This is China...

Saturday found us hanging out with new Chinese university friends, most of whom took groups of us to the Temple of Heaven or other sites around Beijing. We met some of these Chinese friends in classrooms on Thursday and some more at "English Corner" - a spot on the People's University campus reserved every Friday night for Beijingers to come and practice speaking English. Most come expecting to talk to other Chinese people and were vere excited to find about 20 Americans there to practice their English on! Our students really enjoyed English Corner, and they've been excited to see some connections they've been able to make with their new friends.
Today (Sunday) we visited a local fellowship and experienced something which is so familiar to us in a totally different language. We couldn't understand the words, but we enjoyed being with our brothers and sisters and were encouraged by what we saw.
Parents, have no fear, your children are NOT going hungry!! For Sunday lunch we feasted on snowpeas and fried peanuts and Chinese hashbrowns and kung pao chicken and sweet and sour pork and eggplant and spicy fish soup and ... and ... and ...
Many brave souls also opted to try the quintessential Chinese cuisine you won't find at Leean Chin's: dog. I have to admit that I wasn't quite so adventurous when I was here as a college student! We ordered enough so everyone could get just a taste. (For the record, it does not taste like chicken.)
We will be back in the classrooms on Monday, meeting hundreds of new Chinese students and hoping to make whatever connections we can in the short time we'll have with them.

The Race Begins!

The Beijing Race, that is. Yesterday we grouped up with students from a local university who took us around Beijing a la The Amazing Race. Each group was to go to 2 of 4 different suggested locations and do certain things throughout the journey (like find an unusual potato chip flavor or find in which dynasty the Bell and Drum Towers were built). The points for the winning team have yet to be tallied, though I would surmise that the group I was in found the "most different" drink - asparagus juice. The event kept us awake, helped us navigate the Beijing subway system, and most importantly, introduced us to some Chinese students who were very eager to make friendships.



Today found the group in English classrooms at People's University - the #3 university in all of China. These students are among the brightest in all of China (and, as sophomores, had amazing English skills). Each of the 4 groups of 5 ICS students sat in classrooms of 4 different ELIC (English Language Institute/China) teachers and became an interactive part of the lessons. Our students were able, to an extent, to connect with some of these students in ways which the ELIC teachers have not been able to do (possibly because of the prestige of the university).

Everybody is doing well, adjusting to the 13-hour time difference, and hoping to get a good night's sleep tonight in preparation for our trip to the Great Wall tomorrow day and an English Corner at People's University (where anyone in Beijing can come to "practice English") in the evening.

And They're Off!

After about 16 hours of flight time and 2 hours in the Narita Airport in Japan, we are safely in Beijing! The flights were uneventful (as they should be) and everyone arrived healthy and ready for a good night's sleep. We are staying in a guesthouse near the university where our hosts work and will spend the day today (Wednesday) meeting some Chinese students who will help up learn our way around town. The only site we've seen thus far was the Bird's Nest (Olympics), which we drove past last night on our way from the airport to the guesthouse. It was too late at night to be lit up, but at least we can say we saw it (at least those of us who were still awake!).

Almost to the starting gate...

Let me introduce myself, as I'm the Primary Blog Updater. My name is Melea (rhymes with "Maria"), I just got back from teaching English in SE Asia for four years, and I'm excited to see this fall's group of students getting excited about going overseas themselves, especially as we'll be spending a significant amount of time in one of my favorite countries in the world, Thailand.

I've had the students over for dinner in their travel groups (they're divided into 4 groups of 5) and it's been a blessing to get to know them a bit better before the actual trip starts. Each travel group has its own personality, so to speak, and it will be fun seeing all of the students interacting with each other. They have amazing hearts to reach people with a life-changing message.

I know it's tough for parents to give up their children (even in their 20s) for two months, especially when "over there" is 12 time zones away and there's a mentality that "anything can happen." The sobering reality is that "anything" can happen even while still in Minnesota, which is why we ask for your prayers for safety and protection even before leaving. Two of the students were involved in a fender bender yesterday on the wet roads while on their way to an eggroll making fundraiser. They're doing fine; probably shaken up more than anything. It's just that subtle reminder that life IS precious, nothing can be taken for granted, and the lesson which may prepare them most for overseas travel - the day's agenda that you woke up often has nothing to do with what actually transpires during the day. Anything CAN happen, and we just pray that whatever does happen will give glory to the One who is sending us.

On your mark, get set, ...

The fall ICS internship group at Northwestern is excited to go to Asia! To use the analogy of a horserace, I'm not sure if we're running down to the wire at this moment or just getting into the starting gate; perhaps a bit of both. As far as packing and shots and country reports and Quad 1 finals go, the students would probably agree that it's a race to the finish right now. However, it's also preparation for entering the starting gate (after going through security on the way, of course) as we prepare to take off for untold adventures on the literal other side of the world.

The students are working on some final fundraising projects these last two weeks before boarding the plane. We would love to be fully funded before leaving! Please pray for wisdom, discernment, and sanity for us as we start on our journey together.