14 days of 14 months

In 14 days I will be leaving China, just 14 months after arriving in Shanghai. Bittersweet. It is hard to believe that it was fourteen months ago that I wrote about the bittersweet day I left the Casey Eye Institute in my post Here we go: 2011. In some ways, it feels like it was a lifetime ago, in other ways, it feels like only yesterday I began this adventure. Yesterday, was my last day of teaching at Kid Castle. No more of all the crazy little kids.  All the times I couldn’t stand them, they drove me crazy, they drove me to tears.  All the times I came to the realization that my sister is absolutely insane for choosing to be a teacher as a lifetime career and that I could never cut it!  (Love you sis – insane but I am eternally grateful for you and other people who have a passion to teach children.)

All the ups and downs of teaching.  The spoiled children, the crying, the yelling, the playing and not paying attention, the dear child that vomited all over the floor of my classroom on Wednesday, the parents that drove me mad, my lack of creativity that sometimes made me feel incapable of planning a lesson to hold the attention of 18-20 small children.

But there were the hugs, the sweet words, the children that GOT it and were so bright and amaze me everyday with their abilities to learn English. There were the screams of JULIA! JULIA! JULIA! when my students saw me.  The high fives, the laughter, the amazing bonding and friendships built with my co-workers.

This week it came to an end.  This week, I saw the emotion in the faces of my children.  I saw tears from a class-clown, the funny boy, the tough boy, the little bit naughty, but very smart so I loved him anyway boy, he drove me up the wall… but I really liked having him in class.  As I said goodbye, his eyes filled with tears, he was quiet, not yelling and shouting, not acting out… he was silent tearful and sad because I was leaving.

My little student, Michael, who hangs on me, never letting go.  Always coming into the office to sit with me, giving me the biggest hugs each time he sees me. At six years old, he told me (in Chinese), that he was going to study English really hard so that he can come to America and visit me.

I had some of my older students asking me for my phone number in America, since I don’t know what my number will be and I don’t think they would actually be calling, I wrote down my email address on the board for them instead.  My students scrambled to jot down my email address, as my co-worker and I stood there saying to each other that we didn’t think any of them would actually ever write.  Thirty minutes after getting home last night, I received this email:

Julia,I like you.Don’t go away.
Jieli
2012/3/4

My students may have driven me crazy.  But they love me, and for the most part, I love them back.  My coworkers surprised me with a wonderful going away present and almost brought me to tears with the messages they all wrote for me.  They have made me feel so welcome, they have helped me out so much, they were such a part of my life for just over a year and they definitely sent me off feeling the love.

I have a feeling there will be more bittersweet days to come in the next two weeks, as I move on in life, from one adventure to another…

India: Faces

I have been home from India for four days and I have yet to post.  Honestly, I’m a bit overwhelmed by thinking about what to even say about India.  It was an amazing trip, it was spiritual, moving, uplifting, eye-opening, and, surprisingly, even relaxing.  I have been really stressed and confused in life the past couple months, but after a minor break down at the beginning of the trip, I was given this peace, a stillness in my mind, in my heart that allowed me to just BE.  It allowed me to be present in India, to relax and take in the moments.

Taking in the beauty! On the road leaving the orphanage. Not a bad shot considering it was taken while reaching my camera around someone else to take a snap out the window of a moving vehicle!

There was a bit of a cultural adjustment while we were there, the eight American adults all with a love and a drive to go-go-go were not always keen on the relaxed, we will get there when we get there, I know we said 4pm, but it will probably be more like 6pm or maybe 7pm culture.  There was a lot of waiting, a lot of sitting around being served tea and coffee when we wanted to go DO SOMETHING.  But through it all, I was relaxed, I was less impatient than I think I have ever been in my life (okay, with one or two exceptions).  I was soaking up being there!  And soaking up a bit of the sunshine.  I was enjoying the company I was in, conversations, laughs, and just getting to know the group I was traveling with.

