Ni men hau. I think it's high time I updated. I have been m.i.a. for the last two weeks due to a ghastly case of strep throat (or viral pharyngitis... or mono...). However after a solid round of azithromycin I am feeling rejuvenated.

So first things first, I’m lucky enough to have stumbled upon the very thing I really want to be doing overseas. There is a woman here, Cheryl, who is an M.D. in the states (family practitioner). She has been running a clinic once a week at a very low price and as fate would have it crossed my path at the exact time she needed a new nurse. As of two weeks ago I am helping her (phone triage during the week and clinic on Wednesdays) and soaking up as much knowledge as I can. Though it’s basic level stuff I am looking forward to it growing. Right now we are just helping with basic care and secondary consults (in China, you ALWAYS want a second consult) but it looks like in the future she may have a contract with one of the hospitals and we can take over some clinic space there. I am essentially getting the opportunity to work with a doctor of family medicine every week and learn everything I possibly can from her while helping her do what I love to do. Not to mention we’ll go to a Leper community every once in a while to do various health care activities. Tough life…

Last night Paul and I were invited to dinner in one of our students’ homes (Tim is his English name). It was an interesting experience and to say I didn’t walk away feeling cultured (and cool) would be a lie. We came bearing a gift (miniature oranges) because that’s what you’re supposed to do it seems. We were offered hot tea and a tour of the apartment while Tim’s mom finished dinner. As we were coming back to the living room, low and behold, more people showed up. Paul and I very quickly came to understand that we were on display, us being foreigners and all. Though at times the language barrier was difficult, it turned out to be a great time. Chinese families eat buffet style and multiple dishes are piled into the center of the table with the expectation that everyone will pick at them as they go along. Towards the end of the meal Paul and I were at maximum capacity and the food kept coming. Eventually the last dish turned out to be Wuhan crab (this crab was not the aesthetically pleasing Alaskan king crab I’m used to ordering at Outback). We were taught by everyone how to completely dismember the crab and devour. When we cast the legs aside initially I was intrigued because I’ve only ever eaten this part. We were then shown how to crack the shells, rip out the lungs and where to eat from. After a minute or so of eating from the appointed body cavity with my chopsticks I made the mistake of asking what part of the crab we were eating. Their response was “perhaps this, well this is the part that makes more crabs.” I then recalled that we were eating from the same area they had pointed at to authenticate that this was a male crab. From that point on it was polite smiles and choking down the rest of the crab’s male anatomy. Delicious.

Our Crab!

Dinner Party

Red tea and green tea we received as gifts from Tim's family

Excitement abounds! We put up our limited Christmas decorations and it’s almost, in the most miniscule of ways, like we’re home with family watching our tree light up. 

Christmastime...

Bear with me, I'm just learning to put up pictures.

When I grow up...

As promised, I'm posting some of my favorite papers and excerpts from my students' "What I want to be when I grow up" responses. Some I picked for creativity, some for ability and some for pure comedic value. What's amusing is that the papers were written after a lecture on careers which included a 10 minute discourse by me on the importance of humanitarianism. Why was I not surprised to find that 98% of my students were planning on giving most (or all) of their earnings to the "poor man"? Creativity people, come on…

Here goes, unchecked grammar and untapped originality. It may be lengthy, but I promise it's worthwhile.

I know it's impossible in many people's eyes. But, I want to try. I will love all the things I do at the work. I will forgive all the bad sentences to me because I know it's not the fact.
Sadiya (I think this one might be my new life motto)

I will invent something like magic box. People can put anything in it. But when you are doing something is not right the magic box will become a monster. It can eat you.
Gary

I want to be a scientist in the future. Because I think science is gradually more important and more important now. And we need science to fly to the Mars, Venus etc. and move faster. I want to design spaceships. I think Chinese spaceships are very good but American spaceships is better, we must compete with America (I'm sorry to say that, especially to you. Please forgive me.) I want to design a lot of spaceships to find ET or moving to another planet. Maybe we can have a holiday on a dwarf planet!
Bobby

I want to make some fantastic things, for example: a boat what can fly, some water what can make everyone alive forever, etc. I love the song 'I believe I can fly' and 'Peerless'. They raise me up! Another way, I love money too. I want to be a richman and help poormans and beggarmans. I want everybody says about me: 'He is always helping others.' (I'm a badman, ha…)
Jim Whitey (my favorite little sociopath…)

I want to be a ET because I can buy UFO fly to the sky I have on pounds forever I work free…That's interesting but…This is Dream!
Megatron

I want to have a family with an ugly yellow woman.
Richard

I want to stand on the big world stage and show them a better China is standing at the east of the world.
Shirley

