Proud to be TJ's man

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We had an eight-day National Day holiday and got to spend five days with Eric, Wendy, Brinson, and Aiden in Shiyan. The five-hour bus was no fun, but well worth the effort to see where they live and work. It is a beautiful area and much newer (and cleaner) than our ancient city.

I especially enjoyed time with Brinson and Aiden. We played ping pong and had several walks, though they were on their skates. Met some really nice students…and, by the way, would like to take Eric/Wendy’s kitchen features and shower pressure back to Jingzhou.

It was a ‘smoky’ China enroute, since farmers were in the fields burning off the dried remains of their summer. Most every field had both a man and woman working, mainly with hand instruments, though I did see three tractors. It brought to mind my hardworking granddaddy; I do not ever remember driving up to his farm and not seeing him in the field working, unless it just was not the time or season.

We have noticed more night noise in the apartment…things dropped to the floor and moving of furniture…we wonder why 2 am is the best time to move things around in your room? Our bed felt warm and comfortable after our travel to Shiyan…good to go and good to return home.

One of my students sent me the following email: “l want to tell you I thank you for giving me courage and smile…   we all respect you because you are a very kind, good person. I will not quit learning English because I want to communicate with you like wangfangguo…..fighting.”

We have enjoyed more lunch times with some selected students. They appreciate the time and we enjoy delicious food, and have found our front-gate restaurants remodeled, which is nice for all. Even though the food is a little more expensive, it is well worth it.

Sophia was with us again on Sunday, with her baby girl (see photo below) a new visitor to our group…it was great seeing both of them again, after a six-week ‘recovery.’

Greetings from Terry: I have finished reading The Centurion’s Wife by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke.

On Tuesday, September 18, an air raid siren sounded for five to seven minutes. Because of where we live, the times we live in, plus the fact that I lived in Phoenix, AZ during the Cuban Missile crisis and remember the regular air raid drills at school during that period, it seemed like a “long” five minutes. I made immediate “requests up”, told myself it was probably nothing and sent a text to Dean Catherine and Keven for an explanation. Sometimes when things are happening on campus people forget that we cannot read the signs or understand the announcements on the loud speaker.

So I was a little antsy until I heard from Catherine and Keven a couple hours later. They told me, “On September 18^th  in 1937 Japan invaded NE China illegally. The siren sounds on this date to remind us of the shame.”

The most unique English names chosen by my students this semester are Just-blank, Luckily, Milk, Sheikh (pronounced Shake, for a female), Cry rain, Zero, Dream. I was pleasantly surprised when a student ended her introduction by asking if I knew “Shang Di” (the Chinese name of our Father). I told her I did and she said she did too. I look forward to getting to know her.

I got to tell Brinson and Aiden bed time stories by Skype tonight.

I have finished reading Think and Be Happy: 365 Empowering Thoughts to Lift Your Spirit by Shadonna Richards, R.N.

I have also finished reading through my favorite book again. It is always refreshing, challenging and productive.

It was great to spend time with Eric’s family and get to see the Pritchards again. Such valuable time. We celebrated everyone’s birthday all at the same time with a big cake. Brinson and Aiden are learning to cook. On our last morning Hannah showed us how to make flour tortillas.

We returned on Thursday and on Friday Gary and I walked to the grocery store and then to the back gate market to replenish our supplies in the drizzling rain. It was refreshing and not very crowded. It is good to have a few days to rest from the trip and get ready for classes again. — Love, Terry.

China News: Lonely hearts embrace holiday romance —- Dating tours – excursions that offer a chance for romance – are growing in popularity among China’s legion of unmarried and overworked office employees.

Matchmaking agencies and online travel firms already offer a range of packages, lasting from a day up to a week.

“Unlike usual blind dates, the tour gave us more time to get to know each other,” the 25-year-old marketing manager said. “When he stopped to hold my hand and help me cross a river during the trip, my heart beat faster.”

Judging by an ongoing online poll by Sohu, a popular news website, and Traveler magazine, there is no shortage of demand. More than half of respondents so far said they would consider going on a dating tour.

“Traveling as a way of dating is easier for us singles, as it allows us to stay natural and relaxed,” Yu Weiliang, 35, a Shanghai marketing manager who recently went on a tour, told China Daily. “Over several days we can at least become good friends, even if we don’t begin a relationship.”

Qianyuan, a matchmaking website based in Beijing, runs one-day trips for up to 70 people to attractions in the capital’s rural suburbs. Activities include games specially designed to break the ice.

According to Han Guang, a tour guide for three years, the boom in demand has resulted in the frequency of the trips rising this year from once a month to weekly.

Other companies are witnessing similar trends. Ctrip, a major online travel agency, this year organized tours to ancient towns and mountains near Shanghai for Qixi, often referred to as Chinese Valentine’s Day, on Aug 23. Participants had to be single and aged 18 to 32.

“The project was so popular, far beyond our expectations,” said Peng Liang, a public relations manager at Ctrip. “We immediately planned similar projects for Mid-Autumn Festival and the Golden Week holiday in Xiamen.”

Zhenai, a matchmaking website with 45 million members, runs dating tours for 20 to 30 people at a time. Chief Executive Li Song credited the relaxed nature of the trips as contributing to their rising popularity.

“Far away from the fast pace of city life, and closer to nature, I think single men and women find it easier to open their hearts and find love,” he said.

Trouble in paradise? Although dating tours have been getting the thumbs-up from young people, organizers admit there are problems, such as the imbalance in the male-female ratio and verification of personal information.

“The number of women (on the tours) is usually more than double that of men,” said Peng at Ctrip. “It’s hard for us to refuse our female clients.” Qianyuan tour guide Han said he had the same issue. “I think it’s because women have less economic pressure to prepare for a marriage,” Han said.

Chen Ye, 24, said she is interested in going on a blind date tour, but raised some concerns about security.

“I’d only choose one organized by a matchmaking website,” said the accountant from Shanghai. Chen said she was interested in Jiayuan, a popular online dating service that limits numbers to 20 and allows members to review personal profiles of other participants before a tour.

“Having that kind of transparency helps assure me that the trip will be safe,” she said.

Websites such as Zhenai usually have verification systems and members are required to register with detailed information, such as their residency permits and ID numbers.

However, Ctrip and other online travel agencies often have difficulty verifying private information from clients.

“As a company providing travel services, we have no right to inquire into the privacy of our clients,” Peng said. “But we still guarantee a professional level of service.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My first week of classes went well, but since three days are afternoon only, I did not see a single past student going to-and-from the fifth floor…I was not a happy camper. I needed to meet one of them the next week, at 9:40 a.m. and was able to visit with several…am going to have to get out of the apartment when I do not have a class, I guess, instead of ‘saving my strength’ for the long afternoons. 🙂 I am finding 2 pm and 4:05 pm classes are draining on my glucose levels…am very tired at the end of the late afternoon.

I learned some interesting information from student’s summer jobs:

• One group of five was recruited to work in a factory in another SE province…told they would be provided housing and meals as part of their salary…found out, upon arrival, that only one meal a day was covered and housing would be 15 per room. They worked 12-13 hours each day! With a smile, one student proudly said, “I bought a computer with my money.” Good for you, I told her!
• Another junior-to-be was hired by our university to recruit new students. Apparently, after a few days, she discovered that she was expected to say things to the prospects that were not true…she decided it was not the right thing to do, and quit. Good for you, I told her!
• Most found groups of 3-35 students to teach English and/or math during the summer. One volunteered she made over 3,000 yuan, which is a lot of money for a part-time job here.

I had my picture taken for two local newspapers (see photo left) for Teacher’s Day, and received two movie passes to a local show….we gave them to Hugo and Kelly and they saw a movie she’s wanted to see for a few weeks. We also received many texts wishing us a good Teacher’s Day.

I have opened a new website for use with my classes: http://garydavenport.wikispaces.com/home.I put lesson plans and Life Lessons on for all to see, if interested, in addition to a Self-Esteem evaluation…encourage you to take it and see the results for your own ‘self love.’

One student asked me if “you and Terry go to church every Sunday.” I told her we worshipped with a group every Sunday in our apartment. She thoughtfully added, “I think it is very important to pray every day.” Of course, I quickly agreed. We’ve had a past  dean of a law department on the East campus join us for Assembly the past two weeks, and also a Sister from our campus. After having 3-4 move away during the summer, they are (see page two)    very welcome.

We have seven classes each, with some 685+ energetic students, mostly young ladies. All of my students had Terry for two semesters on the West campus, so they are now getting to see ‘the other half’ who fits all the stories she told them about our life and family.

We met a group of students for lunch for the first time this semester (see below right) and we have never seen girls eat so much food at one sitting. They were energetic and happy, the weather was in the mid-70’s outside for the first time this month…and the restaurant area outside our front gate had been cleaned up and remodeled! 🙂 We will continue to treat a group of 8-10 students each week so we can get to know them better.

Our Friday and Saturday evening group discussions are going well. Schedule conflicts cause the numbers to fluctuate between 10-20, but we enjoy this special time immensely. We have picked up two new teachers, who are part of our weekly group, when schedules allow.

Our English Corner sessions on Wednesday evening have been the best since we arrived…the students are in charge of planning a theme and activities, which allows them the opportunity to use their English and interact with us.

Because of free VPN software, I am able to watch SEC football this year, and nothing could be much finer than Saturday morning: boiled egg, Minute Maid orange juice, and a homemade biscuit with strawberry jam for breakfast…and Tennessee/Florida on the computer screen. It’s nice that this game is again relevant.

Greetings from Terry: Sunday, September 2^nd Gary accompanied me to the long distance bus station in Jinzhou where I boarded a direct bus to Shiyan to visit Eric’s family (and Deryk’s family, too) I was relieved to see it was a large, clean bus with AC. The trip only took five hours.

Eric and family met me at the bus station and we walked a few blocks to meet Deryk’s family at a restaurant for dinner. It was great to see them all again. The food was delicious and the talk was fast and furious as we tried to catch up and share information at the same time. After dinner we took a bus to their campus. It is a fifteen minute walk from the front gate to their apartment.

The Davenports live on the 5^th floor, Pritchards on the 4^th. Aiden D. has rigged up a string pulley system between the children’s windows to pass notes. The campus is big, new and beautiful. They each have a spacious three bedroom, 1 ½ bath apartment.

They started teaching their college classes that Monday as well as starting home schooling the four children. It was amazing to see them in action as Wendy taught science and Eric taught the four different levels of math. Tiffany teaches them history and Deryk teaches writing and English. I really commended the children for the way they settle down to class in a serious but relaxed way. They have collected some good curriculum. While there, my job was to explore the campus shops for needed food and household items, cook and generally help out in any way I could to free them up to concentrate on taking in all of the new information and get started in their classes. I loved it. Ed and Pam Mosby came by to see that they were settling in Ok and to sign contracts. They brought them three jars of peanut butter. It was received with much enthusiasm since we had not been able to find it in the stores. Very interesting; they have corn meal in many stores but no peanut butter. We have peanut butter but harder to find corn meal. I must say both adults and children alike are doing great at trying all kinds of new foods.

My last evening there we all walked to the playground. The children played while us five adults sat in the cement stands and had a question/ answer/sharing session. I shared my shopping notes, menu ideas and recipes. We all got some good classroom ideas from each other. Friday at 1:00 p.m. I took the same direct bus back to Jingzhou.

