Twice a week I am involved in Beth Moore studies of Paul and Esther. On Monday’s I meet with a group of KIA staff in our Xiao Qu (neighborhood) and we study Paul. On Wednesday’s I bike with two friends to the center of the city and meet with mostly non-KIA people. It is nice to get out of the bubble sometimes! The girls I meet with on Wednesday’s are involved in a variety of NGO’s: they work for groups that provide housing and job training for former prostitutes, bring clean water to remote villages, and teach art and music to children. Two of the girls work with the expat youth group. They are a diverse group and I really enjoy my time with them studying Esther.
On Tuesday night we went to a restaurant near our Xiao Qu that is lovingly named “Blessed Chicken” by the members of the KIA community because at one point there was a sign above the door with a chicken on it. As to the real name, no one knows. Between Eric, Josalyn, Michael (another new teacher that just arrived in Kunming a week or so ago) and I, we were able to order a full meal. I knew two of the dishes by name; Eric used a toothpick to communicate that we wanted beef on a toothpick (common dish); and, Josalyn and I were able to point to a tomato and mime cracking eggs to communicate we wanted eggs with tomato. I am sure the poor waitress thought we were crazy, but the meal came and it was good! I am hoping to have this whole ordering thing figured out someday soon.
Earlier this week our living room and bedroom were painted! Our apartment is provided by the school and the walls hadn’t been painted in between the previous tenants moving out and us moving in, so the school painted them for us. What a blessing! We went crazy and had them painted white. Seriously. It was previously pink/tan in the living room and purple in our bedroom. I think the white is out of character for us, but with such a mishmash of borrowed furniture and bright red couches, it was the only route we could take to create some sense of serenity.
Yesterday, Wednesday 5 Sept., we started our Mandarin classes. They are three times a week on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during our free periods. I am in a class with one other new teacher, Josalyn and Eric is in a class with another new teacher, Tom. We are learning the four tones of Mandarin (there are secretly five, but my teacher denies it- the fifth tone is “Natural tone” whatever that means). I felt like I was attending a voice lesson as Josalyn and I repeated the tones sing-song back to our teacher. At one point she told us we needed to open our mouths wider, “Like you are at the dentist! AAHHH! ” (Again, what do I do with that exclamation point and the quotes? My middle school grammar teacher would be ashamed of me). I am excited to have finally started the class, but am somewhat daunted by the enormity of learning a language like Mandarin. If you remember, please lift this up for us.
Eric walked in his Master’s degree graduation ceremony at SPU earlier this summer, but for the last few weeks he was still finishing up his final class. Good news: last night (Wed.) he turned in his final paper! PTL, he is free! He feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders and is looking forward to enjoying some more free time (as much as there can be here).
This afternoon I met with our new Bao Mu, or house helper. She doesn’t speak any English so one of her other employers, a family here at school, introduced her to me. I have struggled with feeling guilty about having someone come into help me clean my own house and with the idea of spending money on something that in the U.S. would be an extreme luxury, but the reality here is different. House Helpers are very common and employing a Bao Mu is seen as a great way to provide usually single mothers with an honest living. Our Bao Mu is a single mom and she works for two other families at KIA. She also trains other Bao Mus which means she has a lot of experience. She will be at our house Tuesday and Thursday mornings for a few hours to clean and cook.
Tonight Eric and I are attempting to replicate a Chinese dish that we get at a noodle shop near here. It is noodles, eggs, cabbage, green onion, garlic, and peppers. We will see how that goes.
Tomorrow, 7 Sept., we have a Professional Development day at school. The kids get off and we get to go to school and attend meetings and workshops. Eric will be leading a workshop on benchmarks and standards in the social sciences. Eric is fast becoming a valuable asset in the secondary because of his experience and his Master’s training in Curriculum and Instruction. Our Secondary Coordinator (basically the principal) is trained in Chemistry and Biology, so having Eric trained in a subject where benchmarks are somewhat more abstract has been a huge blessing to him. Eric is just happy to be of service. I am so proud of him.
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