Study, study, study . . .

One constant mantra in China is the emphasis on education. Or maybe it's the emphasis on school . . . which means emphasis on memorization . . . which means emphasis on doing homework . . . lots and lots of homework!

My kids have been on winter break since January 9. They are loaded with homework. I don't complain too much about it as every other child in the nation has the same workload . . . my kids aren't any different. (One way to truly assimilate into a community is to have your kids in local schools.)

One positive thing about having homework is that it keeps their thinking skills sharp. Little time is spent in review during that first week back in school. However, too much of a good thing is not always a good thing! (Think about adding sugar to a recipe . . . sugar makes it taste good, but too much sugar? NOT a good idea!)

Workbooks, daily math, daily Chinese, daily English, etc. make up the requirements for the holiday homework. While they are out of school for about six weeks, they are expected to do homework for about 30 days. Keeping a diary is a requirement, as well as maintaining a "good words" list (both Chinese and English). Of course, managing all this homework teaches time management skills, etc., but some kids are just more hard-headed than others in dealing with this.

My son is one of those hard-headed kids! I helped him map out what he needs to do on a daily basis to get his homework done. I tell you . . . this kid will take a one hour task and make it last all day long! It literally has taken him seven hours to do one page of math. It hasn't sunk into his head that doing it right the first time is the way to be finished. It's a battle for control . . . he's trying to wear us down to where we'll say, "It's okay, you don't have to do it," but we haven't caved yet.

But everything in me wants to give up. It's absolutely and completely exhausting to keep fighting every day. It's only by God's grace that we are on this parenting journey, and we depend upon that grace to make it through each day.

I'm beginning to understand why so many Chinese parents send their kids to Saturday classes. Part of it is for them to get ahead, but most of me thinks it's to get them out of the house! :) While we don't follow this practice, there are times that I definitely want to.

God's grace . . . amazing grace. How humbling it is when you are a parent!

Back in front of the computer . . .

On November 6, 2010, my husband took a hard fall while playing basketball outside on a concrete court. He received a severe head injury resulting in a moderate-severe concussion; epidural hematoma; frontal coup/contra-coup brain bruising and bleeding; left facial paralysis; left hearing loss; and loss of taste and smell. He spent five days in the hospital and went home to continue his recovery process. Chinese hospitals are nothing like American hospitals and we both felt that he would recover better at home. This was against his doctors' wishes and we were told that "You don't listen!"

There is much to be grateful for. God's hand was so obvious in the events following his injury. After three weeks, we flew down to Hong Kong for an evaluation with a neurosurgeon and his comment was, "Looking at these scans, it's quite obvious that Divine Intervention was at work. This isn't a case of 'it could have been much worse,' but is a case of 'it *should* have been much worse.' "

His recovery has been progressing well and after three months, the hematoma is gone and most of the facial paralysis is gone. He still has hearing loss, but feels that it is beginning to return. (The hearing loss is a result of "collateral damage" in that the nerve damage was due to compression rather than actual injury to the nerve itself.) His sense of taste and smell are still gone, but that's not always a bad thing! His energy is back at 100% and we are both hoping to get back into our exercise routine we had going before the injury.

I now know more about head injuries than I ever wanted to know. At times, I felt like I was cramming for a final exam in a course that I never took. Once again, God's graciousness was quite abundant. He showed himself in the form of friends who stepped in the provide food, hospital care, caring for our children (I was with Art 24/7 while he was in the hospital with the exception of a few hours in which I came home to shower and see the kids), and even financial assistance.

We never did ask God, "Why?" but we are still asking, "What do you want us to learn?" I'm not sure we'll ever have a concrete answer to this as it's likely to be an answer that is continuous. We do know that we are loved to an incredible degree and it is our desire to show that love to others.

Sunshine yellow shoes make me smile!

 

I keep seeing yellow shoes all over campus, but they are more popular with the undergraduates than the grads. None of my students have been wearing them . . . until this week! One gal sported a pair with an American touch . . . or do they have a French touch?

Yellow shoes!

 

 

I finally was able to snap photos of folks wearing the yellow shoes that are all over campus! Both a girl and a boy . . . and I got them on the same day, almost in the same place!

Judging a book by its cover

 

I don't normally call out "Chinglish" because I know my own written Chinese is absolutely atrocious! However, when I saw this book in the local foreign language book store, I literally groaned out loud. "No, tell me they didn't publish this book with this on the cover!"

The book is shrink-wrapped, so I couldn't open it to peruse the contents. However, this is one case in which I would absolutely judge the book by its cover and not buy it.

Music in the park

 

 

 

I live across the street from a decent-sized public square. In the mornings, you can see people out there doing tai qi and the Chinese version of line dancing and in the evenings and on weekends, you can see kids out there roller blading.

However, what I enjoy is when this group gathers and performs Beijing Opera. (Well, I *think* it's Beijing Opera, but truth be told, it could be any of the other branches of opera here in China. I can't tell the difference when there are no masks!)

At any rate, there are usually singers and musicians and lots of people watching. ("Lots" is a relative term.) I've seen the lady on the right in some other performances, but this is the first time I've seen the woman on the left. She had a really expressive face.

The regular attendees in the audience are usually senior citizens. It's almost like an outdoor community center. I'll miss them when the weather is too cold for them to come out.

Just call me mellow yellow . . .

 

 

 

I've noticed a new fashion trend on campus . . . the color yellow! It's popping up everywhere, from bags to shoes to shirts and jackets. (Can you find the four yellow items in the first photo?) I've got to get a photo of those neon yellow shoes!