Playing Catch Up

  Ahhh! I’m so sorry it’s been such a while since I’ve written! With working 40 hours and the added stress of 2 tiny side jobs, familial misunderstandings, and my roommate running away, things have been a bit crazy! So let’s get started! :D

                My kids are doing AMAZING! We’re learning more about each other every day J there’s one boy who just makes me melt every day, his name is Sky. He loves to run up and wrap his little arms around you as best he can and kiss you repeatedly Hahaha it’s so funny.

                A normal day is pretty active. We usually have a morning assembly where we do dance warm ups (really funny, and I’ve almost got it down!) and then stand at attention for the Chinese flag to be raised. When we go back to the classroom either I will teach an English lesson or my co-teacher will teach a lesson in Chinese. We always sing an English song too, but it’s interesting because they have a lot of English words put to English tunes, but they’re not the same haha. Like they made up a song called APPLE and it’s to the tune of “This old man” (Apple round, apple red,  apple juicy, Apple sweet, apple apple I love you! Apple sweet, I love to eat). And the walking song sung to the tune of that finger song mama used to sing us “where is thumbkin, where is thumbkin, here I am! Here I am” (walking walking, walking walking, hop hop hop. Hop hop hop). And of course I’ve thrown in some primary songs, Do as I’m doing, popcorn popping ;) Haha On Mondays and Fridays we do Chinese painting, which is really fun to watch, because the kids clearly don’t know how to do things the “right” way, so they spend half the time teaching them how to correctly hold the paintbrush. It’s funny to hear the tonal changes when they get frustrated with a kid haha.

 On Tuesdays and Thursdays we have P.E, and that’s with another teacher, so we just watch them run around.  On Wednesdays and Fridays we go swimming, and that is a blast! They do this to prep them for swimming lessons for when they get to high class kindergarten. But they asked me to bring my swimsuit so I could be in the water with them, and it’s all fun and games :D Mark, the one that cries all the time, had a REALLY hard time with the water.  The swim teacher just plopped him in (it’s about a foot and a half deep) and he just screamed and screamed. On the second day of swimming, they passed him off to me, so I decided to just hold his hand and start walking through the pool. He was screaming the whole time, and finally I was just fed up with hearing him cry, I put my arm in the water and completely splashed him from head to toe. He froze in shock for a second and then it was like a light switch went off—oh! Water! And he was extremely happy the rest of the time, playing, splashing, and laughing. Success :D

October Holiday

                So the October Holdiday is coming up! It’s a moon festival, and I still don’t know a ton about it, except there’s a moon lady who has a rabbit…and everyone eats moon cakes…and all of China is on vacation for a week….I’ll get back to you with more information…Hahaha. But last week we made meat moon cakes to start celebrating! They were VERY delicious. At first I thought they were teaching the kids how to make dumplings, and I was like, wow…they start them young in everything! Hahaha

            

Side Jobs

 So my tiny side jobs: After school on Mondays and twice on Saturdays I teach to a small classroom of 4 students. They’re older than my 4 year olds, but still in kindergarten (the majority of them are 6). At first it was really stressful and I almost quit. The kids were really misbehaved and I didn’t feel like I could teach them anything. Finally, one Monday was especially bad, and with about 20 minutes left in class I really didn’t know what to do anymore, and I just watched 3 of the boys egg each other on and they were all running around, throwing chairs, punching each other, laughing, and screaming, and I was about ready to cry. When class finally ended I just sat in my classroom until a parent who could barely speak English said, “I think they make you mad”. I laughed. I asked her for advice, and she said I need to be better at showing that I’m angry. I laughed more.

