The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This has been a busy fall and winter for us, but I absolutely love this time of year. I wish we could see our family as much as we do during the holidays.

We went to Rockdale for about five days over Thanksgiving. We spend most of our time with Joel's mom, and we were able to spend time with both of his brothers. We even got to meet our new niece, Josie, in Dallas. She is precious and very, very sweet. While in Dallas, Joel was able to spend time with his Luke and Noah. We all played in the leaves; the boys had fun burying each other and jumping in the piles.

Most of Joel's extended family got together at his grandmother's house on Thanksgiving day. We had a nice gift exchange and a wonderful meal. We never go hungry when his family get's together! All of his cousins are married now so we were able to meet all of the spouses. Everyone is healthy and doing well!

Back at his mom's house, the girls took on making tamales while the boys watched endless football and basketball. We made chicken and pork tamales, and they were delicious! It's the first time any of us had made them, but it sure was fun. I enjoyed working on a project while sitting around chatting. We also went out to the farm and fed the cows. Jackson and Andrew seem to love the outdoors, and we all had a nice hike up the "mountain."

In early December, we learned we will be moving to Boston in June. Joel will be starting his Peds EM fellowship at Boston Children's. Last week we received the official letter offering him an Associate Professor of Pediatrics position. Wow! We've finally made it to last stage of this journey.

We had a great trip to Boston at the end of October when Joel interviewed. We were able to tour almost all of the Freedom Trail, and my favorite part was going to the Old North Church to see where Paul Revere's

lanters were placed. The city is full of so much history, and I'm looking forward to exploring it more once we move.

It turns out that crew is one of the biggest "sports" in the northeast. The Head of the Charles Regatta was happening the weekend we were there. We took the T out to Cambridge, toured Harvard and MIT, and then walked along the Charles River to watch the Regatta. It was a huge affair, where all kinds of people set up picnic areas to watch the race. There is a lingo we have never heard of, and we both decided we will have to study up.

While there, we also enjoyed a delicious dinner in Little Italy, where we swore we saw cigar lounges made just for the mafia. As we walked to our restaurant, we could hear lots of Italian being spoken on the streets. We twice visited an authentic Italian bakery and ate several cannolis. I also got Joel to have a dim sum brunch in Chinatown. I was so proud to be able to order dumplings and treats that I remembered from my trip this summer. The look on Joel's face was priceless! He even got brave and tried to order some things on his own, but neither one of us could eat them. After we left the restaurant, I told him what he actually ordered. :)

I've started the paperwork to transfer my teaching license, and I have applied at two different charter schools. The public schools won't post positions until February so I will have to wait a bit before the real job hunt begins. The hospital is located in Brookline (look west and a bit south on the map), and the T runs right out there so we will have easy access to most places. It's going to be a huge culture change, but it will be a fun adventure for us! 

 Today we went down to the Denver Museum of Art to see the King Tut exhibit. It was fascinating!! The actual coffins and mummy have never left Egypt, but we were able to see amazing busts, vessels, and statues - some of them had traces of the original colors. I just couldn't believe we were seeing original artifacts that are over 3000 years old.

On Tuesday we are heading to the ranch for Christmas. This will be the first time since we have moved to Denver that Joel and I are able to travel together for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will get to stay through the following Monday. I'm looking forward to our Christmas hunting and seeing my family. Hopefully, Joel and I will have some hunting luck, even though the weather will not be cooperating.

Job Security

To say the least, it has been a whirlwind two months since I’ve been home. I had a difficult first few weeks adjusting back to my American life, but I am so glad to be home. While I was gone, I accepted a full-time teaching position at Martin Luther King, Jr, Early College, a 6 -12 public school in Denver, as the lead 6th Language Arts teacher. If I thought coming back to the states was hard, I had no idea what moving from high school to middle school would be like. Whoa! It’s not human sometimes!

But I have to admit that I am having fun being back in the classroom. I really do enjoy the teaching, even if my audience isn’t ideal! I am thankful, though, that I feel needed every day. For example, check out the recent student-made posters for picture day. Don’t let the whole “Early College” label fool you – my new babies need all the help they can get in all the languages they try to speak. :)


We were 300 kids over projections so the entire 6th grade moved to a new building about three weeks into the school year. Because we don’t have paras or support staff at the new place, the teachers have been working some long hours. The kids arrive at 6:50 in the morning and we usually stay until 6 working and planning. But when we do leave in the evenings, we have this view to guide us home. Now, I can’t complain about that!

