China Update January

So, Rachel and I were thinking about doing something a little different with this update. Instead of telling you all the relatively boring things that have happened, we will spice it up a bit. We have compiled a list of "Best Moments in China." It contains some of our favorite sights, conversations and responses while in China.

First-- the sites we have seen while walking around our part of China. Some of them I have had to take a step back and wonder if I really saw it, and others I just cannot help but laugh really loudly! Before I give you my list, I should let you know that Americans are normally the ones stared at here in China (not the odd sights I will tell you about.) Wherever we go, the Chinese are fascinated. Taxi drivers, the parents of our students and especially people on the street just stare... and stare... and stare...

• There is a restaurant on the way to work. As Rachel and I are walking by we cannot help but notice this lady's hair! It is Huge!!! Looked like a bulbous bouffant.
• Another common sight is people washing their hair in odd places. We saw a lady washing her hair in a restaurant, right next to where they cook the food!
• My personal favorite was seeing a man doing some remodeling. Imagine with me a split room - one upper section and one lower section. This man was standing on the upper section and destroying the divider between the sections. I wanted to stick around and see what happened next, but the result of destroying the floor under you is the same - regardless of your country.
• As many know, China has a lot of small cars and trucks. Yet, even with smaller vehicles they still manage to move large amounts of all sorts of things. Our favorite is a cardboard recycle truck we saw... a small blue truck with cardboard stacked nearly to the street light.
• Rachel and I go for a walk enjoying our day off and we hear a noise. Keep walking and hear it again. A cat! Look a little closer and we found the cat was tied to the fire hydrant. What a joyous moment if you are a dog. Find a hydrant and a snack! Haha (Sorry animal lovers). 
• Our personal favorite? That would have to be the motorcycle we saw on our way to work one morning. Motorcycles are not uncommon, but this particular one caught us off guard. We could barely see the bike because of the amount of live chickens that were hanging from every available spot. Four or five chickens dangled from each handlebars, while six more were tied to the seat. Of course, there were three to four crammed into a compartment in the back. Rachel and I found it hysterical, but everyone else viewed this with an attitude of "How else can you get chickens to the market?" 

As English teachers, we get the chance to witness what happens when students don't practice their English. Below are some of the funny responses we have receive when talking to students. In Q&A format.

Q: What is your favorite color? A: Clock

Q: What animal is this? A: It's a elegant (supposed to be "Elephant".) B: It's a trousers. (supposed to be "Giraffe." Same student... one of Rachel's. :) 

Q: How old are you? A: I am sex! (Six).

Conversations:

• Our Chinese teachers regularly practice reading and speaking to improve their grammar and vocabulary. On occasion they will call us to understand or pronounce a word. Our favorite so far is when we received a call late at night about how to pronounce a word. "Jeremy? How do you say this word? Is it hobo or hObO? (Short or long vowels)" Though a very easy and innocent question, it made our evening.

Rachel and I hope that you are able to enjoy life as it comes and not take things too seriously. February 8th begins the Chinese New Year. If we survive all the fireworks we'll be sending another email at the end of the month. 

Blessings from the East,

Jeremy and Rachel

Happy "Merry Christmas" and New year

As much as I (Jeremy) want to avoid it, every time I take attendance for my classes I have a bit of shock on my face when I write the date. First it was Thanksgiving... and now Christmas has come and gone. I can hardly believe it is almost the end of the year and the beginning of another one. I have already gotten a few yearly updates from friends and family about the different things they have done over the year. Once I get past the shock, I'd say it's been a great year, without a doubt.

December in itself has been a fairly full month. For starters, two of our top students traveled up to Beijing for their big English test, Jeremy contracted chicken pox (not as bad as they make it sound), we traveled down to Hong Kong to take care of some paper work, then we put on a Christmas program and had our own Christmas only two days later. The wildest part of this whole thing is, throughout the whole month, we did not stop teaching or cancel classes. 

