Yes Sir

So something pretty hilarious happened the other day in class. Of course it happened in class 5. If anything ridiculous happens in my classes, it is almost always in class 5. Remember, they are my naughty class. Despite their naughtiness, they all have fantastic senses of humor and so I enjoy them very much. 

Anyway, to the story. We were practicing singing the "Five little monkeys song." We did so, and then I told the class to do something. And in response, one of my little girls, Janine, yells out "YES SIR!!"

I about fell over laughing, and so did my co-teacher. She said, "I swear I never teach them that." We've had several good laughs about it since. 

So yeah, never thought I would hear anyone call me sir. Well, it happened. I tried to correct her and said, "No yes sir. Yes ma'am." It didn't work. So apparently to class 5, I am sir. At least I got them to salute me when they say "Yes sir." 

Several other hilarious things happened in class this week. [Disclaimer: anything the students said was in Chinese and I either figured it out via hand motions or had my co-teacher translate]

In Class 3, we played hot potato so they could practice their vocabulary for that lesson. The song I played for the game was Gangnam Style. The moment the song came on, all the boys in my class immediately jumped to their feet and started doing the Gangnam Style dance. It completely disrupted the game.

BUT IT WAS FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My co-teacher, however, was not too pleased. She came up to me and said, "Maybe you should play another song." So no more Gagnam Style. Sad face. 

So remember Josh? Well the kid continues to completely steal my heart. He has taken it upon himself to make sure I know when I'm supposed to come to Class 7 to teach. He told me so five times yesterday that I must come to Class 7 in 3rd period. And then, right before the end of class, he comes up to me, running his mouth in Chinese (as always). When it was obvious I didn't understand, he rolled his eyes, pointed to a kid at the back of the class, and made a tearing motion/sound. I got that part. So he led me back to the other kid and showed me that the kid had accidentally ripped his name card. It was a very slight rip, so trying hard not to laugh, I assured them both that it was ok. So yeah, Josh has assumed the role of class informer to me. It cracked me up how he made the tearing motion/sound. Guess he figured the stupid foreign teacher would at least understand that. 

Oh and I wore my hair down for the first time, since the weather was so nice and it didn't immediately turn into an afro when I stepped outside. Well, the girls found it fascinating. They all wanted to touch and smell my hair. It was a little weird. 

In Class 4, Stan lost his tooth. I was completely unaware of this fact and was blissfully moving on with the lesson when three little boys shot up out of their seats and rushed over to Stan, all talking in very concerned voices. The next think I know I have lost the entire class and they are shouting and talking excitedly. Stan held up his tooth in triumph. One very sweet little girl offered him a tissue to stop the blood. Seeing the concern my kids expressed for their comrade brought tears to my eyes. 

I still get mobbed every time I step out of the classroom/office. At one point I was trying to get to class, and about 12 little girls surrounded me and had me backed up against the wall. They were all hugging me and kissing me, and I couldn't move. One of my co-teachers had to yell at them to get off me so I could go to class. They all started whining but listened and let go. 

Shanae!!

I love my kids, my babies. They are the joy of my life right now. I'm sure y'all are so tired of hearing me say that, but it's the truth. I LOVE MY KIDS! I want to take them all home with me. ALL 288 OF THEM!!!! Not sure where I'd put them, but I could figure something out. 

My Babies!

My kids are teaching me a very important thing: unconditional love. No matter what I do or say, they still want to hold my hand, want to touch me, want to talk to me, want me to talk to them. They love me, even when I discipline them.

Remember Eli? Well, he's been in trouble alot lately, so he's had to stand in front of class for 2 minutes almost every time I teach. Even though I discipline him, he still loves me and always says "Hi" to me and wants me to talk to him. 

And Katelyn-Katelyn is the really naughty girl in class 5 who always mocks me. Even though I discipline her alot, I try to always praise her when she does something good. I go out of my way to make sure she knows she did well. And she loves me. The other day she ran up to me and gave me a huge hug and wouldn't let go. It almost made me cry. 

It's amazing to me that these kids love me even though we can hardly communicate and they only see me twice a week. While we were off for Mid Autumn Festival, they had class one day. And my co-teachers told me the kids were very sad because I was not there. They kept asking "Where's Meesa Lindsay? Where's Meesa Lindsay?" One co-teacher showed up in Class 4 during the time when I normally teach. The kids all looked at her and said "Why are you here? This is FOREIGN English class! Where is Meesa Lindsay?!"

