PTL Anyhow

Wednesday afternoon I knew I had to plan my next set of lessons since I would have no time that evening because I was having dinner at Lilla's friend's house. So during the lunch hour I planned this nice lovely lesson on an introduction to culture. I want to not only share about my culture and the differences there are with theirs, but also want them to be able to express and define unique and special things about their own culture. That afternoon I had two more lessons. Between lessons I was talking to one of the Chinese teachers and she was telling me how she would like to sit in on my lesson the next day. Sure, I said, I will be talking about culture. Then she just had to burst my bubble. "But we don't discuss culture for another three weeks [according to their text book]. You should talk about earthquakes, becuase that is what their text book is on now." So this entire time, I've only refered to their test book a couple times and its never been a problem. We are supposed to come up with our own material. But I guess it makes sense to do something fairly relavent, seeing as they have midterms next week. But it filled me with all kinds of anxiety since I had absolutely no time to plan an entriely new lesson now. Arg.

After the second afternoon class, some of my girl students said they had to tell me something. They fumbled and stumbled to find words, all I understood was "trousers." Then they drew a picture. "Your trousers! Open!" Yeah, my fly had been wide open during the last two classes! AAH! The girls said, "You are red!" I laughed and said, "I am SOOOO embarrassed, I am going to die!!!" We all had a good laugh, and I immediately fixed the problem... he he.

Right after classes I ran to another building to help out the Jr. students with a listening exam. Martin and I were brought to the control room... spooky dude! From this room you discover that every classroom has a video camer and they can see AND hear everything! There are tons of little TV's.... it's pretty high tech! It was mine and Martin's job to read through a mic some dialogues and stories. And we could see the class who was carefully listening and taking this exam. It was kinda fun. But spooky all the same! It's a strange feeling to know I am always being watched. I'm sure they aren't able to watch all classes at once though, since there are over 100 different classes in this school.

After helping with the exam, I quickly got ready for my dinner date. Lilla's friend Coral invited me to her home. She lives pretty close to the school on the tenth floor of a building. The view was cool. She had a really nice appartment actually. Huge big screan TV, three bedrooms, nice well-equipped kitchen. Livin' large. At first it was only Coral and Linger there, the two that barely speak English. But even after Lilla got there, the one who speaks English pretty well, it was still awkward. They pretty much all talked to eachother the entire time in Chinese. Once in a while Lilla would interpret, which made me almost glad I didn't understand. Most of the time they were talking about the men they talk with online and what they talk about. And two of these women are married! Dinner was interesting. There was a ton of food. Coral made a traditional Chinese dinner, where there are plates and plates of raw meat and vegies, and you put them all in the same boiling water. Shrimp, beaf, pork, fish, liver, chicken. They kept putting stuff on my plate, and I know they were just being hospitible and nice, but it was really frustrating for me. Cuz I knew I had to eat it. But I just wanted to take my own food, ya know. The worst part was the liver. At first since it looked like beef when cooked I thought I could do this... but oh man. It was so aweful. It was all I could do to keep from gagging. They can really put it away, though. They ate SO much. They commented on how gentle an eater I was. I said it's prbably cuz it takes me so long to pick anything up with the chopsticks. (But truely, I'm pretty good at it... I just needed an excuse!) This is the third time hanging out with Lilla, and each time has been SO strange!

Afterwards, we went to the living room to chat. They wanted me to give them an English lesson. And soon they were asking to meet with me once a week for an English lesson. They say "We will be good friends." So, ok, maybe on Wednesdays. Then they tell me they want me to introduce American guys to some Chinese girls, and have like a matchmaking service!! They are serious! After that night I was thinking about all the things that took place. I really don't think that these women really want to be my good friend. I think they really just want free English lessons or something more. I'm usually a very trusting person, but I just don't get a pure-intentions vibe from these chicks. It kind of breaks my heart. I'd really like to have some faith in these people! I was telling Dream about what happend, and she aggreed that I cannot trust these ladies. They just want something from me, and think that it will up their social status by having a foreign friend. I'm used to people wanting to talk to me simply to practice their English, but these ladies really pursued it and buttered me up with their "friendship," fancy meals, tours of Chikan, and facials. So, now I have to find my way out of this. I would love to be their friend, and I would love to hang out with them. But I will not allow myself to be used. Sigh.

When I returned home that night, I was up late planning a new lesson. I didn't like the "earthquake" idea, so I made it broader and changed it to "natural disasters." So if I atleast mention earthquakes, maybe the Chinese teacher will be happy. Besides, a lot of their vocabulary words are the same. And they can talk about the natural disaster they are most familiar with: typhoons. It was sadly not the most exciting lesson I've given. But I'm sure they'll forget it in no time. One of their vocab words was "shake." So I thought I'd teach them a song with the word "shake" in it...like the hokie pokie! Yeah, baby. For this age, they thought it was kinda stupid. But it was funny and passed the time a little.

So yeah! Next week they have midterms! This means that I don't have to teach classes on W,Th, or F! So I think Brenda and I are going to see some sites! It will be nice to have a little break. We might go to Hai Bin Hotel again, and this time I will be sure to take some pictures.

Thursday night Martin asked Brenda and I if we would help him out with a little problem he got himself into. He invited all of his grades' Chinse English teachers to have dinner with him that night. They are ALL women. He didn't want their outing to look scandalous, so he wanted our white faces their too. We went to some ghetto restarant that the ladies picked becuase it is "very delicious." They had reserved a private dining room that would be big enough for our group, but when we got there, there were two guys smoking in our room and the ladies, the waitresses, and even the restarant managers would not ask them to leave. It was so bizzare. I can't figure out why. So we ended up getting shuffled around and finally placed at a table outside near the mechanic shop. Nothing surprises me anymore. We actually had a really nice time. The ladies were very funny. And the food was pretty good. One of Martin's students was there at the restaraunt with her family celebrating her grandfather's birthday. They offered to give us a ride home in their car, so we didn't have to take a taxi. It was cool to be in a real car again! And not only did they give us a ride, but they gave us the rest of their grandpa's birthday cake!!! So generous! It was mighty yummy.

Last evening we got together with the Chinese teachers to play volleyball again. This time there was a lot of people that showed up! It was great fun. We played til so late we could barely see the ball.

As for me, I've been in good spirits and happy to be alive. Yet there is something in my heart that is longing for something more. A sign of my struggle: I feel that my mind is in many ways becoming desensitized to the profanity that is always coming out of the mouths of my fellow foreign co-workers. I didn't realize this completely until last night when something came out of my mouth subconsciously. I need Romans 12, to renew my mind and not conform to the patterns of this world! Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks! I know the Father understands, as my only company has been people with foul speach. It's been hard to be without like-minded people. And I confess that my time with Him has been quiet and barren. But I will not believe that He's left me or forgotten, because he hasn't. And I will not believe that He doesn't care, cause He does. Even when I don't understand why He seems far off, and even in the silence, the desert, the fruitless times... I will choose to PTL!