Filling In

Wednesday filling in for Jesse today. It's too hot, so he said he's just going to lay on the couch and dictate to me.

The temp has really started to heat up now. We're hitting 90s with ease, and might even break 100 by Saturday. Thankfully, they'll be outta Wuhan by then. More on that below.

Today is Emily's last day of class. Tomorrow she doesn't have to go to work!!

Jesse just finished finals yesterday. He's home today, getting other things done, among them are writing a short summary paper on a Neo-Confucian philosopher, Wang Yangming, reading a few things, exercising, and getting packed.

On Friday evening Emily and Jesse will be hopping a train for a remote-ish area of China called Guizhou province. It's one of the poorest provinces, and there's really not much to speak of. So, why are they going there?

For a while now they've been wanting to visit some friends there who have a camp. During the summer they run camps for minority kids who want to go to college. More recently they also started raising Australian cattle. There's a bit of a story that they don't know the details of, but when they come back they'll fill you in on what God has been doing through that venture. They may even come back with some video blogs. We'll see......

They'll be there for 9 or 10 days. This particular week's camp is actually for 3rd culture kids. These are kids of non-natives who's parents are doing some kind of work here. They're not quite native in their own country as a result of living here (that means you might think they're a little strange...), they're definitely not Chinese (they're reminded of that all the time, even though they may speak Chinese better than their parents), so they are dubbed 3rd culture kids. They don't fully belong to their home culture, not fully to their host culture, they're somewhere in between. Jesse and Emily are really looking forward to this work, as one day their kids will be in a similar situation. Perhaps they will be able to pick the brains of young experienced kids on being '3rd culture'.


Jesse says, perhaps later today he'll have more pictures up, of random and not so random things.

Wednesday, for Jesse

Society and Justice

Here's a little follow up on a couple of issues I've highlighted, one recently and one not so recently.

Society
The first article relates to unique social issues in China. Marriage is one. The One-child policy is another. This year marks the 30th anniversary of a landmark policy that is having ripple effects into history. Here's a website with some information on it. Some of it may be reliable, and some more conjecture, but the population graph is helpful, and the points along the top give key moments in the timeline of the history of the policy. Browse around, follow some of the links to interesting resources, graphs and charts, interview excerpts, etc. This blog has more info and links to info.

On a second note relating to this issue, check out this article. In light of things like this, it makes me wonder what China's true population is. How many kids are 'unaccounted' for and how many were born overseas and thus legitimately not a Chinese citizen (this number may not be that high, but still a contributor)?

And then there's this. I don't even know what to do with it. Not even one chance in a million, but one in 7.5 million.

Justice
Here's another article on the issue of land development and justice, following on the heals of my post a few days ago.

Micah and the story of a Farmer

I was reading in Micah this morning, and it reminded me of a news piece I saw a couple of weeks ago. It's about a farmer who is apparently getting pressured off his land. I found one blog who actually put two stories together, one from the farmer's perspective, and one from the land developer's perspective. I appreciated the contrast, and the balance that hearing both sides brought. Before we get all huffy about injustice it's important to know what's really going on. That doesn't mean there is no injustice, but you can make a better judgment.

Article (with great picture)

Blog with 'both sides' and a number of good pictures

Micah 2:1-2

Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds!

When the morning dawns, they perform it,

because it is in the power of their hand.

They covet fields and seize them,

and houses, and take them away;

they oppress a man and his house,

a man and his inheritance.

The difficulty in applying this passage to this particular situation is that in China the government ultimately owns everything. The farmer only has something like a lease agreement, and eventually the land can be seized, as often happens, by the friend or relative of some official. And usually for an unjustly low amount.

