G-Prov in Beijing

Enjoying Beijing till the last

2008-08-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

Will you come back to Beijing??

eight weeks

2008-08-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

friday, ACC officially ended.
It all happened so quickly: in the morning, we had our written finals, then oral finals, and in the afternoon the graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, I gave a graduation speech, representing the fourth year students. I was truly happy and honored to have been given an opportunity to thank our dedicated, caring teachers, recollect good memories and share how I've learned to appreciate all things I had taken for granted (like the rare amazing blue sky we had yesterday), all while using our nifty sentence structures. Yea but really, this summer in Beijing was so much more than I anticipated and could have imagined: being out of many of the zones I had grown used to over the course of my life, I was made to open my eyes, re-examine everything, count the blessings poured out in the past present & future, savor them as if beholding them in sight for the first time, experience miracles and faithfulness, and grow in joy and wisdom. Amazing.

mm After the graduation ceremony, the language pledge was over and all the students suddenly started speaking in English. This transition was very strange, as all the ACC students had been adhering to the pledge for the whole eight weeks. So suddenly they were expressing themselves in fluent and complete manner, conveying sophisticated matters, in contrast with our slow, stuttering Eng-inese. We enjoyed this at our graduation dinner at the Peking Duck restaurant nearby! Talk about 热闹!

“亲爱的老师们和同学们。。。”

Totally unexpected surprise: Beijing Olympics!

2008-08-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

The logic was that since I was in Beijing, I needed to go to at least one Olympics game; it would be nonsensical and embarrassing if I had to tell others that I didn't see any games while I was there. But in fact, I didn't give much thought to this.

Until, out of the blue, Carol emailed us and told us that she had five women's handball game tickets for us. Thus, my first Olympics game and my first handball game.

In regard to the sport, I am pretty much a 外行 as in I didn't know anything about the sport until I found out I was going to see the game and wikipedia-ed. And I told my family that I was going to Russia vs. Korea game and they got very very excited. Why? Because apparently the Korean women's team was going to get gold this year. Their dramatic story of earning a silver medal after an intense final match (which ended only after two overtimes and a shootout) was made into a heroic movie which became very popular.

And the real game was so much better than the movie. Though only a preliminary game, the Korea-Russia game was more dramatic and exciting than I could ever imagine: till the first half, the two teams were neck and neck, and the second half saw the Russian team getting ahead with 8 points with fifteen minutes left and the Korean team catching up within the next ten minutes. In the end, the game finished with a tie. Also the cheering war was just as insane.

Again, thank you Light for allowing us to be here at such a dynamic time for Beijing. I am beginning to get into a reminiscing mode as the program is coming to an end, and looking back, my time here has just been so sweet, better and better day by day.

He's got the whole world, in His hands, He's got the whole wide world, in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands

2008-08-09T21:53:00.001-07:00

O what an exciting day!

Because this Friday, ACC decided to substitute the normal weekly test with "ACC Olympics," in spirit of the 2008.08.08 Beijing Olympics. Naturally, instead of spending my Thursday preparing for the next day's test and reviewing the week's materials as usual, I decided to 出去玩一玩。

First of all, such JOY and SPIRIT. I'd been craving the freedom，really really thirsting for the blessing presence in Church. So I was quite disappointed when BICF (Beijing International Christian Fellowship) canceled its scheduled prayer and praise nights... but thank GOD I was enabled and encouraged to go to Embassy-- the young adults ministry at BICF which meets every Thursday night at 7:00 pm. It was my first time, and I wish I had begun earlier but at the same time very glad and grateful that there was a start, so I am not sure if it's like a ministry with sermon messages or if it's more like a small group (except with 50 of us) of a chill atmosphere. But it was definitely a very chill and also warm-feeling place.

Second of all, I think I've met more people in this one day than I had before in the whole two+ month stay in Beijing.

Now, let me talk coherently and in chronological order.
3:30 I went to see Jen's jewelry store in Hongqiao Pearl Market area 红桥市场。I met Jen through Carol who met Jen while she was in Beijing on Light Fellowship and became very good friends and sisters soon after. It was our second time visiting Jen's store "J.A. McClelland of IDAHO" but the chic yet chill feel of the store never cease to amaze me... sort of a luxurious spa feel even. It was really cool to get a tour around the store (piece unique? wine rings? napkin rings? mother of pearl?) and an introduction on pearls. Even cooler was to hear how she came to be blessed with this opportunity, what it's like to be the "first Caucasian to open a store at the Tianya Jewelry Market", how this business experience challenged and motivated her to discover a different side of her, how it's actually hard to be a boss and to run a business, etc. Her stories were so interesting, especially because many aspects of business she described I'd never even thought to think about. I got to talk more to her on the subway on the way home. It's so fascinating to hear about how people make decisions in their lives (like the one to come live in a totally foreign country) and come to walk on a path that gets them to where they are at this point of life. It's so odd and interesting and mysterious and even awe-inspiring, when one pauses to really think about it.

7:00 Embassy! Amazing time!
Like I had hoped, I met a lot of new young people, all doing various interesting things in Beijing and all from different places on Earth. It is so refreshing and mind-blowing to see how big the world is, how diverse the world is, and how we are all united in one Hope, all gathered here by these designed paths to meet one another by some one out of six billion chance. Guess who I came across? Susan Chan! When we were talking and she introduced me to a bunch of her friends, people would be like "so are you guys classmates? friends from back home?" and I would grin and say "actually, Susan admitted me!" hehe yeah Susan was my admission officer in charge of my area and she admitted me and sent me a very friendly and heartfelt letter afterwards. We also met a year ago at our area reception... and now we were in that room half way around the world from NorCal at the same time! so cool! It was great that she was a really involved member of BICF and that we were talking of this funky miracle, these blessings and trust: and I got to thank her in person and tell her everything about how I love Yale. She was happy to see the "fruit" of her work ;) and wanted to hear more about how I was doing at her alma mater, so we are going to meet up for a meal this week!