It was sooo good to see Gary again and catch up on my sleep. Even though Brinson let me have his very comfortable room and bed I still don’t sleep well away from Gary. It is good to be back. I arrived at 6:00 PM and we had a student life discussion at 7:00 with nine in attendance. I was really starting to yawn by the time they left but it was really good. We had two more studies on Saturday plus Sunday morning meeting. I love the weekends!

Praise and thanksgiving, my nephew, Robert Stigers has returned safely from another trip to the sand.

After preparing three days of power points for my new semester, I found out they have switched me back to Oral English instead of Pronunciation. At first it threw me but then I realized I could still use most of the slides and I like teaching Oral English.

Our discussion groups are underway. Even when the numbers are fewer because of schedule conflicts the talk is very meaningful.

Stella Ouyang came for Sunday morning meeting for the first time. Afterwards, when she tasted the bread she was curious so I showed her how to make it and explained more about it. She took it home and shared it with her roommates.

One of our students that suffers from clinical depression came by Sunday PM for some encouragement. He had been home for the weekend so the doctor could adjust his medicine. He is so brave to keep going to classes every day. I know it is very hard for him and I carry him in my heart always.

Today I finally got to start my classes and thoroughly enjoyed it. Mine started late because the freshmen arrive on campus two weeks after the others and have orientation first. This is my first semester in a multimedia room.

I am reading the book What To Say When You Talk To Yourself by Dr. Shad Helmst… and the examples of Self Talk have been good for me in reference to using the class computer for power point. “I like challenges and enjoy learning new things, even the computer.” That is what I have been telling myself anyway. And today I actually did it successfully with just a little bit of help getting started. — Love, Terry

News from China: Stores across China have seen a rush to buy electronic products in the run-up to the new school year, particularly among college students.

“Our sales soared dramatically in August,” said Mao Shaoqing, spokesman for newegg.com.cn, the China arm of US online electronics retailer Newegg Inc.

Sales of laptops have seen the biggest increase, with prices of bestsellers ranging from 2,500 to 4,000 yuan.

“The best-selling cellphones are under 2,000 yuan, but iPhones have seen decent sales, too,” Mao said.

Duan’s parents also splurged on new clothes, a smartphone, bedding, cosmetics and medication.

Her 49-year-old father, Duan Xudong, said: “It’s first time for her to leave home, so I want to give her all the best I can.”

He said things were very different in the 1980s when he attended college. “I was just happy if I had enough to eat (at college), as I lived on less than 10 yuan a month,” he recalled.

He said he plans to give his daughter 1,500 yuan as a monthly living allowance.

However, such spending has highlighted the wealth gap that exists between college students, and the jealousy it can produce.

Wuhan Evening News recently reported that a freshman at Central China Normal University threatened to drop out unless her parents bought her an iPhone 4S.

Yangtze Evening Post in Jiangsu province also reported that 70 percent of freshmen spent 10,000 to 20,000 yuan on gadgets for school.

Zhang Dawei, a student counselor at Shenyang University, said that the average spending on supplies by new students has risen from a few thousand to at least 10,000 yuan over the past three years. “Some of the costs are not necessary, such as expensive smartphones. Most students buy such products not for study but for entertainment,” he said.

Zhang also said students are receiving large living allowances from their parents.

According to Xinhua News Agency, a survey of 1,700 students found that the average student spent 800 yuan to 1,200 yuan a month last year.

“I was shocked when I read the news about students’ expenses,” said Zhu Jinchang, director of social policy research with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “I worry about this unhealthy social trend.” He said there are multiple reasons behind the trend, including education problems and a bad social atmosphere. “Parents are spoiling their children,” Zhu said.

Zhu also said the public needs to realize that the youth are the nation’s future, and the bad atmosphere should be corrected with efforts from the public and the education system.

BEIJING — Chinese leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping (above, right) reappeared in public Saturday following a two-week absence that had sparked rumors about his health and raised questions about the stability of the country’s succession process.

State media said Xi toured exhibits at China Agricultural University in Beijing commemorating National Science Popularization Day, but offered no explanation as to why he had dropped from sight.

Photos posted to the government’s official website showed Xi walking in the sunshine dressed casually in an open-necked shirt and black windbreaker. Another photo showed him smiling as he looked at potted plants, showing no sign of disability or ill health.

A three-line report from the official Xinhua News Agency did not address why Xi had not been seen publicly since Sept. 1. Since then, he has canceled meetings with visiting foreign dignitaries including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Eric, Wendy, Brinson and Aiden are safely in Shiyan! We received an early morning phone call (5:25 am), which we missed since our phones were off and charging, but were sent a text around 8:30 am to give us the news. (Deryk, Tiffany, Hannah, and Aidon also safe and sound; four new teachers and four enthusiastic young people).

I have found myself quite emotional as the day neared for their arrival..I told Terry I may be crying a lot this weekend. Why? I am not sure. They survived the long trip, but have had plenty of practice with travel to Australia, Zambia, etc., in their past.

It is so-o-o-o wonderful to be able to call them on a cellular phone regularly! Their classes do not begin until September 3….I am going to refrain from any news from their work…will leave that to them…initial ‘family celebration’ pictures do not count :-).

We learned the day before classes began that one of our students, Yang Huan, drowned during the summer (July 28) saving a child she was tutoring. She did not go home for the summer, choosing to tutor several middle school-age children. The electricity where they were studying was off, so they went outside to conduct class. They were walking along a lake, when one of the students fell in. It was apparently very deep, Sea (her English name) could not swim, and did not survive, though the young student was saved.

I began each of my classes the first week showing her picture with Terry in our apartment on the screen and telling her story, so they will know of this hero from their university. Her best friend and bunk-mate came by on the weekend for a long talk. She is handling the loss well, and had lots of good memories of their time together. Sea was a quiet, sweet young lady…always went last when it was time to give speeches in the two semesters I had her…a very good student…had visited our apartment 2-3 during the past 1 1/2 years. When her close friend was telling some of the stories, I remembered that she was ‘next to last’ on speech day, waiting behind with Sea.

I offered to meet with her 45+ classmates this week to process the events, but since many had heard the news during August, they seemed to be doing alright…two came by for a few minutes the first of the week.

My seven Oral English classes have begun…355+ students…Terry begins her classes in the fourth week…I was not ready just a week ago but was ‘fired up and ready to go’ when the time came. The students all had Terry the past two semesters, so I have met most of them, and they certainly know about me.  We will put pictures of the classes on other pages of this newsletter, but they are eager and ready to go to work…some have a lot to learn, and they are nervous with a new teacher. Most of them spoke little or no English over the summer break, so they “have some catching up to do.”

Looks like our weekends will be very busy…we are thrilled with five different groups available to discuss Important Things. Some longtime students here on Friday night (7 pm) and two groups of 12-15 on Saturday night (6:30 and 8 pm)…teachers here on Saturday morning and Assembly on Sunday morning, both at 10 am. In our older student’s class and with the teachers we discussed the idea of a “Fresh Start” as we begin the new semester, and applied lessons from Psalm 103.

We also had a teacher who is a very good friend choose to study with us this week, after not showing interest during the past three semesters. 🙂

With assistance from both Gregory and Eric, we are now able to watch ESPN in China! Got to watch much of the Tennessee game and hopeful for much more. We’ve also found some foods I enjoy in convenient locations this summer…do not want to gain weight but glad to have more variety.

Our air conditioner finally died! It took three trips by the repairman before the Personnel Office decided it was not going to work again…and three days for the replacement to be approved…but now have a quiet unit in both bedrooms that more than adequately cool/heat our apartment…will be nice to keep the floor unit in the closet a few extra days.

Greetings from Terry: While in Beijing I saw a certain young man on our campus whose eyes reminded me so much of our son, Gregory. After seeing him several times I stopped and talked to him. He was from California and very nice. I told him he was just good to look at because he reminded me of my son. Come to think of it, our Father enjoys looking at us when we look like His son.

In our last report there was not time to enter my impressions of our return trip to Jinzhou so here goes. A Chinese brother accompanied us to the Beijing West Train station. It was a HUGE multi-tiered building with rivers of humanity everywhere. They had good signage and announcements in English as well as Chinese which helped us get to the correct waiting area. We had about three hours to wait.

The waiting area was very large with about half as many chairs as there were people. Therefore many people were sitting on their suitcases. Some had spread newspaper or blankets on the floor for their family to sit on. When I first walked in and saw the sprawling mass of people I thought of the railroad yard scene in Gone With The Wind.

When it was time for us to pass through the gate and find the correct platform, we walked a long way, climbed stairs, descended stairs then walked another good distance. Very much like what we found when we took the subway to the station a few hours before. It made us very grateful we had packed light, since no one checked luggage. You just carry it with you.

We had no problem finding our car, compartment and lower berths. Two Chinese men were in the two upper berths. Neither spoke English. It was great to stretch out on the clean beds, each furnished with a pillow and comforter. We pulled out right on schedule at 8:53PM. I liked the gentle motion, sounds and lights flashing by. It was just a little startling at first when we would pass another fast train going in the opposite direction. The “swoosh” and lights were so close they seemed to be just inches away. All in all it was a very pleasant trip.

A returning student brought us some dried day lily stems that her Grandmother had prepared for us. A few days later we had her come over, cooked them for us and eat lunch with us. She boiled them with a little lean pork, green onions, salt, egg, a touch of soy sauce and a bit of chicken broth. They were good.

I finished reading How to live on 24 Hours a Day by Arnold Bennett.

Another returning student came over and one of the first things she said to me was, “You look healthier, I think you have gained weight.” Ha Ha, must be that good American food in Beijing. Queenie’s father will be going to the USA for a year in January so we had them over for lunch to experience a common American meal that he could easily fix for himself while there; beef in Lipton onion soup, potatoes and carrots and banana bread for dessert. Queenie said he is a good cook. I also served the rest of the lilies and pork. — Love, Terry

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our dear Sister, Sophia, and Xie have a baby girl! We rejoice for the healthy child and both parents. The doctor eventually did a scheduled C-section when he determined five days earlier the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck twice. Two days prior to surgery, it had changed to only one.

The next day, we awoke at 7 a.m. to no electricity, the first time it has occurred all summer (it is amazing how quiet it can be with no electricity). It was to be a 95 degree day outside, and began at 78 degrees in our two main rooms. It was only off four hours, so the indoor temp rose to only 85. After reading about the problems in India the previous days, where the entire electrical grids had shut down, we felt blessed, indeed.

The summer days have progressed too quickly, in my mind. Like in America, July 4 comes around and the next 30-45 days fly past. Terry has progressed in her language skills, and I have worked daily on computer-based projects.

We have also realized anew that we truly enjoy each other’s company more than we could ever express. Our silence is golden, when it needs to be, as we are in separate areas of our three-room apartment “working like little beavers.” We have both enjoyed numerous books on our kindles and Terry is working on another baby blanket, getting them ready for the births occurring around us.

I rediscovered the College Press commentaries in pdf format on my external hard drive, so have had many hours of great reading…and have been listening to 2010 FHU and 2011 Harding lectures made available through iTunes U.

Walker and Elizabeth Sloan were married in July while home during their summer break. They were doing a great work on the East campus as two singles, and should do even better as a married couple. When Elizabeth sent the photo of their cutting the cake, Terry immediately said, “Elizabeth is so pretty.” My response? “Both Elizabeth and the cake are so-o-o pretty!” 🙂 (nobody notices the guy at these events).

