epiphany

Politics, Travel and Pain

Yesterday after giving his graded speech, one of my students begged to give a speech on the second topic for the day, even if I didn't grade him. I said that was OK, and he proceeded to spout a venomous "liberate Taiwan" speech. This has been coming up a lot lately in various classes, and I am getting sick of it. I'm assuming that the students are just repeating what they've been reading or hearing in the news, the part that doesn't get translated into English. One of these days I'm going to get myself in trouble by explaining to my students the difference between "liberation" and "subjugation."

I will say that if China does attack Taiwan, I do not care what the government here says to try to explain it. I will leave this country, and I am not alone in my sentiment.

After class ended, the student wanted to talk to me. We chatted about various things for twenty or thirty minutes, including the questions of why America is richer than China and why doesn't America trust China. I tried to explain to him, very simply and inoffensively, the basic economic differences between capitalism and communism, and I pointed out that China doesn't necessarily trust the US either. He was quite surprised about that. His dad is a government official over here (I don't know what level, but I'm definitely glad that I didn't give that class my rant!), but he said that he'd never heard an outside perspective of Chinese policy before.

Apart from the heavy political bent things have been taking here lately, I'm trying to get ready for my Beijing trip. I leave tonight! I still don't know what I'm doing, and I'm not quite sure how I'm supposed to meet up with my friends who will be in town. But it should be an interesting adventure. I don't normally do adventures on my own.

The biggest problem I can foresee is recent pain in my lower right calf that has been building over the last few days. I'm going to have to do a lot of walking in Beijing, and after sanda last night, I was limping pretty badly. (Sanda wasn't the cause, but all the kicking definitely fired things up a bit.) Maybe I'll get to do the Great Wall on crutches. That or see an acupuncturist or foot massager for a quick fix.

Chinese Lessons

My Chinese lessons seem to be going better. Of course, I've been pretty much the only one who's shown up for class over the last three or four weeks (three of the others came to one class last week). That means I spend a lot of time talking, and I get to ask about words and phrases useful for my life.

Now if I could only hear what people are saying! I did learn a new phrase yesterday for use in Beijing: "I can say more words than I can understand." I'm hoping that that statement coupled with the mildly impolite but appropriate "Speak very slowly" should get me through most of my language troubles.

Going to Beijing

I picked up my train ticket from my friend last night--I'm going to Beijing! I'm planning on leaving Dalian on Thursday night and arriving in Beijing early Friday morning. I'm hoping to come back to Dalian on Wednesday night, leaving me Thursday and Friday to prepare for my classes the next week.

Yes, I know that they've found some cases of SARS in Beijing. I read CNN, Fox, and my hometown paper nearly everyday. When I mentioned to my students that I was going to Beijing, they all started saying "SARS!" I told them I'd bring some back for all of them.

A Chinese Haircut

I'm planning on going to Beijing this Thursday night (by myself, though I'm hoping to meet up with some other friends who will be arriving a day or two after I do, for those of you following the May Day holiday plans). However, since I don't want to have to worry too much about how my hair looks while I'm traveling, I decided to get it cut tonight.

This is only my second haircut in China. I'm not particularly fond of haircuts, though long hair drives me crazy, especially around my ears. And not knowing much Chinese, I tend not to go out and do newish things potentially involving long-term results all by myself. Last semester a friend went along to help me out. However, since my vocabulary has expanded to include such words as "hair" and "too long," I decided now was the time to venture out by myself on this one.

It's difficult to find what I would consider to be a normal barbershop around here. Most of them resemble salons or beauty parlours, and being from the upper Midwest, I'm not terribly fond of the association such terms bring to mind. Barbershops are for men. Beauty parlours/salons/what-have-you are for women. But China is a bit more "liberated" in that respect, so salonish-type establishments are pretty much your only choice, unless you want to go to the guy with his chair set up among the food vendors at the closest intersection.

Also, in my barbershop back home, you'll find a normal looking older man and a middle-aged lady who cut everyone's hair. It's a very plain, simple small-town kind of thing, and it's what I'm used to. But here, most of the salon haircutters or beauticians or whatever you call them are young men in their early twenties with fairly wild hair, for Chinese people. If I saw them in the States, I would probably leave the establishment and never again darken its door. However, people have told me that here, you want a guy to cut your hair at a salon. Apparently the salons with mostly or all ladies cutting the hair tend to offer more personal kinds of "services" in room you can't see from the street. Even the Chinese girls I know won't go to those shops. They've told me that the beauticians aren't exactly trained in how to cut hair.

