Semper Gumby

On my semester plans, it said that I would give midterms the second week of November. 

(I hope you already see where this is going and know that I still haven't given midterms.)

On the first week of November, we found out that the school was giving its midterms at the same time as we were, so we decided to push ours back a week. Ends up the school only needed half a day to give all those tests. We didn't know until that week was halfway over. 

Hmph. 

The next week, we were required to do at least one lesson about Thanksgiving and then had a day off for Thanksgiving. So we pushed the tests back again. 

Hmph.

Then we found out (on Thursday of last week) that this week the parents would be coming to watch any and all lessons they wanted, all week long, and that next week school will be out through Thursday morning. Also, our Friday classes were canceled and replaced by a repeat of Thursdays classes. We found the last one out before school this morning.

Hmph.

So today we did a filler lesson on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the parents loved it, I don't know when I'll give midterms, and I stopped being attached to a planned schedule a long time ago.

After reading and acting out the Goldilocks story, we drew pictures. Dave was...less than enthusiastic.

Harry, on the other hand, was QUITE proud.

William is...being William and Fabio is showing off his artwork. 

Also, the school recently began burning vinegar to keep everyone healthy. Yes, burning vinegar smells exactly what you would expect it to smell like. It's especially nice when they light it right next to you while you're teaching and you have to keep your non-gaggy teacher face on.

Basically, you learn to roll with the punches. The school's English festival is going to be the week of Christmas. We don't know what day it will be on--it could be on Christmas, in which case we would have to perform, and I'm trying to be ok with that. 

As my Aunt and Uncle say, "Semper Gumby." 

Always flexible. 

And maybe green.

Thanksgiving in China

Thanksgiving. 

Around September the cravings start to hit and they last all the way until November. 

Turkey. Casserole. Dinner rolls. Pie. 

Sitting around talking about what you're thankful for. 

Watching the parade. 

Watching the dog show. 

Watching other people pass out. 

Etc, etc, etc.

 

Last year at this time I wasn't thinking, "Hey, I probably won't be here for this next year." But Thanksgiving rolled around again and I'm in China. Weird. 

As you probably already guessed, they don't really do Thanksgiving in China. So what is the protocol for being a foreign teacher in China on Thanksgiving?

First, you dance to the Cotton Eyed Joe in the office while wearing something ridiculous. 

Second, you make hand turkeys with your classes. 

Third, you make fifty million pumpkin cookies. Oops.

Fourth, you go to Beijing for the weekend to meet up with other people who celebrate Thanksgiving. 

 Fifth, YOU EAT. A LOT.

Fifth and 1/2, you feel sick after that. But it's worth it.

Sixth, you sing Christmas carols, play Canasta, and watch girly movies like Little Women. 

And take pictures around people who fall asleep. *coughcoughMesheacough*

 

You also might try to skype your family on Thanksgiving Day, get kicked off by the internet, wave your hands around in frustration, and cry. But that passes, and you remember that more Thanksgivings will happen and that there will be other opportunities to spend holidays with the people you love. There may not, however, be other opportunities to play Canasta after stuffing your face with somebody else's apple pie. 

In China.

Bugs.

If you've ever gone overseas, you know that one of the first things you will hear about from other people is the bugs. It doesn't matter where you're going or if they've ever been there because THERE in THAT FOREIGN PLACE will reside some ugh-nasty bugs. And they know it.

You ignore the warnings because you might be one of the lucky ones who doesn't have a problem. 

Maybe you went to Ukraine and Uganda and didn't have a problem. 

I hope everyone understands by now that "you" means "ME". 

As most of you know, I've had enough of bugs here in China, thank you. A few weeks after arriving in Taiyuan, I found these strange red bumps on my hands...then my arms...then my face. It didn't take long to figure out that, YES, I did have bedbugs. I was actually pretty calm about it until I researched getting rid of them on the internet and found that they are nigh impossible to destroy. 

Oh, FABULOUS.

I kept it together. I bought a steamer, steamed down all my possessions and furniture, washed my sheets in boiling water, moved into Alex's room on a new mattress, and planned to steam again in another week to finish the rest of them off. Done. I could do it. 

Five days later, the bites were back. In another room. With different sheets on a different mattress. After I had already killed them. UGH. 