And in other news...
In early September, Joel and I went on a camping trip. We’ve finally upgraded all of our camping gear. Our new tent sleeps eight, but it’s just big enough for our cots, card table, and gear. We camped just outside of Aspen next to a little creek. On Friday night, we went to the Aspen Jazz Festival to see Wilco. Joel and I don’t love most of the same music, but Wilco is a definite favorite for both of us. Apart from the concert, the food was the best part of the weekend. With our new stove, we ate like kings…ribeyes, mashed potatoes and grilled veggies for dinner and a full Paris Ranch breakfast each morning.

I've been teaching the two year old class at our church on Wednesday nights. (I am just not sure how or why I keep experimenting with younger and younger kids...it's so unlike me!) I have a really small class, and my first night showed me how unpredictable kids can be (or maybe how unprepared I am to work with them!). We were learning about the creation story, and to make it "real" for such little ones, I brought in pictures of animals, ones I knew they could mimic the sounds. Following the advice given to me while I was in China and working with primary teachers (thank you, Debbie!!!), I was focusing on repetition with sentence stems. For example....
      Me: What animal is this? (Holding a picture of a lion)
      Kids: A lion
      Me: What do lions say?
      Kids: ROAR!
      Me: Who made the lion?
      Kids: God made the lion.
And so on...the same basic conversation for pigs, ducks, cats, dogs, cows. And right in the middle of it all, one of my precious angels farts. And with a bold and proud posture, turns to me and says, "That's okay. God made farts too." Gotta love it! And I am sure that when their parents asked them what they learned, they will only remember that God made farts. Awesome!

The interview season is upon us, and October is going to prove to be an extremely busy month of travel. We are looking forward to the holidays since this will be the first time Joel will be off for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. This will also be the first time in many years that we will get to spend the entire holiday season together and with our family. Finally, we are living a somewhat normal life.

There's No Place Like Home!

I arrived safely back to Denver Sunday evening. I had a good flight back and no troubles at all. I can't wait to get my hands dirty in the garden today. Looking forward to finishing up the summer and welcoming fall in the Rockies!

A Four Good Husband

Peer pressure among men dictates many of the social norms here. Older men drink and smoke because they are forced to show how manly they are and they must out-drink and out-smoke their friends to show they are the manliest. All of my female students see this behavior as piggish and don’t find it attractive. But the men do, so the traditions continue.

There is a rare breed of Chinese man who they call “sì hǎorén,” A Four Good Husband. This husband does not smoke, does not drink and he helps with housework and cooking. In introducing my family to my students, they have concluded that I have not only married a Four Good Husband, but I found the rarest treasure of all: A Five Good Husband. Joel has risen above all other Chinese men not only because he has the four pillars, but because he added a fifth: he is very handsome.

Joel has been so supportive of me during this trip. He’s encouraged me to take the risk and teach abroad, even when I tested the limits by extending my trip an extra two weeks. He’s taken care of the kitties, all of our plants and the gardens, the yard, and the house while I’ve been away. Each day we talk I hear from a joyful and loving man. Even when I have a hard day here, he focuses on the positives and keeps me striving to give my teachers the very best each day. And if that wasn’t enough, he has bought me a side trip to Xi’an where I will be able to visit the Terracotta Army.

Apart from teaching, there were two things I wanted to do while I was here. I wanted to hike the Great Wall and see the Terracotta Army. I never imagined being able to do everything I wanted, but I am leaving China without any regrets. Every adventure has proven to be more amazing than anything I read in my travel books, and now I’ve been given a gift to complete the journey. My cup runneth over!

Even though my schedule is set for the last few days, I do not know what kind of connections I will have. Here is my plan (on China time):

            Thursday, July 29 – Night train from Shanghai to Xi’an

            Friday, July 30 – Xi’an; spend the night in Xi’an

            Saturday, July 31 – Flight from Xi’an to Shanghai; spend the night in Shanghai

            Sunday, August 1 – Fly home (Shanghai to San Francisco to Denver)

           

I hope to be able to post my experiences in Xi’an before I come back home. But if not, I am so proud for this to be my last message from China. To my sweet and wonderful husband…Thank you for being you! 

Maybe It Doesn't Matter....

It Doesn’t Matter

I have tried in personal emails and in other posts to communicate the personality of the Chinese people I have met and the customs and attitudes that have been relayed to me through our experiences; however, I fear my words have fallen short of the great task to accurately portray a people and culture after only spending a short time with them. There is one thing, though, that has been consistent through all of my travels (in direct conversations, experiences, and in the general feel of a place). There is a saying “méiguānxì” (pronounced may-gwan-she), which basically means “it doesn’t matter.” And, oh, there are so many things that just don’t matter.


