November 2008

Well, I know November ended ten days ago, but I just wanted to remember some highlights from the month.

My big experiment this month was trying to teach my students the game of American football. I have about a total of 200 boys (30+ per class), so I thought it would be a good extra-curricular activity. I taught them the rules in class and then invited them to play after class time. Oh my, they really played hard and we only had a couple of minor injuries. You don't realize how many rules there are, until you try to explain the game in a language foreign to the players. Just when I thought I had told them everything they needed to know to play, there would be another violation. I couldn't get them to remember you cannot make a forward pass beyond the line of scrimmage. They played a little bit like rugby - running down the field and passing back and forth to each other. Well, it was fun anyway. I enjoyed coaching and reffing all at the same time.

I enjoyed a great Thanksgiving with my other Teaching Abroad teammates - 6 of us. Of course, we had classes on Thanksgiving day, so we got together on the weekend following Thanksgiving. It was a great time of laughing and giving thanks with my fellow teachers. We love to share stories together about our students - that always brings many great laughs to us. We splurged for a delicious Thanksgiving dinner served by our local favorite - the Aloha Diner, and enjoyed turkey with all the fixins'. It was truly delicious.

I was invited to join a jiao zi (dumpling) making party with a class of sophomores. I don't even know them, but they invited Marilyn and I to their party. Jiao zi is made filling dough with either a meat or vegetable filling. It's much more complicated than that, but that's the basic idea. The best part about a jiao zi party is after making them, you get to eat them.

October 2008

So, October comes to an end. It has been a busy month with classes starting and a trip to an orphanage in southern China.

First, I travelled with a team of 7 others from my fellowship group to visit an orphanage during the first week of October. (October 1 is a national holiday so we didn't have classes that week.) We endured about 20 hours by big bus with beds, to smaller bus, to motorized cart (I have no name for the little vehicle that took us the last 4 miles of the trip. It reminded me of my dad's old Cushman scooter.) And don't be decieved by the "big bus with beds" vehicle. Sixteen hours on a bed about like an ironing board was not so great- not to mention the odor of one disgusting on board toilet and 50 stinky travelers (shoe removal is required when you get on board and that doesn't help either).

Anyway, I'm getting sidetracked...once we arrived and were greeted at the entrance by a dozen adorable little faces, the pain of the long journey faded away quickly. We spent about two days with the kids and packed in as much fun as possible. We played games, did arts and crafts, played basketball and ping pong, sang songs - there was never a dull moment. They even coaxed me into teaching them a line dance. Trust me, I should not be teaching anyone a line dance. (I sorta learned a line dance this summer for my friend Amy's wedding in TX. She knows how "well" I can dance : )

There were about 25 kids in the orphanage during the holiday week. The other 80 that normally live there had gone to be with relatives for the holiday. It was tough because of the language barrier - kids got tired of me asking them their names and ages - about the only things I could ask in Chinese. But smiles and laughter are the same in any language. There were a few tears too. One little guy who lost his parents to the Sichuan earthquake could not hold back the tears as we got ready to leave. He wanted to go home too. Despite their many sad stories, these kids were happy and lively - normal kids. I said to one of the older girls (about 13 years old), "You guys are like a big family here." She replied (in Chinese), "We ARE a family, not LIKE a family." It was wonderful how they all worked together - the older ones helped the younger ones. They had lots to eat and were allowed to go back for 2nd, 3rd, and more helpings of food - and they did! The staff were loving and kind. The guy running the place is a doctor by profession. He felt called to leave his medical practice and run this orphanage. His wife is also a doctor. She lives and works in another province. They see each other on holidays.

For a special treat, we took the kids and staff out for dinner to a restaurant in town. It's something they rarely, if ever, get to do. You cannot imagine the scene of 7 foreigners marching through town with 25 kids. We took up the entire restaurant. I would never attempt such a thing back home. I tell you what, I have never seen such well-behaved kids. They sat patiently and waited for the food (thanks, in part, to the tv playing cartoons). When the food was served, they ate and ate but were very well mannered. Again, the older ones helping the younger ones. Wow. We walked all the way home after the meal - about a 45 min. walk, and we had no problems. It was a great night.

One of the older boys there (about 14 years old) was badly scarred from burns on most of his upper body and face. It was an accident involving fireworks in which he lost his parents and brother. He was a sweet kid. He was one of the only ones who could speak English because he had been in the States for two years receiving treatment for his burns. On our last night there we were passing out clothes to the kids that we had brought. In the mass of clothes there was a dressy sport jacket and shirt that fit this young man perfectly. He beamed as he modeled it for us. I thought maybe he liked getting some attention on his clothes rather than on his face.

It was well worth the long journey there and back. I've posted some pics online. Take a look. A picture is worth a thousand words.

http://picasaweb.google.com/a.brantingham/RongshuiOrphanageOct08#

Finally, classes started this month as well. I'm teaching freshman Marine Engineer students. 200 students - all boys! They are fun. I'm really enjoying them. The first day of classes they clapped at nearly everything I did or said, although I don't think they actually understood much of what I said :)

Those are the highlights for the month. Thanks for reading.

"Giving a speech" or "45 minutes of fame :)"

So the other evening I was invited to a local college to give a speech to the English club about "How to Learn English." I wasn't really sure what to expect, so I thought I better prepare a little something to say. I arrived about 35 minutes early, and I was escorted up many flights of stairs, in the dark with no lighting, to a large but old classroom that was in desperate want of paint and repairs. Students started filing in and immediately had a look of shock on their faces when they entered and were greeted by a foreigner. I talked to one girl sitting near me for a few minutes, but the conversation waned quickly as her range of topics was fairly limited in English. I decided to do a little "meet and greet" with the time I had left before the speech. I slowly made my way around the room and shook hands and greeted every student there. By this time there were about 60 or more students in the room. They were so nervous. I could see some of them squirming in their seats as I approached them to say hi. I knew they were practicing over and over in their heads, "Nice to meet you too. Welcome to our school." They were all giggles and nerves. It was very fun. By now the room was completely full with, I guess, 100 or more students.

