring that up.

Also, please pray for my work at Hy-Lite.  I've worked two hours so far, and I haven't gotten paid for them, which doesn't worry me yet, but no one has explained how, where, or when I will get paid, only that I will be paid 150 RMB per hour worked, which is a very good hourly wage.  I'll be meeting with my supervisor, Andis, on Sunday, because he's off on Monday, and I'll be in the neighborhood for church.  I'll just go in the morning, meet with him, and then get some lunch before church.  I should be able to ask him about payday at that time.

Well, that's a long entry, but I wanted to tell the whole story to go with my pictures.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  God bless.

Get a Job (Sha, na na na, na-na-na-na-na)

Well, I started my summer job today at Hy-Lite Language School in downtown Wuxi.  They are right next to Wuxi Protestant Church on Zhongshan Road.  First, I sat in on one VIP class (one person), one salon class (about 8 people), and a private class (up to four people; this one had only one) which was unpaid training.  Then, after dinner, I administered a practice oral IELTS test, for which I will be paid.  Tomorrow I will be doing a Speaker's Corner, which (as my first time) will be mainly introductions.

The work is pretty straightforward.  The lesson plans are already written (in outline form), and all I have to do is get the students to talk about the subject by using guiding questions.  That's something I already know how to do.  Looks like they will have a fair bit of work for me, which will be good.  It'll get me out of the apartment, and keep me out of the poorhouse.  Summers are always their busiest time.  I may even be able to take Chinese classes from them.

By the way, I learned something from the student's answer to a practice test question, to amend the information in the last post.  July 1 is the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.  That's the specific date and event that the display pictured in the last post was erected to commemorate.  Also, this student (who is from a very well-off family) does not agree with the government spending a lot of money on national celebrations such as this, because the money is taken from the people in taxes, and the people have no say on how it is spent.  That seems to be a fairly enlightened view, and something that I didn't expect from a Chinese student.

Prayer Requests
Things seem to be going pretty well right now, for which you can praise God.  A. is in the process of decorating her new apartment in the new district, so she's busy right now, but when she finally moves in, she'll be closer to where I live, and hopefully I'll get to see her more.  I really want to get to know her better, but that takes time.  Please pray that I would be able to spend some quality time with her, to get better acquainted.

That's about all for now.  I'll be posting a lot of photos on Facebook, many never seen before anywhere on the Internet.  So, if you're my friend on Facebook (and all of my readers should be), go on over and check them out.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  God bless you.

Job Interview

Yesterday, I had a job interview at Hy-Lite Language School.  They were looking for native English speakers to teach small conversation classes, and some larger "Speaker's Corner" classes, during the summer when their business picks up.  Andis, the head trainer there at Hy-Lite, showed me around, and introduced me to how the school works, and then took me to his office and asked me a few questions.  A little about my background, and a little about what I would do in certain circumstances.  Apparently I passed, because he offered me 10-15 hours per week, on weekdays, at 150 RMB/hour, starting in about mid-July.  Training is not paid, but it's not too long.  So, that's an answer to prayer.

After the interview, I went to the church restroom to change back into bike clothes, and then I went for a short exploratory ride downtown, looking for a fruit vendor to buy some bananas from.  That trip was successful, so then I went back to the church grounds, and had a little picnic of peanuts (thanks Mom!), bananas, steamed bread rolls (from Carrefour) and water.  Then, I went down to the church basement and refilled my Camelbak, which was empty.  (It was that hot out, I was perspiring freely, just sitting still.  90°F + in the shade.)  Then, I waited a friend and one of his colleagues to show up after 6pm, and we went on a little bike ride around Wuxi, my friend leading the way.  That was fun, interesting, and a little challenging to dodge the pedestrians, bikes, e-bikes, etc. while keeping up.  I did see a Wall-Mart on the trip.  I'm going to have to ask my friend how to get back there.  That Wall-Mart should be worth checking out.

Prayer Requests
Firstly, praise God for the offer of a summer job!  I was not looking forward to trying to stretch my last paycheck to last all summer.  This will bring me that much closer to paying off my debts.  It will also give me some more experience in a different environment.  It may also give me additional options in the future, should my circumstances change.

Along those lines, please pray for me in my new job.  I'll be responsible for getting Chinese teenagers and adults to use their limited English skills, not always an easy task.  This is a business, very similar to a Korean hagwon (학원), if you know what that is.  If not, let's just say that if the students (or their parents) aren't happy, they can stop coming, and the school loses money.  That has an affect on how I teach.

