Christmas Party in the dorms

Our last night in the dorms before the Christmas holidays was a fun one. Two of our dorm students will not be returning when school starts again so we decided to do something special for Mike and Tom on their last night with us.

The meals in the dorm are prepared by a local restaraunt and although enjoyable, can get a little routine. The boys love hamburgers so we decided to do a "hamburger bar" party with all the fixings. I cooked up bacon, we had different cheeses, and our regular restauraunt provider sent over a huge tub of potato salad.


Afterwards we had card games going and good fun. Tammy and I felt a little guilty as we are still getting used to having a live-in maid or ayi who provides all the cleaning. We feel a little spoiled having a big party and someone else doing the dishes afterwards :)

Sailing Race

Gabriel had his first sailing race as part of the sailing club he is in. Although it's getting pretty cold, we were blessed with a sunny day. It was a lot of fun but I have to admit to being one of "those" dads who was getting frustrated when Gabriel got stuck at one point.

"In irons" it is called when the wind comes head on and is difficult to catch. I was yelling instructions to Gabriel (who was to far out to hear me) and needed to calm down...and did with a "nudge" from Tammy. Gabriel came in 4th overall and he really loves sailing so we look forward to his continuing in the spring.

Anniversary

I'm going to take a break from our stories in China to mark a special anniversary for Tammy and I. It's not our wedding anniversary, or one of our birthdays. No...on Dec. 8 1991, Tammy and I fell in love. Our relationship went from a friendship to realizing we were going to get married.

We were at a mutual friends wedding in Chicago. Perhaps it was the romance in the air...but we kissed...then prayed and asked for God's direction and blessing. One week later I flew down to Louisiana and asked her to marry me.

We never dated!. We literally went from being platonic friends to engagement. Would totally recommend it. I married my best friend.


Seventeen years later, we're still here. Loving God, loving each other, loving others!

So for all you guys or girls who secretly pine for that "friend". There is hope! :)

Beijing with Gabriel

I needed to return to Beijing to pick up my passport. Gabriel has been begging to visit Beijing sometime so although I would only be there a short time, my little boy came along. We had SO much fun!! After leaving the embassy (Gabriel thought it was so cool we were on U.S. soil) we went to Tiananmen Square.

It was SO cold!! The wind was howling and sliced right through our clothing. Despite that there were many people out on the square. Not much had changed since my visits there many years ago other than you now have to pass through a security point to get onto the square. From there we went to the Imperial Palace, otherwise known as the Forbidden City. We chose to take the audio tour so as you walk around this immense city / palace the audio device picks up where you are in the city and begins explaining in your ear the different details and history.

Because much of the Forbidden City is outside, we kept ducking into souvenir shops to have hot chocolate and escape the brutal cold. We then paid a cab to take us to a shopping center but it turned out to be a motorcycles with a two seat, jury rigged, passenger area hanging out the back with a little metal box over you to break most of the wind. We must have looked funny zooming through the streets of Beijing on the back of this contraption.

Beijing has changed so much since I was a student there in 1991. Back then if you wanted western food you needed to go to a hotel and the food was "hit or miss". Either that, or there were three Kentucky Fried Chicken's in the city. Now, there is a plethora of familiar names such as Hard Rock cafe, TGIF's, and Outback Steakhouse. I was all for Outback but when Gabriel heard there was a Papa John's Pizza, that ended the discussion.

We stopped at a special grocery store with imported groceries from the U.S. and Europe. Won't bore you with the details of all the "Oh my gosh, they have..." moments other than to say that when Gabriel saw A & W rootbeer I thought he was going to lose it. He started hugging a can right in the aisle and muttering, "I love Beijing, I love Beijing."

When we got to security at the airport they stopped Gabriel who had a can of A & W in his back pack. They wouldn't let him through and were going to confiscate it. Obviously they have never dealt with Gabriel. He took the can, opened it, and starts chugging it down on the spot. He downed it so fast that a huge involuntary belch erupted out of him. I know its bad, but I could not stop laughing.

In the end, Gabriel and I had a great father - son bonding time.

