A Few Things.

Today finds us neck-deep in the whirlwind that is mid-November through mid-December. We're on the road quite a bit these days teaching all ages and topics. Seriously - this week we will cover how to say "apple" as well as the dangers of HIV. You've got to be ready for anything around here!

I honestly have about 4 semi-meaningful topics whirling around in my brain, but for now here are a few things that have made this past week both interesting and great:

Don't worry, this is not my oven. Our situation was not so dire!

• My super awesome/huge for Asia oven caught on fire
• We began planning the "Ultimate Original Thanksgiving Party" for about 20 friends (meaning Baxter has plans of making foil pilgrims' shoe buckles and talking to our local friends about squaws and firewater)
• I was able to not entirely freak out about the oven and the implications on the aforementioned party
• I was able to locate AND communicate with an electrician who successfully FIXED the oven!! There was great rejoicing in our wigwam!!
• We taught 200+ itty bitty ones and did not catch any kind of airborne illness
• I taught my high school students the word "toot" (don't worry, it was completely appropriate for our lesson)
• We went joy-riding (legally! Teammate Tim got his license!! Woohoo!!) in a rented car on part of our travels and shaved a good 1.5 hours off of travel each way. SCORE. 

And to think, the craziness and adventures for this month has just begun! I often find myself truly astounded that this is my life, it's fantastically bizarre and wonderful all at the same time. While there are inevitable lows and moments of missing or frustration, I can honestly say the sweetness of these days overrides it all.

Here's to hoping for another wild and wonderful week!

A Lazy Girl's Blog

So . .  things are busy. There is so much swirling around around and inside of me, but somehow I haven't found the time yet to spill it all out for the remaining 4 faithful readers. But to pacify these faithful readers, I thought a few pictures of late might be appropriate. It's what's most interesting anyways, right? So here's a bit of what's been going on:

Our teammate and buddy Tim-o-tai had a birthday party for his 16th birthday . . .

 

Kidding Tim! I know you turned 21! (We like to give him a hard time because he's 2-3 years younger than us. What a young'un . . . )

At said party we carved pumpkins!

 

Ok fine, they were actually watermelons. The pumpkins here more closely resemble gourds, which wouldn't have had the same spooky/awesome affect as a watermelon.

Right after we got back from teaching in KM I got a nasty head cold, which I saw as the perfect opportunity to get all cultural and practice traditional Xnese medicine. What you see below is my tutor administering the "guasha". Basically it's a process of light scraping, thought to help the body release bad toxins and illness through the skin. (The red dots you see are the sickness coming out.) I would show you the final product . . . but I think my parents are still recovering from the picture I sent them. It doesn't hurt at all, but basically looks like you lashed yourself for a few hours with a cat of nine tails. Awesome, right?

 

So, here is Team Bentley (one of us slightly washed out from said head cold) hoping you had a Happy Halloween and are enjoying the greatness of fall! More to come soon!

Land O' the Little Ones

This past week we had the joy/challenge of beginning our stint as teachers in yet another realm of education - kindergarten. But before you think it's all legos and storytime, let me mention that kindergarten here includes tiny tots from ages THREE to six. Yeah, that's right.  Trust me, nap time is a TOUGH act to follow!

Now sure, our English lesson in each class lasted only about 30 minutes - but there were up to FORTY of these little bits in each class, and we taught six classes each day. So after this experience, it has been decided yours truly has officially earned the title of "buffoon". I will let the photos below give evidence to this. 

Ok, first one - not so bad. Eager teacher challenging the students to phonetically say "BIRD".

Hmm, here teacher has realized that screaming children means attentive children (for most - disregard Smiley Mcgee here in the front of the photo), and therefore pretends she cannot hear or understand. 

 

Teacher becomes delirious with the task of entertaining . . . I mean teaching 40+ 3 year olds, and secretly wonders if biting them might help. 

Dancing . . . surely dancing will teach these ankle biters that this is NOT my hand. What? They haven't learned foot yet? CRAP!

Teacher has officially cracked up after 6 classes in a day, and its starting to show. Or maybe she's just imitating the fly on her flash card. Scary. 

Teacher decides to quit teaching English, mash their little cheeks, and take them all home with her. Husband won't mind, right?

While it was an exhausting few days, there honestly isn't much more fantastic than being dogpiled/hug mauled by these little munchkins. And sure, I had lots of snotty noses rubbed on my pants and even a curious little devil nuzzling my backside at one point, but when you get a few "I LAUVA YU TEECHA"s, somehow all the exhaustion and buffoonery became worth it.

My Week in Pictures

 

 

 And to think that we once thought 20 years of education could ever been enough . . . riiiiight . . .

My Confession.

I had my first language test today.

