Thanksgiving and Black Friday... Which is the Bigger Holiday?

           First off its has been eons since I have written, largely due to my lack of time from school. My basic day consists of getting up going to work and then coming home and doing school work until I go to sleep and start all over. Thus I really don't have a social life right now, but on the good side I got through my first 9 weeks with an A- and a B. Since I have to have a 3.0 at the end of my first semester or I am booted out of the program I am working like crazy to keep my grades up. This is not always so easy. Every 9 weeks I have a new teacher with a new set of standards and rules I have to adapt to in a minimal of 1.5 to 2 weeks. By week 3 they expect the best from you (seeing as this is graduate school they should) needless to say there are times I get a wee bit stressed out.
      I have so much school work to do in the next 6 weeks ( we get 2 weeks off for Christmas break, but I will be working straight through them). We have so many papers and lesson plans due back to back that I can't really afford to take a break. Maybe summer vacation I can relax a little, for now I am content with my hour and a half of fun reading before bedtime to unwind. It's not much but it works for me right now. I feel so bad that I have not been more diligent with my blog, I didn't realize how much time grad school was going to take up. I am enjoying my studies and learning so much about how we learn language, it's amazing at least to me.

            So yesterday was Thanksgiving and I enjoyed being home with my mom and relaxing (ok so yesterday I did take a break). I found myself grateful for so much and at the same time I find myself with a different attitude about my culture. All week it has been about shopping and getting the best deal, not spending time with family just obtaining more things. I had a co-working sharing with us at our lunch break that instead of celebrating Thanksgiving because they are so 'poor' they are sending the kids with a sitter and shopping for all the cheap deals. I cringed so hard on the inside I was afraid it was coming across my face. I saw real poverty last year in China, most of them make very little and yet are happier then most of the people I see here who have so much. I made a total of $3 a day and I remember living on very little and I was content, that is a lesson that I pray to never forget. Every time my clothes come out of the dryer and are soft from the fabric softener I find myself surrounded by luxury. My view of the world around me as changed and there are times it even surprises me by the ways it has changed.  I still haven't gotten over sticker shock over here everything is so expensive.

         I am sad to say that the true meaning of Thanksgiving is dying and fading away in the mainstream of my culture, instead let's accumulate more things because that's what will make you happy. The only problem is it leaves you more empty and broke. This is something I am studying right now in my grad classes, 'reality' is not the same worldwide. Every culture has a different 'reality' in no way is it relative. We have been talking about how your 'reality' changed after you went abroad to a different culture and then returned to your own. There are few people around me who understand this (there are those who try, don't get me wrong). I find there are times I don't really fit in with the culture I was born and raised in, that's ok because in the end this isn't my real home.

         This Thanksgiving I am grateful for a Father who loves me and will never abandon me. No matter what comes He is with me cheering me on. I am grateful He never let's go and believes in me even when I don't believe in myself (this comes in handy when I feel like I want to quit school). This holiday I am counting my blessing from a roof over my head to fabric softener in my clothes.

Back in the Classroom

     Well I got through my first week of classes with only one late assignment. This week will be so much better now that I have found my rhythm. I had one day of training at Bayne's and at the end of the day they told me I was not a good fit. So basically my whole day was wasted when I had a ton of work to do at home.  After that crazy day, I started to think I wouldn't find a job...enter Mama Place. She works for the Midland schools and told me of a job opening over there so today I had an interview with them and .....got the job!!! After I pass all the background checks and such I will be a paraprofessional (I work with the special needs kiddos) with the Midland Elementary Schools. I am so excited about returning to the classroom! This gives me an income but I still have the flexibility to do my course work, the bulk of it on Saturday. This job is a perfect fit for a graduate student who really needed a job and needed time to study and not feel overwhelmingly stressed out all the time.

     PTL my Father has taken care of me once again and He even gave me a little break for summer vacation. Next summer I am hoping (at this moment) to find a job like Subway or something like that to supplement my income over the summer and stash away money for APU and my celebratory trip to celebrate my Master's (something to look forward to on 'those days'). I am praying for a mild winter or finding someone whom I can rent a room from for those weeks the weather is just awful. So here is my quick update about the faithfulness of my Father and how amazingly well He treats me, I am so very grateful!