Well, I've got to get ready to go to church now.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.

Graduation, Chinese Style (sort of)

Wednesday was the graduation ceremony for Wuxi International School.  Monday and Tuesday the kids did nothing but practice for graduation, and, when you see what graduation included, you'll understand why.  This year, we did not have a Grade 12 class.  The Grade 6 students graduated to middle school, and the Grade 9 students graduated to high school.  Except for a few students who are leaving (probably because their parents are moving), they will all be back next year.

Now, even though this is an international school, it is run by the Chinese government, and shares a campus with a Chinese public high school.  So, how do they do a graduation ceremony in China?  Well, first, they have a welcome sign:

Illuminated Signboard:  "Warmly welcome to our Graduation Ceremony!

Perhaps the English is a little rough.  Then, they have speeches.  Principal Hu (whom I have never met) gave a speech in Chinese, with translation by one of the high school students.  Two of the students, a 6th-grader and a 5th-grader, each gave speeches in English, representing the students.  One of the students' parents gave a speech in English, representing the parents.  My colleague April gave a speech, representing the teachers.  Then came the presentation ceremony.  Each student was presented with a diploma, and a bunch of flowers:

The Grade 6 class of Wuxi International School

Note that this is the entire Grade 6 class.  Next, the family and friends were allowed to present gifts (or give presents?):

Family members giving gifts to the graduates.

Graduates holding their gifts

Next, the scholarship recipients were honored.  I don't know what they had to do to earn these scholarships, or what form the scholarships were given in.  I suspect they scored high on some kind of standardized academic test, and the awards were given in cash.  I know these award amounts wouldn't go very far towards defraying the school tuition that their parents pay.

Simon, Cathy, Mona, Dora, Jonathan, Felix, Nora, Alvin, Grace, Linda, Sophie, Jazz, and Sylvia

(Personal note:  Mona and Dora, in grades 4 and 3 respectively, were in my science class.)  Next, they had an all-school chorus:

The Student Body of Wuxi International School

The song they sang was "We Are The World".

Now it's time for my personal version of Where's Waldo?:  Can you spot the student from New Zealand?  I'll give you a hint:  she sticks out like a sugar cookie on a plate of brownies.  Not enough detail in the above picture?  Here's a closer shot:

WIS Grade 1 Students

It's Lilly, the Kiwi.  I had her briefly for Grade 2 Oral English, before two of the teachers returned from a matrimony vacation in the U.S.

Next, they had a piano solo by one of the high school students.

Piano Soloist

He's actually quite good.  After the piano solo came something a bit more fun; a skit from Grade 3 English called "Super Red Riding Hood":

"Super Red Riding Hood"

Guess who's Super Red?

"Grandpa"

And, instead of Grandma's house in the woods, we have Grandpa's house in Shanghai.  Jerry played Grandpa, an old man with a cane who could barely walk until he was given "magic food" to eat.  Of course, the story had a moral:  "It's always good to share."

After the morality play, came a martial arts demonstration by the Grades 1 & 2 boys.  Here's the best photo I could find of this:

 But this thing really needs a video clip to capture the visual performance.

While watching this demonstration, it occurred to me that one of the boys might have a mild learning disability, like AS.  Of course, that sort of thing is not really talked about in China or Korea (in my experience).

After the martial arts demonstration, came my students, the Grade 7 class.  They sang the song "Not Alone", based on Michael Jackson's rendition.

From left:  Rika, Teresa, Qi, Ryan, Alex, Cathy, Jenny

(There is one student hidden behind Alex.  She's not in my class, and I don't know her name.)  I would upload some video, to give you an idea of what I've been hearing at lunchtime for the past two weeks, but the video is almost 64 MB, and I'm on a slow DSL connection.  Instead, if you can just imagine the song "Not Alone" being sung by several middle school students, from Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and mainland China, you'll get a pretty good idea.

After my students, some boys from the primary grades attempted to sing "For The Longest Time" by Billy Joel.  I say 'attempted' because this song can really not be done without off-beat snapping.  Apparently, that is a skill that these boys have yet to learn.  We'll give them time.  They're young yet.

