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.

Lassen Report, etc.

Well, we arrived back in Santa Rosa on Sunday, 2 August 2009. It was great. We had thunder and lighting (none dangerously near) and hard rain the last night. (It didn't make the trail muddy, just kept the dust down.) We all got out fine, and everyone had a great time.

All this past week I've been attending an all-day ESL teacher training institute. It's been great, but it hasn't left me much chance for things like correspondence or blogging.

I can now report that I had two telephone interviews before I left, and both of them resulted in job offers. I've been to this point before, and had a good job offer pulled after I sent in all the paperwork. I feel better about this one.

I am applying to teach at a private Christian school in South Korea. They want Christian teachers, and they have openings for math teachers who can teach in English. Since I have a degree in Mathematics, and English is the only language I can teach in, that should work out well. Their application was heavy on my Christian beliefs. (They want to know how I feel about charismatic gifts! It felt like an application for a youth pastor at a conservative Protestant church.)

For this position, I am told that I can go there on a tourist visa and apply for an E-2 visa when I get there. That will streamline my preparations, certainly. I've just finished Korea Calling by Allegrea Spect & Jay Freeborne, and they say that's the safest way to go. They say, go on a tourist visa as a free agent, and look around. I want a bit more security than that, but it's reassuring to know that I shouldn't have much trouble finding work once I'm there.

Well, it's after 23:00, and I've got to get to bed. Just one more thing: I am actively preparing to leave, and I have less than two weeks before I need to be completely ready to go. That means that if anyone has any unfinished business with me, it needs to be wrapped up ASAP. Thanks for understanding.