to infinity and beyond

Ok so I know I posted a blog entry just a little while ago. That was actually an entry I'd written a couple of days ago. I decided to give this event its own entry because it is an event of that magnitude. But don't get too excited. Last night we watched CCTV9 as China launched it's 3rd manned space mission with the objective of achieving their first space walk. I'm not sure what I was feeling as I watched the countdown and the lift-off. It was some combination of pride, nostalgia, and child-like awe.

I really am proud of China's achievements. It is amazing to be here while they are making these advancements. It's what I imagine America like in the 60's. I was also proud of the U.S. I really wish I could have watched the first moon landing. I know that is China's ultimate goal and that the entire nation is very emotionally involved, but I can't imagine the pride of watching your country win a space race and achieve what no other had before. And we foreigners were kind of cracking jokes during the t.v. segment, but I can't deny that seeing astronauts (no matter what country) strap themselves to a giant rocket still makes me feel like a young boy. No doubt there will be millions of young Chinese boys pretending to be whichever famous Chinese astronaut first places his foot on the moon. And that's the way it should be.

John

october holiday looms

Hey everyone. I know it has been a long time since I blogged. The problem is that not a whole lot has been going on. We've been having a lot of fun getting to know the new foreigners in town and of course we've had a blast reconnecting with the returning foreigners. October holiday is coming soon. Megan and I are going to Beijing. We will get to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and all other such wonders in China's capital. After a few days in Beijing, we'll be headed down to Qingdao, the beautiful city by the sea. It's the city that hosted many of the 2008 Olympic open water events. I am confident that upon our return I will have plenty to blog about.

I've been listening to a lot of lectures recently on apologetics and the logical idea of a Creator. Its been some really interesting stuff. I've also recently read two fantastic C.S. Lewis books, The Great Divorce and The Problem of Pain. I would recommend both of them as well as the lecture on the latter by Peter Kreeft.

Our work here is going really well. Classes are under way and we are getting reconnected with our students. We have met some really interesting and interested people in the community so we really count ourselves blessed by that. Ok that is all for this post. Hopefully I'll post again soon and upload some photos to Picasa.

John

once upon a craw fish

So I did something kind of interesting last night. We went to a little outdoor restaurant beside the river that runs through our town and ate craw fish. We got gloves and everything. The craw fish were actually very good, but it was a lot of work to get the meat out. I think I got hungrier from working so much. We also had bbq fish. It was pretty good too. That's really about it for this blog entry.

Oh I read an article yesterday by Michael Medved. I won't go into great detail, but the article was about how the New Deal lengthened and deepened the Great Depression. It article was fascinating and it documented how throughout the course of American history, depressions and recessions have been dealt with most effectively by reducing government spending and lowering taxes. With all the media flurry about the ongoing campaign and who is changing things and who is pregnant and who has what kind of experience and who is too old and who is too young, it's nice to read an article about plain old conservative principles. If you would like the link to the article, drop me an email.

John

optimism

So yesterday we visited our new campus. Someday it is going to be a very impressive campus. Yesterday, however, it was a construction site. Our school is hoping to start classes on Monday, but the teachers have their doubts. Our building doesn't yet have all the things necessary for class. (blackboards, desks, windows, walls etc.) We tried out the route from our old campus to the new campus yesterday as well. It's only about a 20 minute walk. The problem is that it's up hill the entire way--much of it is very up hill. Our students are utterly unhappy with the new dorms. They aren't all finished so they are cramming six students into rooms meant for four. They have no desks in their rooms so everyone is wondering where they will do their homework. We are optimistic about the new campus though. The progress made in five months (the last time we visited) has been amazing.

Optimism. It is a wonderful feeling. Some of you know that this year we are living on the old campus and all of our students are moving to the new one. This was more than a little discouraging for us. We love spending time with our students and we fear that living so far away from them will make that more difficult. This fear often weighs heavily on us. But more and more often we are optimistic. These moments often come unexpectedly. Yesterday after touring the new campus we boarded bus K16 to go back into town. The bus takes you back into town by going the long route around the north edge of Shiyan. The traffic is very light there and the hills are beautiful. We came to a stop light and I spotted a small child waddling around in his split pants. His mother noticed us sitting on the bus, and she scooped her son up and waved at us with a pleasant smile. And if you live in China for a while you get used to being noticed. You get tired of being noticed. But her smile wasn't one of intrigue. It wasn't rude. She wasn't leering. She was telling us she was happy to see us, and I was overcome with optimism. This will be a good year. The Gardener will make everything ok.

John