During our trip to Zhejiang Province, our host, Jameson, tickled us with his use of the phrase. We all donned our traffic-cone-orange hats, and Karen asked him if we looked nice in them. He looked at all of us silly Americans, snickered, and said, “It doesn’t matter.” I hope he doesn’t reply in the same manner when his wife asks if her jeans make her look fat. This was a favorite expression of his especially at dinner time. Whenever there was something funny looking on table, we would cautiously peer into the dish and hesitantly ask what was in it (always partially hoping he would just lie to us), and he would say, “Ah, I think it doesn’t matter.” But, with toxic fish, animal guts, and chicken feet often gracing the dinner table, it so mattered.


Our Saturday evening brought us face to face with a socially acceptable form of the phrase. The restaurants and shops were so crowded people began parking their cars in the middle of the street, thus the e-bikes and scooters took to using the already jammed sidewalks as their own personal travel lanes. Ordinarily the e-bikes and scooters share the available sidewalk space and it does not create a problem, but the large number of pedestrians forced us all into a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants tango in order to allow all the moving parties to pass unharmed. In any other situation this would have led to injuries and chaos (not to mention a large-scale panic attack for me), but here, in China, it not only worked but seemed like a reasonable and planned alternative. As I was clutching my bag and minding my toes and elbows, I began to think how absurd this all was. How can China possibly become a modern and developed country when they can’t keep order in their own streets? And then it happened. Just like drinking sweet iced tea during a hot Texas noon, “It doesn’t matter” washed over me and I immediately melted into the rhythm and flow of what is the China Way.



In that moment the cacophonous din of traffic, laughter, honking, yelling, open-air concerts, toddlers singing karaoke, and peddlers swirled around me. I stopped right where I was to look all around, and I could not believe that I was really in China. This amazing adventure is coming to a close, but in that moment I had to laugh out loud at the blessings I have been living. I am in China. I’ve been living and teaching in China. I’ve travelled and met new people. I’m living a dream. Gratitude and joy overwhelmed my pounding ears, watering eyes, and offended nose. I stood in the middle of what would normally be an incredibly irritating and obnoxious situation for my Type A personality, and soaked it all in. Instead of reaching for my Advil and seeking respite alone, I dove deeper into the crowds and became part of – even if only for a small moment –the people I’ve tried so desperately to understand.


Maybe

Maybe is an overused word by most Chinese who are learning English. Until yesterday, I assumed the translation was pretty close. The contexts I’ve noticed range from “perhaps” to “it is possible” to “I will look into it.” It is entirely possible the misunderstanding has been on my part because I learned that really it means, “I have no idea what you are saying but I think I will make something up so you think I know and I will cross my fingers that it all works out in the end.” And as a result, I had my first questionable travel trip as we ventured to the city of Suzhou.

We’ve been planning the day trip to Suzhou by talking to our translator and assistants about the place we wanted to go, the items we wanted to buy, and the sites we wanted to explore. We even saw a television program with the exact location and showed them pictures from someone who had previously travelled there. But, it turns out, we were never speaking the same language. We were requesting to visit a quiet and quaint district of Suzhou. When we heard, “maybe we go to Suzhou on Sunday,” we heard the “it is possible” translation. What they were saying was “maybe we will go to the place you want, or maybe not.” We got the maybe not.

We arrived at what we thought was going to be a traditional Chinese garden but turned out to be an orange grove. The guide recommended we take the hill trail to the lake. “Maybe five minutes,” she encouraged. 35 minutes later we arrived at a paved road, where in the distance we could see a lake. Our translator, host and assistants said we should keep going up the paved road for “maybe five minutes.” So we went. Ten minutes later I asked where we were going (just to clarifying the end goal of this five minute jaunt). “Maybe the top of the mountain,” they replied, which in this case meant there was no destination. We were hiking to nowhere. Without any water.

And then we get to Maybe-Suzhou. Since we were expecting the water district, built around canals and hailed as the Chinese Venice, we were a bit surprised to find ourselves in a concrete downtown lined with Papa John’s, TGI Friday, Mc Donald’s and KFC. Literally all of the flags on the flag poles were advertising some type of American product or food. We ate at an authentic Chinese fast food restaurant where we all took our best shot at ordering from the translated menu, which became a more daunting task as we all began to understand how “maybe” has been severely mistranslated between us and our caretakers. It all came to a climax during this conversation:

Robert (American teacher): What is this?


Janet (our translator): Maybe it is sweet.


Robert: Is it sweet?


Janet: Maybe. But maybe it is meat.


Robert: Is it meat? What kind of meat?


Janet: Maybe it is not meat.