Classes and Carmel Apples

    First off I am so sorry that I have not updated this blog in so long! My life has been so crazy the last few months. Ok time for the update:

         The last most of you knew I was trying to find a way to pay for graduate school. Well PTL it all came together. They confused me with another student with the same name and in the same program (but the campus one not the online one). I was able to get financial aid that covers my entire first year plus my books. I had orientation today and got my first syllabus today. I have a lot of work ahead of me in the next 9 weeks and that's just one class I will have two of them for the first session (9 weeks Sept. 1-Nov. 4) and then two of them for session two (Nov. 11- Jan. 25). That's just the first semester, but after three semester I will be certified to teach anywhere in the world. So right now it seems like a mountain but you simply climb it one foot at a time until you get to the top.

      In other news I had a job interview at Bayne's Apple Valley Farm. It went very well, they could not hire me until I knew how my classes work so now that I know I can let them know and hopefully start my training the week of Sept 9th. It is only a seasonal job but its something and I am grateful for it. There will probably be times of craziness but those are the moments I learn to lean on my Father and let Him teach me a new lesson. I will mostly be working in the bakery section making caramel apples so it should be a great autumn of helping to make memories like the one I have from when I was little.

     In completely non related news I had my 'vacation' with my mom yesterday and went to Frankenmuth, It was so much fun!!!! We walked the entire length of Bronner's which took about 4 hours, by then we were so hungry so we went to Zehnder's . I did not have the all you can eat I just get the two piece meal and take half of it home to eat for dinner. We did a lot of shopping, which was fun. My Mom has her shopping buddy back. We got to Frankenmuth around 9:45am and left around 5:30pm. We made a day of it and still didn't see most of the city. So I think one of these weekends in the future we could easily stay in town at a hotel and just enjoy Frankenmuth for a few days and have a vacation not so far from home. Ok so here are some pictures I know you have been waiting for these so impatiently.

  Says God Bless you

 Merry Christmas (of course found the Chinese)

 Ice Cream!!!

 Missing the Aloha family in China

 If you are a HUGE angry bird fan here's your tree

 Hello Kitty

 Yay China flag!!

 It's always sunny with these shades on!

 My Mom's favorite

 Thank you!

 Coolest mail box EVER!

 This is what you dream of when its chicken feet night in China

 Buttered noodles, still amazing!!

Looks Wuhan represented at Bronner's

The Longest Day Ever!

           First off sorry that it has taken me almost a month before I wrote my last blog post. This isn't the end of my blog but my post might be few and in between over the summer months. As most of you know I am not returning to China in the Fall so I have no idea where my travels will take me. I am starting classes in the fall at APU via an online course. Right now I am just looking for a job and so far I have come up empty, but something has to be out there....somewhere. Anyway enough with my babbling and on to my last crazy adventure in China.


          My last week was my hardest I had to say goodbye to my kiddos and they were crying and I was crying it was not the best week ever. My fellow teacher Michelle even cried when I had to say goodbye (we became good friends) it was an emotional roller coaster. Anyway I was trying to pack all of my stuff and it is not that easy. I had winter stuff that my mom had sent to that I didn't take over so  I was trying to stay under the weight limit (which was proving difficult) I ended up with a pile of things I had no where to pack and needed to get home. Amy (my waiban) said that she could mail it for me, at last it seemed like there was finally sunshine streaming in again. But it wasn't going to last long. Instead of going through the post office she was going though places like DHL and FEDEX so that meant 2 things 1. I had to find my own box and 2. it was going to be expensive. But the day before I was leaving (June 24) I was so stressed out about it and they kept on jacking up the price because I was a foreigner so at that point I told Amy never mind and went shopping for a small hard shell suitcase to pack the remaining things. At the same time I had to go to two different banks to pull out my money and close my accounts, then I had to head over to the Bank of China to exchange $500 dollars worth (I couldn't do all of it because I am not Chinese they can do up to $10,000 a day). After I left the sky was getting very dark and the wind was picking up I knew we had rain coming and I was trying to hurry.

          I got to Zhong Bai and bought my suitcase then went downstairs to get some fried rice to go get snacks for the plane ride home. After a half hour of all this I was finally free to race back to my apartment and finish packing. As I walked out of Zhong Bai I was meant with rain and not just a light rain, this was the kind that soaked you in a second. I was without an umbrella and on a time crunch so I simply headed out in the rain. In the process of getting soaked my bag of snacks got completely wet and the bottom fell out into the mud no less! Of course the Chinese don't help you they just stand there and stare at the crazy foreigner I was getting a little upset with China at this point. I finally made it back to my apartment with most of my snacks (some where left in the mud). I took a shower and blow dried my clothes dry so I could pack them (with Amy's help). In between layers of packing stuff I ate my fried rice and tried to not panic. Finally at about 9:30pm I was packed and ready to go for morning.

