not so big a deal..

so many things that seem like a big deal in America... are not so much a big deal in China...

for example- new years eve. apparently regular new years for us is not a big deal to the chinese people- only chinese new years which is later this month... they don't even stay up to have a countdown or watch the new york ball drop! amazing. haha... just like every holiday spent in china so far has been sooo different than normal holidays back home.. things aren't that big of a deal here. no huge sales, no christmas lights everywhere, parties, media... it makes all the holidays much more- simple. sometimes things don't need to be such a big deal for it to be great or memorable and that's what i'm learning to appreciate about holidays in china :)

the last week of 2008 could not have been any more random, exciting, and unique- after all- i am in china! (here's a random list of things i hope to accomplish for fun during my million hours of break hehe)



















we ate a whole sheep/lamb with the other foreign teachers.. in my mind i thought the size of a sheep would be somewhere close to the equivalent of a cow.. but to my dismay it was rather smaller and bony- but tasty nonetheless!... afterward there was the biggest mess ever- a job well done.

































i also discovered a roller skating rink on campus in the gym and went 2 days in a row with several students! it was a blast.. just picture a large empty warehouse with chinese techno music and random decorations hanging from the ceiling. it was perfect.. only 5 kuai too (about 75 cents in the US)- not bad at all! there were some pretty talented skaters out there too!










































visited my student frances' apartment and her roommates cooked for us! here's what some real homemade chinese food looks like- delicious!




























new years eve some of us weren't planning on staying up.. until my roommate got an electrical burn on her hand- i thought she was going to die, but thankfully she didn't and it is only a burn that is healing quickly! what a way to end the year i tell ya- he's faithful. :)

the christmas continues!

during our christmas party today we had a dizzy santa relay race outside in the cold and drizzle but that didn't stop the students from fun-filled laughter (and falling! hehe)















another activity we did was a re-enactment of the nativity scene and christmas story, it was sweet for them to take part of that and hear the story also in their native tongue afterwards :)















oh how i love my students and so encouraged that many of them came- it made me proud and was a great opportunity to bond with them outside of class... oh crazy thing- 3 of my boy students from another class that is not pictured below walked from the new campus to the old campus (where i live) which is quite a distance.. maybe 10-15 miles? i told them in chinese "ni fung le ma?!" (are you crazy!?) haha..














last but not least what is a christmas party without singing?? so we taught them the 12 days of christmas and this is a short clip of some of my sophomore students singing.. listen especially to the "five golden rings"- it couldn't have made my day any better :)


oh. and since i'm in the mood for videos- here's another personal favorite video of my junior student wishing you a (belated) merry christmas... he's great! enjoy!!

Christmas Eve & Day... China Style :)

the past few days of the season have been quite the story... christmas eve did not feel remotely close to being a "normal" christmas eve, should have known that already because we are china and things are usually different and far from normal here. haha...

in a nutshell.. on christmas eve day the university wanted us, the foreign teachers, to perform a song that we wrote for the "workers union" (all the teachers and workers of the campus had a huge performance/entertainment show) this was a pretty big show with maybe close to 1,000 workers in the audience.. sorta intense. here's a picture from on of the cha-cha performances with super flashy and vibrant costumes... yea, our performance/attire didn't have quite the same touch unfortunately...














we ended the night by singing a few carols, playing boom shake-a-boom boom, making wishes on a flying light device, and playing with firecrackers with a few friends





























i don't think i've ever recieved so many presents for christmas before... i think that's what you get for being a teacher ;) my students have given me some awesome mitten, a chinese-fashionable scarf, a cactus, a painting, candy, an apple, cards, socks, and a million text messages wishing me the best wishes for christmas.. too sweet. here's a picture of me trying to incorporate as many gifts as i can in a picture. hehe.. and christmas breakfast with the team :)
















chilblains!..ya.. i didn't know what that was until i got it on my toes. :( i guess it's been too cold and the wool socks aren't warm enough. please think of my toes if you can- i also have an ingrown toenail.. sorry if it's too much information- just tryin to be real hehe (if you look closely the right foot/toes are red, swollen, and itchy)















of course you can't end a china christmas day without classic sticky pictures! :)
sheng dan kuai le! (merry christmas!!)

life is like the weather in nanchang...

you never know whatcha gonna get.

weather forecast from this weekend...
saturday: sunny and cool... you can get away with a nice cotton shirt and a light sweater
sunday: 50 mph winds and chilly... you should wear about 5 layers of clothes including long underwear-oh! bring an umbrella for some unexpected rain
monday: snowing, small sunshine, and freezing mittens in the classroom.

it's common thing to say that weather in nanchang is changeable, but after this weekend- i'm a believer!