Contrast this with the situation in Israel, the land was given to the people as an inheritance and each family, each clan, claimed absolute "ownership" of a particular piece of land as it was apportioned to the twelve tribes. Ultimately it was owned by God, but in human interaction each family could legally claim rights to certain parcels of land. There are even provisions for this land to be returned to the family if they, for some reason like bad harvests and need of income, had to sell it. It would actually be returned after fifty years!!!! (Leviticus 25:8-17). This division of land is also why Proverbs says, "Do not move the ancient landmark that your fathers have set" (22:28). That piece of land that you acquire wrongly was given by God to that other person. To move the landmark is to steal.

A little bit on culture and international relations

I am frequently baffled by our nation's blunders internationally. Aside from having goals that I don't always agree with, even when I think they're doing something that I can stand by they go about it in such a wrong-headed way. I don't know who it is that is running things at the top, and who makes the calls to respond in a certain way, with certain words, but if I ever get a chance, I'd love to sit down and have a talk with them.

I'm not saying I have all the answers (though don't we all like to think so sometimes?), but it seems to me like they make such simple errors in cross-cultural communication. Simple, simple errors.

Here's an example from the news. If you're able to wade through the heated exchanges, bluff-calling, puffed-up boasting, and 'expert analysis', there is a simple cultural conflict at its source:

"Mr. Gates is a great statesman and always very frank," said Shi Yinhong, an expert on Chinese-American relations at Renmin University in Bejing. "But to deal with the Chinese, maybe he makes his language too frank. Chinese leaders, and especially Chinese generals, may find it quite difficult to take."

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that being very frank, very direct in your language with a Chinese counterpart does not get you very far. Add to that a century of humiliation in the eyes of the Chinese and you have a behemoth of an issue to work with.

It is true that Americans like to be direct. And there are some benefits to doing so. Work can be accomplished much more efficiently with less 'excess' and energy spent in accomplishing it. But when you're working with a culture that is your equal, that is not direct, and does not have the same values as you, you can't lay down the gauntlet like you would in the States.

In order to navigate cross-cultural communication well you need at least two things: knowledge of the other culture in order to accurately bridge the gap, and humility. My guess is, our political and military leaders are not short on knowledge, expertise in these areas, intelligence, or good advice.

I would venture a guess that we will continue to see a degeneration of (particularly) the military relations between the U.S. and China, with more heated exchanges and confrontations. I just hope that both sides can keep their cool and avoid anything more than verbal battles.

Where We Live

Here's a little tid-bit on where we currently live, work, study, and play. The links below each picture take you to google maps where you can fiddle around and get an idea of the area around us.

Home

Emily's Work

My (current) School campus (studying language here this year)

The building where I have classes

My (future) School (will study language and Chinese Philosophy here starting in the fall)

The Wuhan Summer has arrived

Here's me, today. I sweat through my shirt four times. This is number four.

News News News

I like following news articles online, especially about China. It requires caution, because you can't really believe all of what anyone says on either side, but there are some fairly reliable sources out there that are quite knowledgeable and have been writing on China for a long time. There are even a few blogs that I would say are as reliable, if not more so, and sometimes a little less biased than your average news group. Here's a short list of "If you want to follow China in the news, keep your eyes on these folks". In no particular order:

The Global China Center - maintained by a believer out of North Carolina; he spent a number of years teaching in a Taiwanese seminary; often focuses on theological and religious issues, but also covers a broad spectrum of sociological issues as well, like family and politics. He also does lots of book reviews, if you're looking for books but don't know where to start. Very thoughtful and helpful.

The China Beat - coming out of Irvine, CA, this group of scholars and journalists write on contemporary issues, cultural features, and special interest topics.

The China Law Blog - the blog often has helpful advice regarding business and Chinese law, if you're interested. You will also sometimes read helpful cultural insights as well.

Chinasource - written by a believer in CA, offers insights from people living in China, articles relating to culture and other significant topics.

Enjoy!

Wednesday Here Again, on a Thursday

Jesse's obviously getting a little lax on his writing so apparently I need to step in and give him a hand.

