Hello To Everyone: Emei Adventures

From Linda

Here are a few of my pictures from Mount Emei, our weekend trip that included climbing many steps up to a Buddhist temple and seeing monkeys on Monkey Island. I made the trek to the temple with Angela, occasionally passing a few women selling incense (instead of buying their incense, I gave away a few bottles of water that I was carrying as dead weight--they were delighted!). We also stepped aside for a worker walking a mule down the steps as well as men carrying unbelievably heavy loads of concrete and other materials for building or making repairs. Our long walk was accompanied by a chorus of singing insects and cicadas, including an eerie sound I'd never heard before and can't really explain. The visit to Mount Emei was a study in contrasts--it was Sunday and there we were watching people bow and burn incense at the site of a huge golden image erected about two years ago at the top of the mountain.

As you can see from the picture of Justin, he proved to be a sturdy climber, wowing friends and onlookers as he stood bravely on a big rock with a long drop behind him.

Hello to Everyone: Last Days Reflections

From Sharon

Hello Ryan, Mom, Dad, Esther, Kezia Ann, Micah, Grace, and Jabez!!!!

I am having a lovely last few days here. Only two more days of teaching, and I am both happy and sad. I have really had a wonderful time in the classroom. The last few days we have had really great discussions. Taryn and I have really advanced students, so we can really have some great talks.

This past weekend we went out to the country. I loved the scenery, and I got some great pictures. This new picture of me is one of me on top of Mount Emei… it was pretty scary, because when I turned around there was a huge drop off and nothing to stop me from falling straight down the mountain! I had a lot of fun at Emei… I can't wait to get home and tell you all my stories. I love you all! See you soon.

Hello to Everyone: Busy Days in the Classroom

From Linda

Today we told our students about Christmas in America, complete with reading a narrative and singing such songs as Jingle Bells, Joy to the World, and the 12 Days of Christmas--we taught them the song and each student sang one of the parts; it was especially fun to hear Samson sing "Five Golden Rings!" Sherry Trainer sang a solo of a familiar carol, which the students loved ("Do you have a recording?" they asked), and I played a couple of songs from Handel's most famous composition (a few of them were familiar with the well-known chorus).

It's been fun trying to have a lot of variety in class. We played a fun compound word game today with students pantomiming words like seasick and cupcake for their team to guess. We've also done a good amount of storytelling in class, which the students love. Yesterday, I invited a guest speaker for an hour (our teammate Ben) to talk about American football, which prompted a lively discussion on money, fame, and the elusive pursuit of happiness from it. Tomorrow I'll be testing my students on things we've covered so far, particularly pronunciation. On Friday they're looking forward to a graduation party with prizes I brought and cakes I'll purchase for the occasion.

Hello to Everyone: Weekend Perspectives

From Jacob

Hi Everyone! I thought you might enjoy a few pictures that I took on our recent weekend sightseeing trip. Enjoy!



Team members in this album: Eric, Jonathan, Ben, Taryn, Linda, Beth, Sharon, Nate, Justin, Mr. Trainer

Hello to Everyone: Change in Plans

From Kristen

To everyone who may be reading this and especially my mom,

I'm so sorry that I haven't written on the blog before now! It's been really busy here but that's not really an excuse. I am sorry and I hope you can forgive me! Hopefully you've been reading other people's entries and have at least been seeing how the team is doing as a whole.

It's been very interesting because I haven't been working with the person or the age group that I thought I would be working with. When we got here they had to change a lot of teaching partners and age assignments because, like a lot of things in China, things didn't work out as planned.

Back in Watertown during our Team China meetings I had originally volunteered to work with junior high-age kids and with Bekah. But when we got here I was originally assigned Primary 1(little kids) and was supposed to be working with a girl from Faith named Nikki. I finally ended up teaching Advanced 1 (mostly 15-16 year olds), with Nikki Bowers and Beth. It's been an interesting journey but I'm glad I know Who is in control. I love my class, and I love being able to communicate so well with them. They all speak very good English, so we can do a lot more with them. I have made many new friends, and it will be very fun to try to keep in touch with them after I leave.