When I grow up, I will be a pianist. I like playing the piano. And I like all the music because music is really cool. It takes me happy. I like many musicians like Chopin, Mozart even Justin Bieber. When I am tired I will play the piano and when I am sad I will play the piano.
I hope that in the future. I will be a great pianist. I don't want much money, I don't want a big house, I just want music in my whole life. Maybe when I am really too old I want to stay in a quiet city like Luzer, Interlaken or Edinburg. Everyone knows, music needs a quiet environment. That why I want to live in these small cities. "I won't give up" that my voice. I will play the piano until I am 100 years old. I will be a pianist! Why? There are two reasons: First, I like music! That's simple. The second reason is if I can be a great musician I can travel many great places in the world! I like traveling! I want to go to Dubai, Rio and Paris. But who will I do this job with? The answer is I must have a family. I want a beautiful girl to listen to my music. And I want a clever son or daughter to play the piano or be a composer! Wow! That's my kind of life. It's really nice!
Raul

I want to be a singer in America because my idol Kirsten Stewart's motherland is America.
Kristen (the English name she picked…how ironic)

I want to be a lawyer in China because Chinese people is crazy, bad and dangerous. I want to help the police to catch this kind of people.
Jordan

I want to be a dreamer. Because dreams are always beautiful. I can use my knowledge and smart to make a world have no worry and bad. In there, I'll live soft and nice. My future will be better. In there, I'm the god. I can control everything and I can do anything I want to do. Perhaps I'll not get a lot of money. But I'm free. That's the most important. I'll help the poor man and beg to the rich man. That's my life in my dream.
Charlie

I want to be a businessman when I grow up. I wanted to earn lots of money. Because when I am very rich. I can play around the world. This was the dream when I was eight. I want to be a businessman when I grow up I wanted to earn lots of money. Because when I am very rich I can buy a lot of things for my mom and dad. This was the dream when I was ten. Now I am twelve years old. But I still want to be a businessman. Because when I am rich I can be a humanitarian. And when I am rich I can help lots of poor children. I can build lots of school. Every children can come and study in the school, the free schools.
Anna

I think if I work hard now, my life road will be smooth and easy to success.
Jason

Well, I'm not clear what I gonna do when I grow up actually. Maybe having a good report, yeah, I wanna be a graduated student in Harvard University with a high mark. I think studying in Harvard is great for me. After that…well I think I really don't know what to do, cause I think I'm good at lots of things such as drawing, designing, singing, acting (maybe dancing, I don't think so but lots of my classmates do, I'm too nervous to dance sometimes), copying different voices (I can do the whole conversation of my group in the dubbing show myself), and my school result is quite good. Maybe I'm good at writing too but, what I can't deny is, that quite many people write better than me. You may think I'm crazy, yeah, cause I have confidence. And I think lots of jobs are great fun, they fit me a lot too. I once said to my mom: "I wanna have no job when I grow up, with a part-time singer, a part-time actor, a part-time scientist, a part-time musician, a part-time professor in university, a part-time writer, a part-time artist, a part-time architect, a part time…well, I'd like to own a little shop which sells flowers and handicraft articles. This is what my mom answered: "You have to die for that!" Ha-ha, how crazy! So I really have no idea about that.
About family, well…I'm not really sure about it. I myself think the love between male and female (I have to use those words) is mystical. I don't know well about it. That's why I'm still "single" when there're lots of couples in my class, ha-ha.
Kids are easy to talk about...I prefer a boy and a girl, who will have been given birth at the same time, that is twins. Well, I'm too young to talk about it, so I shouldn't talk about it anymore.
Okay, that my crazy future plan, just 'studying in Harvard' is clear. Will it turn to truth? Only time will know!

Willow

I want to a corn. I to do this I win for flub night five to last for a life nice. Hie clerkiess around me shoes of a solar sea. Hum I wish to go cloum with imth thesum sleeping meeping with you. I'll to be.
Susan

I want to be businessman to make a lot of money and help the pool people. I think the pool people they are so pool. And they are cold everday and they are hungry everday.
Tom

I want to be a scientist of star. Because I think the earth will break on one day. So I must find a star to give the people a new 'home'. I will use my whole life in this way. And when I young I will find a job can give me money. I will be to engineer. I will designer the plane. Because it's can give my money. If I have money I will spend it to buy a 'can see the star' thing. I don't want a family because the love will spoil my job.
Bruce lee

When I was young I had a lot of dreams. I wanted to be a writer, but I'm not good at Chinese. I wanted to be a scientist, but that is too far for me. I wanted to be a teacher, but I'm afraid that I'll teach something wrong to the students. I'm not clever, I'm not beautiful, I'm not always kind, and I don't always want to do some good things. So I think I can only be a worker. I can use myself, my body and my life to build some buildings for people to live. I don't need lots of money, I don't need to have a rich life or a big house. I just want to do something for people. When I old, I will go back, to the mountain. I'll live with the nature, forever.
Helen

When I grow up, I want be a bird. In mountain. I want fly in the sky. I want sing on the tree. I want to be free. I can do anything I want. I can play, I can love…. I can see the things that people can not see. I can see all the top of moutain and I can see the world. I can catch many animals and flies to eat and give to my parents. It will be happy.
Tommy