Thursday morning, Emily needs to leave a little early today. She gives her level 1 students an exam tomorrow and needs a little more preparation time to get everything done by tomorrow. Next week and the week after she'll only be teaching the kindergarten (apart from a couple more days of level 1), and then she's done!

Jesse has the History of Chinese Philosophy class at Wuhan University today. Always a discouraging one for him because he realizes just how little he really understands. But he can usually bounce back by Friday afternoon.

They have a Russian friend coming for a visit on Friday, staying till Sunday when she will take the HSK Chinese language exam. Jesse will also be taking it, but more for the experience. He has to score a six (the highest score for the middle test level) and there's NO way he'll be able to get that (unless he guesses REALLY well) so he's feeling pretty laid back about it. By the end of next year he should be able to get a six, which he needs to graduate from the MA program.

Just yesterday he started working on a paper on Wang Yangming, a Chinese philosopher and statesman from the Ming Dynasty (think 14th-15th Century). Nothing much. Probably something you might write for a freshman course. Very basic, just getting the main ideas down. And he's enjoying learning.

Emily has started studying new 'family' related words, from a book we read (in English). We gave a Chinese copy to some friends of ours to read. They liked it a lot, apart from the fact that the translation was not quite the same. Perhaps Jesse can explain in another post about things being 'harmonized' here. It's a rather new cultural phenomenon. Anyway, in order to improve her Chinese, and our friend to improve her English, they are each doing recordings of the book for each other and trading them. That way they can listen to the book and read along.

That's all for today,

- Wednesday

Something Different for the Holiday

Today is DuanWu Jie (Dragon Boat Festival) so Emily and I are both off from school. I thought I'd give you something a little different today. Here are a few pictures with descriptions of recent happenings and everyday occurrences.

This is a can of Nut Drink, my newly discovered beverage that I can add to cereal. I developed lactose intolerance towards the end of college, so I have long been searching for something I can use with cereal. It has been found.

On Sunday Emily and I had five of my former students over for a small graduation ceremony. They all recently finished an MA in English Literature, Translation, or Linguistics. However, Chinese universities do very little to celebrate the momentous occasion so we threw together a graduation ceremony, I gave a brief commencement speech, and we handed out fake diplomas and a small gift. Then we ate dinner!!! And Emily prepared a wonderful graduation cake, which they are eating in the picture.

This is Catherine getting her "faux-ploma". She was my student five years ago as a sophomore, and again last year in her first year of graduate school. She also had a rare opportunity to come to the States and study for a semester at Coe College in Cedar Rapids during her senior year of undergrad. She celebrated Christmas with my family, and I had the privilege of introducing her to America. Monday night we had several girls from the factory over for dinner. They had previously helped us organize our apartment after the big move in April.

This and the picture below are random snapshots of things we see around town. The moving truck is a rarity and we thought it was quite humorous. The dump truck is extremely common where we live, sometimes carrying sand as in the picture, but also very often carrying gravel. Notice how it is piled all the way to the top. Amazingly, it doesn't seem like rocks fall off all that often. (Pictures taken while riding my electric scooter. Go Eur-Asian transportation!)

Note: He is turning right from the center lane...

The Work of Our Hands

The Lord spoke to my heart today through Hosea 14. In light of the most recent big event, the acceptance of the scholarship application, I am once again reminded of His wonderful favor, His wonderful grace, both in the giving of gifts as well as the giving of work.

My good friend in Hong Kong has admonished me to continue in a pursuit of humility, in keeping with wisdom from Solomon, that pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (16:18). It can be a temptation to see these developments in my life as something I have accomplished, something that I have done with my own hands. I am thankful that a number of the circumstances surrounding the scholarship are far beyond what I could accomplish on my own. In a way that makes it easier for me. And yet, the temptation is always there to boast in what the world likes to call 'my accomplishments.'