this morning when i looked outside my kitchen window i saw a snow-covered track and a few faithful runners still running around and a few basketball players on the courts still playing basketball... i would like to be like them.. still persevering and "running the race" despite uncomfortable and inconvenient circumstances. i hope you also will join me in this race- he never said it was going to be easy, but he did promise that we will not be alone!

when i was thinking about the weather and all it's diversity- it reminded me of how life is always changeable as well- especially life in china... some days are the best with everything going fine and better than it should and i love it... other days are rough and there's some winds with some hardships... and still others that are just hard and cold and painful (and those i tend not to blog about often but those days indeed happen here!) ... but he is the creator and in control of the weather and the days of my life.. it's all in his hands. :)

...with all the crazy holidays coming around the corner- don't forget the true reason for the season... it's not so much about all the decorations, gifts, songs, and hype... being away from it all this year has made christmas much more simple - just Him and Him alone.

here's a pic of the track and one strong runner and the new campus looking like snow white :)














p.s. i made a photo blog site for my students... if you care to look at photos of all my students and my life with them you can check it out here :)

feliz navidad! sheng dan kuai le! merry christmas!! hehe

cards 4 christmas!!

this past week i've had the chance to share the Christmas story with my students and talk about rituals that we do in America for Christmas- including Christmas cards! so i had them create their own Christmas cards to send back home to my family and friends- they were to introduce themselves, ask questions, etc... they got pretty creative and crazy and here are some examples of how random and unique their cards turned out! hehe enjoy!!

my students hard at work :)

here's a really cute one they made!

Mrs... flet... flexible! yep, that's me! haha














i like the America and China cheeks and small rainbow eyes.














not sure how this one relates to Christmas... haha...














but here's what it says inside. (#2 is a popular question for any foreigner in China haha)














apparently i had a wedding with a chinese person..?! oh students!














if i remember correctly they said it was a bear with a worm body. lol



















i hope you enjoyed those as much as i did! haha.. He's been so good in and out of the classroom this past semester- next week will be final oral exams and then a magnificent 7 week spring festival break :D i'm looking forward to resting, reflecting, and traveling around!!

awesomeness :D

i taught my students that the word "awesome" to enhance their vocabulary and told them not to use "delicious" or "so-so" anymore. haha but "awesome" can also pretty much some up this past week.. not going to lie- this week was plenty physically draining and tiring but it was still AWESOME!

teaching:
i taught my juniors about wedding rituals in America and we had an actual pretend "wedding ceremony" in class- which was not only hysterical at the time but also a good chance for visual learners to learn the vocabulary and rituals that we do during a wedding ceremony :) here's a couple snapshots from that glorious event:











^luke-the ring bearer walking down the aisle..... the whole bridal party (i was the officiator haha)

i also taught my sophomores about restaurants and how to order in an American restaurant- ordering and service in chinese restaurants is very different from american... here's my students practicing and a few of us actually in a restaurant with one of my students who is a waitress!














students:
so i gave an "oral english project" assignment to them about a month ago which is simple: choose from a list of several activities which require speaking english outside of class via having a meal with me, showing me their dorm, learn an english song and sing it, record a conversation... what i didn't know is that i would have about 120 students from my four classes wanting to meet with me outside and the tricky part is that time is limited with finals right around the corner! so here's a glimpse of my insane calendar-














i can't remember the last time i ate alone or had a moment of good ol' down time because it's been filled with students, but i love it. it's such a blessing and joy getting to know them more outside of the classroom, see their life, and interact with them. i've had some good conversations with a few and hope that they can grow deeper! here's some snappy shots from times with my students the past couple weeks:

okay confession. these aren't even my students, they are jonathan's but i was able to hang out with them and they taught me how to cross stitch and i gave them real american ziploc bags- you never would think it could make someone so happy but they were thrilled!














kayla and alice attempting to teach me tai qi in their dorm- it's so hard!!














kara and i enjoying the frosty wind storms of china.. it's getting VERY chilly these days!!














children:
my heart is overjoyed right now. i don't even know how to describe it in words but i will try... i was walking down one of the streets out the back gate to grab something to eat for dinner and saw a group of children that i often see but this time stopped to see what they were doing. they do not speak much english and i do not speak much chinese so we had an interesting conversation about how i am chinese and american (that's typically how most of my small talk conversations are) and then one of the girls, who i named Kylie- about 8 years old, led me into the kitchen of their hole in the wall restaurant and showed me the food that i should eat, her older 12 year old sister then cooked me noodles and they served it to me and watched me eat. then they gave me some oranges (so chinese by the way haha) and had some more basic small talk- teaching each other colors in chinese and english and stuff. after i ate kylie pulled me back outside and sat me on a chair and then her and her young group of friends started to perform for me with synchronized song, dance, hand movements, and all... for about 30 minutes! it was WONDERFUL!! i miss kids- reminded me of the kids at CCC and my little cousins.... even the little 2 year old boy was singing and dancing with them!! ahhhh, it was just what i needed after a long but good week...! so yes.. words can't describe and pictures (that i don't have of them.. yet) wouldn't do justice to how awesome these kids are :)

merry thanksgiving!

i love e-mails from my students- they are so heartfelt and poetic- especially this one from on of my students who i will call "Bob" :)

Dear Jodi,

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day ！

Wish you have a happy and busy day!