Next came another piano solo:

(Sorry, I didn't see Ali walking by when I took that shot.)  After the piano solo, the Grade 1 and Grade 2 students came out and sang a song in both English and Chinese, apparently called "Peace and Happiness".  I didn't recognize the song, I think it's a traditional Chinese song.  Some Grade 3 students (in teal) did hand motions:

Grades 1, 2, and 3 Students

After this song came something I cannot describe.  I'm just going to have to try to upload the video, and hope that it works:

After that unique performance, the girls in Grades 5 & 6 did a dramatic recitation of Shel Silverstein's poem, "Sick".  Sorry, no pictures from that one (none of them were my students), but it was very entertaining.

Following the poem, we had a performance called "Summer Dance", with the Grades 1 & 2 girls:

I thought the girls were very cute, even if the lyrics and motions were rather mature for that age group.

 After the dance, we had something a bit more serious.  There was a video presentation, showing clips of the students who were graduating.  First there were short clips, then clips with them smiling or laughing, then clips with them looking more serious.  Then, they showed longer clips, where the graduates were expressing their gratitude and "warm fuzzy feelings" (my term) for the school.  After that clip, there was a song:  "I Believe I Can Fly."  Then, the graduates lined up in two groups, like this:

Sally (6th), Sharilyn (6th), Sophie (6th), Wandy (9th), Desmond (9th), Michael (6th), Ali (6th), Allan (6th), Daniel (6th), Jesmond (6th), Anson (6th)

Then, they thanked their parents in whatever language they chose.  Sharilyn and Sophie, from Singapore, spoke English.  The rest used Malay, Korean, Urdu, Mandarin, Cantonese,or whatever language they felt comfortable using.  I felt that was much better than trying to make them all speak in English.

After this, came something a bit more lighthearted, but especially meaningful to me.  Some of the senior high students took it in turns to recite "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" by Dr. Seuss.  Now, this was meaningful to me, not merely because I grew up on Dr. Seuss, but also because the content is very applicable to my life, and especially my current situation.  What places have I gone to?  Korea and China, all because I didn't find any streets in the U.S. that I wanted to go down.

When they came to the section in the poem with a list of names, they replaced those names with the names of the graduates.

Next came a presentation of Certificates of Merit, for some kind of academic excellence:

This was done while the band set up behind them  Yes, we had a band.  Two of the players were my students.  Desmond, from Malaysia, on backup acoustic guitar:

And Ryan, from South Korea, on drum kit for the second song.  I couldn't get a good photo of Ryan (backup electric guitar kept getting in the way), but here's the whole band, performing the song, "Yellow" by Coldplay:

During part of the song, some of the students were up on the balcony, doing this:

I think someone blew up some 200 yellow balloons to make this possible.

That's the last event I have photos of for that day.  After this was another all-school musical number.  This time, all the teachers were expected to join the students on the stage.  I complied, of course, trying to get in the spirit of things.  Then there was a big buffet-style lunch in the dining hall, which had plenty to choose from.  Then, there was nothing more for me to do but head for my apartment, stopping at the market on the way there to do a little grocery shopping.

Knitting
No more progress to show you on any of my projects.  I did, however, find additional sources for knitting needles in the market.  They seem to be mostly small sizes, and the size numbers seem to be more like the U.K. system than anything else.  If someone could find some info on the U.K. needle sizing system, and post a link to it, I'd appreciate it.

Prayer Requests
My big evening on Wednesday went well, so you can praise God for that.  Now, however, I learn that they want me to do more of them; at least six more on the schedule, in fact!  This has nothing to do with the quality of my work, as the guy who made up the schedule was not there.  I need God's help to do this.  Please pray that God will grant me the grace and wisdom to serve Him well in this area.

Also, I'm looking for paid summer work.  I just learned on Wednesday that I will not be needed for summer camp at WIS, because (news flash) the middle-school students don't want to take math classes in the summer.  Jane offered to help me find a part-time job, but she also suggested that I look for one.  Well, I found an ad on Wuxi Life for native-speaking English teachers for the summer, and I sent in my résumé.  Looks like I'll have an interview on Saturday, exact time TBD.  The location is downtown, very close to the church building.  Please pray for this interview to go well.  I don't know how much it pays, but I could really use any extra cash.

That's all for now.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  God bless.

Connected, Finally!

Yesterday, while I was eating lunch (a little late), came a knock on my door.  Actually, a few knocks.  When I opened it, there was Lao Pan, the school driver.  Pan doesn't speak much English, but I knew what he wanted.  He was in charge of making sure my Internet connection got set up, and that was due.  When I let him in, he made a phone call, and after a conversation, he handed the phone to me.  It was Jane, the vice principal at my school, who speaks excellent English.

