Students, Teachers & Gingerbread Men, Oh My!

           This week has been amazing. Tiring, but amazing. I have learned a lot with just observing. And that is what the first week of student teaching should be: observing. I think this is especially important when the first week of student teaching coincides with the children’s first week of school. I don’t know the routines the teacher wants to set in place. This way I learn the routines along with the children. It was nice to have those few days at the school before the children started, but it only prepared us up to a point. Once they came in that Tuesday morning there was no slowing down!

The first week was filled with a lot of exciting “special” events and activities. We had the All School Assembly in the big Gym – we have three, no maybe four gyms? My favorite activity was on Thursday when the gingerbread man stole our cookies for snack. He had us looking in the Head of School’s office, Elementary Principal’s office, the library, and the nurses’ office before we finally caught him in our own room AND about to eat the cookies. Now we keep a very watchful eye on him in his place on the cupboard! Another awesome event occurred on Friday with the grand opening of the new Elementary Library. It is absolutely beautiful. And all those fun books! I wanted to just sit down and start reading. And if I was enchanted the children were even more so.

I am already falling in love with the class. It is small, with only 12 students (it is usually higher), but that means more attention for each child, right? That is certainly a plus. They seem to be doing really well for only four days of school! They have taught me so much already.  Some are seemingly quiet, but when you talk to them will tell you the most fantabulous stories!!! I especially enjoy watching them look at books and observe what they pick up on in a book. But I would have to say my favorite moment was when a student sang me his favorite song. In mandarin! (I am by the way, really wanting to learn mandarin now!)

I love my cooperating teacher. She just knows what to do and when she reads to them they are all quite engaged. She is quiet but in control.  This is especially great for me to see as I am not and cannot be a very loud teacher myself.  It is also really interesting to see how a team of Kindergarten teachers works together. I know it is not realistic in terms of teaching in the states, but it is great in terms of having four people of whom I can ask questions! 

Outside of school we, Ellen, Justin, Heidi and I, celebrated Heidi’s birthday. At a Mexican restaurant. Go figure! (It was a lot of fun though. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!) That was Wednesday and then on Friday we went to a gathering at the Head of School’s house. We are still working on our mingling skills, but by the end we were having a hard time getting away! We really do try to make it to most social events here as we are still getting to know everyone and it is always great to get out! For example, Saturday Ellen, Heidi and I were invited to go to the fabric market. It is multiple levels high, with endless stalls. You can get anything from the traditional Chinese dress, to tuxes, to scarves, to jeans, to sheets! Basically anything you can make out of cloth. And it is personally made and tailored to you. Then in the evening we went to Grace Extended for church. That was an experience. As a side-note we are really not sure where to go for church. Lutheran churches are not allowed. General protestant ones are. That is why we are pretty much trying all the different churches in the area we hear of.

Today was pretty quiet in the morning. Mid afternoon we went to the underground market again with one of the middle school teachers. She showed us where she gets her pearls. (Good tip – go with someone who has been there before!) And then we went to the general market and did some of our first bargaining. We are pretty good! I think… I mean, you just have to stand your ground and leave if they don’t come down in price. Being good at facial expressions helps too I believe. It feels like a game.  I think I could come to like it!

But anyway. Tomorrow starts the second week of school. I hope and pray I am ready for it! I ask that you not only keep myself, Heidi, Ellen and Justin in your prayers, but also our students and our teachers. What Concordia has and does here is incredible, and I what I have seen and learned about it so far is just the tip of the iceberg. Except it’s too hot here right now for icebergs! ;) More on icebergs later!

Blessings to all of you starting your first week of school/student teaching! May the peace of Christ our risen Savior be with you all!

-Elizabeth

Life lived and People met

First off the host family Heidi and I are staying with are the Klammers: Joel, Jane and their son Aaron. Aaron is 7 and is very energized keeping us on our toes all the time! And Jane and Joel have been very kind and welcoming; very good at helping us get settled in and used to our surroundings. We are all truly blessed to have the host families we do!

Maybe this is why it has not felt like a huge culture shock. At least I don’t think so. The first night they made sure to go to Pizza Hut the first night so all we had to worry about was Jet-Lag, not our digestive system. Then again Pizza Hut here serves not only pizza but steak and soup and just about everything you could think of.

We are basically spoiled. A lot of the area seems very westernized. Many people speak a little bit of English. And you can get around. Besides 4 pizza places in the area there is also a Cold Stone, a Baskin Robins, and a Dunkin’ Donuts. The apartment buildings also have a swimming pool and workout area. And basically everyone has an IE, or someone similar to a maid. The Klammers have a new IE, her name is Ping and she is very sweet. She will be picking Aaron up from school, doing laundry and cleaning and some cooking as well. Tomorrow night will be our first time to experience her Chinese cooking so that will be exciting! Jane is also showing her how to make some western dishes.

I am trying to think of what else is different than the U.S. For one pedestrians don’t have the right of way. And they don’t always obey traffic signs. So you really have to be careful crossing streets. On the bright side jay-walking is perfectly legal! Another helpful tip is to bring toilet paper with you. Most places don’t have any. And on top of that they are squaty potties. I don’t quite understand them yet…  Check out the pictures Ellen put up on FB if you want to see one! There are also street vendors. But I don’t really trust them. I haven’t really seen any of the teachers buy from them except the fruit vendor out on the corner. 

