If you ever have the chance to ask Molly what she misses most about America, you will hear "swimming!" Even though we've lived in China for more than two years now, it wasn't until this month that we went swimming for the first time.
Sweet friends from our international fellowship invited us to join them at one of the local colleges for an afternoon of swimming, and it was great fun. Two days later, as the kids and I were at the playground with a neighbor, we learned he was signed up for swimming lessons -- a 12-day program that began the very next day. Molly jumped at the chance to join him, and I was thankful for how his mom drove us there each day and helped me navigate the unfamiliar gym.
The photo above is from the first day of class -- the only time the kids were in the shallow pool. Molly is standing between our neighbor friend Henry and her former kindergarten classmate Wendy. We hadn't seen Wendy in a year, and it was such a wonderful surprise to see Molly's good friend as the only other girl in class. Unfortunately, Wendy didn't enjoy the class and never made it back after the first day.
Here is Molly on Day 12 with her teacher Mr. Wang. He was so friendly and kind, but Molly was super shy with him and gave him the impression she couldn't speak Chinese. She understood all of his instructions, but she would never answer his questions with more than a nod. (We're working on this… she'll get there!)
The lessons were long -- 5:30-6:45 pm every day -- and I felt like it consumed our lives. Kevin made special efforts to leave work a little early so he could stay at home with Hudson. (Swim students had to be 6 years old.) Molly's biggest complaint was that the water was very cold. It was too long and tiring for her to stay in the water for more than an hour.
Most lessons she stopped early and sat by the side of the pool until I came in at the end, but she was always very excited to go back again the next day. She never expressed any fear of the water, just how she wished it could be warmer.
There wasn't any seating around the pool, so the parents would walk the kids through the locker room and into the pool area and then head back downstairs to wait in the lobby. This was such an interesting facility. The upper levels house a really nice gym (treadmills, exercise equipment, aerobics room, spin bikes, ping pong tables) and clubhouse-type restaurant while the first floor is a fancy store for liquor and cigarettes with a small marine aquarium in the back.
My co-workers and I had a great scouting trip with leaders from the local Red Cross
about possibilities in 2015. We distributed 10 wheelchairs and 8 canes. They eagerly welcome any assistance we
can bring. Emphatically, they said, “We need your help!” In addition, we were
able to visit Kristi’s parents in her home village, which borders Inner
Mongolia.
We met with leaders at the Red Cross Hospital.
Although the area is poor, we toured an impressive national museum.
Although not in the picture, our first wheelchair recipient had been injured in an accident.
This young man has crawled all of his life.
The grandmother was tearful the whole time we were present. The young man only wanted to keep trying out his new wheelchair.
Train rides offer great chances to have meaningful conversations.
I'm standing with Kristi's parents in their village home.
Dion is always a great help and encouragement on such trips.
We got to get close and personal with the donkeys.
We walked around the village, planting our own seeds.
The two stoves are fueled by corn husks and cobs.
The family stir-fries everything in two large woks.
The family presented us with a feast.
Kristi was happy to meet one of her youngest new cousins.
I think about blogging as I'm walking to work. I wish I could bring you all along on a typical 20 minute walk through our city. There are things I'd tell you about the traffic laws, which have been considerably more enforced in the two years we've lived here - especially stopping for red lights. (Although motorcycles and bicycles don't stop for them at all.)
I feel very safe living here, but hands down the most dangerous part of life is crossing the street. There's not a rule about stopping before making a right-turn on red, so even crossing with the Walk signal turns into a game of Frogger.
Construction is constantly underway. I can't count the number of new buildings, apartments and shops being built just between our home and my office. They do shut down during the winter months but now that it is April, they are back in full swing. There is often a night crew to keep up the work nearly around the clock.
My office building is on the right, with the orange billboard on top. The company is on the 13th floor.
The company trains ladies to be live-in caregivers in Canada. I work with them 6 hours a week.
Our friends we get together with on Saturday nights invited us to a big dinner together this weekend.
I should've taken photos of the food! My favorite dish was sugared peanuts surrounded by sweet potatoes dipped in a honey-glaze and rolled with small krispies. It was warm and sweet, soft and crunchy all at once. Chinese meals don't end with dessert -- you eat the sweet dishes right along with everything else.
One Saturday in November, I received a phone call out of the blue from my friend Linda. We met Linda in 2001 while we were teaching at a college in Changchun. She also taught at the school and became one of our closest friends. We had seen Linda twice since moving back to China last March but hadn't been in touch recently, so I was surprised to hear her say she had traveled to our city that weekend. And then I was even more surprised when she announced that she had traveled that day with her boyfriend, as they were doing some shopping in preparation for their upcoming wedding!
Such exciting news! Linda became a believer while she was a college student and spent the next 20 years waiting for a man to marry who shared her faith. We loved getting to know Alan over lunch and seeing Linda so happy about their upcoming wedding. And we were thrilled to learn we'd be able to attend the ceremony in January since it was scheduled for one week before our trip to visit Oklahoma and Texas.