Robert: What is this?


Janet: Maybe just try it.


Robert: Do you know what this is?


Janet: Maybe I do not. Just try it.


And so he did. It was neither sweet nor was it meat, but it was a fried bean curd pastry. And Janet says, “Oh yes. Maybe it is bean curd. It is not sweet.” At that point we knew we were never going to make it to the Venice of China.

But in the end, maybe it just doesn’t matter. I’ve had an experience of a lifetime and even this little misadventure only endears me more to the Chinese. I understand a little bit better that no matter the situation, I have the power to paint it. I can choose to focus on the negatives, or I can enrich my experience by seeking the humor, love, and beauty wherever I go and in whomever I meet. I would not trade any of my days or experiences, and even the misunderstandings and stomachaches have created stories I will cherish forever. Thank you, China, for this!

Suzhou pictures: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Suzhou/

Spoiled!

Our reception the first two days was outstanding. We were greeted in Jiangning by two of our hosts. The first night we had dinner at a beautiful brocade museum. Our menu was quite interesting. We ate farm-raised ants (deep fried with peanuts), oxtail, goose liver (French-style…whatever that means), pig feet, pigeon, cold pumpkin soup with lily flower, and chicken black bone soup. They served a delicious and refreshing pureed cucumber and honey drink, which made the ants go down must easier. They were crunchy, and with the peanut, didn’t taste like anything. My only complaint is that the parts were easily stuck in my teeth. I was okay until I had to pick an ant leg out of my front teeth.

Our hotel is catering to our every dietary need. We have yogurt every morning with the rice porridge so I’m feel like I’m getting more nutrition. Toxic fish has disappeared off the menu completely, and I even had some bacon wrapped mystery meat. (Put bacon around anything, and I’ll eat it!!) Tonight the ladies taking care of our meals are going to teach us how to make dumplings. I am so excited to learn this craft, but, really, I just miss cooking. It should be a great experience, and I hope I don’t find any surprise ingredients in the dumplings I’ve loved eating all this time.

So, for now, I am going to keep living the dream! Miss you all!

Nantong Pictures: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Nantong/

Random Thoughts, Observations, Etc..

How to Survive an Intersection in China

To the untrained eye intersections in China may seem like a Vegas table game, where some super being is rolling the dice to see if chance will allow any of the players to escape unharmed; however, after a few weeks of my life being one of the die, I must say there is an extraordinary and subtle organization to traffic here. The key, I believe, is to never stop moving. I’ve learned this through trial and error; mostly taking my life and throwing up to the fates to decide whether or not my theory is correct. (Seeing as I am still able to write this to you, I must be on to something.)

The traffic food chain is the complete reverse from the US. This is a land where the bus reigns over all. I have a sketch in my journal of a bus, mouth wide and bearing its fangs, overtaking the cab, which is over the car, which is over the scooter and bike, which is over the mere human. In China, the pedestrian is the plankton of the traffic food chain. Understanding the hierarchy serves one well when deciding how to move through an intersection. The bus will always keep its trajectory, while the others must dance around and obey the natural order.
The flow makes sense and always (well, usually) produces the desired end result. Stopping throws off the karma and chaos ensues, as exemplified when I stopped in the middle of an intersection only to cause a massive jam requiring multiple cars and bikes and people to go into a panic when they couldn’t figure how to get out of this knot – a knot where a plankton-like American stood dumbfounded in the center. So long as you move – whether it be side-stepping, speeding up, slowing down, or flat out jumping – the order continues.

I hardly notice the traffic anymore. It all makes sense. I can see the order and plan, though I am looking forward to returning home where I will no longer be at the bottom of the food chain.

Toilet Troubles

Squatty potties are the norm. Thankfully I have evolved (or maybe devolved) and developed the necessary skills to master this Chinese staple. The first week or so I was plagued with wet ankles, never able to perfect my aim. But once I was able to get the physics of it down, my troubles turned to a new sort.

This past weekend, my new friend Karen and I went to the ladies room at a restaurant, where we were greeted with a new form of squatty potty: No doors, 3 foot walls, and a backward facing hole. Seeing as we were both dealing with female issues unique to our very different life stages, we made a pact to see each other through this event. With the main door locked, when commenced to take care of our business, only to nearly lose our balance when we started laughing – and couldn’t stop – at the sheer ridiculousness of the situation.

Later on I found another restroom toiler, but it was not gender specific. It had two stalls and two doors, but here, the men and women go in together. I was trying to adjust my timing to get in there with a woman, but my little dance outside of the door only caused mass confusion. So I bit the bullet. With my head down and refusing to make eye contact, I entered my stall and tried to pretend there wasn’t a man right next door.