The weather has gotten much colder this month, more than I could have expected. we should rephrase that, we have been colder this month then we expected, the weather really isn't that bad. The problem here is, they simply do not insulate their buildings or believe in heating their homes. People seem to just live in the cold and deal with it. Jeremy, on the other hand, has not accepted this idea and is finding new ways to stay warm and make our home livable during the colder months of the winter. Little things like putting foam padding against the single-paned glass does wonders. 

Many people have asked how we celebrate Christmas around here, which is a great question. The Chinese use Christmas as an excuse to boost sales, but they don't actually celebrate it. If the 25th hadn't fallen on a Tuesday, chances are we wouldn't have even gotten the day off. We certainly used the time we had, though. Christmas morning was spent celebrating the wedding of one of our co-workers. Experiencing a Chinese wedding is not too unusual we found-- you just go out to eat a huge meal with the other friends and family of the bride or groom. Other than a few more fireworks and the bride's white dress, it would be hard to tell it was a wedding! Afterward, Jeremy & I began preparing for Christmas dinner. Thirteen of our Chinese friends and co-workers came over to Tim & Mabel's where we fed them a full American spread. Jeremy did a terrific job of creating American dishes with Chinese ingredients! He managed to make mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, pineapple pork (since they didn't have ham readily available at the market), dinner rolls, baked chicken & rice casserole and coleslaw. For dinner, we served banana muffins and apple pie. It was quite a feast, especially for people with Chinese-sized appetites. Our favorite part of the evening was probably watching the Chinese eat gravy, as strange as that might sound. Since they thought it was soup, a couple of them drank it by the bowlful! 

As the calendar moves closer and closer to 2013, Jeremy & I (Rachel) have taken time to reflect on everything we've done this year. I am overwhelmed by the grace we have received through this year; there is no way we could accomplish everything without it. Here's a brief sketch of what all has happened: 

• Rachel's South Africa trip with Chamber Singers (March 10-17)
• Rachel's performance of "A Shayna Maidel", a play set after World War II (March 1-3)
• Jeremy's completion of CVC internship in Ohio
• Rachel's senior voice recital (May 3) 
• College Graduation (May 5)
• Rachel's last summer home
• Rachel's 3 months of employment at Moriarty Community Library
• Jeremy's 3 months of working 3 jobs
• Pre-wedding reception & China announcement in New Mexico (June 9)
• Rachel's 22nd birthday (July 25) 
• Our wedding (August 11) 
• Move to China (August 23)
• Employment at Apple Tree English Training Center
• Our best friends from college were married; week in the USA (September 8)
• Jeremy's 23rd birthday (September 22) 
• First Thanksgiving as a married couple (November 22)
• First Christmas as a married couple (December 25)
• Childhood best friend's wedding (December 28) 

During such a great amount of changes in a small amount of time, we're grateful for your friendship and support. We need people around us, and we appreciate all of you who continue to do that from far away. 

 

Happy Christmas and a Merry New Year from the VanStriens :)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving - Chinese edition

Blessings from some rice stuffed pilgrims

~Jeremy and Rachel VanStrien

"Grocery" List Update - Nov

Dear friends and family,

The last few weeks have been anything but boring, and the past couple of days are no exception. Rachel and I continue to rack up new experiences together, some good and some not so good. We trust that the bad things are molding and shaping us into the people we need to be. As for the good things, we just sit back and enjoy them.

This section is just for those that want to know the basics of how we are doing and get on with other things. So, without delay: Rachel and I have experienced everything from eating Chinese take-out for a date, to being taken out for Chinese with company owners and everything between. We are constantly surprised at how many things a person can experience in the matter of two weeks. We are doing better even with Rachel taking her turn at being sick and losing her voice. Next week is inspection, that really shapes what the next few months look like for us.

Now for those that want the details. Rachel and I are doing well and adapting to our "schedule" as best as we can given the nature of it. We have a good idea what to expect each week, and are getting more comfortable with doing things outside of just class. The past weekend we decided to take advantage of an evening off and get some Chinese for dinner instead of making it ourselves. It was surprisingly easy, but the whole idea just made us laugh. Americans ordering Chinese takeout... in China. I hope you appreciate the humor as much as we did. Maybe the next time we go out we can order some American take-out. They have something that looks like a mix between KFC and Burger King. Still not sure what I think of it.

