Good Olde Chinese Medicine!

Some of you might know that Shanghai has not been being very nice to my body and to a certain extent my health. The first few weeks we were here it was burning hot all the time, eight degrees or more in the middle of the night hot, no joke. Then Shane English School took us out to Daqian for teacher training and that is when the mosquito bites started, they were no where near as bad for me as they were for a lot of other people, but goodness they did itch. Since then the temperature has dropped, one week so drastically that the government issued a cold warning. And, now the high never breaks 69 degrees and more often than not lies somewhere closer to 61 degrees.

With this extreme weather fluctuation, the severe drop in already troublesome (Read: everyone smokes everywhere, especially right in front of the "no smoking" signs, and has poor smoking etiquette (e.g. they will blow smoke right in your face or light up as they drive you around in their taxi - yes, this happened!) levels of air quality, and the stress of life, school, work, and communication -- It is no surprise that I've been sick a couple times since I've arrived in China. My body held out for a while, a solid month or so which is more than most people in the program. But, this weekend was the worst! I had to a certain extent accepted that I now have developed a somewhat chronic cough (i.e. the Shanghai cough) that will more than likely clear up once I'm no longer exposed to terrible air. A fever on the other hand is a very serious matter.

I woke up Saturday morning with a terrible headache and feeling lethargic so I took DayQuil so that I could function during my 9am piano lesson. But, by the afternoon I developed a temperature of about 101.6 degrees. The rest of the day pretty much sucked, but the temperature went down below 100 degrees before I went to bed for the night. When I woke up this morning, I still had a slight temperature so I went to the doctor with the assistance of the amazing welfare officer Shane provided us all with, Annie.

Upon arrival at the hospital the lady behind the counter produced a glass mercury thermometer, from where exactly I cannot say that I know, and told me to stick it under my tongue for 3 minutes. After I popped the thermometer in my mouth, figuring that whatever temperature I still had might kill any germs on it, hopefully. Direct quote - Annie: "I know you want to ask me if it's clean. Bernessa, she asked me that when the had to do this [and points at me holding the thermometer in my mouth]". Gah! Temperature: 100.7 degrees

Then, I saw the doctor. I sat down and with Annie's interpretation skill I answered the questions he posed. He produced a tongue depressor from where I am not exactly sure and checked my throat. And maybe a total of five minutes later he wrote out a prescription. Then, he pointed us towards the cashiers window and the prescription window.

What exactly is wrong with me? I don't know. I guess from the medicine he prescribed me that it's just a cold. Check it out:

Jiaozhou Fire

As I made my way home this last Monday I stopped off at Zhongshan Park, just two stops down the Green Line from Jingan Temple, to pick up a few things. As I waited at the intersection, a procession of fire trucks and ambulances sped through lights flashing and alarms wailing. And, as they continued in their mad rush I wondered as to their destination, prayed briefly for their safety and for the safety of those they hurried to help, and continued to make my way home.

As I emerged from the metro stop at Jingan, the blare of sirens continued to pierce the air. I took my normal route turning on from Yanan onto Jiaozhou and walked briskly towards my apartment, as my feet carried me farther down Jiaozhou a large tower of smoke revealed itself behind the buildings that rose high on the street before me.

As I turned onto Xinzha, more firetrucks made their way towards what I later learned was a burning high-rise apartment building. Many were saved that day and many escaped with minor injury, but some are still missing and currently there are 53 confirmed dead.

In a couple weeks, most will have forgotten about this tragic fire, but those that survived it will still be dealing with the aftermath. Please keep them in your prayers.

Post-Expo Haze

People warned us that manicured state of the Shanghai that greeted us in August was primarily due to the presence of the World Expo and guaranteed us that once Expo was over the facade of cleanliness would quickly fall away. Not to say that none of the "improvements", both convenient and inconvenient, that accompanied Expo have remained: the new Expo taxis are still in use, the security scanners in the metros, etc. However, the air quality went down the drain from day one after the Expo closing ceremony. Maybe the following pictures will in part demonstrate what I mean:

This picture was taken on a sunny day when we arrived in August during Expo.