And once ignited, the excitement fired up when the Tedder family worship band led the night.

The Spirit was so present.

中国之夜 China Night

2008-08-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

First of all, China Night (in other programs, may be called Beijing Night) was so good, far exceeding my expectation. (Side note: I've never thought myself to be a complaining type but since I got to Beijing, I've been pretty lame and complaining a lot. I don't do that anymore-- most of the time-- especially since the 'turning point' of my life in Beijing, which was the Philharmonic Orchestra concert which I am still very thankful for. 心灵深处 thanks to GProv, Yale guanxi, and Carol.)

坦白地说，I again complained 抱怨个不停。。。 Because the preparation was so intense. I think all of us ACC students had in mind a typical summer camp talent show level of an event, and in accordance to such small scale of expectation, we just thought that the prep would also be very casual process, enjoying-the-experience kind.

But no, the teachers were hard-core: this was no children's play talent show. Because we had invited our 'host' families 中国家庭, we had to put on the best show, 代表 ACC and how it's the 最理想的学中文的项目(the most idealistic program for learning Chinese: this phrase is commonplace here in our daily lives because teachers and staff brainwash us to repeat it, and I guess 在莫种程度上，we believe it), or at least, 顾全面子 in front of all the guests. So after super 紧张的 rehearsals (also very last-minute), finally the China Night.

It was cool to see some individual students perform pro Taichi sword, rap 中国话 Chinese pop song by S.H.E., sing a melo ballad song 童话, do a situation comedy, and more. Also, the respective classes 二年级、三年级和四年级 put our own show which included silly funky songs (like 四年级，真轻松~作业和考试~黑尔诶哟~我们都是一筹莫展: 4th year class, real relaxed~ homework and exam~heyoheoh lalala~we have no other choice/ at our wit's end?), class skits, and group singing.

In addition, because my extracurricular's 民歌 Chinese folk songs, my class sang "茉莉花 (Jasmine Flower)" and "北京欢迎你(Beijing Welcomes You, the 随处可听 2008 Olympics song)." Very cool, I think everyone coming to ACC must take 民歌. Qibure 老师 who is from Inner Mongolia 民族 taught us the famous folk song Jasmine Flower and also couple other minority ethnic songs. Not only is this an exotic, enjoyable experience (especially if you love singing!), but also she loves music and she really wants to pass that enthusiasm onto her students. I loved it.

Anyway, overall it was cool. The highlight of the night was the very end-- WHO would have known that singing 大中国, a very... I don't know how to describe it so it goes like:

我们都有一个家, 名字叫中国 We all have one home, it is called China
兄弟姐妹都很多, 景色也不错 We have many brothers and sisters and real beautiful sceneries

我们的大中国呀, 啊好大的一个家 Our grand China, one very big home
经过那个多少, 那个风吹和雨打 Been through a lot of hardships, hurricanes and rainstorms
我们的大中国呀啊好大的一个家 Our grand China, one very big home
永远那个永远那个我要伴随她 Forever, forever, I will accompany her

中国祝福你你永远在我心里 China~ bless you~ You are forever in my heart
中国祝福你不用千言万语 China~ bless you~ I need not say more

Only when all of the ACC students and teachers came up to the front to sing this song, did I realize what a pumping song it was. I was just singing this song like any other songs and I actually felt 感动 like I am getting this heat of patriotic love for China. Maybe it was just that everyone was all of a sudden 过分激动 (got too excited) and was shouting out the words, singing at the top of our lungs, intoxicated by the crazy 'qi' going on in that room. It was comparable to when people all gather for New Year's Eve countdown, their spirits already insanely high and yet building up up up, and finally 3-2-1-0 *boom*.

刘老师和我

冯老师和我
-怎么那么像小孩子似的？她太厉害/可爱。

梦麟和我
-朋友！！！

音乐会！

2008-07-22T22:48:00.000-07:00

让我喘气的一天

Back in my room after class yesterday, I was squeezing my brain on this 侦探故事 cracking a criminal case in which a 19-year-old kid was kidnapped. 真复杂! For some reason, I literally spent hours trying to solve this. I think I really wanted to find out if I could get it right if I put my mind to it, but as I found out today, I didn't even get the 答案 right in the end.

And then, Carol called me. She asked if I had time that evening.
不要明知故问，of course I did! I welcomed the question with such enthusiasm, no matter if I just spent two hours trying to crack a mock kidnap case and still have 一连串儿的 homework left. Because I knew something was up... something fun. ha! Thank you, Carol!!

*The Philharmonia Orchestra of Yale in Beijing at the Forbidden City Concert Hall*

Whoa, this Yale network 耶鲁关系 is great in Beijing. And Forbidden City Concert Hall?! So cool! I felt like such a VIP going into this grand concert hall and sitting literally in the center seat in the middle section of the audience. (I think it was the best seat I've ever sat in all of my experiences of going to concerts and performances.)

LEONARD BERNSTEIN Symphonic Dances from West Side Story
CAMILLE SAINT-SAÃNS Cello Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 33
ANTONAN DVORAK Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”

It was incredible!
The Philharmonic Orchestra consists of Yale School of Music students. That explains the degree of professionalism (and yet so youthful). Ah it was a beautiful sight. I felt like crying out of happiness, to hear the melodious soothing music of Largo (often known as "Goin' Home") from DVORAK, to hear the unbounded thrilling Mambo from the West Side Story and to hear a beautiful rendition of a Chinese folk song. The music I heard last evening was more moving than any: perhaps because I hadn't heard the Star-Spangled Banner majestically played by the full orchestra in a long time... but more because I just felt so at peace and I was able to forget for those two hours that I was in an odd place called Beijing and just close my eyes and sink into the magnificent m, surround sound filling the whole auditorium, filling my soul, which was just perfect.