On the subject of food. Surprisingly, that is something we have adapted to quite well. Even an ever-changing teaching schedule is something we got used to pretty quickly, but the changes taking place in the states are the ones getting to us. We hear about people graduating from colleges, starting new jobs, or celebrating birthdays. Those are the kinds of things that I cannot get used to hearing while being a world away. Those are the things that just get harder each time. Missing thanksgiving at my house with the family, not making a Christmas tree with Rachel's family. Those are the real sacrifices. I personally can live on rice just fine, and being cold is bearable, but being away from family and friends is the hard part. Especially during the holidays, keep us in mind.

It isn't all sacrifice though, that much is for sure. Especially when you are one of the only Americans in the city - It comes with some perks. Pretty much everyone wants to be your friend, take you out to dinner or invite you to your home so they can practice their English. We are now friends with a Chinese millionaire, the chief of police, the owner of a beauty salon, and a few other people. I don't have a clue what their names are, but they say "We be friends" so that is good enough for me.

Now, you might be wondering, "How did they get in contact with the chief of police?" So I'll tell you the short version of a long story.
Because we are foreign teachers in a private training school, there is a lot of paper work involved on a multitude of different levels. This is especially true when our competing schools complain about how we operate. One that we have dealt with a few different times is registering with the local police station. And since the chief's daughter wants to learn English, guess who he wants to befriend? Us.
And that is the short story of how we know the chief of police.

Now, on to the business side of this email. People have been asking about how they can help and what ways we need support. As much as we encourage them to support other ministries, they continue to ask. So, to follow the advice of a man with whom I am very close, I am making a wish list of all the things we need or could use. Most items on the list do not need to be bought, only funded. With shipping and exchange rates, the best thing is for us to buy from companies within China. There are only a few American items that will need to be brought or shipped over. If there is anything you would be willing to help with, shoot me an email.

For the school.

1. Foreign Teacher(s) - Granted, this cannot be bought at the store, but it is a financial need. Having another foreign teacher will allow the school to expand and give the current teachers a lighter load all around. To hire another teacher, the school needs to raise roughly $800/Month.
2. Photo copier - ours only works 50% of them time.
3. School Supplies - Pencils, colored pencils, colored markers, glue sticks, and cheap paper plates for crafts.
4. Give away prizes for students: Hot wheel cars, American candy and anything small that is clearly made in America. 
5. Games - Bananagrams, Jenga, Boggle, letter/spelling/grammar games. 

For Jeremy and Rachel

1. iPad - I know, I am being ridiculous, it is definitely a wishlist item. But when I am looking at the options for replacing my computer, it is the most logical. It can function in a class room or at home, and there are thousands of free apps for learning and for organizing. 
2. Dishes - We want to be hospitable to our Chinese friends; however, we currently have two small bowls... which makes it difficult to host people. We need a few plates and bowls for the people we invite over for dinner. Dinner items for 6 people would cost about $25 with enough left over for food to feed them.
3. Recipes - This is an easy one and it's free: Good and easy recipes for classic American food. Rachel and I cook for our study group Monday mornings and our Chinese friends want to learn to cook different American dishes. Soups, stews, and different ways to cook meat are things they really want to know.
4. American spices - China has red pepper, white pepper, black pepper and chili pepper. Oh, and ginger. We could use some more.

With much love and appreciation from some spice-less pilgrims,

Jeremy and Rachel

"Typical" - End of October Update

Throughout all the updates, pictures and phone calls that I have made, I don't think I have really described life in China as an ESL teacher. You may have an idea of the bigger events that are happening in our lives, but the real experience is in the daily living and moment to moment lifestyle of China. This isn't to say that the big events of our lives aren't important, but only that they are made up of lots of smaller ones along the way.

Since there's no such thing as a truly "typical" week, I'll just write about last week to give you an idea of what life here is like.