Anyway, I walked into the barbershop that I thought my friend had taken me to last semester (I guessed correctly) and told them "Wo de toufa tai chang le" ("My hair [is] too long"). I asked how much it cost, but they immediately seated me in the wash-your-hair chair. Remembering that from last semester, I wasn't too alarmed. One guy washed my hair and then ushered me to a different chair where a girl--possibly the owner? (she had a name tag on, whereas no one else did)--cut my hair.

As she was cutting, she said, "Ni you baise" ("You have white [hair]").

I think she offered to color it for me, but I declined. "Bu yao yanse" ("[I] don't want color"). I wanted to say, "Wo de xueshengmen hui kan. Tamen hui jueda, women de jiaoshi tai lao. Ta shi laoshi!" ("My students will see [it]. They'll think, our teacher [is] very respectable*. He is a respected-teacher!") But I wasn't sure if that was right. I'll mention it to my Chinese teacher this week and see what she thinks. (*The word "lao" can mean either respected or old when referring to a person. Maybe they would just think I'm old but not so respectable!)

Once the lady finished cutting my hair, she sent me back to the washing chair. The first guy (I think--I didn't have my glasses on) washed my hair again and sent me to another chair where yet another guy dryed my hair and combed it. I then paid another lady, who said it was only 5 yuan ($0.60)! While the haircut isn't as short as I would get it in the States, who can argue at that price. Then again, with my language skills, I'm not sure I could argue about it anyway. ;-)

I should mention that all of this took place in an area smaller than a typical college dormitory room. And they had two other chairs for cutting hair in that room, people to man each one, and a sofa for the cutters to sit on while they're waiting for clients!

For Sunday

". . . the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

James 1:3-8

Changing Plans

As I was tending my sanda-bruised shins and bleeding toes last night, my friend Alan called.

Well, ok, I didn't actually realise how badly bruised my shins were until bedtime, but I had discovered the blood oozing from my left big toe. I was eating a greasy jidan bingzi (egg pancake thingy) when Alan called.

I was expecting him to call, so when my phone rang just after I arrived home last night, I hurried to answer it. To my disappointment, a girl's voice said in broken English, "Do you know who this is?" Yes indeed, I did recognise the voice of Yuan Lin, a Chinese girl who demanded my phone number about a month ago while I was waiting for a few sticks of roast meat at a barbeque stand behind my apartment. She really wants to practice her English and has decided that I'm the one she will practice with.

I have learned two major life rules:

1) never give out your phone number to a person you don't know, no matter how hard they press you (probably especially if they press you). You will begin to rightly fear the ringing of the phone.

2) never give out your permanent e-mail address. (Fortunately, I follow this rule religiously.)

After fifteen minutes of Lin telling me how much she wants to meet with me again (we went to a mall for a couple of hours one afternoon) and how bad her English is, I finally told her that I needed to get going. In the course of that time, she repeatedly told me that she was going to be "demissioned" at work and so would soon have lots of time to spend with me. She also wanted to know if I "like" her. I wanted to say, "No. I do not like it when girls I don't know repeatedly call me wanting to 'have a date,' and when I do meet them, I strongly dislike them clinging to my arm like we're newlyweds." But I figured it would be more polite not to answer.

Anyway, after we finally hung up (how do you politely tell someone who doesn't know much English not to bother you?), I started eating my very cold supper. I had just finished reheating it and was taking my second bite when Alan actually did call. He had checked out train prices to Beijing for us and was giving me the price and schedule. We decided to check out a hotel that several of the other teachers from my school have stayed at and liked, so since his Chinese is really good, he was going to call them and then call me back with the prices and his impressions of the place.

About fifteen minutes later, the phone rang again. It was Alan, and he said, "Jon, I have a really difficult decision to make." One of his students that he's known for three years called just as he was going to call the hotel. The student has been saying that Alan should visit his remote village in Inner Mongolia for several years, but whenever Alan's asked him about going, the student said it wouldn't work. Well, it turns out that in typical Chinese fashion, he'd already made all of the arrangements for Alan to go over the May holiday, without telling Alan. I told Alan that I thought he should go since it was such an unusual opportunity.