Lovely Carol and Grace
- Beijing

Encore! Encore! 再来一次！两次！三次！

Midterm trip to 大同

2008-07-20T02:24:00.001-07:00

Sleeper train for 7 hours overnight 硬卧

Hanging Monastery 壮观

Our 导游，native Datong人. She had such a spirit when it came to her city. And at the end of the second day, she even sang "Don't want to say goodbye" song for us.

嗨，Hanging Monastery in a miniature form at a temple museum.

让我高兴极了的是。。。

2008-07-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

YES I finally have time to sit at my computer, listen to good music, 轻松一点, talk to my little brother, and write my blog.

Because our 期中考试 mid-term is over. 可以说 our first semester is over.
Here, I feel like time goes by really fast (half done, already!) and yet slow (I feel like I've been here for a very long time already). Anyway the mid-term was intense: 8am to 12pm, a written test and two-part oral exam. The written part was not bad because ACC has an effective instruction style and a systematic curriculum and also we had a good review the day before. But the oral part was pretty 厉害. For the first part, we had to find a newspaper article and give a report on it: not only was finding an article that had a manageable number of words I didn't know very difficult, but also our 10-15 minute presentation had to utilize vocabs and sentence structures we had learned. The second part was a bit easier: it was questions and answers related to the texts we had read in our textbook, again 应该富有我们学过的生词和句型。

I've already said this, but the class always challenges me intellectually. It forces me to really think about my answers as we discuss social problems, moral issues, culture, human behaviors... and it's great that I am made to think about things I usually take for granted or shy away from asserting my beliefs. I am made to express who I am: where I am from, what my parents are like, what the cultures around me are like, what I believe in and what I value, what I accept and what I don't, what I say and don't say, what I admire and what I don't even consider worthwhile of mentioning or giving a thought to, 什么的。。。

Anyway the test is over! I was so happy that I skipped my way to the cafeteria for lunch.

Tonight, we leave for 大同 Datong for our mid-term field trip. I realize I haven't really gone on any of ACC trips or explored Beijing after Reachout, so I am excited! I am determined to take as many photos as I can. But more than that,

when I was in Seoul last month, my grandma twice gave me this advice about traveling. During my visits to grandma's house, I would show her pictures I took of Yale and of China during Reachout trip and also nudge her to please come visit the States, at least for my graduation (She always replies she doesn't know she'll live to that day. For my 90-year-old grandma, "the end" seems not difficult of a topic.) Anyhow, she said: "Ai I've traveled enough in my life: (counting with her lovely wrinkly fingers,) mm I've been to Japan, to Guam, and to the States several times," she tries to prove that she doesn't need to fly 12 hours on the plane to America again. "But one thing I regret is, I just casually traveled around, 대충 건성(怎么说呢。。。随便?）didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the scenery and all, so now I don't really remember the places I've been to. ("Umma... that's because you've aged and your memory too, not because you didn't pay attention at that time," Aunt says, grinning.) Anyway, when you go to China this time, Susie, you should try to keep every scene in your mind, store and cherish for months, years, and for your lifetime. 다 열심히 보고 기억해두고 머리에 다 담아서와. 수지 넌 그렇게 해. 할머니는 그렇게 안 했거던. 그렇게 해둘걸, 그런 생각나고 그래서." 할머니 보고싶다.

Rare.blue.sky

2008-07-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

North Gate of the 首都经贸大学 campus

- usually the sky is just white/white-grey, too bright, blinds the eyes, deprives sky of sky-ness
- when the clouds/smog are finally lifted and the sky regains its original color, the weather actually counts as good, as a good summer weather, with real sun rays, warm and burning
- and everything regains its original colors, when white reflecting shield is temporarily gone

And this kind of special day calls for a special picnic.
So I went to 798 Art District with my Language Partner (yubanr), Fu Jia.
Fu Jia studies fashion 服装
and she likes art, modern, traditional, fashion, illustration, photography, sculpture, everything.
798 Art District is one of my favorite places in Beijing (along with the Summer Palace 颐和园).

798 Photo Gallery, I believe.
Wow.

In case it is not apparent, this photography piece has ancient architecture standing on top of green hills which are piles of construction dumps covered with green construction site cloths. Beautiful, no? The exhibition is titled "Concealment and Reconstrueing New Mountain and Water."

I don't remember which gallery this was, but it's more than realistic.
Very similar to the one I saw at an art museum in Korea last month.

This one

医院 Part II: 看病（不是‘看医生‘）

2008-07-12T09:22:00.000-07:00

And so my third visit was just last week.
There was a very heavy rain one night and I happened to be out. As a result, I got thoroughly soaked although I had an umbrella and all. This and others, it was not the happiest day all in all. Anyway after that day, I got sick. I had serious fevers and chills and headache and sore aches all over. Turned out I had swollen tonsils 扁桃体发炎了. I learned that there was a whole another level of 'I feel sick.'

Anyways, so on Wednesday, I went to a hospital with the younger sister of one of our ACC teachers and the teacher's 2-year-old daughter (thank you, 肖老师!). And thank goodness, I would have totally been confused and lost, had I gone by myself. Not only is my Chinese very insufficient, but also the hospital is one hectic and complicated place. We did some registration, purchased a card with money in it (?), went to the ENT, waited for ten minutes, had a doctor check out my tonsils, got sent back to the front desk to put more money in the card, went to the blood test place where the nurse casually pricked my finger (ow it was so quick that I couldn't complain but that sting hurt) and took drops of my blood, waited another ten minutes, got the result, went back up the ENT, had the same doctor look at the result and tell me to drink more water and eat less spicy or oily food (am I not in Beijing?), got the prescription note, came back down to put more money in the card, and got the medication. 肖老师 even came to the hospital after she got off work to see how everything was going and to help me with figuring out how to take each medication. Really thanks to them, it was not bad at all. (No 打针 or surgery 手术 ha!)

Now I'm all good. My 扁桃体 seems to have fully recovered, as Ｉ can swallow my 'mouth-water' with no pain and my head doesn't ache anymore.