Thanksgiving

Unfortunately for us, the International School we work for is not American based so the Hackmans had to work on Thanksgiving. We were a little jealous of some of the teachers from church who work at the American International School as they DID have the day off for a big feast.

However, a newly opened Western restaurant here in Huangdao advertised that they were doing Thanksgiving dinners complete with turkey, pork loin, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and pie. Because our responsibilities require us to be with the dorm students on weeknights, I got the OK from the school to take them all out with us for a "cultural" experience.

Before the dinner, we all took turns going around the table saying something they are "thankful" for...and then we plowed in.

When we asked for out pie, the waiter replied, "no". Living in China you learn that hospitality standards are...a little bit different. To be fair, you can't go from the Cultural Revolution to a "service" culture without hitting a few speed bumps. When we explained that pie was included in the price of the meal he said, "No, you must pay more".

Don't worry, the Scottish manager came over and sorted us all out with fresh peach pie and banana fosters.

The only thing missing for our Thanksgiving, besides our families :( was a little football!

Beijing

My passport is going to expire in March and with a Christmas planned in Hong Kong I thought I'd better get it renewed. Ten years ago I could not get checked in to a flight for Singapore because I needed six months left on my passport and I only had five. Was not going to let that happen again!

Unfortunately, I needed to go to Beijing, where the U.S. Embassy is located. This involved flying there, taking a taxi into the city, dropping off the passport application, taking a taxi back to the airport, and flying home. Lots of fun!

Some interesting things happened along the way. First of all, I could not believe how much Beijing has changed. I lived there in 1991 for 6 months and have not visited there since 1994. First of all the airport had transformed from a hick, backward structure to a 21st Century ultra modern facility. The airport even had a Burger King. I don't eat much fast food anymore but after 4 months in Qingdao, when I saw it, I wanted to cry. Great Wall? Been there (13 times). Forbidden City? Been done... Tiananamen Square? Have led tours. Not one of those things could be as fulfilling in that moment as a Double Beef Whopper with Cheese, Fries, and a Coke made my way . :)

The city has also transformed from a city that gets around by bike, to a city that gets around by car. Huge new roads and avenues ring the city but that still didn't stop me from getting stuck in traffic as heavy as any L.A.freeway.




Because my flight was not until later in the evening, I had a chance to visit an old friend of mine who runs a business outside of Beijing. Because of the company's Christian roots they also operate a children's foster agency called New Day Foster Home. The foster home takes in children who are "special need". Often the children are abandoned because of their handicap and the fortunate ones end up at New Day. I heard the stories of many of these precious children which often involved many life saving surgeries to repair hearts, stomachs, deformities and the like. My heart went out, not only for these precious children, but for the many volunteers, and to the parents who adopt these kids into their home. Jesus' quote, "Whatever you do for the least of my brethren, you have done it for me" was never so appropriate than in this foster home.

The trip to Beijing lasted less than 12 hours but my time at New Day will be with me much, much longer.

Poor Libby

When we were making the decision to come to China, whether or not we could bring our pet Chihuahua was a big factor. When I was interviewing for the position in Hong Kong back in April I knew I had to broach the subject. The interviewer asked me to hold on, made a quick call, and then replied, "Yes, you can bring the dog." It was THEN that I knew that this job was a possibility.

A couple weeks ago Libby was in "her time" and got out. When she was found she had a new "friend" who was 5 times bigger than her. The idea of having puppies is not something we want to deal with here so we decided to to take some advice from Bob Barker and "have our pet dog spayed or neutered."

Last Sunday Libby made the trek to church with us (sleeping quietly in her little purse bag) and then had an appointment for a little operation after. The vet put her out. Gabriel was very nervous and was "praying to Jesus" a lot more than usual. As a parent you think, "Hey, whatever gets them praying..."

Libby came through it OK. She was kind of out of it for a couple days but was treated like a Queen in the Hackman household. That lasted until last night when we came home and found she pooped on the kitchen floor. Now she's just back in the "doghouse".