I cried before it even started and then gave a less than stellar performance. (I might have test anxiety).

I wandered around town for about an hour trying to find a book store that was BELOW the very store I started at. (I don't do directions in my own language well, let alone another language).

I had a semi-meltdown when the new TV we bought arrived. (I hate spending money).

I let internal expectations dictate my understanding of myself and others. (I have issues).

I am learning.

I am growing.

I am hoping.

To be not as I once was, to see not as I once have, but to emerge wholly changed.

To bear witness to a power that continues to transform, a strength that sustains, and a hope that dawns new every morning.

I don't know about you, but I am grateful that in death - is life.

Praise Him who makes all things new, even me.

The Beauty of Familiar

This week is what we're considering a relatively "slow" week, meaning we will be at home for a luxurious consecutive four days. There's just something about having a space in the world that is your own . . . no matter where it is or what it looks like, it's your own. Although we have a full week of class and things to be done, we're home. In our space . . . able to rest, recharge, and reflect on all that's been swirling within and around us.

I feel like for me, I can balance a hectic lifestyle if a few constants can be sustained. This morning, after a run and trip to the market (have I mentioned I L-O-V-E the market?) - I felt like I could conquer the world. Being able to pound some pavement and chat briefly with my friend "the bean lady" was sweet to my soul. Those moments of just doing regular, ordinary things . . . afford me the opportunity to treasure how blessed we are to be here. I love being in a place and season of my life where I can't help but recognize how the Lord is truly present,  almost as if He's unavoidable.  Isn't it funny how ultimately He is most present when we aren't? And how He pours out and sustains in ways we've previously missed once we relinquish our sense of self and control?

This week's trip to the high school also provided some reassuring familiarity. The sea of faces weren't so daunting, the task of teaching English to students who giggle shyly at just saying their name didn't seem quite so impossible.  While we undoubtedly have much, MUCH to learn in so many areas, it's nice to do know you can do somethings. I know that if nothing else, I can act out vocabulary words and get a laugh from 25 SE Asian high school students.  But it's also nice to know that there are plenty of things that we absolutely cannot do or accomplish. Each day I find myself trying to live in that tension - confident in what little I can do, but humbly accepting all that I cannot and leaning fully into He who provides.

One of our views at the school . . . not bad, huh?

Thankfully, in all of this, there is such a beautiful familiarity. Blanketed across the challenges and treasures of each day, is the familiarity of a God who knows me, and has seen me through countless peaks and valleys. I love knowing that at whatever end of the competency scale that day finds me . . . I am wholly and deeply loved. I am accepted with all of my faults, fears, and failures - and am able to celebrate all that I am not with a God who is.

These days I'm contemplating just how it is that God makes a place so foreign so familiar. And how it is that when He turns the nastiness of my heart inside out, I see Him in a whole new glorious light. There are so many things about myself, God, and this place that I wonder if I'll ever understand, but for now, for today - I'm content in knowing that regardless of how dark or sunny my days are, He knows me and walks close beside. That my friends, is a truth I know and relish in any culture or language.

Whew.

Lord have mercy, where to begin.

First, let me give you a brief run down of the previous week. And this is just the past seven days, not at all counting the days previous it took just to prepare for all of this madness!

- find/sign/move to a new apartment (same city, new digs) * Tim Heinze = our hero/translator/dongxi helper/team member extraordinaire
- locate/purchase/arrange new house things into a livable state
- teach English classes at a high school a few hours away for 3ish days

- return and begin shopping/planning/cooking for Baxter's birthday bash
- have said birthday bash with 14 friends and all kinds of fun (and not to toot my own horn, but can I mention we had pulled pork, burgers, apple pie, hummus and MUCH more deliciousness for his highness? What the heck, TOOT! TOOT!)

 

- host our dear friend/supervisor from our fellowship in Texas for 2 days

 . . . and somewhere in here I think we had class . . . but honestly I'm not quite sure. So yes, things have been hoppin' around here, but we honestly couldn't be happier. We LOVE our new place, had a BALL at the party, and were SO grateful to see our buddy Dave. We're heading out again Friday for another weekend of teaching, and then hopefully/maybe/doubtfully some semblance of a routine will return.

On a random cultural note, today is Mid-Autumn Festival - which in our understanding is an excuse to get off work, eat moon cakes (get it? the autumn moon? took me a while), and celebrate with friends.  This is one of the boxes of moon cakes we received:

And here is a picture of what one of these semi-tasty goodies looks like:

I think this box was fruit flavored, which trust me, was WAY better than the meat flavored box we got. But don't worry, we have also celebrated the beginnings of fall in typical American fashion . . .

Some things never change - Happy Mid-Autumn Festival and Roll Tide!!