And thank you :between you and me,between you and classmates ,between you and class ,between you and our school ,between you and our country , and so on!

Everything about you here ,there ,now ,past,future,yesterday,today and tomorrow,I just want to tell you,my friend,thank you!

Whenever you need me ,I`ll be here.Whenever you`re in trouble,I`m always near.Whenever you feel alone ,and you think everyone has given up.....Reach out fot me,I`ll give you my best power.

Thanksgiving Day,It`s a happiness`day!

Sincerely

"Bob"

best power.. so great. :) hehe it's amazing that thanksgiving came and went so quickly- i have SOOO much to be thankful for each and every day.. for my father providing and loving me, for my family back home and here in china, for my awesome students who give me endless laughs and memories, for my cozy china apartment, for yummy chinese food everyday, for all my friends and supporters back home- i'm so grateful for your thoughts and love, for the opportunity to be experiencing a work that is so rewarding, rich, and life changing...! the list can go on... here are some pictures of what thanksgiving is like in the motherland :)

i had to teach on thanksgiving day but got to eat a meal with several sophomore students and eat some delightful chinese food :)














cooked my first turkey in china- as my team leader joelle would say: "life skills ladies!" haha



















we hosted a semi-american thanksgiving potluck dinner for our fellow chinese english teachers and other foreign teachers that we work with- this was their first american dinner/food for many of them but i think they enjoyed it :)














then the next day (saturday) we had ANOTHER potluck with our international fellowship- i'm thinking more than 10 countries were represented that day- it was a real feast and a nice treat to have different kinds of food- especially guacamoleeeee!! :D















PTL for technology!! i was able to skype with my family and some friends for a bit- it's always interesting skyping because i feel like i'm stuck in a box and everyone's watching haha..
























hope you had a blessed holiday and like Bob said, "Thanksgiving Day,It`s a happiness`day!" :)

better blogs

my teammates have better blogs than i... you can check them out at your leisure for greater detailed stories/experiences, more pictures (photo albums), and videos that i lack on my blog hehe

aaron's blog with picasa photo albums and pictures: http://chinasaga.blogspot.com/

laura's awesome daily blog updates/stories: http://laura-lauraslog.blogspot.com/

thanks for thinking of my team and i while we're here in China! enjoy! :)

midterm madness

this past week i gave out midterms for all my students to take... i personally thought they were easy, maybe too easy... but to my surprise i got some pretty amusing answers that i can't resist but share with the blogger world.. hehehe....

(fill in the blank)
-When she walked into the room, all the guys stopped and stared because she was _____ ______ ________________! (suppose to be "drop dead gorgeous")... one some students wrote "out of fashion", another wrote "dropped dead dough" (haha i think they got it confused with rollin' in the dough") and lastly but not least "so ugly!" hahaha...

(bonus question)
Where is Miss Jodi from (city and/or state)?
here's some creative answers i've gotten:
-Texia, America
-Ohio State, American
and my favorite...
-Goranbia (not sure where that is but i wouldn't mind going there one day! hehe)

last week my mum and papa came to visit me for a day and a half- it as wonderful having them over and i'm soooo blessed by all the things they brought with them (thank you to all who sent stuff for them to bring!!!!) currently cheez-its and honey roasted peanuts have hit the spot in my stomache well hehe... here's some pictures from when they were here! it was like christmas! :)














riding in a mini car with strangers and breaking all kinds of laws (sitting on my dad, no seat belts, driving on the wrong side of the road probably.. it's china!)... the one next to my mom looks like chewy! (john chu!) hehe














one dollar hair wash and massage with my mommy :)














skyping with some of the fam :)

the craziest november 11th ever.