I am still surprised though. I thought I was pretty healthy. I was never this ill before, you know. Beijing is just so full of new experiences for me.

医院 Part I

2008-07-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

My first hospital visit in Beijing was actually a month ago with Reachout Beijing, when we visited China Japan Friendship Hospital to observe the medical facilities, talk with doctors and hospital management, and stirred some questions regarding 中医 vs.　西医。

The second one was a week ago when half of the 4th year 中文 students went to 送堂临终关怀医院 for our language practicum。(Our teacher said, “这家医院是中国第一个为临去世的老人服务的医院，那里有很多老人，在他们去世以前可以去这家医院生活，医院为他们提供很多帮助，除了健康上的帮助以外，医院还给他们精神上的满足。所以医院欢迎所有的人去医院看老人，给老人表演节目，和老人聊天，让老人晚年的任何不那么单调无味。如果你也想去了解一下老人们的生活，可以为他们带去快乐，星期五可以和我们一起去。” which basically sums up as "This hospital is China's first hospital for the elders who do not have very many days left to live. So the hospital takes care of these elders, helping them spend their last days in comfort and satisfaction. If you want to understand how these elders live and bring some happiness to them, come with us to the hospital.")

It was vastly different from other 'homes' with the same purpose, mainly because the ones I'd been to before were all in the States. When I thought of the words like "old people" or "homes," I got the picture of happy old people with shiny silver hair sitting in comfy chairs casually playing bingo or chatting in cheerfully decorated rooms in nice modern building, or strolling the grassy yard with colorful flowers. At least, the ones I'd been to in California were like this. Yet, there were bound to have some lonely looking grandpas and grandmas who seemed grumpy or whose memory was not very complete.

But here, that California sunshine was absent.
I can't make judgments about these old people's happiness or well-being based on the facilities or the 'atmosphere'... but I see a ubiquitous shadow cast in the scenes slideshowing in my mind. Though the hospital staff took us to a friendly, talkative grandma who had become relatively comfortable with her life during the last eight years there, I couldn't avoid noticing that 'death' was present in that place. It was inescapable: in the drab grey walls, in the blank eyes of a bony grandpa lying on the white metal bed staring at the grey-white ceiling while the nurse and his family members helped him with urinating, in the strange pink spots on the peeling skin of the back of a grandma sitting in the narrow aisle staring at the ground, and in the downcast faces of the family members sitting at the bench in the grey corner, their eyes gazing without particular focus and their sigh without much hope.

Shock? I don't know why. Death is the most obvious fact in human life, the most natural truth. Nothing strange or unexpected about it. Then why was this hospital so sad? so scary? It was my first real face-to-face with DEATH. This hospital just made obvious what should always be obvious anyway. If anything, its name even forewarns its visitors that it's all about this phenomenon called death (临终: 'approaching one's end'). But then, are all TRUTHs not downright sad and scary?

2008-07-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

不是我自己照相的，是上网时找到的。真好笑！

When I say

2008-07-11T01:22:00.000-07:00

Break my heart for what break yours

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/30/AR2007033002079.html
and sharing the heart of these suffering people and the lost people that brought tears to His eyes and passionate prayers to His lips. and knowing the Heart.

Being able to feel was the wish of the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz
but I think it is also the wish of many of us, quietly, subtly, and unknowingly.
The yearning for the warmth to melt our hearts and to dispel the coldness of the hardened, for that freedom to break free of many binds including the ice cage.

Emotions and devotion would overflow
and our strength to bear and our hope to live would be beyond ourselves

If we only had a heart.

譬如罢

2008-07-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

A day looks like this:

-morning-
6:00 am wake up, get ready, listen to 课文 again, prepare for that morning's 听写 (as a continuation of last night's memorizing/ cramming 80-100 words), and go to cafeteria for delightful breakfast

8:00 am 上课 wooh 大班课 ("big" class) with 6-7 students, understanding and analyzing the text and learning sentence structures

9:00 am 小班课 ("small" class) with 4-5 students, reviewing and practicing speaking sentence structures in sentences
These two classes are super fast-paced and requires full attention ALL the time, more so because everyone is very talented and motivated.

10:00 am 对话课 ("conversation class") with 2 students, discussing/debating topics like pollution, imperialism, plastic surgery, family structure and values, public apathy, and guest culture... really fun! I mean, we have homework for this class every night, writing paragraphs and using our structures, but the actual class is quite enjoyable!

11:00 am 单班课 ("individual" class), one-on-one talk with a teacher on the text, which usually branches off to what I think about the topic, how the phenomenon affects the U.S. and Korea, how it relates to my life and my background, etc. It's also pretty chill yet wonderfully thought-provoking. This time not only gives me a chance to digest the things we learned and discussed up to that point but also curiously challenges my assumptions, interpretations and perspectives, making me pause for a minute and really think about my answer. It is truly fascinating.

-afternoon & evening-
12:00pm lunch!!
1:00 pm study- homework- prepare next day's class- this takes basically all day because between 1 and whenever I go to bed that night (10? 11? 12?), the only other things I do are 进步 fitness center for swimming, extracurriculars 课外活动 at ACC (I chose Chinese folksong 民歌 and painting 国画), dinner and calling home.
I need to get settled in, still. Need to get into a pattern/schedule. And need to explore this area, find places. Finally, do this now, before the summer goes by, 转眼。

Outside of Hongqiao Pearl Market
Very different from our campus location

A random Olympics exhibit in a shopping mall
-terracota style

First week, whoa.

2008-06-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

Thus was my first week at ACC.
How was it? 非常非常好。
I not only survived but I found myself fairly smoothly getting adjusted to the work schedule and workload here and pretty successfully managed it. Now I am more than all right with speaking Chinese 24/7 and I've started thinking some simple thoughts in Chinese in my mind, even. And the texts we've read are very very interesting- revealing a lot about the modern China and the modern society in general (like plastic surgery 整容 and Lu Xun(!)'s satire on reform 拿来主义). The class can be described as a Chinese + sociology + history + literature + public speaking + and more. I feel so lucky.