                So I decided to try a new tactic. The scare factor, mixed with a reward, accompanied with positive reinforcement. Before class on Saturday, I went to the supermarket and bought candy and stickers. When class started, I wrote each of their names on the board and showed them the bag of candy (I bought m&ms, and they were ecstatic at the thought of chocolate). I drew 3 check marks on the board and told them that if they got 3 under their name, no candy. They all got very serious, very quickly, and I got very happy very quickly. I used the stickers to reward them throughout the lesson when they answered things correctly and put in effort. Class went great! The worst kid only got 2 check marks, and we had an entire lesson!! The next class that day went great as well! Everyone was happy :D

                My second job is teaching a little girl that’s supposed to be in my class at the school. Her mother came in and explained that her daughter gets terrible car sickness and so she can’t come to school. She asked if I would be willing to come to her house once a week and keep her up to speed with the other children (as far as English goes). I consented, and the Wednesday before last was my first lesson. Oh. My. Heck. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that rich. They picked me up at my house in a nice American Buick, and we drove 45 minutes (the distance from Pocatello to Idaho Falls) to get to their house. It was surrounded by a verrry tall metal fence, and to be 100% honest, I thought it was a hotel rising 4 stories above ground. It was EXREMELY majestic with two sets of 18-step stone stairs that both C-curved up (on both sides) to a balcony on the second floor that led to the front door. So up we went!

                When they opened the giant door, we stepped onto granite floor where they gave me slippers to wear. The hall had a giant porcelain vase in it under a chandelier. Towards the back of the hall was a fish tank, 10 feet long, 2 feet  wide, and 4 feet tall (but elevated 4 feet off the ground) that had at 2 3-foot catfish, and 3 2-foot catfish in it (poor fishies all confined...). That wall was shared with the dining room, which is where they led me. I guess they were going to feed me first (so far they’ve done that every time I’ve gone). They sat me down, where they have a table with a spinning glass on it covered in expensive fish (the best I've EVER tasted), shrimp, jelly fish legs (which I tried!) pumpkin cakes, vegetables, soup, it was amazing. They even offered me wine (which of course I declined, and they got me Dole orange juice :D). For dessert they brought out a platter of fresh peaches (I've never really liked peaches, but I LOVED these, and Asian pears). The mom then said that we were going to go upstairs to Audrey (the 4 year old I'm teaching)'s room, so I head for the stairs only to hear her call my name. I look up and she's standing in a furnished, sparkling (literally, glittered) gold elevator. So we go up to the 4th floor and go to Audrey’s room...well not really, more like the foyer to her room, with couches the size of a full bed and windows soaring 20 feet into the air draped with gorgeous curtains (I’ve noticed that's a big thing here). On the couches were teddy bears LITERALLY the size of me, which turned out to be a distraction for Audrey (go figure), so we moved to the 3rd floor, where the same "foyer" like setup was there. It was insane. But lessons with her are going well!

                

 Roommate Dessertion

 And now the roommate. Well, the school hasn’t been very gracious to her at all. She was originally in a homeroom classroom just like me, but then they accidentally got an extra full year teacher, and since their more partial to full year teachers as opposed to 4 month teachers, they outed Sabrina. She was told that she would be a substitute teacher, and whenever someone was sick or on vacation, she would fill in. And that’s great and all, except for the fact that few people get sick…so for the first 2 weeks she was substituting for a girl who was still out of town, but then she got back, and Sabrina didn’t have a job, so we talked to the school and to our program’s Chinese coordinator. She became an ESL teacher! She had about 6 lessons to teach a day, and for the remaining 5 hours she had to sit in the Staff room. Yep! She was not allowed to leave the building. Obviously this was an issue. So finally, she talked to our director, and he spoke with the Chinese coordinator and they  were going to see what they could do. He also said that he could start looking for another school, but chances of finding one this late in the game were slim. So Sabrina decided her real options were be relocated, or go home and defer her contract. So she decided to take the day off…and not tell anyone….and not take her phone with her…and not take her passport with her….and not bring our address with her so she could get home…so she was stuck in downtown (we discovered after the fact of course), and so she decided to find a hostel to stay the night because it was late, but because she didn’t have her passport, she couldn’t get one. She was about ready to sleep in a field when a hostel took her. She got back the next day around 2pm. And then the school told her to take Monday and Tuesday off to “have a rest” (pretty sure they just don’t know what to do with her). Oh well, pray for her!