         The next morning came quickly, I was up early since my flight left at 8am out of Wuhan. I had to lug all to my stuff down 4 flights of stairs which was a learning experience...of patience. After finally getting everything downstairs and packed in the taxi I was on my way to the airport. I had to pay a fee at the airport for being over weight with one bag (the flight from Wuhan to Shanghai was domestic so I could have 2 carry-ons). We had some turbulence on that flight but not terrible like when I went over to China. Then I got to lug my luggage onto a cart and carry it to the other side of the Shanghai airport. Now at this point I need to use the little girls room, but I had no one to watch my stuff so I just held it. I figure by 1:30pm I could check my stuff and use the bathroom by the gate. To make this a little shorter that did not happen around 12:30pm we were informed that the flight was cancelled...Cancelled what do you mean cancelled!! But once again the Father took excellent care of me. Delta put us up in a Wyndam Hotel and I got an amazing room (pictures at the end of post).  I finally got to use the bathroom after  six hours of holding it. So I left Wednesday morning at 6:20am (after getting up at 2:10am) and I got a new plane (the day before there were mechanical problem) there was so much leg room and I got to watch Disney movies the whole way home. There was a little guy behind me and we played hide and seek with his teddy bear (I was by the window). It was a good trip and the food was ok. I was however glad once I got to Detroit to get through customs and get my stuff and head home. The first thing I noticed was the lack of people...don't get me wrong the airport was hopping but there are so many people in China that everywhere you go is super crowded. Then I noticed how blue and clean the sky was this still gets me even a month later, you can actually breath the air it was amazing! So now I  am back in the States but I left my heart in Wuhan and miss my babies everyday. I will now commence with the pictures, just a few of my kiddos and then a few other things including my favorite meal at Aloha and the room I stayed in in Shanghai.

 This is the 'Castle' that I lived in and taught in

 This is part of the drvieway. Its a straight shot to the road all together a mile long (with the picture above).

 Aloha jr. burger, best burger I have ever had!

 Chimme chimme cheesecake with strawberry filling. There are strawberry's and cheese cake in a fried tortilla with cinnamon and sugar and Taylor's vanilla ice cream.

 From here on through is the amazing hotel room I had in Shanghai.

 See the little square that look like a mirror it a TV. You can watch TV while taking a bath.

 Yeah there is phone with the toilet.

 I had a chandelier!

 Class 6 Grade 3

 Class 4 Grade 3

 Class 2 Grade 3

QQ Club (English Corner)

Shrapnel in my Heart

    Well this past weekend was the last big weekend EVER for Zhong Relations. We had our final good byes and said farewell to each other as we are all starting to leave China this week. It has been a very hard weekend for me, saying goodbye to Wuhan and the amazing adventures I have had here. This week I will be saying goodbye to my students and finishing my packing. By next weekend I will be on track to fly back to the states. This is when it gets sticky ...

   Home is a relative term to me now, I'm not really sure where it is at the moment. Not to mention I am still waiting on APU about my acceptance into the TESOL program. My future is pretty up in the air right now and I really don't know what I 'm doing. So in 8 days I will board an airplane and leave China, these 10 months have gone by way too fast. On the flip side many of the Zhongers are going back to the States so I am going to try to keep in touch with everyone either Skype or if they are close going and seeing them. It would be good for me with adjusting to be able to keep in contact with my China family. I know the pain I am feeling will pass, but I have to warn you I will never be the girl I was before I left ever again. That is something we talked about at debrief was just that your friends and family think everything will go back to the way it was and that will never happen, China has changed you. I will do my best not to talk about China all the time and keep my thoughts to myself. If I burst out crying its probably because I am missing the places and people I met here and came to love.

     For now this is it just a short and sweet post, thanks for your 'thoughts' over the last 10 months they have gotten me through some pretty tough spots. See you all soon ~tears~

My 660 Children

        Well here in China it's Friday but we have Dragon Boat Festival next week so we are teaching Mondays classes today. As I woke up this morning all I could think was 'God help me' I was more then a little tired and not really feeling the teaching thing this morning. I came down to my office to have one of my little 3rd grade boys come in the office. He handed me a note that I thought was from his teacher. I opened it to find the following:

     Dear Becky,
            I love you so much. I hope you don't go. Becky, you teach we every week, we play in study, study in play. Take care.
              That boy always raise the hand up.
                                  Jimmy


        My heart is about to burst at this point. I am already dreading leaving China and my babies when a little girl, Alice hands me a note as well. It's written in Chinese so I can't read it (have to had Amy translate for me).  I have to go teach a class and I come back from the class to more notes on my desk.