And then the coup’de gra: I knocked a woman off the hole. At lunch this week, I went to the restroom and tried to enter a stall where the door was partially open. (Realize that even if there are doors, privacy doesn’t matter; oftentimes people go with the doors wide open.) Of course, there was a woman in there, and I hit her in the head and she lost her balance. She was taking care of some serious business, and I all I could do was say ‘sorry’ over and over again. But the more I said it, the louder she yelled. So I cut my losses, went into the next stall, and finished in record time just so I would not have to face her at the sink.

Really, it shouldn’t be this hard.

Is that rain?

The best way to describe the weather is damp. It’s not just humid, though we’ve been in the upper 90% everyday. It’s damp. The pollution and humidity create a new kind of damp. My hair and skin are never fully dry, and papers and clothes always have that need-five-more-minutes-in-the-dryer feeling.

In Beijing, we only saw blue sky for about 2 hours after a heavy rain on the Great Wall. In Nanjing, I saw my shadow for the first time while we were in Phoenix Square. But on Wednesday, I left the hotel for school and I saw a full blue sky. After a few hours the pollution rolled in. You can see it coming, like a massive thunderstorm.

It rains almost every day, but there have been several times when we were not convinced it was really rain. The air pollution is so think that it sometimes appears to be a case of inversion and the particles we are feeling are actually toxic. Kind of like the fish soup I had on my first night in Jiangning.

15 Minutes of Fame

If it’s true that we all will have our 15 minutes of fame, then I am living mine. In my travels outside of the larger cities, I’ve met people who have never seen a Westerner and they want a chance to photograph this illusive creature. Yes, they really do exist! People will approach us no matter where we are just to say hello and take a picture. I’ve now started asking them to use my camera too just so I can have proof of my stardom. So if you look through my pictures and see me with random folks, just know this is a way for me to remember my glory days when I am old.

Weekend Adventures (July 10 – 12)

On Saturday, our hosts, Jameson and Dr. Song, gave us a tour of Nanjing. We started at the Phoenix Square built in 1992. It is an up-and-coming area where young people often live. The property is much more modern and expensive than the rest of the city. Like most parks in the area, it was deserted during the day; however, once the sun goes down and the air cools, the park comes alive with dancing, music, and games.

 

China is facing a housing crisis. Prices are skyrocketing and salaries are not matching the increase. Depending on whom you ask the blame is either placed on the central government or on local officials. There is a trend of young, educated adults seeking jobs elsewhere because they cannot afford to buy a house or a flat. This emerging middle class is also going to create an interesting challenge to China’s transportation infrastructure. With an increasing population seeking cars, the current roadways and parking areas cannot contain the rising need. I wonder how – as areas such as the Phoenix Square develop, and people move out of the city – commuting and green initiatives will impact the people and authorities. 

We then travelled to Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum. This was a beautiful area, also known as Purple Mountain. It’s a beautiful national park to honor the man they credit with salvaging the nation from dynastic rule. The best part of the visit for me was meeting a large group of school children. They are learning in English in school and the swarmed Karen and me to practice their phrases. It was precious! Without taking a breath they said, “Hello! How are you? I am fine. See you soon. Nice to meet you. I love you!” Their teachers corralled them around to make sure each one practiced their English greetings with a real American. I must admit, for a slight moment, I felt like a movie star! J

We then visited the Nanjing City Wall. There is a Buddhist Temple located right next to the area where we were, and it seemed such a drastic contrast to the violence once enacted just outside of its walls. Part of the wall was demolished during the massacre but has since been rebuilt. At the wall, I saw evidence of the various ages of the city. I stood on the wall, originally built during the Ming dynasty from 1366 – 1393. Looking across the wall, just inside the city, I saw the Buddhist Temple backed by large, modern skyscrapers and factories. On the other side of the wall, just outside of the city, the largest lake in Nanjing created a quite a peaceful setting for young families, older couples, and teens. In a city that was completely destroyed in the early part of the 20^th century, it makes sense to see the life stages all in one view.

On Sunday and Monday, our school honored us with an overnight trip to Zhejiang Province. This is a trip usually reserved for their full-time teaching staff, but this was the first year the foreign teachers were asked to come along. What an honor! We were spoiled with at 5-star hotel and an amazing tour. This is an agriculture area, one of the wealthiest in China. The pictures will show how every house is built around a communal farm where neighbors share land and crops. The traditional ways of farming are still practiced. I saw many workers in their straw hats, waist deep in the water of the fields or plowing behind an ox.

