Wow....what an adventure it has been to try and keep everyone posted with what has been going on. We both apologize to all of those who have been frequently checking for updates. Different internet connections are pretty unpredictable here.
I don't even know where to start since it has already been almost a month here in Shenyang. Time sure does fly by! We still remember very vividly how anxious excited we were the first day we arrived into Shenyang. It was about 2:00 in the morning, yet we were just jumping around on an adrenaline rush that we were not only arriving to our first apartment together, but we were half-way across the world! Later that day (after we got some sleep of course), we were already ready for adventure. We took the maps provided for us from our welcome packets and hit the road running! All in our first day we experienced a Chinese taxi ride (quite the "speedy/reckless" adventure), international fellowship, and dinner with our principal's family. Every day was a new experience as we bargained with our cellphones for house plants, and tried new foods from hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
On our way to International Fellowship (1st day in China)
On the "magnetic ramp/escalator" in Walmart
After riding in a taxi and seeing how crazy they are to pedestrians and bikers, we both thought it would be months until we even thought of riding a bike. But only a day after we arrived into China did we find ourselves already on a bike ride through the side streets of Shenyang. We went with a family to a park nearby, and on the way I made a little Chinese friend. She was about seven years old, and she just approached me and started having a little conversation. Her English was exceptional and so we decided to just chat for a little while (you could tell her dad was impressed with her skills as he stood by and watched). After telling me her name was "Green", she gave me a little bud from a tree so that I would never forget her. How adorable...I was already in love with this place. It was too bad that only a day later, we were both sick for the next four days. Thanks to Katie and Dave's mom, we were surviving on the B.R.A.T. diet (Bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast).
Our very first bike ride!
My little friend "Green"
Aside from frequent culture shock, we have been blessed to have a very smooth transition thus far in reference to any culture stress.
Out of the three transitions that took place in a matter of a month (marriage, moving to China, and 1st year of teaching), the only transition that has been quite the stressing factor is teaching. While teaching is both of our passions, I do not think we realized the full weight of our job. Since it is an international school, every teacher also holds the position of working with students of a second language. I (Lauren) am the 1st grade teacher with 17 students....8 of which do not speak English. While the majority of my class understands what I am saying, there is a huge gap in the class. Any whole group instruction seems completely ineffective for those 8 students. I have to continue to trust that He is essentially in control of my classroom, and it is all in His hands in the end. I am already looking forward to the intrinsic rewards that will hopefully blossom in the next couple of months. Dave is teaching 4th grade, which he is enjoying so far. The language barrier is definitely the obstacle in his class too, but at least they have had more time in an English school to practice.
A quick side story since I am on the topic of school. Our very first day of school, Dave and I were minutes from heading out the door when the pipe burst under our kitchen sink. For about 5 minutes, we watched in horror (well I watched in horror while Dave was on the look-out to fix the problem) as the water was spewing out like water from a fire hydrant. What a way to start our first day!
Right after the water attack
Heather Brown....I thought that you would want to see some pictures of how my "First Grade garden" theme turned out. I will show everyone some before and after pics.
This is what my reading corner looked like before. The only stinker is that you have to clean out five years worth of stuff before you can start decorating.
And AFTER! (from one view)
They made those little sunflowers with their hands the 1st day of school. That brown thing is our tree (it is still "getting there"....the ceiling is a bit high)
The "before" picture of my future Art Area
Ta Da! (still in process though)
My Classroom Door :)
The "Roots" of Rules and Routines
We love you all and look forward to writing again!
My next project is going to be making "chair bags" for each student to put their reading books, writing folders, and papers. Hopefully this will help them to stay organized. I must say I had a fun time at the fabric market trying to buy 10 meters of denim! They all looked at me like I was crazy...I loved it.