 This picture was taken on a cloudy day in October during Expo.

This picture was taken yesterday afternoon, which believe it or not was a sunny day.

No kidding, what is all of that? Even the air inside of buildings has enough particle matter that under any amount of light you can see the air. You can SEE it!

But, in all honesty, I should have known how bad it would be the very first time I saw the fashion face-masks. They come in a various assortment of solid colors, plaids, and cutesy patterns. Shanghai, you will NOT mess up my respiratory system!

Hey, hey Wednesday!

This last Wednesday, Sherry and I went to the Visa Office once again (the first time to extend our tourist visas and this time to get out work visas). When we were done we found ourselves on Line 10 (light purple) with some time to spend. First, we ran off the metro at Shanghai Library Station. Twenty-five renminbi and some contact information later, we are now library card toting members of the Shanghai Library! Check it out:

A bit further down Line 10 we passed Xintiandi where we celebrated Miles' birthday will dim sum. And, we ended up at Yuyuan Gardens:

Yup, mid-week fun!

Brrr! It's cold out here.

Today, after a long day of working with the kids, taking care of school assignments, meeting up with people, and gathering supplies for halloween activities for the kids later this week, I get home and find the following email in my inbox:

The Shanghai Government has issued a local cold weather warning in effect for Tuesday to Thursday.

 

Tomorrows weather could drop below 10 Degrees Celsius, due to a sudden cold snap that has come down from Northern China.  This sudden cold change will mean that many students will suffer from a cold by the end of the week.

 

Also please remember to bring a jacket with you tomorrow.

 Seriously, 10 degrees Celsius. What is that even supposed to mean? I admit, I had to pull up a temperature converter to figure out that it means below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I've been in worse, but apparently Shanghai cold is a whole different beast, at least that what everyone has been saying... We shall see!

Two Cups of Coffee

Gah! I have always loved this story....

In the book “First Things First” he describes a story that one of his associates experienced on a seminar. In the middle of the lecture the presenter pulled out a wide-mouth jar and placed it on the table, aside to some fist-sized rocks.

After filling the jar to the top with rocks he asked, “Is the jar full?”

People could see that no more rocks would fit, so they replied, “Yes!”

“Not so fast,” he cautioned. He then got some gravel from under the table and added it to the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks. Again, he asked, “Is the jar full?”

This time the students replied “Probably not.”

The presenter then reached a bucket of sand below the table, and dumped it on the jar, filling the spaces between the rocks and the gravel. Once again he asked “Is the jar full?”

“No!”, the students shouted.

Finally, he grabbed a two cups of coffee and filled the jar completely, asking to the public what they could learn from that illustration.

One of the participants answered, “If you work at it, you can always fit more into your life.”

“No,” said the presenter. “The point is, if you don’t put the big rocks in first. . . would you ever have gotten any of them in?”

The moral being that you need to put the first things first and once you have everything in, there is always time for a couple cups of coffee with friends!

Finding the Courage to Win: a lesson about the strenght of vision

I know that China is a very interesting and important place to be right now, but seriously --- it is everywhere! Everywhere! This is an article from Spark People, a wellness website, titled Finding the Courage to Win: a lesson about the strength of vision, by Mike Kramar:

This is the story of an unassuming electrician working hard at a city zoo. He was not known as the kind to stir up trouble, but as mounting injustice swirled around him, he couldn't help himself. He wrote and published a couple of essays expressing his beliefs - and was promptly arrested and sentenced to 15 years in a violent prison.

The man is Wei Jingsheng, communist China's most famous and revered political prisoner. His journey from layman to legendary crusader holds a valuable lesson about the strength of Vision. Wei's vision for a democratic China has granted him the courage and willpower to overcome countless unspeakable obstacles. Today he lives a free man and continues to fight for human rights.