We had a river cruise and visited the secluded fishing village (now a tourist trap) where poets sought seclusion to write and reconnect with the beauty of the land. Riding on a traditional bamboo raft was quite a treat, and although I was not convinced our American weight would stay afloat, the Chinese engineering proved me wrong. 

Fairy Land, as nicknamed by the Chinese, is a large cave discovered in the 1970s. They have a unique way of showcasing it, and the best way to describe it is Carlsbad Caverns meets Disney World. The cave was full of colorful lights, statues, and narrated light shows. The most interesting part of the cave adventure, however, was the signage. Up until Monday, I had been enamored with translations because they seemed to capture a poetry we often lose in our modern English. For example, at the Sun Yatsen Mausoleum, there were several signs encouraging people to not walk on the grass. The signs read, “Enjoy the Growing Grass.” While not exactly a literal command, the message was clearly communicated but the translation captured a core Confucian value at the same time. Not so in Fairy Land.

 

My favorite miscommunication via translation was an exit sign that read, “Move this way for exports.” Many others left us scratching our heads, and we had to giggle at a few that seemed to be an accidental take on slang (see above pic). On our way home, one of the Chinese guests wrote out in Chinese characters and translated into English several poems written in the fishing village, but the translation did not make sense when individual characters were translated into specific English words. He had to add connotation and poetry in English in order to capture the intended meaning by the characters, and I was amazed by how much was lost through translation. As I finish up with this school and begin looking towards my next assignment, I will pay more attention to the nuances of our languages, as they seem to represent an understanding of the culture that I may have been missing.

Thank you to everyone who continues to write to me. Love to all.  

Links to more pics…

New pictures of my students and classroom: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Jiang%20Ning/

Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Nanjing/Sun%20Yatsen%20Mausoleum/

Nanjing City Wall: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Nanjing/Nanjing%20City%20Wall/

Zhejiang Province: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Zhejiang%20Province/

First Impressions

I’ve now been in China for two weeks. The people here are incredibly nice and friendly. They are gracious when I try to speak their language and use chopsticks. Beijing, Nanjing and Jiang Ning are the cities where I have traveled. My group of teachers was together for the first week, but now I am with my teaching crew. There are six of us – three from Nevada, one from NY, one from Wisconsin, and me – currently teaching and living in Jiang Ning. The school where I am has more resources than West. The building is falling apart and there are holes in the wall, but they made sure we all had LCD projectors, teaching stations, audio system, and a document camera. We also have a portable Smart Board at our disposal. It seems like they are intent on supplying teachers with whatever they need. When the director found out we all spent about $40 to buy a few supplies, he was very upset. He has requested we let them know what we need so they can provide it. Amazing!

After a funny turn of events, I am teaching primary teachers, instead of high school teachers. They are so much fun! We play lots of games and do activities. They are working on their English so everything I do is to help them learn English and they can take the activities and games to their classroom. They are interested in all things American and are confused by many of our traditions and festivals (holidays). The first day I used a song to help introduce them to the states, and, of course, it was by King George Strait! There is nothing better than teaching with pictures of George to gaze at. J They were amazed when I showed them pictures of Colorado and the Paris Ranch. They think all of my family and friends are movie stars and they want me to tell you how beautiful you all are!

My time in Beijing was hectic. I think claustrophobic is the best way to describe it. It is especially busy and crowded when compared to Nanjing and Jiang Ning. The history of the city, however, gave me a new understanding on modern Chinese culture and life. I read a book, China Road, before arriving in order to prepare for their modern culture, but it wasn’t until I stood in Tiananmen Square that I really understood the meaning of their past. It was there the reality of my upcoming adventure hit home.

At the Great Wall, I stood in awe. It has taken me several days to process the impact of standing on the Great Wall. The countryside is lush and dense and it was easy to see why the wall was built. Like being at the Roman Coliseum, I couldn’t help replay much of the history in my mind. The tradition, upheaval and evolution of their culture have all served to create a proud and honorable people. But just like the symbolism of The Wall, much of their current struggle seems to be the battle between keeping tradition pure while seeking to tip their toe in the modern arena.

I am now in Jiangsu province, just outside of Nanjing. Nanjing is a highly educated city. It is similar to Boston, with many universities and significant history. (Shanghai is compared to NYC and Beijing is compared to Washington, DC.) During our first few hours in the city, we were taken to the Nanjing Massacre Museum. At first, I did not understand why this grave location would be our introduction to the city, but after spending several hours there, I realize how this event in history is fresh on the minds of the people. Most of my students had a grandparent living in the city during that time, and just as major events in American history change the current and future generations, all of my students view the world through the lens of the massacre.