India is full of color.

From the first day, one of the things I loved about India was the people.  Not only are they amazingly friendly, hospitable and kind, but they are beautiful.  The dark skin, dark big eyes and brightly colored clothing make them incredibly photogenic.  But it goes deeper, their lives are written on their faces.  The hard lives they live, their stories, their struggles and their burdens.  They appear older than they are, even the children sometimes look like they have so much history, so much experience and maturity but they are stuck in a child’s frame.  They are full of character, of life, of stories and of beauty.  I was in awe of the radiance I saw in each face, I longed to take a picture of every person just to capture the unique features, wrinkles, colors, and emotions distinctive to each individual.

I would love to hear all the stories behind their faces.

It wasn’t always appropriate to take a picture and sometimes I didn’t when I wished I could have.  But luckily the children were always more than willing to have their photo’s taken, at the orphanage they would beg and beg, pleading with me to take just one more shot!  With a lot of my people pictures I made a quick video to share. I have uploaded this video to Facebook, but you can access it from the link below. Please check it out to see some of the beautiful people I met in India.

http://www.facebook.com/v/2633274466538

Boys at the orphanage

A typical scene: sheep, a child and mom in front of their house.

Top 11 in 2011

2011 was a crazy and adventurous year for me.  11 days into 2011, I embarked on a journey which not only inspired this blog, but has changed my life.  On January 11, 2011, I said good-bye to family and friends and left for a year (or more) in Shanghai.  As my first year in China and 2011 come to an end, I want to reflect on some of the memories I have from the last year of my life (in China).

Of course, I will include links to my blogs which originally recorded these memories in case you missed them.

1. Hong Kong-

Hong Kong

After taking off from the States, before arriving at my destination for the year, I spent five days in beautiful Hong Kong.  Traveling alone is never easy, but I had a couple motives for being there.  First, to get my visa for China.  I left on a plane to Asia before actually having my Chinese visa needed to enter the country.  Secondly,  I managed to time my trip and my move to China to coincide with my friend Irene’s wedding in Hong Kong.

Sightseeing on my own!

When I walked off the plane in Hong Kong, alone, in a city and country I didn’t know, where they spoke a language I didn’t know, with two huge suitcases full of everything I thought I needed for a year abroad, I remember having this thought, “What the expletive did I just get myself into?”

The LONG cable car ride!

2. Chinese New Year (another post) -

Shortly after arriving in China and starting my job teaching at Kid Castle, I had 11 days off of work for the Chinese New Year holiday.  It was a difficult time as the few people I had met in Shanghai had left town, and I was in a strange place by myself with nothing to do.  But it gave me the chance to explore my new home, write lots of blogs and experience what Shanghai had to offer.  And, naturally, gaze in wonder and delight at the millions, or billions of fireworks lit off around Shanghai for the occasion.  The most remarkable fireworks I have ever seen, and they went on for hours and hours, and days and days…

Fireworks below my bedroom window!

3. Day trips & Exploring -

Whether exploring Shanghai on my own, going to Suzhou with friends or Hangzhou with my mom & Matt, I’ve had a lot of fun seeing China through little day trips and outings to explore my city and the surrounding areas.

Suzhou

Sitting on a bus with my friend Roger, counting the minutes until our train leaves, wondering if the bus driver will ever pull into the Suzhou train station he is circling, then running as fast as we can through the station only to miss our train was one of the most hilarious moments I can remember this year.  The hilarity was only magnified  as Roger captured the whole event on video on his iphone.

Finding greenery, nature and the cherry blossoms of spring in a park in Shanghai, outside the hustle and bustle of the center of the city with Adam, Yumi and friends from their school.

Zhujiajiao

Wandering around the beautiful, ancient water town of Zhujiajiao with my mom and Matt, negotiating with a rickshaw driver to get us into the center of town, finding amazing hole in the wall restaurants, taking loads of pictures, buying souvenirs and people watching.