The next two months were a constant battle--steaming things down before I went back to bed, still finding bites in the morning, watching as both of my roommates also started getting the bites. The bites began to disappear as the cold weather rolled in, but we knew where they were hiding. 

Yeah, the Bedcave of Wonders. 

We thought there was no way we would ever get rid of these beds. And then--AND THEN--last week the school gave us new ones. Well, they are new to us, not necessarily new to the world. But getting them was a lot like Christmas. 

Striped duvet from the school, snowman sheets from the resource room. YES. 

Unfortunately, "bugs" doesn't just mean insects. This week Team Taiyuan seems to be sharing more than lives and living space. Yesterday I spent the day trying out my new bed as I couldn't seem to get out of it. Four out of the six of us came down with a stomach bug, much to the bewilderment of our abandoned students. 

I suppose you can't make it through your third foreign experience without having some sort of bug problem. We're just grateful that it didn't hit over Thanksgiving--because by then I hope to have a stomach strong enough for one heck of a bug-less turkey.

Dreaming of Cereal, Chocolate, and Blonde People

In American society we've got this obsession with dreams. 

Not the sleepy kind, but the what-Ima-gonna-do-one-day kind. 

Having dreams isn't a bad thing at all--unless you're so hung up on them you can't believe that life will ever be good unless you get to have those dreams. 

The funny thing about dreams is that when they play through your head, they are usually a little fuzzy and rosy with soft vignetted edges, kind of like an unrealistic instagram picture.

Oh yeah, unrealistic. 

I've had a few different dreams over the years, a few of which came to pass. I got to be a camp counselor, I went to Africa, I had a boyfriend. Then there are other ones that have changed, flitted out the window, or been stuffed in a closet so they can be taken out later. 

One of those dreams was to teach in a foreign country for a while. 

It was a dream that developed in college, and was just a ghost of a dream, really. 

I'll show you how it went. 

The benevolent Miss Love woke up every morning to the sounds and smells of some lovely European country (the favorite pick was Germany). She had cereal for breakfast and greeted the days refreshed and energetic--just because she was there! Her students were blonde-haired angel babies who were absolutely JOYFUL to see her every day and tried their utmost to please in class--except for the one sullen boy in the back who she quickly won over and who became her class pet. On the weekends Miss Love visited the nearest castles and beaches and by the end of the year had fallen in love with some tall blonde handsome fellow who had enough money to fly her home whenever she wanted. Also, this country had chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Especially dark chocolate.

STOP. REWIND. 

Let's get rid of the fuzzy edges here, please. 

My dream was to teach in a foreign country for a while, even though it scared me enough to pee my pants. Somehow I ended up in China at a boarding school teaching second graders, none of which was part of the dream. The cereal and chocolate and blonde people are pretty scarce, too. 

Yet, I AM living my dream. 

I'm a teacher. 

I teach the cutest children in the world. 

I'm in a foreign country. 

I graduated from college. 

I like being single. 

I'm learning a lot of new things. 

Dreams are cool things to have, but they aren't something to cling to. They can give direction, but left uncontrolled, they can also hinder. 

There are times when I'm discontent here and I think Laura, what else could you possibly want? You're HERE. You're like FREAKING BLONDE MULAN. And I realize that dreams or no dreams, vignetted edges or not, The Father is all that will ever make me content. Going Home to Him is my ultimate dream and I'm SO excited. 

The vignetted edges can't hold a candle to that future certainty.

Different and Normal

I'm wearing a coat right now. 

That would be totally normal if I were outside. 

But I'm in my own room. 

And it's only November. 

There was a time when I told myself I would never live in a city or somewhere cold. 

Hm. 

It's really unfortunate that all Chinese women are smaller than I am. Shopping for winter clothes? Disastrous and sad. 

Welcome to the land of being a XXXL and wearing a man coat. 

It's easy to think that living overseas is romantic and exciting most of the time. If I were someone at home looking at my pictures on facebook, I'd be going Wow, look at all the cool stuff she gets to do. LOOK AT THOSE CUTE LITTLE ASIAN CHILDREN. Omagosh I wish I was her. 

But let's be honest. The squatty potty was cute the first two times, but using it every day without any doors and an open window isn't really glamorous. Most buildings don't look like pagodas and Chinese restaurants don't sell spring rolls. I do my dishes in a really short sink, hang my clothes out to dry, bake my cookies in a shared toaster oven, use a string to flush my toilet, and sleep with a hat on. It can take three hours to go out and get groceries at the closest store that has cereal. I have to climb up to the sixth floor before I can crash in my room. My black Toms are now tan from the layer of dust that covers the entire city. I can't see the sky a lot of the time. I don't remember the last time I watched a television show on a TV. 