                 Becky~
                      I love you! and miss you, I ever miss you! You like a mum! We all love you. We love your class.
                               Love you's      Laura


       I am most assuredly leaving my heart in Wuhan, China. This is my fuel these little notes on the days that grad school (waiting to be accepted, paperwork is all in takes 2 weeks for an answer)  just seems like it is too much. I am going to give it everything I have to come back to my babies in China. Granted I doubt I will ever come back to WEFLS but if I can come back to Hangyang I can see how they are doing. I made up my mind in the beginning of this school year to love these kiddos extravagantly like the Father loves me. At first I wasn't sure if it was making a difference but now I know that it did. I have 660 children (give or take a few) that I call mine...yes even the 4th grade boys. I am going to miss them so very much but I will leave them in the hands of a very capable Father.  Hard goodbyes are never easy but I have learned that C.S. Lewis was right when he wrote:

         

       “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”  The Four Loves

      I will feel  pain as I have to  let go of my little ones, but I rather feel that pain then for my heart to be so cold and dead that it has become irredeemable. China has changed me, these kiddos have changed me and I will miss both. I know that the seperation is temporary-- but that still is not making it any easier to say goodbye to people. Honestly when I get back to the States I need lots of hugs and a shoulder to cry on.  I say farewell for now knowing that the Father's love in me made a difference to some pretty amazing kiddos in China. 

June is here....

         Well June is here in China and I can't believe I am going back to the States soon. I have already started to pack and get things together. Its been longer then i wanted it to be since I wrote I am so sorry but China is busy and things are not really scheduled here, honestly sometimes I still hate that but I have pretty much gotten used to it. I have a feeling that reverse culture shock might not be so kind to me. I'm going to miss the Middle Kingdom and I'm leaving my heart in Wuhan...which gives me a great reason to come back to get my heart or maybe just stay here permanently.

        I have one more piece of paperwork waiting to get to Azusa Pacific and then they will take my file to the board. I have to wait for two weeks and then I will know if I am a graduate student at Azusa Pacific. I really hope so I want to come back to China, I have friends that really don't want me to go and I haven't told my students yet that I will not be here next year, every time I get close I lose my nerve with those little faces and I just can't. I will miss their little smiles and hugs like you wouldn't believe. I am taking all of their beautiful artwork home with me.

        This week will be a long one we will work 9 or 10 days straight because of Dragon Boat Festival. Then we have our very last Zhong Relations party ever...sad day :( However coming back to America I won't be eating weird mystery food. I have had spicy cow stomach, guts (seriously it was some kind of intestines they are really chewy). I have eaten some pretty crazy stuff here, but this is China and I wouldn't have traded any of it for all the money in the world. I will miss hanging out with friends and crazy stuff happening like cramming on a bus  to go somewhere or ordering broccoli and getting  octopus put in with it. Crazy stuff like that! Ok well I don't know if I will write in this again before I come home since my last few weeks are going the fly by I fear so in parting I am leaving with this:


          I have a friend named Taylor that makes amazing ice cream and he needs your help. He is starting a business with a vision that is borderline on some things that are close to my heart so here is a nifty video you can watch and I would encourage you to help:

http://vimeo.com/59625204


Hugs~
Becky

Sometimes Trust is a Foggy Road

          I am sitting in my office darkness has fallen over Wuhan for the evening. I am reflecting over this year and everything I have learned about China, life, and myself. Its been quite the adventure... Which makes leaving even harder. Today I was told that the school is not resigning me for next year. I am going back to the States but to be honest my heart will stay here in China. I have no idea when I am coming back. This is when trust can be so very hard, when you cannot see the road in front of you. As hard as it is I have to just hold on the the One who knows where we are going. He must have something is store although I don't know what it could possible be. I am still applying for graduate school to get my TESOL M.A. from Azusa Pacific.