Eli, Emmy, and Josh

I am amazed at the love these children show me-the unconditional love. And I'm amazed at my love for them. Y'all know how close I am with my family. Even though I don't always treat them well, I love them with all my heart and I would gladly lay down my life for them. And that's how I feel about my kids. I didn't think I could love anyone as much as I love my family, but I was wrong. These kids have completely stolen my heart. 

Ashlin!!

And when I think of my love for my kids, I realize Father loves me even more. He did lay down His life for me, wretched, twisted person I am. It brings tears to my eyes to think about it. He LOVES me with a love so deep I can't even begin to comprehend it. It is my hope that the love I show to my students is a reflection of His love for them and me. He is the reason I have so much love and joy in my heart, and I hope my students  and my co-teachers can see that. 

Me and Pat in the office

All Grown-Up

"We're big girls now!" my teammate Hailey exclaimed when we made it to Beijing on Friday. 

That's right, we're big girls. Hailey, Chesney, Anna, and I successfully planned and carried out a trip to Beijing for Mid Autumn Festival vacation. WITHOUT OUR TEAM LEADERS!!!!!!

Y'all are probably reading this thinking what's the big deal? It's a big deal because we did it ALL BY OURSELVES!!! It was our first venture away from the nest and security of our team leaders. And we didn't get lost or die! I did lose my wallet on the trip which has been the butt of many jokes now, but other than that fiasco nothing significantly bad happened. 

So what did we do in Beijing? LOTS. I was exhausted after our trip, but it was so worth it. 

We got to Beijing Friday around lunch time and we met up with our dearest Joy, our adopted Beijing teammate. After dumping all our gear at the hostel, we went to the Bird's Nest, which was where they held the 2008 summer Olympics. 

IT WAS EPIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love the Olympics, particularly the summer Olympics. So getting to see the Bird's Nest was probably one of my favorite things we've done in China. And I'm a huge fan of Michael Phelps, and I got to see the Water Cube, where he made Olympic history in 2008. DAY MADE!

Me at the Bird's Nest!!!!

Me at the Water Cube!

We took lots of pictures, some serious, some silly. Actually mostly silly. So here's a few of them.

Me and Chesney trying to copy the statues

We asked this random foreign guy to take our pictures. He obviously was American, and he asked us where we were from. We responded, "America" and he said, in a "no duh" voice "I know that." Haha. We're so used to just saying America because most Chinese people have no idea where TN, AZ, or UT are. We felt a little stupid. 

Chinese people can sleep anywhere. And to prove my point:

Yeah. 

We found these sculptures of women running with torches, so we decided to take pictures in front of them. Hailey was the photographer. First we tried to copy the sculptures poses, which was an epic failure. Then we got a running start and Hailey tried to take pictures as we each got in front of our respective sculptures. Again, failure. But we got some hilarious pictures out of it.

Friday night we met up with Katie, Joy's team leader. We went to the fancy mall and ate dinner. And I had a salad. It was AMAZING! I hadn't had salad in forever. Then Katie took us to this little store that had a ton of imported food. 

I FOUND CHERRY COKE!!!!!!! IN CHINA!!!!! 

For those of you who don't know, I LOVE Cherry Coke. It's so bad for you, but it's so good. And I hadn't had any in a long time. 

And then Katie took us to Coldstone Creamery. That's right, you read that correctly. C-O-L-D-S-T-O-N-E C-R-E-A-M-E-R-Y. IN CHINA!!!! 

CHOCOLATE GOODNESS!!

So yeah, Friday was pretty awesome. 

On Saturday we met up with Joy again and went to Ikea. That's right, Ikea. I thought the Ikea's in America were huge and insane. The Chinese Ikea beats and American Ikea by a long shot. The insanity and hugeness of the place were almost overwhelming. After spending two hours in Ikea, I felt like I had run a marathon. The best part of Chinese Ikea is that people actually sleep in the beds. All of the beds looked very lived in. Remember how I said Chinese people can sleep anywhere? They do. 

I am so thankful for the amazing friends I have here in China, and I cannot imagine my life here without them. And I am so blessed that Father has provided these fantastic, encouraging women for such a time as this. It's astounding to me how so many different women with different personalities and interests can be such good friends. But that's the beauty of the bond we share as Father's daughters. There was so much laughter, silliness, and fun during our trip to Beijing-it will be one of my fondest memories of China. Thanks for Hailey, Anna, Chesney, Joy, and Katie for making it an awesome weekend!