4. Food and Beer -

I once heard that there are over 45,000 restaurants in Shanghai.  I believe it.  And there are probably two new ones opening, and one closing down just about every day.  You can get a meal for under a dollar in Shanghai, or you can pay over $100 (USD) per person.  I have eaten street food (which doesn’t even count as a restaurant) for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I bought breakfast for three for under $2. I have paid about $8 for a cup of coffee, not espresso, nothing fancy just a boring cup of bad coffee.  I have paid over $12 for a glass of wine and $10 for a beer.

Coffee

Shanghai has amazing cuisine from all over China.  If, right now, you are sitting in the US thinking to yourself “I don’t like Chinese food”, you have never been to China.  Chinese food could be anything!  There are so many different amazing, delectable, weird and perhaps disgusting foods that originate from all over China.  I love Chinese food, there is so much variety in Chinese food.  The girl who never could tolerate spicy food in the first 28 years of her life picked a Sichuan restaurant for her 29th birthday dinner, and ordered bullfrog!

Pomegranate flowers

Craving something different?  Shanghai is an international city, the choices of cuisine are endless.  I have eaten French, German, Greek, Korean, Jamaican, Mexican, American, Nepali, Italian, Indonesian, Japanese, Thai, Taiwanese and Turkish food in Shanghai.

I love to eat, I love good food and I love good drinks.  So many great memories are formed over delicious food and beverages.

Cheers!

I have my favorites, I have my go-to comfort food locations, I have the locations that are convenient for quick meals while I’m working, but there are so many more places to explore and try!

5. Qingdao -

For the Dragon Boat Festival in June, I was able to get out of the big city of Shanghai for a couple days and visit  the little town of Qingdao (population 8.7 million) with a couple of my friends and co-workers.  It was a great time, despite dreary wet weather, to see another part of this huge country, hang out with friends, and enjoy the beer capital of China.

Yes, this is China - Not Europe. Qingdao!

We explored the town of Qingdao, got a ride from a stranger in a downpour and thunderstorm when there were no taxis to be found, ate Shandong cuisine, drank beer from a plastic bag, explored the famous Laoshan (Lao Mountain or 崂山) and did some shopping.

Fun on the beach in Qingdao

6. Familiar Faces -

Moving halfway across the world by yourself is nerve-wracking, even for the bravest and most adventurous souls. While I have met many people in Shanghai and made many friends, it was a great pleasure to have some familiar faces in Shanghai with me for most of my first year in China.

Adam and Yumi Bray were here the longest.  Adam and Yumi both graduated from Portland State’s Master’s of International Management program with me in 2010.   They actually met in the program and afterwards got married and moved to Shanghai to study Chinese.  While we were never close during the MIM program we became great friends while living in Shanghai.  I loved going shopping and getting massages with Yumi, and when Adam was around there was always beer to drink and trouble to cause.  Unfortunately, (for me) Adam and Yumi moved back to the States just before Christmas, but they will always be a part of my 2011 memories.

Salman was also in the MIM program with us.  He came over on the same program as Adam and Yumi to learn Chinese. After about 5 months in Shanghai, Salman moved to Beijing to pursue employment opportunities there.  I miss the laughter that always comes with hanging out with Salman, but I know he isn’t too far away.  I will always remember seeing him walking towards me on Wangfujing in the middle of Beijing and telling my mom, amidst thousands of Asian faces, “He is the one right there, with the dark hair!” when my mom, May and I met up with him in September for some delicious hot pot.

Junyi is originally from Beijing, and moved back to Beijing this past year (also after graduating from the MIM with Adam, Yumi, Salman and me).  Being in a different part of the country didn’t keep him for coming down and visiting us in Shanghai, from calling me at 2am or from being a familiar face for me in China.  He showed us around Beijing, and always provides fun, excitement and laughter.

The 5 MIMers eating Sichuan food and drinking beer for my birthday in Shanghai!

