On Parents and Meetings

When I was in college, the thought of having to meet with parents absolutely petrified me.  Sure, I can handle your kids.  I can entertain them, encourage them, at times bribe them with sugar and time to run around outside.  That doesn't work so much with adults, especially when I'm a fairly young teacher and they are all (or should be) older and significantly wiser in many areas than me.  Even last year, with parents that I knew well, parent-teacher conferences were definitely a giant that I didn't really want to face.  Sure, it always went well, but the intimidation factor was always there.

We had open house on Tuesday night, which I dreaded, and then I had my first sit down meeting with parents today, which I likewise dreaded.  Oddly enough, both went marvelously.  Open House was great...getting to meet for the first time the parents of my incredible students; parents who are from all around the world and do so many interesting and unique things here in the city, from big business to humanitarian work.  And then today's meeting...goodness gracious, it blew me out of the water.  The parents are from two different countries, but they both speak Mandarin fluently.  My coteacher and the student's Chinese teacher were also in on the meeting, so a good chunk of it happened in Mandarin.  Sure, there were moments were I felt like an idiot, not sure of what was going on around me, but at the same time it was incredible hearing the conversation and picking up on every 50th word or so.  (Smile and nod, just smile and nod.)

I am just so thankful to be around so many people who not only love living overseas, but embrace the cultures and genuinely enjoy the ride.  Life is good.

Location: Chengdu, China

Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 4:44 p.m. (8/30/2012)

Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 1:44 a.m. (8/30/2012)

Another week, another adventure...

It's been another wonderful week in Chengdu.  The highlights were...

...signing up for a Chinese bank account.  Other than the three hours that it took, it was fun getting all set up actually get my paycheck next Friday :)  My name is Teusink Teusink on the account...oh the joys of American names being as foreign to them as their names are to me.  We shall all learn eventually :)

 

One of the signs at the bank.  I love the English translations of signs here :)

...completing my first full week of school with my 5th graders.  They are absolutely wonderful and I already love them all.  I have been so blessed to have such wonderful students every year!

My name may be spelled wrong, but this is one of the coolest things I've ever gotten during the first week of school :)

 One of the courtyards at school.

...feeling like a natural on my scooter, weaving in and out of the traffic jams (if you can call them that) in my neighborhood.  Only one close call so far...but it wasn't that bad so no stress :)

I even managed to make it home with a big box riding with me :)

...seeing a beautiful sunset, and pictures of a gorgeous sunrise the following morning.  Clear days here are incredible, although semi few and far between.

 The sunset *sigh*

...wandering the city with friends.  I had a lovely meal with friends Friday night, which was our first trip to a previously-visited location in a taxi all by ourselves, and then on Saturday I wandered with a friend to a shopping area that neither of us had ever been to in a taxi.  Quite the adventure, and the accomplishment :)

Moon cakes for Fall Festival at Starbucks.

Location: Chengdu, China

Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 7:44 p.m. (8/26/2012)

Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 4:44 a.m. (8/26/2012)

Two Weeks

I'm sitting at home, waiting for the water guy to come and give us our two new water bottles (will explain in a few minutes), and it suddenly dawned on me: I have called China home for two weeks today.  Two weeks ago, I was getting off the plane, overwhelmed by the stickiness and heat, timid about trying some food that might result in future discomfort, and not knowing how life here would be.  While I am far from being a pro at all of the ins and outs of life here, I am comfortable in my home, don't have to turn on the AC as soon as I walk through the door, and know where to go to buy the basics.  Walmart doesn't even overwhelm me anymore...at least not quite as much.

Life here feels a lot like life back home in many ways, and I'm sure if you follow me on Facebook and have been looking at my pictures you might wonder if it is in fact any sort of culture shock for me.  Well it is, so let me explain some of the big differences, at least as I see them now.

Transportation
I live a ten minute or so walk from the school, but I purchased a scooter about a week ago and have been making good use of it.  Chengdu is a busy city, and while cars and buses are a preferred form of transportation, scooters are quite marvelous for the shorter distances...or even the longer distances when traffic is bad.  I haven't gotten brave enough to go into the city on mine yet, but I will in the next few weeks, hopefully.