So I'm sitting in my office now with bruised and aching shins and mildly stinging toes, staring out the window at a warm, windy day, wondering what on earth I'm going to do for the May holiday now. I might still go to Beijing, but I have to admit that I'm not too excited about going anywhere by myself.

Being single rots, especially when the only one who wants you is a Chinese stalker.

Digital Cameras: the Continuing Saga

Last night I went to Gary's house for a birthday party for my friend Alan. While there, I got to try out the Nikon 5400 that Gary would like to sell. I like it--a lot. The macro function is terrific. The lowish light autofocus doesn't seem to be too much of a problem. I thought the speed was acceptable. Unfortunately, there's one significant problem.

All of China has a vacation at the beginning of May. It's their version of Labor Day. However, China gets much more than a day off or just a long weekend, unless you consider a full week to be a long weekend. (I suppose you could look at it that way since we have to make up our Thursday and Friday classes the following Saturday and Sunday, which is something I'll undoubtedly discuss on a future blog.)

Last night Alan and I decided to go tour Beijing together for the holiday. I've never been there and almost feel like I need to go. Alan's been in China for several years but has only been to Beijing once. And he said that he doesn't have any photos of it because his camera broke the first day there. Both of us finish our week of classes on Thursday, so we're planning on taking the night train from Dalian, arriving in Beijing on Friday morning. We'll probably spend five or so days there seeing the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Riverdance, etc.

Which brings me back to the camera problem. Since my main lens (wide-angle) is broken, I was really wanting a digital camera by the May holiday--before a special hike this weekend, actually. But Gary needs to keep his camera until after the holiday because he's also going on vacation and won't have a way to take pictures once he sells the camera.

So, I'm back to being camera-less, and the driving force behind my digital-impulse is blunted. Now I don't know if I should wait for Gary's camera and buy a cheap-o film camera to see me through the holiday or buy a less powerful digital camera before the holiday. Additionally, one of the other teachers here isn't planning on traveling for May Day, and he offered to let me take his little digital camera with me.

But the longer I wait, the more I wish I knew how to get my lens fixed. I know how to get good shots with it without having to think too hard. I know that I don't have to worry much about the weather conditions. I like my camera. I know what it can handle, which is just about everything.

Anyone know a good repair shop in Dalian?

To My Angst-Ridden Friends

Dear various and sundry friends (particularly the Christian ones);

Sometimes I read your blogs and e-mails and wonder, "Why? Why all this fussing and moaning and groaning over the past, over mistakes and sins?" I don't understand the problem, though I'm sure I do it myself sometimes. We like to think of ourselves too much (and too much of ourselves). We like to think that somehow we're different; we're special. Our case is unusual and therefore demands an unusual cure: special penance for special people with special sins.

But we're wrong. How many of us have enjoyed singing or listening to "Arise, My Soul, Arise" or "Before the Throne of God Above" (especially the second stanza), moved by the promises but failing to walk in them? Why this fussing? Why this moaning? Your sins are not special. They are typical. Your sins need no other cure or covering than that provided long ago. Stop fussing and BELIEVE, for Pete's sake!

You have sinned, true. Christ has died--also true. Jesus' life and death cover your sins: truth itself. Open your ears and listen to the truth. The truth will set you free. Free from guilt; free from fear; free from fussing; free from angst.

You know the truth. Live it. Are you forgiven? Then forgive (and forgive yourself as well). Are you a believer? Then BELIEVE. Don't claim to believe and then reject what you claim. Your mourning adds nothing to what Jesus has done. Get up, Child of God, and claim your inheritence. Enough with this selfish and sinful unbelief.

Sincerely,

the Management

Intercultural Cheating

This morning one of my students asked me to help his friend cheat on her homework.

Of course, he wasn't quite that open and blunt about it. We normally meet on Monday evenings for supper and chatting. His English is really good, and he enjoys using it. This morning he stopped by my office to make sure we were still on for this evening and then asked if I could check over something he wrote. I said, "Sure. No problem."

Then he started telling me the story of how a girl he knows at another school was too busy with her classes, and since his English is good, she asked him to write this paper for her. He just wanted to make sure he had done a good job. I asked if she had already turned in the paper, and he said no. He wanted me to check the paper he wrote for her before he gave it to her. I told him that was cheating, and no, I wouldn't participate in it.

"But it isn't an exam. As I think about it, it's just a little piece of homework--not very important at all."

"No. It's cheating, and I'm not going to do it."