I will be in Jiang Ning until June 17, when I will move to Nantong. I’ve uploaded some pictures to Photo Bucket.  You will see lots of pictures of the area and food I’ve been eating. Here are the links.

Beijing: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Beijing/

Forbidden City: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Beijing/Forbidden%20City/

Tiananmen Square: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Beijing/Tiananmen%20Square/

Temple of Heaven: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Beijing/Temple%20of%20Heaven/

Great Wall: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Beijing/Great%20Wall/

Nanjing: http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Nanjing/

Jiang Ning:    http://s676.photobucket.com/albums/vv121/lshudgins/Jiang%20Ning/

Please keep writing to me! I love hearing from everyone!

A Five-Moose Weekend

Joel surprised me with a romantic getaway to Estes Park. We stayed at the River Song B&B, which is located right on the river. We had a beautiful room with a private deck, jacuzzi tub, and fire place. The weather was cool enough to have a real fire each night and in the morning. On Saturday, our picnic plans turned into a car picnic when we ran into snow showers in RMNP. Sunday we returned to the park and saw amazing wildlife. This was a perfect way to reconnect before my trip. And after such wonderful time, we decided on a new rating system. This weekend qualifies as five-moose, not just because we saw that many, but because it was the best getaway we've ever shared!

Summer Kick-off!

We've been enjoying beautiful weather for a week or so, and I am so glad to finally feel summertime. Last weekend I helped to hostess a baby shower for my cousin Kara. She and her husband, Dan, live in Anchorage, but they were back in Texas for a short visit. We held a family BBQ and baby shower for them at the ranch. It was quite unconventional, but it was so wonderful to see them.

Last week was my last week of school with kids. To celebrate, a large group of teachers attended a Rockies game. Joel and I were able to attend to see the Rockies win another one. One of the very first things we did on one of our pre-move visits was to attend a baseball game. We still try to make several games each year, and this was a great way for us to begin the season.

We had high hopes of hiking on Saturday, but I guess the week caught up with me. Joel let me sleep in, and we missed our window. We are always afraid of getting started too late in the day because the weather can change quickly in the mountains. Today we had a family from church over. We grilled brauts and burgers and spent the afternoon playing ladder golf.

Joel officially begins his chief year tomorrow. We are done with residency, and he is ready to begin a new adventure. Next year may bring a new adventure for me, as well. My current position at West High School is split between admin (as a facilitator) and faculty (as a teacher), but next year I will be full-time admin. I'm looking at a few options because I am not ready to leave the classroom. But, it's fun to think about how both of our careers are changing and growing. Never a dull moment!

Weekend of Celebration!

This weekend we celebrated my graduation and Mother's Day with my folks. They came up on Friday and we spent a very successful and prosperous afternoon in Blackhawk. Joel and I treated us all to a Texas de Brazil dinner. On Saturday, I walked in my official MA graduation ceremony. Even though I finished my degree in November and already have my diploma, it was a fun way to reconnect with many friends and former colleagues at CCU. Joel and my dad made a stellar breakfast for my mom and me on Saturday morning, and after the ceremony, we cooked a brisket and ribs all afternoon. The table was full and the meal delicious! Mom and dad had to leave pretty early on Sunday, but the whole weekend was a Mother's Day celebration!

 

Déjà Vu

Wait. I think I've seen this before. Spurs advance in the playoffs; Mavs take an early off season.

Go Spurs Go!

"No ordinary 7 seed..."

Another Hudgins NBA rivalry has come to a delicious close! I'm walking a little taller this morning as Joel drags his feet to the bank to pay off his debt. I always love watching the Mavs lose, but this series was particularly fantastic. At least the little Mavs were able to see four World Championship trophies while in San Antonio. One day boys, one day.

The Last Call

This Saturday was a big day for us: the last weekend 30-hour call Joel will ever have to work. He has one more call night this week, and then we are officially done with overnight calls...FOREVER!!

To celebrate this momentous day, Joel had a very exciting shift. Denver Health just opened a new kids’ center, and to celebrate the ribbon cutting, Troy Aikman, Garth Brooks, Trish Yearwood, Brian Griese, and Kyle Orton visited the hospital. He was most excited about meeting his childhood hero, Troy Aikman, but nerves got the best of him. As Troy was exiting the bathroom, Joel stopped him and said, "I'm sure glad you didn't quit after you went 1 in 15 during your rookie season." Troy was not impressed. Things went better with Garth and Trisha, and he has an autograph to show for it.