Gabriel Percy Shelly Whitman Donne Tennyson Longfellow

In October, Yew Chung School participated with other schools around the world for International Poetry Day. Each of the students, regardless of grade, was required to produce a poem on that day with the theme being a haiku. A haiku poem is Japanese in origin and consists of three phrases of 17 syllables. The first line is 5, the second 7, and the third 5. Gabriel produced the following haiku:

It's Homeworkzilla
It's terrorizing my desk
NO! It's 10 o'clock!

The English teacher that coordinated the event told me that she and the other judge had picked Gabriel's poem as a winner in the Primary grades. I was pretty proud and I had to keep it to myself until the winners were announced this week.


Wish I had brought a copy of Dead Poets Society with me. I really want to watch that now...

International Day

One of the big "days" at the school we are working at is International Day. Every year the school student body is divided into different "countries". The kids learn about the various countries they are assigned to as well as designing an outfit native to that country. Tammy and I were the "German" team leaders and spent Thursday afternoon sewing suspenders and outfitting hats to create a team of Barvarian students. (My initial thought to outfit them as stormtroopers and have them go as the Nazi "youth league" was vetoed by Tammy. She was probably right, educators have no sense of humor on those things :)

On Sat. morning, the children initially came to school with a costume from their home country. Tammy and I threw on some baseball attire while Gabriel dressed as a cowboy. After a parade around the school grounds we retreated to our classes to put on our "Barvarian" clothes. Then, I led my "team" every half hour to a different station where they got to learn about, and participate in, activities from Canada, Thailand, Mexico, Kenya, India, and Korea.


After an International "potluck" lunch, we went to the open field where we had tug-o-war contests and other assorted games including baseball. As you can see from the pictures, I too dressed kind of silly. I promised the older kids that I would not ask them to do anything that I, myself, were not prepared to do. But a good time was had by all.

Sailing Pt 2.

Ok, this is not so much a new entry as a chance for me to throw up more pictures of Gabriel sailing. They were sent to me from the instructor. Gabriel came back from his second Sat. sailing more on fire than the first. He also said, "My two instructors are from France and China. They both have cool hair and wear funky clothes. They look like they came from Boulder."

"C" List Celebrities

One of the things you have to get used to being Caucasians living in China is the fact you are a celebrity. A "C" list celebrity granted, but a celebrity none the less.

I am actually surprised how after twenty years of China being opened to foreigners the presence of a non-Chinese can draw such attention. It is not uncommon for people to stare, wave, or give you a "hello". Standing on the street it's interesting to see people pass by and some times do a double take. I like to pretend they're saying, "Was that Tom Cruise?". Other times, people come up and just want a picture with you. Gabriel gets this and sometimes its from young girls. The first time it happened he just looked at me in astonishment with a "What do I do?" look. (I've included some pictures from these encounters)

Some of the more adventureous want to engage in conversation. We will be relaxing on the beach when someone will drop down next to us with a big grin and a "Where do you come from?" I think its funny because the question that always comes up is, "How long will you be in Qingdao?" When I answer, "I live in Qingdao" there is often a look of astonishment as if to say, "Impossible, no white man has EVER lived in Qingdao". Which is unusual as these days it is quite common to see foreigners out an about, especially in the major cities.

In most cases we welcome the intrusion. It gives us a chance to interact with local people and perhaps practice our Chinese. The people are usually very gracious and often just curious about foreigners.

Another interesting aspect to living in China is the reaction you get from other foreigners. Some see you and give you a small nod. Some come up, introduce themselves, and start talking just to have a conversation in non-broken English. The funniest are the foreigners who have "gone native". They prefer to ignore you because your presense reminds them that they are not, in fact, Chinese...and that makes them sad.

For us, we're trying to learn Chinese. Then maybe we can move up to the celebrity "B" list.