4th year classes have 13 students and 9 teachers! What a teacher-student ratio. Each teacher is very able, energetic and helpful; and yet have differing personalities, which makes each day different. I really enjoy to my 对话课 for that reason. Also, whoever my 对话课 partner is that week, we have fun: yes, we debate social problems and phenomenons like historical and modern imperialism and value of 'beauty,' but we also crack jokes (in Chinese, of course) and assume extreme positions just for the sake of the discussion. And we practice using our new vocab and sentence structures and find humor in our own stammering awkwardness. It's really fun. And all the teachers are really chill and genuinely curious about our opinions and our lives.

Plus, I think our 留学生　餐厅 cafeteria food is pretty excellent. Breakfast- two 包子 and one boiled egg would be 2 kuai, one fried rice would be 2 kuai, if you add a glass of orange juice, only 3 kuai! Every morning I look forward to breakfast :P because they often have 粥 rice porridge which is only 0.5 kuai oy (I love 粥 and the nearby 粥 place has 粥 priced from 6-14 kuai, same stuff, too). And I am still not too hot on Chinese food but cafeteria food is just enough- rice, some cooked veggie, and a beef/chicken/pork. And we get to eat with other ACC 同学 and teachers especially Zhang 老师， our awesome field director.

Our campus is pretty small. It's the size of the Old Campus. We walk here to get to the South gate which is where all the fast food restaurants (Chinese style 快餐 like beef bowl and beef bowl), 进步 fitness center which ACC seem to have some connections with (We get ACC student discounts and everyone goes here. It's a really nice 4-story gym with nice clean swimming pools and work-out equipments and yoga/dance/aerobics classes all included in membership... we are told to go out once in a while instead of just staying in our rooms studying all the time), and Wal-mart. And also the nearest subway station, Dawanglu.

subway screens bags for security "安检"

ACC 开始上课了！

2008-06-21T08:01:00.000-07:00

ACC's first day today

But before that, let me tell you about what I've been up to till now.
I got here 首都经济贸易大学 in Beijing on Wednesday. We live in a double room in a foreign student dormitory which is really not bad: the room is pretty spacious (more than double the size of my double room in LDub), has a bathroom, a TV, comfy beds, nice desks, air conditioning and hot water, and a safe for our valuables. Having a roommate is nice because otherwise we might lock ourselves in our rooms doing homework or just avoid socializing and having to carry on Chinese conversations. And this building we live in is very convenient because it has a pretty good 餐厅 with tasty food, low price and fast service and it's connected to another building with classrooms and the meeting room.

I took the placement test on Thursday and on Friday found out that I got placed into the fourth year Chinese, along with my friends Nick and Rachel (woohoo!). I had taken Chinese 130 (second year intermediate level) at Yale... so this goes to show how awesome Yale's Chinese program is (and also maybe that the four years of Chinese in high school helped me more than I'd realized). When I found out the result, I was KTVing with my Yale friends at Wudaokou... I was excited to receive the news (because I kinda wanted to see if I would get into the fourth year class :P) but very very 着急 at the same time. But I didn't think about it too much because I had faith... do not worry... and I wanted to make the most out of this KTV fun and enjoy singing non-Chinese songs before the language pledge took effect the next day (nah). Anyhow so I gave it a try.

I figured that the class meeting on Saturday after the orientation should have given me some idea: I had to try hard just to follow the teacher introducing the course and explaining some logistics. Doing the homework last night made me realize that ACC was going to be a lot more challenging than Chinese 130. A lot. I have a feeling that I am going to discover a new dimension of challenge.

然而 today's class was good. Genuinely good. ACC teachers are awesome. They're like Chen 老师 from Yale (since she used to teach here) except even faster-paced and more energetic. Simply put, they really care. And also today's 听写 was fine (yay) and though many times I felt like how I feel when I am trying to cross the street with a lot of traffic, looking left and right and left and right and trying not to become a roadkill, I got through it! Ya I couldn't understand at all when I first tried to listen to the CD without reading the text. Ya out of 84 生词, I knew maybe 5. Ya I would get lost in class and had to ask the teacher to repeat or clarify multiple times. BUT it will be okay... and more than that, it will be GOOD.

Besides, I blame the fact that I haven't studied for real for over a month... I am not used to this sitting-in-the-classroom-paying-attention thing quite yet. But I'll learn, I'm sure.

Olympic spirit on campus

In

2008-06-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly... And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus..." Colossians 3:16-17

What does it mean to do things in the name of the Lord Jesus? What is in His name? (This is a real question, not a rhetorical one, so please tell us what you think.) I believe in His name is His strength (triumphing over the darkness by His strength and by His authority), His purpose (Christ's life solely for, by and from the Father's purpose and thereby His grace and His glory), His promise (of salvation, the kingdom in Heaven and the Spirit dwelling in us) and His lordship (full obedience to and trust in Christ and what flows from there: new self and good fruits including joy, peace, humility, wisdom, righteousness and love).

Jesus said: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works." (John 14:10) and " "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

So I believe, all in all, it's like when you say "I am acting in *'s name," you are basically working with *'s authority, doing *'s work, serving *'s purpose, with obligation to fulfill and with authorization from *. In that particular capacity and situation, you put on an identity of * and you become * himself. except in the name of the Lord Jesus is no acting, and is in every aspect of everything. So Christ-life becomes us. One and the same. Like a Venn diagram that is described by A ∩ B = A ∪ B.

Abide. in.

Let us abide

2008-06-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing... If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:4-8

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. Isaiah 32:16

a·bide [uh-bahyd]
–verb (used without object)

1.	to remain; continue; stay: Abide with me.

2.	to have one's abode; dwell; reside: to abide in a small Scottish village.

3.	to continue in a particular condition, attitude, relationship, etc.; last.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to put up with; tolerate; stand: I can't abide dishonesty!

