Sheepish Gratitude

One of the bright points during the transition to cold weather was our

opportunity to try out our "cold weather gear." i must preface this by

explaining my preparation (or lack thereof) the last time I spent a

year teaching in China.

Last time I was almost completely caught off guard for the winter

conditions in China. In case you didn't know, the Chinese don't

believe in central heating and air (or maybe they do, they're just to

money concious to consider it an efficient use of energy). Most

buildings are poured concrete structures with tile or concrete floors

and single-layer glass windows ( as I noted I. My previous post, the

cold just creeps into your body from the walls and floors).

The Chinese also have some interesting views on winter weather. "Wear

more clothes (usually pronounced like 'closes')" and, "drink more hot

water" are two expressions they learn and remind each other of from a

very early age. Evidently, these two mantras promote good health

during cold months. However, "heat the building" and "stay inside" are

not a part of tbis philosophy. Instead they adhere to another

expression, "breathe more fresh air" to keep from getting sick or

catching a cold.

The end result of all these combined views of cold and health

contributed to my experience in the classroom. Frequently, once class

begins I close the doors a d windows to the room, so we can at least

be warmed by bodyheat (everyone keeps their coats, scarves, hats, and

gloves on during class). That is, until one student gets up in the

middle of class and announces "we need more fresh air," and opens the

windows allowing the cold wind to gust in and the heat to escape, all

at their classmates approval.

My previous firsthand experience of this was miserable. I had only

packed a couple of hooded sweatshirts and a light jacket for the

winter months (fortunately I received some baselayer undershirts and

warm socks from my family in the mail for Christmas, and a fellow

teacher let me borrow his spare carhart jacket).

This time however was much better. Rebecca and I invested quite a bit

in a variety of merino wool baselayer, shirts, and sweaters. I am

convinced this material (merino wool) is God's gift to people who

travel in winter. It's light, easy to pack and layer, and WARM! Every

few days was like Christmas for us as we unpacked (and sometimes cut

off the tags!) of these warm items that we packed in the heat of

summer. It was definitely a high point among the dulling chills that

winter provided

Weather Affects... (yes, "affects" is intentional)

It stormed pretty hard last Monday. A thunderstorm blew into town like

nothing I had ever seen before. Our friends, Stan and Juliane were at

our apartment with me when suddenly, the sky turned green, then dark-

it was about 3:30 in the afternoon. I've always been told a green sky

means tornado weather, but I'm pretty sure this one was a result of

rain mixing with the smoggy haze of pollution.

The rest or the week was a cold, dreary mess of winter rain. It really

took its toll on morale around our house. Getting up early for work

was hard, and getting out in the cold was harder. We spent more time

thinking about the central heating we used to enjoy back home, as well

as travellng everywhere in our cars- only being exposed to cold and

rain long enough to walk the driveway or parking lot to or from our

cars. Instead of taking those things for granted, our focus had

shifted to doing eveything we could to keep dry and warm.

The cold seems to just creep into your body from the concrete walls

and floors of the buildings, regardless of the layers of clothing you

have on. When teaching, you often see and hear students- bundled in

their warmest attire- stomping the floor to shake away the cold,

clutching their glass or plastic tumblers of hot water or tea to

protect their hands.

The weather coupled with the shortened days of winter definitely takes

a toll on those of us softened by the luxuries of our American

creature comforts.

Death and All His Friends

I taught about Halloween. It's quite interesting learning the true

history of a holiday I remember as mainly kids, pranks, and candy.

Putting an objective spin on it was equally illuminating while sharing

with a 165 chinese college students. It really sounds like a crazy

holiday, and it probably looked even crazier with me drawing

scarecrows and Jack-o-lanterns on the board. By the end of it I had

hunched over and stumbled like a zombie, cackled like a witch (which

caught them completely off guard--they're naturally pretty skiddish),

and popping my collar to look like Dracula. I wrapped up the class by

sharing a scary story about a killer on the loose. I'm sure most of

them left with a higher heartrate and bloodpressure than they came with.

The class actually began pretty solemn, and it was probably my

favorite part. I asked them to share death customs with me, so we

could compare and contrast practices. Those who had experienced death

in their family revealed much about their philosophy of life, as well

as some insight into their faith, or that of their family (many

mentioned Buddhist monks, reading Buddhist scripture, or Taoist

practices of their family). I also shared typical Western Christian

practices, including the feeling of happiness for the departed loved

one who has realized the hope of their new life. Contrary to popular

opinion, or even Chinese suggestion, the majority of my students

practiced some rite or ritual that indicated a belief in the afterlife.

We continued by discussing the tradition of "Tomb Sweeping Day" and

how it was similar to All Saints Day in Christendom-which eventually

evolved into "All Hallows Eve." There was some surprise (admittedly

from myself as well) about how the two cultures both showed honor for

the dead in the afterlife.

While the class ended with my goofy, scary story (which was  presented

during the day with wide-opened windows beaming in sunshine), there

was a sense of mutual respect shared in how both of us aren't so

ridiculous in some of our beliefs and practices afterall.

The thin ice of content was tread in the classroom that day, but

hopefully to the benefit of everyone.