So many things have happened since I've been here, and that makes it so hard to pick something to tell about! I've gotten to go to many places in Chengdu and believe it or not I'm kinda getting used to being in the city! Taking taxis and city buses is a very new experience for me, but I've found that I've adapted quite well. Some of the smells I've not adapted to very well, but that's a whole other story… ;-) The traffic here is crazy! I've been in taxis that randomly cross into oncoming traffic and traffic lanes seem to be mere suggestions here. It's so much fun! I love crossing a eight-lane road and then getting stuck in the middle and having to wait till the light changes to finish crossing. Having cars whiz by at mere inches from you on each side is rather fun.

Overall, it's been a great trip so far and I can't wait to give you more details when I get home! Thank you for all your thoughts! I love you all.

Hello To Everyone: Out and About in Chengdu

From Katy

I just had to share these pictures with you, from my recent adventures. Left to right, they are: an elderly man and his grandson, fountains in Tienfu Square, and Nathan's and my students at a basketball game.

Hello to Everyone: Reflections on Big City Life

From Rebekah

Hey everybody,

I’ve had so much to do here that the time just escaped me. I can’t believe that we’ve only got a week left in Chengdu. I love the people here. This experience has been an eye opening one. Most of you all know that I’m not a “big city” type of person, but if necessary, I could be very happy in one. And I never thought that I could enjoy being out of the country so much, but the people make all the difference. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a lot of people here that I will gratefully call my friends. One of the main ones is my Chinese teaching assistant Lynn. She is such a help in class. I’m teaching the Primary 3 class. Most of them are 8 or 9. We’ve averaged 10 kids everyday. They are all so sweet, though at times they seem to enjoy acting like squirrels on caffeine. It’s great. I can’t believe that it’s almost over. I’ve had so many interesting experiences that I can’t wait to tell you all about it. Today Angela and I and Beth, Nikki, and Kristen talked about Easter, so we dyed some eggs like we do in America. I tried to boil 3 dozen eggs in 2 small electric tea kettles. It was quite an experience let me tell you. And that’s just today. I can’t wait to see you all and show you all my pictures. Talk to you soon!

Monkey Island and Buddhas

From Linda

Saturday morning our team went to see the giant Buddha carved in the rocks in the city of Lashan (a couple of hours from Chengdu). It's peak season for visiting the site, so we waited in long, winding lines in order to descend from the back of buddha's curly head down to his toes at the bottom of the stair-studded hill. Pretty interesting, but I do prefer Mount Rushmore! At the bottom, we came to a large river, where several Chinese tour boats floated near shore.

Today we wound our way up (by bus, foot, and tram) to the top of Mount Emai—more than 10,000 feet high! At the top was a Buddhist temple topped by a large golden statue. The air was permeated with the ever-present smell of burning incense. But the view from the top, above the clouds, was magnificent! Some of our more daring young men climbed onto some rocks for great photo ops.

Then it was on to Monkey Island and another long stair climb to the top of a Buddhist monastery. The monkeys, which climbed up onto the bridges and walkways to be fed, were cute but wild, kept at bay by workers holding sticks.

We have one more week of teaching before we visit Beijing and return to the States.

Today's Slideshow: Pictures from the weekend by Justin. Team China members pictured in the slideshow: Sherry, Eric, Nikki, Beth, Kristen, Justina, Nathan M, Justin, Sharon, Katy, Michael, Jacob, Jonathan, Taryn, and Rachel. Select the comment button when the slideshow begins to see captions.

Hello to Everyone: High School Students and Monkeys

From Taryn

Hi!

I am finally writing something for the blog. Sorry, Mom and Dad, for taking so long to write. I know you probably want me to.

I love the class I'm teaching. They are in high school, but they are more advanced than what I thought last year. We can talk to them just as fast as any American. The class time is much longer than last summer, because I'm at a different school. Last year we taught five hours three days a week and three hours two days a week. Here we teach 9-4:30 Monday through Friday, so that makes it a little more challenging.

We are going to the place where I saw the monkeys last year this weekend. I might be able to get together with a girl from my class last year who lives near the mountain.

Well, miss you and I'll try to be better about posting some stuff.

Taryn