Water
While the water here isn't horrible for you if you drink it, there is enough of a risk that most people (even national staff at the school) have water coolers in their houses/classrooms/offices that they have to buy large water bottles for.  It's quite the system of purchasing the base and then paying a deposit for the plastic and periodically having to call the guy to bring more water.  He rides a little bicycle, so I'm hoping that some day I can see him in action and figure out how exactly he balances it all.  Until I can figure out enough Chinese to actually converse with him, I'm thankful for good friends who speak the language and can help me with ordering and telling him where to go.  I can say thank you when he drops it off, and occasionally can even figure out how much I owe him without too much frustration, so that's a start :)

Language
The biggest difference that I see here in comparison to the rest of the world is the need for English.  Everywhere else that I have lived overseas, there is almost an urgency about learning my native tongue.  English is a ticket out...a way to opportunity in the minds of many (or so I had always been led to believe).  However, almost 20% of the world's population lives in China, and financially there is a security here that we definitely don't have in countries with such great national debt like the US, so there is almost no need to speak the most popular language to learn in the rest of the world.  As a result, rather than being able to somewhat communicate in at least a broken level of English and whatever the national language is, here I feel somewhat deaf and mute, knowing nothing and being able to say nothing.  Perhaps this is my hint to be silent more often, and I'm learning to simply sit back and listen more...trying to avoid the typical "smile and nod" so as not to commit to something that I haven't the foggiest about.

Okay, that's enough differences/writing for one day.  It's a beautiful day in Chengdu...I should do some laundry and make the most of it!

Location: Chengdu, China

Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 4:54 p.m. (8/20/2012)

Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 1:54 a.m. (8/20/2012)

Never in a million years...

There are a few things I had decided before I left the States that I just didn't need anymore and that I would mourn the loss of and then simply get over and move on from.  One of those things was Snapple, which I was okay with giving up, but my 5th graders last year did not like the idea of me having to live without.  Well today, while wandering around Chengdu with a friend to put up posters for the music department at school, I found Snapple in an import store.

  

I'll write more about life here sometime soon.  Hope you are all well!

Location: Chengdu, China
Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 5:18 p.m. (8/18/2012)
Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 2:18 a.m. (8/18/2012)

The First Week

I have been in Chengdu almost a week and know that it is time to update my friends and family, but sitting down to write it all is quite a time commitment (there is just so much to say!), so instead I'm going to give you a picture view of my life for now, with more to come once I'm a little firmer on my feet with school and everything.  I do love living her, though, and am excited to keep learning more and more about my new home :)

 

My first view of Chengdu from the plane

 A rainbow on our first night

 The view off of our front room

 The view out my window on my first morning in Chengdu

 Our apartment complex courtyard

 Lunch with our national buddies...so delicious!

 My new favorite restaurant in Zhonghai!

 Care for some duck, anyone?

 I love sea cucumbers (to look at, not to eat), but I'm not sure I would pay $500 for a tray of baby sea cucumbers!

 Ikea!

Dinner on Friday night!

Signs here/translations of those signs are too fun!

Scooter shopping

My very own scooter

Location: Chengdu, China
Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 7:59 a.m. (8/12/2012)
Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 4:59 p.m. (8/11/2012)

First 24 Hours

 Chengdu has officially been home for more than one day!  30ish hours is more than a day, right?  Wow I must be tired to have to ask that.  Honestly I feel like I have been here for longer than that, with all of the things we have done packed in.  Let me summarize (and by summarize, I mean tell you in immense detail) the day for you.

Monday – 2:30ish p.m. - Our flight finally landed in Chengdu.  And then it began…the joys of bus rides from the plane to the terminal, immigration, and the ever enjoyable task of getting your luggage from the conveyer belt, onto the awkward carts, and out through customs to wherever you are going.  I made it that far and then the super fun task began: stepping foot into my new world.  It was really neat going through to the other side because there was a group of 20+ people from our school and community there to welcome us.  I felt like a superstar with the signs, cheers, hugs, and altogether merriment that resulted from our arrival.  (Maybe it was just because we were so delayed and they thought we'd never make it, but I prefer the superstar storyline!)  It was wonderful having so many helping hands after more than a day of traveling.  They whisked us onto the bus, back to the school, and to our apartments (which are lovely and I will describe later).  Phew.  Exhausting, but wonderful.

Dinnerish – We had a lovely meal with our hosts, Cindy and Jenn.  We went over to their apartment, both to see it and to get an idea of where things are in our area.  I also got to ride on the back of a scooter for the first time.  That was an experience…er…exciting.  It is definitely a different way of driving from the States…a bit like Ethiopia but entirely unique, really.  I immediately rethought my desire to get a scooter right away.  I will probably end up waiting for a few weeks at least, probably more like a month or two.  I want to have a good grasp of where I am and how things work before I brave that avenue of Chengdu life.  However, getting familiar with my part of town first would be good, so maybe I will get one sooner than I think. During dinner, there was a pretty intense bout of rain, which was preceded by a lovely rainbow.  The ladies said that it was the first they had ever seen in Chengdu. What a beautiful reminder of promises, old and new, it was for us.  I was definitely encouraged by it, although it didn't change the fact that I was exhausted and most things that I saw or did I will never be able to remember.