It is funny what you can get and what is considered a treasure. Box mixes, like brownies and blueberry are special. If they are in stock in the Westernized grocery store (Pines) they are quite expensive. But other things are cheaper than in the U.S. For example Heidi and I got swimming suites for the equivalent of $6.50. (The Chinese work with money called RMB. About six RMB are equivalent to one U.S. dollar.) Another must see is the market. It is a short taxi-drive from here – another thing which is very reasonable. Heidi and I went once with Mr. Klammer and it was very overwhelming. In fact beforehand he taught us how to say “no” or “No want” as there are times when they will grab you and pull you into their shop. It is at the market where you barter. They will start at a price which might sound reasonable to our western ears but is quite high if you know anything about it. So we hope to go with someone who is experienced with bartering. Apparently it sometimes takes leaving and coming back before they come down to your price. When we went with Mr. Klammer we just looked, but the next time we go, we’ll go with a battle plan.

That is much as I can think of for now. I am sure more will come to me later, and if you have any questions just ask!

Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to especially keep Ellen and her family in your prayers as they go through deciding what is best to do for her Mom. That God gives insight to the doctors in the best thing to do, and that the whole family takes comfort in Christ, knowing God will work all for the good of her Mom.    

Have a blessed day! Tomorrow we start school!

In the Beginning... There was Concordia.

Hello Everyone - aka both of you reading this post! As I think about all that has happened the past few days I realize I should not neglect the blog for so long. (And I also need to alert more people of its existence.)

My first time flying was a lovely 30 hour trip including the layovers and travel to and from airports. Flying did not bother me in the least. I loved it actually! I will try and see if I can post some pictures soon. Our first flight from Chicago to Seattle I was looking out the window the whole time. Mainly because I was determined to see the Rocky Mountains. In Seattle we had plenty of time to catch a bite to eat and call a few people.

Then we said goodbye to the U.S. and headed off to China! This was a very nice plane. Much bigger than the one we had before. (And Ellen mysteriously got bumped up to first class!) But it was a long flight for all of us. Then the stop at Beijing was a lot more hectic what with going through customs and getting our luggage and security - let alone experiencing our first Chinese toilets!

The flight to Shanghai we all slept. Here it was quick and easy to find luggage and were then met with the biggest sign: “Concordia!” A sight for sore eyes! From there we were taken across the river to Pudong (we were in the Pushi airport) and dropped off at our host families. Mr. Klammer, Joel was there to meet Heidi and me and after giving us a short tour of the let us get some sleep

The next morning we were up and going at 6:30, to be at school by 8. School doesn’t start until tomorrow, but we needed to meet everyone including our cooperating teachers. Right off the bat we ran into the new Head of School Mr. Pinnick. After meeting him and others we went to meet our cooperating teachers. It turns out that Ellen, Heidi and I are all in classrooms stacked on top of each other. I am on Second floor with Mrs. Nurre, Ellen is on third and Heidi is on fourth.  Justin will be in Middle school and coaching volleyball (head coach!).

All of our teachers are amazing. Thursday and Friday we spent getting to know them and talking to them, as well as getting to know the other teachers and staff. The place is huge. A separate building each for Elementary, Middle School, and High School. It is taking me awhile to find my way around it. But everyone has been so welcoming and kind so far that if you get lost you can just ask.

The community at Concordia international School Shanghai (CISS) is amazing. Everyone knows everyone. Friday night we had an all faculty potluck. We tried many new things. Favorite discovery that night? Dragonfruit. I will see if I can take a picture of it… Lovely stuff! Saturday was an open house for elementary faculty at the elementary principle’s house. By this time Heidi and Ellen and I were learning about the sharing system. Take one new food item and split it two or three ways so all may try, but not get too full.

This came in handy when we went out to eat that Saturday night with a couple who was also staying with us at the Klammers for a night. We went to a Thai restaurant. Heidi and I decided to get two dishes, a green curry, and a chicken dish, and share both. Needless to say the experience led to us both getting Thai cookbooks on our shopping trip Saturday.

But back to community at CISS. One teacher has Bible Study on Wednesdays which I hope to attend and on Thursdays the Klammers have all the student teachers over for dinner. And then Saturday, besides the open house, we also had an early bread and wine get together at 7 am (Gaudete!). Sunday we went to church at Trinity. While the Catholic Church is recognized as a whole, all of Protestantism is grouped into one single church. Lots of fun right? After church we went to “Mama Kay’s,” Ellen’s host, for a brunch she put on for all the “single lady teachers.” And oh my, what a spread! She must have been cooking for days!

This is getting to be lengthy, so I might just close off soon and talk about more general things I’ve seen since being here. Hopefully after this I can get in the swing of things and not neglect this for so long.

Thank you! More to come… Aren’t you lucky…     

China Here We Come!

So if you had told me this time last year that I'd be part of a group student Teaching in China I would have given you a doubtful look, but would have at least questioned you further about it. But if you had told me I would be starting a blog,my response would have been, "Nope. No Way. Never. Have you ever even read my writing???" I am not a blogger. I am not good with words, or stories. It tooke me way too long to even decide on a name for this thing!

The name is Latin for "rejoice." I don't know about you but I daily need reminders of all I have to rejoice about, namely Christ and his gifts of forgiveness, life and slavation. I am forgiven. YOU are forgiven. It was all done for us in Christ. That in and of itself would be enough to rejoice about. But God is gracious, and gives abundantly! He gives us the Means of Grace where he promises to come to us directlu through his Word and Sacraments; where he forgives and strengthens us so we can fulfill our various earthly vocations.

So keeping this all in mind we head over to begin our new vocations as student teachers at Concordia Shanghai. I am very thankful for everyone who has helped us get to this point. Please keep us and our families in your prayers.

I will miss everyone grealy! Blessings on all your endeavors this fall! You will be in my prayers as well!

Direct us, O Lord, in all our doings with Your most Gracious favor, and further us with Your continual help, that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in You we may glorigy Your holy name and finally, by Your mercy, obtain eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (LSB, Prayer for divine guidance)