New Group of Students

I started working with a new group of students yesterday.  They are also from the music school and will go to a university in Poland to study music.  The majority of them play the piano, but there is one tuba player, one french horn player and two singers.  We divided them into two groups because about half of them speak fairly good English; the others struggle with it a little more.  The girl in the yellow is not a music student.  Her mother works at the school and asked if she could sit in on the class while she is out for summer vacation.  All of the students are all very nice and very dedicated.  They have spent many hours a day practicing in order to study music in a university.  They are nervous and excited about going to Poland.  Their biggest worries are the language, the food and getting lost.  (I can really relate to their fears.)  They are very excited to move on in their education even though it means they probably won't see their families for about four or five years.  I admire them for their courage at such a young age.

Making My Way to Work

Since I have had the Internet for longer than two days, I thought I would hurry and write another post. I have had these pictures for quite a while, but just couldn't get them posted before now.  I leave for work at 8:00 in order to arrive there about 8:50.  I put about 3700 steps on my pedometer in the process of getting there.  It is a mile from my place to the subway station, and I take the rest of the steps in the subway or walking the last bit to the place where I work.  I don't mind the walk in the morning, but coming home, that mile is very long, especially right now when it is soooooo hot and muggy.  (I am sure I will feel the same way when it's cold in the winter.

I took this picture from the window by the elevator just after I walked out of my apartment on the 13th floor.  It is a good thing I live in China; they don't think 13 is an unlucky number.

This is the way out of the apartment complex.  I don't have to show any identification, but they do have a man at the gate all of the time to monitor who goes in or out.  He is the one in the uniform. The man who is sitting by the gate is from Kosovo.  He is here visiting his son and doesn't have anything to do, so he sits there most of the day visiting with all of us as we come and go.

Once I leave the complex, I walk down this lovely street.  They keep is very clean, and there are some nice little shops all along the way.

Then I turn the corner! During the summer months, there is a farmers' market every morning in one section of my path.  I don't know what time they start, but everyone is gone by 8:30.  I think many people go every day or every other day to shop.

You really need to zoom in on this picture to see all of the bicycles and people waiting for the buses .  I finally found a way to walk that didn't take me through all of the confusion.

I can't even begin to describe the subway in the morning.  It is the worst part of the morning - no, the whole day.  I have to go three stops on Line 1 which is the busiest train in Beijing.  During the rush hours they have pushers just like they do in Japan.  The train is already completely full, but then about 8 or 10 people get on, and finally the pushers cram about six more on before the door closes.  I would take a picture, but I can't lift my arms.  I don't have to worry about falling down when the train stops because there is no where to move.  The really interesting part is everyone is glued together, but then a person or two has to make their way through the group in order to get out at the next stop.  Somehow it works.  Fortunately, many people leave the train at the stop just before mine, so I can move to the door a little easier.  After the 10 minute ride on Line 1, there is nothing that happens during the day that can be worse.  I do have to transfer to Line 5, but it is mild compared the Line 1.  After two stops I come out of the depth of the earth into the light.

I only have to go two blocks to get to where I work, but there is one crazy street corner to get across before arriving safely.  It is a moving mass of humanity with all of the people, bikes, scooters and cars.  They do have a light for pedestrians there, but the bikes and scooters go at the same time.  It's a great experience.

I finally reach the Music School where I teach the students from 9:00 to 12:00.  The way home is quite a bit calmer - thank goodness.  I am not sure what I will do when I start teaching students all day and have to go home when everyone else does.  I may have to figure out how to ride the bus. Maybe that will be my next goal.