The lesson we can learn is this: There is power and courage inside each one of us, waiting for an excuse to escape.

In 1978, Wei dared to stand apart in order to be heard. He had the nerve to sign his name and address to his posted essay. This was unheard of in a country where "many Chinese people…have even grown accustomed to being oppressed."

He spent eight months on death row and five years in solitary confinement with little light or food. He was tortured. He was beaten by other prisoners who hoped for the reward of a reduced sentence. Still he did not give up. 

Instead, he wrote and smuggled out articles and letters that fanned the flames of the growing democratic movement. He took money from international human rights awards he won while in prison and supported other political victims. 

After 14 years, Wei was released - and was arrested again after six months. The beatings continued. Almost all of his teeth fell out. He had high blood pressure, heart problems and arthritis, but was not allowed medication. He went on a hunger strike for a heater. Still he did not give up. 

Finally, in 1997, China sent Wei to the United States. However, his release was not freedom, but exile from the country he loved in return for economic concessions. Still he does not give up. To this day, Chinese activists fighting for democracy still rally around his writings, while he lectures and lobbies for their human rights. 

The man who has been called the "Chinese Mandela" did more than cope with the world that found him. He conquered it, both in fact and in spirit. When Wei posted his essay, he had no idea of the destiny that awaited him. Fortunately for the world, the strength of his vision gave him the courage and drive to rise to the challenge. 

 Interesting, huh? I agree, vision is important. Sometimes I see things clearly and sometimes I'm not so sure, but I'm figuring it out.

Home or something like it.

Here it is, THE APARTMENT TOUR. Our apartment is located at the cross streets of Yanping Road and Xinzha Road. Building 6. 9th Floor. This our side of Yanping Road...

And this is the other side of Yanping Road...

The path drive way from Yanping Road to our apartment....

The path to our apartment...

Our front door...

Welcome to our apartment! The entrance way...

When you enter the front door, the kitchen is just to your right....

But if you keep walking forward, you will end up with the dining room to your right...

And, the living room to your left...

If you continue to walk straight, you will end up in our hallway...

The first door on the right is the bathroom...

If you continue down the hallway, the first door on the left is the study/tech room aka. the third bedroom...

The second door on the left is my room...

This is the bed...

And this is the window seat...

And, the door at the end of the hallway is Sherry's room...

Yeah, so that is our apartment! And here are a few pictures of the view from our windows (1) from my bedroom during the day (2) from my bedroom at night (3) from my bedroom during the day and  (4) from the study room during the day...

On a foundtional note...

Have you listened to Chris Tomlin's "God of This City", Tim Hughes "Everything", David Crowder "How He Loves", Matthew West "More", or Matthew West "The Center" recently. If not, you're probably way to busy to pull them up, but they're the songs that have been getting me through these last couple weeks. Because when I listen to them, they refocus me and remind me that God has purpose and presence wherever I am and wherever the people I love are and that I want to want to be apart of His will for wherever I am. And when, wherever I am or whatever I am doing is really getting to me, they remind me that I am loved so completely by the Almighty God and He loves me perfectly and that I'm not just "here" going through "all of this" because He wants to be mean to me and because he can, but because He is making me into the amazing person that He created me to be. And, it hurts sometimes, but it's like Vince Lombardi said, it's about "doing what you don't want to do, in order to achieve what you've always wanted to achieve." I want to be the person God created me to be, and it might suck sometimes getting there -- but, it's totally worth it.

Little bunny foo-foo hoppin' through the forest... did I say bunny? Ha. Sorry, I meant chicken.

We escaped. But, then it was off to training at Daqian Eco-Resort located at No.1 Xiyangdian Village, Zhujiajiao Town, Qingpu District, Shanghai 201713, China. Check it out:

Daqian Eco-Resort (Polly, Claudia, Annie, Kirsti, Bernessa, and Leila) 08.25.2010 We walk, we walk, we walk. Walking to our six-person villas in the woods.