"But it isn't cheating."

"It's her assignment, and you're helping her cheat by writing it for her. Having me check it would be the same as having an American write her English assignment for her. That's cheating."

He wasn't too happy with me. The thing is, cheating is frighteningly common over here, so common that students honestly don't even seem to realise they're cheating. They're just "helping a friend." When it comes to speeches in my classes, I know that most of the students probably don't write their own speeches. Sometimes I've watched them take one from one of their classmates and then read it to the class (which is why I don't allow the reading of speeches in my classes anymore).

The even more sad and stupid thing is that I told my student that I'd check his writing once the paper was turned in.

{{kicking self}}

For Sunday

Every once in a while you find some incredible things at one of the local markets. Yesterday was one of those days. I was able to pick up three genuine Christian CDs (not pirated copies) for the equivalent of $0.75 each. I haven't listened to all of them yet, but the one that caught my attention first was the Newsboys' Adoration album, which I had wanted to buy last year, with its terrific song,

"He Reigns"

It's the song of the redeemed
Rising from the African plain
It's the song of the forgiven
Drowning out the Amazon rain
The song of Asian believers
Filled with God's holy fire
It's every tribe, every tongue, every nation
A love song born of a grateful choir

It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

Let it rise above the four winds
Caught up in the heavenly sound
Let praises echo from the towers of cathedrals
To the faithful gathered underground
Of all the songs sung from the dawn of creation
Some were meant to persist
Of all the bells rung from a thousand steeples
None rings truer than this

It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

And all the powers of darkness
Tremble at what they've just heard
'Cause all the powers of darkness
Can't drown out a single word

When all God's children sing out
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns
It's all God's children singing
Glory, glory, hallelujah
He reigns, He reigns

--Steve Taylor and PeterFurler

Azkaban et al

I just saw the official trailer for the new Harry Potter movie and am REALLY looking forward to seeing it.

I read my first Harry Potter book (Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone) on the way back from my grandpa's funeral in New Brunswick about this time last year. I picked it up at the Toronto airport because (1) I wanted something to read on the long flight back to Seattle and (2) in Canada they sell the book under the British title. Upon returning to Seattle, I discovered that my roommate had all of the hardcover editions, which I finished in about three weeks. The books are wonderfully fun, easy reads. I remember one morning verbally thanking God that I could live in a time with such entertaining and enjoyable stories available to people.

In other news, this week I discovered that an older American man I know over here, Gary, has been wanting to sell his 8 month old Nikon 5400 (5 megapixel digtal camera) along with quite a few accessories. He'd like to get something with more MPs so he can start selling some larger pictures. He's asking a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it's a much better camera than I've been looking at, too. It might be a good investment and a strong bundle. Today I'm planning on looking at a few other models downtown (the Canon A75 and A80). I'll be going to Gary's house on Tuesday for a friend's birthday party and plan to talk with him some more then.

San-Dals

Last night at my sanda lesson, I noticed that last summer's tan lines from my sandals have faded to almost nothing (though they are still slightly visible). Therefore, I am proud to announce that today, I am wearing sandals again, without socks. The weather isn't desperately warm yet, but it's as warm as it was many mornings in Seattle when I wore my sandals.

Mmm. Seattle.

Mmm. Sandals.

Mmm . . .

Sure Sign of Spring

Last night around 10:00, some friends and I saw a young Chinese adult walking around outside in his pajamas. He didn't appear to be cold.

It must be Spring.

Aesthesis

My friend Jason Waggoner has a new blog. While he's just getting started, it should be a good one to keep an eye on. I used to spend quite a few weekend evenings back in Greenville at Jason and Emily's house discussing life, art and music (our three areas of expertise--or at least experience), often with a larger group of friends. Jason's a visual artist and art teacher, working in the areas of collage and set design and construction for theater.

Rest

I slept really well last night, probably the best I have since coming back to China this semester. I turned off the light around 9:45 and didn't wake up until 5:30 (normally I wake up sometime around 11:00 or 12:00 and again at 2:00 or 3:00). Then I closed my eyes for what I thought was 10 minutes but turned out to be an hour; my 6:30 alarm finally got me out of bed. It was great, and I'm really thankful, especially after the previous night. Thus far my stomach is much less fussy this morning as well.

