For the past two weeks my school has been putting on various competitions and performances for The Foreign Language Festival. Apparently this only happens every 3 years. Either way tonight I just finished Judging an English Singing Competition. The girl who sang Thriller as a tribute to MJ got third place. Meanwhile the guy who was singing Madonna got second place... go figure.

I am afraid I might have to be performing by the end of the week... I just hope I don't have to sing Country Roads or My Heart Will Go On.

That's right it is Obama-Mania. Well the president is visiting Shanghai today and my freshman students couldn't wait to tell me. At first I thought there was some sort of special holiday. Oh no, just Obama making his first visit to the Middle Kingdom.

I don't know how the trip will end up, but if it is half as successful as the hype... well then I would say it is a pretty good step for China-US relations.

Either way I think I want the t-shirt:

http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/shop/obamao-tshirt-658266

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8361643.stm

The school here has an unusual schedule. Well unusual that is compared to the rest of China. Usually we have a holiday in October, however for various reason that was canceled, so the holiday will be earlier then the rest of China and the city.  So I find my self planning my last 2-3 weeks of classes for the semester. Are you kidding me?  Didn't I just start teaching like last week? I guess it was a little bit earlier then that... either way. Time it is a flying.

So I am trying to figure out how to squeeze both Christmas and Thanksgiving without taking away too much time from either.

My favorite quote of this week would be from my teammate talking about meeting man at a monastery.

Man: Where are you from?
Teammate: oh, um I am from America.
Man: Oh, America!  American English is delicious!

that's all for now from the rooftop. 

Well this seems to be the only blog working these days. It is almost half way through March and things are getting back to whatever normal is around here. We were allowed to go hiking and mountain climbing this weekend. It was blast. Heidi's brother and sister and law came into town so we had a good time hanging out with all the kiwis.

So recently President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. And frankly I don't know how I am supposed to react. I am have been reading numerous articles about whether or not he deserves it. Now I feel I should be proud as an American, whose president just won a very prestigious award. However I would love to discuss the reasons behind the award, but I am afraid this is not the time or place. So in the meantime I will hold my desire to discuss until I get back into a culture with a lower power-distance.

So apparently what I have missed from my lack of internet in the last month would include the Boston Redsox, Cardinals, and Twins getting swept in the first round of the playoffs. Not too ground shaking. I guess I can go without knowing all the sports scores for a bit. 

That's all from the roof-top. Back online, for better or worse.

First week of teaching, done. Well, it isn't as much of an accomplishment... Most of my classes are freshman classes and they won't start until the 13th. So I have a little bit of a half-holiday until then.

One thing i have been grateful for is my co-teaching class. This is where I actually get to teach side by side with a local teacher. It has been such an insightful process. The student-teacher relationship is very different from the US and also different from other parts of China. So to be able to not only watch but participate with that process with a local teacher helps me in relating to all my students. I hope these teaching relationships can be a great way to share about the important things of our lives.

Coming back to this city is always different. Things still seem tense but moving along. As I walk and bike the streets life is bustling right along. Riding my bike down the main road is just as death-defying as ever if not more! But it is nice to be back amongst it all.

Street Craftsmen.jpg

It is now the last week in July and Part One of my comprehensive exams are over. Woo Hoo!! So I now have a week between now and the next exam to get ready. So today I went for a run and decided to check up on my neglected blogs. After getting lost on a beautiful nature trail found I wasn't as lost as I thought I was. Good news.

I am currently in Wheaton, Illinois about 20-30 minutes outside of Chicago. I will be heading back to Oregon for most of August and then off to Tibet. Should be a good summer nothing too stressful coming up. I will be speaking at a summer camp, my home fellowship and maybe a banquet for all my friends and supporters. All sound like a lot of fun and a chance to hang out with friends and family I haven't seen for a long time.