Gabriel the Sailor

At Yew Chung International School we offer a number of after school extracurricular activities. Each child is required to to take at least one course and each teacher has to teach one. I am running a Bible club on Monday afternoons and assisting with the Film Making club on Thursdays. I have 9 students in my Bible Club and we are studying the Book of John. In American public schools, students can have a Bible study, but a teacher is not allowed to lead it. I am able to lead one here and consider it ironic that I have to come to China for some religious freedom :)

Gabriel has chosen to do sailing on Saturdays. Yesterday was his first day and he was picked up promptly at 7:00 AM by the school van. He traveled across the bay to the Olympic sailing center where he will go every Sat. for the next 10 weeks. For 6 hours yesterday they learned knot tying, capsizing, and balance.

I was a little nervous because he left at 7:00 AM and was not returned until 6:30 that evening. Its a long day and being that the course wasn't cheap, Tammy and I were afraid he'd come home overwhelmed and we would have to spend the next 9 weeks forcing him to go to recoup our investment and develop his commitment.


No Worries!! He came through the door wearing the sailing shirt and hat they gave him as well as the biggest smile. "I LOVED it!" he exclaimed.

National Day Vacation

With are double duties here at school, Tammy and I were looking forward to the National Day holiday here in China where we get a week off. National Day celebrates October 1st, 1949 when Mao Zedong stood at Tiananmen Gate and proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. It's the U.S. equivalent to the Fourth of July.

We decided just to explore our home territory a bit and get out on some bikes that we have at our disposal. There is a long boardwalk along the beach that goes about a mile or more and we spent one day riding up and down it. There were a lot of activities going on for the holiday so we stopped occasionally and had something to eat or would take a brief swim in the ocean

Yesterday we went into Qingdao for one of the cities most famous events. The 18th Annual Qingdao International Beer Festival. Before we got to the festival we explored one of the city's biggest bookstores hoping to find a few books in English or a newspaper. Inquiries of foreigners living here on where to buy an International newspaper have been met with blank stares reserved for Rod Taylor by the Eloi (bonus point if you got that cultural reference). Well, there were no newspapers or English books but they did have something that stunned me. On a computer screen they had an episode of Deperate Housewives playing. Next to the picture, the text was scrolling in English and next to it, in Chinese. As the actors spoke, the text would be highlighted. It was software to help you learn English while watching American TV shows. Learning English by watching Desperate Housewives???...Oh, someone help me, say it ain't so.

After that we enjoyed an evening at the beer festival. There were rides, cotten candy, carnival games...and scorpians on a stick! Yep, just like at home!

What are we doing?

I've been asked a number of times what we are doing in China so I thought I would devout a blog entry to that very answer.

Tammy and I work for Yew Chung International School in Qingdao China. Yew Chung is a network of International Schools based out of Hong Kong with schools in various cities in China as well as Silicon Valley USA. The school in Qingdao is the newest school and is in its 3rd year of operation. We are temporarily housed in a set of residential "villas" while our new campus is being built. The school is geared toward the children of foreign business expatriates working in China. Because of the proximity of Qingdao to South Korea, many of the school's student body comes from Korea

Tammy and I were initially hired to run the boarding program at the school. A small number of the students live at the school in "the dorms" (which are actually very nice apartments) and Tammy and I's job is to be the parent, teacher, mentors to the kids while they are staying at the school. On Friday afternoon after school the kids go home to their homes for the weekend and return to the school on Sunday nights.

However, the Year 1 & 2 teacher (what in America we would know as Kindergarten and 1st grade) position has still not been filled so Tammy and I have been asked to step in to that position as well. We share the duties with the class' Chinese co-teacher (every grade gets taught in both English and Chinese so that the children develop fluency in both languages).

In addition to that Tammy teaches secondary Art and I teach secondary Citizenship as well as Information Technology. (Again, for those in America, Secondary is what we would call middle or high school. Primary is elemenatry) Although the work load is pretty heavy between the two jobs, Tammy and I are excited about the new skills and experience we are receiving. Teaching secondary Citizenship...wow.. am I in my element. (Just asked the kid who in the last class asked me what the difference between a Democrat and a Republican was)
Likewise Tammy has REALLY enjoyed researching and teaching her secondary Art class.

Oh, and things are a little more formal and professional than what we were accustomed to in Boulder. As a teacher, I wear a tie to every class