      Now I get to look for a job back in the US, that statement alone makes my heart drop. I have started to pack up my things and began to lighten my load by getting rid of anything I don't really need, as I pack my life piece by piece I feel disconnected. I built a life here though small, it was something now I feel like I am constantly starting over again and I find it very frustrating. I can't say that this news surprised me the deck has been stacked against me here at WELFS pretty much from the beginning. They were never really happy with my best and to be honest that's ok, this school is special in so many ways. I have learned a lot here and I will greatly miss my students. There is a group of girls in class 6 grade 3 that I am really going to miss. I may not understand what is going on but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can trust my Father, He has never failed me yet and I highly don't He will start now. So in the weeks to come I will soak in my last few moments in China, there will be laughter and probably many tears. So for tonight my dear readers I say goodnight from Wuhan, lets see what adventures the next 6 weeks brings me before I start a new adventure.

Chinese Schedules and...Lost Keys?

          Well the first week of May was Chinese Labor Day (May 1st is the official holiday). We had a lovely 5 day break and then we made up the time by starting classes on Saturday. This is where is gets complicated, on Saturday we taught Wednesday's classes but we were on Monday's time schedule. So instead of our first class starting at 9:20am it started at 9:40. This however became a permanent change since the weather is heating up (Wuhan is in one of the 3 furnaces of China)  the students do their exercises in the early morning and the classes get pushed back...I rather have that then fainting students. So we worked Sunday too which we taught Thursday schedule...then afterwards we went out to dinner (WELFS gang).

This is when the fun really starts, we went out to eat and everything seemed fine then we got ice cream and were heading back to my place to watch a movie. This is when I realized that I didn't have my keys I had locked them in my apartment!! I called Amy and she tried to call the guard lady but the guard lady was gone for the night and would not be back till morning.  Sometimes China makes no sense if you are going to be gone put someone else in charge (she locked the keys where no one could get to them). So I ended up having to call Amy again and she sent up a worker to unlock my window (they put screws in the bottom so the the window can't open the window). He took the screw out and the fun began. I took a hanger from Amber's while Amber held a mirror so I could see the hook on the wall and Lulu held a small light. After several tries and fails I had a thought why don't I turn the light on, so after using the hanger to turn the light on so I could see I could finally get the keys.

I successfully got the keys and was able to get in my apartment!! It was a big PTL moment and I learned that He does take care of you even if you have to do a little work He provides a way. It was a memorable evening followed by a shower and a movie and then rest in my own bed! I hope this was enjoyable reading hope to write again soon, 7 more weeks and then I will be stateside.

The Weekend...went by faster then I wanted

Well the weekend stared off with ...wait for it...rain! Friday night it poured so hard that you could hear it against my windows. The next day was full of lesson plans that gave way to a AAA event (Adults of Average Age) 30 of us from fellowship met at M-Kitchen (it was good, but not as amazing as everyone told me, sorry guys) then we went bowling. I haven't been bowling since I was 17 and I still stink at it, the only good thing is that I can bowl with either hand. I start out left handed and then switch to right when my left gets exhausted. It was a fun night and even though I can't bowl for my life I had fun just hanging out with people. The night ended with the temperatures dropping. Earlier in the week it was 80/90's so I summer-ized my bed at this point. So with freezing cold temperature I just shivered for about a half an hour before I got up and put on flannel pj's and grabbed a very warm blanket. I finally fell asleep and then came Sunday...

                Sunday was a great day at Fellowship after I went and did errand running (which means I went to Zhong Bai (you say it like jong by)and met my old nemesis the fish head in the ice by the eggs) and made food at home. For dinner we had pizza, not back home this is normal I have only had pizza here in China 3 times so it was a big deal. Plus the frozen yogurt was out at a store on the mall. It was good (not as good as Taylor's ice cream) but I got to put dragon fruit on it so it was pretty good. It was a very eventful and very tiring I was glad to call it a night. Which brings us to today which was full of rain and thunder, but not as much rain as Michigan. Hopefully I will talk to you soon and that it will warm up just as soon!

Exercises and ...Celine Dion?

            First off sorry about the gaps in post lately, my fault. This past week was pretty crazy, out of 14 possible classes (we worked on Sunday) I only taught 3...why is this you might ask. Well we have a government official coming to the school so the want to impress them. The students and teacher (except for us ) have been learning this dance/kung fu number...its crazy and looks exhausting. So last week most of my classes were taken over my the PE teacher to get the students practicing. This was after they told me that I need to do better and be more like Amber...so frustrating. Then we don't have class for a week, how do I improve if you never let me teach?

           On to the Celine Dion appearance no not really her but after lunch one day Amber and I were just chilling in the office it is dead quite until one of my 4th grades starts singing 'My Heart Will Go On' we bust out laughing at this point it was pretty random but she is quite the icon over here in the Middle Kingdom. It was a nice pick me up of laughter after a frustrating few weeks.