We’ve had some needed repairs in our apartment in recent weeks. The air conditioner in our bedroom quit working July 21, on a day when it was a hot 93 degrees outside and very humid (we’re seeing temps around 83 degrees in our non-air conditioned rooms now…80 in rooms that are air conditioned). We called the appropriate people and they responded quickly, scheduling the repair the next morning …we moved our bedding to the office floor where the other AC was working and had a good night’s sleep….the repair people came around 11:15 a.m. (a Sunday) and it was working again by noon. We had only two students for Assembly, since so many are traveling and away for the summer. But their being here helped us communicate with the repairmen, and, as usual, they were polite, professional, and efficient.

Three days later, the water heater was not working. We sent a text to the two people who are our contacts, knowing one was out of town. Within two hours someone was in the apartment, fixed it in just a few minutes, and we had hot water soon thereafter. About an hour after he left, the director of personnel for our entire campus was in our apartment checking to make sure it was fixed.

Two days later, the push-button on the commode no longer worked, which forced us to manually “lift the chain” to flush it…we called and within 35 minutes someone was in our apartment to fix it (it seems we are having several things stop working right now, huh?). I told Terry “it’s nice being the only American teachers on our Central campus…I think they want to make certain all is well with us.”  🙂 We deeply appreciate it, and we tell them often!

We have had some delightful visits during the summer. Different teaching colleagues send their college-age children to meet us while home for the summer…others want their junior or senior school children to visit, too. We enjoy the 60-75 minute visits, and learn more about our city, county, province, or country because we ask as many questions as they do.

One of our visitors, Queenie, helped me set up a wireless modem in our apartment, which opened up all kinds of nice surprises on my Kindle Fire (Sports Illustrated magazine and online access to all kinds of sports-related materials). I split the SI subscription with my son, Gregory…he gets the print edition and I get the online edition. Queenie’s dad teaches computers on the campus, and they brought a dealer from the city to set it up…great price and even better service. 🙂

In one visit, which was over 7-hours, the student mentioned the disgust with the lack of privacy in the girl’s dorms, and told us something we’d not heard: they pay some $1,200 yuan ($190) per semester for their dorm room…usually 6-8 per room and the same price regardless of the living conditions.

We’re finding more of those who live here in Jingzhou are finding ways to commute from home, which gives them control over their housing but also allows them to miss ‘optional’ early morning and late evening study sessions, where they sit in the classrooms as a group studying. The freshmen and sophomore classes especially do not appreciated being forced to study on someone else’s schedule. One student: “all I accomplished as a freshmen in the evening study sessions was feeding the mosquitoes.”

Our junior students will have 3-4 classes every day, including ‘optional classes’ on the weekends….which means we have little contact with many of them unless they are really interested.

I would love to have a Sears or Home Depot store here to sale different safe interior paints. Hugo and Kelly came for lunch and told us they had finished decorating their new apartment…but because of concern about paint fumes, they will wait one whole year before moving in. They can smell the fumes and are attuned to the dangers. And this is the norm…we have two other married friends who refurbished the interior of their apartments and then waited 9-12 months before moving in. They are all amazed that the lead-free paints, etc., make it possible in America to move in almost immediately. 🙂

One of our closest friends, Howard, has finally moved his family to their ‘house,’ which is some 200 yards away on our campus. It’s not that far, but not the same as having him one story above us…we always enjoy his drop-ins.

We have been able to watch some replays of the Olympics on the internet. I would never want the American athletes to lose, but I found myself rooting for the Chinese when it was against all other countries. Interesting to have two countries to enjoy watching.

I have talked at length with our students about the 2008 Beijing opening ceremony, which can never be bettered, as far as I am concerned. We did not get to watch the London opening ceremonies, except in short clips, but it looked ‘ok.’ I read in Sports Illustrated why that might be the case: “The 2012 show, with a cast of 10,000, required about 200 rehearsals, which is modest compared to the clambake in Beijing, where director Zhang Yimou had his 15,000 cast and crew members rehearse an average of 16 hours a day. (One rehearsal lasted 51 hours.) Zhang’s 2008 ceremony cost a reported $100 million, more than double the $42 million in Boyle’s budget.” Now that tells you why it was so spectacular…it’s the Chinese way.

After standing over an hour, we finally were able to purchase tickets to Wuhan and Beijing for our trip. They only sale them 10 days ahead, so the express train we wanted was full. One of our senior students met us there and helped us communicate with the very professional staff. They were quite helpful and looked more like what we have seen on the airplanes here…every dressed modestly but in matching outfits. I receive this email from our student later in the day: “I cannot imagine two foreigners like you can handle all this stuff in China without speaking chinese. YOU ARE GREAT! If I were you I would not have the courage to do so.” I told her we were either courageous or crazy, and that we’d have to decide that upon our arrival back home. 🙂  We went to a ticket agent instead of the train station and were able to get the Z3 ‘soft berth’ night ticket on our return trip…leave at 10 pm from Beijing and reach Jingzhou around 6:30 am.

We have found that as long as it is 88 degrees or below outside, we could manage inside’s temperatures.

As we were planning to leave for our Beijing trip, China was being hit with a record third typhoon within a week as torrential rains and floods brought by two powerful storms still affected many regions. They hit in the southeastern part, near Shanghai and Hong Kong. Surprisingly, we had no rain as a result of it in our area. The country is faced with a tremendous burden from floods and other disasters due to frequent typhoons since mid-July, Chen Lei, minister of water resources, said on Monday. “It is the first time that the country will have been hit by three typhoons one after another within seven days,” he said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website.

I noticed this in Chronicle publication in August: Owners of Apple devices in 50 countries downloaded the Gospel Broadcasting Network app the first day it became available, the executive director added, surprised that China ranked second in downloads behind the U.S. Blackwell credits GBN with the potential to reach half a billion “outlets,” or devices capable of receiving the network or its shows. He bases the figure on hundreds of millions of mobile devices in the world capable of running GBN apps, along with viewers who watch on television and computers. I also encourage you to read the interview by Meredith Rodriguez regarding her China work.

We had some nice confirmations as we began our 14- hour train trip to Beijing. The first class car was very clean, comfortable, and spacious, causing us to both respond “that we’ve never traveled first class before.”  If you think of a typical airplane in first class you get the idea….the reclining seats were spacious on the two-hour trip from Jingzhou to Wuhan, and we found a McDonald’s at the first stop so were able to get full on ‘comfort food’ and also some carbs for the 11:57 a.m.—10 p.m. ride to this country’s spacious and modern capital. (Train had both a Western and Eastern-style restroom…McDonald’s Eastern only…those things are important when you leave the comforts of home:-).

The cost of the Jingzhou to Wuhan ticket (2 hour trip) was 83 yuan ($12.99). From Wuhan to Beijing ticket (9 1/2 hour trip) it was 333 yuan ($52.11). Our return trip was the same 12 hours, but was in a ‘soft berth’ sleeper unit…quite nice since the ride is smooth (I have always told Brinson and Aiden that sleeping part of the way makes it go faster, to encourage them to not fight sleeping in the car on a long trip). It was 486 yuan ($75.06). Jingzhou to Beijing: 1,445 kilometers (897 miles)

On each train, there was one lady assigned to go up and down the aisle regularly to get anything off the floor…needless to say, it was clean. Everyone was professionally dressed, in matching outfits…no free drinks, etc., but someone was available to sale items often. Saw some newer, modern buildings along the way and open  It was also ‘different’ to have air conditioned air in every store…they also have heat in the classrooms, etc., during the winter since it is much colder (think of the northeast in the USA).

Our retreat/seminar was both refreshing and encouraging, and revealed a great Family here. The sessions were held in a Foreign Language School, and many of the attendees were students at the school, learning Chinese. In fact, most of them had great Chinese after 1-3 years of being full-time students….were in China on a student visa, and are not teaching in university classes. Some came initially as Let’s Start Talking teachers. I am thrilled to report they are talented, faithful, and energetic for Important Things! Two are here with children, and were especially impressive to Terry and me. Two from Pepperdine, others OC or Harding. One couple used to make annual trips from Arkansas to Haiti each summer, and their group of 12-18 would eat and stay at our house at they left/reentered via the international airport. It was great to see them again after several years 🙂

We ate at Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill for one dinner, and, folks, it was ‘the real thing!’ Amazing! Wow! Great! And just a block away was an authentic Italian restaurant…and we also ate “real pizza” … this IS an international city!

The trip to Beijing was magical in many ways. The train ride, other Family members, delicious food…the following information gives some background on The Great Wall and the Summer Palace that we visited:

Perhaps the most powerful advertising words in history came from the mouth of Chairman Mao: “Until you reach the Great Wall, you’re no hero.” Figuratively this means ‘to get over difficulties before reaching a goal’. The statement our students use: Until you have climbed the Great Wall, you are not a true man.

The Great Wall of China is already the longest man-made structure in the world but we may have to start calling it the Greater Wall of China. A five-year archaeological survey done by China’s State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) claims that the total length of the Great Wall was 13,170 miles long and reached across 15 provinces.

This is more than twice the length previously thought. In 2009, SACH reported that the wall was 5,500 miles and stretched across 10 provinces.

“The previous estimation particularly refers to Great Walls built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but this new measure includes Great Walls built in all dynasties,” Yan Jianmin, the office director of the China Great Wall Society, told the China Daily.

The Summer Palace (see page 7) (literally “Gardens of Nurtured Harmony”) is a palace in Beijing, China. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water.

Longevity Hill is about 60 meters (200 feet) high and houses many buildings positioned in sequence. The front hill is rich in the splendid halls and pavilions, while the back hill, in sharp contrast, is quiet with natural beauty

The central Kunming Lake covering 2.2 square kilometers was entirely man made and the excavated soil was used to build Longevity Hill. In the Summer Palace, one finds a variety of palaces, gardens, and other classical-style architectural structures.

In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List. It declared the Summer Palace “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.” It is a popular tourist destination but also serves as a recreational park.

Our train trip home was awesome! We were able to get a good night’s rest as the train did its work over 11 hours…it left and arrived exactly on time…literally to the minute! So impressed with Family in Beijing and prayers solicited for two who are having babies soon and two other families with three wonderful children between them.

Greetings from Terry: I have begun learning Tai Chi (from a DVD I ordered) in the privacy of our apartment.  My goal is to strengthen muscles, improve balance and relieve tension.

Dean Catherine and her daughter, Lily took me to a piano concert/recital in a theater in Shashi.  The ages of the participants ranged from 12 to early 20s. They were magnificent! I thoroughly enjoyed every part of it.

I finished reading the book, Encountering the Chinese. In the past few weeks we have had a few of the local students over for lunch one at a time. We have enjoyed hearing their thoughts and views. When they come over in groups just the outgoing ones speak up so this is a way to draw them out a bit. I am really looking forward to Gary getting to know my last semester students. They will enjoy each other.

Howard introduced us to one of his teacher friend’s daughter. Her English name is Queenie. She is a junior in a university in other city and is home for the summer. She came over last night for a visit. She was a true delight and reminded me of my niece, Darra. She used to attend discussions and “parties” at Gary and Signa’s when she was in middle school.  Sunday morning she brought a friend and joined us for our 10:00 meeting.

The Olympics have started in London and we still have not gotten to see the rerun of the opening ceremony. We get to see some of the events the Chinese are broadcasting on line.

We got to have the newlyweds, Hugo and Kelly, over for lunch. It was so good to see them again. They asked many questions about having and rearing children..

I finished reading the book, Hazardous Duty (squeaky clean mystery) by Christy Barritt.

Lately when I go for my evening walk I see couples holding their little naked infants who are wearing only a bib, not even a diaper. The parent who is not holding the baby is usually carrying a fan and fanning the other two.