Hosea is writing to Israel (also called Ephraim), the northern ten tribes, because of their idolatry. They have abandoned the covenant and relationship with God, and He is calling them through Hosea to return to Him.

In the closing chapter of the book Hosea offers a final appeal.

"Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,

for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.

Take with you words

and return to the LORD;

say to him,

"Take away all iniquity;

accept what is good,

and we will pay with bulls

and vows of our lips.

Assyria shall not save us;

we will not ride on horses;

and we will say no more, 'Our God,'

to the work of our hands.

In you the orphan finds mercy."

At this moment I do not sense that God's call to me in this passage is to return to Him. But it is instructive not to go the way of Israel so that He would need to call me to return. I hear Him saying, "Look at Israel. There is wisdom in remaining with the LORD. You know your own weaknesses; do not be drawn away by them. Seek me while I may be found."

In looking at my own life I see a dual tendency in my life, to exalt the work of my hands, and a haunting that reminds me to give glory to God for every gift He gives me, including ability, opportunity and success.

I may not necessarily always boast to others about my work or success, or try to get others to give me praise for my work. But I offer my time, talent, and treasure to my work as a 'living sacrifice' as Paul talks about in Romans 12:1. Far from the wood and stone (or even soap) carvings of idols we commonly think of when we hear the word 'idol', the idols of America handed down to us by our forefathers are sometimes hard to pinpoint.

What makes them so difficult to pinpoint is the fact that they are often gifts from God himself, to be enjoyed and intended to lead us into deeper worship and intimacy with God. They are in the things we do every day, even things that God created as necessary for life, like food. When we exalt these good things and lift them into God's rightful place, that is the essence of idolatry.

One of the most poignant illustrations of a good gift that threatened to become an idol is the story of Abraham and Isaac. God's promised son, whom Abraham had waited and waited for, even beyond hope and physical capability, threatened to become more important to Abraham, and so God tested him. God was asking Abraham, "do you love me more than my gifts?"

John Piper, in a book he wrote on fasting, writes this:

"God did not call for this "fast" because Isaac was evil. On the contrary, it was because in Abraham's eyes he was so good. Indeed he seemed indispensable for the fulfillment of God's promise. Fasting is not the forfeit of evil but of good." (emphasis mine)

Work itself is one of God's first gifts. Despite what we often hear about vacations, entertainment, and rest, they are all only good when balanced with a healthy amount of work (in the Pentateuch the proportion was about 1 in 7, plus a number of extra celebration days in the annual calendar). Work was given to Adam in the Garden of Eden before the Fall. Eve was given to Adam to help him in the work, also before the Fall. Men and women are both given the command to work, and it fits in the structure of the universe that God declared to be good, and very good.

I will admit, up through high school I was a loafer. I preferred the altar of the sluggard. But my senior year I discovered that if I worked hard I could actually do pretty well. I caught the success bug. Not that I stopped playing altogether (I still really like to play). But I discovered the joys of working and feeling the satisfaction of a good days work and the results that come with it. I was hooked. I used to watch T.V., play video games and seek satisfaction in entertainment. Now I don't even own a T.V.! I see it as such a waste of time. But my list of 'things to do' has grown, and often nearly overwhelms me. I put pressure on myself to work harder, to stay up later and do more. This threatens a healthy life balanced by periods of rest.

God, in his wisdom, created the world to work in cycles. Ecclesiastes highlights many of these cycles. We have four seasons that rotate. The earth goes around the sun, and around and around and around. Day and night repeat endlessly. "All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again." And God made a time for work and a time for rest.

Hosea ends his powerful book with these words from God:

"O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.

I am like an evergreen cypress;

from me comes your fruit."

What does God have to do with my work? He is the one who looks after me, and gives me my fruit. In the midst of all the seasons of change, like an evergreen he remains the same.

"Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;

whoever is discerning, let him know them;

for the ways of the LORD are right,

and the upright walk in them,

but transgressors stumble in them."