Next month Joel will be doing research and working normal hours, and in June his chief year begins, which I am told is going to be so much easier on all of us. It's hard to imagine we are at the end of his residency. With just over one month left, I think we just might make it!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

What do you get for the girl who has everything? Well, if that girl is my mom, you get her a wild turkey. And so, after an injured knee, three very long hunts, and a bruised ego, I did just that. Dad and I went out Saturday and Sunday and finally came home with the perfect birthday present for my mom. She now has eleven packages of turkey breast to make her famous chipotle wraps. (I just hope there is some left for my next visit home.) I did get a special prize for my successful hunt...a jar of jalapeño jelly from my Uncle Stephen.

It's funny to think about my dad and me hunting together after all of these years. When we first started, we headed to Sabinal to hunt on the Shudde Ranch because there weren't any wild turkey's on our place. But after many years of raising wild turkeys in our backyard in the city, we were able to introduce a healthy number. My dad was my age when we first started this adventure, and I'm having more and more fun as the years go by. This year, I saw a dramatic change in our hunting relationship: Due to age and gravity and two very strong wills, I can best characterize our time together as Elmer-Fudd-Meets-Driving-Miss-Daisy. You really had to be there!

Here are a few pics of the prized bird, a rare three-bearded tom. Yes, he actually has three beards, but we didn't know that at the time. I must say I stood a little taller and quickly forgot about my missed shot (though my guide had some fault in that one) after hearing my dad say he'd never taken a double-beard. Not bad for my first Paris Ranch turkey. In total, he had 19".

The ranch is beautiful right now. We have a ton of wildflowers in bloom and the recent rains have greened up all the pastures. The cows are fat and happy, and we were able to work a few of the calves to get ready weaning. What a blessing it is to have such a special place in our family!

Playing Hookie!

Yesterday I took a personal day to spend the day with Joel. He's been working strange ED shifts this month and is scheduled to work every weekend. So we decided to pick a day to spend together, and we couldn't have picked a more beautiful day. We slept in a bit and headed up to Winter Park to ski for the afternoon. The temp was warm in the high 40s without a cloud in the sky. This is the first time in two seasons that we've been able to ski together...just the two of us! I'm able to keep up with him on any blue, and I even beat him down one run. Just to make sure I didn't get too full of myself he quickly took me up to a bowl, where I invented my own one-legged windmill ski style. It was quite a sight!

After we got home, Joel dusted off the grill for some buffalo bratwursts, and I finished weeding and cleaning out the flower beds. We are catching up on Lost and started season five. It was such a fun day, and we had a fantastic laugh when my sunburn started to appear. Of course, I have the signature "I skipped work today to go skiing" look, which is a sunburned outline around my ski goggles. This morning I found new ways of using concealer to hide my shame. Even though I took a personal day, and I can spend it however I choose, I just didn't feel right going back to work today showing all the evidence. Thankfully, the concealer worked, but I had a hard time explaining why I was sweating all day long... ;)

Off to China!

This week I received my acceptance letter to teach in a teacher training program (JESIE) in China! I'm still working on the travel plans, but I will most likely arrive in Shanghai on or around July 2 and travel with my group down to Nanjing where we will be teaching for about two weeks. I will be working with three other teachers from Denver, and the rest of the group is from across the US and three providences in Canada.

Since I began teaching in Denver, I've been working on gaining my ELA (English Language Acquisition) certification. Additionally, this semester I'm involved in the National Consortium on Teaching about Asia, where I've received an in-depth look into East Asian art, music, literature, culture and history. It seems like all of my new interests have serendipitously met in this summer experience. Joel and I are excited about this opportunity and are looking for ways to do this type of work together in the future.

More details to come....

A Great Birthday!

On Thursday, Joel surprised me with an incredible birthday present. He rescued me from parent-teacher conferences a few hours early and swept me away to the Pepsi Center where we had courtside seats to the Spurs Nuggets game. He told me to lay out a fancy dress and heels so he could pick me up from school. When he arrived wearing his favorite baggy jeans and maroon fleece, I was a bit confused, but all was explained when I got to the car to find my Spurs jersey instead of my dress. We arrived extra early to get pics and autographs and then set beside the Spurs bench for the entire game. Our seats used to be owned by Daniel Graham, Bronco's tight end, and we sat about ten seats down from Brandon Marshall. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we'll never forget it!

 

 

Needless to say, my 30th birthday has been the best two month celebration ever! It all started with a girls' weekend to a spa in Arizona with my sis-in-law, Angela. Then on my birthday we had friends over to watch the National Title game, and Joel bought me a fabulous German chocolate cake and iPod. He told me something else was coming, but I had no idea it would courtside seats to my favorite team. This was a fabulous birthday and start to a new year!