Qingdao University Teacher's Fun Run

On Thursday, December 17, 2015, Gary and I were invited to join the Qingdao University Teacher's Fun Run along the beach. Gary was unable to attend because he needed to create 7 different final tests for his classes, so I went without him. I took a university bus with some of the teachers in the Foreign Language department. We started at Shilaoren Beach and walked 7.4 km to Qingdao Polar Ocean World.

As you can see there were a lot of people there to walk and run with us. Each department of the college carries their own flag.

 

This is the flag of the Foreign Language department. I found out that we are now a college, too. 

 

Some of the teachers from our college. 

 

My friend's Kathy Wang and Gretchen Li. I love these ladies. We all teach English in the post-graduate department. I teach speaking and listening. They teach reading and writing. We may be doing a class together during the 2016-17 year called Learning American Culture Through Games. The three of us and one other teacher, Hannah Liu, who could not be there with us, go to lunch every Tuesday together. We talk about a lot of things. It is fun. Instead of taking the bus home, I rode home with them. We have become good friends.

 

This is Dean Li and I. She is the head of the Foreign Language English Department, both the undergraduate and post-graduate. She is such fun.

 

So this teacher is young and she carried our flag. She is very competitive, so she wanted us to run. I ran with her most of the way, but could not run at the end. I think I probably ran 5 km. I am so proud of myself because I don't like to run. With about 1 km to go, I let her run ahead. She ended up getting their first.

What a fun afternoon this was with this wonderful group of teachers. I felt so good afterward. It reminds me why I need to get out and walk every day. They do this every December and I hope to be able to do it every year when we are here. What a great way to support my colleagues and the University who hired me.

December Festivities

So even though most of China does not celebrate Christmas, we introduced some of our friends to a Christmas dinner. We have also had many activities so far this month that are different from other activities we have done. I thought I would share these with you. We have had a busy December and it is not going to slow down in the next two weeks. 

This week is Christmas and we already have a Christmas dinner with friends on Christmas Eve (This is with Amy, the young lady I tutored last year, who now goes to the University of Nebraska, and her family and our friends the Hwang. Pictures, of course, will come later), Christmas morning and then Christmas day at a spa, courtesy of a student of Gary's, a birthday dinner Christmas night with Jessie and her daughters, Kesha and Jane (one of our Korean family friends), our branch Christmas party on December 26th. The for New Year's week we have an all-expenses paid trip to Huangdao (a part of Qingdao just across the bay) for three nights. Huangdao is trying to encourage tourism, so they want to show foreigners the sights so we can tell others to visit that part of Qingdao.

The first new thing Gary and I did was go to a new Brazilian Barbecue place. Think Rodizio Grill. Delicious Food!

 

The two pictures below are of a wonderfully delicious cup of chocolate mousse!!

 

The pink side is to tell them to stop bringing meat and the green one, of course, is for them to keep bringing it!

Christmas Party with our Chinese Family

Because we can't be with our children at this time of year, we have some substitute Chinese children. We had a Christmas party last Saturday night to show them some of our traditions. However, we did not have a traditional Chinese dinner. We had Chinese hotpot. It was homemade and very delicious. It is a sauce, one was spicy and one was not. You heat it really hot in your pot and then add meat and vegetables and cook them in the hotpot. We played the present game and played "Go Fish". They love this card game. It helps them practice their English. During the evening I was wishing our children were with us, but we know they are celebrating Christmas at home in the states. We hope their Christmas is wonderful!!

From left to right: Li Zhixing, Leo, Caroline, Abner, Cherry and Gary. I am behind the camera.

We are so grateful for these friends of ours who help us not miss our children and grandchildren so much. I think of our children and grandchildren and family every day even if I don't talk to them for a while. We love them and want to wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

So yesterday was Thanksgiving. This was our second Thanksgiving in China, but would be our first real Thanksgiving dinner. Gary made reservations at a restaurant called "The Canvas" for us. We decided to take 5 of our closest Chinese friends to dinner with us, so they could experience their first Thanksgiving dinner: Caroline and her boyfriend, Leo, Linda Hu and her husband, Chen and their daughter, Christy. For some reason we don't have any pictures of Linda and her husband.

It was a wonderful night!! We had turkey (and I mean real turkey. Usually we have to settle for chicken), mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, vegetables, roll, salad and for dessert pumpkin pie cheesecake. So delicious!

We also got to have some fun and do some dressing up. See what I mean!

As is typical with Thanksgiving dinner, I ate too much and was full afterwards. It was just such an enjoyable experience. It made me feel so blessed that I could have Thanksgiving dinner with people we consider family here when we couldn't be with our family in America. The Lord has truly blessed us with an abundance of wonderful family and friends.

I am so thankful for all the Lord has given me. I am thankful for Gary and his sweet love for me. He takes me as I am and loves me anyway. He supports me, encourages me, teaches me, and truly cares about me. 

I am thankful for my children. They have truly been the greatest blessings in my life. They continue to teach me about the kind of person I want to be someday. They achieve, learn, grow, make mistakes, get back up and try again. I miss them very much!!

I am thankful for those who I consider my children both in America and in China. They are many. They are family. They are a part of me. 

I am thankful for my parents who taught me to live and love the gospel. They taught me about what a marriage is, both the good and the bad. I am thankful for Gary's parents who raised him to be the wonderful man he is today.

I am thankful for my siblings who continue to help me and who continually strive to be better each day. They take care of our parents because I cannot. They take care of their other family members and friends.

I am thankful for the rest of my extended family. They are many from both my side and Gary's side. They are amazing.

I am thankful for my best friend. I miss her so much. She has always been there for me and I hope I have been able to be as good a friend to her as she has been to me. She has gone through some tough times, especially in the 6 or so years I have known her, but she keeps going. She has taught me how to endure and enjoy!!

I am thankful for all of my other friends, old and young They help guide me along my path and make my journey more enjoyable. I watch them as they go through the changes and challenges in life and have so much admiration for them. I watch as many are becoming adults and going out into life. They are bringing souls unto Christ, becoming wonderful disciples and becoming even more wonderful as an individuals every day.

I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord is my shepherd. He guides my love. He protects me, helps me, strengthens me, forgives me and comforts me. I do not know where I would be without the gospel. I am glad that I am a part of it and will continue to try to be strong and be like my Savior.

I am thankful that I am in China. I am thankful for the opportunity to grow, learn and become a better person. I am thankful for the experiences here that help me to know that I can do hard things and that no matter where I am in the world, I can feel the Lord's love for me and His hand in my life.