My First Excursion

Entrance to the Wangfujing Bookstore

Last Saturday I was going to leave my safe, quiet apartment and venture out on an excursion, but my plan was interrupted by the terrible storm. Monday the sky was a beautiful blue with no chance of rain, so I determined I should have my first-off-the-beaten-path experience. Many of you will not be surprised to hear that my first adventure was a visit to a bookstore - with English books. Partially because I needed to find a Chinese/English dictionary since I left mine at home, and it seemed like a good place to spend a hot, humid afternoon. After identifying the appropriate subway stop, I was on my way. Whenever I go someplace new, I have to carefully note any stores that will help me find my way back to the subway station. I often wish I could be like Hansel and Gretel and leave bread crumbs to lead me home, but instead of dropping bread, I have to memorize the stores I pass. After asking directions from four different people who would point the way to go and guide me closer to my goal, I found myself in front of the largest bookstore I have ever seen. In all it had six floors of books. The English section was on the third floor. I spent about an hour or more just wandering around. I skipped the self-help book section because I figure it is too late for them to change me. I also quickly passed by the diet books because moving to China has solved that problem. Eventually I found my dictionary and a few other books before following my path back to the subway station. (I always carry my address with me that is written in Chinese characters just in case I get really lost and need to catch a cab home.) About thirty-five minutes later, I was sitting in my safe, quiet apartment eating some food from the local market and reading a book called “The House on Mango Street” by Sandra Cisneros.

Looking to the left as I leave the bookstore.

Looking to the right.

Finding my way back to the subway station.

 

Oh What a Rainstorm!

This might be a good time to report about the weather since Beijing just had the biggest rain storm in 60 some years. Fortunately, I watched the whole thing from my apartment. I was planning on getting out and about for a little while Saturday afternoon, but the storm moved in before I left my humble home. It was pretty exciting. About 1:00 p.m. the sky went absolutely black as night, and remained that way for about 30 minutes. During that time, the heavens let loose with a massive amount of rain which was to continue for the next ten hours. Some parts of the city received as much as 18 inches of rain. I was talking about the storm with some people at church today. One woman said she had to walk from the subway to her home in water that hit the middle of her calves. Ten people died in Beijing, as well as some others in the surrounding areas. There are some pictures on some of the news sites such as Yahoo and Google News if you want to see the results of so much rain. (Click here for the CNN pictures.)  The weathermen predicted that today would bring more of the same. However, it was a beautiful day. The storm pushed out all the pollution, and the sky was clear, blue and beautiful. I took a picture out my window this morning and this evening because for the first time since I arrived in Beijing, I could see the mountains that are about 15 or 20 miles to the west. I had no idea they even existed until today.

Surprised to see mountains out my window. So surprised I didn’t hold the camera straight.

Evening picture of the same view.

Sunset is beautiful in any country.

I Renewed My Visa

I was able to renew my visa yesterday for two more months without having to leave the country.  That gives us two months to get the business going so I can apply for a work visa.  I was preparing to spend the weekend in Hong Kong or Korea if I didn't receive the extension.  Although it could have been fun, I am glad I have a little more time to get used to things here before trying to find my way around a new place.  I was so excited that I bought an ice cream bar on the way home to celebrate.  It was delicious!

I Am Blessed

I am sure it is not a surprise by now, but the Internet went down again.  Actually, I am glad it did because it gave me a chance to rethink my last blog.  I ended it with the quote, “God is in his heaven, and all is right with the world.”  I do believe God is in his heaven and is watching over the world, and I know he has been very involved in my life over the past month.  Although many things continue to happen that confuse and frustrate me, my world is right.  I know, however, that all is not right with the world.  There are so many people whose lives are filled with fear, hunger, lack of comfort and truth.  How can I complain about a broken light or no Internet when there are people who don’t even have a place that keeps them out of the weather.  How can I complain about not having hot water when many people travel far distances to bring back water.  How can I complain about my bed being a little hard when some don’t have a place to rest their heads at night.  How can I complain about the heat or rain when my room is being cooled by an air conditioner.  I cannot complain because I know I am richly blessed.  I also know God is counting on me to do my part to help make the world right for others.  He speaks to my soul and quietly says, “Help me take care of all my children.”  It seems an overwhelming task, but I know with his help, there are things I can do.  Maybe I can offer someone a smile, a hug, a listening ear. (I may have to learn Chinese before I can really lend a listening ear.)  All I know is that I have been blessed throughout my life by people who were trying to make the world right for me and others. Now it is my turn.

Latest Update

So - I think I need to give an explanation for not blogging as much lately.  Ever since I moved into my apartment I have had trouble with the Internet.  It took a few days for the Internet provider to get me connected, but even then, I would lose the connection every few days.  Two days ago I thought everything was fine, but yesterday morning the power went off in my apartment, and I lost everything.  Charlie, my computer guru, came by again last night and got it all going again.  Here's hoping that I can have access for a while so I can post on the blog and answer emails.