Now, I still don't want a family (husband and children), because I will love them more than my parents, sister and many people. I don't like it.
Doggy

A family! No, I don’t'! Because it's very tired! But they can give me some happy in life.
Bill

When I grow up, I want to be a primary school's principal. This school is not a common school, it's a very special school like 'little bean at the window sides' (this is a book's name) school. This school is named 'happy school'. My school has flowers and trees everywhere. Students can study in a very relaxed environment. They have less homework, even no homework. Because nowadays in china, children do not have many times to relaxed and play their favorite games. They're very happy in 'Happy School'. They can learn more and more things.
'Happy School's' teachers is also nice. They friendly, sweet, knowledge and so on. They're not scathing, mean and they also can give children a very happy childhood. This is my dream. I hope and I believe, someday, I can do it. I can let chinese children and everybody have a meaniful childhood!
Annie

I want to be a actor because I want to give other people funny.
Rain

Please, NO more mian

Back to the journal I am because inspired I have been. I've decided that among my many well intentioned attempts and discarded journals, at least one will surpass a whopping 15 entries.

I started this online journal journey as a way for family and friends to stay up to date on our many adventures but that was when adventure took a different form. It's not that adventure won't always be dirt under my fingernails or adrenaline coursing through my veins, but perhaps it has many shapes and sizes. Lately just as much as it's been China shaped it's also fashioned itself as a 14 year old boy. Having Beau in China is truly a new experience. With very few western comforts to "hide behind" there's a certain sense of being seen and I don't think Beau always likes to be seen. While in many ways it's been emotionally harder on all of us to push into and through his feelings, we can only hope it will be worth it. Day by day we are trying to teach him how to do simple tasks. Brush your teeth, do your homework, don't be lazy, etc. There is a complete restructuring in the works and that, my friends, takes time. That's all I'll say on this topic because some things just need to be kept in the family :).

I wish I could give true insight on living life in Asia (I say Asia as a whole because it's so…different). It's basically akin to stripping every western thought from your mind and expecting the unexpected. I've been almost attacked by a swarm of bats, had to battle IBS combined with spicy food and eastern toilets, just missed running over a RAT with my bicycle (the first and only I've seen), among many others. All that to say I love it. Lacking cultural awareness allows you to simply be you. I walk around every day knowing there are no expectations on me because I am a foreigner. I love no expectations; it's never fun when you have to break them ;).

I've been thinking a lot about the government; living in a totalitarian society is so dissimilar to democracy. The government is everywhere. The ironic thing is that this is a society that builds high rises with bamboo platforms,and yet the government is advanced enough to have a handle on everything. There's a certain dichotomy of the mind that one encounters when pondering it all. I have a lot more thoughts on that, feel free to ask me if you're curious (the collective "you").

My students are amazing. We do something called "English corner" every Monday which is a time for the students to spend time with us as if we were friends and not teachers. I remember standing up on the desk to talk to everyone and looking down to see a girl hugging my leg (who wouldn't let go). That really got me thinking. I recognize the lack of intimacy in this culture (or perhaps lack of "intimacy" as I've always known it in the American way). The fact is that when you are kind and loving toward a Chinese child they seem to soak it up, at least in my experience. I am willing to be that for these kids, and hopefully in the "good" I try to teach them with every class lecture connections will be made. This week in class I'm teaching about careers yet have managed to rant for a good chunk of each class period on humanitarianism. I'm having them write papers on what they want to be when they grow up, perhaps I will have to post my favorites because they are worth reading. The education system here heavily emphasizes memorization so it's really interesting to see uncultivated creativity in many of the papers I've received.

I guess my last stop in this entry is a complaint. I am sooooore. I recently acquired a fantastic personal trainer who is teaching me the art of kick boxing and kung fu. I would get the most technically obsessed man ever. Doesn't he realize I've NEVER been good at the technical?? I'm trying to soak up every experience I can here though. Speaking of experiences, my favorite new Fritish girl (my new word for half British and half French) is teaching me how to cultivate the talent of drawing/painting. Even though she's a true artist and I'm the poo dizzle I'm hoping to incorporate poetry and art in some way that satisfies my soul.

Because Beau is in Shenyang at a volleyball tournament, we are off to enjoy the "small" town of Huangshi. Zai jian!

Stumbling along

Through the uncertainties and precariously placed speed bumps we have finally secured teaching positions and three plane tickets to Wuhan, China. Excited, you ask? Depends on the moment. We all seem to be oscillating between mixed emotions. One thing is certain though, the doors have opened for us at every turn.

Tune in for more on the adventures of Paul, Jacqueline and Beau (or as we've happily dubbed ourselves, PB&J).


Dance upon the boundaries no man dared to cross before
Show the world what it's like to walk adventure's shore