Monday
For Rachel and I, our teaching schedules runs from Tuesday through Sunday, so what better way to start the week than with a day off? Never looked forward to Mondays so much in my life. Tuesday isn't bad either, mostly because I only have to teach for three hours and the classes don't start before lunch. A typical Monday is spent sleeping in and eating a homemade breakfast. Pancakes and oatmeal are among our favorites. Then we either sit around and read or go explore the 'small' city of 1.8 million people. To end the day we have friends over and spend time reading and discussing a certain Book. This week was a little different because we started our day with reading together. I believe that will be the new "normal."

Our reading group consists of 5 people, three of which are Chinese. We are on rotation for leading discussion, but are never quite sure which way we are rotating. The first time I led discussion, I was only given one day notice. Turned out well enough though. I don't have to prepare as much as an American meeting because I must speak slowly in order to be understood. Discussion also involves a lot of questions, which also makes the time pass quickly. As long as I have information about my topic, the questions are really what lead the discussion. I personally enjoy that much more than a lecture or hearing one person's opinion.

The same goes for when one of the Chinese lead the discussion. They are responsible to bring a discussion topic, though the questions are really what control the conversation. I think it's absolutely great that they can lead a discussion in a foreign language though, I certainly would not be able to do that.


Tuesday
As I said before, Tuesday is my second favorite day of the week. Classes are late enough that we are able to sleep in and still get to work well before classes actually start. I teach 3 classes, but only 6 students. Rachel teaches one class of two students. The interesting part of this particular Tuesday involved construction. Over the holiday, they began remodeling the entire school and they were still working on it when we returned to classes. They were just finishing the offices around lunch time, but until then Rachel and I worked with our laptops on a sofa in the hall. For my first class, we met in the almost completed offices. After lunch, they finished two more class rooms just in time for Rachel and I to teach.

Operating a school building while its being remodeled is very interesting. It would be one thing if it was one room at a time, or if the mess was contained even slightly, but that's not what happened. As students came in for class they had to step over power cords, climb over furniture and avoid wet glue on the floor. Even during my class I had to keep the fan on so to keep the room from filling with dust. I know that I wouldn't be sending my child to a school building under construction in America, but to them it seemed normal.

Wednesday - Friday
Rachel and I woke up Wednesday to start the more aggressive part of our week, only to find that we didn't have any running water. At first I thought we just didn't have any pressure built up, then it turns out we had no water at all. Couldn't wash the dishes, take a shower or even brush our teeth in the sink. Then, right before we leave for the school, it turns back on. I figured they must have been doing something with the water line and had to turn off power for a little while.

The next day we wake up and I try to make breakfast and I notice our electric stove isn't working. It doesn't work 100% to begin with, this time it wouldn't even turn on. Neither would the kitchen light, or the fan. We had lost power. The curious thing was, we still had all the running water. I would have thought that one would have determined the other. I am finding that isn't the case.

On Friday, and the power was back on, but the water was off again. When I got to the school, I mentioned these things to Tim, who is responsible for our living conditions. "Yes, this happens often. It is normal, we did not have power either. You get used to it," he said with a nervous grin.

Saturday -Sunday
By Saturday construction on the school was finished and we could prepare for classes properly. At least, that is what I would have thought. This weekend we had a few demo classes, which means the schedule got changed around a dozen different times and Rachel and I didn't even know what classes we taught until a few hours before they began. When I consider that I have to be at different schools to teach demo classes, it is amazing I made it to all my classes this week at all!

For example, I taught a demo class at another school this Sunday. The class turned out to be a single student three years old and as spoiled as they come. She was determined that she wouldn't learn any English until she got some cake. Instead of giving in, this three year old little girl got up and walked down the street to find some cake - right in the middle of class. Tim stopped her and told her she had to study first before she could get cake. After much crying and arguing between Tim and this 3 year old girl, Tim presented her with two options. She could either study English or she could walk home. She chose to walk - nearly 3 miles. The parent was so impressed by how Tim handled the situation, they they signed her up for classes! Even if she doesn't learn any of the language, they are hoping she will learn some good character.