On Friday afternoon, we headed to the train station but as our taxi crept through the afternoon traffic, we knew it would be next to impossible to make it to the train by 2:20. Sure enough, we raced through security and up to the gate to find the train had departed four minutes earlier. A very nice security guard took us to the information desk where they did their best to get us on another train. The 4:15 train was sold out, but we could upgrade our tickets to first-class and get seats on the 6:00 train. We only needed to pay the difference in fares instead of repurchasing the tickets, which was a blessing. Molly and Hudson were thrilled to see a children's play area and spent two solid hours enjoying themselves.
We made it to the home of our friends Randy & Jessica by 8:30 that night. Molly absolutely loves spending time with their 9-year-old daughter, and even though our stay with them was shorter than expected, we made the most of our time together. I believe their wedding in 2002 was the last Chinese wedding Kevin and I had attended together.
A typical Chinese wedding doesn't include a marriage ceremony. Couples file paperwork to officially marry, so weddings are basically a reception for family and friends. A large meal will be served and the couple visits each table for a toast with the guests. Since Linda and Alan are believers, they asked their fellowship leader to perform a Christian ceremony, so he gave a message and they exchanged vows and rings.
The short clip above gives you an idea of the processional. The guests aren't asked to stand as the bride walks down the aisle, but many people were talking and trying to get pictures of Linda. Kevin and I loved reconnecting with friends we hadn't seen in years and introducing Molly and Hudson to them.
Chessie, Caleb and their nearly 2-year-old son
Wang Ying, the foreign affairs liaison at our former college. She has been promoted but still works in the foreign affair department, and she wasted no time trying to recruit us back to teaching!
Abbie and Nikki from New Zealand. Abbie was 7 when we first met this sweet family, and now she is 20.
I couldn't get all the dishes in one shot, but I wanted to give you an idea of the wedding food. No cake! Lots of meat, shrimp, fish, vegetables and bread. So much food on every table!
Linda changed into a beautiful red dress for the reception.
We rode Changchun's light-rail system on the way back to Randy and Jessica's, which was fun since it was under construction when we moved away in 2003. We packed our bags, caught a bus to the train station and made it in plenty of time for the two-hour ride home. Such a happy weekend!
We hope you've had a wonderful holiday season! We didn't have any of our family members travel to China to celebrate with us for Thanksgiving or Christmas, but we enjoyed the times with our friends here. It is always nice to share the meanings behind the various Christmas decorations and symbols with our friends who come over during December.
We get the most questions about our Little People nativity set. (Hudson's t-shirt says "Jesus loves you.") Christmas decorations are becoming more common all over town but it is always trees, wreaths, bells, Santas, gifts and lights.
Molly was so excited when her preschool started decorating for Christmas. She gave me a daily progress update on how many trees there were in the classrooms and hallways, and talked about making ornaments during craft time in class. One day as we were walking home, she announced: "Mom, my teacher doesn't know that Christmas is Jesus' birthday!"
The children's preschool was decorated to the hilt. Molly asked me to come inside and take pictures when I picked them up, so I obliged and then understood why she wanted me to see it. Tinsel and lights and trees EVERYWHERE.
On Christmas Eve, the preschool hosted a party at 4:00 in each classroom -- I started out in Hudson's room while Kevin went to Molly's, and then we switched halfway through. It was very different than an American preschool party, mainly because it's a party for the parents more than the kids. There are games for the parents to play and the kids come up in groups and sing or dance, and then the parents are invited to join the dancing and sing a song with their child.
The above picture doesn't do it justice, but I had to offer photographic proof of the first game in Hudson's class, which was for the moms/grandmas. They tied balloons to their ankles, and the object was to pop everyone else's balloons while protecting yours. I didn't volunteer to participate, but it was hysterical to watch. The moms took this game very seriously - at least one was wearing high-heeled boots! - and the Christmas tree in the corner of the room was knocked over twice. All the kids were cheering on their moms, and it was great fun.
I went up to Molly's room and watched her sing two songs with her class. Meanwhile, Kevin was in Hudson's class participating in the game for dads/grandpas: musical chairs with the kid-sized preschool chairs, of course. How I wish I could've seen that! He made it three rounds.
The video above is a clip of Hudson singing with his classmates. (At the end, they are saying thank you to the audience.) His teacher also asked me to prepare a song to sing together with Hudson and Molly in front of his class. We sang a medley of "Joy to the World" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." Next time we should sing a song in Chinese instead.
We spent Christmas Day at home together, opening stockings and gifts before Skyping with our families. (IKEA had rolls of wrapping paper! We had lots of candy-cane covered gifts to open.)
I made sweet potato casserole as a side dish for lunch, which was hawaiian pizza. (It is possible to order turkey from an import store, but it is something like $5 a pound. Our Chinese friends have no idea what it's like to eat turkey.) We waited until Sunday, Dec 29 to share more of a traditional holiday meal at the home of our Canadian friends: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, corn, meatballs and gravy. We have been spoiled these past few months with many delicious, homemade meals with them.