Jane had two things to tell me.  One, about the Internet access, the installers would be at my apartment at 1:30.  That gave me about half an hour or so.  Two, there was a package for me at the school office.  Pan would drive me to the school to pick it up, then drive me back to my apartment to wait for the Internet installers.  I don't really like riding with Pan, because he smokes, but it really wouldn't work any other way.  The weather was a bit wet, and I don't want to ride my bike in the rain.  So, I went with him, leaving my last serving of fried rice in the wok, and got the package.  I decided not to open it immediately.  Then, we came back, I finished my rice, and we waited for the China Telecom installers.

The installation went smoothly, and now, finally, I have Internet access in my apartment!  I tried to celebrate by arranging a video chat with my mom, but she's not available at a convenient time.  (It's hard with a 15-hour time difference.)  So, I chose to open the package by myself:

Clockwise from top:  peanuts, size 15 (10 mm) DPNs, crochet hooks, birthday card, care package box

Yes, it's my birthday, June 26.  My sister and brother-in-law already sent me an early present before I left.  (Actually, their present was a gift that keeps on giving, so it's good for birthday & Christmas both.)  My mother was also very generous, but she sent me a little something anyway.  Size 15 double-pointed needles, an assorted package of crochet hooks, and peanuts.  All things that are probably available in China, but rather hard to find.  Also a card.  Thanks, Mom!

Knitting
Well, I promised pictures of the completed cardigan when I had good lighting.  Yesterday the weather was blustery, but this morning there's enough sunlight in my apartment to take some decent pics.  So, here they are.  First, a picture of the partially completed helmetliner:

Because it's black, I actually added artificial lighting (a good lamp that I bought at Carrefour).  You can see that have only the face ribbing left to do, and there is plenty of yarn remaining.  This should be very soft and warm when it's done.

And now, the fully knit cardigan:

Cardigan, Front, Full View

Detail of Back Cable (Saxon Braid, modified)

I haven't tried it on yet, it's way too warm and humid for that, but I think the collar turned out nicely.  I used size 4 needles for all the ribbing, including the collar, and size 6 for the body.  On the lapel, I picked up 4 stitches on the selvage for every 6 knit rows, and I think that was the right amount.  It doesn't pucker, and it doesn't gape or sag.  I used a YO k2tog buttonhole, and I like the size I got.  I went up one needle size to bind off in rib, and it's just tight enough without being too tight.

In order to complete the 3" collar, I had to rip out a swatch.  Since this was a self-designed pattern, with two different cables, I had three swatches.  I chose to rip out the smallest one.  I skeined it on the back of a chair, tied it, soaked it in water to relax the fibers, and dried it on the clothesline.  When I spit-felted it on and finished knitting and binding off the collar, this is what I had left:

Leftover Yarn

Not bad, eh?  I also have a little more extra from the sleeves, and I think that should be enough to sew on 4 buttons.  Now, I just need to buy the buttons.  I want to take my friend A. with me when I go button shopping, because she speaks and reads Chinese.  (She should, after all.  She was born here.)  Unfortunately, she's traveling this weekend.  So, button shopping will wait.

However, yarn shopping may not wait.  I want to make a pair of hot mitts, one blue and one red.  Now that I have the #15 DPNs (see above), all I need is the yarn.  I think I know where to buy the yarn.  The trouble is making sure I get 100% wool.  Rarely do I find a vendor that speaks English.  Some don't even speak Standard Chinese (Mandarin), just the local Wuxi dialect.  This is especially true of the older generation, and knitting in China seems to be mostly done by older women.  I might have to take A. with me for that, too.

As for socks, I left my favorite sock pattern book with my Mom.  She, however, doesn't actually use that pattern, she does reinforced flap heels, and I taught myself short-row heels.  I've asked her to scan and send me pages from that book.  Because of the formatting, they may not scan well.  We'll see.  Meanwhile, I'm trying not to wear any holes in the socks I have.

Prayer Requests
I continue to enjoy spending time with A.  This last Thursday I tested her cooking skills, and she passed with flying colors, in Chinese style.  (Beating eggs with chopsticks, etc.)  My kitchen is a little spartan, but she did fine, and I got a few more things to make next time a little easier.  Please pray that there will be many more next times.

Also, I have a big day on Wednesday, that has nothing to do with school.  I know that I won't be able to do this without God's help.  Please pray that God would use me for His glory.

That's all for now.  I've got to get ready for church.  Thanks for reading, and thanks for praying.  God bless.