End of October
Since writing this, the co-founders of the school, Kurt and Cathy, have come for a visit. Although they only stayed for two days, they were a huge encouragement to all of us teachers at Apple Tree. They had to continue on to a conference down in Hong Kong (all the pastors in mainland China travel to Hong Kong where they can meet freely before returning to their homes.) While they were here, we had a chance to host a young Chinese lady named Penny. She is tentatively planning to open an Apple Tree in her home town, so she saw everything we are doing here at our school. In between touring our three Apple Tree locations here in Pingxiang, Kurt & Cathy & Penny joined our discussion group for a total of 8! We were blessed to have them.

While they were here, Kurt and Cathy also encouraged us strongly to continue learning Mandarin. Since then, we have had more lessons and have tried to pick up more of the language around us. It's slow going, but we are getting better at it.

That's it for now! Please continue to write to us when you can and keep us "in mind!"

The "Average" week of some pilgrims,
Jeremy and Rachel VanStrien

Post Holiday Update

In China, the first week of October is the Mid-Autumn Festival. It began with the Moon Festival on Sunday and Monday was a national holiday, much like our 4^th of July. Unlike our 4^th of July, we got a whole week off of school and work-related responsibilities. Almost everyone takes the opportunity to travel or at least take some time off during this holiday. Rachel and I definitely followed suit, even if we didn't have the most restful vacation. Only a few days ago, Rachel and I were camping up in the mountains of China with friends of ours. With little Chinese, no map and only an hour to prepare, we spent 4 days in the Wu Gong Mountains (literally “The Kung-Fu Mountains”) and had a great time.

The idea started out great, then quickly changed when our host wanted to leave a day earlier than we originally planned. I bought our sleeping bags and backpack the same morning we left, and our friends arrived only 2 hours prior to leaving for the mountains. They had just gotten off the train when we had to pack up and leave again. We still managed to get everything we needed and leave only a few minutes late.

The mountains were breathtaking in more ways than one. They were some of the steepest climbs and highest mountains I have ever climbed. At times we found ourselves climbing nearly straight up for what seemed like miles. And just when it like we reached the peak of the mountain we would start climbing again. Or if weren't going up, we would be going down at a similar angle for a similar distance. By day two, my legs were hurting so bad I had to make a knee brace for my left leg.

All these things were more than worth it when we turned around and looked over the mountain range. Stretching far above the city smog line, countless mountain tops were spread as far as the eye could see. Deep lush valleys filled with trees and bamboo lay below us, and rocky cliffs hundreds of feet down. I couldn't help but stand and wonder at the beauty of the creation.

I could write another page's worth of information about what we saw and experienced, but that isn't what I think is most important. The best part of the whole trip was spending time with our English friends and being able to have real conversations about life. Getting the chance to catch up on life and talk about what really matters was so refreshing, even more than getting above the smog of the city.

It was very valuable for me to hear a different perspective from someone in the same position as me, teaching ESL in China. It made me begin to think of my own feelings toward my situation and my plans for the future. Since the trip, I have been asking questions like, “How is China playing into my life long goals?” “How can I make the most of my time in China?” Not only that, but “How can I be the greatest blessing to the people around me?” and “How do I use this opportunity to the greatest extent?” Questions like these have been screaming through my head ever since we had lunch on the mountain top. Now I just need to start finding the answers.

The spiritual encouragement was the most valuable to me. Friends of a common belief and culture are able to challenge us in ways we really needed. It has been an answer to pray to have them around and spend time with them. I only hope that we were the same to them during their stay. I also hope we are able to be that kind of blessing to the people around us on a daily basis. That is one of the big areas of concern for Rachel and I as we continue to teach in China: How can we be a blessing to people in a culture we don't understand?