I was so happy to have my early birthday dinner in Shanghai with four of my friends from grad school!

7. My Sister’s Wedding -

The biggest event of the year! And it wasn’t in China.  The end of June, I flew back to Portland, Oregon to spend two rushed, busy, crazy weeks with family and friends.  Birthdays, the fourth of July, a bachelorette party and the most amazing wedding I have ever attended.  On July 9th, 2011, my big sister married the man of her dreams.

A happy bride and groom

Gorgeous girls!

Not only was the setting beautiful, the decorations beautiful, the bride beautiful and the wedding party looking pretty hot, but it was an awesome time with spent with family and new extended family, friends and loved ones.

8. Mommy!

Another highlight of my year, was having my mom and her husband Matt come visit me in China for about 12 days.  It was really a dream come true for all of us.  My mom and Matt had both long dreamed of someday visiting China, my mom of course also has always wanted to come visit me in the places I have gone.  It was my dream to have family come see my life here, show them around and introduce them to the things and places which are part of my everyday life that I have grown to love.

Nothing was as exciting as the moment my mom and Matt appeared in the subway station by my house, me waiting anxiously to greet them! (Excuse my blurry cell phone pic)

It was an action-packed vacation!  No rest for the jet-lagged! On their first day of travel they journeyed by private car, plane, high speed train, subway, public bus, taxi and foot.

On their first full day in China, I had them out of bed and on the road before 7am, I don’t think I stopped going until after they were back in the States!  Hangzhou, Shanghai, Zhujiajiao, a bullet train to Beijing and the Great Wall.  Villages, cities, temples, gardens, historical sites, modern China, food, beer, coffee and probably a zillion photographs between the three of us shutterbugs.

My mom and me at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Two of my greatest weeks in China were spent with my mom, showing her around and discovering new places with her.  Now, she just needs to come back so we can do it again!

Climbing the Great Wall

9. Taiwan -

Another National holiday, another week off work, another chance to see the world!  In October, I escaped the millions of Chinese traveling for National Day and landed in Taiwan.  Whether or not Taiwan is in fact the same country as China, I will let you debate on your own.  But I happen to know they do not celebrate or recognize October 1st, the date of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Therefore, I found it the perfect opportunity to go visit friends and be shown around the beautiful island of Taiwan.

Sun Moon Lake

Five days in not enough to see all Taiwan has to offer, and it certainly isn’t enough to eat all the food they have to offer (although I tried…) Despite being a quick trip, I was able to enjoy a relaxing vacation in Taiwan.  I saw bits of Taipei (even though the weather tried to keep me from it), I had dinner with more MIM alumni living in Taiwan, I visited Taichung (the home town of my friend May who I was traveling with), I explored the village and surrounding area of Houli by bike, I saw my co-worker and friend Osteen’s home town of Caotun, the beautiful Sun Moon Lake and the town of Jiji, famous for being rocked by a horrific earthquake in 1999.

10. New Friends -

I have met so many wonderful people in Shanghai.  Chinese and foreigners like me.  Some grew up here, some came for a short time, some came for a long time, some have come and gone in the year that I have been here.  I have gotten to know amazing co-workers at Kid Castle, like my Chinese colleagues who always make me laugh, and the other foreign teachers who are each on their own adventure in a place so different from their homes.

Some co-workers and me at Qiandao Lake

May and me on the Bund

I have created amazing friendships and a church family through both of the churches I have attended in Shanghai, Shanghai Community Fellowship and Abundant Grace International Fellowship.  They have been my support and my lifeline in 2011 and I know I have found some lifelong friends in them.

I stumbled upon the perfect apartment on smartshanghai.com and in doing so found a great friend and roommate who I have lived with for the past 11 months.

All my new friends in Shanghai have given me wonderful memories of 2011!