5.	to endure, sustain, or withstand without yielding or submitting: to abide a vigorous onslaught.

6.	to wait for; await: to abide the coming of the Lord.

7.	to accept without opposition or question: to abide the verdict of the judges.

8.	to pay the price or penalty of; suffer for.

—Verb phrase

abide by,

a.	to act in accord with.

b.	to submit to; agree to: to abide by the court's decision.

c.	to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep: If you make a promise, abide by it.

Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:6

I write to you, young men,because you are strong,and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. 1 John 2:1

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16

To live, willfully

Great Wall

2008-06-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, June 3

Great Wall at Jinshanling in Hebei.
We left the hostel at 6:40 am and arrived here around 9. Then we hiked ("walking the wall") for four hours, 30 towers total.

The wall was like one giant roller coaster, just like Warhol said. It soared, then dipped, then was flat for a bit, then plummeted again. The stairs, for the most part, were very tall and crumbling and even missing.

There were many vendors trying to sell us merchandises like T-shirts, postcards, water and snacks. They said they were farmers from towns nearby (though not exactly near... two hours away walking, since no Beijing public transportation in rural provinces like Hebei) who were out of work and had to survive somehow. They tagged along from the mouth of the wall and climbed the wall with us, for a good third of the hike. They told us some about the hike and about their situation, offered to take group pictures for us, and held our hands when we slipped a little on the dangerously steep, sandy stairs. One woman kept pace with me: she told me that this part of the Wall has been kept pretty much the same since the Ming Dynasty time (so at least five hundred years), that all the broken stone stairs and crumbling walls were left unrenovated because people liked 旧的（old), that she would really appreciate it if Ｉ could buy some small things before she left our group to go back home, and when I told her I would really like to help her but had not bring any money with me (which was true), that she r would appreciate it if I could maybe throw in some good words to my friends, to ask them if they could buy anything from her instead. They declined. I felt torn. I regretted not bringing money. I felt like I took her 'service' without paying any tips or something. What could I do to return the favor of this nice lady who reminded me of my own grandma? I just thanked her and had to turn back to catch up with my group walking toward the next tower up high.

It was such a perfect weather for the 长城 walk. It was sunny but not hot. It was cool and breezy. The sky was blue(!) with a few beautiful clouds floating. Wonders, right? And the air was crisp, so fresh. I felt liberated, having endured the Beijing air for more than a week. I was inhaling as much of this good air as I could, like a fish that was just thrown back into water and gasping for its dear life.

A suspension bridge! Whoa! There was a beautiful lake beneath.

(courtesy of Eileen) Peregrine, Rachel, Lisa and me.

Random snapshots of Beijing

2008-06-05T01:30:00.000-07:00

The wonderful hostel

2008-06-05T00:32:00.001-07:00

This hostel is so awesome. It totally exceeded my expectation. The interior, the rooms, the breakfast, the internet, the hipster street, the super friendly and helpful staff, the maps. I highly recommend it to anyone. ~ Susie Park, an enamored tourist

南锣鼓巷　the hipster street our hostel is on

Got some cool cafes, cool T-shirt stores, cool handicraft places...

The hostel! So cool, isn't it?

That's right. Peking Downtown Backpackers!

Stepping inside, you will find really nice front desk people, cool flags around the world hanging from the ceiling, and little blurbs on the walls left by previous backpackers who inevitably also loved the hostel.

Beijing on the wall.

Kongfu on the wall. And this is our 8-people room. $14/night. Very nice.

Basically the beds are very nice, comfortable and clean. Right now, our room is very messy, but it's an excellent room. The bathroom's nice, too. We get hot water 24/7. And air conditioning.

They even booked my plane flight to Korea for me!

June 4

2008-06-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

I was just browsing through NYT's Picture of the Day at breakfast when I came across this: "Thousands of people gathered to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre in Victoria Park in Hong Kong. The event brought together human rights activists from many groups as well as those concerned about the needy on the mainland, including the victims of the May 12 earthquake in Sichuan Province. Hong Kong is the only part of China where such open expression of political and social concern is permitted."

The next picture: "Paramilitary policemen in rain gear patrolled Tiananmen Square in Beijing on the 19th anniversary of a massacre there."

My friends and I were just blown away by this discovery.
June 4, yesterday. We passed by Tiananmen at least three times by subway. The day before, we were walking at that very place where it all took place. And we had no idea.

One thousand.

Breathing gets harder

2008-06-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

because the 空气 in 北京 is pretty bad.

I have hard time breathing freely because there's a lot of air pollution going on. And as many of you may know, smog is everywhere. We get very excited when we see blue sky (or bits of blue sky among greyness).

So from Day One, air's been a problem for me. I got sensitive throat gene from my mom, who got it worse than me when she went to Seoul last time (Seoul's air is like New Haven's, I think... not too terrible.) Having an irritated throat is very... irritating. I kinda lost my voice for few days at the end of last week. And I skipped out on karaokeing (I know, for those of you who know me well, this is not usual).

But it's kinda getting better. I got these Chinese medicine which is herbal, rather than Advil-like. The throat doesn't hurt anymore :D I went to the pharmacy and said "你好。我的嗓子疼。不是感冒。是因为空气不好。有没有嗓子的药?" which means "Hi. My throat hurts. But it's not cold. It's because the air is bad. Do you have medicine for throat?" And hey it communicated, I think. I can't really read the label on the box or description inside. But looks about right.

When we went to Great Wall on Tuesday, it was such a liberation. So much fresh air!! I never appreciated clean air so much. A bottle of refreshing air. Bottled at the top of the Great Wall at Gold Mountain! Nature's gift.

This is why I love baozi

2008-06-03T06:49:00.000-07:00

whatever package
China

Face

2008-06-03T06:36:00.000-07:00

I can only imagine

So I've sung all year long in Living Water
The song by Mercyme goes like this

I can only imagine
What it will be like
When I walk By your side
I can only imagine

What my eyes will see
When your face
Is before me
I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine ...