Reminiscent of Proverbs, Hosea calls me to understand these things, to seek wisdom and not foolishness. And by this, turning to the LORD, the wise and discerning can be known, if they understand these things and put them into practice.

Comments - Just Realized

Hey, readers of my blog.

I just realized that my comments setting was set to only registered users, so if you weren't registered, you couldn't comment. Lame. So, now it's open to all! Comment away!!

Very Special Thank yous

I cannot forget to mention several people that have been key in this process of application and decision.

First, the Lord. He is a Master Maestro, and conducts my life in movements that I couldn't not dream up. What a ride!

Very special thank you to Dr. Moreau at Wheaton College Grad. School in the Intercultural Studies Dept. He was willing, on VERY short notice, to write a very kind recommendation for me. And special thanks to Ms. Hu (who will, ironically, never read this because she lives in China and blogspot is blocked here...) who also wrote a recommendation for me.

Another special thank you to Christine (who also will not read this because it's blocked). She arranged the relationship with Guo Qiyong, that will undoubtedly prove pivotal for my future.

Thank you to Brother Lauren in Hong Kong, for his words of wisdom, guidance in things philosophical, and for the suggestion of studying at WuDa.

And always and forever, thank you to my wife, Emily, who encourages, supports, and cheers me on even when I'm down because my Chinese is not as good as I think it should be.

Scholarship Results are In!!!

Yesterday morning I made a phone call to the student affairs office at WuDa (Wuhan University) hoping that this time they might have the result of the scholarship, and they did.

I GOT IT!

So, as I've been keeping you hanging with all the details, here's what has been cooking. There are a number of pieces to the puzzle, so I'll try to keep them straight.

Piece One: Stepping into Philosophy

For several years now I have had a desire to study for a PhD so that I can teach a subject (as opposed to English Language) here in China. Because my undergraduate degree was in English literature I thought I might go that direction, until about a year ago. When Emily and I changed organizations to ERRC (by the way, check out the book we each contributed an article to, that was recently published!) the president of ERRC gave us a book relating to our work and Chinese intellectuals. In it there was some mention of a particular situation unique to China.

The situation caused by the cultural revolution and subsequent events in the 60s and 70s moved religious studies under the umbrella of the philosophy department in Chinese universities. This can be both good and bad, but in any case, that's what it is today. This piqued my latent and long-lasting interest in philosophy. The thing that I liked most about literature was the ideas that stories can contain, in essence, the philosophy that stands behind the literature and motivates its particular form and ideas.

Through discussions with students in the past four years teaching, particularly the Bible and Culture class, my interest in Chinese Philosophy had greatly increased and I was considering doing comparative philosophy, Chinese and Western/Christian. This little bit will come in later...

Piece Two: Relationships 1

When I decided to make the switch to philosophy, I knew I had little resources invested there, so I had to start basically from scratch. And as I did a little research on it, it seemed difficult to enter into a little later in life. Most people who go on to do PhD's in Philosophy either do Philosophy of X in their particular field, or they already have a Bachelor's in Philosophy. Neither of these options really seemed to be what I was looking for, so I started looking elsewhere. I emailed a couple of different people, hoping for a few footholds that might stick and help boost me on the way. I had no expectation for what was coming.

One of the two people I emailed is a professor in Hong Kong. He goes by Brother Lauren with friends (and his wife, Sister Mirasy) and he very early started calling us Brother Jesse and Sister Emily. He's a believer, and has taught at Hong Kong Baptist University for some 20+ years, in Cantonese! I would call him a linguaphile (he loves languages and is quite capable in more languages than you can count on one hand), and a philosopher (that means, lover of wisdom). I had asked what I thought was a very large request coming from someone he's never met, to help me write a decent philosophy paper that could be used in MA/PhD applications. He agreed to that and much, much more!