      Ok on the the heavy stuff, as some of you know back home I am planning on coming back to the States for a few years to get my Masters Degree. There is a law change here in China now with the new government. I have to be TEFL/TESOL certified in order to teach anywhere here in China. I could teach here again next year if they asked me without being certified but they way things have been going lately 1)I'm not holding my breath for them to ask me back 2) I"m not sure I want to come back after all the double sided-ness and stress from this year 3) they have terrible internet and not wifi in our apartments so if the internet is down and i can't turn in an assignment I'm screwed. I would like to do well with my TESOL masters. It is a 2 year program and I am looking at Azusa Pacific or Southeastern. They are both online so I can work anywhere in the country I don't have to be in Cali or FL I can be where ever there are jobs. After I am certified I want to come back to China, I really do love it here. I am sad to leave and I feel very torn, but I know I can't teach anywhere else until I get my degree/certification. I can really use your 'thoughts' right now, I can't tell you how many times I have cried over the thought of leaving China even for 2 years. I have come to love the culture, food, and people. I know the Father will take care of me but there is still a sadness at having to go home. This also means finding a job and getting on my feet as quickly as possible, I am going to see if I can get my TEFL certification and start looking for jobs right after as I finish my TESOL part of my masters. (you can get the first one and the classes roll over into my TESOL masters). If it works I could come back next year Fall of 2014 and teach in China, but that is very wishful thinking still it would be nice. Thanks for reading and i hope this fills in gaps for people if you have question you can talk to my mom or Facebook or Tweet me I am happy to clear up any confusion.

 

 Benjamin, Maddie, and Sammy enjoying the weather

Daniel and Benjamin at dinner time

 

Daily Hugs

       It has been a very long time since I have posted and I am sorry, my life is very busy this semster. My week normally looks like this : Monday teach and then the night off to chill out and get ready for the "meat" of my week. After Monday I am done with 25% of my work week. Next we have Tuesday...all 4th grade very draining some weeks then we have dinner and what we call sermon Tuesday! I love sermon Tuesday, the WEFLS gang gets together and we listen to a sermon and then have a discussion about it. We also help keep each other accountable for quiet time and things like that. I am now 50% done with my work week. Here we go Wednesday...this is my long day. I have four classes 3 of which are before lunch so by lunch time I am ready for my bowl of soup (we have soup at every meal we don't have drinks so this replaces that). Then a quick nap (nap time everyday!) and I teach a class after lunch (Class 6 Grade 3 hapens to be a favorite of mine). Wednesday night I eat a quick dinner in my apartment and run back down stairs for QQ Club (English Corner). It is from 6:30-8pm. By bedtime I am ready for sleep, I am now 84% done with my week. Thursday rolls around and I grudingly at times get out of bed, I have 2 classes before lunch and then I am 100% done with my work week. I take an extra long nap and come back for office hours followed by dinner with the gang and a movie. Fridays I only have office hours so I Skype home and catch up on things, I also prepare for the next week a little (most of that happens Saturday and Sunday). Then the weekend is here and it never lasts as long as I want it to! Then before you know it Monday is back and I am at 0% again.

         I say all this so you know what kind of crazy life I live, mind you this is China things change at the spur of the moment, I don't plan too far in advance here. But let me catch you up on the last few weeks of life. We have had a lot and I mean a lot of rain!! According to my friend Aaron its his fault at least for one weekend...I don't think it is. It did pour that weekend pretty hard but it did the same thing the following weekend and I don't think he was in Wuhan. You are probably wondering at this point why the hugs reference and no connection well here it comes. That weekend was not the best in fact the week before hadn't really been the best. When I met Aaron and Matt at the bus stop I was a little down. But it didn't last long I got a giant bear hug from Aaron that really helped more then he will ever know. It got me thinking when I have crazy days here at school I notice that the Friend always sends one of my kids to give me a hug, ususally its one of my twins Angel or Maggie. They find me everyday whether in the school or at lunch and give me a big hug, it has become a reason for living. I have found that this semeester more and more of my students are very affectionate with me either by hug or some of my boys like high fives, a few even hold my had and walk with me to class. This makes my heart so happy, I want them to feel the love of the Father and I feel like some of my hard work is finally paying off. My blessings come in the form of love from my kids which at times is my pep talk for the day from the Friend. I know this post is rather short and I owe you all a long one but for the sake of time (and the fact our internet is not always reliable) I will post this for now. See you all in 12 weeks!!