When we went to visit the Lama Temple the other day,
I saw this Buddha statue. And the face just struck me. (Partly based on something I'd read a long time ago) It was serene and merciful and warm and patient and wise and all-understanding and good and of motherly and charismatic authority: yet it was contemptuous, distant, unapproachable, of fearful and judging authority.

A perfect God would have this face, I thought (or asked).
How Love, Justice, Grace, Power, Wisdom all become complete and seamless in Him, the Creator, the Savior, the Judge, the One in Control, the Teacher, the Lord. I can only imagine.

It's a wonderful thing.

Outsiders in the Outer Ring of Beijing | First week of Reachout III

2008-06-03T05:14:00.000-07:00

DWJ

The first week we volunteered at the after-school program by the Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC). Jing, Peregrine, Colin and Ｉ worked at the Dawangjing site every afternoon to help with homework and lead the English class.

DWJ is a very interesting place. It is so lively. When I enter the mouth of the DWJ village through an arch with the name, it's like I am entering a wonderland, though immediately off a grey traffic-jammed road. I mean, it's not any less noisy or less hectic; actually, it's everything condensed on the much narrower passage. But the ten-minute walk through the heart of the village is such an experience, thrilling even. On both sides, I am surrounded by the savory aroma of street food, sounds of "好消息!好消息!" from the speakers of stores, cages of chickens cooing, ground dug up for construction (the street would have new poles installed and new holes in the ground day by day), loud chattering and bargaining of the people, motorcycles and bicycles everywhere, beeping cars trying to squeeze through the crowd somehow, children chirping and running around.

Again, I can't even describe it.
Although DWJ is definitely not a tourist-attracting, pretty part of Beijing, but there is so much beauty in the joyful noises. Though the children run around with dirty hands and runny noses, though the women do not carry parasols to keep their faces pale and soft, though the men walk home with their bare chests covered with dust and cement mingled with sweat, DWJ village lives, and lives loudly and colorfully.

The week we got to spend with these elementary school kids was precious.
We often sat among the kids doing their homework for the first hour. Though all I could do is check their English homework or attempt to help with their math homework with my broken Chinese and I distracted them more by talking with them than what I should have been doing, the kids were amazing. Most of them were so eager to learn, so studious for their age... I got something to tell my little brother now ;) I also noticed that they had a lot of repetition kind of assignments.

For the second part of the program, we led an English extra-curricular. Sometimes I joined the sports class or hung out in the homework center with kids still working to finish their homework, but most of time I worked with the rest of our crew in teaching the kids English conversation like buying stuff at a store and taking transportation to places, played games like Simon Says, and danced Hokey Pokey. The kids made it so delightful: whenever they would one by one jump up like little bunnies to answer questions and say the phrases we just taught them, whenever the shy ones whispered the answers with bashful smiles, whenever they would excitedly race across the small classroom playing the traffic game, whenever they winked and shook their heads embarrassed after their cute attempts at the answer, whenever the ones who finished their homework early would peek at the visuals we were prepping for the class and try to read the English words and help us make them, whenever they asked us at the end of class 'Are you coming back tomorrow? Are you coming back next week?'...

I am going to miss DWJ a lot.
These children of the Father so deserve to be loved.
We received so much love from them that every time they said "Thank you, teacher!" and gave us cards and posters and crafts they'd made for us, I couldn't help but think how I could've showed them more with love and served them with more of my heart. Even now, thinking of them gives me a little heartache. It was them who taught me the word 爱心 too.

Your sheep, Father.

Outsiders in the Outer Ring of Beijing | First week of Reachout II

2008-06-01T16:33:00.000-07:00

Monday, May 26

The situation of China’s Nongmingong, or the migrant workers, is analogous to that of the South American workers who come to the States looking for work, except that these migrant workers are also Chinese, not from other countries. They come from various places all across the vast land of China to cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and most of them live in the outer rings of Beijing, away from the lively center of Beijing, away from the hub of dazzling neon signs and tourists-dominated Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square.

We got off the taxi and walked for a good thirty minutes on the road overrun by construction and surrounded by dirty apartments, falling shanty quarters and ironically flamboyant advertisements for luxury villas, before arriving at the alleyway leading to the migrant children school we were looking for. At the end of the narrow alley of eroding grey cement walls with spray-painted numbers and a big pile of stenchful trash and rubble of bricks stood the school, with its red metal doors closed. Honestly, I thought that they looked like those of a prison. But when we opened the doors, it was the most magical scene I had ever seen. Honestly.

The run-down playground was so alive, the most alive thing I had ever seen, if I may say. There were children everywhere, running around, playing ping-pong, laughing their happy laughs, shouting at the top of their lungs, loud and chaotic but not unpleasant at all. It was as if this place was a heaven of children. (And I definitely don’t mean it in a sense used by toy stores or Chucky Cheese in advertisements.) It was a sheer wonder, as heaven is. I don’t think I can even describe it. You had to be there. Do these children know how precious their heaven is and how priceless and beautiful they are? They shine.

Once the children spotted us, they started running toward and crowding around us, pointing fingers and excitedly shouting “外国人!外国人!” (meaning foreigners). Where else would one receive such welcome? :) “Hello!” “Welcome!” “American!” Little bursts of English words they knew greeted us from all around us. Really, they were so cute. Looking up at us with their twinkling eyes, walking away with shy smiles, whispering into friend’s ear and giggling, taking our hands to their classroom, playfully tussling with friends, playing dump on the ground. They had such light in them.

The children of the migrant workers often go to schools for migrant children specifically, due to the neighborhood proximity or special education need. As many migrant workers frequently move, following where the jobs are, mostly physical labor such as construction, their children become subject to the disadvantage of inconstant schooling and of lack of social integration. Also, because they are not residents of Beijing legally, migrant children have to pay tuition to attend Beijing public schools, and when they reach the age to enter college, they cannot take the 高考 (gaokao: college entrance exam, a singular factor in admissions) in Beijing. In addition, most migrant children have both parents working all day long, whose circumstances do not allow them to look after their children very much even if they really wanted to.