Misery Sans Company

Being sick as a child is a miserable thing. But being sick as a single adult is definitely more miserable. When you're a child, your mom or dad will be there to comfort you. When you're an adult and alone, the only one you have for comfort is God, and he tends not to be too physical with people (probably because they'd freak out).

Sometime yesterday I had some bad food, and my stomach decided to let me know at bedtime. Sometime after bedtime, actually.

I was lying there drifting into sleep when my stomach suddenly caught fire. At least that's what it felt like. I hurried into the bathroom, did some business and went back to bed. But my stomach still felt terrible. I went to the kitchen to get a pan since I thought I might vomit, and then lay on my bed stomach-down, my head hanging over the feet end, shuddering violently. I finally got warmed up enough to drift into an uneasy sleep with horrid recurring dreams of camera shopping. Then my stomach caught fire again, I went back into the bathroom, did some more business, and headed back for bed, this time with my head at the correct end of the bed. This repeated probably five or six times, with twenty to thirty minutes between each episode. Although I never threw up, upon returning to bed each time, I could taste something different that I'd eaten for lunch or supper. I think I finally fell solidly asleep sometime around two or three in the morning.

I still don't feel great, though I haven't vomitted and I haven't had diarrhea at all. Strong smells kind of set my stomach off a bit, and smells are pretty difficult to avoid in China, whether it's on the street, in the office or in the classroom. I had a very small bowl of cereal for breakfast, a small bowl of egg-fried rice for lunch, and I'm planning on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for supper--nothing strong, and nothing big.

Hopefully tonight will be much better. I don't know what I'll do if it isn't.

Digital Angst

I tried to buy a digital camera this weekend.

I spent most of the day Saturday looking at cameras either online or in stores. I wanted to know as much about them as I could, and I figured it would be helpful to know the US price for comparing and barguing.

I had settled on a Nikon 3700. It's an ultra-compact model with 3 megapixels, the ability to record full-motion video with sound, and a voice recorder built in. I've been wanting a voice recorder for a while, and I thought this could be a good way to get one while picking up a camera.

The problem is, the camera starts out pretty expensive here. I couldn't get the shops down to the price I wanted to pay, even when we started bundling extras to bulk up the price slightly while hopefully getting some more wiggle room. I thought we had a deal at one point: the camera, a 128MB card and an extra battery for 3200 yuan (there are 8 yuan to a dollar). I checked out the camera I would actually be buying, tested the cards, learned how to use various settings (since the manual is in Chinese). But when I asked about the extra battery, they said, "What extra battery? You only get one."

So we renegotiated. Several times. They wouldn't go below 3500 yuan for the complete setup because "the battery is from Japan." Like I care where it's from! Unfortunately, with my limited Chinese and their limited English, I couldn't say that. ;-) I finally offered them what I thought was a good deal of 3100 yuan for the camera and card without the battery, but they wouldn't go below 3200. So after an hour or more of trying to buy (and sell) a camera, the deal broke down.

Part of me says I should just go back and buy the camera. Most of me says, "No." I've thought through another combo deal that might work, but I'm going to ask some students what they think about the price. This morning someone said that a 3 mexapixel camera should be around 1500 yuan. I'm guessing that white people can't get that price, though. But if I can get a camera for that low (or a better camera for a little bit more), I should be able to buy a separate voice recorder some other time for much less than what I would have paid for the 3700.

For Easter Sunday

"Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins. You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God's anger just like everyone else.

"But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms--all because we are one with Christ Jesus. And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus.

"God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can't take crdit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago."

Ephesians 2:1-10

Resurrection and Desperation

Here's an interesting set of lyrics I've been thinking about, the last track on Dave Matthew's "Busted Stuff" CD. I find it intriguing when find such strong religious references and brutal honesty in popular culture. Maybe I look in all the wrong places or with tainted eyes, but I seem to find them just about everywhere. It makes me wonder if we haven't labeled society "post-Christian" far too soon. Perhaps we're all--believer and non alike--far too awake to Desperation and longing for Resurrection.

Have a Good Friday.

"Bartender"

If I go
Before I'm old
Oh, brother of mine
Please don't forget me if I go

Bartender, please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free
After three days in the ground

Oh, and if I die
Before my time
Oh, sweet sister of mine
Please don't regret me if I die

Bartender, please
Fill my glass for me
With the wine you gave Jesus that set him free
After three days in the ground

I'm on bended knees, I pray
Bartender, please

When I was young, I didn't think about it
Now I can't get it out of my mind

I'm on bended knees
Father, please

Oh, and if all this gold
Should steal my soul away
Oh, sweet mother of mine
Please redirect me if this gold...