We launched on what I see as being a life-long friendship and mentorship, not just in philosophy but life as well. In an early email I thanked him for taking so much time to work with me and he said that the feeling was mutual, that he is always looking for younger people pursuing the Lord and similar goals in philosophy that he can lead along the path after him. He's somewhat close to retirement (closer than me anyways...), so to find someone he can pass the torch to is a great encouragement to him, and a great help to me.

However, we still have not arrived at my pursuit of an MA in Chinese Philosophy at WuDa.

Piece Three: Directions

As you may remember, I taught English at Wuhan University for four years prior to this year. Wuhan University is distinguished by a number of very excellent departments and programs, and ranks among the top 10 universities of China. Among the excellent programs/departments is the Philosophy Dept, which finds company in the top three philosophy departments in all of China, the other two being Beijing University and FuDan University in Shanghai.

Knowing that I was in Wuhan and very interested in Chinese philosophy, Brother Lauren strongly encouraged me to make time to, at the very minimum, sit in on a class or two in the philosophy department while I was taking Chinese classes. We made a visit to Brother Lauren and Sister Mirasy over the Spring Festival holiday (February-ish) and he said if it was possible and if I would consider it, that the MA from WuDa might prove to be quite valuable in the future.

Part Four: Relationships 2

At this point I started seriously considering doing an MA in China, in Chinese! Emily and I met with Christine, a former colleague of mine from the English Department at WuDa, to chat earlier last fall. She thought philosophy was an excellent choice as she is finishing up her PhD in Philosophy at WuDa. She suggested I contact a certain professor of Chinese Philosophy, Guo Qiyong, who is very well known, not just in China but internationally as well, to be my tutor. I thought it was a wonderful pipe-dream at the time. I spoke barely enough Chinese to get by in day-to-day things, like eating and traveling.

My Chinese has greatly progressed since last fall, and other things have developed in the area of relationships as well. Coming back from Spring Festival I told Christine I was very seriously considering studying at WuDa and she immediately jumped on it. She called her tutor, who happens to be good friends with Professor Guo, and through that contact she obtained full agreement from Professor Guo to be my tutor!!! I hadn't even met him yet when he agreed (and, when he had agreed he asked about my Chinese, if that tells you anything of how well he knew me)! I was now committed to an MA in Chinese Philosophy at Wuhan University!

This is a difficult aspect of Chinese culture for Americans (and Westerners in general) to understand, that a relationship can sometimes or often trump other things that we value very highly, like knowledge. And it can also be a challenging road to walk for those from the outside, taking steps into unknown territory through heavy fog that most likely will never lift. I have been comforted by some Chinese friends though, who have said it's mostly foggy for them too.... :)

So, through a series of relationships, what is called guanxi in Chinese, I will be tutored by a very great Chinese Philosopher, and of NO doing of my own.

Part Last: The Scholarship

This brings us around to the scholarship itself. I have had a great privilege to study with some very kind and helpful Chinese teachers at HuaZhong University of Science and Technology. One in particular could see my seriousness in studying and knew I was planning on eventually studying Chinese Philosophy, and suggested I apply for a one year language scholarship for next year. Because of her suggestion I decided to apply also to WuDa for a larger Chinese Government scholarship, which felt like it would get me one step closer to the MA at WuDa.

So we have been waiting on the edges of our seats, waiting for the result, which just came out Friday morning.

From what I understand, these are the details of the scholarship (these are subject to all rules of change in China, which means hold it with an open hand; but I'm pretty sure about them...which doesn't really mean anything):

- 3 yrs long

- Full Tuition for all three years (annual tuition is approximately Y19,000 (~$2,800)

- Monthly Stipend of Y1,800/mo. during the school year for all three years

During the first year (starting this fall) I'll primarily be focusing on a continuation of Chinese language acquisition. Still a long road ahead in that regard. I'll probably take one Philosophy class each semester, and go through it with a tutor to really grasp it well. Years two and three will, hopefully, be more Philosophy intensive, as well as learning Classical Chinese.