Fie Woolly Monkeys

So my second week of teaching has ended! This week has been lots of fun but it's also been challenging.

I was told to teach the kids a song. I've spent all week teaching them the Five Little Monkeys song. They LOVE it. We dance to it too. Once they have the whole song down, I'll try to video it and post it for you guys. It's really funny listening to them sing it. Some of them get the words so wrong. Some of them sing "Fie woolly monkeys" instead of "Five little monkeys." Cracks me up. A few times I've even caught myself singing it that way. And don't get even me started on how they say jumping and bumped. It takes everything in my power not to die laughing every class period.

This week classroom management has been a little interesting. Class 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 are all perfect little angels. I have almost no trouble with them. Class 4 and 6 are a little rowdy but I can usually get them under control. It just takes time.

But class 5 ... oh class 5. They are my worst class. Only about a third of them actually pay attention. Even my Chinese co-teacher has given up on them. There's one girl in particular. She just does not listen. And she laughs at everything I say, mocking me. My Chinese co-teacher told me there is no controlling her. So I've got to get creative.

Despite the naughty ones, I have completely fallen in love with my kids. It took them a little while to warm up to me. They are finally starting to actually call me Miss Lindsay. It took two weeks but they've got it. And now every time I step out of my office, I am surrounded by them. I'll have like six or eight hugging and clinging to me as I try to walk down the hallway. Here are a few of my kids that like to swarm me.

This is Pat. She stops by my office at every break and stands by the door until I come out. And she loves to give hugs.

This is Ashlin. She's very smart and super sweet. Whenever she hugs me, she wraps her arms around my waist as far as she can and squeezes.

This is Becca. She likes to run right at me and almost knock me over with her hugs. Her pigtails are so cute.

And this is Shanae. I haven't quite gotten to know her yet, but she loves to come with the other three and always grabs my arm.

These two are Annie and Hannah. Today they almost made me cry because as I was walking down the road back to my apartment, they passed me and said "Hello Mees Lindsay!" THEY KNOW MY NAME!!! After two weeks of trying to get these kids to say my name, they finally did! Without me having to say it for them. They're very sweet and very smart.

And here are four of the boys that I love so dearly.

This is Eli. Named after Eli Manning. Don't judge me. He can be a little bit of a troublemaker. Yesterday I had to make him stand up in front of the class because he and another boy were fighting. Despite the fact that I punished him, he still loves me. He says Hello to me every time he sees me and he makes sure I say it back to him.

This is Wilson. He is SO smart. He has the Five Little Monkeys song down, and he usually says it correctly. And he was the first one to walk past me in the hallway and say "Hello Mees Lindsay!" Oh, the reason he has a sticker on his head is because for some odd reason the kids like to put their stickers on their forehead. I think it's adorable.

And this is Sheldon. Named after Sheldon Cooper from my favorite sitcom the Big Bang Theory. Again, don't judge me. He is scary smart. He gets what I teach faster than any of the other kids. And he's one of my best behaved boys.

And this is Josh. Josh has a very special place in my heart, and it's only been two weeks. He is an absolute delight, aside from being a bit of a troublemaker. He always raises his hand when I ask for volunteers to come to the front. And he makes sure that I say Hi to him in the hallway. And he always tries to talk to me in Chinese. It's hilarious.

So yeah, my kids are the best. I love them all, even when I can't remember their names. I'm getting better with their names. You would think that I would remember since I named them all. Nope. Still sorting out who is who. But they make all the hard things about China go away. Even when I'm having a bad day, when they smile at me and say "Hello Mees Lindsay!", all my worries and troubles are gone. They make it worth it. Every single one of them.

Surrender

It's amazing how being taken out of your comfort zone can change you in so many ways. I've only been in China for a little over a month and already I can tell I'm a different person. I'm becoming much more laid back. Shocking I know ... but it's happening. Some of you are probably doing a happy dance right now. It's ok, go ahead and enjoy it. 

Father has been teaching me alot about surrender this year. And now that I'm in China, this lesson has become even more evident. 

Sometimes there's literally nothing I can do about certain situations. And that frustrates me to no end. 

I don't like feeling helpless. I don't like the fact that there are some people I left behind in America that I care about, and I can't be there with them. Timing is a strange thing. Their lives go on without me, and mine without them. And that's hard for me to accept. When I see and hear of their hurt, I want to fix it. But I can't. 