Spring Festival and Beyond

Well I am sorry it has taken me so long to update this blog. Life has been a little crazy, but now that I am back to teaching I am back on a schedule. I will break up my adventures in parts.

Part one
Spring Festival starts with Amber, Lulu, and I getting our nails done. It was fun and very girlie but hey when in China do as the Chinese. The girl there that did my nails took my hand and with wide eyes said 'Your skin is so white!' here in China that is a mark of beauty the whiter the better...you don't really get whiter then me. So we had a pretty good night...then comes the morning and wait for it...the flu. I woke up the next morning and felt like a fleet of MAC trucks had bowled me over like road kill. I was down for a week and a half just getting better. On top of not feeling good we got a few bad snow storms that left snow in my kitchen. The windows here are not sealed properly so the crack between windows leaves a space. The wind was blowing just right that a pile of snow ended up on my kitchen counter...snowball fight anyone? They turned off half of the power in our office (which is the only place I have internet) so our heater was not working so Skyping with people back home was an adventure. I had to make sure I wore tons of layers just to not freeze while I was talking. Then came the next big adventure.


Part two
Guiyang here we come! I left for Becca Kelch's the night before we left and it was the deadest I have ever seen China. Because Spring Festival is the only time China has off, people go to see their parents. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE travels during this time. Well after getting a little lost and having Becca talk to the taxi driver via my mobile I finally made it to her place. Her flat mates made us dinner (Hannah is from Korea) I had my first taste of some Korean food and finally had curry, it was good. Then came bed time...we (Becca, Mandi, and I) slept horizontally on her bed to fit all three of us. This however was not the crazy part that was the fireworks (and a little bit of Mandi talking in her sleep, I love you Mandi it was entertaining). February 9 was the first day of festival so the night before into the morning there were constant fireworks. I was amazed that I slept at all it was so loud. I think when I come home I may be able to sleep through anything because it is so noisy here in China you learn to get used to it. So the next morning we went to the train station and I embarked on my first ever train ride in China. We had hard sleepers for the ride over it was not so bad on the way over, really long (18 hours) but the countryside was beautiful! I got to see a lot of China that most people don't see because they mostly do the tourist things, what I saw were small villages and the way that China may have looked before all the industry took over. We played a rousing game of Farkel that Mandi won on her last roll...it was pretty intense (like camping!...that was for you Amber). We got to Guiyang at 3am, yes it was so early!! Melodie took us to our apartment so we could get some rest before starting our day. I think all together I got 8 or 9 hours of sleep from the train and Melodie's. I learned a lot about myself on this trip and the kids taught me a lot too. Before going on this trip I was so nervous I have always doubted what I call my 'mom' abilities. After this trip however I no longer doubt them, its like a switch that turns on when it needs too. I was christened in juice, throw up, kisses, and God only knows what else. The kids were so sweet, I worked with severely autistic kids and kids with downs. The one little girl that melted my heart was Maddie, she has cerebral palsy but she is the sweetest little girl you will ever meet. She had only been at Melodie's for two weeks. She came from a place that severely sexually abused her and she had burn marks on her skin. It was sad to think that at the age of 4 she had gone through so much. Though it all though she taught me my first lesson: We complain about needing more things and this little girl had been through so much yet always greeted me with a smile that looked like her jaw would pop. The doctors said she would never walk but when we were there she would walk between Mandi, Becca, and I (always holding a hand since her legs aren't that strong yet) and sometimes she would be brave and try to walk to Joanna in the corner (another Zhong Relations teacher that went with us). The kids are kept on a pretty strict schedule but for special needs kids this is perfect and very helpful.
Joyce one of the downs kids likes to have her face scratched, for downs kids their nerve endings are different then ours so they can scratch till they bleed but they don't feel pain. They grind their teeth you can hear it and it doesn't hurt them but they feel the sense different then you or I. One of my favorite times was song and 'thinking' time. The kids love to sing (Ruth especially she sat in my lap and just sang songs one day). After the singing each child got to 'think' after they would say Amen! really loud, so much enthusiasm! It was so exhausting and I really loved my time there. Then it came time to go home...here comes the brutal part. Our train was delayed by an hour so we didn't get to board until 11pm and did I mention we only had standing tickets. Everyone has to go straight back to work by that Sunday/Monday so the train was packed like nothing and American has ever seen...honestly it was crazy. We headed straight for the dining car and we were able to purchase a booth to sit in until 6am. So in my little booth Becca, Mandi, and Joanna were my bunk mates again. I got a little sleep but not much, in the 18 hours back I think I got maybe 5 hours and that is being generous. At 6am we left and headed for the aisle of the next car. We ended up next to some University students that were headed back after Festival. They were very kind and would let us sit in their seats for a break while they stood and stretched or waited in line for the toilet. (don't ask about the toilet on the way back all I will say is thank God for hand sanitizer). We took turns sitting and when we weren't sitting or avoiding a food cart coming down the very slim aisle we were taking request from the Chinese and singing...yes we were the entertainment for the train. When we finally got home I was so very glad to get into a taxi, Hanyang has never looked so good in my life!! I came home, took a shower (the train was very smoky from all the Chinese men CONSTANTLY smoking) ate some dinner (the first meal in 20 hours since we were standing I would only snack on a steamed roll or a small bag of almonds that I had packed) and went to bed. It took me a week to bounce back from that trip but I did and that started the current adventure.