That is the course as it is charted for the next three years, pending ocean currents, good winds, and much grace from the Lord. May His name be praised!

HSK Blues

Yesterday I took a practice HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) exam during class time. It's the Chinese equivalent of the TOEFL, which all non-native English speakers must take if they want to study in the States. It was fairly short, and mostly painless. I actually laughed to myself a few times. Not because it was so easy, but because I had no idea what the question was asking for.

Today in class we scored our tests. All together I scored almost 35%. This may appear terrible at first glance. Who wants to correctly answer only 1/3 of their exam? But it's graded on a scale between three and six. The better you do, the better your placement on the scale.

The test has four parts (listening, grammar, reading, and comprehensive), each part is scored separately, and your total test level is determined by the average of the four section's levels. I won't belabor the explanation. Anyway. On this practice test I scored approximately a level 3. The lowest. BUT, my teacher was encouraging. She said with only a little more practice I should be able to get to a level 4, no problem.

That bodes well for the future. Next year I'll take it again (probably more than once) and make a summit attempt (of the middle level test), to score a six. Until then, I'm thinking of taking up the saxophone, and playing a little blues.....

Mao, and Living in Another Culture

Well....I called the Foreign Student Office this morning, and they still have not received the scholarship result. The girl whom I have now become very well acquainted with said she was pretty sure it should be in by Friday, and to call then.

If this should seem strange to you who live in the States, don't let it bother you. :) It's part of what I like to call 'the game.' Every culture is a game, with many many unspoken rules.

If you've ever played the card game Mao you might understand just a little bit of this idea. I learned how to play in college with some very good friends. Ahhh, I miss those days (and I miss you guys!!!). What great preparation for cross-cultural work.

Game Spoiler (read on if you already know how to play Mao, or want to cheat a little; if not, skip down to Living in Another Culture)

In Mao there are nearly always a few who have never played, and a few who have. The only thing you're told before the game begins (if you've never played) is that you cannot be told the rules. A few kind people may tell you that you cannot speak either, except at special times. If you speak when you shouldn't, you get an extra card. And, if you break a rule, you get a card. You may be given a curt description of why you got the card, but it's not likely to help much. For example, someone might say, "talking" and give you a card, or "failure to say ______" and give you a card (that one is a little more helpful, sometimes).

Pretty quickly you find out what a great failure you are, and you have a large amount of cards in your hand. For the beginner the game is basically watching, and getting cards. You make errors and get cards. And then you figure out a rule!!! There is MUCH rejoicing (only very silently, because if you were to shout out, hurrah!, you'd get a card too). However, after a while, after observing and collecting cards, you may just stretch out a bit and try to penalize someone else. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you don't. If you're wrong, you'll get penalize a card. But, you begin to get the hang of it and it can become quite fun, especially when you are no longer the newbie and you get to penalize some other sore beginner.

I'll not share anymore, so as not to spoil too much fun, but if you would like to introduce this game to your friends I have several links below to help you introduce it to your circles.

Living in Another Culture

Playing Mao is like living in another culture. I don't know all, or even most, of the rules, even after playing the game for five years! Granted, there are A LOT more rules than Mao. And every day is a learning experience. It could bother me that this is the FOURTH time I've called, hoping to hear whether I have the scholarship or not. But if I take my cues from my Chinese friends (and NOT my foreign ones who don't know the rules anyway) I'll play the game MUCH better, and I may even win from time to time. I learn when to act, when to speak, when NOT to speak. And the coolest part is, once you've got down the basics, you even get to add your own influence to the rules...but I don't want to spoil Mao for you. You just have to start playing.

If you've never played Mao, and don't know ANYONE who knows how, here's a site that has all the rules and a description of the game. It'd be great to introduce to your family and friends! (In all fairness, if you don't know how to play but know others that do, it's much more fun to play-learn rather than read-learn) And this site has some interesting history, possibly tying it to...China...of all places. Wikipedia also has a fair description, also alluding to the infamous Chairman of my current homeland.