And I look at where I am living. My city. There is so much I want to do. I want to change the living conditions of my students. I want to change the poverty I see all around me. I want to fix all the pollution so people will have healthy lungs for a long time. I want to fix it. But I can't.

But Father ... I love that phrase. But Father. Father can do all things. When I am weak, He is strong. Where I fail, He succeeds. It is my duty to surrender my life, my wants, my needs, my desire for control, my "rights." I must put it all before Him, with arms outspread and hands open, saying,"Not my will but yours." I even have to put the people I love before Him. As much as I want to cling to them and say they're mine, I have to let go. They're not mine, they're His. Whatever He needs to do in their lives will happen with or without me. It's His will, not mine. 

That's where we all need to be. On our knees before Him, offering up everything to Him in complete surrender. And that's where He's bringing me. 

Motivation

So today I finished my first week of teaching. And my students and I are still alive. Success. 

I discovered something very important today: motivation. 

And I figured out what motivates my students to behave: stickers. 

If only it was this easy to motivate everyone I know. 

In class 2, I decided to try a little experiment. 

When my students started getting out of control, I said, "One, two, three!" and then folded my arms. Two of my students followed suit and I gave them each a sticker. 

Then the rest of them caught on. The next time I did it, almost the entire class folded their arms, sat up straight, and became silent. I gave a few of them stickers. 

POWER!!!! AND IT'S MINE!!!! MY PRECIOUS!!!!!

Just kidding. But I did feel a certain amount of satisfaction in the fact that I could get my class to be quiet and listen to me. And I was also proud that I was able to take over the majority of the classroom management over from my co-teachers. 

In Class 4, my co-teacher has the class trained so that when she says "Attention!" the students sit up straight and face her and say "ONE TWO!" Although it sounds more like "WAN TO!"

Class 4 is my naughty class. And by naughty I mean they just talk all the time. Four of the boys in Class 4 totally disregard the fact that they are in class. I took toys away from them today. 

And yesterday, I met class 8. When I came into class, one of the little girls ran towards me shouting something in Chinese and literally leapt into my arms, giving me a huge hug.  And I named her Joslynn. She was my first student to give me a hug. I about cried. 

My students recognize me in the hallway now. I walk past and they say "Laoshi! Laoshi!" (Teacher! Teacher!) And they like to touch me. It's kind of funny. 

Today in Class 4, one of my girls kept saying something to me in Chinese. Of course, I couldn't understand. So I had my co-teacher translate. Apparently my student said, "You are very white." I laughed so hard. Then, my co-teacher asked if my nickname was Snow White. I told her no. 

For some reason, the internet is being difficult here so I'm having a hard time posting pictures. Hopefully it'll get better soon, so I can show you my beautiful kids

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

Today, I met my kids. My beautiful, smiling, rambunctious, smart, six-year old kids. I watched them all as they marched to class in semi-straight lines shouting "Yi er yi Yi er yi!" (One two one). I almost cried this morning when I saw them in the hallway as they rushed past my office shouting "Hello" to me in their adorable Chinese accents. And then at the beginning of each class when they all said "Good marning Mees Lindsay!" I about cried again. Although when they said my name, sometimes it sounded more like "Lizzy." Made me almost laugh despite the tears in my eyes. 

They are why I am here.  They are my kids for this one year. I cannot believe I have the opportunity to be here with them and watch them grow up this year. 

I have fallen in love with my kids. And I haven't even met half of them yet. 

Right now I'm pretty sure they don't know what to do with me yet. Poor things looked rather startled. 

One of the most hilarious moments of my day happened when I was just walked down the hall. Class had ended and as I walked past a classroom door, two little girls came out. They jumped and screamed when they saw me. Guess they had never seen a foreigner before. But I smiled and waved at them, and then they smiled and waved back. 

I "taught" 3 classes today. Because it was the first day, I got to give them English names. And yes, I have to give names to all 288 of my kids. The last couple days Anna, Chesney, Sarah, Hailey and I have been coming up with lists of names and making name cards for our kids. Coming up with that many names that six-year olds can hopefully pronounced was a challenge. But it was SO MUCH FUN! By the way, I named alot of them after people I know. So if you're reading this, you probably have a small Chinese 1st grader who has the same name as you. 

So, I got to give each of my 3 classes English names today. I handed out name cards and they colored them while I went around and practiced their names with them. Of course, most of them won't remember their names by the time the next class rolls around. They loved their names and their name cards. They decorated them so beautifully. When I showed some of them to one of my co-teachers, she said "Oh that class vary clevar." Yes, my students are very clever. 