Our expectant sister, Sophia, found out the cord was wrapped around the baby’s neck twice. After two days and many requests on their behalf the cord was only around once. So, one day after her due date she had a successful C-section and delivered a healthy baby girl. We are all so very thankful. Gary and I got to visit them in the hospital after a couple of days. Xie, her husband was in the room taking good care of the little one. Sophia is still very weak but hopefully will gain her strength soon. The new mothers in China stay in bed and at confined at home much longer than American new mothers. Sophia has asked me many questions about how we do things in America. The Chinese do not think it is healthy to wash your hair for several weeks after giving birth. They also believe you will have headaches in old age if you go out in the wind during the first few weeks after giving birth.

I like this quote, “Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain” (unknown author)

I am so glad we were able to get tickets to take the train to Beijing and add that to our list of experiences. The electric trains are amazingly quiet and smooth. It glides into the station like a long smooth snake. We were in the last seat of the last car at the end of the train. We rode first class to make sure of getting a seat. It was clean, new, spacious and refreshingly cool with plenty of storage space.

Everything on the train is labeled in English as well as Chinese. Verbal announcements are also The train station is in the north part of Jingzhou which we have not been in so we got to see new sights as we headed out of town. I actually saw several neighborhoods of single family dwellings with large neat vegetable gardens all around them.

The train car from Wuhan to Beijing was warmer but still spacious. As we traveled on it became more crowded with people sitting on the floor in the space between cars and standing in the isles on the second class cars. Smoking is not allowed on the train of which we were very thankful.

We arrived in Beijing at 10:00, waited 30minutes in line for a taxi. Rode 30 minutes to the hotel, waited about 30 minutes for our room, showered and had just dropped off to sleep when they knocked on our door needing to make another (continued from page eight) copy of our passports. Needless to say we slept very well when we finally had the chance. Our hotel is at the CAMIC campus (Civil Aviation Management Institute of China). Saturday we shared a breakfast at the McDonalds complete with sausage, biscuit, hash browns and scrambled egg. We forgot to take the written hotel name so we had a bit of an adventure getting back to our place. May the pedestrian who helped our cab driver be blessed. Several of our group arrived after we had already eaten so I accompanied them to the restaurant just for the fellowship. These are good people from OK, TX, and Brazil. One couple knows my nephew, Remington and another has a daughter that was in nursing with Wendy at Harding. I ate my first bite of Beijing duck. It was dark meat and tasted a bit like mild roast beef to me. It was not hot and spicy like I had expected. It was served with a small crepe in which you put bite of duck, sliver of onion and a sliver of vegetable then wrap it up and dip it in a sesame sauce.

Sunday morning we met together with about35 people, everything being spoken in Chinese. Later in the afternoon Gary and I went to the mall. It was very much like the Galleria Mall in Plantation, FL. We enjoyed window shopping the four floors then I bought a 350 piece Peter Rabbit puzzle, whole floor of the mall was devoted to children clothing, toys, photography, educational material, (to page 9) paraphernalia and   very large imaginative play area. We ate dinner at Subway before returning to the hotel.

This city is big, busy, crowded and a bit more complicated to travel around in as a new comer but it is very clean and pleasant to the eye.  The weather as also 7-9 degrees cooler each day.  — Love, Terry

From the China News Daily —  More Chinese tie the knot in churches—First came white bridal gowns, with intricate veils and long flowing trains becoming a common sight at Chinese weddings. Now, more young couples are choosing another imported tradition: tying the knot in a church.

Although the Christian population is in the minority in China, churches and cathedrals nationwide have reported a boom in bookings, with some purposely courting nonbelievers by offering quasi-religious ceremonies.

“Until 2008, we weren’t allowed to hold such weddings (for non-registered parishioners),” said Fan Guoxing, a pastor at Haidian Christian Church in Beijing. (to page 11)

“Now the rules have been relaxed, I’m officiating at about 40 a year, half of which are for nonbelievers.” Saturdays are the busiest, he said, sometimes with as many as eight ceremonies to handle.

At the other side of the country in Sichuan province, Xie Hongxia, a Catholic wedding planner for Chengdu diocese, estimated that about 90 percent of the 70 or so weddings held annually at the city’s cathedral are for non-Christian couples.

Wang Manshu and Jiang Jin were married on Feb 12 at Haidian Christian Church, which is in the capital’s Zhongguancun technology area.

“We were worried our booking would be rejected, so we were really happy when we got a positive response,” said Wang, 35. “Young people like us need a special (church) ceremony. Our hearts could be purified, and it helps us find a deeper connection.”

The couple spent 6,000 yuan ($940) on their big day, which included the cost of the venue, the pastor, decorations and choral music. It would have cost even more had they not arranged their own bridal stylist, photographer and cameraman.

“Traditional Chinese weddings are too complicated,” Wang said. “Although expensive, the church was no fuss at all. We were briefed about what would happen during the 30-minute ceremony and didn’t even meet the pastor until just beforehand.”

According to tradition, the bride’s father walked her down the aisle in front of 100 family members and friends, before Fan, the pastor, gave a brief sermon. The couple exchanged vows, each time ending with an “Amen”, and then joined to light a candle symbolizing their unity in marriage.

“It was an education for me,” said the bride’s 65-year-old uncle, Wang Tianyu, who said it was his first time in a church. “Young people are having a lot (see page 12)   of quick marriages and quick divorces nowadays. Maybe a solemn church wedding will help them take marriage more seriously.”

Xishiku Catholic Church, also known as Beijing’s Northern Cathedral, requires non-Christian couples to have a civil-marriage certificate before they can book the venue. The price is 2,600 yuan, which includes decorations and, on Saturdays, a full choir. Volunteer Zhou Fucheng at the church said the ceremonies generate much-needed income for the church. However, not all parishioners are happy about the their churches being rented out to nonbelievers.

“Some Christians have voiced their objection and believe we host the weddings of nonbelievers just to make a profit,” said pastor Fan at Haidian Church in Beijing. In doing so, though, many more people get to know about our beliefs.”

He explained that originally either the bride or groom had to be a practicing Christian for a couple to get married in the church. It was only later it was opened to all comers. Ma Qing, 43, who was baptized in 1985 and works as a volunteer at Southern Cathedral on weekends, said she has an open mind about nonbelievers choosing church weddings.

“The church welcomes all who are interested,” she said. “We greet newcomers and let them decide if they want to know more. Some were married as nonbelievers and were later baptized.”

Whether the latest wedding fad leads more into the Christian religion or not, church phones are likely to keep ringing in the short term.

Mao Weiwei, 27, said she has seen countless white weddings in movies and TV shows, and was also impressed when she read about how one of her favorite singers, Christine Fan from Taiwan, got hitched in a church ceremony last year.

But it was not until she saw her non-Christian friend exchange vows with her “Mr. Right” in a church that she started to imagine it for herself.

“I never knew such a ceremony was available for nonbelievers in China,” said Mao, an instructor at an English training center in Beijing. “Now I know, I can’t get the idea out of my head.

“Traditional Chinese weddings are a bit too grand for me. I want mine to be perfect, celebrated in an intimate, serene and sweet manner.”

According to a recent report on internet use, Chinese netizens now number around 538 million, and the penetration rate is 39.9%. This means that China is on track to achieve the central government’s target of 45% by 2015. It is particularly noteworthy that the number of rural internet users is expanding dramatically. In the past, due to a lack of telecommunication infrastructure, rural residents had little access to the internet.  But now things have changed. The number of rural internet users has reached 150 million. This is about 27% of total users. About half of them are using mobile phones to get online. In addition, the report also finds that the demographics of internet users has also undergone a shift. Many more middle aged and seniors are joining the crowd. About 17% of net users are over 40 years old.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We celebrated our 41st anniversary July 2 and Terry’s 20th anniversary of her ?? birthday July 5, with Independence Day thrown in for good measure. As is our custom, we kept it simple, but enjoyed acknowledging these special events in our life.

But the school officials made it so-o-o-o-o special for an hour on our anniversary, with several teachers, students, Dean Catherine, the director of the Director of Personnel (Zhang Tai Wu), and even the President of our university (Shen Guang Ming) present…with speeches and gifts and a beautiful and delicious cake! It was one of the best anniversaries ever…and the President did a personal calligraphy wall scroll for us that we will hang in our apartment and be cherished and passed down in our family for many decades to come.

   He worked several hours on the scroll, wanting to get it just right, he told the group before presenting it. Different people were asked to make speeches, and their words were so kind. Dean Catherine said “God sent you here,” as I mentioned our long-time desire to get close to a university and have a first-hand influence on that age group. “It’s something I have wanted for some time. I just did not realize that it would happen in China.”

The scroll idea came from a famous Chinese poet (Li Shangyin from the Tang Dynasty), which expressed the idea that “You can fly together even though you don’t have wings. You can feel each others thoughts in your hearts.” President Shen wanted it to reflect something that would depict our 41st anniversary sentiments, and we are so-o-o-o-o-o thankful for the gift and his friendship.

They asked me to make a five minute speech with marriage advice, and for Terry and me to sing a song…we sang Light the Fire…one of our favorite. Dodi and Stella helped us get the flowers, cake, and        (continued on page three)

calligraphy painting back to the apartment, and we took more pictures. Hugo took a video of the hour-long event, and we are anxious to see it…and several others took pictures, which we’ll share through shutterfly.com when possible.

Dean Catherine and President Shen both gave Terry big hugs at the end of the scroll presentation….Catherine initiated it 🙂

The first morning of my official beginning of summer had two negatives: the internet was barely connecting, so I was not able to watch or listen or keep up in any way with the Heat game 5…glad to celebrate eventual NBA title. I also had plugged my Kindle Fire in all night, I thought, but when I settled down for a good read, it cut off and needed to be charged….a one hour wait…oh well.

The students have annual or bi-annual tests that test their English proficiency, and they are under a lot of pressure to pass the tests so their resumes can show their progress. China Mobile has connected a wireless internet system in many of the main buildings, and the students can pay a monthly fee and get access on a computer and especially on their cell phones. During these tests, however, that signal is blocked, we learned, when the cell phone system did not work….the block keeps them from using their cell phones during the tests…probably also stops/slows internet use.

    I need to relate the events around graduation here, which is quite amazing. First, the day and time is not decided upon until the last minute, for some reason, and I mean even to the point that the graduates do not know about it when it is the next day.  We asked at least a dozen people to let us know when the ceremony would be held, and found out the night of the event that it had taken place that day…and no one told us…we wanted to take a picture of four of our older students in their cap-and-gowns. We found out some eight hours after it was over that it was held that same day. One student also told us that it is “not the custom for the family to come attend the graduation, since many of them cannot afford the cost of travel.” The education of children is so pressure-packed, and yet when it is time to (see page 4)     graduate with their university degree, no one seems to take it seriously so they can make plans to let it be special…I do not get it. 😦

This is the text we received from one of our junior students to let us know it had been held that day: “I regret to tell you that graduation was held today. 😦 Maybe you will be able to attend mine next year.” 🙂

We had five of the students over for lunch July 6 after discovering they had arranged an extra month of a class on the East campus to get a head start on their second major, Japanese. They are some of our best students, and I guess just were not ready to go home just yet. As juniors, they have to begin their second language major, and they will have 19 classes, each lasting 90 minutes….a very long week, especially since they go to school on Saturday and Sundays, too.