 A Bribe

Um but so happy time!!!! So One of my students parents came up to me after school on Friday and asked if I liked music. I told her I did! She said that she had gotten 2 tickets to see Maroon 5 in concert on Tuesday, but she doesn’t really care for them, so she just gave them to me. Floor seats. Front row. VIP passes. I couldn’t believe it!!! I told her I couldn’t take them, but I guess it’s called the “Chinese way”…I’m pretty sure there’s another name for it though….hahaha. But yeah! The envelope she handed me has it all there! I looked at the price on the ticket, and it said 2000 yuan each. That’s over $300 US dollars each…that’s insane. People are insane.

                 

Leaping Penguines: China is open :)

During the earlier session that day, President Gong was telling a story of when he went to Antarctica. He told of when he was observing the hundreds of thousands of penguins, he noticed something peculiar. When they would go out in the day, they would all line up together at the edge of the ice. They would wait till everyone was ready, and then they would all dive in together. President Gong questioned why they always did it all together, and it was because under the water were very hungry leopard seals. The large splash that was made by the synonymous leap confuses the leopards, so they can all get back to land without any casualties. Likewise, we are not alone. We are all meant to grow together and with one long, gradual, yet synonymous jump. Helping each other all the way to achieve the ultimate goal: return home whole, together. I truly feel all of us were empowered as the Holy Spirit testified that we are not alone, and we have an eternal purpose. We also have an eternal purpose in China specifically, or wherever we are in our lives and in the world. To endure doesn’t only mean to trek through, it means to withstand with courage. People always ask, when will China be open to the gospel? Well, China is already open. It’s OUR eyes and OUR hearts that have not been opened yet (Read Dallin H. Oaks’ talk “Getting to Know China”). As we strengthen our testimonies, the light that shows in our eyes becomes brighter, and that light of Christ has the power to instill the desire in the Chinese people to search for something more. When they have that desire, the Lord makes it happen. Whether it’s taking a vacation to Thailand and running in to missionaries there, then getting baptized and returning and being able to attend the local branch, or introducing them to the right people to befriend, the Lord has a way to bring his light to all of his children. Law or no law. We can still heed to the laws of the land while passively sharing the truth with them. Not to mention, there are hundreds of thousands of foreign passport holders that can be taught the gospel outright. It really is His work and His glory, and we are all a part of it, whether we realize it or not.  We have a great responsibility while in China (WHILE IN *INSERT YOUR CITY HERE*) to live our lives in such a way so others recognize that light; recognize Christ who, while in the pre-existance, THEY CHOSE right alongside you and I; so they recognize that light and accumulate that desire to change for the better. Have compassion and believe in the potential of those around you.

Smile. You have a purpose. “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly and remember the covenant wherewith ye have covenanted one with another” (D&C 90:24: see here). Have a wonderful day, and in the words of my best friend, “Jesus Loves You”.

Watch this about the light of Christ in us! (there's also a part II and III, I recommend all of them :)

District Conference (Like Stake Conference): AMAZING.

            Words cannot express how loved and blessed I am. I love this gospel so much, and this last weekend I have literally and truly felt the Lord’s spirit encompass me and buoy me up. This weekend was district conference hosted in my building, and I invited my Beijing friends (Marissa Anderson, Shelby Balif, Hadlee Jensen, Jessica Seward, Jonathan Blomquist, Jen Johnson, McCall Simmons and Maddy Barney—though the last 2 couldn’t com :/ ) to stay at my house for the weekend so we could all attend the Saturday  and Sunday sessions. They were traveling from all over. 2 came on an 8 our train ride (they weren’t in our district, but they really wanted to come), and the rest came from either 3 or 4 hour train rides plus subways and taxis making it around a 5 hour trip for them (troopers!). We got to meet up with a lot of our other friends from the tour and the BYU study abroad group as well! We did a full day, 9am to 9pm of touring shanghai (with a break in the middle for the Saturday Session).  It was so much fun! We got to see the Pearl tower (the tower with the ball on it), the Yuyan Gardens, markets, and the Bund! But man the conference, it was such a blessing for all of us!.  During all sessions, the spirit was so strong, and moved all of us to tears. The Lord truly had inspired the speakers to give us all that we needed. Priesthood session was earlier in the morning, so Jonathan left early Sunday morning, and he loved it