it started off as a seemingly ordinary day... but just keep reading ;)

while teaching my junior class... a girl started to scream and lo' behold there was a BAT in my room!! it was a black fuzz ball about the size of my palm with wings that extended beyond this world. ... yea.. so..bats are common apparently in the school we teach at because two of the other foreign teachers has already encountered a bat. so just as a disclaimer: this was my first bat i've ever seen or been near- pretty much. so.. while the bat was swooping over the student's heads- i was trying to maintain composure as a professional (a very hard thing to do at this time). instead of screaming hysterically and running out of the classroom like a normal american girl would i crouched down next to a students desk to dodge the swoopingness of the bat. 5 minutes past and the bat was still swooping in circles in the class and the students barely reacted... the guys remained in their seats and one of my smallest students- robin was the only one trying to save my life and swap it away with her notebook. bless her heart... :) the bat eventually left the doors and went back into the halls and the class resumed to it's work while i was suffering a near death heart attack episode. according to the chinese standards- i am a wimp.

it didn't help that it's november now and the weather is definitately chilling up a bit- and in a souther california's standards it's very cold. cold enough for me to wear wool socks, a scarf, and mittens. i get plenty of stares at this time because i am wearing them so thus again- in their eyes- i am a wimp.

on a brighter note i recieved my first package here in the mainland!! it was like christmas (literally with a christmas hat and wrapped gift in it) receiving it and such a joy and blessing to get encouragement notes and letters from many family and friends back home! thanks so much for making that day special!! seriously- you have no idea how much it means to have mail here- it's rare and special, like a piece of home and everyone there :)

towards the end of this eventful day.. it got.. more eventful. haha.. i was riding my bike the supermarket nearby and decided to ride diagonally thru during traffic- just like a regular chinese person do... i survived and didn't died- it was a miracle... on the way back i was just thinking that it's amazing how i can ride my bike and not get hit or hit anybody since there are so many people.. shortly after that thought i was riding alongside a dorm pretty fast since no one was there and out from a door a student came sprinting out... CRASH!!!! I screamed. we fell. it was beautiful... i almost thought i killed him.. i never crashed into anyone like that before.. but thankfully there were no injuries and he walked away quickly with his friends to not lose face for the both of us.. but once again my heart was beating and i was laughing so hard to think that i just crashed.. a true china crash.

later that night our power went off and my roomie and i found candles to light our way around and function. he provides light and it was nice to use candles.. it felt like i was back in the 1800's or something. :)

how did he know that i needed a little spice and thrill on a seemingly ordinary day? sigh. i'm alive and well- heart's still beating on... learning that i need to not be a wimp, to not ride my bike so quickly haha, and that he is light and there is no darkness at all in him- it's such a comforting thought :).. hope you were entertained in the least and can learn from my adventures as well!

a more "wordy" update for once :)

you know you're a teacher when you...

-are grading papers with a red teacher pen
-are writing midterms instead of taking them
-have hands covered with chalk all the time
-are writing lesson plans during office hours
-get to eat in the teacher's cafeteria (not all that wonderful though haha)
-have faculty meetings to attend and plan for
-have a classroom of bright and eagered Chinese students ready to learn and repeat just about anything you say or teach them :)

just for kicks:

-did you know that green hats are not sold in china? because if you were a green hat, that means that your spouse has cheated on you.. so don't wear a green hat in china.
-did you know that tomorrow (nov. 11th) is not only veterans day in america but also "single's day" in china?? haha apparently all us single people can embrace the fact that we are alone and have a holiday to enjoy it and claim it :)
-did you know that you can get your pants hemmed for only 2.5 kuai? that's about 30-40 cents.

chinese phrase for the day:

ni chi guo le ma? (pronounced: knee chir guh-woah lah mah?) meaning- did you eat yet? it's a common thing to ask people here. hehe

random thoughts:

it's getting colder by the hour here in the south. people are wearing more clothes- including myself- i wear wool socks, scarfs, and mittens.. while some of my teammates still wear a t-shirt and shorts. yes. i'm definitely from southern california. haha..

i had a dream that i found a target here and got WAY TOO excited than i should because then i woke up and realized it was a dream. haha but i'm quite thankful for the 2 walmart's that we do have to get cheese, cereal, bannana bread, and more familiar foods :)

had a day of reflection and talkin to the father- it was sweet and much needed.. i'm thankful for so much, i'm reminded of why i'm here, i'm learning so much about myself, team, body, the work, culture, and teaching, and still have lots of growing to do!

i can't help but post two favorite pictures from this week :)

i call him di-di.. the little boy that lives in our building... so cute- he always gives me high fives and blow kisses and can say "ni hao" and "zai jian"!! :D ahhh love it!! haha














soo.. i had my students write their own ending to a story in the textbook called "a boyfriend's worst nightmare"- short summary: if a boyfriend's girlfriend had a penpal who was the perfect guy and he was about to meet him what would happen next... here's my favorite ending:






















(i don't know if you can read it but it's priceless and so great if you can hehe)