11. My Kids -

I came to China with a job, a job to teach Chinese kids English.  I had never taught before in my life, I had been around kids, worked with kids, dealt with kids, but never had to control a classroom of 20 children that didn’t understand my language.  My students have been a huge part of my life for the past year.  They have made me smile and laugh, they have made me angry and frustrated, they have made me cry and they have made my day.

How can you not love this face? He is also about the sweetest most loving boy in the world.

There are students who I only taught for a short time, subbing for another teacher, there are students who I have taught all year.  There are students I will greatly miss when I’m not longer teaching them, and students that I honestly probably won’t remember.

Brian, Howard, Gland, James, Jerry, Henry, Judie, Amy, Alina, Maxine and Lisa!

I have students who run across the school screaming my name to give me a hug every time they see me.  They can be delightful, they can be little spoiled brats, they can test my patience like nothing else, they can cause me to lose my voice.  Some of them I don’t think have ever retained or learned a word I told them, others are so smart they blow me away each day.

My year was full of memories at work with all my little Chinese students and my fantastic co-workers who made my job worthwhile.

I hope 2012 brings more memories and fantastic adventures in China and where ever life may take me.  Happy New Year!  I wish the best for you and your families this year as well!

A Kid Castle Halloween

Every time a holiday rolls around, my school always has a little activity for the students to celebrate and learn a bit more about western (and some Chinese) holidays.  As this past Monday was Halloween, we had celebrations in all of our classes on Saturday and Sunday.  Since all the students were told in advance that they were allowed to wear costumes to class that day, I decided it would be fun to dress up as well.

So last Friday, I went with Yumi to a costume store she knew about.  The store is actually called the Holiday House, and despite not being in a highly visited area for expats and being quite small, it was packed with foreigners.  Everyone getting stocked up on Halloween costumes, accessories and decorations for a holiday that the Chinese don’t even celebrate.  Some of the stuff they had looked a bit like it was left over from the 1990′s and just never made it out of the Chinese factories in time to get to the US.  A few things were grossly over priced, but most stuff was pretty cheap.  I walked away with fake nails, a feather boa, a green nose and a witch hat for a total of less than $6.  Four simple accessories to make a costume my kids loved!

My rockin' $6 costume... and yes, I did already happen to have a t-shirt with the witch from Snow White on it.

Most of the classes at the Royal branch (my school) had lessons in the first half of class and an activity in the second half of class.  All of our new classes (classes which have been started up in the past year, so the younger kids) got a little something extra.  They had the activity in the first half of class and in the second half of class they got to go trick or treating!

The activity for all the classes was making paper masks.  With thick paper, colorful pipe-cleaners, glitter and feathers, the kids were encouraged to make themselves masks.  Parents were allowed in the classroom to help out and then of course everyone posed for pictures and got candy when they were done.

Mad rush for candy!

We also taught some Halloween vocabulary to the students, for example: bats, witch, vampire, pumpkin, jack-o-lantern, skeleton; and taught them to say, “Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat.  Not to big, not too small, just the size of a basketball.”

(Part of) my first class Saturday mornings, and my oldest/highest level students

The kids who went trick-or-treating, made masks during the first half of class so they could wear them trick or treating.  We lined them up in the school with their parents explain what they were doing and some rules (I’m assuming, it was too much Chinese for me to follow).

Lining up listening to instructions...

Then we packed the elevators for several minutes until everyone was lined up downstairs.  A couple of the administrative staff would go with us and walk ahead with bags full of candy.  They would stop at the three locations we had scouted out, give the candy to the workers there and as all the kids walked by the workers would give them the candy.

Outside trick or treating. This is Candy out looking for candy!

Susan and Albert getting candy from a security guard.

Along the way (we just walked about 3 blocks and ended at the grocery store near my apartment), we would practice our Halloween chant, sing Kid Castle songs and review our ABC chants.  I was able to go twice on Saturday, as I have two classes that day which started since I have been working at Kid Castle.  Sunday, however, I have all older classes.  One of my favorite classes was going trick or treating on Sunday though, as they have their lesson with the Chinese teacher that day.  Since the class I had at that time was doing masks during the same time frame, I convinced a Chinese teacher to do the masks on her own so I could go trick or treating with my little K1Y cuties!