Bartender, you see
The wine that's drinking me
Came from the vine that strung Judas from the Devil's tree
His roots deep, deep in the ground

I'm on bended knees
Oh, Bartender, please

I'm on bended knees
Father, please

When I was young, I'd never think about it
Now I just want to run and hide

I'm on bended knees
Bartender, please...

For Maundy Thursday

Some Lutheran friends introduced me to this Church holiday two years ago. The name comes from the Latin word "mandatum," command. It's one we all would do well to remember and celebrate.

At the Last Supper, Jesus said,

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34).

"If you love me, you will obey what I command." (John 14:15)

"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." (John 14:21)

"If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me." (John 14:23-24)

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command." (John 15:9-14, emphasis added)

Therefore, we reply,

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." (I John 4:7-12)

White Man, Falling

This is me: This is me at sanda last night:

Any questions?

After a week away from my sanda lessons because of my cold, I returned to class last night. Charlie has become significantly better and was showing me some new moves that he learned while I was gone, including a jumping kick. "You should try it," he said. I, being foolish and uncoordinated, agreed.

It was spectacular. My leg swung perfectly through the air, giving my unseen opponent's head a brutal what-for. I'm sure the teacher would have praised my newfound skill and athletic prowess had he seen my leap and kick.

Unfortunately, I had no idea how to land in my sock-covered feet and came down on my hip and elbow with a resounding thud. Honestly, I think everyone in the room stopped and turned. I jarred my head so badly that I had to sit down for a minute or two. Rather than praising me, the teacher had to come over to see if I was OK.

Apart from some physical and emotional bruising, I am. I spent the rest of the night with at least one foot firmly planted on the ground at all times.

Scary

I don't talk politics with my classes. If someone wants to speak in private, I figure that's OK. But frankly, I don't know enough about the situations China faces to speak intelligently (and it isn't necessarily wise to publically disagree with the government here).

But sometimes my students make some scary comments.

Taiwan is a really hot topic here. On my first day of class last fall, one of my students began chiding the US, saying we deserved 9/11 because of our "oppression," demonstrated by our country's relationship with Taiwan. I told him that I had no idea what he was talking about and that most Americans are clueless regard the China-Taiwan situation.

Yesterday while making sentences with some new words from our reading, a student said, "It is foreseeable that China will liberate Taiwan" in the near future. I told him that he used the assigned words well and correctly, but I what I really wanted to say was, "Maybe we should discuss the word 'liberate' even though that wasn't in today's list."

Purpose Driven Life

I finished read Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Life a few weeks ago. I had heard mixed things about the book. Some said it was great, others that it wasn't good at all. I had thought about buying it but never got around to it. Then my sister gave me a copy for Christmas.

My review would be that it's an OK book. It's very basic (which is one of the things I've heard said against it), but being basic isn't a crime or a sin. If someone isn't used to reading heavy theology or philosophy books, this is a good starter. If you are into theology, well, all of us need to be reminded of basic things once in a while. It wouldn't hurt to read it.

In one respect, it could be very good for theology students. Warren aims to make Christianity very practical, which is extremely important not just for the common believer but particularly for the theologian (or those aspiring to be such). While you may not agree with all of his statements or conclusions, if you read carefully, you should find plenty of encouragement to use what you learn. "Faith without works is dead." We would all do well to remember that.

I'm not fond of the multiplicity of translations and paraphrases that Warren uses in the book, and I would recommend having a familiar Bible on hand to check up his references. While most of his quotes and ideas are sound, some of the passages cited may have a different emphasis in a more literal translation.

Overall, while it isn't among my "must read" books (a very, very small list), I'd say that the book is worth checking out, especially for a young believer or one new to theological reading. I doubt anyone would be "led astray" by what he would find in it, and the good you can glean from it (especially when it comes to living the faith) could be a valuable asset in the Christian life.

On a Clear Day

It's a clear and windy yet warm day--a nice change from the clear, windy, cold days we've been having lately. The apartment heaters are most definitely off, so it's nice to have a forecast predicting a fairly warm evening as well. I've been having to run my livingroom wall heater at night to keep my apartment at a bearable temperature. I was tempted to bring my other little heater into my bedroom last night but decided against it.