So I do have to tell you about one quick experience.  The reason the power went off yesterday morning had to do with my living room light.  I turned it off; there was a loud pop, and everything went off.  It was 7:40 a.m., and I was supposed to leave at 8:00 to go to work.  I called Kyle, my business partner,  and explained the problem.  He told me where to find the fuse box.  I tried flipping all of the fuses, but nothing came back on.  Finally, Victor came over and showed me where the main switch was.  As soon as he flipped it, all of the electricity came on - except the living room light.  

That afternoon a fix-it man came by to fix the light.  Without understanding a word of Chinese, I could tell I was supposed to have a light bulb for him to replace the old one.  I let him know I would go and get one.  After I got home, another fix-it man came by to change the lightbulb.  I don't know if you can tell by the pictures of my apartment, but I have very high ceilings.  I would say they are about 11 or 12 feet high.  He looked at the ceiling and then looked at me and gave the look as if to say, "How am I supposed to get up there to change the light bulb?"  Honestly, I was quite surprised that he didn't walk in with a ladder.  He finally picked up one of my black chairs, put it on the table and climbed up into the chair.  He lifted his arms as high as he could but still was a few inches short of reaching the light.  We both looked around for something that would make him a little taller.  I finally took the pillows off the couch and put them in the chair.  Moving very slowly, he climbed into the chair and stood up.  Voila!  He was able to change the lightbulb.  Unfortunately, the light still didn't go on.  Yes, I would like to tell you that yesterday, I was without a living room light, Internet and hot water.  Actually, I can't complain.  Cold showers still feel wonderful.  I can go into my bedroom to have light.  And best of all the Internet is up and running.  God's in his heaven, and all is right with the world as far as I am concerned.

Snapshots of the Day

Look closely for the scooter in the middle of the picture.  It is a scooter taxi that takes people for just short distances.  For instance, this one is outside my complex and would take people to the subway stations.  It costs 10 RMB which is about $1.60.  Every day as I start my 20 minute walk, I am very tempted to use it, but then this little voice that sounds just like DeVon Hale's voice shouts, "DON'T DO IT!!!" I did try it one day when I thought I was going to be late for work.  I picked a lady driver because I assumed she might drive more safely.  I am not sure that is true.  I am glad that I sat backwards in it because then I couldn't see all the cars coming toward us or the bicycles and scooters we were trying to dodge.  I made it safely to the subway and even made it to work on time.  

So while I was looking for the food to make my first  dinner, I found real Lay potato  chips.   I have found quite a few American foods here - such as chocolate - and have resisted the temptation to buy any.  I just could not walk past the salt and vinegar chips.  Now I have to find some meat slices to add to my cheese so I can have a sandwich and potato chips.  Ah those little luxuries in life.

This is a picture of my first home cooked meal.  In case you can't tell what it is, it is a piece of toast (toasted in the firing pan), a slice of cheese and two scrabbled eggs - and black pepper.  I know it looks like a simple meal, but it took a little while to get everything together to fix it.  I bought the utensils when I moved into the apartment.  Finally found a frying pan last Friday.  The eggs are in all of the markets, and I found the bread a while ago.  But the butter, cheese and black pepper have taken a little time.  I finally located them yesterday in a little market.  I still haven't discovered the salt, but it isn't that good for me anyway.  Tonight I put everything together and had a lovely dinner that I made myself.  As the Germans would say, "Guten Appetite!"  (What am I doing in China?)

A Day at Church

Not many LDS chapels have and entrance like the one at the Golden Tower office building.  In fact when you step inside it is a little mall with a Dairy Queen in it.  The church is on the fourth flour at the left side of the building.  A quick elevator ride up, and there you are at church.

As you step off the elevator and turn down the hall, you will begin to see familiar pictures and objects to let you know it is an LDS chapel.  Sacrament meeting was quite crowded, but most of the people are here visiting Beijing.  Many of the branch members are in the US visiting families.  In fact all of the branch presidency and the elders' quorum president have been out of town.  The first counselor in the elders' quorum has been conducting the meetings for a couple of weeks.

