It is hard to believe that the first day of spring has come and gone and I have been in China for 8 months as of today! On the one hand, 8 months seems like such a long time… on the other hand, I still feel like I only just stepped off the plane for the first time. We are racing toward the end of the school year and there is no sign of life slowing down anytime soon. I am looking forward to getting away during spring break after this week and having wonderful adventures with my friend Abi! Still, there are many things to be thankful for during this third week of March.
Hello all! It is hard to believe that the first day of spring has come and gone and I have been in China for 8 months as of today! On the one hand, 8 months seems like such a long time… on the other hand, I still feel like I only just stepped off the plane for the first time. We are racing toward the end of the school year and there is no sign of life slowing down anytime soon. I am looking forward to getting away during spring break after this week and having wonderful adventures with my friend Abi! Still, there are many things to be thankful for during this third week of March. Here are some highlights from this week... Qingdao ZhongShan Park Today (Saturday, March 24), I took a bus from my apartment about an hour into the center of Qingdao to visit Qingdao ZhongShan Park. With 185 acres it is the largest park in Qingdao and was built in 1901. It has been on my “want to see” list for quite some time. Even though the first day of spring has past, there was not much to see in the way of flowers and colorful trees at the moment (something the park is well known for). There were many people out and about and I stood out like a sore thumb - a foreigner among young families and elderly couples enjoying the warmth and sunshine that revealed itself today. I also visited the Qingdao Zoo which is inside the park. Admission to the zoo was 10 kuai (equivalent to less than $1.60). I honestly would not recommend the zoo to devoted animal lovers (like myself), as the animals’ habitats are extremely lacking. On a positive note though, all the animals did seem well fed and many of the exhibits allowed you to get up close and personal with the wildlife (in a way proper and legally regulated zoos in the USA cannot allow). This provided me with a really cool opportunity to get some spectacular photos (if I do say so myself). Honestly, I just enjoyed the opportunity to get away from the house and relax by enjoying some one on one time with my Father to p—y over these animals. With the end of Quarter 3, parent/teacher conferences came around once again. Students have a day off and the school day is dedicated to meeting with as many parents as possible. Some parents require translators, some come without, this time I had one of my student's older sister translate for their mother, it's never boring that's for sure! All in all, I was once more uplifted and encouraged by the conversations I was able to have with many parents. I decided that my goal in this final quarter is to spend time observing my students’ character more intentionally and begin writing parents notes focusing on how my students’ treat one another. Teaching in Asia has opened my eyes to the academic pressures many students face. And whilst concerned parents who want to motivate their children to work hard and achieve high marks is not necessarily a bad thing, I believe kindness, integrity, and authenticity should be more than straight As. Perhaps by doing this, I will be able to encourage and surprise both the parents and students. This perspective on success, based on how we choose to act toward others, I am hopeful will be another thing that sets our school apart from the many other international schools in our city. We officially have a musical now! This week we started music rehearsals for the two musical numbers featured in our show (“The Bare Necessities” and “The Jungle Rythym”). I was pleasantly surprised by how willing my cast was to sing and was thankful to discover that they actually sounded good (I admit I was a little worried, haha). It’s funny though, in the past every show I’ve worked on has had both a director and a musical director. Two very different people completing two different and important roles. I am both for this show. After spring break, I’ll take on the role of choreographer too. I guess I just realized that I am very thankful that my Father gave me experience in music and gifted me with a good voice, otherwise teaching the music for this show could have been much more difficult and stressful! Please continue to lift up all involved in putting this show together. The students are working hard, but I can feel them (and me) getting tired and we still have A LOT of work to do! In other exciting news, our school will be hosting a live stream of our performances on May 11th and 12th! If you’re interested in watching, I’ll be sure to share the link here once we are closer to performance day! One last highlight of the week was that English Corner at the local university started up again. The students have been on break for almost two months (starting shortly before Chun Jie). I was very happy to see some old students return, as well as, many new faces! This week our topics were homophones (words that sound the same, but have different meanings) and we discussed what makes a good role model. Two of the questions included “Who do you look up to? Why?” and “Has someone you admired ever disappointed you? How?” All of my students admitted that their parents were their first role models, whilst I was able to share about my Friend - JC, His Father, and their influence in my life. After we had finished all the questions, I turned one of the questions around and said, “So, most of you said that your parents are your role models. We discussed if our role models ever disappointed us, but I have a new question. Have you ever disappointed your role model?” The students were very hesitant to discuss this. You see, there is a cultural concept in China and it is called “keeping face”. “Face” is how those around you view you. “Face” is a strategy of self-respect, self-preservation, social status, and identify. In China, “losing face” is the worst thing that could happen to you. Therefore, things like lying, cheating, or any other sort of ‘bad’ behavior is not considered wrong if it is done in order for one to “save face”. I am explaining this because when I asked this question about if the students’ felt they had ever disappointed their role models (ie: parents) they all got very quiet. One student said, “I think I have, but it would be too embarrassing to tell.” I decided that I would show some vulnerability and be honest about the worst time I can remember disappointing my parents. I proceeded to share about a time when I was about 16 years old and I ran away from home, hid in my friend's grandparent's barn, got him to lie to his parents about my whereabouts, and sent my mother into a worried search across town all afternoon trying to find me. I shared how after my mom found me, I felt guilty because when I got home and realized my whole family was crying. I was embarrassed too that I had made my friend lie and embarrassed his family. I explained how ashamed I was, but also amazed at how my parents and my friend's parents later forgave me and kept loving me despite how disappointed they were in me. In response to my story, the students began to share about their career decisions, past struggles, and fears for their futures in relationship with their parents’ expectations of them. I think that this topic is not something many young Chinese people feel comfortable sharing out loud, so it was really special to hear their stories of struggle and hope for the future. It has given me some very specific words and names to share with my Father the next time I speak with Him. I share all this here to ask you to also speak to your Father on behalf of the young people of China. They are faced with many challenges and hardships that I cannot even imagine. They also are growing up in a culture that rejects failures and denies honesty in exchange for “keeping face”. It is my hope that the young people I come in contact with will find peace and comfort in the Truth and learn to live in a way that reflect The Father’s Hope no matter what their circumstances or past mistakes. Thank you for reading and keeping up with my craziness! I'll be traveling next week, so I may not post. You can look forward to some FABULOUS adventures to come!
5 Comments
Jo Ann Droge
3/24/2018 12:15:54 pm
Looking forward to watching your Jungle Book! Love the songs in it!
Reply
Debbie Milliken
3/24/2018 04:22:13 pm
Great story Sarah, love to see the musical too!
Reply
Abi
3/24/2018 06:23:37 pm
Ur like, my photography hero... 🤩
Reply
Meghan
3/25/2018 04:18:07 am
I still continue to uplift you as you stay so busy. Despite your own challenges, it sounds like the Father continues to use you for mighty things. Thank you for these many thoughts and stories you shared. It is awesome to hear how your past experiences can serve as light to your present circumstances. Also your zoo photos are amazing!
Reply
Deborah
3/25/2018 06:08:32 pm
So glad to hear of your progress on the musical and the opportunities you had to discuss with your university class - truly inspired questions! The photos are amazing. I would like the link for your performance, please.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
If you have any thoughts on any of my blogs please comment!
I love to get feedback! Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|