I took my six-week stroll through the back gate area for a haircut, and saw two things that slightly disturbed me. First, when it gets real hot, the men here tend to wear light t-shirts and pull most of it up around to their chest/next areas, exposing their upper bodies. Saw several men today who needed bras. Secondly, for first time in maybe three decades, saw a woman sitting at one of the small restaurants nursing her young child. I know the ’public part’ is an issue in many countries’ airports, etc., but has not been something I have seen for a long time…do not mind waiting 30 more years. 🙂

As the freshmen students made plans to move their things to the Central campus for next fall’s classes (yes, it is now official…they will be on our campus for the next school year) one made it clear she is not looking forward to going home. She  will miss her friends, and even though she has a well-paying part-time job waiting selling learning machines to parents, she smiled when I observed that “you have grown up a little, haven’t you?” There is a time when it’s OK to begin breaking the bonds to ‘home.’

As usual, their shock and surprise is intense when they look at some of the dorms here, compared to the West campus. The main issue is an open restroom area, with no privacy at all for the girls.

We’ve apparently adjusted to the heat issue in our apartment. Like last summer, it is around 83 in half of the apartment with no air conditioner, and around 79 in the two rooms that has AC, plus each has a standing fan blowing it into the rest of the apartment. Thus far, we have not moved the kitchen table into the office area.

Some of our students have traveled several hours south to take a part-time job. After being there a week the report is not favorable: too low pay, 11 to a bed (a large platform bed) in the dorm provided for the workers, and terrible food. It will be curious to see how long they are able to handle the situation, and remember, those are someone’s daughters away from home in a strange province. 😦

We spent a long weekend with John, Lily and their son, Carl, in Changde, a bumpy 4 1/2 hour bus ride southwest from Jingzhou. For the second year, I was very uncomfortable with the bumpy ride…I felt no insecurity but my body apparently does not know what is happening so it responds in kind. I break into a mild sweat and am very nauseated…no fun, to say the least. The bus is only for 27 passenger so it does not have good shocks. The ride home is on a bigger bus and there are no difficulties.

John and Lily are Family, and Assembly time is special with them. She is a Chinese English teacher and John is a neurosurgeon. Carl was home this time, and is beginning his three year residency soon. He is also planning to be a neurosurgeon, and assists his dad on some occasions now.

We got a guided tour of a 70-bed psychiatric hospital here, owned and operated by a young man (Simon) that we met on our last trip here. He also manager a plant that produces the medicines for different mental diseases here. As John says, “Simon is very rich.” And apparently building a seven-story brand new building and establishing a hospital is his latest venture.

Well, it was very nice, with clean facilities and simple design, which is best and safest for the patients. I was surprised, but most of them are between 15-30 years old, with the majority in their early 20’s. As Simon, who is the owner but wisely hired doctors to manage it completely, led us around, he looked many of the patients in the eyes and gave them proper attention and respect. It was clear that he genuinely cares about them. As Terry said when we were leaving, “Simon is doing some good things with his money.”

He used the roof to plant vegetables  for the cook to use in the facility. His parents come over often and work in the garden. He has a nice badminton court and exercise area, which he uses with some locals regularly, but which is also used often by the patients.

I weighed at their place on a digital scale and hit the 174 pounds mark…glad to have maintained that steady weight since last summer, in spite of six weeks during the winter eating American food (which I miss and enjoyed very much).

We received the following instant message from our teacher friend, Howard: “…my friend’s daughter wants to practice English, and she also wants to join your God discussion…May I introduce her to you?” Needless to say, we said yes.

I received my teaching schedule for the fall and will have seven classes with some 335+ students (Terry will teach pronunciation classes again but will not get a schedule until just before classes begin in late August). I will have three days when classes will be at 2 pm and 4:05 pm, but it will be worth the late afternoon classes since I will get to have all of them in a multi-media room. I will gladly have afternoon classes in order to have access to the variety made possible for my presentations.  

We will begin on August 27 and our 17-week classes end on December 22…we are hoping to stop over in Searcy on our way into the country, and then visit family in Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado as we head back to China February 22, if all proceeds as we think now. Your prayerful support is appreciated, and makes our work here possible….we will not make a final decision on 2013 until late in the year.

Keven told us one of our weekly teacher discussion group members is leaving the school, going to Wuhan with plans to be married…has been away from boyfriend for six years. A Brother, the assistant dean, is also leaving, as well as a Sister, who works in the office of our department. We will miss those who have been with us weekly. 😦

We are still planning a trip August 11 for six days to Beijing. I remember a 3-hour layover on our way to America in late December there…no stares at all…they are used to foreigners at that airport and city. We look forward to meeting some American Family and learning some good things that will help us be better at what we do here. Another plus? Some American-style restaurants close to the motel like Subway, Pizza Hut and McDonald’s.

There is also the only legal church of Christ in China there, and we’re planning to visit with them on the Sunday before the seminar begins (www.beijingchurchofchrist.com). On the website they run this note: due to local government regulations, the Fellowship is open to foreign ID holders only. Many of the Americans who have been with them in recent months have been called back to their ‘home office’ due to the poor economy, so the numbers are much lower than usual.

Here is more information from their website: “The Beijing church of Christ gained approval from the Chinese Religious Affairs Bureau for legal public meetings of open New Testament worship in view of the 2008 Olympics being held in Beijing. The church has been meeting since August 3rd of that year. Since that time we have changed meeting locations several times for the convenience of our members and guests. We have permission to meet in hotel meeting rooms, so we try our best to find the most economical, comfortable, conveniently located, and well known hotel possible.

“At this time, attendance is limited to foreign passport holders and Chinese citizens who are spouses/fiancés of foreigners. Throughout our short existence we have enjoyed Christian visitors from all over the world due to Beijing’s international significance. However, we still face the challenge of establishing a foundation of Christian expats who actually live in Beijing.”

With a letter with a China address, the state of California is supposedly mailing us a sticker that extends our two drivers licenses through our birthdays so we’ll be able to take care of them during our winter break. It looked like we’d land in late-December with no means to drive…well…I am sure others ho have worked abroad have dealt with these items.

We have again found delicious watermelon and tomatoes in the back-gate market…and some of the most beautiful peaches I have ever seen, but picked when they are stone-hard and impossible to eat and enjoy. I wish someone would teach them that peaches are supposed to be juicy and slightly soft.

I read an internet story that said those who can take 7-9 weeks away from a hectic, work environment can add a few years to their life expectancy. China is already good for my A1c level, and a teacher’s schedule with two built-in breaks should be good, too. 🙂

Hugo has just delivered a high quality video of our anniversary celebration, with all the speeches and even our singing Light the Fire. We are glad to have all the attendees on film for future viewing…when we do leave China, we know we will cherish it even more.

This may sound silly, but remember when the Old Testament tells us that Israelite’s clothes did not wear our during 40 years in the wilderness? We have noticed how our clothes seem to be ‘holding up just fine’ here, too, though we had been told the clothes washer would ‘rough them up pretty good.’ I have also noticed that a particular pepper shaker seems to continue forever…I thought we were almost out over two months ago so I bought the replacement, but it still lasts and lasts and lasts. Not complaining, just noticing. 🙂

I found the following Associated Press news items interesting: “They are the pride of America – Team U.S.A. – and for the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics in London, they’ll be proudly wearing red, white and blue, from beret to blazer. The classic American style – shown in an image above – was crafted by designer Ralph Lauren. But just how American is it? When ABC News looked at the labels, it found “made in China.” Every item in the uniforms that the U.S. athletes will be wearing at the opening ceremony in London will carry an overseas label.”

This country is crazy about its 2004 Olympic champion high hurdler Liu Xiang (see photo), who won in Athens eight years ago but pulled up hurt as the favorite in his home country Beijing 2008 event. He is scheduled to run his first race in the heat of the Olympic Games on Aug 7. The men’s 110 meters hurdles semifinal and final will be both held on Aug 8, which is the fourth anniversary of the opening of the Beijing Olympic Games. He has regained form in the past year, winning the silver and narrowly missing the title at last year’s world championships. He registered a world record-tying time of 12.87 seconds assisted by wind.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Terry will share the great news from the doctor, but she received a very good report. One of her best students, Stella, accompanied her on the four-hour bus trip to Xiangyang. Stella was so excited to be able to go with her, and they had a great time…we feel certain that she will be one of those special learners on our campus next semester.

We attended the wedding reception of Hugo and Kelly, two of the teachers we have spent many hours with in good discussions. They were married in their hometown three weeks earlier, but had a reception locally for their colleagues and other school officials. I was asked to make a few comments, and afterward had another chance to visit with the President of our university, through a translator.

When he found out we would be celebrating our 41st wedding university July 2, he made it clear, through Dean Catherine, that he wanted to host a celebration of the event “because we view our faculty as part of family, and you are part of family.” They plan to invite foreign teachers from the University to be part and make it a “blend of cultures between the East and West.” We tried to discourage it…we do not like being in the spotlight.

As the temperature hits over 92 degrees regularly, we have noticed that our electricity has not gone out for a long time, and we’ve had water, too. In the past, we have lost it for 5-6 hours at a time. The internet has lost its connection, occasionally, though. These are common occurrences that seemed to have improved in 2012. Our two floor fans used in the air-conditioned rooms to push cool air into the rest of the apartment has also helped to keep the entire living space comfortable, around 78-79 degrees throughout.

I love being a father…three of the happiest days of my life when Tonia, Eric, and Gregory were born. I was in the delivery room coaching TJ for all three. Tonia really knew what I needed this summer…an Amazon gift card to buy a book! I went shopping online and found 11 books that deserved a free sample, and took some of the pressure off of having to make a decision. I settled on Ron Santo A Perfect 10 and When Theo Met Tom…a Cubs Story…and have $4 credit waiting for another choice.

I got several texts from students on Father’s Day. One said “…to a good father and our Great teacher.” I liked that one!

On the second day of my Training Class, two of the groups were not prepared to present the assignment, and I used some of the eight minutes to show them the video honoring my dad my brother, Joel, put together last year and posted on Facebook. When it ended, some of the 40 students clapped.

Our fourth-floor neighbor, Max, and his wife have a new baby girl, and we are amazed that we so rarely hear her cry, though she sleeps in the room “just inches away from our bedroom.” Sometimes the concrete walls are paper-thin and sometimes they aren’t….go figure.

We have not been ‘happy campers’ this summer, since we first saw a rat around the first-floor steps of our building. The steps are across from the open garbage bin, and though we are glad it’s the first time we’ve experienced one in spite of garbage regularly being thrown onto the ground, we do NOT like it!

I finished my classes officially on June 21, due to a weeklong training class with the English-only 5101 group of 40 students. They are among my best students and I will miss seeing them each week. Though we have had some great ‘connections’ with them for three semesters, few in the group has been part of regular studies of Important Things, which is a disappointment. I thought I might have two semesters of a video listening class, but found out just this week that I would only teach sophomore Oral English in the fall (I hope they change their mind).

I have enjoyed using much more variety with the training class, since it is a multi-media room. As they began gathering at 7:50 a.m. I played Michael W. Smith videos with lyrics for their enjoyment. 🙂

Terry and I were asked to join some of the students at volleyball. We played for about 75 minutes (see next page) and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were eight players on the court next to us who were re-a-l-l-y good. I also saw one of my students playing ping pong and we scheduled a time to play. His English name is Splendid, and my poor play two nights later made him look splendid. A friend came and the two of them were hitting every corner, with lots of spin, and I was glad to have another appointment after 40 minutes.

Greetings from Terry: I have now completed my third trip to see the doctor in Xiangyan regarding Vitiligo. It was a pleasant and successful trip. Stella, one of my freshmen students, went with me this time. She did a great job as interpreter and since she is energetic, interesting and shares many of my interests we thoroughly enjoyed the visit going and coming. The doctor expects the pigment to return but he said it will probably take a full two years of treatment. However, he said the color in my fingertips will probably not return. That is OK with me. I am just thankful they have stopped forming.