Conference Room (Annie, Leila, and Samantha) 08.26.2010 

The training schedule was pretty rigorous. 

7am wake-up if you planned on eating breakfast

9am-12pm morning training modules

12pm-1pm lunch in the dining hall

1pm-5pm afternoon training modules

5pm-6pm dinner in the dining hall

6pm-9pm evening training modules

 

Just before leaving Daqian, we found out something that we did not know about Annie. We knew she liked dogs, but we did know about the.....

....Yeah. The CHICKENS!

Whistle while you work!

Watch the video! 

Okay, so one day my VPN would not for the life of me connect and I had to resort to browsing the Chinese internet. While browsing, I remembered that you can download music for free from google.com.cn and decided to check it out and I stumbled across Wang Lee Hom's "Sun Washed by the Spring Rain". Gah! I love the sound of the song, even though the lyrics do not really apply to me. Here are the lyrics:

王力宏 - 春雨里洗过的太阳
Wang Lee Hom - Chun Yu Li Xi Guo De Tai Yang

分开之后另一年的春天
fen kai zhi hou ling yi nian de chun tian
记忆也像下雪一样溶解
ji yi ye xiang xia xue yi xiang rong jie
那些有你在身边的影片
na xie you ni zai shen bian de ying pian
呼的一声飞的老远老远
hu de yi sheng fei de lao yuan lao yuan
-
In the spring of the year following our break-up
Memories have melted away with the melting snow
Those films with you beside me
Have flown far far away with a whoosh

爱在夏天过完之后锁在秋天
ai zai xia tian guo wan zhi hou suo zai qiu tian
捱过冬天之后的我好了一些
ai guo dong tian zhi hou de wo hao le yi xie
雨后的天上 彩虹出现 衬出一片蓝天
yu hou de tian shang / cai hong chu xian / chen chu yi pian lan tian
-
After the summer, love became locked inside autumn
After winter passes I became a little better
A rainbow appears in the sky after its rained - bringing out the blue of the sky

我在淋过一场大雨之后的晴朗
wo zai lin guo yi chang da yu zhi hou de qing lang
那是春雨里洗过的太阳
na shi chun yu li xi guo de tai yang
每个冬季带来失落 伤得多深
mei ge dong ji dai lai shi luo / shang de duo shen
然后忽然看懂云的形状
ran hou hu ran kan dong yun de xing zhuang
-
I'm standing under the clear sky after a heavy rain has passed
It's a sun that's been washed in the spring rain
That winter brought about loss, how deeply it hurt
Then suddenly I saw the meaning of the cloud's shapes

If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
那是春雨里洗过的太阳
na shi chun yu li xi guo de tai yang
每个冬季带来失落 伤得多深
mei ge dong ji dai lai shi luo / shang de duo shen
每个呼吸都是新的芬芳
me ge hu xi dou shi xin de fen fang
-
If you listen to the rhythm of the pouring rain
It's a sun that's been washed in the spring rain
Every winter brought about loss, how deeply they hurt
As each breath brings a new fragrance

流下的眼泪 留下了智慧
liu xia de yan lei / liu xia le zhi hui
爱情会天亮 也一定会黑
ai qing hui tian liang / ye yi ding hui hei
世界会等我 它问我冬天过去了没
shi jie hui deng wo / ta wen wo dong tian guo qu le mei
-
The tears that poured down, left behind wisdom
Love's dawn will break, but darkness must fall also
The world will wait for me, it asks me, 'Has winter passed yet?'

Searching for a place to rest our heads...

The apartment search, thanks to our cohort-mates Samantha and Leila, was a fairly smooth process. Our first day in Shanghai, we went apartment hunting in the Jing-An District in the evening.

Sherry and I looked at three apartments:

the first one we liked the price and the look (2BR + 1B), the second we were okay with the price and liked the layout more (3BR + 2B), and the third was totally out of our budget and so nice, except we would have had to buy a lot to complete the apartment (2.5BR + 2B  + balcony).