On a more official note, things at the school are going well. Just before the holiday, they began remodeling and upgrading the building. They are replacing all the old windows, putting in new floor, repainting all the walls, changing out the doors and moving other doors entirely. They started two days before the holiday and they will finish just before school starts on Tuesday... hopefully. When it is all said and done, it should look great. However, now it just looks like a mess. Just when Rachel got most of the books organized, we had to put them in storage so they could remodel. That means doing a lot of work to reorganize them once we get back to teaching. Of course, we will also be jumping back into lesson planning and other areas of responsibility.

Keep us in mind as we continue to learn how to be good English teachers. Especially for myself, because they gave me all the “naughty” students. We desire to do a good job, but we can teach only as much as students want to learn – which isn't always a whole lot. Another thing to keep in mind is our growing understanding of the Chinese culture and adapting to life here. We want to be accepted as much as possible, but we don't want to lose our identity or our own culture.

Blessings from some sore-from-backpacking pilgrims

Later

(Late) September Update

Dear friends and family,

I regret that this update is coming so late. So much has happened this month, I would have liked to write an update earlier. However, because so much has happened I haven't gotten around to it until now. I keep thinking that things will slow down once we have been here a while, or after we get used to teaching. That isn't the case. Earlier this month Rachel and I finished up trial classes with the school, then we left and returned for a wedding in the United States, and now we are back to teaching again. Even now, we 're keeping busy with advertising and promoting the school.

To give you an idea of something interesting that has happened... During the trial classes, Rachel and I had the opportunity to teach a trial class on the different English names for fruits. We used real fruits like apples, oranges and pears as a visual aid.

After class was over, I split a pear with Rachel in front of one of the Chinese teachers. He promptly told me not to cut the fruit. “Don't cut fruit, don't cut fruit!” he said to me. I thought he wanted it or we were going to use it later, but it turns out that cutting fruit is a bad symbol in China. To cut fruit in fruit of someone means that you want to divide the relationship. “Cut fruit in China means, no friends. Not good,” the Chinese teacher said.

Rachel and I couldn't help but laugh at our situation. No one would think twice about something so innocent in America, but cutting fruit has a lot of significance in China. A friendly act back in the states means “to divide friends” in China. Even still, we ate the pear.

One thing we have noticed more and more involves the joys and struggles of teaching. The funny part is, those joys and struggles have very little to do with teaching ESL. They depend on whether we have a good student or a bad student. I know that my teaching friends will appreciate this fact. I could be teaching something as boring as the physics behind the atomic bomb, but if I had good students I think even that would be enjoyable. :)

Monday is our weekend out here. Only once in a great while will we have to teach on Monday, and this week was not the case. We had the whole day to ourselves and we decided to make the most of it and throw a party (Not even joking). Rachel threw me a birthday party and invited all the other teachers over to eat cake and play games, and we all had a great time. I will admit though, it was strange to host a party where I did not speak the dominate language.

In China fruit is the main snack of choice, so I went and bought a bunch of fruit as well as some soda. Then comes my favorite party, Peanut butter and jelly. Instead of the normal America meal to go with cake, I made everyone a PB and J sandwich. My favorite food ever – just ask my dad!

The party went great and I got some wonderful presents. All very culturally Chinese. The best part though was having people over and not having to think about work or the different stresses of teaching. It has been the best day off so far!

Since we are done with all of our major traveling we have been able to slow down in some areas and get more involved in other areas. One of the bigger areas is the Christmas program. (It has nothing to do with Christmas other than when it takes place.) Rachel and one of the other teachers are heading up all the program planning and Tim is doing the promoting. We are hoping to get media attention, the press, and all the schools aware of what we are doing. If we succeed it will be great publicity for our school!

Next week is holiday. All the teachers get the whole week off for mid-autumn festival. Tim and Mabel are planning to take us up to the mountains for a day and go camping. We wanted to stay longer, so invited some other friends to come down from Northern China to do some hiking for a few days. It is going to be a great time!

Thanks to all the friends and family that read this and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Rachel and I are realizing more and more how important that is for us. We will only need them more the longer we are here. We also have a growing appreciation for emails sent from home, even if only to talk about the random events of your day.

Blessings from some pilgrims,

Later