We ended the meetings in Relief Society with about 30 sisters from all over the world.  We had a beautiful lesson, and the Spirit was very strong as many of the sisters shared how they had found the gospel.  The tall lady in the black dress with brown hair is the president.  She went on her mission to Taiwan and speaks beautiful Mandarin Chinese.  I must admit I an a little envious of her.  She was the one who went with me to Walmart after I moved into my apartment so I could buy a few things I needed.  She and her husband also invited me over for dinner the first Sunday I spent in Beijing.  I am very grateful for her kindness.

Welcome to My Apartment

I feel like I am on the International House Hunter Show on HGTV.  I looked at four apartments and then decided on this one.  Actually, it was the first one I looked at, and I knew it was the one I wanted. The landlords had another offer, but fortunately it fell through.  So here I am - just like in the show - showing you how it looks now.  It is a very bright and cheerful place.  I really haven't done much except add a few bright towels and some flowers and make the bed.  

As you can see, I have a great television set that is even connected to cable.  The only problem is there are no English channels.  I watched it while I was eating lunch today, and only heard one word I recognized.  I think it is going to take some time to learn Chinese.   

 

 

 

Here are a few more pictures of the front room. I have a terrific view of the complex next door. The large square building is a very fancy restaurant called Glory Road Restaurant. I am not sure where that came from.

 

Sitting at my computer desk. I think I will be spending a great deal of time here as I work on my blog or Skype with my family.

This corner looks like it has a shopping cart, a chair and some shoes.  It really has an invisible table and chairs for all of my company to join me for dinner.  I will worry about getting real furniture when I have people to invite over for dinner.  Actually, I have met some very nice people at the branch.  I have been invited to a different home every Sunday since arriving in Beijing.  The first Sunday I had dinner with Mary and Kyle Latimer.  She is the Relief Society president, and he is with the justice department at the U.S. embassy.  The second week Terry and Craig Davis invited me to come over after church.  He is a geologist with an oil company that has and office in Beijing.  Last Sunday I had a delightful afternoon with Rae and Rob Rancie.  They are here as humanitarian missionaries (help distribute school supplies, wheel chairs, etc.) and also teach English at the China Women's University.  Rob retired as a financial planner about 18 months ago, and three weeks later they were in China.  They have spent many hours studying Chinese, and have given me a little hope that I may be able to learn it too.

I have a very nice bathroom. The only problem is my hot water works sporadically.  That means I can start a shower with cold water, then it might get hot for a few minutes and then it goes cold again.  Fortunately - or unfortunately - it is so hot and muggy outside that a cold shower feels wonderful.  I have made arrangements with the landlord to get a new water heater this next week.  I will probably still take cold showers as long as the weather remains so hot.  By the time I finish my walk home, sweat is streaming down my face and my clothes are completely wet.  It reminds me of the day DeVon, Dianne and I climbed up to Robert Louis Stevenson's grave in Samoa.  The difference is there isn't a nice cool swimming pool to fall into like we had at Aggie Gray's Hotel.  I guess a cold shower is the next best thing.

These are pictures of my bedroom.  It is really quite nice.  I was afraid the bed would be too hard, but I really haven't had any problems with my back, and I get plenty of sleep.  Everything I see when I look south out the bedroom window is under construction.  I think they are preparing places for another couple of million people to stay.   (By the way, you should be impressed that I have figured out which way is south.  It isn't an easy task to know which direction I am going.  If you were to drop me down in another section of Beijing, I wouldn't have a clue about the direction.)

Last but not least is the kitchen.  I do have a refrigerator.  It is to the right of the stove top.  I haven't done much cooking since I arrived here.  Right now I eat oatmeal and yogurt for breakfast - I just can't give up that German training.  Besides finding oatmeal, I can buy peanut butter, jam and bread.  That is what I usually eat at lunch with a glass of milk.  For dinner I can get a good meal from the little market for about $1.50.  I don't always know what I am eating, but the price is right.  There also is a fruit market just down the block that has wonderful fruit - especially the watermelon.  I need to figure out a few different things to add to my menu, but as Scarlet O'Hare said, "There is always tomorrow."

