China is Change

Hello all-

I hope that everything is going well back in the states. Whenever I move to a different place, it seems weird that people are still living their lives back at home, that life still goes on without me there.

So, as an update. I am currently in Weihai, Shandong, China trying to keep up with all of the demands that China has put on me. They say that "China is change", and they definitely aren't lying! I thought that Mexico was crazy and unpredictable, but China makes Mexico look tame! Hardly anything stays the same, because they're constantly trying to make things easier, which in turn makes it more complicated because it changes so many times. Maybe a few months of this and I'll become the most adaptable American in existence!

This week has been a continuation of teaching and trying to get everyone on a semi-doable schedule. The kids are crazy, and I'm sure that it's frustrating to a lot of the teachers. However, I hope that someday soon it will become more fun for them and that they can see first-hand how much good they're doing in the world by working with these kids. I see so many positive interactions between the teacher and the students both inside and outside the classroom, that it makes me sad I don't have any students of my own.

Unfortunately, things aren't really going to get much easier until they get harder. We have mid-semester visits coming up this week where a director from Utah comes over and sees how we are doing and how the teachers are coping with all of the new stresses that are put on them. The visit itself is incredibly helpful and fun, but all of the work leading up to it is not so fun. We have lots of cleaning, cataloging, training, and other preparations that have to get done before the director comes. However, I'm confident that we can do it. I have incredibly hard working teachers and an incredibly hard working co-head teacher (whom I love).

This weekend, Susan and I mainly stayed at the apartment. We took a quick trip to the beach (which is only a 30 or so walk away) and took in all of the beautiful waves and ocean breeze. We also have taken the time to watch some movies and purposely relax and not work. We were very much in the need of a break this weekend.

This morning, we had church. For those of you who don't know, we don't actually go to a meeting because our branch includes all of the people that live in smaller cities all over China. Our ward boundaries is the country of China! Crazy huh? So, we call a certain number, put the phone on speakerphone (mute it as well), and listen to the talks that way. They give us 8 minutes in the middle of the meeting when some of the boys who were authorized to bless and pass the sacrament carry out those duties, but besides that, it's very much similar to regular church. The church is really the same everywhere in the world! However, I'll be very grateful when I get to head back to the states and go to church in person.

Tonight, Susan and I are heading to the home of our coordinator's friend (don't know her name). We're not really sure what to expect, but I'm excited for the experience because I know that I'll learn a lot about the Chinese culture and that maybe I'll make some new friends in Weihai.

Finally, some embarrassing moments:

We made friends with a cat which we named Snowpuff. When we were heading back to our apartments, we were pointing out all of the other cats and naming them accordingly (Pongo, Orange-Mc-Fatty-Pants, etc.) We then saw a cat, but because it was being so still, we didn't know of it's mannerisms (so obviously we couldn't name it unless we knew it's personality). So, Susan climbed a hill and got really close to it. Little did we know, but there were some Chinese folk who were staring at us. I shouted to Susan "Susan! We look like crazy people doing this! We look crazy!" After about a minute or so of this, on of the Chinese men turned to me and spoke "Cat?" I nooded. He then said "You....like?". I then replied "Not really. No." He just looked confused and went inside. Now Susan and I are probably going to be known around campus as the crazy-cat-head teachers.

Another story, we live on the 5th floor of our apartment building, so we go up and down stairs ALL DAY. One day, when a group of us were heading down to dinner, Andrea (my sister) got the idea to slide down a portion of the banister. She did so, but only about a foot or two. Still, she slid off the banister with quite a bit of speed. Being the competitive (and dumb) person I am, I decided that I wanted to slide down the entire section of the banister. So, I sat down and started sliding. I realized that I was going much too fast, so I quickly grabbed the bars on the side of me. However, my feet kept sliding until they were stuck in a section of the stairs. I then fell off the stairs onto one of my volunteers. If that wasn't embarrassing enough, there were a pair of older Chinese men that saw the entire thing who felt no shame in laughing at me.

Does that last story even make sense? Maybe I should film a reenactment. Or not...

That's about everything that I have to report. I hope that everyone is happy and well. Much love from China!