At my school, the students are separated into 3 sections. Each section has all the grades (1-5). And each grade has 8 classes. I teach all the section 3, grade 1 classes. Today I taught Class 7, Class 6, and Class 1. 

Class 7 is very, very clever. But they are also very rambunctious. I have three troublemakers in that class: Corey, Josh, and Jesse. Also in that class are Elise and Emmy. Elise is very smart, I can already tell. And Emmy was one of the few who actually smiled at me when I helped her practice her name. And then there's Ava. She listens very well and is very helpful. This class also has Eli and Peyton, who sit next to each other. Yes I did name two of my kids after my favorite NFL quarterbacks. 

Class 6 is so good. They are so well-behaved and sweet. And they are very, very artistic. So many of them had elaborate patterns and designs on their name cards. Well, elaborate for 1st graders. Shari and Mandy sit in the very back of the class and are my talkative ones. Camille and Joy sit in the front and smile alot and listen very well. My boys are all very well-behaved in this class. 

Class 1 ... oh Class 1.They are so smart but so noisy. The talking almost never stops. The one I think I am going to have the most trouble with is Addison. He already told me no like 3 times. None of the other children have yet to tell me no. And then there's Ferris ... He has this mischievous look on his face at all times. Go figure. Meaghan, Mike, and Melissa are so sweet and smile at me all the time. 

I will eventually post pictures of my kids. I will work on that this weekend. 

I'll also tell you about my co-teachers later. This post is getting long, so I figure I better end it. 

Bathroom Narnia and Toilet Surgery

I'M HOME!!! I HAVE FINALLY MADE IT TO TAIYUAN!!!!

Sorry just had to get that off my chest. I seriously cannot believe after months of waiting, I am in my home. I think the relief of just making it here helped temper the shock I felt when walking in to my apartment.

I have never seen so much dust, dirt, and grime in my life. And you all know I have a wonderful mother who highly values cleanliness. I have been spoiled for 22 years ... and Friday, I got to see what the majority of the world considers clean. 

Our living room. And Hailey.

My bedroom

The next day my two apartment-mates and I spent the entire morning scrubbing out the bathroom on our hands and knees. At one point we even grabbed a knife and starting chiseling away at the years of built-up dirt and grime. We used close to half a liter of bleach on the bathroom alone. And my hands were basically raw by the end of the cleaning day. And Hailey and I were sore the next day. I never thought cleaning was an aerobic activity ... until that day. Best work out I've had in a long time. 

Our bathroom, before cleaning

I made several profound discoveries during our day(s) of cleaning:

1) I can now perform toilet surgery. Our toilet was a very sick patient. The chain was literally attached by two safety-pins. I about fell over laughing when I saw it. It took me 3 surgeries to get it working half-way decently. And I'm probably going to have to perform a 4th surgery some day in the future. 

2) Bathroom Narnia: I have two wardrobes in my room. Behind one of them is a duct-taped door ... a door that leads to what we have christened Bathroom Narnia: the Bathroom behind the wardrobe. There is a bathroom behind that magical door ... a bathroom that has probably not been used in 5-6 years. There is a half-inch of dust/dirt/only-Father-knows-what-else on EVERYTHING in that room. 

And there is a terrible stench that emanates from Bathroom Narnia. One of the girls who lived here last year told us her uncle (who is a plumber) said feces probably leaked out of the pipes at some point and are growing something in there. The girls last year called the growth demon melons. And those demon melons are food for the goblins that live in the dust. 

Just my luck I would get the room with Bathroom Narnia. Maybe one of these days I will be brave enough to venture into the magical abyss and take samples of whatever is growing in there. 

3) Rotten Cabbage Smell: our apartment has been smelling like rotten cabbage since we got here. It took us two days to figure out the source of the smell was actually our washing machine. Don't ask us how we're gonna get that fixed.

Despite all of these little surprises in our apartment, I love it here. It is my home for the next 10 months, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

view from my room

We felt welcomed as soon as we set foot on campus. The team from the University met us there and had cleaned and bought some food for us. And the team from last year left us each a box of presents and lots of notes and maps. I am amazed and humbled by the love our brothers and sisters showed us.

If I haven't believed that this is where Father wants me, I do now. Being here is right. The fact that I didn't have a major panic attack when I walked in our apartment is nothing short of a miracle. And it's Father who performs all miracles. I have doubted Him a great deal in the last year. But He continually proves Himself faithful despite my faithlessness.