The cold is still a bit of a problem, but I think it's getting slightly better. As I mentioned to my mom, the real test will come tomorrow when I teach for four hours. My voice is at an ok but not yet good state today. I can talk for a while, but singing still doesn't work. At least I'm not doing voice lessons tomorrow!

Yesterday I was downtown with some friends and decided to look into getting a digital camera. I went to one store and was writing down some models I was interested in along with their prices when one of the clerks came over and told me that wasn't allowed. It would have been OK for me to write down the models or to ask them to show me one of them, but writing the price was forbidden. I apologized, put my card in my pocket and left.

The thing is, you have to be careful about buying electronics here, especially if it's a foreign brand (although most of the foreign brands are still made in China; if you can read Chinese, most of the price cards tell you the Chinese city of manufacture!). One of our guys bought a digital camera a couple of weeks ago for what sounded like a good price, but when I was checking it out online, he could have bought the next model up for less at walmart.com. It turns out that the nicest of the models I was looking at is also a couple hundred yuan ($30-$50) cheaper in America, and a few of the less expensive ones either aren't available anymore or are outdated. That's good to know because it at least gives me an intelligent bargaining range and some ammo to back up my demands.

If I decide to go for it.

It might just be better to make due with a cheap-o film camera and wait for a digital until I'm back in the States. Then I would know that I have a solid warranty and that the electrical system won't fry it.

For Palm Sunday

I was actually going to just post something from my normal Bible reading today, something completely unrelated to Palm Sunday. Surprisingly, this was in my normal reading (and no, I didn't plan the coincidence).

"Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
and the war-horses from Jerusalem,
and the battle bow will be broken.
He will proclaim peace to the nations.
His rule will extend from sea to sea
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope;
even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

Zechariah 9:9-12

Made It

My throat hurt like mad last night, but I made it though the last day of teaching for the week and was able to give my movie lecture. I actually talked longer than I expected, but I think it went well. The students seemed fairly interested, and I got a great response during my example clip.

In talking about movie aesthetics, I told the students how important music is in a film and how a movie is often more powerful and memorable when it doesn't show you all the gory details. I used the scene of Pippin singing ("Faramir's Sacrifice") in The Return of the King as a current example. I was able to do some talking over it, so I as the soldiers were riding from Minas Tirith out to battle, I asked the students whether they thought the soldiers were going to win. They said "no," and I asked what they thought would happen. "They're all going to die!" I asked how they knew, and they said that the music was telling them.

After the massacre of the soldiers, I paused the movie and asked what happened. Again, someone said, "They're all dead!" I asked how they knew, and they said, "We just saw it!" But they hadn't seen it. We know the soldiers are dead, but the director didn't show us anything other than arrows flying. What we do see is red juice running down another man's chin as he eats. It's an amazing scene and proved my point brilliantly.

Voices, Rain and I-tunes

I'm trying to speak for my classes today. The one this morning went OK, but I was wearing out toward the end--and that with drinking 1.75 liters of warm water in the course of the two hours!

Did I ever have to go afterwards.

I have one more class about 20 minutes from now and then will attempt to give my lecture. I've warned my parter repeatedly that I may not be able to talk, but he seems to think I'm faking or something. That's probably because my voice has been going in and out, and it's been in pretty well when he's been around. But if I were to type like I'm talking, you'd probably miss a few important words or sentences. And try teaching oral English like that! ;-)

In other news, it's been a rainy day. I forgot my umbrella at home this morning even though I thought to myself, it looks like it's going to be a rainy day--better take your umbrella! Fortunately, I always carry a beat-up though incredibly useful small umbrella in the long pocket in my backpack. At lunch I used it to get home and pick up my big umbrella.

And for those of you with a Mac or Windows 2000/XP (sorry, not available for Windows 98, Mom--not that you listen to music on your computer), you really need to download your free copy of iTunes. I've been enjoying it since the day of its release for Windows, downloading free (and legal) music et al from Mars Hill and other sources. Last night was my first time importing the music from a CD, and it was brilliant. The program checks on an internet database for the CD. If it's listed, iTunes automatically fills out the track names and artist/composer information for you. All you have to do is highlight a track on the CD (or all the tracks if you want--you can choose) and drag it into a new playlist. Voila! Your CD is copied to your harddrive and you can listen to your heart's content without even having to type in track names or organize the playlist.

I love it!