Part 3
The last semester is here!! I have 17 weeks to go, well next Monday starts 16 weeks. This week was filled with ups and downs already. I found out this is the first year they have given grades to the Foreign teachers, I did not do well...I decided to use it as positive criticism. This week has also had its ups like seeing all my kids and getting squished in hugs, especially from my twins Angel and Maggie, I love those girls their hugs and smiles get me through all the negative that I get from teachers. I walked into all my classes this week to shouts of 'Happy New Year' and lots of hugs. I have to say its good to be back! I am learning more and more how to do this teaching thing, especially here because they are so strict. At the end of this semester the teachers and students will evaluate me again, if the teachers don't give me a good review then they will not ask me back. I have a back up plan just in case but I am trusting the Father and working very hard to show the teachers that I have greatly improved.  So we will see what new adventures this semester brings, I will see you all in 16-ish weeks! Happy New Year from Wuhan!

Technology and Other Stories

          Well I know I have not posted on here in a while, sorry. I was waiting for my power adapter to come . Its made in China but it goes to the US just to get mail back to China to me...I know the irony. Well I was so excited to use my computer until ...my vpn decided to not work and my internet is not working at all. So I am back to my iPad for all things internet. sad to say no pictures or videos until I get back to the States then you will be overloaded with them. Its only 5 months away you can wait, it will go fast I promise.

         A lot has happened mostly work, I am so excited about sleeping in in the morning!!! My first real day off in 4 months!! In a few weeks I am headed to an orphanage in Guiyang (its south of us) and I am looking forward to it with everything in me. This was one of the things I was planning on doing before I even left the States...I get to go love on some babies that really need it! I love how most of my time in China pretty much involves loving kids I have a great job, exhausting, but pretty epic. I can't go anywhere in this school now without hearing my name. Yesterday I had two boxes from home come and they were kinda heavy, two of my little 3rd graders came up to me 'Becky we  can help' they were my little angels that I really needed. The one box kept falling forward and stairs were an issue. They carried the one box up and got to see my apartment. I am always glad for boxes but in this case my greatest gift was their reaction. 'Becky your apartment is so beautiful!' As you walk in you see my wall where I hang up all my art and treasures from my kids, they were impressed that I save it all. They just blessed my little heart, I am going to miss them this summer when I come home as crazy as that sounds. I have a feeling there will be lots of things about China that I miss. This country gets under your skin and you fall in love with the people. They are so gracious and kind here I could say something completely wrong in Chinese and they never jump all over you they help you, I can't say that for my own countrymen. I am realizing how much I am changing in just a year the things I am now so very grateful for that most people in the States never give a second thought about.

           I know I say this almost every time I write but the more I give the more I have in love and contentment. I am finding all the things that money cannot buy. Less really is more, with less of me there is more of Him and honestly He lives my life so much better then I do. I am on a crazy amazing adventure that I would never be on on my own. Its pretty cool the places He will take you if you let Him. Yes it can be really scary but it can also be very rewarding if you take the jump. I am looking forward to my break of sleep, lesson planning, loving some orphans, and gearing up for semester number 2. When we get back from break we only have 4 months left in China....I am almost halfway over my contract. To celebrate being in China for 5 months we (Amber, Lulu, and Hollie) went to the dumpling place that we ate at right after we got to China. Then on the way home we saw some wet cement that a dog had walked though along with some human prints so we grabbed a stick and Lulu wrote our names in it. So 'Beck' is now forever a part of China. Well for now this is all I will hopefully write in this again after a few days of sleep...o sleep.