Every day now I rejoice that I am free of setting a morning alarm and of a set schedule, free to choose my activities at will.

With the summer temperatures many of the girls are wearing light summer dresses. I see a lot of styles from the past that are very feminine and becoming: drop waist, fitted bodice, puff sleeves, balloon skirts, buttons and bows. Since I must now wear an ankle support, I wear nice slacks/pants and tops all of the time but I really miss “girl clothes”.

We really enjoyed the fellowship meal we had after Sunday morning meeting. Two new people came for the first time. “He” helped everything go smoothly and the food to their liking. One brought smashed potatoes she learned how to make while in America. One brought a large cluster of litchi fruit and gardenias. Another brought several white lilies. Our apartment smells so pretty because of the flowers.

It is our first time to see or try litchi. They grow on trees in clusters, a touch smaller than ping pong balls. You peel the thin, dry skin and eat the translucent white juicy fruit around a dark smooth seed. It is very good. To me it tastes like a sweet peeled grape with just a hint of grapefruit.

Correction: Litchi do not grow in a cluster. I discovered in the bunch of litchi that was given to us that the stems were woven together by a ribbon. Also the seed looks like an acorn without the cap.

The other afternoon we played volleyball with some of our students. It was fun. Gary is looking forward to playing ping pong with one of his students.

Have I mentioned how much I really like not having to hurry? That is one reason summer break is so great. Time to clean the way it needs to be cleaned, time to cook the food and experiment with new ingredients and seasonings, time to think and wonder and meditate on things that need meditation, time to look for answers to my questions, time to correspond with friends (taking time to look up the words so I don’t embarrass myself by misspelling them) time to give thanks, praise, make requests, petitions and get advice, more time for leisure communication and recreation with Gary. And yes I know, when the next semester comes close I will be sooo ready for it to start. That is good also.

This week we were able to have fresh green beans, ripe tomatoes, mashed potatoes and gravy with our chicken. Mmm delicious, just like an American home. The gravy packet was left from the great Thanksgiving box that was sent to us.

I have again realized that time is an un-renewable resource. We must use it wisely.

I have finished reading George Washington by William Roscoe Thayer. It was very good. And I ask myself again, “Why haven’t I read this before?”  — Terry

China News: President outlines model of relations between world’s major powers — Differences with China must be properly handled by the United States as both countries strive to forge a new type of advantageous relationship between big powers, President Hu Jintao said on Tuesday.

Analysts said that Hu is addressing the key to a stable and beneficial relationship, especially ahead of November’s US presidential election. Hu put forward a proposal outlining a new model of great-power relations, a concept he initiated in a speech during the China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in May in Beijing.

Hu said on Tuesday that both countries should maintain high-level strategic communication, manage differences and keep any potential interference at bay. He said he hoped that the US will adopt a positive and pragmatic approach, respect China’s interests and prevent domestic politics from disturbing ties.

US President Barack Obama agreed with Hu on developing the next phase of the relationship. The US is ready to work with China to cultivate a new model of great-power relations to effectively tackle global challenges, Obama said. A prosperous and stable China is in the interests of the US and the world, just as a prosperous and growing US benefits China and the world, he said.

The leaders met during the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, their second meeting this year and the 12th in three years. Both leaders commented positively on ties, analysts said, but emphasized that more needs to be done to enhance trust.

The meeting set a positive tone, Jia Xiudong, a senior researcher on international affairs at the China Institute of International Studies, said. “The US is unwilling to see any major setback in ties ahead of the presidential election, but the possibility remains that Obama will take trade measures as he faces domestic pressure,” Jia said.

The Asia-Pacific region, more than any other area, is where China and the US have the most converging interests, and “benign interaction between the countries is the key”, he said. Philip Levy, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told China Daily that the G20 provides a regular opportunity for US and Chinese leaders to work through mutual concerns.

“It does so with somewhat less pressure than a state visit and it reminds the leaders that US and Chinese actions often have repercussions for the rest of the world. Such meetings always result in claims of success, but sometimes those claims can be merited, thereby justifying the work that goes into preparing summits,” Levy said.

Bilateral trade Hu said on Tuesday that as China and the US are the world’s two largest economies, maintaining robust trade relations is of great significance. Trade between China and the US, each the second-largest trade partner of the other, reached $446.6 billion last year. Official figures from China also show that US companies invested more than $67.6 billion in China by the end of 2011, while Chinese companies invested $6 billion in non-finance sectors in the US.

China is boosting domestic demand and has full confidence in sustaining the strong momentum of its economic growth, Hu said. Both countries should boost economic cooperation and increase trade, Hu said.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

This will be the last blog for the spring semester. We will stay in China for the summer. Our plans: to welcome Eric, Wendy, Brinson, and Aiden to Shiyan, in late August where they will begin teaching…they will be just five hours northeast of Jingzhou, the closest we have lived to each other in a long time. We will also teach a full load in the fall to fulfill our contract through the end of December.

We will make decisions about 2013 as it approaches, but much will again depend on what He wants us to do…and if we are again able to raise sufficient financial support to take care of our stateside expenses. I am open to considering a teaching job in America, but know it will take a special situation for elders to consider someone who will be 62 years old and has been out of the country for the past two years….we will leave it to God.

We learned only a few days ago that Terry’s sister, Adona, and Mike (and Louise) are moving from Danville, California to Colorado Springs this September. We look forward to seeing snow there during our winter visit January-thru-February….and will also get to see Ward (her brother) and Beth.

Thank you for your prayers/support.

As I walk to class each morning around 7:45 a,m.,  hundreds of students are walking to-and-from the food stands on campus with their bowl of noodles or rise. I thought the other day “how do they do it, staying healthy in spite of eating the same thing day after day.” I laughed out loud when I realized I also eat the same things day by day:

• For breakfast: I like variety so I mix cereals to get a good taste: Cheerios, Rice Krispies, and Raisin Bran with granola.
• For lunch: dried lima beans or pinto beans with cole slaw, cornbread, and cheddar or hot pepper cheese for lunch…. also chicken vegetable soup, or chicken or pork with plenty of BBQ sauce every week
• For supper: peanut butter/jelly, pimento cheese, or BBQ pulled pork sandwiches with chips or pretzels for supper (I’m getting hungry just thinking about all this food).

I am still at 175 pounds and a 32” waist and my three-month blood levels are in the 6.2 range, so “Gary’s Chinese diet” continues working 🙂

Terry eats the same 4-7 vegetables for lunch and dinner after eating oatmeal with fruit or raisins for breakfast. We also eat a good supply of fruit daily.

We are thankful we are finding most of these things locally.  With Sophia’s help, we are finding TJ’s vitamins and supplements in the school clinic for good prices, which also will keep us from using our ‘weight and space’ to get them back here from America.

We had cooler weather as we wind down the semester…it was in the low 60’s on May 23, with a high of only 71. It felt more like November than late May! We know it won’t last long, so are very grateful to God for this gift!

Several students competed in speech competition (all sophomores) and did very, very well. The ones I felt were first and second actually won those positions…found my scores were 3-4 points higher than the average winning marks. I gave a high of 95 to the winner (average was 93) and my low was 89 (her average 87). I appreciated some of their kind remarks directed to their teachers, especially one who said “all our teachers are disciplined, talented, energetic, and treat us just like their children.” 🙂

One of our junior students, who is the president of the student union, has been part of our weekly discussions for three semesters. He told TJ last week that  he had ‘fallen in love’ and was pretty excited to share this fact. I met her a few days later, and he just smiled at the event. I know how it feels to find ‘the love of your life’ as a junior in college 🙂

As I mentioned in the last newsletter, our three children and families had our annual family reunion in Florida, and it has caused me to miss my family a lot. We had a short moment recently to think about the joy we would have when we saw them while on break, and immediately realized that our break is January-February and not June-August. Oh, well.

Greetings from Terry:Yesterday, after class, Keven came over to use our oven to bake brownies from an American box mix he had bought in Wuhan. Later the same day, Kelly, the newlywed came over and I helped her make her first cake. We used a yellow cake recipe Gary found on line; no box mix.  After halving the recipe so it could fit into our little pan for our little oven I was surprised it turned out OK. At least it was edible. Hugo, her husband, came by as we were taking it out of the oven. He had had to work late and was disappointed he had missed the process of putting it together.

From what we understand from our students they do not learn to cook at home as young people. Their parents do everything for them (mothers and grandmothers mostly) saying the child’s responsibility is to study and get the highest grades possible. Then when they marry their mother/mother-in-law help them out for a while. When they have a baby their mother comes and helps out. Many, not all, young mothers leave their new baby with their mother for her to raise it while they go back to work. Even if they must work in another city they leave their baby with their mother. I am so thankful I was blessed to be able to raise and nurture my own children. I cherish the experience.

This year we have been blessed with more transitional weather than I remember having last year. Today we have a beautiful blue sky with white fluffy clouds and clean smelling air, such a joy. I also got to Skype with my Mother and sister which is a pleasure.

The giant cottonwood trees are beginning to shed their white fluff on the West campus. We went shopping at the student’s marketing booths set up near the front gate. I bought a couple of bracelets and a shy plant that immediately closes its leaves when you touch them. I hope I can keep it alive.

Tu Wenwen is an art or marketing student who is a regular visitor in one of my classes. She observes just to improve her spoken English. This week she presented me with nine artificial pink lilies she had made by herself. They are just beautiful. She said it was her first attempt at making them. They are made with delicate pink netting over silver wire with green plastic centers. I covered a plastic bottle for a vase and put them in the living room.

The local farmers have cut the yellow flowers to press for safflower oil. Now they are in the process of clearing their fields of the remaining green plants. Pulling, collecting and discarding the remaining plants is to time and energy consuming so they just burn it off. This produces a thick smoke that makes the local  air quality very poor. It is the age old question of time and money or health. During these days we opt to stay in our apartment.

I finished reading The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Henry Ketcham. It was well written. The way he explained why and how things were happening at that time makes it very interesting. I think I will be able to remember more of it now.

Thursday, after listening to and grading fifty-four speeches in my two classes, we went to the Chinese English Speech Competition that afternoon where Gary was one of the judges. They did the Chinese speeches first, which we could not understand. I counted twenty three words I recognized. Then the English speeches presented by our students. They were so very good. We were proud and thankful for them. We were there from 2:00 to 6:15. By the time we got home my brain was soooo tired of concentrating that I had a head ache and went to bed early.

Friday night twelve came for Movie Night in our apartment. We showed Finding Nemo. We all really enjoyed it. I think only one had seen it before.

Twelve people came for Sunday morning meeting on May 27. It was great. We always look forward to our time together. Everyone is getting comfortable sharing their requests and needs. It is really good fellowship. — Love, Terry

When we began work in Jingzhou, we had to visit the local police station and register to work, showing our passport and work permit. Apparently the standards have not been followed in Beijing, and there is now ‘a 100-day crackdown’ to to combat what’s become known as the “three illegals”. This refers to foreigners who have entered illegally, overstayed their visa or been employed without obtaining a work permit.

Citizens of the ROK, the US, Canada, Russia and Japan were the top five nationalities involved in “three illegal” cases in 2011, according to the exit-entry administration of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

More than 20,000 “three illegal” foreigners were dealt with nationwide last year.

We will be visiting Beijing August 13-17 to attend a retreat, to be held in one of the hotels, sponsored by InterMission.