10 days and counting

Well, I have been in China about ten days.  It has been a roller coaster ride for sure.  There have moments of complete terror, moments of extreme loneliness and moments of great satisfaction.  The only way I have been able to calm the loneliness and terror is through constant prayer.  I have spent a great deal of time in the last ten days praying.  I have prayed about finding an apartment, about getting a cab and having the cab driver know where I need to go.  My prayers for blessing the food are much more sincere now.  I have prayed about courage to walk out the door to go to the bank or on some other errand.  I know through it all that the Lord has been by my side.  I have been led to places and people who have helped me in every way.  I met a man by the name of Victor who has been a great support with every aspect of getting an apartment.  I am sure I wouldn't have one by now without his help.  Each time I kneel down, the first thing I do is to express my gratitude for everything the Lord is doing for me. Usually that is followed with a sincere need. Thank goodness for prayer, and thank goodness for the Lord who made it possible to call for help.   

 

I also am very grateful for Skype so that I can see my family.  It is such a blessing to see them and talk with them.  What did we do before the computers and all of the technology?  Twenty years ago all we could do was send letters and pictures.  Later we added email.  Now I can watch the grandchildren eat or sing or play.  What fun!

 

I do know that I am adjusting each day.  Yesterday I was walking home from meeting with the realtors when I realized that I was smiling.  Usually on my walks, I have been so intent on where I am going and how to get somewhere that smiling has not been an option.  Last night I just enjoyed the walk - and smiled.  A few of the people smiled back and said, "ni hao."  I am sure the times of smiling will increase each day.

 

A woman was selling t-shirts outside of the place where I am staying.  One of the shirts said, "Don't need to marry a prince to be a queen."  It made me laugh out loud.  I would have bought the shirt, but it would only cover part of my body.  All of the women here are so petite; I think I equal about two of them.  I really do stand out in a crowd.  I showed the students some pictures of my family.  They could not believe how tall they are.  I think it would be great for all of my children and their spouses to come to China at the same time.  I am sure we would be quite a spectacle - might even make the news.

 

I keep looking for food that I recognize and visited a little bakery today.  There aren't very many of them.  In fact the Chinese don't eat very much bread.  I was so excited to see loaves of bread and some pastries.  The Danish rolls caught my eye because they looked like they might have marzipan in them.  No such luck.  They didn't taste at all like the Danish pastries I am used to eating.  I really am in China.

Class is in session

So - I started teaching my first group of students yesterday.  It has been very good for many reasons.  First, it is good to have something to do in the day.  I teach from 9:00 to 12:00, and it takes me about an hour to get there and another hour to get back.  It is always good to have something to do.  Second, I am enjoying working with the students.  They are all music students and are going to different universities in Poland to study.  They spend four hours a day learning Polish and three hours learning English.  Most of the started taking English in the primary grades, but  the teachers were Chinese and didn't have the correct English pronunciation.  In high school they were usually in classes of 100 to 150 students, so you can see that they wouldn't have much one-on-one speaking with the teacher.  I have the fun part - just talking with them or having them talk with each other all the time.  It is fun to see how much confidence they gain the more they speak.  They say that Polish is very hard compared to English, but I am sure it is just because they are being introduced to it for the very first time.  I hope it works out well for them.  They are excited about the music part, but not so sure about the rest.  The universities must have people there to help them become acquainted with the culture and studying.  I can relate to how they are feeling.  Hopefully, we will all survive our first year.

My first close of students who are going to Poland to study music at the universities.

My commute

These are pictures of a park I walk through to get to work.

Sunset along the path home.

Company for breakfast

It is a little strange eating soup for breakfast, but the soup is really quite tasty.  The noodles have little pieces of meat in them, and a little bit of seaweed to add to the nutrition and flavor.  There was a little bit of a surprise the other morning when opened up the soup and found a friendly little face looking at me.  For some reason I just can't bring myself to eat something that is looking at me.  I am sure I will try it one day, but one week into my adventure was a little too soon.  

Home away from home (exterior)

Just wanted you to see how nice it looks on the outside.  In a day or two I will send you some pictures of the walk from my apartment to the office.