My favorite little ones (ages 3-5)! K1Y standing in front of the grocery store singing Kid Castle songs!

It is always good to get outside for a bit during a long day of teaching, and it happened to be gorgeous weather.  Plus my little students loved seeing me dressed up as a witch.  This is one of my classes that makes me feel like a celebrity because when they are all in the classroom I just have to walk into the doorway and as soon as one kid catches sight of me the class erupts in shouts of “JULIA! JULIA!” and I’m immediately swarmed and given at least 10 hugs.  I have to say, it makes a girl smile to be so loved by adorable kids!

Even after skipping out on these girls to go Trick or Treating, I still made it back in time to get pictures of them in their masks!

One of the cutest kids ever - Hank.

Hank is a teeny little guy, about 3 years old.  Every time I teach his class, (my favorite K1Y) I make an Old School (Will Ferrell movie) reference that none of the students get.  Will Ferrell played Frank in the movie and in one scene they have him chugging beer with everyone chanting “Frank the tank, Frank the tank!”  Well, my students all chant, “Hank the tank, Hank the tank!” with me in class.  None of them understand the humor or irony I see in it, but it is pretty cute.

Just Another Day

I normally teach twelve classes a week; although, my thirteenth class will be starting in a couple weeks. This weekend one of the other foreign teachers in my school was out, so I taught two of her classes on Saturday in addition to mine.  Meaning, I taught 8 classes over the course of Saturday and Sunday – surprisingly, I survived with much less time for preparation than I’m accustom and my voiced survived.

My Sunday is always a busy day – as I teach 4 classes every Sunday.  So what does a typical Sunday look like for teacher Julia?  Here are some events of my day today:

I had a conversation with a 5 year old about his little sister, how she goes to a different school and has a green backpack but he has a red backpack.

Another 5 year old told my coworker that I have a knife on my back.  (I believe the translation was actually a knife in my back…) When I asked where the knife was she lifted up my shirt and pointed to my tattoo (which apparently looks like a knife to her).

I listened to two students argue in class (in Chinese) over who was speaking Chinese in class.

I was scolded by my students for speaking Chinese in class. (I referred to Chinese currency as kuai.)

I was told (in response to the question, “Does Julia have blond hair?”) “No, she doesn’t. She has gray hair.”

When a coworker was commenting on the very long braided rat-tail of one of the students at the school, I learned that it is customary for some Chinese boys to never cut this strand of hair until they turn ten years old at which time it is cut off.  No one was sure exactly which people this was customary among, although “a region around Shanghai” was speculated; nor did anyone know the reasoning or tradition behind it.  When the boy was asked why his hair wasn’t cut, he responded, “我不知道.” (I don’t know.)

I listened to one of my 4 year old students reading English and brought another teacher over to show off how good his pronunciation was. I also met his father who, when I expressed my delight in his son’s English, told me when the boy was two he taught him how to speak with both Japanese and French accents.

I finally went an entire class period without calling a set of twins by the wrong name; however, I did mix up the twins in another class for the millionth time.

I was told how to order yet another type of delicious dumplings from the small restaurant next to my school and went and bought dumplings for a co-worker and myself.  Spending 12 kuai (less than 2 dollars) for the two of us.

I relayed orders for milk tea (or bubble tea) from one teacher to another – in Chinese.  Because if I know anything in Chinese, I know how to order 珍珠奶茶.

I taught the sentence: “I am pooping.” And when one student left for the bathroom, I asked the class, “What is James doing?” The entire class responded, “He is pooping.”  If my male students are so obsessed with talking about poop, I at least ensure they do so in a grammatically correct manner.

I explained the difference between the English words chili and chilly, and their uses to four of my Chinese co-workers, one of whom has the English name Chilly.