After dinner, I unpacked a bit and started getting an idea for what I will need to purchase and where my bits and pieces will best work to make this new place a home.


Tuesday - a.m. - I woke up at 3:15 for a few minutes, realized that I was hungry and couldn't eat, and then went back to bed.  Oh the joys of jet lag.  "Why couldn't I eat?" you might inquire.  Well, this morning we had a Chinese physical.  Yep, a physical on the first day.  Welcoming, eh?  Actually, it wasn't as bad as I envisioned.  The system is incredibly efficient, with different rooms that you visit for different facets of the exam.  The six of us moved through relatively quickly, causing a fair bit of entertainment for the nationals around us as we were given directions in Chinese, looked back at the doctors with questioning eyes, and then were talked at louder with gestures.  Oh the joys of this facet of transition.

Because of the blood draw that was done as a part of the physical, we weren't able to eat for 12 hours before it.  Yep, 12 hours of fasting after arriving in a new country and feeling like meals should be at completely different times than the norm…that was fun.  I haven't been that hungry in a long time, which actually served as a good reminder of how much I need to adjust in so many areas as a result of my current cultural confusion. Oh the joys of being me.

As a reward for surviving our physicals, we had Subway when we got back to our part of town.  Delicious.  The main difference that I noticed was types of bread that are available and that there was no ranch dressing.  The Tuesday special was tuna (just like back in the States), so I got that and savored every bite.

Lunch was followed by an hour off, so my roommate and I braved Walmart (VERY different than Walmart in the States, but still incredibly convenient for most everything), got some teaching supplies from our apartments, and headed back to school.  I opted to go to McDonald's (which is right next door to our school) on the way back for the afternoon to get a coffee.  Definitely a good decisions.  That makes two things that I don't do often in the States: Walmart and McDonald's.  Circumstances certainly do change things.

Tuesday afternoon, we learned more about the school, worked out some computer bits and pieces, and had a little bit of time to be in our classrooms.  My co-teacher is AMAZING and has many things set up already, so I just need to get into the bits and pieces mindset wise and we'll be ready to go.  Super exciting.

For dinner tonight, we ate with 6 other ladies that work at the school at a Korean restaurant.  So wonderful for many reasons, mainly that those ladies are fantastic and that the food was great.  I certainly won't be lonely or starve here.

Following dinner, we did a more intentional Walmart run and then had a little more unpacking time.  My room is starting to feel more like my own and life here, although far from normal at this point, is looking like something that will not only be comfortable, but home.  I am on my way to being at home in China.  Who would've thought :)

Location: Chengdu, China
Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 10:25 p.m. (8/7/2012)
Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 7:25 a.m. (8/7/2012)

Made it!

Just wanted to let you all know that I made it Chengdu.  I left Seattle around 9 p.m. Saturday night (noon Sunday Chengdu time) and then got to Chengdu around 2:30 Monday afternoon (so 11:30 p.m. Sunday night Seattle time).  How's that for confusing? :)  Love the apartment so far...and enjoying the new coworkers and surroundings.  Pictures to follow in the next week or so once I get another chance to breathe :)

Location: Chengdu, China
Local Time (CST -- GMT+8): 5:47 p.m. (8/6/2012)
Auburn Time (PST -- GMT-7): 2:47 a.m. (8/6/2012)

And I'm off...

Room empty: Check.
Everything extra put in storage: Check.
Bags checked in: Check.
Boarding pass in hand: Check.

Phew!  It looks like I'm ready to fly out...at least with all the bits and pieces.  Emotionally, I don't know that I'm quite there yet.  It's so hard to leave.  I'm sure it will catch up with me later...like in a month when I have a chance to breathe again :)

I'm so sorry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to all of you personally.  Time flies when a departure is coming up fast, doesn't it?  Know that I'm thinking of you all and keeping you close to my heart.

Time for a nap...or yet another one last Starbucks in Seattle :)

But first...a few pictures from the last few weeks...

 On the water with my dad after a lovely Sunday Brunch.

 The Girrrrrs :)

A few of my wonderful Young Life ladies

Another one of my girrrs...who knew rubber bands could be so much fun :)

My papa and I at the airport before I headed off to China

Location: Seatac International Airport

Local Time (PST -- GMT-7): 7:35 p.m. (8/4/2012)

Chengdu Time (CST -- GMT+8): 10:35 a.m. (8/5/2012)