This is not meant to be a woe poor Laura take pity on her in the foreign country blog post. It's more of a reality check. 

My new normal looks a lot different than my old normal, but it's still normal. 

I don't love China. There are  aspects of it that I like and there are aspects of it that are hard.  It's taken me a while to realize that it's OK not to love China. It doesn't mean I'm not here for a reason or that the Father isn't doing wonderful things in and through me while I'm here. But LOVING it isn't a requirement. 

I adore my Chinese babies, but I do dream of having my own classroom someday. I love being silly with my single-lady teammates, but I do dream of having a family. I like red bean pastries, but I sometimes I dream about fresh, chewy chocolate-chip cookies and Marble Slab ice cream. 

One day I may have those things. 

That day is not today. 

And that's ok.

I'm learning a lot. I'm growing a lot. I love my students a lot. 

This is a great experience. 

But it's not perfect and it's not glamorous.

The Father is always working for the good of His children. Sometimes this good comes in times that are full of rest and comfort, and sometimes it comes through times that tiring and uncomfortable. It looks different for everyone, but it always leads to the same end, the same ultimate good. 

Which is looking more like Him.

"Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as {He} now knows me completely."

-1 Cor. 13:12

Two Fabulous Days

 I just had two fabulous days back to back, which I figured is blogworthy.

It all began when I was starting to write my Christmas newsletter (on Halloween, no less) in the office and found myself on the edge of tears (because I'm not really ready to start thinking about Christmas away from home). At that perfect time, some of our Chinese co-teachers waltzed in and somehow, in the span of fifteen minutes, the office had transformed into a Halloween dress up dance party. 

The rest of the day was spent doing Halloween lessons with the kiddos, who were more than THRILLED to be singing songs, wearing masks, and getting stickers. 

There is nothing--NOTHING--cuter than watching a classroom of Chinese children go "BOOOO!"

I also got some fun responses to my costume:

"Are you a boy?"

"You have a long nose!"

"You are SCARY."

"You are cool!"

"WAAAAHHH!!!!????"

Thank you, random sparkly clothes from the dress-up bag. 

I also tried to make pumpkin cookies. Keyword: tried. 

Never trust Pinterest when it says you can do this with two ingredients.

The day after Halloween was the beginning of our four-day break and it was time to get away.
In the words of Madea:
"HALLELUYER!"

We started that morning off bright and early waiting for the 831 bus that would take us the big bus station. After a little while we got bored, walked the end of the road, and got a taxi instead.
(this is what we end up doing most of the time. I love getting in the extra exercise! Sorry. I'll put the sarcasm back in it's box).
This landed us at the bus station just in time for the 9:25 bus to the ancient city of Pingyao. 

Chinese buses are known to smell like chicken-feet-breath, make you sneeze, and cause someone to vomit about two hours into the ride. This one was not too unpleasant, though. At least I'm not the one who vomited.

We did make it there alive and managed to find a motorcycle-rickshaw driver/tour guide who stuck with us for the rest of the day. 

And then we reached it: the ancient city of Pingyao. You know the typical pictures that come to mind when you think of China? Well, China doesn't really look like that anymore, but Pingyao does. 

Our first stop was to some sort of temple with creepy statues. Unlike in America, we were allowed to touch and climb on things. That was exciting. 

 

 

After lunch we stopped by a park and climbed on more pretty things. 

 

 

I'm not sure what our guide thought of us at that point, but he was kind and took us shopping. 

We didn't buy anything, but I felt like I was in an old Jackie Chan movie. 

 

 

He took us to a few other places with expensive tickets, so we cut our visit short and got out of the city...by climbing under the wall.

He was nice and met us on the other side to take us to what we thought was the bus station. When he stopped by a bus on the side of the road and babbled at us to get out, we realized that we weren't going to the bus station. And of course, like the brave souls we are, we got on the bus. 

Maybe THIS is taking us to the bus station we thought. 

After a few minutes of driving, we finally asked where we were going. 

He was taking us ALL the way back to Taiyuan. 

And we had the bus ALL to ourselves. 

HALLELUYER.