Special shout out to Jason P. Walters, Jill (who very recently got married; yay Jill!), Sarah, and Kristian and the rest of the gang with whom I had many fun late nights playing many different card games in preparation for cross-cultural living.

Monday monday

Last night we had dinner with a fabulous couple and our friend Catherine. Lots of encouragement and getting to know one another better. The husband, Peter, will be a visiting scholar at U. Chicago - Urbana/Champaign, and his wife, Jessica, and daughter, Emily will accompany him. They're a little pressed for time to get their visa's. Something you can pray for. And if you know anyone in the area, or of good churches that they can attend, let me know. They'll arrive in August.

The result for the scholarship is supposed to come in today. I'm going to call the office ar

ound 9am. We'll see if it's moved back yet again...... :P

Other than that, the weather in Wuhan has been quite unusual. By mid-May we are usually sweating through our t-shirts two or three times a day. But we're still hovering around the 70s this week. Yay for a lingering Spring!

Lazy Saturday Afternoon

Sitting here with my wife on a lazy saturday afternoon. Got to talk with my brother and his wife this morning. Finishing the third load of laundry.

Made a dessert for movie night with some friend's kids that are staying the night tonight. Em and I are committed to finished our last 25 thank yous from our wedding (sheesh!).

Reading a pretty boring article on philosophy, can't wait to finish it. A few good things in it, but mostly boring. Waiting for the scholarship call on Monday.

We had a bunch of plans for today and tomorrow, but most of them had to change, due to circumstances.

Tomorrow night we're meeting some friends for dinner whom we haven't seen in a while. The husband teaches Chinese Literature at WuDa and the wife, who just last year finished her PhD in Religion (with an emphasis on Christianity), teaches at Hubei University (Hubei is the name of our province). They're all going to the States in August (I think somewhere in the Chicago area) for a semester where he'll be a visiting scholar.

That's all. (thinking of you, Sarah)

Minor Set-backs

Minor-Set Back

Yesterday was 'one of those days.' I left home early to try and mail my computer back to the States (I'm using my wife's right now), and after two and a half hours it still wasn't mailed. Long story short, the warranty I have is only good if it's fixed in the States, but mailing it back and forth will be just about the same cost as it would be to have it fixed at the Dell Repair Center in China, without a warranty. I'm in the middle of a process of getting the ownership changed to International, which may allow the warranty to be carried over to China, in which case I'll be able to save a good chunk of change having it repaired in China.

Still waiting to hear back on the scholarship. Just a few more days now!

Emily and I had a great time talking with our friends who live in the housing complex last night. It's their first year in China and they were talking about the experience of living in a foreign country for the first time.

In summary, it takes an enormous amount of energy! The wife described it being like the electric scooters we recently bought to get around. You charge up at night, and all day you're wearing the battery down, and sometimes you don't have enough juice to make it home. You charge up, and spend it all. You charge up, and spend it all. Up, down, up, down. And some days you don't have enough charge to even make it out the front door (on those kinds of days it is sometimes best to just stay inside; other times, it's important to get out and 'have an experience', kind of like Maverick in Top Gun; his flight instructor knew that if he didn't get out in that plane right after his crash he might never fly again).

In essence, that is what sociologists and missiologists call 'culture shock'. And it's not a one-time deal, like it just happens in the first year as you're adjusting and getting used to things. It comes around and around and around. It's just a constant readjustment of your thinking. And for as much as we try to explain that feeling in detail, with story after story, so that friends and family back home can understand what we're experiencing, the truth is you will never really know until you experience it yourself.

Guest Book

I'm trying this guest book thingy at the bottom, cuz I'd love to know who stops by. If it's troublesome I may delete it. But for now, if you stop by, leave a short note! Say Hi! Comment on something!