InterMission host us for four nights as a time to get together with others working in a cross cultural setting. The cost is free…we pay our own transportation to the school and pay for the meals we will be eating out.  We plan to take the Z-12 train up there and an airplane home. The Z-12 train leaves at 9 pm and arrives around 6:30 am and provides a berth for sleeping…we’ll be in close quarters but it will allow us to experience a new area and interesting way of travel. InterMission will pay for the cost of the conference, simple breakfast, and some really special treats. (We will send a full report in our first newsletter of the fall semester.)

Other China News: Shanghai plans to build 45 office buildings in its bustling financial district of Lujiazui in five years, in a bid to accommodate clustering financial services companies. By the end of April this year, there were 207 office buildings in Lujiazui in city’s Pudong New Area, with a construction area totaling more than 10 million square meters, according to figures from the Administrative Committee of the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone.

The new plan, part of Shanghai’s ambition to be a global financial hub by 2020, comes after office buildings in Lujiazui were nearly full as financial institutions flocked to the area. Ninety-four percent was rented out in 2011. By the end of 2016, Lujiazui is expected to be home to more than 900 financial service companies, up from 630 in 2011.

Residents of Guangdong’s provincial capital Guangzhou are frustrated by high prices, never-ending workdays, overcrowded public transportation and traffic jams, and some of them have an idea of what to do about it – sing.

Young members of the “complaints chorus” performed at six of the city’s famous sites on May 20, including Canton Tower, Chen Clan Academy and Shamian Island.

The 15 singers, most of whom are college students, donned white T-shirts and sunglasses and clutched yellow file folders. They caught the attention of passersby.

While their vocals weren’t professional, the chorus’ appeal comes from its humorous and thought-provoking lyrics about issues nearly all residents can relate to.

Such lines include: “The leather shoe I threw away became a pill capsule in a jiffy.” The words express food and medicine safety concerns that arose after a China Central Television expose revealed some producers were illegally making medicine capsules with industrial gelatin extracted from leather waste.

He Zhirong and his family were so intrigued when they chanced upon the group that the 44-year-old man and his wife took a lyrics sheet and sang along.

“I have complaints about many issues they discuss, but I don’t want to address them in violent ways, like protests, rallies or marches,” the Guangzhou native says. “I’m grateful the choir expresses many Guangzhou residents’ concerns. And it’s great that these creative young people worked out such an interesting and mild way for me to speak my mind.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our university is going through an accreditation process, and are taking the opportunity to “put their best foot forward,” which pleases us immensely. It means they are putting in some decorative plants and flowers and cleaning up some areas around our teacher’s building #1 that have been in need for some time. The students are noticing, also. Let’s hope it will continue after the government officials are gone.

What they see and hear will affect the standing of our university in this country. It will affect future student enrollment, so it’s important. Of course, accreditation processes are also part of the “American way.”

The rumor mill continues…seems we will move to the West campus sometime in the future…some are saying next semester is a good possibility.

We enjoyed getting pictures from the family reunion of our children and our grandsons…and realized we ‘attended’ our second family function courtesy of Skype. We participated in Bo’s wedding last November in Atlanta and now a Florida vacation. We really get around, huh?

After 12 years as a part-time and full-time sportswriter, in 1979 I left that profession to work in more important ways, and now begin my 34th year in that service. It has brought a few ‘roller coaster rides’ along the way, but I have no regrets and “love my crazy job.” (I have a coffer mug in California storage that proclaims that fact, which is a metaphor for our recent years).

I missed watching the Kentucky Derby for the second straight year. Born in Louisville, I take pride in this annual event, and have not missed it since being run yearly on television. For those years as a sportswriter, it meant holding the first edition on Saturday afternoon for several minutes so a picture and story could go on the front page of the sports section.

One of the great privileges we have is the opportunity to offer counsel to these young people…I am excited for the challenge to spend time with a young man to help him “get light into the darkness.” He’s had some difficult times, with anger issues in his family, but he responds well to our kindness, constant smiles and ‘being friends.’ Keep him in your thoughts! We want to change his way of thinking, so his actions will follow…and want to help him begin to break the cycle that seems to be part of the family structure.

We have a new Sister in the Family. And two of our Thursday evening teachers came to our Sunday Assembly for the initial time.

We’ve watched some more of our men and women play what we would call in the States intramural games. They play hard, but are not winning many matches. It is still a privilege to support their efforts, and I have become the team photographer, providing many pictures for their future scrapbooks. 🙂

Greetings from Terry: I have thoroughly enjoyed reading The Blue Window by Temple Bailey again. It is a treasure that is now out of print.

When we went to watch our central boys intramural basketball game I discovered my West girls were playing on the adjacent court. It was fun to see them in a different setting. I could tell they felt that way about me too. They were excited to have us there. It was like having a part of their family cheering for them. Gary took lots of pictures.

Later that same night four of my girls from West were in a “Hostess” competition where they were judged on deportment, speaking skills and talent. They were surprised and pleased that we had come. Gary took photos and later put them on a CD for each girl to keep and share with her friends and family (he also made one for the basket ball teams) It was so thoughtful of Gary. He is always using his many writing, photography and computer skills in ways to help others.

Several of the girls said that when they saw us in the audience it gave them confidence as if their grandparents were there watching. We also enjoyed being there for them. It was like getting to watch my own children and grandchildren; which is one of my favorite pastimes.

Sunday evening Gary and I took advantage of the pleasant weather by taking a walk around the pond, small forest and “old ruins” on campus where Aiden played when he was here in August. (good memories) The bower of roses at the nursery gate was in full bloom, lending its sweet fragrance to the evening air. Personally, I think they need to set out a sweet smelling bush every few feet around the city.

The other day at lunch one of the students said she could not use chop sticks and always used a spoon.

I have now switched to my summer hair style; tucking it behind my ears. It is much cooler.

Today we had my last class visitation in our apartment. While they were here, they asked me to sing a song so I sang I Am Lovable.

Then Gary and I sang Qing, Qing, Ting in Chinese (English title is Listen Quietly) and Light The Fire in English. Then they sang a song for us.

Today I made chocolate milk from the large tin of powdered coacoa Lisa Taylor left me when she moved. It was soooo good.

I have rediscovered how effective a paste of baking soda and hot water is on the grease that builds up on the kitchen exhaust vent and fan. With just a little rubbing it cleans it off completely. – Love, Terry.

 Gary: I have found the book 10 Simple Solutions for Building Self-Esteem by Glenn R. Schiraldi helpful in our discussions. I would like to share some of his main ideas, knowing many of us can benefit from the information and perhaps share with others as we seek to build up one another according to their needs:

• Self-esteem is a realistic, appreciative opinion of oneself. Realistic means we are dealing in the truth, being accurately and honestly aware of our strengths, weaknesses, and everything in between. Appreciative, however, suggests that we have good feelings overall about the person we see. Think of a friend who knows you well and cherishes you, recognizing that there is more to you than your faults, and you’ll get a sense of what appreciative means.
• Wholesome self-esteem is the conviction that one is as worthwhile as anyone else, but not more so.
• Self-esteem rests upon three important factors, or building blocks. The first two blocks, un-(see next page)conditional worth and unconditional love, comprise the secure foundation for the third building block, growth. Generally, growth proceeds more effectively once the first two blocks are securely in place.
• A basic premise is that all people have equal, immeasurable, unchanging intrinsic worth as a person. Worth as a person is neither earned nor increased or diminished by external factors, such as the way people treat you, bad decisions, or fluctuations in your bank account balance.

Psychological health is not possible without love for the essential core. Children with self-esteem tend to have parents who love them. These parents show interest in the children’s lives, treat them with respect, encourage and support them as they strive to attain high stand-  ards, and care about them enough to set reasonable limits. The good news is that even those who did not experience this type of parental love can learn to become good parents to themselves.

What is love? I suggest that love is (1) a feeling that we experience, (2) the attitude that wants what is best for the beloved at each and every moment, (3) a decision and commitment made each day (even if we don’t feel like it), and (4) a skill that we learn. If the core is like a seed, then love is the nourishment that helps the seed grow. Love does not create worth (it already exists). However, love helps us experience our worth and enjoy the process of growing. Even though we might not always have the love of others, we can always choose to love ourselves.

We tend to feel better about ourselves when we are living constructively—making reasonable decisions, developing desirable attributes, and polishing the rough edges around the core. Thus, we might think of building block 3 as the process of completing, coming to flower, or putting love into action. Growing is a direction and a process, not reaching a destination. Growing does not change our core worth, but it helps us to experience it with greater satisfaction. The inner core can grow even as the body ages or becomes infirm. As the concentration camp survivor Viktor Frankl noted, people can attain inner freedom even though their bodies are imprisoned. We grow as we try to lift others along with ourselves, as we develop in character and personality, and as we discover ways to enjoy wholesome pleasures. (I have needed many of these points in recent years, with friends and family!)

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Two of our teacher friends were married recently, and make a great-looking couple! We have enjoyed weekly Discussions with them for nearly two semesters now. We also saw Xiao Guan, our Foreign Affairs Office rep, on campus today. Her husband is on one-month leave finally for their honeymoon…they were all-smiles.

We have also welcomed another teacher to our Assembly. She traveled to Iowa Wesleyan College for graduate work last semester, got Important Information, and is excited to find a regular study group to continue her growth. She has great English and plenty of interest…admitted it took her 12 years to finally believe The One.

I thought of one comment from our classroom discussion on dementia and “growing old together.” One of the young men, named Youngman, said, “Gary, I did not enjoy the movie that much. I am too young to be thinking about getting old.” 🙂

A few more observations from the students when talking about lessons from The Notebook:

• The most beautiful words are not ‘I love you’ but “I will be there.”
• It is difficult for the students to listen to their classmates making their 3-4 minutes speeches, since there are 45-53 of them. What about me? Seven classes x 48!  I enjoy watching them ‘mouth’ new words of phrases they hear during those sessions. They are really serious about learning new English words.

There is a persistent rumor about our students being moved to the West campus next semester. It would mean a big change for us, since we live 7 miles away on the East campus…would really affect our weekend discussions if we are not on the same campus. Put this matter into your daily thoughts.

I have begun meeting with 21-year old freshman student seeking to ‘get darkness out of his thinking.’ He comes from a domestic anger situation…low self-esteem…but we’re making good progress.

Terry and I attended a Hostess Competition for a few of our students. It included a talent portion as well as a speaking section. They were dressed up extra special, and all did well (see photos right).

We also attended some intramural basketball games of our students. A women’s team won 48-18, with three of TJ’s class involved…the men’s team lost two close games but played very well and had some chances to win at the end of each game. They appreciate very much that their “teachers come out to watch us.” 🙂

Eric and his family have their assignment to teach in late August…at Yunyang Teachers College in Shiyan, Hubei. Shiyan is one of the most important centers of automobile industry in China, with Dongfeng, the premier Chinese truck, bus and heavy goods vehicle as a major employer. It is also labeled as the Detroit of China given this focus on auto manufacturing.

Before 1949 it was a small village, which grew after the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In 1967 teams of workers and engineers were first sent to Shiyan in order to survey sites for automotive plants and factories. At this time the population of Shiyan was only a few hundred. Chairman Mao chose Shiyan as the site for China’s automobile industry because the surrounding mountains and relative inaccessibility could act as a barrier against foreign attacks.

Yunyang Teachers College is located in Danjiangkou City, northwest of Hubei Province, an hour’s bus ride from the Wudang Mountains, a well-known tourist spot of Taoism and China Gongfu, five hours’ ride from Shennongjia, the most mysterious place in the world.