The bell rang. “上课! 上课!” The kids that had filled the whole ground promptly streamed into their classrooms. After we floundered for a moment, half of our group went into a class. It was a rather narrow, poorly lighted classroom, but nonetheless full of fifty shining children. They all sprang up when we entered and gave a good shout, “Good morning, teacher!!” which startled us very much as we awkwardly told them to please sit.

Rachel, Peregrine, David and I taught English, reading from their textbooks sentences like “Ants like honey because they like sweet things.” or “Little panda is climbing the bamboo.” learning Chinese words along the way, helping with translation, and going over sentence structures. The students’ age varied from twelve to seventeen, but all in the fifth grade (I think). The discrepancy of individual educational background for each child is one of the difficulties for migrant schools, which have much more students than they have teachers and resources for. Anyway, many of the children were very eager to learn, shy to ask questions but very bright. The little desks, loudly repeating English sentences after the teacher, cute metal pencil cases, they all reminded me of my own elementary school days too.

I wondered about their dreams, their futures. What did they think about college? Or middle school, even? Did they know about, or think about, their situations being different from those of Beijing children? Perhaps we were doing them injustice by framing them as pretty photographs, simply cute, happy kids. I mean, I immensely enjoyed the experience, but why were we here? I pray, not for me.

Outsiders in the Outer Ring of Beijing | First week of Reachout I

2008-05-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

Nongminggong 农民工 "migrant worker" and their children "migrant children"

Buzz | First Day of Reachout

2008-05-28T08:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday 5/26
Went to Yale Club of Beijing brunch
Good food, erm interesting speaker (personal photographer of Andy Warhol who accompanied him on his visit to China twenty years ago). oh yeah the documentary we watched at the end about that visit was quite hilarious. for example, Warhol would try to imitate the face of the lion statues in photos or draw a doodle with a black marker to gift to a famous Chinese painter ("I drew dollar sign because that's the only thing I know how to draw.") or complain that he didn't know he would have to walk so much and ask if there's an elevator when climbing the Great Wall. ha

Subway!

Tour of Peking University
Then in the evening, when it cooled down a bit, we toured Beida (short for Beijing University, which is the same thing as PKU). The campus was so big! It seemed that if you were to walk from one classroom to another, you have to travel through a forest, around the big lake and so forth. But later, I was told that we were walking in the park area of the campus. We (= our Reachout team, 9 of us total, an awesome group!) took funky photos in front of the Tower of Scholarship. After we took many many photos at different places, we walked a long way to meet some PKU students at the dorm building that Jing (our cool 老板, TD 2010, who organized this whole trip) used to live in, when she did Yale-PKU last fall (I think).

Chat with Yale-PKU
This was priceless. We got to talk with the PKU students, many of them were in this DS-esque college-within-college international affairs program and some in Model UN and some roommates of Yale-PKU students. We talked for about two hours, on Olympics, development, environment, human rights, gaokao (China's college entrance exam), Beida experience, crime scene in New Haven, their perception of America, and more. From time to time (often), our conversations got pretty heated-- especially talking about the long-run effectiveness and consequences of all the changes being made in China before the Olympics. I personally was surprised to see the heterogeneous opinions expressed by the PKU students: yes, some students seemed a bit defensive and quick to pit their view against what they saw as 'anti-China,' and some seemed very dubious about democratic ways (they all stressed the role of the government in bringing about changes, saying that 'we' can't do anything ourselves). But there were students who seemed to be keenly aware of the crucial time China was at and to reason with the reality, their insider's perspective and outsider's criticisms and advice. I realized I had not contemplated the multiple dimensions of these issues myself before taking up positions that advocated 'social justice,' seemed only right and only noble. I had forgotten about the national excitement and stimulation that 1988 Seoul Olympics brought to not only the city but the whole nation. I had forgotten that the US and Europe had also gone through the same, if not worse, Industrial Revolution period which produced so much pollution (and smog and epidemics and more). I had neglected to see that it had to be China and the world, not China versus the world, to achieve social progress and solve these problems and enlighten the population and again with other parts of the world.
Though I don't know what thoughts each of us left with, it was a memorable experience, to be able to have this kind of exchange with these students freely (though pretty formal and intense it was).

Hello from Beijing

2008-05-24T06:21:00.000-07:00

我在北京！我真不敢相信！

I am here! After twelve hours of exhausting yet enjoyable flight (my plane was super lively because it was full of college students going on some program in Beijing), I arrived at PEK airport. As soon as I got inside the airport, I felt like I was in a giant greenhouse. Yes, it is pretty hot here. I mean, it's not like there were strong sun rays but it was just so humid that your body cannot but feel sweaty and sticky.

But other than that, it was amazing to finally be here! Meet my Reachout buddies, settling in the cool youth hostel (Beijing Downtown Backpackers... it's really nice), walking around the busy streets full of cars, exploding buses, smokes, people, dogs, Olympic signs, motor scooters, and of course bicycles, ordering food and asking stuff at the phone store with our excellent chinese, etc.

I am in China.

D-3

2008-05-20T20:14:00.000-07:00

I still can't believe I am going to China.
And only three days left.

Right now I am watching a DVD about Beijing. .. "What? I am going to be there by the end of this week?" Ooh... street market. Yum... Peking Duck! Did you know that more than a third of all bikes in the world are found in China?

For the past week, I've watched the Last Emperor, tried watching Chinese TV (while Dad and Mom asked if I understood any of it), abstained from eating Chinese food since I would have a plenty soon enough... :)

I feel so unbelievably blessed that I finished freshman year, that I lived at Yale, and for a year, that I get to go live in that country this summer.

Can't even begin to think about what will have happened in three months!