At this point, I knew that the information I had prepared to give them in my talk was going to be too much language for them to grasp. I watered it down and made it very interactive to try and keep their attention. I said a few lines in my very simple Chinese, at which they gave me a great applause for my efforts. I talked for about 45 min. and then let them ask questions. They asked me everything from "Do you like China" to "How can the American Economic Crisis be solved." To that my answer was something like, "If I could answer that, they would elect ME president." After that there were photos galore and then I was wisked away carrying a huge boquet of flowers as a gift from the English Club.

If you can't tell, I love doing that kind of stuff.

photo link

http://picasaweb.google.com/a.brantingham/ParalympicsBeijingSept2008#

Go to this link to view more photos from Beijing and the Paralympic Games.

Some of the wonderful volunteers.

USA wins gold in 4x100 relay.


Outside the "Nest" before Closing Ceremony.











Closing Ceremony.

Paralympic photos

Sitting Volleyball - Iran vs. Bosnia for the gold.

Russia receiving the bronze medal for Sitting Volleyball.













School children posing for class photo outside the Bird's Nest.














Michael Phelps - bigger than life.

Wheelchair Rugby - Japan vs. Germany

Wuhan September 2008

Back to my blog, after many many months. Sorry to those of you who actually come here occasionally looking for new postings. Hope you haven't lost faith in my blog yet - I'll keep trying:)

So, September is coming to a close and I have not started teaching classes yet. Yes, one of the benefits of teaching freshmen is the fact that they do not begin classes until October. Their first month of university is spent in what we call "military training." I think I have some pictures I'll post. They endlessly march around campus in marching units in their fatigue uniforms. Their poor bodies are much more fatigued than their uniforms. The field where they are marching on my campus is just a stone's throw from my apartment, so all day long I hear the equivalent of "hut, two, three, four" in Chinese. It's not bothersome except when they start at 6 a.m. :)

With some free time this month, Marilyn and I decided to go to Beijing to take in some of the Paralympic games. What an amazing experience to see firsthand the places we had been watching on t.v. for the Olympics - the Bird's Nest, the Water Cube, and the rest of the Olympic venues. In my opinion, Beijing did a great job hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was well organized and the venues were beautiful. They had thousands of volunteers helping with every aspect of the games. In fact, after talking with some of the volunteers I learned that there were 100,000 volunteers for the Olympics and 30,000 for the Paralympics. Wow! Most of them were university students who were educated in English, French, German, or Spanish. Whenever we needed help, it was always easy to find a volunteer. In fact, everyone in the city seemed eager to help. While eating in a McDonalds, we asked two girls sitting near us for directions to one of the venues. They gladly escorted us to the proper bus stop, put us on the bus and told the driver where we were to get off.

The Paralympics were quite amazing as the athletes competing have various physical handicaps. What they must overcome in order to compete is really remarkable. I was really touched by their spirit of determination. Again, Beijing was a great host. We also were able to attend the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympics. It was a fantastic show and quite fun to be there in person.

Next week I have plans to visit an orphanage for three days. I'm a little nervous since the guy organizing the trip told me we'd be eating at the orphanage with the kids - sounds like a mostly rice and cabbage diet. I'll let you know how it goes.

Christmas Eve in Chinese church. It was standing room only for hours.

Fun in the snow in Wisconsin at the Thompson's.

Aunt Hazel's birthday dinner. (L to R: uncle Dick, Mom, aunt Gloria, me, aunt Hazel, Dad, uncle Bob)

Winter update

Wow - Time has flown by and I'm getting ready to fly back to China. I was blessed with an additional 4 weeks of break between semesters, so I decided to come home to America for a few weeks. I have had a great time visiting with friends and family who live in several different states. Of course, I've indulged in as much fattening American food as possible, a.k.a. pizza.

I understand I have missed the coldest, snowiest winter in southern China in 50 years. It has caused transportation nightmares, power outages, food price increases, and first-time snowman-making for many in southern China. I am so thankful to have missed it. I'm sure my students and teammates will have many exciting stories to share with me about "how they survived the winter of 2008."

I'll be heading to Hong Kong on Feb. 8 for a five day retreat with my teammates. I'm looking forward to reuniting with them and sharing the stories of our travels. Please pray for us as we meet together for a time of team building, bible studying, and encouraging before the new semester begins. I also hope to meet up with my good friends from my previous years in China, Kitty and Nancy. Some of you may remember them.

The next semester begins on Feb. 18. I don't yet know my teaching schedule or courses, but I'm looking forward to engaging with my students in and out of the classroom. I'll keep you posted on further details of that.

I'm writing this entry from the U.S, so I can be a little more open with you. When I'm in China, I can't even read my own blog, but I can submit entries. I want to thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. This is an exciting time in China. Pray that I will be obedient to the Father's leading in opportunities that come my way everyday.

p.s. I don't yet have a flight from Shanghai to Wuhan when I arrive in Shanghai this Tuesday partly due to the transportation tie-ups caused by the weather. My cousin in Shanghai is helping me with it. I appreciate your prayers about it.

Until next time....Xing Nian Hao (Happy New Year)

Shout Out

I'd like to send a shout out to my good friend Mel Votaw. Mel, I'm updatin' my blog - finally! :0