YYTC is a teachers training college under the auspices of Hubei Education Commission. It have a staff of more than 600 people and enrollment of more than 7,500 students. The schooling system consists mainly of 3-year full-time teaching courses and some courses of degree study. There are 27 specialist fields in the 11 departments. The English department has more than 1,700 students , aging from 18 to 22 years old, studying in four grades, with 40-45 in each class.

YYTC is one of the garden schools of Hubei Province, with a pleasant and modern campus and easy access the beautiful countryside and rich local culture. Amongst many other attractions there is also the mini-pacific reservoir and the Hanjiang River with many wonderful locations for swimming.

Presently there are foreign teachers who come from Britain, Ireland, the United States and New Zealand. There is a smooth communication and interaction between the Chinese students and the foreign teachers, which helps to create a lovely multicultural environment on the campus.

The Wudang Mountain range run approximately east-west through the territory of the “Prefecture-level city” of Shiyan, crossing several of its county-level divisions. The peak commonly referred to as “Wudang Mountain”, or in Mandarin Wudangshan, is one of the most important cultural centres of the Taoist faith. The surrounding areas are dotted with up to 200 Taoist monastic temples and religious sites. The main attraction in this area, and also one of the most sacred Taoist sites, which forms an important stop for mainly Chinese tourists bound there, with up to twenty bus loads of visitors per day at peak times is Wudangshan Jiedao of the Danjiangkou county-level city.

One of our teachers said “Shiyan is the four largest city of Hubei, famous for its car industry…a very beautiful city and a very livable city.”

China News: — Over five days in January, a group of visitors to New York was treated to a private concert with the pianist Lang Lang at the Montblanc store, cocktails and a fashion show attended by the designers Oscar de la Renta and Diane Von Furstenberg, and a tour of Estee Lauder’s original office.

They were not celebrities. They were not government officials. They were Chinese tourists with a lot of money.

Though luxury brands started opening stores in Beijing and Shanghai years ago, Chinese shoppers still spend more on luxury products abroad than they do at home, according to the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Because of China’s taxes, luxury products are about a third cheaper elsewhere.

European luxury stores have been catering to Chinese tourists for years. Now high-end retailers in the United States are pulling out their Mandarin phrase books and trying to convince Chinese visitors that Americans can do luxury, too.

“What started as a trickle has now become a flow,” said Ben Macklowe, the vice president of the antiques store Macklowe Gallery. “There’s been prosperity across so much of Asia that you’re starting to see it much more in the profile of the tourist on Madison Avenue.”

A record number of Chinese visited the United States last year – nearly 1.1 million, according to the Commerce Department. The number of visitors is expected to almost double by 2014, according to the US Travel Association. Chinese visitors spend about $6,000 each on every visit here, versus the $4,000 that visitors from other countries spend on average, the association says.

Beijing plans to allocate 2.84 billion yuan ($450 million) this year to further improve the capital’s notorious traffic, China News reported on Friday.

The fund will be used mainly to open up dead-end roads, widen road bottlenecks, and rebuild roads that cause congestion. Roads near schools and old residential communities are top of the list of priorities for improvement, said an official of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform. Beijing has already introduced a series of measures to tackle the jams, including a monthly quota for license plates. But since the number of cars registered in Beijing passed the 5 million mark in February 2012, vehicles are usually slowed to a crawl on major road networks.

Top Chinese wind turbine manufacturer power behind more jobs, projects in America. The company motto of one of the top Chinese wind turbine manufacturers, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co, is “globalization through localization”.

The marketing phrase is a summation of how CEO and Chairman Wu Gang views the company’s global strategy, particularly in the United States where Chicago-based Goldwind USA has been extremely active of late.

Since its first project in 2010 in Pipestone, Minnesota, Goldwind has signed 18 deals in the US in less than two years, including one last month in Montana that received strong government support.

Its second project was a 109-megawatt tower called Shady Oaks in Illinois last year that will have a positive economic effect on North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, Illinois, Ohio, Texas and New Hampshire.

Tim Rosenzweig, CEO of Goldwind USA, says the company’s goal is to “build our platform in the Americas, to continue gaining acceptance in building our brand with customers and to have a chance to prove how a Chinese/US combination can work together. We want to be a case study of how China and the US could and should work together.”

Goldwind plans to install 12 turbines in two separate 10-megawatt towers in Montana next year.

CHONGQING – Southwest China’s Chongqing municipality will soon open an international air cargo route that will link the metropolis with the United States and Australia. The weekly route will link Sydney, Chongqing, Shanghai, Chicago and New York, sources with Chongqing’s port and channel management bureau said Monday.

It is the 14th international regular cargo airline opened by the Chongqing Airport, and the first freight route in China’s central and western regions, to be linked with Australia, the sources said.

Chongqing is building itself into a major center for laptop assembly, with this year’s output expected to hit 50 million units. The opening of the new airline will facilitate the delivery of IT products from Chongqing to the North American and Australian markets, the sources said.

The international air freight volume at Chongqing Airport is likely to exceed 100,000 tonnes this year, according to the sources.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Our students have finally taken their TEM4 exam, which is for sophomore English majors. It has four parts, takes just under three hours, and will not be offered again for one year IF they do not make at least 60 on it. It is a big deal here and they have worked many, many hours.

One Discussion Group has been affected by this crucial test, so we hope some of the students can have more time on the weekends now. They have elective classes on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to regular Monday-Friday classes, so it is often difficult to schedule time with those interested in Important Things. We make the best use of the time given to us.

We so much admire the work ethic, positive attitudes, and willingness to listen and work of both the teachers and students. I was talking with Dean Catherine two weeks ago about the rumor of “our students” moving to the West campus and how we wanted to be where “our students” live. She looked at me, with a big smile, and said, “you and Terry really like your students don’t you? I noticed you said our students.” My reply: “we do like them a lot.” We’ve had numerous discussions lately with other teachers who talk about the time we give in our apartment to the different groups, and the times we treat them to lunch.

Grandsons Brinson and Aiden have begun packing their special things for moving, since their house is to be rented soon, and that means getting their many pounds of Lego’s down to “only 50” for the long trip in late August. They are both big-time Kindle book readers and both have other enjoyable hobbies, so they will do just fine…and, of course, they will be home-schooled here.

Our three children and families spent several weeks in Panama City (see photo right and Brinson ‘catching the sun’ left) , our annual time of the year when we have tried to all spend some time together. Of course, we missed that special occasion, and really missed being there. Skype saved the day, again; we were able to connect for a few minutes.

We’ve introduced Jell-O to the teachers in our weekly Thursday study and they really like it…especially the pudding version…sugar-free, of course. Terry made hot apple pie a few weeks back, which was also very successful…we all especially liked the crust. She puts cinnamon on many things, like her parents, so they have been introduced to a fruit salad with cinnamon, as well. We enjoy our time together so much, and their interest is growing.

Terry has put up new ‘curtains’ in the kitchen… wrapping paper that has “I Love You” printed on it. It allows her to have privacy at night but see the children playing and the sunshine during the day, when she opens them up.

I spent the morning with the Bee Gees on my music player…with Robin Gibbs in a coma and two already gone, I had this group on my mind…have listened to them most of my adult life. Just returned from monthly trip to RT Mart, this time without TJ, since she decided to eat lunch with some students in the West campus canteen. Went to five different stores, found no one who spoke English, and found everything I needed, and even bartered at two places to get a slightly lower price. I could have saved more IF a student had been with me. Ate lunch at McDonald’s (two cheeseburgers, fries and a Coke Zero with ice, which isn’t served in any of the non-American restaurants) and enjoyed every single crumb. 🙂

Keven came by and worked with Terry baking Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies, which he’d purchased on a recent trip to Wuhan. It has become one of those ‘regular appointments’ after a trip to the ‘big city.’

Have watched with interest the Peyton Manning news and his move to the Denver Broncos. I guess many of us will be watching NFL games/news from the West Coast more this fall. Also not surprising that Pat Summitt needed to step aside and Holly Warlick is named the Lady Vols’ coach. I covered track meets during Holly’s senior year at Knox Bearden…she was a state champion in all sprint events and quite an athlete…All-American at UT speaks for itself…and her number was retired when she quit playing at both schools.

When Baylor won the NCAA tournament game against Tennessee and Kim Mulkey knew she had likely ended Summitt’s career, this one-of-a-kind, too-big-to-have-dreamed-come-true career, she could only be humbled. “What do you say after the game?” Mulkey said that night. “You say, ‘I love you.’ ”

Her impact reaches beyond wins and losses. Every Lady Vols player who has completed her eligibility at Tennessee has graduated, and 74 former players, assistants, graduate assistants, team managers and directors of basketball operations are currently among the coaching ranks at every level of basketball.

Tennessee sports fans are fortunate to have such ‘heroes’ as Pat and Peyton!

We incorporated some ideas from an edited version of the movie The Notebook in our discussion of the value of human life and euthanasia, which is unit 7 in our workbook. I want to share some of their ideas, as it relates in “true love” and “loving your spouse until death do you part:”

• The movie portrayed the girl, Allie, as “too imtimate, and most of my classmates agreed…we would have enjoyed it more if she were not depicted that way.” Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly, and had told them before the movie that I wish I could have taken out the 7-8 ‘bad words.’
• “If we want others to love us, we must first love others; if we want others to believe us, we must first believe them.”
• “Devotion to a spouse is more important than achievements and money.”
• “In a relationship, you must accept all about a person, and not just those things easy to like.”
• A popular Chinese saying was repeated often…”holding your hand and aging with you.”
• Several related the love of Noah and Allie in” the movie, in their old age and dealing with dementia, to “the love of Gary and Terry and the envy some feel” as they want to find someone like that in their life.
• “Gold cannot be pure, and men cannot be perfect.”
• “Home is where the family is…”
• One student said she was glad to know that love ‘till death do us part” is still possible, and related her concern derived from watching Desperate Housewives and assuming that was more the model today. I assured her that some do live that way, but many also are married for life. 🙂
• They use the word “lover” here to describe even a wholesome relationship between a boy and a girl, with no sexual intimacy being discussed…that is just the word they use most often.

In our Friday Discussion group, we had some extended question/answer time this week since some were away for last-minute TEM4 exam preparation. One thing: the electricity on weekends in the dorm is later than 11 pm since they do not have classes the next day…sometimes it is on even as late as 11:40 pm on school nights. We had been told for over a year that it was always off at 11 pm. We also learned that it is left on all night during the hot summer time when classes are held, so the students can use fans, though they do not keep it cool at all! Those in our discussion that night also have heat and AC in their family homes.

I cannot remember if I have mentioned the abundant use of weed-eaters on this campus. While most of the campus is hard surface, there is some grass and several large areas of nice garden-type landscaping. But the weed-eaters…well, they use it for any grass, and that includes the ‘playground,’ which is a football-size grassy area inside an old cinder track, that looks like the one I ran on in 1964-65 in early high school track days.

The playground is now over a foot tall, due to warmer weather and rain, and several men will start early in the day and work for 2-3 days to ‘cut the grass’ with their weed-eaters. Have not seen a lawnmower anywhere in town.

It was April 20 before we were able to wear only one layer for warmth, for me, a short-sleeved shirt.  Very nice and about time….:-)

We had some books brought to us from Ed Mosby on a recent trip to China. Two of our Friday night Discussion students are avid readers. We gave Sapphire the 3-in-1 paperback of Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box, Timepiece, and the Letter). He is one of my favorite authors and I highly recommend him to you. Terry gave Arrow The Blue Window  by Temple Bailey, a book she has enjoyed for many years.