I sighed a breathe of relief and announced at 3:40pm that I finally had 20 minutes to relax before my last class at 4pm, then immediately sat down at my desk and saw the stack of 55 reports waiting to be filled out.

And, lastly, to top of my day – I, for the first time, had a student spit in my face.  I took him by his t-shirt, pulled him out of the class, through the lobby where his grandmother was sitting and into the teachers office where I sat him down and told the Chinese teacher to please instruct him not to ever spit in his teacher’s face again. He was later brought back to class and apologized. The Chinese teacher explained, as he stood there about to cry, that he merely wanted to let me know what another student had done to him; yet, he didn’t know how to say it in English.

I did get a chuckle after class when I learned that when the Chinese teacher told him an apology might not calm my anger and asked him what he should do about it, he responded, “She can spit in my face.”

And after almost ten long hours at the school, I came home with a sore throat, exhausted, but smiling.  If nothing else, every day is certainly an adventure.

Food, Friends, Farewells II

Absolutely amazing how things come together…

New Friends, More McDonalds, Longing to Visit

Last night, 13 days after arriving in Shanghai, the three Chinese kids from way out in rural Sichuan province and the adults that accompanied them to Shanghai, left to go home.  It has been amazing helping these kids.  You can grow to love children so much, even when you don’t speak their language, even when they probably don’t even remember your name, even if they are from a place that is worlds away from anything you have ever experienced.

Jinmei playing

I can’t put to words what a joy the opportunity to help these kid was to me. Sometimes I didn’t feel like I contributed much, I did my best to organize things during the week when I wasn’t busy at work, I generated emails requesting help, coordinating volunteers and updating volunteers. I hung out with Lan Jinmei the most, but still was able to visit the other two in the hospital.  But I didn’t put a lot of money into the cause, I didn’t provide for any of their immediate needs, I just hung out.  I couldn’t really communicate, but I laughed and smiled and loved.

Today, it was wonderful to see little Lu Guomin laughing out loud.  The little shy girl, who hardly smiled it seemed. The last few times I saw her, she was in the hospital.  Waiting for surgery, scared, just out of surgery in pain, being discharged from the hospital, exhausted, bandaged and still in pain I’m sure.  Today she was a sweet little girl, still shy but laughing, giggling, sneaking looks at me from behind her father, keeling over in laughter when I tickled her.

Her eye is still healing, her new prosthetic eye that is, as is the boy’s, Gu Xin Quan.  But today they picked up the plate that will go over the eye ball, in about a month they will be able to put it in.  Then they will both have two beautiful brown eyes again.

A New Eye for a Little Girl

The other two played a PlayStation game on the big TV in Esther’s office and then they all ate their last meal in Shanghai, McDonalds, before heading to the airport.

I know they have to go home, that is where they belong – where their families are, where their schools are, where they will continue to grow up.  But I will miss those sweet smiles.  I hope to one day travel out to Sichuan province and see what life is like where they grow up.

About to leave for the airport

Three little kids, with eye issues that probably could have been prevented if they had access to medical care, brought together a bunch of loving volunteers from around the world and funds to take care of their medical and travel needs for two weeks in Shanghai, two surgeries, several days in the hospital, as well as books, clothes and entertainment.  My heart goes out to them and their families.  My gratitude goes to God and everyone else that contributed to this cause.

Amazing!

Here are a couple pictures of the kids we are helping (see my last post: Love One Another).  They are amazing children and a blessing to hang out with even if we don’t always understand each other.  The older girl is so pretty, the younger one (with a shaved head) very, very shy but slowly opening up!  The boy is sweet and all three of them beam with happiness and excitement with everything we do.

Today was their first ever trip to McDonald.

The older two at McDonalds with their toys

The younger girl and her father

We learned quickly that the children get very sick in cars and on the plane.  So getting around Shanghai by car or taxi is no longer an option.  Today, I accompanied them on their first subway ride – we only went two stops, but luckily there were no problems!

