A Month Went By

March 3, 2017
10:30 pm
Beijing, China

Well, hello everyone! I’m so sorry about how long I’ve been absent from this blog. The last time I posted, we were in the middle of Winter Academy and things were just insane! I thought that things were going to calm down a bit once it was over, but that wasn’t the case. In fact, now, three weeks later, things are just starting to return to normal. So, I’m finally remembering to write and I’m not too exhausted by life at the moment.

Those two weeks of academies caused a lot of problems in the office. First and foremost, tensions ran a bit high and many of us teachers are still recovering. I think we’ve just seen too much of each other over the past two months, so we’re all getting a bit sick of everyone else. Secondly, the office itself is a mess. Because of rushing about from class to class, many of our classroom supplies and props didn’t get put away correctly (or at all). Unfortunately, with how busy the three weeks since have been, none of it has gotten cleaned up. Neither of these have been helped by the size of the office. There’s not enough space for a lot of the materials, and we’re still trying to work out, as a center, what to do with supplies. Even before Winter Academy, the office felt cramped with the sheer number of teachers we have. Unfortunately, the growth hasn’t stopped. While we haven’t gotten any new teachers, we’ve promoted two TAs to PAs, we’ve hired a new CC (sales person), and introduced a whole new batch of TAs. That adds up to a lot of people coming in and out of the office all day. Plus, the new TAs really have no idea what’s going on. It’s really kind of crazy right now, but we’re slowly getting back on track.

That said, there’s been a lot of great stuff that’s happened the past few weeks. I’ve gone out a couple of time with friends and explored a bit of the “happening” areas of Beijing. We made many fun memories, although there are a couple of places that I think I’ll avoid in the future. Brian and I started Chinese lessons last week. A friend recommended a teacher who lives in Yizhuang. Her name is Amy and both Brian and I really like her. She spent the first class placing us in a book, based on our current knowledge. I think she may have placed us a little low, because none of the stuff we’re learning is new to either of us, but we’re working our way through the chapters at a fairly quick rate. I personally like it—it’s a nice review/warm up—and I think we’ll start getting into new stuff soon.

The other big thing that’s happened is the EF Annual Gala. After Winter Academy every year, EF hosts a big dinner for all of the schools in the region. It’s held at a big convention center in the middle of the city. At the dinner, guests are served a buffet, prizes are given, and each school gives some sort of performance for everyone to see. Here’s the thing, the gala is HUGE! I mean, there’s a red carpet, professional photographers, the whole shebang. On the invitation we received from the company, dress for the night was listed as “formal.” They weren’t kidding. While many women were in nice dresses, there were some girls who went full out. I mean prom-worthy outfits were worn to this thing. I, of course, wasn’t going to spend a ton of money on a new dress, so I just wore a dress I had brought from home. While I still felt a bit underdressed compared to some, I fit in with most of the other people in attendance. Brian showed up in a nice suit and looked very dapper. I believe there’s a picture of him on my Facebook page that he posted. We enjoyed a great time with our coworkers and made many fun memories.

In addition to attending the gala, I was involved in our school’s performance. Emily, our Center Director, went all out for this performance. Apparently, the CD of the school with the best performance gets a lot of bragging points, so many schools put on big numbers. Well, this is Emily’s first year—she started last July—so she wanted to prove herself. Her husband just so happens to work in the film industry as a cameraman. As such, Emily asked him and a couple of his friends to come in and film some stuff at the school. Additionally, she rented out a recording studio for some of the locals to rewrite and record a famous Chinese song (also recorded by Emily’s husband). And, finally, one of the CCs, Queenie, choreographed a dance number based on the final number from a very popular Chinese film. The videos were all put together to look like a legitimate movie and shown at the party. After the film finished, we got on stage and performed our dance number. We were one of the last groups to go, but many people in the audience said it was the most entertaining performance of the night (so we’ll just give ourselves a little pat on the back). After the party ended, Brian and I went out with a few other people from the center. It was really cool to hang out with them outside of work. We talked a lot and got to know them a bit better. After a really fun night, we finally headed home and I collapsed into bed as soon as I walked into my apartment.

Also: Big shoutout to XiXi! I didn’t post a blog on her birthday, though I did remember to text her for both her Chinese and American birthdays. But HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, XI!!!! I miss you dearly and I cannot wait until we can take another selfie together. For now, I just have to settle for photoshopping myself (very poorly) into pictures from home.

Only other thing you missed: I got a haircut. Nothing too much. Just a bit of a style, but apparently it was noticeable. My mom asked about it as soon as she answered the phone that night. I personally really like it and it’s so easy to take care of, which is great because I’m super lazy.

That all said, I want to talk about why I’m now getting back to writing this blog. Those of you who are Ch—istians know that March 1st was Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Those of you who aren’t Ch—stians probably have no idea what that means. Lent takes place in the 40 days (not including Sundays) before Easter, to commemorate the days Je—s spent in the desert tempted by Sa—n. It is a time when most people “fast” from something, the point of which is to rely on Abba when you are tempted, like Je—s had to do in the desert. Many people also add an extra sp—itual discipline to bring them closer to Abba during this time. My family has always celebrated Lent and I actually really enjoy this tradition. This year, I’ve decided to give up chocolate sweets, so no Dove bars or buckeyes, but I’m still allowing myself to have mochas, chocolate cereals, and things like that. I’m also giving up pop (soda for those of you not from the Midwest) in it’s entirety. These are things that I’ve really found myself looking to for “comfort” since moving to China. I want to change this habit, and instead focus on relying on Him when things get tough. I’m also adding a discipline, this blog. I want to get back to recording my experience here and refocusing on aiming my life towards Him. Since I haven’t been writing this blog, I’ve also been bad about doing my nightly devotions. This will help keep me accountable and get me back on track.

Challenge: What are you giving up for Lent? Anything? Why or why not? Is doing so actually going to help you focus on what He is planning for you? How about adding something to your life? In which discipline are you struggling? Try to think of something you would like to improve in regards to your relationship with Him and figure out a simple way to work on that area throughout these forty days ahead.

Words to Remember: Exodus 16:9-16

Goodnight, all,
Kristen

P.S. I will be adding pictures at a later date. There are just too many to upload at the moment.