Jen Johnson, Shelby Ballif, Marissa Anderson, me, Hadlee Jensen, Jessica Seward, Jonathan Blomquist

           Some of the girls that are staying with me live in virtual branches, so their Church is actually a skype branch. They really wanted to take the sacrament so I asked President Larkin if he could arrange something. We had a little sacrament service after the Sunday session and it was the most spiritual sacrament meeting I have ever attended. It was short and sweet, but beautiful. I am blessed enough to be a part of an actual live branch, so I have been able to take the sacrament already, but the spirit that was in that room, man. You could feel the Lord’s pleasure in seeing His children have a desire to partake of the Sacrament. I even felt the Lord dumping blessings on us, and I get to take it every week already! I felt as if he was gazing down over us with a smile on His face, for we were doing something that he had asked, and made it a priority. Most of us were in tears during the service.

            After the sacrament, the district had set up a lunch for the YSA’s, so we went and ate and then they had a YSA fireside conference as well. It was with President Gerrit W. Gong, President of the District, and he and his wife were wonderful speakers. Their goal was to get to know us better. He was going to take what he learned from that conference and take it to the prophet in a couple weeks when he goes for General Conference. President Monson always asks how the YSAs in China are doing, and President Gong makes a point to get all the factual information he can. He asked how we were doing, what we hoped to learn, our fears, possible solutions, and any questions we had for the Prophet. Once again, the spirit was strong.

 When we finished the conference, my heart was sad when people had to go home to their far away cities, but happy with the added strength we had all just received. The bond we have together in the church is unlike anything else. If you have time, please take a moment to read the next post Leaping Penguines: China is Open :).

School Started! :D

            Yesterday was the first day of school! Oh my, I LOVED it :) After spending the first week decorating the classroom and the second week preparing lessons, I was so happy to fill it with beautiful children! :D They are all filled with such innocence and sweetness it makes you want to gather them all up and take them all home with you! Oh their smiles are to die for! And I’m so proud of myself! I can tell them all apart by name! (well…their English names haha) Even the identical twins, Carl and Nick (Why is it that parents of twins always feel so inclined to dress their children exactly the same? Trust me; every one already knows they’re related).

  

This is Mark (I later learned). I love him
even when he's like this all day :)

           There was a frustrating factor however, on the issue of how many hours I’m supposed vs. actually working. Like I mentioned before, the program outlines only working 15-20 hours a week, and the school is demanding 40 hours. We’re not supposed to work 40 hours unless we’re being paid (but it’s illegal to get paid unless you have a degree), so my program coordinator negotiated with the school coordinator, yet both of them came to different conclusions hahaha. Considering the fact that they are both Chinese, this was VERY typical. So I insinuated a skype conference call with the two and explained in blunt words what the other person was saying. The call ended with the usual “I will talk to so and so and fix it”. So finally I asked Phyllis (the school’s coordinator), “If I cannot work the 40 hours, do you have to find a new teacher?” She replied, “no no no, I like you!” “Haha thank you, but that’s not what I asked. If I do not work 40 hours, do you need to find a new teacher?” “Yes.” Was her reply. So I went back to the room rather frustrated and sat at a desk.