It seems Sunday is my blog day, I find myself with a little down time between getting back from the orphanage and before dinner. Either way, this week has been a roller-coaster of Weather. It started out with a gorgeous day on Easter. But then sure enough the next day was freezing! I walked out wearing just a sweater over my teaching clothes and found myself freezing. I am pretty sure I made it to class in record time that day. The next day was even crazier! It dumped snow! The street and sidewalks were covered. Now remember two days prior I had been wearing a T-shirt, only in Northeast China. It continued to snow off and on for the next couple days. Today However quite nice. A little rain, but we were able to play outside with the kids for at least an hour before and after the rain. Either way I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. March Madness. The name for perhaps the biggest sporting even in American next to the Superbowl. University Basketball Teams from all over the US to compete to see who is the best in all the United States. These tournaments have shown the skills as such future NBA greats such as Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan just to name a few. Most of of America fills out their tournament brackets (see below) and hopes their college team will win. It's great because states that don't have professional sports team such as NBA and NFL can cheer for a team on the national level. I was personally exited for Oregon and California State University Fullerton. Both lost in the first round but I was glad they at least made it to the final 64 teams. The Final Game will be played on April 7th. I have Jordan's alma mater University of North Carolina winning it all.

Today was Easter Sunday. We had visitors from Hua Qiao in Changchun
visiting for the weekend. The came Saturday to go to the orphanage
with us. Lots of students and lots of foreigners! So there were a ton
of people to play with the kids and hold the babies. (that is always
good!) There were a couple babies we said goodbye to, a happy goodbye
since they are off to their new home in America soon, but a goodbye
nonetheless. Afterwards we had a Saturday night Easter Vigil. It is
always a blessing to celebrate Easter with our fellow brothers and
sisters. The next day we had sunrise (or 7am...) singing and others
went to the local fellowship. The afternoon included a HUGE dinner
and the egg hunt for the kids. The weather was beautiful today, just
perfect for the kids to run around the local park. It was a wonderful
celebration of His resurrection. Happy Easter everyone!

I just got back from my weekly visit of the orphanage. We leave every Saturday at 2:00 p.m. to go and hang out with the kids. Today a couple of the kids had pictures of their future families. It was really kind of moving. We threw the football around and playing all sorts of ball games verging on the edge of insanity. But it is always a blast to be there. It is gift, and I am grateful. Easter is coming up soon and we have a whole slew of visitors. It should be a lot of fun. I need to get back to my lesson planning and grad work but I this should be a fun week. Hope all is well out there. My petitions go to those teachers out west and northeast.

So I finally figured out how to e-mail my blog posting so I no long
have to be online to write down what's going on in my life. Let's see
how this works...
I have been back in Siping now for about a month. It was cold when I
got here, and still is but it hasn't been horrible. I actually went
out to skate yesterday and was quite comfortable. Students are
starting to come back and the stores are opening up again. Classes
start again on Monday and my 8th semester as a teacher in China begins!

My travels this year took me from Thailand through Cambodia and to
Laos. I was able to see some of my fellow teachers and see how their
day to day lives look. It was a relaxing and enjoyable time. It has
been a blessing to see the different landscapes and people throughout
southeast asia. The Father's work is amazing. There are some pictures
of my adventure below. I hope everyone had a good new year and is
ready for the new semester.

Yesterday Mom and I traveled to a nearby town to see the Adachi Museum of Art. It was gorgeous. Despite the 6 + tour busses the museum was well worth the trip. The museum is surrounded by a beautiful garden. So beautiful in fact it has been named the most beautiful garden in Japan for 5 years in a row. Not a bad a achievement for a culture that praises nature. Today I also took a bike ride to the Ocean. Another demonstration of the Father's glory. I am always impressed how each beach has it's own feel. Yet I am always is awe of the oceanfront. I found a few shells and met a nice man who spoke little english, but we drew in the sand and figured out a little bit about each other before we headed our own separate ways. Tomorrow I start the long trek back to Siping. It has been a very relaxing and restful break. Kuryoshi is a bautiful place. I feel blessed to have been able to visit it in every different season.

Well this will be my fourth blog attempt. Due to some unseen problems with other servers I am going to try and start using msn spaces. We will see how this goes.