First ever ride on a subway

We took the subway to People’s Square and they got to see the big fountain and play in it a bit.

Loving the fountain at People Square

Soaked, but delighted!

Precious girls!

They then went to the Shanghai Museum, but I had to leave to come home and go to work.

The three students, a teacher and the younger girl's father in front of the Shanghai Museum

The older girl’s conjunctivitis is already improving.  There is no way to restore the eye sight in the left eyes of the other two; however, they will both have surgery on Monday to receive prosthetic eyes.

Love One Another

Since being in China, I have been involved in a small group from Shanghai Community Fellowship, an international church in Shanghai.  As my work schedule doesn’t allow me to get to church services on Sunday, I made it a priority to connect with a group that meets at a time during the week that I am available.  Since February, I have regularly attended “cell group” meetings, as they are called, with a great small group of believers from all over the world.

Over the past couple months, one of our group members, Esther, has been trying to organize an opportunity for us share God’s love with some kids from rural China.  That opportunity starts today as the children arrive in Shanghai.

Here is what we are doing and how it came about:

Several years ago, Esther went with a group of people to a rural part of Sichuan province, near the border of Yunnan, to help build a school in area where they were lacking the resources to provide a proper school for the children.  Since then, this town and the school has received some recognition and more funds have been raised for the maintenance of the school and the children’s well being.  Esther knows through her connections the headmaster of the school who is from Taiwan and has dedicated his life to helping the children and also reaching out to help children in other rural communities nearby.  It is because of these connections she learned of these young children who are having problems with their eyes and unable to receive medical treatment.

Another member of our cell group, who I have not yet met because she has been very busy in the past few months and unable to attend our group happens to be an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Shanghai.  She has offered to help by providing treatment to these kids.

Today, three children are arriving in Shanghai for medical treatment, they traveled several hours to get to the school near Lugu Lake, from there it takes between 7-10 hours to get to a city by car, where they spent the night in a hotel and got on a plane this morning to fly several hours to Shanghai.

Here is what I know so far of the children, information and pictures provide by Esther:

Lan Jin Mei, treated in Xi Chan two times, no medical report but given prescriptions. Chronic Conjuctivitis. June 2011, Shanghai Doctor Hong Liu sent more medication but still no improvement, decided to come to Shanghai for treatment.

Gu Xin Quan, age 13, his sister died because of Hepatitis B a few weeks ago, father alone at home. Suppose to be in Primary 5 but back to primary 1 because of eyes sight that affected his study. No medical record, his left eye can only see slim line, weak in articulating, shy.

Lu Guo Yin, studies at Qiao Man school, no medical record. Her eye was injured because a thorn poked into her eye. Because she lives in a very rural area, she couldn’t get treatment immediately, now she has lost her eye sight in her left eye.

Normally, to receive any sort of medical treatment these kids would have to travel over 7 hours.  Even then, the treatment would be primitive at best.

Today the kids will land in Shanghai around 1 pm, they will taken to the hotel which has been booked for the next 3 days to shower and then to the hospital for their initial appointment.  The plan is that the kids, if treatments are available, could be in Shanghai for around two weeks.  With them are two teachers from the school in Lugu, and one parent as one of the children was far to shy to travel alone.

Last night about 10 of us met to discuss what to do with the kids and the adults accompanying them while they are here.  The medical treatment, transportation costs and accommodations have all been funded by the grace of God. We plan on buying clothes and shoes for the children, bringing them to some interesting sites in Shanghai, providing them with meals and entertainment, as well as giving the adults some time a way from the children to relax a bit.

My task is to arrange a schedule for the children over the next couple weeks and coordinate the times everyone is available so we can take turns spending time with the children and making sure they are taken care of.

I will surely post updates on what we do with the kids, how their treatment goes and if the results of their trip to the big city are successful.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. You love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.  - Jesus  John 13:34-35