           There was a little 3-year-old boy (see picture) who had been struggling all day long because he missed his mom. He was constantly moaning, sobbing, screaming, or whining, and it was 2 hours into nap time and he was doing a moaning routine. He was definitely over tired, and really needed to nap. He didn’t have an English name yet and I can’t speak Chinese, so it was rather difficult to try and communicate with him. But I scooped him up and started HUMMING ‘I Am a Child of God’ and he instantly stopped crying. The other teachers were so excited when he stopped crying. He fell asleep in about two minutes, and I just got to hold him with his little body all warm and sweet. And then I realized something (I don’t know why it never donned on me earlier). I never had a problem with the hours, so I texted my director and told him I wanted to work all 40 for free. He didn’t believe me at first, hahaha. I came here to teach and to love the little children, and I can’t really do that if I’m not there. I have already made a bond with these children, especially this little one; they know me. What else would I be doing? I can still travel on the weekends, so it doesn’t matter! They are all so beautiful and wonderful, I’m loving every minute of it :)

This is Max. oh my gosh when he smiles full on, he has the biggest dimples in the whole world!

This is Emily, she is very intelligent and wants to learn so much so badly!

I love my "job" :)

            

            

        

The Saints Are The Same :)

Welp! The church is true :) haha. (Oh I forgot to tell you, my two beautiful roommates decided that for their situations home was the right place to be, so they’ve headed back to the states, and I got a new one named Sabrina!). Sabrina is an inactive member who has so graciously agreed to come to church with me once a month (though I know she’ll be coming more ;D). We tried mapping it out, and it was going to take about an hour and a half to get to church on the bus, or a 30 minute taxi drive. Once a week round trip, that was gonna be a bit pricy (280 Yuan which is about $45 a month) so we decided bus was the best way :) However, I was really confused at how to use the bus routes, so we decided to take the taxi the first time so we actually knew what building we were supposed to be at haha. We got there on time and walked in to a big conference center. It’s so crazy though, at the beginning of every meeting, whoever is presiding has to announce this:

“The Chinese government requires that all religious activities in China comply with relevant laws and regulations. Our church’s twelfth article of faith states: ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.’ With that in mind, please note that: 1) our church’s international member group religious activities in China are limited to FOREIGN PASSPORT HOLDERS and their immediate family members ONLY; 2) our international members do not proselyte in any way among Chinese nationals in China; and 3) our international members do not disseminate religious materials to Chinese nationals in China Your strict observance of these policies is essential for us to build a long term foundation of trust with the government authorities in China.”

And the saddest story you’ll ever hear? There was a Chinese girl dressed very western who just moved in from Scotland. She was telling the branch president that she joined the church 3 years ago while going to school in Scotland, so he asked if that was where her passport was from. She said no, she’s Chinese. He said he knew that, but he needed to know what type of visa she had. She said once again, “chinese”. Because it wasn’t a foreign passport, he had to tell her that she couldn’t come to church. She protested and said that she moved to this area so she could be close to the branch! But he couldn’t let her stay L It made me want to cry! Luckily, they do have a few Chinese branches, but they aren’t related in any way to the English branches, so he had to find a member who’s mother-in-law was attending the Chinese branch so they could talk. He’s actually not allowed to know where it is. I can’t wait until the laws of the land change…

But on a happier note, Branch President Larkin and his wife, Monique, are angels! They apparently live only 10 minutes away from us! (Which is AMAZING for Chinese branches). The said that they would have their driver, Mr. Pan, pick us up every Sunday for church so we wouldn’t have to 1) wake up at 5:30 to get ready, and 2) pay for a bus or taxi! They brought us home and had dinner ready for us, then got two huge grocery bags and filled it with tons of food they didn’t need, drove us around the area we live in so we would know what was accessible to us. They also gave us bus routes to get to those places! They were so wonderful I wanted to cry with thanks. Plus, Sabrina loved the spirit that she felt at church, she said she would come more often! "It makes you feel good, such positive energy" hahaha. Where there’s a will to go to church, the Lord always provides away…and dumps a bucket full of other blessings as well :)