At the end of the day, we decided to sleep on it and decide in the morning.

We decided on the SECOND apartment! And, we were able to negotiate the price down 500 yuan per month.Signed the paperwork on Day 2 in Shanghai...

... And this is our apartment! Located at Yanping Lu and Xinzha Lu. Building 6. 9th Floor. Apt. 905. Suite E.

A tour of our apartment is COMING SOON!!!

You make me cry!

This morning I woke up just in time to hear my phone die. Amazing, right? Because, I was able to get up and plug it in to charge so that I would not be without a phone and more immediately, that I could be sure that my alarm would go off so I won't be late for work.

Anyways, I was so awake when I got back into bed that I just decided to start getting ready. Did morning routine, threw in some bible study, and as I was collecting my required teaching supplies for the day, my eyes ran across:

And you know what, I READ IT!

Worst/Best idea ever! It totally made me cry. And, I don't cry pretty. I cry ugly. But, if even just one of you is praying for me, I am so very thankful! I love you and I miss you. And, I want all the best for you even when I'm not there to share in it with you right now.

Ethan, from Shanghai!

Just got home from work... and the cutest thing happened today!

Before my last class started, my student Ethan came up to me as I sat in the front of the classroom and kissed me on the cheek! Aww, so cute!

Then he said to me in Shanghainese, "Do you speak Shanghainese?"

To which I responded by turning to my TA and saying, "What did he say, Betty?!?"

I told him that I did not and he went to sit down.

A couple seconds later, he spoke to Betty saying in Shanghainese, "I wish she [me] spoke Shanghainese, because I don't like foreign languages. [Pause] I wish you [Betty] spoke French and she [me] spoke Shanghainese!"

Shanghai Qingyi Kindergarten aka QY, Qibao (09.18.2010) This was taken the second time we did bookwork in the Grade 2 classes. Ethan is the one at the top, center.

If you are what you say you are...

So it doesn't matter if you've done your medical check or not before you leave the States, they make you do a pretty darn comprehensive medical check when you get into China. That said, one of our welfare officers that is no longer with Shane took us here:

International Travel Medical Center - Shanghai (09.24.2010) It's kind of a pretty place.

 

International Travel Medical Center - Shanghai (Sherry, John, Samantha, and Kirsti) 08.24.2010 In the waiting room before the most comprehensive doctors visit of our lives.

International Travel Medical Center (Rob, Annie, John, Kirsti, Samantha, Leila, and Sherry) 08.24.2010 Thank goodness we were all healthy like we said we were AND that we escaped. Oh wait, or did we?

Good morning, (for the first time) Shanghai!

So much has happened in the last 44 days, 
here are some highlights from the first couple days in Shanghai:

 Green Tree Hotel, Minghan District (08.23.2010) First day in Shanghai, the view from our hotel room.

Wuzhong Lu (aka Wuzhong Road), Minghan District (08.23.2010) First street crossing in Shanghai. This probably doesn't sound like a big deal, but taking into account that I am not practiced in the ways of walking around cities and adding onto that the fact that this is China (and let's face it they just drive different over here, still on the right side of the road, but drivers have an entirely different mentality) and that there was a scooter accident that had just occurred where we intended to cross the street (and they were yelling at each other and hitting each other while the police observed), I think that I am well within my rights to consider the entire experience a bit of an ordeal.

Shane English School, Jin Hui Branch, Minghan District (08.23.2010) First visit to our Shane Home Office, Shane - Jin Hui is located in Lotus Business Plaza, just across Wuzhong Lu from the Green Tree Hotel - Minghan, the cross streets are Wuzhong Lu and Hongzhong Lu.

The rest of the day was pretty busy, we went out to lunch with some of our managers and our welfare officer. The food was good and the meal was interesting because many of us were still refining our skills in wielding chopsticks. Haha. Also, I tried thousand year old eggs! They were different, but good.

What else, hmm. We followed that up with beginning our apartment search...